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nctsjiho · 1 year

Text

Going Home

cw: strong language, mentions of blood and injury, <10k words || era: December 18, 2022

❀ Sometimes it takes a while to realise who your actual family are, and sometimes you realise it when it's just too late

Chapter I:

“Last night there was a reported hit and run in the outskirts of Seoul in the direction of Incheon. The hit vehicle crashed into two other cars, causing a massive crash. Thankfully only one person was heavily injured, the four other victims: a mother with her daughter and two young males, were only lightly injured.

“The crash that occurred at the beginning of a bridge caused major damage to the infrastructure of the bridge. Police have closed off that bridge and authorities are clearing the scene. The perpetrator who caused the crash has not yet been found.

“All traffic heading towards Incheon Airport has been safely redirected. Those who planned on travelling out via this bridge are hereby warned to head out to the airport earlier to assure a timely arrival.”

“Wow, that’s insane,” Haechan reacted in a breathy tone after hearing the news. “To think those people were probably heading out on holiday and now they have to spend time at the hospital.”

Taeyong nodded with a tight-lipped hum, he patted the youngest on his shoulder before sitting down next to him. “I hope they’re all well.”

It was cold in the practice room. The thermostat had only been turned on when the first of the members arrived for their dance practice session. Something about the air in the room today didn't sit right. Maybe it was the frosty weather outside, the equally uncomfortable temperature inside or the exhaustion the members were feeling with their packed schedule, but the mood really wasn’t feeling right at that moment.

“Where are the others?” The leader looked from Haechan to Taeil, who both shrugged their shoulders, yet before Taeil could vocalise his unknowing, the door of the practice room swung open.

“I’m sorry we’re late!” Mark heaved and stumbled into the room.

Taeil chuckled a bit at the younger man’s frantic exterior. “Don’t tell me you actually ran up here.” It wasn’t even a question, more like a statement out of incredulity which had Taeil hardly suppressing a laugh.

“We were in the car,” Johnny said as he pushed past Mark. Jungwoo and Jaehyun followed him shortly. “Did you hear the news about the hit and run? It’s crazy.”

Haechan mimicked Taeyong’s earlier tight-lipped hum in acknowledgment, “yeah we’ve heard.”

“So we were listening to it and came up here as soon as the report was over.”

Noticing Mark struggling with his bag and belongings, Taeyong stood up to lend him a helping hand. Mark mouthed a quick thank you, mentioning briefly how his morning had already been so hectic and he couldn’t seem to keep it together. Taeyong offered him a comforting pat on the back and told him he should take a few deep breaths. Mark complied and after having collected himself, showed Taeyong a grateful smile.

“That makes us seven out of ten. Any ideas where the rest are?” Taeyong asked the whole group.

The boys all shook their heads bar Jungwoo, who spoke up, “I’m not sure, but I think I remember Doyoung mentioned he had something to attend to before noon. I don’t know about Yuta and JiHo though. Should I call?”

Taeyong shook his head dismissively. “They’ll get here soon enough, let’s start warming up already.”

Practice was in session not long after. The members started warming up and began going over choreography. About 15 minutes in, Doyoung and Yuta joined. They seemed distracted and Taeyong took note of it, but didn’t mention it out loud. The practice wasn’t even halted, they just continued on and the two latecomers joined wordlessly so as to not waste any time.

Once the first break arrived all the members went to their own corners of the room for a water and snack break.

“You two good?” Taeyong checked on Yuta and Doyoung who both nodded. “Did you hear anything from—”

“The mother who got injured during last night’s hit and run in the direction of Incheon was willing to explain the incident.” The voice of the female reporter sounded from Haechan’s tablet.

“We were heading towards the airport, me and my daughter were going to visit family in Europe. It was fairly empty on this road, since people usually go from the main road. I just remember a car to the left of me, and I think also one behind me. Suddenly I heard a loud noise and the car left of me hit my car. I only remember hearing another car speed by and they didn’t have any lights on. The next thing I know, I was checking on my daughter and we tried to exit the car safely. Luckily we were able to get out easily. Me and my daughter only had some bruises and I had a little cut from the glass of my side window that shattered.”

“Mother and daughter are safe and were able to catch another flight to their destination. The two young injured men have been successfully treated for their injuries in the hospital. The last victim is still in the hospital, getting treated for injuries.”

Once the reporter stopped speaking the room began filling with murmurs. Some of the members were discussing the news, while others had conversations about entirely different things in general.

Yuta didn’t realise he was drowning out the other members’ voices, preoccupied with his own thoughts until something caught his attention.

“—JiHo, so I’m not sure.” Doyoung was talking, but Yuta couldn’t connect enough elements to figure out the context. This was noticed by Doyoung, who placed a hand on the older man’s shoulder and with a chuckle—not necessarily one out of amusement—he asked if something was wrong, “are you okay? You seem spaced out.”

“No,” Yuta began. “It’s nothing. Just… I don’t know anything about JiHo either—”

“Guys!” A loud high pitched voice cut Yuta off. All the members present turned to the door where they found a heaving Sihyun.

Another one, Taeyong thought as this had been the fourth person he had seen walking into this room who looked like their whole morning was filled with misfortune.

“What is it?” Johnny asked carefully as Sihyun had a difficult time speaking any words. No one was sure if it was because she had been running and was out of breath, or because of what she wanted to say.

“Have any of you guys seen JiHo?”

Chapter II:

“You don’t have to leave,” Yuta pouted playfully. He had a hard time hiding his smile as, even though he did feel a bit sad about JiHo returning to her apartment, he was happy she was in a better place than a month prior.

“You say that, but I’m pretty sure Doyoung is annoyed with me hogging his bed 24/7,” she deadpanned. However, the second she made eye contact with her fellow Japanese friend, the two broke out in laughter. “I think I’m messing with that homebody’s safe space too much,” she confessed.

“You can sleep here as well.” Yuta patted the bed he was sitting on—his bed.

In response JiHo scoffed, turning back to his desk where she was looking for her phone charger. “You kick me out every time you want to sleep. No thank you.”

“Hey! I don’t do that. It’s just that you hate me hugging you in your sleep and I need my space,” he countered. As he spoke those words though, he started to realise how contradicting they sounded. “Okay, so maybe we’re not great sleeping buddies, but if you go back to your apartment, who’s going to cook for me? And our movie nights? And game nights! Those are fun, although Haechan always hogs your attention and it’s getting annoying. That tiny boy needs to learn his place—”

Mid-ramble Yuta noticed how JiHo wasn’t responding to him. His eyes scanned JiHo’s unusually stiff figure until he realised what she was doing—or rather what she had seen. “JiHo, it’s not like that—”

“Like what?” Her voice had dropped an octave and there was no emotion in it. She turned around and was holding a small stack of envelopes. “What are these doing here?”

Taking a deep breath in, Yuta stood up and took a step closer, but JiHo moved back instantly. “I— Okay, I got them from your biological parents. They tried to visit you in Japan and I didn’t think you wanted them to, so I told them to leave. They gave those to me.”

JiHo took a few moments to let the information settle before she spoke up. “Japan? When exactly? At the beginning of the year?” When Yuta nodded affirmatively, JiHo scoffed even louder. There was a scowl on her face as she eyed him with anger. “Why didn’t you at least give them to me?”

“I was planning to. Believe me,” Yuta pleaded, trying to reach out to hold JiHo’s hand, but she shook him off. “I just didn’t know how you’d react or—”

“Well, now you know,” JiHo said and grabbed her suitcase, rolling it behind her as she walked out of his room.

“JiHo!” Yuta called after her, but she didn’t answer. She didn’t even look back as she closed the front door behind her and left the dorm.

Defeated, Yuta plopped down on his bed, cradling his head between his hands. He felt like an asshole for not letting the younger girl know about the letters, or that JiHo’s biological parents had tried to visit her, but if he was being honest, he knew that he wasn’t even planning on doing so. He lied to her.

Yuta never wanted to tell JiHo about her biological parents. They weren’t good people, they didn’t have good intentions. All he wanted was to protect her from them. Although he knew that that wasn’t his place nor call, he just wanted to be selfish. He and the members had been around JiHo for so long, caring for her, loving her, he didn’t want JiHo to meet those people who would give her an empty promise of doing what they had done for so many years. He wanted JiHo to see the boys as her family, he didn’t want her to reach out to those fake parents.

Too lost in his thoughts, Yuta fell asleep that night without changing out of his clothes. When he woke up that following morning it had already been close to noon. There was a lingering headache that made his every move that much more painful, more than the muscle ache of sleeping in an uncomfortable position for many hours.

As the late morning progressed he had pondered on whether or not to reach out to JiHo. He wanted to know if she reached her apartment safely last night, but the memories of their fight halted him. JiHo probably didn’t want him to call her. He had probably broken her trust and she must’ve been very angry at him—the anger in her eyes that looked at Yuta was still imprinted in his mind. He had to, however. It would’ve made him an even worse person if he didn’t at least check on her.

Just as expected, his call went to voicemail. JiHo didn’t want to talk to him, Yuta was sure of it. However, he hoped that she had at least seen the call attempt and knew that he was putting in an effort, but that thinking process even sounded selfish to himself. Yuta coined all his thoughts and actions towards JiHo as selfish. That’s just how I am, he thought.

Chapter III:

“What do you mean?” Yuta asked with a shaky voice after Sihyun had run into the practice room asking for JiHo. “Is she not at home?”

Sihyun turned to Yuta as he heard his voice and shook her head. “No… She isn’t,” she answered, but sounded confused.

“Did something happen?” Doyoung mimicked her confused look, sensing the weird atmosphere in the room.

Again Sihyun shook her head and took a step further into the room. “Why are you guys looking like that at me? It’s just that I’ve been setting up for JiHo’s birthday surprise and I don’t want it to get ruined.”

It took a second before the boys all sighed with a sense of relief. “God, you scared me, I thought something happened.”

“OH! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you guys, but… Wait. If JiHo isn’t here and she isn’t at home? Did anyone call her?”

Yuta raised his hand hesitantly, “I called her earlier, she didn’t pick up, but I…” Everyone eyed the Japanese expectantly. “We got in a little fight yesterday night so I think she doesn’t really want to talk to me.”

Taeyong sighed in a mixture of relief, acknowledgment, but also pain. “That’s why you’ve been acting so strange,” he said as he patted his friend on his shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. It’s hard to get JiHo that angry. She either didn’t see it or she’ll get over it quickly.”

“No, Taeyong. You don’t understand. I really fucked up this time.” Yuta’s eyes were wide before they turned down into a frown. It was clear to Taeyong—and the others—that whatever happened between Yuta and the female member was weighing on him.

“What happened?” Mark asked curiously. Of course he wasn’t beyond realising the weight of the situation, but he would be lying if he said he wasn’t actively curious about what had happened. He would have to admit that when Yuta turned to him and let out a deep shaky sigh that he almost felt bad asking, but he thought that it would be best for his friend to air his worries.

“I spoke to JiHo’s biological parents more than half a year ago… during our concerts.” The gasps of disbelief from the members had Yuta lowering his head in shame. He knew that the boys had already made up their minds and thought badly of him for doing so. A comforting hand from his leader, however, had urged him to continue explaining. “JiHo sent them letters when she felt lonely, when she couldn’t see her actual parents. Her biological parents gave me the letters and I never told JiHo about it. I kept them and JiHo found them last night.”

There was tension in the room. It mostly felt like a feeling of shared sadness, but there was a clear air of disappointment and something akin to anger. The latter was very prominent coming from Yuta’s immediate left, where Doyoung stood and let out a scoff.

“Wow,” the Korean sarcastically commented. “Way to go, Yuta.”

“Hey! You would’ve done the same if you were in my position,” Yuta turned to his so-called friend. “If you met those people, you wouldn’t have wanted them around JiHo even for a split second.”

“You should’ve told her about it at least.”

“Don’t act like you’re a saint and never make dumb decisions.”

“You—”

“HEY!” Haechan suddenly yelled, catching everyone's attention. “What Yuta hyung did was dumb, but you can’t say you would’ve handled it differently when you never had to be in his place. Now, it doesn’t matter anyway. We don’t know where JiHo is and I don’t know about you guys, but it’s starting to get a little concerning to me.”

Mark turned to his friend who was heaving a little and put his arm around his shoulder comfortingly. Taeyong nodded in agreement before looking at Yuta and Doyoung and then at the rest. “I’ll call JiHo, see if I can reach her. Sihyun, you can continue preparing for JiHo’s surprise and the two of you—” Taeyong turned to the two members who were previously yelling at each other “—please make up, there’s no need to fight because of this. I’m sure you both are already stressed enough.”

Taeyong disappeared from the room alongside Sihyun, leaving the other members to themselves. “I’m sorry. I’ve just been feeling off the whole day. I slept terribly last night and,” Doyoung sighed. “I just hope things are fine.”

Yuta pulled the man in a quick hug, which Doyoung reciprocated immediately. “No need to apologise. I understand.”

Despite the two men reconciling, the mood in the room still felt a bit off. The members either stood in place, staring at whatever it might be, or were pacing around trying not to get in their head too much.

It proved rather pointless, because with every passing minute—Taeyong was taking a while—the boys grew more uneasy. They were all worried, but Johnny noticed one member in particular seeming to have an ever harder time. “Hey,” he said in almost a whisper. “You don’t seem too well. Is something on your mind?”

Yuta looked up at his taller friend and released his lip that was held hostage between his teeth. He shook his head from side to side, his eyes unfocused and darting around the room. “It’s just that…”

“Just that what?” Jaehyun stepped forward once he noticed Yuta’s expression. It looked like the Japanese man was about to say something, but had a hard time letting the words come out. “Did something come to mind?”

Jaehyun could act all calm, cool and collected as much as he wanted, but the tone of his voice gave him away immediately. He was panicking on the inside, scared that something might have gone wrong. His faked exterior immediately crumbled, however, when Taeyong entered the room with his phone held up high telling the members he wasn’t able to reach JiHo.

“Yuta, speak up,” Doyoung quickly urged.

The man eyed his friends first before he opened his mouth to speak, “Maybe—”

“The victim who was sent to the hospital with major injuries after last night’s hit and run case in Seoul is recovering well. The young man was in the driver’s seat of the first car that got hit with his two other friends in the back of the car. He will be able to leave the hospital by tomorrow. All victims of the crash will be able to spend their holidays safely with their families and friends. The police are still searching for the perpetrator.”

As soon as the female voice got cut off, Yuta let out a huge sigh of relief. Mark’s eyes widened once the realisation set in after he connected Yuta’s earlier demeanour and actions. “You thought that person was JiHo?!”

Mark’s voice boomed through the room, louder than it ever had.

As if caught red-handed, Yuta started to stutter out words defensively. “It wasn’t ruled out! I just thought there was a possibility JiHo might have gone to the airport because she wanted to see her parents,” Yuta’s loud and defensive tone diminished with every passing word. He looked around at his friends and once again dropped his head in shame. “I didn’t want to think like that, but perhaps hearing her biological parents tried to reach out… JiHo might’ve wanted to get in contact with them.”

Although Yuta sounded meek and defeated, the way his voice started to tremble and his words started to mix together, it was clear he had been insanely stressed and in his head before and that his emotions were finally catching up to him.

“Hey hey.” Mark took a step closer and called out to Yuta in a gentle voice, “you were just worried and scared. Let’s just be happy that it wasn't JiHo.”

Yuta shook his head and pressed his eyes shut tight—tears were starting to run down his cheeks. “I still shouldn’t have thought like that. If I even thought it was possible, why didn’t I do anything?”

Mark pouted and looked at Doyoung with a lost look. He didn’t know what to say or do, so opted to hug the Japanese man instead. Doyoung gave Mark a firm nod and with his own hand softly patted Yuta’s back. “You couldn’t have done anything in such a situation anyway. Let’s focus on actually finding JiHo first.”

As on que, Taeyong entered the room with his phone in hand. He was already shaking his head from side to side. “I can’t reach her.”

A collective sigh came from the boys. At this point reaching JiHo started to feel like an urgent matter, but if she wasn’t going to pick up, it did not matter how many times the boys would call.

“Let me try,” Haechan suggested, although having the same mindset as the others. Taeyong was about to say that the idea seemed almost pointless at this time—although he wasn’t against trying a few more times—when Haechan had already pulled out his phone and dialled JiHo’s number.

He tried 3 more times after that and each time the boys looked at him with held breath. The last time though, something was different. It didn’t take about a minute or two before the call went to voicemail.

