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yourkeeperoftherunners · 2 years

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Save You, Save Me

𑁍 Welcome to 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐫𝐚 𝐇𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐥 & 𝐒𝐩𝐚 𑁍

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While your friends thought it was worth making passes at the hot female lifeguard, your mind was preoccupied with the disaster of a wedding you were in town for. Chances were unlikely that you’d see her outside of the hotel you’re staying at, but what are the odds of you being seated next to the very lifeguard at said wedding?

Her job is glamorized all the time, but the reason why she took up the job has a deeper meaning.

𑁍 Lifeguard!AU x Hotel Guest!AU 𑁍 Pairing: Lifeguard!Yoo Jimin (aespa Karina) × Reader (Any gender), feat. Uchinaga Aeri (aespa Giselle), Jeon Somi, Pool Boy!Sehun (EXO Sehun) 𑁍 Genre: PG-13 𑁍 Warnings: Language, Lifeguard duties, Gossip, Mention of a dead sibling, Unpopular wedding, Guests disapproving of wedding, Mention of bad boyfriends, Mention of young kids bullying another kid 𑁍 Notes: All of the characters and storyline are fictional. The sister mentioned in this story is different from Karina’s real life sister. The couple getting married is slightly inspired by a friend’s relative who rushed their wedding, despite the families disapproving.

𑁍K-Pop Masterlist𑁍 𑁍EXO Masterlist𑁍

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“Are you there yet?”

“Hang on Mom,” you replied before opening the door on your rideshare’s car. You held the phone away from your ear as you thanked the driver.

The driver placed your suitcase on the curb and told you to enjoy your trip. You stepped around the car and lifted the handle on your suitcase, while your free hand brought the phone up to your ear again.

“Sorry I was thanking the driver. I made it to the hotel,” you shared as you headed to the entrance.

“You know me, mothers worry about their kids, even when they’re older” she replied. “So who’s getting married again?”

You paused at the entrance to the hotel and moved off to the side to continue your conversation with your mom. You let go of the handle on your suitcase so you could hike your personal carry-on bag higher on your shoulder.

“Sam’s sister Andi and I really don’t know her fiancé,” you responded.

There was a pause on the other end and your mom asked if you were close to Andi or something.

“Not really Mom,” you said, “It’s...kind of a long story and I wanna settle in after a long flight.”

“Fair enough,” your mom replied. “Thanks for the update. Try to have fun at the wedding, okay?”

“I’ll try,” you promised before hanging up. You pulled up your reservation on your e-mail app and retrieved your suitcase, prepared to make your way to the front desk to check-in.

“No way!”

You looked up from your phone and saw Aeri running toward you, arms outstretched for a hug. You hugged the young woman and asked how she was doing.

“You know me, hustling as always,” she replied as she pulled away. “What are you doing here? You here for–”

“The Wedding,” you interrupted her. “Yeah I am. Actually I was surprised to even get an invite.”

“I never thought I’d be getting a wedding invite this early in my life,” a guy responded as he approached both of you.

“Y/N, this is my friend Jay,” Aeri shared as she gestured to the guy. “We go to the same college. Jay, this is Y/N – we had a couple of classes when we were in high school.”

You shook Jay’s hand and addressed Aeri while holding up your phone. “I was about to check-in – I’m guessing you guys are all settled in?”

“I was going to check out the hotel’s amenities,” Jay replied. “I kind of thought this place was going to be just okay, but it’s actually kind of nice.”

“I just got my room key,” Aeri shared. “I gotta unpack my stuff and I’m waiting for my roommate to show up – you ever meet Somi?”

“Who?”

“Oh yeah, you might not have met her! Yeah, well you’ll meet her at the wedding or maybe before it. She’s flying in from Canada, but I think her flight’s delayed or something,” Aeri added. “Hey, you free tonight? We could all grab a drink or something at the bar here.”

“I should be,” you responded. “I’m going to check-in and freshen up before meeting you guys down here.”

--------------

The front desk had no trouble finding your reservation and you were happy to head up, unpack, and brush your teeth after a very long flight. After you dragged a comb through your hair to look a little more presentable, you checked your phone and responded to Aeri about meeting at the bar in a couple of minutes to grab drinks and catch up.

You pocketed your wallet, ID, and room key in your jacket and kept your phone in your hand as you made your way downstairs, in search of the bar. You exited the elevator and scanned the entrance hall, noting the sign with the directions to the bar.

“How do you know the couple?” Jay asked as he came up beside you.

You turned your head to face him and raised a hand in greeting. He pointed to the bar area and you walked alongside him.

“I’m friends with the bride’s older sister,” you explained. “I didn’t really hang out with the bride that much – maybe we saw each other when I did some sleepovers at their house, but yeah. You?”

Jay looked around for Aeri and waved once he saw her holding two empty seats next to her. He glanced at you and shared that he was friends with the groom.

