#also YOUNG FOREVER YOONGI IS >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

bangtangalicious · 9 months

Text

nexus (m) part 4

pairing: ot7 x f-reader | smut: jimin x reader, jungkook x reader

premise: a notorious casino conglomerate took you in when you were young. you grew up alongside their sons; inseparable from the oldest, infatuated with the middle, and engaged to the youngest

summary: the murder of your best friend prompts you to team up with a vengeful detective to navigate a web of lies, betrayals and love. trust no one. people are never who they seem, and the most horrid one of all might just be the one you love most

characters: detective!jungkook, ex/bartender!yoongi, bestfriend!seokjin, ceo!namjoon, fiancee!taehyung, model!hoseok, therapist!jimin

genre: 18+ smut slow burn angst romance thriller mystery eventual yandere casino!au organizedcrime/mafia!au arrangedmarriage!au revenge!au

wordcount: 8.8k

warnings: multiple & explicit smut scenes, proceed with caution. public sex, dirty dancing hehe, breast play, degradation kink, some hand stuff, fingering, dubious consent, somnophilia, rough sex, penetrative sex, unprotected sex, obsessive, possessive, manipulative behavior & themes, allusions to gambling addiction, implied stalking behavior, mentions of psychiatric facilities, implied sexual trauma, depiction of unethical therapy, physical violence (jk beats jimin up woo), slight slut shaming, gaslighting, alcohol use, partying, themes of social class resentment, but! also! love confessions! kissing! and! reunions! but lots of angst

taglist: @raynom @gimmythatjib00ty @yoshiure @greezenini @victoryscreech61 @tbzhubrecs @namjooningelsewhere @sugarcoffeemochi @jiminie-08 @jinssexytoe @kooookie @only4sana @pinkcherrybombs @taeslarityy @natalie-rdr @mageprincess7 @hopeonysus @bibbykins @sameifnn @shadowmoon21 @juliemae80-blog @gaeguuliii @dvalitaes @satorinnie @fournia @kassandravictoria @jazmine2904 @marslena @iloverubberduckiez-blog @manchuria @btseverafter7 @jamlessstars @doublebunnykoo @you-are-my-wind @toughbook @mini-euphoria-deactivated202302 @lvrseok @n4mina @imjinvolved @rp171198 @codeinebelle @itsallabouthedetails @btseverafter7 @just-me-and-myselfs @blonde-bummer @hcneybees @babycoffeefire @totallynoanalien @seokjinkismet @itslanaanditssad @rhyperia @sporadicfuryface @azazel-nyx @hani-neko-nee-chan (rest of tags on reblog)

series navi | join taglist | masterlist

“Taehyung” The name left your lips in a shudder. Shut eyes quivering, entrapping you in your nightmare.

Miles away, Taehyung stared out the window. The rolling hills hinting at a familiarity. His head ached, he felt nauseous as the vibrations of Jungkook’s car hit his core. He didn’t want to see you—not that anyone would understand. He remembered you vividly—remembered his own infatuation with you. You were a shining idol in his eyes. Someone who he looked at in awe, like he did his eldest brother.

Years locked away can change one’s perception.

Years left alone can brew resentment.

You never came for him. He was certain you didn’t even try.

A grin tugged at his lips.

The name uttered from your lips had Jimin’s eyes shooting open. Woken up from a dream—the dream where you and him were forever, and he wasn’t pretending. A world where you loved him—Park Jimin.

Your body lay curled into itself. He couldn’t help but touch you—fingers drawn to the curve of your back. Trailing down softly. You were a troubled sleeper. He could see it in the way you flinched at his actions.

Pulling you into his warmth, he kissed the nape of your neck with a loving tenderness, ghosting up to your ear where he whispered your name sweetly.

Your name. The first words Seokjin ever said to him. He was the most complex patient he’d ever faced. One that brought meaning to his monotonous existence.

Jimin had been bored. Bored with his brilliant mind that allowed him to become a young doctor. Bored with his high profile patients who were all simply rotten with their first-world problems. He was losing his mind. Day in and day out—stuck within the four walls of his office. One brat in, another out.

Kim Seokjin was a special case. He had asked him simply—what’s on your mind?

You. You were on Jin’s mind.

It was tough to say if you had a leash on him, or he you. As Jin would ramble on about how he couldn’t rationalize his feelings for you, Jimin would bite back his smile, scribbling the word obsessed onto his notebook.

The irony.

It started as curiosity. Jimin had a reputation for being successful with all his patients, but it often required a hands on approach. In the corner of the casino, Jimin would observe you like an animal in the wild—you in your element. Throwing yourself at Jin’s elitist friends, while swindling them out of millions.

He watched you. Learned you. Studied you until he swore he could write a thesis.

And here you were.

Engaged. To be married. To be one.

Sighing deeply, he let his hand trail between your legs. Fingers prodding at your folds, smiling lazily at the way you’d twitch and shudder. Simply unphased. Deep in your sleep.

He let your wetness coat the sensitive pads of his fingers. Nose pressed against your neck, he inhaled, reveling in your scent as his fingers pushed in and out of your cunt.

The intrusion into your tight walls was slick. Yet you accepted him so well he simply had to add another. He still couldn’t believe he got to have you—got to cum inside you. Something he knew for a fact Jin never had the pleasure of doing.

Jin was an enigma and you were his doll. His plaything where he could easily manipulate your surroundings and puppet you without you realizing it. A fascinating man. Attached to you like a baby to a binkie. As if knowing you since birth gave him some right over your life.

Jin had cameras set up in your house, which he revealed in a delusional confession about how he was upset his younger brother had taken your virginity. Of course, Jimin already knew this. He hacked into them to watch you as well.

Jimin chuckled to himself. You were so naïve. Clueless. Didn’t know how badly you needed Jimin to save you. Jin was far more dangerous than Jimin could ever be.

Jimin was simply there to fill the hole in your heart. Ease the tension between your legs where he let his flushed tip prod. Cock heated with need, heavy with desire. He cursed, sliding his shaft through your folds slowly. Your body responding through subtle twitches. Cunt seeping at his touch.

His cock sunk inside you with ease, feeling you clench down violently at the intrusion. Your body shifting, coming alive, regaining consciousness, because here he was to save you from yourself. You knew not what forces bound you. Kept you from freedom. Jimin was here now. He would take care of everything, lest you worry your pretty little head.

He’d keep you safe. Away from the Kim brothers, away from the judgements of society. He would purify you. Wash out your sins with his cum, fuck you until you only knew pleasure in his name.

“Taehyung” Your lips parted, forehead furrowing as you realized your reality. He shushed you—you wouldn’t want to make him angry with that name, would you? Maybe one day he would tell you to call him Jimin. Under the guise of roleplay, or perhaps, if you had no escape.

