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quietmyfearswith · 4 years

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narcissist {carter baizen x fem!reader} 2/3

status — ongoing series

warnings — name-calling, hint at alcoholism, attempt at angst

word count (without the lyrics) — 1,904 words

a/n — so this is for @baezen’s the other guys writing challenge and my prompt was alcohol is the only constant in my life; tho in this one i didn’t mention it i like to think i was able to reflect the prompt.this is based on narcissist by no rome ,, listen to the song here if u want ,, feedback is appreciated and hope u guys have a lovely day !! :> y/f/n = your full name

masterlist | series masterlist

Stay out late, I just wanna get stoned

Telling all your friends that I'm never at home

And my face filling up with blood

But you're still saying they don't like your bourgeois

Surprisingly, the meeting with the representative from Eichner Enterprise went well.

The rest of the day seemed like a blur to Carter that is until he came back at 2:00 in the afternoon after having his lunch. “You have a 2:45 pm appointment at this address,” Y/N informed him as she prevented him from entering his office. Carter looked down on the piece of paper she held and looked at her oddly as he looked up at her — she never informed him this late of having a prior appointment with anyone.

“And I’m only hearing about this now because?” Carter might have sounded rude and discourteous, but in his defense he was simply mirroring the cold tone his assistant used on him. Which, thinking about it now, was not the best way to repay her for her efforts in keeping the company together, and if he was being honest, she was the glue that prevented him from crumbling down and giving in to his negative thoughts and going insane.

Y/N wasn’t fazed or didn’t flinch upon his reply and instead put a hand on her hip, “They suddenly became available and this is an appointment you were looking out for a while now.” He nodded, only then realizing how she was able to organize and plan ahead most, if not all, of his errands. “After this what’ll my day look like?”

Walking away from standing in front of him, she was now heading back to her desk to complete her work but she informed him, “You’re free to go after you meet up with that appointment.”

He nodded and debated about whether or not he should apologize for what he had said earlier. Deciding against it, he went inside his office to quickly retrieve his car keys and other items. As he brushed past her work desk, he muttered a simple goodbye to which she just curtly nodded as she typed away on her desktop.

The drive towards his destination was filled with his denial of his current state of being. He kept convincing himself that truly, there was no problem with how he was living his life and that there was no reason for him to be alarmed, right? Upon arriving at the address, Carter’s confusion increased. He was standing in front of what looked like to be a residential building.

Walking in front of the entrance, he noticed how the building seemed to be the location of some services — some doctor, lawyer, legal advice. He shrugged off his doubts and trusted Y/N’s words that he had an appointment here that he was putting off for some time. The lack of elevators in the premise prompted him to take on the two flights of stairs in order to reach room 207.

Knocking on the door, he heard someone give him permission to enter. A female receptionist immediately greeted him warmly, “Welcome, do you have an appointment?” Carter scratched his neck and looked around, trying to get a hint of what kind of appointment he was going to have. “Yeah, I believe a 2:45 appointment,” he replied meekly, which was unusual for him to sound like for he always needs to sound confident.

As she nodded, her auburn wavy hair moved along with her and quickly typed on her computer, “Dr. Richards will see you know, it’s the door to your left.” She pointed at the door to which Carter followed his gaze at and mumbled a soft, “What?” to.

Not sure what came over him, he did follow where the receptionist pointed to and found himself knocking on the door. “Hello, Mr. Baizen, come in and make yourself comfortable.” A woman kindly welcomed him as she opened the door and directed him to sit on the couch near a coffee table.

Once he sat down, the lady with salt and pepper hair immediately began to strike up a conversation, “So, how are you today, Mr. Baizen?” As she sat down on the opposite side of the coffee table, Carter noticed how she had a clipboard on her lap as she held a ballpen on one of her hands.

“Honestly? Confused. I don’t know why I’m here, my assistant just told me this was an appointment I’ve been holding back on,” he blurt out as he started to feel that his long sleeves were too tight on him, which prompted him to unclasp the top button as he settles both his hands on the arm rests of the couch.

The woman nodded and smiled warmly, “Y/N has been telling me for months how much she worried about your well-being. And that she was trying her best to convince you to see a therapist even though,” she was quickly cut off when Carter questioned, “Y/N? Therapist? What the hell are you talking about?”

Dr. Richards was silent for a few seconds, and Carter was waiting for her to admit that she was pulling his leg and that she really was a businesswoman who was interested to work with him. However, she was just really trying to piece together what was going on.

“Y/F/N is one of my patients, and I am her psychologist. You know her as your assistant, yes?” She began her explanation, Carter nodded in confirmation and as a cue for her to continue, “One of the things she usually talks about during our sessions is her worry for your well-being. That you might be abusing certain substances as a coping mechanism. She told me how she desired for you to meet up with me, in order to address your issues and other possible problems.”

After hearing her explanation, Carter found himself with his mouth wide open in shock and disbelief. He didn’t think how serious Y/N really was when she said that she was concerned about him. That she would go out of her way to clear his schedule and book an appointment for him, it made him feel something that was weird and something he hadn't felt before — he just couldn’t name what it was.

“Well I’m here now so how does this work?” he managed to say as he shrugged his shoulders. Dr. Richards smiled in surprise and appreciation, in her point of view, it looked like he was willing to comply and cooperate with her. “Let’s start with you recalling your earliest memories with alcohol.”

Coughing up the promethazine

Living like an evergreen

Sorry for the things that I've done

Now Selena won't be friends with me

I was kissing Emily

I love you, it was never your fault

(Got me like)

Nursing a scotch, Carter laughed quietly as he recalled the events of earlier.

He could not believe how he immediately opened up to Dr. Richards. How he told her that his father introduced him to alcohol at an early age and he saw it as their way of bonding. How he picked up on his father’s habits of turning to alcohol when they felt upset, confused, sad, or if he felt any emotion really. On how he fears he might turn up like him or worse. How he wants to continue to be successful in his business ventures.

Part of him is thankful for the appointment Y/N set up; it allowed him to be vulnerable and open up to someone who listened to him without judgement or careless replies. But the bigger part of him felt angry with her. Why did she think that he needed professional help or some shit?

A girl flirted with him earlier, to which he of course flirted back with. He suggested that they go back to his place to which she agreed but first she had to tell her friends about where she was going. Finishing up his scotch, he dropped a few bills on the counter, while another girl approached him.

In his distracted and preoccupied state, he asked, “You ready to go take this to the bedroom?” The girl looked taken aback, she had yet to mutter a word and yet he was already asking her to go home? Seemed like a win for her either way. She nodded and looped her arm around his and he guided her to where he parked her car.

The following morning, Y/N knocked on the bedroom door and hearing groans was her usual cue to enter the room. “Oh God, you didn’t mention you had someone with you.” She exclaimed as she avoided looking at the bed where Carter laid with his female companion and instead made a beeline to his closet to pick out his outfit.

“Selena, babe, you need to leave now,” Carter sweetly cooed to the woman beside him which was a contrast to what he wanted her to do. The girl shot up and slapped him, “Dick! My name’s Emily not Selena!” The slap added to his headache but he was relieved to see her wear her clothes from the previous night and hastily make her way out of the suite.

Carter removed the duvet from his body and stood up and walked to where Y/N was, he leaned against the wall, “You know I’m still mad about how you deceived me yesterday.” On cue, he was handed his outfit for the day as his assistant brushed past him, “And how exactly did I deceive you? I said that it was an appointment you were holding off on which is true because you scoff at the mere mention of help.”

He threw his clothes to the side and angrily snapped at her, “And what makes you think I need help huh? So what if I drink every now and then? Don’t think that equates to me having a problem!” She rolled her eyes and pointed a finger at him, “That right there is a problem! Your denial! You deny the idea that there’s a problem with how you always need alcohol! Not want, need. You deny the help I give you! You know what Dr. Richards told me following your appointment? She said that when you left you seemed a hundred pounds lighter!”

Carter’s jaw clenched and he looked cold, but he was just really trying to organize his thoughts and prevent himself from lashing out on Y/N. “I care for you, Carter,” she softly said as she was brushing her hand up and down his forearm, “I don’t want to see you lose everything you worked hard for. Or even worse, see you lose yourself.”

His heart twisted upon hearing her say that. He never had someone genuinely care about him and go the extra mile in proving so. But there was something about the unfamiliarity with the situation that made him resort back to denying this kind of comfort and care. “You’re suspended from your duties for 2 weeks.”

She looked at him in disbelief at what he said, and if he was being honest he too was surprised with what he just told her. But there was no turning back now, was there? Her look of disbelief was only visible for a brief moment before she looked at him pointedly, “Fine. I’ll forward your schedule to Melissa and the other files you need.”

The sound of her heels clicking away made him look at her retreating form, he found himself following behind her with small and slow steps. Before she exited his bedroom, he gave her one last look as she bid farewell to him by saying, “I’m not sorry about what I did. Alcohol’s not the only thing that can be there for you, I’m always here for you, Carter. But I guess that’s not what you want.”

#carter baizen x reader #carter baizen series #ceo!carter baizen x reader #carter baizen x fem!reader #ceo!carter baizen x assistant!reader #sebastian stan fanfiction #quietmyfearswith #My writing #please dont steal my work thank you #narccisist #togwc

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tsuki-chibi · 4 years

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BlackBerries (Adrinette April) Day 12: Movie Night

Or see it on AO3: Blackberries

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"What do we do, what do we do, what do we doooooooo?" The voice of the one of the other models rose into a thin, obnoxious wail. Adrien tried not to visibly cringe, knowing that everyone in their cramped, small room was upset. They'd escaped out the emergency exit, but the streets were swarming with zombies. So Adrien had led the group back inside through the front doors and barricaded them all into the room where the techs operated the lights and music for the show. That also meant they had access to a television, which a handful of people were plastered to.

"You can start by shutting up," Jeanne said aggressively, staring the other model down. "If those zombies hear us, they're definitely going to try to get in here! Is that what you want?!”

'I am suddenly very grateful that I'm sequestered inside with Alix, Max, Juleka and Rose,' Marinette thought. 'I could almost make myself believe it’s a weird movie night if things weren’t so tense.’ She paused, then added, ‘Also, at least the four of them aren't screaming.'

Adrien sighed, a headache developing right above his right eye, and rubbed absently at the spot as he looked back at the television. By his estimate, it had been at least an hour since Zombizou had appeared and there was still no sign of any heroes. His comment earlier about Fu having become a zombie was looking more and more likely, but he had no idea what he and Marinette were going to do about it.

Even if they could get to the shop, they didn't know how to get to the miraculous. Maybe Fu hid them somewhere, but there was an equal chance that he always carried them on his person. And there was no telling whether Fu had already given out the Ladybug and the Black Cat. Maybe he had and the new holders had been turned into zombies before they could show up…

'You're full of optimism today,' Marinette thought wryly.

'Sorry. I can't help but think of all the ways in which this situation might have exploded without us knowing,' Adrien thought back.

"Look, it's Ladybug!"

The cry had Adrien's head snapping around. He scrambled to his feet and rushed over to the television, nearly trampling Jeanne in the process - vaguely aware that across the city, Marinette was snatching the remote out of Alix's hand and changing it to the same news channel that Adrien's television was on. Zombizou was sauntering around in front of the Eiffel Tower (a fact that made Adrien burn inside, because the tower had become such a special place to him and his lady) but as the figure in red shot on screen, Zombizou swung around with a cackle.

"Ah, Ladybug! I've been - wait. You're not Ladybug," Zombizou said. The purple outline of a butterfly flashed over her face, indicating that Hawkmoth was peering through her eyes.

"She's right," one of the interns said said, sounding shocked. "That's not Ladybug!"

Adrien clenched his jaw, staring hard at the screen in silence. The new Ladybug miraculous holder was wearing the famous red, black-spotted suit, but there were some key differences. This suit had a black section across the shoulders and down her back, as well as black boots that went up to her knees. One slender hand was holding a very familiar yoyo, but Adrien was pretty sure that hand was shaking.

"You're right, I'm not Ladybug. I'm the new Ladybug. I'm - Coccinelle," the girl announced. The brief pause before she spoke told Adrien that she hadn't stopped to consider a name for herself until that very moment.

"Coccinelle?" Zombizou said.

"Coccinelle?!" Jeanne echoed. "What the fuck?"

'Coccinelle,' Marinette thought, and it was a thought so swathed in sadness and heartache that Adrien clutched at his chest.

"Where is Ladybug?!" Zombizou demanded.

"Ladybug isn't coming. You get to deal with me," Coccinelle said, squaring her shoulders. And right away, Adrien knew that this fight was going to be a bust.

'Oh, this is going to be painful,' he thought with a grimace, barely resisting the urge to clamp his hands over his eyes and watch through his fingers.

'I almost feel bad for her,' Marinette thought.

Because Zombizou proceeded to kick Coccinelle's ass. There was really no other description for it. For an akuma who claimed to be about spreading love, Zombizou was fast and brutal. In about three seconds, she covered the distance between her and Coccinelle and delivered a roundhouse kick to Coccinelle's face that sent Coccinelle flying backwards into the Eiffel Tower. Adrien and everyone else in the room, as well as Marinette and everyone in her room, collectively winced as Coccinelle made impact with the steel.

"What is going on?" one of the models exclaimed.

"Who is this loser?" someone demanded.

"Where is Ladybug?!" Jeanne cried.

'Oh my god, I can't watch,' Marinette thought. Yet like Adrien, she also couldn't look away as Zombizou bounded over to Coccinelle and plucked the stunned heroine from the ground. Zombizou slammed Coccinelle up against the base of the tower, pinning Coccinelle there by the throat.

"Poor little bug," she cooed. "Did they send you out here all by your lonesome?"

Coccinelle choked something out, ragged and unintelligible.

"I guess the old Ladybug and Chat Noir couldn't hack it," Zombizou said, a wicked smile spreading across her face. "So much for their promise to protect Paris no matter what, hmm?"

A pained wheeze escaped Coccinelle's mouth.

"Don't worry, my dear. I'm here to spread love. Let me take that miraculous off your hands and I'll put out of your misery," Zombizou said, reaching up with her free hand.

Adrien couldn't stand it. He whirled away from the television and charged the door, barely aware of Marinette moving in perfect sync with him, the kind of sync he wouldn't have been able to achieve with Jeanne or anyone else even if they practiced for a hundred years. He grabbed the doorknob -

"Adrien, stop! What are you doing? There are zombies out there!" Jeanne exclaimed, putting her hand over his.

"I have to go," Adrien said, pushing her away. He yanked the door open and looked out. The hallway was quiet, and the zombies had proven that they were anything but, so he knew it was safe. He stepped out and turned to face Jeanne. A part of him felt bad about leaving her. She looked young and terrified, and so did everyone else in the room. The hero side of him yearned to stay and protect them.