“We were in the same fraternity,” Jay explained. “I don’t know if you were in Greek life, but I swear not all of us are party animals who cruise by in class. Pretty sure Haruto and I were the only guys who didn’t end up smashed at the end of the frat parties and did well in our classes.”

“Nerds,” Aeri teased as you and Jay came closer to where she was sitting. She pushed two menus toward you and said she was waiting for you before ordering drinks.

“You could have ordered your drink, you know?” Jay remarked as he slid into the seat on Aeri’s left. He grabbed one of the menus and began looking at the options.

You took the other seat next to her and apologized for making her wait. She waved a hand to say it was nothing, then prompted you to share what you were talking about.

Jay looked up from the menu and nodded at you. “Y/N and I were talking about who we know in terms of the wedding. They said they know the bride.”

Aeri looked thoughtful and she murmured that she vaguely remembered the bride in a summer camp program she was in. “It was ages ago – not sure if it was her,” Aeri sighed. “But Haruto, yeah I know him and he’s cool. Except I don’t get why he’s getting married now. I mean, he’s not even done with college yet!”

You raised a brow at that comment and Jay and Aeri nodded in unison. That made you cringe as it dawned on you the significant age gap between the bride and groom in that moment.

“I have a feeling that look means something bad,” Jay remarked as he studied your face.

“I’m pretty sure Andi just turned 27,” you offered. “Back when I was hanging out with her older sister all the time, Andi was getting into all sorts of trouble, like sneaking out after curfew, dating guys who were really sketchy–”

“Sketchy? How sketchy we talking?” Aeri asked as she leaned forward.

You leaned back in your seat as you recalled some of the boyfriends that were disasters. “There was one guy who was illegally selling fake autographs and merchandise for 90s bands and singers at school, then there was a guy who hacked a teacher’s computer to change the grades on his friends’ tests, and the worst one was a guy who was planning to follow his favorite band in a falling-apart van all year. She almost went with him, until her granddad threatened to cut her out of the will.”

Aeri and Jay exchanged a look and it was your turn to ask about it. The former struggled to formulate what she wanted to say and Jay was silent for a few moments. Before you could ask them to explain themselves, the bartender came over to greet you and ask if you were ready to order.

You quickly looked back at the menu as Aeri ordered her drink and Jay pointed to something on the menu. You met the bartender’s eyes and selected a mocktail, something that looked interesting. Once the bartender excused himself to assemble your drinks, Jay seemed to have collected his thoughts and leaned against the counter as he looked at you from his seat.

“We love Haru, he’s a good guy,” Jay prefaced. “But he literally turned 21 not more than...what? 7 days ago? Also he’s had bad luck with getting girls. Not that he dated bad girls like the string of guys the bride had, but most saw him as ugly and nerdy. Or they only pretended to be nice to him because–”

“He’s the oldest son of an entertainment company CEO in Japan,” Aeri added. “When he got to college, he had a major glow-up and that’s kind of helped, but he didn’t really like any of the girls at our school. I mean, he doesn’t tell a lot of people who his mom and dad are, but some people do some sleuthing and bam! Then they wanna be besties with him, but he’s gotten good at shaking off the posers. Um Jay, did he tell you how he met this Andi chick?”

Jay shrugged and explained that Haruto had been mum on the details, other than he met Andi a month and a half ago and both decided they wanted to get married after a short courtship.

“What does Andi even do for work?” Aeri asked.

“Last I heard from her sister, she got a job as an entry-level secretary,” you shared. “Before that, she was working at a clothing store as a sales clerk, but she got tired of the random hours and schedules.”

“Is Andi...?”

“Here are those drinks for you,” the bartender announced as he placed them on the counter. “May I get anything else for you, or are you all set right now?”

Jay politely told him we were all set and the bartender excused himself to wait on some new patrons who joined the bar at the opposite end.

“If you’re asking if Andi’s a gold digger, no,” you shared. “Her family’s upper middle class and the guys she dated before weren’t rich or anything. She’s impulsive and thinks she knows best, but not a gold digger.”

“Maybe Haruto–”

“Nope, no way!” Jay insisted, shaking his head violently. “Haru wouldn’t get her pregnant before the wedding. I doubt it’s a shotgun wedding.”

Aeri raised her glass and swirled the contents around thoughtfully. She looked at Jay, then at you before raising her glass in a toast.

“Well, whatever the hell the reason is, here we are, catching up after all these years and surviving this hot mess in a couple of days! Cheers!”

--------------

A few days later, Aeri suggested meeting at the pool to go swimming. You agreed and wandered down to the lobby, following the signs for the pool. You adjusted your sunglasses on your nose as you scanned the pool area for Aeri and Jay, who were supposedly holding a section of chairs for you.

You excused yourself as you maneuvered around some families and couples emerging from the pool and saw Jay standing by some chairs, while Aeri was busy chatting with a girl texting somebody. Jay spotted you and flagged you down.

“Hey Y/N, you made it,” Jay said. “We’ve got a couple more people joining us – my friend Alex is coming with his roommate Peter and Aeri, didn’t you say your friend Ryujin was here too?”

