#jaehyun oc

[jaelvr]

Nectar

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Requested : yes by @couturethiquefemboy

Prompts ;  121. “I miss you, more than I thought possible.” + 66. “kiss me harder.”

Pairing : frat! jaehyun x gn! reader

Pronouns : you/yours

Type : fluff, suggestive

Word count : 5k

Content: mutual feelings, opposites, college au, basketball jock, dancer reader, fluff, slightly ooc

Have a great day !! 

——————————

You excused yourself from the group in the living room, making your way through the sea of bodies to the kitchen to grab another drink, refilling the red plastic cup of God knows what. He was sat on the counter, quick to dismiss the people in front of him as he saw you, sliding himself off before approaching you. His red-tinted sunglasses sat on top of his freshly dyed hair, the leather jacket pulled over his iconic jersey. "Hey sunshine." he murmured, his hand finding your waist. "I was wondering when you were going to come and annoy me." you chuckled, eyebrows raised as you sipped your drink. Jaehyun snickered at your retort. He was hoping you'd speak to him tonight, watching you all evening. “Just taking a break. I’ll go find someone else to annoy.” He smiled, his dimple showing against his smooth skin. “Unless you want me around?”

"Never do." you joked back, a small grin playing on your lips as you wrapped your arms around his neck. He smiled down at you, grip on your waist tightening as he pulled you closer to his body, arms tight on your waist. "Never say never. I'll win you over eventually." Jaehyun gave you a cocky grin, gently nuzzling into your neck and placing kisses against it. "Keep dreaming, pretty boy." you whispered, biting your lip gently as your hand ran through his hair. Jaehyun smiled against your skin as your hand was in his hair. He kissed down your neck to your collarbone. His hands slowly made their way to your hips. Jaehyun kissed his way to your lips and finally claimed them. One hand gripping your hip, the other gently holding your chin. Your hand gently tugged on his hair as you made out, cheeks flushed. He smirked against your lips as he nipped at your bottom lip. His hand on your hip pulled you even closer. Jaehyun's tongue slipped through your lips to explore your mouth. His hand that held your chin slowly moved down your body to your thighs.

You grinned, pulling away as you heard your name being called in the other room. "That's my cue to leave." you murmured against his lips, pecking them one more time. Jaehyun was left disappointed. He wanted to keep kissing you. He leaned his forehead on yours with a smile. “Will I ever get you alone?” He whispered against your lips. Jaehyun pulled your face in for another quick kiss, his lips lingering. “I should let you go now. But please promise you’ll find time for me tonight.” He moved his hands to your hips so you could leave easily. His gaze not leaving you. "No promises, pretty boy." you giggled, kissing his cheek, your lipstick leaving a mark before you disappeared back into the crowd. Jaehyun watched you leave, still standing in the middle of the kitchen. He smirked, placing a hand over his cheek that still had your lipstick mark. He fixed his leather jacket and red-tinted sunglasses before going off to find someone else to pester.

He loved the chase, that's for sure.

----

Jaehyun slowly entered the studio, he watched your body move in the mirror. His eyes followed you gracefully throughout the room. Jaehyun loved watching you dance. He watched with such admiration. He was leaning on the door frame, just watching not wanting to interrupt your practice. You hadn't noticed him until you finished, seeing him smile as you looked up in the mirror. Jaehyun began clapping and whistling as you walked over to the stereo to turn the music off. He couldn’t help but watch you as you walked over to him. “That was quite the show sweetheart.” He smirked, his gaze roaming all over you. "Stalking me now?" you teased, shooting him a smirk as you wiped the sweat on your forehead, grabbing your towel. He followed behind you. His eyes were glued to your body as it was covered in sweat. Jaehyun bit his lip, shaking his head softly. He leaned down to your ear and grinned. “Just admiring the view.”

"Shouldn't you be in basketball practice?" you asked, head tilted as you drank some water. Jaehyun shrugged, leaning against the back wall. He crossed his arms over his chest. “I got out of practice a little bit ago. Figured you’d still be here so I came to bother you.” he smirked. “Besides… I got a better view here.” he murmured, eyes still wondering. "You always this insufferable? or just to me?" you asked, purposely bending down to place your water bottle back down. Jaehyun chuckled lightly. “Just you sunshine. You bring out the best in me.” His attention was pulled to your body when you leaned down. He licked his lips before going over to you. “You look… hot when you’re sweaty.” he murmured, arms wrapped around your waist again. "Is that so?" you murmured, hands resting on his chest. 

Jaehyun's hands slowly found their place on your hips. He smiled down at you, his thumbs gently rubbing circles. “You have no idea the things I’ve dreamt about…” he murmured, leaning a kiss to your neck. He planted a few loving kisses on your heated skin, nipping here and there. "Please do share." you murmured, smirking at him as you teased him with your wondering hands. His hands gripped your hips, pulling you closer to his body. He nipped and kissed all over your neck and lower jaw. “We could start out here. We could go over there.” Jaehyun gestured to the wall next to the stereo. His lips nipped at your earlobe. “Or… I can just take you right here...” Jaehyun's tone changed to a husky whisper as he kissed your skin.  "What if someone walks in?" you murmured, lips brushing against his neck. Jaehyun pressed his body against yours. “Mmm… I don’t care if someone walks in. Do you? I’d love for them to see how pretty you are.” 

"Jae..." you murmured, his name slipping out of your lips as he pressed kisses to your neck. Jaehyun paused. He pulled away slightly, looking into your eyes. He was surprised you had called him his actual name. “Say it again…” his tone was softer now. He caressed your cheek, his thumb brushing your cheekbone. "Jaehyun…" you murmured, looking up at him. “Much better. That pretty little mouth shouldn’t say my other name. It shouldn’t say any other guy's name.” Jaehyun had pulled your whole body against his. His lips captured yours. He poured his frustrations out through his kisses. They slowly grew more desperate. "Jae, please..." you let out whimpers, messily making out with him. “Mmm? Now you ask for things...?” he whispered into your ear. He nipped at your skin to tease you. “What do you want sunshine? Tell me.” Jaehyun's voice in your ear low and dark. The want building up inside of him. He began leaving more bruising kisses on your neck and collarbone. "You..." you murmured, in a daze.

“You have me sunshine.” Jaehyun murmured against your skin. He nibbled at the skin between your neck and collarbone, leaving soft and bruising kisses in his path. “All mine...” he nipped at your skin with a grin. Jaehyun took your hands in his and backed you into the wall. “Just like that. All mine.” There was a hint of possessiveness and jealousy laced in his tone. Just as things started getting more heated, his phone went off, interrupting the moment. Jaehyun was breathing heavily. His lips trailed to your collarbone and neck one more time. He stopped before pulling away altogether, reaching into his back pocket for his phone. “Goddamn it…. It’s probably coach.” He checked his phone and sighed. His breath was quick and his cheeks flushed. "S'alright, take it." you murmured, clearing your throat as you pulled away. Jaehyun paused and looked at you with an apologetic smile. He was obviously frustrated, and so close to losing it with you. He took a moment and pulled out his phone. “Give me a minute. I’ll be right back.” He sighed, stepping away from you. He went outside to take the call.

you let out a huff, running a hand through your hair. While this was nothing new between the two of you, it had never escalated this far. You sat down, reminding yourself that it probably meant nothing to the frat boy, doing this all the time with other people. Jaehyun took the call outside, his phone against his ear. He was pacing back and forth. The fact you let him kiss you like that was eating at him. You had turned him on more than anyone in a long time. he sighed as he hung up after a few minutes, and slowly made his way back into the studio, looking for you. Jaehyun's eyes were glued to your body as you started going through the routine again. Your body was so beautiful and graceful. He was mesmerized by you. He couldn’t help himself, his eyes took in every inch of you. Jaehyun finally stopped leaning against the doorway to walk over to you, he came up behind you. His hands slowly went around your waist, and he stood directly behind you. "Was it your coach?" you murmured, avoiding his eyes.

Jaehyun shrugged, his hands gently rubbing your sides. You could hear him take in your scent. “He can wait.” Jaehyun murmured. It drove him crazy. He moved your hair out of the way so he could plant a soft kiss on the back of your neck. "You should probably go to practice." you whispered, voice wavering slightly. "I was about to finish up and go home anyway." you lied, looking away. Jaehyun sighed, grabbing your hips tightly. He turned you around to face him. It was hard for him to be so close to you and not want to have you right there. “I just want one more moment with you before I go. Come here.” his grip tightened, not letting you out of his reach at all. "Jae-" you started before he cut you off. Jaehyun silenced you as he put his fingers against your lips, he pulled your hips against his body again, his body pressing against yours. “One minute. One more minute with you. That’s all I want and need.” He murmured, his lips meeting yours. His kiss was passionate and hungry. His hands gripped your hips, and he held you closer.

"You should go to practice now." you murmured once the pair of you had parted, not looking at him as you grabbed your stuff. Jaehyun stared at you. His lips curled in a slight frown. He hated the way you’d dismiss him. He'd had never felt such jealousy over someone before. He felt you belonged to him. Jaehyun knew he’d never be the guy to just let you go so easy. “You’re really leaving?” he muttered in a low and deep voice. "I'll see you tomorrow, Jaehyun." you murmured, sparing him a glance before walking out of the studio, leaving him standing in there alone. He watched you leave, His body was screaming at him to go after you. Every fibre in his being was pushing him to find you. But Jaehyun's ego, his pride wouldn’t let him chase after you. He clenched his fist and stomped out of the door. His mind screaming to go after you. Jaehyun leaned against his car in anger as his phone buzzed with another text and call from his coach.

You were so confusing.

----

Over the next few weeks, you avoided him, not responding to any calls or texts he'd left you and making sure not to bump into him in college. You were currently getting ready for your performance in the showcase for dance, doing a duet with Chan. He was part of the other frat group, and the rivalry between skz and ncit was strong, but you got along with both perfectly, his charming nature making it easy to bond. Your nerves were slowly kicking it, pacing around backstage. Jaehyun had given up on texting and calling you. He was frustrated and didn’t know what he did wrong. He knew he didn’t have any reason to be jealous or possessive of you, but that was exactly how he was feeling. knowing you would be performing tonight, he decided to come and watch your performances. Jaehyun entered the back room, standing close to the wall in the corner where he could see you without anyone noticing. He kept his eyes glued to you when you entered. He felt a spark of jealousy seeing Chan talk to you.

"Is it that obvious I'm nervous?" you murmured gently, looking up at Chan who was already gazing at you. Chan smirked, leaning against the wall. He had one arm crossed over his chest and his legs were crossed. He was trying hard to be cool and casual, it was hard with you so close to him “Yeah. It is pretty evident.” Chan mumbled. He leaned in close to you, placing his hands on your sides and whispering. “I’m sure you’ll do fine. You always do." He comforted, hands tightening. "What if I mess our dance up?" you frowned, unsure. Chan smirked. He leaned down close to you, his eyes looking into yours. He smirked and shook his head slowly. “Impossible. There’s no way you can mess up. Because if anyone screws up. It’ll be me, just so you know.” Chan leaned in to whisper against your ear. He smirked as his hands gripped your sides a little tighter. “But if you mess up. I’m making you come home with me tonight.” You wiggled slightly in his grip, laughing nervously, thinking he was joking.

Chan was definitely not joking. He had every intent on taking you home with him tonight. His plan was to charm you so much that you wouldn’t be able to say no. Chan had a cocky smirk on his face, his arms tightening around your waist. Before you could say anything, your names were announced, your cue to come on stage. You made your way on, your breath hitching as you saw Jaehyun in the audience, not expecting him to come.  Jaehyun's eyes were glued on you, the way the spotlight hit your skin just made you shine like a bright star. He hated that Chan was by your side. He could see the two of you dancing together, and it drove him crazy, attention was on you and not the performance. Jaehyun leaned back against the wall in the back to get a better view. Chan was taking a few steps with you, his hands gripping your waist tightly. Chan whispered sweet nothings in your ear as you guys danced. Jaehyun was fuming.

You focused on the dance, not paying attention to either of the boys throughout the performance, locking eyes with Jaehyun as you finished the routine. Jaehyun smiled as you locked eyes with him. His eyes were filled with pride as you finished the dance routine with Chan. He had seen your whole performance, his body was filled with jealousy and possessiveness during every movement Chan made with you. He clapped his hands as soon as you finished the performance, a jealous smirk on his lips as he saw Chan grab your wrist. you watched as you saw him disappear before you walked off stage, slightly tense with Chan's arm still around your waist, knowing that Jaehyun would be meeting you backstage. 

Jaehyun was waiting for you outside of the backstage room. His mood was different now. Instead of being frustrated and annoyed, he was possessive and jealous. You could see a dark aura around him. He grabbed your arm firmly, pulling you away from Chan’s grasp. “Come on, sunshine. I’m taking you home.” Jaehyun growled out as he pulled you deeper into the dark hallways. "Jae-" you started, eyes wide as he gently intertwined your hands. he shut you up by covering your mouth with his hand. One hand was still holding onto yours, the other one placed over your mouth. Jaehyun dragged you deeper into the back hallways, away from anyone else. “I don’t wanna hear a word of your bullshit right now sunshine.” he murmured. He dragged you into one of the empty rooms. "Jaehyun-" you murmured, trying to get him to listen. Jaehyun slammed the door shut, locking it. Jaehyun turned you around, so your back was against the door. He pressed himself against you. With his hands gripping your arms, he pinned you against the door. “Shut up for a minute and listen to me.” Jaehyun growled. His stare was intense and his grip on your body was tight.

“I don’t know what the hell you’re playing at, staying away from me. Ignoring my texts, and my calls and dodging me every chance you get.” Jaehyun muttered, his tone was angry and harsh. He looked as if he wasn’t himself. “I don’t know what to make of your little game. But I’m not going to sit back and let you just play with my feelings and mess me around. Got it?” His frustration was palpable, tension filling the room and his anger turning you on. "Just let me explain-" you started before he shook his head, finger on your lip again. “No. Don’t say a word. You've been ignoring my calls. you've been avoiding me. And the first time I see you in TWO weeks, you’re hanging onto a damn skz frat boy.” he bit back. Jaehyun gripped your waist tightly. He was a lot angrier than you had ever seen him. He felt his temper start to overtake him when he saw Chan take your arm and lead you away. He was so jealous that he felt as if he would blow a fuse right there. “I don’t want your damn explanations. I want you. I’m done with all the games. Whatever you’re playing at, stop it right now. Stop dodging me and coming up with excuses. And that little skz brat has no business having his hands all over you.”

"And you do?" you retorted, giving him a bratty attitude to rile him up. Jaehyun glared at you. Your bratty attitude had gotten to him. The anger from earlier was rising back up within him all over again. Jaehyun was losing his cool. His fists were clenched so tightly, his nails digging into his palms. “Yes. Yes, I do. I have every damn right to have my hands on you. I want you…all to myself. But you make it damn near impossible when you keep running from me.” he groaned. "I'm not running, I-" you grumbled, pausing as you struggled to come up with a reason. “Oh really? You’re not running away? Then how come every time I call you, you’re not answering, every time I text you, you text me back two hours later and you dodge me whenever I attempt to come see you?” Jaehyun muttered. His fingers dug into your hips and held you flush against the door. His body was pressed up against you so closely, his breath hitting you right against the neck and ear. He leaned his head in to whisper, his lips pressing in so close to your skin. “Quit the bullshit right now.” he ordered, looking at you. you let out a sigh, avoiding his eyes, not bothering to argue. 

Jaehyun stared at you. It infuriated him that you wouldn’t even be making eye contact with him. The anger was building up inside of him. Jaehyun gripped you tightly, one hand twisting into your hair. His breath was quick and heavy. he lowered his head close to your lip. “Look at me.” Jaehyun murmured. His voice was low and almost dangerous. He waited with bated breath for you to follow his order.” ...I'm sorry." you murmured, looking back up at him. Jaehyun released a soft sigh when you looked up into his eyes. His eyes blazed with anger and desire. He was so possessive of you at that very moment. Jaehyuns mood shifted at once he saw your eyes look up at him. His hands dropped to your hips again, his fingers digging in tightly. “I don’t want to hear your sorry. That’s not good enough. I’ve been dying to be in your life more. To be with you more. You are so damn beautiful and yet you keep running from me. Why?” he mumbled. "I…I got scared." you whispered, breath hitching. “Scared? Of what?” Jaehyun mumbled. The anger left him as soon as you said you got scared. Jaehyun's eyes instantly softened as he noticed how scared you were. His voice went softer, his hands dropping to your waist again. “Scared of what, baby?”

Your heart jumped at the nickname, liking how it sounded from him.” ...You know Jiung, right?" you asked hesitantly. Jaehyun nodded. He knew him pretty well. He knew the type of boy he was. His eyes dimmed at the mention of him. Jaehyun's jealousy got the best of him just thinking about him and what he'd possibly done to you. “Yeah…I know him. I know what kind of guy he is too. What did he do?” he asked, his face softening and voice full of concern and genuine. "I uh…me and him dated, last year. we...we were like this at the start, all over each other. Until I found out to him, we were never really serious, and he'd just led me on, seeing other people all the time. He laughed when I'd confronted him and told me I was stupid for ever believing a frat boy could change." you opened up, nervous about his reaction.  Jaehyun's eyes darkened as your words sank in. His hands tightened on your waist, his grip starting to tighten once more. He couldn’t imagine a guy doing something so horrible as to break someone's heart. No wonder you kept him at arm’s length. Jaehyun could hear your heart pounding a mile a minute, not even notice how tight his grip on you was getting. “And you thought I’d do the same? You thought I’d play you the same way he did?” he asked, his voice low. 

“...I guess. I was scared you would, so I thought pushing you away would be better and it wasn't because, fuck, I miss you, more than I thought possible." you explained, voice cracking. Jaehyun paused. He couldn’t believe what you were saying. You kept pushing him away because you were scared that he would break your heart. He finally loosened his grip on your hips and turned you around to face him. He brushed his fingers across your cheek. “I would never, ever do that to you. It’s not in me to break your heart. I’d tear the world to shreds rather than see you hurt or sad.” Jaehyun murmured. His fingers trailed down your cheek to your nose, his touch gentle. "I know you would. And I'm sorry for avoiding you." you murmured, forehead against his. Jaehyun gently gripped your hips again. His arms wrapped around you tightly, pulling you against his chest. Jaehyun's eyes were fixated on your lips. Everything about you right now was making him crazy. “I haven’t been able to sleep just knowing there is a chance that someone out there might hurt you. Someone like that, that frat boy…he had no idea how lucky he was to have gotten a chance with you. If only I knew I would have beaten his ass to hell and back…”

you laughed gently, shaking your head. "You two were good friends, I doubt you would've-" you started before he interrupted, kissing your forehead. He chuckled. Even with his frustration over thinking about how a guy could do that to you, your laugh and dimple were still so cute to him. Jaehyun leaned down and placed his lips against your forehead, kissing it gently. He pulled back. “I’m guessing you broke up during the summer?” he murmured, brushing the hair from your face. "Yeah, just before we started the second year. just before you started annoying me." you joked, poking his chest. He smirked to himself. He took in your adorable giggle and playful side. Everything about you was so irresistible, so beautiful. Jaehyun's eyes were glued to your lips once more, his hands slowly sliding to your hips. He pulled you back against him, your bodies pressed together, His breath hit you once more as he leaned in close to your ear. “I plan on making up for all that wasted time. I’ ’m going to be the best damn boyfriend you’ve ever had.”

"Who said you were going to be my boyfriend?" you teased, eyebrows raised in amusement. Jaehyun laughed at your comment. He smirked as a low chuckle escaped his mouth. Your brattiness was something that he absolutely loved about you. He grabbed your hips, pulling you flush against him once more. His body felt so close to yours, almost like he never wanted to leave you. “Who said I wasn’t already?” He murmured. Jaehyun was so serious right now, he wanted and needed you to be his. He couldn’t stand the thought of you with anyone else, especially Chan. you giggled, leaning forward and connecting your lips in a sweet kiss. Jaehyun groaned as your lips pressed against his. Every time you made a noise, it was like a jolt of electricity going through him. Your kisses were everything he wanted. And just how much you had missed him, made him want you even more. Jaehyun was kissing you eagerly, one of his hands sliding back up to your chin. He gently tilted your head back, his eyes glazed with desire. He couldn’t get enough of you, he never could. "Kiss me harder." you murmured in between kisses, arms around his neck. Just the sound of your whisper was enough to get his blood boiling. Jaehyun couldn't believe the amount of heat you were capable of generating in him. When you whispered those words, Jaehyun felt every nerve tingling inside of him. He wanted to kiss you harder, to kiss you deeper and keep you in his arms. Every inch of his body was screaming at him to do so. So, he did just that. Jaehyun grabbed your hips firmly, lifting you up in his arms. He pressed his lips on yours once more, the force of his kisses intensifying.

This was going to be a long night. 

----

cheers filled the sports hall. you stood up, cheering loudly, his jersey on as you watched him celebrate the win with his teammates briefly before he locked eyes with you. Jaehyun looked up from the huddle and saw you standing there. His heart skipped a beat when he saw you in the crowd with his jersey on. The cheers and voices around him faded as he locked eyes with you. Your cheering put a huge smile on his face. Jaehyun quickly broke away from the team and ran over to you. “Babe! What did I say earlier? You’re my good luck charm!” Jaehyun exclaimed once he got to you. He swung you up in his arms, lifting you as high as he could. You squealed, tightening your grip on him and laughing gently. "Well done, love." you murmured, caressing his cheek. Jaehyun grinned, the crowd cheering. The noise around them faded as he locked eyes only on you. “Thanks. But it’s all because of you. You came here and it brought me good luck.” He brought you down to his height and kissed your head gently. “Let’s get out of here. I wanna spend the night alone with you.” Jaehyun muttered passionately. He was ready to leave the game and spend an entire night with you. As he brought you close to his chest, his hand gently gripped your hip. "Got a reward for you at your place." you smirked, winking cheekily at him as your lips brushed against his neck. 

Jaehyun sighed at how playful and sassy you were with him. It got to him. The way you brushed your lips right against his neck made him want to pull you into the nearest room and shut the door. But not yet. He smiled when you mentioned the reward you had for him. But you could always have something new with Jaehyun, you were his reward. “Oh. I can’t wait to find out exactly what that reward is.” Jaehyun muttered sarcastically. But all of that sarcasm suddenly disappeared when your fingers grazed his waist. "I'm leading tonight though, baby." you murmured, your voice low as you kissed his neck. he moaned at the feeling of your lips pressing against his neck. When your fingers were lightly gripping his waist, that alone drove him crazy. Jaehyun could feel your hand on his side. His hips buckling, every cell in his body wanted to pull you to the nearest room. Your smirk only drove him crazy. The cocky grin on your face was hot as hell. Jaehyun groaned softly, leaning his head in close to hear better. “You think you’re leading tonight?” he whispered playfully, his voice hoarse. "Uh huh. gonna reward my baby..." you murmured, gently biting his earlobe and hands travelling down his chest.

"Give me one taste of your nectar."

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[ncityprincess]

what do you say, my dear?

ceo jaehyun x executive assistant reader

this is just filthy 😔 4.4K words

ok this is officially my longest fic😭 you all must suffer through my jaehyun brain rot with me😤 plot: your sexy boss jeong jaehyun offers you a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Milan, for work purposes of course. mr. jeong makes some bad decisions, but it takes two to tango. who knew sininng could feel so good.

p.s if the business terms I used don't make a lick of sense please don't beat my ass 😭🙏🏾 MDNI

“y/n, come into my office. we need to discuss something”

you instantly felt a rush of nerves run through your body.

you had started off as a temp at Jeong Financial last summer. you had been out of college for a few years, lost and trying to find your footing in the so called “real world.” you spent your first two years out of college working at an upscale lounge. while the tips were incredible, the graveyard shifts and your newfound numbness to the stench of liquor was not your ideal lifestyle. it was time to dust off your resume and get to work. a recruiter from Jeong Financial had reached out on linkedin, and from there your journey in the corporate world had begun.

on your first day of work you were scheduled to have a meet and greet with the CEO, Jeong Jaehyun. you hadn’t really done any research on the company, as you were desperate to just get your foot in the door. you weren't sure what you were expecting the ceo to look like, but it certainly wasn't this.

jeong jaehyun was the only son of his two parents. they had built jeong financial from the ground up in the 80s, and eventually passed down the company to their son.

Jaehyun wasn't some stuffy old man, he was a devilishly handsome Adonis in his late 20s that kept his hair styled and wore brands you couldn't even begin to pronounce. he had a killer smile that could, and did, light up every room he was in, with dimples to match. he was tall and muscular, and could easily quit his job at any point to become a model. people simultaneously respected and feared him. men that were twice his age and nowhere near jaehyun's level envied him. the Human Resources ladies made any excuse to come to his office.

he was also married. with two children.

your first meeting with mr. jeong rendered you shocked by his gorgeous features. while he certainly carried himself with dignity and pride, he still made you feel like you were an equal. he asked you about your interests outside of work and what your goals were. you mentioned that you would like to eventually work your way up to executive assistant to the ceo, to which he smiled.

"well y/n, you certainly have the potential to flourish as an executive assistant. I can tell you're passionate about the industry and that's the type of woman I want on my team. forget temping, why don't you start reporting directly to me from now on. my current assistant can help you transition into the role. she's retiring next month."

you sat there in utter shock, processing his proposal. you had entered the company fully expecting to start from the bottom. how did you get offered your dream position within 20 minutes of you working for the company? you didn't have time to analyze the situation, so you settled for a simple "yes!"

fast forward a year, and you had been assisting jaehyun with his daily tasks: checking emails, setting up meetings, sitting in on his lunches, going with him to seminars. the job had forced the two of you to become really close. each interaction you had made you more and more infatuated with him. and you were positive the feeling was mutual.

jaehyun would stare just a little too long at you, admiring your figure in your pencil skirts and dresses. he complimented you every single morning, mostly innocent. mostly.

"y/n, the coffee you made me is phenomenal! you should add professional barista to your resume"

"wow, that blouse really brings out your eyes"

"I couldn't imagine not having you around"

sometimes you would notice an underlying hint of flirtation, but it never went into inappropriate territory. the man was all about his image after all. you certainly weren't complaining, in fact, you fed into it. you accepted his sweet words. you craved them. but you always kept the fact that he was married in the back of your mind...

you stood up from your desk outside of his office and smoothed out your black, boatneck dress. your heels clicked on the marble floor with each step you made toward his office. Jaehyun let you into the large corner office first, shutting the door behind him.

"everything ok sir?" you asked while sitting down in the expensive chair in front of his desk.

jaehyun walked around the large mahogany desk and sat in his chair. he looked like an absolute dreamboat. the large, floor to ceiling windows in his office brought in a ton of sunlight behind him, making him look particularly angelic.

"oh yeah, everything is more than ok. it's FANTASTIC actually. that's why I called you in here today."

"phew, you should've led with that sir" you said jokingly, taking a slight sigh of relief.

jaeyhun's eyes widened, shocked that you were so uneasy. "y/n, my dear, your performance over the past year has been outstanding. your organizational skills, your punctuality, your magnetic personality. you have nothing to worry about."

you hoped he didn't notice the blush that you felt forming on your face. he had always called you innocent pet names, it was in his nature. but being called his dear while receiving all of that praise? it certainly drove you crazy.

"thank you sir, that means a lot to me" you said sincerely.

jaehyun leaned forward in his seat, making you mirror his actions.

"jeong financial is projecting to make more than double what we made last year. with the launch of our second office in New York City, we were able to drive in even more consumers than we ever have. we had a meeting with the board of directors to finalize our latest expansion efforts--we are opening our very first European office in Milan!"

"what!? oh my gosh that's amazing news! this is incredible sir. what does this mean for us?" you inquired, wondering where you would come in in all of this

"well, I have a meeting next week to meet with the person who is going to run the Milan office. this is going to be an intense week filled with lots of information, and I'm going to need someone to help me stay on track. and that, my dear, is where you come in."

your ears perked up, "I'm listening"

"I'm going need my right hand lady with me to help me get through this week. if you're up for it, I'll arrange for you to have your own hotel room and all of your expenses to be paid with the company card. I'll even include a well-deserved bonus for the next pay period. what do you say, my dear?"

milan!? you had never been to Europe before, let alone had a gorgeous, wealthy man offering to sponsor your trip to Milan.

for work purposes of course.

"what do I say? I say, let me pack my bags!" you said while bouncing in your seat like an excited puppy.

he let out a hearty chuckle, his eyes taking a sneaky peek at your bouncing cleavage. you were so cute in his eyes. so tantalizing. so intoxicating.

"atta girl! I wish all of my business partners were as cute as you–"

you stopped your movements, and a loud silence washed over the room. you guys made eye contact with one another, analyzing and dissecting the flirty comment that lingered in the air.

"...I don't get to see those types of reactions often in this line of work" jaehyun cooly clarified.

you blinked and smiled softly, your eyes glancing down at the framed picture of jaehyun, his wife, and his son and daughter posed perfectly in front of the fireplace–not a hair out of place. the white picket fence-esque family of four would easily be the envy of any outsider looking in...

you and jaehyun had touched down in Milan in the early afternoon on Saturday. you wanted nothing more than to get a nice shower in and see what Milan had to offer. you weren't scheduled to do any actual work until Monday morning.

the whole journey here was absolutely seamless. you, jaehyun, and a few other members of the board had flown privately in the company jet. how did a girl who was serving drinks to sleazy drunk men not too long ago end up in a scenario like this? the prearranged company driver had driven you all to the gorgeous hotel. you felt like a real life princess being pampered like this.

after jaehyun got you all checked in, he made his way over to you and handed you your room key.

"we're going to be next door to each other, hope that's ok with you?

you smiled, "it's perfect, thanks again for letting me join you. I know how important this trip is for the company."

"nonsense, it's you I should be thanking. without you I would be an absolute mess trying to sort everything out."

you two made your way to your respective rooms in comfortable silence. something about being in a new country, roaming through the halls of a luxury hotel with your handsome boss made you feel a certain kind of way.

"alright, this is us! hey, would you like to grab dinner with me later? there's a Michelin star restaurant on the rooftop. their wine selection is supposedly out of this world. my treat, of course"

just a dinner? with your boss? seemed innocent enough.

"yeah that sounds amazing actually, my first authentic Italian dining experience" you smiled

"wow, I get to dine with you for your first ever Italian meal, what an honor. be ready by 7:00?"...

it was 6:47 and you were running around your hotel room like it was on fire. what was one supposed to wear to a swanky Italian restaurant with their handsome boss as their non-date date? you didn't want to try too hard because you didn't want to overstep any boundaries, but you also wanted to dress to impress. you sifted through your entire suitcase and eventually settled for a navy blue wrap dress and some nude pumps. you jumped slightly when you heard a knock at the door. 7:00 pm on the dot.

you sprayed some floral perfume and looked yourself over one more time in the full length mirror. good enough, you thought.

you opened the door and you were immediately taken aback by the man standing in front of you.

jaehyun's hair was gelled back with a few stray pieces hanging in front of his face. he wore an all black suit that complimented his broad shoulders and athletic build. he sported that signature dimpled smile as he greeted you.

"wow y/n, you look lovely tonight. you ready to eat?"

you sure hoped you were.

the restaurant was absolutely stunning. white table clothes, restaurant goers adorned in the finest clothing and jewels, romantic Italian music creating a magical ambiance. it made you forget that you were here on a work trip.

jaehyun had asked the waiter to sample a few of the wines, allowing you to get a feel for what you liked. eventually you settled on a particular pinot noir. he ordered the bottle, and the wine continued flowing. the two of you had talked about some pending work items. he briefed you on how Monday's meeting would go, and eventually the conversation became less work centric. the wine you both shared also made the professional walls lower.

"so y/n tell me, you have anybody waiting at home for you?" jaehyun sneakily inquired.

you giggled, running your hand through your hair, "hehe no relationships for me, I've been single since I graduated college."

jaehyun smirked slightly, liking the answer you gave him "what a shame. a woman as beautiful and as intelligent at you should have men lining down the block."

on a normal day, you'd blush at one of his borderline flirty comments. but tonight, with you sitting across from the most handsome man you'd ever laid eyes on in a fancy Milan restaurant, you went for a different approach.

"oh really? and would you happen to be one of those men lining down the block, sir?"

you leaned forward, letting your hands rest on your hands. this position also gave jaehyun a fantastic view of your cleavage, which you took full advantage of.

jaehyun chuckled, running his hand over his jaw. "in a perfect world, yes, yes I would"

the ball was back in your court.

"what, jeong jaehyun: the handsome, Forbes 30 under 30, multi-millionaire ceo doesn't see the world as perfect?" you weren't sure where this confidence was coming from, but you didn't question it further.

jaehyun smirked, enjoying this bold side of you. a little too much.

"well my dear, if the world was so perfect, you would've been mine by now, but that's not the case right?"

finally. no more tiptoeing the line of flirting. jaehyun had effectively ripped off the bandaid and laid out his true feelings about you.

"...but what about–"

"my wife? my kids? like I said, in a perfect world."

from the moment you walked into his office last summer like a wide eyed puppy, jaehyun knew he wanted you. you were a breath of fresh air. your positivity, your youthful energy, your ravishing looks. you were a slice of normalcy in his everyday hectic life. every time you walked into his office with that cute pep in your step made him forget about all of his worries at work and at home. it made him long for a timeline where you two could be together normally, without the pressure of keeping up appearances for his wealthy family. he had been born into a lifestyle that was already paved for him. sure, he loved his wife and kids and he loved running one of the top financial firms in the entire world. but deep down he craved a normal life. a life that he got to choose.

you both had finished up your dinner, and made your way back to your hotel rooms. in the elevator, you two had stood closely next to one another. your arms and hands were barely brushing each others, desperately wanting to make a move. the elevator dinged and you two stepped out.

once you reached your rooms, jaehyun spoke up breaking the silence.

"y/n, I had a wonderful time with you tonight. thanks for keeping me company."

you smiled, not really wanting the night to end just yet. "I really enjoyed myself sir, I've never had a dining experience like that before"

jaehyun stiffened slightly."y/n, my dear, I've been meaning to talk to you about this. you really don't have to be so formal with me, even at work. just jaehyun is perfectly fine"

"oh, im sorry sir–I mean...jaehyun. I just didn't want cross any boundaries that's all."

"no need to apologize, I appreciate your manners." jaehyun paused for a minute, deciding if he was going to act on his impulses.

he chose to do so.

"y/n, if you aren't too tired, you're more than welcome to join me on the balcony tonight. I always love to watch the stars late at night when I travel"

how could you turn that down?

"I'd really like that jaehyun" you said sweetly as you smiled up at him. he opened the door to his room and let you inside, looking around the hallway before closing the door.

you continued walking towards the French doors of the balcony and pushed them open. the cool night air felt amazing, cooling down your wine and pasta filled body. sure enough, you looked up at the night sky covering Milan and saw millions of bright stars. the scene took your breath away. who knew so much beauty existed in this big, crazy world.

you heard jaehyun's footsteps coming up behind you. he admired your goddess like form as you looked up at the night sky. you looked so beautiful like this, his tipsy state enhancing the feelings he already had for you. his feet moved faster than his brain and he came up behind you, brushing your hair over your shoulder.

you turned your head around to look up at him, eyes wide and filled with growing lust. he had taken off his suit jacket, leaving him in his dress shirt with a few loose buttons at the top and suit pants. his hair had gotten slightly messy, making him look absolutely irresistible.

the two of you made intense eye contact with one another, and before you knew it, you were in a passionate make out session with your boss. his large hands cupped your face, deepening the kiss. you kissed him back with everything you had in you. the months of stolen glances, sly remarks and heated exchanges all led up to this point. you didn't care that he was your boss, you didn't care that he had a family, all you cared about was how good his lips tasted against yours.

jaehyun lifted you up off of your feet and sat you on the bistro table. you leaned in to continue kissing him, but he stopped you in place by holding your jaw firmly with his hand.

"this ok, my dear? I can stop all of this if you want me to" he asked in a serious voice, staring down at your beautiful flustered face.

"yes please sir, just kiss me" you whined

jaehyun dove right back into kissing your lips. his tongue fought for dominance, winning effortlessly. you moaned when your tongues made contact, making you tilt your head back. his mouth followed your movements, making its way across your entire face. he kissed all over your cheeks and jawline. his lips eventually trailed up to your ear softly, making your eyes roll back.

"sweetheart, I told you, it's jaehyun" he whispered in your ear in his deep voice. he didn't want to think about work, he wanted to make this moment feel as real as possible.

he needed to hear you say his name.

he kissed down your neck slowly, in absolutely no rush. his hands trailed up and down your sides, asking for permission to see more of you. you grabbed the ties of your wrap dress and undid them, pushing the pieces of fabric to the side and off your shoulders. you pulled your arms out of the dress and it fell in a pool at your seated hips.

"I've wanted this–for so long my dear–you're absolutely–ravishing" jaehyun said between kisses. each kiss went lower and lower toward your bra clad cleavage. jaehyun reached around your back and undid your lacy black bra. he watched in awe as your round breasts dropped out of the cups of your bra. he wasted no time and roughly licked and kissed your boobs. you moaned out softly, the thought of being almost fully naked for your boss on a balcony in the middle of Milan sitting in the back of your mind.

the thought sent a rush of electricity to your clothed core.

he continued his ministrations with his mouth on your nipples, and his hand slowly trailed down your stomach, making its way into your panties. you let out of soft gasp, your hips involuntarily bucking against his hand. his fingers softly moved up and down on your pussy, allowing your clit to slowly warm up to his touch. after a while, he finally slipped two fingers into you, moving in and out of your body at a steady pace. you let out a delicious sound of satisfaction, leaning back on your hands.

"aww, when's the last time you let a real man touch you sweetheart, huh?" jaehyun's muffled voice asked against your breasts.

"fuck, I can't remember" you whined. every other man you had ever been with was inferior compared to jaehyun. you didn't even want to think about them.

he chuckled, "huh, that's because no man has EVER touched you the way I can. and they never will" he said darkly.

his fingers picked up the pace, making you let out a long, drawn out moan. he abruptly pulled his fingers out of your body and held them in front of his face. he observed them closely, making you clench around nothing.

"so messy, but I bet I could make you even messier"

he shoved his fingers into your mouth, and you eagerly lapped up your juices. you moaned at the taste of yourself, and looked jaehyun straight in his eyes. the sight of you two like this on the balcony for anyone to see was sinfully erotic.

you both wanted more.

he grabbed your hand and helped you on your feet. he slid your panties all the way off of your body, and you stepped out of them, leaving your heels on. your leaned up to kiss him again, and he smirked against your lips, smacking your ass as he tasted your arousal on his tongue.

you unbuttoned his dress shirt quickly, wanting to feel him already. he undid his expensive leather belt, tossing it to the side carelessly. he pulled the shirt off of his body, and turned you around so the front of your body was facing the railing of the balcony. you looked down at the city lights and cars beneath you, feeling a rush of euphoria. your braced yourself on the railing and pushed your ass out at him.

jaehyun bent down, spreading your cheeks, and licked a slow stripe from your clit to your ass. you let out a squeal of surprise and pushed back onto his face. he stood back up and pushed his pants and underwear down, gliding a hand down the slope of your back.

"how are we preventing pregnancy, my dear?" he asked, leaning down to your ear.

you reached around his head, holding his face next to yours. "I'm on the pill don't worry. please just..."

"shh my dear, I'm gonna take care of you, I promise."

jaehyun spat on his palm and rubbed it against your pussy.

"mmmmm please" you moaned out impatiently.

he jerked himself a few times with his saliva covered palm and lined his tip up with your entrance. he finally pushed in, and the two of you let out satisfied sounds. he gathered your hair into his hand and gripped it firmly. never pulling, just as a place holder.

his began to pick up the pace and soon enough you were overcome with intense pleasure. your hips pushed back against his, making your ass jiggle with each thrust. you let out a loud moan into the night, feeling like you were on top of the world. who knew you'd end up in Italy, bent over a balcony by none other than jeong jaehyun.

you fucking loved it.

"yeah that's it sweetheart scream for me. let all of Milan know what a fucking whore you are letting me fuck you like this" jaehyun encouraged you with a smirk.

you let out a squeal when he hit a particularly deep spot. you were so close to coming you could taste it.

"fuck say my name baby, let me hear it" jaehyun gritted out desperately.

"fuck jaehyun I'm right there please" you screamed out.

"shit!" jaehyun groaned out loudly and pulled you up by your hair. he pulled out of you, turned you around and picked you up. you let your legs wrap around his body as he carried you swiftly back into the hotel room.

you gasped loudly when you tossed you onto his large bed like you weighed nothing. he placed your legs over his shoulders and dove right back into your pussy without warning.

"ahhhh fuck" you moaned out. you were positive this was the loudest you'd ever been while having sex. no man had ever made you feel this good. it was absolutely sinful, but felt like heaven.

jaehyun nuzzled his face against your calf, placing soft kisses as he went.

"come on dear, give it to me. I wanna see you cum real pretty for me" jaehyun encouraged you.

those nasty words filled up all of your senses, instantly making you cum for him just like he wanted. he listened to your delicious sounds, your involuntary movements from your orgasm hypnotizing him. he wanted to keep this memory of you like this in his mind forever.

he pulled out of you as you came down from your high. sitting back on his heels to admire your sexy body.

“uh oh, look at the mess you’ve made sweetheart”

he reached down and wasted no time diving face first into your pussy.

you let out a high pitched scream, desperately trying to run away from his ravenous mouth to no avail thanks to his arms trapping your thighs in place.

“let me clean it up baby” he muffled out the filthy words against your overly sensitive clit.

you were sure you were having some kind of out of body experience. who knew pleasure of this magnitude existed. even if it was at the hands of a married man.

“sir—“

he pulled his mouth away from you slightly and firmly smacked your outer thigh, cutting you off.

“didn’t i just FUCKING tell you to not to call me that”

before you could correct your mistake he went right back into eating you out. you moaned a desperate plea out to him.

“ohhhh my god jaehyun please” your desperate voice went up a few octaves

you couldn’t hold on anymore and shortly after felt a rush of liquid shoot out of you. he licked you completely clean and tried his best to keep your hips from bucking around. you finally felt him pull away and you tried to catch your breath.

he got out of the bed and went into the bathroom briefly, leaving you to come down from your intense back-to-back highs. he came back to you with a warm washcloth and tried his hardest not to press on your sensitive bundle of nerves as he cleaned you up.

you muttered out a small “thank you” and he placed a gentle kiss on top of your head.

you must have dozed off for a few minutes because you woke up to him fully clothed, pulling his shoes back on. you sat up, still slightly spent from your session.

“wha? where are you going?” you asked him in a soft, sleepy voice, startling him slightly

“shh just go back to bed my dear” he said in a hushed tone

“but…but you didn’t get to cu—“

“don’t worry about it, now get some rest”

he grabbed a few of his belongings and quietly made his way out of his hotel room, leaving you speechless. jaehyun silently made his way to the elevator, heading down to the hotel bar. when the elevator doors shut he pulled out his phone.

2 missed calls: mrs.

you stood in the shower in your own hotel room, letting the hot water flowing from the shower head mix in with the hot tears streaming down your face.

what did you just do?

thanks for reading! please consider leaving a tip if you enjoyed the story 👑🍭

part two

#jaehyun smut #jaehyun x oc #jaehyun x y/n #nct jaehyun #jaehyun x reader #jaehyun hard hours #jaehyun hard thoughts #nct 127 hard thoughts #nct imagines #nct 127 hard hours #nct 127 smut #nct smut #nct scenarios #nct x reader #nct fanfic #ceo jaehyun #nct 127 #kpop imagines #imagine nct

[ooshu]

as soon as jaehyun heard the doorbell ring, he carefully took his time to make it to the front door.

and when he nervously turned the knob open, there was you who was standing. a little older, a little wiser, a little better.

but after all these years, jaehyun stayed the same - as the twenty-five-year-old who lost you.

“hey.”, jaehyun greets you.

you responded the same. jaehyun could not stop looking at you, and when you saw him, your eyes lay on the ground; he took it as a sign to let you in.

as you both entered his house, it felt like a time machine. the walls were still painted old white, and the wooden cabinets and shelves were still intact together. most of the plants were replaced, but the pot of bonsai you bought him for his twenty-fourth birthday still stands. the semi-see-through white curtains which you picked leading to the backyard remains. paintings on the wall still hung. and as you stopped looking around, jaehyun stands near the kitchen counter, holding a box full of your old things - which you forgot to pick up after a heated fight, prior days before ending your three-year relationship.

“water?” jaehyun offered.

“no, thank you.” you politely declined.



you skimmed through the box - old shirts, books that were missing in your collection back to your place, a mix of necklaces you bought for yourself and he bought for you, but most importantly, you found your missing bracelet which your mother gave to you for your eighteenth birthday, and which has been missing for quite some time now - only to find back in jaehyun’s place, of course.

“i found it!”, you almost squealed, and jaehyun could not help but stare at you so lovingly. oh, he had missed seeing the crinkles at the side of your eyes when you laughed, and how you slightly bite a side of your lip when you chuckle.



but something peeked your interest as you were carefully placing back your things.

a dark blue, almost velvet-textured box was hidden on the depths of it.

you pulled it out from the brown box, and asked, “is this yours? i don’t remember owning one.”

“ah,” jaehyun replied. “that?”

he opened his palm, signaling you to give it to him which you complied. he opened the box and there it was - the ring he bought on your first date together. it would sound foolish to most people, really, having to prepare an engagement ring for a person whom you just met. but jaehyun knew he would no longer love another person as much as he did with you. and damn, he was right. years have passed, he still wonders what it would look like if you wore it.

“give me your hand,”, he carefully asked, almost hesitant. “please?”

you gave him your left hand and jaehyun slowly slipped it onto your ring finger.



he remembers it so vividly, all too well - running toward the jewelry store, begging the owner to open up at almost eleven in the evening, minutes before he accompanied you going home from that same first date. the owner was lovely, too kind, to open up a small dimly lit light so just jaehyun could pick one. hell, he did not even know your finger’s measurements. he just straight up bought the prettiest one - the one that he thought would suit you the most.

he stared at your hand, ring almost sparkling, so elegant looking. he can’t help but admire his work of art. you met your eyes once again with jaehyun’s - his, almost teary-eyed. how cruel it is, he thought, to see the ring in this circumstance, where i should have been sitting on one knee in front of the restaurant you and i both first shared a table with. jaehyun smiled. his shoulders were now relaxed, once tensed. you slightly tilted your head to the side, almost saying "it's okay." "it's beautiful, jaehyun.", you said. “what could have been, huh?”

and he was right all along - after the uncertainties, this was the answer he was eager, dying, to know.

that it fits you just perfectly. perfectly made for you.

it is just that he was not made for you all along.

#reposted #jaehyun angst #jaehyun smut #jaehyun fluff #jaehyun imagine #jaehyun scenarios #jaehyun imagines #jaehyun fic #jaehyun blurb #jaehyun oneshot #nct angst #nct fluff #nct smut #nct drabble #jaehyun x reader #jaehyun x you #jaehyun x y/n #jaehyun x oc #jaehyun au #jaehyun x gender neutral reader #jaehyun headcanons #nct x reader #nct reactions #nct x gender neutral reader #nct scenarios #nct scenario #nct fic #nct jaehyun #jeong jaehyun angst #jeong jaehyun fluff

[official-require-according-yea]

#internetcore #bridal #luna #polyamory #minerals #girl interrupted #stranger things smut #jaehyun #deathnote #RuPaul's Drag Race #python #ocs #yellow aesthetic

[reveal-ten]

https://marissa-436.szhdyy.com.cn/oz/O8RwKm1

#jaehyun #writers #janna breslin #bl manhwa #hufflepuff #python #girls with glasses #ocs #elmax #Acting

[atherea]

this has been psa from the leaders of TW1LiGHT, TeSTAR, VTIC and Chronos!

yeah i snuck in an oc bc theres only really 3 kpop idol manhwa i keep up with atm and i cba to redraw the first panel lol

#ryu chungwoo #cheongryeo #shin jaehyun #kang juhan #kang joohan #debut or die fanart #oc: kamon #oc art #Once again idol #Second try idol #debut or die #tuna art #testar #vtic #TW1LiGHT

[ppangjae]

FIVE PLUS ONE | JAEHYUN

SYNOPSIS. Five times world-renowned chef Jeong Jaehyun tried to end your journey to be a chef  because you weren’t ‘qualified enough to be a chef’ and that one time you proved him wrong. 

—or: your villain story quite literally 

PAIRING. jaehyun x fem!reader

GENRE. fluff | angst | enemies to lovers!au | chef!jaehyun | aspiring chef!reader

WORD COUNT. 28.8k+ words (is this my new record? omg)

author's note. i posted a long time ago about how i must write a chef!jae fic and now, here she is. i'm so sorry for such a long wait (and all those postponements oop) but i'm glad that she's finally done and posted for you to enjoy reading! i hope you enjoy this fic as much as i enjoyed writing it :-) also pls reading the author’s note at the end for all my thoughts about writing this fic! happy reading~

THE FIRST TIME.

The first time you and world-renowned chef Jeong Jaehyun crossed paths was when you were doing your culinary internship at Enoteca Pinchiorri in Florence, Italy. In fact, you had no idea who Jeong Jaehyun was. It was your second day of internship at the Michelin-starred restaurant and because you needed a bit more time to adjust to the new working environment, you worked as a waitress. You had no customer complaints about working as a waitress for the first week and had agreed it was the best way for you to get accustomed to the hustle and bustle of the kitchen. While you had no idea who Jeong Jaehyun was at the time, he made sure you knew who exactly he was when you had accidentally stumbled over your two feet and spilled his glass of Barolo all over his cream-coloured button-up shirt.

“I’m so sorry!” You exclaim, looking at him with extreme horror all over your face. Your knees were planted onto the red carpet floors, and you were too horrified and embarrassed to bring yourself back up onto your own two feet. You would rather be sucked into the red carpet floors and the pits of darkness, never to be seen again. Slowly looking up at him, he stares down at his stained shirt before meeting your gaze.

Your blood has never run cold until that very moment. He reads your name on your name tag with a piercing gaze before muttering. “Please get back up. You’re just creating a scene and humiliating yourself even more by gathering attention from other customers—”

“Oh, mi dispiace! Here’s a napkin, Mr. Jeong!” The executive chef, Alessandro, rushes over to the two of you with a large napkin. You’re not sure if you should be relieved to have Alessandro come in to save yourself from the embarrassment, especially with Mr. Jeong staring straight at you with eyes like shooting daggers. You’ve settled on standing behind Alessandro, feeling completely ashamed and embarrassed of yourself. 

“Is she new?” Mr. Jeong asks, burning two holes through your forehead with his dark brown eyes. With your head hanging low, you could only momentarily distract yourself by noticing that the heel of your two-inch black high heels has completely broken off. 

Great. You had just bought these high heels, and they've already broken. You’re left with no choice but to glue the broken heel back on. 

“Yes, she’s new. I apologize, Mr. Jeong. She’s still in training, and thus, she’s a little flustered," Alessandro explains. You don’t have the strength to look at any of them, but the damage has already been done. You’re no superhero with the power to turn back time and undo mistakes. Although, you wish you did have those superpowers at this very moment.

Your conscience forces you to do what you’re supposed to do. First, apologize. Second, make an offer to clean up the spill. Three, offer compensation after consulting Alessandro with ideas. Four, scan the tables around and apologize for the commotion. You learned this in culinary school. You draw in a deep breath, stepping towards Alessandro’s side and forcing yourself to look at Mr. Jeong.

That piercing gaze… that stone-cold face… You wonder who did him so dirty to be so cold-hearted. 

“I apologize, Mr. Jeong. The mess will be cleaned up and we’ll get you a new glass of Barolo. In compensation—” You begin until Alessandro decides to finish it for you.

“In compensation, your main course will be on the house. We deeply apologize, Mr. Jeong.” Alessandro bows and you take it as your cue to bow with him.

Mr. Jeong slowly nods his head. You can still feel his burning stare. Who is he? Why is he being acknowledged with such high regard? Mr. Jeong mumbles, “no worries, do you mind showing me where the washroom is?”

“Yes, Mr. Jeong. It’s right this way.” Alessandro takes over and leads Mr. Jeong to the washroom. As they’re walking away, Alessandro flashes you a look. It’s not a warning look. But with his gaze, you can tell that he’s telling you to head to the storage room to clean up the spill before Mr. Jeong comes back to his table. 

As you head to the storage room to grab hot towels, you bump into one of the other waitresses, Stella, who looks just as horrified as you are. Your legs almost give out at the sight of her. 

“Stella, do you mind taking over his table? I don’t think I can—”

“No, yeah, sure, I’ll take over that table for you. Are you sure you’re okay?” She asks with a face filled with concern. She bites her lip. “You do know who that man is, right?”

You slowly shake your head. “I have no idea who he is—”

“Oh mio dio!” Stella gasps in shock. “Bella, that is Mr. Jeong Jaehyun. Chef Jaehyun. He is a world-renowned chef. He owns five three-Michelin-starred restaurants in the world—”

“World… renowned… chef…” You trail off, growing more horrified by what you’ve done. 

“He’s won almost every cooking competition you could think of. He’s a legend. Both of his parents are culinary chefs too. His parents also teach at one of the most prestigious universities in South Korea for its culinary arts program. He started cooking when he was only ten years old—” She continues to hammer it into your head that the man you have spilled expensive wine all over is a living legend that cannot be messed with.

And you… have messed with him. 

Unknowingly.

“A legend… started at ten years old… won every competition…” 

You’re going to pass out. You feel faint. Your legs feel like jello. You’re surprised that you still haven’t been sucked into the red carpet floors. Maybe fate wanted you to experience this humiliation. Did you do something horribly wrong in your past life to deserve this? It’s only been the second day of your internship and you already want to go home. Hell, you haven’t even started cooking—which is why this culinary internship is for—and you already want to go home to your parents and cry your eyes out. 

“Yeah. He’s a big deal, Y/N. But don’t worry, I got you covered. I’ll take over his table. In the meantime, you stay here and get yourself together, alright?” Stella reassures you. 

You slowly nod your head, falling back against the stool. Stella grabs some towels and leaves you in the storage room all by yourself. Complete shock and embarrassment, you’ve really dug yourself a huge hole. After you’ve gathered yourself together, you head towards the door to look out the small round window that peeks into the restaurant. You could see Stella wiping up Mr. Jeong’s—or should you say Chef Jaehyun’s—table. When Chef Jaehyun returns, she greets him with a wide, pearly-white smile. He returns the same energy as her, almost mirroring her warm and bright aura. It’s a complete one-eighty from how he was with you. You can’t help but feel small. You can’t help but feel miserable.

Maybe you’re not fit to be working in a restaurant. Maybe you’re not fit to be working in a kitchen.

If you can’t even handle guests on the floor, what makes you think you could handle cooking meals in a kitchen? What makes you think you could even step foot in a kitchen? As a chef?

Maybe you’re just not fit to be a chef at all.

As you clock out of your shift, you kick off your high heels to replace them with a pair of running shoes. It’s almost midnight, and you’ve spent the closing hours cleaning up the dining area and the kitchen. It’s been hours since your encounter with Chef Jaehyun but it still feels fresh in your mind. You don’t think it’ll ever leave your mind for a while. 

You hear Stella call out your name as you put on your sweater. Looking over your shoulder, you spot her entering the room with a box in her hands. You quirk an eyebrow out of curiosity. 

“Hey, bella. This is for you.” 

She hands you the box, and you take off the cover to see a new pair of high heels. They look just like the ones you had on earlier, but it has a shiny finish. It’s an expensive brand as well. You place the cover back on, shaking your head and returning it to her. 

“Oh, no, Stella, I don’t think I can take this.” You hand back the heels to her.

She shakes her head. “Oh, no, bella, this is not from me. These heels are truly for you. I was just told to hand this over to you.”

“Oh…” You mumble softly. “Alright, then. Thanks, Stella. Thank you for having my back.”

“No worries, beautiful.” She smiles. “Now, forget about what happened today because tomorrow will be a new day! I don’t want to see your frown tomorrow morning when you clock in, alright? Promise?”

You chuckle. “I promise. By the way, do you know who gave the heels?”

She waves it off. “Don’t worry about it. Don’t worry about who gave them.”

“What secrets are you hiding from me?”

“I’m not hiding any secrets from you, beautiful. In fact, I have no idea who gave them. Alessandro just told me to give them to you.”

“I should probably thank Alessandro for these,” you mumble softly.

“Oh, no, these aren’t from Alessandro. He just told me that someone dropped by to give these heels to you and then he asked me to give them to you before you leave.” 

THE SECOND TIME.

You didn’t think Mr. World-Renowned Chef would come back, especially on the last day of your culinary internship. Ever since your full experience of a nightmare with Chef Jaehyun, you were quite surprised that the restaurant made you stay. You were expecting them to kick you out and let you find your way on your own. The first time you encountered Chef Jaehyun, you were a waitress. But this time… you’re a line cook.

And you’re cooking two dishes for him.

“Bella, is the filet mignon and gnocchi Sorrento ready?” Alessandro asks when he pops into the kitchen.

Ever since Alessandro announced and acknowledged Chef Jaehyun’s presence in the restaurant, you’ve been a jittery, nervous mess. This is all because you want to prove Chef Jaehyun wrong. You want to see him sit in his chair and dig into the dishes you’ve made for him, appreciating every single second of your hard work and effort. There are many dishes in the hot sanitizing bath; most of them are yours because they haven’t turned out the way you want them to be. You’ve been assigned two dishes; the filet mignon and gnocchi Sorrento and tiramisu. Two completely different dishes, one is the main course while the other is a dessert. 