“Good morning, princess” He could feel you shudder. He was so deep in your trenches you couldn’t move. Couldn’t run from him—his hands slipping over your breasts. Pinching at your nipples. He cooed at the warmth spreading to your cheeks. The way your eyes fluttered, euphoric in feeling. Wedging himself even further inside of you with a sharp thrust.

You yelped, a soft, gorgeous sound which he elicited with every move. Tight, rough—as he hooked your leg over his arm. The other wrapping generously around your neck. Your back arched against him, his teeth shadowing over your ear. Splashing into your waters, he rammed into you like a fever. Balls slapping against your ass, smacks echoing through the serene room. Tangled with the early morning sunrise.

He could easily lose himself in your sensation. How Jin time and time again passed up the chance, he knew not. The man had self-restraint, if nothing else. Your pussy squeezed the life out of him, making him want to give you everything he had and more. For what purpose was anything else? This is all he ever wanted—all he ever needed. Fucking into you just like this. He’d make you fall so in love you’d never want to leave. Exist pliant with his cock stuffing you as he pleased. His own princess. His virtue and his demise.

“Taehyung” Your voice muffled by lack of air. His hand so tight around your throat, constricting more when you uttered that damned name. “C-can’t breathe” You slapped his hand, as though signaling him to release you. Jimin chuckled, as if you had any say in this.

You were a puppet even before he came into your life. A puppet before he knew of your existence. Why should you ever be anything else? You didn’t know any better. Nevertheless he let you breathe, let you gasp for air because he wanted you to remember that he allowed it. He listened and he cared. Shoving you onto your stomach, he battered himself back onto you, ass cushioning his pistoning hips. You were a means to his end. He wanted to die buried inside you like this, so close to his edge his vision was red hot. The unsatisfying and addictive heat sprawling over his bare chest.

Teeth digging into his own lip, the best and worst sensation combined. He didn’t want the pleasure to stop, the tight, unwavering grip of your cunt as his cock hit you straight in your core. Over and over again, fusing your bodies together. Holding down your shoulders, keeping you in place as he pounded into you with fury.

He swore he’d never been so high in his life—no ecstasy could quite compare. The bed creaking underneath. The only sounds of your bodies clashing, your lips gasping and him—groaning deep as his cock twitched inside you. Swelling before everything snapped at once. Dozed over, cum spilling hot inside of you. He collapsed onto your back, spent for all his worth. Keeping himself nested in you even while he kissed your cheeks.

You slipped away from him, limp cock falling out as you reached for a robe. He admired the brief glimpse of his cum, sticky between your thighs.

“You awoke a beast in me” Jimin chuckled shyly, resuming his act as the whipped Kim Taehyung. “Couldn’t even help myself”

Jungkook gripped the wheel of his car with a ferocity that had his knuckles turning white. The tension in the car thick. In the rearview mirror he could see him. Kim Taehyung. The root cause of all the shit he’d ever faced. The rat that sold out his father and got him killed.

He could never forget. Never forget the eyes that watched in horror as his father was shot by an animal. Jungkook so badly wanted to blame him. To let out his anger and get his revenge on this bastard—but he couldn’t.

For your sake.

You were the centerpiece now. Caught in a web of whose design—Jungkook was still trying to figure out. Internally he battled his opportunity to avenge his father, with his duty to you as a Detective. You fucking little brat who he loathed and yet had an inexiplicable desire to shield you from all harm.

His foot lowered on the gas. Who knows what you were doing with this Park Jimin creep. Miles whizzed past as he sped up. What if you were hurt—what if he—

The Kim mansion was in sight. Jungkook parked the car, turning to face Taehyung with skepticism in his eyes. The boy had barely uttered a word in the car.

“Jimin could be armed and dangerous” Jungkook swallowed thickly, “I’ll go in first just to make sure, and I will bring Y/n to you. You guys wait here”

Taehyung looked down at his hands. He was playing with something in his palms. Finally looking up, Jungkook was taken aback.

The look in his eyes was dark. Almost terrifying.

He said nothing. After getting an uncertain nod from Yoongi, Jungkook stepped out. Making his way to the side entrance, hand glazed over the gun sheathed by his side. With a light nudge, the door opened—he stepped inside, muddy shoes staining the crystal clean marbled floor.

Silently, he slipped through the halls of the maze-like home. He could hear something—following the echoes into the kitchen. You were there. Alone. Bent over the sink while the microwave hummed behind you.

You were choking out. Gagging as if you would throw up. Only a flimsy silk robe holding you together.

Jungkook’s gut twisted.

You didn’t.

He couldn’t afford to scare you in the state you were in. If you screamed, Jimin would know he was here. Quietly, he treaded towards you, nearing until he was close enough to lick the sweat beading on the hollow of your neck.

In a swift movement, his fingers covered your mouth. You jumped in shock, eyes wide. “It’s me” Jungkook assured you as you writhed in his hold. He repeated himself until it sunk in, whispering “It’s just me. Don’t scream”

Backing away from him, you wiped your mouth on your sleeve.

“What are you doing here?” You whispered angrily.

Jungkook’s eyes dropped to the cleavage of your robe, splitting open more than you likely meant it to. The round edges of your breast vulnerable to his sight. Flustered, you tightened it around your body, ignoring the dark flash in his eyes.

Jungkook’s eyes still steady on your chest before snapping back to reality. He looked at you, serious, “Are you alright?” He glanced towards the sink which was empty. “Sick?”

You shrugged, brushing off his concern. “Why the fuck are you here, Jungkook?”

“Did you fuck him?” You made a face. Sighing, Jungkook explained. “He’s not Kim Taehyung. He’s an imposter”

“Oh I know”

Jungkook’s lips pursed. “You know?”

Chuckling lightly, your head turned as the microwave began to beep. Grabbing what seemed to be a muffin, you casually took a bite. Jungkook squinted as your teeth sunk into the pastry, crumbs dotting the edge of your lips.

“Sure. Taehyung had a mole, it wasn’t there. This guy has the tattoo—Taehyung wasn’t there when they got it. And he won’t answer any questions about where he’s been.” You spoke while chewing, “You know but the way I knew for sure was when he began fucking me while I was asleep”

Jungkook’s jaw tensed.

“What?” He searched your eyes. Is that why you were—he looked again towards the sink.

“Yeah” Your voice was curt. He seriously questioned if you were hurting more than you let on “Maybe you and I should try it sometime. Kinda hot”

Jungkook huffed, “That’s not—”

“What?” You grinned at him, batting your eyelashes. Moving in closer as your finger hooked into the collar of his shirt, tugging playfully “You don’t wanna? Me lying all helpless while you ram your big fucking cock in,”

“Y/n” Jungkook’s voice raised sternly as he pushed your hand away.

“That’s what all you guys want anyway, to bend me over like a little brainless cocksleeve” You tossed the half of your muffin into the trash with a tantrum-like attitude.