“Yeah, but she’s not staying at the hotel – I don’t know if she’s allowed to join us or not,” Aeri mused. She looked past the girl she was chatting with and raised a hand in greeting. “Oh before I forget, Y/N this is Somi, Somi this is Y/N.”

The girl looked up from sending a text and put her phone face down on her lap. She extended a hand and you shook it.

“Sorry, I’ve been asking some friends to see if they can figure out this guy,” Somi apologized.

“Who the groom?” Jay asked.

Somi shook her head and nodded at the lifeguard who was coming down from the tower. She raised her phone in one hand and explained that she was yelled at for trying to get his picture discreetly. “I’m 99% sure one of my friends knew this guy at some point and when I tried to snap a pic, this girl comes over and starts yelling at me to delete it or something. I mean, take a chill pill much?”

“Maybe it was his wife or some jealous fan girl?” Aeri offered.

“I didn’t get her name, but I sure wish I had,” Somi sighed with a roll of her eyes. “Pretty sure she worked here too. It’s not like this guy’s my type okay? He looks like a human version of Grumpy Cat or something. I get saving lives is serious business, but no need to put resting bitch face on all the time.”

Jay lowered his sunglasses as he watched the male lifeguard pass a young woman in a red one-piece who was headed to the lifeguard tower. The young woman climbed the ladder swiftly and took a seat in the chair, before placing a whistle around her neck.

“Looks like Mr. Grumpy Cat is gone and we have a new face on duty,” Jay noted.

--------------

Eventually the others showed up and introductions were made. Somi stayed in her deck chair (Citing a recent injury to her ankle as the reason), while the rest of the group split off to enjoy the pool and the jacuzzi.

The female lifeguard kept a neutral expression on her face as she scanned the area for any dangers or potential troublemakers. There were a few times where she called out to the parents of unruly children to please tell their kids to not run, but otherwise she remained silent from her perch.

“You think anyone ever faked drowning?” Peter asked in a low voice.

“Oh come on, seriously?” you sighed. “That’s not funny.”

“I wasn’t trying to be!” Peter insisted. “Come on, she’s probably had a lot of people hit on her, right?”

“I mean, she is kinda pretty,” Aeri confessed. “But like she gives off ice model vibes to me.”

“Kinda pretty?! Have you seen those legs?” Alex cried out in frustration.

You and Aeri exchanged a look with each other and rolled your eyes as the guys in your group continued to stare at the lifeguard on duty.

Peter ran a hand through his hair as he stared up at the lifeguard chair. “Do I dare ask her for her digits?”

“Please, a girl that hot is probably taken,” Aeri snorted as she nudged Peter in the arm. “Also, you’re not the first guy who has thirsted over her.”

You were getting tired of listening to the guys argue with each other about the lifeguard’s relationship status and you decided to hop out of the pool to dry off and sit with Somi for a while. You carefully pushed yourself up onto the pool deck and rose to a standing position slowly, then made a beeline for the seats where Somi was hanging out.

She offered you a dry towel and you thanked her as you accepted it.

“Done with the pool already?” she asked.

“Actually over Alex and Peter trying to decide if they make fools of themselves in front of the lifeguard,” you remarked as you gestured to the pair who were moving toward one of the ladders.

Somi studied the lifeguard and murmured that she also looked a little familiar in a way. “I don’t think I know her,” she clarified, “but she reminds me of someone else I might have seen or known at some point?” She snorted as she watched Peter exit the pool and she nudged you to get your attention. “Looks like Peter’s going to be a moron and ask her out.”

You watched as Peter strode over to the lifeguard tower and he leaned against it while looking up at the lifeguard. You couldn’t hear what he was saying, but you looked up at the lifeguard who slowly moved her sunglasses lower on the bridge of her nose to get a better look at the person speaking to her. The lifeguard said something before turning her attention back to the pool and adjusting her sunglasses on her nose again. Peter walked away from the tower looking dejected and Somi shook her head in amusement.

--------------

“Wait, you’re here?” Sam asked.

You cradled the phone between your shoulder and your ear as you put your shoes on to go grab breakfast. “Mmhm, why do you sound so surprised?”

“Andi never told me she invited you!” Sam huffed. “Oh I would have had you come stay at my place so you wouldn’t have to pay for your hotel!”

“Sam, it’s fine,” you reassured her. “Besides, it’s actually a nice hotel and I found out Aeri’s staying here too. But yeah, I’m surprised she wouldn’t tell her maid of honor–”

“Nope,” Sam replied in a flat tone. “Not even a bridesmaid.”

“Hang on, you’re kidding?!”

“No Y/N, I’m just a normal guest,” she responded. “Andi really made Mom and Dad unhappy with this rushed wedding and I think she demoted me to guest too because I hate that she’s marrying a barely legal guy who doesn’t have a job yet. Now I’m really pissed that she didn’t tell me that she invited you.”