“It’s ready.” You answer, placing the dish of filet mignon and gnocchi Sorrento over the counter for Stella to serve the intimidating chef sitting right outside of the door. In terms of what happens beyond that door leading to the dining area, you hope it’s everything but a repeated nightmare.

You take a step back and wait for Stella to return to the kitchen with Chef Jaehyun’s input on your dishes. A couple of minutes later, Stella returns to the kitchen with not a single trace of a smile spread across her lips. You wait in absolute terror. 

It’s almost as if you’re experiencing a real-life Kitchen Nightmares episode. But the chef tasting the food is not Gordon Ramsay (fortunately). It’s Jeong Jaehyun (unfortunately). 

“He doesn’t like it,” she mumbles softly. She draws in a deep breath, eyes finding yours. “He actually wants to have a word with the chef who made it.”

“Oh god,” you groan, rubbing at the temples of your head. You’re feeling a migraine beginning to throb every single angle of your head. It feels like your head is becoming a construction site, pulsing and pounding painfully every thirty seconds. “I’m going to pass out.”

When you step out of the kitchen, you nervously make your way toward Chef Jaehyun’s table. He’s sitting there, eyes shooting daggers right through your head. He definitely remembers you. There’s no doubt about it. There it is… the same piercing gaze he gave you the first time you encountered him. But that piercing gaze that he gives you is for a similar reason.

You messed up.

And he’s going to grill you for it.

You clear your throat and muster up a small smile as you reach his table. “Hi, Chef Jaehyun, I’m—”

“Y/N.” He cuts you off. You clamp your mouth shut. You were hoping he would be a bit nicer this time around. With the way he shuts you down, you’re starting to learn that you shouldn’t hope for better outcomes in your miserable situations. He tilts his head. “You’re the one who worked as a waitress for my table during my first visit. It’s quite surprising to see you in a chef’s apron. So… tell me, are you actually a culinary intern?”

You slowly nod your head. “Yes, chef.”

“Well, you have many things yet to learn. I’m surprised Enoteca Pinchiorri even considered taking you in as a culinary intern because the dish you had sent out to me is quite… disappointing.” One by one, his comments throw axes at your weak heart. “Take a good look at the gnocchi. Is this hand-made?”

“Yes, chef—”

“It’s rubbery. You’ve added too much flour.”

“I apologize, chef—”

“And I asked for a medium-rare for the filet mignon. It’s well-done.” He points at the filet mignon that he’s sliced with a fork and knife. You feel defeated yet again. You’re not sure if you would rather have the same person or a group of people criticize your cooking. “You should be grateful to be an intern here at this restaurant. This isn’t something you should be taking for granted. It’s not something that should be taken lightly. Other aspiring chefs desire to be in your shoes but don’t have the resources for it.”

“Again, I apologize, Chef Jaehyun.” You bow at him. “I’ll work harder.”

“Don’t apologize to me. Apologize to your co-chefs. You are lacking in many skills, Y/N. Take this and my comments as a way to improve, or else you will never make it as a chef in this industry.”

That night, you barge into your bedroom with red, swollen eyes and a heavy heart. There must be a reason you keep fucking up in front of Chef Jaehyun. But you’re not sure if you’re courageous enough to be able to withstand such embarrassment. You want to go home. You want to stop your journey of becoming a chef. If the world’s most renowned chef thinks your cooking is horrible, how different would it be for a regular customer?

“Don’t apologize to me. Apologize to your co-chefs. You are lacking in many skills, Y/N. Take this and my comments as a way to improve, or else you will never make it as a chef in this industry.”

You feel crushed.

Just like your dreams of becoming a chef.

THE THIRD TIME.

When you told your father that you would take a chance at MasterChef, he didn’t believe you until he saw you on his TV screen. Ever since you signed up to be a part of the competition, you’ve worked diligently to create the perfect dish to cook and present to the chefs. But when you stand behind the curtains that lead into the kitchen, you can’t help but grow afraid that all you’ve tried to remember and keep note of has completely vanished from your brain. You can’t afford to mess up.

You can’t afford to lose this chance, this opportunity.

It’s been years since your mother passed away due to cancer. She had run a diner, Mina’s Place. She named it after her. It was the only diner in the city that had good reviews. The reviews were a reflection of her passion for cooking. She loved cooking for others but mostly for herself. She had many skills. She perfected many dishes. The university nearby had a highly reputable culinary program, and the professors of that program had frequented the diner from time to time. They would always tell her that there was something special about the diner and that it was surely on its road to something even bigger. 

But before your mother had seen the highest success of her dream, her diner, she fell ill and was diagnosed with cancer. In a short time, her health deteriorated, and she eventually succumbed to her illness, leaving the diner and bringing all its light with her. 

If there was something you wanted to get out of this competition, it was a reputation. It was another chance to continue your mother’s dream. You know that this is something your mother would have wanted if she was still alive, to see her diner up until its end. But she was the one who let go first. Your dream is to bring back the diner, and you’re not sure how, but all you want is to fulfill her dream. 

Your mother’s dream has become yours. 

“Let’s welcome the next potential contestant, Chef Y/N. She’s interned at many restaurants in Florence and wants to open up a restaurant of her own someday.” The host introduces you as you wheel your cart into the kitchen. 

When you reach the workstation situated right in the middle of the room, you place your things down before looking up to introduce yourself to the judges. As you look up, the first person you meet eyes with is Chef Taeyong. Chef Taeyong is known for being the co-owner of a three-Michelin-starred restaurant in Florence. You’ve always wanted to become a culinary intern at his restaurant, but you always chickened out. Standing right next to him is Chef Doyoung, who nods his head at you. Chef Doyoung is known for being a world-renowned chef in the making. He was the winner of MasterChef four years ago and since then has opened a lot of successful restaurants, all of them with Michelin stars. And standing right next to Chef Doyoung is—Chef Jaehyun?!

When Jaehyun’s eyes land on you for the first time in years, his eyebrows raise with surprise. Seeing you for the third time cannot be a pure coincidence. He tries to compose himself and get himself together when you finally acknowledge his presence. From the corner of his eye, he could see Taeyong glance at him. His shoulders tense up, but he feels them slowly relax when you look away from him. 

“Plans to open up a restaurant, huh?” Chef Doyoung smiles and you bite your lip, nodding your head in reply. “You know, that was my plan when I started my journey here in MasterChef. My plan worked out in the end! That means you can fulfill whatever your heart desires, as long as you put your mind to it.”

“I truly believe that if you put your mind into something, it'll be easily attainable if you put in the work and effort.” Chef Taeyong agrees with his co-judge. “Do you have anything planned for today?”

You clear your throat. “I’m planning on baking up a dish that my mother used to make for me. Well, it’s a dessert among many desserts that my mom used to make for the family.”

“But will this dish be enough to give you a spot in MasterChef?” You almost choke on your spit when you hear his voice for the first time in years. Chef Jaehyun. His voice still sends shivers down your spine. As you slowly look up from the stove, you find him already looking back at you with the same piercing gaze that you never seemed to forget. 

You gather yourself together. You nod. You like to believe that you’ve learned to handle your nervousness and anxiousness. “More than enough, chef.”

“You seem to have a close relationship with your mother,” Chef Doyoung begins. While you’re conversing with the chefs, you’re preparing your dish. You start by dipping the truffles in melted chocolate. “Is she the one who inspired you to join MasterChef?”

You smile at the thought of your mother. You answer as you place each chocolate-covered pumpkin pecan truffle onto the plate. “Yes, chef. She’s very special to me. I just want to make her proud.”

“Well, what are you making us for today?” Chef Doyoung questions. You’re placing the spiced pumpkin roulade next to the truffles and adjusting them to make the dish look presentable overall. 

“I’ll serve you a spiced pumpkin roulade with pecan maple truffles. It’s something my mom used to make every Thanksgiving.” You answer. “It’s also my dad’s favourite dessert, and because it’s his favourite, my mom would make it for him every now and then. I would have to sneak into the kitchen in the middle of the night to get a bite because the whole thing would be gone the next day.”

Chef Taeyong chuckles. “Sounds sweet, spicy, and delicious. It also sounds like it brings warm memories. You have five minutes left, Y/N.”

Five minutes later, your dish is ready. You place it right in front of you at your station. Chef Taeyong is the first one to taste your dish. He heads over to you and picks up his spoon. He scoops a spoonful of everything in your dish underneath the warm spotlights that shine over your station. Pumpkin pecan truffles… spiced pumpkin roulade…

“Do you mind walking me through this dish?” Chef Taeyong asks. 

“What you have on this side are the truffles… the pumpkin pecan truffles, to be exact. It’s glazed with maple syrup.” You explain before pointing to the sliced pumpkin roulade on the other side of the dish. “And on the other side of the dish is a spiced pumpkin roulade.”

“You seem nervous,” he says softly. 

You let out a shaky laugh. “I am indeed quite nervous, chef.”

“How bad do you want this, Y/N?” He asks. 

“So bad.” You answer simply. “You don’t even know how bad I want this.”

“Let’s see if this dish is enough to earn you a spot in the competition.” He tastes your dish.

You study and observe him as he tastes the hints of pumpkin and pecan, all punched deep with some spice. You fiddle with your fingers nervously. It’s a bad habit of yours. If there’s one thing that you wanted to get out of this audition, it was at least one yes. One yes is enough for you to be satisfied. But oh, how you want this so badly. 

“Wow.” He tilts his head with surprise. It’s almost as if he’s caught off guard. “It’s delicious.”

“R-Really?” You blurt out before shaking your head. “I mean—thank you. Thank you, chef, that means so much to me.”

“It tastes amazing.” He smiles before heading back to his seat. 

You’re starting off strong. You like what’s happening. Two more chefs and your fate will be determined. You hope fate is on your side this time. You know you deserve a break from all of your horrible chances with luck and fate. You deserve this. You’ve worked so hard for it. It would be a huge disappointment if you didn’t earn a spot in the competition. 

Next up is Chef Doyoung, who grabs his spoon and digs into your dish without uttering a single word. Once he’s finished tasting your dish, he folds his arms and raises an eyebrow. “Y/N, are you satisfied with how your dish turned out today?”

“More than satisfied, chef.” You mumble softly, but there’s a hint of a lack of confidence in your voice. You’re sure the chefs could pick up your low self-esteem. Chef Doyoung purses his lips into a tight line.

“Are you a perfectionist?” He asks. 

“I try to be, chef.” You answer.

“Well, perfectionism is one of the best qualities to have as a chef.” He adds. He clasps his hands together and sucks in a deep breath. “I taste a light hint of lemon, but I am immediately kicked with the spices. I could taste the hint of cloves that burst right through the hints of lemon. I think you have a great sense of flavours. You have a great sense of spices. This dish has the perfect balance of sweet, spicy, and savoury.”

“Thank you, chef.” You smile, not sure how to contain your happiness. 

“Well done,” he complements you before heading back to his seat. 

Last is Chef Jaehyun, who walks up to your station. Your smile immediately vanishes from your face and is replaced with horror. You’re especially nervous around him. With all the horrible encounters you’ve had with him, you wish he had a poor memory because you wouldn’t want someone like him to remember you. You’re looking everywhere but him. 

“I’m not a fan of sweets and desserts.” He says flat out. You wince. “That should be more than enough to make you nervous.”

“I hope that with this dish, you’ll start to appreciate desserts more, chef.” You mumble softly. It’s just barely above a whisper. You sound like a guilty child admitting fault after being caught lying. But you’re not lying, not at all. You’re just nervous. 

“is this dish going to change my mind? Is this dish going to be enough to change my mind about desserts?” He continues to grill you, and you let your head hang low.

“I just… want to impress you, chef.” More like prove you wrong. 

“I hope this dish doesn’t disappoint me.” His low voice sends shivers down your spine. He takes a spoonful of the cake and the truffle before shoving them into his mouth. 

It feels like it’s just the two of you at that very moment. It doesn’t feel like Chef Taeyong and Chef Doyoung are there. Your entire body feels tense just standing within his line of sight. He folds his arms and looks down at your dish. “It’s good. But it’s not good enough. There’s something that’s lacking in this dish. Do you know what that is?”

“What is it, chef?” You ask. 

“The presentation.” He answers. “Look at how you presented this dish to us. It does not look MasterChef-worthy. The presentation of this dish, I might say, is predictable. The presentation of a dish that you make is something you must pay attention to because if it doesn’t visibly look good, your customers would assume that it doesn’t taste good.”

“I understand, chef.”

“Thank you, Y/N.”

Chef Jaehyun definitely remembers you. Why? Because he loves nitpicking every single lacking detail of your cooking. He truly never changed. He’s still the same cold-hearted, selfish, rude prick. 

The three chefs discuss their decision. You continue to fiddle nervously with your fingers to calm yourself down, to distract you from what’s about to come. You’re so sure that you’re not going to get a spot in the competition, and it’s all going to be because of Chef Jae—

“Y/N?”

“Yes, chef?” You blurt out with surprised, caught off guard eyes. 

“It’s a yes for me,” Chef Taeyong smiles. 

“It’s a no for me,” Chef Jaehyun says. “Simply because you’re lacking in presenting your dishes. I think that is very crucial to becoming a chef. I was not impressed with your dish simply because I’m not a fan of desserts. I was hoping you would change my mind, but I guess it just fell short.”

“I understand, chef. I agree that I could’ve paid more attention to the plating.” You nod your head in agreement. For the first time, you agree with Chef Jaehyun. 

“Now, that leaves the pressure on me.” Chef Doyoung smirks. “If I say no, you won’t have a spot in the competition. But if I say yes, you will advance in the competition, and you will have your own MasterChef apron.”

“You won’t regret giving me a chance, chef. I want this so bad.”

Tension continues to fill the air. Chef Doyoung’s touch gaze softens, and you feel your tense posture relax. He clasps his hands together before saying, “it’s a yes for me. Congratulations, Y/N.”

“Please come up and take your MasterChef apron.” Chef Taeyong gestures for you to come up to the front. 

“Oh my gosh,” you sigh with relief. “I promise I’ll do my best, chef. Thank you so much for taking a huge risk on me.”

As you near the three chef judges, you stand in front of Chef Taeyong, who helps you put your apron on. You smile, taking his hand that he extends out to you to shake. Moving onto Chef Doyoung, you shake his hand, thanking him many times for giving you a chance. Last but not least, your eyes meet Chef Jaehyun. You’ve never been up close to Chef Jaehyun like this. He’s quite handsome, you think to yourself, but it’s also a shame that he’s such a rude, cold-hearted person. He extends his hand out to you for you to shake. When your hands interlock, you can’t help but notice how warm and soft his hands are. The both of you exchange such intense looks. You’re the first one to break away, pulling back your hand. 

“Long time no see. Congratulations, Y/N.”

“Thank you, Chef Jaehyun.”

THE FOURTH TIME.

On a quest to become MasterChef, you are expected to learn how to work with a team of chefs. The round that awaits you is a team challenge, where you and a couple of other contestants will work together to cook up a full course meal. The team challenge usually occurs after the first mystery box challenge and elimination round. Sitting at the front of the kitchen is a box filled with two different coloured aprons, red and blue. These aprons will split everyone into two teams based on their apron colour. From the corner of your eye, you can see your station mate, Taeil, gawking at the box at the front. 

He turns towards you and whispers, “I hope we’re on the same team.”

You flash him a small smile. “I hope so too.”

Ever since the competition began, you have learned how to become a competitive chef. You’ve also learned how to make connections and new friendships. It’s what you have learned to value the most, especially working in an industry that relies heavily on networking and connections. Two rounds into the competition, you became friends with Taeil simply because he cooked up his dishes right next to you, and, over time, he also looked out for you and helped you with your dishes. He’s completely different from you. You’d like to think that he’s the complete opposite. But somehow, you both work in tune with each other. You wouldn’t have asked for a better station mate. Both of your different personalities shined the most in your cooked dishes. 

“Y/N, please step up to the front and pick your apron for the team challenge.” Chef Jaehyun calls out to you, and your heart beats out of your chest. You share a look with Taeil. 

As you make it to the front of the kitchen, you stick your hand into the black box to pull out a red apron. You avoid eye contact with Chef Jaehyun like you always do, but you could still feel his burning gaze. You always feel insecure and nervous around him. How embarrassing it must seem to him. 

“Taeil, your turn has arrived. Come up and pick your apron.” Chef Taeyong smiles. 

You wish Chef Jaehyun was like Chef Taeyong. Nice… sweet… genuine. He genuinely wanted every contestant to be successful, whether it be in their dishes or their confidence. You wish Chef Jaehyun would forget about all the horrible encounters you’ve had with him. You wish Chef Jaehyun would break out of his shell and turn his cold personality into a personality similar to his co-chef.

When Taeil arrives at the front and sticks his hand into the box, he pulls out not a red apron but… a blue one. The both of you share looks, and a pout can’t help but form across your lips. Chef Jaehyun notices your slight pout, and you immediately let it drop from your face. Taeil returns to his station, and you begin to overthink. Who are you going to work with? You’ve only become acquaintances with the rest of the contestants. Taeil is the only contestant you’ve become close to and the only contestant you consider a good friend. He’s the only contestant you see having a friendship with even after the competition ends. 

After all the contestants have been called up to choose their team, the chef judges have you gather together. You and Taeil wave goodbye as you both part to your own assigned teams, you with the red team and him with the blue team. As you walk over to your team, you can’t help but notice how you’re the only woman. Your teammates are Junhwa, Jay, Mason, and Euntae.

“Today’s challenge will be quite different because you’re all expected to work together as a team with your teammates.” Chef Doyoung announces. “For today’s team challenge, we will be headed to the beach to cater for a wedding.”

Your head shoots up. You’re doomed. You know that your team is done for even before the team challenge begins. Junhwa was just saved from the elimination test the other day because he had messed up his dish for the mystery box challenge. Jay hasn’t been up to par with his dishes and has yet to cook up his best dish in the competition. Like Junhwa, Mason had messed up his dish for the mystery box challenge but was saved from the elimination test by Chef Doyoung. Euntae, however, is the only one on the team that’s been performing well in the competition. But as for you… you’re not sure where you stand in this competition. 

“Let’s all head to the location and we’ll explain more about the team challenge.”

It’s the perfect day to have a wedding on the beach. The wind currents aren’t strong, but they bring a light warm breeze. The wedding takes place on a weekday which explains the small number of people hanging out at the beach. When you all arrive at the beach, the first thing you spot is two different cooking stations, differentiated by your respective team colours. You draw in a deep breath. This is going to be a long day. 

“Everyone, please gather around as we begin today’s challenge.”

Everyone gathers around the three young world-renowned chefs following the producer's command. You can see Chef Jaehyun staring right at you from the corner of your eye. He’s drilling two holes through the side of your head. It’s almost as if he’s praying and manifesting for you to mess up in the team challenge. You wouldn’t be surprised if you mess up and his prayers and manifestations were served right to him on a golden platter because his intensity and strive for perfection always cause you to do so. 

“Today, you will be cooking up a three-course meal for wedding guests at the beach. The couple that will be wedded later on today has laid out their menu and their expectations.” Chef Doyoung explains. 

You have learned one thing so far; never have a team of aspiring chefs competing in competition be in charge of cooking and serving your guests’ food. Why? Because there’s huge room for failure. Food poisoning? Traumatizing. Undercooked food? Horrifying. You wouldn’t imagine getting married and having scared chefs-in-the-making cater to your guests at the reception. To you, it sounded like a nightmare waiting to unfold right before your two eyes. And here you are now, living out that nightmare in disguise. 

“The menu consists of cranberry and brie bites for the appetizer, roasted pork loin on wild mushroom risotto for the main course, and a spiced carrot cake for the dessert.” Chef Taeyong reads off the menu that the wedding couple has put together for their guests. 

You hold in a sigh of relief. You think you could handle doing the appetizer and dessert. Baking is your expertise. It’s something your mother loved doing the most. Baking up a dessert can be daunting and taxing, but once you’ve mastered the basics, everything you pop into the oven will come out beautifully. You’ve spent most of your childhood sitting in the kitchen helping her make the desserts. You’ve spent most of your childhood sitting in the kitchen and breathing in the aroma of sweet desserts. 

You just hope that your team leader assigns you the appetizer or dessert. If not… you’re not sure how you’re going to put up a good performance. Will you be eliminated? Is this going to put you at risk for elimination? 

“Have you all picked a team leader?” Chef Jaehyun asks. 

On the blue team, Taeil raises his hand. You smile. Taeil is quite the introvert, but you know that he’ll be able to bring his team together and make the most out of it. On your team, Euntae raises his hand. It was predetermined that he would be the team leader mainly because he’s the only one who’s been doing well in the competition. 

“Taeil for team red and Euntae for team blue.” Chef Jaehyun notes it down on his notepad. “Alright. Let’s have you go over to your stations to start prepping for the service.”

“You will have one hour and thirty minutes to complete your three-course meal.” Chef Doyoung announces. 

“Please use your time wisely because regardless of whether your dishes are done, they will be served to the guests.” Chef Taeyong warns you. Everyone falls silent. “Your two goals are one, to make sure that there is food on the table for every single guest and two, that the food you serve has been cooked to perfection.” 

“Yes, chef.” Everyone says in unison.

“Alright. Get ready because your time starts in three…”

“Two…”

“One…”

“Go!”

Thankfully, you’ve been assigned to work on the spiced carrot cake. Euntae and Jay will work on the roasted pork loin on wild mushroom risotto. Euntae will work specifically on the roasted pork loin, and Jay will work specifically on the wild mushroom risotto. Mason and Junhwa will work together on the cranberry and brie bites. It’s been about twenty minutes since the timer started, and you’re almost done mixing the batter for the cake. You’ve added carrot bits and slices in the cake batter to make the carrot stand out when someone takes a slice out of it. You’re also planning on making a cream cheese frosting to drizzle on top of the cake. 

“Y/N, make sure you don’t go off track with the cake, alright? I know you’re excited, but we don’t have much time left.” Euntae commands, and you nod your head.

Euntae is such a perfectionist. It’s been obvious since the start of the competition. He’s been winning almost every challenge. If he wasn’t the winner of the challenge, he would most likely be second. Carrying your team must be difficult for him because most of his teammates have been performing poorly. 

“Yes, I’ll work faster.” 

“And make sure you follow the demo recipe.” He adds. “I don’t want you making something completely different from what we’re asked to do.”

You like to think of your dishes as an experiment. Most of the time, you depend heavily on your sense of taste and extensive knowledge of spices. Thus, this results in you neglecting recipe books and instructions. You like experimenting in your cooking because there’s a thrill when something turns out delicious. There’s a sense of excitement and surprise when two unlikely ingredients somehow pair well with each other. 

Euntae probably notices your experimental way of approaching your dishes. He doesn’t want you to fuck everything up. You can’t blame him for playing it safe. You would do the same thing. 

“This look different to you?” You ask, pointing to your cake batter.

He dips his fingers into the batter and tastes it. “Put more clove. I don’t taste the kick. I thought spices were your thing?”

You purse your lips into a tight line. He looks taken aback by your confused gaze. If there was one thing you wish you could change about yourself, it’s how you are easily readable through your facial expressions. Your emotions are easy to detect because they’re spread across your entire face. Knitted or raised eyebrows, jutted chin, pouty lips, you’re very expressive with your emotions. 

“It is. I did put in clove. Is it not enough?” You dip your finger into the batter to taste it yourself. Indeed, you taste the kick. Your gut tells you not to add any more of the spices because it will be too spicy for the guests if you add more. “I don’t think we should add more. I think it’s enough—”

“I don’t taste the spices, Y/N—”

“Well, I do—”

“But I’m the team leader, right?” He reminds you. You clamp your mouth shut. Where is all of this coming from? How could he talk to you like this? You could feel your gaze hardening at him. “Do you want me to save you a spot in the competition? You do, right? So follow what I tell you to do, and everything will be fine.”

You squint your eyes at him before shaking your head. “No way. I’m not letting you sabotage my cake.”

“And I am not letting you bring the entire team down. We cannot afford to lose.” Jay butts in as he shoves you aside to place a pan on the stove. You almost stumble back, and you’re on the verge of tears. 

“Ugh, this is ridiculous.” You mutter to yourself, grabbing your bowl of cake batter and moving to a different table in your station to work. You’re standing alone as the rest of your team gathers together to talk about how they will prepare the dishes. You feel left out. You feel like an outcast. You wish you were on Taeil’s team. 

You feel like this is planned. 

You feel like they’re planning to sabotage you. 

“Y/N?” Chef Doyoung calls out to you. 

You look over your shoulder to see him waving you over. You dust your hands off before heading up to him. You don’t know that Euntae walks over to your bowl of cake batter and puts in a couple of more teaspoons of clove and cinnamon behind your back. He adds a bit more than what is required. Chef Doyoung folds his arms at you. 

“Yes, chef?” You mumble. 

“Why aren’t you being included in your team?” He asks. He noticed, and that’s all that matters to you. 

You shrug your shoulders. “I’m not quite sure, chef. We have different opinions on how we should make the spiced carrot cake. Euntae thinks there’s not enough spice, while I think there’s more than enough.

“Trust your gut. But you should also keep in mind that this is a team challenge. You’re all supposed to work together as a team.” He reminds you. “I’ll let you get back to work.”

“Thank you, chef.”

Suddenly, Chef Jaehyun yells out. “Your spiced carrot cakes should be in the oven right now or will be undercooked!”

Upon returning to your station, you grab your bowl of cake batter to pour it into a baking pan. Hurriedly, you place it into the preheated oven. You do not want to mess this up. You can’t mess this up. If your team fails the challenge, you are at risk of being eliminated. 

You can’t afford to lose the competition. 

You can’t go home. 

You’re not surprised that the cranberry and brie bites were almost burnt out of the oven. You’re not surprised that your two teammates were running behind on time with the roasted pork loin and wild mushroom risotto. At this point, you wouldn’t be surprised if your team were unable to put out your dishes on time. 

When you pull out the tray of cranberry and brie bites, you place them on the table. One by one, you place the burnt ones aside and the good ones on the serving trays. Standing behind you, Mason and Junhwa continue to panic, not even bothering to help you save their dish that they’ve been assigned to do. 

“Y/N, what are you doing?” You feel yourself stiffen. Chef Jaehyun stands next to you and looks at the burnt and unburnt cranberry and brie bites. He clicks his tongue and lets out a frustrated sigh. “Were you the one assigned to do the bites?”

You shake your head. “No, chef.”

“Who was assigned for the cranberry and brie bites?” He asks your teammates. 

“Us, chef.” Mason answers. 

Chef Jaehyun points at you while looking at Mason. “And why is Y/N taking over your task?”

“Because she likes getting into everyone’s business—” You hear Euntae mutter underneath his breath. You’ve confirmed it: Euntae is plotting your elimination. He hates you. 

“She said she would help us salvage some of the cranberry and brie bites for the guests. She’s picking it out for us while we make another batch.” Junhwa explains. 

“And you’re both just standing there and watching her?” Chef Jaehyun furrows his eyebrows with anger. “Where’s your team leader?”

“Here, chef.” Euntae walks over. 

“Where is the direction, Euntae?” Chef Jaehyun frowns. You could see steam coming out of Chef Jaehyun’s nostrils. “Your teammates are lost. They’re panicking, and you’re just standing in front of your pan doing your own thing. You’re in your own little world, Euntae. It’s time to wake up.”

“Excuse me, I have to take out the carrot cake.” You mumble softly as you excuse yourself to head to the oven. You take a quick peek before putting on your oven mittens to take the cake pans out. 

It comes out beautifully. They’ve baked and risen to perfection. You can smell the strong aroma of spices. Hidden within the sponge cake are the grated bites of carrot, giving it a beautiful orange colour. From your periphery, you see Chef Jaehyun walking over to you. You hold in your breath. 

“Can I have a taste of the cake?” He asks. 

You slowly nodded your head. “Yes, chef.”

Chef Jaehyun digs into the cake with a small teaspoon while your teammates gather around to watch. He winces, and you wish you could disappear. You’ve noticed that he always winces and grimaces with disappointment whenever you mess up. It’s like you could tell what’s about to come before it even happens. 

“You were in charge of the cake, right, Y/N?” 

“Yes, chef.” You mumble. 

Clatter. He tosses the teaspoon onto the table and frustratingly runs a hand through his hair. “You can’t serve that. It’s too spicy. You’ve put too much clove and cinnamon.”

You look at him confusedly. Completely flabbergasted, you take a bite from the cake yourself and indeed, it’s too spicy. It’s overpowering the sweetness of the carrot and sugar. But wait—you never added any more clove or cinnamon. 

“You can’t serve this. This entire team is set up for failure. You cannot save yourselves from this challenge. Take off your aprons. You don’t have any more time to send out any dishes. You’ve completely failed the team challenge.”

You glance at Euntae, who avoids your gaze. He turns around and walks back to his pork loin and mushroom risotto pan. He tosses the pans into the sink out of frustration and anger. 

Euntae sabotaged you.

At the end of the team challenge, you and your teammates find yourselves standing in front of the three disappointed chefs. You’re too ashamed of yourself to look at them. You distract yourself by fiddling with your fingers. You were thinking of all the ‘what if’s’. What if you were on the blue team? What if you paid more attention to your teammates that were plotting your failure? What if you worked harder? What if—

“As you are all aware of what happened today, your team lost the challenge. This only means that not one, not two, but four of you will be eliminated from the competition.” Chef Doyoung says. 

“But first, we are going to tell you what you did wrong and where you all went wrong.” Chef Taeyong frowns, “as a team.”

“The first thing that went wrong were the cranberry and brie bites. They were overcooked to the point that they were burnt. You had only realized that they were burnt when you took them out of the oven too late, leaving you no time to make another batch.” Chef Doyoung explains. 

“We are aware of that, chef.” Mason and Junhwa speak in unison. 

“The second thing that went wrong was the spiced carrot cake. I was surprised that Y/N put too much clove and cinnamon into the batter. From your audition, Y/N, you had a good sense of the spices, so I figured this task wouldn’t be difficult to do.” Chef Taeyong outlines the second mistake of the team. 

“The third thing that went wrong had completely gone over our heads.” Chef Jaehyun begins. “We were wondering why out of all the dishes you were assigned, the roasted pork loin and mushroom risotto turned out fine.”

“It was because we—” Euntae begins.

“It was because you wanted to sabotage your own teammates. Am I right, Euntae?” Chef Jaehyun catches him red-handed. “Don’t try to lie to us. Don’t you dare try to lie to me because I saw it myself.”

“I did not sabotage any of my teammates—”

“Y/N, you know why your spiced carrot cake was too spicy?” Chef Jaehyun asks you. 

You courageously look into his eyes. “Why, chef?”

“Because your own teammate, Euntae, sabotaged your cake and added three tablespoons more of clove and cinnamon, which is way more than what we asked for in our demo.” Chef Jaehyun reveals. “I saw it happen right before my eyes. Euntae, if you were going to sabotage your teammate, you should’ve made sure that none of us chef judges would see it.”

“Chef, I—Y/N has always been doing her own thing in the competition, and I didn’t want her to sabotage our team by doing things the way she wants to,” Euntae explains. 

“You’re supposed to work together as a team.” Chef Taeyong shakes his head in disbelief. “Did you plan this all out so that Y/N would be eliminated from the competition? Don’t lie to us because I overheard you planning this out with the rest of your teammates.”

“I—”

“Okay. That’s enough.” Chef Doyoung raises up his hand to shut him up. “We have made up our minds on who will be leaving the competition.”

“The first contestant that will be saying goodbye is…”

You clench your eyes shut as you wait for your name to be called out. You hate everything that’s happening right now. You’ve never been so careless. Now, you pay the consequences. 

“Jay. Please say goodbye to your teammates.”

You feel your heart drop. 

“The second contestant that will be saying goodbye is…”

Your heartbeat begins to pick up its pace once again. Once your name is called out, you’re going to have to pack your things and head back home. 

“Junhwa. Please say goodbye to your teammates.”

You hold in your breath. 

“That leaves Y/N, Euntae, and Mason.”

You close your eyes again, praying that your name wouldn’t be called out. You’re already thinking about what you would say to your father if you’re eliminated from the competition. 

“Y/N, please say goodbye to your teammates…”

Your eyes flutter open. This is it. You’re officially eliminated from the competition. You shake hands with your two teammates who have completely sabotaged you. You’re keeping yourself together. You’re holding yourself back from bursting out into anger. 

“Because you will advance to the next round of the competition. Euntae and Mason, you are both eliminated from MasterChef, please take off your aprons.” 

Your heart stops. Wait.

“Wait, what?” You look at the chefs in shock.

“Y/N, you are the only one that will stay in the competition.” Chef Taeyong smiles. 

“It was a tough decision.” Chef Doyoung adds. 

“But we do not tolerate cheaters in this competition. You are innocent and had no bad intentions, Y/N, which is why you are safe from elimination.” Chef Jaehyun confirms everything for you. “But that does not mean you are safe from the remainder of the competition. What this means is that we will all be putting more pressure on you to be the best chef you say you are.”

“I will do my best, chef. I am confident that I will win MasterChef.” 

Chef Jaehyun purses his lips into a tight line. 

You feel your blood run cold. 

“Don’t make us regret choosing to save you from elimination.”

THE FIFTH TIME.

“Don’t make us regret choosing to save you from elimination.”

The pressure is all on you. Chef Jaehyun’s voice echoes throughout your head the entire hour that you’re granted to create a dish. In this round, all of the contestants are given a mystery box filled with random ingredients. In your mystery box, you were given beetroot, beef tenderloin, and blackberries. They are three completely different ingredients that you’re not quite sure will mesh well together. 

Five minutes before the timer started, you decided to make beef tenderloin with roasted beetroot, all covered by a blackberry sauce. And now here you are, thirty minutes in, and you just hope that your dish turns out well. 

“Hi, Y/N.” 

“Hi, Chef Jaehyun.” You mumble softly, checking up on your beef tenderloin to see if it’s being cooked correctly on the skillet pan. You’re hoping to cook the tenderloin medium-rare to keep the monochrome colour of your dish. 

“What are you making for us today?” He asks. 

He’s distracting you. Whether it’s intentional or not, it’s breaking your focus. You clear your throat as you answer, “beef tenderloin with beetroot, all covered by a blackberry sauce.”

“Are you sure this is going to work out well? It seems quite… difficult to pull off.” He grabs a spoon and digs into the blackberry sauce that you have boiling in a saucepan. He tastes it and steps back, tilting his head as he loses himself in thought. “Interesting. You’re truly making this difficult for us, huh?”

What is he trying to say? You bite your lip, pretending to ignore him. “It should work out well. It is a mystery box challenge, after all. I’ve been given three ingredients that you never truly see together in a dish, but here we are.”

“The blackberry sauce is perfect. But regarding whether this blackberry sauce will complement your beef tenderloin and beetroot… you’ll have to prove that to us.” He gently places his spoon into your sink and moves on to the next contestant.

“You have fifteen minutes left! In about five minutes, you should all be plating your food!”

You turn off the stove to cool down your blackberry sauce. With fifteen minutes left, you need at least five minutes to let the beef tenderloin rest. You’re still not sure if it’s cooked medium-rare. It’s a risk you’re willing to take. You take the skillet pan off of the stove and transfer the beef tenderloin onto a wire rack for it to rest. As for your beetroot, you take each slice out to begin plating them.

“I’m not going to lie, that looks incredible, Y/N.” Taeil compliments you. You almost jump in surprise. You’ve been so focused on making sure you do well in this challenge that you forgot about Taeil. As you glance at him, he lets out a low chuckle. “Sorry for scaring you. I’ll shut up now.”

“Thanks, Y/N. I just hope it’s edible.” You crack a joke to ease your nervousness. He snorts.

“I’m sure it’s edible. You’ve made it this far, Y/N. You should give yourself more credit for your hard work.” He reassures you.

One minute left on the timer, and you’re placing the beef tenderloin right in between two slices of beetroot. To complete your dish, you drizzle blackberry sauce all over the dish. To amplify your dish even further, you take a couple of blackberries and scatter them across your dish. Overall, your dish is a dark magenta colour. Monochromatic. 

“Five…”

“Four…”

“Three… Two…”

“One! Time’s up!”

“Y/N, please bring up your dish.”

With shaky hands, you grab your plate and head up to the front. You place your dish down onto the table that stands right in front of the chef judges. Each one of them looks surprised to see what you have presented to them. Chef Doyoung is the first one to take a bite. He steps forward and grabs a knife and fork, slicing himself a bit of beetroot before poking at the beef tenderloin.

“How did you cook the beef tenderloin?” He asks.

You bite your lip. “I was hoping to cook it medium-rare. But I didn’t have enough time to let it rest, so I’m not quite sure if it turned out that way.”

“Well, let’s take a look, shall we?” He insists. You slowly nod your head. Standing behind him, you can see Chef Jaehyun standing on his tiptoes to get a look at the tenderloin. As Chef Doyoung slices through the tenderloin and you sigh with relief. “It’s perfect. You doubt yourself a bit too much, Y/N. The tenderloin is indeed medium-rare.”

“Thank goodness.” You let out another sigh of relief.

He takes a bite. As he chews, you study him and wait for his reaction. When he finishes eating, he clasps his hands together and breaks out into a smile. “I think it’s quite delicious. I would definitely serve something like this in my restaurant.”

“Really? Oh wow… thank you, chef.” You beam.

“Blackberries, beef tenderloin, and beetroot. These three ingredients seem hard to cook together, but you balance them beautifully. The plating is amazing. You’ve improved your plating skills since the start of the competition. Overall, this dish is my favourite.” He places his cutlery down and flashes you one last smile. He heads back to stand next to Chef Taeyong, who’s the next one to step forward and taste your dish.

“First off, the dish looks lovely. I love the monochrome theme you have going on here. It amplifies your dish. But as for the taste, we shall find out.” Chef Taeyong takes a bite of the beetroot and tenderloin, making sure he dips it in the blackberry sauce. He tilts his head and lets out a chuckle. “That’s… amazing. You truly have a great sense of your spices. I wouldn’t even have thought of making a dish like this with these three ingredients. Well done, Y/N. You continue to perform well in this competition. I also see Chef Doyoung serving something like this at his restaurant.”

“Thank you, chef.” You hold in a happy sigh.

Next up is Chef Jaehyun, who barely waits for Chef Taeyong to step aside for him. He quirks an eyebrow at you before digging into your dish. “After we spoke earlier, I wondered how you could pull off a sour blackberry sauce with savoury beef tenderloin and beetroot. They are two unlikely tastes that should not be paired together.”

“It is a mystery box, so I just tried to work with what I was given. I hope it tastes good for you, Chef Jaehyun.” You avoid his eyes. But you could see him trying to look into them.

He takes a bite. He chews and swallows. He places his cutlery down and purses his lips into a tight line. “I’m going to be quite honest. I don’t like it. The sour blackberry sauce completely overpowers the savoury tenderloin and beetroot. However, I could definitely see why others may like it. This dish is catered for people with a specific palette. I’m not one of those people. The plating looks beautiful, however.”

“Thank you, chef.” You whisper.

“As I’ve said time and time again,” he says sternly, “you are making this extremely difficult for us, Y/N. You need to step up to the plate. I know you can do it. You have the tools and the talents to do it. You just need to use them.”

As he turns his back to you, you can feel your eyes well up with tears. Throughout this entire competition, you’ve learned that you not only want to win it, but you want to prove Chef Jaehyun wrong. He’s ignited a fire within you, a burning passion. His brutal honesty truly gets the best of you. 

If you can’t prove him wrong, what’s the point of continuing your journey?

He’s a world-renowned chef. He knows what tastes good and what doesn’t. He knows whether a chef will be successful in the field. He knows everything about the cooking and food industry. If he thinks you’re not fit enough, then maybe you’re truly not fit to be a chef.

You’ve already tried to step up to the plate, but he thinks it’s not enough.

You’ve already used all of your tools and talents, but he thinks it’s not enough.

You’re not enough.

What is considered enough?

He looks over his shoulder, and you hear him mutter.

“We saved you from elimination. You must prove to us that saving you was the best decision. You must prove to us that you are more worthy of winning than your teammates that were eliminated. Remember that.”

A tear almost slips from your eye.

You give up.

THE ONE TIME YOU PROVE HIM WRONG.

“I have come to the decision to withdraw from the competition.”

“If that’s your decision, then so be it. We regret seeing you go. Thank you for showing us your talent. You may go and pack your things because your journey at MasterChef ends here.”

Upon entering the huge kitchen, you head towards the light switches to turn on the spotlight for your workstation. The kitchen has never been so quiet nor has it been so peaceful. You feel your feet being glued to the ground, almost as if they’re keeping you from leaving. When you were a kid, you loved ditching your homework to spend time with your mother in the kitchen. You would even take a stool from the dining room to place it right next to her to have a full view of how she cooked your meals. Your home kitchen was your safe haven, your safe space, where you could truly be yourself. It was what brought you closer to your mother. It was what reminded you of your mother. 

But you had no choice. You force yourself, trudging your way towards your station to pack up all of your utensils. From cooking knives to ladles, you packed them away in a moving box. From your favorite fine China dishes to your custom-made chopsticks, you admired them one last time underneath the spotlight before tucking them away. You turn on the sink to dampen your towel. You wipe down your station one last time before wringing the towel out. Letting out a sigh, you wipe the beads of sweat that are forming on your forehead. This is it. Your journey at MasterChef ends here—

“What on earth are you doing?”

Looking up from your counter, you spot Jaehyun walking along the front of the space. He’s the last person you want to see. He’s the last person you want to talk to, especially right now. He has his hands tucked into his pockets as he makes his way towards you.

“I’m packing up my things.” You answer simply with a blank face.

“Why are you packing up your things? The competition isn’t over yet.” He finally makes it to your counter. Underneath the spotlight, he notices how bloodshot red your eyes are. You’ve cried all night over this competition and it brought you to your decision of withdrawing.

“The competition isn’t over yet for my fellow contestants,” you begin, “but the competition is over for me.”

“I’m not sure if I understand what you’re saying—”

“I’ve withdrawn from the competition.” You make it make sense for him. Jaehyun takes a couple of seconds for your words to sink in. Once he’s processes your words, his eyebrows furrow in confusion and frustration. 

“What?” He blurts out. “W-Why?”

You grow confused. That’s his reaction? “Shouldn’t you be happy that I’m leaving the competition? It’s one less thing to worry about, right? Your decision in choosing chefs to advance to the next round won’t be hard anymore because I’m leaving. Everything will be better without me—”

“Why would I be happy over a contestant’s voluntary withdrawal from the competition?” He cuts you off. 

You fall silent. Suddenly, you have no energy trying to defend yourself. With everything piling up, you’ve decided to give up. Everything that has happened to you in the past has led you to this moment. From spilling wine all over Jaehyun’s drink to messing up Jaehyun’s dish at your internship in Florence to your time here at MasterChef, it has brought you to the conclusion that maybe Jaehyun was right: you’re not fit or qualified enough to be a chef. 

“In a competition, you should not associate your emotions with your overall performance. Whatever you create here in the kitchen is what we judge.” He says sternly with his hands placed on top of the marble of your countertop. “You and I are both aware that this is a competition. You are aware that your performance and the dishes you create are going to be commented on by judges. But as judges, we make those comments, good or bad, are to help you improve.”

“Yeah, but it doesn’t feel like comments to me. I don’t feel like you’re helping me improve. I feel stuck with no direction given. I just feel like you have this predisposed idea of who I am after all those negative encounters we’ve had in the past which is why you treat me like this.” You finally get it off of your chest. You feel extremely vulnerable in front of Jaehyun. All of your emotions that you’ve held in for so long are beginning to hit the surface. “And this is why I’ve decided to do everyone all a favor and withdraw.”

He pushes himself off of the countertop and holds in a sigh. You let your head hang low. His eyes land on the cardboard box sitting on the floor. It’s filled with all of your cooking utensils. He sees an old washed out apron sitting right on top of all the pans and dishes. Stitched right near the upper corner of the apron is a name. It’s not your name, but your mother’s name. The apron has been through a lot. It’s been through  a lot of washes. It’s been through a lot of spills. But you have never once thought of throwing it out because it was the only thing you had left of your mother. Aside from all the memories you have of and with her, of course. 

“Well, withdrawing from the competition means that you’re aware that you have no confidence in yourself.” 

“I hope you’re hearing yourself right now.” You mutter softly.

“Do you really think you’re not fit to be a chef?” He questions. 

“Well, you sure make me feel like it—” You scoff. 

“Cook me your best dish, then. If I think it’s horrible, then maybe withdrawing is the best decision.”

“I thought you’ve already made it clear that I’m not fit or qualified enough to be a chef—”

“You have sixty minutes.”

“Chef—”

“Your time starts now.”

Before you could protest, Jaehyun turns his back towards you and walks away. You’re trying so hard not to burst out into flames. The urgency to flip him off makes your blood boil. As he takes his seat at the front behind the judges’ table, you bend down to finish packing up your things. Jaehyun seems to pick up that you’re not taking up the challenge. 

“You claim that I was discouraging you this entire competition. You said that you have potential. You want to prove me wrong, right?”

You stop in your tracks. You sure do. You want to prove Jaehyun wrong so badly. With a burning passion. When he sees that you’ve stopped, he knows that he’s slowly changing your mind. 

“This is your chance to prove me wrong. Prove to me that you deserve to stay in this competition.”

You will yourself back up, fiery eyes meeting him. He knows that he’s turned the gears in your head. After you’ve given it much thought, you decided that if you were going to withdraw from the competition, you might as well show him what kind of aspiring chef they’re going to regret letting go of. You guess it was a pride thing. But you’ve never wanted to prove Jeong Jaehyun wrong so badly until now.

Jaehyun stares at you as you walk away from your station and into the large pantry with all the fresh ingredients. A smirk slowly begins to spread across his lips. You’re grabbing many ingredients from the pantry. There are some questionable pairs but ever since the start of the competition, you’ve always been experimental with your dishes. Surprisingly, they always turn out delicious no matter how ambiguous the ingredients are relative to each other. You finally return to your workstation to begin cooking your dish.

“Fifty-five minutes left,” he yells out to you.

You slightly jump. It’s just the two of you in the kitchen. If you were quite honest, it felt a bit intimate. But you felt a lot of pressure on your shoulders. Here you are, cooking for a world-renowned chef, after voluntarily withdrawing from a competition that he judges for. Here you are, cooking for a world-renowned chef who asked you to cook him a dish to prove him wrong. 

A deconstructed pie. That is what you have in mind.

There are two ingredients that you’ve never paired together before; grapefruit and basil. You’re planning on making a deconstructed raspberry and basil pie. The pie will consist of basil jelly and grapefruit curd, topping it all off with Italian meringue. 

“What are you making?” Jaehyun asks when he walks up to your station.

“A pie.”

“In an hour?” Jaehyun questions. You slowly nod your head, trying to keep yourself focused on your work. “Pies usually take more than one hour to make.”

“It’s going to be a deconstructed pie. Grapefruit and basil. Instead of using the crust, I’ll be using graham cracker crumbles.” You explain while juicing your grapefruits. 

“Grapefruit and basil? Don’t you think that those two together would be a bit… risky?” 

You shake your head. “Basil goes well with lots of fruits. I wouldn’t be surprised if basil went well with grapefruit.”

“I’ve tried a grapefruit and basil pie once. I don’t remember where, but it was delicious. I have high expectations for this. Yours will be the second grapefruit and basil pie that I have ever had in my entire life.” He comments. What a way to put the pressure on you. You don’t say anything. “Alright, then I guess—”

“You’re distracting me.” You cut him off. “Do you mind going back to the front and sitting there while I continue doing whatever it is that I need to do?”

“Sassy,” he grins. “Fine. I’ll be up at the front. You have forty-five minutes left.”

Forty-five minutes left to prove yourself. At this point, you’re not trying to prove you are worthy of staying in the competition. You’re trying to prove that you are nothing what Jaehyun thinks of you. You’re trying to prove Jaehyun that you are fit and qualified enough to be a chef and that this is made for you. It is something you love doing. It is your passion.

Jaehyun plops his butt down onto his seat and watches you cook up your dish. You’re making grapefruit zest while making sure the grapefruit curd isn’t being overcooked. He finds himself staring at you with awe. 

When Jaehyun met you for the first time, he didn’t like you. You ruined his shirt. His favorite shirt. But another reason why he didn’t like you was because you didn’t look confident enough. When Jaehyun met you for the first time, you were hiding behind the executive chef, too humiliated by your own actions. He saw right through you at that moment. You had an inferiority complex. You were not confident enough in yourself. You were shy. You always doubted yourself. But when his eyes met yours, he saw a fire ignite within them. 

When Jaehyun met you for the second time, you weren’t a waitress. You were a line cook. A culinary intern. You ruined his dish. When Jaehyun met you for the second time, he still didn’t like you. It was because after all the months that have passed by, you still don’t look confident enough in yourself. It made him uneasy. But the only difference that time around is that although he still didn’t like you, he knew that eventually, he would, because he saw potential. Leaving the restaurant that day after tasting your subpar dish made him uneasy, knowing that he could’ve done something to lift your spirits up. He knew that he had to do something to make you learn how to be confident in your cooking because that was the first step to making perfect dishes. If you were confident to cook, your dishes would reflect it. When Jaehyun met you for the second time, he realized that he didn’t like you because you reminded him of himself.

When Jaehyun met you for the third time, you were taking a chance at MasterChef. It was a year since the last time he saw you. On your first and second encounters with Jaehyun, the both of you were in Florence. But the third time, the both of you are in Seoul. It almost seemed fated. When Jaehyun boarded the plane in Florence going back to Seoul, he couldn’t get you off his mind. What if he tried to lift you up? What was it that he could’ve done to encourage you? He regretted being cold to you. He knew that if he had just been a bit nicer, a bit more sincere, it would’ve further ignited the flame that was already lit within you. It was like the heavens had heard him and sent you to him for a third time. 

He knew this was his third and final chance to make things right.

“Twenty minutes!” He yells.

“I heard you loud and clear, geez.” You place a hand over your heart as you continue your work. 

You’re working on your Italian meringue. It was something you learned how to do while you were doing your culinary internship in Florence. Making Italian meringue is completely different from making regular meringue. It requires more precision and accuracy. It requires more attention to detail. If you mess up the meringue, you’re practically messing up the entire dish. 

You don’t want that happening. That’s the last thing you want.

While you’re waiting for the sugar water to boil at an ideal temperature, you’re beginning to plate your dish. Gently and slowly, you place a layer of grapefruit curd at the bottom of the bowl. It acts almost like a bed for the basil jelly and Italian meringue. At perfect timing, the sugar water has reached its ideal temperature and you immediately take it off of the stove. You walk over to your stand mixer, turning it on and gradually pouring in the sugar mixture into the egg whites. The egg whites slowly turn into a beautiful meringue. Sweet. Fluffy. Almost like marshmallows. Once you’ve poured the entire sugar mixture, you continue to mix the meringue until the bottom of the bowl runs cold to the touch. 

“Fifteen minutes!” 

Jaehyun waits for you to say something but nothing comes out. He checks up on you and realizes you’re too focused on placing the meringue into a piping bag. He never knew how pretty someone could look under the harsh light of the stage kitchen. The brightness only highlighted your features that were solely focused on creating the perfect deconstructed pie. 

This was a first for Jaehyun—being mesmerized by a contestant under his wing. And as his heart caught on fire, much like the gas stove he used to use when he learned to cook all those years ago, Jaehyun also hoped it would be the last.

Having the chance to see you again is definitely a chance given by fate. The idea that you could be gone from the competition out of your own will absolutely terrifies him. It’s the last thing he wants. He wants you to realize how much talent you have. He wants you to realize that you have a lot of potential. He wants to be close to you. He wants to get to know you more. He’s only been able to do that through your dishes. Lately, it’s been hard to look directly into your eyes because it makes him grow nervous. While you’re the only contestant that’s around his age, he’s never felt more connected to someone until he met you. You most likely feel the complete opposite of him, but this is because he has the tendency to push people away. He pushes you away because he’s scared that once he screws up this chance to make things right, he might not forgive himself. It’ll be all his fault.

“Ten minutes!”

You’re piping the Italian meringue onto the bed of grapefruit curd. After that, you’re slicing up the basil jelly into small cubes. You place the basil jelly cubes on top of the grapefruit curd along the Italian meringue. Lastly, you’re grabbing a handful of graham crumbles and scattering them carefully on top of the Italian meringue, basil jelly cubes, and the grapefruit curd. Your deconstructed pie is almost done. You rummage through the drawers to find a torch. You light the torch on to slightly toast the Italian meringue. You don’t want it to burn, you want a nice toast on the top. 

“Five minutes!”

You fix up your dish one last time with roughly four minutes to spare. You slowly head up to the front of the kitchen with your deconstructed pie. Jaehyun meets your gaze and he smiles. Oh, how you wish you could wipe that smile off of his face. Placing the dish right in front of him, you step back for him to taste it.

“Do you mind going through how you prepared this dish?” Jaehyun asks as he opens one of the drawers to pull out a spoon.

You clear your throat. “It is a deconstructed grapefruit and basil pie. It consists of grapefruit curd as a bed layer with basil jelly, graham crumbles, and Italian meringue.”

“Why did you choose to make Italian meringue instead of the usual meringue?” He asks.

“I chose to use Italian meringue for this dish because Italian meringue has a more marshmallowy, soft, fluffy consistency in comparison to ordinary meringue.” You explain. “I think the soft, fluffy texture of Italian meringue fits perfectly with the creamy grapefruit curd and basil jelly.”

“I’m going to take a spoonful of everything.” Jaehyun begins as he scoops a little bit of grapefruit curd mixed with graham crumbles, a single basil jelly, and a single Italian meringue. The both of you meet eyes and he puts the spoon into his mouth. 

As he’s taking a moment to savor the flavors, you let your head hang low. You’re expecting him to let out a frustrated sigh. You’re expecting him to come up with the rudest comment on your dish. It’s horrible. It tastes horrible. You’re waiting for those words to come out of his mouth—

“It’s… delicious.” 

Your head shoots up. He digs in for another spoonful of your deconstructed pie. “Sorry… what?”

“I said,” he says, “it’s delicious.”

You let out a breathless laugh. Were you hearing things right? Jaehyun quirks an eyebrow at you and you straighten up your posture. “Sorry, I just—this is the first time I’ve ever heard something nice coming from you.”

“It not only tastes delicious but it tastes familiar.” He mumbles softly. “It reminds me of this diner my parents used to take me to after basketball practice. The diner was somewhere near Yonsei University where my parents used to teach. That diner served grapefruit and basil pie. I think I was about twelve or thirteen years old. It’s been a while since I’ve had it but I could still remember it so vividly—”

“Mina’s Place?” You whisper.

Jaehyun’s eyebrows raise with surprise and his face is overcome with realization. Mina’s Place. The reason why he hasn’t been to the diner in a while is because it closed down when he made a visit. It was a sudden shutdown and his family never knew what happened to the owners. They were unique and both of his parents’ favorite place to wind down after a day of teaching culinary students. That diner’s grapefruit and basil pie had inspired him to follow the footsteps of his parents. It was the unusual pairing of basil and fruit that made him curious, it was what drove him to start cooking. 

“Yeah… Mina’s Place.” He mumbles softly. “It’s too bad it closed down too soon.”

Your head hangs low again. Mina’s Place was your mother’s product of hardwork and dedication. Your late mother had bought the space and created it into a diner where she was able to cook up whatever she wanted for her guests. It was what made her happy. But when your mother started to grow sick, it was your father that took over the diner in hopes that she would return. But your mother’s health continued to deteriorate until she passed away at an early age of forty-seven. Ever since her passing, the diner wasn’t the same. Your father had decided to sell the diner to a young couple who were looking to start their own restaurant. 

Your mother’s best-selling item on the menu was the grapefruit and basil pie. Until this day, you are grateful that she managed to pass the recipe down to you. You had loved and admired your mother’s love for cooking. You would spend most of your days watching her cook. You would ditch everything to learn how to cook, especially from your mother. The deconstructed pie that you had made for Jaehyun is a representation of how much you miss her and how much she inspired you.

“Thank you,” you whisper. Jaehyun looks at you confusedly. “Thank you for cherishing my mother’s passion, for cherishing her love of cooking. She would be thrilled to know that there was someone who loved her grapefruit and basil pie.”

“Y-You’re joking,” he shakes his head. “She’s your mother?”

You purse your lips into a tight line, nodding. “We closed down the place because she died of cancer. It didn’t make sense to take on the diner after her passing. My father had no idea how to cook.”

“Y/N, I’m so sorry—”

“I decided to study culinary arts because it’s the only thing that reminds me of her. It’s the only thing that brings me closer to her. I also wanted to open up a diner in her honor, to celebrate her life. I think that’s what she truly wanted… to spend most of her life with her family and at the diner.” You chuckle, wiping away a tear that slides down your cheek. “And don’t apologize. You had no idea.”

“But still, I—”

“I’ve decided to stick with my decision regardless of whether you enjoyed my dish or not. I’m going to withdraw from the competition.” You clasp your hands together. 

Jaehyun watches you as you carefully take off your apron. You place the apron right next to your dish before bowing to him. “Y/N, no—”

“Thank you for everything, chef. It was an honor cooking for you and I’m glad you enjoyed the pie.”

“Y/N, no, please. Stay here with—” Me. That’s what he wants to say. It almost terrifies him that this is the first thing that crosses his mind. It catches him off guard. He’s never had the urge to let you stay. He’s never been afraid of losing you. He’s never been terrified of slowly realizing your importance and your effect on him. “The other contestants. You’re worthy of the chance. Just like them.”