“Tell me where he is” Jungkook heard you, took note of the subtle bitterness in your tone and to talk to you about it later, but focused on the task at hand. “He might be Jin’s killer”

You nodded, gulping down your bite. “He’s upstairs, follow me”

You led Jungkook through the halls, up the grand winding staircase of the foyer. A large, glimmering chandelier hanging from the tall ceiling. So much excess wherever Jungkook looked.

This was normal for you—this was your status quo. Your silk robes and ignorance. You slept with a man who could have killed your best friend—knowingly. Jungkook tried his hardest yet he swore he couldn’t understand a thing about you.

And he’d never care to admit just how much of his headspace you consumed.

If Jimin had hurt you.

If he had taken advantage of you in someway.

Jungkook’s fists tightened.

Opening the double doors to what he could only assume to be your bedroom, Jimin sat on the bed, waiting expectantly.

“Park Jimin, you’re under arrest under suspicion for the murder of Kim Seokjin” Jungkook slid past you quickly before Jimin could try to escape. He didn’t move, allowing Jungkook to handcuff him without resistance. He simply stared at you, amusement in his eyes.

“Murder?” Jimin tilted his head, grinning “I didn’t murder him baby”

“Why would I believe a fucking word you say?” You spat at him. Jungkook watched as your eyes flashed with rage. “You lied to me. You pretended to be my Taehyung”

“You’re gonna regret this” His smile didn’t waver. “You’re gonna wish you played along like the good little doll you are. What, you think this is good for you? Oh baby, you just wait. Put me behind bars and you see what hell is going to come knocking at your door. Who’s going to look out for you hm? This fucker?” He nodded in Jungkook’s direction.

Jungkook ignored him, calling on his radio for backup. Pulling Jimin to stand, he dragged him out the door. Jimin dug his heels in, slowing him down.

He laughed, a dark sinister cackle. “I’m the only one who cares about you Y/n. You think Jeon Jungkook is going to help you—please,” Jungkook shot him a glare, “You don’t know what I know”

“That’s enough” Jungkook roughly pushed him forward. Suddenly he heard something shatter.

You had thrown a vase in Jimin’s direction.

“You crazy prick” Your teeth were gritting. As though this were your last straw, letting down the series of dominos do drive you over the edge. “I’m not a doll—I don’t need anyone, least of all a fucking psycho like you!”

“You love it baby” Jimin taunted, “You think Jin is any better? He allowed it, princess. This was all his doing. I was perfectly content watching the footage he’d send me of the cameras he set up in your room—”

You lunged towards him, but Jungkook stepped in your path. Hands gripping your waist, holding you back. Touch gentle, but firm.

“Y/n” Jungkook whispered, “Easy”

“Let me fucking at him. I’ll show him”

“I know” Jungkook stood, pushing back as you tried to resist him, “Let me take him in okay. He’s gonna get what he deserves. Go grab something to wear” Jungkook urged, “Meet me downstairs, yeah?”

You frowned slightly, before ultimately agreeing. Jungkook exhaled, turning back to a thoroughly entertained Jimin. He swung a punch straight into his gut, causing Jimin to buckle over. Immediately then grabbing his neck, choking him as he lifted him onto his toes.

“That’s for Y/n” Jungkook hissed, “Psycho” Jimin squirmed in his hold, but Jungkook simply tightened his fingers. Jimin’s smile grew.

“As if you wouldn’t have done the same, Detective. Like father like son”

Jungkook tossed him across the room. Crashing into the wall, Jimin let out a pained grunt. The officers had arrived. He left Jimin on the floor, knowing he’d have nowhere to run.

Downstairs you waited, a baggy shirt and sweats which likely belonged to one of the brothers. Jungkook was reminded suddenly of who was waiting in his car. Police officers rushed passed him, grabbing Jimin and escorting him out. Jungkook took you and followed, watching as they drove off with him, twisted smile steady throughout it all.

“You good?” Jungkook asked again, voice barely above a whisper. His fingers brushing against your palm as if to nudge you. The sirens screamed loud in the distance. From the corner of his eye, he could see you take a deep breath.

He hated that he noticed. The way you fought to stay afloat through it all. He much preferred his own cowardly ignorance, where you were not someone he’d destroy in his quest, but rather righteous, deserving collateral.

Reality kicked in. Taehyung was waiting to see you in the car. He wondered if maybe throwing that on you now in the state you were would be unwise.

Maybe he just didn’t want you to meet Taehyung. He wanted to talk to you. Ask about what you said before, make sure you were really alright.

Unfortunately for him, the choice was robbed.

“Namjoon?”

The look in your eyes made Namjoon’s heart crumble. You looked so hurt. So betrayed.

Namjoon looked between you at the man by your side—vaguely familiar. He glanced as his badge to see Detective Jeon roughly inscribed.

“Bold of you to show up here” The detective muttered; arms crossed over his chest.

“Hobi said you called so I came”

It was a poor excuse. Just like when his mother died, again he had ignored your needs. Disappearing wordlessly, abandoning you when you needed him most. Left you to face your grief, the pain from Jin’s death which was no doubt hitting you the hardest of all.

How could he ever explain himself? Justify himself or earn back your trust? He was never blind to your affection, but simply possessed by a battle more prominent at the time. A battle with his brother which in hindsight felt pointless. The demands of the company consumed his every waking moment.

You said nothing. Simply stared at him in shock. He longed to reach out, to hold you, and offer a shoulder to lean on. Doubt held him back.

“Are you okay? The cops outside told me what happened. About the imposter.”

Still nothing.

“I can’t believe I didn’t know, I hadn’t seen him since—”

“You killed Jin”

Your voice boomed. Echoed through the grand walls of the foyer. Seething with anger, your jaw clenched. Tears brimming at the edges of your red eyes.

The words stung. Stung because he couldn’t say you were wrong. Because you could be saying fact—and Namjoon didn’t know if he killed his brother or not.

“Y/n please”

He didn’t want to lie to you—perhaps it wasn’t lying until the trust was discovered.

“You killed him and I loved him”

Perhaps those words stung even more.

Namjoon reached for your hands. “I need you to know that I never wanted you to marry Taehyung. I never wanted to force you to do anything. You deserve to live your own life”

He fell to his knees, keeping your palms in his. Not knowing how else to beg for your forgiveness.

“I got so drunk the night he was killed. The night before your engagement because—fuck Y/n, I didn’t want to do this to you. I didn’t know how bad things were, I was so blind—I wish I could go back. Fight for you”

“Look me in the eye and tell me you didn’t kill him Namjoon”

Namjoon swallowed tickly, diverting his eyes.

“Tell me the fucking truth”

He kissed your hand softly. He didn’t want to hurt you any more than he already had. But perhaps it was that mentality alone that was his biggest betrayal. His family’s biggest betrayal to you—lying. Lying under the guise of your protection when all it did was dig you a deeper grave.