“Why, it’s not like we are secretly friends – you know I’m YOUR friend, right?” you reminded her as you moved your phone to your other ear.

“Y/N, I think she dug through MY friend list and just invited a bunch of random people she kind of knows to this dumpster fest,” Sam growled. “None of her close friends are invited or one of them, I’m pretty sure got into a nasty fight with her before the wedding.”

You sighed as you straightened up and grabbed your room key and a breakfast voucher to put in your pocket.

“I’m sorry Sam, I had no idea,” you apologized. “Hey, I need to grab breakfast, but I’m sure we’ll see each other at the wedding.”

“Yeah, T-minus less than 24 hours,” Sam replied. “Go eat. See you tomorrow.”

You put your phone in another pocket and began heading down to the lobby, in search of the restaurant for the breakfast buffet. You were able to get onto an elevator without waiting and it only made 2 stops. Once it reached the lobby, you exited and looked around for the signs that pointed out the directions to the restaurant.

“STOP IT! STOP IT!” a girl’s voice wailed.

You snapped your head in the direction of the screaming and saw that it was coming from the pool area. Curiosity got the better of you and you walked quickly to the pool, spotting a small group of boys holding a young girl by her arms and legs and dangling her over the pool in the 5ft area.

“Hey!” a young man snapped as he strode over to the boys. He began to raise his whistle to his lips and the boys quickly dropped the girl into the pool before scattering in different directions.

As the boys scattered, the young man tried to grab a few of them and you quickly blocked one of them headed your direction. In the midst of the chaos, you saw someone dove into the pool and was swimming over to the little girl, who was struggling to stay afloat in the 5ft section.

“Move!” the boy complained as he tried to get around you.

“Where are your parents?” you demanded, using a harsh tone. “That wasn’t very nice what you did to her.” You continued to move from side to side to block the boy from getting past you, while the young man with the whistle was handing off the ones he caught to a security guard.

The security guard beckoned for another of his men to come help and the other guard grabbed the boy you were blocking. He thanked you, before escorting the troublemaker away.

“Hey Sehun, can you grab her a towel please?” a female voice asked as she carefully helped the girl sit on the pool deck.

From your viewpoint, you could see it was the female lifeguard from yesterday, who was trying to calm the scared little girl while her colleague grabbed a towel. Sehun passed over the towel and the female lifeguard unfolded it and carefully wrapped it around the young girl’s shoulders.

Sehun approached you and nodded, while murmuring a thanks. “Not sure we got all of them, but maybe some of them will rat out the rest,” he said. “I’m sorry about that, is there anything else you need?”

You gestured in the direction of the restaurant and explained you were headed there for breakfast.

“Ah, we’re only doing breakfast for another hour,” Sehun noted. “Thanks for your help. I think we’ve got this under control. If security has any questions, they may reach out to you. What’s your name?”

“Y/N.”

“Okay, thanks. Enjoy your breakfast,” Sehun said.

--------------

“So she actually saved someone and I missed it?!” Alex complained the next day.

You rolled your eyes and added that it was in the morning before breakfast ended. According to Jay, some of the people including Alex went out and did some barhopping, choosing to sleep in the morning of the pool rescue.

“Yeah Alex, she was doing her job,” you deadpanned. “I helped wrangle one of the punks who threw the poor girl in.”

“Boys can be so cruel,” Somi sighed as she scooped some yogurt up with her spoon. She added some berries onto the spoonful of yogurt and put it in her mouth. A free hand reached for her napkin and she wiped her mouth with it. “I need to go – gotta start getting ready.” She pushed her seat back and grabbed her wallet and phone before saying goodbye to you, Alex, and Jay.

Jay shook his head and checked his watch. “I guess I should get my suit on and think about heading over to beat the traffic. Y/N, did you rent a car or did you do rideshare?”

“Rideshare,” you replied. “But we should probably carpool to limit the number of cars there. The couple said there wasn’t a lot of parking space.”

Alex and Jay exchanged a look and the former echoed that he remembered seeing something about limited parking.

“I rented a car, but I can only take 4 people,” Jay shared. “I haven’t asked if Aeri and Somi want to ride with me or not. So far it’s just Alex and Peter who said they are coming.”

You shrugged and replied that you could figure it out. You excused yourself to go get ready and decided to text Aeri about what she was doing for a ride.

Y/N

Are you riding with Jay? He said he’s got a limited number of seats in his car and Peter and Alex are already in 2 of the 4. Sent 10:30 AM

Aeri

Somi and I are riding with Ryujin – she’s picking us up. I know she has room for one more. You want in? Sent 10:31 AM

Y/N

Thanks, I’d appreciate that. Sent 10:32 AM

--------------

Once you arrived, you found an empty seat next to Sam and she greeted you as you slid into the chair next to her. She was leaning back in her seat with her arms crossed.

“Should I be a bitch and yell ‘I object’ when the priest asks if anyone objects to the union?” Sam asked.

You nudged her in the arm and she made a face. Both of you turned to the front and after a couple of minutes, the ceremony got underway.