“I’ve already told the producers—”

“We can always take it back. You can always take it back.” He cuts you off. “Don’t withdraw. You have so many more things to accomplish, to conquer, to show off. You have talent, Y/N. Withdrawing from the competition will be the biggest mistake of your life—”

“Please don’t say all of that if you don’t even mean it—”

“I mean it. Stay.” He’s so close to begging. “Your mother was one of the few driving forces that led me to becoming a chef. If it weren’t for your mother, I probably wouldn’t be standing in front of you right now.”

“You’re lying,” you shake your head in disbelief. “You’re just making this hard for me.”

“Stay for your mother. I’m sure she would want you to finish the competition regardless of whether you win or not—”

“But you wanted me gone since the first round—” Never. He never wanted you to leave. He wanted you to stay. He wanted to help you. He wanted to encourage you to work hard for your dreams. 

“Do it for her. Do it for Mina’s Place.”

You fall silent. For a moment, you could hear your mother’s voice chanting you on. You could hear her giggles and laughter. You could see her bright smile. It makes your eyes glassy. Your eyes trail down towards the pie that you made. As you fixate on the pie, you wipe away a few more tears.

“Yes, chef. I’ll stay.”

“How did you change her mind?”

Taeyong stands next to Jaehyun and watches you as you return your things back into their respective drawers at your station. Taeyong, along with Doyoung, had expected your station to be empty the following morning. But there you were, absolutely present, setting up your station before the next round of the competition begins. Jaehyun shoves his hands into his pockets and watches you intently, not being able to tear his gaze away from you.

“Let’s just say I worked my magic,” he answers softly. 

Doyoung glances at his co-judge, raising an eyebrow suspiciously. He follows Jaehyun’s line of sight and it lands on you. Taeyong seems to pick it up as well and a cheeky grin spreads across his lips. Taeyong has worked with Jaehyun for many years. They opened up one three-Michelin starred restaurant in Florence together and they ran the restaurant for many years. From Jaehyun’s inner thoughts to his feelings, Taeyong knows him so well. In fact, Taeyong hasn’t seen Jaehyun like this in so long. 

Work has been the main priority for Jaehyun. Taeyong was always trying to get his best friend to loosen up and meet some people while they were in Italy. But Jaehyun was always closed up and always stayed back in the kitchen. It was sad for Taeyong to see his best friend have a lack of social life—moreover, a dating life. Jaehyun’s last relationship was a couple of years ago and it ended on horrible terms. In particular, his breakup happened right before he boarded his flight to Italy. Taeyong knows that it left such a negative impact on his best friend. Jaehyun had promised to never fall in love again after his breakup, devoting his entire life to cooking and being in the kitchen… never leaving it once. 

But seeing how Jaehyun looks at you, Taeyong is starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

“Alright, chefs! We’ll be starting in ten minutes! Relax, grab a drink, and we’ll regroup.” Doyoung announces. 

You suck in a deep breath, heading towards the water dispenser to get yourself a cup of water. Taeil follows behind you, grabbing himself a cup of water too. He tilts his head in confusion, analyzing your every move. You seem to notice and when the two of you finally make it up to the balcony that oversees the entire kitchen, you face him.

“Is there something on my face?” You ask.

Taeil shakes his head. “No! No, not at all. I was just—I thought you said you were going to withdraw from the competition.”

You take a swig of your water. “I did. But… I changed my mind. I decided to stay.”

“What changed your mind?” Taeil questions. Everyone’s beginning to gather at the balcony before the new round of the competition begins. 

Before you could even answer Taeil’s question, Chef Jaehyun stands in the space between you two. He leans over the railing of the balcony. You and Taeil share a look. You clear your throat, adding a bit more distance between you and Chef Jaehyun. Taeil studies your body language and it’s almost as if he reads your mind. Ah, Chef Jaehyun changed your mind. 

“Ah, I see.” Taeil slowly nods his head. “Well, good luck, Y/N. I’m sure you’ll do well in the next round.”

Taeil leaves you and Chef Jaehyun alone to talk with other contestants. You’re looking everywhere but at Chef Jaehyun, busying yourself by the water in your cup. 

Jaehyun can’t comprehend what’s going on with him. He can’t find the courage to look at you. But when he does, he can’t seem to breathe because his heartbeat picks up its pace. He clears his throat. “Are you ready for the next round?”

You finally look at him. You straighten up your posture. “Yes, chef.”

“Y/N, no, please. Stay here with—the other contestants. You’re worthy of the chance. Just like them.”

“Don’t withdraw. You have so many more things to accomplish, to conquer, to show off. You have talent, Y/N. Withdrawing from the competition will be the biggest mistake of your life.”

“I mean it. Stay. Your mother was one of the few driving forces that led me to becoming a chef. If it weren’t for your mother, I probably wouldn’t be standing in front of you right now.”

It’s hard to get rid of Chef Jaehyun’s voice out of your head. Whatever happened a couple of nights ago in the kitchen felt a bit too intimate. You were cooking one of your best dishes, a dish that meant a lot to you, for one of the most famous chefs in the world. It was just the two of you in the kitchen. Chef Jaehyun had begged you to stay in the competition. All of those events that night were driving you crazy.

What Chef Jaehyun does next snaps you out of your thoughts. He places his hand on your head and ruffles your hair. Your eyes slightly widen and you freeze. “Good luck.”

When he leaves to speak with the other contestants, you’re left all alone by the balcony with a heart beating so fast. You almost drop your cup of water but you catch yourself just in time. You place a hand over your heart as if it’ll help it stop beating so fast.

There’s been a shift between you and Chef Jaehyun ever since that night. 

You’ve always despised Chef Jaehyun. You didn’t even like him to begin with. Not one single bit. 

But now… you’re not quite sure anymore. 

“There are only two more rounds left in the competition. But this round determines who has a chance to be the next MasterChef. Who will make it to the final round of MasterChef? We shall find out! For today’s challenge, the three of you will be paired up with one of us to cook up a special meal for your own friends.”

There are three contestants left in the competition. Those contestants are you, Taeil, and Seokjin. Each one of you is called up to the front to pick a slip of paper from a box. The chef that’s on your chosen slip of paper will be the chef that you will be paired up to cook with. Whoever you end up with wouldn’t matter because the three of them are perfect in their own way.

Chef Jaehyun is a perfectionist. He’s also competitive. He loves making sure that the food he puts out is more than perfect. It gives him relief and satisfaction knowing that his customers love the food that he makes for them. He’s surely known all over the world for being overly meticulous. He’s also known for running many successful restaurants. He has strong ties with restaurants in Florence. Being paired up with Chef Jaehyun means that you are guaranteed to make a successful dish.

Chef Taeyong is also a perfectionist but not as competitive as Chef Jaehyun. He always makes sure that he thoroughly enjoys the process of cooking. He’s almost like a mother. He cooks for people because he genuinely enjoys doing it. It’s a hobby that he enjoys doing and somehow, it brings him fortune and success. Being paired up with Chef Taeyong means that you’ll not only make a perfect dish, but you’ll also have fun making it and create a story along with it.

Chef Doyoung is not a perfectionist, but he has a great sense of his ingredients. He knows the compatibility of ingredients, which is something every chef wants to have. It’s a trait that is rare to find in chefs. This trait had led him to win MasterChef when he was a contestant. To others, his dishes might be ambiguous but once people try it, they would have never imagined such a dish to work out. Being paired up with Chef Doyoung means that you are willing to take risks that will elevate your dish and bring out uniqueness. 

When you open your slip of paper, you almost let out a laugh.

Chef Jaehyun.

Fate loves playing games with you. 

“I got Chef Jaehyun,” you hold up your slip of paper. You and Taeil exchange looks. 

When your eyes meet Chef Jaehyun’s, he bites back a smile that’s threatening to spread across his lips. The two other chefs can’t seem to hold back their smiles either. You look down, growing too shy with all of the attention on you.

“I got Chef Taeyong.” Taeil shows his slip of paper.

“And that means I got Chef Doyoung.” Seokjin finishes, holding up his slip of paper.

“Perfect. We’ll start in five minutes. During these five minutes, we will all discuss with our partners and plan out our dishes accordingly.” Chef Taeyong announces.

When Chef Jaehyun heads over to your workstation, you can’t seem to compose yourself. Your mind is going insane. You’re not sure if you’re going to end up regretting having Chef Jaehyun as your partner or be grateful that he could help you secure a spot in the finals. 

“I’m surprised you’re not sick and tired of me yet,” he mumbles. “It’s just always gonna be you and me, huh?”

“I’m surprised you’re not sick and tired of me yet either,” you shrug your shoulders. 

“I guess fate likes the two of us together.” He says, avoiding your gaze.

“I’m sure fate hates me and is punishing me by pairing me up with you.” You mutter underneath your breath. 

“I heard that.”

“You were supposed to.”

Working together with Chef Jaehyun is a pain in the ass. 

“The sashimi should be cut like this!” 

“Yeah, I know! I can see it!” 

It’s been non-stop bickering for the past fifteen minutes. There’s forty-five minutes left before you have to send out your dishes to your friends. With the grin planted across Chef Jaehyun’s lips, you’re not sure if he’s doing this for fun or if he’s genuinely being strict and serious. 

“You’re in the way.” You nudge him aside to grab the bottle of Japanese mayonnaise. “Do you mind checking on my rolls?”

“They look good—”

“You didn’t even look at them!” You look at him as if he had ten heads.

“I don’t need to look at them to know if they look good or not.” He rolls his California rolls. “You need to be more confident in yourself. Do you think they look good?”

“Of course, because I made them.” You fold your arms.

“Then they look good! You have to trust yourself, Y/N.” He slices through the California roll before rolling each of them into Panko. “I feel like you don’t trust yourself enough.”

Chef Jaehyun’s right. You don’t trust yourself enough. When he notices how silent you’ve gotten, he finally takes a look at your California rolls. He analyzes the contents of your roll before smiling. “It looks perfect to me. You see, I didn’t need to look at them to tell you that they’re good. You put the right amount of crab meat. There’s a balance between the crab meat and rice. The roll is consistent. The rice is sticky enough. It’s perfect, Y/N, stop doubting yourself.”

“Really…?”

“Really. Now, get back to work because we don’t have much time left.”

As the two of you both get back to work, Jaehyun can’t seem to stop himself from smiling. If there was one thing he wanted to do with someone special to him, it was to make a meal together. He learns more about someone through the art of cooking. You’re an expert at baking and inherited those skills from your mother. You know your spices so well that they come to you so naturally. You know how to balance your ingredients. You know when two ingredients work and when it doesn’t. 

You’re the complete opposite of him. Jaehyun is an expert at everything but baking. He doesn’t have a great sense of spices and would often plan out his dishes carefully. Making a perfect dish doesn’t come naturally to him. He’s more on the practical side of cooking. Jaehyun thinks you’re the perfect match for him. Whether it be in the kitchen or as someone he’d like to pursue… he’s not sure. 

It would be a huge lie if Jaehyun wasn’t attracted to you. He doesn’t know when the switch happened. Maybe he liked you from the start. 

It’s almost as if fate had you written in his stars. When Jaehyun had been dumped by his ex-girlfriend right before he boarded his plane to Florence, he was devastated. He was devastated knowing that his ex-girlfriend whom he was planning on proposing to was cheating on him that entire time. He was devastated knowing that he lost one of his few passions; the love of his life. Heartbroken. Closed off. Focus on working. Focus on hustle culture. Never falling in love again. That was Jaehyun’s mindset.

But now that he thinks about it and all the encounters you’ve had with him, meeting you for the first time in Florence must be a fateful encounter. From spilling expensive wine all over his shirt to serving him a horrible dish as a culinary intern, no matter how embarrassing those experiences were, it must be fate. You make him worry about you. You make him think about you a bit too often. He goes out of his way to make sure nothing horrible happens to you. He doesn’t want you to be hurt.

Meeting you may be a special event that has happened in his life.

“Chef? Chef…?”

He snaps out of his thoughts. You’re giving him a funny look.

“You were saying?”

“You have some seaweed on your face, chef.”

“I-I do? Where—”

Before he could even wipe his face with his hands, you’re already reaching up to rub off the seaweed crumbs off of his face. He freezes in his spot. His eyes look down to meet yours. When you finally brush the seaweed crumbs off of his crimson red cheeks, your eyes shift to his. It’s your turn to freeze. Out of instinct, Jaehyun gently holds your arms. He holds you so carefully… almost cautiously. Somehow, he can’t speak. Somehow, everything that surrounds the two of you becomes nothing but white noise. His eyes slowly trail down to your lips. 

“You have fifteen minutes left! Fifteen minutes!”

You both are startled, repelling from each other. To calm your unsteady heart, you focus on finishing your last few sushi rolls before you begin plating them. Jaehyun stands more than a meter away from you, not making any sort of conversation with you for the remainder of the fifteen minutes. His heart is beating so fast that he’s afraid you could hear it ramming out of his chest.

It’s all starting to make sense. To him, at least.

He’s slowly—but surely—falling in love with you.

The morning of the final round of MasterChef, you wake up still in disbelief that you’re one step closer to becoming the champion. In the semi-finals, your great teamwork with Chef Jaehyun has secured you a spot in the finals, giving you a bigger chance of winning the entire competition. There’s no backing down for you. The possibility that your dreams can come true is still surreal for you and now you’re willing to put in all the effort to make sure that possibility becomes reality. 

As soon as you enter the kitchen, you spot none other than Taeil, who’s already setting up his station. You and Taeil both find it funny how although you’re both closest to each other and have become good friends in the competition, here you both are, competing against each other to become the champion of MasterChef. It’s a friendly competition. You can’t imagine finishing the entire competition with anyone else.

“Hello, chef.” You greet him.

“Good morning, Y/N. Today is the day.” He smiles. “Good luck. Let the MasterChef win.”

Everyone begins to gather around. Your friends and family and Taeil’s friends and family. The three chef judges make their ways to the front after getting their hair and makeup done. The kitchen is set up differently this time around. Instead of the normal rectangular work stations, the station is set up as a circle that surrounds both you and Taeil. The two of you will work on opposite sides of the circle.

As you and Taeil get settled and wait for filming to start, your eyes catch Chef Jaehyun’s. You’re almost surprised and a bit taken aback to catch him already looking at you. He’s dressed up quite nice today. He’s wearing an indigo suit with his hair styled back. He has such prominent eyebrows, you notice, since he’s always had his hair down. He’s… handsome. 

And he smiles at you.

Not knowing what to do in return, you flash him a small, timid smile before looking away. In just a few minutes, the final round will begin and your fate will be determined. You spot your father who’s wiping away tears with his handkerchief. Sitting in his arms is a framed picture of your mother. Your eyes slowly tear up but you blink them away. 

“We will start in three… two… one… action!”

“Welcome everyone, to the final round of MasterChef.”

“Today, we will find out who is this season’s MasterChef.”

“Will it be Taeil? Or Y/N? We shall find out!”

For the final round of MasterChef, you and Taeil will be cooking up three dishes for the chef judges. The first dish will be the appetizer. Following the first dish is the entree. The third and final dish is the dessert. You and Taeil were given a week to figure out what you’re going to serve the chef judges. You have decided to base your dishes around the theme of apples. All three of your dishes contain apples.

The first round of three begins and you’re cooking up your first dish. For your first dish, you’re creating a scotch quail egg that will rest on top of a bed of parsnips and potatoes. You envision this dish to replicate a bird’s nest, where the bed of parsnips and potatoes act as the nest that protects the scotch quail egg. The scotch quail egg is different, however, because you will incorporate apples into the coating that surrounds it. 

“Your time starts now!”

You and Taeil busy yourselves at your own sides of the circle. You’re beginning your dish by boiling a pot of water for your quail eggs. At the same time, you’re bringing out the ground pork and a couple of red gala apples. As you’re cutting the gala apples, you make sure to cut them into cubes to make them stand out in the scotch egg. From the corner of your eye, you can see Chef Jaehyun step off of the stage to head towards you.

“Hello, Y/N.” He greets you as he approaches your side of the station. “What are you making for us?”

“A scotch quail egg,” you mumble.

“With apples?” You hum in reply. “And what are you going to do with the potatoes?”

“I’m going to slice them up to replicate a nest for the quail eggs to rest on.” You answer.

“That seems like a bit of an easy dish, don’t you think?” He purses his lips into a tight line. “Do you think it’ll be enough to impress us?”

“Yes,” you mumble, trying your best not to let him distract you. 

“Are you sure your quail eggs are going to be cooked properly? They shouldn’t be—”

“Overcooked, yes, I am very much aware of that, Chef Jaehyun.” You cut him off.

He chuckles. Your ears perk up. “It seems like you don’t want me around. Am I distracting you?”

“Yes,” you answer and everyone around you laughs. “I guess you’ll just have to see what I have planned for you when I serve it to you later.”

“Sounds good. I’m excited to see what you bring to the table, Y/N.” He searches for your eyes, but they’re busy looking at other things. In reality, you’re just too shy to look at him. “Good luck, Y/N.”

“Thanks, chef.”

Returning to your station, you keep the judges’ comments on your appetizer in your thoughts to improve on the next dish. The next dish that you’re going to cook up for them is the entree. Because your appetizer was easy to make, this left you ample time to begin preparing for your entree. You plan to serve the chef judges an entree dish that you call, rabbit two ways, in which you will serve them two different kinds of rabbit meat while incorporating bursts of apple flavors into it. The timer starts and you and Taeil get to work.

“I like how you presented this dish. It looks like a bird’s nest!”

Chef Taeyong’s comments on your dish had given you the motivation and desire to win the competition. From the start of the competition all the way to the final round, Chef Taeyong has been nothing but encouraging and genuine. All of his comments and advice shaped you into who you are as a chef today, at this very moment. 

“Although there are some burnt potatoes and parsnips in my dish, I think that it surprisingly complemented the sweet flavors of the apple in the scotch egg.”

Chef Doyoung, a MasterChef champion, is someone you always looked up to. You remember watching the season that he was competing in and having a gut feeling that he would make it to the final round. There was something special about Chef Doyoung and his dishes. Every dish he created had its own story, and of course, it would always look and taste delicious. Hearing his comments throughout your journey in the competition has also helped you learn and create a chef’s mindset. 

“I think I would definitely serve something like this as an appetizer at one of my restaurants. The presentation is spot on. I couldn’t have imagined a scotch egg to be presented in any other way. It’s almost as if you’re recreating nature, mother nature I would say, through your dishes. The flavors balance so well, which is not surprising because you’ve always had a good sense of your spices. Very well done, Y/N.”

Chef Jaehyun, although you disliked him at first, has truly been the one who wanted to see you succeed. Ever since he had tried to change your mind about withdrawing from the competition you couldn’t help but think that he was the one who truly liked you and your performance in the competition all along. If he didn’t try to change your mind, you would have probably withdrawn from the competition and returned back to the starting position of your journey. Chef Jaehyun has made you realize that if you truly want something, you have to work extremely hard for it. He made you realize that you’re better than what you think and most of the time, you’re just being hard on yourself. Someday, you plan on thanking him for being tough on you because it helped you on your journey to becoming a chef.

As you heat up the pan on the stove, you slice and dice up your apples to fuse them with the rabbit meat. Placing them onto the pan, you begin creating your artichoke puree that will amplify the flavors of the dish. From time to time, you could check up on the rabbit meat to make sure that you weren’t overcooking it. Overcooking rabbit meat would be horrifying because it would only mean that you would have to cook a new batch in so little time. It is extremely crucial to your dish. 

“You have fifteen minutes left!”

You spent the remaining fifteen minutes focusing on the rabbit meat since you have finished making the artichoke puree. After already beginning to plate your dish with the puree, you place the rabbit meat onto a frying rack to drain out the oil. Your hands are shaking out of complete nervousness. You want this so bad. But the fact that you’re serving a dish that you haven’t even tasted is such a huge risk to take. 

“Five minutes left!”

Drizzling a bit more of the artichoke puree on top of the rabbit meat, your nervous hands cause you to drizzle a bit more than needed. Pulling out a clean towel, you wipe off some of the puree that scattered on the sides of the dish. Glancing up at the time, you have one minute left to spare. You take these last few seconds to make sure everything looks good before handing them over to the servers.

“Time’s up! Hands up! Servers, please head to the back to serve the dishes.”

The last and final dish you are going to serve the chef judges is dessert. Dessert is your expertise. Everyone is aware that if there was one thing you excelled at as a chef, it would be through your desserts. You would like to thank your mother for exposing you to the world of baking at such a young age. It truly helped you later on in life, especially in this competition. For this dish, you decided to create a dish that represented a fallen apple or an apple that has fallen from an apple tree. The dish is simply an apple panna cotta, but you will be presenting it in such a way that it looks like an apple that has fallen onto the ground. This dish is going to tie up your ‘apple’ series and hopefully help you win the competition.

“Hey, Y/N. I’m back.” Chef Jaehyun smiles as he visits you at your station once again.

You smile back at him. “Hi, Chef Jaehyun. Is there anything I could help you with?”

“You could help me by letting me know what you’re planning on serving us for dessert.” He grins. 

“I guess you’ll just have to find out,” you mumble softly. 

“Mysterious.” He nods his head as he begins to move on to Taeil’s station. “You’re going to surprise us?”

“Yes, chef.” You reply.

“Well, I hope it’ll be worth the surprise! Good luck, Y/N.”

“Thanks, chef!”

For your dish, you’re not planning on serving them a whole apple. You’re going to recreate the apple by making apple jelly. The apple jelly will be shaped like an apple by pouring the mixture into a silicone tray. Since an apple has seeds in the middle, you are going to toast up some pine nut seeds and place them into the middle of the jelly mixture once it’s set. To recreate the red color of an apple, you are going to place a red glaze all over the jelly. Since this dish is going to replicate a fallen apple, you are going to recreate soil by grinding up a mixture of nuts and raisins. This will act as the bed for the fallen apple. Lastly, you are going to recreate the leaves of the apple tree by using sugar and water, and the twigs of the branches with a sweet dough.

“You have twenty minutes left!”

You pull out your silicone trays and you nearly have a heart attack. The jelly is not completely set but you don’t have much time left to keep it in the fridge. You still have to plate the entire dish. Taking the toasted pine nut seeds off the stove, you place them onto a tray to cool down. One by one, you shove pine nut seeds into the apple jelly. The seeds keep popping back up, which confirms that your apple jelly still isn’t set properly. But with the time you have left, you have to take this risk. 

“Ten minutes left!”

You begin plating your dish. To plate your apple-themed dessert, you grab the bowl of fake soil that you created with an assortment of nuts and raisins and scoop out two spoons to create a bed for the fallen apple. After you do that on three plates, you carefully pop out the apple jelly from the silicone tray and place it on top of the soil. Then, to decorate the apple jelly, you stick your fake twigs into the jelly and place sugar leaves on top. As you grab the pot of red glaze, you stop in your tracks. 

From the corner of your eye, you can see Chef Jaehyun looking at you as you freeze in your spot. You look deep in thought. Suddenly, you shake your head and place the pot of red glaze back onto the countertop. He tilts his head in confusion.

“Ten seconds left!” 

Everyone is beginning to count down and you’re making final touches to your dish. Taeil, on the other hand, already has his hands up to indicate that he’s already done.

“Time’s up! Hands up! Servers, please take the dishes to the back.”

“Alright, Y/N, please tell us what you have served for us.”

Stepping forward, you clear your throat. Each one of them looks at you with anticipation, but it makes you grow even more nervous. You feel more nervous than how you were at the start of the competition. When your eyes meet Chef Jaehyun’s, your mind can’t help but go blank. He gives you an encouraging smile and it’s enough for you to snap back to your senses.

“For dessert, I’ve recreated a fallen apple by making an apple panna cotta. The fallen apple is supported by a bed of soil which is recreated with an assortment of nuts and raisins. To replicate the twigs and leaves of the apple tree, I’ve made a dough for the twigs and used a sugar glaze for the leaves.” You describe your dish. All of their eyebrows raise. You’re not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.

“I saw you holding a pot of red glaze earlier and I assumed that you were going to use that to glaze over the apple jelly. But I see that you’ve decided not to use it. Is there a particular reason why you decided to do that?” Chef Jaehyun asks as he’s digging into your dessert by taking a bit of everything onto his spoon.

“I decided not to use red glaze for this dish because I felt like it would look a little bit too fake. I also think that it wouldn’t match the overall colors of the dish.” You explain. 

Chef Jaehyun smiles. “I think that was good judgment on your part. If it doesn’t look like it belongs on your dish, then don’t add it. Well done, Y/N.”

“Let’s all dig in.” Chef Doyoung insists.

As they all taste your dish, you nervously fiddle with your fingers. After they have all finished tasting the different components of your dish, they look back up at you.

“I think this is a unique dish, Y/N.” Chef Taeyong begins. He’s the first one to make a comment on your dessert. “I’ve never seen anything like it. The presentation is spot on again. I really like the balance of sweetness from the apple jelly and the richness of the soil. I enjoyed this dish. Thank you, Y/N.”

“Thank you, chef.” You mumble.

“I agree with Chef Taeyong.” Chef Doyoung smiles. “I really like how the jelly melts in your mouth and how this is counteracted by the crunchy texture of the nuts. The presentation of the dish is executed very well, it looks like a fallen apple. You’ve done a beautiful job, Y/N.”

“Thank you so much, chef.” 

“I agree with all of them.” Chef Jaehyun chuckles. “I see why you decided not to add red glaze to this dish. It would have completely ruined it. I am not one who likes desserts, but this has completely changed it for me. I love how it has the right amount of sweetness. The nuts balance well with the sweetness due to it being so rich in flavor. I would also serve something like this at my restaurant. You’ve come a long way, Y/N. You’ve done an excellent job in finishing up your three-course apple menu.”

“Wow, that means a lot, thank you so much.” You sigh with relief.

“Alright, we’re going to have a bit of a meeting now.” Chef Doyoung chuckles. “The two of you can go back and meet with your family while we go over your dishes and choose this season’s MasterChef.”

“Good luck, Y/N and Taeil.”

“We have finally come to a decision.”

Everyone is gathered near the front of the kitchen. The three judges are standing right in front of you. You and Taeil share glances. Taeil flashes you a huge smile that you mirror back at him. It feels like a dream standing in front of the three chef judges, waiting for them to announce the winner of MasterChef. The journey that you took on this competition is one that you will never forget and one that will change your life forever. 

“It was hard to choose a winner for this season’s MasterChef.” Chef Taeyong begins. “Because the two of you have come such a long way since the start of the competition. The two of you have been through tough challenges and elimination tests, but you persevered, and that’s why you’re standing here today.”

“You have both improved and learned a lot since you started your journey here at MasterChef, and your journey continues even after the competition.” Chef Jaehyun clasps his hands together. “I personally think this season is my favorite. This final round has been special. You both served dishes that we have never even seen in the previous seasons of MasterChef. The both of you should be extremely proud of yourselves for making it this far.”

“But we do have to choose one MasterChef winner. The winner will be getting the first prize and a chance to open up their own restaurant or catering service. This will put you out into the field of cuisine and culinary arts, something that we’re all sure that you both came here for.” Chef Doyoung smiles. “Shall we announce the winner?”

“I think we should.” Chef Taeyong chuckles. “It was such a hard decision but…”

“But we have finally chosen this season’s MasterChef.” Chef Doyoung finishes it for him. “Y/N, Taeil, could you please step up to the front?”

You and Taeil head towards the front, hand in hand. Taeil gives your hand a tight, reassuring squeeze. Standing right behind him is his own family. Standing behind you are your relatives and your father, but also your mother, who’s looking down at you from the sky. 

“This season’s MasterChef is…”

You close your eyes. Your heart begins to beat faster than horsepower. You would feel like the only woman in the world if you hear your name being called out. Standing right here, with Taeil, in front of three world-renowned chefs, is another reminder of how much you wanted this, why you started this journey, and what you want out of it. It’s not only for you, but for your mother, who would always chase her dreams. 

“Congratulations, because you are this season’s MasterChef…”

“Y/N! Congratulations, you are this season’s MasterChef!”

It’s all a blur. Confetti shoots up into the air and falls down like snowflakes. You open your eyes when you feel yourself being attacked by your family with hugs. Taeil’s hand never lets go of yours and he pulls you into a tight, celebratory hug. Your eyes well up with tears. 

You can’t believe it.

If only your mother was here to celebrate your win with you. But you’re sure that she’s up in the skies, cheering you on, celebrating your achievement. It’s hard to breathe because it all feels so surreal. When you blink away your tears, your vision becomes clear again and you see the three chef judges coming in to join the big hug. Chef Jaehyun falls within sight and you share gazes.

He flashes you a wide, warm, genuine smile while mouthing ‘congratulations’.

Your heart skips a beat but you pay no attention to it.

You mouth back a ‘thank you, chef’.

AFTER MASTERCHEF.

It’s been a couple of months since you won MasterChef and you’ve been assigned to work alongside Chef Doyoung at one of his new branch locations. You’ve been assigned this job in the meantime while you renovate your new diner that you’ve always wished of running. 

If Jaehyun were to be honest, he was quite sad (or should he say, jealous, but he will never admit it) that you were assigned to work with Doyoung. The days after MasterChef have been uneventful and boring. Everywhere he looks, it reminds him of you. Everything he does, it reminds him of you. Stubborn to admit it, he misses it. He misses you.

And so when he steps inside of Doyoung’s new branch location of his restaurant, Doie, he hopes that he could catch you there. Why? Because finding you has been extremely difficult these days. 

As he steps into the restaurant, he heads straight to the front desk. The woman working at the front slowly looks up and upon realizing who’s standing right in front of her, her posture straightens.  

He flashes her a warm smile. “Is Chef Y/N here?” 

“O-Oh! You’re Chef Jaehyun!” She exclaims. 

He smiles sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck. “Yes, that’s me. I decided to drop by and check this place out. I had only found out that Chef Y/N was assigned to work here in the meantime before the opening of Mina’s Place.” 

“Unfortunately, Chef Y/N already left. She left a couple of hours ago to attend to some personal matters.” The woman frowns, spinning a pen in between her fingers. 

“Oh, is that so?” He’s trying so hard to hide the disappointment in his eyes. “I guess I was a bit too late.”

“Do you want me to pass a message on to her, chef?” She asks insistently. 

“Oh, there’s no need. I guess I’ll just drop by tomorrow.” He says with defeat.

Why is it that it used to be so easy to bump into you? Why is it that it’s become so difficult to bump into you now? Why is it so hard to cross paths with you now? It’s been so easy to find you before. But now, when he tries to find you, he can’t. It’s grown into a difficult game of hide and seek.

“Actually—” Jaehyun begins before cutting himself off. “I’ll be right back.”

He rushes out of the restaurant and spots a flower shop right across the road. Stepping inside of the flower shop, he’s greeted by an elderly woman who’s watering a fresh batch of tulips. She places the pail of water back onto the black and white tiled floor. 

“Hello, young man, how can I help you?” 

He lets his eyes wander around the shop. He can’t seem to figure out what to get. 

“I’ve been wanting to get a bouquet of flowers, but I’m not quite sure which flowers to put together.” He scratches the back of his head. 

She giggles sheepishly. “Is it for a young lady that’s taken your interest?”

He’s caught off guard by the question. He lets out a shaky, breathy laugh. There’s no way he could be feeling this way for you. Even if he does feel like you’re someone special to him, it’s something that will take a while for him to understand. Liking you is one thing but falling in love with you is another.

“I—I mean—Yeah, I guess so?” He sounds confused.

She tilts her head. “You guess so? Well, young man, the fact that you’ve stepped foot into my shop to get a lovely lady a bouquet of flowers must mean something. She must be someone special.”

The old woman has a point. He wouldn’t be going out of his way to do all of this for you. He wouldn’t be trying to find you. He wouldn’t have the urge to talk to you, to get to know you more. 

“I guess you’re right,” he slowly nods his head when everything slowly becomes clear for him. “Alright. Do you mind putting a bouquet together for a young woman that I’ve taken interest in? I want her to like me just as much as I like her.”

The old woman breaks out into a wide smile. 

“Right away, sir.” 

When the bouquet of white daisies and red tulips is wrapped and bundled together with a plastic wrap, Jaehyun pays for the old woman’s efforts and time before heading back to the restaurant across the road. But before he leaves the flower shop, the old woman gives him words of encouragement. He gives her two thumbs up and heads back. 

The woman standing at the front eyes the bouquet of flowers in his hands when he enters. He places the bouquet on top of the counter. “I’m back.”

“You’re back, indeed.”

“Do you mind giving Y/N these flowers when he comes in tomorrow? You could place them in a vase to keep them fresh too.” He asks.

She nods her head. “Will do, chef.”

“Alright, thank you so much. I’ll head on out now—”

“Chef Jaehyun, are you sure you’re just going to give her the bouquet of flowers without a note?”

Shoot. He turns back around. “You’re right, I didn’t write a note.”

She slides over a stack of sticky notes and her own pen. “Here you go, chef.”

He grabs the stack of sticky notes and walks over to one of the tables for two. He plops his butt down onto one of the chairs and thinks about what to write and what type of note he wants to leave you. To him, it seems like he’s been sitting there for hours. There are so many things he wants to tell you, but he’ll have to say them one by one.

To Y/N, 

I dropped by Doie in hopes of seeing you. Would love to meet and catch up with you over a cup of coffee. I miss hope that we could get in touch soon. On the back of the note is my number. Hope to hear from you soon.

Jaehyun

“A short video?”

The production team exchanges looks before nodding their head. Jaehyun has been called to have a meeting with one of the food companies that he helps endorse. The company is popular for their gluten-free food products. From gluten-free flour to gluten-free bread, the company most likely carries it. It was the first brand that Jaehyun endorsed mainly because he’s always been picky with his food, especially since his mother’s allergic to gluten. 

“Yes! With Chef Y/N! It’s a promotion video for one of the new brands we’re carrying here at the supermarket. We’re planning on having the both of you shop around one of our supermarkets and use the groceries to create a dessert for Valentine’s Day.” One of the PR managers explains.

“Did Chef Y/N agree to do the video?” He raises an eyebrow. 

“Yes, she just got back to us this morning. She’s interested in doing the video.” Another PR joins the conversation. 

“Great. I’ll do the video.”

Everyone looks at each other weirdly. That was such a fast response. They always had trouble negotiating with Jaehyun mainly because of his busy life. But this time, it was different.

“O-Oh? That’s perfect, chef!”

“When do we start?”

A couple of weeks later, you arrive at a supermarket that’s been closed off to the public until noon. It’s been a while since you last saw Chef Jaehyun. You were quite surprised to hear that he had decided to do the cooking video with you. You were even more surprised when the PR team had told you that the MasterChef viewers had voted for the two of you to collaborate for the video. As for the reasons why the viewers voted for the two of you specifically… you still have no idea.

“Chef Jaehyun will be arriving in a bit, he’s running late because of traffic.” The videographer informs you. 

“No worries, I’ll keep myself busy in the meantime.” You smile, heading inside of the supermarket to take a look at the groceries. 

You start off in the produce section, trying to see what you can come up with for the video. There are fresh large strawberries that you think would be perfect for chocolate-covered strawberries. After all, you and Chef Jaehyun are supposed to create a dish that would be perfect for Valentine’s Day. You try to look for other alternatives, steering away from doing the basics. 

“Miss Y/N? Chef Jaehyun has arrived. He’s just outside of the supermarket.” One of the PR interns approaches you, almost startling you.

“Oh! Yes, alright, I’ll head on over with you right now.” You join her as you both walk back outside of the supermarket. 

As you walk through the automatic doors, the first thing you spot is a tall figure standing a few meters away. He’s talking to the videographers and the PR interns who are telling him what they have planned for the video. You hesitantly approach them, mumbling a soft, “hello.”

When Chef Jaehyun turns towards you, you see his eyes slightly widen before a flame ignites within them. For a brief moment, you get lost in his eyes because you find yourself focusing more on trying to steady your fast heartbeat. When you come back to your senses, you’re the first to look away. 

He clears his throat and you feel his shoulder brush against yours. “Nice seeing you again, Y/N.”

“Nice seeing you too, chef.” You mumble softly. Why do you feel shy?

“Are the two of you ready to start filming? From the scripts that we sent you, it’s going to be a casual type of video.” The videographer explains. “Just to briefly brush over what we have planned for the video, the two of you will be shopping for groceries that the company carries and sells and you will both cook up a dish together. It will be Valentine’s Day themed.”

The both of you slowly nod. “Are you ready?”

You look up to see Chef Jaehyun already looking down at you. You flash him a small, timid smile. “Ready, chef.”

“Perfect! Let’s start with the filming. Be yourselves and of course, have fun!” The videographer clasps his hands together and he pulls out his camera. 

You brace yourself.

It’s going to be a long day, that’s for sure.

“Hello everyone, I’m Chef Jaehyun.”

“And I’m Chef Y/N.” 

“And today, we’ll be shopping around for ingredients to cook up a meal that you could cook for your loved ones this Valentine’s Day.” 

Chef Jaehyun pushes the cart while you look for some fresh fruits in the produce section. The two of you have agreed to cook two different dishes, a dessert and a main course. Chef Jaehyun will be in charge of the main course dish while you will be in charge of the dessert. 

“To spice things up, we have a couple of questions to answer while we shop.” You begin while you’re grabbing a bag of raspberries. 

“You’re going to play the couple game!” One of the PR interns says from her script. Your eyes almost bulge out of its sockets. You don’t remember a couple game written in the script. From the surprised look on Chef Jaehyun’s face, you don’t think he remembers it either. “We will give you two options and the both of you will answer on the count of three. Think of it as a compatibility game!”

“C-Couple game? Compatibility game?” Chef Jaehyun chuckles sheepishly. 

“First question! Fried chicken or pizza? One… two… three!”

“Chicken.” You both answer in unison.

“Wow, the compatibility is strong right off the bat.” The PR intern giggles. “Next question! Snow or rain? One… two… three!”

“Snow.” You both answer in unison again. 

“Wow, this must be fate.” The PR intern swoons. “Third question! Ice cream or cake? One… two… three!”

“Ice cream.” Chef Jaehyun answers.

“Cake.” You answer.

“The last few questions will only get interesting from here. Next question!” The PR exclaims. “Fall in love with your childhood best friend or fall in love with a celebrity! One… two… three!” 

“Fall in love with your childhood best friend.” You both answer.

“Interesting. Next question!” The PR continues to read off of her list of questions. “Choose the one who likes me or choose the one I like the most? One… two… three!”

“The one that I like the most.” You both answer. The PR intern grins as if her mission was accomplished successfully. 

After all of your horrible encounters with Chef Jaehyun, this was one of the few times that you were actually on the same page as him. The only times that you felt like he was on your side was when he begged you to stay in the competition and when he was your partner for semi-finals. You were slowly starting to forget about cold-hearted Chef Jaehyun, the perfectionist that loved to nitpick every single detail of yours. This side of Chef Jaehyun… is a side that you want to see often. 

In fact, you wouldn’t be surprised if you fell in love with him.

“Last question before we let you finish grocery shopping,” the PR intern snaps you out of your thoughts. “What are your ideal types?”

“I like someone who is easy to talk to, someone that I can communicate with without feeling embarrassed. It’s nice to have someone who’s transparent.” Chef Jaehyun is the first to answer the question. 

“How about you, Chef Y/N?” 

You think about it for a moment. You hum to yourself before shrugging your shoulders. “I don’t think I have an ideal type.”

“Oh? Why not?”

“Because I think that no matter what you like in a certain person, when you actually fall in love with someone, that person could be completely different.” You explain.

“You’re a hopeless romantic, Y/N.” Chef Jaehyun nudges you.

It’s an odd gesture, coming from him. You bite your lip, nudging him back. 

“If there’s a hopeless romantic out of the two of us, it would be you, Chef Jaehyun.”

The PR intern chuckles.

“It would definitely be you, Chef Jaehyun, since you were born on Valentine’s Day!”

At the end of the shoot, you and Chef Jaehyun had insisted on cleaning up the kitchen before leaving the set. You’re busy washing the dishes and he’s busy putting the ingredients back into the cupboards and fridge. From the corner of your eye, you can see Chef Jaehyun leaning against the countertop, watching you. You almost drop the dishes into the sink, catching yourself right in time.

“How have you been?” You hear him ask.

You bite your lip. “I’ve been well, chef. You?”

“Better now that I’ve seen you again.” 

You clear your throat, letting out a lighthearted chuckle. “I’m not sure how you want me to react to that, chef.”

“Did you… get them?” 

You furrow your eyebrows in confusion. “Get the…?”

“The flowers…?”

“Flowers…?” You place the dishes back into the hot bath before gasping. “Oh, right! The flowers! Yes, I got them. Thank you, Chef Jaehyun. You didn’t really need to.”

“I wanted to give you a gift since I heard that you’re planning on opening a diner,” he mumbles softly. Is he… blushing?

“It’s true.” You smile. “I’m going to make my mother’s dreams come true.”

“I’m sure she’s proud of you.” He flashes you a smile. It’s a different smile. This time, you can feel the genuinity he’s expressing. It feels sincere. “Have you finalized a grand opening date?”

You turn off the faucet and wipe your hands with a towel. As you turn towards Chef Jaehyun, you don’t realize how close he’s been standing to you. You almost stumble back. Gulping nervously, you nod your head. “Sometime in July.”

“I’ll keep my schedules flexible in July, then. I’d love to join you for the grand opening.” 

“Oh, you don’t need to, chef. I’m sure you’re busy with other things.”

“If it’s for you, why not?” 

The two of you stare at each other. His eyes slowly trail down to your lips. You lick them out of instinct, frozen with your feet glued to the floor. As you fake a cough, he regains his focus and is the first to pull away from you. 

“Jaehyun? We have to get going for your next schedule.” His manager calls out to him.

The two of you glance at each other. He gives you a look you can’t seem to read. Jaehyun doesn’t want to leave. He wants to stay with you. He wants to spend more time with you. He’s aching to get to know you more. There’s a sense of urgency and neediness. 

“You should get going, chef.” You mumble shyly. “Wouldn’t want to be late to your next schedule.”

What Chef Jaehyun does next completely catches you off guard. He ruffles your hair before caressing your cheek with the same hand. With widened and surprised eyes, your heartbeat picks up its pace. He smiles. It feels warm. He feels warm.

“I won’t be able to see you for a while but Happy Valentine’s Day, Y/N. You don’t know how happy I am to see you again.”

When Chef Jaehyun’s figure gets smaller and smaller, your heart feels tighter and tighter. You’re not sure how Chef Jaehyun feels about you. But what you’re sure of is that you no longer despise Chef Jaehyun. 

You’re slowly falling in love with him.

[NEW] COOK UP HEARTWARMING VALENTINE’S DAY DISHES W/ CHEF JAEHYUN AND MASTERCHEF CHAMPION Y/N  1.2m views | 56k+ likes | two days ago

COMMENTS:

[pinned comment] Chef Jaehyun Official: Happy Valentine’s Day everyone~ #chefjaehyunxYN should we do another video together?

pastrychef_amy21: omg is it just me or does anyone feel like chef jaehyun has a crush on chef y/n?? doggolover312 replied: omg I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE THAT NOTICED.  luminescencexx replied: the way he looks at her >> get you a man like chef jaehyun ugh he’s handsome AND he cooks??? perfect package kjhdskjfh

galaxiesandstarsxo: they act like an old married couple sobs i always found their bickering cute since masterchef doggolover312 replied: but doesn’t chef jaehyun have a gf? i swear he did galaxiesandstarsxo replied: i think they broke up a long time ago? they were supposed to get married apparently… but something happened. they even unfollowed each other on socials doggolover312 replied: omg if that’s the case… chef y/n you still have a chance!!

It’s your last day helping out at Doie and it feels bittersweet to be leaving. Here, you close a chapter to open another one. You’ve been helping out in the kitchen at Doie for months, right after you had won MasterChef. The time you were at Doie is something you’ll cherish. But you’re moving on to make bigger moves, making you and your mother’s dreams come true as one of them. 

On your last day of work, Chef Taeyong decides to surprise you with a visit. You’re in the middle of cooking up a dish when he arrives and asks you if the two of you could have a chat. You both find yourselves sitting in the loft that’s been closed to customers for the season. 

“How have you been?” He asks. 

You smile. “I’ve been well, chef. I’ve been enjoying every single day.”

He chuckles. “I can definitely see that you’re enjoying every passing day. You’re a MasterChef, after all.”

You cut right to the chase. “Am I in trouble, chef?”

“No, not at all. Far from it, actually.” He shakes his head. “I wanted to talk to you about something… or should I say, about someone.”

“Who?” 

He snorts. “Jaehyun, of course. Have you seen him recently?”

“Yes, chef. We filmed a video together for Valentine’s Day with one of his sponsors—”

“Now that makes sense!” He exclaims. He sighs with relief. “He’s been acting incredibly weird lately. In fact, he’s been acting weird for the longest time, since MasterChef, and it’s been driving me nuts.”

“Chef Jaehyun? Acting weirdly?” You ask confusedly. 

“How do I put this?” He sighs. “He likes you, Y/N. You may not think he does and he may not think he does either, but I see it. It’s crystal clear. It’s as clear as day.” 

You fold over, bursting out into laughter. It’s the reaction he expected from you. He got the same exact reaction from Jaehyun. Complete disbelief. Complete obliviousness. 

“Oh no, chef. I don’t think he likes me—”

“He does, Y/N.” Chef Taeyong cuts you off. “Listen, before his flight to Florence, his ex-girlfriend dumped him because she was cheating on him. Ever since then, Jaehyun has been such a cold-hearted person and worked his ass off. But I always felt that there was something off about him.”

“He got dumped before flying out to Florence?” You purse your lips into a tight line. “Maybe that’s why he was such in a bad mood when I spilled wine all over his shirt—”

“You both met each other before MasterChef?” Chef Taeyong flips out, eyes rounding like saucers. “In Florence, too?!”

“Yes…?”

“Makes sense.” He squints his eyes. “He kept talking about this restaurant, specifically about this waitress who somehow became a culinary intern—”

“That was me—”

“—and how he kind of regretted being so cold and rude to her because he truly saw potential and thought that she needed a boost of confidence—”

“He saw potential in me even back then—”

“—wait, the girl he was talking about was you?!” His jaw drops. 

You slowly nod your head. “I was the waitress who spilled wine all over his shirt. I was the culinary intern who messed up his dish. All those horrifying encounters with Chef Jaehyun had led me to think that he absolutely hated me. He was blunt and honest, which made my unconfident self to join MasterChef to prove him wrong.”

“And you did.” Chef Taeyong smiles before it turns into a grin. “But Y/N, you got it all wrong.”

“I got it all wrong? How?”

“Jaehyun never hated you. He never disliked you.” He confesses. “In fact, it’s the complete opposite. Jaehyun’s a weird guy, I know.”

“H-How? I don’t—I don’t understand.” You scratch the back of your neck, face filled with confusion. 

“When he told me about a waitress spilling wine all over his shirt, he laughed and said it was like fate was telling him to wake up.” He chuckles. “When he told me about a culinary intern messing up his dish, he couldn’t help but regret being harsh to the intern and wanted to go back but he already had to fly back to Seoul.” 

You’ve never really thought of how your encounters with Chef Jaehyun looked through his point of view. Now that Chef Taeyong was laying it all out for you, you were slowly realizing that your low self-esteem and confidence caused you to immediately conclude that he hated you. 

“Huh—”

“When you auditioned for MasterChef, Jaehyun actually wanted to say yes. In fact, he was the first one to say yes, but the producers of the show told him to say no to add more drama for the viewers.” He continues. “For your team challenge, Jaehyun was the one who spotted Euntae sabotaging your cake.” 

“It was him?” You whisper. 

He nods his head. “When we were deciding who to eliminate after your team lost the challenge, Jaehyun was proactive in convincing us to keep you in the competition. You were close to being eliminated but Jaehyun kept telling us that you had potential.” 

He saw potential in you. He was persistent in keeping you in the competition. In the end, Chef Jaehyun really cared. 

“I—”

“The day after I found out that Jaehyun stopped you from voluntarily withdrawing from the competition, I was curious as to how he managed to make you stay.” He smiles. “But when I looked at him look at you, I had already gotten the answer.”

You fall silent. Chef Jaehyun did everything to make sure that you felt like you were fit to be a chef. But you were just closed minded and immediately shut him down. All of his actions translated into intentions out of hate. You wish you had known, perhaps you would’ve developed a great friendship with him. You’re surprised he’s still coming back into your life to try at being friends with you after being so rude to him. 

“I’ve worked with Jaehyun for many years. I know him so well. I can read him like a book. When I saw how Jaehyun looked at you that day, I felt relieved because I’ve never seen him like that for so long.” He places a hand on your shoulder. “If my best friend decides to pursue you, just know that he has good intentions and that it’s a huge step for him, especially after a heart crushing breakup.”

“That is, if he really likes me.” 

“Oh trust me, honey, he does.”

Chef Taeyong lets out a sigh. The two of you stand there, looking out at the blue skies that overlook the busy streets of Seoul. Your life may be busy, but you wouldn’t trade it for anything else. You’re living out your dreams. 

“Hey, Y/N?”

“Yes, chef?”

“The reason why I dropped by was because I wanted to give you this.” He pulls out an envelope from a bag filled with many other identical envelopes. 

You quirk an eyebrow. “Can I open it in front of you?”

He hums in reply. “Go ahead.”

As you open the envelope, you pull out a white card. It’s almost as if you could read his mind. As you slowly open the white card, you let out a gasp.

“You’re getting married?!”

THE GRAND OPENING.

It’s been a year since you won MasterChef. It’s also been a year since you started planning to start your own diner in memory of your mother. Mina’s Place. You decided to keep the name because it’s one of the few things that remind you of her. You even made sure the interior and exterior of the diner looked exactly how it did when the diner was still open. From the yellow seats and booths, the use of purple and lavender lighting to the gray tiled floors, you kept everything the same. The only difference is that the diner is located in a different area, right in the middle of busy Seoul. 

Today is the grand opening of the diner and you’re expected to serve a large group of customers. PR and advertisement has been your best friend, but your appearance and your win at MasterChef drove the anticipation of the diner’s grand opening even further. 

You arrive at the diner at six in the morning to prepare all of the ingredients. From the ingredients to the grapefruit and basil pie to the ingredients for your Korean brisket and kimchi burger, you had prepared them all on your own. It was only until eight that your co-chefs and waiters and waitresses had arrived to prepare for the grand opening. Around eleven-thirty, customers, Instagram influencers and foodies began to show up at the door, forming a long line around the strip.

“Chef Y/N?” One of the waitresses, Luna, pops her head through the door.

You’re crouching down, filling up the mini fridge with cartons of milk. You dust your hands off your apron and you slowly get up. “Yeah? What’s up?”

“Someone’s here to see you,” she flashes you a warm smile.

You look at her confusedly. “Are we missing someone on the team? I don’t remember anyone telling me that they were going to drop by—”

“It’s Chef Jaehyun,” Luna bites her lip. She’s biting back a huge smile.

Your eyebrows raise. Confused, you continue to gather yourself. Chef Jaehyun? “S-Sure, you can let him in.”

Luna leaves the kitchen to go fetch Jaehyun and you finish placing all the cartons of milk into the mini fridge. Moments later, you hear footsteps entering the kitchen. You stand back up, bumping your head against the table and groaning in pain. Crouching back down over the floor, you hear footsteps begin to scurry closer to you. 

“Oh! Are you okay, Y/N?” 

Before your hand touches the sensitive area, you already feel a familiar hand gently rubbing it to soothe the pain. You freeze up in your position, gulping nervously. Suddenly, Chef Jaehyun’s face is right in front of yours. He has a look of concern. Looking back at him with slightly widened eyes, your mind is completely wiped out of thoughts. What is this feeling? You’ve never felt this way before. You’ve never felt your heart beat so fast. You’ve never frozen up in front of someone. You’ve never lost your train of thought because of someone. 

Seconds later, you clear your throat, pulling yourself away. You’ve finally come back to your senses. “Chef Jaehyun… I had no idea you were planning on dropping by—”

“I wanted to join you in the ribbon ceremony for the grand opening!” He exclaims.

He remembered? He knew it was today? You and Chef Jaehyun have never established some sort of friendship after the competition. You like to think that the both of you have achieved the status of being acquaintances, but definitely not the status of being friends. 

“A-Ah,” you mumble softly. “Thanks, chef. You didn’t need to, I feel like it would be a bother and I’m sure you have other plans too—” 

You’re not sure when things began to change. You’re not sure when the atmosphere began to shift between you and Chef Jaehyun. It’s almost as if you’re seeing a different person. He’s much brighter, nicer, happier. Why is it making your heart swell? What are his intentions?

“I wouldn’t miss the grand opening to Mina’s Place for anything else,” he says softly. “Hey, Y/N?”

You raise an eyebrow. “Hm?”

“I got you a present to congratulate you on the grand opening of Mina’s Place.” 

“A present?” You blurt out. “Oh, no, Chef Jaehyun, you didn’t need to—”

“I wanted to.” He cuts you off. “Let’s go?” 

For a brief moment, you see his hand reach out to grab yours but he quickly pulls away upon realization. The two of you are not that close for such skinship. When he realizes it, he looks back up at you with panicked eyes. Was he really going to hold your hand? You clear your throat, tearing your eyes away from his. Instead, you both walk out of the kitchen side by side.

Sitting on one of the light brown hardwood tables is a lavender box wrapped with a thin white ribbon. You glance at Jaehyun as if asking for permission, he gestures to you to go right ahead. Gently untying the ribbon, you take the lid off the box. A small gasp escapes your lips.

Sitting inside the box is an apron, but it’s not your regular apron. The apron looks just like the one in your old family pictures. Yellow with white straps. It’s simple and clean. It’ll show the stains of your hard work. It’ll feel like home. 

But when you pull it out, there’s one little difference to the design. There, embroidered in white on the top left corner, reads the words “Mina’s Place.” It looks just like your mother’s handwriting, the original font of the brand, and it makes your eyes well up with tears. For a brief moment, when you hold up the apron, you could imagine your mother standing right before you with it on. 

“Chef, I—” You’re having trouble forming the right words to say. 

“So she’ll be with you, right above your heart, every step of the way,” Jaehyun pauses for a moment, “Chef.” He gives you a smile so fond, you are again struck with disbelief. 

Hearing the word ‘chef’ come from Chef Jaehyun is something you want to hear over and over again. You want it to play through your head like a broken record. Chef Jaehyun has always been hard on you, but you knew that he was only hard on you because he only wanted the best. Chef Jaehyun is always hard on everyone and you failed to notice that. He truly wants the best for the people he works with and most importantly, the people he teaches. Maturing is realizing that you were ignorant of Chef Jaehyun’s true intentions and immediately thought negatively of him because of your past encounters with him. 

“D-Do you mind saying that again?”

“I’m proud of how far you’ve come, Chef Y/N. This is only the beginning.”

After a long first day of opening, you and your team of chefs and waiters and waitresses see the last customer out. The grand opening has been such a dream to you. There was a long line that wrapped around the block. The diner was packed with many people. The line never truly saw its end until an hour before closing. When the last customer walks out of the diner after complimenting how delicious their food was, you feel your legs give out and you sigh with relief. Slowly getting back up onto your feet, you head to the back kitchen to congratulate your team.

“And we are officially closed until tomorrow morning!” You exclaim. That is, until you spot a celebratory cake sitting right in front of you on the countertop. Your team of chefs and waiters and waitresses have their phones on and recording your surprised face. “Oh you guys, you shouldn’t have!”

“Congratulations on your grand opening, chef!”

Your eyes scan the kitchen. There’s Luna, a good friend of yours from university who worked as a waitress at a hotel restaurant. She quit her job in a heartbeat after you had offered her to work front of house with a better pay. Standing right next to Luna is Minhyuck, who just graduated from culinary arts college and has been wanting to get into the kitchen as soon as possible. You saw your younger self in him, which is why you hired him on your team. Right next to Minhyuck is Yena, a rookie pastry chef that’s planning on entering MasterChef and figured working with a MasterChef champion would help her. Next to Yena are Wheein and Dohyun, who are line chefs and also your co-culinary interns in Florence. Lastly, there’s Mark and Donghyuck, two best friends and college students who were looking to get jobs as waiters.

“You guys are going to make me cry.” You pout your lips.

“To Mina’s Place!” Mark exclaims.

“To Mina’s Place!” Everyone else exclaims.

You smile, leaning in to blow out the candles. Everyone cheers. But slowly, everyone puts down their phones and stops recording video. You look at them confusedly as they begin to flash you encouraging and cheeky smiles and grins. 

“Why are you guys looking at me like that?” You ask.

“Well, would you look at the time, we should get going!” Dohyun looks down at his wristwatch, avoiding your question.

“Oh, yeah, you’re right. My mom’s going to kill me!” Wheein is rushing to gather her things.

“Wheein is my carpool driver, so I should get going too.” Yena bites her lip.

One by one, everyone starts to leave the kitchen and the diner. When it’s just you, you slowly turn around to see Chef Jaehyun entering the kitchen. He clears his throat and scratches the back of his neck nervously. You tilt your head in confusion.

“Y-You’re still here, chef?” You question.

He nods his head. “I wanted to drop by and see your last customer out.”

“O-Oh, you didn’t have to—”

“I wanted to.” He smiles. “I was wondering if you could…”

He falls silent, having trouble finding the right words to come out. You stand there, expectantly, waiting for him to finish. The first thing you notice is how red Chef Jaehyun’s ears are becoming. The second thing you notice is how he can’t seem to look directly into your eyes. The third thing you notice is that… Chef Jaehyun has become shy and nervous around you. Have the tables turned?

