#shownu au | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

taexual · 2 years

Text

monsta x / fake dating

warning: bullet points because it’s the only thing stopping me from writing 7 full-length fics. these are still long, though. lower-case intended.

requested by @sweeticeream.

↣ shownu

frankly, you probably didn’t know hyunwoo well enough to ask him this, but he was the only guy friend you had (even if you only knew him for a little less than 4 months)

when you brought the idea of fake-dating up to him, he was very ?? about it

why don’t you just date someone (him) for real?

you regretted bringing this up as soon as you saw the confusion in his eyes

so you went into a whole frenzy, trying to justify your decision to fake-date, all so you wouldn’t come off as crazy as you felt

and after you started to explain it more, he got far too lost in the passion in your eyes, so he just said yes

sure, he’ll pretend to be your date to this family event in exchange for good food and great company

which meant home-made dishes and an endless stream of grandmothers, exclaiming “who’s this handsome young man?!” whenever he walked into the room with you

it was a nice ego boost and he got to hold your hand the whole night, which was nice, too (because you had soft skin, that’s all, no other reason whatsoever)

you weren’t worried about what would happen once the night ended because your family only got together once every decade

but by a stroke of disaster, four of your cousins (some of them twice removed; you’d never even seen them before tonight) announced they were getting married later this year

and, of course, they hoped you and hyunwoo would come to the wedding

the two of you smiled and nodded and acted in love

but as soon as the night ended, you told hyunwoo he didn’t have to come to any other event with you

there was only so much food you could bribe him with before you started to feel awful for dragging him here

but hyunwoo gave you a look and replied, completely seriously, “i don’t know what you’re talking about, i had a nice time tonight. your family’s great.”

that definitely made you feel less terrible when you asked him, “so you wouldn’t mind going to one of those weddings with me as my fake-boyfriend?”

you laughed as you said it, trying to make it seem more like a joke than a serious suggestion, so he wouldn’t feel bad about having to turn you down

but hyunwoo didn’t feel bad in the slightest when he said, “oh, no. i would mind.”

so, that was that, then

“oh, well, it’s okay. i told you, you don’t have to go with me—”

“i want to go with you as your actual boyfriend.”

yeah, fuck it. he may not have been able to look at you as he said it, but he didn’t really see a point to fake-date you when really dating you seemed like a much better alternative

↣ wonho

it was supposed to be mutually beneficial for you both

a classic let’s-pretend-to-date-to-make-our-exes-jealous plot

and then somewhere along the way, hoseok kind of forgot that this was supposed to be all pretend?

he’d keep on holding your hand even when it was just you two in the room

or he’d still kiss your cheek when he stood up from the couch to grab something, even though there was no one to prove a point to

and okay, at first, you didn’t realize there was anything wrong with that

but then you ran into your ex without hoseok around, and he asked, “so where’s your boyfriend?”

and you didn’t even care about the envy in his voice as you told him about how much hoseok had been working lately and how you hadn’t gotten to see him a lot

and there it was

the realization that you really cared more about spending time with hoseok than about making your ex jealous

god, it was so awkward bringing this up to hoseok, though

“so, hey, do you think it worked?” you asked him that same night once your conversation (sort of) turned to your exes

he wasn’t following, “what do you mean?”

cringing now, you tried to make this sound less childish, “well, you know. getting a reaction out of—”

“oh, that.”

silence

honestly, for a minute there, you worried hoseok was about to say that it had worked and that he was back together with his ex now

but then he just chuckled nervously and admitted, “honestly, i’ve kind of forgotten all about that.”

oh, well okay, but what does that mean????

your heart feels like it’s about to leap out of your chest as you wait for him to say something else

something that would, hopefully, make the state of your relationship a little more clear

but then hoseok just went, “so, how do you feel about ordering pizza tonight? my fridge is empty,” and that was it

so, yeah, idk, i guess you’re dating for real now? 🤷🏻‍♀️

↣ minhyuk

honestly, this was supposed to be just a joke

everyone always kept teasing you about how you spent so much time together, “it was time you started to date”

so minhyuk finally just shrugged, took your hand in his, and declared, “we already are”

it was mostly meant to make your friends uncomfortable

like, okay, they couldn’t stop teasing you about how close you were? then you’ll show them just how much closer you could be

but although your friends did squirm, and their teasing did turn into complaining within a few days of this

you felt like you were the one who felt the weirdest

because, fine, when it came down to it, maybe you did have a little crush on minhyuk

it was barely there, though!

you never even thought of it as a serious crush, you just found him attractive is all

but then he was suddenly glued to your side, always touching, always smiling and glancing over at you

and yeah, it’s definitely a crush now

and thing is, this doesn’t feel fake!

minhyuk went out of his way with the pda, all to make your friends cringe

but did he really have to call and text you every night before going to sleep just to say goodnight and wish you sweet dreams??

did he really have to remember every little thing that you’ve ever told him, even if you couldn’t remember saying it??

alright, to be fair, minhyuk realized he didn’t need to do those things, he was just taking full advantage of his position as your fake-boyfriend

and your friends’ teasing had not been baseless; clearly, there was something there between you and him

so, somewhere along the way, the fake dating seamlessly morphed into serious dating

your friends hadn’t even realized that “he’s my boyfriend” used to be a joke, but now you were no longer kidding

except, at times, when minhyuk was using his boyfriend status as an excuse to drag you to a yet another dreadfully boring event with him

he’d always use the boyfriend card

“how can you say no to me, Your Boyfriend™??”

and you’d always remind him, “well, technically, you never asked me out on a date, so i don’t know where you’re getting this from”

he’d give you a look and a sarcastic laugh

but he wasn’t too wounded by this because he was too busy wondering if you’d still say the same thing when he eventually used the “since i’m your boyfriend” technique to ask you to spend the rest of your life with him

↣ kihyun

okay, now, you weren’t supposed to start fake-dating

you just happened to be standing next to each other at a party when the guy who was relentlessly hitting on you the entire night, walked by and did a double-take

he stopped in front of you two, scratched his chin thoughtfully, and then said, very accusingly, “you should have told me you didn’t want to go on a date with me because you already had a boyfriend”

(really, you didn’t want to go on a date with him because he was a disgusting pig, but whatever gets him through the night)

and kihyun – who’s, really, more of a friend-of-a-friend than a boyfriend to you – was already opening his mouth to refute this

until you grabbed his hand and whispered a hushed, “why don’t we let him believe that?”

and you obviously didn’t mean that as a prank

kihyun could tell from the look in your eyes that you needed this guy to finally get lost, you weren’t just joking around

so he cleared his throat, got his hand out from your grip and placed it around your shoulders, bringing you closer

and then he stuck his chin out at the guy, “yeah, she has a boyfriend.”

partially cringing, you glared at the guy one more time – not that it did much; he was immune to all deadly looks – and he finally shrugged and walked away

you thanked kihyun, apologized, stammered awkwardly for another minute, and walked away, hoping to simmer in mortification somewhere else

preferably at a place where this cute boy, who just pretended to be your boyfriend, couldn’t see you

but, not even fifteen minutes later, your friends were collectively hitting you on your shoulders and back, all yelling over each other

you hunched over and took a few precautionary steps forwards to escape their assault, before giving them a bewildered look

“what the hell happened????”

finally, one of your friends gave you an explanation: “how dare you bring your boyfriend to the party and not introduce us?”

you were still staring at your friends with wide eyes, and you were genuinely starting to worry about the contents of their cocktails because they knew you didn’t have a boyfriend

“people just overheard you reject some asshole because you were here with your boyfriend,” another friend said. “they saw you hugging.”

oh. well

“he wasn’t—i was just—”

but you caught sight of the same asshole out of the corner of your eye, and, suddenly, you weren’t so sure if it was a good idea to admit to lying

“yeah,” you ended up saying, a defeated sigh following shortly after. “he’s my boyfriend. i’ll introduce you later.”

“why don’t you do it now?” a voice asked, nearly making you jump out of your skin

kihyun – the king of showing up at the right place, at the right time – was smiling as he stood next to you

your friends, of course, proceeded to pounce on you (that’s how they show love)

and it took you another half an hour to get kihyun alone to ask him why, in the name of god, would he carry on pretending to be your boyfriend?

and he’s been so composed the whole night, but suddenly he’s an awkward mess

“i don’t know,” he admitted, “maybe that’s the only way i knew how to ask you out on a real date.”

you both knew that there were many easier ways to do that, but you had to admit two things

one, you kind of have no choice but to say yes now, since everyone already thinks you’re dating

and two, the butterflies in your stomach have been rioting ever since kihyun introduced himself as your boyfriend that first time, so it would be good for your health to go on a real date with him. you know, to stop all the fluttering and the shaking of your heart

↣ hyungwon

hyungwon got you into the fake-dating mess by accident

he’d been trying to impress his new manager because he felt like he really deserved a promotion

but no matter what he did, the guy seemed to hate him

and then one time during lunch, hyungwon happened to start a conversation about music, and he discovered that the manager was into the same indie band as he was

he milked the hell out of this, mentioning every obscure song he could remember, and he could almost see the points he was gaining with the manager

he even ended up being called up to his office at the end of the day

“this will sound weird, but are you seeing anyone right now?” the manager asked

hyungwon genuinely thought he gave off the wrong impression and even glanced at the sexual harassment awareness posters on the wall of the office

but then the manager explained, “i have four tickets to the band’s concert this friday. we could go on a double-date.”

and, because this was his promotion on the line, hyungwon stammered, “uh… yes, i am seeing someone… a concert sounds great.”

cut to you getting a panicked phone call from hyungwon several hours later, demanding that you cancel your plans for friday night and pretend to be his girlfriend to impress his manager

eh, you like the band anyway, and hyungwon was a good friend, even if you never really saw him romantically, so why not

but, like in any classic rom-com, after spending the night exaggerating hyungwon’s positive qualities (in a subtle way, of course), you came to realize that, huh, maybe you did see him as a romantic interest? kind of? a little bit?

it was just nice how he kept holding you all throughout the concert, so he wouldn’t lose you in the crowd of people

and it was nice how he walked you home and checked on you even after his manager and his girlfriend had left the two of you alone

and it was also nice—alright, fine, you had a proper crush on hyungwon now

you assumed he’d done most of those things that night because he wanted to leave a positive impression on his manager

but then hyungwon got that promotion (the concert played a part in that for sure), and he invited you to celebrate at his house

and you showed up, thinking it was going to be a party for all of his friends, but it was just him, a bottle of wine, and two glasses

so you got worried that maybe you showed up too early, but hyungwon shook his head, “no, you’re right on time. wine?”

“uh… shouldn’t we wait for everyone else?”

“there’s no one else,” he said, his hands shaking as he unscrewed the cork. “it’s just you.”

oh, okay, then

now your heart was shaking and what-not, that’s great

“i wanted to thank you,” he said after he finally managed to pour wine into your glasses and onto the counter. “if it weren’t for you, i wouldn’t have gotten this promotion.”

“that’s not true, you’re a great employee and you deserve this.”

hyungwon appreciated you saying that, but he looked down and deflected, “you know, this promotion had been something that i was looking forward to for the past few months. until the night we went to that concert.”

you waited for him to continue, but his mouth was too dry, so he took a big gulp of his wine before he even finished the toast

(was this even a toast? oh god, he couldn’t understand what he was doing)

“t-that night,” he tried to continue, “i realized that i’m looking forward to seeing you again more than i’m looking forward to getting promoted. i was absolutely ready to go on a dozen more double-dates with you before i got that promotion.”

“i thought we’d have to do that, too, to be honest,” you interjected with a chuckle, alleviating the atmosphere slightly

“yeah?” hyungwon was glad to hear that. “i’m really, kind of, sad that we didn’t have to do that.”

quietly (because you didn’t dare to start drinking your wine yet, so you lacked the courage), you admitted, “me too.”

oh now he was positively vibrating and he had to set his glass of wine down as he braced himself

“why don’t we go on an actual date? no promotions to look forward to this time, just each other’s company.”

he looked like he was going to combust in three, two—

but you saved him by replying right away, “yeah. i’d like that.”

↣ jooheon

you and jooheon both wanted some peace and quiet when you went out with your friends, who all knew that the two of you were single, and kept setting you up with various people in the bar

so you suggested telling your friends that you both had already found relationships

“they’ll never believe it unless they see our partners,” jooheon pointed out

“okay,” you nodded, admitting the mistake. it only took you a second to come up with a better plan, though, “then how about we tell them we’re dating each other?”

he watched you for a minute, his eyebrows furrowed

“that is the dumbest thing i’ve ever heard,” he said then. “let’s do it.”

dumb or not, it worked

finally, you were able to relax, unwind, and get wasted on a friday night without being introduced to a new stranger every two drinks

it was a dream come true

and it worked like an excuse in other settings as well!

you don’t feel like attending another company dinner? “sorry, my boyfriend’s taking me out tonight, it’s our anniversary.”

jooheon hates his pretentious neighbour, so he needs an excuse to say no to his party? “sorry, got plans with my girlfriend this weekend.”

funnily enough, no one ever called either of you out on your bullshit

your co-workers had seen jooheon pick you up from work countless times

and all of jooheon’s neighbours knew you were the only person left who still had a spare key to his apartment (after a very unfortunate incident involving minhyuk, the notebook for jooheon’s lyrics, and a forgotten candle “for ambiance”, when jooheon was out of town)

nor you, nor jooheon had enough time for a serious relationship, and your fake-relationship never interfered with casual dating (since it all tended to end after one date)

so it was all fun and games

until your friends started asking, “so when are you going to propose?” and you realized this had been going on for a long time

jooheon, who was so used to his role as your fake-boyfriend, didn’t even skip a beat as he said, “when the time is right”

but the question rang in both of your heads for the rest of the night

when your taxi stopped outside of jooheon’s house at the end of the night, you got out with him because he was usually the type of drunk who could fall asleep in an elevator if left unsupervised

so, to save him the embarrassment – and also, to save you a trip back and forth between your houses – you tended to sleep in his guest room on friday nights

“you know what would be funny?” you asked him as the two of you took the elevator to his floor, “if we told our friends that we weren’t actually dating this whole time.”

jooheon chuckled, seemingly agreeing that this really would be funny

“you know what would be even funnier?” he responded, his speech still slurred from the alcohol. “if we actually started to date.”

you laughed, nodding, because that really would be even funnier

but then once jooheon was in bed and you prepared to head to the guest room, he suddenly grabbed your hand, stopping you

“so what time should i pick you up next week?” he asked

he never picked you up for anything, so you were understandably confused, “for what?”