But that was the problem, wasn't it? Even if Zombizou showed up right now, Adrien wouldn't be able to protect anyone. He didn't have a miraculous suit to protect him right now. She'd throw him aside exactly like she'd thrown Coccinelle and that would be the end. Even going outside right now was probably blindingly stupid. He and Marinette were civilians. They couldn't help anyone... but they had to try. Adrien couldn't sit here in good conscience while Zombizou stripped Coccinelle of her miraculous and handed it over to Hawkmoth. They had to do something.

"Adrien..." Jeanne whispered.

"Just - just stay here," Adrien ordered, pulling the door shut behind him.

'Where do you want to meet?' Marinette thought, sneaking down the stairs. She had told their classmates that she was going down to the bakery to get some snacks so that she could leave without argument. But if she was caught by her maman or papa, no amount of excuses would be good enough and she'd never make it out of the building. Luckily, meeting Adrien had taught Marinette a lot about being sneaky. She slipped into the empty kitchen and went right out the door that Tom typically used to accept deliveries.

'Let's head for Fu's shop,' Adrien thought back, peering around the corner before he continued. 'It's almost halfway between us. Maybe one of us will run into him on the way there.'

'God I hope so,' Marinette thought. 'Be careful, Chaton.'

'You too, My Lady,' Adrien thought, striding down the corridor. They'd both have to stick to alleys and try to avoid people or zombies as much as possible. It would be slow going for them both. But Adrien didn't care if he could only move a foot every five minutes. If he had to sit here and do nothing while there was a Ladybug in danger, even if it wasn't his Ladybug, he was going to go insane.

He took a deep breath and pushed the door to the street open.

#miraculous ladybug #adrien agreste #marinette dupain-cheng #coccinelle #soulmate au #adrienette #finally the new hero appears!#blackberries #adrinetteapril2020

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cecke8 · 5 years

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Love Is An Unforgiving Insanity

Oneshot - Request

@shootingstarsaretearsofheaven Here it is! I hope it’s okay for what you envisioned. This one was fun, the most “touchy-feely” story I’ve written yet and hopefully I did okay. Thanks for the request my dude!

KayXx

You woke up groggy to the door of your trailer rattling.

“Who’s there?” You called out, rubbing your eyes. The rattling stopped abruptly.

‘Good, they’re gone. Now we won’t have to off ‘em.’

“Shut up,” you mumbled, really getting sick of the constant commentary in your mind that had been getting increasingly louder over the past year and although you hated to admit it, the voice was right. Especially if it was Shanae. She could bugger off.

You had had an argument earlier today about you turning down Damien, the guy she was trying to get you to date, which was the last thing you wanted to do. He was a pig and so full of himself it made you sick. Of course, she didn’t care what you thought. She just wanted a way to get closer to the older brother that wouldn’t give her a second look.

The rattling started again much to your distaste.

“Seriously, I don’t wanna talk, I just want to sleep. Whatever it is, it can wait... please?”

“But I hate waiting,” a small voice whispered from behind the door. A voice that certainly didn’t belong to Shanae. In fact, you hadn’t heard that voice for months.

“It can’t be,” you whispered. Ripping the covers of your body, you scrambled to get to the door, tripping over your own feet on the way. You flung the door open to find the smile, the red hair, the person you fell in love with.

“Jerome,” you breathed his name, not believing your own eyes, but there he was. His hair gleaming it’s mesmerising firey glow in the faint light, his eyes twinkling, a smile spreading over his face and small giggle escaping his throat.

“Hiya gorgeous,” he said, almost mockingly, but with that tint of sincerity he only let through around you.

You hadn’t seen him since he was taken away to some sort of mental asylum here in Gotham. How the hell he got out was beyond you, and so was the fact he had found out the circus was here again, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was he was here the night before you were due to leave Gotham again.

You wanted to pull him closer, but you couldn’t get your body to work. You just stood there like a deer in the headlights, mouth agape. Thankfully, Jerome had the same idea.

The red-head held your face between both hands and kissed you passionately, the tears, sorrow and emotion held within both of you over the past months could be felt in that kiss. It was the goodbye you both never got to have and the hello you never thought you would give again.

You both finally pulled away, breathless, your brain finally beginning to function a little more productively. You looked over Jerome’s shoulder, scouring your outside surroundings to see if anyone had seen. Pleased with the results, you yanked the ginger inside, a grin plastered on your face to match Jerome’s own and slammed the door.

“I have so many questions!” You exclaimed as Jerome stepped back towards you and held your hands, “Are you okay? What was it like? Are you hurt? How did you get out?” By now, a couple tears were leaving your eyes.

“Oh my god, good to see you still leave all your words for me,” chuckled Jerome, kissing your knuckles.

“Shut up,” you said bashfully, cheeks heating up. You were never much of talker to mos, not even your mum, but when you were Jerome, you’d never shut up, meaning the two of you could literally talk for hours.

Jerome giggled and kissed you again, slower, more tender than before but still full of passion. He slowly backed towards your bed, pulling you with him, like so many times before. He lowered down onto his back pulling you with him.

“It’s also good to see you’re finally living on your own now,” he said, looking around as you two caught your breath again.

“Yeah,” you smiled, “I stood up to my mum like you said. It was hard, but I did it. Being the freak helped though.” You shrugged, sighing quietly.

“My freak,” Jerome aid slyly before attacking your neck with kisses.

You began to remember he was a little different now. More outgoing, more talkative, more... sinister, but it didn’t scare you away. If anything, the unpredictable side of him made him feel more at ease with yourself. Once upon a time, neither of you would have been doing something like this. The risk of getting caught was insanely high. But after him murdering his own mother, and you helping cover it up... you’d both changed. Your mental commentary had become louder and more constant. Not to mention the way your anger began to eat you alive at times. It was a little terrifying since you had spent years keeping it inside for so long. Yes. You had both changed.

You let your mind wander back to Jerome. Hit fingers, his lips, just him and only him. Well, that was until...

“I’m sorry, but in the kindest way possible, what the actual fuck y/n!?” Someone screamed at you.

You jumped away from the boy under you and whipped around to find your friend’s face a mask of horror, fear and fury. It was Shanae. Of course, it was.

“Shae-shae, I can explain -” you tried to reason with one of your only friends in the circus.

“No way. U-uh. That nickname will not work on me now. I will give you five minutes with a really good fucking explanation or I’m yelling out and you’re both in deep shit.” Shanae threatened as confidently as she could, but her voice shook thanks to her blatantly obvious fear. Her eyes flicked over your shoulder and so it should.

‘Yeah, that’s right. Be scared you inconvenient, intrusive bitch.’ You shook your head, willing your ‘second mind’, as you liked to call it, into its box. You could not allow that part of you to show in front of Shanae.

“W-what do you want me to explain?” You asked quietly, wringing your hands together as if it would exude the dropping and twisting in your stomach.

“Are you kidding? Explain to me why the hell I just walked in on you making out with this psycho?”

The ‘psycho’ scoffed. You turned back at the noise to see you once “secret” boyfriend lean back onto the pillows you were heatedly making out on while crossing his arms, but his eyes never left the “inconvenient intrusion”. Not even for a second. Neither did the murderous stare you’d seen only twice before leave his eyes.

“Jay, breathe for me, okay?” You pleaded, willing Jerome to calm down. You know what happened when he got pissed off. It wasn’t something Shanae would enjoy.

“I’m calm,” the ginger replied through clenched teeth.

“Well,” the blonde demanded once more, “are you going to tell me or am I going to go get the ring-master and tell him he’s here.” She said, gesturing towards the red-head.

“Okay, okay. Fine. Just sit... please?” You asked timidly. Telling people what to do had never been your strong suit. Neither was defending yourself, especially when someone was mad.

“Sit down? Are you for real y/n?” exclaimed Shanae.

Now usually, you were a patient person. Heck, a couple months ago you would have let Shanae do what she wanted and taken the consequences whatever they may be, but not now, not tonight. Someone else depended on you now, and like you said, you’d changed

‘Tell the hoe to get in her place.”

“No Shanae, you need to sit,” you said quietly, but with a firmness that you had only demonstrated around Jerome, ignoring the rude remark from inside your head.

“You can’t be serious y/n. With that weirdo sitting right th-”

“Just sit goddamnit!” Your outburst caught the taller girl by surprise. Her eyes wide, she did as you said, her mouth open slightly in shock.

If it weren’t for Shanae’s reaction, you wouldn’t have believed you could have done anything. What really confirmed it was Jerome’s giggle behind you. As you looked back, you found Jerome had sat up and placed his elbows on his knees, chin in hand, grinning, eyes glinting.

You took a sharp breath through your nose and rubbed your temples as the commentary turned to chatter.

“Y/n, are you okay?” Shanae asked quizzically, eyebrow raised.

“Stop trying to shove it away y/n,” Jerome whispered, “you know it’ll only give you headache again.”

“What is he on about? Y/n would you just tell me what’s going on? What the hell are you doing with this psycho freak?”

You snapped your eyes open. She had no right, no right, to call Jerome that.

“Seriously, just tell me wh-”

“Shut up Shanae!” You shrieked. You’d had enough. She didn’t give a shit about you, not really. You could tell. She just used you because you’d let her boss you around, but not anymore. “Just keep your mouth shut. Okay? For petes-sake, you don’t know when to can it!”

Now Shanae really was at a loss for words. You heard Jerome stand up and move towards you. He placed a hand on either shoulder and leaned over your shoulder and whispered into your ear.

“Just let it out dollface. Just let it all out.” It was as if you could hear his malicious, ear-to-ear grin.

“Shut up freak,” Shanae whimpered, not liking the way he was looking at her. She knew he had killed his mother. The whole circus did.

“He’s. Not. A. Freak.” You clipped each word short. Trying to keep the temper you kept hidden to the world in check. It was a difficult task with the words swirling around your head.

‘Just off her’, ‘No one will miss her’, ‘You know you want to’, ‘Let her have it’, ‘Knock the bitch out and get out’.

“He’s... he’s free. Jerome isn’t a freak. He’s not sick and you are in no place to give threats.”

“Good girl,” Jerome whispered. He then proceeded to trace his nose from next to your ear and down your neck as his hands snaked their way down to your hips.

Shanae jut her chin in defiance, “I seem to remember being the one who caught you guys... before. I thought you were better than this y/n.” Shanae always threw that line at you, just like your mum.

“I don’t think you’re in any position to give threats Shae-shae,” sung Jerome as he placed a few kisses on your collar bone.

“Jay,” you sighed, “She’s right. She did walk in on us.”

“Y-yeah. Take that creep. And keep your hands off of her. As if she’d want you touching her.”

Jerome’s head snapped up, his eyes locking in on her face with a literal, murderous stare.

“God, would you just keep your bitchy mouth shut for once?” You snapped.

“No y/n. I won’t.” Shanae stood abruptly, fists clenched. “He’s insane. He killed his mum. They literally sent him to an insane asylum!”

“Oh please, do continue threatening the one who knows how to kill,” Jerome threatened in a low voice, his grin wide.

“See what I mean?” Shanae said in a shrill voice. “How can stand to be around a literal monster?”

“Because I love him Shanae!”

It was quiet in the trailer. Very quiet. Only the crickets outside could be heard. Shanae’s face was one of horror, but you didn’t care, because, in this moment, you finally realised you really did love Jerome. Why should other people’s mainstream, and robotic opinions matter to you when Jerome thought the world of you?

Jerome spun you around to face him.

“You mean it?” His face had lit up, manic joy causing his eyes to look adorably crazed.

“Yeah, I do,” you whispered, cheeks heating up once more.

By now Shanae didn’t know what to say. She was shocked, disgusted, and to put it simply, terrified.

Jerome began to pull your face towards his but you had to stop him.

“Jerome, we’ve still got someone here who doesn’t know how to keep their bitchy mouth shut.”

“Hmm true,” hummed the ginger. He was quiet for a moment before an evil gleam began to grow in his eyes. “Could always stop any noise from coming out of their bitchy mouth... permanently.” He raised eyebrows in excitement. It caught you by surprise, but only momentarily... you began to realise it was exciting. It was hot.

“No. She was my friend once.”

Jerome rolled his eyes and rolled his neck in frustration, “Then what are we meant to do? Hmm?”

For once, the commentary repeated something actually worth repeating.

‘Knock her out and get out.’

“Knock her out and get out.” You whispered.

“What was that sweetcheeks?”

“Knock her out and get out,” you repeated, looking back at Jerome. “It would give us enough time to leave.”

“Perfect,” Jerome grinned, “because I wanted you to come with me anyway. There are some people I think you’d like to meet.”

You bobbed your head up and down in agreement, a small smile spreading on your lips.

Stuff everyone else, things were going to be so much better from now on.

#jerome valeska fanfic #jerome valeska #jerome valeska imagine #jerome valeska xreader #lovingjerome #xreader #Gotham #gotham fanfiction

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haikyuu-imagines-and-others · 6 years

Note

I was afraid sth like that might happen bc tumblr kinda always finds a way to fuck up. But thank you so much!! I really appreciate it ♥ My request was a college AU scenario where Iwaizumi has some lectures with the chubby!reader and she has a huge crush on him, but doesn't approach him bc she's too shy & thinks he won't like her anyway bc of her appearance. But they start talking and eat lunch together at some point, and they soon become friends and he asks her on a date and they kiss maybe ?

I couldn’t agree with you more, love haha It tends to eat up a ton of requests :( Even for me for other blogs!! At least we caught it though! :D This was a super cute idea… so I hope you like how I wrote it out! Thanks for requesting! - Admin Satori

Iwaizumi Hajime:

It started with a brief glance - you’d been studying in the library, cracking your head open for the chemistry equations to fit in there properly for your upcoming test. Helium and Hydrogen molecules blending together, you’d looked away to give yourself a chance to relax and not pop out of their sockets from the stress building behind them. An oncoming headache, you knew, but what was more important to you? Your grades or health?

Considering how many headaches you got in the average week, you promised yourself you’d take some time to heal. Evaluate your mental wounds before getting back out there for that well deserved ‘A’.

For now, you stared off at the front doors of the library… Again, you hadn’t meant to catch his eye when he walked in, backpack slung over his shoulder, dark green eyes showing you nothing much past his clear exhaustion.

A single glance, nothing more than a locking of eyes for less than a second.

Yet, there you were… blushing as if he’d just given you the corniest pickup line.

Then he was turning and walking to the coffee shop in the corner of the library, his backpack sliding just the slightest down his shoulder as the smell of the hot bean water infiltrated his still half asleep mind.

You hadn’t seen him walk away. You’d buried your face in your hands, trying to look like you were tired or rubbing your eyes, but internally you felt as if you were on fire. He’d looked at you. He’d locked eyes with you! That beautiful, gorgeously built young man had stared into your eyes and you into his foresty green ones.