Despite joking about it earlier, Sam remained silent throughout the wedding and reluctantly slow-clapped when the bride and groom kissed. She turned to face you and asked if you knew who you were sitting with at the reception. You shrugged and explained that you’d probably find out once you got outside to the tents where the reception was being held.

Both of you waited for the chapel to clear out before making it outside to look for your names on the placards at the respective dining sets. Sam found her spot and she checked the table to see if your card was on it, then met your eyes as she shook her head. You shrugged and decided to check the other tables to see where your placard was. After a minute, you found your placard on a table to the far right with Ryujin and some other individuals you didn’t recognize.

Ryujin flashed you a smile when she saw you were at the same table. You returned it as you took your seat and noticed that the placard to your left said Jimin Y. The card on your right said Tom. Once you were seated, you looked around at the other tables to see if people were close to being settled and you spotted a few who were still looking for their tables. One girl walked in the direction of your table and you had a funny feeling that she looked familiar for some reason.

“Oh Jimin, I didn’t know you were here,” Ryujin greeted the other girl. “How are you?” She stood up to hug the other girl and the pair chatted in Korean for a few minutes. When the bride and groom began to address the guests, Ryujin took this as her signal to take her seat again.

Jimin grabbed her chair and sat down next to you. You looked to your right, but saw that Tom wasn’t there, nor was there anyone looking around for their placard. Maybe he was a no show.

--------------

After some announcements were made, everyone either got up to socialize, grab food, or dance. You were surprised there were no toasts for the bride and groom, but you had a feeling that the pair purposely avoided them for good reason. Ryujin had left her seat to do some dancing to the DJ’s picks and you returned from the buffet with a full plate.

Jimin came back with a plate and she flashed you a polite smile before she sat down and studied the contents. Then it dawned on you that she was the female lifeguard at the hotel you were staying at! You hadn’t recognized her at first, as she had always kept her hair tied back while working and you had only seen her with her sunglasses covering her eyes. (Or a scared guest in front of her that she was trying to calm down.)

“How do you know the couple?” Jimin asked after a prolonged pause.

You snapped your head in her direction and paused from trying some of the seafood. You put your fork down and replied, “I’m friends with the bride’s older sister. I’m still not sure why I got invited actually. You?”

Jimin tucked a strand of long dark hair behind her ear as she stabbed a piece of spinach and tomato with her fork. “I know Haruto’s sister. I used to babysit for her.” Her eyes drifted to your placard and she tilted her head. “Hang on, are you staying at Crimson Aurora Hotel and Spa?”

You nodded and she laughed lightly.

“Small world I guess,” she replied as she put her fork down. “I remembered your name because my colleague Sehun said you helped him catch some of the boys a few days ago. Thanks for helping out.”

“Oh it was nothing really,” you replied with a shrug. “Those kids were being horrible to her and they shouldn’t have thrown her in when she said no. I’m hoping they’re banned from the pool for the rest of their stay.”

Jimin chewed her bite and wiped her mouth with her napkin before nodding. “Yes, security took them to their parents and they’re not allowed to run around the hotel without a parent present. I’m pretty sure some of those boys are checking out soon because their parents had a short stay planned with us. None of them apologized to that poor girl though. She’s okay by the way – a little shaken, but she’s doing much better.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” you replied. “Also, I’m one of the people who was swimming a couple of days ago when the idiot tried to hit on you. I’m sorry about him – he’s a friend of one of my friends. We all told him it was a bad idea.”

The apology made Jimin shake her head and she turned to face you. “Honestly, I knew that was going to happen when I took the job,” she confessed. “And no, it’s not just men – I’ve had women flirt with me and one even faked drowning to try to get me to save her. I know I could have taken a different career or job elsewhere, but this place was pretty decent and the pay is better than a community pool.”

“Anyone on staff try flirting with you?” you probed, partly out of curiosity.

“Oh someone tried to pair me with the masseuse on staff and it was so awkward,” Jimin replied as she recalled the incident. “He’s old enough to be a brother and...yeah no. That’s too weird. I think most of the team sees me as a sister or something. I’m pretty lucky that everyone is so nice and doesn’t see me as ‘a hot girl lifeguard’ or something.”

You shifted in your seat so you could sit facing her. “I think that little girl was lucky you were there. I’m not sure Sehun would have been able to do much if he wasn’t trying to stop those idiots who threw her in.”

Jimin nodded with a faint smile. Before she could respond, you noticed the bride dragging the groom behind her towards your table. You made eye contact with the pair and politely congratulated them.

“Sooo glad you made it!” Andi gushed as she crushed you in a hug. She looked behind you and sighed dramatically when she saw Tom never showed up. “Figures, he was always wishy-washy.”

“I’m sorry what?” Haruto asked in confusion.

“Oh honey, wishy-washy – it means he’s indecisive!” Andi giggled.