“I-I don’t know” He confessed, giving in. This was how it had to be. This was the only way he could even hope to repair his relationship with you. Glancing briefly at the detective, he continued “Maybe”

He stood up, “Can we go somewhere quiet and talk, please?”

“Actually um—” Jungkook interrupted, only for Namjoon to shoot him a glare.

“Don’t you have a fucking criminal to interrogate? We’re obviously pressing charges. Go to your job—I don’t pay so much fucking tax so you can harass me and my—”

He bit his tongue.

“Fine” You broke the pause. “Let’s go talk.” Turning to the detective, you gave him a reassuring nod.

“Well can you please come to the station after?”

“She’ll come when she’s ready” Namjoon snapped. The detective rolled his eyes.

Namjoon took your hand in his again, leading you upstairs. Into your room. Noticing the messy sheets. The remnants of your clothes thrown around the room. His jaw hardened.

“You slept with him” Namjoon rationalized. “The imposter”

“Yeah, and?” Huffing, you leaned against the window. “I already feel shitty enough about it so don’t you run your mouth at me”

“No I—” He moved closer to you, searching your face. Your eyes mixed with vulnerability and resilience. You were tough, he knew that. He saw that so clearly even through the years he dismissed you. “Come here”

He pulled you into his chest, hand cradling the back of your head. He hugged you—he couldn’t remember the last time he had. Probably over a decade ago. He didn’t deserve to hold you, he knew it deep down. But whatever little he could offer you now, he would do it. He would do anything for you.

“I’m so sorry” He mumbled into the top of your head. “I won’t abandon you again, I promise”

He could feel your shoulders relax, your arms wrapping around his torso.

“This is your fault” You sobbed, “Everything is your fault Joonie”

“I know” He kissed your forehead, gazing into your teary eyes. His palm cupping your face, thumb wiping away your tears. His heart twisting in his chest.

Seconds passed so incredibly slow, yet too fast for him to think.

“I love you” His eyes widened as the words left his mouth. You blinked at him in confusion.

“W-what?”

“I know you hate me, and you have every right to. But I—I love you Y/n. I always have. Jin looming over my shoulder all my life just made me not realize it”

“Are you fucking kidding me Joonie? I always wanted you” You stared at him in disbelief. “You—you used me. I still have trouble opening my heart to anyone because of what you did to me—and now you’re saying you love me??”

“I know. Okay. I know what I did and I regret it every single day. I just hated Jin so much. More than I loved you, and now that Jin’s gone I can finally let myself feel it”

“You’re the fucking reason that I was engaged to Taehyung! I had a choice—I chose you”

Namjoon blinked. “Huh?”

“Yeah and you asked me if I loved Jin and I said I didn’t, so you told your mother to set me up with Taehyung”

“That’s not what happened”

“The fuck you mean it’s not what happened Joon? I clearly remember—”

“Y/n” Namjoon held your shoulders tightly, “I didn’t even know they asked you. Jin just told me one day. I swear”

You receded in silence.

“I’m pretty sure Jin was the one who decided too. Did you know, mom never left the company for him? He tricked me. Made me promise to see your engagement through and give him Nexus shares in exchange for the casinos”

You gulped, quiet for a moment to process before speaking: “He was also apparently seeing someone. A serious relationship”

“Yeah” Namjoon gulped. He had a pretty decent idea who it was, but didn’t want to tell you anything he didn’t know for sure. He’d put you through enough today. “I heard”

You gulped. Staring into his eyes. Until your eyes dropped to his lips. Namjoon’s heart skipped a beat. Rhythm rushing the blood in his veins.

“Namjoon—” You looked away, but Namjoon held your chin steady with his finger. Tilting your face up to his.

“I love you” He repeated. “I’m here now, nothing will happen to you. No one can hurt you anymore. Not even him”

He leaned in just a tad. Pausing to ensure you wanted this. He wouldn’t push you. Wouldn’t manipulate you ever again.

“Don’t”

A man’s voice came from the door.

“Please—don’t”

Jungkook rushed back to the car. Taehyung and Yoongi were clearly in the middle of some sort of intense discussion.

“Where is she?” Yoongi asked, looking around. He squinted at Namjoon’s car. “Wait—is that—”

“Yeah” Jungkook exhaled, turning on the engine, “Namjoon is back” He looked to Taehyung, “You can go in if you want, but we already arrested Jimin”

Taehyung remained still. Silent. Only the sound of his shaky breath until finally his eyes rose to meet Jungkook’s.

“Yeah” Jungkook glanced at Yoongi who shrugged. “I’ll go in”

“Do you want me to come with you Taehyung?” Yoongi reached out to him. Taehyung shook his head.

“Thanks Yoongi hyung. I should be fine. They’re family”

“Tell Y/n to call me when she can okay” Yoongi called out as Taehyung exited the car. Jungkook peered at him, an uneasy feeling in his gut. Alas he had more pressing issues at the moment. He rushed back to the station.

Jimin was locked in a cell when he arrived. Grinning wide. Infuriating Jungkook.

“You father would be so disappointed in you, interfering with the fall of the Kim’s” Jimin taunted from behind bars.

“You don’t know my father” He hissed under his breath.

“I was Kim Seokjin’s therapist—I know quite a bit about your father” Jimin walked up to the bars, pressing his face in between them. “And that he deserved to die”

“Enough” Jungkook snapped, his voice dropping low. “I have a few questions, and then I’m leaving you here to rot, got it?”

Jimin clicked his tongue in amusement. “Go ahead then. Ask me what you really want to know” He grinned wide, “Like how tight Y/n’s little cunt was”

Jungkook’s fist slammed against the pole. “Haven’t I beat you enough for today? Or are you a freak who likes it?”

“You like it too I bet. Beating people. Your dad sure did”

“Say one more thing about my dad” Jungkook hissed. Jimin pursed his lips in amusement.

“Am I in here because of impersonation? Because I didn’t commit any fraud, technically. Lying isn’t a crime”

“You’re a person of interest in the murder of Kim Seokjin”

Jimin giggled, “God, you’re all fucking idiots. I didn’t kill Seokjin. I was his doctor. And you can’t ask me about him because that information is protected by law”

“I can, since he’s fucking dead, and whatever he confessed in therapy might help us find out what happened”

“How long are you going to pretend, Jeon Jungkook?” Jimin asked, “How long are you going to act like this wasn’t all you?”

“Please—don’t”

Both you and Namjoon turned towards the voice. Namjoon’s lips parted in shock, while you stood—frozen in time.

Curly black hair. Eyes that glimmered so uniquely they made you want to stare at them for hours. Soft, thin lips. Pretty lashes. The resemblance was uncanny.

Pain seared through your chest.