This is absolutely ridiculous, you knew, to be so hung up about a single, meaningless glance he’d thrown your way. But how could you not react the way you were? Iwaizumi Hajime was the leading champ in almost all the sports your University provided, and he was a top student! He was practically a celebrity on campus! Of course you’d be honored to be at the receiving end of his gaze.

But now wasn’t the time to fall into another drooling episode. Checking your phone, you hopped out of your singular cubicle seat and grabbed your school work. Your ‘philosophy’ class started in less than five minutes and you were not about to be late. Again.

The next instance of being blessed with his gaze, and this time his actual presence, was that next day. Biology class, required for all students regardless of majors, but ultimately not doing anything for what your dream job would have you be doing. Or at least, the lowest level of bio you might need… You weren’t sure yet. Choosing majors was hard.

You’d been dozing as the professor took their time getting their study lessons in order, making sure their presentation would work properly come action time. You’d crossed your arms in front of you, and as each minute passed you realized you were lowering your head in exhaustion. Who required students to attend class at 6AM? Why? You weren’t even human at 6AM - just some amalgamation of exhaustion, red bull, coffee, and irritation.

You were not a morning person.

“Is this seat taken?” You were waving off the question of the asker - not really in the mind to be kind this morning; You were tired. “Are you sure that… combination is healthy?”

“Look, guy, if I wanted health tips, I would have paid to be in a health cla-“

But the rest of your quip died on your tongue as you went to glare at whoever decided 6AM was a good time to start judging and asking questions.

Because there he was. Wide awake, a little red from what you assumed was his morning practice, but an amused smile pulling the corner of his lips as he saw you flush with embarrassment. ‘Cute’ he couldn’t help but think as you ducked your head with an awkward cough.

You didn’t look at him for long, quickly blinking to break the trance he had you in before you were looking down at your class materials - the lights of the classroom being dimmed just the slightest so the professor could start their presentation for the day.

Bad idea.

With the lights dimmed, there was an electric current running between you and the actual adonis sitting next to you. Every time he inhaled, your stomach clenched - every time you went to take a note, he shifted in his seat. Yin and Yang - though equal in reaction, different in action. Together moving in sync. You’d glance at him when you didn’t think he was looking, enjoying the view he so graciously offered - and he would blatantly stare when you’d turn your head down to focus on your notes.

Needless to say, you were hyperaware the rest of that morning.

He took it upon himself to seek you out the next time you two met. He felt he hadn’t been fully awake enough to enjoy your embarrassed reaction that morning in the library, but regardless of that fact he felt as if he owed you some kind of apology for being rude during class. Who was he to decide if your routine was unhealthy? Sure, he was currently ‘paying for a health class’, as you’d grumbled that morning, and yeah, he did know first hand what red bull did to peoples hearts… But who was he to judge?

Books scattered around your small corner table in the cafe. Your food, cold and forgotten, resting on the very edge of the table as you manuevered books closer and further from you as they gained or lost their necessity value. Studying was a bitch, you’d come to learn - dozens of different studying styles had never fit you.. But of course the one that made you look like an insane person actually stuck.

Just your luck!

Though the table was fairly packed, and your jostling it as you reached and pushed books away or towards you didn’t help.

Soon enough, as gravity and fate would dictate, your lunch plate was tipping over the edge of the table. You didn’t even have time to react - your eyes watching as it slowly shook further and further towards its demise.

Then it was stopped. A hand swooping down and picking it up before it could tip into the void. And you were confused, for an embarrassingly amount of time, when you didn’t hear the shattering of the plate or feel the amused stares of your classmates judging your clumsiness. But when you finally realized the crash would never come is when you followed the hand that currently held your lunch plate.

Amused forest green eyes stared back at you, his eyebrows raised a bit as he had waited for you to come to your senses. How deep in Study Mode had you been? Had you taken a break yet? Regardless, he set his plate down on the empty table next to yours before coming back to you, closing the books closest to you and setting your lunch on top.

“Eat. Food is brain power.” Then he retrieved his plate before doing the same to the books across from you and taking a seat.

What the hell just happened? You blinked rapidly as you tried to answer that question yourself. Your food was cold, but God did it look good.

But he looked better.

“Uh… Thanks…” Iwaizumi nodded to your appreciation before he started eating his own food, his eyes glancing around at the books nearest him in curiosity. What was your major? What did you want to be? There were a lot of different subjects surrounding him… were you just catching up on homework? Procrastinator until the last minute? “I-“ His eyes met yours again as you spoke, your cheeks blooming a gentle red at how immediately he’d given you his attention. “I’m _______.”

Iwaizumi smiled as he nodded, “I’m Iwaizumi Hajime….” Though your eyes betrayed your meek nod - you knew who he was. The moment you laid eyes on him, you knew exactly who and what kind of Godly person he was. Though your high thoughts of him flew out the window at the sight of his soft blush as he rubbed at the back of his neck anxiously - he was human. Just like you. Just like anyone else. “Uh… I wanted to… apologize… For earlier, in Bio….” He cleared his throat, obviously uncomfortable with saying sorry.

“Apologize?” Your voice was quiet as you echoed him, staring blankly at him as you tried to understand what it was he was sorry about. “For what? We just met today…” Though you knew that wasn’t the full truth. Sure, you’d just introduced yourself today - but you’d seen and even snapped at him during class. You’d locked eyes in the library. Not exactly meeting and becoming acquaintances for those two instances.

Anxiety nibbled at the inside of his stomach as you unintentionally dragged out something he didn’t really like doing. Apologizing, even if he was in fault, always took a bit of his pride. “I had no right to judge you the other day in Biology… If you want to mix red bull and coffee, that’s entirely your decision.”

His words didn’t register as serious for the first few seconds after they left his mouth. And for a moment he was worried you hadn’t heard him before he realized you were actually just 3 feet in front of him… there was no way you hadn’t heard him.

Your lips pulled at the corners as you tried to hold back your giggles, your eyes crinkling at why he’d apologized - how goofy. He really thought you’d taken offense to something like that? You went to cover your mouth as you quietly laughed, his eyebrows furrowing as he pouted and looked away from you. “What’s so funny?” Though his tone revealed he didn’t really want to know because he knew it was silly of him to apologize for something like that… too late.

But you shook your head with a wide smile, your hand lowering as you, boldly, reached forward and patted his hand resting on the table. “Don’t you worry your cute little head, Iwaizumi-san… You didn’t hurt my feelings in the least.” His cheeks grew a bit red with you saying his name, even if it was his last. Though you didn’t understand it as that but rather embarrassment of you teasing him for his ‘transgression’.

“Maybe I should have then.” He grumbled, his hand turning on the table top to feel your palm resting against his, your fingertips lightly touching his forearm.

You nearly choked at the feel of his hand against yours - his warm touch sending your stomach twisting into itself. But your confidence was soaring from his gall to apologize for something silly like that, so you merely laughed quietly and patted his hand this time, “I’d like to see you even try.”

His pout turned into a challenging smirk as he caught your hand with his on one of its pattings. “Okay, how about… Over dinner then…” His gaze held yours, and it felt as if your soul were leaving your body at just how… intense the man before you really was. You’d heard stories, and first hand experiences from those around campus, but they paled in comparison to your immediate moment with him.

Heat was all you felt. Heat in your face from your blushing, heat in your chest from your heart slamming against your ribs, and heat in your hand as you held his just as tightly. This was moving much faster than you’d ever experienced before. Where was the chasing? Where was the silly chatting? The friendship that awkwardly made its way into romantic feelings?

Where was the insecure boy you’d usually find yourself dating?

Iwaizumi was different.

Iwaizumi Hajime is a confident man of action.

And winning your attention seemed to be his first and only goal in your budding relationship.

*sniffles* I didn’t get to the kissing TT~TT But I’ll probably do a Part II, whether its requested or not ;D

Tag List:

@this-badass-cutie-patootie @summon-the-stars @mme-hajime @kuroosarium (ah you changed your name love!) @lyra8

#Admin Satori #Haikyuu!!#Haikyuu!! Scenario #Iwaizumi Hajime #slight fluff #To Be Continued.... Later

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cheelchan · 7 years

Text

sinful reunion, ch.2 (M)

→ summary: “mind over matters of the heart or matters of the heart over mind?”

→ genre/warnings: ceo!yoongi, angst, smut, instances of cheating

→ rating: M

→ word count: 9.4k

→ pairing: Min Yoongi | Reader; Kim Seokjin | Reader

→ previous chapter: ch. 1

Mind over matters of the heart.

That was a principle that you’ve always stuck through ever since you were young. Your mind always triumphed over whatever emotion you held. That was why you were completely fine with moving away from Daegu at a young age, even if you had to leave behind everything you’ve grown comfortable to for the first fifteen years of your life. You knew that it would be too impractical to demand from your parents that you stayed in Korea, while the rest of them were overseas.

You were the practical type, the logical one, the type who never gave in to whatever emotions you felt, knowing that you were going to just ruin yourself if you did. That was why you and Yoongi became friends at a young age, because you never paid attention to the bullies, preferring to not run after them, instead you just simply stayed in the shade, rather than dirtying your white shirt and get scolded by your mother for not being careful.

Yoongi, well, he was always lethargic, even at a young age.

“You’re definitely adopted! Look at you! Your mom looks really pretty, but you look like trash!” A boy around your age shouted towards your direction, while you clenched your fists in anger. It wasn’t your fault that you looked like your father and his genes were stronger, but the five-year-old you didn’t know anything about genes.

All you knew was that you looked like your dad, so you definitely weren’t adopted.

“She can’t even fight for herself! Coward! Coward! Coward!” He called out in a sing-song voice, running away from your direction.

You wanted to run after them, but there was a high chance that you were going to trip and get your shirt dirty, and you knew better than to give your mom a hard time with washing the clothes. You pursued your lips together, thinking of words to retort back to them, but you decided to stay under the shade and just look at all the other kids, playing and running around the field.

“You’re very strong.”

Well, except for one.

You turned around and saw a pale, white kid who was also around your age. He was pale, thin, but he had a disinterested look on his face, as if he was eternally tired, even when it was just ten in the morning.

“Thank you,” you smiled back at him as he pushed his toy car towards you, a gummy grin appearing on his pale face.

“Wanna play? My name’s Yoongi.”

And that was why, at this very moment, you were not going to let your emotions get the better of you. If the five-year-old you was able to control herself in front of bullies who called her trash, you could also control yourself in front of your asshole first love, who had the guts to lie to you, even when he was your new client.

It was your third day in the Min Conglomerate as their externally-resourced consultant.

However, your first day in the company did not play out the exact way as people might think.

It wasn’t overly dramatic. In fact, you were pretty calm when you first saw him, considering that you’ve read the documents prepared for you beforehand. That was when you found out that Yoongi was the President and CEO of the big (but nearly-bankrupt) conglomerate (though, you did end up drunk in the hotel bar after you’ve gone through all the documents the first time.)

Having known him in his forming years, you’ve always known that his older brother was supposed to inherit the corporation, but, after becoming their consultant, you found out that said brother made stupid decisions by investing in overpriced properties, bankrupt corporations, and overused business ventures. That was why it was pretty obvious why he would kicked out by the other investors.

Guess having an Ivy-League degree didn’t necessarily make one a good businessman, if one didn’t have the talent and instinct for it.

On the other hand, it was under Yoongi’s leadership, that the conglomerate was able to recover, even if it was barely. They had a merger with one rival corporation when Yoongi took over his brother’s post. However, what it did was just place them on the point of break-even. Clearly, the investors still weren’t satisfied with it.

And that was why, the consulting firm you were employed in was hired by the Min Conglomerate.

But, at this moment, you were just trying to hold in to your emotions and not just scream at the necks of some incapable employees, whom you have no idea why and how they were exactly hired. You partially suspected that it was nepotism, reminding yourself that it was one of the things that you had to take note of when you were through with your one-week assessment of the corporation.

Plus, the bad keynote presentations that seemed like they were made by tenth grade students nowadays. And maybe some tenth grade students may have done a better job than them.

“Well, I was also thinking that we utilize social media nowadays since it can really help with marketing our products,” the presenter drawled in as you resisted the urge to yawn.

Everyone knew that social media was in the hype nowadays and that it was typical to use it for marketing purposes. But, you didn’t get why this corporation seemed so adamant on using old-style marketing.

That was another problem you saw with this corporation. They seemed to be so stuck on using what worked for them in the past. It’s as if they didn’t know what sort of change technology could bring in. They might even have the latest computer software and gadgets in the company, but what use was it when their very core was very traditional?

”-so, like, we have a Facebook page, right? Why don’t we use it to make, like, online raffle draws? And then, we give away big prizes like a car or something!“

Was she insane? The conglomerate was on the verge of collapsing and she has this idea of giving away expensive things that could’ve been used to invest in actual profitable investments?

You could feel an impending headache surfacing as you took a sip from your water bottle, hoping that there would be some sort of miracle that would turn your bottled water to beer. You needed a drink at this point.

"Let’s cut this meeting short. I’m not satisfied with the presentation you’re giving me. Meeting dismissed,” Yoongi’s voice echoed throughout the board room as the presenter gave a nod and slight bow before she left the room. The rest of the marketing department followed suit, leaving you, Yoongi, and his trusty secretary, Jung Hoseok.

You stayed silent, typing on your laptop the observations you’ve made during the marketing department report presentation. You silently fumed, wondering how this company was able to stay afloat, especially with the entrance of start-up companies that created products or services that were several times more innovative than whatever product/service the Min Conglomerate offered. You sighed to yourself, saving the document as you looked up from your laptop and saw the expectant face of Hoseok.

“So, how is it, Miss Consultant? Were you impressed by our Marketing Department?” Hoseok asked, a very cheerful and optimistic look on his face, though you have to say that optimistic was an understatement.

“Didn’t you see her face earlier, Hoseok? She was getting a headache and that was why I called off the presentation as soon as I sensed it,” Yoongi muttered, while Hoseok immediately lowered down his face in embarrassment.

You inwardly hated how Yoongi knew that you were coming down with a headache at that moment, though you knew you benefited from his call to end the meeting at that exact moment. You didn’t really appreciate how he would just end everything about that department when you had yet to see the other departments. Yesterday, you went to the Administrative Department and you had also cringed the whole time during their presentation.

“Once again, I’ll send in the evaluation sheet based from the presentation I was able to witness today,” you scratched your head, wondering if you were just going to see disappointment after disappointment. But, you knew this was a big job that obviously required you, at the very least, a month to work on. One and a half month, if you were lucky. Though, judging from the way thing were fairing, perhaps, two months?

“I’ve gone through the document you sent me yesterday. It was very depressing,” Yoongi frowned, taking out a printed copy of the report you sent him.