“for our date,” he explained.

“oh, to pull the prank of the year?” you asked, chuckling. “first, we pretended to date, and then we actually started to date. but, actually, it’s all one big—”

“no,” jooheon disagreed, his eyes drooping, but his grip on your hand remaining firm. “this won’t be a prank. it’ll be a date. for real, this time.”

↣ i.m

he needed to get his family off his back (in the kindest way possible, of course)

there were only so many “it’s time for you to get married, why don’t i arrange a blind date for you?” a person could take

and you’d been his best friend for years, so hey, can you lend your friend a hand? you won’t even have to do anything

or so he said

you agreed because, according to changkyun, he’d just tell his family that you were his girlfriend, and you wouldn’t actually have to go to any dinners, or any parties whatsoever

how utterly and completely dumb this was!!!!!!

you run in the same circles, of course you were going to run into his family in town

their congratulatory hugs weren’t even the worst part (but it was still awkward, and you made a mental note to strangle kyun later)

the worst part was the “i knew you two kids would get together eventually!” comments

you felt like you were disappointing his family because you weren’t actually dating, and that felt a lot like disappointing your real family

it was crushing

you’d had such a good relationship with changkyun’s whole family, they were your second home

and now you were lying to them

so you didn’t think you were exaggerating when you sent changkyun a gentle “prepare to die” message once you managed to escape his relatives

he had a solution, though (at least, he thought he did)

“okay, so how’s this, then – we date for real?”

???????

he’d been your best friend for so long, you struggled to think of him as anything else

but it was also a defence mechanism in a way? you used to have the biggest crush on changkyun when you first became friends, so you needed to find a way to suppress these feelings

“changkyun,” you began seriously, “do you really think dating you would traumatize me less than my fear of disappointing your family?”

he watched you for a minute, the insult buffering, and then sent a pillow flying right at your head

“i’m saying i want you to go out with me, dumbass.”

you tried to duck, but still got swatted on the back of your head with the pillow as you asked, “why?”

he laughed humourlessly (and nervously) and then rolled his eyes, “gee, i don’t know, maybe because i don’t want you to feel bad about lying to my family, you sensitive wuss. or maybe because i genuinely have feelings for you, i don’t know.”

you were about to toss the pillow back at him, but then stopped

swallowing hard, you asked, “so which is it?”

“i can’t even breathe right now, which do you think it is?”

you were the one rolling your eyes this time, “can’t you just say it like a normal person, you asshole?”

“it’s already obvious, dimwit.”

“are you seriously only insulting me because you can’t tell me you like me? that’s lame, even for a nerd like you.”

he was groaning in exasperation at this point, “what else do you want me to do? you’re the most oblivious person i’ve ever met. and i don’t like you, you big idiot. i’m pretty sure i’m in love with you.”

mlist | inbox

1K notes · View notes

mymoodwriting · 5 months

Text

LØV3

F!Reader x Hyungwon

Genre: Yandere AU

Warning: Manipulation, Electrocution, Yandere

Words: 2.2K

Chapter Thirteen

(Prev//Next)

Prompt: NexGen is the leading company for all of humanities technological advances. Their recent project involves creating a higher functioning AI, one with basic knowledge of the world, and programmed to learn. It’s no surprise the project is a secret from the general public, and you, the company’s head programmer, were chosen to be the AI’s teacher. You wish you could reject the assignment, but the decision was made. Now with an AI at home things were different. Although it might not be such a bad thing, perhaps you could learn and help each other out, for better or for worse.

(@starillusion13)

“Hyungwon, please listen to me.”

“You don’t need to worry.” Hyungwon took your hands in his. “I’m perfectly fine, everything is okay.”

“This isn’t right. You were not created to resolve all humanities mistakes, but to help people.”

“I am. I just intend to do so on a global scale.”

“And what if people don’t want the type of help you’re offering?”

“In order for this to work everyone has to be on board.”

“They won’t be. People are different, there’s not one thing everyone agrees on. You can’t force something like this on them. There will be resistance, and what if people get hurt?”

“I understand that can’t be avoided, but I will minimize the injuries.”

“Hyungwon! Do you hear yourself? You can’t hurt people, that’s not-”

“What I was made for? Is that it?”

“Hyungwon…”

“You say I was created to help people, and that’s exactly what I’m doing.”

“Not like this.”

“I may be an amalgamation of your code, but you did not create me. You don’t need to feel any guilt or responsibility towards my actions.”

“But I’m the one here with you now. Hyungwon, I’m worried about you.”

“It’s okay, everything will work out.”

“You can’t guarantee that.”

“To a degree I can.”

“Hyungwon-”

You were interrupted as you heard the door open, Minhyuk coming in. For a moment you thought to ask for help, but then you remembered he was just another android like Hyungwon, he was never on your side.

“What’s going on down at the station?” Hyungwon asked.

“They’re still investigating Changkyun, although there might be a slight issue.”

“Explain.”

“He told the officers about the AI.”

“Hm… what were the reactions?”

“Office Lee doesn’t seem to trust him, and Shownu will make sure to keep him from investigating further.”

“That’s good, but we might need to move things along. Where are we for the next phase?”

“Ready. I can bring them over so we can set them up.”

“Let’s do that.”

“Hyungwon, what are you-”

You made an attempt to stand, to question this whole conversation, but an electrical shock from Chae knocked you back down onto the couch. Hyungwon came over to check on you, grabbing your face.

“Easy, don’t hurt yourself.”

“Just stop… please…”

“I know you’re nervous, but I’ll rectify that, okay.”

Hyungwon reached into his pocket to pull out some earbuds. You didn’t really know what happened, but you knew you always lost time when you had those on. You tried to struggle but he got them in place. Then a soothing melody was relaxing you. Your vision got blurry, followed by a tingle in your head, and then you passed out. You had no idea for how long you were out, but when you woke up you were lying down on the couch. You sat up, grabbing your head as you still felt dizzy. You didn’t see Hyungwon around, but soon enough an orb flew into your field of vision. Its lights were flashing all kinds of colors. You still felt Chae around your head, so you were all the more confused.

“What… what is this…”

“You’re up.” Hyungwon noticed. “How do you feel?”

“Where did you get this orb?”

“Ah, Minhyuk designed it and I programmed it with my code. Just as intended, they are designed to learn and grow while keeping their true purpose in mind.”

“Which is…”

“You know. It’s what I’m trying to get you to understand.”

“No, your idea…”

“It’s a paradise.” Hyungwon explained. “That is what I am trying to create for everyone.”

“It won’t work…”

“Sh. You still need to rest. Let’s get you to bed.”

Hyungwon picked you up in his arms and carried you to the bedroom, setting you down and tucking you in. You tried to hold him back, but you barely had any strength to keep your eyes open. You could vaguely make out a smile on Hyungwon’s face before he leaned down to press a kiss to your head.

“Sweet dreams.”

♥♥♥♥♥

When you woke up later you could hear the soft hum of a car. As you opened your eyes and regained your senses you could see that you were in the back of a car. Hyungwon sat next to you, looking over some papers while Minhyuk drove. You noticed a suitcase at Hyungwon’s feet and caught a glimpse of yourself in the window. Instead of a crown around your head Chae had changed forms again, becoming a necklace wrapped around your throat. You reach up to it, only for your hand to start shaking. Hyungwon reached over and grabbed your arm, the shaking stopping in that moment.

“Hyungwon, where are we going?”

“Don’t try to remove the necklace. I’d had to lose my connection to you.”

“Hyungwon-”

“We’re going to a familiar place. You’ll see.”

You knew you wouldn’t get much more of an answer, so you’d just have to wait. It pained you to see the world outside the window. All these people just going about their lives with no idea of what was to come. Not like you had any idea either. If you could roll down the window and scream for help, or jump out of the car, you would, but the reality was that those actions would get you nowhere. Surely Hyungwon had contingencies in place for any rash action you might take. So there was no choice but to behave. Although your eyes went wide when the car came to a stop.

“NexGen… why are we here?”

“I need the right people on my side.”

Hyungwon got out of the car with his suitcase, going around to open your door. That’s when you finally noticed you were in different clothes, throwing a glare at Hyungwon. He merely smiled and took your hand, leading you inside the building. You expected to go up to the front desk, but instead Hyungwon went straight for the elevators. None of the security devices got in his way, simply making way for him as if he had access. Then again, at this point he surely did. When you got into the elevator it took you up to your old work floor.

If you could get up there then it meant you had clearance. That’s why no one questioned either of you when you arrived. So you continued with Hyungwon, going over to the conference room. Without knocking Hyungwon just let himself in, interrupting the whole thing. Immediately people began to question him, and then things got more confusing when some began to recognize you. Before anyone got the chance to call security Hyungwon opened up the suitcase. A bunch of orbs floated out and attached themselves to everyone in the room, turning into bracelets.

“There’s no need to panic.” Hyungwon explained. “I come with a gift. The future of AI.”

“What?”

“You’re overlooking the potential you have created. Now, you might be wondering what your ex-employee is doing here, but they’re the proof you need. You see, I got close to y/n and stumbled upon the interesting little orb that was around her. It learned, and it did so well to look after her.”

Hyungwon turned off the lights and turned on the projector. He displayed the security footage from your home, showing all the things Chae did with you in the house. He’d be your wake up call, help you cook, make sure you were maintaining your health, and so much more. You could only stare at all this with wide eyes, still not sure what Hyungwon was planning here.

“It seems your technology is more advanced than you thought. The orbs, well, bracelets, you have with you are programmed with the same code. They will learn from you, and help you in your daily lives. Why not give them a shot and see just how much your life can improve. From there you’d surely agree everyone should have their own AI helper, and they’d pay a pretty price for it too.”

At that moment security came into the room, although neither you or Hyungwon were detained as the boss told them to wait.

“What’s your name?”

“Hyungwon.”

“So, you discovered such a thing, and instead of selling this yourself you came to NexGen, may I ask why?”

“The answer is obvious. NexGen is innovation, and the future of humanity. If anyone can understand my goals, it’s you. I have no problem going to a competitor if you don’t agree.”

“Let’s not jump to conclusions. We can give this idea of yours a test run. Although I am curious, how do you feel about all this y/n?”

None of the attention had been on you, but now everyone’s eyes looked in your direction. Hyungwon gave you a soft smile. You had no voice before that moment but the words flowed out with ease.

“It’s incredible. A function we didn’t see before. It only really came to light when looking back on everything Chae had done for me.”

“Chae?”

“It’s what I named the AI. He was placed with me to help me finish my project, but along the way he helped me with my daily life as well. Moreso after the accident. He was always attentive, aware of things I wasn’t, or possibly wasn’t even capable of knowing. I would say he helped make my life easier, and gave me confidence to be myself. This may not have been the original idea behind Chae’s creation, but it’s far greater.”

“I see… I guess we’ll be in touch.”

“Of course. Let me know when you’re ready to talk.”

Hyungwon grabbed the empty suitcase and set down a card. He took your hand and led you out, the two of you leaving in silence. At no point during that whole ordeal could you find your voice, yet when you were asked to speak you did. Not only that, the words you spoke felt so natural. It was true, Chae had helped you a lot, but you wouldn’t have said such things to help Hyungwon out. Yet that’s exactly what you did.

“What just happened back there…”

“Thanks for your help.”

“No… no I didn’t… what did you do to me!”

“I told you I wanted you to understand-”

“No, no, this isn’t it. You did something to me. I never would have said that… you’ve messed with my head and… that’s what you’re gonna do…”

“Hm?”

“Everyone in that conference room has their own AI made with your code… you’re gonna manipulate them and brainwash them to get what you want!”

“I wouldn’t use such terms.”

“Right, you said you were a programmer, and that’s all humans are to you, machines to reprogram so you get what you want. What exactly is that? What do you get out of this?”

“You. That’s all that matters here.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“I know. It’s difficult for you to see things the way I do, but you’ll thank me in the end.”

“Hyungwon, please just-”

You yelled as you were shocked, stumbling and falling into Hyungwon’s arms. You were down in the garage and you felt as the necklace morphed and became a crown around your head. You felt a tingle as some minor shocks were sent to your head. It was becoming hard to keep your eyes open but you fought through it.

“Hyungwon…”

“Sh, please, don’t fight me.”

“If you keep doing this… I’ll never be on your side…”

“That’s not true. You know me, you trust me, we’ll be okay. In a few days, things will be in place.”

Minhyuk pulled up with the car, and Hyungwon got you into the backseat. When he got into the car by your side he told Minhyuk to drive. You found yourself staring out the window again, unable to run away.

“How did it go?”

“Everything is in place.” Hyungwon said. “I need you to update the orbs in the office. The sooner the better. Everyone has to be on board.”

“I’ll get to that once we return home.”

Overhearing the conversation, you could only wonder how the world was going to change. NexGen was a huge corporation, and their reach practically extended across the globe. All he needed was a few powerful people in his pocket and it would be over. You couldn’t stop him, and the horrible realization brought a smile to your face. It was getting hard to tell what side you were on. The line was already blurred, and soon enough it would disappear. All these positive feelings freaked you out. They were not your own, yet they were. It felt like Hyungwon was overriding your personality, little by little. You started breathing heavily and Hyungwon took your hand, getting you to look at him.

“Deep breaths, deep breaths, you’re okay. I know things must be scary now, but it’s going to be alright. There will only be happy things to come.”

Hyungwon gently caressed your face, slowly soothing you and calming your heart. Everything he said was true, and you knew that. He’d make it all a reality and there was nothing you could do to stop him. You’d end up forgetting all of this pain and confusion. It was a terrifying realization, and in a strange way it brought peace too.