“Taehyung?” Namjoon’s voice shattered your flashback. “Is that really you?”

He nodded, turning to his brother. Namjoon hesitated, before awkwardly opening his arms to embrace him. Taehyung melted into him—a boy reunited with his brother. It was a heartwarming sight.

“My god, Tae” Namjoon muttered, “Where the hell have you been?”

He turned back towards you. You were still too stunned to speak. His eyes scanned you up and down—in a way that made you feel like he could see through you. Straight to your bones.

“Hi” His eyes softened, but his face remained still. “Remember me?”

He must have spoken, but you couldn’t hear anything but your heart hammering in your ears. Panic flooding your veins. Your head feeling light—dizzy. Everything shifted, everything blurred.

"Are you scared of me, princess?"

There it was. The nickname. You stiffened as he leaned forward, fingers trailing up your jaw until he held your cheek in his palm. Held you gaze in his own, eyes drifting with mystery. His voice was so incredibly soft. Sweet even. Contrasting the ever so slightly amused glint in his eye.

You exhaled, heart throbbing through your ribs, almost to the point of suffocation.

"Hyung," Taehyung shifted to look at Namjoon who was watching the scene unfold intently, lips pursed in worry. Truth be told, he had been shocked at the intimate moment he almost walked in on. He never recalled Namjoon having any affection for you—or anyone for that matter. “Can we have a minute?”

"Yeah, of course. I’ll be in my room" Namjoon stood up slowly, looking to you for some sort of affirmation that it was okay to leave. You sent him a slight nod, to which his shoulders relaxed.

Ten years. Shocking nightmares every single night. Screaming to you, if maybe you might look back. If you might spare him a second glance and save him.

Taehyung was no idiot. He wasn’t oblivious to soft glances of attraction between you and Jin, speaking through nothing but the shy glimmer in your eyes.

Year after year passed, and he wondered if you’d care enough to find him. Wondered if you’d dare to question the actions of his brother—you didn’t.

And his resentment grew like a tumor in his soul.

You stood, a ghost from the past—a figment of this twisted reality. And Taehyung could finally drink you in. Your eyes were filled with a dead numbness. There used to be a light in there.

You were his princess. He was the first to say it, the first to think it, and as far as he was concerned the only one who truly had the right to call you it.

But where were you during his darkest days?

Your features softened, a mix of recognition and affection filling your gaze.

Taehyung didn’t know when he moved. Who moved first. The whole moment was a timeless blur. Wrapping his arms around you, the storm seemed to fade. All the years of separation melting away, resentment and distrust fading to dust, leaving only the warmth of your embrace.

He didn't want to hold you too tightly and yet, he couldn't bring himself to let go. Truth be told, Taehyung had never been more afraid in his entire life. Afraid of you. Afraid of his feelings for you.

Afraid of the ability you had to drive him completely and utterly insane.

“Are you real?” You looked into his eyes. “Fuck, Taehyung, I missed you so much��

Stepping away, he regarded you. Looking you up and down before his jaw hardened. The dark spells of his mind knocking on the forefront.

“You missed me?” He scoffed, tongue rolling in his cheek as he cocked his head. “You could have tried to find me, Y/n”

“Taehyung I—” His heart leapt when his name left your lips. “I don’t—I don’t even know why they sent you away”

“Did you try and find out?”

You gave him a guilty look. Reaching out for him but he flinched at your touch. “I thought about you all the time”

“Answer me” He snapped. You gulped.

“Well, Jin—”

“Don’t say his name to me” Taehyung hissed, “He did this to me, do you even know that Y/n?”

“I can’t” You shook your head rapidly, tears spilling from your eyes. Taehyung felt queasy at the sight, “I can’t deal with this. Why can’t you be happy to see me?”

“I spent ten years. Ten fucking years locked in psychiatric facilities, Y/n” He gripped your shoulders, “You were here, playing princess in my house—don’t tell me how I should fucking feel”

“I didn’t know” You pleaded, reaching for his face, “Taehyung I swear to you, I didn’t know”

“My mom is dead” He exhaled, a hint of amusement in his voice, “I didn’t even know about it—no one even fucking told me. And hyung too”

“Taehyung” You ran your fingers through his hair. He couldn’t help but croon into your touch. Muscles relaxing under the sweet sensation. “I’m so sorry”

He let his eyes flutter shut, you rested your head on his chest. He was taller than you. His hands holding your waist steady. Forehead resting against yours as tears began to drip down his face.

“I want to know everything” You spoke in hushed tones. Your voice soft, like music to his ears. He could feel your breath on his lips. “I want to make up for the time we lost, okay, I promise you”

He nodded lightly, sniffling.

“You’re so handsome, Tae” There was pride in your voice that brought a shy smile to his face. “Look at you, all grown up” He chuckled, wiping his tears away. He looked at you again, sighing deeply before resting his head back on your shoulder.

You pressed your lips to Taehyung’s cheek before stepping away from him. He gasped for air, the walls closing around him suddenly at the loss of your touch.

“Listen, I need to go to the station to give my report. I’ll be back soon, okay?” He watched, again you were leaving him. Without looking back.

He almost believed you.

Almost.

It was a lie.

A pathetic lie, but you couldn’t take it anymore. Seeing Taehyung—the real Taehyung, made it all too real.

Can we not meet at the station?

You sent the message—not knowing if Jungkook would respond.

Could use a drink. Meet me here—he sent an address. Tucked away in the inner city where no one would recognize you. None of Jin’s lackeys, or your mother’s goons. It was hardly your kind of crowd. You were surprised—pleasantly even. Jeon Jungkook didn’t come across as someone who liked to party.

“Hey” He showed. No longer in his stupid leather jacket, he looked different, simply in a white t-shirt. Chain on his neck. Hair haphazard, rather than the slick back he wore to work. “You good?”

Jungkook orders two shots at the bar, sliding one to you as you settle into the barstool next to him. Remembering the last time the two of you were like this. The first day you met.

You clink your glass against his before downing the bitter liquid. You watch Jungkook’s face scrunch with distaste, followed by a smile.

You avoid his question, asking him instead: “Did you talk to Jimin?”

Jungkook nodded, “First, I want to talk to you about this morning” He placed his elbows on the bartop, leaning forward slightly. His voice lowered, “We were in a rush, but I want to hear what you were trying to say”

You scoffed.

“Did he hurt you, Y/n?” You glared at him. “You said he fucked you in your sleep…”

You exhaled slowly, “Honestly I wouldn’t mind what he did, if we had discussed it first. But in my gut I just knew, Taehyung—would never violate me like that” Your fingers curled into your palm, “He was so rough. So insane. I just” You shook your head, disgusted by the bought of pity in Jungkook’s eyes. “I’ve grown up with men like that”

He nodded, absorbing every word.

“Wanna dance?”

You looked at him skeptically.