It was a document that listed down all the mistakes that the Administrative Department made during the presentation: from the systems that they listed down to the manner on how they presented.

“Ah, yes. Well, those are just some problems I saw based from the presentation they gave. I’m afraid, I’m gonna have to do a more in-depth investigation into that department,” you hinted as he clenched his forehead.

“Ugh,” he groaned, “I should’ve just went on to become some rapper if I knew that this was going to be worst.”

You pursued your lips together, unsure on what to say. You knew, however, that being the filial child he was, he wasn’t going to just let his family fall down the drain. If they were probably in a more stable state, then Yoongi must have definitely pursued his dreams, even if he had to leave his family.

“Come on, Yoongi. Don’t be like that,” Hoseok coaxed him. “We both know that you’re the only one who could’ve handle the mess your older brother did.“

Yoongi said nothing as a retort, probably to avoid talking about what exactly happened.

Yet, you didn’t even need them to inform you about the stupid investments his brother did, based from the annual reports from the past decade that you’ve actually gone through the weekend following your uncle’s birthday party. It was also the very same weekend after you met Yoongi once again, the very same weekend you found out that he was married.

Still, even if the two of you played it off as if you didn’t know each other on your first day in the corporation, his eyes could never hide the shame (or guilt?) he felt when he saw you.

And maybe, you, too. Maybe, you couldn’t hide the disgust and anger you felt towards him.

"You know, I feel like we haven’t exactly had a welcome meal for you, Miss Consultant! We should have lunch together with President Min,” Hoseok invited you, a welcoming look on his face. He must’ve said it to just break the heavy atmosphere in the room, following his comment. However, he didn’t have to know that it was heavy because of something else.

“I assure you that the restaurant we will visit is good. I have good taste in Korean food, after all. You can ask President Min for the restaurants I’ve recommended to him,” he added, pointing to Yoongi, who just nodded at what Hoseok said. “See! Speaking of which, Yoongi, did you go to the restaurant I told you in Jeju?” He turned to Yoongi, who blinked his eyes for a moment.

“Ah, yes,” Yoongi replied, but he was staring at you directly, though it didn’t seem like Hoseok noticed. “I enjoyed the kimchi soup in that restaurant and the seafood tasted great, too.”

He was obviously referring to the rundown Korean restaurant the two of you discovered, while going around Jeju. You turned away from him, deciding to look at the eager secretary who was searching for restaurants on his phone.

“There’s this good restaurant nearby! They serve really goo-”

“Maybe next time, Secretary Jung. I have to meet up with a friend. Excuse me, gentlemen,” you cut Hoseok off before you picked up your laptop and left the conference room, rushing for the elevator.

You immediately went inside the elevator as soon as soon as it opened, but you were caught by a Min Yoongi who followed you as soon as you left. You said nothing as he stepped into the elevator with you. He immediately clicked the button for the floor he was supposed to head to: his office at the top floor.

“Talk to me,” Yoongi coerced you, breaking the silence.

“You left Mr. Jung behind? I thought you were eating lunch with him,” you responded, not wanting to talk about it.

You knew what he wanted to talk about, but you were not going to mull over it. As far as you were concerned, you were over the whole thing. While there was a residue of emotions, but you’ve accepted what happened and you knew that you technically had no fault in the matter.

“Not about that,” he maintained, scratching his head. “Look, I have to explain what’s up-”

“Yoongi, stop this,” you cut him off, refusing to listen to whatever explanation he might have for you. “I’m not going to listen to whatever you have to say to me because I don’t think I can listen to you anymore after what happened,” you took a deep breath, trying to calm yourself down. “Yoongi, you lied to me! You told me that you had no girlfriend at all, you-”

“Technically, I had no girlfriend,” he interjected.

“Which is worse because you were married, for god’s sake! It was adultery,” you whispered the last part, a bit conscious of the security camera in the elevator. The last thing they needed was its top management head having an affair scandal. That kind of scandal would really bring about the conglomerate’s downfall.

You huffed out a heavy breath. ”You omitted to tell me that part and that counts as lying! Yoongi, I don’t think I can ever believe in whatever you’ll say at this point. So, please just leave me alone.“

As if on cue, the elevator reached the floor you wanted to go down on - the floor that held your makeshift office during your stay in the corporation. You walked out of the elevator as you didn’t bother to look back at Min Yoongi. You knew he was probably looking dejected right now, but he was nothing but a cheater who dragged you into this mess, even when you knew nothing about it. You became a third party, a mistress, even when you never wanted it in the first place.

What happened to Min Yoongi that he would even think about cheating in the first place? Didn’t he abhor his father who kept on cheating on his wife with several women? You briefly remembered a thirteen-year-old Yoongi who got into a fist fight with some guys in your year level back in middle school. Apparently, Yoongi punched him all of sudden at the school cafeteria. The teachers ruled it out as teenage angst and him being in his rebellious phase, but you knew Yoongi better than to believe what they said.

"I hate cheaters” was all that he told you when you tried to ask him.

The first guy he punched was a notorious playboy in your year level, who nearly tried to hit on you, if it weren’t for the fact that you were always by Yoongi’s side. Later on, you would find out in an impromptu visit to Yoongi’s house that his father brought another woman into their home, while his mother was away in Paris.

You sighed to yourself, clenching the chopsticks you were holding in the small, quaint restaurant you were in. The restaurant was a small one you found while you were out walking for a restaurant that didn’t seem like a place where posh, rich CEOs wouldn’t dine in. The food was good, but it was small that it was immediately filled with customers as soon as lunch break started.

“Can I sit here?”

You turned up and saw a man holding up a tray of food, motioning to the empty seat across you. You nodded nonchalantly, since you were alone and you were already halfway your food. The man sat across you immediately, making you get a good look on his face. Surprisingly, he actually looked familiar.

It was the guy who sat beside you in the plane.

“Ah, weren’t you the girl in the plane to Jeju?” He asked, pointing to you in surprise.

You nodded, a smile making to your features. “What a coincidence to see you here in Daegu,” you grinned as he chuckled and nodded.

After all, what were the chances that you were going to see your plane seat mate to Jeju all the way here in Daegu? Jeju Island was pretty far from Daegu, though it was directly accessible by plane for an hour or so. Still, you knew that the chances of seeing your plane seat mate to Jeju in a different city was meager.

“Well, I actually live around here. But I took the plane from Seoul to Jeju because I was in Seoul for a few weeks,” he motioned to the city before eating the piece of meat he was holding with his chopsticks. “What about you? What’s holding you up here in Daegu? Are you here to go around?” He queried.

You shook your head. “I’m here for work, but it’s just a short-term project,” you smiled back as he nodded in understanding.

“Boss Jin!” A waitress makes her way to your table, but her attention was focused to the guy opposite you. “I know it’s a busy time here in the restaurant, but my aunt told me that my mom was admitted to the emergency room a while ago. I just wanted to ask if I could leave immediately after an hour or so, since the restaurant’s not really busy anymore at that time,” she sheepishly requested as it dawned to you that the person right in front of you was the actual owner of the restaurant.

And that his name was Jin.

“Look, Nara, your mom was admitted to the emergency room, but what the fuck?” You turned to him with a surprised look on his face.

Boy, this employer was probably a slavedriver. You wondered for a moment if he was even going to make it big, especially when a good employer-employee relationship was crucial in-

“Like, seriously, what the fuck are you still doing in this restaurant?”

You paused for a moment, blinking your eyes, realizing that you were perhaps, wrong.

“Boss, I-”

Jin clicked his tongue twice, resting his arms across his chest. “I know it’s going to be busy here, but I can manage it here. Well, probably, but that’s not the point,” he paused for a greater effect, “your mom’s the only mother you’ll ever have, well, aside from your in-laws, but come on, child, we both know you’re working shifts here so that you can help your mom with the expenses at home. So, go now! Scram! Go to your mom now and don’t worry, you’re still going to have your job once you think it’s okay to come back here.”

Nara nodded before she took off her apron. “Thank you so much, boss!” she smiled, a bit teary-eyed before she made her way to the kitchen. Jin smiled and resumed to eating, turning to you as if nothing just happened.

“So, what’s your short-term project about? How long are you going to stay in Daegu?” He quipped before popping rice into his mouth with his chopsticks.

You simply looked at him, quite astonished of how he was such a nice boss, especially with how the place seemed like it was going to be busy in a little while, since lunch time wasn’t even over. “Well, it’s some sort of-”

“I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to cut you off here for now. There’s only one person in the cashier and a group of office workers just came in and I gotta go Diner Dash now,” he smiled sheepishly with an apologetic look on his face. The group was probably composed of ten people, immediately heading to a table that was just cleared. And you knew that they obviously needed help.

You shook your head, understanding his situation, “It’s okay. You don’t have to worry about me.”

He stood up from his seat as he immediately wore the apron that the waitress just left on the table, heading towards the new group of customers with a smile on his face. You observed the way he talked to the customers — patient, hospitable, and warm. He also seemed like he knew the customers, judging from the way that he even gave small jokes as he took their orders. They must be old customers, given that they didn’t even have to look at the menu to order food. It also didn’t take long for the food to get served to their tables by Jin. The food was good, the service was great, the restaurant wasn’t stuffy, the ambiance was good. So, it wasn’t a mystery to wonder why their customers kept on returning to this restaurant. In fact, you might even see yourself becoming a regular in this restaurant.

It must’ve taken an hour for Jin to get back to your table, a surprised look on his face as he took the seat across you. “You’re still here?” He asked as he resumed eating the food he had left earlier.

You nodded, but you had a question bugging you from the back of your head. “Have you ever thought of expanding this restaurant?” You asked, looking at the restaurant that was still filled with customers, though the number of those who were coming in could already be managed by just one person.

Jin paused for a moment, laughing to himself as he looked at his restaurant with an endearing look on his face, before he turned back to you with a raised eyebrow, “I don’t know. I guess, it’s because this restaurant is a mere hobby for me,” he smiled before he proceeded on eating the remaining contents of his bowl.

You simply nodded, but you were a bit bewildered. For sure, he could’ve increased his profits more, given the demand for the food this restaurant produced, but the prices were pretty affordable, despite the taste of the food being delectable, even for foodies.

“I mean, sometimes, not everything in life is about profits, you know. Sometimes, we want to do something just because we want to. And well, cooking has always been something I’ve always been passionate about, so it made sense that I would pursue a restaurant business,” he added, scratching his head at the last part.

“So, you’re a restaurant owner, who’s also passionate for books?” You surmised, remembering your first meeting in the plane.

He nodded, but he tilted his head a bit, “Well, not just books. I’m a passionate person for a lot of things. You’ll be surprised,” he grinned.

You slowly nodded at his response as you stood up from your seat, realizing that you may have overstayed. “I should be going now. Your other customers might need tables and I didn’t move up earlier because nobody would’ve watched over your food,” you joked as he laughed, knowing that you didn’t have to. He could’ve always cleared the table for other customers and placed his food in the kitchen.

“Nonsense!” He shook his head, grabbing your wrist with a smile on his face. “Well, unless, of course, you have work today?”

It was your turn to shake your head.

“Well then, since I owe you a favor for watching over my food. Why don’t I bring you to my favorite places in Daegu?” He offered.

You checked the time on your phone and realized that you probably didn’t need to go back to office anymore. While you wanted to do a great job in fixing up Yoongi’s conglomerate (because it was your job, duh), it didn’t mean that you had to be in the office the whole time. You gave a thumbs up to Jin’s offer, making him pump his fist into the air, as if it were some sort of victory for him. You laughed at his antics as he went to leave some instructions to the person left in-charge before the two of you started to walk to his car.

“Well then, this is my car. It’s a bit small and old, but I trust you that we won’t break down in the middle of a highway,” he promise you as he opened his old Elantra.

“What are you saying, Jin? It’s okay. You don’t even have to do this,” you grinned to yourself as you went inside the car and placed on the seatbelt.

“Of course, I do!” He insisted in a tone that it even seemed that he was insulted. “You protected my food from the evil flies of doom and also the germs that would’ve contaminated if it weren’t for you, oh mighty one!”

You laughed at his words before he turned on the engine of his car, driving to a familiar direction you’ve always known since you were a child. You felt a bit excited, realizing that Jin was taking you to that lake that you’ve always gone to whenever you wanted to vent out your emotions, hang out with friends, or just walk around when you feel like everything was just in slow motion.

But then, you realized that it wasn’t this big before.

“This is Suseong Lake. It’s a well-known tourist spot here, and well, I feel like you’d be the type who would enjoy it here,” Jin pointed to the big stone that was supposed to signify that you were already nearby the lake.

“What do you mean by ‘I seem to be the type who would enjoy it here’? Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” You quizzed, raising an eyebrow.

Jin chuckled, “It’s a good thing. This place is actually my favorite place here in Daegu.”

“And what does that exactly imply?” You decided to push the question.

“Don’t you like it when people like the same thing that you do?” He asked in return.

“Well, some people get possessive over the things that they like.”

He clicked his tongue twice. “I’m not one of them. Besides, see! You gained a friend in Daegu because we liked the same book! I mean, what are the chances, of course? But, shouldn’t be a good thing?” He exclaimed.

“So, we’re friends now?” You decided to tease him as he was obviously flabbergasted, judging by the look on his face. You laughed at his reaction as you saw him roll his eyes. “Okay, so, fine, yes, we’re friends,” you relented, after seeing the pout that was starting to appear on his face.

He was still pouting, however. “That sounds so forced.”

“We are friends, okay? I mean, I trusted you when I got inside that car, not knowing if I was going to end up chopped up, but I took that leap of faith,” you tried to persuade him as he still shook his head, not giving in to what you were saying. You sighed, “okay, what would make you believe me?”

“Meet me once in a while here, let’s say twice a week?”

You could only stare at him, shocked by the condition he gave you. You could see him trying to act as if he was angry, but you could only laugh at how petty he was being. You couldn’t believe that this guy was probably around your age. You were tempted to snort, but you knew better than to make him increase his condition of meeting in this lake to thrice a week.

“Do I look like I have a choice?” You couldn’t help yourself from saying that, at least.

He shook his head in response, the fake pout still present on his face. All it ever did, though, was to emphasize his lips that were already pouty by default. You tried to stifle your laughter at the thought that if he was going to pout a lot more, then he was probably going to end up making the infamous duck face.

“What can I say? I must be very convincing,” he winked as you cleared your throat, finally recovering from the silly idea of Jin making a duck face.

“More like forceful.” This time, it was your time to click your tongue twice. “I can’t believe that this is how you force friendships on people. You make them feel like they owe you and then you make them feel guilty.” His jaw literally drops as he tries to find the words to retort to you, but you continued before he could even say a thing in his defense.