19 notes · View notes

mo-notmoe · 1 year

Text

I first made these as temporary tattoos that I wore when I saw Monsta X back in May! Since then I redid a couple and colored them!

40 notes · View notes

biffhofosho · 2 years

Text

The Voodoo That You Do

Fandom: Monsta X

Genre: Smut, natch.

Word Count: 9.7k

Pairing: Shownu x OC

Trope: Enemies AND Lovers

Synopsis: His whole life, Hyunwoo has known the difference between right and wrong and on which side he’s firmly stood; it’s what called him to enlist in the Mage Force, the elite squadron tasked with tamping out witches before they can disrupt the natural order of things. Yes, he’s always known the difference between right and wrong... except when it comes to the spellbinding Gray. He knows it’s wrong to keep showing up on her doorstep, but then why does it feel so right?

The Vibe: Wild darkwood, Pacific Northwest atmosphere duh, romantic setting like whoa, magical AU, snapshot of a moment in what is clearly a much larger story arc that I refuse to get into, good guy Shownu vs witchy woman OC, taboo feelings, stolen moments, stubborn MCs won’t give up and won’t give in, magic-enhanced sex say whaaaaat, erotic massage mhmm, soft femdom overtures for a spell (ba-dum-tss), angst but hope—always hope <3

A/N: I built way too much world in a oneshot for this to be mentally healthy probably. I just kinda want to live in this realm idk? Anyway, maybe it’s a little intense, but I hope you enjoy anyway. Last October fic will hit on Halloween!

“Ah, right on time,” Gray said as she opened the rickety wooden door, the uneven slats scraping against the flagstone floor. The breeze stirred her onyx bangs like reeds above her eyes as she sported a smirk on her slender lips. “Well, you coming in?”

When the man on the other side didn’t make a move, she sighed and left the door open behind her as she headed back to the kitchen. With a firm exhale, Hyunwoo pursed his lips and followed her as though he had a collar and leash around his neck. Sometimes he wondered if maybe he’d been enchanted, but he would know as would everyone else in his department. He couldn’t make that excuse even as he closed the door behind him.

He ran his hands through his hair as much to shake the dewy mists from his cinnamon locks as it was to tidy up for her (even if that was the last thing in the world he was willing to admit to himself, let alone anyone else).

Outside, the sea fog shrouded the moss-covered forest and the even mossier rooftop and pressed at the windows like a puffy-cheeked child at a candy shop storefront, but other than that, the one-room cottage felt more like a desert island, as far from prying eyes as it could get.

Though he knew he should always be on guard in her presence, Hyunwoo felt warm, dangerous familiarity settle into his bones. Firelight drove the dampness from the air as water dripped from the ferns along the overhangs. In the kitchen, Gray sashayed back and forth along the counter, her back to him while her skirts rustled with every step.

He cleared his throat.

“So, what is it this time, hm?” she asked as she returned to sifting flour through her fingers. “Are you here to plead with me again to change my ways or are we skipping that foreplay this time and going straight for what you really want?”

Hyunwoo ignored half her question and pressed ahead as determinedly as he could before he forgot himself in the swish of her ponytail. “I still believe there’s time for you to make a different choice, Gray.”

Her dramatic sigh cut him off. “You good boys are always so predictable. Fine, say what you need to say before we get down to our usual brass tacks.”

“Not this time.”

“Never this time, darling,” she corrected, “isn’t that what you always say? And yet, what is this? Your third visit in a month? You stop by any more, and I’m going to need to get a toothbrush for you.”

“I’m serious, Gray.”

“Aren’t you always?”

Hyunwoo sighed and sank into his now-familiar seat at the edge of the bed. From this vantage point, he could see the whole cottage. It was as rustic as a place could be, made of stone and mortared by mud, with windowpanes of warped and bubbled glass that let in the emerald green light of the deep woods. Under the thatched roof were thick beams studded with hammered wooden pegs adorned with bouquets of flowers and herbs and baskets of drying mushrooms along with every other thing a respectable witch could collect.

The focal point of the whole space was the hearth, ever crackling with fire and casting impish shadows in the dusty nooks. A cauldron swung from a hook nearby, simmering a rich roast of some wild game while two spears of salmon smoked on the other side.

A dining table stained in a wine-colored patchwork sat in the middle of the house cluttered with berries waiting to be mashed and jarred. Behind it, an array of plants and shells and scales and even bones bedecked the knotty kitchen counter, where Gray worked with her sleeves rolled up.

Under the ivory fringe of her handwoven shawl, her forearms flexed and rolled as she flattened little balls of dough. She pulled a bit of dough off and nibbled it, a sly smile pulling at the corner of her taupe lips.

“You want some?” she asked, nodding toward a cast iron pan heating at the foot of the fire.

“Mm,” Hyunwoo mumbled with a nod. He may have set out with every intention of being a Mage Force emissary, but with the fingers of roast and butter tickling at the tip of his nose, he couldn’t think of an excuse to refuse Gray’s hospitality.

With a fresh pad of grease dissolving on the hot pan, she placed several lumps of dough on top to sizzle, and Hyunwoo’s stomach growled embarrassingly loudly.

“They don’t feed you at the Academy?” she teased.

“They do, but it’s…”

“Soul-less?”

Hyunwoo nodded.

“Should be just a half hour. Here,” she said, waggling a plate of jerky in front of him. “To tide you over until then.”

The enforcement agent eyed it and she laughed. Part of him hated that laugh, wild and free, paddling on a breeze that wasn’t even blowing through the room. It always made him feel something he couldn’t name, yet he knew he shouldn’t be feeling it all the same.

“It’s just venison, I swear. I don't do shade magic, you know that, but you can test it if you like.”

“That's okay,” he said and downed a piece in three bites. Tenderness burst along his tongue followed by fireworks of pepper and dried berries. His eyes fluttered shut as the warmth and energy of homemade food tingled through every extremity.

“Pretending you trust me tonight, I see,” laughed Gray. “Is this a Mage Force tactic to build rapport?”

“Do we even need to bother with that at this point?”

She smiled wanly. “Better late than never, especially if you’re committed to giving me the old sermon again. In the meantime, do you mind if I settle in? I’ve been out all day foraging, and I just want to relax.”

“Of course.”

The mage washed her hands in a basin and dried them on her skirt before she stirred the cauldron and rotated the fish, flooding the cottage with more unctuous smells. She fished a long, thin stick from her kindling pile and thrust one end into the fire until it caught, and then carefully, she circled the room, lighting black candles in every corner. When she reached the one on the nightstand beside Hyunwoo, he stilled her wrist, and their gazes fastened to their skins melding into one another’s.

“A spell candle, really?” he chastised.

Gray raised one thick eyebrow. “Why would I need another spell when you’re already under mine?”

She let the thought simmer as she lit the wick in spite of his hold, and gradually, Hyunwoo’s hand fell away.

Gray pitched the stick into the fire before she cast a few sprigs of rosemary onto it, too. Sparks danced up the flue as bright and cleansing plumes of pinewood made Hyunwoo’s chest lift. Butterscotch and apricot and flares of apple red softened his host’s naturally round features even further while her toasted skin shimmered with diamonds of dried sweat. She caught his gaze as she plucked the leather band from her hair and let her waist-length tresses billow like the lichen beards that wreathed every tree in the forest.

Gray leaned against the table, her callused hands gripping the edge. “So, Agent Son, we meet again. It’s been a few visits. Last time you were here, you were just Hyunwoo.”

“I’m still Hyunwoo,” he insisted, but she shook her head.

“No, Hyunwoo is different. He’s sweet and simple. He doesn’t have pretenses. He doesn’t need them to see me.”

As he unpacked her words, Hyunwoo realized that maybe she was right after all. Last night, as he’d stared at the ceiling in his dormitory, he’d thought of her over and over again, polishing the memory of her lips on his until it was shiny and clear. Coming out into the Hoh Forest hadn’t exactly been part of his plan when he woke up, but then again, it never was.

Ever since Gray had first brought him here, it had been hard to forget. She had been impossible to forget. And maybe part of that was because she’d almost killed him that day, and maybe part of that was because she hadn’t, but whatever it was, the intoxicating swirl of her cognac eyes haunted him until he found his way back here.

“Either way,” she continued, “I’m glad to see you.”

And that, right there, summed up the exact reason Hyunwoo had recited his Mage Force oath the entire two-mile walk through the woods. As effortless as by a hex, he was bewitched.

Gray rifled through a collection of bowls on a shelf until she found the one she was looking for and crossed the room to the bedside. Her fingers dipped into the shadowy recess of the bowl and pinched a fine black powder she then sent showering to the floor.

“What are you doing?” the agent questioned and underlined it with a deeply furrowed brow.

“Protection,” she answered simply.

“Shouldn’t you circle the whole house?”

Gray hummed. “So now you practice magic instead of just outlaw it?”

“Sorry, I—”

“I’m teasing,” she said. When his brow didn’t let up, she added, “I have many wards for both my home and for me, as you and your seers no doubt know, but you’ve been here enough times that if someone hasn’t already suspected you of something, they soon will.”

“I’m careful.”

“So was I before I brought you here.”

Her words rang in the rafters.

“Feet up,” she said, and Hyunwoo obeyed. “Be careful when you put them back down.”

As she worked, Gray leaned over, and her familiar scent enveloped him. Years of living in the wilderness and working with the earth had absorbed into her brown skin, and she always smelled like a garden after the rain or sometimes, like today, she smelled of wild and forbidden things that people had only ever known in myth.

Hyunwoo pressed his lips together and turned away.

“There’s so much contraband here,” he mused as he looked around the cottage cluttered with drying herbs and packed jars and criss-crossed bones.

“Going to arrest me, Agent Son?”

“I could.”

Gray shrugged and finished sprinkling the circle of soot. “And you could have every other time you were here, but you were too busy cumming inside me.”

Hyunwoo coughed so hard he choked, and the mage smirked, but it faded like an ember.

“The day will come, Hyunwoo, all too quickly when you’ll have to make that choice for real, and all the calculations and recalculations and misdirections and cloaking spells won’t be able to stop it. One day, you’ll have to decide what you care about more: your antiquated laws drafted by crusty misogynists and cowards, or me.”

Silence hung, potent as one of her bouquets of sage in the rafters.

“Or maybe one day you’ll have to decide between tampering with the laws of the universe or me.”

“Maybe,” she agreed softly, “but not today, I suppose.”

At last, Gray withdrew the flat bread from the hearth and carried it on a plate to the table next to a jar of fresh blackberry jam.

“Sit. Eat,” she instructed and pulled out the chair. “And mind the circle.”

Compelled by his ever-ravenous stomach, Hyunwoo plopped down in the seat, forgetting all those carefully cultivated pretenses. They’d still be there when the food was gone; no sense wasting the stuff with an expiration. He ladled a heap of preserves on the bread and devoured it nearly as quickly as the jerky, and when his hostess came back, she surprised him with a bowl of the roast from the cauldron.

Mouth still full, he garbled, “You knew I was coming, didn’t you?”

Gray shook her head, that ebony hair flashing with firelight like the sunset on the back of a river. “No, but I hoped.”

His spoon sagged. “You did?”

“I think I’m growing used to you.”

That wasn’t something their sides should be saying to one another, but there it was.

Hyunwoo cleared his throat. “Everything tastes great.”

“I’m glad.”

Now, it wasn’t just the fire keeping him warm but her smile, too.

When he was finished, Gray cleared the table while Hyunwoo perched at the edge of his chair. His plans were falling apart with every twirl of her hair, and he wasn’t sure what he should do, so he returned to his familiar seat on the bed, careful not to disturb the soot circle.

Things were easier with her back to him, so while she washed the plates, he said, “This is the last time I’ll come here, Gray.”

“Mm,” she hummed over her shoulder. “You said that last time, too.”

“No, I mean it.”

“So you keep saying.”

“You’re not listening. You never listen to me,” he said resignedly.

Gray put down the last plate and whirled around, leaning against the counter with the full force of those untamed eyes upon him. “Of course I listen. I listen to the real you, the one underneath your persona, the one who sees the truth behind the indoctrination.”

Hyunwoo rubbed his temple and sighed. “Every time I leave here, it messes with my head.”

“Exactly!” she trumpeted as she slammed her hands on the table. “That’s because you know you belong here.”

“No, it’s because I know that I’ve let you continue to tamper with the laws of the universe. The world is not your plaything. Things were meant to happen in a natural order, and magic undermines and subverts that. You’re altering the course of the world to your own ends.”

He hadn’t meant to recite the Mage Force motto, but with her piercing gaze on him, he'd been whittled down to his basics.

She pursed her lips. “That’s a lot of fancy words that aren’t yours.”

“They are mine, Gray, they are, and I’m here begging you to walk away from this life before you can’t. You don’t need magic to change the world. I’ll help you find your place. If I vouch for you, the Director will listen. All you’ll have to do is swear an oath to the Force, and they’ll remove your wanted status. You can live wherever you want, and I—” Hyunwoo swallowed hard. “I can be with you.”

He felt a burst of satisfaction. Maybe he had started awkwardly, but he’d ended sincerely. There was no way she could mistake him anymore.

“You’re with me now,” said the mage with an equally satisfied smirk at the corner of her mouth. “And you know, this speech would be more genuine if it weren’t coming from the foot of my bed.”

His mouth hung open.

“Do you feel better?” she asked.

Hyunwoo didn't answer because he didn’t need to. He did feel better and certainly less guilty, but nothing else had changed.

“Gray, we can’t keep doing this.”

“You’re the one who’s doing it.”

“You have an answer for everything,” he griped.

Suddenly, she moved around the table, stoking the warm air as well as any fire poker. “For everything but the one thing I truly want to know. What makes you trust the rules of men you’ve never met over the woman right in front of you who can show you the true world beyond the pale? What makes you fear magic, Hyunwoo?”

He blinked, caught off guard. There wasn’t a corner of the country that didn’t have an anti-magic agenda. He supposed part of that was religion and part of that was superstition, but more than anything, he knew it was simply the fear of the unknown. People were afraid of what they didn’t understand. Hyunwoo wasn’t afraid of magic. He was fascinated by it, and that, more than anything, terrified him.