Haruto smiled and quietly thanked Jimin for attending as well. You looked past him and saw that Peter and Alex were looking your way and were dramatically reacting to your seatmate.

You leaned in closer to Jimin and warned her that she might want to disappear for a bit.

“My idiot friends of friends are looking your way,” you warned her.

Jimin grabbed her clutch and thanked you, saying that she probably needed to head back anyways.

--------------

“Your flight leaves in 3 hours dummy – stop looking for the hot lifeguard,” Somi sighed as she dragged Alex toward the entrance of the hotel.

Aeri nudged Peter toward the entrance and reminded him that he too, had a flight that was leaving soon. The pair grumbled and bid the group goodbye before heading to the front to look for their rideshare to the airport.

“You going home too?” you asked Somi as she tugged her suitcase behind her.

She shook her head and explained that her mom’s family shared that they wanted her to visit for a few days. “They said my cousin’s traveling so I can use her room during the stay. It was really nice meeting you.” She stepped forward for a hug and then headed to the front to wait for her aunt to pick her up.

Aeri gripped her passport in one hand and said that even though her flight wasn’t for a couple of hours, she thought it was best to go to the airport early. “I bought some stuff I gotta declare to customs and I think I can get a tax refund on some of the souvenirs I bought. How much longer are you here for?”

“Tomorrow,” you confirmed. “I’m probably having lunch/dinner with Sam tonight, then I need to pack and get to the airport when it’s stupidly early tomorrow.”

“Ouch,” Aeri winced. “Well, always great seeing you Y/N. Don’t be a stranger – if you’re in my area, hit me up and we can hang, okay?”

“Thanks I will,” you replied. “Safe flight home, okay?”

Aeri nodded and she gave you one more hug, then headed to the front to call a rideshare. You decided you wanted to wander around the hotel a bit to kill some time, before you thought about changing into different clothes for your meet-up with Sam.

You passed the bar, then the pool, slowing down slightly as you passed the entrance to the latter. From your viewpoint, you could see Sehun was on duty, not Jimin today. You passed the restaurant and noticed that the staff were cleaning up from breakfast. Most of the guests were gone, except for one individual who was picking at the contents on her plate.

You didn’t mean to stare, but the girl turned her head and you saw it was Jimin. She flashed you a smile and asked how your stay was going.

“It’s been quite nice actually,” you admitted. “This is an incredible hotel – I might have to recommend it to my friends next time they’re visiting.”

Jimin nodded and she gestured to the chair across from her. “You wanna sit down? I’m off now and was trying to eat something so I have energy after my workout.”

“Um only if you want me to,” you replied.

“Please sit down,” she said as she gestured to the chair again. “How was the rest of the wedding?”

You sat down and slowly pulled your seat closer to the table. “You didn’t miss much,” you admitted. “Andi did the bouquet toss and everyone was fighting over it. Well, maybe not her sister Sam, but everyone else was. I didn’t join the madhouse – it looked too intense.”

Jimin tried to imagine the scene and she laughed as she stabbed some small wedges of melon on her fork. She ate the wedges and covered her mouth with her free hand. “I would have done the same. Those people can be scary when it comes to the bouquet toss. Were your friends unhappy that I left all of a sudden?”

“Ah they complained, but I said you had to get back,” you said. “Somi told them to stop looking for you before they left. Honestly, they looked like defeated puppies.”

“It’s not like I’m seeing someone,” Jimin clarified, “but I’m not into people using the lifeguard jokes and puns on me. They get tired fast. I sometimes wonder why Sehun doesn’t get more of them, but I wouldn’t wish that on him anyway.”

You flattened your palms on the table and agreed that many people seemed to blow the job out of proportions. “I’m guessing you have a love of swimming for one thing if you took this job.”

Jimin looked up from her plate and she slowly put her fork down. She waved her hand side to side slightly to indicate that was a small reason. “I like swimming, but that’s not the reason I took the job. Also didn’t take it because I wanted the perks that come with working for an upscale hotel either.” She looked around the dining room, seeing it was just the two of you. Slowly, her eyes met yours again.

“I don’t think I’ve told anyone else this before,” she began, “but I learned how to swim after I lost my sister.” She paused to let that information sink in. “My older sister, Karina, she was amazing. Prettier than me, cooler than me...it’s just, she couldn’t swim.” She began playing with her grapes on her plate and added that growing up, she and her family didn’t live very close to water.

“It takes an hour and a half to reach the coastline closest to us,” Jimin said, “and often our parents didn’t want to spend so much money on the transportation. We did a lot of things near home and maybe if we were good all year, we would venture up to Seoul once a year. We weren’t very old when Karina lost her balance and fell into Jusanji Pond during a day trip. My dad kind of knew some of the basic swimming strokes, but Karina and I never learned. She, she...” Jimin stopped abruptly and looked outside the window facing the pool.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” you murmured. “Were you close?”