“If I could…?”

“If you could teach me how to make the grapefruit and basil pie.” He blurts out and it comes out as a jumble of words. 

You bite back a smile. “Are you going to steal my recipe and start selling grapefruit and basil pie at your restaurant?”

“Of course not,” he panics. “I would never do that.”

“I’m not sure if I could trust you,” you fold your arms, continuing to tease him. “Jaehyun.”

“I won’t,” he says softly, finally finding the courage to look into your eyes. When it sinks in that you called him by his name, his gaze softens. You feel your heart swell. “I promise. That is, if you promise me one thing too.”

“Of course,” you smile. “What is it?”

“You’ll accompany me to Taeyong’s wedding.” 

“I’d love to, in fact, I was invited as well—”

“As my date.” He finishes. You almost choke on your spit. 

Is this really happening? Jaehyun looks incredibly nervous. You bite your lip to stop yourself from smiling so wide. You slowly nod your head in response.

“I’d love to, Jaehyun.”

THE ‘REAL’ FIRST TIME.

When Jaehyun’s parents pick him up from elementary school, it’s pouring showers outside. But the only thing that lit up the gloomy streets of Seoul was Mina’s Place, a diner that he and his parents would frequent every Friday to reward their efforts for the past week. Both of Jaehyun’s parents are well-known professors at Yonsei University, specifically in the culinary arts program. Jaehyun’s father was a chef alongside famous chefs like Baek Jongwon and Lee Yeonbok. Jaehyun’s mother was a pastry chef who was known for her win at a famous pastry competition back in her days. 

And Jaehyun… was a mini chef in the making. 

On a gloomy Friday afternoon, Jaehyun and his parents sit in their usual corner of Mina’s Place. A woman seeming to be in her late thirties heads over to their table with a menu. She’s wearing an apron and a chef’s hat. 

“Welcome to Mina’s Place, what can I get you started for today?” The woman asks, pulling out her notepad after gently placing the menus down onto the red table. 

“Hi Mina, we’d love to have the usual!” Jaehyun’s father exclaims. “That grapefruit and basil pie has never left my mind since the last time we were here.” 

“That’s such a relief to hear…” The woman, whom Jaehyun now knows is Mina herself, sighs with relief. She writes it down in the notepad along with his mother’s order. She clicks her pen before stuffing it into the pocket of her yellow apron. “I’ll have your orders ready in a bit. In the meantime, make yourselves at home!”

Jaehyun’s eyes wander around the diner. Although this diner was the place he and his parents would frequent, this diner was extra special for a reason. That reason being that his parents got engaged right in front of the diner while it was owned by different owners. During that time, the diner wasn’t Mina’s Place yet, it was a fast-food restaurant. 

Jaehyun’s attention is disrupted when Mina comes back to their table with their orders. His eyes land on the little girl standing right beside her. She has such large innocent eyes. She looks curiously at him. She seems to be somewhere around his age. She’s sporting a mini apron that looks exactly like Mina’s. 

“And who is this cute little girl?” He hears his mother ask Mina.

Mina places her hand on the little girl’s shoulder, bringing the little girl closer to her. She cuddles against Mina. “This is my daughter. Her name is Y/N.”

“How old is she?” His mother continues to ask questions out of curiosity. 

“She’s ten.” Mina pinches her daughter’s cheek. 

“Oh, she’s two years younger than Jaehyun!” His father joins in the conversation. “They could be friends!”

Jaehyun makes eye contact with the little girl. She looks up at her mother before looking at both of his parents. Suddenly, out of nowhere, she looks back at him and sticks out her tongue. He feels taken aback, eyes slightly widening. 

“I think they would get along quite well!” Mina smiles. “Doesn’t little Jaehyun want to be a chef when he grows up?”

“He does,” his mother nods her head. “Does Y/N want to be a chef as well? Take after you?”

“She sure does! They could even go to culinary school together! Maybe go to a cooking competition or something!”

Friends? Jaehyun scoffs, sending a glare at the little girl. They have an intense staredown. To the adults, it looks like they’re staring at each other because they have crushes on each other. But in reality, Jaehyun’s having a staredown with the little girl because she provoked him. He pokes his tongue at her in return. Her eyes widen as if she did not expect him to put up a mini fight. They could even go to culinary school together? There’s no way that that’ll happen. Cooking competition? Absolutely no way. 

“I think my little daughter here has a crush…”

“Jaehyun, sweetie, isn’t Y/N so pretty? You can’t seem to stop staring at her.”

THE REALIZATION OF (MANY) THINGS.

“That was you?!”

“I can’t believe that was you!”

Sitting by the water fountain, you and Jaehyun talk about your real first encounter with each other when you were kids. From the outside of the reception venue, you can hear the DJ playing a remix of cha cha slide and the guests chanting along. Taeyong’s wedding has been memorable. It was nice to see one of your mentors getting married to the love of his life. Not only that, but you’ve been having a great time with Jaehyun. Since it was getting quite stuffy inside the venue, you and Jaehyun decided to stroll around the garden outside to get some fresh air. 

“You know, sometimes I think that we’ve always had fateful encounters.” Jaehyun begins. He’s aching to hold your hand. But he knows that he wants to take things slow and carefully. He’s so in love with you that he doesn’t want to mess this up. 

“Fateful encounters? What makes you say that?” You ask.

“I came out of a horrible breakup before flying to Florence to run a restaurant with Taeyong. It was such a huge coincidence to have a beautiful woman spill expensive wine all over my shirt.” He chuckles.

You jokingly glare at him. “It was an accident.”

“I know, I know.” He waves it off. “It was an even more big of a coincidence to have the same beautiful woman serve me a dish at the same restaurant.”

“Makes sense.” You nod your head in agreement. “And then we met again at MasterChef but I was a contestant and you were the judge.”

“You know, when I heard that you were withdrawing from the competition, it was like my entire world was crashing down.” He says softly. “It was like I was reminded of all the times I’ve met you and how I couldn’t let you go. I had a feeling that there must’ve been a reason why I met you after getting dumped by my ex-girlfriend.”

“But you showed me that it’s worth working hard and that it’s worth chasing your dreams.” You smile. “I haven’t thank you yet for that but... thank you, Jaehyun. If it weren’t for you, I would probably fly back out to Florence and pick up another job as a waitress.”

“And yet, I would still look for you.” He confesses. “If somehow you stuck with your decision of withdrawing, I would’ve still looked for you, no matter how far the distance.”

“Really?” You whisper.

He smiles. “Yes. I mean, how could I forget the beautiful woman that spilled expensive wine all over my shirt?”

You playfully slap his arm. “You’re really going to tease me for that for the rest of my life, huh?”

“Of course, if only you allow me to be with you for a long time.” He says and it slowly turns into a soft, shy mumble. “Agh, this is so hard!”

You quirk an eyebrow. He’s turning away from you, throwing a cute little fit. “What’s so hard?”

“I’ve been meaning to tell you something but I keep getting nervous because you look—” He stops himself. “You look so pretty and whenever I look at you, I lose my train of thought and all of the things I’ve been wanting to tell you.”

“What is it that you need to tell me?”

“Our fateful encounters.” He begins to tell you, with his back facing you because he’s too nervous to look at you. “After MasterChef, I did everything I could to find you, to see you, to get to know you more. When Doyoung told me that you were going to be working at his restaurant for a while, I kept visiting in hopes to see you but you weren’t there.”

“You did?”

“Yes, which is why I gave you those flowers!” He exclaims. “And then when we were asked to shoot that Valentine’s Day video, I agreed to do it in a heartbeat when I found out that you were going to be joining the project.” 

“Oh...” 

“It used to be so easy to look for you because of all of our fateful encounters. But after MasterChef, it’s become a mission to find you. But now that I’ve finally found you again, I knew that I couldn’t let you go no matter what.” 

“Jaehyun...” You trail off. 

He sucks in a deep breath before slowly turning back around to face you. “Y/N, I hope you know what I’m trying to say, where I’m trying to get at with this... but...”

“But?” You have a feeling you know what he’s going to tell you, but you would rather wait for it to spill past his lips. 

“I’m—” He begins before looking down at your feet. His eyebrows raise in shock and he lets out a small gasp. “Oh, you’re wearing them.”

You almost want to curse at your two feet for ruining the moment. You look down at your heels that you’ve chosen to wear to the wedding. It’s the pair of heels that Alessandro had given to you when you broke your heels after tripping over yourself and spilling wine all over Jaehyun. 

“These heels? Yeah, I was given—”

“You’re wearing the heels that I gave you.” He cuts you off.

“You were the one who gave these?” You whisper.

His eyes meet yours and he chuckles, nodding his head. “Of course. When you got back up after tripping over, I noticed that your heels broke and so I stopped by one of the shops along the strip to get you a new pair. I think I dropped it off with Alessandro because I was running a bit late to—oof!”

“It was you. It’s always been you. This entire time.” You crush him with a hug. He’s caught off guard and sits there in shock for a brief moment before melting into your embrace. 

He slowly pulls away and grabs your hands. “As I was saying...”

“As you were saying...” You continue.

“With all our fateful encounters... with those pair of heels... with all of the times I’ve crossed paths with you, I don’t think I’ve ever felt this way in so long.” He continues. “Y/N, I’m so in love with you. I’m already so nervous telling you this right now, especially while holding your hands. I just wanted you to know that I have feelings for you and you could completely reject me, I understand—”

“I’m in love with you too, Jaehyun.”

“Really?” He whispers, still in shock. “You’re giving me a chance?”

“Only if you give me a chance.” You chuckle.

“You don’t know how happy you’ve made me, Y/N.”

“You don’t know how much I want to make you happy, Jaehyun.”

WELCOME TO THE NEW SEASON OF MASTERCHEF.

“For today’s challenge, we will be recreating Y/N’s most famous dish!”

All of the contestants let out gasps when you step onto the stage to join the three chef judges. The judges for the new season of MasterChef remain the same; Chef Taeyong, Chef Jaehyun, and Chef Doyoung. After having them beg you to guest on the show, you decided to give it a shot.

“For today’s challenge, you will be recreating my famous dish of a deconstructed basil and grapefruit pie.” You smile. “To start this challenge, let us all gather around the front so that you could learn how to master your own deconstructed pie!”

You begin by making your way towards the demo station where you will be showing the contestants how to make your famous pie. Everyone joins in and gathers around you to get a glimpse of how to make your famous pie themselves. Standing on the stage a couple of metres behind you are the three judges, you watch you begin your demo.

Jaehyun folds his arms and lets out a happy sigh. Taeyong glances at him and quirks an eyebrow. “I wonder who that beautiful woman is cooking at the demo table over there.”

Taeyong snorts and rolls his eyes. “Jaehyun, that’s your girlfriend.”

Jaehyun chuckles, nodding his head. “Oh right... she is. That’s my girlfriend—actually, my fiance.”

“Your what? Since when? H-How—” Doyoung and Taeyong share shocked looks while Jaehyun digs into the pockets of his jeans to pull out an engagement ring. Your engagement ring, to be exact.

“Since last night.” He holds up your engagement ring in one hand and shows his engagement ring that he’s wearing on his other. “She doesn’t like cooking with her engagement ring so I’m just holding it for her.”

“Dude...” Taeyong clenches his chest.

Jaehyun snorts. “Dude...”

“Wow, I’m really the only one left that’s single, huh?” Doyoung sighs.

The two chefs comfort him by patting his back.

“She’ll come around soon, Doyoung. You just gotta be patient.”

“You never know, she’ll be a chef too!”

“Chef Jaehyun?” 

The three of them shift their attention back to the contestants. You’re the one calling out to Jaehyun. He quirks an eyebrow. “Yes, Chef Y/N?”

“A couple of the ladies here are wondering if you’re single,” you chuckle. 

Jaehyun shares a knowing look with you. “Well, I hate to disappoint but I just got engaged to the love of my life.”

They let out sad sighs and groans before everyone gets back to learning how to make your famous pie. Taeyong smirks. 

“You’re breaking so many hearts right now, Jaehyun.”

💌 author’s note. she’s FINALLY here 😩 again, i apologize for keeping this off for such a long time. i’ve been super busy with school and just life in general. to everyone who’s been super understanding and patient, thank you so much. from the bottom of my heart, i sincerely thank you for waiting for such a long time. i also wanted to thank @sehunniepotwrites for hearing me voice out my frustrations and all of my excitement throughout writing this fic. nikki truly saw all of the emotions that i’ve experienced and gone through while writing chef!jae. i remember always wanting to write a chef!jae fic and bring chef!jae to life, but there was a lot of pressure and the feeling of doubt.. i felt like i had to do it justice and the fear of not writing it to the best of my ability (esp with me being a perfectionist), it was something that held me back from finishing this fic. but i managed to pull through and i realized that it doesn’t matter, what matters is that i enjoyed writing this fic and if that feeling of enjoyment can be felt through those who read it, that’s more than enough for me. but anyways before this gets longer, thank you so much for reading!

and as always, feedback and comments are always appreciated!

taglist (some of the tags didn’t work so if u didn’t get the notif, i’m sorry!): @anya-writes-stuff​ @swifterauhl​ @tyongblr @alwaysthefirstsight @doyoungsmovingcastle​ @pinkyzae​ @sunshinein17​ @jaehyunnie77​ @dreamycomets​ @seventeeneration​ @srutz​ @coupsiesluv​ @nctdom​ @moonchele​ @freshprunecowboyapricot​ @chimmybaek7​ @forhaever​ @ten10vly​ @fluffyjaes​ @gyujaehyun​ @so-showme-ill-shownu​ @winniet​ @yipyipmorals​ 

#neowritingsnet #cznnet #ankathia #nct-writers #jaehyun #jaehyun scenarios #jaehyun imagines #jaehyun x oc #jaehyun x reader #jeong jaehyun #jeong jaehyun scenarios #jeong jaehyun imagines #jeong jaehyun x oc #jeong jaehyun x reader #nct #nct scenarios #nct imagines #nct x reader #nct x oc #nct 127 #nct 127 scenarios #nct 127 imagines #nct 127 x reader #nct 127 x oc #fluff #angst #jaehyun fluff #jaehyun angst #IT'S DONE #AHHHHHH

[midstofroses]

Love Me Like That

❝𝑷𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒂 𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆— 𝑶𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆.❞

♡

Pairing: Jeong Yuno-Jaehyun (nct) x (fem!oc) Original Character

» Genre: one-shot, soft-angst, underlying suggestive– reader discretion advised ▪︎ ex to lovers » Disclaimer! This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, events or even other fictional stories is purely coincidental

Sienna stepped into the room, the aroma of pizza lingering in the air. "You're just in time. Did you bring the pizza?" Her friend– Nabi asked, revealing the items she had bought. "Yeah, and got some chicken too," she smiled excitedly.

Their living room was transformed into a haven for a movie marathon, a night to savour their well-deserved chill and create fond memories. Nabi's eyes sparkled with excitement as she accepted the food. "Well, then you should go clean yourself and come back here so we can start our movie night."

"I'll be quick," Sienna chimed.

After a brisk wash, the refreshing feeling enveloped her. A slight relief washed over her, even though her raging hormones from that time of the month still caused her physical discomfort.

While picking up her pyjamas, she noticed a mountain of clean clothes at the edge of her bed. Sighing, she decided to restore order before rejoining her friends. Sienna's frustration grew when the drawer refused to close. It wasn't as if she had bought new clothes for her drawer to betray her.

After several failed attempts, she couldn't contain her anger and punched the drawer in frustration.

"I missed him," she mumbled, catching her breath. The reason for her inconvenience dawned on her – her clothes weren't folded the way they used to be when he was around. How foolish of her.

Leaving her dark room, Sienna went to the kitchen where Kai noticed her friend's slightly bruised hand. "Oh? What happened to your hand?" she asked in confusion.

"Oh, it's nothing. I just need to run water on it," Sienna replied, brushing off the concern.

"Make sure you put ointment and bandage it after cooling it off," Kai advised.

"Yeah, will do," Sienna responded, putting on a brave smile beneath her troubled emotions.

"Oh, by the way, Jaehyun came by this afternoon looking for you," Nabi announced, interrupting the moment. Kai recalled the earlier encounter, suspecting a disagreement.

"Did you guys fight?" Kai asked, and Sienna's expression grew timid. She didn't want to discuss him; it was giving her a headache.

"He brought red velvet cupcakes," Nabi added, trying to lighten the mood. Sienna glanced at the coffee table, spotting the cupcakes – a favourite treat of theirs.

"You mentioned it's your first day of 'red days.' I guess having Jaehyun be part of your monthly flow app is so useful," Nabi giggled, proud of the gesture despite the situation.

"Heh, I guess so," Sienna chirped, trying to keep the conversation light while tending to her hand. "Why does he always have great timing?" she pondered, glancing at her phone with unread messages from Yuno piling up.

As they settled into their movie night, Kai brought up the topic of sharing expenses in a relationship. The conversation flowed, intertwining with the movie's background noise.

"I totally agree with you gals, but if the guy made you feel uncomfortable throughout the date, I'd rather pay my half and be done with it," Sienna commented, sharing her perspective.

Kai expanded on the aftermath, "So he wouldn't have the chance to point stupid things. Such as he paid the whole time, but he would act like a sad boy or an ass since the date didn't end well, right?"

"Exactly! Ugh, that's the feeling I hate," Sienna raged, hugging a pillow. After her emotional outburst, she finally indulged in the red velvet cupcake she had been craving.

As the night deepened, the snow outside intensified, creating a cosy atmosphere in their little bubble of friendship. "But if you think about it like this, he wasted your valuable time." Kai offered a new perspective. “So you at least did not waste your own money”

"But that's not what she came for in the first place," Nabi pointed out, settling the situation. “Besides we all know we can earn more money than to live like that.” 

"I'd still rather drown myself than give him the privilege to think he spoiled me with his own money," Sienna expressed her feelings, hormones adding a touch of intensity.

The three friends continued their night, sharing deep conversations and appreciating each other's presence. Unbeknownst to them, Sienna was truly grateful, even amid the challenges she hid behind her facade.

As the last days of spring dwindled, Yuno felt a magnetic pull towards the enchanting nights, eager to grasp the remnants of the season before the relentless heat of summer took over. The crisp wind, a balm for his cluttered mind, whispered promises of clarity.

"This feels nice," he murmured, eyes fixed on the captivating night unfolding in the park by the river. Soft lights adorned the streets, and cherry blossoms, in their final dance, swirled around, accompanied by the gentle melody emanating from his headphones.

On a whim, Yuno invited Johnny for a spontaneous bike ride, half-expecting a decline. Much to his surprise, his best friend agreed, and they found themselves in a nearby park, a place etched with memories of their shared adventures.

Yuno, seeking an escape from the confines of home and work, embraced the freedom of riding through the city. The wind carried untold stories, and the cityscape unfolded its secrets.

"Hey, there's no one in the court," Johnny observed, diverting Jaehyun's attention. "Wanna play?" Jaehyun suggested.

"Yeah, it's been a while. It's going to be fun," Johnny agreed, infusing the atmosphere with infectious enthusiasm. After a few spirited rounds, they decided to take a breather, relishing the camaraderie that defined their friendship.

Perched on a bench around the court, they savoured water and ice cream. Johnny playfully teased, "Jae, not to sound like a jealous second babe, but don't you usually ask Sienna for these?" Laughter bubbled up, but beneath the banter, Jaehyun grappled with emotions threatening to surface.

START OF FLASHBACK.

The dark room lit up with the moonlight and the desk lamp near her, Yuno smiled seeing Sienna was waiting at his place.

He closed their proximity by hugging her. Yuno always takes this kind of opportunity whenever she waits for him to come home after a long day from work. He feels relieved from his stress even with just one hug from his favourite person. 

After letting him hug her, Yuno stared at her with curiosity “You’d spend the night here?” 

Sienna gulped avoiding his gaze. "You went over my head and paid for my University fees without telling me." Her voice was monotone, standing up from where they were sitting. 

"Oh, I guess it's too late for a surprise now." He looks up at her, smiling giddily. But, he recognizes her demeanour changes negatively, making his face drop in worry. 

“Let me remind you, I'm not a girl who you could just simply pay for, Yuno.” She scoffs painfully. “If you think your grand gesture was cute, well news flash I’m disappointed.” Sienna attempts to calm her voice down, “You didn’t even bother to have this conversation with me!” But alas her blood boils with her tears slowly falling from her eyesight becoming an ocean of pain. 

Yuno stood up straight. “It’s just money, Sienna.” He chortles, brushing his hair out of his face.“I don't want you to be stressed because of money.” Yuno huffs out, confused by her action. “I could always make more money for me– for us.” Yet he strives to get close to her, cupping her face with his hands softly caressing her stained cheeks. “And I can help you with that, can’t you see it? I want to support you so you can reach your goal!” His voice and face emitted torment, he hated how this situation occurred. 

Her birthday was coming up, and all he wanted was to do something that alleviated her burden. 

She removes his hands from her face aggressively, moving away from him. 

“You think my family and I can’t handle our shit?” she sarcastically laughed, trying to stop her sobbing, though it was difficult to execute. Anxiously she bit her bottom lip harder.

He could sense her walls starting to appear once again, his nightmare slowly coming to life.  

“Sure I'm struggling, my family is struggling.” The young lady asserts, “But I've experienced far much worse than this bullshit and we’ve survived.'' Sienna picked up a pillow and slammed it on the coach. “Why can’t you believe in me?!” With every word she screams out, the pillow gets slammed on the coach. Relinquishing her anger through the use of this method. She stopped her antics, breathing heavily. Sienna peer dead in the eyes of him. “I just needed more time to accomplish things, not all plans can sail smoothly.” Her voice cracked, eyes were gradually forming to puff. 

“Sienna, I know how much you want to study again, despite not having it as your first choice with this course.” His body quivered, tears heavily forming as he scanned her figure.“Whenever I see how you recall your memories with your friends or when you help them study, you always have that spark.” He carries on describing his affection towards Sienna and how he witnessed her in the past years of their relationship. “I just want to bring that spark back.” He’s not the type who would just sit down on purpose. If he indeed has the means to help her out, even just a little he would do it in a heartbeat. 

Life is hard and he desires to be a partner where she can lean onto him safely. 

Yuno wanted to come closer to her, yet she immediately flinched and it broke his heart into pieces seeing her first instinct was to run away from him. 

“Jeong Yuno, You’re not getting the point here.” Sienna sniffles as she shakes her head while gazing down on the floor. “We’re over.” she declares, with his furrowed brows “No.” He sternly demands.

She sneered, “After all of this, I'll do the grand gesture to finally break this relationship off.” With her last remark, her body evacuated from his place. 

Yuno followed her out but she was too fast and he was too slow to handle the situation, he got lost finding her.

END OF FLASHBACK.

Jaehyun just bared his soul to Johnny, revealing the painful truth of his recent breakup with Sienna, a wound haunting him for three months. It marked a vulnerable moment for Jaehyun, who, until now, had grappled with the harsh reality and denial.

Unbeknownst to Jaehyun, Johnny already knew the heart-wrenching details. A week earlier, Kai, Johnny's girlfriend, had shared the relationship's demise with him. Though Kai hadn't intended to spill the beans, the weight of the secret pushed Johnny to convince her to share the truth.

The revelation left Johnny stunned.  Sienna was dead serious with Kai, She didn’t want to entertain questions about them so only a few people got to know the real state of their relationship. Johnny unwittingly became one of those few.

Now, faced with Jaehyun's raw emotions, Johnny wrestled with the delicate balance between concern for his friend and utmost respect for their privacy. He had upheld his end of the bargain, bearing the weight of their shared secret. As a pillar of support, Johnny stood ready to help Jaehyun navigate the emotional turmoil, recognizing Yuno's need for that gentle push.

"How did you cope up?" Johnny delicately probed, shattering the unspoken barriers.

"After that night, every week I'd visit their house, hoping to find her. Eventually, I had to stop when a big project came my way. But I kept leaving messages, calls, even emails," Jaehyun confessed, his unwavering dedication to Sienna palpable. Two years into working with an architecture company, Sienna had been his anchor.

"Sometimes I'd order stuff to be delivered to their home. But after two months, I received a message from her. One message that I thought was my chance to come back into her life, and then I saw it." Jaehyun sighed deeply, the raw pain reflected in his eyes. "She sent: 'It's about time you stop this, don't tire yourself out."

That broke Yuno once again. It snapped his brain, and I focused on work, endless work, stuck at his place, never having an inch to socialize.

Earlier that morning, Jaehyun had grappled with anxiety before a crucial presentation. He dialled Sienna's number, seeking support, but as he hesitated his thumb hovered, preparing to drop the call. To his surprise, her mom picked up, offering words of encouragement and cheering him on.

"She hasn't told them," Johnny stated bluntly.

"No, and obviously I didn't have the heart to either," Jaehyun admitted, the weight of his emotions palpable. The conversation with Sienna's mom provided a brief respite, helping him get through the day and close a deal with clients.

"You're so down bad for Sienna," Johnny remarked, understanding the depth of his friend's emotions. As Jaehyun struggled to contain his feelings, Johnny encouraged him to let them out.

As if on cue, Jaehyun lets himself slowly reveal the emotions that’s been wanting to gush through his walls.

Well, to be fair, this wasn’t his first time crying. He sure had those little episodes in the craziest random time of the day where Yuno would have a mini breakdown remembering his situation with her.

Believe it or not, there was a particular night when he devestatedly couldn't sleep. He tried everything.

First, Yuno got himself up for a quick jog for him to wear out and took a warm shower, though it only made him feel more alive. So he resumed by drinking some wine as he watched a movie, played soothing music, and even read a book. But, it all went down the drain due to his brain failing to focus.

His last resort was masturbating. With no brainer, of course, he would think of her. Although, the fact that he remembers their moments together, he instead ended up crying that night and which made him fall asleep.

It was not the expected way, but it worked.

"I know I fucked up," Jaehyun confessed, tears flowing freely. "But how exactly? To the point she ended up breaking up with me?" The wounds deepened as he confronted the reality of his mistakes.

Johnny, offering comfort, reassured Jaehyun that Sienna's situation was tough. However, he pointed out that Jaehyun's well-intentioned actions were not executed correctly.

"Always remember this, Yuno. As much as you want to help people, you also have to remember where they're standing from. A good honest deed has a chance to appear as insensitive and patronizing," Johnny advised, hitting the core of the issue.

In the real world, complexities surpassed those of fairy tales and movies. Jaehyun realized he should have communicated with Sienna before assuming he could magically alleviate her problems.

Entering the diner, the music from the speakers greeted her. Setting the vibe already makes her feel at ease with the atmosphere where she’s hanging out tonight. Her gaze stopped wondering as she saw Kyujin and Minghao already sitting. Meanwhile, Seokmin was standing up talking on his phone. He has the right hunch that his friend has work left to discuss. 

They greeted her as she put herself comfortably on her seat. She’s with one of her old university buddies. Due to her problem, she couldn’t keep up with her batch graduating on time. Nonetheless, they kept strong connections with each other even if they are now working and she’s back with her University life. 

“Seokmin should have left his phone on aeroplane mode,'' Kyujin remarked as she shook her head from side to side. Minghao nodded, however, he pressed the thought  “Well to be fair, it might be an emergency with work that he needs to mend.” 

“At least he is paid though.” Sienna chimed smiling, Her friends knew for over those two years of her not attending university she was working on her corporate days before and tended to overtime as well. It’s not so different with her university work taking her life after hours, the only thing she was not paid to do overtime may it be her university and unfortunately her corporate days. 

“Sorry about that, but no worries it won’t bother our dinner.” he smiled at them, “Give me your phone” Kyujin, as the mom of this group Seokmin simply followed her. “There.” his phone successfully turned out to be in aeroplane mode.

Sienna snorted, Seokmin was astounded by what her friend doing “I said I’m sorry” He pouted “Fine keep it on aeroplane mode. If there’s anything I’ll handle it tomorrow.” he said proudly, “Yeah, handle it on your working hours.'' Minghao, who is also a big advocate of work and life balance, reminded him as he patted his friend's hand. 

As the night settles with them, Seokmin opens the topic “Nabi is out right with Jaemin’s family?” On the table while they started to eat their order. 

The girl next to her nodded as she ate the cheezy fries ``Yeah and Kai, She has this workshop she needs to attend." She starts to explain her housemate's situation "So basically both of them will not be back until next week.'' 

With the new information, Kyujin excitedly clapped. “Well then, you have no excuses not to come. It’ll be fun. Besides, Mingyu deserves to have some OG guests.” Kyujin is always amazing at pursuing people and Sienna is always weak for her friend.

“Didn’t you say you wanted to drink this week, take this chance with us. It has free drinks and food anyway.” Comically his brows go up and down. “And you know what free food and drinks taste like.” He ends his last speech of temptation.

“A hit or miss.” She put her tongue out as she deadpans her friend.

Minghao laughed at the banter between Sienna and Seokmin. “We’re aware that you're not reliving the song ‘Stuck with U’ by Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber for letting yourself feel stuffed for a whole month in your apartment. ” He finally joined, even has the gut to make a joke out of her situation pulling a quote-unquote with his hand gestures. However, they were right Sienna when given a chance to stay at her comfort home would make the most out of it. 

Although now she's on a dinner date with them; After a month of hibernation, she just now greeted the outside world properly. “It's not my fault that my subjects are eating me up. Besides, earlier I had to attend University onsite so plus points to that and now I’m already with you guys, here eating dinner.” Sienna puckered her lips, still up for this debate despite being conquered by those trio.

Seokmin snorted at Sienna’s last comment “Yeah, right!” letting his hand grab her head and squeeze it as if he was a crane and she’s a toy. 

“Sizt no!” Kyujin pouted and shook her head daintily. “How about this since you’re already out of your cocoon, just try to spend some of the days this week outside.” she negotiates with the girl who does not care one bit about Seokmin’s antics as she’s busy munching her ice cream. 

“Exactly, just end your week with good vibes, you’re no guard dog.” Minghao with his witty brain could not let her go, when those three come together it’s like Sienna is fighting against the world. 

She sighs in front of them, letting her head roll over to her left side finally expressing her being defeated. 

As if an accomplished couple made their child have nowhere to go but listen to them, Kyujin and Minghao high-fived each other and held their hands shakingly. It’s their mini-victory move. “If you guys keep being cute, I feel like ants would eat us up.” She joked. 

Seokmin looked at the girl next to her cheekily “Oh Sienna, Sienna, Sienna” repeating her name in a sing-song tone, whilst shaking his head playfully. “You just miss someone.” 

Minghao covered his mouth, acting surprised. “Offt Seokmin dropping the bomb.” Kyujin teased the fire, showing her actions with her hands dropping. 

It’s been 8 months since the breakup. 

Sienna squinted her eyes as if throwing daggers at him. “Oh, shut up.” She smacked his left shoulder. 

Leaving them chuckling at their antics.

Quickly changing the subject, Sienna sits properly. “Fine, this Saturday I’ll attend Mingyu’s place.” Rolling her eyes dramatically “The booze should be great, or I'm out.” 

Despite a busy schedule, Yuno got dragged out for a coffee successfully by his work partner Jungkook before they would drive to meet their client onsite. 

Yuno’s eyes glanced at the interior of the cafe, and he stopped when he saw a familiar physique after a long time. It was Sienna focused on her laptop, wearing her signature hoodie with her glasses.

He and Jungkook sat near the cafe counter waiting for their order. The guy simply watched her and couldn't help but still have a longing feeling of adoration.

Of course, she’s not alone, she’s with two people that look like her classmates. 

He smiled at his thoughts thinking she also might get dragged outside as well, which she truly needs. Sienna always tends to trap herself in her room, especially on a weekend; little sunlight isn’t enough for her.

Sensing that one of her classmates was about to look around, he avoided his stare at her and exactly with that their little buzzer turned on letting them know that their orders were complete to go. 

On the other hand Sienna did mini stretches to her arms as Her eyes slowly looked outside the cafe and saw a familiar back, she steadily recognized when the view of the man got a good side view. “Oh it's Yuno...” she whispered, then it truly sank at her making her eyes widen, almost choking herself while she drank her matcha frappe. 

“Omygod— Sienna!” Both of her friends reacted frantic, Giving her all the tissues they have to her. 

"You good now? What happened?” Jungwoo queried and looked to where she was staring earlier, but failed to recognize what made their friend go nuts. 

Sienna shakes her head “Oh no it’s nothing..” she tries to cover her tracks, could not even think of a proper excuse. 

Seungkwan oozes suspicion with the younger girl but lets her know that it’s fine to not be forced to tell.  

“I have this event I need to attend.” Jungwoo didn't prolong the weird air, taking the chance to express his dread. 

Sienna laughed at the poor puppy. “Isn’t your parents' fundraising event?” Seungkwan recalled their conversation back then. “That's tough. Knowing your parents, they would want it to be perfect.” Sienna bluntly says. “Exactly, it’s going to be a pain in the neck.” Jungwoo rolled his eyes with exaggeration.

She isn’t well into those kinds of grand parties either. It only reminds her back then when she felt she was out of the picture whenever with Yuno.

The only thing she cares about is to support Yuno in whatever journey he has to accomplish, that's why she lets him take her in these events. 

Nonetheless, some of the invitees couldn't be bothered hiding their expressions.

It continued until she ended up walking on eggshells while attending these events. She's well aware those people were irrelevant, and Sienna needed to be stronger.

However, with the compilation of Backhanded comments she receives:

"Well in your generation, love matters more." 

"Oh darling, you'll have your time." 

With those gazes, she could just disappear into thin air as if she were prey. 

Little by little it consumed her. 

Sienna’s train of thought snapped immediately.

"Earth to Sienna." 

Seungkwan patted the girl's shoulder, bringing her back to their conversation.

"Sorry, what?" 

Jungwoo pouted more than he could do and continued to ask them. "Are you guys free to be my dates this Saturday?" Hoping that they would agree to be together with his misery just to make something out of it and not worry about socializing much in the event. 

"Pass." Seungkwan quickly replied while shaking his head left and right to his friend, "I got other things to assemble from our course organization seminar."

Sienna couldn't help but chuckle at Jungwoo's reaction when he started begging with his actions through his hands. "Sorry, but I have a party to attend as well." Pursing her lips tightly. 

Seungkwan grabbed Sienna's left arm, wanting her to mimic the way he waved goodbye towards Jungwoo, "Be strong, Soldier." She played along with the guy next to her and both shared the same smiles with their two cents. 

Sienna dressed up a bit, well it’s a party, after all. Her cute black mini dress complimented her heel loafers. She’s not going to lie it’s been a while for her to dress up, and it feels good. 

As she stepped into the dimly lit venue, bathed in hues of purple and blue lights, a familiar voice cut through the atmosphere. "Sienna!" Kyujin’s excitement radiated as she embraced her. "Are the other two here already?" she inquired after the warm hug.

"Yup, we can huddle over there, it's much more comfortable." 

Navigating their way to the living room, Sienna spotted Minghao and Seokmin, who were already in high spirits, sitting side by side with welcoming smiles.

"For a minute I thought you backed out." Minghao teased, earning a giggle from Kyujin.

Minghao's knack for reading people was, as always, on point. Sienna was hesitating for a moment at the entrance, with her heart pounding with uncertainty. The decision to attend this gathering had been a last-minute contemplation. She knew a few faces in the crowd, but it was the ghost of him that lingered in her thoughts. Earlier that day, an unexpected wave of nostalgia engulfed her, triggering what she reluctantly dubbed a "relapse." She found herself tumbling down a rabbit hole of old photos and videos, relics of a time when they were entwined in each other's lives.

As she stood there, the weight of unanswered questions pressed upon her. Were the people around her aware of the demise of their once-shared world? A shiver of anxiety ran down her spine at the mere thought of being questioned about a love that now existed only in fragments of the past.

Eight months had passed, yet the grip he held on her heart remained unyielding. The invisible threads of their history continued to bind her, leaving Sienna entangled in a web of longing and unresolved emotions.

"Aye, don't be like that," she chuckled, waving her hand dismissively. "I even brought snacks." Seokmin, ever observant, noticed the packaging. "Oh! I guess the lady at that sweet shop was your mom then."

Sienna looked curious to him wanting him to continue. "Your mom was carrying  a navy blue handbag right?" Sienna vividly remembers making her head nod. 

Seokmin already felt proud with his keen eyes, no wonder the lady was familiar to him. 

"I was in front of the store parking lot and got a glimpse of your mom Entering the store." He pointed out the sweet shop's name. 

Her mom visited her earlier to personally break the news that her mom's land had already been sold with a very great offer. She expressed how she was so thankful that they waited and did not rush the selling of their property which led them to accumulate a huge deal. 

In celebration, her mom remembers her daughter tends to like honey biscuits as the reason why she was at a sweet shop. Little did her mom know that the reason why she liked them was because Jaehyun influenced her since it was his childhood favourite sweets. 

That was the trigger for her to this party since she had the feeling she would just dwell on her emotions at home alone. Distraction is highly needed.

After a couple of hours, Jaehyun arrived at the scene of the party. Mingyu greeted the guy and pointed to where Sienna was located. 

Earlier, Mingyu had noticed Sienna alone in the corner of his sofa, engaging in a conversation with herself. Even to the untrained eye, it was apparent she had indulged a bit too much in the festivities. Her body tends to flop side to side with her head spinning lightly. 

The three musketeers that she was with beginning at the party left earlier, and because of still not wanting her to leave early she stayed besides she put an excuse that some of the people she knew here she wanted to catch up. 

Out of concern, he immediately contacted Yuno. Mingyu is one of those people who are not updated with the situation of the two people. 

Yuno swiftly appeared in front of the lady, whose now trying her best to stay awake by softly slapping her cheeks and opening her eyes wide. In response, Jaehyun sighed and approached her, wrapping his flannel around her—his way of acknowledging how chilly she could get.

“You’re drunk, let’s go home.” 

Sienna, with a pout, insisted, "I'm not drunk, just tipsy... I can still take it." She reached for her cup, but Jaehyun lightly caught her hand. "Sienna, please..." he pleaded. Reluctantly, she let go of the cup, covering her face with her hands. "Ugh, you're so boring; I don't want to go home yet." Despite her wobbly stance, a stark contrast to her claim of sobriety, she stood up.

Giggling, she attempted to stare at Jaehyun. Her brain, clouded by sweet toxins, transformed her surroundings into a hazy spectacle. Jaehyun, seizing the opportunity, gently gripped her figure securely and let her follow his body towards the exit. “You can get whiny when you're drunk.” 

She bit her bottom lip, staring at him as her eyebrows furrowed. “N-No, I'm not” she chirped yet Jaehyun could still hear her as how close their bodies were now, he was left only to chuckle at her attitude. 

Jaehyun was wearing his beanie and glasses, matching them up with the dim party lights, as to why Sienna has slow recognition due to her alcohol influence. However, her sixth sense just lets her guard down due to familiarity. 

Pulling up to the car, Sienna settled herself comfortably in the front passenger seat. Jaehyun reached for the blanket tucked at the back and gently draped it over her figure.

“Can we open the window?” Sienna peered outside, where the street lights cast a soft glow. Jaehyun obliged, clicking the switch to let in the cool night air.

“Better?” He questioned, as he eased the car into motion.

She closed her eyes, letting the refreshing breeze envelop her. After stealing a glance at Jaehyun, she responded with a serene, "Yeah."

Fully aware now that she was in the company of Yuno, Sienna marvelled at how her instincts had effortlessly guided her away from the crowd and toward him.

“Is anybody at your home right now?" Hearing him, Sienna shakes her head slowly, her eyes remaining closed to contain the lingering dizziness.

"Both of them are out of town." 

Jaehyun hummed in agreement, his thoughtful expression barely visible in the dimly lit car. "I can't leave you alone at your house. You should rest at my place instead, He declared that if there's an argument needed to be brought up it would be useless.

With Sienna's mind in its current state, his decisiveness didn't bother her. It was a welcome assurance amid the swirl of emotions she grappled with.

They both slowly entered Yuno’s place, easily passing by the lounge area to his private room. Letting the lady sit as he turned on the lamp next to his bed. 

He took some cotton pads and makeup remover. It's been a while since he opened this particular side of his nightstand, back then it was her side of the bed anyway. 

His hands gingerly swipe the damped cotton throughout her face, she looks entrapped by his aura, The way his eyes twitched and and his bottom lip bitting due to his hyperfocus, it might not be obvious but with her hazy view she could see behind his glasses are eyebags that has been a bit more obvious. With this situation, it brings back memories as if it were only yesterday. 

"They're all clean." he huffs proudly as he returns the essentials to its container, "Let me get you some water." Before he could even get up, Sienna stole a kiss from him, jaehyun was caught off guard he flinched and stared at her flushed self his eyes roamed from her sombre eyes gradually to her lips, breathing against each other– the air thick with anticipation.

Leisurely discarding his glasses, he leaned toward her. Eventually, his instincts couldn't resist the magnetic pull of the moment, and he found himself reciprocating the kiss. His dominant hand found the nape of her neck, while the left rested on her waist.

Amidst the fog of sweet alcohol lingering from her system invading his space of mind. the kiss deepened, and their bodies drew dangerously closer within seconds.

With that snap of realization, Yuno stopped the act, dazed by her. 

He would do anything for her, he constantly yearned for her even after all that happened. Yet, he refused to take advantage of her vulnerability. As he struggled to formulate the words he needed to convey, he grappled with the elusive thoughts.

He wanted to reassure her, to make her understand. But his brain seemed to be on strike, rendering him helpless.

Cold sweats build up over him, He suddenly feels like a teen boy who's in front of his huge crush.

"Sienna, I—" His words were abruptly cut short as she averted her eyes, rising slowly. As she hastened away, he found himself perplexed by the startling shift, his body instinctively following her.

Realizing the toilet room lights were open, he moved fast behind her. Already hiding how flustered he is.

Efficiently gathering her hair into a ponytail as she faced the toilet— letting out the toxins from her system. he offered a comforting rub on her back. His eyes fell on the drawer beneath the counter, remembering the hair ties she had left behind. He snatched one and secured her hair.

Perhaps, it had always been the right choice not to clean out the stuff she kept in his place.

"Take it easy," he hummed, attempting to access a smaller drawer, anticipating a towel within. All the while, he continued to rub her back, providing solace amid the discomfort.

With the final flush from the toilet, she ceased her ordeal. Jaehyun proactively used the towel to dab at her mouth. "Feeling better?" he asked, focused on the task.

She nodded, touching his hands and prompting him to halt. "I'm sorry," she sighed, closing her eyes and braving the persistent dizziness. His gaze softened, taking in her disheveled appearance, the messy ponytail he had made, her droopy eyes, and her flushed figure.

“Let’s go to bed—” he cleared his throat “Let’s take you to bed, you need to rest up hmm?.” 

Her body went near him, and put her head on his chest “Don’t leave….” He looked down, already feeling his shirt getting drenched.

She is already crying. 

He patted her head. "I won't," he assured, breathing heavily. "I won't leave you alone… so let’s go to bed." With a controlled but strained voice, he subdued the surging emotions.

Carrying her to bed, he tucked her in gently. Although he yearned to lie beside her, this wasn't the opportune moment. He settled beside the bed on his rug, holding her hand, watching over her. As he hummed softly, he moved strands of hair away from her face, his quiet presence coaxing a serene expression onto her face.

Even in mere proximity, he found solace.

The sunlight tiptoed into the room, gently rousing Sienna from her deep slumber. A momentary panic seized her when her eyes landed on a head resting at the edge of the bed. Quickly regaining composure, she realized Yuno was sleeping on the floor beside her. His head lay on the mattress, while his body occupied the floor.

Her heartbeat slowed, confusion swirling in her mind as she tried to make sense of the situation. Battling a hangover headache, she opened her eyes gently, fixating on the man's face. It had been too long since she allowed herself to bask in the sight of him, and the ache of missing him resurfaced.

Almost by instinct, her hand lightly caressed his bangs, now dyed in a darker shade. Moving to his eyebrows and eyes, the familiarity felt both comforting and oddly unfamiliar after all this time.

His eyes twitched slightly, signalling his impending awakening. As her brain flashed fragments of memories from the previous night, embarrassment coursed through her.

Jaehyun's eyes fluttered open, meeting hers. Sensing her staring fixed on his lips, he gently grabbed her hand, preventing her from retracting her actions. "You're awake," she timidly said, attempting to downplay the significance of her actions.

She didn't get an immediate response, but now it was Yuno's turn to observe her. Despite having done the same the night before, this morning ritual fed his yearning for the simple moments they used to share.

"Do-Don't just stare at me like that," she uttered, biting her bottom lip.

"I'm sorry," he muttered. After a comfortable silence, she replied, "Don't bother, it's not like it's a big thing," avoiding his piercing stare, her cheeks flushing with warmth.

He shook his head slowly. "I have a lot to say sorry for."

Puzzled, her mind hinted at their last fight, the night they broke up. "I understand. It's not my decision to make."

"I should have talked with you before acting out my will with this, especially when it’s strongly sensitive for you… “ His voice became small but he needs to take accountability.

“I was selfish. I figured since I have the privilege to save up, all I could think was part of my savings was all about you."

"I should have known better."

Sienna always loved how pure this guy can get. She recognized the sincerity of his intentions.  “I was too defensive and insecure to begin with every time I could see how people view us. I love how they take pride in you for what you do, but when I’m in the picture with you I could feel they always have this impression in our relationship that I’m not enough for you."

"I felt embarrassed, my inferiority complex burst." her eyes welled with emotion.

"You know I struggled to ask for help, and I always tried to conquer that, but when our last fight happened, it got me overwhelmed. It was an extreme gesture, and it felt like you were forcing me to be someone I'm not prepared to be." With his sincerity, she felt attacked and unsafe at that time. She was clouded by her negative thoughts and forgot she had him all this time – he was there to pick her up when she was feeling blue.

Yuno softened his gaze at her, “I’m sorry. I was so blinded and didn’t reassure you enough about our relationship, that it got to your thoughts. I don’t care about them, and I know it will be tough for you to immediately not care. So I’ll do my best to be there for you– reminding you to think of me and only me when you doubt, and I will never get tired of making you feel secure.”

She nodded and continued, "I’m fully aware that I have a lot on my plate, especially back then, working to support my family and myself." Her voice cracked as she struggled to compose herself. "And it's just so embarrassing how I know you so well. You’ve always wanted to help me— you’ve always been there, whether I’m struggling financially or whatever situation I'm facing. I just couldn’t take the bullet of reality that I needed to accept. “ 

Her eyes continued to sting. With every word she spilt, tears flowed down her cheeks.

He was the sunshine she couldn't handle.

"But I broke it. I promised you a slow and steady relationship."

Sienna looked at him stunned, he remembers. 

“See you’re a guy who has a light that shouldn't be tainted.” she blurted out, sniffing. 

Jaehyun shook his head slowly. Vividly his dimples, and a reassured smile carved his lips. “Sienna when I’m with you. I’m only a normal guy, a guy who loves you deeply, who wants to be with you.” He caressed her cheeks, gingerly wiping away the tears that streamed from her eyes. 

Heart fluttering, realising once again that's she is truly in love with this person.

"I'll do better to make myself be deserving of you; I'll work hard.” She firmly stated, Her innocent orbs now filled with passion. “You did receive the money earlier, right?” After meeting her mom, Sienna transferred the money he paid for her university fees. 

"You're more than enough, and I will always support you." Jaehyun held her hand tightly, bringing it close to his mouth. “And then, for the meantime, I’ll keep the money in my savings. That will be for us in the future.” He planted a soft kiss on her hand as if sealing a promise of his commitment.

“Besides, all I ever want is for you to spend your time with me – grow old together.” He whispered, his eyes reflecting a future filled with shared unwavering love. With those words, he painted a canvas of a lifetime. Sienna's heart swelled with a mix of emotions, and as they embraced, they both knew that their love story was not just a chapter but a timeless journey of growing old together.

I hope you guys enjoyed it!꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁

#jaehyun imagines #jaehyun scenarios #jeong jaehyun #nct 127 #nct #nct jaehyun #jeong yuno #jung jaehyun #jaehyun x oc #jaehyun x reader #jaehyun nct #angst #angst with a happy ending #drama #nct scenarios #nct oneshot #jaehyun oneshot #midstofroses #jaehyun smut #soft smut #suggestive #nct dojaejung

[luxurijh]

jaehyun fanfics recommendation.

last update: 25 dec 2022 (merry xmas!)

disclaimer! these works belong to the respective authors and are not mine. i will continously update this post as i found more and more gems (read: jae fic) on the internet).

warning! most of the works are containing smut aka not safe for work aka explicit sexual contents, so minors PLEASE do not engage.

some of fics are in indonesian (i'll give it a note).

you're welcome to message me if you have any jaehyun fics recommendation (i'll put them here if i like it).

here we go!

One-shots.

all these years. by @domjaehyun. jaehyun x female reader. fluff, angst, smut, slowburn. college!au. childhood friend to lover!au. how does your relationship with jaehyun stand the test of time? note: i LOVE this soooo much! the slowburn drives me nuts but jaehyun is SO fucking flirty i wanna punch his face.

domaine de la romanée. by @heartau. jaehyun x female reader. angst, smut, slowburn. richkid!au. warning: very, very, very explicit sexual content. even the most pure become tainted when their eyes meet his. this was doomed from the start; you knew it was dangerous, you knew it was bad - but all those thoughts left your mind the second he made you feel good. 

dive. by @yougotthatbilly. jaehyun x female reader. smut. fratboy!au, college!au. warning: oiud smoking.

sleep well, princess. by @anashins. jaehyun x female reader. ft. big brother!taeyong. fluff, angst, romance, smut, slow burn. big brother's bestfriend!au, childhood friend-to-lover!au.

hot girl bummer. by @domjaehyun. jaehyun x female reader. smut. tw: dubcon, potentially triggering. you hate your brother's bestfriend.

team captain. by @smileysuh. jaehyun x female reader. smut, crack. fratboy!au, college!au. jaehyun is a notorious lady killer, everyone wants him. except for you, yuta's bestfriend.

mr.jung. by @domjaehyun. jaehyun x female reader. smut. ceo!jaehyun. secretary!reader.

kating ganteng. by lanlunanit. jaehyun x female oc. fluff, angst. college!au. tw: car crash, potentially triggering. written in indonesian. fics in chat format.

wine, vinyls, and flannels. by teenfinite123. jaehyun x rose. nctpink. angst. romance. leaving a friend's crowded apartment party, playing vinyls, and drinking cheap wine at 1 am.

please stay. by Diana_1203. jaehyun x rose. nctpink. angst, romance. for she was just a mere princess who was head over heels for the brave warrior.

Chaptered.

Completed.

ethereal. by @celestialmark. jaehyun x female reader. fluff, slice of life, slow burns. he was the living definition of ethereal, and his beauty shone the most on the inside.

aurora. sequel of ethereal by @celestialmark. jaehyun x female reader. fluff, angst, slice of life, slow burns. even when you were in the middle of breaking his heart, he still made the conscious decision to see the best in you. note: i love this masterpiece SOOOOO fucking much! so much feeling that's wrecking my heart (i'm SO glad it has a happy ending). i hate how jaehyun is so surreal, too beautiful to be true. wishing we have this kind of jaehyun at least one in our live.

On-going.

secrets of the hill. by @baobaojng. jaehyun x female reader. angst, fluff. 1800's jaehyun!au, arranged marriage!au. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6? inactive. in the present day you are confused; you do not know who you are and you find yourself on an impossible quest to find out— until you wake up in the 1800’s, engaged to a hauntingly beautiful and uptight man who tries to figure out why the girl he’s been betrothed to has drastically changed. note: i love this fic sooooooooo much and it makes me sad the last time the author updated this fic was back then in 2020 ;;

#nct127 #jaehyun #fan fiction #fanfic recommendation #jaehyun fic #jaehyun x female reader #jaehyun x female oc #smut #fluff #angst #nct #nct fanfic #jeong jaehyun #kpop #jaehyun x rose #jaerose #nctpink #au #alternate universe #jaehyun fanfic #slow burn

[orangesaek]

PLUS ONE

you were invited to the company's yearly Christmas party, and everybody is required to bring a plus one. your co-workers start teasing you about bringing your imaginary boyfriend to the party, betting amongst themselves that you'd show up to the party and go home alone, not knowing who your boyfriend actually is.

characters: boyfriend!jaehyun x female reader

word count: 947

genre: i can't think of anything to perfectly describe this, but maybe some fluff? a bit of romance? anyway, it's basically just jaehyun being your hot & handsome bf

warnings: very slight workplace bully!ng (or teasing among workmates tho). that's it.

disclaimer: this is entirely fiction. pic not mine — full credits to the owner. strictly do not re-upload or translate anywhere else! lowercase intended. not proofread.

"so, uhm, where's this boyfriend you told us about?" one of your co-workers asked in a teasing tone.

it was just last week when your manager had started distributing the invitation letters for the Christmas party, which was a yearly thing, but you were taken by surprise when it was announced that each attendee must bring a plus one, and that everybody is required to attend, or else a "penalty" awaits. you weren't even sure if the whole penalty thing was true, but you didn't have any plans on risking your job.

you were just peacefully taking a sip of wine when your so-called department friends made their way to you, suddenly asking you for your plus one's whereabouts. you let out a nervous laugh, trying to look as calm as possible.

"h-he's already on his way," you quietly replied, but it was true. jaehyun did text you not too long ago that he's already in the car and that he'll be at the venue soon. it hasn't been that long since you started working for the company, and as much as you wanted to make friends with everybody, it was just too difficult for you. especially if you're surrounded by the not-so pleasing type of people.

you didn't miss the exchanged glances, followed by some snickering from your colleagues (which you believe they "tried" to hide).

"well, we look forward to meeting him," one of your colleagues said. "i mean, if someone does come or whatever." they added, snorting along with the others. you gave them a nervous smile, wishing that jaehyun would arrive fast.

feeling a bit more anxious by the minute, you took out your phone and was about to give jaehyun a call to ask for an update when you faintly heard some whispering and some people gasping.

"oh. my. god." one of your colleagues said.

"isn't that..." you heard another one say.

you looked at them, a bit confused as to why so many of them looked so stunned, some even covering their mouths in shock, like they just saw an alien or something. you decided to look at the direction they were looking at. and you finally understood why.

jaehyun was walking towards your direction, his dimples in full display as he was smiling your way. he just looked so perfect. like a sculpture that came to life.

jaehyun works as a model. with his handsome looks and chiseled body, it didn't take long before he took the modelling industry by storm. he was named as one of the country's top models — walking on the runway for high-fashion brands, appearing in numerous tv commericials and billboards, getting featured in magazines many times a year, and endorsing countless brands. you could amost see his face everywhere you go.

your relationship with him was definitely one of the things you never expected to happen in your life. he was a celebrity while you were just a regular girl who had a 9-5 job. regardless, jaehyun fell in love with you and never gave up on pursuing you even after you have rejected him multiple times. you were honestly unsure about your future with dating someone like him, but the consistent effort he made throughout those months of pursuing you was what made you say yes to him. and you were glad you did because he has been nothing but everything you ever asked for in a man.

you gave him a shy smile before taking a glance around you. you could see everyone looking at your boyfriend in awe. it seemed like he was walking on a runway, only that he was walking towards you. his eyes looking at you and only you.

"hey, beautiful" jaehyun said, his smile growing bigger, dimples becoming even more visible when he was finally in front of you. he took your hand and kissed the back of it. "i'm sorry i took so long. i swear i would have flown the car if i could." he added.

you swore you could see everyone looking at the two of you now. the whispers have become a lot more audible, with some taking out their phones to take pictures. the attention at that moment felt a bit too much, but what can you say? it's the one and only jeong jaehyun.

"no, babe, it's alright. i'm just glad you got here safely," you answered, smiling shyly at him. "thanks for coming."

jaehyun pulled you lightly for a quick hug, not missing a kiss on the top of your head. "of course. anything for the love of my life." he said. you could smell the perfume you gave him as a gift for his birthday, which was also Valentine's day.

breaking away from the hug, you turned to look at your colleagues (who were now gawking at the sight of you both) in amusement.

"guys, meet my boyfriend, jeong jaehyun" you said, already feeling your confidence go up again. you glanced up at jaehyun with a proud smile.

"nice to meet you all. i'm jeong jaehyun, her boyfriend" jaehyun said as he flashed them one of the most beautiful smiles they have ever seen. "and soon-to-be husband." he continued.

although you were blushing so hard after what he has said, you gave him a shy smile before turning your attention back to your colleagues, who were still looking so stupidly at the both of you.

"i told you guys i wasn't making things up about having a boyfriend," you said, trying to sound nonchalant. "and the one and only jeong jaehyun at that."

you smiled to yourself in victory, feeling so content with the look of stupidity on their faces.

- end.

a/n: the story's all over the place, i know. my brain's not working 100%, but I really want to write something :') sorry, and thank you in advance if you finished this story (and maybe, just maybe, liked it as well) i'll post better stuff soon! 💚

requests are OPEN! 💗

#jeong jaehyun #jaehyun fic #jaehyun fanfic #nct #nct 127 #nct u #nct fanfic #nct scenarios #nct fluff #nct as boyfriends #jaehyun as a boyfriend #jaehyun #jaehyun x reader #jaehyun x you #jaehyun x y/n #jaehyun x oc

[ncityprincess]

about me

you can call me NP👑🤎

-✨nct 127 (and occasionally other members) writer, black girl luxury enthusiast

-✨i always take fic suggestions (inbox me to request commissions

-✨this is one of my sources of income. Reposts/interactions + sending tips is extremely helpful, and much appreciated! 🤗��

masterlist:

*disclaimer*

do not repost any of my work. if you want to translate it please message me for permission.

minors do not interact!

jaehyun:

anything for you princess

The peeping jae

sweet like candie

how jaehyun is in bed

What do you say, my dear?

what do you say my, my dear: the ultimatum (part 2)

pick up the phone, baby

how jaehyun is as a boyfriend

Never too much 🆕

johnny:

My favorite girls

Hazel’s birthday wish (part 2 of my favorite girls)

What he’s like in bed

the peeping jae

uh oh! (part 3 to the dad johnny series)

drunken cuddles (part 4 of dad johnny series)

bold.