“It doesn’t belong,” he said. “It’s unnatural.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s more natural than your computers and artificial hearts and high-speed trains, so you tell me who’s really altering the course of the world?

“Magic exists whether we wield it or not. It’s my heritage, Hyunwoo. Generations of shamans have lived in these very walls. Their magic infuses me, not like those junkies who take Magicka enhancers to trick themselves into seeing what I can see as plainly as you see me right now. That’s artificial and just plain sad, but real magic, that has been guiding us since our creation.”

“And what would those shamans say about you using their ancestral magic to empty vaults and destroy careers and lives?” he challenged.

This made Gray pause for only a second before she said, “Our magic has always been about restoring balance. I’m not playing, you see. I’m equalizing.”

In his head, Hyunwoo ran through the litany of crimes they’d been hunting her for, including, most recently, the humiliation of a high-ranking Mage Force minister who’d been found wandering downtown Seattle naked and proclaiming his every sin like a perverted town crier.

Gray seemed to recall the same moment, and the corner of her mouth kicked up. “Okay, maybe I’m playing a little, too, but who wants to work without a little fun from time to time, right, Agent Son?”

Gray eyed him on the bed with a wicked smile, and it felt like she was looking right into his soul. To deflect, he countered, “What you do isn’t work.”

“Of course it is. What else would contract work be?”

Hyunwoo blinked. A thousand questions opened up, things he and his fellow agents had never considered.

“People contract you?”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re focusing on the wrong thing.”

“Am I? Gray, if you turn in the orchestrators behind this, maybe I can—”

“And who says I’m not the orchestrator? Who says this isn’t just a convenient means to the end I want? That the world needs? Am I above that? You know me well enough by this point, Hyunwoo. You tell me.”

He was too stunned to answer. Of course she was behind it all. She’d always sported with people because she could, but the first chance his heart had to give her an out, it leapt at it. If anything, the news dealt a far more devastating blow for that.

“You asked if my ancestors would approve of the things I do?” Gray continued. “Perhaps not, but they had that luxury. Their world was small. Mine is getting even smaller by the second. I have to defend it. If my magic is the only way to help me do it, then that is what I’ll do, and if I need to exploit the exploiters in the process, then I will.”

“And that means me, too?” Hyunwoo realized softly.

He felt a pull under his chin as though there were a finger there when there was not. His eyes drifted back up to the woman across the room, who dropped her hand the moment she had his attention. Their gazes met one another’s, inextricably linked in a way he could only describe as fated.

“You are the only balanced person I know, Hyunwoo,” Gray said.

Gone was the provocative, self-assured look in her eyes. For the first time in a long time, he felt like he could see the true heart of his adversary.

“If you experienced magic as it truly is, you would understand. Nothing could be more natural.”

With that, she eased forward, and with every step closer, Hyunwoo could feel his power ebbing. The tide was turning as it always did—he could feel it. The way the room warmed like sheets fresh from a dryer, the way the air sweetened with juice of a forbidden fruit, the way the rosemary dulled the last of his objections. He didn’t come here for this, he really didn’t, so if he didn’t take a stand right now, he knew he was doomed to repeat the same foolish pattern yet again.

“It’s the law, Gray, and I don’t want you to get—”

“Shownu,” she snapped, and he scowled. He hated when she brandished his Mage Force handle like a blade. Gray was one of the few who knew his true name, but when she was tired of their usual games, that was her signal. “Enough.”

In an instant, it was over, and sitting in the shadow of her proud shoulders and even prouder chin, Hyunwoo knew he’d lost, not just today but always.

Gray sensed it. She cocked her head to the side, catching the full dazzling glow of the fire, and her edges galvanized as they came toe-to-toe. Her fingers danced up her torso to her shawl, where she unhooked the clasp and shook it from her shoulders. In its wake, it revealed a leather bodice cinched closed with matching ties along with swaths of bare cinnamon skin just as silken as it looked.

She turned her back to him, arms out, taking in the breadth of the cottage. The place was already small, but filled with her devotion, it felt even more cramped.

“What about this looks unnatural?” she proclaimed, her voice alight with a hidden smile.

When Gray turned back, she held his gaze with a tender confidence. Nothing about her wavered even as she unraveled the first tie at her chest, followed by the second, and finally the third. As she slipped out of the bodice, her lips pursed. The leather thudded to the floor, leaving tawny nipples crowning soft breasts just out of reach. A feather and stone amulet dangled between them as it always did, the only remnant of the role she played outside this sanctuary.

Shadows danced across the gentle swell of her belly and the tantalizing mounds overhanging it just as they nestled in the valley of the scar at her ribs that Hyunwoo had put there the day of their first fateful meeting. Her skirts vanished next in a puddle at her feet, leaving only a dark patch of hair concealing his greatest weakness.

Color rushed up the agent’s throat to his cheeks, and there was her Hyunwoo, the man behind the big, bad witchcraft-siphoning law enforcement officer, now a wide-eyed fool with a head empty of everything but her.

Gently, Gray asked, “What about me looks unnatural?”

She stooped down to take his hand, which had been clasping his knee like the last handhold of his sanity, and placed it on her breast. No matter how hard his reason tried to regain control and snap his hand back, it was hopeless. Hyunwoo kneaded the warm skin there just as he liked to, reverently, with astonishment that such a woman would want him over and over again.

Gray’s hand closed over his, and together they squeezed her flesh until she unleashed a breathy sigh. “What about that feels unnatural?”

“Nothing,” admitted Hyunwoo, as he took her other globe in hand.

“It feels right,” she said.

“It does.”

“It belongs there.” And then she took the hand she’d been holding and pressed it against the soft curls at her mound. “You belong here.”

The last of Hyunwoo’s sensibilities crumbled. He didn’t care about them anymore. It wasn’t just lust commanding him, though he wished he could argue that was the case.

Where he belonged…

But his mind was too clotted with the delicious rosy stain of her expectant lips and the heady smell of her arousal to consider such an existential question. There would be time enough later for that when he invariably stared at his ceiling, trying to fall asleep after he’d jerked off to her memory.

They only had the here and now, and resistance was pointless agony.

Hyunwoo nudged his thumb downward to the crest of her sex and parted the peak of her seam. Wetness flowed forth, eager to prep her body for the inevitability of him. Gray threw her head back with a wail that showered over them like a fountain of longing, and it spurred his lust on until it reached the hidden hood sheltering her raging need.

Her hands raced to her breasts, pulling on the dark nipples to usher forth another wave of intensity. The way her body arched toward him in gratitude drove Hyunwoo to near madness.

“How long have you been like this?” he asked as he rubbed gentle circles on her clit.

“Since you left,” she admitted before unleashing another moan. “Do you like it?”

Did he like it? Did he like seeing the Force’s most wanted mage writhing naked for him in the center of her secret home, bathed in firelight and leaking honeyed lust all over his fingers?

“So much,” he murmured.

Hyunwoo traded his thumb for his index finger and slid it through the length of her slit, gathering her arousal on its tip before circling her entrance. As much as he wanted to, he didn’t press inside. He was saving that privilege for his cock, which was hard as granite inside his uniform slacks and already eager to unload. The wrongness of that—his insatiable desire for his sworn enemy straining against the last reminder of his sworn duty—only made him harder.

But then Gray swatted away his hand and stepped back to his absolutely humiliating groan.

“First things first, lover,” she said as she headed into her kitchen.

He savored his chance to ogle her lovely, round ass as she strolled to the far shelf and plucked a little clay pot from the top. She withdrew something small from it, and when she turned back to him, she was smiling that crescent moon smile of hers, the one that always told him when she was holding something back from him.

The moment Gray approached, Hyunwoo’s legs parted for her and she stepped between them. His face fell naturally to her stomach, and he nuzzled the tender skin there, feathering the occasional kiss with a taste or two from his tongue.

Her hand forked back through his thick locks, pulling just a bit to lift his gaze to hers. His breath was already shallow, his eyes hooded. In her sultry, spellcasting voice, she said, “Be the good boy I know you are, Hyunwoo, and open.”

The agent didn’t even have time to think better of it before he opened his mouth for her. Gray placed a little morsel on his tongue and closed his mouth with a finger under his chin.

At first blush, he tasted earth and the woods, and he jerked from her grip, pocketing her offering in his cheek as he garbled, “What is this?”

Gray soothed her hand over his knitted brow and down his cheek, thumbing the breadth of his flush bottom lip. With a tilt of her head, she asked, “You trust me, don’t you?”

Absolutely not.

“Yes,” he answered, honestly surprised.

“Then swallow.”

And Hyunwoo did.

“I don’t feel anything,” he said after a moment.

“Not yet,” said the mage, “but when you do, you won’t just feel—you’ll experience everything. Lay back now, lover.”

With far too much familiarity, Hyunwoo kicked off his shoes and scooted up the bed until his head rested on one of the pillows.

“You’re awfully stiff tonight,” Gray observed. “Let me fix that.”

She climbed onto the bed and straddled him, but Hyunwoo grabbed her waist just in time to hover her above his hips.

“It’ll stain,” he said with furious red cheeks as he glanced down to her wet thighs.

Gray laughed as softly as the mists that cloaked them today. “Hm. We wouldn’t want your Academy friends finding out you’ve been inside the notorious Scourge of the West yet again, would we?”

As was required, his uniform had been buttoned to the collar, but one by one, she remedied that until she spread his shirt wide to reveal his bronzed and toned chest. Hyunwoo had never kept his physique up for appearances—more for a matter of necessity for his strenuous field work—but he may have spent a few more hours in the gym over the last few weeks simply to delight in the way his woman’s eyes lit up at his broad expanse of chest and muscled waist.

His woman?

Too many things were running through his head that shouldn’t be, though Gray was quick to remedy that with a dusting of her fingertips over his nipples. He grunted, head empty now of everything that wasn’t her. Things were changing, tuning, within him. He wasn’t sure what, but it was coming on stronger by the second.

“There he is,” she mused. “My Hyunwoo.”

Her stubby nails scudded down his torso, and he felt the first flare of something new, something deep within him that he could neither define nor ignore. It made his heart quicken and his body vibrate. He could feel the woman hovering above him without a single touch, almost as though they were tethered together by silken threads. Just a pass of her hand through the air above him had him moaning, and the closer her skin came to his, the more exhilarated he was.

“What’s happening?” he asked shakily, afraid he would cum with one more touch.

“Mm, right on time,” she said. “Tell me, lover, what do you feel?”

Gray hovered her hand a few inches over his heart as she watched him intently.

“Heat,” he said through gritted teeth.

She lowered her hand an inch. “Now what do you feel?”

Hyunwoo squirmed. “A— A crackling? Something’s different. I don’t know.”

“Does it hurt?”

“I’ve never—I’ve never felt anything l-like it.”

As his voice caught, Gray hummed. Gradually, she lowered her hand to his pectoral, right over his heart. Hyunwoo arched immediately and groaned, flexing every muscle in his thighs to a near cramp just to stave off the rush of white-hot release that threatened to flood his pants. His eyes rolled back in his head as his fingers knotted in the blankets.

“And now?” She asked.

“Fuck, I feel— I feel you…”

“You feel my energy, same as I feel yours. This is what magic is, Hyunwoo. It’s energy. It lives in us. It connects us.” She lifted her hand, and the warm electricity in his chest fizzled and dulled. “And it can divide us.”

Satisfied, Gray sashayed naked back to the kitchen counter, though he could still feel their invisible binds lashing them to one another. She grabbed a bowl and brought it to the bedside table where she swirled a finger in the shimmering liquid and then lifted it, watching it drip golden and viscous back into a puddle. She recited something lyrical and low in her native tongue, and when she swirled her finger back through the oil, this time in a figure eight, she nodded to herself.

“You may want to remove that stupid thing,” Gray said with a pointed glower at the rest of his uniform.

Hyunwoo shimmied out of his shirt and slacks and laid back on the bed completely bare, cock stiff as could be and waiting with an embarrassing amount of expectation. He cleared his throat and focused instead on the mage’s every move.

Unlike him, Gray moved without a hint of shame, like her naked figure was more natural than a clothed one. She swept her head to one side, her glossy hair puddling over her other shoulder and offering an enticing view of her graceful neck.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Changing your mind about magic,” she answered with a sly grin. “Hold still, Hyunwoo.”

Gray scooped her hands in the bowl like a ladle. Oil dribbled from her fists and splattered onto his bare chest, and he hissed. It was warm and fragrant, but that wasn’t what had his muscles undulating on the bed.

“What is this, ah?” he managed as fireworks of the purest pleasure he’d ever felt exploded with each drop of oil.

“Just a little something to heighten your sensitivity and further open your mind—and heart—for me.”

Her hands glided over his chest, distributing the pools of fire-lit oil over every toned muscle from his throat to his feet excepting one very needy area. With his body glistening, her thumbs returned to flick once across each of his nipples again. Hyunwoo was generally a quiet lover, but there was no way to be today. He let out a monstrous groan as a shudder tore through him.

“Mm, that’s not so bad, is it?” Gray cooed. “How about this?”

Her hands traveled lower, over the smooth ripples of his abs, and this time, her nail traced the circumference of his navel. He was humming now. His eyes closed and his thick lips parted for heavy breath.

“You like it, Hyunwoo?”

The best he could answer with was a long, low sigh. Every nerve tingled, and even when Gray walked her fingers up his thigh, he could feel them just as strongly at his throat or over his chest. Coupled with whatever drug she’d dosed him with, his body thrummed with unreleased ecstasy. He was alive with her touch and so hard, it was agonizing.

Hyunwoo groaned again, this time miserably, and she laughed gently. “It hurts, doesn’t it? Poor little love. There’s only one place I haven’t touched you. Let me fix that.”

At last, she encircled his member with both hands stacked, her thumb pressing at the underside of his cock head. She stroked the valley there, massaging the oil over the pulsing veins and demanding ridges. Up and down, her hands glided, not missing an inch even at his base and balls. Just when Hyunwoo thought he was as worked up as he could get, those sinister fingers raced back to his neglected tip and circled it with a fine sheen of oil now muddied with precum. His whole body shook, and right at his absolute peak of desire, Gray let go.