“I think I annoyed her with all of the tagging along I did,” Jimin confessed. “But in a way, yes.” She played with her napkin and explained that she asked her parents for swimming lessons after the incident. “They were really shocked I wanted them and even Mom got scared, thinking it would be bad for me after what happened. But Dad said it was a good skill to have, so I learned at the community center by home.”

You remained silent as she described her backstory and pieced together what happened next. She probably got good and decided to get certified as a lifeguard. Then probably looked around for jobs and found the hotel.

Almost as if she could read your mind, Jimin added, “Originally it was just Sehun, but the hotel owner said he was expanding and improving the place, which means he needed more staff members. I’m one of the newer hires, but I told him that I was hard-working and would take the job seriously. Plus, I kind of needed to get away from home for a while. There’s too many painful memories back there, and here, I can do what I think I do best.”

“Help people,” you suggested. “You became a lifeguard to help people. Or that’s how I see it.”

Jimin slowly turned to face you again and allowed a warm smile to spread across her face for the first time.

“I like the sounds of that. Helping people.”

#aespa Karina #aespa AU #Yoo Jimin #Yoo Jimin AU #aespa imagine #Yoo Jimin imagine #aespa Karina imagine #tw: hotel setting #tw: death of a sibling #tw: lifeguard duties #tw: kids bullying kids #tw: bad flirting #tw: language #tw: wedding setting #tw: unpopular wedding #tw: badmouthing of newlyweds #yourkeeperoftherunners original #number 3187

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oxygenbefore1775 · 2 years

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Jean and Connie should have become Yeagerists (a 〜very〜 unpopular opinion)

Disclaimer: contains ending spoilers so anime-only nation proceed with caution

Warnings: mentions of death and genocide; obscene language (?)

a/n: it's not a hatepost on the ending or anything. Jean and Connie are my faves in the Survey Corp so I want to explore some of the ending options with their characters

Many people say that chapter 123 was the last good chapter in SnK and it started going downhill from that. I personally didn’t mind the last chapters (hell, I still haven’t formed an opinion about the ending). And I didn’t seem to notice the “downgrade” in content quality until I’ve reread chapters 128 and 129 — the whole battle of the port. I’m referring to the murder of Daz and Samuel and how conflicted Connie and Armin felt about that.

On my first reading this moment literally brought me to tears. How much has changed in those 4 years, how black-and-white it all was in the beginning and how people who used to be comrades are now forced to be at each other’s throats.

Shout-out to Isayama-sensei for including a flashback with Bertolt. Although Bertolt’s words here are not stated, it’s implied that it’s “someone has to get this blood on their hands”

Connie is also a brave soul for having it in him to kill his former comrades. (my poor baby has suffered so much already)

But as I’m reading this now… It seems so lackluster to me from a dramatic standpoint. I get why it’s hard for Connie and Armin and the murder felt so emotional because I’ve known their characters for so long and empathized with them. In short, it was hard for me to read because it was also hard for the characters to do.

But come to think of it, why should I feel sad about the death of Daz and Samuel? They don’t have any outstanding personalities apart from Daz being a scaredy-cat. The last time I saw them was during the Battle of Trost, not to mention flashbacks in the Clash of Titans Arc. Hell, even in the official Encyclopedia Samuel was erroneously stated to be dead. And after more than 100 chapters they bring those characters back just to kill them off and then expect me to care?

So I was thinking — how to make it more dramatic? An idea came to me. Now hear me out because it would (kinda?) make sense in the end.

*deep breath in* Jean and Connie should have joined Yeagerists. I think it makes sense from a motivational standpoint. Because — let’s face it — all of the Alliance members have their reasons to stop Eren and the Rumbling.

☆ For Reiner, Annie, Pieck, Falco, Gabi, Magath and Onyankopon it’s to protect their homeland and their loved ones from being trampled to death.

☆ For Mikasa and Armin it’s to bring Eren back home.

☆ For Hange it’s to stop the meaningless genocide.

☆ For Levi it’s not to stop the Rumbling per se but to kill Zeke and through his death give the meaning to the lives of his comrades that were sacrificed (at least that’s what I understood from chapter 112 don’t @ me)

But when it comes to Jean and Connie there’s no clear motif behind their actions. Why did they join the Alliance in the first place?

You know, for a story that’s built around the idea that there is no good or evil, the ending sure does come off as being lopsided when all of the main characters that we care about unite against the forces of evil. No matter how main of the character Eren is, he is not enough to tip the scale and make the viewers cheer for his victory. Not to mention Floch — I know Isayama-sensei stated that he made Floch into a Yeagerist just to create some opposition against the Alliance — but considering how disliked Floch was even in the Return to Shiganshina Arc, it’s still not looking good for Yeagerists.

Why not 〜increase the tension〜 and have Jean and Connie join the Yeagerists?

First of all, out of the whole Eren’s friend group Jeanis the only person to question Eren’s true motives. Even his best friends couldn’t come to the conclusion that it was unusual for Eren to act like this. And Jean was right in the end.