“Detective Jeon Jungkook dances?”

He gave you a sly wink before grabbing your wrist. With a tight pull, he leads you into the crowd. Locking his eyes with yours, everything else fading to dark as his magnetic pull drew you in.

You tried to focus on the music. The familiar feeling of a loud bass, a crowd of people and booze. Even still, intrusive thoughts knocked at your mind—Namjoon was home, Taehyung was home.

Taehyung resented you. Taehyung blamed you.

“Look at me” Jungkook leaned into you, hands ghosting over your hips as they began to sway to the pulsating beat. “Don’t think about them. Only look at me”

His eyes flickered with a softness. A pain which he also was trying so desperately to escape. You reckoned that Jungkook might have been a kind, fun loving person if not for the trauma the Kim’s put him through by killing his father. Instead he was trapped in the same web as you.

Your hands slid around his neck, loosely as your fingers weaved through his hair. He guided you, shielded you from onlookers. His eyes on you and nothing else. Transfixed to you like a curse.

It was ironic. Dangerous even. Everything about Jungkook made you distrust him. And you had no doubt he didn’t trust you either. Within the walls the two of you built, you had somehow grown closer. You couldn’t even pinpoint when. Somewhere along the way you began to see him clearly, or let him see you.

His touch is tender as he pulls your ass in, pressing your chest up against him so he can grind into you. His bulge gratifying, easing the tension throbbing between your legs. Stroking your ego, making you feel desired without the ugly aftertaste that often came with it. His large hands feel so good on you, you never want him to let go.

Your eyes flutter shut, surrendering completely to him. He turns you around so he can trace your neck with his nose. His fingers light fires across your sides, and you want to feel more but he doesn’t push it.

He stops suddenly, gazing at you with the colors of the flashing lights reflecting through his wide doe eyes. A glow on his face that you weren’t sure was real, or if it was simply the tone of his stare.

He looked as though he wanted to say something. And you desperately wanted to hear him. His mouth opened slightly, eyes darting from your eyes to your lips.

The space between you vanishing.

Inch by inch.

Until you swore you could taste him.

Your phone vibrated suddenly. Jungkook flinched, stepping back. With a guilty look, you excused yourself, slipping into a quiet corner of the club.

“Mazel tov” The snarky voice echoed through, “The prodigal son returns”

“Where the fuck have you been?” You snapped. “How could you let this happen? How did you not know?”

“Relax darling, I’ve been caught up entertaining your lover boy. Glad to finally have him out of my hair, truly. He’s bad for my cortisol”

“Well did you get a confession?”

“He doesn’t remember. Which is good for us. I can easily plant evidence for your Detective”

“Good. Do it soon. Jungkook wants the murderer to be Namjoon so it’s likely he will believe anything he gets. Not sure what to do about this Park Jimin fellow”

“Well darling, like I said last time. You say the word, and I’ll clean up your mess”

Rolling your eyes, you hung up the phone. Turning back around, Jungkook stood where you left him, bewildered.

Taking a deep breath, you pushed past the sea of dancers. You didn’t know why—you didn’t care. In that moment, you wanted nothing more than that Jungkook’s hands all over you. His lips on yours. You wanted his snarky little comments, his profound advice. To learn his every scar. Every crevice. And show him yours. You wanted to run away with him and never look back.

“Kiss me Jeon Jungkook” You hooked his shirt, dragging his face down to yours. Catching his lips in a desperate kiss.

The heat was overwhelming. Shamelessly, you kissed him in the middle of the crowd. Music numbing out into the sounds of two pounding hearts. His hands finding the small of your back.

You’d kissed him before but this was different. Even in the fire of the moment, you could feel how much he wanted you. How much he craved your lips, just like you craved his. He was water, and you were dying of thirst. He was air, and you were drowning.

He cupped your face, deepening the kiss as he pulled you impossibly closer. Finding breaths through your parted lips, you dared not pull away.

“Car” He breathed into your mouth. Voice raspy, feverish.

Grabbing his wrist, you led him out of the club. The fresh outdoor air hitting you with a sharp coldness. Loss of the bodies around you.

Jungkook slammed you against the hood of his car, pinning you down before sucking into your neck. You moaned loudly, his thigh slotting between your legs giving you barely any friction. You bucked your hips desperately as his lips moved down.

You were still wearing Namjoon’s clothes. Jungkook hissed, grabbing the hem of the hoodie and yanking it off of you. There was nothing underneath. Your nipples hardening in the cold as Jungkook smirked, rolling his thumb over one. Watching you writhe and twitch under him.

“You’re so fucking hot” He hissed, latching his teeth onto your tit and sucking lightly. Tongue darting out, flicking the sensitive flesh as your back arched. Looking down at him, as much as you wanted to look away. The pleasure unbearable.

He moved onto the other breast, taking his time as if the two of you weren’t in public. As if someone couldn’t just walk up and see how Jungkook shamelessly sucked your tits. Pulling away, you could see a string of drool land on your chest as he smacked his lips.

“Tell me what you want” He ordered, fingers gripping around your neck. Not tight enough to impact your breathing, but enough to make sure you knew who was in charge.

You were speechless. Irritated, Jungkook slid his thumb into your mouth and watched you suck it obscenely.

“What do you want, Y/n?” He asked again, replacing his thumb with his tongue, tangling it with yours into another kiss.

“You” You gasped, loving the weight of his strong body on yours. “I want you, Jungkook”

You could feel his lips curve into a grin. “For the record” He whispered, teeth grazing your lips, tugging at them. “I still hate you”

You nodded. Awestruck as he pulled his cock out, not letting you look anywhere but his eyes.

“I hate how entitled you are” He tugged your sweats down to press his heavy tip against your clit, “I hate how you’re so bratty”

He pressed his cock in, sliding into your folds just a bit. “Full of fucking attitude, think you’re fucking invincible.”

You gulped, recalling Taehyung’s similar words.

“I hate all these men in your life. You’re complicated. You’re messy. You’re manipulative, and I can see it” With every word he pressed in a little more until he bottomed out. Hissing sharply, he met your eyes again. “Playing victim, but you’re just as bad as the rest of them”

“So why the fuck” His lips were tight against yours, hardly kissing but more just breathing into one another, “Do I want you so much?” He thrust into you slowly, rolling his hips. You kissed his neck, moving your hands through his hair and onto his back as he found a steady rhythm.

Your legs caressed his back, moving up and down against him with every thrust. It was filthy. Your naked body against the cool metal of his car. Desperately throwing yourself at this man.

And yet, you held onto him as tight as you could, crying out as he pistoned in and out of you.

His hands moving under your thighs, nails gripping into them painfully as he lifted you up. You forgot how strong he was—effortlessly he carried you, your legs wrapping tighter around his waist as he bounced you up and down on his cock. Face burying into your neck, lapping up the skin with open-mouthed kisses.