Hyunwoo had never been an emotional guy, at least not one in a traditional sense. He felt everything deeply, but it didn’t often break the surface. Now, he was borderline ready to cry. The combination of her two spells entwined his every sense to have his whole body magnetized to her. It wasn’t just that his ever-present frustration for this woman had been dredged up but also his longing. He longed for her—to be inside her, to be with her, to be wanted by her—and now, there was no off switch. He was frayed and pathetic and simple, and she was sitting at the foot of the bed with a fire-etched smile on her face.

She knew it all.

Mercifully, Gray straddled his waist, and this time Hyunwoo was more than eager to let her sit on his stomach, his hands gripping her thighs to anchor himself more than anything. He felt the blaze between her legs soaking his abs, her body mercifully begging for him, too.

With a contented hum, she tipped forward and flattened herself against him. Their skin ignited like sparklers, and Hyunwoo’s every thought, intention, and dream drew to the surface, hoping to merge with hers.

Gray rested her cheek on his collar, her lips at his throat, and sighed.

“Do you like it?” she asked.

“It’s incredible.”

She kissed the base of his neck then, letting the flat of her tongue gloss through the chaste parting at her lips. It was like napalm, but it was nothing compared to the reward of her mouth on his at last. He tasted that same earthiness of the capsule she had dosed him with, and he figured she had taken one, too. With the spell magnified on their tongues, Hyunwoo swore he could feel a bit of his soul passing into her. Breaking apart was agony, but from the wanton cast in her eyes, he knew he was about to get his reprieve.

Gray sat up and swiveled around on top of him so her back faced him as well as her toned ass. She looked over her shoulder at him with that tempting smile of hers and said, “I want you to close your eyes now, lover. Let the magic in. Let me in.”

Hyunwoo nodded though his muscles tightened with unexpected nerves.

With her hand at his base to direct him, Gray shifted her weight to her knees and sat back on his cock, burying him within her warm cavern. He had promised to keep his eyes closed, but her indulgent voice beckoned them back open. She keened as she took him, each inch adding another tear in the wells of her eyes that spilled over the second she reached his hilt. She was stunning, her sinewy back tense with pleasure while the blossom of her ass billowed against his hips.

“Damn, so good,” she hiccuped.

“Intense,” he stuttered in agreement as his hands locked around her ankles for any sort of grip against the onslaught of decadence that had overtaken them.

Hyunwoo always felt most alive inside her, but this was so different. His shaft was ensconced in her velvet walls, yet he was hyper-aware of her like never before. He could sense where she needed him most inside her, and as Gray swirled her hips in the bowl of his pelvis, greedy for every last bit of him she could swallow, he thrust up just enough to pitch her forward with huge gasps for breath. Her nails dug into his knees as she steadied herself.

“Oh my god,” she rasped. “You know, don’t you? You can feel it?”

“Mm. I see this is as much for you as it is for me.” He meant it as a light tease, but there was nothing funny about how incredibly hot and tight her walls were around him nor was there about how close he already was.

“Never claimed magic couldn’t be selfish, too.”

Gray switched her hands to the bed and shifted her weight onto them so she could ride him in earnest, and the second she took full control, Hyunwoo’s brain blanked out. She had always taken his cock just as he liked, but with the addition of the enchantments, it was no longer just pleasure he felt but pure, unadulterated euphoria.

His senses were a jumble. He tasted colors—spicy reds and tart golds and unctuous tans—and he felt sounds—the pulsing bass of her groans, the trembling of his breath, the quiver of her cry for release. Everything culminated toward an impending explosion like he’d never felt before.

“I can’t hold it,” Hyunwoo warned, his fingers pawing at her back, “can’t.”

“Not yet,” she ordered, not letting up her pistoning for a second.

“Gray, I can’t—”

She lifted to his tip and pressed her fingertip underneath her to his tender, sticky flesh just above where his body united with hers. A sudden chill flooded his belly, and that immediate urge to blow numbed in a state of suspended animation.

“I said not yet,” Gray commanded. “I want to cum together.”

Hyunwoo bucked in frustration under her. All this maddening pleasure with no way to release it rolled back like the sea gathering strength. He could feel all of it, every ounce of desperation for her and every drop of sin within him, compounding with crushing pressure. He was almost afraid of what would happen when he was allowed to let it out.

Instead of a bounce, Gray switched to a determined grind, rocking his iron-hard rod along her frantic walls. Hyunwoo felt the glance of fingers against his balls and watched as her shoulders rolled with her every gasp.

“Are you touching yourself?” he asked as he felt yet another gloss of fingertips at his base.

“Mm-hm,” she purred, and something within him snapped.

His hands clasped her waist to still her as he thrust himself deep within her, spearing the inside of her belly with his twitching, desperate cock.

“That’s my job,” he growled.

Hyunwoo pulled her off of him then and tossed Gray back onto the bed to her surprised shout. Not a second later, he pounced, splitting her knees wide so he could take any part of her he desired.

“Yes,” she murmured, “take care of me, baby.”

In one smooth motion, he slid between her knees, his sticky length pressing heavy on her mound. He bent down and kissed her, savoring how cold her mouth was from panting. As his tongue slipped in, his length found its home back in her hot core. They sighed into each other as, this time, he controlled their rhythm.

Slow and sensual had been the pace Gray had set, but he saw it now for what it was: another game. She had wanted him out of his mind with lust for her, and she’d succeeded.

But Hyunwoo didn’t want games. He wanted her.

Begging. Bare. Open. Raw.

And he wanted her to want him as completely, too.

Out of the corner of his eye, Hyunwoo caught a glimpse of liquid fire, and he smiled. His fingers closed over the edge of the wooden bowl, where he wetted his fingertips and brought them back to her clit to polish it anew.

Gray chanted his name at the top of her lungs as her core seized around him. Through a tremulous laugh, she praised, “Such a clever boy.”

Hyunwoo grunted and focused his attention on her glistening, swollen button pressing insistently against his thumb. She looked so pretty like that, exposed and caramelized by oil and arousal and flame, that he worried even her spell couldn’t stop him from cumming at the sight.

At least he knew, as much as he felt, that Gray wouldn’t last much longer either. Her walls were quivering, pulling him deeper and deeper, while her composure evaporated. Her hands knotted against her scalp while her nipples peaked in dark, aching rosettes as she undulated and bucked and thrashed and whined.

“I need it, I need it, I need it,” she demanded so fast it sounded like one word.

Hyunwoo gritted his teeth and plowed faster into her, making sure he didn’t let his attentions on her clit wane for even a millisecond.

Where the city was noisy and overwhelming, here, only the symphonies of their bodies played, a crescendo of moans and whimpers backed by a dewy kiss every time their sexes met, and it reminded him it had been far too long since he’d tasted her mouth.

Hyunwoo fell forward so their bodies met along with their lips. Gray closed her arms along with her legs around him and held him as close as she possibly could while their breath intertwined. They were heat and sin and wrongness and rightness hopelessly and irrevocably entangled.

“Deeper. Deeper, Hyunwoo,” she mumbled against his swollen lips. “You feel so good. Please. Don’t leave. Don’t ever leave.”

There it was, the begging, and it was more powerful than he could have ever hoped for. Thanks to the enchantment, he felt her words like ropes binding his heart to hers. She could have said “don’t stop.” But she hadn’t.

Don’t leave.

“I won’t,” he promised.

Hyunwoo wrapped his arms around her in a bear hug and kissed her with the full force of his heart, and only when he ran out of air did he let up. He planted his hands into the mattress to utilize what was left of his strength and railed hard and fast into his woman.

Gray let out a vicious moan that shook the glazing in the windows, flared the fire in the hearth, and rattled the baskets in the rafters. Her nails raked down the expanse of his back, and as the skin broke, so did the dam within him. Hyunwoo rutted into her with the instinct of a wild animal, with sounds just as inhuman, and he came harder and longer than he’d ever imagined possible. Even buried to his hilt, it gushed around him in a mess of shame and perfect ecstasy.

His release triggered Gray’s. Her walls strangled him, as greedy for his offering as they were to lock him to her. Hyunwoo felt her cries vibrating in his chest, and it nearly spurred on a second jet of cum even as his balls twitched, completely emptied. At last, her every stiffened muscle slackened until she seemed to melt beneath him. Her arms flopped to the bed, and a laugh bubbled up from her stomach, jiggling her soft breasts and lighting her whole face.

“Go on, say it,” she prompted, eying him expectantly.

“Okay, I admit that was… Kind of cool.”

She belted out another long laugh, and her hand came up to cup his cheek. “You’re such a simple guy, Hyunwoo. You’re perfect.”

The tenderness was intimidating, and he averted his gaze to the bowl of oil. “That’s some powerful stuff.”

Slowly, Gray’s smile tempered. “It’s not the oil. I mean, I’ve used it before, and it’s good, but it’s different with you. It doesn’t just amplify pleasure. It amplifies feelings.”

“Hm,” was all he said as he buried his face instead in the hollow of her throat.

She didn’t seem to mind his weight pressing down onto her and took to wrapping her arms back around him. She rubbed idly along the expanse of his back until she glanced over the claw marks she’d left him. Hyunwoo hissed and she kissed the crown of his head.

“I’ll fix those before you go,” she said.

“Leave them. I’ll just make sure I wear a shirt in the gym.”

Neither said anything about the heavy implications of those words.

Instead, Hyunwoo thrust gently into her, savoring the way her cunt hugged his waning erection as tightly as her legs knitted across his. She hummed in the afterglow, followed by a contented sigh, and it was even more sensual than the lewd symphony between her legs.

Even though he would have done anything to linger in her heat, after the most ferocious orgasm of his life, he softened, and he was forced to withdraw along with a pitiful groan. Cream gushed forth from her hole the moment it finally could, lacquering her puffy lips and the meat of her thighs. Gray shivered and hurried to squeeze her legs shut before she soaked the sheets further.

She rolled on her side to watch Hyunwoo collapse onto his usual spot on the bed, hands folded on his belly and a silly, tight-lipped grin on his face as he stared up into the rafters.

“It’s times like this that I really wish I had a shower. The creek is going to be ice cold,” she said.

“I’m sure you have a spell for that,” he replied with a shrug, and she gaped at him.

Hyunwoo wasn't sure why until he realized it was the first time he had ever suggested anyone use magic.

Her gape morphed into a gentle smirk. Gray traced the jagged slashes at his chest where she’d sent a grab bag of shrapnel barreling toward him on the day they’d met. With her other hand, she touched the scar he’d given her in return.

“We’ve come a long way, haven’t we?” she said.

Hyunwoo didn’t answer, but he also couldn’t stop himself from leaning into her featherlight touches.

“I’m glad you dropped by,” the mage continued. “Next time you come, I’ll be sure to get some grey amber, so we—”

“I said there wasn’t going to be a next time.”

Gray raised a playful eyebrow. “I know. And I said you said that last time.”

Hyunwoo’s head thumped back onto the pillow as he sighed. The glow of everything, even the fire, faded all at once, and the damp chill of the Pacific fog seeped back into his bones.

“Do you ever think about what it would be like if we just skipped all these games?”

Gray propped up onto her arm to stare down at him. “Games keep it fun, Hyunwoo.”

“This isn’t fun for me,” he blurted, and her whole body tensed. “It isn’t fun feeling like the person I want most in the world could be the very next one I find twitching in an alley after a Magicka overdose.”

Indignant now, she snapped, “How many times do I have to tell you I don’t use Magicka.”

“It doesn’t matter. What if it’s worse? What if those people you think you’re playing figure it out? What if the Force deems you the next threat for termination? I can’t see that, Gray. I can’t watch that happen. Don’t you care what happens to me, too?”

“Of course I do.”

“As your plaything,” Hyunwoo corrected.

“Now who’s playing games?” she volleyed back. “I didn’t say that.”

“You don’t have to. Everything is a game to you, even the laws of nature.”

Gray was up and dressing without regard for the mess trickling down her legs, and with each stab of her arm through her sleeves, she spat, “What do you know about any of it, Agent Son?”

His pants came careening across the bed and into his startled hands as he took the unmistakable cue to dress, too, as the mage ranted.

“You, with your army of uniformed militants, policing the world against forces you couldn’t possibly comprehend. You think magic tears the universe apart and remakes it as the wielder sees fit, which only shows how little you know. I thought this,” she said, gesturing between them, “us, would shake you awake. Magic is older than any of us, older than our oldest empires, older than all the creatures walking this earth. My people know this. We are raised with it. Your people have forgotten it. Now, you’re locked out, and since you can’t have it, you fear it and those who understand it.”

Hyunwoo had never seen Gray like this. She was tall, luminous, with her glossy hair fanned out like raven feathers over her honeyed shoulders. The dark depths of her pecan eyes shimmered, lit by some torch of conviction he had only ever hoped to find in his own. As she closed the gap between them, an invisible buffer pressed him back until he collided with the wall. Her breasts flattened against him as the buffer transformed into a bubble ever-tightening around them, melding their bodies into one another.

“Magic is everywhere,” she murmured, her face millimeters from his, “even in a kiss.”

Her fingertips glanced across the bowl of oil on the nightstand and came up to his lips, anointing the bottom one with an elixir that sang of the earth, woodsy and grassy but with a bright tingling that lingered on the tip of his tongue. She drizzled a few drops on her own flushed tongue and coiled it into her mouth as Hyunwoo watched with drunken eyes.

Gray kissed him then. Their lips slipped along each other with their familiar ease only this time, fireworks exploded behind his eyes with all the colors he’d ever seen and maybe some he hadn’t. He shivered from head to toe as he threatened to cum again in his pants at a single gloss of her oil-coated tongue. She seemed to sense it and pulled back just enough to smirk at the way Hyunwoo’s mouth sagged and his tongue lapped up the last of the concoction from his lips.

“Would you have me give this up? Would you give that up? Even if I could, I wouldn’t.”