“What happened?” Jaehyun asked with much urgency in his tone.

Haechan looked as pale as a ghost as he looked up to his older members. There was a confusing mixture of emotions displayed by him and his voice came out meekly as he answered, “it went straight to voicemail.”

Chapter IV:

JiHo slammed her hands on the steering wheel as soon as she sat down in the car. It was Yebin’s car. Yebin, her manager who had gone on pregnancy leave. Her fiance didn’t allow her to drive so Yebin had nicely lent JiHo her car for now.

It was a nice car, though nothing special. Something affordable and big enough for a kid or two in the back seat. JiHo would’ve decided on something else for a car of her own—if she was allowed to at least. This car was nice, but she wanted a car in which she could get away from life for a moment. A car which she could pretty much live in whenever life became too much. Just like at that moment.

She looked at the stack of envelopes on the passenger’s seat before letting out a scoff and immediately turning on the engine. In barely a minute she was on the street already. Despite it being the weekend, the streets of Seoul were rather empty. That shouldn’t have been surprising, noticing the time of day—rather night—it was.

~“Last night there was a reported hit and run in the outskirts of Seoul in the direction of Incheon. The hit vehicle crashed into two other cars, causing a massive crash.”~

Driving was something that went like autopilot for JiHo. One moment she was still in the parking lot, the next she was pulling up at her destination.

Destination…

Driving was so much like going on autopilot that JiHo sometimes didn’t even realise where she was heading. Usually it was just driving from her apartment or the boys dorm to the company, or returning home from the company. Sometimes JiHo would drive to personal schedules or if she just wanted to go out somewhere on her own. She didn’t have a car though, so it was a hassle to ask a manager for permission each time she wanted to go somewhere. If only she could buy her own car. Her father didn’t approve of the idea. Something about it being too dangerous. “Dangerous my ass,” JiHo mumbled to herself as she relived the arguments with her father about the topic in her head.

There was a nice song on the radio. JiHo hummed along with it, letting her body steer the car to wherever it wanted to go.

~“We were heading towards the airport, me and my daughter were going to visit family in Europe. It was fairly empty on this road, since people usually go from the main road.”~

The road she was on was not the one going to her apartment. That much she was sure of, but even though she was aware, even though she mumbled it to herself that this isn’t the way home, it was like her mind wasn’t connecting the dots. She just continued driving.

“God—” JiHo cursed as she had to hit the brakes suddenly. A car in front of her slowed down abruptly before its blinkers changed from the right to the left. With the sudden movement she heard something shift to the side of her. Looking back down at the passenger’s seat she was confronted with her own handwriting. She didn’t have to look closely to know what it said.

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Dubois

It’s me, JiHo. I was wondering if we could meet up one day.

JiHo internally cringed. She didn’t know whether she was more disappointed that she ever wrote it, or that she was still wondering about how her biological parents had reacted when they first read the letter.

“They probably didn’t even care.” The words she spoke were those to comfort her. It did little to do so however because JiHo quickly felt a hot tear on her cheek. She sniffled and wiped the tear away before really focusing on the street in front of her again. “How did I get here?”

In front of her were two cars. Despite this place being a bit further than the main road—JiHo wanted to be on the road for as long as possible—it was a pretty big road. Three lanes wide, but JiHo was in no rush. She continued behind the car on the most right side, heading towards the bridge.

~just remember a car to the left of me, and I think also one behind me. Suddenly I heard a loud noise and the car left of me hit my car.~

A loud screeching noise came from JiHo’s side. She barely had any time to look up before the four headlights started to blur into one big mess. There was rumbling, the sound of metal bending and screeching and scratching and getting crushed. JiHo tried to keep her eyes on the lights but it quickly became impossible.

The lights started to disappear to the left side of her vision and she felt her body get shaken until she couldn’t see any light anymore.

Chapter V:

“Should we call the police?” Mark suggested, earning some of the boys attention.

“We could, but they might not act on it immediately,” Johnny answered. His face looked like one of worry. It looked like he hadn’t slept in days, yet it was easy to pinpoint the source of his concern.

“I can’t sit here any longer, I’m gonna head out,” Jaehyun said as he grabbed his jacket.

“And do what?”

“I don’t know. Something?! We can sit here all day and wait, or we can try to go out and find her,” Jaehyun stated firmly. When he looked his leader in the eyes, however, his whole semblance shattered. He dropped his jacket and shook his head defeatedly. “Hyung— I just don’t have a good feeling about this. Just sitting here makes me feel useless.”

Taeyong nodded, pulling the taller man into a hug. “I know, but for all we know JiHo is just at the gym blowing off steam, or with a friend. JiHo is a smart girl who needs her distance sometimes. Let’s take it step by s—”

A ringing noise sounded from behind Taeyong. Turning around, he found Doyoung looking down at his phone confused. “Who’s that?”

“I don’t know, I don’t recognise the number,” he mumbled confusedly.

“Maybe it's a sasaeng?” Taeil commented with a slight scowl. It was true that lately the boys and JiHo were getting more sasaeng calls. If it weren’t the usual fan girls that bothered them, then it was this new fan who just called and didn’t say anything. As if to taunt them.

Doyoung shrugged, but decided to pick up the phone anyway. “Hello?”

The boys all watched as Doyoung took the call, trying to understand what was going on by watching his facial expressions.

“Car? ... Black car? … I’m sorry, I can’t— Wait, I’ll step out for a sec—” Doyoung stopped dead in his tracks before asking the person on the other side of the phone to repeat themselves. “No… I, you must be mistaken. There were only 2 cars—”

“On further investigation the police were able to find a third vehicle that was involved in the hit and run last night in Seoul. The car was found about a hundred metres down the side of the bridge. There seemed to be only one passenger in the car. The victim’s condition is not yet known.

“It took the police several hours to find the last vehicle. The car was not immediately found since there were no direct traces suggesting more than 2 vehicles involved, as well as the side of the bridge being very overgrown and there being many trees making the last car difficult to spot. They will do an extra search, expanding the search area to make sure no one else is left unfound.”

Frozen in his spot, Doyoung looked Taeyong dead in the eyes. His eyes were filled to the brim with tears and he had completely forgotten about listening to what the person on the phone was saying.

“Doyoung?” Taeyong whispered, but his friend still couldn’t say a thing. “Please talk to me.”

Before long, Johnny snatched the phone from Doyoung’s hand and held it up to his ear. “Yes? … Yeah I’m— I’m her brother.” As Johnny said that he couldn’t look his members in the eyes and so he turned his back on them and continued talking to the person on the phone.

“Hyung, what’s going on?” Haechan asked in almost a whiny tone. It wasn’t the usual playful tone he carried, but a genuine pained sound. “Can’t you tell us what happened? What did they say?”

Just a few seconds later Johnny turned back to the group. “Taeyong, Yuta, Doyoung?” He looked at the three, calling for their attention, but the latter didn’t budge. “Let’s go.”

The three stood there in shock, unsure of what to do, with Taeyong and Yuta eyeing each other nervously.

“COME ON! If you don’t come I’m taking someone else with me,” Johnny yelled loudly which made Yuta and Taeyong move instantly. To help Doyoung out, the leader pulled him by his arm, only partly getting him out of his trance.

“What about us?” Jungwoo asked in a soft, shaky tone.

A sigh escaped Johnny’s lips and he glanced over the room once again. “Okay, one more person can fit in the car with us. The others, ask for the manager to bring you.”

The other members nodded after they pushed Haechan towards the older members. “Where to?” Mark asked. He sounded almost scared to ask the question and when the response came, his apprehensiveness felt not unwarranted.

“To the hospital goddamnit! Where else to?” Johnny had never been this upset—this angry. When he got angry he’d always try to compose himself, using sarcasm or trying to joke about it to lighten the mood. This time, however, every sense of trying to stay composed—trying to be fake—was thrown out of the window and it was scary.

“Yeah. I’m sorry,” Mark had whispered to himself when he noticed the group leave the room without much of a second glance. Jaehyun was by his side in seconds to give him a pat on his shoulder, but when Mark looked up he didn’t see Jaehyun look at him with a comforting or reassuring gaze. The man himself was dying of nerves. He was just as scared as the rest.

“Let’s just go,” he stated short, earning affirmative hums and nods from the boys as they looked for a manager to bring them to the hospital.

Chapter VI:

“I’m sorry, this many people aren’t allowed in here. It’s family—”

The nurse had barely any time to state the protocol when 5 intimidating men were towering over her. If it weren’t for the clear tears, red eyes and clumped-together eyelashes, the woman would’ve called security without a second of thought.

“We’re her family, she’s all she’s got here.”

The woman nodded nervously before looking down at her clipboard. “A—And who’s family is it that you are?”

“Lim JiHo’s,” Taeyong answered in Johnny’s stead. It wasn’t like Johnny was unable to answer, but his height and clearly sour mood was making the nurse severely uncomfortable to the point Taeyong needed to step in. Johnny was tall and really scary at this moment, but he wouldn’t hurt anyone—besides possibly the person in charge of what had happened—Taeyong just didn’t want anyone to misunderstand his American friend.

“Lim? Lim JiHo?” She continued to leaf through the patient documents until she found the right name. “Oh—” Her expression was all but satisfactory.

“What does that mean?” Yuta asked, a clear waver in his voice. He felt the blood in his veins run cold and cold beads of sweat form on his hairline.

The nurse ushered them towards a waiting room—secluded and cold—before telling them to sit down. “I’ll need you to wait here, I’ll send you JiHo’s doctor immediately.” Before the boys could utter another word the nurse had run off already.

“Hyung,” Haechan whispered as he softly poked Doyoung’s shoulder. The latter turned around to look at the younger man, revealing his bloodshot eyes to Haechan despite not having many tears rolling off his cheeks. “Are you okay?”

Doyoung shook his head. It was the clearest answer he had given since the phone call. “I’m not,” he then voiced his answer. “But that doesn’t matter. All that matters is JiHo.”

Haechan nodded, but felt like it was not right. It seemed like Taeyong felt the same way as he reached out to Doyoung and caressed his arm. “I understand, but you have to stay strong as well. JiHo needs you that way.”

The two best friends shared pained gazes between each other and although not by much, it still felt a bit comforting to Doyoung. His mind couldn’t stop thinking about the what if’s and the maybe’s, but at least he didn’t feel alone.

“Hello good sirs,” a doctor said as he approached the five men. He didn’t share any other niceties and went straight to the point. “As you know JiHo was in that car crash?” When the members nodded, the doctor continued, “as she was found much later she wasn’t in good condition when we found her. She was still awake though not able to respond verbally. We brought her here and she’s currently in surgery.”

“What took them so long?” Yuta asked as soon as the doctor finished speaking, but his tone didn’t hold any hostility. He was genuinely curious as to why they had to suffer so long before being called to the hospital and could only imagine how long JiHo had to suffer alone in that car wreck.

The doctor made a gesture of acknowledgement and answered, “JiHo was found about an hour ago. We, the hospital staff, did think it was for the best to keep this information from the public until we found the family of the victim.” He let out a deep worrisome sigh which had the boys at the edge of their seats. “When the police found her and when she was brought into the hospital JiHo’s injuries were too severe to clearly identify her at first. The police couldn’t find any other identification on her until they found her phone a few more metres away from the car. When they charged it they found your number in it and during the surgery one of the doctors recognised her as well,” he explained. “I’m sincerely sorry about how this process has been going so far.”

“Do we have any updates on her so far?” Taeyong asked and the doctor’s brows settled into another frown.

“JiHo’s condition is still unstable. The surgery is getting wrapped up by now, but just surgery alone won’t make her better. She needs a lot of rest and possibly more surgeries. Due to the severe trauma to the head we have decided to put her into a coma.” Doyoung gasped and jumped out of his chair at the news even if his legs felt like they could give in at any moment. “Without it she won’t make it. She had been bleeding a long time before the police found her. It’s a miracle she even stayed awake for that long.”

“How big are the chances of her being back to normal with a coma?” Johnny asked.

Again the doctor sighed and placed a hand on Doyoung’s shoulder. “JiHo’s a really strong girl. The chances aren’t zero, but it will be really hard for her.” Doyoung dropped his head at the words and scared that he might fall, the doctor gripped both of the idol’s shoulders to keep him up. “It all depends on how hard she fights and seeing the support she has I’m sure she’ll put up a great fright.”

Without many more words said, the doctor excused himself and left the room. A nurse informed them that they could go visit JiHo in her room in about 10 minutes from then and offered to bring Doyoung some water since he started to look very pale. The members politely declined the offer and sat in the room waiting for any developments.

Chapter VII:

A droning in her head woke JiHo up. As she tried to open her eyes she was only met with blackness. At first she wasn’t sure she had even opened her eyes, but as she started to make up the interior of the car she realised it was just dark outside.

Her phone had been placed on the passenger’s seat along with the envelopes, but when she looked to her right instead of seeing those items, she was met with what looked like a branch of a tree. The passenger’s side window was indeed shattered and several branches and bushes were covering that side of the car, making it even darker inside.

With a sigh JiHo went to lean her head on the window on her side only to notice that the glass had also shattered. “Fuck,” she whispered tiredly. A piece of shattered glass had grazed the side of her head, not quite enough to leave a cut or even a scratch, but it was the contact of the glass and her skin that caused all the feeling in her body to return.

JiHo felt a hot stream of liquid on the side of her head. It didn’t take much for JiHo to realise it was blood, her own blood, that covered one side of her face. She tried to move her hand to press the wound shut, but her limbs felt unusually heavy.

“Oh God, please help—” she tried to pray but her words got cut when she heard something in the distance. She noticed the sound of her phone, someone was calling her but she couldn’t pick up. Her phone wasn’t in the car, the distance of the sound made her realise that.

JiHo didn’t know how long she was in the car. She had heard a lot of noise coming from the distance, and what sounded like sirens, but when she was still there after the sun started to come up she wasn’t sure if she had only imagined it.

Despite the sun coming up, her vision hadn’t gotten any clearer. The temperature in the car had dropped significantly from the night as the warmth the car had provided escaped through the shattered windows. Thankfully she was still wearing warm clothes and the pain in her limbs and head were still providing her some semblance of warmth. The sun which just hid her windshield provided a little warmth as well.

At this point JiHo could hear her phone ring more often. It was almost as if the sound was teasing her. She couldn’t see her phone and even if she could, she wouldn’t be able to reach out. At some point she felt like she was getting delusional. She couldn’t possibly be hearing her phone, she normally put it on silent anyway. Yet she wanted to believe her members were worried about her. Although she remembered the way she ran out of Yuta’s room and thought that maybe she had acted a bit childish. Yuta must have had his reasons, and JiHo started to understand why he possibly did what he did.

The ringing sound of the phone was drowned out by a sudden ruckus. It sounded like a group of people, but not one of the voices sounded familiar to her.

“There’s someone here!” was all JiHo could really make out between all the shouts and for the first time that night she was sure that she at least wasn’t imagining those people. She could hear them, she could feel them and eventually she could see them. “Hey, are you okay? Can you hear me?”

JiHo only blinked in response, not having the energy and seemingly not even the ability to respond verbally. “She’s awake! We need to get her out now…” The man continued to speak to the other people, but JiHo could only focus on the fact that he looked so much like Johnny. He wasn’t as tall and he didn’t look as fit as Johnny, but his facial structure reminded her a lot of him. “Hey, we’ll get you out of here. Just stay awake, hmm?”

That was the last thing she heard before she closed her eyes, hoping that she was in caring hands, hoping she would be reunited with her family soon.

Chapter VIII:

“You can go inside now, but I suggest only three people go in at a time,” the nurse told the group. At this point in time, the other four members had arrived at the hospital. The mood in the waiting room had grown indescribably cold after Taeyong had explained the whole situation to the others. That also gave the first five to arrive a moment to take everything in once again and it didn’t make it easier.

“Doyoung?” Taeil called for him and motioned in the direction of JiHo’s room. The younger one shook his head though and slumped back in his chair.

“I think I’ll go last,” he told them. “I need to mentally prepare for this.”

Although everyone knew he could never be prepared—none of them could—they didn’t refute his comment and let three other members go in first.

Taeil went in with Mark and Jaehyun. They stayed in the room for about five or ten minutes before they walked back out. They didn’t say anything and no one asked anything either. All that was clear was that the three looked more defeated, more tired, more sad after they went in—no words were needed to notice that.