“You think you’re a princess do you?” Jungkook grabbed your neck, setting you back to lie on the car. Stilling for a moment he watched your fucked out eyes. “I’m thinking you’re more like a little desperate slut”

“I am” You exhaled, nodding dumbly, “I’m a slut for you. Wanna do whatever you want Jungkook please f-fuck”

He rammed back into you. Cock hitting you deep. You walls clenching around him, leaking to which Jungkook growled under his breath. His fingers finding your clit, working it expertly, causing your eyes to roll back as pleasure seized you.

Twitching all over, shocks of lust pouring through your veins. Jungkook coerced your orgasm as his cock sheathed into you. Your folds fluttering around his length, tightening it’s visceral grip.

“They can’t make you cum like I do baby” Jungkook pulled out, stroking himself against your thigh. “Get on your fucking knees”

You obeyed. Sliding down the car until your bare knees were on the parking lot. Jungkook’s cock stood proud in your face. You watched, eyes blasted and needy, before placing your own hands in place of his.

He watched as you stroked him. As your lips pressed against his tip before you let him sink down your throat. Hollowing your cheeks, you gave him everything you possibly could. Bobbing your head up and down, the noises bringing shame to your cheeks.

“Show me your pretty tits baby” Jungkook grabbed a fistful of your hair, “Want to cum on your tits”

You gasped, releasing him with a pop of your lips. Immediately pressing your tits together so Jungkook could slide his heavy cock between them. It felt good. Him rubbing up against you like this. Your heart against his pulsing need. You pulled him closer, wanting to feel him more. He licked his lips, watching you intently.

You stared up at him. Eyes gleaming. Jungkook spurted all over you, cum landing on your chest. Your heart sunk, knowing the moment would end. Reality was waiting for you at home. Your escape had ended.

Jungkook’s eyes softened, as he helped you up. You kissed him again, urging him for more. Urging him to fill you up again. To fuck you senseless all night long. Moaning into his mouth, you rolled your body against him.

“Fuck baby” Jungkook gripped your waist, stilling your movements, “You need me that bad huh?” You nodded, biting your lip as he teased you, “Yeah? You want more huh?”

You turned around, bending over so your ass was on display. Jungkook cursed under his breath as you spread your legs. An open invitation. Every man’s dream.

Licking his fingers, he ran them through your folds, spreading them out and pushing through the wetness. You gushed over him. Whimpering. He kept rubbing you, his movements strong but not rushed. Lips grazing your bare back.

His other hand slid between you and the car, gripping your breast hard. He pumped his fingers inside you, chest pressed against your back. You could feel his breath against your nape, riling you up even more. Heat pooling all over you.

He chuckled. The vibrations of which hit you right in the core. You were so turned on you couldn’t help it. You leaked all over, squirting into you palm. Jungkook laughed more as you came. Your fingers digging into your palms as you screamed.

“Already? You’re so fucking desperate”

“I don’t wanna go home” You confessed. Jungkook paused.

He turned you around, palm resting against your cheek.

“I know” He stiffened, “I’m sorry, for what you’re going through”

Jungkook pulled you up, grabbing your clothes from the ground. He led you to the backseat of the car where he let you tear his clothes off of him.

Settling onto his strong lap, he let you grind your wet pussy against him. Naked bodies fused together. You clawed at the back of his head, moaning at the top of your lungs as you sunk down on Jungkook’s cock again.

He watched you, amazed. Your eyes shut, bouncing up and down on him. Rutting desperately.

You’re not sure when you stopped. The two of you like hormonal teenagers, touching kissing and fucking until your limbs were sore. Jungkook, surprisingly, ever the giver, made you cum more times than you ever had in one night. And even when you were too sensitive for anything more, you still couldn’t find the will to leave.

Until you remembered the look in Taehyung’s eyes.

Jungkook held you. Lightly kissing your back as you cuddled into him. Again, another position you never thought you’d find yourself in with Jeon Jungkook.

“You should go” Jungkook’s voice was barely above a whisper. You gave him a hurt look, “I know, I know. You’ll be okay”

Sitting upright, you began to put your clothes on. Jungkook watched before speaking again,

“Jung Hoseok”

You stilled.

“Jin was seeing Jung Hoseok. The two of them were dating. I had a suspicion and Jimin confirmed it earlier.”

Shit.

“You acted like you didn’t know”

You looked at him. To see if he was actually hurt by your lying, or used to your games.

“I don’t know anyone named Jung Hoseok”

Jungkook stared at you before scoffing.

“Not only do you know Jung Hoseok, but I know that you called him many times before Jin’s death. I have evidence that both he and Namjoon were with you at some point that night,”

You remained silent, fuming.

“He was the one who called you earlier, wasn’t he?”

You swallowed.

“I’m not the one unwilling to be on the same side” Jungkook sighed, “I told you before, we can help each other out. You’re hiding so much from me, and have the audacity to think of yourself as a victim. All you need to do is tell me what happened that night, and I can help you figure this out”

“Fuck you Jeon. This was a mistake” You snapped, “Take me home”

Jungkook clicked his tongue, “Right. Home to your Kim boys. To your palace”

⟵|| previous || next ||⟶

series navi | join taglist | masterlist | scream in my asks

382 notes · View notes

bonny-kookoo · 8 months

Note

Request for Touch Starved if possible.

I need a moment where JK actually deeply understands that MC loves him. Not situationally. Thanks ❤️

Sometimes, Jungkook wants to be a bit selfish. He's got the urge to occasionally just withhold certain info about you just so it stays something only he will ever get to do with you. He wants to have Yoongi care for you, yes- because you love him, and you deserve all of that.

But what is Jungkook to you then? Just a comfort person? Just something you don't want to miss?

"Did you two fight?" Yoongi wonders, making Jungkook look at him before he shakes his head. "Oh. Because she said you did."

"No we didn't?" Jungkook responds, brows all scrunched up in confusion. "She was with you the entire weekend anyways, how would we have the time to fight?" He wonders to no one in particular, while Yoongi looks at him now a bit baffled.

"She thought you didn't want to come with us." Yoongi tells Jungkook. "Because you only really take care of her when she's regressing."

Wait. Jungkook pauses, before he sorts out his thoughts. "Wait- she thinks I only want to be with her when she's regressing?" He asks, and Yoongi shrugs, before nodding.

"I mean that's what your relationship has been like until now, right?" He asks, and Jungkook has to agree that pretty much yeah, that's how it's always been. Your inner puppy seeks him out, yes- but you don't. Right?

Wrong. Because a few hours later at the pack dorms, he can feel your eyes on him like little lasers burning into his skin. You're also obviously wearing his sweater, the thing way too big on you but it seems to be perfect, because you're practically trying to hide in it.