Nighttime routine

how he would be as a boyfriend

The one before the big ‘three-oh’

taeyong:

how he is in bed

how taeyong would be as a boyfriend

And don’t you forget it

yuta:

how he is in bed

How he is as a boyfriend

one last present

mark:

bad

doyoung:

how he would be as a boyfriend

How he would be in bed 🆕

after party

Ten:

how he would be in bed

Jungwoo:

Distraction

extras/storyline context:

johnny & oc’s kids’ names

nct mirror sex squad

Dirty talkers

spit kink gang

Jaehyun sugar daddy imagine

no threesomes squad

soft jaehyun moment

possessive johnny

Amused johnny

sex positions 127 would be into

pleasure dom/overstimulation doyoung

jaehyun random thought #1

Johnny random thought #1

What turns nct 127 on the most about you? 🆕

NCT 127 and their types as Pinterest photos:

Jaehyun

Doyoung

Yuta

Jungwoo 🆕

Mark 🆕

Johnny🆕

#nct 127 hard hours #nct 127 hard thoughts #nct 127 smut #nct imagines #nct johnny #nct 127 #nct jaehyun #nct x reader #nct taeyong #nct taeil #nct smut #nct angst #yuta smut #nct yuta nakamoto #jaehyun x reader #jaehyun x y/n #jaehyun smut #haechan #mark x oc #johnny nct

[butvega]

love story.

"murmúrios entre as paredes do castelo."

warnings. cottage!core, fairytales aesthetic, jaehyun!príncipe, reader!princesa, reader!virgin.

Tão, tão desobediente. Seu pai havia lhe ordenado uma simples tarefa: permanecer em seus aposentos durante a noite, durante toda a estadia do príncipe Jeong Yoonoh em seu castelo. Ali estava você burlando as regras novamente afim de encontrá-lo, atenta às luzes e candelabros, o balanço do vento, as correntes que balançavam pela enorme estrutura medieval.

Achando-se sortuda, se gaba ao contemplar os corredores vazios, alheios à qualquer guarda naquele andar. Seu pai, o rei, definitivamente deveria desconfiar mais da caçula prodígio. Exímia pianista, exímia bailarina, exímia filha e princesa do reino de Óriun. Mas todas as visitas do príncipe prometido, mexiam com seu âmago. Como poderia ser tão errado? Pois hora, de qualquer maneira o reino de Óriun, e o reino de Neo estariam juntos, não? Seria um problema tão grande assim estar apaixonada pelo noivo de sua irmã mais velha? Violeta não era má mulher, tão pouco uma má irmã, mas não era para Yoonoh. Você sim. Você era feita para ele, e só isso importava.

Sem saltos, chega silenciosa em frente ao quarto dele. Agarra a argola de ferro na porta, e bate levemente. Ele ouvirá, é claro. Em instantes, também ansioso, o príncipe Yoonoh aparece abrindo a madeira que os separa, e suspira aliviado ao te ver. É carinhoso ao puxá-la para dentro, e trancar a porta em seguida. A abraça, da maneira mais forte que pode, adentrando o rosto pálido em seu pescoço, afim de capturar seu perfume o máximo que pode. Você parece seu lar. E pensar que em dias estaria casado com uma mulher que não é você, o deixava em prantos. Desesperado. Não, ele não poderia fugir. Seu reino dependia daquele tratado, daquele casamento, para que fosse tirado da lama, e reergue-se. O amor nunca fora fácil, ele tinha ciência disso uma vez que sempre fora adepto de tristes romances em leitura, mas aquilo já era demais. Ter você tão perto, e ao mesmo tempo... Tão longe.

— Está louca, princesa? Poderia ser pega por algum guarda de vossa majestade. Iriam nos matar. — é o que ele murmura contra seus lábios, selando-a em seguida.

— Cada minuto conta. Gostaria de passar cada minuto possível ao seu lado, e sabe disso, vossa alteza.

— Não, não me chame assim... — é quase uma súplica. Naquele momento, e apenas naquele momento, implora para que sejam apenas os dois. Um casal apaixonado.

— Jae... — sussurra contra os lábios de seu amor, que sorri sem mostrar os dentes, gabando-se com a bela covinha que adorna suas bochechas coradas.

— Linda. Eu amo você, eu te amo inteira, minha bela princesa. E ei de mostrá-la à nossos reinos como minha bela esposa; é uma promessa. Farei de tudo para casar-me com você, valsar com você por todo este salão. Farei de você minha rainha. — é quase uma dança, a maneira que Yoonoh a encaminha até sua enorme cama, tomando todo o cuidado possível para que seu vestido não a fizesse tropeçar. — Farei de você a mãe dos meus filhos.

Segreda a última parte, conflitante sobre expor com tanta clareza seus desejos profundos. Suas bochechas ruborizam, imaginando-se gestando os filhos de Jaehyun. Ou melhor, imaginando-se como fariam isso.

— Eu serei. Nem que dependa de minha vida, eu serei sua. E papai há de aceitar, não? Ele não pode nos proibir, Jae. Não pode. — há medo em suas palavras. Medo de toda certeza ser em vão, e em dias Yoonoh estar no altar a espera de sua irmã, e você ao lado, apenas como a cunhada.

— Não, não. Não quero que pense nisso agora, minha princesa.

Yoonoh não sabe bem o que dizer. A tem deitada em sua cama, totalmente entregue, e seu coração treme. As borboletas no estômago do príncipe basicamente dançam O Quebra Noz, a respiração descompassa, e milhares de indecências povoam a mente jovem dele.

Você percebe, claro. Tão jovem quanto, se sentindo tão presa quanto, e amando tanto quanto ele. Se sente capaz de tudo. De pular pelas varandas do castelo até a floresta, e fugir para qualquer cabana afim de uma pacata vida ao lado dele. Se sente corajosa.

E é com os sentimentos a flor da pele, que Yoonoh a beija afoito, engata a destra em seu coque perfeito, e puxa seu cabelo com a força perfeita, arranha em um cafuné gostoso, enquanto a canhota aproxima sua cintura apertada pelo espartilho para o quadril dele mesmo, provavelmente querendo deixá-la o mais perto o possível.

Ele era um rapaz experiente. Há muitos prós em ser homem, ainda mais da realeza, e um deles era ter muitas mulheres aos seus pés. Mas nenhuma se comparava com a pureza de sua princesa, a beleza, a delicadeza. Fulgás, apalpa os seios quase esmagados e repara suas feições afim de buscar uma reação negativa. Ao contrário, a vê entregue, os olhinhos fechados, um leve sorriso nos lábios rosados completa o rosto tranquilo e em paz.

É rápido e desajeitado em retirar a própria vestimenta de linho, e agradece por você estar de olhos fechados. De repente, se sente envergonhado. Provável efeito do amor. Dedilha seu corpo com a delicadeza que se dedilha uma orquídea. Puxa os laços de seu espartilho com respeito, expõem uma necessidade esmagadora de ter você, ali, naquele momento.

Em segundos você está tão nua quanto ele, e ao contrário do que um dia já imaginou, não sente medo. Nunca se sentiu tão em casa, tão pertencente à um lar, à alguém, à Yoonoh.

— Contos de fadas existem, e você é o meu. — murmura de olhos fechados o suficiente para não contemplar o sorriso de estrelas de seu amado. Você era o conto de fadas dele.

Estaria mentindo se dizesse que ali, naquele momento, não sentiu dor. Ardia como o inferno, mas em momento algum Jaehyun deixou de beijá-la para lhe acalentar. Os murmúrios dados por ele, os gemidos leve de prazer, a ajudavam a derreter sob seu toque. "Jae..." você sussurra, até mesmo meio perdida em meio à todas as sensações, dando o gatilho final para que Yoonoh a tomasse para si com toda a vontade pertencente em seu corpo.

Ele estava a fazendo mulher. Independente de todos os contras, você estava ali, despida de físico e alma, em sua cama, sendo ele, e ninguém poderia mudar isso. Você era dele, e ele seu.

Ele se despeja em seu interior, gemendo seu nome, a fazendo arrepiar. Era tão sensual ouvi-lo dizer seu nome, ao invés de chamá-la de princesa. Tão despudorado.

Os corpos suados continuam abraçados na cama, aleatórios à todo perigo, à toda vigia, sorridentes e satisfeitos. A leve mancha de sangue no lençol teria de ser explicada na manhã seguinte, e se chegasse aos ouvidos do rei, ele imediatamente iria saber do que se tratava. Você.

Mas por hora, decidiram dormir. Juntos, necessitados do calor um do outro.

oi, gente! essa vai ser uma short fic com apenas dois capítulos (no máximo três), mas espero que gostem dessa estética. jaehyun é muito príncipe mesmo ❤️

#nct #nct jaehyun #jeong jaehyun #jeong yoonoh #jaehyun #jaehyun smut #jaehyun soft #jaehyun angst #jaehyun x reader #jaehyun x oc #nct pt br #jaehyun pt br #Spotify

[technologyculturedneo]

SOS: Poison In My Mind (Pt 1)

PLAYING NOW: Season 2 of SOS: AM I ALIVE

“We met in the worst circumstance possible, but yet, even if we had to meet in different circumstances, I’d still fall for you.”

SUMMARY. A series of events following the aftermath of the break in/hostage situation has everyone feeling tense. The Zhong family is torn with disappoints, from Yezi deciding that she wants to keep the rape baby, to Dae leaving the family wanting something else from her life. With months and years treading by, the family is met again in uncanny situations with the same old boys who can’t seem to get away from them.

PAIRING(s). Delinquent!Mark, Felony!Haechan, Boyfriend!Jeno, Brother!Renjun; Policeman!Jaemin, Jisung; Husband!Chenle, Boyfriend!Jaehyun X OC Dae, Yezi (original character)

GENRE. Angst. Longshot. Slow burn. Crime. Strangers to lovers. Smut (non-consensual/consensual). Family.

WARNINGS. Drugs abuse (Alcohol, smoking, marijuana, cocaine, heroin). Sexual content (consensual, child abuse, pedophile). Slow burn (unlike the first book filled with edge and action, here’s a more toned down and summary filled action after the aftermath, lots of convo.)

S2: EP1-7 The moment the judge hits the gavel, Dae unknowingly lets out a sigh of relief. Laying her head against her dad's shoulder, some tears pouring out of her eyes causing her to hiccup, sniff and fall into a breaking emotional state. Her dad, Chenle hugs her tightly. He feels such an overwhelming amount of pain. He doesn't even know what to say when he watches the police handcuff the boys and makes them line up against the opposite doors, preparing them for their new prison life.

Dae gets her head off his shoulder and with her eyes smudged in tears and nose running just as badly, her face red and voice barely above a whisper. "Dad, I can't breathe," She hiccups terribly struggling to say.

Chenle is attentive and assists her up as he navigates her outside of the Court room. With his arms around her shoulder, he walks with her steadily and his eyes peer around trying to find a specific door, which was right next to the court room. Entering into the room whereby his wife and Yezi are, his heart grows heavy upon seeing Yezi in a similar dreadful position crying her soul out.

Yezi upon seeing her dad gets up as well and runs into her dad's arms. Chenle holds tight, embracing them generously the same way when they cried that he and his ex-wife were splitting. His lips kiss the top of their precious heads just as his eyes shut by the overflow of tears bluring his vision. His daughters sadly crying only causes his heart more pain that as their father he couldn't protect them against the evil of the world. Chungdae, Chenle's wife gets up slowly and makes her way towards her family. She moves behind Chenle and back hugs him, her own tears building up.

Yezi and Dae stretch their arms in sync backwards to wrap around Chungdae. No matter how much she was reminded of being their step mum, no matter how much she fought with Yezi, no matter how much Dae was nice to her without actually allowing her to know her real feelings, and no matter how much Chenle tried to always make her feel a part of his family even though deep down she knew she had a long way to acceptance with the whole family, right now being here with them somehow feels like a new level of depth.

The fact that she cut her trip half way- once her plane landed and Chenle called her to tell her the details she booked the next flight back- and came to serve as support for the girls as well as her husband who continuously blamed himself. It's like she had unlocked a new sacred bound with each and every one of them- although it was because of a traumatic experience, she’s somehow happy to feel included in their suffering of the moment.

Chenle loved his kids, and as Chungdae loved his kids as her own only made him love her more. And right now, as Chenle has all the loves of his life around him- it only tears him down more. If only this was a much pleasant occasion instead of a horrifying one.

Meanwhile, in the courtroom similar feelings and emotions are being done. However, it's only directed at Renjun and his mum.

Renjun is an incoherent speechless dreadful mess as he’s plunged in tears. He wants to shout and cry out loud but he can't even express his overwhelming pain as his own physical state hurts him with every move he makes causing him so much discomfort. All he does is sink his head into his mother's shoulders and shudders as the tears furiously plunge out of his one good eye.

His mother with immense loving arms tightens her embrace- shielding him from the emotions of right now. Her scent sips into his nostrils and despite the ache, he appreciates this comfort which in all his life has always sought out for. The sincere and dear love of his mother. Her heart shreds due to how she failed to protect her son from the boy she gave birth to. Her eyes have sprinkles of water, and her head throbbing with the new forming headache from holding in a load amount of tears. From the moment she took in this lost little Chinese boy as her own son, for the first time in her dark miserable life she could say that she had hope. To see her hope of a son bearing his soul out for a crime he did not commit, stains her soul of feeling like a failure again. She failed with her first son. But right now, she didn’t want it to be the case of her second son. And so she holds in her voice of agony, of pain and whispers with strength. "You're going to be alright okay? I'm not mad at you. You did what was right and I swear it’ll all pay back some day. It looks dark now, but I promise you Renji that…everything will work out.” Her eyes let out some tears before she sniffs. “I promise that I’ll be waiting for you when you come out. Don't be scared my boy, be brave in there. Don’t let them break you. You are my hope and I know this world doesn’t deserve you, but come back to me in one piece okay? I love you so much Renji, so so much you have no idea. Just stay strong for me okay?"

“Okay,” Renjun hiccups out trying to hold it in but the devastation is too much to bear.

Standing in line behind Mark, Donghyuck watches vulnerably.

It pains and even hurts to see his mum in tears and wrapping all her love upon Renjun. Even when the guards break them apart and Renjun gets back in line behind him, he prepares himself for the hug that he knows his mum always gives. He's expecting for his mum's love and attention, even though she might be angry at him, Donghyuck knows that she always gave the best hugs of comfort.

But when she looks at him…

Donghyuck is only able to make out the look of humiliation. Disappointment. And so much sadness as though she’s failed with him. In her eyes that were so full of adoration and affection for Renjun, he gets her capital look of sadness as she covers her mouth and closes her eyes filled with tears and turns away.

Donghyuck sucks in a sharp breath, his glossy eyes stinging from how much tears he's holding back. He gets pushed out of the court room by the police and he follows them to a waiting room. Upon waiting they get taken in for their final prints. Still with cuffs around his wrists, he’s aggressively assisted in getting his finger prints inked and pressed on paper. He does his signature, gets a court mug shot and then initially given a see through plastic bag of a blue standard prison uniform. Mark gets the same color.

Yet, upon seeing Renjun walk out of the prints room with a bag of orange prison clothes… he can't hold in his tears. Renjun sits on the other side of the hallway but still in front of Donghyuck, when he sees that his older brother’s shoulders are sagged so low and he hears sounds of anguish, sounds of agony, does his heart remind him of how much he’s put up with Donghyuck. All he wanted was to be his brother’s friend and getting to know his brother. Unfortunately, trying to get to know his brother would mean becoming him and that’s not something Renjun ever wants again. And so, also silently he weeps again out of his one good eye.

Meanwhile Jeno and Mark have such emotionless looks towards one another. Unlike the other bags, Jeno’s see through bag had a green prison uniform. Mark is so distorted to reality and unfazed with his brother that when Jeno gets ushered out by a new guard he finds himself speaking. “Good luck bro,”

Jeno, in his own unfazed and worn-out actuality mummers. “You too.”

In honesty, for Jeno everything was one big blur. The fact that it was night and he was in the car with his brother, to somehow him waking up in a hospital 3 weeks later with minor burn patches just chaotically threw him off everything he knew as reality. And then he hears that he’s being charged with breaking and entering into a wealthy mansion. It’s the most absurd nightmare he’s ever woken up from- everything was one big drunken blur of memories popping up here and there, but he has no recollection of actually living in those memories. To say he was beyond confused was an understatement. He was just numb yet puzzled that all this happened. All he remembers is being drunk and waking up in a hospital bed weeks later.

The one thing he can remember lividly, was when he entered into the girl that he has admired, when he entered her room and saw his brother forcing her to mouth fuck his crotch- that felt like something he would never ever be able to forget. That is a spare moment that he can’t get out his head. So walking into a prison statement with the least amount of knowledge of why he’s being sentenced, Jeno sucks it up and follows.

Donghyuck can’t stop crying at this point. Even if his voice is low, Renjun and Mark can hear it. Although it’s awkward for Mark, for Renjun it’s a painful and pitiful reality that shit hits hard. Donghyuck’s eyes are shut, as painful reminders of how he not only disappointed his mother and brother, but he also proved Yezi’s words to be true. The words of her telling him how worthless he is. Because truly, he feels like a worthless, filthy, cheap, vain, unlucky, useless, pathetic, miserable and pain for his whole family.

Donghyuck is in tears and can't even say anything when they take Renjun away to his respective bus leading to the county jail center. Renjun can't even say anything when seeing Donghyuck's head hung so low as his shoulders shake and light sounds of grief in emotions are heard from him. In fact, in this moment where he looks at his brother…there’s a slight mounting anger of how he should’ve never tried so hard to get his approval in anything. Donghyuck never ever cared about him. And as he leaves the court and gets into his bus, a slowly fueling hatred grows in him.

It’s only left Donghyuck and Mark in the corridor as they wait for the arrival of their bus that would probably be filled with returning criminals going back to the same prison. At this point, Donghyuck knew the cycle all too well.

He knew that there would be new second time offenders, old gang cliques who committed hard crimes, gang members who’re coming in to deliver a message to one of their old boys in prison, crime offenders who somehow always get away with petty charges instead of life sentences and lastly the guys who had nowhere else to go but prison…and so committing a petty crime to be charged at least 5 years would satisfy their life- these were the people that Donghyuck knew were going to be with him. Donghyuck knew of the type of people he’d see again, and how ecstatic they’d be to see him. Prison life was his home. The only home that welcomed him with open arms every time, with ‘friends’, people who protected him, the officers who alarmingly treated him ‘well’ and the all-time shelter and food that was provided to him each and every day.

If anything, he should’ve been happy to be going back to a place of ‘rest’, but there’s a weight on his chest that’s anchoring him down, there’s a heavy burden on his shoulders that’s sinking him. The fact that it’s not a thought but it’s now his reality. He always joked that one of these days he’d come back as a rapist, but now the dawning weight of his reality sets him in such a dark hole. He has added onto his record something that once hurt his mother. He has added onto his record a pain that’s deep and unfathomable, something that would define him as an ‘experienced criminal’. Donghyuck shudders and blurts out another cry as he sinks his head in between his hands. His own mother couldn’t even stand to look at him. Donghyuck feels so shut out right now. Enraged at himself for being such a fuck up. He can’t believe that he crossed over to a side he’d never thought himself of crossing.

When he feels the harsh hand of the guard, he knows that this time as he’s going to prison it won’t be the usual years of rest, but instead a commencement time of guilt and punishment. He deserved punishment for all that he’s put his family through. For all that he’s put everyone that he has hurt through.

He sucks up his tears but keeps his head down with his jaws locked. Unlike getting in the bus and always going to the back and greeting the old timers who joyously call unto his name- he takes the front seat close to the window. Mark, not obliged to follow, feels in him that his partner in crime isn’t himself and so he takes a seat next to him after acknowledging some of the returning inmates. Mark seated beside Donghyuck feels uncomfortable but can only endure it. Donghyuck has his head against the window his head pining on him. It doesn't sit right with Mark and all he can do is lay his hand upon the ladders shoulder. He had no words because he didn’t understand why he was moping.

Donghyuck can't take his eyes off his mum as she stands outside waving her hand towards Renjun's bus. She's crying, holding onto some tissue papers and looking defeated. Donghyuck's eyes sting when he sees her crouching down still in tears.

She used to look at him like that. She'd cry for him like that. But now she can't even stand to look at him.

As the bus begins moving out the court parking, Donghyuck’s eyes unconsciously catches onto the news crews and reports all withering and surrounding the court as they try to get to the ‘Zhong’ family. His eyes don’t mean to, but they go to the girls who are rushed into such a high class, superior and posh maroon looking car.

It all started with a car, an envious yet spiteful car that seemed in hands reach and just for him. A car that was a whole Pandora’s box. If only Donghyuck could go back in time, to the time that stupid spoilt car carrying those fucking high social brats passed his own rusty faded red car, if only he could go back and peal his eyes off that car and to his brother who only wanted to go home. He would’ve never lusted over the car if he knew what he knew. He would turn to his brother and agree to just take him home- far away from the lives of the rich people. Far away from the life of chaos. And far away from the life he was living.

•

After a decent and mouth sovereign dinner in a luxurious five-star restaurant, Chenle and his family quietly went back to their respective rental guarded home whereby their new life would begin.

Sitting around the living room, Chenle explains that the insurance company that insured their house will finish in about a month's time. But he wanted to know whether or not they felt safe moving back into that neighborhood or wanted a new place.

It's basically nonnegotiable for them all as they all want a change of scenery. Ever since the incident, the Zhong family were the communities most talked about family for (not only) the outrageous verdicts that the boys got, but also for how 4 lowlifes managed to break into such a secured residential area and well-guarded home. Few of the neighboring families moved out immediately, while others were already preparing to move out, most enhanced their security, so it only made sense that the people in the area didn't feel safe and were contemplating on leaving or staying.

"Another thing we need to address," Chungdae starts, laying her hand on Chenle’s knee, sensing his hesitancy. "Yezi,"

"Yes?" Yezi nervously squeezes Dae’s hand having an idea of what the conversation would be about.

Chungdae silently sighs looking at Chenle before focusing her attention on her step daughter, who had sadly and traumatically become pregnant but had said nothing ever since the confirmation at the hospital. "It's been a month and some days since you've been pregnant-"

"I know." She counts the days every day. "Can we not talk about-"

"And every time we bring it up you try to turn it down. Chungdae has got some pills you can take now to neutralize the thing moving in your stomach. Tomorrow is Wednesday and we’re taking you to the hospital to get it removed." This time Chenle speaks, his voice not too welcoming as if he has an idea of what his 16-year-old daughter is thinking. "If you're thinking about keeping it you can forget it."

Yezi's head strikes up at her dad with wide saddened eyes. She sits on the edge of her seat with prompt and firm lips. But the thing that speaks most to Chenle is the look of fortitude, of resilience of some sort of willpower. "Dad-"

"Absolutely not.” Chenle springs back in distaste of high disgust. “Not in my house. You are not-”

“Dad you didn’t even give me a chance to speak-”

“Speak about what?” Chenle’s got his eyes bulging out of his socket. “This is not a discussion we’re having. You’re going to remove-”

“No!” Yezi suddenly cries back and gulps back holding in her tears.

“You can't tell me you've been seriously thinking of keeping that damned thing-"

"Dad-"

“Yezi that’s enough!” Chenle never yells, but when he does it catches everyone off guard. “Have you gone stupid?”

“Honey-”

“No have you gone mad? Retarded maybe? Yezi this is not up for discussion. You will not have that thing grow in you!”

“Why? It’s my-”

“Have you fucking gone retarded-”

“Dad this is my child!” It takes Chungdae holding Chenle back by his arm when he shoots up from the couch, while Dae holds tightly onto Yezi’s hand when Yezi bursts out in franticness. The tears now streaming out. “I’m not going to remove it. It’s mine.”

“Yezi,” Chenle and Chungdae both call out in a morphed sadness filled with disappointment.

"Yezi," Dae calls in bafflement. Ever since the accident, they hadn’t left each other’s side. They slept in the same hotel room, despite there being enough rooms. They had late night talks whereby they felt comforted in each other as sisters for the first time. Their bound had never ever been like this before, whereby they hardly spoke to each other yet felt distant in their experiences- but at the same time they wanted to protect each other, they wanted to love each other more than ever. But not even Dae could understand the sudden twist and burst of emotions from her little sister. In Dae’s mind when looking at her little sister- after all the talks they’ve had she would have never thought that an idea of even keeping the child was valid. "You want to keep it?" Dae asks quietly.

With the question hanging in the air and all ears attentive to Yezi, while their brains are in astonishment of the seemingly new revelation, Yezi presses her hands to her stomach and nods her head slowly. There's a long pause in the air causing Yezi's heart to beat rapidly and she's afraid to look up. She already knows what her dad will say, what Chungdae will say, what Dae will say, but she doesn't care. “I want to keep it, I need to keep it.”

There’s such a strong tensed silence that moves around the room. Chenle’s chest is mounting with such boiling anger when looking at his daughter.

“Why?” Chungdae asks in confusion, distress and fear especially when feeling her husband’s hand bulging. “Yezi-”

“No.” Chenle is seething through his teeth. The ‘no’ serves as a mind snapping effect for Yezi. She looks up to her dad with tears in her eyes, her jaw trembling.

“Dad.”

“No.” Chenle is firm when saying his final verdict. It doesn't matter that Yezi full of sadness attempts to speak- Chenle doesn’t want it. "No. You are not keeping it. No daughter of mine will-"

"But dad-"

"I said no Yezi." Chenle shakes his head again trying to calm himself down. "You're not keeping it. You're not keeping that bastard of a child. You are going to take the pills now and tomorrow-"

"Dad I'll never forgive myself for killing it-"

"Forgive yourself? You're not at fault here." Chungdae adds with confusion seeing that Yezi shakes her head and seems determined. "And it's not alive yet, you're not killing it. You're removing it."

"Mum please." Yezi sits on the edge of her seat looking desperate. “I can’t do it. I can’t go on with allowing this little thing in me to die. I don’t have the heart to go through with the abortion. I would never forgive myself-”

“For fuck- Yezi!” Chenle can’t believe what he’s hearing. From the corner of the room, the little Daegal is quivering and shivering by the uproar of Chenle’s voice. “No-”

“Dad you’re not carrying this so you don’t understand.” Yezi finds herself breaking free from Dae’s hand and standing up with her arms covering her womb. “You don’t understand how long it took me to get to this point. I’ve thought about it ever since I found out. I will keep the baby. Not because I am excited to have it, but because I don’t want to kill it. I cannot square it with my conscious. It's also a living being and has a right to life, and I shouldn't decide whether it gets to live or not. I don’t have that right and it’s heartless and inhumane even thinking about taking away-"

As Yezi hits nerve after nerve Chenle is so close – a pinch away from forcing his daughter to have no choice, the words that she’s saying only make his blood boil. Her words render Chungdae silent as her thoughts are suddenly on her past mistakes. Not only Chungdae, but Dae as well knows that whether it was intentional or not Yezi was hitting on and referring to the reason her parents split and that was because of Chungdae and her ‘babies’.

“Do you know what pain I’m feeling at just the thought of giving it up-”

Dae can feel the tension slowly rising in the room, and if Yezi didn’t choose her words correctly then most assuredly she would be in big trouble. “Yezi-”

But Yezi’s already so hot with her words and can’t back down as she speaks over Dae shaking her head. “I’ve read the damages that abortions can have on a woman’s body. Dad you should know far better than anyone what abortions can do-” Her jaws tremble glaring at her dad now with such overwhelming anger. “What if I’ll never get a chance like this again? Huh? You and Chungdae have been trying for a really long time but nix and zilch have been the results-”

Chungdae feeling jabbed shakes her head. “That’s not- Sweety please let’s not-”

“You can't even give birth anymore because of all those abortions you’ve had while having an affair with my dad behind my mum’s back. You both took the right away and now you want me to make that same fucked up decision as-”

She’s not expecting the rough hand of her dad gripping onto her wrist and dragging her with such force and strength. “Honey please-” Chungdae has to suck up her pride and wipe her eyes when trying to follow Chenle.

“Where are those pills?”

“Honey please let’s just sit and talk-”

“No.”

"No?" Chungdae follows rapidly behind Chenle who busts opens into different drawers around their room while Yezi yells for her dad to let her go. “Honey please, she’s crying and-”

“Where are the pills?!”

Chungdae is taken aback at Chenle shouting when directing his attention to her.

“This is my daughter! There’s no way in fucking hell will I ever allow her to even consider keeping that thing in her womb! It’s not hers and we’re not raising that thing!” Chenle’s jaw locks when his eyes take notice of the sullen look plastered over her features.

“That ‘thing’ was in my womb too, and I…” The look of guilt coats Chungdae’s face, dampening his mood when seeing how teary and weary eyed she gets. At this point it’s by instinct how he always tries to wipe the tears off her eyes before they fall off. Letting go of Yezi instantly just so he can attend to Chungdae only leaves Chungdae in a remorseful crying mess as she covers her face with shame. “If I hadn’t had all those abortions then maybe we would’ve been… I would’ve been able to give you the child you wanted-It’s all my fault, I’m sorry honey-”

“No, no.” Chenle’s voice simmers down into a low tenderly octave when hearing how broken and crushed his wife’s cry is. He walks carefully towards her, his hands holding onto her shoulders looking just as vulnerable. “It wasn’t your fault. Don’t do that baby, don’t,” Straightaway he wraps his arms around her securing her from the emotions that have resurfaced. “Baby… we made that decision t-together. It’s not your fault.. You didn’t…I don’t blame you at all my love. Please, don’t cry,”

“Yezi’s right-” Chungdae whimpers, not being able to stop the tears as well as remove her hands from her blotched crying face.

“She’s not right, don’t listen to her. She will not disrespect you like that and-”

Chungdae shakes her head, knowing exactly what Yezi meant. Chenle would never understand what it’s like to live with that conscious memory of having done an abortion, only for it to affect everything years later. He would never get it because he refused to come to terms with the fact that she took away the one thing he was really excited about, and that was to have kids with her.

The first few times when they found out she was pregnant was in their mutual decision to remove baby after baby in hopes of Chenle’s former wife not to find out, but after the cat got out the bag and Chenle came clean to his wife of his affair did Chungdae unintentionally decide to remove the baby thinking that this would’ve been the last time she’d see him ever again. Little did she know that it would’ve been the last time she’d ever be able to conceive again.

Her tears are all over the place, loud enough for Dae to even hear. Upon seeing Yezi frantically walk towards the door- Dae stops her. “That was a low blow Yezi. Did you really have to?”

“But it’s true.”

“Just because it’s true it doesn’t give you the right to just bring stuff like that up. You know Chungdae is sensitive to -”

“She’s sensitive because she fucked up-”

“You think you’re not being a fuck up right now?” Dae yanks Yezi by her arm when she opens up the main door. Forcing Yezi to look at her they both look at each other intensely. “Look, I probably don’t have much of a say in you and wanting to keep it but don’t drag mum down-”

“You keep forgetting she’s not my mum,” Yezi rips her arm away from Dae. “And plus. I already spoke to mum- our real mum. She said I can keep it.”

Dae has a puzzled almost annoyed face. “You’ve been talking to her? Yezi do you even know-”

“Just because she used dad, and you didn’t get along with her doesn’t mean she’s not my mum anymore. She’s still a mother to me, I love her more than I ever did you and dad, she’s still my mum and she gave me enough clarity to decide for myself.” Yezi doesn’t look hurt, but her eyes do look somber upon talking about her mother.

Dae can only try to breathe in as she finds the right words to say despite her anger slowly rising. “You’re forgetting that she’s the one who asked for that divorce not dad. She’s the one who left us for her new free life. She didn’t take us with her because she didn’t want us- so what could she possibly tell you about child birth that would make you consider even keeping that thing? The mother that I know would’ve never even allowed you to keep a rapist’s child.”

“You’re wrong, our mother- just like dad loved kids. And it’s not a rapist’s child, it’s my child.” And with that Yezi opens up the front door and bangs it. She has no real destination when leaving the house- all she knows is that she needed to clear her head. It’s past 10pm and she doesn’t even-

“Going somewhere?”

She stops, being startled for a second. Standing by a black vehicle, she spots the Officer Na Jaemin. “Officer Na,” Her gaze being fazed by his presence. “What’re you doing here?”

Jaemin simply stares at the girl. “Patrol work. Your father wanted tight security while being here in the rental house.”

“Tight security by yourself?”

Jaemin shifts his weight a little displaying the black tinted window of the car. He knocks twice on it, causing the window to roll down displaying a shy smiling Officer Jisung. “Yes?”

“Jisung and I are here, there’s two at the back, two on each side, and two at the gates. We’re tight if the time calls for it.” Jaemin points out. “Once again, are you going somewhere? If so we’ll escort you.”

Yezi shakes her head. “No, it’s fine.” Being pissed by the sudden securing of protection she walks back the path to the house but stops midway with a nonstop chaotic mind and walks back towards the Officers. Jisung’s window is rolled back up while Jaemin has his head down within his padded jacket. He blends in so well with the car being black and everything he has on being black- including his hair.

“Officer,”

He peeks up again, and Yezi can see that under his eyes there’s faint marks. He looks tired. “What.” He doesn’t seem the least bit interested in what she has to say, all that he wants to do is sleep.

Yezi however pants in and out looking like a fish caught in water. “I… I want to keep it. I want to keep the baby that’s growing in me.” Yezi’s eyes water. “But I don’t want anyone to hate me for it.”

Jaemin can stare as his ears adjust to the words coming out of her mouth. “You… Did you just say you want to keep it?” How old is she? It’s probably the reason she’s even outside, maybe she wanted a clear head to think better. And if so, Jaemin had to stop her because he was the wrong person for this type of conversation. “Should I call your dad?”

“No-” Yezi shakes her head before hanging it down with trembling lips.

“Look, I’m only 23. I’m a male. And I’m not a part of your family, so you can’t just tell me all these things,” He’s 23, a male and an officer with no family as he was an orphaned boy. There’s nothing that he could say that would be of any assistance to this girl who’s 16…7 years younger than him. However, when she doesn’t move and her shoulders shudder, he grows uncomfortable in his padded jacket and inwardly cusses. He was always the worst when it came to giving some sort of relief. He turns his head to the car just in time seeing Jisung look away.

After a long silence, it takes Yezi blurting out a little cry does Jaemin breathe out his nose and licks his lips looking at her. Yezi tries to contain herself by remaining silent and sniffs back her tears (which made Jaemin feel tight in place) while wiping the back of her sleeve over her eyes. She doesn’t look up, but her body turns around and she begins walking away. It only takes a few steps before Jaemin’s voice comes out. “I can listen.” He speaks out. “If you want to… talk,”

If she came outside, it’s because she most likely had an argument with her family. And the last place she probably wants to go is inside.

That makes her stop in her tracks, and ever so slowly she peers up into Jaemin’s eyes. He looks nervous and almost worried. Nervous to the point that he even stands straighter and gets his hands out his padded jacket. “I don’t think I’ll be of any use,” He shrugs his shoulders scratching the back of his head. “But, I can listen,”

Yezi turns her body around in a slow manner, her eyes are slightly teary but upon gazing into his sincere eyes does she fully turn her body around to face him.

“So,” Jaemin clears his throat uneasily. “You want… to keep it?”

“Yeah,” Her voice is low and shaky. “Because for the first time after the accident, I saw a glimpse of light.” Her hands pressing onto each other as she slowly inhales and exhales looking up slightly to the stars that are a few in the night heavenly sky. “We were in the hospital with my mum and dad, and they did an ultrasound.” A gloomy look gets on her crestfallen face, but Jaemin’s eyes are on the watery glaze that coat her eyes making them crystal clear as if they’re twinkling. “On that screen I saw… this tiny little pea. That little pea in me was so small… and this was the darkest time in my life, but looking at that little dot on the screen I felt…hope. Strangely. I felt something come alive in me again. Like a light in a dark tunnel. And I remembered thinking that, I couldn’t protect myself, you know.” She sniffs and her hands gently cup her abdomen. “I fought and I really tried to stop him from, you know. I fought so hard and I tried. I tried but… there was nothing I could do. So looking at the screen, seeing that there was something moving in me, that this tiny ball was moving around as if it already had life… I knew that even if I couldn’t protect myself, I could protect that baby, because it’s my baby. It’s coming from inside of me, this little pea will somehow become something, will somehow bare it’s own life.”

Jaemin blinks slowly no expression on his face except an honest concern for the girl. “You want to keep the very thing that’s come from something so painful?”

“I don’t even like kids that much, but I don’t want to remove this baby in me. This doesn’t feel like the trauma of rape…but this is me protecting this baby,”

“Protecting it from what?” Jaemin whispers. “What’s your reason for keeping it?”

“It’s the fact that it’s a life-”

“It’s not a life,” Jaemin lowly inputs making Yezi shake her head.

“It’s in me Officer Na, I can feel that there’s something in me.” She breaths out. “Because it’s a product from something so painful… doesn’t give me any right to take away something as precious as life from it, that’s not even born. I… Do I really need a reason in order for me to keep it? Why do I need a reason that will be good enough for anyone to listen? This…” Yezi’s eyes flattering with tears make Jaemin alert in getting his back off the car and stepping forward to the girl. “What would make me any different from a person sitting in a prison cell because they murdered another person? Murdered another human being?”

“That doesn’t count,”

“The only difference is that taking an unborn baby’s life away is somehow legal. That’s not fair. Officer Suh didn’t deserve to be killed like that, but because he was gunned down by someone who intentionally wanted to kill him made that person a murderer. And I would be one too if I took away this baby’s life intentionally- other people can get rid of it if they want, but why is it wrong for me to want to keep it?”

“Hey,” Jaemin’s hesitant and alert when the tears won’t stop falling from her eyes. He carefully lays his hand on her shoulder and clears his throat. “Hey, don’t cry about it.”

“I just wanted some air, I just wanted a break. I don’t want my dad to take this little baby away from me,” Her tears don’t stop pouring out, resulting in Jaemin hesitantly stepping forward and wrapping his arms around the girl. He sighs quietly when she takes another step forward and wraps her arms around his torso crying out.

“It’s okay, just cry it out,” Jaemin finds himself soothing and consoling her. “Hopefully everything will be okay,” He mummers out.

But 3 months later…prior to what Jaemin said, everything was not okay. In fact, things kept falling apart.

Yezi lingers by the doorway of the house hearing the commotion erupting from inside the house, mostly likely Dae’s room. Chungdae who’s standing next to Yezi closes the door and sighs. They just came from another ultrasound from a private hospital and just after receiving good news from the doctor and a lovely sonogram picture of her beautiful looking baby, she walks into the chaos of her family. She thought that after the first month her family would be ‘normal’ again. But from her dad purposely ignoring her presence because of wanting to keep the baby, to Chungdae often being left in the middle of choosing her husband and step kid, to Chenle getting intense stress not only at work and with building the new house (which would be far away) but also from Dae’s excessively new lifestyle- Yezi can only see her family going down a spiraling hill of dismay.

The only thing that’s been uplifting or of any sort of good news, is the media outlets dying down and Yezi being able to continue her homeschooling with Doyoung without getting bombarded by some news crew. Another good thing that Yezi kept looking forward to is surprisingly her new ‘friendship’ with the Officer Na Jaemin. At this point, with her sister turning into somebody else, and Chungdae becoming more motherly towards her, the only person she would truly and freely chat to about everything falling apart and a way to clear her mind was Jaemin. For the most parts he only listened and barely looked like her cared, but Yezi knew better because he’d always be ready to listen to her, and Yezi found it caring that aside from getting Boba coffees for himself and Jisung, he’d also get for her as well (and sneak in some of her pregnancy cravings that Chungdae wouldn’t approve of).

But right now, it’s 5pm in the afternoon and already she can hear the back and forth arguments from her dad and Dae.

Lately, it’s become a habit of her dad and older sister fighting back and forth. Dae found refuge in going clubbing with her friends, getting wasted, getting drunk and coming back home dumb out of her mind, out of her senses. Dae, under the overwhelming pressure of everything; from dropping out of college and getting paid lessons online, to being forced to work with her dad, to getting intense nightmares about being sexually assaulted that night by Mark, to getting pressured from her friends to let loose and party with them- to Dae ultimately deciding that her life is nothing but one big joke.

Slowly, right before their eyes, Dae was becoming an addict to a lifestyle that was highly frowned upon in their family. The once head strong girl of the family was crumbling and numbing her senses to intoxicating alcohol….and worst of all drugs.

“For hell’s sake you’re not leaving the house dressed like a whore!”

“Don’t touch my stuff-”

“Dae- What’s this?”

“Dad I said don’t touch my stuff-”

“Where the hell did you get this?” Yezi slowly walks in the house watching Chungdae disappear behind some walls, probably going to try and calm down the situation. But from the sounds of it, Yezi can hear how her dad is slowly losing his temper.

“Give it back!” Dae yells and a few seconds later she hears Chungdae.

“Dae, what the hell is going on through your head? How could you-”

Yezi jumps a little when hearing a door slammed shut. Next thing a fazed and alert looking Dae stomps into the hallway with the most daring of outfits in the shortest black dress that hardly covers her exposed rare and yet has a spilt on both sides, paired together with fishnet stockings and clicking heels. Upon seeing Yezi, Dae’s enraged face that’s coated in hardcore makeup freezes into one of shame. Her eyes wither and she lightly puts down her skirt while a nervous smile coats her face as she walks to Yezi. “H-hey? You’re back,”

Yezi only has a sad smile on her face hugging her sister and smelling yet again the most nauseating smells of alcohol. “Hey,” She pips. “Are you going ou-”

“Oh what’s this.” Dae completely cuts off taking the picture out of Yezi’s hand and looking at the ultrasound. “Wow. It’s so big now.” Yezi’s eyes water a little while looking at her sister. Her hair which is curly to the extreme makes her look like a mess, her eyes are wide with joy but Yezi knows that her sister’s struggling and to make it worse she’s been losing weight like crazy. “Do they know it’s gender yet?”

Before Yezi can respond she hears heavy footsteps trudging down the stairs and Dae’s anger peeking out of her eyes before she stiffly mummers. “We’ll talk later.” Was a common phrase that she’d say regularly but she never held up to her word and they’d hardly talk.

And just like that Dae stomps away in her high heels, yanks the front door open and slams it just as Chenle in fury steps into the living room with several packets of white substances and needles. He pants and curses before going to the door and pulling it back and storming out.

“Cocaine,”

Yezi looks back when hearing Chungdae leaning by the hallway entrance.

“It was cocaine.”

And because this situation has become far too normal in their house, Yezi moves over to her mum and lays down the wall next to her and comforts her crying frame.

“What are we doing wrong?” Chungdae asks while sniffing in. “Our Dae,”

And so the days go by, with Chungdae and Yezi growing their bond through their mutual love and interest for the coming baby. Going to the hospital together, seeing the ultrasound in high-frequency and hearing sound waves of the baby’s heartbeat create in Yezi a desire to keep pushing despite the pain she feels in her heart of her family falling apart. Chenle in the house becomes scarce, just as much as Dae. While Dae publicly drinks and drowns away her life, Chenle shuts himself in private bars drinking during the night and working during the day. The house felt so lonely, and reminds Yezi of the first few days of how it was like when their mum left them. The house was void without a motherly touch until Chungdae came around. And up till now, Yezi without a doubt aspires to be the light that Chungdae is, smiling despite the pain and remaining strong for everyone.

Chungdae comforts Chenle whenever he lays in bed with her, she comforts Yezi in all times whenever Yezi calls, and she tries so desperately to be there for Dae- who has completely shut down. It’s hard to believe that Dae is her sister, she’s become unrecognizable in the family. It doesn’t help that slowly she started looking like a stranger, skinny form from all the intake of cocaine and alcohol, shaved eyebrows, dyed bleach blonde hair, cutting her hair so short, piercings and a slow growing tattoo kink all over her legs.

6 months later, still with their new house being built and them still living in the rental house Yezi thought their situation would’ve calmed down. However, it just got worse. One too many times she’s spotted Hendery leaving their house while scrambling to put on his clothes after having a steamy night and disrupting everyone from sleeping. She’d only do this whenever dad was not in the house- and if ever dad was in the house and he heard such, he’d be on full defense mode and barge into Dae’s room with repulsion. Of course this would erupt another fight from them with Dae leaving with Winwin, sometimes Yang Yang, but a lot of the times Hendery would be guilty at the scene- soon becoming Chenle’s worst human beings.

“And she keeps sleeping with them in the house. I feel bad that I can’t do anything to even help her out,” Yezi mutters while eating on a secret pack of chocolate balls that Jaemin bought. Jaemin, leaning against the car while watching Yezi (who is seated on the hood of his car) and dipping his fingers in the pack of chocolate balls while listening to her.

“Do you still speak to her?”

“It’s hard to,” Yezi responds. “She’s barely in the house, and when she’s in the house she’s occupied with some boy locked up in the room- but it’s only for a moment before mum or dad barge in and she storms out,”

“Damn,” Jaemin mutters. “Your parents must be the most stressed people in that house right now.” Jaemin acknowledges.

Despite not being on duty of being on night patrol, he’d always come for his weekly chats with Yezi. In some way, he ordained himself as her therapist. Maybe it’s because he wanted to simply be of help to the girl, but in some distorted way…he enjoyed having a ‘friend’ in Yezi. It was odd calling their late night talks as some sort of stress relieve, but Jaemin felt that there was no other way to describe his new found friendship with her. He didn’t have any friends aside from Jisung, but yet when it came to Yezi he found it easy to be around her and just not try to force anything. All he had to do was listen, and she’d do the rest. It became interesting when she’d do the same for him and allow herself to listen to all he had to say.

“Speaking of which, any progress with your dad?” Jaemin asks.

“It’s been months since I last spoke to him. It feels even awkward being in the same space as him. Even if there is an issue between us, I still believe that as a healthy parent he’ll discuss the problem openly with me. Silence is not a solution, but it somehow sums up my relationship with him now.” Yezi mutters and shrugs her shoulders. “He doesn’t even look at me,”

“I’m sorry about that,” Jaemin says sincerely.

“Mum says I should just give him time, that he’ll come around. But I doubt it. Whereby I would talk to him day and night, all we do now is say good morning and good night, at times we go a full day without even greeting each other.” Yezi sighs and puts her hand on her stomach, which was a healthy looking bump after 6 months. “I’m just afraid that the day I give birth to my child, my dad will- oh my god.” Yezi’s eyes grow in brightness her hand quickly pressing and feeling onto her stomach. “Officer Na-”

Jaemin is alarmed and panicked by the smile on her face. “What happened? What’s wrong?”

“Feel it,” Yezi’s mouth is left agape as the wondrous joy surrounds her. Jaemin doesn’t even need to put his hand on her belly to know that it’s kicking. The way her stomach flamboyantly moves creates a smile to grow on his face. “Feel it,” Yezi urges as her mouth grows wider in joy. “Oh my god, look,”

Jaemin is hesitant when lifting his hand since he sees that even the layer of the shirt is moving up and down from the bumps on her stomach. She’s not even focused on him, but Jaemin’s smile is radiant when seeing how happy she is. The only times he’s seen her happy was whenever they’d talk about the baby- and seeing how her face lights up makes him drawn to her smile.

“Look, look, look,” She presses her shirt down so that her bump is revealed more and so that Jaemin can see how flamboyantly the belly bulges are- the baby kicking or punching and being free with the belly of it’s soon to be mother.

“Wow,” Jaemin chuckles. “That’s a boy right?”

“I don’t know yet,” Yezi smiles and looks up to Jaemin. “Feel it,”

Jaemin lifts his hand up to her stomach and wonders where he should put it on, but then Yezi points to a spot and Jaemin gently lays his hand down. He doesn’t press or remove his hand when in a flash where his hand is that’s where he feels several bulges popping out- beating him. “My fucking soul- Doesn’t that hurt?” Jaemin is startled in shock but laughs nervously when Yezi starts laughing.

Chenle, from his room on the second floor carefully looks out the window when hearing his child laugh. He felt the most pain in him for neglecting his children. Lately, he’s fallen on his path of drinking more wine than he should. He couldn’t help it. He had two daughters who were out of his reach now, and there was nothing he could do to bring them back to him. And just like now, he can only stand and watch from afar how one laughs, while the other is nowhere to be seen but is for sure having a good time.

“Hey,” Chenle doesn’t shift his eyes off of Yezi’s smile. Even when Chungdae wraps her arms around his waist and lays her head on his shoulder. “You know it’s not too late to reconcile with her,”

Chenle sighs and closes his eyes and leans on the window frame as he lifts his arm around Chungdae’s shoulders. “I don’t think she’d want to reconcile with me,”

“What are you talking about honey, you know she’d love to talk to you,” Chungdae whispers while looking up to Chenle. “It’s all she ever talks about. About if you’ll ever forgive her,”

Despite Chenle respecting Yezi’s decision by not interfering in a forceful manner, he believed that silence between them is the only way.

“You know if she was somehow pregnant with someone she knows and wanted to keep the child at this age, I wouldn’t be as hard, but this… It’s an omen. A bastard’s child.” Chenle whispers only for Chungdae to lay her head on his shoulder.

“I know, but a child isn’t an omen,”

Chenle shakes its’ head. “Forget what the media is saying, that bastard child will grow up and will look just like the person who raped her. How do you think the child will feel knowing it’s a product of rape?”

“How do you think the child will feel in a house that’s unwelcoming?”

“It doesn’t belong here,” Chenle whispers. “It’s difficult to wrap my head around her wanting to give birth to that damned child.” He mutters and opens his eyes looking outside again. When he hears another loud laugh from her and the Officer Na rapidly removing his hands and flapping them, a meek smile grows on Chenle’s lips as he whispers. “When she was still in the womb, she’d kick like crazy. It terrified the shit out of me,”

“She needs you the most right now honey,” Chungdae whispers back before turning her gaze outside.

“And I need my daughter back too, but it’s clear she’s not coming back,” Chenle mummers. “That girl right there is going to be a mother to a bastard child, and I don’t think I want to be a part of that life.”

And so it is. The 9th month mark hitting on the calendar alerting Yezi to being ready for any day that her surprise child would come out. She’s saddened that both her dad and Dae are nowhere near her during those days. The new year passes and days progress with Yezi, barely being able to walk with her stomach on full display of the big pregnancy she has. While being small- despite the little weight she gained, she still looked so young and to think she’d bring in life to the world encouraged her to carry on.

February comes along with Yezi getting nervous that she’s not going into labor even when the month is close to ending. Already being worried and terrified, even when sitting on top of Jaemin’s car and expressing her worry- she’s not expectant at all when feeling wet and water dripping from her uterus. “Jaemin?” She nervously calls while having her eyes wide open.

“What? What’s wrong? Yezi, calm down,” Jaemin doesn’t know what’s going on when her face is drained of blood, but when she struggles to get off the car and holds unto the bottom of her stomach- looking shitless scared Jaemin takes a wild guess to know; “Don’t tell me it’s time now? Is it time?”

Yezi can’t speak or produce coherent words when she squeezes her legs together and bends trying to hold under her belly trying to maintain the weight that feels like it’s going to fall out. “Mum! Jaemin call mum! Mum! Oh mu god! Oh my god! Mum it’s coming out!” She implores when the pain kicks in her stomach.

With Chenle not being in the house and Chungdae not knowing how to drive, is panicked when hearing Yezi crying out for her life. Jaemin thankfully is alert and eager to assist when taking both Chungdae and Yezi in his car driving them. Yezi is on the verge- panting and moaning in pain in sweats and looks like any time soon she’ll faint. Chungdae is panicked and in heats of trying to calm down while also telling Yezi to breath and relax. Thankfully even despite the roads being hectic, Jaemin uses his siren and police advantage to cut the stop signs and traffic lights trying to get as fast as he can to any hospital nearby as the one they retained to was too far. It’s close, with Yezi almost collapsing in the backseat does Jaemin eventually get to a hospital carrying Yezi and lunging to the doors.

Triumphantly, the nurses don’t give them any problems and instantly assist when seeing the blood staining her pants and Yezi crying out for her dear life. Chungdae is inside the hospital room with Yezi, while Jaemin is outside reminiscing on such an experience. He’s never felt as heavy weighted as he did and hearing as well as seeing Yezi succumb to pain terrified him.

Jaemin is awakened by a jolly nurse who comes out with all smiles. “It’s a girl.”

Yezi, at 1 a.m. on a Sunday morning of late February, almost having driven herself to the brink of death when assertively pushing out of her tiny body- weighing 5 pounds and 8 ounces (2,500 grams) a beautiful miniature and petite baby girl.

Yezi is in heaps of sweat, her legs shaking in pain and uterus throbbing yet a gleeful and prideful smile lights up her entire face even when she cries after holding onto the little baby girl in her arms. She can’t stop crying for the reasons of both joy and sadness. The little, healthy, bundle of radiance in the baby girl shines so bright and takes away her family not being present. Yezi can’t believe her eyes. A tiny little thing with eyes pressed close and body rigid yet having it’s arms out and gripping onto her hair only overwhelms her, and the joy spreading all over her makes her cry blissfully.

“My baby.” Yezi whispers upon kissing the top of the fragile little head of the baby girl. “Oh my god she’s so tiny. I’m gonna protect you okay, mummy’s gonna protect you and you’re safe now okay? My beautiful baby girl, my baby,” Yezi cries holding tightly onto the baby- and even in return as the nurses gently try to take her away to clean her up- do her tiny little fingers grip onto Yezi’s hair crying when they try to pull her away. The scene is surreal and makes Yezi cry even more.

No amount of happiness that Yezi has ever felt in her life can ever top this moment of paradise and bliss.

“Everything went well,” Chungdae smiles with tears running down her face, while watching the nurses take care of the baby and the doctors closing Yezi’s uterus. “It’s a baby girl,”

Chenle despite not being present still feels in his heart pain for the departure of his daughter upon the new arrival of her daughter. “I’m happy they weren’t any complications,” But despite it all, he still smiles when Chungdae speaks so highly and positive of the baby.

While Chungdae chats with Chenle in a peaceful manner she laughs when watching the nurses change and hand the baby to Jaemin who’s panicked at how Yezi passes out with a smile on her face.

Meanwhile, downtown (2 a.m.) in a local club that’s drowning its customers with music, Dae grinds her body friskily all over Hendery’s toned body blurring out the world around her. The music is loud, the music is bold with slurs and ideologies scowled upon, but that doesn’t stop the others or Dae or Hendery from drunkenly dancing and dry humping on each other singing and cursing along to the songs. It’s when she heavily starts making out with Hendery does she heavily feel the weight and strong sense of someone staring at her- even as she’s drunk she can’t shake that feeling off. Ever since she walked in partly sober, all the way till she heavily inducted herself in the drinks and stashed drugs Hendery had- did she feel as though she was being watched.

Not paying mind to it, her and Hendery take it over to the co-ed bathroom having a rash and messy quickie with both of them barely conscious of their actions. Dae is sloppy when sucking off Hendery and Hendery is lacking when it comes to thrusting with power- but they’re both so high that they barely care and yet still cum to the thoughts of sexual pleasure and having a good time. They’re drunk and high out of their mind when returning back to the dance floor to have another go at wasting their lives away.

Jeno, being sober and cleaning on the counter after the spilt drinks of the dozens of intoxicated bodies, finds it hard to believe that the girl he’s looking at is the same girl he had a crush on. As time goes by, his eyes are only hooked to her in uneasiness and at times even revulsion as she’s not in her right senses and doing things that he’d never thought she’d do. From grinding with one too many men, to making out with anyone that puts their lips on her, to some point even groping and gripping on her like a ragdoll- Jeno can only watch in shock that this lady with short bleached out blonde hair, bright red bra and tight exotically short red leather skirt, dancing her life away is supposedly the same person that he saw in court 1 year ago.

Back then she had a strong persona, charismatic eyes, bountiful personality and good physics coated in her rich glory. The lady he knew had strangers looking at her all the time because of her rich lavish life, as well as good healthy appearance as people wanted to be her, as well as wanted to be friends with her. The same lady he knew made him see rich people in a different light, a light of being beautiful yet so self-absorbed and selfish. However, upon looking at the dance floor at 3 am, seeing a skinny deranged lady dancing like a drug addict commoner makes him worriedly curious about what happened.

There’s no way this was that same girl, there’s no way this unhealthy looking skimpy dancer is Dae. There’s just no way.

He was just in prison for 12 months, yet upon coming out and managing to get a job as a cleaner in a bar- he’s shocked out of his mind at how much a year can change a person. He only started working some days ago, but the moment his eyes landed on Dae and he began seeing her every single night at the club.

And for 2 weeks of Dae not being in the house, and Yezi being discharged and being the happiest she can be when being around her child, no one can take away her joy- not Dae’s messy life, not her father’s absence and lack of response to her- nothing can take the smile off her face. Even when her own baby cries.

“Areum you’ve got the most gorgeous smile, I have ever seen in my entire life, so tell me why, why are you crying so much? Is it because you don’t like your nappy being changed?” Yezi playfully plays with her child while changing the pampers and applying the medicine on her baby’s umbilical cord. Despite the baby girl, Areum crying, Yezi still coo’s cutely and playfully plays with her child while hurriedly changing her and giving her new pampers.