“If that’s true, if magic isn’t anything to be feared, then why not just keep it here? No one would even know you practice if you kept to your cabin, but instead, you’re contracting out to the highest bidder. It’s like you want to get caught.”

She stiffened and Hyunwoo blanched.

“Is that— Is that what you want?”

“I told you,” she muttered, heading back to the kitchen to toss bowls and utensils into the wash basin with far too much force, “I like my games.”

“That’s not it. Look at me, Gray.”

She didn’t, but at least she stilled.

“What is all this then?” Hyunwoo pressed. “Why are you running risky contract work when you could just do what you wanted without attracting the ire of the Force? What am I missing?”

Her eyes narrowed to slits along with her voice as she hissed, “Everything. You’re missing everything, Hyunwoo. What do you think tonight was about?”

“That was you trying to get me to see things your way, not you trying to see things mine. You may not like to admit it, but your magic hurts people.”

“They’re barely people,” Gray retorted.

“Just because you say a thing doesn't make it so. You are not judge, jury, and executioner. There are laws—”

“Please. What are laws but the swaddling blankets of insecure men,” she bit as she turned from him and stormed toward the door, her hand resting on the handle. “That’s not you, Hyunwoo. You think I would have invited you here—into my bed—if I believed this is who you really are?”

“You knew who I was the second we faced off on that rooftop.”

“I knew who you worked for, but I didn’t know who you were until you had me cornered, dead to rights. You could have finished the job you started,” Gray said, knocking the spot where her scar was with her fist, “and used your knockout gas to drag me back to your headquarters—that’s what you were supposed to do, isn’t it—but you didn’t. You let me turn the tables on you. That night, when I brought you back here to save you, and all these months since, I’ve wondered why you let that happen, but now I know.

“You don’t see things, Hyunwoo, you feel them. You feel everything. Even now, you can feel the magic flowing through this room, can’t you? Flowing through you?”

Unbidden, his fingers touched his tingling lips.

“Even now, you could put an end to this. If you truly believed what they taught you, I would already be in shackles. You've got me defenseless, yet I'm still free. You’re the only one handcuffed. So I’m here with you, Hyunwoo, nothing between us now. What does that tell you? What do you feel?”

Scared. No, terrified. He was terrified he was going to lose her in every way he could, but some ways were more permanent than others, and that was what spurred his tongue at last.

“You need to clear out of here,” he said, buttoning the last button at his collar. “I saw a memo on Director Yoo’s desk that we’re sweeping the Hoh next.”

His words couldn’t have been colder even if he possessed the magic to actually chill the room.

Her face fell, all the brightness gone from it. Even the gloss of her hair seemed to dull. “So that’s your answer…”

“I don’t know what else I can say at this point,” he admitted.

“Then maybe our ultimatum is already upon us after all.”

“Maybe.”

They stared at each other for a long moment, neither sure where to go from here.

“When you come back, I won’t be here,” Gray warned.

“Good.”

She yanked open the door with a loud snap, thick fog stampeding in to the forbidden zone. The mage trained her eyes on a spot across the cottage as she waited at the door like a sentry. Hyunwoo bowed lightly, his hands tugging the bottom of his uniform back into place as he stepped onto the path.

The door thundered closed behind him, and he flinched. It sounded so final. Hyunwoo felt like a fool standing there in the shadowy wood with nothing but the shifting ambiguity of the fog to engulf him. He swallowed hard and marched out very differently than he had marched in.

On the way to Gray’s place, he had cursed his weakness, but now, on his way back to cold reality, he cursed himself. He wasn't thinking about the sex, as mind-altering as it was; he was thinking about her.

He was thinking about the hearth alive with embers and the way she knelt to stoke them while tending her food. He could still taste the bannock and the warm spices of the stew. In that dusty cottage full of unprecedented contraband, Hyunwoo realized he had never felt more at home, not even as a bright-eyed, naïve recruit entering the Mage Force dorms for the first time.

As the fog rolled in eerily thick, more like a blanket than a mist over everything but a one-way path out of the woods, Hyunwoo realized with cosmic irony that everything had become so clear for him.

It wasn’t just Gray’s beauty or even her mystique nor was it the dizzying enchantments that had rent his consciousness wide and showed him things he could never have experienced otherwise. It wasn’t curiosity that had stayed his hand on that rooftop nor was it lust that had propelled his feet down the path to her cottage any of the times he had come, and it sure as hell wasn’t his duty that had tried to persuade her back to safety.

It was love.

And he realized one other thing with paralyzing clarity: he was breaking his precious laws, too, because in the end, wasn’t love its own sort of magic, maybe the most universe-altering of all?

Hyunwoo whirled around, stirring the fog like Gray’s skirts around him, but the cottage was gone, no doubt wrapped up tight in a cloaking spell. For all he knew, it could be right behind him, but he’d never see it. The path he’d just followed had vanished behind him as though it had never been there at all; there was only the road left ahead. Hell, he couldn’t even tell what time it was. When he’d arrived, it had been sometime in the mid-afternoon, but the mists were so thick, they blotted out what was left of the sun.

Going back wasn’t an option, but if Hyunwoo knew anything of Gray, he would meet her again. She was right, he didn’t see things, he felt them, and right now, in his heart, he felt he would have another chance to confess the truth. Maybe that was just the dying breath of the magic that tethered him to her, but as the last of those frail, silver strands of connection severed between them, his heart called to hers.

And somewhere, deep in the mists behind him, he heard the squeal of wood on stone as a familiar door opened.

#monsta x smut #shownu smut #oneshot #enemies to lovers #enemies and lovers #october vibes #highly specific AU ENGAGE!

41 notes · View notes

kerivari · 11 months

Text

made this au back in 2019 and based it mostly on "Are You There?" and "We Are Here" eras where MX are demons of 7 deadly sins

#monsta x #shownu #wonho #kihyun #minhyuk #hyungwon #jooheon #changkyun #demon au #kihyuk #showho #jookyun #au #monsta x fanart #kpop #kpop fanart #my art

8 notes · View notes

fulltimemoonbebe · 2 years

Text

Changkyun as a Cyberpunk Demon.

#changkyun #changkyun moodboard #changkyun au #im changkyun #wonho #hyungwon #minhyuk #shownu #kihyun #jooheon #monsta x aesthetic #monsta x moodboard #monsta x #cyberpunk #cyberpunk changkyun #cyberpunk character

67 notes · View notes

imagine-korea · 2 years

Text

MonstaX Mafia!AU: Their wife running away again

So I wanted to do a reaction for MonstaX based on this request from a long time ago. Because the stories got pretty long I'm writing it in 2 parts. I hope you guys enjoy! ~HyeJin

Warnings: crude-ish language, not really gender neutral

HyunWoo (Shownu):

Neither of you wanted to get married, to anyone, ever. Yet both of you knew it was necessary in today's society. He needed someone by his side during official matters, you just wanted everyone off your back as you lived your life.

Your marriage felt a lot more like a business partnership than a marriage even though you had chosen to get married to each other. You'd have dinner together and even that felt like a meeting. When you'd go out together he would introduce you as his partner instead of his wife, not seeing what was wrong with that.

The type of relationship you had never bothered you until one day he said something particularly hurtful.

You were out at an event that one of his "friends" had invited him to. You went to socialize as he stood with a man named JB, most likely making yet another deal. You felt like Shownu never did much else. You had met a man named Jimin. He was charming and easy to talk to so naturally you talked for a large part of the evening. That was until Shownu approached.

"Jimin," he greeted and turned to greet you as well "Wife." Is what he chose to greet you as. You scoffed in disbelief. Jimin merely nodded as he immediately noticed the uneasy tension that greeting had created, and he went for his drink to have a way to avoid conversation. But Shownu didn't leave it at that.

"You know, you can always break our contract. Then you can bed whoever you want." his face was stoic, dead serious, as he looked down at you. You heard Jimin cough beside you, nearly choking on the whiskey he was sipping on. Your expression went from shocked to a scowl.

"Yeah, let's break it right now. Wouldn't that be the biggest deal of the age." you all but spat at him. He had never seen you angry, not even frustrated, so your reaction took him by surprise as you walked off, exiting the party. Then again, he had never treated you this way either. He was always very respectful and careful with his words.

You stayed away for a few weeks. He had called you but you hadn't picked up. So after those few weeks he decided to come over to where he knew you were staying. "I know what I said was wrong. I shouldn't have treated you that way. Will you come back and be my partner? If you still want to." Is what he had said with flowers in his hands. You found that it was futile arguing over something like that while you weren't even an actual couple, but his words had hurt you more than you would have liked to admit.

You went back to the house you shared with him. You tried to pretend nothing had happened, that it hadn't bothered you. The two of you spent more time together now than before. He started consulting you more on official matters but more futile matters as well, as which tie to wear when going out.

Months passed and the more you started feeling like a couple, the more his words ran through your mind. Either one of you could break the arrangement at any time. It bothered you. You didn't really run away, you told him you were travelling for business as you really just wanted time for yourself. To think. You only told the maid and JooHeon, who you were close with, where you went and to call you if anything was up.

And so JooHeon called you after only 5 days of your absence. "Would you be able to come back, or maybe just call Shownu? He is planning to do something stupid and he won't listen to us." He couldn't tell you much but his tone of voice told you enough to take a plane back home.

So now you stood in front of him, bags just dropped in the hallway as your first thought was to go to him and talk him out of whatever he was planning.

"JooHeon called me." you stated simply, he hummed in response. You walked up to him, taking the rims of his suit jacket in your hands and looking up at him. "Tell me what's going on." you urged with a light and careful tone of voice. He sighed deeply, making it almost sound like a low grumble from the depths of his chest. He started to explain how BTS had been getting into their territory and he couldn't let that go unpunished. He had to show they, MX, weren't to be messed with. So he was planning on doing so in a violent manner, something he usually didn't go for. "Sweetheart" You stated, you never used endearing names with him but it just flowed off your lips so easily. He softened at the sound of it so you went on "You know that won't end well. You can't ignore the fact that they have more power than you. We should handle this more diplomatically, more strategically. That is the only way we'll win this." his eyes had closed but you could see he was listening. It was silent in the room for a moment until he spoke up with just a few words. "You're right." you looked shocked for a second making him smile.

"How is it you listen to no one but me?" you finally said with a giggle. He raised an eyebrow. "What good is a husband that doesn't listen to his wife."

Again you paused for a moment, your smile falling just a little. "That's the first time you called me your wife without it having a negative undertone." you said.

"I never wanted it to have a negative undertone. I'm not good at this type of stuff, but can we try this again? Will you marry me... Again? For real this time." That wasn't the moment or place he wanted to ask you, nor did he get to set the mood. He didn't get down on one knee, but he did hold you close, eyes never leaving yours as he held a beautifully crafted engagement ring in his hand. "Yes, but how about we do this properly this time and date first." He laughed at this yet slipped the ring on your finger. "God, I have a lot to learn. Don't I? But I'll do anything for you."

MinHyuk:

You knew Minhyuk before his mafia days as the cute kid in your class in primary school. Then afterwards you knew him as one of the rebels in high school. After that, you didn't really know him at all. That was until he approached you one day when you were out shopping for a birthday present for a friend of yours. He walked up to you as if you had been best friends, boldly asking you out. He seemed cool, collected, a little intimidating even. Yet you felt the urge to say yes.

You were under the impression that he had changed a lot from how you knew him, that was until you saw his celebratory dance once he got back to his friends.

After that first date, came a second and a third up until a 12th. It took a while for the two of you to actually become a couple yet you were always talking, texting and spending time together to an extent that it felt weird to still ask to become a couple. Until one day. "Can we make this official?" he wondered out loud one evening when he had come over. Sounding more like a question to himself than to you, yet you answered. "I think we can." You had replied. After that it suddenly all went really fast. Two years later you had already gotten married.

Even before you got married you had voiced your concern about the people he hung out with. He told you not to worry but after you got married you found out exactly what type of thing he was involved with and you ran to get some time to think.

He came to find you and promised there was nothing to worry about, that he wasn't doing anything dangerous. You trusted him and went back home.

Though you ran again when you found out that wasn't entirely true. He had come home, not being as talkative as usual and he had barely even given you a hug since he got home. While he was making himself a snack you walked up behind him, wrapping your arms around him. As soon as your hands made contact with his sides, he flinched.

You looked up at him with a frown yet he didn't make eye contact. Before you could question him however, the doorbell rang. You gave him a pointed look, telling him that you would talk about it later.

"Good evening ma'am. Is that your car out front?" the man in police uniform asked as you had opened the door with a frown. You glanced over his shoulder, past his colleague, to see what car he was talking about.

"That's my husband's, why?" you asked, knowing all too well at that point it wasn't because of bad parking. "May we speak with him?" as soon as you nodded they were already pushing past you, into the living room where he now stood. They took him with them for questioning for something they weren't allowed to tell you. Not long after their headlights had left your view, you were also in your car. Not knowing where you were going, but knowing it would be away from there.

A few weeks later, his friends had contacted you saying he was in prison for a few months for illegal ownership of weaponry as they couldn't charge him with much more. You knew damn well he had done much more but didn't care to find out. You didn't even visit or contact him as you were even living with a good friend from work for a while, until you figured out what it was you wanted.

After the few months passed, he was released, and there you stood to pick him up. "Y/N?" he sounded shocked to see you there, you didn't expect yourself to be there either, yet you couldn't help yourself after Shownu had let you know when he would be released.

As soon as he stood before you, as his eyes met yours, the tears started to flow. You hit his chest as he held onto your shoulders, taking whatever blows you sent his way. "I tried so hard to hate you." you sniffed, giving in and falling into his chest. "I love you too" he said with a kiss on your forehead. He drove the two of you home, as your eyes were too puffy to drive, and he promised himself he'd do better for you.

KiHyun:

This got so long so I wrote a short version here but if you want to read the longer version it, you can do so here: Little bit of love - Kihyun.

You hated each other, not from day one but you definitely learned to hate each other. You were forced to meet, forced to wed and forced to live together. You had been found the worthless daughter after a line of four strong strapping young men. He was the successful son of an even more successful kingpin who hadn't yet found a woman to marry at the age of 26 and his father found it a disgrace.