The next three were Jungwoo, Haechan and Taeyong. They stayed inside for a little longer than the previous three and when they came outside Taeyong had to support a sobbing Jungwoo to the waiting room. He tended to him for a bit before Jungwoo suggested he’d go outside and get some air.

“I’m coming with you. I think I need to get out of here for a little while,” Mark commented and helped Jungwoo get up from his seat. The two friends walked side by side towards the exit at the end of the hallway.

Once they were gone Taeyong turned to the last three. Johnny gave him a small nod before heading in with Yuta under his arm. Hesitantly Doyoung called for Taeyong’s attention, “how is she?”

Taeyong sighed deeply. “Well…” he mused. “It looks like she’s just sleeping,” he explained and Doyoung nodded although he seemed a bit apprehensive. “She looks a little pale and I don’t like it that I can’t see her smile right now. She looks a lot prettier when she smiles,” Taeyong chuckled sadly as he tried to hold back tears. “She almost doesn’t look like herself, but I can recognize those freckles and birthmarks anywhere.”

Doyoung didn’t say anything as he looked in the direction of JiHo’s room. Johnny and Yuta were already inside, but Doyoung couldn’t get himself to move. “You need to go see her,” Taeyong said firmly, yet his voice still held sympathy and enough gentleness. It was enough for the others to share a look before deciding they should leave the two alone.

“I don’t think I can,” Doyoung answered honestly once Jaehyun, Taeil and Haechan left the room. “I don’t think I can see her today.”

Taeyong pressed his eyes shut as he fought his inner turmoil before taking a step closer to Doyoung. “If you don’t see her today…”

“What?” Doyoung snapped his head at the leader. “What are you saying? She’s not going to die, Taeyong!”

“You don’t know that,” Taeyong said exasperated.

“I do! Even if it’s 0.0001 chance it’s not impossible! She’ll survive!” Taeyong let his friend heave in silence. He did not speak, leaving Doyoung with his thoughts and concerns. “They said she wouldn’t have been awake for so long, but she was. She’s strong enough to get through this.”

“She did that because she wanted us to go see her. Doyoung if you see her state—”

“No! I don’t want to! She’ll be fine,” Doyoung yelled and let his tears run freely. He could barely see Taeyong through his blurred vision, but tried to look him straight in the eyes. “I need her to be fine, Taeyong.”

“So you just won’t see her? Why?”

Doyoung sobbed as he tried to answer Taeyong, who seemed eerily calm, but the truth was he just felt so lost and scared he didn’t know how to act. “I don’t want the last time I see her to be like this. I want to remember her being happy,” Doyoung whispered to broken cries.

“Doyoung,” Taeyong called out for him as he placed his hand on his arm. “I know it's hard, but… This could be the last time you see her— alive,” he choked on his last words. Just as he said it, Doyoung had looked up to make eye contact once again, but upon hearing those words, he fell down to his knees and shook his head.

“No, no, no…” he chanted to himself in pain.

“I’ll be by your side okay?” Taeyong whispered comfortingly and caressed his friend’s arms. The two sat there for a bit before deciding to finally get up. However, just as they were about to turn to the hallway a group of people started rushing through the hallway.

“Doctor! Room 245!” Doyoung and Taeyong looked at each other with horror in their eyes as a group of doctors and nurses headed towards the called room, the number being too familiar.

Taeyong and Doyoung both stood frozen before Yuta and Johnny walked out of the room with extremely pale complexions. “What—”

Before Taeyong could even ask his question Yuta shook his head. ��I don’t know, I— I don’t know, I don’t know,” like a broken record he kept repeating the words. Even when Taeyong told him to pull himself together, all he could say was “I don’t know”.

“Defibrillator needed in room 245!”

Doyoung stopped right in his tracks as he tried to walk towards the room before. He felt his body become instantly cold and he felt his breath get taken away. His palms were sweaty despite feeling freezing cold and his body started shivering. The tears that ran down his cheeks felt as if they were burning the skin beneath them. All he could do was watch as doctors ran into the room behind big medical equipment. Doyoung fell to his knees, not realising the blood curdling scream he let out yelling for his little sister, before his whole world became blurry and then turned black completely.

Chapter IX:

“I’ll stay with you no matter what,” JiHo smiled brightly as she traced shapes in the palm of Doyoung’s hand. “You don’t think you can get rid of me do you?” She giggled.

Doyoung didn’t respond, neither did he look at her.

“I don’t like it when you ignore me and you’ve been doing that a lot lately,” she pouted, but it was soon followed by another giggle.

Doyoung sighed. He felt exhausted, but he knew this wouldn’t stop. So he opened his eyes and looked at the girl sitting on the side of his bed. She immediately smiled upon catching his gaze and commented on it, “you look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

The boy hadn’t slept in days, his complexion was void of its natural colour and his eyes were dull. “Are you still not going to talk to me?”

Again no answer.

JiHo dramatically sighed, throwing her head back before leaning in really closely. All Doyoung could see were her eyes. The colours were still familiar and bright, but something wasn’t quite the same as before.

“I won’t stop bothering you until you answer! I won’t leave you alone! Even if you get sick of me!” JiHo sang in a childish voice as if she was testing his patience. Doyoung only blinked at her. “I promise you! I won’t leave you alone until you talk to me. Will you not talk to me?”

Doyoung wanted to answer with a no, but he didn’t. He didn’t want to talk to her. He didn’t want to give in even if his whole body, his heart and mind were telling him to talk to her.

“You won’t talk?” JiHo nodded her head before sitting back up straight. She tucked away her hair behind her ears and patted down her white dress before quickly reaching out for Doyoung’s hand again to continue tracing her nonsensical patterns. “Then I’ll stay here and continue to bother you,” she sang to no one in particular, but with a raised brow and a sly peak in Doyoung’s direction he knew she said to get a reaction out of Doyoung. “Fine… I’m not leaving though.”

Doyoung closed his eyes, to suppress the tears in his eyes from falling and smiled softly to himself. Don’t leave. That’s all I want. For you not to leave.

Epilogue:

“They found JiHo’s letters,” Taeil said as he walked inside the dorm. He dropped a stack of envelopes—some looking rougher than others—on the table. “JiHo’s biological parents sent the rest over that JiHo had sent them. I haven’t read them yet. Yuta has and he said you might want them.”

Doyoung’s eyes followed Taeil’s figure as he sat himself down on the couch. He took a few moments before turning his gaze to the envelopes. “How did they find them? I mean the letters that her biological parents didn’t send.”

The question wasn’t so heavy, yet the answer was and Taeil wasn’t sure how to bring it. Johnny was with him when he heard the news and he was angry yet collected. When he went to tell the news to Yuta—Shotaro was with him at the time—he reacted very badly. The younger Japanese member had to calm him down which was a struggle.

Now he was facing another obstacle. He was sure Doyoung wouldn’t take to the news well. “They caught the guy,” he stated simply.

“The guy? Who?”

Taeil pressed his lips together, not wanting to actually say it, but Doyoung needed to know. “The guy that caused the hit and run. Well… He’s actually the guy who caused the fire in JiHo’s apartment that time—” Taeil flinched at Doyoung’s loud gasp. The older of the two was almost afraid Doyoung was going to hit him with how he suddenly jumped up to the front of his seat towards him. “He—uhm—did it on purpose.”

“How did he know where she was going?” Doyoung asked and Taeil was actually surprised, yet confused, with how calm Doyoung was.

“He’s a sasaeng. Had so much stuff on JiHo. I don’t know the details, but he was either following her or he must have had a tracker on her. He’s put into custody right now.”

Doyoung jumped up and pulled at his hair in frustration and disbelief. “Sasaeng?! All he did was attempt to kill her! Why would he even—UGH!”

Taeil sighed and put his head into his hands, propped up against his thighs. “I don’t know— Doyoung,” he called out when he noticed him pacing in front of him. “The police will do their job, but I need you to read this. Shotaro and Yuta translated it, but I think the other thing that’s inside is more important.”

Doyoung’s eyes darted from Taeil’s to the letter and back at him. The older one gave him a nod to urge him to grab it. He hesitated for a few more seconds before taking it. It was a clean letter, no tears or creases, just a simple ivory envelope with a bit of weight to it. Aside from the main letter, Yuta and Shotaro’s translation was added on a separate piece of paper. Doyoung chuckled, comparing Yuta’s still neat handwriting to JiHo’s elegant one. JiHo always had great penmanship even back in 2018 when the letter was dated.

Mr. and Mrs. Dubois

You still haven’t answered any of my letters. At first I was disappointed, but I understand now. You gave me up because you didn’t want children, so maybe you despise the fact I’m writing to you now. Or you moved into another building and my letters aren’t reaching you—I have reasons to believe otherwise though, because my niece is still in contact with you and told me this is not the case. Whatever it might be that makes you ignore me, today it doesn’t bother me as much. As you know I have debuted in my group now. At first I was a bit jealous of how close they were to their families and each other, but recently I started to feel like I belonged. I used to send you letters because I wanted a family that was close to me and didn’t lie about not being able to visit—I’m sure my parents have their reasons, however, that doesn’t change anything about me not being able to see them in real life. Yesterday me and my group members had dinner together and Doyoung called me his little sister. Yuta said he would still bother me like an older brother when we grow old and Taeyong said I’m part of the family now. Maybe I’m living in a temporary state of delight and tomorrow I’ll face the reality that I’m just some girl who these talented people have to deal with, but today I’m feeling happy. It doesn’t matter, because I saw the sincerity in Doyoung’s eyes. He might have laughed after he said it, but he seems to really care about me. Johnny as well! He looks like a big scary guy but he’s the sweetest. He promised to let me drive his car when I’m older, but I’m guessing papa told him about aunt Danny because Johnny was a bit hesitant when I asked him about it again. You do know about aunt Danny right? She died in a car crash when she was really young. If you didn’t know, I'm sorry to tell you right now… SO, papa told me I was never allowed to have my own car and that if I died in a car crash he would kill me. Pfft, that sounds a bit dumb no? Hahaha, I know he’s just worried, but something like that doesn’t happen as much as people think. I’m getting a bit off topic, so I’ll wrap it up quickly. I’m super happy being around my members lately. They take good care of me and I feel like I’m at home with them. That’s why I wanted to say that as long as I’m feeling this way I won’t send any more letters. I always send you letters because I want a family, but I feel like they are here for me more than any of my actual family has ever been. That might sound a little rude, but I can’t apologise for it. It’s the truth.

Stay well! I hope I don’t have to send you any more letters

- NCT’s Lim JiHo

Doyoung smiled sadly and pulled out the last item out of the envelope. It was a collage of pictures of her and the members of NCT back in 2018. Doyoung laughed when he saw the picture of JiHo and him wearing matching shirts with one of them saying “sister” and the other “brother” and JiHo’s unamused face. At that time, he absolutely despised those shirts as well, but seeing JiHo hate them even more was amusing to him.

Doyoung bit back a teary smile as his eyes scanned all the pictures of JiHo with him and his members. Taeil had taken notice of that and sighed softly, “you’re allowed to be happy and smile at those memories.”

Doyoung nodded, but continued to force his smile back down, “I know. It just feels inappropriate at the moment.”

“You’re right,” Taeil said as he stood up. A confused look was plastered on Doyoung’s face as he eyed his older friend. “Let’s go visit JiHo.” Doyoung smiled softly and picked up his coat that had been thrown over the back of the couch.

The two weren’t so quiet as they made their way to the front door—not that they were trying to be—garnering someone’s attention. One of the bedroom doors in the hallway swung open, revealing a dishevelled Haechan. He eyed both men before his eyes widened. “Are you going to visit JiHo?” Taeil hummed in response. “I’m coming with you!”

The older two smiled as they watched Haechan stumble across the living room, grabbing his jacket from where he had abandoned it earlier. “Why do you so eagerly want to come?” Doyoung inquired softly.

Haechan gasped and placed a hand on his chest. “Why would I not want to come?” he countered, but both of his members didn’t answer. “I just—” Suddenly Haechan had become a bit more bashful. “I had a dream about JiHo yesterday and I just felt like singing for her today. Maybe it’ll make her smile,” he explained with red cheeks.

As Taeil cooed, Doyoung scoffed in amusement. “You know she can’t smile— nor hear you, right?”

Haechan nodded, but after putting his shoes on pulled both of his hyungs out the front door. “I know, but maybe in spirit she will hear me and she’ll smile.”

Although Taeil—and the other members—knew Haechan was hurting just as bad as the others, he couldn’t help but admire how positive and strong Haechan had been. He really had become a source of strength for all the other members, even though he sometimes also needed a person to lean on.

Taeil looked at both of his younger members and couldn’t suppress a smile and as he ruffled the youngest’s hair he answered him with, “I’m sure she will”.

---

masterlists: main masterlist || jiho.writings masterlist

#jiho.writings #nct 24th member #nct addition #nct female member #nct imagines #nct 127 imagines #nct additional member #nct female addition #nct added member #nct additions #nct extra member #nct angst #nct 127 angst #kpop!addition #kpop!oc

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satureja13 · 4 months

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Saiwa, Jeb and Kiyoshi went over to the library after Jack had called. Vlad: "Gods, Saiwa. What about your background story being the Professor's wife? You look like a student dressed to entice her two professors for better grades!" Saiwa: "Yeah, since Kiyoshi is back we needed to adjust. And staid and bland isn't my style anyway ^^' " Jeb: "..."

Saiwa: "So Jack, what about that Star Wars book is so important to drag us away from Kiyoshi's cat therapy?" Jack: "I'm glad you asked!" And then Jack showed them excitedly the story of Vlad and Ji Ho's meteorites. Saiwa: "Val and Jino? I don't know. And you can barely see their faces... And how are the writers of such trashy sci fi novels even supposed to know about that?"

Jack gasped in dismay: "Trashy sci fi novels? Ach! I don't even talk to you. Jeb, please, conjure me a copy, hm? You are my best friend and..." Vlad: "What?" Jack: "Uhm - my second best friend and..." Ji Ho: "What?"

Jack: "Oh ehm - you're like a brother to me! Please hm?" Saiwa: "Oh my! Just do it Jeb before he drives himself even deeper in trouble... I'm like a brother to you, you little brat!" Jack: "Aww yes you are! Thank you! This book explains everything! And you know how much I love Star Wars. And Vlad and Ji Ho are my favourite ship!" Saiwa: "I thought Jeb and I are your favourite ship!" Jeb, saving the day: "All step back a bit, Copypasto spell incoming!"

'… Well, you came and opened me And now there's so much more I see And so by the way I thank you Oh and then for the times when we're apart Well, then close your eyes and know These words are coming from my heart And then if you can remember

… Oh, keep smilin' and keep shinin' Knowing you can always count on me for sure That's what friends are for In good times and bad times I'll be on your side forever more Oh, that's what friends are for'

Dionne Warwick - That's What Friends Are For ft. Elton John, Gladys Knight & Stevie Wonder

And so Jeb conjured a copy of the Star Wars book and - just to be sure and since they're already at it, one of the old book about crystals too. They are still so amazed when Jeb does his magic ;)

Saiwa sent a digital copy of the crystal book to Rubyn. And since they'd used lots of unplanned spells today, they decided to leave the town full of Muggles tomorrow morning and move to a more concluded place in the countryside until they hear from Rubyn or Dtui. That's cheaper anyway. Saiwa, Jack, Jiho and Jeb spent the rest of the day at the ice rink...

And Vlad went for a walk with Kiyoshi. Maybe some of their impressions here would help to bring him back.

(The way he looks at Vlad :3) Vlad bought some of these delicious pretzels for the others <3 (In Nuremberg they have these special pretzels at the food stands in town. Not with grain salt but with powder salt. Oh my, they are amazing! Never had better ones.)

Saiwa was still revved up from seeing Jeb doing his magic (and he still had to make up to him) so they went to their room 'to pack their stuff together'. Student: "I've been a bad student, Professor... I forgot to prepare for the seminar..." Professor: "So what are we going to do now? I can't give you a pass on that..." Student: "Professor..."

Student: "Please, don't be so tough on me. I've never had a seminar before..."

Professor: "There's no way to avoid it..." Student: "I will accept any punishment for my deeds, Professor." Professor: "Any?" *Student nods*

Professor: "I will teach you how to do it." ... Saiwa: "Uhm Jeb?" Jeb slowly blinks his eyes open: "Hm?" Saiwa: "And my punishment?" Jeb: "You know I can't hurt you." Saiwa: "Oh..."