Chenle, who can’t stand the wails, goes into his room where Chungdae is ironing the baby’s clothes. “The baby’s crying.” He proclaims in irritation.

“Be a grandfather and help your daughter,” Chungdae sneakily answers with a mischievous smile. “Come on honey, there’s a first time for everything.”

Chenle despondently rolls his eyes and walks out the room going to the living room continuing to watch the news informatics while he works. He puts the volume louder blocking out the sounds of the whining crying child. In the room, Chungdae can only chuckle as she finishes ironing and walks back to Yezi’s room and coo’s. “Oh oh oh oh oh, why is my Areum crying? Why is my beauty beauty little girl crying huh? Does she want to be warm? Does she want to be warm?”

Truly speaking, this child, Areum brought a wide smile to her face. There’s a first time for everything, and helping Yezi look after her child felt like such a huge privilege for her. She never had this opportunity of caressing and even holding onto a baby- but yet Yezi gave her that integrity and honor of being there as a mother to her child. Chungdae more than anything loved the idea of having children, but when she found out that she was unable to, it crushed her. But now, being a premature grandmother gave her a glimpse into the life of what it’s like having a child. And she so badly wanted to have this experience with Chenle. Which is why when Yezi nervously questions, “Is he mad?”

Her answer is always. “Leave him, he’ll come around sooner or later. He can’t be too angry at our little Areum, hm,” Chungdae brushes her face on the little baby’s belly causing the dressed baby girl to squirm in delight and joy. “Look at that smile, look at that smile, my baby, my little Areum,”

Chenle shakes his head when for a spilt second the silence that consumes the living room from the pause break on tv, Chenle hears both the ladies dumbing down their intellect to speak in foreign baby voices and act cute.

Having the full support of her mother, Yezi is at peace when living her life around the house. Not only does she feel the weight and responsibility of being a mother, but she gracefully embodies and embraces a whole set of accountabilities. When waking up next to her baby, she’s always reminded of how she so badly wants to change her life and make sure that she’s a good, fit, role model and mother for her child. It pushes her to study to the best of her ability. She wasn’t born with a smart brain, but she has been applying herself and trying. And in the same way the nurses cared for her during her whole stay at the hospital, she also wanted to be a nurse who’d help people.

It seemed laughable at first, but when talking with Doyoung (her tutor) and he encouraged her to pursue her growing passion- her life seemed to be heading in a tremendously great path. Every day her face glowed brighter because of her Areum who would always look at her with the most caring of smiles. Her smile reminded her so much of Dae. Although it was annoying at times to see a smile on Dae’s fac, Yezi can now see how much a smile (a genuine) smile costs. Seeing Areum smile, is equivalent to seeing Dae smile. But despite missing her big sister, seeing her little baby girl always made Yezi remember how she wanted to protect her child from any bad omen projecting in this world.

And that means not even letting her drunk and high older sister near her child.

“Why won’t you let me see her?” Dae asks. With big gleaming and jittery eyes, as well as bad breath and coughing consistently, tragedy is all over her, and she’s shaky and has a nervous stance while scratching on her arm- this always alarms Yezi. Her sister was no longer the same. The mere fact that she looks like she’s on drugs doesn’t even sit well with Yezi or even convince her to allow her sister to be anywhere near her child.

Dae, for the worst, turned into the lifestyle that she hated, she smokes weed, sniffs on cocaine, injects heroin in her system on most days, drinks on heavy substances and looks like a completely different person especially with her no eyebrows and that god awful ugly bleached blonde and damaged short hairstyle. This wasn’t her loving sister anymore- this was a corpse living in her sister’s body. And there’s no way she’d allow for a skeleton with no soul to see her baby.

“She’s sleeping and I don’t want to wake her up,” Creating excuses and avoiding her sister has become such a huge burden for Yezi. All she wanted was for her sister to come back, but in this state of drowsiness and confusion only scares her that her sister will never get back.

Everything about her moved differently, her brain started working inversely, even her words weren’t giving life but breaking down and slowing down her speech, her posture was altered, her eye contact was unalike and her lips were always dry, even when she’d lick them they’d always turn white and cracked rapidly. It’s like her sister was morphing into something else, and sadly it wasn’t even a transitional phase, it was a reality that Dae couldn’t escape and Yezi’s heart was in pain seeing her sister like this, every day, without even knowing what she could do.

“Stop lying!” Dae yells and alarms Yezi. “You’re ashamed of me and don’t want me near your fucking child! Who cares anyway, she’s nothing but a pathetic resemblance of the fucker who raped you! You bitch. You dumb fuck always refusing me to see that fucker-” Yezi holds her ground when watching her sister break down all types of slurs. She turns around when hearing her baby crying in the room and ignores Dae shutting the door in her face just as Dae barks louder and emits all types of curses. “She’s also a huge fuck. She’s gonna rob houses, take advantage of people, she’s gonna hate- just like I hate you-”

“Dae? No, stop it.” Chenle holds onto Dae, but Dae thrusts her arms off her father and pushes him back.

“Everyone in this house should just fucking die already! You’re all looking at me like I’m a mess? No, I’m not- you all are!” Dae chuckles, but it’s so sad for Chenle to witness it all happen right before his eyes. “So what if I’m a mess- you all are fucking caged to this fucked up life! Fuck you all!”

Dae shuts her room door still slurring out. Chenle shakes his head, and turns to Yezi’s door. He carefully knocks on it and moments later, Yezi opens it up cautiously, but when seeing her dad she opens the door a little bit wider. “Are you okay?”

Yezi nods her head gulping down a little lump. Chenle nods his head looking in the room towards the bed where the child was, and after looking at her for a bit he nods his head again and walks off.

Not a minute later, Dae opens up her room door and throws middle fingers to both Chenle and Yezi. “Fuck you guys.” Before running out the house in the shortest black mini skirt and nothing on but a leopard bra.

However, Dae, much to her own disliking, feels as though she’s hit rock bottom and is far from any sort of compassion and saving. She’s empty when falling into a darker pit of shame and misfortune night by night. And being out of the house every night only to travel into self-destruction seemed like her only remedy.

With no arms at savings rich, and no family to care for her, Dae cries alone while consuming the drugs and dances every night alone or either with friends, but mostly alone hoping that she’ll just die. Even though the pattern continues every day, the will to die grows the strongest in her.

Her prayer is answered when one night she gets to the club and begins dancing her life away before getting into a petty fight with Hendery (on who gets the bill), to storming out the club in a wobbly unsteady dizzy mess only to be hit with her whole lanky body flying up and knocked off her feet straight into the pavement ground with such crude force, rendering her knocked out and unconscious, almost like death.

They always say that the few seconds of death, you’ll get a 7 second flashback of your entire life flashing before your eyes. Dae is convinced its death because within the seconds of her death she sees a face… a face of a memory she tried so hard to forget by taking in deadly drugs. Gauging down her throat his heavy loaded dick, Mark made Dae feel numb to everything that night, even while she heard her sister crying and yelling when Donghyuck was raping her, Dae can remember Mark cumming in her mouth and she felt so worthless and like a failure for her whole family-

Despite her mind in pure intoxication and dejection, Jeno from the club rushes out to the scene when seeing the car drive away after it swept Dae and knocked her off her feet and brutally against the floor. Jeno as he’s running to Dae on the floor, gets a flash memory of how he recalled seeing her the same way in her room. Despite being a rich girl, she seems to be caught in these situations of being lost and broken.

Instantly he cradles her up and looks left and right to see who can help, but there’s no one in sight or on the street or sidewalk- just the club full of ignorant dancing fools who ignore her and him outside. She’s breathing slowly, her face covered in blood pouring from her head, her eyes shut and body trembling rigidly. He pats her cheek lightly. “Dae? Dae? Come on, come on,” He begs before cursing when feeling her bleeding from her sides and he gets up on his feet with her weak body. He puts her on his back and makes sure her hands are around his neck while his arms are over her legs as he begins running as fast as he can.

Dae doesn’t even hear a thing when feeling the wind blow past her face- looking into Jeno’s side, her vision is blurry and all she can see is death. She hiccups but to Jeno that’s assurance that she’s alive and not dying.

“Stay with me Dae, just a little bit longer.”

Chenle can’t explain the discontent he’s been feeling with his new reality of life. In a normal life, he’s with his wife and two daughters who go to school, come home, talk about their future, ask him to buy things for them, eat all that they can eat, talk to him and ask for advice or even life lessons. In his dream he’s even gone as far to marrying them off to good men who have wealthy families and he knows that their generation will be able to sustain his wealth and inheritance. He even used to envision his grandchildren and how they’d be and how happy he’d be when dying of old age surrounded by his perfect family.

Yet in some distorted way, Chenle wakes up every day to his real reality being everything he loathes. Falling behind on work, being slow to building their new home because his mind is constantly wrapped around his daughters and all the chaotic decisions they’ve been making.

First it was Yezi and her bastard child, now it’s Dae and her spiraling life going into flames. Truly as a parent, he tried everything that he could to at least even get her to talk to him. Because that was always the first step into redemption; talking. But talking to Dae was impossible. His daughter had shut down in the worst way possible, and he didn’t know what to do.

The longest that Dae has stayed away from home was 4 days, but with a turn of events the longest that she’s stayed away from home is 2 weeks.

“Where could she be?” Chenle grows particularly concerned and troubled. He tries calling, texting but to his disappointment she doesn’t answer her phone or text back, it hardly gets to ‘seen’ and all calls go to voicemail. Chungdae tries calling, Yezi tries calling and emailing but still no answer. They call on her friends, especially Yang Yang, Winwin and Hendery who last claim that the last time they saw her she was in the club.

Before Chenle could take it a step further into filing and reporting her as a missing person, he felt bad as a parent and wondered where he went wrong. It came in an email, of Dae announcing her departure from his life. She made reference to how she didn’t want to carry on the family business, how she hated living her life like nothing happened especially after the aftermath of the accident. But what broke Chenle’s heart the most, was how she begged for him not to look for her or reach out to her, that she didn’t want him as a part of her life anymore, that she wanted to cut all ties with family and go her separate way.

The fact that this was a personalized email only sent to him and not her mother or sister, made Chenle believe that he was at fault for Dae coming to this decision. He didn’t even know where she was.

All he knows is that two months have passed and he hasn’t heard a word from her. If this is what she wanted to pursue then he didn’t want to hold her back.

That’s what he thought, but to Chungdae seeing her husband deteriorate and morph into a gloomy glum man made her miss the fluffy, peculiar, mischievous man she married. There was no light in her husband anymore. He just went to work, came home, ate in his study and fell asleep and repeated the same things everyday but like a droned out machine with no means of survival. Even when finally moving into their enlarged mansion and away from the rental home, he seemed the most distant.

The move in took about a week to settle in as the women were pampering around the house making it more suitable to their liking while at the same time modernizing it to their taste. Despite its beauty on the outside as well as inside, the house was very lonely for Chenle and he hated spending time with his family. And that was because of how they drifted apart. Chungdae and Yezi loved the baby, and Chenle didn’t.

That’s until 4 months later. He gets an off day and decides to spend it at home instead of the office. As predicted Yezi’s with her baby and Chungdae nearby Yezi. Chenle has the first layer living room all to himself and catches up on the latest informatics, however he gets up from his seat deciding to get his laptop and wor while watching the news. It’s on his way walking through the wide hallway does he get to the staircase and sees a little body bag on the floor dressed of a crocodile onesie.

It’s Yezi’s child. She’s on the top of the staircase, seemingly getting her way down by crawling on each step carefully. Chenle, like usual whenever seeing her, pays her no mind and climbs up the long flight of stairs and ignores her getting into his study room and getting his light weighing laptop as well as gadget bag before going back down the stairs. Expecting to see her still at the same spot his heart jumps out of his chest when seeing her on the last few steps but somehow tumbles and rolls down the remaining steps before smacking her head on the tiled ground.

“Shit-” He rushes down the steps and looks at the little girl who’s flat on the floor. He gets near her and gets stunned when she’s kissing the floor. Upon seeing him, she laughs joyously and crawls to sit up on the floor. He sighs in frustration. “Honey! Come get the baby.”

He walks past her and heads outside the backyard porch. He takes a seat on the veranda table with which had a serene view of his large backyard. Sometimes the thought of being rich made him feel better about his problems, as long as he had money he was okay to provide for himself any vacation he needed. With his iPad channeled to the news, while his laptop focused on the project and the tablet on notepad mode, upon seeing nature and the sky Chenle’s able to work effortlessly and soundly with no disruptions.

But he speaks too soon because Areum (being somewhat around 8 months) creeps her way outside on the wooden floor before scrambling out on the grass. Chenle has his eyes on the screen but yet after spotting her he exhales in annoyance. “Honey!” He yells out hoping that she can come and take this baby back inside. “Reckless.” He hadn’t set any barricades for the baby because the baby was always with Yezi, so he didn’t feel the need to secure any areas in the house.

And because of not securing the baby crawls on the grass outside of the shade and explores around. She’s a walking and falling mess- but with a joyous and jolly laugh, whenever she falls down she gets back up and carries on walking. In her onesie she’s playing on the floor by laying down, scampering around, attempting to stand up- she’s like a dog and it doesn’t help when Chenle notices Daegal too surrounding the baby and playing with her.

Her loud squeal in pain causes him to snap his head away from the screen and to her. She wails out after stomping with her hand on the sprinklers and the water splashes on her, and Daegal joins in barking at the sprinklers when it starts spluttering out water. Chenle tsks and ignores her crying, placing his air pods on focusing on his work. That wasn’t his problem… but at the same time he can’t help but be cautious of her moves. “Chungdae!” He yells out.

With no success in getting Chungdae to come and get the baby, Chenle continues with work and ignores the child almost entirely. It’s not until she finds her way back in his line of vision under the shade and sitting down on the wooden floor playing with things, assembly Daegal’s toys does he sigh out. He doesn’t care about her, he only cares that the baby was disturbing his peace and has somehow been set free to move around the house. Where’s Yezi? Where’s Chungdae?

Meanwhile Areum in her own world attempts to stand and walks a few steps only to tumble on the ground in her onesies, what catches his eyes is that every time she’d fall there would be a smile on her face, and unknowingly a smile would also be on his face for a spilt second. He tries as best as he can to overlook the little baby girl, but she makes it so hard, when slowly but surely she moves closer to him.

The next to time he looks away from the screen, she’s standing by leaning on the table bouncing to inaudible music. Upon getting his attention, Areum smiles and moves by hurriedly walking to the chair where he’s sitting and leans on his leg.

“No, no.” Chenle scolds. “Don’t touch me.” Chenle shoves her hands off his thighs.

Areum can only sit on the ground while looking up to the older man with wonder in her eyes. Her eyes that are just so precious and almost melt Chenle’s heart, but his quick in shifting away. In shifting away she only gets closer to him before yawning and rubbing on her eye in a messy state.

She gets back up and holds onto his thigh while minding her own business and playing with Daegal’s toy. Chenle tries not to shove her away, afraid he’ll hurt her but at the same time his eyes constantly move to her wondering if she’s okay.

She’s banging the toy on his thigh and making gurgling sounds while playing with herself, leaving Chenle to simply work and not mind her.

However, after some time, she grows quiet, and still while balancing on Chenle, she slides down his leg and leans her head on his leg. Chenle notices this and tentatively shakes his leg. “Hey,”

Areum looks up, her eyes blinking and wipes on them before making herself comfortable again on his leg. He leans back on his seat after a certain time and looks at her. Her posture looks bent and surely uncomfortable but it doesn’t stop her from sleeping. It’s when her neck starts wobbling and craning does he find his arms stretching down and his hands carrying and lifting her fazed sleepy state.

“You’re heavy,” He mummers before she hurriedly fixes herself comfortably in his hands by laying her body on his chest and her head against the croak of his neck. Chenle is stiff for a minute, and snaps out of it when feeling his dog by his foot. Looking down he sees Daegal wrapping herself in a ball and making herself comfortable. Chenle leans back on his seat and gently rests his hand on the baby’s back, the other arm holding her in place.

He soon finds himself dozing off after listening to the commentary with ear pods in his ear and his vision blurring while he succumbs to the sleep.

“Mum? I can’t find Areum anywhere,” Yezi looks panicked when waking up her mum. Chungdae blinks in haziness but after hearing Yezi’s concern she’s up on her feet.

“She was sleeping with me,”

“Well where is she?” Yezi in heaps of fright dashes out the room and continues to search all over the house, calling her name. She even gets upset that the house is so big. The only place she ever spent time with Areum was on the second floor where her room was- but after searching the entire second floor her heart is in frantic panic when looking all over. “Areum?”

In seeing Daegal stretching by the outside porch door and entering the house- Yezi scampers towards the door being breathless hoping to see her child. But her eyes are too stunned to move when she takes in the sight right before her. Right underneath the shade of the veranda, she sees her dad carrying her baby. The sight itself is wholesome with her dad’s eyes closed and embracing her child in such a manner of protecting her. Her heart fills up with an overwhelming longing. Seeing this sight only enlightens her.

Despite having non-verbal communications with her dad, Yezi had a slight assurance that her father still cared about her every time he paid for her private lessons with the tutor, every time he gave Chungdae money to give her, or even the little moments when he’d stoke up on her favorite foods whenever they’d run out. Despite not talking, Yezi knew that her dad still cared for her. And seeing this sight of him holding her child, gives her some sort of hope. Ever since Areum was born, Chenle never ever held her and refused to do so even in private when Chungdae would ask for help.

But now seeing how comfortable her baby is sleeping on her dad makes her smile. Deciding not to interrupt them, she moves back in the house and informs Chungdae that Areum is safe. After an hour or so, Chenle is awakened when Chungdae lightly tries to get Areum off his sleeping figure. He finds himself holding tighter onto the little girl, but eventually slowly let’s go, nodding his head when Chungdae states that her nappy is full. However, much to Areum’s distaste and drowsy state- refuses to let go of Chenle and holds tighter even whimpering out for the touch of the man who rarely holds her.

“What do you wanna do again?” Chenle asks, while removing his earphone and seemingly looks a little more awake then before. Especially when noticing that the child doesn’t want to let go of him.

“I want to change her diaper, it’s full and she’s gonna get rash,” Chungdae tries again to pull Areum off and Chenle gently tries to stretch her towards his wife, but Areum cries only resulting in Chenle holding onto her again.

“Okay, okay, it’s okay, let’s go,” Chungdae is surprised when seeing Chenle stands up with the child and they both embark inside the house going up the stairs. All this while Chenle holds onto an awake yet sleepy Areum and pats her back lightly. “Where’s Yezi?”

“Studying in her room, we can just go to our room,”

Chenle nods his head and upon getting to their room, he carefully lays Areum down while assuring the little wailing baby of his presence by playing with her hand while Chungdae begins removing her clothes and changing her. Her whimpers die down when Chenle holds onto her hand and playfully tells her it’s okay. “It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s just a nappy change,”

Chungdae hurries on to changing and cleaning the baby, but at the same time she pays attention to how Areum watches Chenle in awe and silences down whilst smiling and being entertained by him. When she’s done and dresses Areum in another onesie, Areum being tired yet awake and seemingly just staring at Chenle warms Chungdae’s heart.

“What’s wrong with her?” Chenle gently asks while lying on the bed and looking into the young baby’s black eyes. “She’s tired but she doesn’t want to sleep,” Chenle whispers.

“She can’t stop looking at you, at her grandfather,” Chungdae whispers back.

Despite Chenle not liking that word especially used for this child… his heart can’t help when he sees just how much curiosity is in the little girls’ eyes. “Sleep,” he smiles lightly when her features get into a drowsy sleep but her eyes are quick to open to make sure that Chenle is still in front of her. “You won’t miss anything. I’ll still be here. Sleep okay,” Chenle adjusts his posture on the bed to be at the same level as her while he also makes himself comfortable. Soon enough, after much ogling Areum falls asleep.

In Chungdae’s head, the little girl just wanted to take in this special moment of her bonding with her grandfather and didn’t want to miss out on seeing his face close to hers.

And for a few more days, although its scarce to see Chenle with Areum, Areum feels a tad bit comfortable in always approaching him. Whether by running to him whenever her mum would chase her and tell her it’s time to bath, or even by following Chenle around once she’s spotted him. In all honesty, at first it was annoying for Chenle to be followed by the miniature creature bastard child. However, he got used to her petite figure and he’d always be cautious of her movements. Chenle purposely acknowledges her and on other days it seems like he’s almost waiting for his chance to pick her up. And always waits for the signaling. It can be Chungdae asking for help with the little girl, and Chenle simply carries her and holds her while Chungdae works. Other times it’s when he gets back from work and already sees the baby crawling on the floor but when seeing him she attempts to stand and scampers in his direction.

Yezi only having seen the sight once, is surprised when one day, a Saturday, her dad is at home instead of being at work. And it so happens that when Chungdae leaves the house to go to the market, Areum won’t stop crying while Yezi is studying.

“Areum, please stop crying.” Yezi slightly raises her voice being upset. She stands up and bobs on Areum while holding her notebook in the other hand and tries to study, but Areum carries on crying. “Areum!”

That only makes Areum wail out more even going as far as hitting her mum wanting to get down.

“Areum what do you want!? I just wanna study-”

“Hey, hey, hey.” Chenle opens up the door stepping into the room cautiously. “What’s wrong?” He asks while struggling to hear through Areum’s screeches.

“I just wanna study but Areum keeps crying, I gave her milk and food, gave her bath but she won’t stop crying, I don’t know what to do and mum isn’t here-” Yezi herself also looks like she’s on the verge of crying, both from stress of the exam as well as her crying baby. She’s so overwhelmed by her emotions that when her dad offers to watch over Areum, she agrees without a second thought and continues studying while her dad shuts the door and disappears with Areum. It’s only when she’s calmed down and easily studies does she realise that her dad actually spoke to her in a somewhat decent conversation and even offered to take Areum.

Her heart, for a second, seems like it stops beating because of the shock that just happened. Carefully, no longer being interested in studying and wants to see with her own eyes, she walks out her room and tries to spot her dad with her child. She moves all over the house and even outside, but when she doesn’t see her dad, she panics and before she can even call out to them both- she’s surprised when seeing Chungdae block her mouth looking ecstatically pleased and happy. Gently pulling Yezi to the kitchen, they’re both caught in a trans of watching Chenle and the baby.

Chenle is holding on Areum on one side of his hip while holding a piece of a pineapple on a fork. He nibbles only a little and then moves the fork towards Areum. Areum sucks on the fruit and backs away with a sour look on her face just as Chenle moves the fork back silently laughing at her reaction. However, when Areum pounces on and eagerly tries to grab the fork from Chenle’s other hand with extreme force.

And it seems that it’s through that one little moment that a serene feeling of joy passes through the house for everyone. It’s through Areum that somehow the sense of ‘family’ began making sense again. As days pass, it seems like all the family wants to do is build their life and remain connected and not look back anymore. They each continue to strive in building a better life for themselves, Chungdae as the joy of the house continues to encourage as well as bring the family together, Yezi as a persistent graduate embarks on a journey of making her dad proud as well as herself and her baby, Chenle rightfully taking the head in making sure that this time his family is safe and that nothing can hurt them. At the same time, Areum grows in the love and embrace of all her family.

And Areum’s first word much to all their surprise is “Gwanpa”. Chenle never knew the excitement he’d feel when hearing the form of words leave the little girl’s mouth, his little bean. And hearing the word from her mouth, makes him wish that his whole family be together and that he’s willing to reconcile with Dae. No matter what. Which is why, when he sends her an email years later, he’s heart is open to accept whatever the outcome is- but he mostly leans onto the best. He hopes that his daughter Dae, will come back to him.

Especially since she approves his email and accepts his invitation, asking if she can come with her boyfriend who’s helped her get back into shape. Chenle at first is surprised with joy to hear from his daughter, but his surprise turns to stun when he learns who she’s been dating and spending time with for the past years. But all in all, he figures that it’s time to let bygones be bygones, especially within their 5th year, a parole letter from the court comes in and asks whether or not they’ll accept Donghyuck’s appeal for parole.

“Do you think that’s a good idea?” Chungdae asks while sitting next to her husband on their bed late at night, as they stare at the email together.

Chenle inhales in deeply, re-reading his email before nodding his head. “We’ve moved passed the past and all I want to do is move on. I’m sure from his appeal he won’t be a bother to us. And I sure as hell don’t want to receive emails about them anymore. Granting his parole as well as accepting never to receive emails like this again, will allow our family to finally have the peace we’ve been seeking for. Nothing bad will happen,”

Once Chenle sends in the email, the receivers are prompt to already writing up Donghyuck’s release paper’s and setting up for him to leave within a 5-day notice.

S2:EP7-14

[5 days later: Thursday 9h30 a.m.]

Donghyuck is up and refreshed before anyone else in his cell. His eyes are trained on the barred windows to the light pouring out of the clouds. This is the day he would step foot outside of this damn prison in hopes never to return again.

“Can’t believe you’re leaving so soon,” Mark mumbles looking up to Donghyuck from his bed. Still being under the covers he watches his friend who’s got bruises on his nose, chin and cheek bone, but still his enthusiasm spreads all over his face. “You’re a free man but you’re already looking so beat,”

“Fuck off Mark.” Donghyuck runs his hands through his head taking a seat on his own bed. His head running free and wild with thoughts. But the one thing that’s pressing his head is that he never wants to come back to prison again. He misses his mum (who has not been sending in her letters to him), he misses Renjun who he heard from the ward guards that he was released 3 years ago. He misses his family, and he knows that they might not be too excited to see him when he gets back, but he wants to show them just how much he’s changed in his mindset. He wants to try and be the son his mum has always wanted, and he wants to be a big brother to Renjun, but most importantly, he wants to live his life the right way. “Even though I’m fucked up, I want to live honestly,” He whispers out.

Mark scoffs and rolls his eyes. “You’re all talk but, you’ll be back here before you know it. There’s going to be something that will just piss you off and make you go crazy,”

Donghyuck tries not to pay attention to Mark and only focuses on the positive, and he gets relieved when he hears his prison cell buzzer ring and looks up to the door that has a square space with bars. Seeing the officer Park Jisung call his name, Donghyuck eagerly stands up placing his hands behind his head as procedure. Officer Park Jisung gets in the cell accompanied by another guard (who stands like a guard dog and watches Mark and the other prisoners making sure that they don’t try and move). Jisung pulls Donghyuck’s hands down and into handcuffs. “Good morning Lee Donghyuck. My name is Officer Park, I’ll be in charge of settling your release papers and getting you out of here. Any questions you have will have to wait until we get to the holding center.”

Donghyuck feels relief wash over him that his appeal had been approved and that he can hear his freedom being doors away. He thought surely that he’d be rejected, but much to his surprise they granted him freedom.

“Why’d they say yes?” Donghyuck asks regardless of what Jisung said.

“Any questions you may have will have to wait until we get to the holding center.” Jisung repeats sternly.

This makes Mark snicker a little while watching his friend being taken away. Donghyuck looks back to Mark with a formidable smile. “Good luck Mark,”

“See you soon bro,” Mark winks his eye and breathes out when their door is banged shut causing the metallic locks to seal up the door again. “I’ve gotta get out of here,”

The metal gates containing the prison facility closes after Donghyuck steps out. He takes a look back to the buildings that enclosed him and kept him for 5 years. He rubs his wrists looking up to the hot sun taking in the air of his new freedom. Finally, he’s out.

He expects to see his mum as usual, yet when there’s no sign of humans around the area he hangs his jacket behind his back before looking left and right and beginning his walk.

By the time Donghyuck’s legs wear out and he’s tired both physically as well as mentally, he stops by a gas station hoping to make a phone call. He barely has enough coins to make a calling, but he manages with the little he has. He leans by the wall and taps on the memorized phone numbers calling on his mum.

Thankfully the phone clicks. “Hello?”

“Mum,” Donghyuck’s voice is raspy but it can’t contain his own happiness when hearing his mum’s voice. She doesn’t sound sick.

“Oh,” Her voice fades. “Donghyuck is that you?”

“Yes, uh, I got released today,”

“I was aware.”

There’s a moment of silence that passes between them, with Donghyuck waiting eagerly to hear her voice but yet she doesn’t reciprocate his enthusiasm. Sensing that she’s not going to speak he speaks before his minutes run out. “Uhm, I was wondering…if you could let me stay over at your place…” He scratches the back of his head, feeling small and crushed that his mother doesn’t sound pleased to even hear him. “Just until I can find a place to stay,”

Her silence lasts long only causing Donghyuck to worry.

“Please…please mum?” He begs. “I… I won’t stay long. Please, I promise to be on my best behavior, I-”

“You have less than 1 minute.” The operating voice cuts in between, causing Donghyuck to curse. When the line connects again, he waits a bit to hear from his mum, but she still doesn’t speak.

“Okay fine. Just for tonight.” Donghyuck lets out as a last resort. “I’ll be gone in the morning.”

Just when Donghyuck isn’t expecting his mum to accept, she does. “Fine. But we changed the address. Right now, I’m at work, Renjun will arrive in an hour or so, you’ll have to wait outside. We no longer live in 84 Guryong. We’re in Estate Pent Thirty-f-”

“Shit.” Donghyuck tries to look for pocket change to carry on the call, but it hangs and he curses. “Fuck.” A few seconds of rest leads to him looking at the street map outside the gas store to find the address the his mum mentioned. “Estate Pent…” His eyes widen slightly seeing that the new residence is in an area whereby he’s never lived in.

It’s also quite far from where he is. He takes a deep breath and begins walking…

“Need a lift?”

Donghyuck’s ears are alert when hearing a voice. He looks behind him to a guy smiling at a girl. The girl continues walking minding her own business and not focusing on the guy who tries desperately hard to get her attention including whistling. Donghyuck breathes out a chuckle. “Still a dick.”

Jungwoo much to his own dissatisfaction rolls his eyes when the girl ignores him. “Fine. Go away with your flat ass,”

“I gotta advice you bro, chasing chicks decades younger then you will lead you to prison,” Donghyuck speaks loud enough to get the attention of the male in the car. Jungwoo peers to the voice and instantly a smile coats his face.

“Ehy, the boy who went to prison,” Jungwoo stops his engine and gets out the car just as Donghyuck walks over to the man. They get into a bro hug doing a little handshakes before Jungwoo goes all in for a hugr causing Donghyuck to stand in shock before he pushes Jungwoo off him. Jungwoo laughs it off fixing his cow boy hat on his head looking jolly. “Man, how the hell are you out? Did you escape? ‘Cause I know for sure your sentence was much longer then this? Where’s your other half by the way? You hungry? I was heading to lunch, come on. There’s a new joint that opened up serving amazing lobster- you know what it can be my treat, order and eat as much as you like. It’s good seeing you, the streets have been crazy with this boy by the name of Shotaro being all over the place causing havoc on every territory. Thank goodness you’re back, you can teach him a lesson. Wait, did I actually tell you about Sungchan? He was sentenced life in prison just yesterday, but wait that brings me back to you, how are you out? How-”

One thing Donghyuck liked about his old friend Jungwoo was how he always did the talking and never really allowed anyone else to talk but himself. He’d not only ask questions, but he’d answer his own questions and most of the time Donghyuck thinks that Jungwoo doesn’t really care about anyone’s opinion because he’s always talking and likes hearing his voice. So Donghyuck simply sits in the front seat, resting out his legs and allowing his seat to recline backwards so that he can take time to breathe in from his heavy walking. Hopefully when done eating, he’ll set the street address of his mum’s new place.

After a heavy and amazing meal, Donghyuck is seated outside on a bench in the park under a tree facing in the direction of a clean and solid apartment building. Not only did it reside in a well off area, but the people themselves walking in and out of the apartment looked stable. At first he wanted to go in, but seeing how he was dressed in dark clothes from the night of the accident, he knew that the guards wouldn’t let him in. So now he sits outside, waiting for Renjun or even his mum to show up.

He waits for a really long time until his eyes squint a little by the appearance of a person which resembles Renjun. However, this person has got short black hair, looks angry and is dressed in all black clothes… well his jersey is a mixture of black and white stripes, but it sure as hell makes him look so different.

“Renjun!” Donghyuck yells out the name of his brother. There’s a fleeting happiness that gets upon Donghyuck’s heart when seeing the boy. Just two days ago, he reminisced on the feelings of how he felt for disappointing Renjun. So seeing him causes him happiness. He stretches his legs and begins moving towards the exit of the park going over to Renjun who stands frozen looking at Donghyuck as if it’s a horror movie. “Hey,” Donghyuck greets with a wholeheartedly.

However, Renjun is anything but cheerful. Up close, there’s a permanent resting scowl on his face, and with the short hair Donghyuck can see the faint lines of wrinkles which help to make Renjun look even more angry. “What are you doing here?”

Donghyuck is confused by the tone tilting his head with a confused face. “What’s up with the glum face?”

“You didn’t answer my question.” Renjun remarks looking closed off. “What are you doing here?”

“Mum gave me the ad-”

“The hell she did.” Renjun says distastefully. “Why’re you out? Didn’t you have a full sentence of 15 years?”

Donghyuck tries not to get angry, by holding in his tongue and poking it on the corner of his lip. “You also don’t want me here?” It’s clear how from his reaction that he also didn’t want him around. And to be fair, Donghyuck can understand why, but the fact that Renjun doesn’t even look the least bit fazed makes Donghyuc upset. “Well I called mum and she said I could stay here for-”

“You’re not gonna stay here. Her health’s been good for the past years now, she doesn’t need stress in her life anymore. Neither do I, so go back where you belong behind bars and out of everyone’s hair.” Renjun gives Donghyuck a dirty look before walking past him.

Donghyuck is quick in stopping his brother by the arm before looking to him. “Look Renjun. I’m sorry-”

“Save it. And leave me alone.” Renjun yanks his arm away. “I don’t care if she gave you the address, you’re not getting in. Find another place, in fact consider yourself cut from our lives. We don’t want you here.”

Donghyuck is about to comment out he has no right to speak, but he holds his tongue shutting his eyes tightly when thinking of just how much he tried his best to change in prison. If he continues to allow his tongue to be the master of everything, he’ll end up in prison again. Which is why he lets Renjun go. He stands in place and sighs, before going back to the park and sitting down on the bench with his brain raging but seemingly trying to remain calm. He reminds himself, that he deserves Renjun’s anger. But mostly Donghyuck fears just how much prison has changed his brother. Not only appearance wise, but internally as well. The Renjun that Donghyuck remembers was timid and always on edge, was always looked down upon and was a whining coward. This Renjun is gritty, unwavering, strong minded and angry. Donghyuck can blame it on the prison experience and also with the fact that he may or may not be his brother’s favorite person right now- but damn he’s changed so much. Was this his behavior everywhere, or was it only because Donghyuck was there. Whatever it is, Donghyuck hopes that it’ll pass.

With all the time he spent in prison trying to change his ways and character, he can’t come home to everyone already given up on him. He wanted one more chance, to redeem himself as well as prove that he wasn’t an unlucky fuckup. He needed just one more chance.

And so when the afternoon rolls in and the sky changes colors from blue to a cream shade of orange, Donghyuck gets up when seeing the all too familiar posture of his mother. Donghyuck can already tell that so much has changed. He’s not only happy to see her walking strongly and with a smile on her face, but also she looks really good. She’s dressed in a beautiful floral dress and her back is actually not hunched over. She looks strong. And that makes Donghyuck’s emotions flatter. Seeing his mother after so long causes him to be slightly emotional. Because he knows that soon, her smile will fade when looking at him.

It doesn’t even take a second for her smile to disappear upon noticing him crossing the street over to where she is. Her smile instantly vanishes when Donghyuck’s gaze meets hers. He tries not to break down, but the tears are already building up. His mum hates him. He can’t even look at her, as his eyes blur and he hates on himself for ever using her to the point where he takes away her smile.

However, when Donghyuck’s head hangs and he stops walking, his mum sighs sadly upon seeing her son. She slowly makes her way to him. When standing in front of him, her hand lands on his shoulder. He doesn’t look up and neither does she try to get him to look up. Honestly when he called, she just wished that she changed her number because she didn’t want to speak to him. And seeing him now, she thinks of how much worry he’s put her through. In all the times that he went to prison, she would work her hardest to try and help her son. Everyone called her names, called him names, and it tore her image not only as mother but a woman. Her son was her greatest embarrassment, but he was all she had. And despite the humiliation she’d go through, she still tried, she would drain herself day and night to get some sort of money to bail him out, some money to feed him, cloth him, help him start afresh because this was her son whom she loved so much. At some point, she even became religious and prayed for her son to change. She believed that he would change someday.

But that day, 5 years ago at the court room, she realized just how far gone her son had gone. He seemed beyond saving, and there was nothing she could do. When Donghyuck led Renjun to prison, something in her snapped. She didn’t want to be mother who failed. She knew she did nothing wrong and always corrected him, but his behavior was not a character she raised. So upon Renjun, beaten, in cuffs, accused, mocked and even humiliated- she saw herself in him. That day, her heart broke in ways that her abusive husband had never broken her before. Enough was enough. She needed to break free from the chains of being broken. All she wanted was strength and chance to set her life straight, so when they both went to prison, she was left alone and had been granted a chance to change her life. And when Renjun finished serving his sentence, she made sure that she would be strong for the son she didn’t deserve. She tried to be the mother she had always envisioned herself to be. And thankfully, day by day with a grateful son in her corner she slowly regained the strength she had lost, she became into a better and healthier version of herself.

With a good son in her corner, who always took care of her, reminded her everyday why she was special, she knew that her life was finally making sense. Life was supposed to be this way. And she never wanted to let this moment go. But now standing in front of Donghyuck, her son, her past- she’s expecting to be warm and welcoming to him, but she can’t find it in herself to even smile for her son. But as a way of moving on, she rubs his back. “You’re staying for tonight. You leave in the morning.”

Donghyuck tightens his jaw and nods his head. His heart broken. But he can’t say anything as he feels the lump clogging his throat. He ends up walking, following behind her. The guard is alert when seeing Donghyuck, as hours before Renjun warned him not to let him in. “Good afternoon Mrs Lee,”

“Hi Chanyeol,” She smiles warmly. “Any letter for me?”

The man smiles and shakes his head, always being kind and friendly to the middle aged woman who had nothing but a big heart whenever seeing him. “No, your son took them up,” Chanyeol clears his throat motioning to Donghyuck. “He informed me that, I shouldn’t let the gentleman in.”

She looks back to Donghyuck who still had his hand holding on his leather jacket. Sighing, she turns back to Chanyeol and shakes her head. “I’m guessing he was upset right?”

“Very,” Chanyeol smiles politely. “Haven’t seen him that angry before.”

“Hopefully it’s short lived,” She motions behind her. “This is a guest, he’s only visiting for the night, so don’t worry,”

It’s more than a blow for Donghyuck when he hears his mum calling him a guest. Did he really lose her trust? He tries not to say anything and follows behind his mum who makes her way to the elevator of the polished looking apartment.

Donghyuck doesn’t look around and simply keeps his head down, his own thoughts weighing him down. There’s a feeling of loneliness that engulfs him in anger, but he refuses to display or manifest it. He’s so deep in his thoughts that he doesn’t even hear his mother who speaks. “Have you eaten?”

Hearing the silence, she’s reminded of how her son barely even spoke to her decently in the first place, and so she doesn’t even try to create small conversation with him when entering the elevator. They make it to the 7th floor and Donghyuck follows behind until his mother stops by a door.

Before even opening the door, Donghyuck’s nostrils sniff the scent of a delicious aroma. Hearing his mother laugh, he looks up when seeing the door open revealing a delighted looking Renjun. “Guess what I made? Come in quick before it gets cold, I just took it off the stove now,”

She unlocks the gates and walks in, allowing for Donghyuck to follow in the lively lit home. It feels like a home with all the warmth and love. Already he feels out of place, but there’s nothing he can do but follow in. His mum closes the gate behind still chatting on with Renjun who disappeared somewhere. Donghyuck turns his head to the walls, seeing portraits and pictures of just her and Renjun. There are some medals hung on the wall and trophies as well. “Wow,” He mutters underneath his breath.

The entrance of the house is a narrow hallway, leading to a living room and there’s a door on the side for the kitchen. Donghyuck follows his mum who enters the kitchen. He stands by the doorway watching his mother walking to the stove where Renjun is. The kitchen is large enough that it even has a table and four chairs around it.

Donghyuck wants to walk in- but the moment the lively chatter stops between his mother and Renjun- he looks up. And just as he guessed, Renjun has stern cold eyes fixed on him. “What the hell.” He mutters and peaks at his mum. “You let him in?”

“Just for tonight sweety, he said he’d be gone by the morning,” She gives him a pat on the back.

“But why’d you let him in?” Renjun’s shoulders slump and he crosses his arms. “I thought you said you’re done with him?”

“Renjun, please,” Donghyuck notes how she tries to calm Renjun down by holding onto the sides of his arm. “I know what I said, but it’s just for tonight-”

“I hate to break it to you mum, but that’s how it always starts. You let him stay the night, and the next thing we know he’s out and about causing trouble and continues hiding out here until we’ve got a whole bunch of unwanted debt collectors and police officers barking down on the door-”

“Renjun.” She calls earnestly. “Don’t talk like that, stop it. He’s your brother you-”

“He’s your son, not my brother. He never was.” Renjun drops his arms and turns back to the stove causing for Donghyuck to poke on the side of his mouth with his tongue, while he watches his mother look nonchalant. “I only made enough for you and me.” Renjun turns around and begins plating his meal as well as for his mum. Before he takes a seat grumpily eating on his food.

“You’ve gotten awfully comfortable-”

“And you’ve outstayed your welcome and family privileges.” He sharply remarks glaring at Donghyuck. “You’re making everyone uncomfortable, do us a favor and just-”

“Renjun.” A warning tone leaves their mum’s lips. “Eat your food.” She inhales sharply running her hand through her hair. “Are you hungry Donghyuck?”

He only ate the meal that Jungwoo gave him in the morning, and even if he kind of felt hungry, he didn’t want to. He shakes his head. “It’s okay you can enjoy your food. Uh, while moving did you take any of my stuff-”

“Yes-”

“I threw them out.” Renjun cuts his mum off. Her gaze that penetrates the back of his head is strong in shock. “They were an omen and reflection of bad luck.”

“Renjun-”

“You know what,” Donghyuck grates his teeth before biting on his lip. “Fuck this. I’m leaving.”

“Donghyuck-”

Donghyuck shakes his head pulling his leather jacket back on and moving the door. He opens it only to be stopped by the gate.

“Donghyuck don’t leave.” His mum carefully holds onto his arm looking disheartened. “You said you’d stay for the night-”

“I’m not wanted here anymore, clearly, so just fucking open the gates and I’ll be out of your life forever. You wanted me gone anyway, so I’ll do you a favor and leave.”

“Donghyu-”

“Mum please.” Donghyuck stresses out through his teeth closing his eyes feeling the tears. “You’re clearly fucking healthy and you look great. I don’t want to fuck things up again, so just please open the gates. I’ll go and I promise not to fucking disturb you again.”

For some reason, that only makes her heart hurt. “Just for tonight- I’ll make dinner, please-”

Donghyuck shakes his head and wipes his eyes before forcing his arms out of his mother’s hands and walks back to the kitchen. “Come fucking open the gates or else I’ll break it open.”

“No need to tell me twice.” Renjun grumbles leaving his chopsticks and digging into his pockets bringing out keys. Renjun moves to the gates ignoring his mum who gives him upset eyes. Once he unlocks the gates, Donghyuck pushes past him and leaves.

“Donghyuck.” She calls once, but it’s useless when he turns the corner and instead of using the elevator takes the stairs all the way down.

The security guard, Chanyeol notes that Donghyuck is leaving and he doesn’t say anything.

Donghyuck is angry. Enraged by the stupid tears that clog his vision as he keeps walking away. He wants to hit something- to punch someone- to scream- to shout- to find some way to let his anger out- any other way except through tears. He finds his way back on the park bench underneath the tree as he holds his head in between his hands and stays silent. He sniffs here and there but he doesn’t cry. He allows for himself to feel the emotions of frustration. It’s the fact that there’s a whole in his heart and that he can feel it bleeding- it’s the fact that he wants to let it out but he knows that he can’t let it out without harming someone. But he doesn’t want to harm anyone- he doesn’t want to prove to Renjun or even Mark that he’s the same. Which is why when the first few come out, he doesn’t hold back and allows his shoulders to shudder and his voice to croak as he let’s out his emotions, his tears, his cry.

The whole night, Donghyuck covers himself in self-pity while contemplating on what to do in his life, where and how to try and live an honest life. Unlike when he was in prison, seeing his mother again made him realize that she’s always been there through thick and thin, even though he let her down she was everything a mother could be- he just never cherished her enough and that she was the only one. In her soul she would sacrifice for him to have the best in life…and because he took her for granted, he needed to let her know that he wants to make it right…he wants to touch her soul again, to at least bring a smile on her face. So before the early morning, he’s up from the bench and walks around the area. He cleans up his face in the public toilet washing his face and looking himself in the mirror giving himself some encouragement.

“I look so pathetic.” He mutters before leaving the bathroom.

Donghyuck doesn’t fret when the nearby stores don’t have any positions open, he doesn’t fret when he gets approached by some the old friends he knew who used to steal and sell on the sides of the roads, he walks away from them and persists on his journey to find work. It would’ve been easier if he didn’t get many employers asking for paperwork, degrees or even cv- it was even worse when they recognized him as someone who had a prison record, much worse when they didn’t know and they asked and he had to be honest with them. It’s hard work looking for a job, but just thinking of his mother allows him to try.

Day in and day out, Donghyuck finds himself barely making it through. On the first night he slept in the park opposite his mother’s apartment, but after much nights of sleeping on a bench- welcoming arms came from another homeless man who told him about a shelter that took in ‘straymen’ like himself. A nonprofit organization that helped to feed the needy and gave water once a week. He somehow got attached to the group of stray kids… homeless stray men who stuck together and would share everything they had with each other. Donghyuck didn’t fret when within a week, he found himself sleeping under bridges, on street corners and even sleeping standing up against a building. It wasn’t much, but he got work as a car washer. It wasn’t much because it wasn’t even professional as they’d randomly go up to cars by a traffic light and offer to wash windows. Not only washing cars but he got multiple side jobs; handing out newspapers, collecting any forms of plastic to get recycled and even helping people carry bags that were heavy.

It’s the most humiliated Donghyuck had ever felt, but as long as he was making money- he endured it. He just needed to reach his goal, to at least go to an internet café and forge out documents with his qualification. He didn’t make it far in school because of lack of funds, but Donghyuck did do side programs and got some degree. Even though forging out documents was wrong, Donghyuck had enough of being humiliated.

Together, on most days, he found himself attending ‘church’ with the group of stray kids who would go to pray.

When he thought of religion, he only thought of his mother. There was no one else committed like her when it came to going every day, praying every day and even giving in money she didn’t have. Donghyuck only came because it felt as a way to be close to her.

So he wasn’t expecting when one Sunday after the service he’d see a bright eyed woman waiting for him. His heart felt heavy for a second when seeing his mum standing and smiling. The automatic tears that seemed to only come when he acknowledged her. He looks behind him, wondering whether Renjun was around, because ever since he came out of prison she never smiled at him- so it wouldn’t make sense that 2 months later she’s outside with a warm smile.

Donghyuck scratches his neck and looks away already disqualifying himself from her gaze. Yet he freezes when hearing his name being called. “Donghyuck,”

His head slowly turns back to the spot whereby he saw his mum. His shoulders hang when he notices that she’s approaching him. He can’t even look at her in the eye knowing that he can’t contain the tears just as much as he can’t contain the anger.

Her eyes take in his appearance. He’s dressed in the same clothes that she last saw him in. Although his pants looked faded and bit dirty, his leather jacket was worn out and had some leather falling out. His hair was messy and looked combed down only with his fingers. Even though she’s not able to see his face, she can see how much weight he lost. Prison must’ve fed him well because when she last saw him he looked in good physical shape, but now he looks starved with his jaws smaller and face small. Her son…

It took one tiring, long and so heartbreaking conversation with Renjun, for her to feel so much anguish and guilt for neglecting her son. Despite all that he has done, he was still her son, and if she could protect one and groom him well, then surely she could try again with another. Especially when acknowledging that something was different about him.

“How was the service?” She asks warmly, her smile radiating joy as it covers her sadness.

Donghyuck clears his throat and looks back. Despite it being a welcoming place, he could sense the stares of the people around him and even with a message and word so strong, Donghyuck has never felt so empty before in his own life. His eyes turn back to the ground and he shrugs his shoulders not uttering a word.

This break his mother’s heart. Her son… “Are you hungry?”

Donghyuck sniffs back, blocking out the tears that attempt to fall. He hated how glum and gloomy he’s been feeling and he especially hates how his mother is here. “Uh, I actually have to get going.” Donghyuck doesn’t look to her when he turns around and carries on walking without stopping, even when she calls out his name on repeat. He shuts his ears and even runs- it hurts so much. His heart hurts so much, but he doesn’t allow himself time to grieve as he carries on his walk getting to the back of the shelter where he spent most of his days when he had nothing to do.

He busks on the ground sniffing and wiping his eyes trying to compose himself.

“Donghyuck-”

His head snaps up to the panting woman who holds onto her side bending down trying to catch her breath. “Mum? Did you follow me?” Donghyuck asks, panicked as he moves towards her but doesn’t touch her. “Why did you follow me? You could’ve hurt yourself,” Donghyuck stresses.

“I was trying to talk to you, but you just ran away from me.” She breathes out still hunched and trying to catch her breath. “I wanted…to talk to you, let me catch my breath,”

Donghyuck meekly stands back and watches her. She’s got on a long dress that end by her ankles, it’s black and she has a white cardigan over her dress. Her grey hairs are neatly tucked in a low ponytail. It brings Donghyuck, some form of happiness, when seeing that her health was booming and despite being tired, that she had strength. His only form of happiness was seeing his mum being well. Without him in the picture and with Renjun being by her side she regained the health that he had taken away from her.

“I can’t come back to you mum,” Donghyuck finds himself saying. “I’ll only cause you stress, and you’ll lose weight again, and you’ll get sick again because of me, and i… I don’t want to be responsible for your unhappiness and misery. All I’ve ever wanted was for you to be okay…and now that you’re well, I need to find my own way…you don’t need me holding you down,”

These are words to her ears. Hearing her son being so vulnerable causes her to recall of a time when she cradled him in her arms when he was just a child. She vowed that no matter what, she would protect him. Little did she know that his own way of doing things, were for her and not out of selfish reasons. She limps forward and holds her hand out. “Are you hungry?” She asks calmly looking up to him who still had eyes for the ground. “We can talk after you’ve had a meal. Are you going to deny my request to spend time with you?”

Donghyuck visibly hesitates and gulps before shaking his head.

When his mother takes him to a causal diner serving pastry, Donghyuck’s eyes light up when seeing all the meals but his eyes don’t linger long on the food as he focuses on the table. He was so hungry, he only ate once a week during a Thursday when the shelter people would come, but otherwise he lived on water from public fountains.

“What would you like, I’ll pay for it,”

Looking at the menu, Donghyuck looked for the cheapest bun which was a doughnut. “T-the simple doughnut,”

“Are you sure?” His mum asks looking at the menu seeing that it’s the cheapest and most plain. “Come on son, don’t be afraid. I’ve got more than enough,”

Donghyuck chokes up on the word ‘son’ but still shakes his head. “I’m not that hungry though. It’s alright you can eat,”

“The son I knew loved eating,”

“I just don’t want to waste your money. You can use it on something else,”

“I want to use it on you,” She tries to ensure, but the look on Donghyuck’s face showed that was adamant. Even though he didn’t say anything, she could see right through his façade. Something surely changed in her son.

The afternoon he left her house, she couldn’t shake off the guilt she felt for letting him leave. Even though she had a piece of mind without him, it’s the mere fact that he came to her and she turned him away. As his mother, her soul still ached for her son.

“We’ll have the lunch brunch,” She says when the waiter returns. Donghyuck’s ears perk but he says nothing. He waits for his mum to speak, but his nerves get the better of him and he’s legs begin to shake by the heavy silence.

“The pastor told me, that he had seen you a couple of times wandering the streets,” She speaks when noting his anxiety. “He asked me, why I had neglected you.” That makes her pause to take in her son’s fragile and vulnerable state. He looked neglected and deprived of a mother’s love. “His words hit me straight in the heart because he reminded me of all the prayers I made for you. Prayers for you to change, to become my son again, prayers for God to help you find your way. His words, reminded me why I shouldn’t give up on you.”

Those are words to Donghyuck’s ears, they even make him turn red.

“We can start over,” She proposes. “We can put the past behind us, and try again. Are you willing to try again? To rekindle our relationship?”

Donghyuck feels his neck growing hot, but he still manages to clear his throat uttering out a tiny ‘Yeah’ but he’s even afraid of confessing the words out loud just in case it’ll jinx his luck.

“I’m happy to hear that,” She smiles warmly again leaning over the table trying not to push his nervousness. “A position recently opened up in the place where I work. They’re looking for a janitor and security guard, two wedged type of work. I know it doesn’t sound like much, but it’s a private kindergarten school and they pay very well. If you’re interested, I can arrange the necessary documents for you, and put in a good word for you. I’m well-respected in the school, so I believe that despite your record, I can put in a good word and it’ll be enough to cover your past,”

- 2 Weeks later.

Donghyuck picks up the heavy green plastic of trash consisting of used but not limited to dirty recyclable materials, and walks out the classroom and onto the hallway that would lead to the playground field where all the different sets of dumpsters would be. After dumping the trash inside and closing the lid he digs into his pocket to his buttoned phone to check the time.

15:29.

Thirty more minutes until he could knock off. Upon walking back to the classroom, his eyes squint into the playground distance to the empty entrance gate- well not so empty. What catches his eye, is some sort of homeless looking guy in dirty black sweatpants and a faded out red coca cola t-shirt with holes, walking towards a child sitting on a bench. Donghyuck sighs and walks towards the entrance. His whole presence alone causes the homeless guy to deviate and part away crossing the street. The vulnerable child isn't even aware that she's been spared from danger as she continues humping on the bench. Getting a bit sexual and seemingly trying to reach her pleasure.

Donghyuck scratches his neck wondering if he should be stopping the child or tell his mum once again. Even though they still weren't on good terms, he promised to be on his best behavior if it meant his mum helping him out. Getting out of prison with a warrant wasn't easy at all, but not as much as it was to get a job of any kind with so many prison charges. Thankfully, Donghyuck's mother came to his rescue. She worked as a day care teacher assistant and their school was in need of a cleaner. It wasn't a luxurious position, but Donghyuck took it just to prove to his mother that he was serious in mending their relationship.

So being a 'janitor' his main responsibilities included getting on the school grounds early, cleaning up classes when students were not inside, disposing of trash and waiting until the school day was over and all the kids went home to clean again. Those were his responsibilities, but it became tough when parents didn't pick up their kids on time at 13.00. Donghyuck hated when parents would fetch their kids late. Reason being, because he'd need to make sure that the school was 100% empty before him to go home. And if it was not 100% empty, then he wasn't allowed to go home.

Getting closer to the bench, Donghyuck notices the child seating down yet rocking her hips back and forth on the bench- almost grinding herself on it. The sight is perverse. However, for Donghyuck, he'd gotten used to only one of the day care students who was consistent in grinding on anything and everything when she was bored. Areum.

Making himself more visible to the young girl, Donghyuck sits on the bench next to her. Her motion stops and she peers to the elder sitting next to her, a bright smile coating her lips. "Hi Mr Sunshine!"

"Hey Kid." Donghyuck greets in a mumbling tone making the girl chuckle. “What?” He asks when looking down at her.

“I have a joke,”

“Go for it,” Donghyuck sighs, already knowing she’d bring another terrible pun joke. She loved doing that for some reason.

Areum giggles and looks up to Donghyuck. “A book fell on my head when I was in the library. I guess I only had myshelf to blame.” She begins giggling. “Did you hear the joke about the little mountain? It was hill-arious!”

“I’ve got one,” Donghyuck finds himself saying. “What do dogs do when they need a break while watching a movie?”

“What?”

“They put it on paws.” Donghyuck shakes his head smirking when the little girl begins dying of laughter. A little back and forth of her terrible puns fills the silent, but after some time she becomes silent. With his hands in his pocket and peering down at the girl who slowly continues to grind herself again, Donghyuck sighs. "Where's your parent?"

The child blinks causing Donghyuck to internally roll his eyes groaning lowly. This job really tested his patience especially when talking with kids.

"Where's the person who's going to fetch you? You mum or dad or guardian?"

"Oh! Mummy's at work." She says nodding her head. "Uncle Jung is going to fetch me."

Donghyuck nods his head allowing the silence to take over. However, his attention draws to the girl once again when she rocks her hips back and forth again. It's not the first time she's done this, however, every time that she does it, Donghyuck feels slightly uncomfortable. He's caught her on this bench all by herself on multiple occasions grinding for pleasure, not only the bench, but sometimes in class as well, on her chair. Donghyuck just wonders what exactly is going on in her head, while she literally dry humps the bench.

"Why are you doing that?" Areum peeks up and blinks her eyes. Donghyuck breathes out. Not wanting to say foreign words or words she's never heard before, he motions with himself and dry humps the bench similar to what she was doing. Areum catches on and smiles.

"It's a secret!" She leers. Despite her words, she seems excited to share the so called secret. And Donghyuck takes advantage of that, throwing his best cunning and charming personality.

"Can I know the secret?" Donghyuck asks with a pretense stunned face, being cunningly friendly. "I thought we're friends?"