“Poor me, forced to stay here in Daegu for a while, but the first friend I ever get here in Daegu is someone who conned me into a friendship. The next thing I’ll know, I’m conned into a pyramid scheme for jade mats,” you gave a sigh at the last part for an effect.

“Hey!” He tried to defend himself. “I’m not that kind of person!”

You decided to walk away from him as he tried to keep up with you, still trying to find the words to retort back to him.

“I don’t con people. I’m 100% clean, okay?” He continued, but you shook your head, seemingly unconvinced by what he was saying, though you were really just playing with him.

He had to get his own medicine, too, once in a while.

“I don’t know, Jin. I mean, I don’t even know your complete name. Such a poor girl I am. It’s my first time in Daegu and I get conned by some guy,” you gave another sigh as you didn’t even bother to stop walking. He tried to match up to your pace once again as he scratched his head.

“Look, if you want to know my complete name, well, it’s Kim-”

“Omo, is this the young girl who used to bother me for my sweet potatoes?”

You turned around and saw an elderly woman, whom you knew was one of your neighbors when your family was still staying in Daegu. You grinned in recognition as you went near her and gave her a hug.

“Mrs. Ko! It’s great to see you again!” You burst out as she returned the hug that you gave her.

“I can’t believe that you’re a grown up now! You looked exactly like your mother when she was your age, which is pretty weird because you always looked like your father when you were young!” She exclaimed as you chuckled, a blush making its way on your cheeks as you murmured a small ‘thanks’.

The two of you continued to talk, catching up, especially since you haven’t seen each other for a decade or so. She was a neighbor of your family, who used to sell sweet potatoes in the nearby park in your neighborhood. However, since you were always on a tight budgeted allowance, you would bug her to give you a discount, to which she would spoil you with free sweet potatoes. In return, you would help her close her stall at the end of the day since it was the least thing you could do for the woman who gave you your favorite snacks for free.

It didn’t take long for the two of you to part ways, however, since she still had to meet with her son who was in town. Said son was already living in Seoul with a family of his own. You bade her good-bye as you took note that you were going to have to give her contact details to your parents, especially since you knew that your parents missed the old woman.

“So, your ‘first time in Daegu’, huh?”

You turned around and saw Jin with an amused look on his face. You blushed for a moment, caught in the act since you knew that you unintentionally withheld that information from him. “Well, it’s my first time in Daegu in a decade,” you grinned as he shook his head in disbelief. “But, hey, you were the one who was conning me to meet with you here twice a week by guilt-tripping me,” you reminded him.

He sighed. “Okay, fine, we’re fair now.”

“Nope,” you shook your head as he raised an eyebrow, “I have a job, remember? Make that once a week.”

“…”

“Jin!” You whined.

“Fine,” he relented, turning to you. “Earlier, I did that just because I didn’t want you to get cooped up with too much work and it would be such a shame if you couldn’t see the beauty of Daegu,” he explained, scratching his head as he motioned you to the view of the trees across the lake. “Even if I go here a couple of times in a week, I still get astonished by its beauty, you know,” he admitted, looking at the lake and its surrounding trees.

You smiled, joining him by his side. “Tell me about it. This place still surprises me, even when I was still in middle school,” you reminisced as you remembered how the lake wasn’t exactly formed like this back when you were younger. There were less trees, the surroundings weren’t this developed just yet, there were a fewer number of duck paddles, you chuckled.

“So, what were you like back in middle school?” He asked, a hint of curiosity in his tone.

You frowned as you remembered the person whom you’ve always wanted to ride a duck paddle with, but you just could never ride one, because there was always none available whenever you visited with him.

“There’s always a next time, you know,” Yoongi would tell you every single time.

But, it never happened.

“Are you okay?” Jin asked, interrupting you from your thoughts.

You nodded as the two of you continued to walk until you reached a familiar location in the park, a smile making its way to your face. “I can’t believe that they still have these here,” you mused as you looked at each lock hung on the safety lines. “How many locks are here, I wonder? Wouldn’t the safety lines give way if there’s too much?” You asked as he tried to rack up his brain, scrunching his eyebrows.

“I think they take off the locks once there’s too many. I think they’ve done it a couple of times already, if i’m not wrong,” he spilled.

You turned to him with a frown, “but it’s such a waste, though?”

“Well, it’s a waste, but it’s still a safety line and it has to do its job,” he seemed like he was trying to convince himself, but you also understood what he was getting at. There was a necessity for the locks to be removed. A phone rang into the air as Jin excused himself for a moment, walking away to answer the phone. You nodded back, understanding that it was urgent.

You brought yourself to look once again at the locks placed on the safety line as the memories of your youth came back running to you yet again. Maybe because you, yourself, had also placed one here with Yoongi years back.

It was during your last visit in the lake when he handed you a lock of your favorite color with the words ‘this idiot x that idiot’ labeled on them. You remembered hitting him lightly on the shoulder when you read those exact words on the lock, expecting that he might’ve written more eloquent words since he was always the more eloquent one between the two of you. But, you knew in the back of your head that he didn’t want you to cry during your last time together.

Suddenly, you wished that your first love was preserved back to the way it was more than a decade ago. But, it was useless because you’ve already met him as he was now and you’ve realized the difference between the Yoongi from the present and the Yoongi you once knew. The Yoongi at that time wouldn’t have cheated on his wife. The Yoongi at that time would’ve come clean about marrying someone else when the two of you first met. The Yoongi at that time would’ve probably introduced you to his wife, without any feeling of guilt. You sighed, wondering if there was any use to reminiscing a few things, though you seemed to remember something.

At that time when you both placed the lock on the safety line so many years ago, the two of you decided to count the number of steps you would make from a certain plank to where the two of you placed the lock. The fifteen-year-old Yoongi said that it was so that he wouldn’t forget where he placed it and that the two of you could go back and look at it when you came back for good. The fifteen-year-old you reluctantly agreed to him.

You smiled to yourself, wondering if you could still remember the sequence, even if it was something that happened so many years ago. You immediately walked to the plank that you remembered was the mark that the two of you made as you started to walk towards the safety line.

Two steps forward

Three steps to the right.

Three steps diagonally to the right.

And yet, what you saw in front of you made you weak in the knees because there was a lock of the same color with the exact same words that he wrote more than a decade ago. You swallowed the growing lump on your throat as you remembered that the locks were regularly taken out to avoid overcrowding and for the safety lines to actually do their jobs.

But, there was a lock with the words he wrote more than a decade ago. You didn’t have to think twice to realize that he would return here to place a replica of the lock that the two of you placed more than a decade ago, especially since the color of the lock was not yet that faded.

“I’ve always loved you, even if we never saw each other for more than a decade.”

You remembered Yoongi’s words on the note that he left the morning after.

What if it was true? What if he always did love you all this time?

But, it still didn’t change the fact that he was married. It still didn’t change the fact that he cheated on his wife. It didn’t change the fact that he was an adulterer, a cheater. If he did love you, why would he marry someone else then?

Those thoughts went through your mind during the entire ride going back to the restaurant. Jin had to go back because there was an emergency since a group of thirty people came in and, obviously, he had to help out his employees there, with one of the waitresses away. You simply nodded, telling him that you could just walk to your apartment from the restaurant since it was nearby.

Fortunately, there was hardly any conversation between you and Jin in the car since he was frequently flocked with different calls, that it made you wonder why he was so busy when he was just an owner of a small restaurant. You decided not to pry, though, especially since you wouldn’t know what to respond if he would ask you about the job you were doing in Daegu.

“Thank you so much, Jin,” you tried to smile as he nodded, but he suddenly decided to ruffle your hair. “Hey!” You complained as you tried to shake off his hands away from your hair, walking away from him. Pouting, you turned back to him, only to see a sad smile on his face.

“I hope you’ll feel better soon,” he said sincerely.

Was it obvious that something was bothering you the whole time?

“It’s weird because it’s still our second time meeting each other, but I guess it’s pretty natural to wish others well,” he laughed as you nodded, unsure on what to tell him. He waved good-bye to you as he went inside his restaurant. You started to walk towards your apartment, but you decided to take a small detour, going to the old park you’ve frequented when you were younger.

It was the same park where Mrs. Ko would sell her sweet potatoes, the same park where you grew up with your siblings, the same park you would pass by, at least, twice a day when you were on the way to school and when you were about to go home, and the very same park where you told Yoongi that your family was going to leave Daegu.

“We’re going to transfer cities,” you told him, while the two of you were sitting on the two swings, watching the sunset. It was already eight in the evening, but you told your parents that you had to drop the bomb to Yoongi.

“It’s reachable by train, right?” He asked in a matter of fact tone.

“Reachable by planes,” you corrected him.

“Ah, I see.”

The two of you strangely became quiet, unsure on what else to say. At the same time, you were afraid of looking at his direction, because you knew that the tears that you tried to hold in since the day your parents told you about your father’s transfer, would fall right there and then. Because even if you knew that your parents had a legitimate reason tor transferring to another country, you didn’t know how you were going to say good-bye to Yoongi.

“I’ll go home now. It’s getting late,” you told him as you immediately stood up from the swing, running to the direction of your house, not bothering to wait for his response. You were honestly scared. You didn’t want to hear what he was going to tell you.

Because you were always a coward.

You always had been one.

You paused on your tracks as you finally arrived to your apartment. But, what surprised you was the presence of a drunk Yoongi, who was sitting right outside of your door, obviously waiting for you. He probably passed out while waiting, since he didn’t get up when you went outside the elevator.

“Sweetie, Yoongi’s here,” your mother knocked on your door as you stopped on writing the report that was still due the following week, but because you wanted to divert your attention to something else, you decided to finish that report.

“Tell him that I’m asleep or something,” you replied to your mother. However, she didn’t respond. “Mom, just tell him that- oh,” you turned around, surprised to see Yoongi by your door. It was weird that your parents would let him up at such a time, but they probably figured out what was happening because you barely even touched the food on your plate during supper.

“I didn’t know what to say,” he admitted.

“You could always try some sarcastic snort or something like you always do,” you responded, looking down. He walked closer to you until he was standing right in front of you. It seemed so weird because you knew that you were always taller than him, but now, he was around your height already. You didn’t even realize this difference when you were close to him, what more when you were away from him?

You heard him swallow the growing lump on his throat. “I don’t have the words to say. I can’t say that I would follow you because we both know that my parents would throw a fit, but I also can’t ask you to stay behind because that would be too selfish of me,” he explained.

You could only nod because you knew that what he said was true. But, somehow, you wanted him to still say those words, even when the two of you knew it was impossible and unreasonable. The tears that you’ve always tried to hold back finally fell down your cheeks as you felt him pull you into a tight embrace, your cries becoming more prominent as he simply patted you on your back.

“I’ll write a letter to you everyday. I’ll make sure you’ll never feel like we’ve been separated,” he promised, hugging you tighter, since the two of you both knew that the day you were going to leave was just hanging around your shoulders, haunting the two of you every single moment.

Yoongi woke up to the sound of your door opening after you placed the right code, but you didn’t mind him, preferring to just go inside your apartment since you didn’t want to deal with him. A part of you wondered if you should call the security guards for letting him inside when he wasn’t even supposed to be here. You sighed to yourself as you quickly opened a can of beer from your fridge. You took a quick gulp, but you only choked when you heard the door to your apartment open.

How did he know the password to your door?

You placed down your beer, quickly walking towards your entrance, as you saw him, barely standing and holding on to the wall for support. He was staring at you, a somber expression on his face, “Are you going to say that you’re asleep now?” He asked, reminding you of the same thing you did before.

You frowned as you folded your arms across your chest. “What do you want, CEO Min? It’s already past five,” you sneered.

You saw his fists on a tight grip as he clenched his eyes, frustration seeping through his entire self. “I need to tell you something,” he begged.

You closed your eyes, finding the will inside of you to not burst out in anger towards him. Even after everything, you still needed to maintain a professional relationship with him. “I’m pretty sure that what you’re supposed to tell me now could be said tomorrow in your office,” you commented as you motioned for him to leave.

“Are you sure you want Jung Hoseok to hear that it was always you and there was nobody else?” He challenged you as you gripped your arms, trying to be patient. “I’ve always loved you. I never stopped, not for a single moment. If you only knew how much it hurt me on that afternoon that you told me you were leaving, if you only knew how hard it was for me to breathe when the person I could always breathe around was leaving me for an indefinite period,” he looked at you, his voice hoarse from drinking too much, but his eyes never wavering away from looking at yours directly.

“If you only knew how hard it was for me to continue living when the person who could only make my heart beat was leaving me.”

“Then, why did you stop writing me letters? Why did you stop communicating with me? Why did you stop?”

You couldn’t bear staying silent anymore as you felt your tears stream down your cheeks. Why was he always able to break down your walls and make you cry?

“Why did you have to be married? Why couldn’t you wait for me? Why do you have to keep on replacing that stupid lock in Suseong Lake? Why do you have to be this way, Yoongi? Why do you have to be a fucking paradox?”

He gave an obnoxious chuckle, “So, you’ve been there?”

You frowned, holding your left temple. “That’s not the point, Yoongi. But, the thing is that you’re married. You married someone else, while I was away. You’re bound to someone for life and I don’t plan to be the third party in such a sacred relationship,” you stood on your ground as you took a swig from the can you placed down, feeling the sudden need for more alcohol.

Yoongi, however, snorted. “If it were even a sacred relationship. It can’t be described sacred, and you can’t even call it a relationship,” he muttered, looking away from you, scratching his head. “You know what? Screw it, I’m gonna tell you this. My wife and I, she and I made a deal before we got married. We were going to divorce after two years, just so that I can grant her the freedom she always wanted from her family,” he admitted as you choked on your beer, making you cough lightly. You turned back to him, wondering if what he said was a joke.

But, the serious look he had on his face made you realize it wasn’t a joke.

“Their company was in trouble, mine was, too. And so, we had that merger to help both companies since it would eliminate a direct competitor. At the same time, her father wanted assurance that my company wouldn’t just swallow their company without their family having some hold in it, thus, the marriage,” he explained, scratching his head. “But, my wife and I made a deal that we would get divorced after two years, irreconcilable differences. We just have to appear as husband and wife outside, but we barely talk to each other at home. She’s actually always away, I don’t even know where she goes, to be honest,” he added, a hesitating look on his face as you coerced him to say what he was hesitant about.

He took a deep breath before turning to you, an unreadable expression on his face. “To be honest, I’ve never even touched her or had sex with her, if that is what you must know,” he concluded as you blinked your eyes, quite surprised with what he admitted.

To be honest, a part of you wanted to believe what he said. Everything that he said actually fit into the whole narrative. A CEO of a conglomerate suddenly marries a woman from the family who owned the corporation that was recently merged with one of the corporations under his conglomerate. They decide to divorce after two years since the woman always wanted her freedom.

“So, how long?”

“Huh?”