The activation of the Rumbling is basically the point of no return. If before Paradis had a small chance at ending the cycle of hatred between Eldians and other nations and mending the relationships — now it is hopeless.

Jean is not driven by idealistic motives like Armin or Hange. The Rumbling leaves no other options — either the outer world is destroyed and the Paradisians live in prosperity or the Alliance stops the Rumbling which would spell the end for the Island. It’s in Jean’s egoistic (and kinda cowardly) nature to question Alliance’s plan. Jean doubts that they even have a chance at stopping Eren. And that’s true. It was a fucking miracle that the Alliance stopped the Rumbling with NO casualties (Hange doesn’t count they died before the Battle of Heaven and Earth).

Jean acts as the voice of reason. His sense of self-preservation doesn’t allow him to be with a group that is being hunted down and join them on their suicidal mission.

But then the thought of Marco convinced Jean to agree to the Alliance’s plan.

“You know... I wished I could've stayed cooped up in my room, ears shut... But... If I had... The burnt ashes of the dead would never have forgiven me…”

I get what Hange says in chapter 127 about the fallen comrades and that they would never sacrifice all of humanity for the sake of their island. The same thing with Marco — I can’t see this precious boy being ok with genocide. But Marco has been dead for 4 years. Back in those days when everything was black-and-white and the Pure Titans were the only concern for humanity, it was easy to distinguish right and wrong. Marco didn’t get to see the ocean and find out the truth about the people outside the Walls. So it’s hard to tell what Marco’s opinion on genocide would be. In this situation it seems counter-intuitive to look for future-determinative answers in the past when the past was so drastically different. So at this point (when deciding on which side he is on) Jean should have left the memory of Marco and aimed for the future i.e. siding with the stronger group that shares the same goal — successfully finish the Rumbling — and that will appreciate Jean’s support. The Yeagerists.

So I guess it would be in character for Jean to accept Floch’s offer (but for different reasons, his ambitions would have nothing to do with this) and decline the Alliance’s offer to join them.

As for Connie… It’s so sad to see this cheerful baby have all of the joy sucked out of his life. Unlike the golden trio Connie didn’t go through the loss of his parents and family. Up until the Clash of the Titans Arc he doesn’t have any particular reason to be unhappy with his life. But then chapter 37 happens — and suddenly Connie loses his entire family. And not only the family, his entire fucking village — the place where he was born and raised. What’s sad about this is that at this point in the story Connie does not even know what exactly has happened to his parents and siblings. They’ve just disappeared and all that Connie gets to find is a Pure Titan laying on top of his house.

Later Connie learns that the population of Ragako was turned into Titans for the sake of the Marleyan military operation (he finds out about this much later but still) and the Pure Titan was actually his mother. But this knowledge doesn’t bring any relief. In fact, now he knows that his family and fellow countrymen were indeed killed in their Titan form. All he has left is his mother but it’s very likely that she will stay a Titan for good.

After 4 years I think Connie gets used to the fact that he is never getting his mother back and finds a new family in his friends — Jean and Sasha (mostly Sasha).

And then Connie suffers another blow, Sasha’s death. And again, she dies as the result of the cycle of hatred that has been going on for 2000 years. (Connie himself doesn’t openly blame Gabi for the murder of Sasha so hush)

All of the deaths that deeply affect Connie: his family, the population of Ragako, Sasha — are caused by people from outside the Walls. Those losses break Connie and he consequently becomes spiteful and aggressive. It comes to the point that Connie doesn’t hesitate and kidnaps unconscious Falco when he learns about him becoming one of the Nine Titans. Connie, this goofy guy as we know him, is willing to kill a child — all to get his mother back.

Connie has no one left apart from Jean. Hatred towards the Paradisian took all of the people he loved from him. Blinded from grief and emotionally scarred, he is ready to do anything in order to protect the few people he still has with him. Connie would want to break the cycle of hatred so that nobody could hurt the people from the island, his friends, anymore. With the Rumbling activated and being in full swing — all it takes is to wait until all of the other nations are wiped out thus destroying one of the sides of conflict.

Of course Connie would realize how cruel it is to let other nations be crushed to death — even after having kidnapped Falco and while being confronted by Armin and Gabi he is aware of the foolishness of his actions. Maybe they would have had the room and the time for negotiations, but the Rumbling left them no other options.

So I guess it would also be logical for Connie to join the Yeagerists in order to make sure that the Rumbling is carried out fully and on all continents.

Now 〜imagine〜 with Jean and Connie joining the Yeagerists and being in port. How gut-wrenching it would be to watch the Alliance fight not some NPC Yeagerists but their actual friends.

Ok my rant is coming to the end now sorry if you don’t like it. Just wanted to share my very unpopular opinion. 〜bye〜

p.s. sorry for shittily photoshopped together manga panels

#aot #jean kirstein #connie springer #yeagerists #aot final #aot ending #please dont eat me #jean aot #connie aot #aot au #attack on titan #shingeki no kyojin #aot opinion #aot unpopular opinion #aot alliance #english is not my first language

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