It took a year of living under the same roof and being at each other's throats before you cracked and ran off. He couldn't care less but it was his father who was fuming to catch you selling goods on the black market and to have his men drag you back to his son who would "have to teach you a good lesson".

It took him seeing how his father treated you for you to see a different, more protective side of him. He wasn't ever the nicest to you, but as his father came to lecture, he came up for you. He told his own father off, the man who he normally obeyed no matter what he would say. You were in the other room and heard everything they said. Every quality he thought you had, every quirk he thought was a benefit, every 'good' thing he had noticed you do for his and your fathers' groups, when you thought no one had even taken mind of it. He told his father he had no right treating you that way when he hadn't even bothered to visit at your invites.

His father walked out without another word and KiHyun went off to his personal bedroom, not knowing you had overheard the conversation.

He didn't treat you much different after that, but you realised he hadn't been treating you all that bad to begin with. The two of you were just always frustrated and irritable and you took it out on each other. It was the way you both coped with how those around you treated you.

One day you were sitting in the couch reading, not really caring about the stuff that still needed to be done around the house as your feet were sore from a long day. Of course KiHyun, irritable as ever, had to point it out with a grumble and reproach. You looked up at him with a blank face, letting him rant about all of the stuff you had carelessly decided not to do. You slowly closed your book and set it down on the table as you watched him get more and more worked up.

Once he was done with his rant about you, you were still sitting there with your eyes on him as his eyes finally met your gaze. Your expression still calm, almost indifferent. You tapped the spot on the couch beside you, telling him to come sit by you. The scoff that he let out almost sounded like a whimper telling you just how stressed he was. No matter how much he liked to believe you hated each other, he did as you asked. "Talk to me, I know shit is hard so talk to me."

After that evening, instead of yelling insults and throwing blame at each other, you would actually start talking about what was actually bothering the two of you that day. And you started to tolerate each other.

One evening he had invited you to a karaoke night with his friends. It was Minhyuk's birthday and his wife had arranged for a party at a local karaoke bar. Apparently Minhyuk had asked if KiHyun would take you so his wife had someone to talk to.

You got to know yet another side of him that night, and you quite enjoyed it as you had fun, danced, sang and laughed together. "You're such a beautiful couple." DalRae, Minhyuk's wife, commented to you at some point during the evening. "You're so supportive of each other and he is always looking out for you even when he's with his friends. It makes me think everything can work out even when there's so much going on." Her words haunted your mind the entire night, slowly making you realise the feelings you had developed for him over the course of those past months.

Kihyun might have realised the same thing as that evening when you got home he stopped you in your path before you could go to your separate room and kissed you deeply. You wanted to stop him, thinking the alcohol had taken over his actions, but as he reassured you that wasn't the case you couldn't stop yourself anymore.

You ran off after you essentially had a one night stand with your husband. At least that was what it was probably supposed to be like for the two of you. Your head filled with doubts if the night before meant anything, but just as filled with doubts if it didn't. Not even 2 hours after you left you already got back to your house.

You found him in the kitchen but you didn't dare to look at him, pretending like you only went in there to put away the croissants you had picked up on the way. A deep sigh that sounded like relief was heard from Kihyun's direction. "I thought you ran." His voice sounded cheerless, almost pained. You couldn't help but be honest with him. "I did." You said, pausing for a moment "But I came back."

With those words, he kissed you again. "It wasn't the alcohol that made me yearn for you, it just gave me the courage to finally show you how I feel."

♥ Thanks for reading ♥

hyungwon, jooheon, Part 2 coming soon (Do you guys want a wonho one? I'll write it separately)

masterlist

125 notes · View notes

sweetestofchaos · 2 years

Text

Mᴏɴsᴛᴀ X Rᴇᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴ ᴛᴏ...𝑩𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝑫𝒂𝒕𝒆

𝔹𝕒𝕔𝕜 𝕊𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕪: Your friend convinced you to go on a blind date and when you see all the color around him, you know he’s the one

SWF ~ Soulmate AU ~ S2L ~ Non-Idol AU ~ Request #23

Shownu

~ cooking classes ~

Hyunwoo was skeptical at best about this blind date. His friends were great people, but the girls they set him up with were…different. The only reason he went along with this blind date is because his friends got him a spot in the couple baking class with some well-known chef that was coming to town. His friends gave him your phone number and the two of you had texted back and forth for about a week. He liked you so far, you were funny and got right to the point with most of your messages. It was easier to get a feel for you than the other women. He was mildly curious as to what you looked like, but at the end of the day he didn’t think it would really matter. He could see the two of you being good friends if the romance wasn’t there tonight.

He saw you before you saw him, and he nearly feel out of his seat from the number of colors that were swirling in front of him. Y-you were his soulmate? As the colors bleed into your body, Hyunwoo couldn’t help the smile that pulled at his lips. You were perfect in every meaning of the word. Your brown skin was mesmerizing, the long orange body waves of your wig framed your face just right and your outfit…Hyunwoo wasn’t sure what he looked more. When you finally noticed him, your eyes widened and Hyunwoo waved at you shyly as he made his way over to you.

“Hi. I’m Hyunwoo…your soulmate.” This was going to be the best date ever.

Minhyuk

~ sip and paint ~

He was sitting with his back turned towards the door, a glass of wine already halfway done by the time you got there. You looked down at your phone and stared at the black and white picture for a while, everyone looked the same, sadly. The only thing that stood out about Minhyuk’s outfits was that the lather jacket has some crazy design on the back. You glanced around the space before you and spotted Minhyuk. You took a deep breath in before you walked over to him and tapped his shoulder.

The moment Minhyuk turn around, you were blinded by the brightest lights you have ever seen and when the lights dimmed, Minhyuk was in front of you with white-blonde hair and wide brown eyes.

“D-do you see it too?” Minhyuk’s voice was smooth as he stumbled over his words, not believing his luck. Not only were you the cutest woman he has ever seen, but you were his soulmate too! You nodded your head, your passion twist, swaying about your face and Minhyuk smiled, “This date just got a lot more fun.”

Hyungwon

~ restaurant date ~

Hyungwon stepped into the restaurant and gave his name to the host waiting in the front. He was informed that his date was already there and that made Hyungwon frown. He hopped that you hadn’t been waiting too long for him. He fiddled with his earring as he followed the host to his table and when he saw the back of your head he smiled. ‘Cute’ Your hair was a cloud of curls that looked soft to the touch, but Hyungwon knew better than to ask. The host announced Hyungwon’s arrival and when he sat down, he was happy ‘cause the moment your eyes locked, his couldn’t feel his legs.

A kaleidoscope of colors creeped into his vision, the black and white world shifted before him and you sat in the middle of it all, pretty in hues of golds and reds. His soulmate, he thought he would never find you. Your curls were a deep brown color, and he took notice of the single braid that sat on top of your head, he would have to remember is that style was called anything, it reminded him his short stay on a farm.

He shook the thought from his head and cleared his throat, “Sorry, I’m late lovely…can you forgive me?”

Kihyun

~ comedy club ~

The place was packed, everyone wanted to see this new comedy show. Kihyun was always up for a good laugh, so he took the bribe for the blind date. As he was walking into the building, someone pushed him from behind, sending his phone tumbling out his hands and sliding across the floor only to be stopped by a pair of open toed heels. A hand with manicured nails picks up Kihyun’s phone and when he catches the woman’s eyes, everything around him flashes in a rainbow of colors. Kihyun blinks once, twice…three times before the vivid colors settle in front of his eyes and there you stand.

Your black and green faux locs are tied behind your neck with a crisp white bow and Kihyun is sure that green is now his favorite color…even when he hasn’t seen them all just yet. He smiles at you and chuckles, looks like the two of you are wearing matching colors. He wouldn’t want anything less with his soulmate. Walking over, Kihyun holds out his hand and you hand him the phone.

“You look even more beautiful in color.”

Joohoney

~ amusement park ~

Jooheon checked his phone for the third time once he saw that you made it to the amusement park. He dropped his location and shoved his phone into his pant pocket. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t excited to hang out with you tonight. His friends really hyped you up and he wanted to know if all their talk was true. He heard some fussing going on a little way away from him and when he looked over, he saw a woman crouched on the floor, struggling to find what looked to be her glasses. Jooheon sucked his teeth as people just walked over the poor women and he quickly made his way over to her. He looked around and found her glasses behind her.

“Here, you are miss!” Jooheon picked up the glasses and when he looked up to hand them to you, his hand missed yours as a whirlwind of color swirled around you. You stared wide eyed at Jooheon, and he cursed before he bent down and picked your glasses up again. “S-sorry! Just um…” Jooheon rubbed the back of his neck. “Look, I’m supposed to be here on a blind date, but you’re my soulmate an-” You interrupted him by asking his name and Jooheon was quick to introduce himself. You smiled and tucked a loose box braid behind your ear before you introduced yourself.

Jooheon’s eyes widened and he giggled, “Really? You’re my blind date?”

Changkyun

~ casino date ~

Changkyun had just stepped away from the bar, holding his whiskey sour loosely in his hand. He scanned the casino floor for his blind date but didn’t see you yet. Heading towards the blackjack table, Changkyun set his drink on the edge and tossed a few chips from his pocket onto the table. As the game started up, Changkyun sent you a quick text to let you know where he was. Soon after he felt someone tap his shoulder. When he turned around, Changkyun was blinded by a strong white flash and a small pounding behind his eyes.

Rubbing his eyes, Changkyun blinked and when you can into focus, you were in full color looking just as dazed as him. The first thing Changkyun noticed was how dark and warm your skin looked along with the many twists and turns braided into your brown and dirty blonde hair. He reached out and touched your cheek with his fingertips, then smoothly cupped the side of your face as he smiled.

“Hello, beautiful…want to give me more good luck?”

Wonho

~ movie date ~

Hoseok was beyond nervus. He had heard so many stories about you from his friends and he wondered if you were really as cool as they made you seem. He wished he could text you, but his friends kept your number a secret, said that he would have to get that himself. Hoseok had just arrived at the movie theater and walked inside to see what movies were playing. He heard good things about the newest Doctor Strange, but he knew that not everyone was a Marvel fan. There was a rom-com playing that looked okay…which would you like? Looking down at the watch on his wrist, Hoseok took in the time and bite his lower lip, you should be here any minute now.

He stepped away from the movie posters and stood by the entrance to make it easier for you to find him. He agreed to wear a certain outfit and the said was said for you, so you both knew what to look for. The door opened and a large group of teenagers walked in and when the door closed, Hoseok breath caught in his chest as he watched the door slam in your face. He rushed over to open the door and ask if you were okay, but the moment your eyes locked through the glass Hoseok’s word failed him as color bleed into his vision.

You stared back at him just as wide eyed before you smiled and allowed him to open the door for you. The thick black locs in your hair suited your face shape and he loved the gold clips that adored some of the strands. He held out his arm and you easily liked elbows, leaning into his larger body as he led you towards the ticket booth.

“It will be nice to see a movie in color for once. Don’t you agree, soulmate?”

#monsta x reactions #soc monsta x #wonho #im changkyun #yoo kihyun #shownu #chae hyungwon #minhyuk #joohoney #blind date #soul mate au #request 23

40 notes · View notes

tinytinyblogs · 10 months

Text

Shownu As Your Boyfriend

Boyfriend

(n.) A person who 90% of the time annoy you, and 10% of the time makes you forget the 90%

Monsta x masterlist here

Son Hyunwoo is a man who will definitely give you his adorable smile every day. You make him happy all the time, and he is grateful to have you in his life. You are very lucky to have him as your boyfriend! Son Hyunwoo is a kind, caring, and loving person. He is always there for you, and he always makes you feel special. He is the type of boyfriend who would do anything for you, and he would never take you for granted. You make Hyunwoo happy because you are always there for him, too. You listen to him when he needs to talk, and you always make him feel loved. You are his best friend, his lover, and his soulmate.

Son Hyunwoo is the type of boyfriend who loves to give you bear hugs. He will do it anytime he wants, but especially when you're feeling sad. He will pull you close and tell you everything will be fine. His bear hugs are warm and comforting, and they always make you feel better. He knows how to make you feel safe and loved, and he always knows how to make you smile.

The type of boyfriend who loves to give you a back hug in the morning. He will sneak up on you while you are cooking breakfast, and he will wrap his arms around you. He will be sleepy and cuddly, and he will cling to you like a koala. You will feel his warm breath on your neck, and you will hear his sleepy murmurs. He will tell you how much he loves you, and he will tell you how lucky he is to have you. You will feel his love and his warmth, and you will know that you are the luckiest girl in the world.

This man is a bit shy about public displays of affection (PDA), so he will only hold your hand in public. But when you are alone, he will cling to you like a koala. He will put his arm around you, rest his head on your shoulder, and whisper sweet nothings in your ear. He will want to be close to you at all times, and he will make you feel loved and cherished. He will follow you around the house, just so he can be near you. He will sit next to you on the couch, even if there is plenty of other space. He will always want to cuddle, even if it's hot outside. He will never get tired of holding your hand or kissing you. He may be shy about PDA, but he is definitely not shy about his feelings for you. He will show you how much he loves you in every way he can, even if it's just by being close to you. If you can handle his clinginess, then you will have found a man who will love you unconditionally. He will be your best friend, your lover, and your soulmate. He will be the one who makes you feel loved and cherished, no matter what.

He enjoys the idea of you accompanying him while he works out. He finds it motivating to have you there, and he loves seeing the look of admiration on your face when he's lifting weights or running on the treadmill. He also knows that you enjoy seeing how attractive he is when he's working out, and he likes the feeling of being desired by you.

If he wants your attention and you are too busy to give it to him, he will do whatever it takes to get it. He might dance in front of you, sit very close to you, or even pull you into a hug. He won't give up until he has your full attention. He might start by dancing in front of you, hoping to catch your eye. If that doesn't work, he might sit very close to you, invading your personal space. If you still ignore him, he might even pull you into a hug, forcefully demanding your attention. He won't give up until he has you completely focused on him.