From the Beginning ~ Underwater Love ~ Latest 🛺 'Home crappy Home' from the beginning ▶️ here 📚 Previous Chapters: 🌴 'The Expedition' from the beginning ▶️ here 🎤 'Putting the Boys Back together' from the beginning ▶️ here 🥀 'Disbandment of the Group' from the beginning ▶️ here

#home crappy home #simlit #ts4 story #sims 4 #sims 4 story #simblr #ts4 #sims 4 vanilla #windenburg #underwater love #old town windenburg #saiwa #giga byte #jeb harris #kiyoshi ito #jack callahan #vladimir tepesz #woo ji ho

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dhystopia · 1 month

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@crue11 / cha seung & nam jiho .

Silence sits in the air like a HEAVY FOG ; dense , thick , suffocating . Hard to tell if it's preferable to the foul mouthed tirade spewed by their management not so long ago , he hates conflict & the way it makes his innards churn with hot sickly tar . There's a dip between furrowed brows , teeth gnawing on bottom lip while he cradles Jiho's hand within his own , turns it this way and that way and takes silent note of the blue - purple bruises that cause heart to constrict with silent woe . " You need to ice it . " It takes only a few hurried steps for him to dash to hotel room's barely adequately sized freezer and back again , ice pack in hand . Touch is as gentle as his nature , pressing cold to roughed up skin with the utmost care with downcast gaze daring only to look at what he is doing and not who he is doing it to . " I can't stand it when they shout at you . You shouldn't be punished for looking after me . "

#* ∙ ✇ ◞ 𝗗𝗛𝗬𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗣𝗜𝗔 ⁄ interactions .#he always so sad when jiho gets in trouble ok . especially when its over him .#anyway sorry this is like... rusty . real rusty .#pls love me while i remember how words work #crue11

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ffion451 · 1 year

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Chapter Seventeen: I’m the One | The Centre Cannot Hold: KTH (m)

Chapter characters/pairings: Taehyung x f!reader | AU/Genre: non idol au, angst, smut (see warnings below) see series m.post for fic summary etc.

Rating/Chapter warnings: ⚠️🔞 M - Adults only! 🔞⚠️SMUT (m/f unprotected sex - a little bit rough), mild threat, references to alcohol, foul language

Word count: 4.2K

Note: Sorry this chapter has taken a little longer to publish - it’s taken me a while to find the time and space to write.

<<< Chapter Sixteen | Chapter Eighteen >>>

…Minho, I’ll be back soon.

That’s what you’d said; he’d missed the beginning as you’d rushed towards him, struggling to make your words out over the thudding beats of this awful club that you’re so fond of. You’d squeezed his hand, your eyes alive with excitement and then you left him behind. As he settles with your friends at a table, he feels a little disconcerted: you’ve only been together a week and this is your first time ‘out’ out together as boyfriend and girlfriend. Why would you leave him behind? If he’s shocked by your absence, then he’s even more surprised to see Minho pull up a seat beside him, Aera close behind.

Wait, so where are you? Taehyung thinks, Weren’t you heading off to see Minho? His eyes scan the crowd intently, trying to find you but he can’t see you anywhere. Beside him, Minho notices and catches on, leaning in to speak into Taehyung’s ear.

“She’s saying hello to people from where she used to work,” Minho explains.

Frowning, Taehyung replies, “She said she was heading to see you.”

Minho laughs, “No - wrong Minho,” he’s about to elaborate when a large group enter and it becomes rapidly clear that all your friends know these people, even if Taehyung doesn’t. Soon they’re all off their feet, hugging and greeting this other group, leaving Taehyung sat alone. Taehyung looks over the incomers, not recognising any faces but one: Jiho. Great, Taehyung thinks, grateful at least that Siwon is nowhere to be seen, not that it really matters. As far as Taehyung is concerned, he’s won; you’re his and not Siwon’s.

Jiho seems to pay no attention to Taehyung, which suits him fine. For now, being neglected suits Taehyung, it allows him to continue to search the club for your face, a quiet anxiety building within him. His scouring gaze finds you eventually but the relief he feels is short-lived: you’re talking to two men, one he recognises vaguely from running into him with you in the past but it’s the other unknown man that seems to occupy most of your attention.

He watches the tall, unsettlingly handsome stranger talk to you and everything sets him on edge: this man is leaning over you, reacting to what you’re saying with beaming smiles; he seems to be trying to find any excuse to touch you. Each stolen touch seems to embolden him: gentle grazes of your hand give way to a soft grip on your elbow, then your shoulder as he creeps closer and closer to you in the packed club. Taehyung doesn’t like the way the man’s hand comes to rest lying flat across your shoulder blade, his finger tips grazing the exposed skin at the back of your neck. Who’s this fucker? he sulks, careful to keep his face impassive as his blood temperature rises.

He watches as the man laughs uproariously at something you say, spilling his drink a little on his jacket. You move quickly to brush it off at the same time as he does, your hands meeting and he doesn’t miss the way the man gently squeezes your fingers before he releases your hand from his. Do that again and you won’t have a fucking hand, Taehyung seethes: it takes all the restraint he’s capable of not to cross the club and throw what remains of the guy’s drink in his smug, handsome face. Taehyung grits his teeth, a muscle jumping in his jaw, wondering how much more he can take.

Stood only a few feet away from Taehyung, Jiho smirks, watching the scene play out, enjoying your new boyfriend’s discomfort. Jiho has no reason to like Taehyung and, unlike Song Minho and your other friends, feels no need to find reasons to. So what if you’re dating him now? That doesn’t change Jiho’s feelings. Entering the club tonight, his only thought was that you must be mad to prefer this ass to Siwon. Now though, watching Taehyung watch you, Jiho doesn’t think of Siwon at all, instead a quiet unease builds in him without easy name or reason; all knows is that there is something that feels off.

Jiho isn’t the kind of person to sit with discomfort and he’s decisive by nature: Taehyung unsettles him and wants to know why.

⍟ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⍟

“I didn’t realise you knew them,” you smile, indicating across the room to where your friends are gathered, “Come over and join us!”

Your former colleagues are more than willing, following you across the club where they catch up with your mutual friends, greeting each other with the same excitement that you’d shared to see each other after so long. As you approach, you quickly glance at your group, it shows everyone is stood chatting, but not Taehyung, he’s sat on a chair, legs spread wide. To anybody else Taehyung’s face is unreadable, completely blank and impassive, but you see the tightness in his jaw and you know he’s unhappy. Your eyes meet for a moment and he seems to relax, but then an arm wraps around you: Jiho smilingly guiding you into conversation, turning you away from Taehyung.

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Taehyung’s heart sinks as you are turned away from him. Fed up, he’s about to get to his feet and interrupt when he sees you politely stepping away from your friends, your hands aloft in apology. He can’t make out what you’re saying as you step away from them, only the traces of his name on your lips.

One song bleeds into another as you move towards him, the slow, low base of I’m the One by Bloo rumbling through the club. Meeting your eyes again and your smile, Taehyung smiles for the first time since he set foot in this sticky-carpeted hell hole. When you reach him you don’t hesitate to take a seat on one of his legs - automatically he wraps his arm around you to steady you.

He opens his mouth to speak, but with your index and middle fingers you trace his jaw line, from ear to chin, and suddenly he can say nothing, his breath catching in his throat. His only response is the need to touch you back; his grip around you tightening, his other hand coming to rest just above your knee on your bare legs. He allows himself a satisfied smirk as your fingers dip beneath his chin, tilting his face up: his lips part in anticipation and you don’t disappoint, your mouth quickly meeting his. He pulls you closer, his hand sliding further up your thigh as the kiss deepens.

When you break from the kiss you whisper along to the lyrics, smiling against his mouth, “Tell me that you love me…”

He’s quick to respond, “I love you,” he mouths back. You suck his lower lip gently into your mouth, nipping it gently before you kiss him again.

When the two of you resurface from each other he smiles broadly at you, “What was that for?”

“I missed you,” you admit, “I didn’t mean to leave you alone for so long.”

Your eyes are so clear, your voice so honest that he feels he ought to be too, “Who are the guys that took you away from me?”

“You know Kim Bum, we used to work together,” you say as he nods, “The other guy is my old boss, Lee Minho.”

Lee Minho… he thinks, That’s what you must’ve said. That was the Minho you were so excited to see, “You seemed very glad to see him,” he says evenly, trying to keep any hint of jealousy out of his voice. He ha a vague memory of you telling him about him, the former boss you had that was so wonderful…

“He’s a great guy,” you admit readily, “And was the best boss. We should go over and I’ll introduce you.”

“Why didn’t you just call me over?” Taehyung challenges, eyebrow raised. He wonders if you saw him seething jealousy and came over to appease him, the thought makes him feel a little embarrassed.

Even in the dark of the club he sees the blush flush across your throat as you squirm a little before you can finally speak, “It’s your fault, sitting here manspreading like that…” you admit.

Taehyung grins in relief. You’re still shy around him, but you’re getting better at admitting how you feel. He leans into you to whisper in your ear, “Tsk tsk… Let’s go say hi to your friends, then later I’ll take care of you, my dirty girl,” he smirks as he hears your sharp inhale, but when he pulls back and reads your face, he can see your excitement. He slaps your ass gently as you stand, interlacing his fingers with yours as he follows you towards your friends, happy to note that Jiho looks a little less smug that he had earlier.

⍟ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⍟

“Did you tell him?” Aera asks as you stand at the sinks in the washroom much later in the night.

“Tell him what?” you spare her a quick glance in the mirror before returning to check your own face, your make up a little smudged from the sticky heat of the club.

“Where you’re going next weekend,” she elaborates patiently, “Or are you avoiding it?”

You sigh, “I’m avoiding it,” you admit; eyeliner tidied up, you turn to face her, “I don’t know why.”

She smiles kindly, “I think you do… I think you know he won’t like it and he’ll ask you not to,” you wince a little and she knows she’s on the right track and so presses on, “and if he does, what will you do then?”

Your jaw sets a little, “I won’t give in to him,” you say stoically, ignoring her look of disbelief, “I’ll stand my ground. I know you think I’ll just roll over and do what he asks, but I want to see this through.”

Aera places a gentle hand on your shoulder, “Does he need to know yet?”

You know what she’s doing and are grateful for the options she’s giving you, the implicit message that she won’t judge you if you choose an easier path. You pat her arm, “No, I suppose he doesn’t need to know quite yet,” a look, heavy with unspoken meaning, passes between the two of you before you head back into the club.

You’re barely through the double swing doors that lead back into the main rooms when you part from Aera; she heads for the bar and you back to your table. You’re no more than a few steps from the floor when arms wrap around you from behind: your whole body tenses before Taehyung’s deep rumble reassures you, his lips pressing into your hair, “Come with me.”

He walks you gently backwards for the few steps it takes to have you back through the swing doors and into the dimly lit passage way that leads to the restrooms. A clunking thud of metal confuses you as Taehyung reaches for the fire door; your breath is stolen by the chilled night air as he guides you out into the alley beyond. It’s all so quick that you’re disorientated and confused.

The next instant, you’re unceremoniously pressed into the cold concrete wall, the rough stone scratching at your face as Taehyung presses you against it, pinning you with his body. His lips are on your neck, his rapidly hardening cock grinds against the cleft of your ass. He grunts as he sucks a large and visible bruise into your neck, marking you as his. Finally, breathless, he eases his attentions; removing a bar coaster from his pocket, hr folds it around the latch of the door before pressing it closed, “So we can get back in,” he explains.

The sound of the club is instantly muffled and so his hot breath against your ear feels amplified, his words reverberating through your skull, “I need you,” he growls.

“Like this?” You ask meekly, the question rendered redundant as he hikes your dress up over your hips.

“Like this,” he confirms gutturally as he undoes his belt, you feel the fabric of his trousers slide downwards against your thighs as they pool around his ankles.

Using his knee, he parts your legs wider before his hands come to rest over yours that cling to the wall. With surprising gentleness he guides your hands in front of your face, your palms splayed over the concrete, “Don’t hurt yourself,” he explains as your sore cheek presses against the back of your hand instead of the rough wall.

Then the gentleness his gone as quickly as it appeared: your underwear, damp with desire, is pushed swiftly to one side as he guides his tip through your folds, his fingers pressing against the head, guiding himself inside you.

“So wet for me,” he moans deeply, his other hand colliding with wall beside your head as the other grips your waist, holding you in place as he pushes the rest of his length inside you in one swift, hard thrust. As you cry out, he groans in satisfaction to be so deeply buried within you, his breath only rapid gasps as he controls himself.

“So fucking tight for me, good girl,” he praises before he begins. He fucks you without restraint, driving into you fiercely with rapid thrusts, his hips snapping against your ass, the smack of flesh against flesh resounding through the narrow space. You can do nothing as he has his way with you, only whimper his name. His grip on you is punishingly tight as he releases all the jealousy and tension that has built tonight through claiming your body. He hisses through his teeth as he rams inside you, spitting occasional words of praise and lust, overwhelmed by the tight grip of your warm cunt around his throbbing length.

He’s so forceful and out of control that you know he won’t last; this is frenzied, raw sex and his mind is empty of everything other than the need to come. Not long later the rhythm of his battering thrusts falters. He slams himself to the hilt inside you, making you half-scream, half-gasp as you collide with the wall, pressed tightly against it. The rough stone scratches your skin, your hard nipples sore against it’s unforgiving surface as Taehyung moans your name, coming hard inside you, fucking his cum as deeply as he can.

“Fuck, can’t get enough of you,” he gasps as he comes down from his high, pulling your underwear back over you as he slips out of your aching cunt, “Keep my cum inside you,” he instructs as he pulls his trousers back up, giving you the space to shimmy your dress back down your legs, your thighs pressed together.

As soon as you turn to face him, he’s on you again. He’s much more tender now, cupping your face as he kisses you deeply. The kiss is sweet, but you feel filthy when you clench in response, his cum running out of you and pooling in your underwear.

He presses his sweat-glazed forehead to yours, “You good?” he asks.

“A little sore,” you admit.

“Hmm,” he purrs, “Shall we go home so I can take care of you? Wanna fuck all my cum back into you, wanna make you come for me,” he murmurs, his lips finding yours again.

When he pulls away you simply nod and he smiles his bright little rectangular smile, “Let’s go,” he enthuses, pulling at the cardboard edge of the coaster so you can get back in the club.

Taehyung’s goodbyes are quicker than yours, but he’s not sorry for it. He smirks as he leans against the wall, watching you say farewell to your friends and former colleagues. He watches Lee Minho’s eyes flicker to your bruised neck, you squirm slightly, your legs pressed together. His eyes narrow as the man hugs you, and wonders if he can smell Taehyung on you… Does he suspect Taehyung’s cum is dripping out of you as you offer him that sweet, embarrassed smile?

He doesn’t miss that Lee Minho’s eyes are still on you as you turn from him, heading back to Taehyung. As he shrugs your coat on you, Taehyung smiles ingratiatingly back at your former boss, before subtly making a point to do up his fly with an embarrassed gesture; he wants to leave no doubt about whom you belong to.

His cock twitches in his pants as he guides you to the parking garage, and to his car. He reaches for the door handle to help you inside but instead, pushes you against the door lustfully, his mouth finding yours again. He kisses you for long minutes, his hand creeping between you. His fingers push your sticky underwear to one side once more, he plays with your clit and his cum in a messy combination as you pant into his mouth, whimpering as you reach your high. Seeing your glazed, fucked out expression is all he needs as he drives you back to his. He’s grateful that both Sam and Namjoon are away because he intends to fuck you until the sun rises, desperate to hear you cry out his name as you fall apart on his cock.

⍟ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⍟

“I hope we can hang out again,” Minho says as he shrugs on his jacket, “It’d be cool.”

They say their goodbyes and wave him out of the pub. With a tight smile, Siwon turns to Jiho, “Yeah, maybe not… He’s a cool guy but I don’t think that I want to see her and him together yet.”

Jiho nods, “You definitely don’t, he’s the possessive type. I don’t think you’d get much time with her without him pawing at her every five minutes or dragging her off to fuck her in a closet.”

Siwon purses his lips, “Hmm,” he says thoughtfully, “Well, as long as she’s happy I guess…”

Jiho leaps on his words, “Would you be happy with that?”

Siwon sighs, familiar with Jiho’s dislike of Taehyung, “It’s their business, not ours.”

Jiho rolls his eyes, taking a long swig of beer before signalling to the bar staff for another round, “You give up too easily.”