"Okay." Areum looks around skeptically. "It's a secret." And laughs. "Uncle Jung said I should tell no one, even if its nice."

Donghyuck's brows furrow. "What's nice?"

Areum laughs covering her mouth frantically. In Donghyuck's head she looks the happiest while trying to be cryptic. She stands up and jumps up happily before her fingers begin to move. Donghyuck's eyes widen when she lifts up her white skirt revealing her yellow panty. He hesitates for a second until he realizes that her hand fumbles and makes its way inside her panty. He's quick to taking her hands out while having a morbidly shocked face.

She giggles, being way too excited. "Let me show you."

The secret? The secret has something to do with an uncle and a child? This only makes Donghyuck widely panic. "Fuck,"

"Oh oh." She covers her mouth in sudden surprise. "Do you also play fuck like Uncle Jung?" Before a smile latches onto her face. A chill runs down Donghyuck's spine. "Uncle Jung said fuck is a game. It's my favorite game." She whispers out.

His eyes widen. In all his years of being in prison, he sorta had the chance to reflect on where he'd like to be once he's out. And right now, talking to this girl feels dangerous. It's a problem. And this is not what he wants at all. If he tells his mum, there might be a high case of him being in a feud with the family of the young girl's parents. At the same time because the daycare already don't like him, he and his mum might both be fired from god knows what- Donghyuck is aware of how much they're waiting for him to slip up. But yet, he can't stop himself from asking. "Can you tell me more about his game? I don't know it."

"Don't tell anyone. Not even Mrs Chittaphon. Or mummy. Only Uncle Jung and I play this game," She nods her head and smile. "It's a nice game. I get to sit on him and ride the horsey!"

Donghyuck's eyes burst out of their sockets. Just as his lips become dry. He clears his throat asking. "Does he remove your clothes?"

She shakes her head. "No." She smiles. That sort of makes Donghyuck cool down again, however he's still in edge by the word horsey and what exactly she rides or what exactly has he shown her. "Can I show you?"

Donghyuck shakes his head with a tight smile, feeling bad for the little girl who seems brainwashed. "It's fine, I don't want to play the game today,"

"Uncle Jung likes to play it after work," Areum smiles. And that literally breaks Donghyuck's heart. Such a small, sweet and innocent little girl being manipulated by a ravaging uncle wolf.

"What does he do in the game?" Donghyuck asks after gaining her trust by sealing his lips shut with an invisible key.

"He tickles me here." Areum points to a part in her skirt and that makes Donghyuck mad. The urge to telling his mum growing. "And does like this," using her middle finger, she surprisingly rubs it on her yellow panty causing Donghyuck to quickly hold her hand.

"Your fucking uncle is raping you." He can't hold himself back when he glares into her eyes while shaking his head.

"My playing uncle is raping?" She asks with a puzzled face. "What's raping?"

Donghyuck sucks in a breath, and with distress he runs his hands through his hair. Before he turns back to Areum his eyes latch onto a black vehicle pulling up on the street. "Shit. Hey sweet cheeks, I need you to listen alright. Don't tell Uncle Jung that you told me, okay?"

She instantly nods his head. "I won't tell him. He'll be angry with me. Don't worry Mr Sunshine, it'll be our little secret."

The black vehicle parks right in front of them, with Donghyuck creating some distance while Areum can't stop giggling at her secret. A man, smartly dressed in a suit with parted hair, steps out the car with a charming smile growing on his lips when Areum jumps from the bench running to him. Donghyuck stands up with his hands stuffing in his pocket.

"Uncle Jung!" Areum cheers hugging him by his legs. Upon hearing the name, Donghyuck's eyes do a double take towards the man. The man squats all the way down with an antagonizing friendly smile, and puckers his lips allowing for Areum to kiss his lips before she giggles like the naive little girl she is. She begins jumping up and down in place while the man stands. "Did you buy the toys?"

"My little puppy, I bought you so many toys for you to enjoy. They're gonna make you feel real good ," Hearing the voice of the older male, his underlying tone of condescension and how much authority he has over the little girl, Donghyuck can't help it when his fists tighten into a ball. His jaw clinches when the male with a charismatic smile grins his way. "She wasn't a bother was she?"

Donghyuck's jaw locks and he looks away, only making Jaehyun continue as if he didn't get ignored.

"Either way, thanks for keeping her company. "

Placing Areum in the backseat and placing her bag in the boot, the man known as Uncle Jung gets into his driver's seat and begins driving away. Donghyuck can only stand with his fists balled up as he watches the car stride away. In his head, although the situation was sickening, he already told himself he wouldn't get involved. His mum's reputation, as well as his own reputation was on the line.

"Poor girl." Donghyuck sighs walking back in the school to lock it up.

•

"Jaehyun, thank you so much for looking after her," Yezi smiles giving her boyfriend, Jaehyun, a peck on his lips looking up into his eyes while picking up Areum from the floor and positioning her on her hip. "I hope she wasn't a bother,"

"She's never a bother to me," Jaehyun smiles placing his finger over his lip causing Areum to giggle hiding her face in her mother's neck.

"Did you have fun baby?" Yezi asks with a dashing smile making Areum cheerfully nod her head.

"Yes mummy! Uncle Jung and I played together!"

"Yes we did. She's so obedient," Jaehyun has a proud smile looking at the little girl in her mummy's arms, before he looks back to her mummy. "Are you sure you don't want her to spend the night with me while you're on your family dinner? I don't mind, it's Friday."

"I really wish I could leave her with you, but my sister's coming for the first time in such a long. She'd really love to see Areum,"

"That's alright, my darling," Jaehyun pets on Areum's head puckering his lips waiting for her to place her lips on him and she does.

At first for Yezi it used to be weird that Areum allowed for Jaehyun to do that when she was very conservative with people, but after some time and after getting used to it, she found it adorable how Areum opened up to Jaehyun in so many ways. "Have fun alright my little puppy,"

"Okay Uncle Jung," Areum grins and waves her hand. “Bye-bye uncle Jung,"

"Bye puppy,"

"Mummy is your sister really coming?" Areum asks with hopeful eyes, causing Yezi to frantically nod her head. "I can't wait to see her! I have a joke for her?”

“Let me hear it,” Yezi laughs slightly while walking.

“What do dogs do when they need a break while watching a movie? They put it on paws.” Areum begins laughing hard when her mum laughs as well.

“That’s a good one,”

“Mummy are you happy?" Areum asks.

Yezi laughs and places Areum down so they can hold hands and walk in the house. “I’m so so happy,”

•

18:50

"How do I look?" Jeno asks for the upteenth time, nervously adjusting his long sleeved shirt into his fine ironed black suit pants. He clears his throat testing out his voice with the syllable 'ah'. Dae, standing in front of him with her hands on his shoulders, peers into his wandering eyes waiting for him to relax. "How do I look? Do I look good?"

"You keep asking me the same question?" She lightly smiles, finding his whole nervous state funny.

"That's because you haven't answered me," Jeno inhales and exhales.

"Well, the first time I said you look good, the second time I said you look charming, and the third time I said you look handsome, the fourth time I said you look spot on, and for the tenth time, I said you look, just fine babe." Dae ends up holding onto his fidgeting hands, giving her best smile radiating joy as she leans in close and embraces her lips upon his. Jeno freezes, yet he meekly indulges into the kiss. After a minute, she parts from him. "Baby, relax. It’ll all be alright."

He takes in a deep breath holding onto Dae's waist as he closes his eyes. Taking in another breath, he tries to calm down his nerves. Feeling Dae's hands against his chest, he feels reassured that nothing will happen today, because she is with him. “You look beautiful as always, but tonight you look really happy. I’m happy that you’re sharing this happiness with me,”

After several years- specifically 3 years of them dating, and of them living together and encouraging each other- Dae's father had finally had a change of heart in wanting to see and reunite with his daughter again, and meet the man she chose to love.

Although it happened about 5 years ago, the sight was deeply plunged into Dae's father, Zhong Chenle's mind. It's something that made him feel guilty and responsible for his children’s sufferings. The works of his hands, enclosed and trapped his daughters inside of a hell hole. But as years progressed, and Yezi's child, Areum, grew, he found his stone cold hateful heart slowly melt. The little baby girl looked so much like Dae. Despite being a child of a rapist, she inherited features of the family. Chenle couldn't help but warm up to the little girl whenever she called him 'gwanpa'. With his heart melting by the innocence of the child, he slowly got the strength to look his daughter Yezi in the eye and talk to her. The first few days were tough, as she had been longing and praying for her dad to finally notice her, but eventually she took the same pace as him and slowly they rekindled their relationship of father and last born. And this evening, Chenle was ready to open up his heart again, for his eldest daughter Dae and her new...boyfriend.

The first born, the first daughter of his family, the daughter which always shared her worries and joy with utmost elevation to her father, his first love ever since his ex-wife walked out on him. He wanted to reconnect with her, and never let her go again- even though she chose the path that she was on, he wanted to stand by her and at least try to be in her life again.

So as the sun sets and Chungdae walks around the dining room table adjusting the utensils and making sure the table was set and ready to eat, Chenle buttons up his traditional outfit and fixes his hair in the mirror.

Areum bounces around the room playing with the little dog Daegul, and from time to time looks up to her grandfather. "Gwanpa?"

"Yes my little bean," Chenle responds carefully pressing his hands down his clothes.

"You look nice." Her smile enlightens on her face when he turns around with a smile and picks her up.

"What did I tell you about that word ‘nice’?”

Areum giggles and stands straight. “Nice is dead. Gwanpa you look smart, and rich!” She cheers causing Chenle to smirk with pride.

“Thank you, my little bean." He tickles her stomach. "You don’t look too bad yourself, you look like a royal queen going to a ball,"

"Thank you gwanpa! Gwanpa I have a joke I want to tell mummy’s sister." She circles her hands around her grandfather’s neck as he carries her outside his room and down the stairs.

“She can’t take jokes easily,” Chenle suppresses a laugh when remembering how bad his daughter’s jokes used to be.

After the whole incident that went down and his house burning up, he made arrangements and building construction started again before he instantly moved from the secluded area and settled into a stronghold of fortification that was suitable for his status- in other words, he moved far away into a house of more wealth and power. Just like his previous home, it was situated on a barricaded hill, however instead of it being guarded within a residential gate, he hired his own secretary to look over the massive barricaded land that enclosed his mansion.

So as Jeno and Dae are driving along the road following the GPS signal of the new address of the Zhong Chenle residence, Dae instantly feels little, very tiny when coming to see her father. All that her father was able to achieve in his life time, all his inheritance, fortune, wealthy, position, status, level, money, all of it belonged to only him. A great man, with great power and authority.

"You have reached your destination." The GPS lady says.

Both Jeno and Dae's eyes are enlarged, dazzled and awestruck by the large high-end white concrete border building. "T-this is the house?" Jeno meekly asks. "Fuck me. We literally drove parallel to this wall and you're telling me, that this is the place?"

"There's the gate there," Dae notices the gate a distance away.

Jeno starts his little polished wagon and drives forward to the black high gates. He washed his car and polished it so many times, and even took it to the car wash and had it washed more than 5 times, all so that he could impress Dae's father and have him see himself as a suitable partner of his daughter. But now driving with his red wagon towards the gate, he feels worthless and poor all over again. Who did he think he had become? Just because he loved a rich girl and a rich girl loved him back- didn't make him rich all of a sudden. He was still a poor boy from nowhere.

Dae, seeing the distraught and down casted look shadow on Jeno's face, sets her hand on his thigh that nervously bounced up and down. He takes in a deep breath and presses his lips together when reaching the gate. The gate is completely black and doesn't give any view of what's inside.

Looking at the white wall that has a little black tinted window view, Jeno rolls down his window and awaits for the tinted window to open up. He sticks out his hand and presses on the little poll that had a little intercom.

"Hello?"

No response. Upon waiting for a response Jeno turns to Dae after a while. "Should I knock on the window?"

"No, wait, let me try and send my sister a message and see what we should do," Dae says, bringing out her phone and texts Yezi for the first time in 5 years, stating that she's outside. Yezi responds in a heartbeat making Dae feel much more relieved about there being no hard feelings between her and her family. No longer feeling awkward for being outside for more than 5 minutes. "Yezi says we should tell him our names and that we were invited by Mr Zhong."

"Alright," Jeno nods his head and takes a deep breath. "I suddenly don't feel like wanting to see your family,"

"Me too," Dae replies honestly chuckling lightly.

Living with Jeno, in his world, has really casted some kind of spell on her. From recovering from her overdose and intake of drugs, to being thankful for the hospitality she received from Jeno… the beauty of enjoying life at the expense of very little, is something she grew into. For so long, being away from a prestigious lifestyle, she got to appreciate and adore the simplicity of everything (even though she really had to adjust to many things, she enjoyed the simpler life). "I feel so small,"

Jeno opens up his palm looking into Dae's eyes with assurance. Dae places her tiny hand in his and he lightly squeezes it. They sit silently simply looking at the daunting gates of riches in which resides Dae's family.

"You know," Jeno gently speaks. "On that night, the night Mark, Haechan, Renjun and I invaded your house, we were actually sitting outside, in the car. We came when the sun was slightly still in the sky. We sat outside and watched your house as the sunset over it..."

Dae listens. To think that of all people to save her, Jeno would be the one who helped her escape a deadly fate only made her appreciate the good that was hidden in the rough. As much as she'd like to forget that horrible incident, she knew just how much more guilt Jeno felt every time he brought it up. It still kept him up, and as much as you wanted to heal from the night, Jeno as well wanted to heal from everything he had done that night. And it’s in moments like these when he speaks, you listen and allow him his moment to reflect, just as he allowed you to freely use him as much as you wanted so that you could heal. As he speaks, even though Dae has told him countless of times that she forgives him, Dae knows that every ounce of him wants to move on and feel forgiven. So she quietly sits, and listens. If he was going to forgive himself, she needed to always listen.

"The house, your house...was everything my brother and I always wanted. It was a palace, a fortress, four stories high, huge balconies, large veranda and just so homely. It was modern and even the air itself was something I'd never breathed in before. It was a home we've never had before." Jeno acknowledges. "I just wanted to see how it looked inside. I really wanted to know how the inside of a rich house looked like." Dae turns her head to him, when feeling his eyes on her. She moves between his left and right eye and he smiles. "You left a house that had more than 5 massive rooms, 2 spaciously large bathrooms and enormous backyards to literally cramp up with me in a one-bedroom apartment?"

"Spaciously is not a word and yes," Dae smiles lightly. "I left it all because it was all just material,"

Dae softly says smiling when Jeno leans closer and plants a kiss on her forehead. "Do you want something like this? Do you want materials again? Because I am promise you that I'll-"

"I only want you Jeno," She smiles when whispering softly. "I need you more than anything to survive in this world that was cruel to me. You're my home, and I really mean that. No materials on his earth can replace a soul that saved another soul,"

This time their breathing is in sync when they both embrace in a warm kiss, breathing in and out together allowing this moment to settle in. With their hands still clasped together as Jeno looks out his window to tell the guard who they are he’s stunned when the black metallic gates crank open in a slow manner and Jeno's head snaps to Dae who has her eyes on the road ahead. The gate is wide open with another path to follow, but Dae and Jeno are still in shock.

Jeno turns his head when a voice comes from the intercom. "Please move your vehicle inside the premises, Miss Yezi is waiting by the house."

“Miss Yezi?” Dae has a playful smile on her face. “Wow. I bet you she’s been treated like a princess,”

Jeno snickers while slowly driving his car past the gate and into the premises. The first thing that the couple takes note of, are the lights that are shining down on the pathway. Jeno and Dae's eyes are widely opened and are all over the large sets of trees that enclose the drive way- the long drive way with various gardened plants and flowers. It's absolutely breath taking watching the garden bloom with so much colors of wealth prosperity. In between the curvy path on the driveway, Dae's eyes look out by Jeno's side of his window to the slight view of the mansion that they were soon gonna get inside of.

Finally driving into one straight path, their view gets sidetrack by the large fountain statue of two angles pouring out water. Not only the fountain, but after passing another set of black gates that are already opened and rounding their car past the fountain, the lavish sight of the ever green garden with white little flowers enclose the garden really making the mansion seem like a heavenly fortress.

The houses theme is white. There are high pillars towards the front entrance of the house as well as arched pillars on each side that lead to different roads. Behind the pillars stand 3 large structures of the fortified mansion. The middle portion is the largest with a high double deck structure where all the windows are top to ceiling and are covered with gossamer curtains. The side building structures that are still connected to the middle portion are identical in terms of design and the layers of floors.

Stopping the car right by the side of the path, Jeno's mouth hangs open, not closing at the slightest. "At this point, your dad is trying to show off,"

"You don't say," Dae is marveled by the sight, that she doesn't notice her sister who walks down the lit up stairs heading towards their car.

Yezi's eyebrows furrow when neither of the people in the car get out. She stands there for a bit before walking towards the passenger’s door and knocking twice on the window- knocking both Jeno and Dae back to their senses.

Dae removes the seatbelt and laughs lightly. "This is it,"

"This is it," Jeno nervously says. "Best of luck to us,"

"We need that," Dae leans close to her boyfriend placing a light peck on his lips before opening up her door.

"Finally." Yezi states with a snickering laugh and a smile that eagerly begins to grow. "What was taking you guys so long? After I sent the message and you didn't come right in, I had to check with the gateman and he said the car was just there. But of course knowing you and your ever stubborn behavior, I knew you wouldn't tell the gateman anything,"

"Why should I? I'm my father's daughter, I don't need to introduce myself as a guest," Dae jokes being happy to see her sister. The tears sit on the brim of her eyes, and just like Yezi they instantly embrace each other in a tight hug. Yezi whimpers and holds even tighter.

“Dae,” She sniffs and can’t stop the tears from pouring out. “You look so good, I’m so happy toyou’re your beautiful eyebrows and hair being a beautiful black,” This only makes Dae laugh.

“Don’t remind me of those times,” Dae can’t stop laughing when hugging her sister. “Seeing you, seeing this house, dad outdid himself this time in making me feel bad,"

"Oh please, don't fuel up his ego," Yezi chortles shaking her head but still holding tightly onto Dae with her eyes closed. "He barely leaves the house now,"

Dae laughs at that patting Yezi's back. "Your poor freedom is gone,"

"Oh please, I can leave the house whenever I want," Yezi jokes out laughing with Dae. "I just need to take a bodyguard with me,"

"Bodyguard?" Dae's eyes widen and leans her head back still enclosing her sister in the hug. "Fuck, things have changed,"

"Language." Yezi's eyes widen. "We now refrain from cursing, I don't want my little girl latching onto that stuff,"

"Ncawww, Areum, right?" Dae squeals getting into the hug again as they both scream like little kids. "I can't believe I finally get to see her,"

"Dae! You have no idea how much I've missed this, missed us,"

Dae leans her head back with loving eyes looking into her sister’s teary eyes. "Don't cry bitch, if you cry you know my tears will flow out as well,"

"I know, but I can't help it," Yezi chuckles before sneakily landing a kiss over her sister’s lips. Dae is stunned for a whole minute before laughing out and squeezing Yezi into a greater hug again. After a minute of laughing and saying out their 'I love you', they finally part and Yezi's eyes go down her sister’s attire. "Oh my soul you don’t know how amazed I am by your eyebrows and your hair, and your body and your health! You look nourished and healthy and soo soo good! My sister is finally back!"

Complementing Dae's healthy figure, her black hair in curly waves tucked behind her ear to show off her twinkling earrings, stunning legs in a white tight dress that ends mid-thigh, matched together with a black long sleeved turtle neck inside, white daring heels and finally a tiny white purse.

Dae's hand goes down her dress and she models for Yezi with a joking tone. "I know, I know, I tried," Dae laughs acknowledging her sister and nodding her head. Jeno can only stand by his car smiling at how gorgeous Dae looks. This was the Dae that he always admired, and now that she recovered she looked as stunning as ever.

"I'm not even one to look at, you're wearing designer? Vera Wang?" Dae's eyes marvel at the designer black sleeveless dress that showed off her toned arms and a bit of her belly. And finally the black see-through flowing skirt that has a little tight black skirt inside and is long yet has a long slit up to her thigh.

Yezi also playfully models out and flips her hair. "I knew my sister was coming today, so I had to dress to impress," Yezi laughs.

“You killed it!” Dae encourages with sass making Yezi laugh.

“No you killed it!”

“I just wish I was somebody else to admire how we both killed it,” Dae flips her hair dramatically before Yezi holds onto her sister’s hand and leading her forward.

"Wait till you-"

Dae grips onto Yezi's hand tightly before motioning back to Jeno who is calmly standing like a doorman. When noticing the eyes of the girls on him, he quickly bows his head nervously, making Dae smile brightly. “My person here inspired me to kill it. Come on Jen baby,” Dae marvels and walks to him bravely intertwining their hands. “This is my sister, Yezi,”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Yezi,” Jeno bows again maintaining a positive smile.

"Oh, hi," Yezi's tone simmers down but she tries to maintain the forced fake smile on her face. While Chenle was ready to give Jeno a chance, Yezi wasn't too fond of allowing her sister to be with a lowlife and someone who was involved in keeping them hostage. But aside that, she bows her head as well. "Wow you guys are matching." She takes in the view of Jeno's elegant face that comes out dashingly with his styled and parted hair that gives off a sense of superiority. His style of clothing consists of a white buttoned down long sleeved shirt and black suit pants with his polished dress shoes, and Yezi notes how he's standing and how humble he looks. He can try to look like them as much as he wants, but Yezi still had bitter feelings. "Well, welcome. Come on in," She smiles and stretches her hand out to the stairs leading to the mansion and eventually the people inside, that are awaiting them.

Dae stands close to Jeno, abandoning Yezi's hand to securely wrap it around Jeno's bicep. "Babe, you've got this. Just relax okay,"

When dressing up for the occasion, he thought he went overboard with the dress pants as he never wore suits too much- but seeing how Dae followed his lead and decided to dress up as well, he praises the heavens that they didn't second guess their outfit. What would've happened if they dressed in normal clothes?

Climbing up the lit up stairs together, Jeno and Dae are finally in front of the door.

The double doors are wide open and upon entering into the new ambiance of the home and removing their shoes, replacing them with the white slippers available, Jeno rubs his sweaty hands over his black pants and swallows a clump of saliva in his throat to give it some moisture. He felt like he was going to die, by the pace his heart was beating.

"Babe, you've got this," Dae encourages and holds onto the sides of his face massaging his neck. Jeno nods his head, suddenly feeling selfish. Here Dae was, giving him some air and encouragement, even though she's the one who walked out on her family and was also seeing them for the first time after years.

"You too," He holds onto her hands on his neck and smiles lightly.

Yezi watches from afar, seeing how strangely, adorable they both looked. Her sister, who she never thought could fall in love with someone who had no money, is suddenly looking up into the eyes of her lover with so much care. And the lover, Jeno, who Yezi once thought was just a sick criminal, looks like a little cute boy under the embrace of his mother. Even though she doesn't say it, and refuses to acknowledge it, deep down, they look happy and peaceful together.

Walking over to Yezi with their hands together, Yezi leads them in the house and Jeno has to keep himself from ogling at the house for too long. After passing a long corridor and walking into the entrance of the living room, Jeno's heart stops beating.

In the living room, Chenle and Chungdae stand side by side, with little Areum clinging to her grandmother's hand. When entering the living room, the first face that lights up instantly is Chungdae when seeing her gracious step-daughter who she loved the most. Her teeth are bright and so inviting that Jeno feels at peace when seeing a friendly face. Chenle on the other hand looks composed and modest- but his face morphs into shock when both Jeno and Dae get on their knees and bow down completely with their heads touching the floor.

He and Chungdae share eyes of surprise. Chenle tries not to laugh maintaining a sincere face again, just as Chungdae speaks up. "Oh, much appreciated," She says as Jeno stands and helps Dae up on her feet. The loving eyes from Chungdae and the warm smile, makes Dae want to cry by how familiar her mother's face was.

"Hi mum," Her own smile brightens up her face as she bows again, this time her head lowers slightly. Her mother is dressed in an elegant traditional styled hambok, and Dae's afraid to wrinkle or mess the dress, but when Chungdae steps forward with loving open arms and embraces Dae- Dae's can't help but wrap her arms tightly around her mother's frame "Mum," she lightly cries, laughing a little when her mother kisses her ear.

"My sweet," Breaking up the hug, Chungdae squeezes Dae's cheek and let's her go before looking to Jeno.

Jeno awaits for the smile to wither from her face, but is surprised when it's still there. "Good afternoon madam," Jeno bows down in a 90-degree angle, thinking that when he looks up her smile would've disappeared, however, when it's still on her face, he's completely stunned.

"Welcome," Chungdae bows her head as well patting his shoulder. "And you can call me, Mrs Chungdae, you're welcome here. It's good to finally see the both of you,"

Chungdae steps back and turns to Chenle. Dae and Jeno fix their positions to look at Chenle. Dae is hesitant, when looking into her dad's eyes, but regardless still tries to do so. Her smile is shaking and all she feels like doing is crying. The last time she saw her dad, a lot of harsh words were exchanged- she was not even in the right state of mind for most of those times. Her smile is rocky and her eyes blur up with tears that she can't even look at her father anymore, she hangs her head in shame. Jeno from the side, feels his heart wear down when watching her silently break down in front of her dad. He breaths in and gently slides his fingers in her hand before squeezing it, for comfort and strength.

He then turns to Chenle, who still has his somber eyes on his daughter. "Good afternoon sir. Thank you for your invitation. For allowing your daughter to bring me here." Jeno bows down in a 90-degree angle humbling himself completely. Dae follows as well, bowing down with her eyes closed to maintain herself. Standing up straight again, Dae clears her throat.

"Hi dad. Thank you..." She softly speaks and her voice shakes again not being able to meet his eyes and thus bows down again- and Jeno willingly follows. "Thank you for your invitation. And I'm so sorry for everything I've done. Please can you forgive me, for all the words I’ve said, the stress I caused you and mum, the hate I spread in the house, please forgive me dad. I truly apologize for all that I’ve done, and I beg you to forgive. I said a lot of things to hurt you, but I didn’t mean any of them and I’m sorry for how I left. I’m sorry dad."

"My daughter," Chenle meekly raises his hand laying it on his daughter's head. Feeling his hand on her head, she squeezes her eyes shut to not break down again. Chenle's face is holding back so much on emotions, but it slips out when he feels the head of his daughter. "I forgive you, please don't cry. You know I don't like it when I see you cry,"

"Thank you, for this invitation," Dae stands up straight again with a smile on her face and her eyes still watery. Chenle's hand retreats but he’s taken aback by the wave of emotions that pass over him when Dae engulfs him in a hug so dear and deep. Chenle can’t resist and sets his arms over her shoulders in protection like he had always done. Finally, his daughter has returned.

Smiling when feeling her dad’s arms around, she nuzzle’s her head a little more on his chest, before she separates from him and bows her head down again. Chenle’s face is glowing with pride and excitement and he turns to Jeno who also stands straight. Chenle bows his head quietly acknowledging Jeno.

"My name is Zhong Chenle, you can call me Mr Zhong." Chenle addresses Jeno in a fluid tone, with no harshness or strictness, simple and calm. "What's your name?"

Jeno bows lightly. "Thank you Mr Zhong. My name is Lee Jeno,"

The name makes Chenle tense but he nods his head. If his daughter chose him, then he’d need to get down to the bottom of it and see why. It was up to Chenle to see how serious they were. "It's a pleasure to meet you Lee Jeno," Chenle greets and turns his head to the side, down to the little girl who just looked up with an erratic smile. "This little bean right here is Zhong Areum,"

Chenle introduces them to Yezi's daughter, making Yezi smile. Ever since Areum was born, Chenle refused for the baby to have his surname. So seeing the love traverse from him to her daughter, a flow of content joy washes over her.

"Hi mummy’s sister!" Areum chirpily greets, brightly before shyly leaning on her grandfather when Dae puffs her cheeks in delight. Chenle picks her up patting her back telling her to carry on. She waves her hand to both Jeno and Dae who wave back with big smiles.

"Areum, this is Dae, your aunty," Chenle speaks in a soft cradling voice making Chungdae laugh. "And this is Mr Lee, your aunty friend,"

Jeno doesn’t feel any jab from Chenle referring to him as a friend, but Dae does. She was hoping that her dad wouldn’t diminish Jeno into that position.

"Areum what do we do when we greet people?" Chungdae questions calmly watching Areum.

"Gwanpa, can you put me down, so I can greet?" Areum asks cutely with big eyes. Chenle sets her down patting her head.

"Of course, my little bean,"

Areum places both her hands over her stomach and dress and bows down. "Hello Miss Dae and Mr..." she quickly looks up and looks to her grandfather.

"Mr Jeno," He assists patting her head again as she returns to bowing.

"Hello Mrs Dae and Mr Jeno." She finishes her bow and does a little curtsey with her dress gaining an applaud from Chungdae, Yezi and Dae- automatically making Jeno clap his hands. In his head all he can think of is how she looks like Dae…but as a little girl. “I have a funny joke, what does a clock do when it's hungry?”

“What?” Dae smiles.

“It goes back four seconds?” Jeno asks but gets surprised when Areum begins laughing and giggling suggesting that it’s correct. That makes the family clap again, making Jeno shake his head with a little smile on his face. Chenle coo's in a baby voice.

"Aigoo, my little bean sprout is all grown up," He picks her up again with a dashing smile, before turning to Jeno and Dae. "Make yourselves comfortable, you can follow me to the dining room,"

Jeno turns to Dae squeezing her hand tighter. His nerves were still high, but upon the warm welcome and the tension sliding down because of the little baby girl, Jeno feels slightly relaxed. "This is it,"

Dae nods her head, following behind Chungdae and Yezi, who follow behind Chenle who is still carrying Areum and whispering into her grandfather's ears. "Gwanpa, is that really really mummy's sister?"

Chenle nods his head with a smile. "Yes, she’s your mummy's sister,”

"Gwanpa, if I’m a queen would that make her a princess? I wanna make her a queen because she looks nice- beautiful,” Areum corrects herself before charmingly complimenting Dae. “Why does she look beautiful?”

"Because she's my daughter," Chenle cackles a little, he never got tired of the endless questions that left her mouth or how much of a chatterbox she was. It's moments like these, where he hopes that his little granddaughter, didn't inherit any bad or foul manners from the savage rapist. She was such a passionate young and vibrant soul that Chenle easily found intriguing and alluring.

“Gwanpa, Mr Jeno looks like a prince, I think he likes her a lot and wants to become a King,”

"You should ask him if he wants to be a king," he pats her nose still answering to her questions, meanwhile thinking of all the questions he wanted to ask Jeno.

"Do you think daddy will go hard on Dae and him?" Yezi asks calmly to her mother.

"Let's hope not," Chungdae replies. "I feel like he might want to embarrass him a bit. He kept talking about that nonstop all through the night, but he did also mention how he wants to reunite with Dae again,"

Yezi groans. "Fingers crossed, it doesn't get awkward."

Meanwhile Jeno holds onto Dae's hand like he's on life support. Dae wraps her fingers tightly against his as well. "No matter how intense it gets, just answer honestly. My dad will try everything he can to belittle you, but remember what I said back in the house, don't let him break your spirit, he hasn't walked a mile in your shoes, so don't mind if he doesn't understand." She says, words that always made Jeno feel more drawn to her.

The dining room is large, and has an extremely large round circular table, with various of decorations and platters of food on a rotating stand. Areum waves her hand to her mum as one of the servants walks away with her. Jeno and Dae, wait for the family members to take a seat before finding themselves next to each other and sitting. Chenle acknowledges that and is impressed.

Dae smiles secretly, knowing that her dad loved order and discipline. And if Jeno could at least show that he was capable and worthy to dine with him, then Chenle would ease up a bit on him. He simply wanted to see how well-mannered the boy was, since he was groomed by misfortune, Chenle wanted to test out how well he could be for his daughter.

Yezi is seated on the right of her father, while Chungdae is seated on the left of her husband and Jeno and Dae sit next to each other- being in Chenle's direct eyes vision. "Shall we eat?" Chenle asks and they all take in their utensils ready to feast.

As the rounding table makes the rounds and the servants walk around the table adding little side dishes here and there, Jeno feels much more overwhelmed then starved. From the many utensils on the table, to the little plates the servants put with tiny looking leaves, Jeno places his hand underneath the table lightly placing it over Dae's leg.

She turns her head to him, seeing him panic. Calmly she leans in and begins explaining that he can eat whatever, which plates he has to put the food in and which plates he dumbs the bones and what's not. Her whispered words of encouragement don't go unnoticed by anyone at the table, especially Chenle who picks up his chopsticks and watches the pair while he eats. Much to his distaste Jeno snickers and Dae does so as well- he ignores it and clears his throat gaining their attention.

"Dae," Chenle starts.

Chungdae nervously turns to Chenle. His first target. Dae looks up and adjusts her sitting position before smiling. "Yes, dad,"

For some reason, Chenle's heart feels a little touched when hearing her say the word dad. It's been a while, a really long while. “It’s wonderful seeing you in strong health. For how long have you been clean?”

Dae clears her throat with a little smile. “2 years now.”

“Rehab or self-rehabilitation?”

Dae answers honestly. “Self-rehabilitation. Actually, the night I left home and went clubbing, I was hit by a car,” This causes all of them to look at her in worry. “I, uh. I broke some ribs and nearly lost my life because I barely had enough blood in my body. A blood transfusion was done, and when I woke up… I felt as though, a second chance of life has been given to me,”

Chenle’s heart aches hearing the story. “Why didn’t you come home after that?”

Dae briefly looks to Jeno, who offers a somber smile before rubbing her thigh. “I didn’t want to live my life like before. I felt trapped, and it wasn’t because of you,” Dae immediately clears up, holding onto Jeno’s hand. “I just, wanted to live alone for a bit.”

“A bit turned into years,” Chungdae speaks sadly but a smile regains on her face. “May I ask you this, this blood transfusion you did that saved your life, was it the young man’s blood?”

Dae nods her head with a smile. “He’s the one who helped me that night. Paid the bills, gave me blood, offered me a place to stay, he was always by my side,”

The warm tone settles upon Chungdae seeing her child look so bright and happy. “Well thank you Mr Lee for that. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have been able to see our beautiful girl.” Chungdae smiles. “Pleae enjoy the food,”

Once again, everyone begins eating in a calm atmosphere. Jeno has never eaten so slow, as well as tiny bites in his whole life, however seeing everyone eat in a slow and paced manner, Jeno adjusts himself. This doesn’t go unnoticed by Dae as she snickers here and there covering it with a little cough.

Subsiding his friendly character, Chenle has his eyes on Dae who constantly looks to Jeno. "Dae,”

“Yes?” She instantly looks away from Jeno and to her dad feeling caught. She gulps, just as Chenle prepares himself.

“I’ve tried deviating from my culture merely because I didn’t want my daughters to be bounded by tradition. I’ve given you a good life, good education and have paved a way for a future that you can maintain. The family business of architecture as well as our lifestyle, you left it all for your own self satisfying pleasure because you felt ‘trapped’. I’m assuming you have a lot to showcase for your disobedience. Have you made a name for yourself by walking over our tradition?" The question alone brings Jeno into a front line of defense. Even though Chenle was her dad, Jeno wouldn't allow her dad to walk over how hard she had worked to get to where she was now. She worked extremely hard and Jeno was ready to defend. Unconsciously. However, Chenle unaware of the set eyes on him, continues on. "How's that going? What do you do?"

Dae feels heavy by the sharp arrow that was aimed for her heart by his words. “First of all, I am grateful for all the opportunities I was able to get while being here. Second of all, I never intended to disobey you dad. But I needed to do it for a clear mindset in what I wanted to do, in where my heart felt good. And lastly, I'm a Junior Editor."

"Editor? Junior?" Chenle poses in disbelief. "That's in the writing field. Meaning you don't get paid much, as for junior, you probably don't do much. What do you write about?"

Dae breaths in and nods her head looking up to her father. "I write articles on and for the youths of today and the struggles they face."

"That's like freelancing work." Chenle sighs out trying not to make it a big deal, but he's disappointed. His daughter. His first daughter scrapping by. He glances at Jeno. "And you Mr Lee. What do you do?" Chenle slurps on the fresh vegetable in a bowl, looking already bored.

"Photography."

"Wow, another freelancer." Chenle sounds dishonored much more then disappointed, and he continues to eat his dish of food. Yezi savagely tries to hold in her laugh replacing it with a cough and quickly looking down when Chungdae shoots her a glare. The couple of Dae and Jeno briefly glance to each other in hesitancy, but regardless they eat.

Just as Chenle is about to say something else, Dae along with everybody else get surprised by Jeno's voice. "You know Mr Zhong, not to be rude, and I say this with 'respect'-" only Dae catches on to his mocking tone, and gets worried for him. "Since you brought up your culture and tradition, according to the Zhong's line of history as well as your own private company's humble beginnings, small beginnings was were you started. So pardon me if this comes out rude, but truly I don't think you've got any right to be pissed off, you also left your family to please your own self satisfying pleasure-"

Dae's eyes widen and she places her hand over his thigh. "Jeno-"

But nonetheless Jeno still continues to speak. "To be pissed off at her career would mean neglecting her small beginnings. I don’t know much about your family, but what I do know is that your family’s legacy only grew into millions of because of you. What if Dae’s small beginnings allow her to reach your peak-"

"Comparing my family's legacy and personal company with Dae's quote on quote small beginnings sounds radically obscure. Do you even know who I am? My small beginnings lasted within a year, and I've been making millions ever since. Dae's small beginnings are small beginnings on a scale of failure," Chenle starts while setting his dish down, taking the next set of food while Chungdae grumpily adds some soup for him. She didn't like how his words sounded too harsh. Meanwhile Yezi has wide eyes glancing with a shocked face at her dad and then Jeno. “So tell me Mr Lee-”

Jeno breaths out, feeling Dae sinking in shame when she looks at her food and quietly eats. "You're talking about me as if I'm not here," She mumbles. “And my small beginnings aren’t on a scale of failure, you don’t know how hard I work-”

"Your lover is the one who started with the comparisons and small beginnings. You want to be mad at the truth? Suck it up and continue to embark on your sma-"

"Honey." Chungdae warns looking at him.

Chenle sighs. He nods his head whilst eating as if he's not having the conversation. "Do you believe that she'll make it big in her field Mr Lee?"

"I believe in her."

"I didn't ask if you believe in her. Because I also believe in her. And I much more believe she has a brighter career elsewhere, but what's important now is do you believe that she'll make it big in her field?"

"Yes-"

"Dae who never ever pays attention to the news, the same girl who barely gives an ear to those less 'fortunate' then her? My daughter? That same daughter who would never be interested in anything if it wasn't about her? The same daughter who got involved in hardcore drugs- that same girl caring for people seems unusual. A journalist? On top of that a youth journalist? Youth? Smart mouths with foul brains, those youth? Those same youth? Maybe she gives you a speck of patience, but I know my daughter. Does she really love what she does or is it just some passing want from feeling trapped? Does she have tolerance and patience for others? For you? My daughter wants to do journalism? That doesn't make sense to me," Chenle states out nonchalantly yet sternly. "I've seen her writing. And although phenomenal, she'd need a spark of light in her to empathize with youths. Regardless of what you say, I know my daughter much more then you. I know she's merciful, but in the field of journalism, it'll be used against her. With her temper, she'll easily get frustrated and allow for anyone to walk over her. I can't see, or even bare my daughter within a career where she constantly has to fight,"

Dae's stunned by his words. Never ever had he ever told her why he refused for her to be a journalist, he simply had a strong distaste towards any career that had a lack of funds. "Dream crusher much dad?" Dae chuckles sadly to cover up the pain.

"Dae, are those even dreams? To waste yourself away behind a screen writing for others? Dae. I'm…” Chenle refrains from using the words disappointed, but he’s already hinting at it. “I’m trying to understand. Why- why, why a journalist?"

Dae looks up to her dad in disbelief. "Because I’m a spoilt rich girl who’s gone through an experience that fucking changed my life forever. I left a house of riches to dwell in a place where it’s dark with no light. Why a journalist? Because in that dark dwelling place, I fucking saw a light and I wanted to fucking empathize-"

"Language Dae." Chungdae softly peeps being uncomfortable by all the slurs.

Dae stops and takes a deep breath. "I'm doing this because it gives my heart peace knowing that no one, especially a youth has to feel like they’re alone and that their futures are jokes. I’m saying the truth of my life to reach people in dark-"

"Truth?" Chenle scoffs. "In the world we live in? Truth and people don't go together, because this world loves to be blinded. It’s why the rich are rich and the poor are poor, those who have eyes don’t help those who can’t see. Today a journalist would rather break an untrue story and say an apology later, they could break thousands of hearts, but one apology and everyone forgets. You're telling me you haven't seen those cases?"

"I've noticed that lately."

"You can spend years putting together a story to help someone see the light, only for some toddler with a social media account to just tweet it out, with low grammatical words. As for professional objectivity, try maintaining that while competing against teens dancing at the news, or on TikTok and what not, and in the rare case let's say you do get a real story, you will be backlashed because all you did was your job. The truth hurts and rubs on people the wrong way."

"So what are you saying dad?" She asks seriously trying not to be discouraged. Jeno, places his hand on Dae's thigh, running his hand up and down as a way to calm her down.

"I'm saying." Chenle stops setting up his bowl to look at his daughter. "As my daughter, it's really my desire that if there is anything else you see yourself doing, do that instead." Chenle ends the discussion without much say, getting his next bowl. "You’re smart and if you want people to see the light, use your intelligence to-”

"Mr Zhong, I really do apologize if I'm being rude," Jeno interrupts not being able to be calm anymore, especially after noticing Dae's sagged shoulders. Truly Mr Zhong was a businessman with ideals and head on strong facts. However, that could never beat how much effort and change that Dae has put in. Which is why, Jeno with resilient courage speaks up for Dae. "I hate to break it to you, but the Dae that left your house years ago, isn't the Dae sitting in front of you. Her intelligence has changed and she’s adapted to street smarts too. I agree that Journalism isn't possibly the career that you invasion your daughter in, but she's similar to you in many ways. You started out with a master’s degree in Research, you left Research to join your family’s legacies of Doctors, before leaving it all together and had to dump it all including your family to finding out what you really wanted to do. But I digress, how can you put her down when I read that you even went as low as being a brick man and laying bricks for a living? You eventually decided you wanted a career in construction. Humble beginnings should never be neglected. If you didn't disqualify yourself, why discourage her, your own daughter? And if you're talking about money, then let me I’ll say it now, she makes money more than me-"

"Are you giving me street psychology now?"

Jeno breaths in deeply smirking a little when seeing a challenging look in her father’s eyes. "Street psychology makes you learn lessons the hard and painful way. Being rock bottom teaches you of success that being rich can’t. I've been with her ever since she left your home, so I know what I'm talking about when I say she's had a fall from your grace. But look at her now," Jeno turns to her, throwing a little smile and lightly patting her cheek (causing Dae to smile a little) before turning to Chenle, who even stopped eating to firmly be attentive to Jeno after publicly displaying such a manner. "I too, worry about the giant dumpster fire of twiddling toddler's, but I also don't care about that and I know she doesn't care about that. She writes for a living you know, she's always been writing and has tweaked her personalities here and there to adapt to the life that she's wanted. And if she can write a piece that has touched an orphaned boy's heart and stopped him from spiraling down into a dark path of drugs, then I know and have the belief that she's broken through the noise you’re projecting. I don't know why she isn't saying it now, but she always says, she wants to make a difference in all the ways that she can. That’s a fucking huge commitment if you ask me. And I'm not trying to take your place or anything like that, but even if she does fails in her projects, I’m here for you no matter how many times. You haven't been there for her, so you don't have that right to criticize or be disappointed in her achievements so far. I’m saying all this respectfully. I don't mean to sound rude or come of impolite, but the truth is the truth, and it can rub you the wrong way, so swallow it like a bitter pill."

“Well said, you’re the one living with her.”

Dae has a warm look in her eyes when looking to Jeno, her boyfriend, her choice, her messed up but one of the many right choices. How passionate he's been in defending her, whether it was to someone he never knew or someone she knew, and not allowing anyone, not even her dad, to walk over her. He's made it clear, time and time and time again, how he won't let anybody ever talk down on her or disrespect her. And its kind of alarming for Dae that Jeno just said all that while being ‘respectful’.

It's tensely silent with Chenle paying mind to his food instead, Chungdae and Yezi holding in their breaths, Dae smiling while eating on her meet- and Jeno returning back to his senses and freaking out. "Fuck." He mumbles, but instantly feels Dae's hand on his thigh. He turns his head seeing her reassuring smile. She mouths out a sweet thank you. It's enough to subside his irrational thoughts and focus on how calm she is.

Chungdae smiles when noticing the adoring look in Dae's eyes. Chungdae faces Chenle and picks up another bowl of rice before placing it before him. He looks to her, still eating his own bowl of meat and soup, and as if being summoned by the rice Chungdae lightly grins, and nudges her head towards Jeno and Dae. Chenle takes a look for himself, his eyes catching a sight too traumatic and so heartbreaking.

Dae looking at Jeno, the same way she used to look at him as a child. As a father, his child will always be his child. No matter how irrational, no matter how unclear, no matter how confusing she might be, even when she's falling in love with a foe, she's still his daughter. His first daughter. His first love whom he loves with all his heart. He doesn't know what's the name of the emotion that covers his whole heart when seeing Jeno, an unknown peasant briefly gazing at his precious daughter with stars in his eyes. And his daughter equally having eyes of fierce approval. He doesn’t like it, but he can’t put down how real it looks. He looks at Chungdae the same way too. And that scares Chenle because he doesn’t want her to marry such a guy.

She just came back home. His heart doesn't want to see her go just yet, especially not to a man who he still isn't too sure about. "Mr Lee."

Jeno peeks up and sits up. "Yes sir- I mean Mr Zhong,"

Chenle breathes out. "Are you treating this such as an interview?"

"Interview?"

"Seeing as though you've read my biography and probably Wikipedia, you seem to think that you have an understanding of my background," Chenle drinks a glass of water, firmly gazing into Jeno's stunned eyes. "Is that true?"

Jeno clears his throat, fumbling with his lips before nodding his head. "To be honest sir, I've known your work. The apartment my family and I lived in when we were little was actually designed by you."

"You could afford it?"

"Dad." Dae's shoulder slump.

Surprisingly Jeno chuckles. "It's okay babe- Dae, I mean." He quickly corrects himself, before turning back to Chenle. "I couldn't afford it, but my old man could....sort of. We lived with another family, so although tightly cramped, we all fit in together. To get back to you, being in that complex for a very short period of my childhood was sincerely the most mind blowing experience of my life."

"How so?" Chenle tilts his head. "And which complex was it? Situated where?"

"It's was called Clearview Water Hill. Situated in Goum NC."

Chenle nods his head. "I recall, it was amongst my first private building going public for government uses. It was labeled to be for the rich."

"To be honest, I felt rich as a young boy. The walls, corridors, rooms, even the water was so different. Not only that, but my dad was a construction worker so we watched a lot Construction channels. I had seen you appear time to time on tv. So regarding to me researching about you, I didn't have to do much except read it from Dae's pieces. The things I know about you are actually words Dae had written in her article pieces. She spoke extremely highly of you, it even gave off an impression that being in your presence is surreal. And it is… if I’m being honest."

Chenle is astonished (just when his mind slowly began to wonder if his daughter wanted to replace him), as his quick mind reflex suddenly pauses. His eyes turn from a sharp stare, to being enlightened. "You wrote a biography about me?"

"You used dad for clout?" Yezi laughs a little.

"What's clout?" Chenle asks, causing Yezi and Dae to snicker.

"It's slang dad," Yezi giggles.

Dae runs her hand through her hair swinging it back. "Not necessarily a biography, but advice on how to solidly build a future, brick by brick. I paid almost all my references to you and how successful you've been in paving the way brick by brick for your future,"

Chenle's face remains unchanged, yet Chungdae is in awe because she knows that Chenle is catching butterflies. Yezi is the one to voice it out. "Dae I told you not to boost his ego,"

This snaps Chenle out and he begins laughing. A sound which jolts Jeno out from his crave for the meat. His reaction makes Yezi laugh inwardly.

"Before I feel too honored. I still have to read what you wrote," Chenle remarks. "Word count?"

"2,500."

"Blog?"

"No, it's an article."

Chenle nods his head, shuffling in his seat bringing out his phone. "Name of website?"

"NationsWide,"

"Hmm," Chenle nods his head in approval. He's silent when scrolling through his phone, going through the about page and finding out the ratings of the website. Although it has a 8.8 out of 10 rating due to faulty writers and time consuming management, it has a high rating when it comes to work pieces. "It's a big shot company."

Dae finds herself smiling gladly turning to Jeno who pats her head- forgetting one of the rules that Dae put in place to not make any unnecessary physical contact. But she's happy non the less. “What’s the title?”

“I’m bad with titles, by it’s called Future Bricks Are Better Then Past Bricks.”

“It’s too long girl,” Yezi comments.

“I told her that too,” Jeno remarks smiling ligtly.

“Hey, I like it sounds good,” Dae cutely puffs her cheeks tempting Jeno to kiss her cheek, but he refrains from doing so.

Chenle searches up the title and immediately is impressed when seeing 5 stars in gold next to her article. That's his girl. He nods his head, as a smile crawls up his lips. "5 stars Dae, good job."

Her heart feels good. If it took Chenle simply reading from her article, then it would’ve saved time from Jeno backing her up. It's always difficult to get a reaction or compliment from him, so getting an actual reaction makes her feel joyous. Especially for something that he complained about minutes ago. In his silence of taking interest and suddenly reading his daughter's piece, Chungdae takes it as a cue to speak to Dae and Jeno.

"Are you two living together?" She smiles, causing a smile to grow on Jeno's lips as well.

"Yes,"

"Oh," Chungdae is a very traditional woman and always counters culture over modern society. So hearing that Dae and Jeno live together without having gotten married is a bit...it makes her feel uncomfortable for them. "Living together is such a huge commitment. It requires both of you to have an entanglement that you'll never leave each other,"

Jeno already being informed by Dae that her mother had the tendencies of being culturally educated, clears his throat in answering. "If it sets your heart as ease, we sleep in different rooms...to prevent us going too fast,"

"In going too fast, I assume you're talking about children?"

"Mum?" Yezi chokes on her food. "Please not that conversation, people are eating."

Okay," Chungdae nods her head letting out a little laugh with a hint of ease settling over. "That does set my heart at ease. I'm sorry if this makes you feel uncomfortable but, may I inquire about your financial status Jeno? You mentioned photographer, right?"

"Right," Jeno nods his head.

“Could you tell me more about it?”

"Uhm, mainly I work as an advertising photographer, so I range from models, to houses, to products even nature. So as a whole, I guess that’s stock photography. I have side jobs here and there as part time so yeah," he nervously peeks at Chenle wondering if he'd get pissed. However Chenle isn't even looking or paying attention to them, but instead continues to read, paying his whole mind to the article he's reading. He’s nearly done reading, but his ears also give an ear to hear the conversation.

"Hm." Chungdae nods her head. "Well, it's something. Who supports financially?"

"I pay house rent and Jeno buys our necessities," Dae mentions. But is unaware of Chenle's sharp gaze.

"Excuse me?" He suddenly perks up. "You're paying the rent?"

"Our apartment is under my name so-"

"Because of his felony charges?" Chenle perkily asks to which Dae shakes her head.

"Felony exceeds one year, so no. And he doesn't have a felony charge. It's because of his prison record of 10 months."

"And you're proud to say that?" Chenle mumbles doubtfully while shaking his head, continuing to read. Whilst Chungdae continues to ask Jeno, some more basic questions such as if he's religious, has siblings, has parents, if they know about Dae and his relationship- so on. Some questions Dae had never heard the answers to, as Jeno would completely ignore her or change the subject. Questions pertaining to his family. She never knew his dad died...no wonder he always made dark jokes about not having any.

"Meaning you're much closer with your mother right?" Chungdae questions with a sympathetic smile.

Jeno throughout all the questions that he doesn't want to answer he kept his head down and occasionally looked up from his food- even going on to eating more just to avoid the question or staying silent to ignore. But not knowing Chungdae, he isn't expecting her to nag on and on, and not wanting to make Dae's mother upset or cause Chenle to pin him out again he answers. "She kicked me and my brother out when we were teens."

"Now we’re getting somewhere." Yezi mumbles while folding her arms. "Who's your brother again? Was it-"

"Mark." Jeno stuffs his mouth again. Dae knowing that not only is he (slowly) getting enraged by the endless questions, she also knows how much he hates talking about his family.

So being alert she clears her throat. "Okay, mum I think you've got a pretty broad idea of who he is now,"

Chungdae smiles meekly. "You know Dae, when I first met your dad-"

Much to Yezi's disappointment, who hated this story with a passion (due to the fact that in her mind Chungdae was still considered a side woman) gets up going to look for her baby. "I'm going to check on Areum."

Meanwhile Chenle sets his phone down when he's done reading. Impressed with what he’s read, he approves by giving it a rating.

"As I was saying. When I first met him, he was already self-made, financially stable and had a big job. Everything was already there. However, he didn't tell me any of that. And I, didn't have a clue on who he was at the time. Meaning to say, I didn't have a pretty broad idea of who he was until I found out the basics as: what his beliefs were, what his priorities were, what his family thought of him, what he thought of himself deeply and what flaws made him human. Only when I found out all those things, was I... almost ready to be with him." A masked smile comes on her face. The type of smile that's ready to offend but not wanting to seem blunt. "Jeno, you seem like a fine young man right now. However, I'm worried that it might not be who you are when you're outside of our house. I don't know how you treat my daughter-"

"Mum-"

"Let your mother talk." Chenle blinks once turning back to Chungdae. This was supposed to be a grilling session for him to get to know Jeno. Yet with the way Dae gazes upon Jeno's face, worries Chenle. His heart isn't used to seeing this gob struck look of so called love on her face. Especially since he just met her. It's been years, so he doesn't want to cause tension that'll make her leave again.

It's better Chungdae does it and Dae listens, rather then him doing it and never seeing Dae again.

Up till now, and with the way that Jeno spoke on Dae's behalf on something that she was 'passionate' about, Chenle just doesn't like the idea of his daughter already being tethered to a man.

She still has a long life ahead of her, however being in a relationship limits her life and choices- oh gosh especially on her financial status. He wants his daughter to enjoy life to the fullest. And Jeno can't give her all that.

All that he can give her is words wrapped in love. And he doesn't want that for his daughter. His daughters deserved much more than cheap love and words.

"She has a point. The least you can do, is listen." Chenle says again a bit softly when looking into Dae's eyes. Dae inwardly groans, yet when turning her gaze to Chungdae she sighs with an upset face.

"Even though I didn't give birth to her, I know who she is. And I'm not trying to poke holes in your bubble but I am saying that you're from two different worlds. Two completely separate worlds. You won't clash on a lot of things. And right now, as happy and giddy as this relationship has been, remaining faithful together or even growing together won't be that easy. Jeno, judging from your lack of family touch, and your upbringing from your brother, I'm not too comfortable with my daughter being down below with you. I do see your passion and will to have a better life, but it might not be enough. Right now, I can most likely hope for your future to be filled with growth. Because I don't think it'll be easy. Based on your foundation, of how you both met, I'm still a bit... hesitant in accepting you. I just don't want this to end in foulness."

The silence lingers in the air with both couples, Chenle and Chungdae gazing at both Jeno and Dae. Jeno sets his empty bowl down having being full and listening to all the advice. Dae places her hand on his knee and he sighs. "If I'm completely honest Mrs Zhong, you're right."

Dae peeks her eyes to Jeno, hoping that what he’d say would contradict his statement.

"I do feel out of place at times when I'm with her. I feel that she deserves much better than me. Much much better than me. When driving here I even said that she left a mansion to cramp up with me in a little apartment. Look, I can't understand this, but I really really like your daughter and think that... she can do much better than me." Jeno nods his head agreeing. "But every time I think about her, or me, or, of us being together, I think of how much we've been through. It's true we met in uncanny circumstances but... The fact that she made the biggest sacrifice to stay with me, even though I gave her countless of reasons to leave, she still wanted to be with me, and that gives me the chills. Because she left your world, her world to be...in my world. And I can see where your concerns are, believe me when I say we've had this talk one too many times, but we always come to the same conclusion." His hand securely holds onto hers on top of his knee. "Only time will tell, if really this will work out, but I believe that when I stopped comparing her life before and her life now, it's made my head clear. And when she stopped seeing me as just that guy who broke into her house, we gathered a mutual understanding."

"What conclusions have you come to?" Chenle asks softly, his eyes on Dae yet he asks Jeno, because Dae's eyes are still on him.

Jeno clears his throat. "The conclusion that we're both humanly real and not perfect. And we can't be perfect, but if we keep trying to understand and love each other than yeah. I never knew how to manage my account and all that shi- stuff, but Dae's been really adamant on teaching me. I never knew how to cook. I only lived off by water and bread, but she knows and has taught me so many great dishes, especially the Chinese ones. I never mediated or did yoga before, but with her, every morning we're both up and yoga-ering as a way to restore our mental health. I've never been good at getting attention or knowing how to market, but Dae's a real professional at that and has helped me market my work. Not only to say she's an important aspect of my life, but she came from recovering from overdosing, not that I helped much but I made sure she worked out, ate healthy, spoke her thoughts, gave her a change of scenery, made sure she always saw the sun… I mean, if I also have to list the bad stuff, I can just say, she doesn't know how to keep her stuff organized. Always cluttered, everywhere and plain right messy- respectfully messy-"

"That's true." Chungdae chortles.