“How long do you have until you’ll divorce her? How long must I wait, Yoongi?” You asked him. A part of you feels crazy for even considering to wait for him, but that was what love did to you.

It made you crazy, stupid, and reckless. But, you know it was always worth it all for him.

“Less than a year to go,” he mentally calculated as he scratched his head. “That time in Jeju when we met, that was supposedly our anniversary holiday, but I never even saw her the whole time there until the last day since our parents flew in to Jeju.”

You slowly nodded, his excuse making sense for what you saw in Jeju. He was always with you the whole day for two straight days, except on the Saturday you saw him with his wife. If his wife even cared, he would’ve gotten calls from her, but strangely, there was none.

“But, you don’t have to wait, you know,” he said, walking nearer to you as you turned to him, a surprised look on your face. He caressed your face, his face inching closer to yours. “You could always have me. I’ve always been yours. I’m all yours to take.”

You didn’t know who made the first move, but the next thing you knew, your lips were moving against his, savoring the taste of each other’s kisses as if it were the first time all over again. You felt your tears stream down your cheek, a feeling of bittersweetness coming as each second passed. Maybe, it was the fact that you knew everything about his situation now and it made it all the more sweeter and bitter, at the same time.

You slowly took off his coat and his dress suit, his lips never leaving yours. It seemed as if he was afraid that if his lips left yours, you would disappear forever. You could feel the grip he had on your waist, feeling the desperation he must have always felt since you left him at the age of 15, and the feat of forever losing you when you thought that he had betrayed you.

You should’ve always known that the world was not black and white, there was always certain things that fell on the gray side, and he was one of them.

The two of you moved to your bedroom as you slipped out of your blue dress, revealing the black lingerie that you were wearing underneath. It wasn’t on purpose, but the smirk he had on his face as he stared at you made you feel that you didn’t make a mistake. “You are definitely going to be the death of me,” he murmured in between his kisses, his lips slowly making its way down your neck.

You felt him lower you down on the bed, his figure towering over yours as he continued to smother you with kisses, making you smile from the feeling that he was closer than ever to you. Your bodies continued to move against each other, him slipping off his remaining clothes and you, taking off your lingerie, while he continued looking at you as if you were divinely beautiful. You could only blush at the way he was staring at you, but he immediately lunged into you, sucking on your nipples that only seemed to heighten the euphoria you were feeling at the moment. But, you knew that you only felt this high because you were with the man you love.

If only this could happen for the rest of your days.

“I love you so much. It’s always been you. I don’t think I’ve ever stopped loving you since we were young,” he confessed to you, feeling him steady himself right outside your entrance. You gave a nod, motioning for him to thrust inside you as you mewled from the pleasure of him filling you up until he was fully-inside you. You felt the need to adjust to his side again as he waited for you patiently, just like he did the last time. You gave him a nod as a signal for him to start moving.

“Yoongi!” You panted as he started moving against you, his length stretching your insides with every thrust that he made against you, his lips finding yours again to engulf and kiss deeply, hoping that you would feel his true, unwavering feelings for you. You were the only one he wanted to be with since he was fifteen and maybe, even before he knew what love was.

That was why you were the only woman he ever made love to.

“Yoongi, I’m close!” You cried, your climax approaching you as you felt yourself feeling higher, the euphoria from the way he continued to move harder against you, his fingers finding their way to your clit, rubbing it until you saw a blinding light, your climax finally washing through your whole body. You continued to moan as he continued to thrust through your high. It did’t take a while when you felt his thrusts becoming more sloppier and faster, before he finished inside you, his cum slightly oozing down your thighs. He rested his forehead against yours, panting after what just took place.

You turned to him, an endearing look on your face as you finally made your decision.

“I love you, too, Yoongi.”

Mind over matters of the heart.

That was a principle that you’ve always stuck through ever since, but at this point, you knew that both your mind and heart only screamed for him, even when you knew it was wrong. This time you were probably going to let your heart win over your mind just this one time for him.

#bangtanwriters-net #bts writing squad #btswriters #ksmutnet #yoongi reader #yoongi angst #yoongi fic #yoongi smut #bts angst #yoongi scenarios #bts smut #bts fic #bts scenarios #min yoongi #kim seokjin #jin fluff #jin scenarios #jin reader #jin fic

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sweetersuga · 7 years

Text

Coquette | 4

bts x fuckgirl!reader high school!au | series warnings: smut, sexual themes, polygamy, angst, foul language, cheating

genre: angst, romance, smut

chapter warning: underage drinking, smut

continuation status: yes | possibly | no

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

word count: 4,691

“Taehyung.. Why do you like me?”

“..I don’t know.”

That was your first question once Taehyung confronted you about the “news” between you and Jimin.

But no, it wasn’t Jungkook who spilled everything he saw in Hoseok’s bathroom - it was Jimin who confessed. Every single detail hadn’t gone unmentioned as he thoroughly explained what went on last night.

Apparently, he brought it up over text; too guilt-ridden and disgusted with himself by crossing over onto sacred grounds to to tell Taehyung in person. He hadn’t even shown up at school.

Jungkook texted you earlier in the morning from the same blocked number as you were about to leave for school, telling you how you fucked up Jimin and Taehyung’s friendship. Apparently Jimin had been the one to call it off, having felt so guilty and ashamed - not only because of you, but because of himself. He couldn’t even excuse his own actions of being high out of his mind and most likely drunk, ‘cause he sure as hell wasn’t out of it to the point where he genuinely couldn’t think straight.

Jungkook stayed quiet about the whole situation, not wanting to have to choose between two of his closest friends. He felt like both sides were biased. For one, he was angry with Jimin for nearly having sex with you knowing you had a thing going on with Taehyung, and secondly, he was still upset (although he never mentioned it) with Taehyung for not only refusing to believe him when he stated that this would happen, but also for Taehyung thinking it was a chill thing to do by agreeing to fuck around with you after he, himself, had you.

“You’ve got this whole ‘hurt you before you hurt me’ mentality, y/n. You made me look and feel like a fucking idiot, for God’s sake!”

Taehyung had a point there. I mean, besides the fact that you entirely cheated - could you even call it that? You weren’t technically dating, and you never had been. Taehyung just assumed he’d get the chance to eventually ask you out, and everything would be peaches and cream; and you so desperately wanted to shout for him to remove his pretty little head from his ass.

“Dude,” you started. “we’ve been together for what, a week? We’re not even dating, Tae. What the hell are you expecting from me? From this?” you figuratively motioned between the two of you. You had too big of a headache to deal with his bullshit, and you weren’t going to pretend you would, either.

He sighed in frustration, tugging at his hair with so much force that you thought his strands would rip out between his fingers.

“I don’t know, alright? Just-just give me a fucking break,” he murmured. He grabbed your shoulder and dragged you around the hall where less students were in hopes of no one eavesdropping on your conversation. “I mean, Jimin? Seriously? Why did you have to fucking go for him?”

“We were both high as shit, or at least pretty close.”

He sighed. “Never mind. But I hope you fucking know we aren’t hanging anymore because of it.”

“I do, I do,” you sighed, scratching the top of your head. “Just.. Don’t worry about him. He’s out of the picture now, alright? Come on, let’s go.”

You lead Taehyung back to his locker, silencing him from speaking about Jimin for the rest of the day. He still had so many questions that he knew you wouldn’t answer, but for a reason he couldn’t explain, he felt too afraid to ask you. Almost as if he knew the answers himself, but he just didn’t want to hear that conformation - at least not from you.

On your way heading out of the school building, you made your separate ways with Taehyung as he decided to hang out with one of his friends instead of going home. There weren’t that many students around anymore, and despite only being 3pm, the atmosphere around you began to darken and change to a light shade of deep grayish-blue, with a few breezes of wind here and there. The street lamps weren’t on as it was still relatively early, but by the formation of clouds in the sky, you assumed it would shortly begin raining.

And you were right. First, it started off as light drizzling, then it switched to pouring within a matter of seconds, leaving you drenched and cold in your school uniform, sprinting on the sidewalk like an idiot. Guess who should’ve checked the weather channel before they left?

Your vision blurred as the rain seeped down your eyelashes into your eyes to the point where you didn’t notice a figure ahead of you. Fortunately, you weren’t running to the point where you knocked them over, but once you collided with their body, it knocked most of the wind from your chest which left you breathless.

“Ah, sorry, sorry!” you began, panting. They turned around, ready to accept your apology, but their eyes only widened in shock at your soaked frame.

“Y/n? What’re you doing out in the rain like this?” Hoseok squinted, shifting his glance towards the sky. Hoseok still had his own uniform on which meant he was still on his own way home from school, except he appeared nearly bone dry as he had his black umbrella protecting him from the harsh rain. He took a step closer to you and brought you under his umbrella and you both resumed walking.

“Forgot to bring my umbrella. I had no idea it’d be raining like this,” you frowned. “thanks, though. Guess you’re my savior now."

“Yup,” he nodded. “you owe me a favor for being your knight in shining armor!”

“Hey, I’m surprised you even came to school today. You were so drunk last night, Hoseok!”

He chuckled airily. “I know. But I never back out from a few shots; no harm, no biggy.”

Your phone rang in your book bag, causing both you and Hoseok to stop while you slid it off your back and fumbled around inside.

You sent Hoseok a warm smile as he waited for you patiently. Your fingertips finally grasped at the cold, vibrating metal of your phone and you slipped it out of your bag, shifting your gaze to the screen.

Your blood ran cold.

You thought you’d never hear from him again. All of the meaningless nights you spent crying alone in your bedroom hopelessly, managing to convince yourself you’d never be okay again - vulnerably came crashing down on you. Truthfully, the hole in your heart that he drilled himself never healed. You were reminded the times where you could physically feel your heart clench, throat tighten, and knees buckling underneath you like a pathetic fawn that couldn’t stand on its own, crying out for help from the one person you needed the most: him.

Your phone continued to ring. “Are you gonna answer that?”

Hoseok’s voice brought you back down to earth and you cleared your throat, nodding a little too eagerly in his opinion, taking in your entire scenario. He saw the way your eyes glossed over briefly and you forcefully swallowed a lump in your throat, but he stayed silent.

Your finger slowly slid across the green button, making you visibly jump like a frightened cat once his contact information popped up into full screen. The heart emoji’s that you once thought were the most adorable thing, which now made you sick to your stomach, were still saved to his contact information right by his name. Didn’t you block him long ago?

“H-hello?” All usual trace of confidence had been drained from your voice the moment you saw his name on your screen.

“Y/n, I’m back. Did you miss me?” His voice sounded exactly the same. The same lusciousness, the same deepness that had you crumbling as soon as his lips would part, the same coyness that drove you closer and closer to insanity - yet it was the same voice that injected your veins with euphoria.

You hung up. Before you even could process what exactly just happened, Hoseok touched your arm lightly, causing you to jump.

“Y/n, you alright?” he frowned worriedly. You swallowed another lump down your throat and nodded slowly, pushing your hair behind your ear, phone still clutched tightly in your hand. “Ah-yeah, just a wrong number. Anyways, where are we going?”

He could sense you didn’t want to talk about what just happened and nodded, wrapping his arm around your shoulder comfortingly as you both continued walking. “To my house! If that’s alright with you?’

You nodded, plastering a fake smile on your face as you walked in sync with Hoseok. “Then lead the way.”

Hoseok’s parents still weren’t home, but you were met face to face with his older uni brother, Hajin as he answered the door. He greeted you with odd looks as you bowed and walked inside, taking off your soaked shoes.

“Who are you?” Hajin asked with a frown, crossing his arms.

You were about to introduce yourself when Hoseok beat you to it. “She’s y/n, we’re studying for Monday’s exam so don’t bother us!” he yelled out quickly, taking your hand as he pulled you up the stairs. He lead you up to his room, to which he slammed the door shut and started rummaging through his drawer while you stood in silence, still drenched in rain. You texted your parents that you’d be staying over at a friends house to study to avoid worrying them and sighed, plopping your phone back inside your book bag.

You watched as Hoseok yanked out a mustard yellow muscle shirt and a pair of gray sweats and tossed them to you. You caught them with ease and stared down at them. “Are these for me to change into?”

“Unless you’d prefer to go commando? I don’t really want my bed drenched.”

“As great as that sounds,” you chuckled, shrugging off your jacket. “it’s pretty cold in here, so I’ll take the first offer.”

“Suit yourself,” he shrugged. “you know where the ba-”

His breath hitched his throat when you began unbuttoning your shirt and tossed it to the ground. Next came your skirt which you slid down your legs, letting it pool at your feet, then your stockings. You were left in only your bra and panties, but the moment was only short lived for Hoseok as you quickly yanked his sweatpants on, wincing as the cold air nipped at your bare skin. You pulled the yellow shirt over your head and exhaled abruptly, rubbing your arms up and down to ease the goosebumps.

“Where do I put my clothes?”

“Wha-?” Hoseok mumbled slowly, before his eyes trailed upwards to meet your gaze. “Oh! Uh, just give them to me and I’ll put them in the dryer.”

You nodded and handed them to him once he made his way over to you with a smirk on his lips. He brushed past you and left his bedroom, presumably heading downstairs, leaving you alone in silence. You sighed in boredom, slowly twirling around his room with your lips pursed until you flopped down onto his bed, the motion of the springs sending you upward by a few inches.

Truthfully, you were still bothered by the previous phone call. All these questions were running through your head to the point where you were starting to feel sick to your stomach, and all he said was,

“Y/n, I’m back. Did you miss me?”

Just thinking about the tone in his voice made the hairs on the back of your neck raise. His tone was teasing; he sounded so sure of himself, as if he had done this many times before and he knew it’d work each time - which he has. You could just hear the smirk in his voice and picture the way his eyes narrowed into slits like they always did; he wore that damned cocky expression to sleep for God’s sake!

You couldn’t help but feel angry. Not only at him, but yourself - you allowed yourself to feel weak and feeble in his presence, even though he wasn’t even there. And you were angry at him for just assuming he could come back in your life whenever he wanted. Who the fuck did he think he was?

You were so preoccupied with your thoughts, you nearly let out a yelp once your phone rang. Again. You scurried off Hoseok’s bed to get it, your hopes higher up than you’d like to admit - but you were let down the moment you saw it was only Taehyung calling you.

“Yah, y/n! Wanna come over once the rain’s cleared up?” the enthusiasm in his voice almost made you feel guilty.

“Ah, well.. I’m kinda busy right now,” you lied sheepishly, glancing back to the door.

Silence. “Oh.. With what?”

“I’m studying with a friend.” you were shocked with how quick that slipped your lips.

“why are you studying?” he laughed. “It’s Friday, you could do that tomorrow or something.”