It’s Siwon’s turn to roll his eyes in response, “What are you talking about?” he questions, “Even when we were dating she was in love with him. There’s nothing to give up on. Anything she and I had going on is done. Finished. Over. Kaput.”

Jiho raises a brow, “Only while she’s still with him…”

Siwon laughs, “Yeah? And how likely is it that they’ll split?” he snorts, “To hear Jihoon talk, they’re crazy for each other.”

It’s no great leap for him to believe it. Yet, even now, after so much time, it’s still a hard truth for Siwon to own. He doesn’t blame you, you’d always been honest with him, laid bare your true feelings like cloth before him, Taehyung shot through the warp and weft of your heart. But then Taehyung had been a too-tight stitch, pulling cruelly and distorting the pattern and so, albeit foolishly, Siwon had hoped, hoped against hope that he’d find his way to your heart, a gentler force than Taehyung.

Jiho smirks, “For now, maybe… but only because she’s infatuated with him. If she could see him the way I do, the way he really is, if she would just open her eyes, maybe she’d feel differently.”

Siwon takes a long drink of his own beer, smacking his lips together before he replies, “Don’t get involved,” he cautions, “You won’t convince her of anything by saying you don’t like his vibes, you’ll just lose a friend.”

“Don’t worry,” Jiho advises, stretching back in his chair and nodding at someone entering the pub, “I won’t say anything for a while, and when I do it’ll be plain facts.”

Brow furrowing, Siwon looks over his shoulder at the man approaching their table before looking back at Jiho with puzzlement, “Who’s this guy?”

Jiho grins, his smile wolfish, “The bearer of truths,” he says cryptically, just as the man joins them. Jiho bounds to his feet, greeting the newcomer with a shoulder bump and a smile as he signals for another drink to be added to the order.

Siwon doesn’t recognise the man who bows politely to him, but he nods his head respectfully in reply. As they sit, Jiho makes introductions, “This is Choi Siwon, he’s my very oldest and closest friend,” Siwon smiles in response as the man half-bows again, “Siwon, meet Park Jimin, my newest friend - we have a shared interest.”

“Nice to meet you,” Jimin states as the beers arrive, while a confused Siwon nods.

“Do you want somaek?” Jiho offers Jimin, reaching towards the soju and shot glasses on the table.

“No thanks,” he demurs, “I have a really busy day tomorrow.”

If Siwon was confused about what was going on before, he’s puzzled further by the conversation that follows, Jimin elaborating on the plans he has tomorrow with you.

Irritated that he seems to be being drawn into some kind of scheme, Siwon interrupts, “So she’s the shared interest? What’s going on here?”

“No,” Jiho clarifies, “Our shared interest is Kim Taehyung,” Siwon doesn’t miss how Jimin bristles at the sound of your boyfriend’s name.

Turning his gaze to Jimin, Jiho’s voice drops confidentially quiet, “Jimin here was best friends with Taehyung back in high school, and has some interesting stories to share. Don’t you?”

Jimin grins, and Siwon notes it’s of the same shape of Jiho’s earlier one: the smile of a predator, “Oh yes,” he says sweetly, though acid bubbles beneath his soft voice, “Taehyung and I go way back. I know him better than anyone.”

Siwon watches the look that passes between Jiho and Jimin and his stomach twists in discomfort: he doesn’t want to be part of whatever is happening here, the atmosphere sets him on edge. He has the urge to call it a night and head home… Yet he doesn’t, remaining in his place, beer in hand.

In the time he was with you, Siwon came to care about you a great deal. At one time he hoped that you’d move on from Taehyung, believing if you did then you and he could have a real chance at something serious and lasting together. Siwon has felt the call of domesticity for some time now and it was all too easy to imagine you, with your soft warmth and kind heart as the woman he’d come home to. He’s let go of that hope now, but it’s left traces behind: he’d stitched you into his vision of the future, and though the dream has been unpicked, threads and fibres remain. That lasting affection for you keeps him in his seat as Jimin begins to unfurl his tale.

⍟ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⍟

Across town, oblivious to the machinations taking place, Taehyung smooths damp tendrils of hair from your face, noticing your knotted brow. He kisses your warm, flushed skin, hoping to ease your troubled dreams.

He’s grateful that this Friday night he’s had you all to himself, the rooftop picnic he’d planned for you two had been everything he wanted, just like a romantic scene from a drama.

You’re the one, you’re everything he could ever want: someone he can talk to and laugh with; someone who comforts him but also needs his comfort; someone who loves with the same deep passion he does; someone who’s soul shares the same language as his; someone he craves with a passion written into his bones.

He smirks to himself, remembering the point where the romance turned x-rated: his cock in your mouth and fingers in your hair; the soft mewls you made, your hands fisting at the blanket beneath you as he ate you out; the night breeze against his hot skin as he fucked you, long, slow and gentle under the string lights; the softness of jazz and sounds of the city below muffling your desperate cries as he drew orgasm after orgasm from you. Finally then, fucked full of his cum and exhausted, he’d bathed your aching body with his, your back pressed to his chest as the warm water soothed your sore frame.

Now, lying beside you, his cock twitches and he wants you again: he won’t take you though, you need to rest and he’s not an animal. He knows you have a busy work weekend, you’ve been vague about the details, but he can see how stressed and anxious you are about it. He’ll support you through it, having packed you treats to take away with you, ready for any possible craving or need you might have. This is new to him, being the boyfriend and doing all the things that people do in relationships. He loves it.

He loves you.

With a final kiss to your temple, he wraps his body around yours and drifts into a deep sleep that’s far more peaceful than your own.

<<< Chapter Sixteen | Chapter Eighteen >>>

#taehyung fanfic #taehyung smut #taehyung x reader #taehyung x you #bts fanfic #bts smut #taehyung imagine #bangtanwhq #btswritersclub #no minors please

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a-fence · 2 years

Text

Beside You

His love never felt right

Dabin has spotted the same girl in the crowd for several shows now. Sure, there are fans that attended multiple shows, but there’s just something about her that set her apart from the crowd. Was it the way she swayed to the music, or the way she seemed so absorbed with the music, like she felt it in her soul, or the way she held the eye contact as he looked at her through the crowd? He wasn’t sure, just that there was something that pulled his attention to her when he sees her while he’s onstage.

He spotted her at the after party and thought that maybe she knew one of organizers or the other artists because why else would she be here? He grabbed two drinks and the second he turned around, she’s gone. He sighed and thought maybe it’s not meant to be. He downed the two drinks he got and decided to go out for a smoke.

The bartender directed Dabin to the smoking area and he saw her out there. Maybe he still had some luck left for the day. He approached the smoking area, stood on the opposite side of the trash can and took out his pack of cigarettes. He didn’t want this to be his opening line, but after patting all his pockets, he just couldn’t find his lighter.

“Hey, do you have a light?” Dabin asked and the girl handed him her lighter. He flicked it but it sputtered out.

“Sorry I think I ran out. Here,” and she moved to stand beside Dabin, and used her own cigarette to light his.

“I think I’ve seen you in our shows more than once, or am I imagining things? I’m Dabin by the way,” he asked cautiously and he stretched out his hand.

“Y/N,” and she shook his hand. “No, you’re not,” she chuckled while shaking her head. “I was also at yesterday’s show, and the one two days ago. Although I don’t think I left that much of an impression for you to remember me in a crowd. All your shows are packed.”

“Well, you see someone in a crowd often enough, you start to remember them. Are you one of the organizers? I haven’t seen you at an after-party until tonight.”

“I’m with Jiho. I’m either sitting at the bar or out in the smoking area. Maybe we just didn’t cross paths until today.”

“Are you his stylist or something?”

“Wow, you really think I’m a stylist by the way I’m dressed?” she laughed. “I’m flattered, but no.” She hesitated to explain further. She just wanted to connect with someone else tonight.

“You’re dressed really well so you can’t really fault me for thinking you’re a stylist,” he complimented.

“Thanks,” she blushed.

She wanted to continue the conversation and she looked up as she tried to think of a topic and saw that the sky was clear tonight and that you could see some stars despite being in the city. She asked Dabin if he knew any constellations and when he said he didn’t, she started pointing out some to him. This led them to talk about their astrological signs and if they related to how their signs are usually described.

The backs of their hands brushed several times during that conversation, which made Dabin’s heart thump loudly. He really liked talking with her and thought he should ask her out before the night ended.

“Do you want to maybe get coffee tomorrow? The next show is in two days so we got free time,” Dabin asked.

She opened her mouth to respond when someone else arrived at the smoking area.

“There you are! I’ve been calling you ‘cause I couldn’t find you,” Jiho exclaimed.

Y/N pulled out her phone quickly to check. She felt her phone vibrating, she just deliberately ignored it. “Sorry I think I accidentally put it on silent.”

“Oh, I see you met Dabin. Hey man, this is my girlfriend, Y/N,” Jiho said as he draped his arm around her shoulders.

Dabin’s heart sank at Jiho’s statement and realized what she meant when she said she was with Jiho. He forced a smile and said, “How come I’ve never seen her?”

“Didn’t want you guys stealing her from me,” Jiho joked. “Anyway, we’re heading home now. See you at the next show!”

“It was nice talking with you Dabin.” She didn’t want to say goodbye but Jiho had his arm on her shoulders and she had to go.

Alone and with nothing to light another cigarette, Dabin headed back to the bar to find the boys. He spotted them and grabbed a chair to join their conversation.

“Was your girl in the crowd tonight?” Ian asked, eyebrows wiggling up and down.

“She was, but she’s not my girl,” Dabin said forlornly.

“What do you mean? You’ve been crushing on her the day you saw her,” Scott chimed.

“She was here at the bar and I found her and I was talking with her and the conversation was flowing and I asked her out for coffee but before she could reply, Jiho comes out to the smoking area and introduces her to me as his girlfriend,” he explained.

The boys’ eyes went huge. The news of Jiho having a girlfriend was just a big shock to them as it was to Dabin. Jiho could be pretty private sometimes but he and Dabin were close and he didn’t have any clue he was seeing someone.

Dabin continued, “I just… I felt a connection there. We maybe could’ve talked until dawn if only Jiho didn’t show up. When we parted, she held my eyes just a second too long, like she didn’t want to leave yet. He brought her to a party where she barely knows anyone and leaves her alone. She deserves to be treated better and I think I can do that.”

“Yo, chill. We barely know their relationship dynamics. You can’t judge them based on this one occasion. Maybe just befriend her for now and observe from the sidelines,” Cream reasoned.

They only had three shows left with Jiho before he’s replaced by Hyuk as their guest and Dabin had to make those count.

The smoking area became their unofficial rendezvous point after each show where they talked about nothing and everything in between. Dabin introduced her to the rest of DPR and to the organizers and other staff, something he thought Jiho should’ve done.

After the introductions, they hung out with the rest of DPR. They told her how DPR was formed and they asked her if she could tell them about her and Jiho but only if it was fine with her but she told them anyway. Jiho joined in after a while and he corroborated her stories, shocking them at how well they were able to hide the relationship.

Jiho’s last day of guesting meant that'll be the last time Dabin saw Y/N and he has been conflicted the entire morning and up until the before the show began if he should tell her his feelings or not.

He found her at their usual spot and he asked her if she wanted to go to the rooftop as the view was nice from there. She agreed and Dabin’s heart pounded louder and louder as they neared the rooftop and he kept on glancing at her to check if she could hear how loud his heart is beating but she just continued walking up the stairs.

They were both leaning on the railing admiring the nighttime view, and Dabin turned to her and stated, “Today’s your last night.” She just nodded in confirmation, still looking ahead.

Dabin swallowed before continuing, “I really enjoyed spending time with you and I know it might be wrong to say this now but I just don’t want to regret not ever telling you. I like you, Y/N.”

This caught her attention and she turned to Dabin. “Thank you Dabin but…” she sighed before continuing, “I know you know why I can’t reciprocate your feelings. I’m with Jiho and you two are friends and I don’t want to get in between your friendship.” She moved to hug Dabin, something he didn’t expect her to do. “Thanks for keeping me company after the shows and listening to me ramble on about the most random topics.”

Dabin laughed into her hair, his lips lightly brushed the crown of her head, and he just held on to her, savoring the moment.

“You never know, maybe we’ll have our time. But until then…” and Y/N broke from the hug and walked away, leaving Dabin alone on the rooftop.

Two years later, DPR is back on tour again and Dabin spotted her again in the crowd and he’s hit by deja vu. He thought he was hallucinating but he asked the others and they confirmed what he saw. He doesn’t have her number anymore so he couldn’t call her but he remembered where they used to meet after shows before and he went there to check.

The crowd has long dissipated and he could clearly see it was empty as he approached the smoking area. He figured he might as well smoke while he’s here, and he pats his pockets, lighter missing once again. He groaned in frustration when he suddenly heard a voice.

“Need a light?” a female voice asked.

Dabin turned to the voice and saw Y/N, arm outstretched, a lighter in her hand. Dabin immediately hugged her, completely ignoring the lighter she was offering. His heart ached at finally seeing her and the tiny seed of hope in his heart is ignited; maybe this is their time.

She hugged him back tightly, glad to be reconnected with an old friend. “I’m so happy to see you onstage again.”

“Wha-, how-,” Dabin flustered, breaking the hug. “I’ve so many questions right now. You fell off the grid and you’re here! Right now! In front of me!!”

Y/N laughed at his confusion, a sound Dabin didn’t know he missed. “I know. I’m sorry I left without any word. Jiho and I broke up almost a year ago now, and I thought it would be best for me to leave everything behind in order to move on. It just so happened that at the time of our break up, my work offered to send me to the US as part of my promotion and I took the opportunity. I kept tabs on you though. So when I saw your tour announcement, I waited to buy tickets. I bought a few in case we didn’t see each other at this venue.”

“We need to catch up. Are you hungry? There’s a diner down the block we can go to,” Dabin offered and she nodded.

The walk to the diner was filled with nervous energy as they both remembered how their last meeting ended. The two of them would ask a question at the same time and would urge the other to continue and nothing was asked nor answered as they arrived at the diner.

They chose a corner booth and ordered their food. Y/N told him about her breakup with Jiho, how they had a falling out as he prioritized his career. She also told him how she’s been adjusting to life in the US and living alone in a foreign country.

Dabin listened to her stories intently, wishing he was there as her friend during a difficult time in her life. The food arrived, which they both ignored, eager to catch up with one another.

It was his turn and he told her how he continued making music, collaborated with different brands, and despite all the work, he still wondered about her from time to time.

“What I said on the rooftop a few years back still holds true,” Dabin confessed.

Y/N smiled and reached for his hand across the table and squeezed it. Dabin interlaced their fingers when she loosened her grip.

He looked at her, hopeful. “Can I make you mine?”

“I told you we’ll have our time,” she affirms.

They smiled at each other before digging in to their food, which has gone cold by now, excited at how this new chapter in their lives would unfold.

#dpr live #dpr live scenarios #dpr live imagines #hong dabin #hong dabin scenarios #hong dabin imagines #dpr fluff #dpr #dpr angst #khh fluff #khh angst #khh scenarios #khh imagines #khh #request #💐

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youidreamnote · 2 years

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[🐈] like or reblog if you save

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lgcjiho · 4 months

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⸻ SEOJIN CLAUS HAS VISITED YOU 🎅

Finding idols within the company is a little more difficult. He finds himself lugging around his bag of gifts in his Santa Claus costume. Eventually, he finds Jiho and bounds up to him with a present in hand, wrapped in snowflake patterned paper. "Merry Christmas to you. Jiho ... ho ho ho!" After the awful joke, he turns on his heel and takes off. Inside the box is a jumbo bag of sour gummy worms and a pack of high quality matcha, complete with a wooden matcha whisk.

of all things he expects to see while at the company building that day, seojin dressed as santa claus is not one of them. he stares at his friend for a moment, receiving the gift in awe and quite frankly, just entirely struck speechless.

"thank you!" he calls out as the other male leaves, the red suit something he's going to be amused by for probably the rest of the day.

(also he tears into the gummy worms immediately when he sees them. the matcha? saved in his studio for his late nights.)

#submission #lgcseojin #( ajdshklfjsldkf jiho loves it thank you )

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allthefujoshiunite · 1 year

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Thanks for answering my ask ....If you don't mind me asking (again), who are your favorite romantic relationship's couples in books/ manga/manhwa/ anime/movies/tv series (can be canon or non-canon)? Sorry if you've answered this question before....

You're welcome! Although I used this handle before on Tumblr, I deactivated long time ago so you can consider my account new ^^ It's my first time being asked questions. I'll pick 5 so I can narrow down my choices.