"But she's been improving, she now puts the toothpaste back in its case, instead of living it open and on the toilet seat. Not only that, but she used to stress so much so that she never slept, always up at night and working, but along the days I used to show her that she's got enough time to drop he shoulders, breathe, to unclench her jaw, to meet people who will understand her instead of being a kiss ass, to rest without feeling guilty, enough time to try as well as fail, to change paths, to close her eyes, to sleep and rest, to do so many things that she wants to do, her life is long. Another thing, she never knew how to be active, she's ambitious, but lacks the effort to actually move to get things done, she's always online. Yes she does yoga, but she always sat down behind her screen or desk slouching and writing, but now I can genuinely say she's keeping fit by constantly jogging, she exercises as well, and can throw a punch for self-defense, not to say I taught her how to be violent, but for a lady in her form I'm pretty proud that she can throw a man twice her size over her shoulder."

"I did it to him," Dae marvels cheerfully.

"I simply taught her what I know and she taught me what she knows. We're both taking the good in our lives and presenting it to each other trying to make our lives better and throwing the bad away. We read the newspapers together, watch the news, read psychology books and talk to each other and learn about each other. Because I love her and just want her to be happy without any restraints. We are both new to this love, so we're learning with each other not only how to receive love, but also how to give love. You know, she expresses herself through writing, she always writes, she struggles in speaking up for herself or formulating the right words for the right moment, thus it's why she used to be condescending and using her privileges to walk over people. But now, I don't know why she's not doing it now, but she gradually speaks and pushes herself to be genuine and understanding. Mrs Zhong, I understand that you don't trust me with your daughter, but I'm telling you honestly that I'm careful and gentle with her. I don't want to hurt her again, or even allow myself to lose her to a successful man who's got everything. I want to be everything for her. I'm working my ass off in getting to where I want to be, and making sure that she's happy and securely in her field. I don't have it now but I know that I'll get it. I'm trying my hardest, I'm putting my all and investing literally my whole life into this. I don't know what you want, but your daughter is here and she chose me, I can promise you that I won't put your family to shame."

Mr Zhong's ears are perked at Jeno's whole plea. He can see the ambition and drive in his eyes.

"Can I be honest with you right now." Chenle starts being equally respectful as Jeno has been. "I disliked you because you were poor and seemed unable. But. After reading what I've read, I can say that the Dae sitting before me, isn't the Dae with qualities that the world would reject like before. I'm still not for this relationship. But if I can at least have my daughter willingly help others, as well as herself, it gives you, Mr Lee, a mark in my books. It shows me how much you're invested in her. And another thing, if you, Dae, can't be pushed away from following your dreams, I think you'd be an excellent journalist."

"Thanks Dad," Dae smiles looking with admiration at her dad, causing Chenle to return the genuine smile.

"Keep writing pieces about me though," Chenle grins.

"Don't boost his ego," Yezi chuckles covering her face.

"Are you still hungry Jeno? Don't be shy if you want another round," Chungdae speaks up when seeing Jeno look at all the empty dishes. "There's plenty casseroles in the cuisine."

"Oh, no it's okay." Jeno smiles shyly. "Thank you Mr Zhong, and Mrs Zhong for the food. It was delicious,"

"I'm surprised you complimented Dae's cooking." Chungdae laughs before turning back and calling one of the maids names to come and remove the food. "Dae fights a lot when it comes to spices, especially with chili,"

"Well mother," Dae has a smug face. "Jeno here doesn't mind the spice or chili. He likes it hot,"

Jeno teasingly mumbles for only Dae to hear. "We're still talking about the food right?"

She playfully hits his thigh before turning to her mum. "I know what he likes to eat,"

"Honestly if you ask me, I still find it weird how you're with him." Yezi comments when the laughter dies down. Dae's jaw clinches but she eats on her rice (that she asked one of the maid to leave for her) remainign silent. But that's not the case for Yezi who glances up at her sister. "It's strange because I know you, and I know that this is not the type of guy you'd quote on quote fall in love with."

"Yezi." Chungdae calls out calmly, with intentions of warning her.

Chenle nods his head setting down his chopsticks when he's done swallowing a lump of meat giving his plate away to the maids. "No, Yezi's right. It's strange to see this, no disrespect to you Mr Lee, but it seems like Stockholm syndrome."

"That's so unfair. We just finished that discussion." Dae mumbles glaring at her sister and dad. "It's not-"

"I know," Chenle nods his head with a gentle smile. "With the way he's spoken about you, my ideas of him shifted. Perhaps it's not a forced love. I just need to get used to the idea of seeing you with him. That's all,"

"You can't force him down our throats, we still have to get to know him," Yezi comments.

"So Jeno, how about I get to know you more. If it's possible, drop me an email on your availability and I'll set up a date for you to come to my company."

Jeno's eyes widen. "Really?"

"I wanna see how good you are at your work of photography. There's some houses that will be completed within a week from now and I need some photographs. Will you be interested?"

Jeno gulps nodding his head. "Yes sir- I mean Mr Zhong."

"Good. Now if we all may, there's a resting area waiting for us,"

•

S1: EP14-16

22:48

"I can't believe you lied to my mum that we sleep in different rooms," Dae chuckles when entering the comforts of their shared room turning around to eye Jeno who unbuttons his shirt.

Jeno has a smug look on his face before tilting his head. "I mean, it's sorta true. I told you to take the other room, but somehow you’re always here even though your stuff is there,”

"That’s because it’s lonely sleeping alone.” Dae smiles when kissing his lips. “But still, I don’t know if she bought that.”

“If she did, then it’s best if we keep it under the wraps of how much of a freak you are in my room, in bed.” Jeno lightly chuckles, watching Dae walk backwards while running her hands up her body giving him teasing eyes.

“Regardless, I'm glad it went well.” She notes as she removes her shoes and gathers some wet wipes to clean off her makeup. “Gosh I'm so happy it went well. Seeing my dad and mum and Yezi and Areum was such a serene moment that I’ll never forget.”

Jeno removes both his blazer and buttoned down shirt turning to Dae who’s removing her makeup. “They were welcoming, I’m glad you invited me to experience this experience with you. Seeing you with your family only brought peace to my soul. At least you’re reunited with your family again, your mum, dad, sister…and even that little child. Although, I won’t lie, I’m surprised that your sister…kept that child,” Jeno tries to say without saying it. “It’s just odd,”

“I know,” Dae finishes cleaning the makeup off her face and applying some cream before she stretches her arms moving to the night stand lamp turning it on. “But you know what, she’s still my baby sister’s baby and I’m a proud aunt who gets babysitting rights.” Dae smiles brightly. “I just can't express it in words. I'm so happy right now." Dae smiles and bites her lip innocently. "Hey. Can you help me undo my dress?" Dae moves to the bed sitting down a little bit too exotically but Jeno still makes his way towards her.

Holding onto her calf, he kisses on her knee smiling before trapping her in between his body as he gets on the bed. “You’re so happy you’re getting turned on, I think this will be a problem,” Bending his head down, he softly smudges plentiful kisses along the side of her neck, licking and biting on her soft skin. He groans when Dae's hand secretly finds its way down his covered member and palms him soothingly.

"You forgot to tell my dad how good you make me feel,"

"Is that so?" Jeno rhetorically asks leaving envelope kisses on her collarbone whilst undoing the back of her dress. "Should've told him how well you suck me off,"

Dae giggles when her dress becomes loose, allowing her freedom to remove her arms and then her turtle neck- only resting in a corset and bra. Her lips crash onto his as he mouths his way down her neck undoing the strings of her corset. Having his warm fingers on her skin arouses her body to beg for him. She feels his big hands going behind her back unclipping her bra.

"Is this okay?"

"Mmh," She whispers. “Just do it,”

He continues to mouth his way up her body, her warmth on his tongue when he kisses her again. He strokes her heavy tits. Just as her lips find his again, the taste lingering of the wine present making her suck more on his tongue as he unbuttons his pants and lowers them together with his boxers already revealing his hard on. “I’m happy it all went well, because it means that they’ve given me permission to take you all the time,”

In one swift move he picks her up placing her on his shaft, as they both stare into each other’s eyes strings of moans leave their lips. Upon giving her time to adjust to his member, with her eyes fixed on his own lustful eyes give him the go that she’s ready, and he pounds himself hard once into her core earning him a blissful moan. He comes out slow before, going in hard again and then coming out slow. It becomes a cycle of himself going in and out until he’s sure that she’s okay. Within a second after ensuring, his body presses into her own skin loving the bounce of her breast. His eyes never leave hers, just as his slow passionate thrust becomes heavy and more impactful. His hips bucking into her, rampaging inside of her, her wetness invites and envelopes him with every coming in. Her eyes shut, with her hands on his shoulders, allowing him to do all the heavy lifting. She feels as though she might fly off him with every thrust he engraved into her.

She’s breathlessly moaning out at the top of her lungs, her head thrown back, just as his arms grip onto her waist, humping and grunting every time. She’s moaning out his name, calling out to him eagerly and passionately only making him grow harder inside of her. “Jen- fuck Jeno don’t stop, ah don’t stop~” He’s panting, holding her tight while his stamina takes over him and he holds her into him, allowing her movements and his to be fluid, going up and down, moving together.

She was his first and every time he’d get at it with her, he always felt the same as the first time. Special. He loved being inside her, how she made him feel. Under her skin and inside his head, he can’t help but press her into him hugging her tight as he pounds into her, his eyes on solely on her. Even though the struggle to keep her eyes open, his eyes are on her loving her every expression. She was so beautiful that he didn’t even know what to do.

When they both cum into each other, she’s left shaking on his member from the pleasure and that makes Jeno laugh. “I love when your legs do that, was it good?”

“Mhm,” She moans and slowly rides him circling her hips and bouncing lightly on him again. It goes on for another round, until they're both panting on the bed fully naked with steamy smiles. Jeno groans and curses out when Dae disappears underneath the blanket with a giggling laugh. “Fuck, are you not tired?” Jeno pants, feeling her mouth wrap around his shaft. “You don’t have to do it-”

Aside from having intercourse, the one thing Jeno didn’t ask for was blow jobs. Not only did it remind him of what his brother did to her, but he was afraid that her mentality consumed the behavior from the trauma she dealt with when Mark made her suck him off. Continuing to suck and blow, Dae doesn’t stop bobbing her head and taking him whole. For her, it allowed her to have control over the situation, rather than thinking that she had no power of her own. Jeno's muscles tense with pleasure before his legs are shaking again and she swallows his release laughing out in delight. Aside from them getting together, another thing that solidified them was how she broke his v-card and that for every time that they’d do it, he always felt attached to her and allowed her all the power she wanted with him.

"I'm going to shower," Dae gets off the bed being breathless, skimpily jogging seductively to the bathroom before peeking at Jeno who's eyes latch with adoration, she speaks up. "You should join me,"

"I'm coming," he smiles tiredly. Getting up from the bed stretching his arms, he picks up his own towel walking towards the bathroom however stops when hearing a faint knock on the door. He checks the time, frowning when it's late into the night.

He walks quietly to the door wrapping his waist with the towel. His eyes searching through the peephole. His eyes widen when noticing a familiar figure lighting up a cigarette.

Jeno ducks from the door when the figurine sends his fist flying to the door knocking on it. "Hello?"

Mark?

The person knocks for a while on, still smoking his cigarette. Jeno still ducked is confused and gets startled by Dae walking into the living room with a grin. "They you are,"

"Shh," Jeno mumbles with a panicked voice.

Dae's brows furrow. "Who's there?"

"Uh, I'm looking for someone,"

Dae suddenly hears the voice outside. She was asking Jeno, but hearing the answer come from outside she's perplexed. Looking back to Jeno who's chest goes up and down, she moves closer carefully. It seems he's hiding from someone. "Who're you looking for?"

"Does Lee Jeno, Lee Jeno live here?"

"Uhm.." Jeno sharply shakes his head in panic and Dae catches on. "I'm sorry but it's past midnight, and Lee Jeno doesn't live here,"

"Are you sure about that? Hey, please can you open the door. I'm a relative of his."

"I said Lee Jeno doesn't live here. Can you please leave before I call the police."

It's silent on the other hand before the man speaks again. "Fine, I'll come back in the morning. Let him know." Dae's about to speak in confusion but the person speaks again. "Tell him Mark came by. His brother. Alright. I'm going."

"Brother?" Dae quietly whispers and her eyes enlarge. Feeling exposed as though being ripped of her robe, Dae securely grips on her robe trembling back. "Jeno..." She pants out. "Was that, M-Mark?"

"I went to the address you gave me. Some woman was there, said he didn't live there." Mark yawns laying back on the ground next to Donghyuck who's looking up to the stars. "And what're you doing here bro?"

Laying down on the green freshly trimmed grass Donghyuck groans and opens his eyes. "I'm not your bro man. You shot me and my brother."

"You're still at that? Let the past be the past. Now that we’re both out, we should be looking out for each other," Mark chortles.

Donghyuck shakes his head. “I never got a proper apology from you,”

Mark fidgets around trying to find a good position. "I'm sorry for shooting at you and your bro. I keep saying that I thought that maybe it was the end for us. You weren't moving and we needed to go. At least shooting at you would permit them to focus on you while I escaped."

Donghyuck turns to Mark with frisky eyes. "You fucking say that with confidence."

"I'm sorry man." Mark apologizes lowly having a smirk on his face. "Should've had your back."

"Whatever." Donghyuck mumbles and sighs out. "Anyway. I saw that address in Officer Park’s visitation book. It literally said Jeno's residence, so I assumed it's where Jeno lives."

"The apartment looks too fire for Jeno. I don’t even think he lives there.” Mark scoffs. “Then again, it wouldn’t be so bad crashing with him.”

"Your brother seems to be in good terms with the police, he occasionally speak to his Parole Officer, Officer Na. So, I don’t wanna crash there." Donghyuck shrugs his shoulders not interested in talking about Jeno. "D'you find a job yet?"

"None. I just came out last week and am not willing to go back, but my patience is wearing thin on doing things the quote on quote right way." Mark sighs. "It's why I'm out here sleeping with you in a park like a homeless kid."

"I’m actually homeless dude." Donghyuck snickers lightly.

"Nah, your mum can take you back any time. You're just choosing not to go. Stubborn."

Donghyuck scoffs. “The day I stepped into prison was the day my family and loved ones began their ‘prison’ time as well. My bad decisions caused me to be separated from my family for years. Life for my family still went on and they had to learn how to navigate through the ups and downs without me. The harsh reality of losing my freedom was that I could not truly help my loved ones in times of need compared to as if I were present. It was a bitter pill to swallow knowing that I had also sealed their fate by my own hands. When I was there with them, I felt so out of place. I don't know how many years have passed, but her and Renjun are like an oil machine. They're so tight together and it makes me feel honestly like a fuck up son and brother. A fucking loser who only goes over when he’s hungry. I..Just left." Donghyuck finds himself honestly opening up. "Life would be better if I wasn't around them. And besides, I see her at work..."

After coming out of prison, he honestly tried to get back in his mum's good books, but it seemed really pressuring. Especially with Renjun ignoring him and pretending he doesn't exist. Donghyuck could feel the tension in the air whenever he was around them and he hated that. Even though he didn't want anything to do with Mark ever again, they surprisingly found each other again. Mark came out of prison by probation and was constantly kept on a leash. So obviously when he found Donghyuck under a large oak tree in a secluded park, he knew that his friend had been staying out of trouble, and joining him wouldn’t be so bad.

“But come one man, don’t you miss having a bed?” Mark asks. “We could crash at Jeno’s place until we get some shit together,”

“You do that. He’s your brother.” Donghyuck mutters. “And judging from the fact that he hasn’t contacted you should tell you that he may not be looking forward to reuniting with you. You said you heard a chick?”

“Yeah,” Mark mumbles. “She was like, Lee Jeno doesn’t live here. But I knew she was lying,”

Donghyuck chuckles lightly. “Well if that’s the case, and he’s got a girlfriend or something, he won’t let you back in easily,”

Mark groans. “I’m his fucking brother,”

“That’s what I said about Renjun, and he hates my guts,”

“Nah that boarder jumper-”

“He’s a citizen now,”

“Wow,” Mark snickers. “Either way, he was never your brother to begin with,”

For some reason that hurts Donghyuck, because he slowly started considering Renjun as a brother and everything he did was always for his mother as well as Renjun’s wellbeing. And despite being in okay terms with his mum, he also wanted to get back on Renjun’s good books. “Well if you wanna get back with your brother, I suggest getting him to sympathize over you because if he’s anything like Renjun, he won’t let you in his house,”

“That’s some brother,” Mark shakes his head. “But it’s cool, I’ll stay with you,”

Mark doesn't want to say it, but it's evident that they only have each other. While Mark didn't want to lose the friend he had, Donghyuck wanted to stay away as far as possible from him. “I thought maybe getting myself in an accident, like breaking my arm or starving myself, would have them take me in easily. But no, they’ve got stone cold hurts. But the little I know of Jeno, if you hurt yourself he could take you in,” Donghyuck plants the seed into Mark’s head. Now he’s just hoping Mark will take the bait.

It's why before dawn, before the sun comes out of its blanket, Donghyuck awakes early and gets ready for his day by simply wearing his leather jacket. His eyes go over to Mark before getting up and heading to his day job.

His mum was kind enough to buy him 2 extra pairs of trousers as well as 2 clean shirts, and Donghyuck kept them in the school’s janitor closet. He knew it wasn’t professional, but it’s not like the school would know- since the school also offered him janitor uniform which was a grey shirt with the school’s logo and white pants. So after cleaning his face in the male washroom, he heads into the tiny janitor’s closet to change up into his work uniform. The choice in color not only made him look approachable, but it singled him out as the cleaner.

Most of the time Donghyuck didn’t have to do much cleaning since the young kindergarten students would always clean up their home room classes early in the morning. Donghyuck only had to handle the staffs’ resting room, bathrooms, hall ways and occasionally cleaning outside the jungle gym. The kindergarten school was a moderately rich school with a big yard and no other buildings around. It had students from the age of 5 to 7, and only 7 staff members (including his mum), 1 principle and 2 janitors- in total 10 workers. The school had 6 working days, so Donghyuck worked Thursday’s to Saturday. With only a number of staffs team, the school wasn’t that big, but it was decently strong in the education department of training young students. One thing Donghyuck liked about it, was that it was a private school, meaning the young students were taught much more than the average kindergartener.

Donghyuck had students politely greet him, had some helping him with picking up trash and throwing it in the bin, and even (on some rare days) shared with him some of their merit sweets. But none of the students were like the little female student known by the name of Areum.

While she was like the rest of the students, politely greeting him, helping him after school when all her friends had gone and even giving him some of her merit sweets- ever since that day that they spoke on the bench, she was attentive to him.

“Hi Mr Sunshine,” She greets in a tiny voice that echoed loudly with a big bright smile.

Donghyuck turns his head down to the little kid, just as his mother who’s walking down the hallway towards him notices the little girl. “Hey kid,” Donghyuck greets noticing she has a basket and opens it up revealing some creamy cupcakes. She digs her hand inside and picks up one with a glittery label on a toothpick that said, Mr Sunshine. Donghyuck’s brows furrow with a little smile. “What’s this?”

“Today is my birthday,” She smiles brightly.

Donghyuck takes the glittery cupcake bending his knees and crouching down to be almost at eye level with the little girl. “You’re a leap year baby? How old are you now?”

“I’m now 6 years old,”

Donghyuck tries not to laugh. “Technically, you’re 1 years old because this is the first leap year in years, but I’m not gonna judge.” She smiles. “Well happy birthday kid. Did you make for your whole class?”

She nods her head.

“You’re a very kind little girl,” Donghyuck lightly pats her head smiling before he stands up. “Thank you for making me a cupcake. I don’t have a present for you now, but I can tell you a joke,”

“Okay,” She gets excited.

“Why did the clown go to the doctor?”

“Why?” Even before Donghyuck can finish, she already starts giggling.

“He was feeling funny,” Donghyuck puts emphasis on the funny as he moves his hands in a wave manner- and of course she loses her mind and topples over while laughing. Donghyuck pats her head cautiously. “Why don’t you head on to class. The bell’s about to ring, hurry,”

“Okay, bye Mr Sunshine,” She cools down from her laugh.

“See ya,” Donghyuck gets back up and drags the rest of the cleaning supplies back into the janitor’s closet. While opening up the door and goes inside, his mother (who stopped walking to watch the interaction) begins walking to the janitor closet only for her to freeze in her steps when noticing an all too familiar face…faces.

“Areum, don’t go too quick,” The lady in a navy nurse uniform turns into the corridor and finally sees the little girl. “Hey, wait up,” She walks with one large brown bag as well as a covered cake in the other hand just as a little girl, the same little girl Donghyuck was talking to, comes over and walks alongside her.

“Sorry mummy,” She smiles. “The bell’s going to ring,”

“Don’t worry about the bell, you’re going to mess up the cupcakes and doughnuts if you run too quick,” A man, standing next to them in a police uniform smiles down at the little Areum.

“Okay, I was just excited,” She bounces up and down. “I wanna give everyone a cake already,”

“Then let’s not keep you waiting,” The man has his hands filled with several plastic bags but still managing to hold onto the little girl’s hand. Donghyuck’s mother blinks twice and has to turn away while the pair and little girl walks past her.

His mother is in shock after recognizing that the police officer was Na Jaemin and the nurse looked exactly the same as the girl that had her house broken into by her son and friends, her name was Yezi. After they pass she quickly goes into the janitor’s room but stops midway when Donghyuck pulls the door open and dusts his hands while eating and chewing on the cupcake, being surprised to see his mum.

“Mum?”

“H-hey,” She greets with a tight smile, but then grabs his arm and quickly dashes outside of the building holding him tight.

“What’s wrong? What happened?” Donghyuck asks as he’s being dragged out the building. “What did I do?”

“Donghyuck, who’s that little girl that keeps talking to you?” She asks when they’re outside taking in one big breath.

Donghyuck tries to think for a second when trying to get this mum’s question. “I don’t know, Areum, why? Is it because of the cupcake? It’s her birthday and she gave me one,”

“That’s not what I’m asking, I’m asking whether you know who this girl, as in her parents?” His mother tries to calmly ask out.

Donghyuck furrows his brows and shakes his head while shrugging his shoulders. “I don’t know her parents. Why? Did she get hurt?”

Donghyuck’s mother can only stare at him with wide eyes feeling her heart beat fast. Her son just got out of prison and had been doing fairly well for some weeks now. She can’t allow anything bad to happen to him. “Look,” She breathes in nervously. “This little girl, just like all the other girls and boys have parents and families who are stacked with money and power. I just want you to be careful whenever you talk or engage with them. I doubt any of them would approve that an ex prisoner is a janitor at this school, they would lose their minds. I know these people. Which is why, I’m saying this. I don’t want any problems so I’m asking you, please Donghyuck, do not- and I repeat, do not find yourself in a problematic situation involving these kids. Okay?”

Donghyuck nods head when seeing how serious his mum looks. “I won’t. I promise,”

“Especially that little girl who’s always around you.”

Donghyuck nods his head again.

“In fact, I want you to stay as far away from her.” She pats his arm slightly and heads back into the school allowing her hand to massage her neck that became slightly stiff. “I hope he listens,”

Donghyuck doesn’t even have to think of the situation, especially regarding that little girl. If his mum was warning him, it only meant that this girl had parents who would cause havoc in his new path. So continuing to eat his cupcake he walks to the corner of the building and connects the hose pipe to begin watering the grass.

Yezi has to do a double take when seeing the man. Of course she can’t see his face but his backside has her in wonder. Especially since he’s eating a cupcake.

“Are you coming?” She snaps out of her thoughts when hearing Jaemin.

“Yes I am,” She smiles when buckling her seatbelt. “I hope Areum has fun today,”

“Me too,” Jaemin notes and starts up his car. “Hey, I wanted to ask you something,”

“Sure, as long as you’re still taking me to work,”

Jaemin begins driving turning his gaze lightly to Yezi before looking back to the road. “I was taking Areum to school the other day, and noticed something weird,”

“What? She picks her nose? Tells bad puns? Laughs and talks alone? I was worried too, but dad said it’s a natural thing for kids so it’s okay.”

Jaemin’s ghost smile fades when recalling what Areum was doing. “She was...” Jaemin sighs deeply as he himself didn’t even know how to say it. The sight was unusual and made him question what was going on in her head. Yezi takes note of his chilling tone, and watches him. “She’s an odd child, but I worry about her. I know it feels like I’ve pushed the boundary between work and your family, but I really do worry about her,”

“I’m grateful that you’ve always been there for me and my family whenever we called. And ever since Areum was born you’ve almost become like family to me. So I appreciate you so much Mr Na,” Yezi acknowledges Jaemin by meekly smiling in his direction. He was 7 years older then her, but whenever looking at him she always got butterflies. Much to her family, Jaemin was just an officer, but to her- he was like her best friend. “So to have you worried about her, makes me kinda feel anxious. What’s wrong? What did she do?”

“It’s not what she did… more like where did she learn it from,” Jaemin licks his lips peeking at her. “How active are you with your boyfriend? Sexually speaking.”

The question makes her cheeks and neck glow in warmth. She even shifts in her seat trying to remain calm. “Uh, Jaehyun and I… don’t really…we haven’t gotten on that boat yet,”

That’s news to Jaemin’s ears. “Really?” Yezi nods her head. “You haven’t had any inter-”

“It’s kinda hard thinking about sex when I was raped as a child.” Yezi mutters. “Did Areum say something odd?”

“No, no,” Jaemin runs his hand through his hair. He tries to be respectful considering Yezi’s history. “I’m just asking. A-actually, tell me about him. Jaehyun.”

“Pardom?” Yezi has to blow air out of her mouth when finding the atmosphere warm and a little bit too much for her. “You hate when I talk about him,”

“That’s because he’s 9 years older than you,” Jaemin mutters covering up with a cough. “I mean, I don’t have anything against the guy other than he’s 30 and you’re 21. He’s a great guy, has a good looking face, egotistical personality-”

“Jaemin,” Yezi drags out a sigh with her smiley face. “He’s nice to me. But what does asking about him have to do with what Areum did? What did she do, tell me?” Jaemin’s nonchalant face doesn’t budge only making Yezi much more adamant. “Jaemin?”

“I’m just looking out for her,” Jaemin says. “I know you work over time, and your dad doesn’t get back until late and your mum started attending some afternoon yoga classes- but really is there no one else you can trust Areum with? Nanny even?”

“The last time I trusted a nanny, I found her hitting Areum as a form of discipline. I’m not going down the nanny line again. Plus the one’s we have at home only work for my dad and mum. They can watch Areum, but I don’t want them too. She’s my little girl and I don’t want them to pontificate her mind,”

“Come on Yezi, and Jaehyun?” Jaemin’s eyes widen. “He’s a 30-year-old man. Just because he’s got a lot of free time doesn’t-”

“I trust Jaehyun because he makes Areum happy, she doesn’t get nervous or scared around him. And because he’s older he takes his responsibilities seriously. It’s not his responsibility, but he’s passionate about her and that makes me feel some form of safety.”

“The best I can do is drop her every morning to school while you go off to work early in the mornings. If I could look after her, after school, would you allow me too?”

Yezi has an unknown sad frown on her face, but subtly nods. “She doesn’t open up much to people and with you she’s afraid because you have a gun and deal with ‘bad people’, but if it’s what you want to do, I can consider it. But you already have so much on your plate,”

“Trust me Yezi, Jaehyun’s great. But there’s something off… maybe it’s not even Jaehyun. Maybe it’s her friends at school,” Jaemin begins second doubting himself.

“Jaemin what did she do, that has you so worked up?” Yezi pleads this time feeling worried.

Jaemin sighs. “It’s not a big deal, just…” Jaemin’s eyes brighten. “What about your sister? You said she’s clean again, can’t you ask her-”

“I’m not gonna ask her until you tell me what happened with Areum?”

“Fine.” He rolls his eyes, before the nerves kick in again. How would he tell her that he caught her daughter bouncing and even dry humping herself on the backseat of his car? She would be in a frenzy state. But then again, Jaemin could be over thinking it and Areum wasn’t doing anything scandalous and he could’ve saw wrong….no he couldn’t have saw wrong for 18 weeks now. “She humps her seat every morning I take her to school.” Jaemin reveals. “And she does it excessively, like she’s trying to pleasure herself. I, I could be reading too much into it but I can’t help but wonder why she does that. I’ve tried asking her but she stops and then says nothing.”

“So, you’re suspecting Jaehyun of-”

“No, I’m not. I just.” Jaemin stops himself before finding the words. “She’s a little girl and takes things in easily. In a way, if he’s the one watching her afterschool, don’t you think she’s learning things from him? Plus I could be wrong about him, and it’s not him but instead it’s the students at her school. Maybe some male student or even the female students, I don’t know Yezi. If I’m reading too much into it, then there’s nothing wrong and it’s nothing to worry about, but if it’s something true then I think you should check on the people around her because she’s learning some bad things for her age. She just turned 6 today,”

Yezi is in silence as well as astonishment from everything Jaemin says. “Humping her seat how?”

Jaemin doesn’t say anything but then his body starts awkwardly moving back and forth before he starts bouncing lightly on his seat. The scene is erotic and has Yezi’s eyes widening. “Like that,” Jaemin says before stopping and resting back on his seat.

Yezi sharply intakes some air and looks away. Her cheeks are flushed and the tempo of her heart changes. However, for the rest of the ride, she says nothing until Jaemin reaches the hospital in which she interns in. “Have a good day,” Jaemin says, a small smile sipping onto his lips just as his eyes look guilty for causing her tension so early in the morning.

Yezi stiffly smiles and unlocks her door stepping out. She shuts the door and heads to his boot to bring out her work bad- afterwards she goes back to the window and knocks on it. “I’ll call Dae and see if she’s available. Uh, do you mind picking me up afterwards?”

“Time?”

“Half past six,”

“Sure,” He nods his head but he can’t help when asking. “Will Jaehyun be with Areum?”

She stiffly nods her head and tilts her head to the side looking anxious. “I’ll talk to him during my lunch break. Thanks for telling me.”

For the next coming of days, Yezi is highly cautious of Areum. She tries spotting or even catching Areum when ‘humping’, but just like Jaehyun said perhaps Areum wanted to pee on those days that Jaemin picked her up. Jaehyun assured Yezi that Areum only acts like that when she really wants to use the bathroom. Her suspicion died down when Jaehyun assured her that Areum is a good girl and doesn’t know things like that- and if she did, then he would put it down immediately. And even when Yezi tried investigating by talking with teachers at her school, and with her dad and mum- they were confused by the brass topic. ‘How could she know such?’ They’d ask. Even when Yezi would hump the floor and ask Areum what was happening- Areum didn’t seem to know what her mother was talking about or even doing. So while Jaemin never brought it up again, Yezi was able to relax and hoping that indeed Jaemin might’ve seen Areum in her pressed state and in need to use the toilet.

However, for Donghyuck who constantly watches Areum rub herself on the bench when everyone’s gone gets bothered by it. Like his mother said, he tries to stay away from Areum as much as he can. But he can’t help it, when day by day it really looks scandalous. This little girl was being sexually abused and mind fucked by her uncle.

Donghyuck doesn’t know the depths of it, of how much the little girl knows, but it surely gets on his nerve every time he’d see the smirking uncle touch the girl. Areum, even though Donghyuck didn’t know her, was a sweet little girl who loved making friends with everybody. She was a little class clown who brought smiles to everyone’s faces. Donghyuck remembers when on one assembly, while the students were watching their entertainment of the week by some dancing clowns, Areum got up as well and began dancing- challenging the clowns, bringing smiles and laughter to everyone’s faces. Donghyuck even acknowledges how smart she is, from always getting golden sticker stars on her forhead to the amount of merit sweets she’d get- this tiny little girl was oblivious to the fact that she was being used by her uncle, all in the name of playing.

And so when approaching her after school past 3pm on a Thursday, he notices how tired she looks when dragging her pelvis slowly on the bench.

“Hey kid,” He pipes up with a tiny smile, causing her little drained face to meekly smile.

“Hi Mr Sunshine.” She tries smiling but she looks so tired.

Donghyuck takes a seat next to her on the bench taking a look at her. “No joke today?”

She stops humping hanging her head down.

In her lack of response, Donghyuck clears his throat speaking again. “Waiting for your uncle?”

She looks up and nods her head. Donghyuck feels strange watching her look so drained of energy before her gaze goes back to the ground. It’s silent for a little while before he speaks up again.

“Do you still play that game with your uncle?” The question itself makes Donghyuck itch the wrong way, but when Areum tenses up his face thickens with anxiety. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t like playing fuck with Uncle Jung anymore.” She murmurs out. “But he likes playing it.”

Donghyuck’s jaws lock before he tries asking another question. “Why don’t you tell your mum? Or dad?”

“Mummy likes him too much,” She answers. “And I’m scared she’ll be angry with me,”

Donghyuck finds himself feeling bad for the little girl. She must not have a father, and her mother might be a strict rich parent or something along the lines- Donghyuck thinks to himself. “I think you should tell mummy. If you tell her what uncle does to you, she’ll tell uncle to stop.”

She shakes her head timidly and looks nervous. “Uncle Jung will punish me. He told me to never ever tell mummy or else fuck will become harder,”

Donghyuck’s brows furrow in distaste. That fucker, he thinks. “How about this,” Donghyuck breathes in. “I can tell a teacher and then your teacher will tell your mum-”

“Nooo,” She shakes her head looking petrified. “Uncle Jung doesn’t like bad girls. If I’m a bad girl, he’ll punish me.”

Aside from her outburst in stress, Donghyuck can tell that something has changed in her. Whereas the first few days she looked content of the ‘game’, she now seems more reluctant. “Do you like playing that game?” He asks lowly.

Areum shakes her head before getting up from her seat when a black vehicle stops in front of them. Donghyuck is deep in his thoughts until a car comes. He bites his lip to hold back his anger, but he gets up and walks with Areum until her uncle is out the car.

“Hey puppy,” He greets with the pet name. Donghyuck’s ears are sharp when hearing the ‘happiness’ sip out of Areum. Poor little girl is so afraid that she even fakes her happiness. “She wasn’t a bother was she?”

Donghyuck’s head turns to the man and he shakes his head. “She never is. Hey uh, sir.”

“Yes?” Jaehyun peers back at the man after shutting the door when Areum gets in the backseat.

Donghyuck can’t find the words to say when looking at the little girl in the backseat. He only feels anger boiling in him. She’s trapped in the car with an abuser. “Whatever game you’re playing with her you should stop.”

Jaehyun’s head tilts to the side and he blinks. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me.” Donghyuck turns in his step and walks back to the school.

Little does Donghyuck know when Jaehyun gets back in the car he turns back to Areum who has her head hanging low. “Areum were you a naughty girl today at school?”

Areum looks up and shakes her head.

“Are you lying to me?”

She shakes her head again.

“Does that guy know about the game?”

Areum hesitates a little and her eyes look down. Jaehyun starts his car being angered. He doesn’t say anything except plays his jam as he drives back to his house whereby he’d stay with Areum until 18h30 and take her back home. Upon getting to his house, he helps Areum undress into the spare clothes her mother left over at his house, and begins assisting her with her homework. When they’re done, he allows her to watch tv while he works on his laptop. Initially, they’d have ‘play time’, but Jaehyun is heated with anger that he denies her request of play time and goes into his room. Not long after, Areum knocks on the door and pushes it open.

“I’m sorry Uncle Jung.” Areum apologizes when standing by his door. “I won’t tell anyone again.”

Hearing that, Jaehyun exhales lowly. Recently he started doing things a little bit different with her, perhaps it was too much for her. “What did you tell him? And don’t lie to me.”

She keeps her head down, being scared to look up. “I don’t know.” She admits. “That I play fuck with you and that you touch me here.” She points to her lower part.

(You can skip this part and go straight into part 2- it's overly gruesome and i felt disgusted writing this part. I'm not projecting that Jaehyun would ever do this in real life.)

PLAY: Season 2: Part 2

Jaehyun rolls on his chair and faces her. It took him only a few conversations for him to convince Yezi that he wasn’t doing anything inappropriate with her daughter. And truly speaking he wasn’t…he only liked to show Areum how her body worked and what she should do to relieve herself. He liked to touch…and see how she liked it. Aside from that, he didn’t think that he did anything wrong. She would soon forget about it as she grew up, but for now he was aroused at how the little girl’s body worked. Despite being so young, she reacted pleasantly to all the games they’d play together. He didn’t want to stop, and he surely enjoyed himself while playing with her- if anyone else found out about this, they’d have him imprisoned. “Do you want to see me go to prison?”

Her eyes widen and she shakes her head. “No Uncle Jung.”

“Do you want mummy to stop us playing together?”

She shakes her head.

“Then next time, don’t tell anyone. If you don’t like the games anymore, tell me and I’ll stop. But never ever tell anyone again, or I’ll be forced to punish you, and you don’t want to be punished right. Now come to me like a puppy if you want me to be good to you,” Jaehyun gives her a little grin before patting his thigh. She hesitantly gets on all fours and begins crawling to him. Upon getting to his feet she looks up to him sticking her tongue out looking just like a little puppy.

Jaehyun coo’s lightly and carries her over his lap before rounding his chair back to the laptop. “Did you try and relieve yourself today?”

She shakes her head. “No,”

“Bad girls don’t lie my puppy. I’ll ask one more time, did you relieve yourself today?” As Areum sits on his lap, he continues on typing out on his laptop of some orders that needed to be made from his car dealership store.

“I was trying, but I couldn’t.” She shyly admits. “Can I play on the horsey Uncle Jung?”

“I’m a little busy right now, but I’ll let you ride the horsey and then we can play okay?”

She eagerly nods her head, before Jaehyun man spreads his legs allowing Areum to scout over his crotch, she sits on his sleeping manhood and begins grinding on him slowly. Jaehyun grunts lowly and shifts his hips slightly up to give her better access. His member begins waking up when her tiny hips begins to grind faster. Areum closes her eyes, as her fingertips grip tighter onto his thighs as she feels the horsery waking up. She parts her legs a little to see the horsey bump. “Look Uncle Jung, he’s waking up.”

“He likes it,” Jaehyun mutters, now scampering to finish the package details and deals so that he can attend to Areum.

Meanwhile Areum’s body vibrates when it seems like she’s finally hit that spot that was always in need. She let’s out a cute tiny moan, just as Jaehyun hits send and shuts his laptop. “Good Girl.” He encourages when her humping weakens. “Do you wanna play the game now?”

She looks up and eagerly nods her head. Jaehyun picks her up and carries her out his study and into his room. He places her gently on the bed while he moves under the bed to pull out a box of his pleasing toys. He get’s out a pink dildo as well as pink vibrator. Areum’s eyes are already glistening with eagerness and she adjusts herself on the bed.

Jaehyun sets the toys on the bed and kneels down on the floor, pulling Areum to the edge on the bed. She smiles when he gets his hands underneath her skirt and over the strap of her panty. He slowly starts pulling them down while Areum as expected lays on the bed and bucks her hips up to help Jaehyun remove her panty quick. He lifts up her skirt, allowing him the full view and access of her tiny clean and hairless vagina. He stretches her legs seeing her it was slightly wet. He gets the lubricant and squirts out the lube.

Areum shivers by the cold slimy liquid pouring on her lower half. Even though Uncle Jung said that this liquid would help in easing his fingers inside, Areum thought it wasn’t working, since she’s been feeling so much pain. “Uncle Jung?”

Jaehyun snaps his head up being snapped out of the hypnotizing view. “Yes my puppy,”

“Please can you not put your finger inside me again. It hurts,” She mummers.

Jaehyun’s hands move up her small little legs before his thumbs play with her folds by opening and closing them. She was so beautiful, Jaehyun couldn’t wait until she became a teen, she’d have the most striking and juiciest of pussy’s. His thumbs play over her pussy lips mixing and spreading the lube everywhere. His face comes close and he looks up to her who has her eyes on the ceiling while biting her skirt that’s over her mouth. “Because you were a bad girl, I wonder what I should do to you,” Jaehyun mutters as his lips hover over her pussy. “Since you don’t want me to put my fingers… Should I eat you out?”

She disliked having him eat her, but it was better than his fingers. So when she feels warmth over her area she tenses up and squeezes her eyes shut. Jaehyun’s tongue laps over her pussy and he twirls his tongue over her little bud. He’s not soft at all when sucking in her bud and continues to rub his tongue over her whole core. She whimpers while hearing Jaehyun slurping down on her like some kind of meal. Jaehyun grips underneath her butt as he positions her closer to his devouring tongue. He makes her wrap her legs around his neck as he continues to lap at her quickly. The strawberry lubricant mixing with the slightly sweet taste of her own nectar. Jaehyun moans out, when her tiny whimpers begin to pick up and her own core pushes more into his mouth.

“Uncle Jung,” She gasps while getting closer to her edge, but like always Jaehyun stops and she’s forced to let out a whine by the unfinished arousal. Jaehyun smirks and unwraps her legs from his, his lips being wet and coated with lube and her own nectar.

“Because you were a bad girl, I won’t let you enjoy this,” Jaehyun smirks and picks up the vibrator. He switches it on watching it shiver as it begins vibrating. Jaehyun places the triangular shaped vibrating vibrator over the little whole. He carefully sticks it in- causing Areum to squeal delightfully as she bucks her hips into the vibration of the vibrator.

He places a finger over it and glides over her bud enjoying her exasperated faded stare. Since he couldn’t get it from her mother, then Areum was the next best option. Her expressions where fluid with passion. She held nothing in. She looked especially arousing that it just pushed Jaehyun over the edge a lot of the time.

Picking up the soft dildo (which he bought just for her) while his other hand holds onto the vibrator. While she gets closer and closer to her edge Jaehyun prepares himself for when he has to remove it. With one hand he places the lube over the tip of the dildo. And just as her legs shake he stops the vibration. She whimpers like a little puppy and Jaehyun smiles. “Uncle Jung,” She whines but he shakes his head with dark lustful eyes.

“If you didn’t tell, then maybe I was going to go soft on you, but because you told you’ll be punished.” Jaehyun states and directs the soft male dildo penis over her little whole. “Do you wanna ride the horsey?”

Despite being zooted out she still nods her head lazily and shuts her eyes again, preparing herself. Jaehyun prepares to place the dildo’s tip insider her like usual, but something comes over him when seeing the young girl being vulnerable with her eyes closed.

“Don’t open your eyes okay my little puppy,” At that she shuts her eyes tighter, just as he shifts himself and unbuckles his pants. Very slowly he slips his pants and boxers down before standing up and adjusting his cock that’s already rock hard. Using one hand, he places his palm over her eyes covering them from seeing anything, before groaning and grunting when setting his tip over the warm squishy hole. “Ah,” He lowly grunts. “Just the tip,” He whispers to himself, when together with the lube over her core, he gently pushes himself into her warmth.

Unlike the skinny dildo penis, his tip is slightly bigger and thicker causing her to gasp in pain. She tries to get up, but Jaehyun keeps her down, when he continues to slowly stretch up her walls and entering just the tip. He watches as his pink tip struggles to squeeze into the little girl’s hole, but he doesn’t stop as he continues on.

Areum at this point is grunting and squeezes her eyes shut her toes curling and the newfound pain. “Uncle Jung,” She barely manages to get the words out her mouth into a loud audible phrase as the pain consumes her.

What was supposed to be the tip, happened to be half of his dick slowly being riled in and out of her. Jaehyun can tell that she’s passed out because her body is non-responsive to the pain, but he’s not worried because it’s not the first time she’s passed out. And so without having to worry of whether she sees or not he removes his hands from her eyes and continues thrusting in a slow pace until her tiny whole that wraps around him invites him in to slide easily. He only places his dick by half inside of her watching the bulge form on her belly with each and every new thrust.

PLAY: Season 2: Part 2

(i'm truly sorry for that whole scenery.)

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[sweetiesicheng]

jaehyun - one morning

word count : 521

happy jaehyun day ! who cares about Valentine’s Day anyways?

-

"y/n! open the door!" you heard someone pounding on your front door. you opened your eyes and huffed out a sigh before sitting up. "y/n!"

who the hell comes to my house at seven in the morning?

even though your pillow was calling your name, you got out of bed and walked out of your room. you walked up to the front door and looked through the windows to see jaehyun standing there with bags in his hands.

you unlocked and opened the door, "what?" you asked, squinting at the brightness.

"good morning to you too. i'm making breakfast," jaehyun said and let himself in. he slipped his shoes off and put slippers on.

"oh sure, come on in and make breakfast. it's not like you woke me up and just barged into my house or anything," you sarcastically spoke. you closed the door and locked it again before walking away from the front door.

you heard jaehyun moving about in the kitchen but ignored him and went back into your room. you plopped down onto your bed and instantly closed your eyes, not even bothering to crawl beneath your blanket because of how tired you were.

-

after what felt like a long time, you woke up when you heard jaehyun walk into your room.

"i made food."

"sleepy," you spoke.

"i made your favorite."

you instantly sat up, "waffles with cinnamon sugar?" you asked.

you stared at jaehyun, who was wearing your apron. he nodded his head and grinned.

"come on, let's go," he instructed while walking out of your room, leaving the door open.

you bolted out of the room and followed jaehyun into the kitchen. you saw a bunch of plates with food on them.

you tied your hair back and sat down at the table while jaehyun waited for another waffle to finish cooking in your waffle machine.

"i can't believe you showed up and just made breakfast," you said to him before turning back to look at him. he had his back to you.

"you literally told me to come over and cook breakfast for you when we were on facetime last night," he replied and put a freshly made waffle onto one of the plates in front of him.

"but i was really just craving waffles, you didn't actually have to come over," you said and leaned your head back. jaehyun turned around and bent down so he could kiss your forehead.

"a "thank you" would suffice," he said to you.

you laughed, "thank you, babe."

"you're very welcome," he said and kissed your forehead again before taking the apron off and sitting next to you.

you drank some coffee, "you know, you should wear an apron more often," you said to him.

he stuffed with face with some pieces of waffle, "why?" he asked.

"you look pretty good in it. next time, wear the apron without a shirt on," you grinned and jaehyun rolled his eyes at you.

"hell no," he said.

"please?"

"maybe.”

"i'll take that as a "yes"," you said to him and both of you continued eating breakfast together.

#sweetiesicheng #sweetiesicheng nct #nct #nct u #nct 127 #nct jung yoonoh #nct jung jaehyun #jung jaehyun #jaehyun #jeong jaehyun #nct jaehyun #jaehyun fanfic #jaehyun x oc #jaehyun x y/n #jaehyun x you #jaehyun x reader #jaehyun fanfiction #happy jaehyun day #nct 127 jaehyun #kpop #nctzen #nct x you #nct x y/n #nct x fanfic #nct x reader #nct fanfic #nct fanfiction #nct 127 x y/n #nct 127 x you #nct 127 x reader

[lilithaban]

heavenly

pairings: jungwoo x female reader

— filo setting (written in taglish)

🖋: bf au, smut, slight fluff

warning: mature content, profanities, unprotected sex, language, fingering, nipple sucking—minors🔞

posted: october 02, 2022

————————————————————

It was October 1st when you forgot you had a date with your boyfriend, Jungwoo, at his favorite restaurant. You can't help but groan because you're trying to make time for him despite your hectic schedule in the fashion industry.

Tangina, baka naghihintay na sakin si woo.

Kaya naman after shoot sa vouge ay agad kang nagpunta sa parking lot at pinaharurot na ang sasakyan. Hindi na siya nakapagpaalam sakanyang mga kasamahan at manager kaya’t naisip niyang itext na lang ito. And you didn’t bother to change your silk satin dress with a long slit at the side of your left leg.

After an hour of driving, you arrive at the restaurant, and your gaze is drawn to your lovely boyfriend. You approached the man who was admiring the mountain view in front of your table. He didn't even notice you standing next to him until you kissed his cheeks.

“Baby I’m sorry the shoot was delayed kaya i’m late. I’m so sorry.” you apologized

When he sees you, the man's eyes light up. He quickly grabs your waist and made you sit on his lap, causing you to blush.

Agad ka namang tumingin sa paligid mo at tanging mga staff na busy at mga iilang mga customer lamang ang naroon. “Oh my god woo can you please let me go? we’re at a restaurant for petes sake” you whispered

But he didn’t listen to you instead he give you a peck on your lips. “I love you so much.” he smiled

“I love you too” you smiled back

While the two of you are eating napansin mong medyo pinagpapawisan si Jungwoo at mukhang hindi mapakali sa kinauupuan niya.

“What’s wrong baby?” you asked

When he gives you a serious look, you raise your brow. "If you're finished, let's go. You owe me something today, you little kitten," he said as he dragged you out from the restaurant.

When you're both inside the car, he grabs your cheeks and squeezes them. You simply smiled at him as he looked at you sweetly.

“I’m sorry kung hindi kita nasundo from work,” he eyes looks so sincere. “I should have picked you up from your shoot.”

Your heart shrunk as he apologized to you after making you drive yourself here. Hinalikan mo siya sa labi atsaka ngumiti. “No, don’t blame yourself baby it’s my choice naman na wag magpasundo sayo dahil galing ka pa from grandma’s house so I should be the one to apologize since late akong nakarating.”

Agad ka niyang hinila at niyakap. “I love you so much ok?”

Ilang minuto rin kayong magkayakap hanggang sa naramdaman mo ang maliliit niyang halik sa leeg mo. You tilted your head to give him more access.

“Hmmm you smell so good.” he said between in kisses

Marahan kang napaungol nang kagatin niya ang leeg mo. Naramdaman mong bumababa ang kanyang kamay pababa sa bewang mo atsaka maingat ka niyang inangat at pinuwesto sakanyang hita. You place your left arm on his shoulder, then your right arm on his abdomen, feeling every corner of his abs.

Something is growing beneath your cunt. Napangisi ka dahil alam mong iisa lang ang mangyayari nito kaya mabagal mong sinayaw ang katawan mo sa ibabaw niya.

“You pretty little naughty kitten, you really know my weakness don’t you?” he said then he kissed your nape. Nagsitaasan ang balahibo mo dahil sa nararamdaman mong init habang hinahalikan ka niya.

While you're enjoying his kisses on your nape, he abruptly stops making you feel deprived. "Why did you come to stop, baby?" I can already feel the heat eh!” you rant

Even his laugh aggravates your throbbing heat. "Don't worry, baby, I'm not going to hold back. I just wanted to let you know that you owe me something for coming here in that slutties dress you have. And as punishment, I'll drive you to heaven."

“So, punish me, baby.” you smiled

“Fuck it I love you so much.” Then he crashes his lips to yours. Jungwoo began to invade every corner of your lips. You moaned in between kisses when he pushed his tongue on your mouth.

Nagespadahan ang mga dila niyong uhaw sa isa’t isa dahilan kung bakit mas namasa pa ang kaibuturan mo. Para kang lalabasan nang kagatin niya ang ibabang labi mo at napalakas ang iyong ungol.

“hmmm” he mumbled

His kisses left marks from your neck to your bare shoulders. You quickly unbutton his polo shirt while he's kissing you there. He stopped kissing you and helped you in undress himself. After you finish your agenda you slowly pull down your dress to tease him.

You saw how his eyes worship your naked body.

His hands travel down to your breast touching every corner of it. “You are so beautiful baby but at the same you’re a very bad girl today. So I’ll punish my baby ỉn every possible way”

You smiled at him sweetly and placed his wrist to your lips. His eyes widened when you sucked his finger. Sucking it up like a lollipop and his cunt.

“What a sight,” you heard him chuckle. He added another one to your mouth and you gladly welcome it

“Yn I’m so sorry pero tangina ang init ng bibig mo,”

Matapos mong magsawa sa kanyang bibig agad mong sinunggaban ng halik ang kanyang mga mamula-mulang labi. Bakas sa bawat ritmo ng paghagod ng labi niyo ang pagkamiss sa isa’t isa. Dahil na rin sa busy ka ngayong buwan sa pagiging modell ganun din ang kay Jungwoo. Sobrang hectic ng schedule niya dahil sa suno-sunod na project niya bilang Mechanical Engineer.

Habang naghahalikan kayo naramdaman mo ang kamay ng nobyo mo sa puke mong naglalawa na. Kahit na may suot ka pang underwear ramdam mo pa rin ang magagaan na paghimas ng daliri ni jungwoo roon. Napapagiling ka na lang dahil sa hatid na kiliti ng mga daliri ni Jungwoo.

Hindi ka na nagulat nang sirain ni Jungwoo ang underwear mo. “You are wearing this kind of underwear again hmm… are you expecting me to make love with you today baby?” he smiled

He then placed you on the back seat and sat on the ground, facing your wetness. You watched him lick his bottom lip before turning his eyes to you and smiled innocently.

“No—-“ hindi mo na naituloy ang sasabihin mo nang ilapat niya ang kanyang labi sa puke mo. Habang nilalantakan ng nobyo mo ang ibaba mo at napahiyaw ka nang biglang magpasok ng isang daliri sa loob mo si Jungwoo habang kinakain ka niya.

“Oh shit yes right there! oh my god!”

“Hmmm baby more,” hirap na hirap mong sinabi habang malugod kang kinakain nito

He licks and eats your pussy with such intensity. It's like he's driving you to paradise, and as a good partner, he's now doing the gods' work for you. And slowly you feel something building up.

"Shit I'm coming baby"

And then you feel something sticky on your pussy after a few seconds. You're still delirious after your boyfriend's intensive pussy eating session.

"You taste so sweet, my lady." Jungwoo smile then he clean your wetness by licking every corner of it. Your whole body still shaking from it and you're not still

“And now I’m gonna take what is mine”

You only smiled lazily because you’re still shaking and catching your breath with the intensive pussy eating session. While he’s fixing himself on your entrance something comes on your dirty mind. You began to touch yourself and you shamelessly moaned to tease him.

While you’re doing the work Jungwoo’s glaring at you because he doesn’t really like it when you touch yourself because he said that it was his job to pleasure you.

“Fucking hell baby, stop doing that,” he angrily said then quickly insert his big dick on your wet cunt that made you scream.

“Oh my fucking god! Baby!”

He only smiled then he slowly pushing his dick in and out. Sa bagal ng galaw ng nobyo ay siyang unti-unting paggalaw ng bewang mo at sinasalubong ang bawat ulos nito. Agad ka naman hinawakan nito at hinalikan sa labi.

“Hmmp please faster Woo” you pleaded

You saw how his eyes turn dark when you said those words. And without a seconds his thrust become more heavy and faster like what you requested. Sunod-sunod na ang pinakakawalan mong ungol kaya’t hinalikan ka ni Jungwoo para mapigilan ka sa pag-ungol.

“Stop screaming baby, everyone’s gonna hear you”

You only nodded then you tilt your head as jungwoo’s kisses go down to your neck leaving hickeys on it.

You are about to tell him not to give you hickeys when he cut you. “Nah ah, i’m giving you marks so those asses will avoid you. Because at the first place you’re mine alone. I’m the one who’s going to eat and pleasure you.” he manage to say while his thrust went more faster.

Mas lalo mong pinigilan ang ungol mo nang sipsipin ni Jungwoo ang utong mong tayong-tayo at ang kamay nito na marahan na hinihimas ang puke mong naglalawa na.

“Oh fuck baby right there”

“Baby I’m coming”

Hindi mo na maipalagay ang ulo mo sa sobrang sarap ng pagkantot sayo ni Jungwoo. Kaya’t hinawakan mo ang pisngi niya atsaka hinalikan ng mariin dahil baka kapag hindi mo ito ginawa masasaksihan ng mga tao sa restaurant na may ginagawa kayong milagro sa parking lot.

“I love you baby I’m coming. I’m gonna fill you up ok?” he gently said. His thrust turn sloppy and you feel the liquid on your wethole. Agad na lumayo si Jungwoo sayo atsaka nilinisan ang kalat na ginawa niyo.

“Thank you for this baby. I love you so much.” He gently said while he hugged you.

"I love you so much, Woo," you sweetly said before kissing his lips. You both turn quite as you catch your breath after that heavenly session. And then you suddenly remembered something you wanted to tell him.

“Baby?”

“Hmm?”

“I think I want to get married and have kids with you.” you suddenly blurted out and stared at him. He look so shocked because he really can’t believe what he heard from you.

"Are you sure about that? I'm going to lock you up on my arms once you say yes. "I'm going to be more possessive and clingy to you," he said solemnly, looking at you in the eyes.

You slowly nodded “of course, I really want it and besides we’re not young anymore. So I wanna see you hold my child. I love you so much Woo,” mahina mong sinabi

Naramdaman mo ang mainit na yakap ni Jungwoo sayo. “Ok then we’ll get married and have babies.”

“But first I’m gonna fuck you and will bring heaven to you.”

#nct #jungwoo #nct jungwoo #nct smut #smut #filo au #filipino #kim jungwoo #nct 127 #nct127 smut #nct u x reader #nct x oc #filipino author #jaehyun #haechan #jaemin #jeno lee #johnny suh #jeno #mark lee #ao3 #fanfics

[hirayaaraw]

Masterlist

Compilation of all my works.

Jaehyun (NCT)

Unbreakable Ties Series

Mark (NCT)

First Love

Wonwoo (Seventeen)

Please Bother Me

You Are My Home

Of Taxes and Marriage - 2, 3

Jeonghan (Seventeen)

Fall From Grace Series

It All Ends Here

I Love You Like This

#seventeen scenarios #nct scenarios #kpop scenarios #nct angst #nct fluff #jaehyun angst #jaehyun fluff #jaehyun x oc #seventeen angst #jeonghan angst #wonwoo scenarios #wonwoo angst #wonwoo fluff #kpop masterlist