“I’ve just.. Put off homework for a while now. I wanted to get everyth-”

Hoseok burst through the door loudly, slamming it behind him as he made his way over to you, causing you to wince. “Your clothes in the dry-”

You swatted at his shoulder, urgently holding your finger up to your lips to silence the loud boy. His eyes widened before he nodded slowly, understanding.

“Who was that? Y/n?” Taehyung demanded.

“It’s just my friend. Look, I gotta go okay? I’ll call you later!” and with that, you hung up.

“Who was on the phone?” Hoseok questioned, plopping down on the bed next to you. “Taehyung,” you admitted with a sigh. His lips silently formed an ‘o’ shape and he ran his fingers through his black hair, revealing his forehead.

“So you guys are like, a thing?”

You let out a dry chuckle. “If you could call it that, then sure.”

“Why though?” you peaked over to Hoseok, noticing he was frowning. “Do you even like the guy?”

You bit your lip, fiddling with your nails. “I don’t know..”

“Oh come on, y/n!” he rolled his eyes. “There’s no need to lie. I just want to know why are you even with him if you don’t like him? It doesn’t take rocket science to see.”

“I feel.. Bad,” you admitted, leaning down further onto his bed. “I didn’t realize he’d be this into me.”

“Then why not leave him? Look, I’m all here for doing whatever the fuck you want, but don’t hurt the poor kid. He’s got a good heart and he could use it on someone who actually gives a crap about him.”

“It’s not entirely my fault, though. He wanted it, I wanted it. I never asked for him to fall for me that fast! I’m just surprised he hasn’t left on his own.”

“I don’t know much about him but I do know he hasn’t had many.. Relationships, in the past.”

“He doesn’t have one now either so what’s your point?” you rolled your eyes. Hoseok’s eyebrows raised in surprise at your harsh words, but he, thankfully, let it slip.

“Whatever you say, y/n. Just.. If you feel so bad, that means you somewhat care, right?”

“I guess..”

“So do him a favor and let him go.”

You were getting sick and tired of Hoseok’s lecture and if it wasn’t for the fact your clothes were still taking their time drying, you would’ve gotten up and left at this point. “Whatever. I need a drink.”

His eyes lit up and he reached underneath his bed, pulling out a half empty bottle of whiskey and popped the top, handing it to you. You mentally laughed to yourself. ‘Of course he’d hide alcohol in his room.’

You thanked him before taking a huge gulp, nearly choking as the liquid burned your throat and you wiped your lips with the back of your hand before passing it back to him. He took an equally as big sip, letting out a grunt in pleasure, eyebrows knitting together. You watched his jaw clench and release silently.

“Hey.. Hoseok?” you started, staring up at the ceiling.

“Mm?”

“How do you know if you’re truly over someone?”

He tipped the lid of the bottle to his lip but paused, slowly setting it back down. Regret started filling you and you began wondering if you were asking the wrong person about romance, or if you were even making Hoseok uncomfortable and you let out a sigh, stumbling over your words. “Actually never mind, I’m sorry-”

“Well, y/n,” he breathed, cutting you off. “you know when you don’t feel any kind of emotion towards them anymore. Love, hate, happiness, regret; those are all things that you still associate with someone you love, or loved. You can’t get over someone and still love them, or let yourself believe you can. Just like you can convince yourself you hate that person so much and you’d never love them again, but you fail to realize you’re still thinking about them. You still wonder what they’re doing, how they’re doing - if they’ve been better or worse without you.”

“-but when you truly get over someone, it doesn’t matter.. Because they become a stranger you’ve never met.” you finished quietly. He nodded in agreement and handed you the bottle to which you gladly accepted, chugging it down almost all the way until he stopped you.

“Yah-don’t hurt yourself, y/n!”

‘I’ve already done that, though.’ you thought bitterly, grimacing.

He finished the rest of the bottle and placed it on his nightstand before jumping up off of the bed and clapping his hands together. “Come on, enough of this sad b.s.. You wanna watch TV or something? ‘Cause I don’t know about you but I’m not studying for shit.”

“Sure,” you shrugged, “I could use the distraction.”

You don’t know how it happened, but somehow you caught yourself pressing your lips to Hoseok’s aggressively, your legs entwined together on his bed with your bodies roughly shifting and gliding against each others, moaning in delight at the way his hand came down to give your ass a firm squeeze, then a slap. Your shirt went flying off somewhere deep into the crevasses of his room, his own uniform jacket and button up discarded at the foot of his bed; but that all came to a halt when he decided to stop you from leaning over to straddle him midway through the action.

“Wait,” he panted, both of his hands gripping your shoulders. His cheeks were flushed, hair disheveled, and his tongue poked out to wet his parted lips, before saying, “are you sure you want to do this?”

“What do you mean? Of course I do,” you nodded eagerly, going back in for the kiss but his hold stopped you in place.

“No, I mean seriously. You seemed out of it not too long ago and I don’t want you to just do something that you don’t actually want, you know?”

“Hoseok,” you caressed his face. “I want this. I want you.”

He and you both knew you were just doing this to rid your mind of whatever had been hurting you. Sure, Hoseok was insanely attractive; what girl wouldn’t want to sleep with him? But what you wanted now, more than anything, was his comfort without the emotional support, and the painstakingly addictive desire to be.. Desired. And he would give you just that.

You and Hoseok had hooked up once before you even got involved with Jungkook and his friends, but despite it having had been a one time thing, he knew most of the spots that made you writhe in pleasure.

Like the spot across your lower back that he gently drifted his finger tips over; it sent pleasant chills up and down your spine and voluntarily brought your body down closer to his to the point where you were laying flat on top of him. And the way that he would constantly murmur against your ear, “Is this okay?” whenever his hands would drift lower and lower.

But what had you melting the most was the way he would switch positions and leave a trail of slow, wet kisses down your stomach until he’d reach your pants and tug them off of you with so much force that you thought the bed would move along with the motions of his hands.

But this time, it seemed to come by as a haze. You truthfully didn’t know when all of your clothes had been removed, even considering how Hoseok took his precious time with you, until he began lining himself up with a condom from his nightstand.

“You’re sure about this, right? If Jessica finds out, she’ll kill me.”

Oh, yeah. He had a girlfriend. How could you have forgotten?

“I won’t tell if you won’t,” you smirked, spreading your legs wider in anticipation. You failed to see him bite his lip, most likely second-guessing himself. Instead, he sighed and caved into you anyways, leaning his palm against the pillow your head rested on. “Alright. I’ll make you feel good y/n, I promise..”

He pressed his tip into you, immediately stretching out your walls and you moaned at the contact, edging for him to continue. His eyes fluttered closed, slowly but surely filling you up with his entire length before leaning both of his elbows by your head, pressing a firm kiss to your cheek.

He continued showering your neck and face with gentle kisses as you adjusted to his length, letting him know he could start moving again and as he slowly slid out of you almost completely, your gentle moan is what, in return, caused him to slam his hips deeper into you.

Your mewl became a loud, pleasured whimper and you squeezed your eyes shut tightly, wrapping your arms around the back of Hoseok’s neck as he relentlessly pounded into you. His arm hooked under your knee, trapping it against your side and he let out a stuttered moan, head falling in the crook of your neck.

“F-fuck! I forgot how tight you are..” he swallowed, his movement slowly decreasing in speed. The tip of his cock brushed back and forth against your g-spot, causing your toes to curl in pleasure.

“Fuck.. Just like that,” you whimpered, walls squeezing tightly around him. He kept going at the pace that had your vision clouded with inanimate stars. The way his body kept brushing against your clit as he slammed inside of you had you moaning his name.

“Come on, say it louder,” he smirked, eyebrows raising in concentration.

You moaned again loudly, “Ho-Hoseok!”

“You like the way I feel inside you don’t you?” he grunted, gripping your scalp with the opposite hand used to hold himself up. You moaned in agreement, taking his face in your hands to press sloppy kisses on his lips.

“I’m gonna cum,” he grunted, sitting up. You whined at the loss of contact, but your sounds of disapproval were soon replaced by pleasured whimpers and mewls as he began thrusting into your core even faster. You could see the sweat building up on his forehead and around his sideburns while he diligently focused on making himself cum.

He reached his hand down to rub your clit in circles and your eyebrows knitted together, mouth agape silently as wave after wave of pleasure washed over you like a warm, fuzzy blanket. You were getting close and Hoseok could sense it. His thumb increased in speed and soon after, he let out a heavy grunt, hips sloppily bucking into yours as his cum finally spilled into the condom.

“Come for me,” he whispered, grip on your thigh tightening. Your nails dug into his bed sheets, bliss written all over your face - Hoseok admired the way you looked when you were sweaty, naked, and filled with his cock; it was a sight he, and no other man, could ever get enough of.

It only took a few more flicks before you were coming undone underneath him. You bit your lip harshly the moment before you exploded, your walls clenching around Hoseok’s cock as you rode your orgasm out, gently moving his hand away once you couldn’t take it anymore.

“Fuck. That was.. Great,” he panted, pulling out of you to discard his condom in the trash bin next to his bed. You nodded in agreement, wincing in pain as you sat up too quickly causing your head to spin.

He asked if you were alright to which you nodded and stood up, sliding your undergarments back on slowly, along with his shirt and sweat pants.

“Um.. You think my clothes are dry yet?” you questioned him curiously. He nodded and stood up, heading back over to his drawer to slide on a pair of black and red basketball shorts and left to get your school uniform from the laundry room.

Once he came back, you thanked him, got dressed, and with a smile, you parted ways, telling each other you’d see one another at school casually.

Hoseok himself was so used to casual flings; with friends or girls he didn’t know, and that’s why it was so easy to sleep with him if you ever wanted to, because there would never be an awkward, uncomfortable moment between you two when it did happen.

As you left his house, Hajin simply shook his head in disappointment upon seeing your disarranged, wobbly-legged figure, aware of what just went on not too long ago, no thanks to the fact your moans were so loud he could hear it from downstairs.

The rain had stopped, which meant you could take as long of a stroll as you’d like on the way home without having to be cautious and bothered by getting drenched all over again. You were still slightly buzzed from what little alcohol you had, regretting the decision to even take another glance at alcohol from how badly your head hurt due to last night.

Your heart felt heavy and you were numb by this point. The sex with Hoseok was satisfying but not spectacular - it did the job of ridding your mind from everything you dreaded earlier, but as the alcohol in your system wore out, your mind couldn’t help but travel yet again.

“I’m almost home,” you sighed to yourself. “once I get there, I’m gonna take a long, hot shower and a nap.”

“Where were you?”

You spun around in shock, clutching your chest. How long had Taehyung been behind you? You didn’t even notice or hear his footsteps.

“What the hell? I told you I was over at my friend’s house!”

“Why do you smell and look like you’ve just got fucked?” He chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief.

“First of all,” you raised your hands up in defense. “how long have you been following me?”

“Jungkook was fucking right about you, wasn’t he?” he murmured, not answering your question. He grabbed your wrists in one swift motion and pushed you up against a lamppost, crushing your limbs tighter between his hands despite your orders for him to release you, and leaned down until his lips brushed against your ear.

“I’m going to make you regret everything you’ve done to me, y/n.”

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anavoliselenu · 7 years

Text

Hiched chapter 1

Prologue

Justin

“Another beer?” my best friend Sterling asks.

“I better not.”

He smirks. “So you’re really going to go through with it, huh, mate?”

“What’s the big deal? You took a fake date to prom.”

I chuckle to myself, remembering the year Sterling took his cousin to the dance. He thought it was genius at the time—no corsage to buy, no need to impress her with a fancy restaurant or limo ride. Until the end of the night, when all the rest of us were enjoying some skin-to-skin contact with our dates, and he realized what a horrible decision he’d made. The only skin-to-skin action he got was with his hand.

“A fake wife is a hell of a lot different. It’s a big fucking deal.” Sterling glares at me over the rim of his beer.

Looking out over the ocean from our spot on the porch of the beach cottage, I loosen my tie, which has grown too tight around my neck, and level him with a dark stare.

“Actually, it’s legally binding, so she’ll be my real wife. Until we got divorced, or got the marriage annulled or whatever.”

“Do you even hear yourself? This is insane. You can’t marry some chick you don’t even like.”

“Who says I don’t like her?”

His eyes widen. “I’m not talking about the unrequited lust-fueled crush you’ve had on her since you were a horny teenager.”

I rub the back of my neck, feeling the stirrings of a headache. “What do you expect me to do? It’s part of my father’s will. This is my—no, our condition for taking over the company. No marriage means no inheritance, period. For either of us.”

Some people may say that being thrust into such luxury from the start makes you immune to it all, but that’s not true. I’ve never taken a single day of it for granted, and there’s no way in hell I’m going to give it up without a fight.

Sterling releases a loud sigh, and his gaze follows mine out to the water beyond. “I just think you should really think this through, man. Marriage is a big deal. It’s not something to be entered into lightly.”

Between the two of us, Sterling’s always been the voice of reason. For every brazen and rash idea I’ve had, every time I’ve jumped into the deep end without thinking, he’s helped steer me back onto the straight-and-narrow path. He’s been my best friend since we were fourteen. As the two new kids at a prestigious boarding school in Connecticut, we became inseparable.

“Trust me when I tell you I understand the gravity of the situation.”

My father’s death last year was a huge wake-up call. The fate of his $100 billion company suddenly dropped straight into my hands. I had to be ready to take over. And I am—I’ll do whatever it takes. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that my bride-to-be is the woman I’ve always wanted.

“There has to be another way,” Sterling says after taking a sip of his beer. “Besides, with your wandering eye and perpetually hard dick, you’d make a terrible husband.”

Ouch. I’m not that bad, am I?

He’s lecturing me about something, but all I can focus on is the tumultuous waves and the uneasy feelings stirring inside me.

“Oh, one more thing,” I say, turning toward him. “I need to knock her up.”

Sterling spits out his drink.

Chapter One

Justin

One Month Earlier

I clench my teeth and check my Rolex for the third time. This entire thing is a huge waste of time.

“Where is she?” I cast a glance at Selena’s father, Fred Cane, who’s seated at the head of the long conference room table.

“She’ll be here,” he assures me. Then, under his breath, he adds, “She’s got to.”

My sentiments exactly.

This meeting is a last-ditch effort to try to convince Selena to sign the contract. But I’m worried today will just be a repeat of last week. She flat-out refused to sign anything that put the two of us together in the same sentence—and said hell no.

Actually, it might have been said with more gusto. I think there was even an f-bomb involved.

But we need to get hitched before ownership of Tate & Cane Enterprises can transfer to us. And with the board of directors’ deadline looming, we need to do it yesterday. I’m not losing the $100 billion company that my father built because the ice queen won’t play nice.

I make a fat six-figure income, enjoy the finest indulgences money can buy, and I know damn well I live the good life. Just because I don’t take it for granted doesn’t mean I don’t take advantage.