Bokuto x Tsukishima: Since I started my other answer with Bokuto, it's only natural that I start this one with one of my biggest ships, and they might be the one that got me into shipping non-canon characters! At least, consciously. These two are also a ship that I wrote my first fanfiction for. That being said, any rare ship from HQ!! could make it into the list, I love them all ~

Jongchan x Seunghyun: These two are a canon couple from one of the BEST office romances EVER, The New Recruit from Moscareto & Zec. I'm ready to go down on my knees and beg anyone to read this perfection. First 25 chapters of the all ages version is free to read on Manta (that's more than half of the whole series) and mature version is on Lezhin.

Takina x Chisato: Its lukewarm approach to its great premise aside, the biggest strength of Lycoris Recoil is the main duo Takina and Chisato. While it's never exactly spelled out, it's pretty obvious that they become a couple towards the end of the series and given that the series also have a canon mlm couple, I consider Chisato and Takina as a canon wlw couple as well. A fun and action-packed series with mouth-watering sakuga moments throughout, but the highlight is always these two bickering, going out for shopping but mostly taking down other guys with guns.

Jihu x Ji-u: I feel like I'm the only one reading Love and Leashes in my little circle of online friends and THAT MAKES ME SAD!! I first came across the movie adaptation on Netflix, and it was after that the original webtoon was licensed in English (ycan be read for free on Webtoon). The adaptation was "eh..." in certain aspects but the webtoon... THE WEBTOON!!! Gosh it's perfect. It's the sweetest romance with equally great BDSM portrayal that I think anyone should give a chance.

Jiho x Inwoo: Guys... What are you even doing if you're not reading The Insatiable Man???? I wrote a first impressions post on them before but I need MOAR people to join me in on this beautifully written BL manhwa on Tapas. PLEASE I BEG!!

Honestly, I rarely read romance books since I get my fill through webtoons/manga and I either read literary theory or contemporary/modern classic fiction. Plus, I barely have time left from watching anime, reading books & manga and writing about them on my blog/instagram/twitter that I don't watch TV shows/movies anymore unless it's fervently recommended by a friend I trust or I really feel like it. That's why I end up talking about anime/manga when it comes to romance or shipping xD Hope it's at least remotely interesting, have a nice day!

#allthefujoshiunite answers #the insatiable man #love and leashes #the new recruit #lycoris recoil #haikyuu #bokutsuki #chisato x takina

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causeilikelix · 2 years

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'Cause I Like You - Chapter Four - The Pink Umbrella

↳ Pairing: Felix x OC / Hyunjin x OC (later)

↳ Genre: Romance, comedy, smut (eventual), slow burn, enemies (idiots) to friends (idiots) to lovers (probably still idiots), high school au, college au, non-idol au

↳ See Chapter One for summery

↳ Chapter warnings: Arguing, a surprise at the end, Felix is like 30% pervy

↳ Read on my A03: Here

↳ Notes: Updates might be few and far between! Grad school started today and I have rehearsals for a play so I'll be busy. I'm currently editing chapters five and six (and seven and eight and…) so there is more to come!

<- Chapter Three - Chapter Five ->

“DON’T LEAVE ME.” Eunbyeol pleaded with Jiho, grabbing onto her friend’s hand desperately. Jiho’s eyes were filled with pity as she squeezed Eunbyeol’s hand.

“I have to go to my after-school tutoring. I’m sorry. It’ll be over soon.” Jiho promised before finally pulling her hand away and making her way out of the classroom. She lingered at the door, turning over her shoulder to glance at her friend.

All of the kids made their way out, glancing between Eunbyeol and Felix and whispering to each other. Eunbyeol faced forward, folding her hands on her desk and waiting for Miss Han to say something. Miss Han leaned on the podium at the front of the class, waiting for everyone else to leave.

For some reason, Jisung couldn’t seem to put his textbook in his bag and the rustling grew louder with every passing second. Neither Eunbyeol or Felix could bear to look at him as he struggled harder and harder. Miss Han waited patiently, silently flipping through a stack of papers.

“I’ll see you later, Felix.” Jisung muttered under his breath, having finally shoved the book into his bag the best he could.

Jisung raced out of the room, unable to stomach the thick air in the classroom, Jiho finally tore herself away and followed Jisung down the hall. When they finally left, Miss Han made her way over and slid the door closed after them. She turned and looked over at the students by the window, unable to make eye contact with her. She sighed and walked over to stand in front of their desks. Eunbyeol had her hands folded on the desk, wincing as she gingerly tested to see if her hand hurt any less. Her knuckles were still red and bruised a slight purple. Felix held an ice pack to his cheek where a purple welt had begun to rear its ugly head. He stared out the window at the rolling clouds. The sun hid behind a thick blanket of gray and Felix wondered if it would rain.

“Eunbyeol-ah... Yongbok-ah...” Miss Han finally spoke, drawing the attention of her students. “What happened? I’ve never known either of you to do something like this. Especially you, Eunbyeol-ah.”

“Miss Han, I...” Eunbyeol stared.

“It was my fault.” Felix spoke up. “I took her pen and provoked her.”

“You... did?” Miss Han ventured. “Still. Eunbyeol-ah, I’ve never known you to be aggressive before. I can’t believe I have to issue you detention.”

“I’m sorry.” Eunbyeol couldn’t think of anything else to say.

“Really?” Miss Han pursed her lips and glanced between the two teenagers. “Are you sorry for Yongbok or are you sorry because you didn’t get away with it?”

Eunbyeol’s brow furrowed and turned her attention to her hands. Felix glanced at the back of her head, wishing more than anything to know the thoughts in her head. She stayed silent long enough where Miss Han sighed and looked away.

“Alright,” their teacher continued. “I don’t like harsh punishments, but I feel like you two need to work this out. You two will spend the rest of the afternoon cleaning the classroom. We’ve been overdue for a cleaning day for a couple of months. You will continue until I finish grading for the evening, and if the job is not done then you will complete it tomorrow. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, ma’am.” The kids muttered in unison.

“I will unlock the cleaning closet so you will have access to it. That means blackboard and desks wiped, floor swept and mopped, windows cleaned, trash taken out, etcetera. You know the drill. I anticipate being done today at around six, so that gives you three hours today. I think if you work together then you can get it done pretty quickly. It doesn’t look too bad.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Miss Han sighed again, gesturing for the kids to follow her. They stood obediently and made their way down the hall. Eunbyeol kept her eyes forward, keeping her jaw set. Felix matched her stride easily as they walked down the hall. Miss Han came to a stop in front of the supply closet and reached for her pocket for the key. She unlocked the door and gestured for them to open it. Both kids reached for the door at the same time and Eunbyeol’s shoulder collided with Felix’s. Their fingers nearly brushed as they reached for the doorknob. Eunbyeol pulled away, hissing like she’d been burned. Felix winced the ugly pang in his stomach.

“Here you are. Well, time is ticking away, so I’d suggest getting started.” Miss Han gestured vaguely as Felix pulled open the door. She started down the hall and the kids watched her until she turned the corner.

“I can’t fucking believe this.” Eunbyeol muttered, shoving past Felix to scan the shelves for the supplies they’d need first.

“You can’t believe it? You’re the one who punched me! You should have expected something like this.” Felix rolled his eyes, leaning against the door frame and watching her rummage through the cleaning supplies.

“Yeah, maybe so. I just didn’t anticipate it taking up my entire afternoon. I have better things to do, you know.”

“Like what, hogging the practice room all the time? I gotta get some time in there, too. Well, I guess if you’re gonna beat me then you’re gonna need all the time you can get.”

“Oh, lay off. And you wonder why I punched you.” Eunbyeol glanced over at her shoulder at him with a sneer. “Here, carry this.”

“I’m injured here,” Felix pointed to his cheek where he still held the ice pack. “I think you should carry it.”

“Look, I’m gonna have my hands full, too. You’ve been holding that ice pack for so long that I bet if I punched you again you wouldn’t feel a thing.” Eunbyeol scoffed, passing him a roll of paper towels and a few bottles of cleaning solution.

“I dunno, you did a number on me.” Felix gathered all the things she handed him into his arms ungracefully and dropped almost everything immediately.

“Idiot.”

“Hey, I’m injured. You should be nicer to me.” He pouted as he gathered everything from the floor.

“Look, can we just refrain from talking any more than we have to? If you’re not careful, I’ll punch you again.” Eunbyeol loaded her own arms up with some things they would need.

“You’re really not sorry for punching me, are you?”

“You had it coming. If I hadn’t done it, someone else would have eventually.”

“Wow, you are something else.” Felix scoffed.

Eunbyeol nodded for Felix to move and start back for the hallway. For a moment, Felix considered not letting her by but ultimately decided that it wouldn’t be worth getting hit again. Eunbyeol rolled her eyes, shoving past him and heading back to the classroom. As expected, Felix rushed to make sure they walked together without her leading. She allowed herself a glance at his face, now that his arms were too full to keep the ice pack up to his cheek. The place where she’d hit him turned a dark purple and it looked like she might have slightly scraped him slightly right on the peak of his cheekbone. He had somewhat of a black eye and she wondered how long it would last. For a moment, she was almost sorry but when he turned to look at her that feeling flew right out the window.

“Do I have something on my face?” Felix raised an eyebrow at her.

“Yeah, you do, in fact. Ugliness.”

“Oh really, where is it? Can you get it off for me?” He leaned closer and tilted his face toward her for show and she countered, leaning as far away as she could.

“Sorry, it’s kind of... everywhere. You might need a shower.”

“Ouch.” Felix grinned, less hurt by the jab than he should have been.

The fluorescent lighting in the classroom glared harsher against the dull gray of the world outside. The overcast sky hung low, suffocating the sun. Even the buildings and the plantlife looked a dull gray under the stressed light. The classroom already looked stark even when the sun shone in the sky, but something about the sky before it rained made it look barren; Lifeless. Seeing as Felix and Eunbyeol were now the only two kids left, it somehow made it feel like they weren’t even supposed to be there.

Eunbyeol began setting the cleaning supplies in her hands on one of the front sets of desks. Felix followed her lead, finally unloading his arms. She looked around the room, wondering how to divide the work. It couldn’t be divided evenly and Eunbyeol winced at the idea of having to actually work together.

“Well, why don’t you start on the windows and I’ll do the blackboard. Then I’ll do the front three rows, wiping down the chairs and desks and putting them up. You can do the back three.” Eunbyeol crossed her arms over her chest decidedly.

“The windows will take me forever.” Felix whined.

“You keep that up and you’ll be doing all of the desks.” Eunbyeol snatched a cloth and spray bottle of isopropyl alcohol and made her way to the front of the classroom.

“What about the rest of it?”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”

With that, they parted ways. Eunbyeol started on the blackboard, erasing what remained from the last lesson of the day. Felix grabbed a bottle of window cleaner and a roll of paper towels. Separately, they began their tasks. The sounds of cleaning and wiping filled the air, interrupted only by the occasional squirt of the spray bottles. Eunbyeol wished she hadn’t forgotten her headphones at home this morning. She ached to listen to music to make the silence bearable. She knew that if she played music without headphones then Felix would give her shit for her taste in music. Eunbyeol recoiled in disgust at the mere thought of having that conversation with him.

Felix, on the other hand, kept glancing over his shoulder at the girl and wondering what the hell he could possibly say. He could safely assume that she didn’t want to talk to him, but who would he be if he didn’t try. He could admit that the view from behind was quite nice but he looked at the back of her head all day every day. He thought it was about time to actually see her face.

He politely averted his gaze when she rose up on her tiptoes and lifted one of her feet to try and reach the top corner of the chalkboard. Her skirt rode up just a bit and Felix wasn’t interested in embarrassing her like that. Although Felix wasn’t above admitting that he thought her legs looked amazing in that skirt, now was not exactly the appropriate time to be thinking about that.

Instead, his thoughts turned to the events of the afternoon. Chohui’s confession came at somewhat of a surprise, he admitted, but it also was not his first. Her confession wasn’t even the first confession he’d heard this week. Because Chohui was part of Eunbyeol’s friend group, he’d assumed that he would never hear anything from any of them. He’d been genuinely surprised to receive a confession from Chohui, even though her crush on him wasn’t exactly subtle. Felix told her what he thought was the truth: That he wasn’t interested in anyone. However, that changed day by day. Today, he couldn’t tell where he stood. On one hand, Eunbyeol had just punched him in the face. On the other, something about her kept him coming back.

“You know...” Eunbyeol started, clearing her throat loudly and speaking in slow English. “What did you say to Chohui earlier?”

“What?” Felix glanced over his shoulder at her. He responded in English, too surprised to ask why she didn’t want to speak Korean. “I rejected her.”

“I know that. But you whispered something to her. What did you say?”

“If I wanted other people to know then I wouldn’t have whispered.”

“I find it hard to believe that you don’t have anyone you’re interested in. You have the pick of the bunch. I don’t know how you haven’t let it get into that thick head of yours.”

“You think so highly of me.” Felix rolled his eyes, turning back to his work on the windows. “Even if I am interested in someone, it’s none of your business.”

“You know more about my dating history than most people in this school. I think you can tell me something.”

“Alright, fine. I’ll tell you one thing. I met the person I consider to be my first love in primary school and ever since I’ve only been interested in one other person. I dated her for around a year but that was ages ago now.” Felix conceded easily.

“See, was that so hard? There’s no one now?”

“I’m not going to tell you anything else.”

“I guess you’d prefer Australian girls anyway. It’s only natural, I guess.” Eunbyeol shrugged, grunting as she rose onto her tiptoes once more to reach the top corner.

“What the hell does that mean?”

“I mean, you were born and raised in Australia. It’s only natural that you’d be attracted to the kind of people you grew up around.”

“I mean, I dunno. I haven’t been attracted to enough people to offer you enough of a sample group.” Felix chuckled.

“Seriously? You’re one of the biggest flirts I’ve ever met.”

“I don’t flirt with everyone.” Just... you...

“Keep telling yourself that.”

Eunbyeol fell silent for a few minutes as she finished wiping down the chalkboard. Felix turned back to his work, glad to see that he only had a couple of windows left. He stared intently at the glass as he wiped, trying very hard to focus on the task in front of him and not the girl on the other side of the room.

If anyone were to ask, he would say that he didn’t care one way or another that she’d cut her hair off and took to ignoring him to the extent where sometimes he wondered if he even existed. He should have been used to being without her, seeing as he spent many years after she left without so much as a second thought in her direction. Eunbyeol left Australia when they were ten and something within him left with her. Felix hadn’t realized how much he cared about her until she moved away and by then it was too late. Moving to Korea and transferring to this school and being in the same school and then the same class as Cha Eunbyeol was truly an example of the miraculous.

The truth that Felix kept close to his heart was that even though he missed her long hair he loved it short as well. It made her look even more grown up and it gave her the confidence to take on the world. Or, more specifically, him. Being at odds with her was much easier than trying to erase what happened in primary school. If she wasn’t over it, then he was happy to keep it up. He knew he wasn’t good to her, and he had no excuse. She didn’t really have an excuse either. He hadn’t expected her to be so easy to upset or tease. She took everything to heart and struggled to trust anyone. If this is how it had to be with Cha Eunbyeol, he would take it.

“Do you remember in primary school when-”

“I’m gonna stop you there.” Eunbyeol paused her work to hold her hands up. “I never want to remember primary school ever again. I have enough of a reminder of it every damn day.”

“You still carry that time around with you?”

“It’s not like I exactly have a choice. I literally have a permanent reminder on my skin.” Her voice dripped with venom. “So let’s drop it, huh?”

“God, you’re so fucking uptight.” Felix muttered. “You can’t let what happened then define your entire life. You’re so ridiculous. No one hangs onto shit for that long, and it’s not mature to take it out on other people.”

“Oh, do you ever shut up?” Eunbyeol groaned loudly. “I am so fucking over dealing with this. With you! You can’t claim that I’m not mature when I’ve seen you around. I’ve seen you with your friends, I see how you act. You act like children. You have no regard or respect for others or the space around you. I see how you treat the other girls. For fuck’s sake, you spent the entirety of last semester pulling my hair. You’re not exactly one to talk about maturity.”

“Try not to look for any redeeming qualities.” Felix rolled his eyes. “I’m not the villain here.”

“You’re not the one who got bullied and teased the entire time I went to that godforsaken school. You’re not the one who has to sit there at that desk and wait for you to pull my fucking hair and tell me what to do.”