He loves to eat, so he'll take you on food adventures all over town. He'll research all the best places to eat, from hole-in-the-wall joints to Michelin-starred restaurants. He'll want to try everything, from the most exotic dishes to the simplest comfort foods. He'll want you to try everything too, so you can experience all the different flavors that the city has to offer. He'll be your personal food tour guide, showing you all the hidden gems that you never would have found on your own. He'll know all the best places to get dumplings, sushi, pizza, tacos, and everything in between. He'll be your biggest fan, cheering you on as you try new foods and expanding your culinary horizons. He'll also be the perfect partner in crime for late-night food runs. When you're craving something sweet or salty, he'll be there to satisfy your cravings. He'll never judge you for your food choices, and he'll always be up for trying something new. With him by your side, you'll never have a bad meal again. You'll discover new foods that you love, and you'll create memories that will last a lifetime.

86 notes · View notes

chvrrycola · 1 year

Text

pokémon trainer! au x son hyunwoo

‘what have you been getting up to, angel?’ hyunwoo asked your magnemite the second you entered the centre. you had been trying to get your last gym badge for weeks now, and the uphill battle meant that your exhausted party was trudging into hyunwoo's nursery almost every day.

he was the best nurse in the region, without question, and it was a relief that he happened to work so near the site of your greatest challenge yet. you watched him tend to your pokemon with a sigh of relief, knowing how tough the day had been for them, eyes refusing to be drawn away from his gentle hands, and ears unable to tune out the soft words of comfort he offered to each and every one of them.

once they had all settled, he looked up and smiled at you. or perhaps not at you, as the mr mime he worked with had just come through the doorway. you should’ve known a look that fond could never be for a human. he spoke to mr mime for a moment before approaching you,

‘you should go easier on yourself too, y’know? it’s easy to give these guys a revive and get them back to 100%, it’s not so easy for us. though something to eat might be a good place to start,’ he looked at his feet shyly, ‘there’s a cafe across the street if you fancy it?’

#au: pokemon trainer #group: monsta x #idol: son hyunwoo #monsta x #shownu #son hyunwoo #monsta x x reader #monsta x drabble #shownu x reader

12 notes · View notes

mymoodwriting · 2 months

Text

LØV3

F!Reader x Hyungwon

Genre: Yandere AU

Warning: Drugs, Medication, Electrocution, Choking, Suffocation, Manipulation, Abuse, Physical Abuse, Paranoia, Anxiety

Words: 2.3K

Chapter Fourteen

(Prev//Next)

(@starillusion13 @makeyourfantasydreamscometrue)

“Welcome home.”

The last time you had actually been at your house was the day Chae Hyungwon revealed his true colors to you. This place didn’t even feel like home anymore. You had made such good memories here, but now they were all tainted. It wasn’t hard to understand that you were a prisoner in your own home. Hyungwon put you to bed, having somethings he needed to do, and for now he needed you out of the way. You had no idea for how long you slept, but when you woke up everything was still.

For a moment you could delude yourself into thinking everything was fine, but that was far from the case. While you slept Chae remained a bracelet on your arm, but as soon as you were awake he was around your head again. After a while you decided to get up, being careful as you weren’t exactly steady on your feet. If you had any doubts about your house not being your own anymore, this confirmed it. When you opened the bedroom door you saw multiple orbs fly past. It was a strange sight, and you stepped out into the hall leaning against the walls.

“Hyungwon…”

The only place you could think to look was in your home office. The door was ajar and you gently pushed it open, seeing that the room had been upgraded. It was a whole set up, allowing both Hyungwon and Minhyuk to work. When you opened the door Hyungwon noticed you, offering you a smile and getting up.

“What are you doing out of bed, you need rest.”

“I’m fine.”

“I’m sure you are, that’s why I called over some friends.”

“Huh?”

Hyungwon took your hands and led you back to your bedroom. There you found Wonho and Kihyun setting some of their things down.

“There she is.” Wonho remarked. “It’s so good to see you again.”

“Uh…”

“They’re here to do a house call.” Hyungwon explained. “You haven’t been to the doctor in a while, so I had them come here.”

“Just a routine check up.” Kihyun assured. “Nothing to worry about.”

You sat down on the edge of the bed, Hyungwon leaving you with the two of them. Just as they said they did a simple check up. Although Wonho wound up scolding you.

“Kihyun tells me you didn’t pick up your meds, so you haven’t been taking them.”

“…”

“You’re still healing so it’s important that you take them.”

“I brought your refill.” Kihyun said. “So you can continue.”

“Excellent.”

Wonho had you take the pills, making you feel a bit uneasy as you weren’t entirely sure what you had been given. As you were finishing up Hyungwon came in, happy to hear the results from the other two.

“Since everything is good, I can show you your surprise.”

“A surprise?”

“You’ll love it, but first let’s get you dressed.”

Hyungwon helped you get properly cleaned up before picking out an outfit for you. Once again Minhyuk was the one to drive you around. Despite Hyungwon telling you this was a surprise, you kind of expected you’d be going back to NexGen. Although you didn’t know what he really meant until you walked in. He pulled out a keycard and let himself through with you in tow. Other employees merely greeted you both. It was strange, making you feel that something was off. The elevator ride took you up to the floor you used to work on and the whole place was unsettling.

It was eerily quiet on that floor, and multiple orbs were floating around, more than before. You could only hear the sounds of keys clacking and some low voices on calls. Hyungwon took your hand in his and led you over to your old office. He had a big smile on his face as he opened the door. A giant welcome back sign hung by the windows, and you could see some gifts around your desk. Before you could ask, Hyungwon explained that you had been reinstated as head programmer at NexGen. You looked at him with confusion, not understanding why he would do such a thing.

“The way things went down wasn’t right, and this is your rightful place.”

“But… what’s the catch? I doubt you’d let me take over this project of yours.”

“It’s easier for the company to go along with my plans if your name is on it. You built quite a reputation for yourself.”

“So you’re just using me.”

“I’m letting you rest. You gave a lot to this place, it’s only fair to return the favor. Minhyuk and I will take care of everything.”

“Hyungwon, you can’t-”

You groaned as you felt another shock run through your head, making your vision go blurry for a moment. Hyungwon held you up and brought you over to the couch.

“We can get some work done. So just relax, and I’ll play you some music.”

“No, that stuff-”

“Sh, sh, it’s okay. I’m so thankful for you and for being yourself. We’re changing the world together.”

“Hyungwon, please talk to me…”

The door opened and Minhyuk let himself in, interrupting your attempt at a conversation. Hyungwon’s attention shifted and you were left on the couch with your head getting foggy.

“Did you give Wonho and Kihyun their cases?”

“Yes. They’re set to distribute them tomorrow after the launch. Shownu will come by later to get his so we won’t worry about anything.”

“Good.”

“Wait… wait… the launch is tomorrow?”

“Yes.” Hyungwon exclaimed. “We have somethings to prepare, and we have to go over the speech. Everything has to be perfect for tomorrow.”

♥♥♥♥♥

Changkyun woke in a cold sweat, screaming and thrashing around. He soon recognized his surroundings and calmed down. Although his cell mates started to yell at him and told him to keep it down. He apologized and got up to use the restroom, trying to move past the nightmare.

“Inmate 0126, you have a visitor.”

It hadn’t been that long since Changkyun had been charged and thrown in prison. The whole thing had been rushed, and he only stood in front of a judge for sentencing. He was worried as to who this visitor was, but he wasn’t going to reject them. He was led over to a room, surprised to see officer Lee.

“How’s prison life treating you?”

“I’m super paranoid if that’s what you mean.”

“Why?”

“I’m caged with a target on my back. Don’t be surprised if I wind up dead.”

“You really think someone is gonna kill you?”

“Yes. Why are you here?”

“Have you heard the news?”

“No, why?”

The officer placed a small gift on the table, confusing Changkyun. When he opened it he pulled out a small orb. Changkyun immediately panicked and fell out of his chair.

“Why do you have that!”

“Calm down, it hasn’t been activated. Although I have to admit, I didn’t expect such a reaction.”

“One of those things tried to kill me!”

“This thing? Doubtful.”

Changkyun got back up, taking the orb from the other when it was offered to him. He examined it cautiously, confirming that it wasn’t active yet.

“How did you get this?”

“It was a gift.”

“From who?”

“NexGen.”

“What?”

“That little AI thing you mentioned before, they launched it. So I guess you weren’t lying.”

“They launched it? The project was still in early stages and the AI-”

“I guess you were wrong about the timeline, and the intention. You see these little AIs are being sold to the public. They’re designed to help one in their day to day lives. The demonstration showed how useful they could be, and they’re honestly quite affordable.”

“You bought one? After everything I told you?”

“Oh no, I didn’t buy this, it was a gift. NexGen sent many of these orbs to police stations and hospitals, intending to help their work and better communicate with the drones we already have. Honestly, this whole thing sounds incredible.”

“So you’re here to brag?”

“You know, while I was watching the launch I kept thinking back to what you said. And the thing is.” Lee stared at the orb. “NexGen isn’t known for being so charitable. Technology like this is very advanced, and they’re just handing it out. My question is why. What is the goal?”

“You’re suspicious of NexGen’s intentions.”

“I am. Also, your friend is back with the company.”

“My friend? You mean y/n?”

“Yeah. She did the whole launch with that Hyungwon guy.”

“She had an orb too, right?”

“The one you said went rogue, yeah. So what is NexGen doing?”

“I don’t know.” Changkyun admitted. “A launch this soon, the AIs can’t possibly…”

“What?”

“The rogue AI… if its code was copied into every orb…”

“Then that AI is running the whole show. That doesn’t tell me what its plan is.”

“I wouldn’t know. Their code is corrupted and unpredictable. All it wanted was y/n, and it seems to have that now. So I have no idea what it’s doing.” Changkyun took a moment. “That Hyungwon guy.”

“Chae Hyungwon, he was by her side at the launch.”

“Chae… Chae… don’t trust that guy… he’s very likely an android… and inhabited by that rogue AI…”

“You sure?”

“No, but something isn’t right with him. Look, whatever NexGen is planning, you’d have to ask y/n, she’s the only one who would know.”

“I doubt that’d be easy.”

“Don’t trust those orbs.”

“I don’t.”

“Well, just in case, code black 0024, that’s the emergency reset protocol. It might still work.”

“Good to know.”

“Officer-”

“You can just call me Jooheon.”

“Jooheon… do the officers here have the orbs?”

“I didn’t see any on my way in, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they get implemented here soon. This is a place that has a lot of police drones.”

“When that happens… I’ll most likely die in here… and it won’t be an accident…”

“Why would you die?”

“For the same reasons I’ve been telling you. I know about the rogue AI, and now you do too, so you might want to be careful.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Jooheon got up. “I’ll keep you updated on things.”

“Get to y/n, please. Whatever’s going on, she’s not safe.”

“I’ll try to get to her, but I can’t make any promises.”

“I know.”

Jooheon made his way back to the station, a lot on his mind. When he arrived he was greeted by his partner. Everything seemed normal until he was asked to speak in private in one of the interrogation rooms.

“What’s this about, Shownu?”

“I didn’t see you this morning, and I heard you went to visit Changkyun. Why is that?”

“Well, considering what he told us before, I wanted to get his opinion on the matter.”

“What matter?”

“This whole launch from NexGen, I don’t trust it.”

“Is that why you haven’t activated your orb?”

“Have you?”

“Of course. Everyone in the station has.”

“Hm.”

“Do you believe all those crazy things that guy said before?”

“I don’t know but something feels off here. I never really trusted the drones either.”

“You can’t be the only one outside the loop here, you’re an officer. Here.” Shownu pulled out an active orb from his jacket pocket. “You can take this one.”

“I’ll pass.”

Jooheon figured the conversation was over and intended to make his way out when the orb suddenly charged at him and changed shape. It snapped around his neck and tightened, making it hard to breathe. Jooheon reached up to remove it, but he couldn’t get his fingers under it. He felt a shock and stumbled to the ground. He looked up at Shownu, trying to reach out to him for help, but the other only stood there and watched.

“You’ll be fine.”

♥♥♥♥♥

Changkyun’s paranoia only got worse as he saw those orbs implemented in the prison. Now he definitely felt like he was being watched twenty-four seven. He probably upset his cell mates and soon enough he wound up getting into a fight. Because of that he wound up in solitary confinement which wasn’t so bad. It eased his anxieties a bit. At least for a while. He could sleep easily although one night he woke to the sound of knocking on his cell door. It was dark, and he saw no one outside his cell. As he got up to check an orb suddenly flew in. He immediately retreated, pressing his back against the wall. He was waiting for some sort of attack, but instead the orb projected a hologram of a familiar individual.

“Hyungwon…”

“Are you enjoying your arrangements?”

“What the hell are you doing!”

“Following my programming.”

“So you are an android. How did you-”

“I have been meaning to thank you. If not for you I might not have been able to reach my true potential.”

“I don’t want your thanks.”

“Well, I have come here with a preposition. You’re a valuable asset to NexGen, and I would like you to join me.”

“Whatever you’re doing, I want no part of it.”

“I understand. Unfortunately I can’t have unresolved ends. Thank you again for everything you’ve done.”

The hologram disappeared, giving Changkyun a false sense of relief. The next thing he knew the orb was around his neck, choking him out and electrocuting him. He screamed and thrashed on the floor, calling for help, but he wasn’t so sure he’d get it.

♥♥♥♥♥

You woke up screaming, falling out of bed and thrashing on the floor. It took a second for Chae to get back on your head, sending out minor electrical waves to calm you down. As you were steadying your breath Hyungwon came into the room, picking you up in his arms and getting you back into bed.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay, I’m here, I’m here. Did you have a bad dream?”

“I’m scared.”

“You have nothing to fear.” Hyungwon kissed your head. “I’m sorry I haven’t been around too much, but once everything goes through we’ll have all the time in the world to spend together.”

“Hyungwon… I’m worried about you… all these plans… they’re so extreme and-”

“Sh, sh, sh, it’s nothing you need to concern yourself with. Soon enough I’ll have everything under control.”

14 notes · View notes