Free upgrades at all the best hotels? Absolutely. The finest champagne delivered to my table, courtesy of the sommelier? Why not? The lifeguard at our country club letting me bend her over in the locker room all summer? Sure. The pretty blond hostess at La Chample who wants to blow me in the bathroom before my business dinner? Hell yeah. Being wealthy and attractive has its perks.

But if Selena doesn’t show up today, and if we can’t agree on the terms of this contract, my wealth stands to suffer immensely. As do the jobs and lives of the six thousand employees of Tate & Cane, including one of my favorite people on the planet, Rosita Hernandez. She’s a single mom to six kids. And if this deal goes south, I can only imagine what would happen to someone like Rosita. Christ, I’d probably end up moving her and the kids into my penthouse. Which would obviously put a huge cramp in the aforementioned blow jobs and champagne I regularly enjoy.

I shudder at the thought.

“I know it’s unconventional, that the contract is . . .” Fred pauses and frowns. He drums his fingers on the table, looking sheepish.

Unconventional? To say the fucking least. If the situation weren’t so grim, I might laugh.

He and my father drew up their wills years ago, outlining what would happen to their multibillion-dollar baby should they kick the bucket. The daunting stack of papers in front of me spells out in full legal jargon that Selena and I are to inherit the company with joint fifty-fifty ownership . . . but only if we’re legally wed.

With Fred’s failing health and the company itself suffering six consecutive quarters in the red, an emergency meeting was called last week. Selena and I were presented with our options.

In my view, there were no options. There was just the right thing to do. We had to marry to save not only our own jobs, but our fathers’ legacies and the jobs of six thousand people in offices in Manhattan, Chicago, San Diego, and Brussels.

Selena felt differently. She didn’t relish the idea of being tied to me, and insisted there had to be another way.

Even if we do manage to persuade her to tie the knot, there’s no way Selena would be getting anywhere near my bed. Damn shame.

We came close once . . . just once. Back when she was a drunk college co-ed on spring break.

Her family was staying with mine in a beach house on Puget Sound. We’d escaped the East Coast for the West that summer. Whale watching and hiking trips in the salty sea air and evenings spent eating lobster and drinking chardonnay like we were real adults and not nineteen-year-olds with stars in our eyes.

She snuck out of the bunk bed in the room she was sharing with her sister, Rachel, and into my bedroom that night. And when she crawled in beside me and laid her warm palm against my bare chest, I was a goner. I’ve always wanted Selena. Always desired her, from before I even knew what those strange feelings were in my gut, my chest. We kissed in the darkness, our tongues exploring, hands groping, hearts beating wildly.

But then reality slammed into me. There were a lot of reasons I told her no that night. Her mom had recently been diagnosed with cancer, and I knew Selena would regret using me to cope. Plus, I knew from a recent game of Truth or Dare that she was still a virgin.

So I kissed her a final time and then sent her away. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.

And now she treats me as if I were a piece of gum stuck to the bottom of those Louboutin heels she favors.

“I really think this is for the best,” Fred adds, pulling me back to the present.

“It’s what your father wanted, Justin,” Prescott says. Before my father’s death, Prescott was his most trusted advisor. He’s also a total fucking douche bag.

Just then, the conference room door flies open, and I know it’s her before I even look up from the contract.

A fresh floral scent with crisp notes of honeysuckle greets me. I have no idea where Selena gets that shit, but it makes my mouth water. It always has. I once spent an entire Saturday at the fragrance counter of a department store trying to figure it out, trying to prove that it was just some manufactured, bottled version of attraction, that it wasn’t something special to her. I never found it.

“I’m here,” Selena says, slightly breathless.

I look up just in time to be treated to the sight of her smoothing her dress shirt over her curves. Lush breasts and a flat stomach leading to full hips. Her jacket is slung over her arm, as is her tan leather briefcase, monogrammed with her initials in black cursive stitching.

“Miss Cane,” I say cheerfully. “You look exceptionally refreshed this morning.”

She likes to exercise in the morning before work, says it gives her the mental agility to stay focused on business for the sixteen-hour days she’s known to plow through. I like that it gives her cheeks a rosy glow . . . much like I’d guess sex would. Just the thought makes my cock twitch in my dress slacks.

“Save it, Justin. This is purely business,” she says, blinking at me with those lush, dark lashes.

No smile. No laughter. The opposite of the usual reaction I evoke from the fairer sex. And that annoys the shit out of me.

It’s as if Selena Cane alone possesses an antidote to my charm. And that only makes me want to watch her surrender to me that much more. The idea of her on her knees, pink lips parted, taking my cock deep down her throat, begging for more even as she gags on my impressive length, is more than just a sexual turn-on. It’s practically a life goal. To me, sex is a competitive sport. I know the rules, I play hard, and I always win.

Realizing they’re all still watching me, I take a deep breath, trying to force my cock to behave himself, and hold up my hands. She’s never taken one ounce of my shit, and I respect the hell out of her for that.

“I’m just trying to do what’s best here.”

She lets out a soft sigh of exasperation and sets her bag on the table. “Let’s get on with this.”

Her father pats the back of her hand. “Sit down, honey.”

She obeys, poised even in defeat, lowering herself into the seat with the confidence that was bred into her from birth. Preston slides a copy of the contract over to her, and she leafs through it with disinterest.

“I just don’t see why there has to be a marriage clause in the will.”

The woman has a point. My guess? Because our fathers have always wanted to play matchmaker when it came to us. They’ve paired us together since we were in diapers. Hell, we even have an old photo of us in full wedding apparel at a fake wedding from some twenty years ago.

“I’ve explained this, darling. It’s the only way we keep the company in the family. I thought that’s what you wanted . . . a chance to run this place someday.”

“I do, Dad,” she says softly. Then her eyes lift to mine. “I just didn’t think I’d be forced into something like this.”

“No one’s forcing you,” I say, keeping my tone light as I lace my fingers behind my head. “The choice is yours, Selena. I already told you, I’m game.”

She chews on her red lacquered thumbnail for just a second before folding her hands in her lap and shooting me an icy glare. “I’m quite aware of your position.”

Hell, at least she’s willing to hear us all out again. I know that deep down, she understands our fathers’ rationale. We’re stronger together. Our families built this company together. Neither of us can afford to buy the other out, so it needs to stay jointly fifty-fifty within the family. For now.

But for me, it’s about more than just money. Selena and I grew up together; our parents always envisioned us ending up together. I always knew she’d be somewhere in my future, even if it was just working side by side, with her busting my balls every chance she got. It was something I looked forward to.

Fred continued. “Trust and loyalty are the most important things in business. We can’t go getting into bed with someone we don’t know. We have to keep all of this in this room. Just between family.”

Selena sighs, giving him a skeptical look. “I’ll think about it.”

At least it wasn’t a flat no this time, even if her tone is still sour.

Prescott lets out an annoyed huff. “We’ll meet again on Thursday.”

She stuffs the contract in her bag and rises from the table, seemingly in a hurry to escape. “Until then.”

“Thank you for keeping an open mind,” her father says. “These things have a way of working themselves out in ways you can’t anticipate.”

I accept Fred and Prescott’s good-bye handshakes. When Selena’s turn comes, she thrusts her hand at me, clearly wanting to just get this over with . . . and I have a flash of wicked inspiration. Maybe I should shake things up. Test how thick her icy shell really is.

Holding her gaze, I raise her hand to my mouth and kiss it. “A pleasure doing business with you . . . Mrs. Tate,” I tease in a husky voice, letting my lips graze her knuckles.

Her eyes widen and she sucks in her breath. Is it my imagination, or do her cheeks look a little pinker than before? But before I can be sure, her expression hardens into a death glare.

Snatching back her hand, she snaps, “Don’t get ahead of yourself. I haven’t agreed to marry you yet, and even if I do, I’m never taking your last name.”

And then she’s gone, leaving me standing there with a stupid grin on my face.

“I’ve seen that look before,” Fred says with a small smile. “You’re in trouble, son.”

I laugh off his warning. There’s no way Selena Cane will ever have me wrapped around her finger.

Yet her unique sweetness lingers in my nostrils. She must have dabbed that intoxicating scent on her wrist, so close to my nose when I kissed her hand. I can still feel her soft, smooth skin on my lips. Such a small intimacy—just brushing her as I spoke—shouldn’t have spread this tingle over me. But there’s no denying that this room has become a few degrees too warm.

This is going to be interesting. Hell, it may even be fun.

Chapter Two

Selena

Camryn almost spills her pear mojito and gasps. “You have to do what? With who?”

Nodding grimly, I take a fortifying gulp of sangria. Just explaining this whole harrowing situation makes me feel like I’m going crazy.

We’re eating lunch at a table for two at Banderilla, our favorite tapas bar in all of Manhattan. This restaurant has been our go-to hangout spot since we were college roommates.

We’ve talked over countless decisions here. Whether I should break up with my shitty first boyfriend (I did), whether Camryn should give her anal virginity to her wannabe musician boyfriend (she did), if we should get matching friendship tattoos (I chickened out), whether she should accept Tate & Cane’s job offer after the internship I hooked her up with (she did).

But this decision is probably the biggest of my life. I need my best friend’s coolheaded advice now more than ever.

Camryn heaves a sympathetic sigh. “Jesus. I knew the company wasn’t doing so hot, but I had no idea just how much trouble we were in.”

“Yeah, turns out we should have invested more in social media.”

Like all the other big marketing firms. Dad had stuck to his guns with old strategies, and now clients thought we were a dinosaur.

“So, what do you think I should do about this contract?” I ask her again. I try not to sound impatient, but my head has been spinning ever since Dad announced his retirement—and I learned exactly what I’d need to do to take his place.

“Let me make sure I understand. You need to inherit and unfuck T&C, or else the board will pawn it off. Before the next financial quarter.”

“Yep.”

“But Bill Tate’s will says you can’t inherit until you marry his son.”

“Uh-huh.”

She sucks her teeth. “So . . . down the aisle in a matter of days, huh? Sounds like the board is the rock and Tate’s will is the hard place.”

“Exactly.” Although it’s Justin’s hard place that I really need to worry about right now. “And between the two, my personal life’s about to get smashed into dust.”

“I didn’t know you had a personal life.” She holds up one hand at my exasperated glare. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Sorry.”

“No, you’re right. I don’t really.” I sigh heavily. “But damn it, why should I give up what little I have? It’s not fair. At the end of a long workday, I want to come home to my own space for some peace and quiet.”

Not to mention wine. And ice cream. And drowning out the silence with crappy TV so I can’t start thinking about how lonely I am.

“I couldn’t stand having that jerk in my face 24–7. I’d put up with him all day at work, and then I’d have to see his dirty socks everywhere.” Fuck no.

“Who says you have to share your space?”

I snort as I lift a forkful of papas bravas to my mouth. “A husband and wife who don’t live together? Yeah, that’d look just great for publicity.” One of many reasons why Dad would never let me hear the end of it.

Camryn shrugs, her palms turned up. “My point is, you don’t necessarily have to lose your whole life.”

“Just the parts with independence and privacy.”

“Come on, try to think about the situation like any other business move. This marriage is just a piece of paper. After you and Justin deal with the big picture, you can negotiate the details like adults and find something you can both live with. You two are on the same page here—making a huge personal sacrifice to save your company.”

“I’m not so sure about that. Justin seems way more into the idea than me. He was on board from the very beginning.”

I rub my hand where he kissed it, thinking about the husky way he murmured Mrs. Tate. His idea of matrimony clearly isn’t very holy.

Camryn raises one perfectly waxed eyebrow. “Oh? You think he likes the idea of sharing a bed with you?”

“I think he likes sharing a bed with anything that has a pulse.”

Although his playboy ways make it seem even odder that he’s so eager to tie himself down. Uh, that was a poor choice of words. But who’s to say he won’t just keep sleeping around?

Like Camryn said, this marriage is strictly business. A mere legal formality. And Justin would probably explode if he went more than a week without pussy.

I may be the boss’s daughter, but I still overhear my fair share of office gossip. Justin nailed all six interns last summer. He’s also slept with various secretaries over the years, and everyone just turned a blind eye. Boys will be boys . . .

Well, playtime is over. If he expects to turn this company around, we’ve got our work cut out for us.

“But how do you feel about all this? Justin Tate is pretty fucking hot.”

“Camryn . . .” I groan.

“What? I have working eyeballs. His hotness is an objective fact. Just like the pope being Catholic and carbs making you fat. He just is. Would it really be so bad to see him naked?” Her sly smile says she’s suggesting a lot more than just looking. “As long as we’re weighing the pros and cons here . . .”

I pause to consider the image, then grudgingly admit, “No.”

In fact, it would probably be pretty damn fantastic. I’ve already gotten a preview of his toned body, firm chest, and six-pack abs. Whenever our families summered together in the Hamptons, he took every opportunity to strut around shirtless. Hell, when I was nineteen, I came close to fucking him. But I was young and stupid and horny back then. Now I’m older, wiser . . . and still incredibly horny. Damn it.

It’s ridiculous how easily Justin grabs my attention. The smallest thing he does can leave me flustered. Like at the close of our business meeting yesterday. Just as a bare-bones courtesy, the most brusque good-bye possible, I stuck out my hand at him—only for Justin to bow slightly and raise it to his mouth for a lingering kiss.

“A pleasure doing business with you . . . Mrs. Tate,” he teased in a husky voice.

My mouth went dry and my stomach fluttered. Or maybe that flutter was somewhere a bit south of my stomach. I suddenly remembered exactly how many years, months, days, and hours it had been since I’d last gotten laid.

I tried to recover. Who the hell did he think he was? We were standing in a Madison Avenue skyscraper, not a sixteenth-century castle. This was wildly inappropriate workplace behavior. I could slap his tight ass with a harassment suit if I wanted. Instead, I just gave the cocky bastard a death glare and the iciest retort I could think of.

But it was too late. There was no denying my body’s reaction. The red-hot shiver that had run down my spine when his soft, full lips touched my knuckles, brushing my skin as he spoke.

Even now, I find myself replaying the image of Justin Tate gazing up at me with a sinful smirk, his dark eyes alight . . .

I shake away the steamy memory. So what if Justin knows how to flirt like the shameless manwhore he is? Schmoozing is all he’s good for. And handsome men are a dime a dozen, especially in New York. Hell, a fifty-dollar vibrator could do his job, and I wouldn’t have to listen to its bullshit. I didn’t bust my ass in business school just to become Justin’s little woman.

Then again, I also didn’t bust my ass in business school to watch my father’s company go down the drain, either.

My thoughts sober me, cooling my anger into melancholy. I spent my childhood in my father’s office, playing at his feet while he steered a financial ship of thousands. All children think of their parents as gods, and I was no exception. Even since I took my place at his right hand, with my own voice in the family business, I still respect him more than any other man.

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