“You know you don’t have to do anything I tell you, right?”

“You say that as if you’re not just raring to tell everyone all the shit you used to do to me in primary school? Or the person I used to be while going to that school? I’m not fucking proud of it and I don’t want people to know.” Her voice cracked and in the harsh fluorescent lighting, Felix thought he could see her eyes glistening with tears.

“Hell no, don’t you start crying on me.” Felix shook his head. “It didn’t work on me then and it won't work on me now.”

“You’re the only person who knows anything about that you need to keep quiet.”

“Come on, do you really think that these people will care what a drama queen you were back then?”

“That is exactly what I’m talking about. You don’t know these people! Not as well as I do. You have no idea what these kids are capable of. The whole point is this reinvention of mine. I never apologized to Susie for what I did. Or to Katie. And everything that happened between us...” Eunbyeol trailed off. “I haven’t given any restitution, but neither have you.”

“What the hell do you need restitution for? We were kids, for God’s sake. You were just trying to fit in.” Felix sighed heavily, placing his hands on the desk in front of him and dropping his head. His heart thudded in his ears.

“Oh, I don’t know, let me think.” Eunbyeol hummed thoughtfully. “The teasing and the name calling that absolutely destroyed any confidence I might have had?”

“You had enough problems with your friends already.”

“Maybe, but the voice in my head telling me my worth was never my own. It was yours. So no, I never thought anyone liked me even if they said so. And not only that, but I was left with this.”

Eunbyeol stepped into the aisle and twisted her leg, slightly pulling her skirt up and her knee high sock down to give him a better view. At first, Felix’s gaze snapped away and he looked anywhere else. Had there always been two ceiling fans in here? He liked her legs in her pleated gray and red school skirt and he didn’t need the extra fuel to help him along at night. Maybe they hated each other, but Felix was a teenage boy. He could only control himself so much and it’s not like she wasn’t pretty. Eunbyeol stayed put, waiting for him to finally give in and turn his head to look.

On her knee, a light pink scar around six inches in length ran along the side of her leg. Ugly, jagged, uneven lines sliced through her otherwise perfect skin. Eunbyeol stared him down, taking careful deep breaths and blinking hard to keep her tears at bay. Felix remembered the day he’d first seen the wound and how jarring it had been and the nausea that bubbled in his stomach at the sight. The crimson stain on the walking path took several years to be washed away by the rain even after she moved away. However, the next time he saw Eunbyeol after she fell, she pretended like nothing happened. She’d taken a week or so off school but when she came back, she barely even walked with a limp. However, she started wearing knee-high socks rather than ankle high and never let them ride down. Felix had never seen evidence of the incident until now.

“Because of this I’ve had to give up so much. I’ve had to be so careful.” Eunbyeol’s voice tensed. She let go of her skirt, pulled up her sock, and turned back to her task.

“Because of the scar? What does that have to do with anything?”

“You have no idea what this has cost me.” Eunbyeol shook her head.

“I didn’t know it was that bad.” Felix murmured.

“Well, if you would have stopped that day then you would have known.”

“Sweetheart, come on. You can’t seriously be saying that you still blame me for that, even after all this time and-”

“Can you please shut up? I can barely hear myself losing the will to live. Hurling myself off the rooftop is a little too tempting right now.”

Felix opened his mouth to say something else, but the glare that Eunbyeol shot at him sliced through his heart like a knife. He closed his mouth. The pair of kids got back to work wiping down the chairs and the desks. Felix followed her lead in flipping the chairs back onto the desks to keep them off the floor. Eunbyeol kept to herself, working quickly and silently. Felix attempted to catch her eye a couple of times, but she kept her head down. Anytime he thought of something to say, the conversation ran through his head. He wondered if he could say anything that wouldn’t get a snarky response to him. “What kind of music do I listen to? I’m better off deaf.” “Hobbies? Yeah, I’ve got one. Kicking your ass.” “College? I want nothing to do with you after today so there’s no way in hell I’m telling you where I’m going.”

Felix sighed deeply as he flipped over the last of his chairs. Eunbyeol had two left, so he leaned back on the nearest desk and watched. She ignored him, continuing her work as if Felix didn’t even exist. Her hair fell in front of her face as she wiped and she reached up to tuck it behind her ear. He watched as her long fingers carefully pushed the silky strands across her cheek. He found himself jealous of her fingers, wishing he could be the one to push her hair from her face. Almost instinctively, his fingers twitched at the thought. He clenched his hands into fists and crossed his arms over his chest to refrain from touching her. The urge and the need to do it washed over his senses. He had a feeling that she’d make his black eye even worse if he did.

“If you think I’m that pretty, you should take a picture.” Eunbyeol glanced over at him once she finished with her half of the desks. “It’ll last longer.”

“I... what?”

“You’re staring at me, Felix.”

“Sorry... I was... thinking.” He trailed off, hoping she’d drop it. He couldn’t get caught checking her out after they’d just argued.

“About all the things you’d like to do to me?” Eunbyeol rolled her eyes but heat flushed into Felix’s cheeks and he averted his gaze. “I’m sure most of them would get you thrown into prison.”

“Please, I’m not that much of a low-life.” Felix scoffed, shaking off his shock.

“Well, one day I’ll hope you’ll prove that to me.”

“Do tell. How could I possibly start on my redemption arc?”

“You could carry everything back to the storage room and start some mop water while I sweep.” Eunbyeol smiled sweetly, shoving her roll of paper towels and bottle of cleaning solution into his hands.

“Come on, really? It took both of us to get all of this here and now you want me to carry it all back by myself?”

“You want a redemption arc, right? There’s no better place to get started.”

With that, Eunbyeol turned on her heel and started out of the room. Felix rolled his eyes and gathered up as much as he could before realizing that he would need to take two trips. He grabbed as much as he could and followed her down the hall. Eunbyeol passed by him in the hall going the opposite direction, already having gathered a broom and dustpan. She made a face at him as she passed and he returned the sentiment. All that talk of maturity and somehow neither of them had improved in the last ten minutes. Felix sighed heavily at the thought and moved on.

Eunbyeol was glad to have the classroom to herself for a few minutes. Once she knew Felix would be gone for a minute while he put things away, she winced and cradled her injured hand. Over the course of the rest of the day, her knuckles went from normal to a deep bruised purple. Moving her fingers too much resulted in a dull ache. She hoped that she hadn’t accidentally bruised a bone or something. However, she figured this was punishment for punching Felix as hard as she did. She hadn’t expected to hit him that hard, or hit him in the first place, but something came over her and she couldn’t have stopped it even if she wanted to. Eunbyeol couldn’t remember the last time she’d hit someone. She couldn’t say she regretted it. The purple bruise cut through the perfection of his face and put out the arrogant glint in his eye, and she found it a little more satisfying that she cared to admit.

Eunbyeol got to work on sweeping, deciding to start in the back and work her way up. Several months of dust bunnies and eraser shavings had built up along the edges and under the desks. As she swept the back rows, Felix returned to the classroom to gather the rest of the cleaning supplies. He ducked back out without saying a single word. Eunbyeol sighed a breath of relief. She had nothing to say to him. Eunbyeol almost wished that she could apologize for punching him, but she liked his black eye a little too much. It made him look less than perfect, almost rugged. He looked like the boy who used to get into fights in primary school, only... sexier somehow.

She definitely wasn’t blind. Felix grew up. His face slimmed down and his sharp jawline appeared. He had high cheekbones that became accentuated when he smiled. He must have gotten braces at some point because his teeth were straighter and whiter than she remembered them. He kept his hair well groomed, albeit on the slightly longer side. Eunbyeol knew he practiced taekwondo and all the years of activity shown in his body. He had broad shoulders and a slim waist, but muscular arms. Felix got hot. The idea of sharing that thought with another person turned her stomach sour and she winced at the foul taste in her mouth. Just because Felix looked good still didn’t mean she liked him.

Just at the thought, the dull sound of plastic on plastic filled the air. Felix muttered a small curse when the wheels of the mop bucket caught on something and spilled a little bit of the water. Eunbyeol almost laughed at the idea of Felix screwing something up. However, by the time he reentered the room any hint of a smile left her face entirely.

“Are you very nearly done?” Felix sighed, leaning carefully on the mop handle which stuck out of the bucket.

“As you can see, I only have these last rows to go.” Eunbyeol gestured vaguely. He heaved a sigh. “Are you in a rush? Do you have somewhere to be?”

“I mean, I was hoping to be in the studio by now.” Felix ran a hand through his hair and glanced wistfully out the window. That dreaded jawline emerged. His pink lips parted slightly as he started outside and his tongue darted out to moisten his lower lip. He looked more like a fashion model than a high school student. Eunbyeol swallowed thickly, watching as his Adam's apple bobbed.

“At least we have something in common there.” Eunbyeol cleared her throat, turning her head to the floor and continuing with her task. She pulled at the collar of her shirt. When did it get so hot in here?

“Jisung told me that you won a dance competition during sophomore year but you quit right after. Are you gonna be dancing in the talent show?” Felix asked innocently.

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“That’s so cute.” Felix smirked and she shot him an ugly glare.

“What about you? What the hell are you doing that you need to be in there? I know there’s a gym with pads if you were wanting to do some kind of taekwondo thing. I remember you being good at that.” Eunbyeol started on the last row, thankful that the work was nearly done.

“I think that would give you an unfair advantage. The whole point is that no one knows what I’m going to be doing.”

“You’re an asshole. I’ve never met someone who is as arrogant as you are.”

“Wow, really? Maybe you haven’t looked in a mirror yet today.”

“Fuck off.” Eunbyeol sneered, jerking the broom as if to hit him again. He didn’t even flinch and instead held his easy smile as he watched her.

“I never knew that you would be so darn cute when you cuss at me.” Felix spoke as if to a puppy.

“Do you want me to hit you again?” Eunbyeol snapped. “Because I will. If you’re waiting for me to apologize for the first time I did it, then you’ll be waiting a long time.”

“I’m not expecting an apology, sweetheart. Don’t worry. I can’t say I blame you, actually. I might have done the same in your position. I gotta give it to you, you’ve got a good arm.” Felix reached up and tenderly touched his cheek, wincing away moments later. “Still hurts.”

“I am so tired of you.” Eunbyeol sighed, finally sweeping the last into a pile near the door. “Your turn. Let’s hurry up and get the hell out of here.”

“This didn’t take us nearly as long as I expected it to.” Felix beamed proudly, carefully pushing his mop bucket to the back of the room.

“Every second trapped here with you is a second too long.” Eunbyeol muttered, sweeping the pile into the dustpan and transferring that to the trash can by the door.

“Whatever do you mean by that?” Felix grinned innocently. She seemed set on arguing with him.

“Look, Lee Felix, we’ve been over this. Honestly, I don’t even know what the purpose of this little punishment is.” Eunbyeol went over and sat on the windowsill, gazing out into the gloomy afternoon. “Cleaning this room isn’t going to make me like you.”

“I don’t think there’s anything on this planet that would make you like me. I’ve stopped holding my breath about it.” Felix took his time as he mopped the first few rows, meandering slowly.

“Can’t you hurry it up? At this point I just want to go home and do my homework. Being around you is exhausting.”

“Come on, I like spending time with you, doll. It feels... like I have a piece of Australia with me.”

“You miss it?” Eunbyeol ventured.

“Of course I do. I left all my friends and my whole life to move here. My parents were really adamant about their kids all going to Korean universities.” Felix shrugged. “I’m happy to live here, it’s just weird. Don’t you ever miss it?”

“Not really. I struggled in school the entire time and I didn’t hang out with friends or anything.” Eunbyeol relaxed onto the windowsill, crossing her legs and leaning her head on the wall.

“You don’t miss Christmas on the beach?” He sighed, leaning on the mop handle and turning his head up to the ceiling and closing his eyes. If he concentrated hard enough, he could almost feel the bright summer sun on his skin.

“Not really. It was fun the first year but the second year I went to an ice skating rink.”

“This was my first cold Christmas ever. I’m mostly disappointed that we didn’t really get any decent snowfalls this winter. I wanted a white Christmas.”

“Maybe we’ll get one this year.”

“Okay, come on. I could stand here and list a hundred things I miss about Sydney just off the top of my head. Is there absolutely nothing you miss about it? You spent two years there.” Felix insisted, resuming his task.

“Oh... I don’t know...” Eunbyeol hummed, turning her eyes to the simmering clouds overhead. “I miss... Tim Tams.”

“Oh my god, me too!” Felix exclaimed, releasing a long, pained groan at the thought that the nearest chocolate cookie sat on a shelf thousands of miles away. “The caramel ones?”

“The best flavor.” Eunbyeol allowed herself a warm smile over his enthusiasm. “Though, I have to admit that sometimes the dark chocolate ones hit just right.”

“You’re kidding? Those were my guilty pleasure!” Felix smiled the brightest he had all day and for a moment, Eunbyeol didn’t miss the sun. “You know... you’re pretty when you smile.”

“What?” Eunbyeol blinked in surprise, her smile wavered slightly. She wondered if she’d heard him right. Eunbyeol turned her face towards the window to hide her red cheeks.

“What?” Felix tensed suddenly, realizing that he’d spoken his last thought out loud. A blush tinted the tips of his ears pink. “I... I mean... My friend from Sydney was talking about sending me a care package. Should I ask him to get some for you?”

“Oh wow, a gesture of friendliness from you? I don’t see any pigs with wings flying around outside.”

“Look, those cookies are damn good and if those are the one thing from Australia you miss, it’s the least I could do.”

“It’s not the only thing.” Eunbyeol decided. “One of my favorite places was Westfield Mall downtown. I only went a few times, but I always wished I was older so I could fit into all the pretty clothes.”

“Hey, that’s something! It was a very pretty mall. Hopefully you can make it back and do some shopping, I’m sure you’d look great in anything.”

“I’m perfectly happy with the malls we have here. There is nothing quite like Dongdaemun or Myeongdong. Skincare products are much better in Korea.”

“That’s fair. I haven’t been to Dongdaemun yet. I feel like I’ve been really behind on seeing all the touristy or cultural things since we moved to Seoul. I’ve been too busy with school.” Felix slowly pushed the mop down another row, taking his time to get each and every inch of the floor.

“I understand that.” Eunbyeol admitted. “I didn’t get to go to the Sydney Opera House for over a year, despite having driven by it a million times. You’ll get to it eventually. I’m surprised Jisung hasn’t dragged you out shopping yet.”

“He’s definitely been trying.” Felix chuckled, secretly enjoying the idea of not arguing with Eunbyeol all the time. Not having her yell at him was a nice change of pace. “Is there anything else you miss?”

“I don’t know. It’s been a long time, I don’t remember everything. All I remember is being relieved when my parents finally told me that we were moving back to Seoul. English is too hard.”

“You’re fluent, though.” Felix reminded her, suddenly aware that she’d been speaking English almost the entire time. “I can imagine that it’s been a while since you’ve had this long of a conversation in English. Are you sure you’re comfortable?”

“I didn’t have much of a choice but to get fluent. My parents made me study it even after we moved back. They want me to get a good job and move abroad to make money. They’d like it if I went back to Australia or America or somewhere.” Eunbyeol sighed, her face dropping into a proper frown again again. Felix hadn’t realized how miserable she looked all the time until he saw her smile properly.

“I can see how excited you are about that.”

“I’ve given up a lot for my parents. I’d like it if they would do something I wanted for once, you know. I’ve already sacrificed so much for them.”

“Yeah... I understand that...” Felix trailed off. His hands suddenly ached at the thought of the first time he punched someone and the shame that settled in the pit of his stomach. He imagined Eunbyeol could relate. He’d done some stupid things in school to get his parent’s attention, but nothing ever seemed to work.

“Do you really want to talk about this right now?”

“Uh... not really. No.” Felix put his head down to focus on his task.

“I wish it would just rain already. If it’s going to look like this all day, we at least deserve some rain to go with it.” Eunbyeol sighed.

Felix stole a glance at her. She sat on the windowsill with her legs crossed and hands folded on her lap. Her head rested on the wall behind her. Her wavy hair, while short now, fell carefully to her shoulders and across her face. Her features were soft but her annoyance with him created strong lines around her mouth and eyes. For a moment, Felix thought Eunbyeol looked like a painting and he wished he could take her up on the offer to snap a picture. He’d definitely like to look at her a little longer. Felix watched for a moment, wishing the sun for her. If she looked this pretty with the sun absent, he could only imagine what she would look like with the sun’s extra golden touch. Her soft features looked harsh under the fluorescent classroom light. They definitely didn’t do her any justice. Before she could catch him staring again, he turned back to the mop.

“I’m almost done.” Felix announced, finally making his way to the very front of the room.

“Good. Then all we have left is trash. I’ll gather it up and take it to the can at the end of the hall.” Eunbyeol hopped down from the sill.

“Oh, be careful!” Felix warned her. “The floor is still wet.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure? Your shoes don’t look non-slip- whoa!”

Felix lunged as Eunbyeol crossed the front of the room. Her shoe landed on a large drip and her foot slid out from under her. Eunbyeol cried out in surprise, grabbing blindly for anything to break her fall. She exhaled sharply like she’d been punched in the stomach. Her fingers curled into fabric and strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her upwards. For a terrifying moment, her stomach fell through her feet and she worried that Felix was about to hit the floor with her. Instead, he held her firmly and she held onto him like her life depended on it.

For a moment, they stayed there. Eunbyeol gripped his sleeves so tight that her knuckles started to turn white. Felix’s arms were firmly wrapped around her shoulders and her waist, keeping her upright. Her eyes squeezed shut and her heart ached. He sucked in heaving breaths, waiting for her to make a move. Eunbyeol hadn’t expected his arms to be so warm and strong or his chest to be so firm. She stayed put, suddenly too scared to open her eyes and face him.

Felix gazed down at her, finding himself drawn in by her long eyelashes fanning across her smooth cheeks. She stood so close yet was somehow so far. After all this time, he finally had her in his arms and didn’t want to waste a single moment. Eunbyeol’s floral smell invaded his nostrils and he had no choice but to breathe it in. He never knew that cherry blossoms could smell quite so sweet. His eyes trailed over her face, taking in her hair, her eyes, her cheeks, and her lips. He wondered if she’d applied that strawberry chapstick that he could always smell from his desk. Her pink lips were pursed but looked glossy. The next thought that crossed his mind almost had him shoving her away in fear but the fear of dropping her overpowered the urge. Felix wanted to know what her lips tasted like.

Slowly, her eyes finally fluttered open. Eunbyeol looked up at him, meeting his gaze. A small gasp escaped her lips as she gazed into his sparkling eyes. She always knew that Felix’s dark chocolate eyes had some sort of natural sparkle to them but she’d never looked at them long enough to see. They were somehow lightened by the glint in them. Eunbyeol couldn’t seem to remember how to breathe. She noticed with a start that his gaze traveled down her face and came to rest on her lips. She found herself doing the same, allowing herself to glance at his mouth out of curiosity more than anything. Felix’s lips were just as pretty as his eyes but in a different way. They were plush and pink and heart-shaped. She’d seen them wrapped around a straw or pressed on the outside of a can and she wondered what they’d feel like-

“Thanks.” Eunbyeol managed to speak, shoving that thought deep into the vault and locking it away. Her hoarse voice scraped her throat. “I... should have listened.”

“Does it hurt?” Felix asked and she blinked up at him. His deep voice vibrated between them and her knees went slightly weak.

“Wha-... I... what?”

Felix’s grip on her waist tightened and he dropped his hand from around her shoulders. He reached up and carefully pried one of her hands out of his uniform shirt, keeping careful eye contact with her. He lifted her hand and glanced at her bruised knuckle. Over the course of the day, the main knuckle that took the brunt of the impact had swelled and turned a dark purple. Her other knuckles were in similar shape. She winced as he ran his thumb near the injured area and instinctively tried to pull her hand away. His grip was stronger and he held her hand firmly yet gently.

“You didn’t get to clean or treat your hand with ice. Does it hurt?” Felix’s voice dropped to an airy whisper that, considering his oceanic voice, slid easily down her spine.

“I... Well, no...” Eunbyeol started but she couldn’t get any other words out.

“It looks like it hurts.” He breathed. “You should have said something. You don’t want your pretty hands to scar.”

“Felix...” She could no longer recognize her voice.

Felix turned his gaze back to her face and something shifted. Eunbyeol watched him with wide, innocent eyes and lips parted. His heart swelled with a magnetic pull towards her. He wondered if she could feel the incessant tug between them. Eunbyeol gave him the welt on his face and a black eye that he imagined would take several days to go away. All day, his eye watered and ached but now he felt nothing. Her hatred for him and his annoyance with her didn’t matter anymore. For the first time in all their time knowing each other, Felix could finally touch her. He hadn’t realized just how much he needed to until this moment. Everything crashed over him in wave after wave, like the unrelenting surf of the Pacific. Eunbyeol’s breath shuddered and Felix knew he was not alone.

Felix let go of her hand and reached for her shoulder. Her entire body tensed under his touch and she sucked in a breath. He watched her face for clues. Eunbyeol’s lips pursed and she placed both of her hands on his chest. Felix searched her eyes, practically willing her to give him the answer he wanted. His body curved into her almost, the need to be close to her overwhelming all of his senses. After a moment of hesitation, Eunbyeol curled her fingers into the fabric of his shirt and he practically sighed with relief. He saw a profound innocence in her eyes. She almost looked like the sweet young girl he’d first met all those years ago on her first day of school. Unlike then, she wasn’t smiling but her eyes told him enough.

He took a slow breath before dipping his head down. His first advance was slight, just enough for her to change her mind. Eunbyeol averted her eyes, looking anywhere other than his face, but her lips parted slightly. Felix drank her in like this, with her hands gripping him and her slender body in the circle of his arms. He advanced again, lowering to reach her level and he inched closer. He could barely breathe, unable to believe this was actually happening.

BOOM!

The lights flickered slightly. Eunbyeol shrieked. She flattened her hands on his chest and pushed him away as hard as she could. The thick air between them dissipated almost as quickly as it had appeared. Felix cried out in surprise more than pain. A bolt of lightning cut through the sky and another low roll of thunder shook the building. He’d forgotten about the weather. Eunbyeol stood there a few feet away with her eyes wide but unable to focus on anything. She shook her head, allowing the fogginess to disperse. When she looked back up at him, everything he’d seen in her eyes had completely disappeared and the hard Eunbyeol from before returned.

“I... gotta go. You can finish up, right?” She raced to the back of the room.

Felix watched, stuck to the ground, as she pulled open her locker and pulled her coat and backpack out. Her backpack caught on something in the locker and she tugged a few times, wincing when she sensed his eyes on her. Finally, the bag came free and she pulled it onto her back. Eunbyeol kept her eyes on the ground as she raced past him and out the door. She couldn’t bear to look at him for a second longer. Thankfully, he stepped out of the way to let her by and didn’t protest her leaving.

Eunbyeol’s neck suddenly ached as if she had actual whiplash. She’d been taken on one hell of a rollercoaster over the last few hours. Her thoughts raced through her head as she hurried down the hallway and down the stairs. This morning, she hated Felix. This afternoon, she hated him even more. At the beginning of detention, the very sight of him made her want to be sick. The thought of him and his obnoxious face sneering down at her flashed through her mind and her fists clenched. That same face, that same boy, just looked at her like she was the only girl in the whole world.

Eunbyeol almost fell for him. She almost fell for the flirting and the seduction just like all the other girls at school.

“Stupid.” She muttered under her breath. Eunbyeol reached the front doors and pushed them open. A cold, wet burst of air hit her face and she blinked in surprise. In the two minutes it took her to get from the classroom to the door, the sky finally released and cold rain poured from the sky, filling the air with calming white noise. She reached for her umbrella, which she kept in the water bottle pocket on her backpack but she came up empty. It must have fallen off in the struggle to get her bag out of her locker. “Stupid!”

Eunbyeol stared at the rain. The gray gloominess hung heavier now. The rain chilled the air and she was glad that she decided to wear her coat this morning. At least the sky finally paid up, giving them rain after a long day of threatening it. She wondered if she could make a run for it. Her long run to the bus stop would be cold and wet and unpleasant without an umbrella. She cussed under her breath, deciding that the rain was too hard to run through safely. Eunbyeol turned on her heels and slowly started back to the classroom. With any luck, Felix would be too busy working to notice her sneaking back in. She could envision the umbrella on the floor of her locker, taunting her with her own mistake.

She paused at the bottom of the stairs. She gazed up at them, leaning back on her heels suddenly daunted by their steepness. Eunbyeol took off her backpack and dropped it on the stair in front of her and knelt to sift through the pockets. Maybe she’d changed her habit this morning and put the umbrella in her bag instead of in the side pocket. She flipped through her heavy textbooks, loose papers, and notebooks, carefully reaching between them to see if it had fallen to the bottom or the sides. Unfortunately, luck was not on her side. Eunbyeol zipped up her backpack and heaved it onto her back. Her shoulders sagged instinctively under its weight. She took a deep, shuddering breath before finally starting back up the stairs.

Footsteps cut through the steady noise from the rain. For a moment, Eunbyeol assumed they were hers before they picked up the pace. They echoed loudly in the empty school and Eunbyeol couldn’t quite tell who they belonged to or where they were coming from. She looked around for another person but found no one. Eunbyeol made it almost halfway up the stairs before another person came into view.

Felix appeared at the top of the stairs with a deer-in-the-headlights look plastered on his perfect features. He relaxed slightly when he saw her and started down the stairs. He clutched her pale pink umbrella in his hand. Eunbyeol swallowed thickly, her heart racing. She couldn’t decide if she was horrified or relieved to see him. Eunbyeol made it to the landing and waited. Felix’s eyes looked darker somehow in this lighting, like two black holes staring her down. A shiver made its way down her spine and she wondered what the hell was going through his head.

“Thank you.” Eunbyeol managed to speak through her tight throat. She reached for the umbrella and he passed it to her but kept moving towards her. “I was just on my way back and you saved me a- whoa-”

Felix fluidly closed the gap between them. One hand gripped her forearm while the other gently cupped her face, his thumb sweeping across her cheek and stopping just before her ear. He gazed down at her, his eyes searching hers. His warm citrusy scent invaded her senses but she breathed it in all the same with a gasping breath. Felix, however, was beyond asking.

He leaned down and pressed his lips onto hers softly, as if she’d whither away beneath his touch. Eunbyeol tensed under him immediately. No warning, no approval, no thoughts. A moment ago, he wasn’t even sure he was going to do it. However, when Felix saw her all hesitation melted away and he realized he had no choice. Eunbyeol looked too beautiful not to kiss with her pink lips and large innocent eyes. His full lips were carefully mushed against hers, silently willing her to kiss him back. Felix held her firmly but with enough slack where if she wanted to push him away and punch him then she could.

The umbrella slipped out of Eunbyeol’s hand and fell to the floor with a resounding thud. Her lips tensed and her hands flew up as if to push him away. Her wide eyes trailed over the expanse of his freckled cheek to his closed eyes. A million dizzying thoughts raced through her mind at a million miles an hour. She almost reached out to grab him if only to keep from falling over.

Felix’s lips were warm and soft and even more dizzying than the thoughts in her head. Eunbyeol’s eyelids fluttered shut against her will and her shoulders relaxed. Something about the tenderness of his touch and his plush lips weakened her resolve and her hands drifted towards his waist. Eunbyeol knew logically that she should shove him and worsen his black eye. After all, this was Felix of all people holding her in his arms with his lips on hers.

After a moment, Felix slowly pulled away. However, he didn’t go far. He pressed his forehead against hers, keeping his eyes closed for several seconds before finally mustering the confidence to look at her. When Eunbyeol opened her eyes, she found him already looking at her. His sparkling eyes searched hers, waiting for her to make a move one way or another. Eunbyeol saw something in them that scared her. Something she’d never seen before from him or anyone else. A profound sureness, like she was the answer to a problem he’d been trying to solve. His deep gaze pierced her heart and for a moment, she couldn’t bring herself to hate him. Felix only had a few seconds to apologize before she figured out what she was feeling. However, just like she wasn’t sorry for punching him, he wasn’t sorry for kissing her.

“Look... I...” Felix breathed but something in her eyes stopped him.

Her eyes shared his deepness. She drank him in with a soft gaze that he’d never seen before, like she was just seeing him for the first time. Felix had kissed people before. He’d held other girls in his hands and pressed his lips to theirs. They’d kissed him back with vigor and enthusiasm. That being said, he’d never kissed anyone quite like Cha Eunbyeol. Felix found himself overwhelmed with how beautiful she looked like this, in the circle of his embrace with her attention focused solely on him. She stood close to him with their lips mere millimeters apart. She stared at him with a warmth he’d never seen from anyone else, much less her. For a moment, no one else in the world existed.

Eunbyeol regained the use of her hands and she slowly brought them in. Her fingers grasped his stiff uniform shirt at the waist. Felix couldn’t breathe. Without a second to waste, Felix slipped the hand on her shoulder around to the center of her back and pulled her in.

This time, Eunbyeol met him in the middle. The tenderness of her kiss caused him to gasp against her mouth. The pressure of her lips on his made his head spin. Now that she kissed him back, Felix realized that she had the softest lips out of everyone he’d ever kissed. His heart swelled with pride with one thing he did guess right: Her lips tasted of strawberry chapstick. Their lips moved together slowly and tentatively. The steady pouring rain phased out until the only noise he could hear was the sound of her breath and the gentle noises of the moisture between their mouths. Her cherry blossom shampoo took over his senses and he sighed into her lips, hoping that it would burn into his memory forever. Felix slid his hand into her hair, reveling in the feeling of her silky strands between his fingers.

Felix sensed himself teetering on the edge of a dangerous cliff. Even if only for a moment Eunbyeol, this Eunbyeol in his arms, was completely and totally his. His heart ached at the thought that the moment he let her go then she might never be his again. At the thought, his grip on her tightened slightly and she curved into his touch, her hands slowly snaking up his back to hold him a little closer. A particularly firm press of his mouth caused her to sigh quietly. Felix’s brain practically shut down, suddenly wanting nothing more than to make her sigh again. The cold from the pouring rain evaporated. Only her warmth remained. Her touch left burns in their wake and Felix needed more.

A million words passed between their lips, somehow without a single word spoken. He wanted to touch her like this all the time. He wanted to weave his fingers in her hair without her getting mad and he wanted to feel her lips whenever he wanted. Although every instinct in his body told him to part his lips and deepen his kisses, he kept his pace light and even. He wanted to fall deeper into her and their breaths to intermingle. But the last thing he wanted to do was scare her away by accident. He never wanted the moment to end. Felix wanted to be completely hers for as long as she would allow.

Eunbyeol didn’t allow him long enough. Slowly, her soft kisses began to falter. In a moment of desperation, Felix’s grip tightened ever so slightly but hers released. Her arms untangled from around him and she pressed her hands against his chest, causing them to break apart. Eunbyeol looked away, taking in a shuddering breath. Felix reluctantly pulled his hands away and let them fall to his sides. The cold immediately crashed over him. Felix’s lips tingled. His gaze found her lips immediately, his own aching for her. He needed to touch her again but the Pacific ocean rippled between them.

When Eunbyeol looked back up at him, the turmoil in her eyes was enough to make him back away. Felix’s mind ran blank, all words escaping him. She opened and closed her mouth, as if searching for the right thing to say. Less than six hours before, she’d punched him. Seconds earlier, she kissed him. Not only that but she kissed him back. The ache of her bruised hand brought her back to the real world. Eunbyeol took in his flushed cheeks, black eye, and swollen mouth. She did all of that to him. She could only imagine that she looked a similar mess.

Wordlessly, Eunbyeol bent down and scooped up her wretched pink umbrella. She turned away from him and started down the stairs. Felix stayed on the stairs for a few long seconds, watching her walk away from him. Eunbyeol didn’t hesitate at the door, pushing it with her shoulder as she opened her umbrella. The cold blew against her flushed cheeks but for some reason she could barely feel a thing. The chill of the rain didn’t matter as she made her way down the stairs of the building. Her heart thundered in her chest so loud that she couldn’t hear any actual rolls of thunder overhead.

Eunbyeol paused at the gates, staring out towards the street. Cars and taxis drove past, kicking large waves of water from the street onto the sidewalk. Droplets of water splashed on her arms and her legs. She could barely feel them. Her knuckles turned white from her grip on the umbrella.

Although Felix would never know, and if he were to ever find out it would break his heart, Eunbyeol made a small choice: Slowly, Eunbyeol turned and looked back towards the school.

A thought flickered through her head and she cursed herself for even thinking it. She stared back in the direction from which she’d come and hoped for an aching moment that he would follow after her.

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