And later, when he's retreated into his room, suddenly Yoongi walks in, closes the door behind him-

tugging you with him by the hood of the sweater you wear, your panicked eyes watching him pleadingly.

"Alright, I hate this bullshit." Yoongi crosses his arms, refusing to give you any comfort. "Jungkook, you love her, right?" He asks, and Jungkook's eyes are as wide as dinner plates as he feels himself called out, before he slowly nods a little, earning a surprised stare from you.

"huh.?" You wonder, looking at him. It's clear that you're not regressing at all, but obviously bothered by something.

"I mean, yeah? It's- I thought I was obvious with it.." Jungkook mumbles, while you shake your head.

"You like me when I'm.. like, you know." You say, sleeves of his sweater empty as you'd slipped out of them to hug yourself instead.

"What? No!" Jungkook argues. "You only want me when you're like that." He responds, and you open your mouth as if offended.

"Where did you get that idea from?!" You challenge. "I want you all the time!" You say, before you both just stare at each other for a good moment.

"Cool, now that we've solved that, can you both hug or something so I can stop having to listen to her whine the entire time how Jungkookie doesn't love her?" Yoongi jokingly sighs, making the young wolf in question shake his head and open his arms to hold you close.

"No, I very much love you no matter what." Jungkook tells you, and your arms slip through the sleeves again to hold onto him properly.

"Did you really not know that I liked you all the time?" You ask him, and he shakes his head.

"No-" He starts, genuinely confused. "I thought you only saw me as like.. a comfort person." he shrugs. You shake your head.

"I though you didn't like me but.." You explain, "..that you, I don't know, felt bad and took care of me because I was part of the pack." You say.

"I did it because I had a crush on you forever now." Jungkook chuckles a bit embarrassed.

"..you did?" You ask, face moving to look up at him.

"I did." He says, slowly leaning down-

When Yoongi clears his throat, pulling you both apart and making you realize that you're not alone. "Hey no, don't make me bother you, go ahead-" Yoongi jokes. "-but please if you're about to fuck let me know and I'll leave you be." He says, making you growl and throw a nearby pillow at the wolf.

"I think we need some.. family-friendly bonding time, don't you think, puppy?" Jungkook asks, and you nod-

both of you pulling the older wolf into bed with you two, to cuddle and eventually even fall asleep all tangled up with one another.

Finally on the same page.

#bts imagine #bts fanfic #bts fic #jungkook imagine #jeon jungkook x reader #jeon jungkook imagine #hybrid imagine #yoongi imagine

132 notes · View notes

jwirecs · 2 years

Text

Recommended BTS Fics of September 2022💖

hello, hello! here are my bts recs of september! hopefully these beautiful stories get more recognition as well as the writers 💝

** anything in parentheses and bolded are my thoughts that can be disregarded if needed **

🔞smut || 💔angst || 💕fluff || ✅completed || 🔄ongoing || 💯favorite

Anti-Romantic || @sxtaep🔞💕✅

↳ you could come across as the number one hater of the male species, but not when it came to jimin.

Cat-astrophe || @kofisips🔞💕✅💯

↳ Request: Hello! I love your work, could I ask you a request about Jungkook strong/intimidating aura but soft towards the reader who is shy, inexperienced and shy?🥺it turns him on but at the same time he feel protective towards her innocence. I would love to read a smut interactions between this two 🥺✨

Go Ahead and Cry || @jeonverselol🔞💕💔✅

↳ jungkook has commitment issues when it came to love and you are always ready to fall in love. you two want to be loved, and you’re ready to attach yourself but that’s what scares jungkook and he finally confronts all his fears.

Lost & Found || @l0mljeonjungkook🔞💕💔✅

↳ eight years beside him were nothing but a roller coaster ride. Being a single mother wasn't easy, but your best friend, Kim Namjoon made your way smooth. You never knew you felt something for him until you read his diary, which you weren't supposed to read ever. What will you do, if not only you but Hyeon, your baby, and your best friend Namjoon, wants the same, what you desired for so long?

Only Love || @koostarcandy💕✅

↳ over 5 months of domestic bliss with your best friend turned roommate turned lover gets you thinking, alot. alternative? a fluffy, domestic morning with koo 🥰

I Hate You, I Love You || @borathae🔞💕💔✅💯

↳ “You are marrying Kim Taehyung, heir to Kim Enterprises, one of South Korea’s hottest bachelors and a total pain in the ass. You do not want to marry him and neither does he want to marry you. But in families likes yours’, marriage does not come with love.“

Office CEO || @jiminiesfavouritecolourisblue💕💔🔄

↳ you work for seven CEOs who have called you into their office due to a complaint (link is to their entire masterlist, author does not have a separate masterlist! which means that you should also check out their other fics too!!)

Sugar || @zehakoo 🔞💕💔✅

↳ desperately in need of sugar to make coffee in order to ease down your headache, you find yourself knocking on a strangers door who happens to be your best friend’s friend and the finest man you’ve ever encountered.

But We Loved Too Young || @jl-micasea-fics💕✅💯💯

↳ Jungkook is everything you’re not, the ying to your yang. Your tight knit friendship nurtured from childhood survived the major life events that most don’t, and to that end, you suppose you’re fated to be together. until unrequited longing is eventually noticed, and boundaries are forever crossed.

Better Than The Fanfictions || @hobisonlyhope 🔞💕💔✅

↳ When your boyfriend of two years catches you reading a FanFiction in front of him, you somehow end up getting exactly what you’ve been wanting this entire time.

Buzzer Beater || @yoon2k💕✅💯💯

↳ at the end-of-the-year college fair, your boyfriend wants to win you a prize, and he's chosen the perfect game to play—or so he thinks. (lord basketball yoongi is chefs kiss. shoot your shot masterlist)

Seven With You || @e-cm 🔞💕✅

↳ It’s nearly Namjoon’s birthday and with you by his side, he’s never been happier. But, with Tae waltzing you away more frequently day by day to work on your group project, Namjoon starts to notice your absence in more ways than just one…

Streams & Sheets || @kofisips🔞💕✅💯

↳ Nobody expected famous twitch streamer JJK to trend online when his mysterious girlfriend accidentally makes a cameo in one of his livestreams. The chaotic problem in question? You streamed a live sex tape.

Animal Lovers Hybrid Collection || @helenazbmrskai 🔞💕💔🔄💯

↳ (masterlist of all of the fics that falls under this fic)

Cat’s Cradle || @longtimenospooning-luci💕✅💯💯

↳ After five years of back-breaking work under your hardass boss Min Yoongi, you can finally step back and live your life well with your son and his rowdy uncles. Opening a Cafe with your eldest brother Seokjin after so many setbacks was euphoric, but what happens when your ex-boss finds his way into your cafe? Will everything fall apart again or will your life finally piece back together?

Home || @rileytwenty💕💔🔄💯💯

↳ Houses are made, homes are built.

Little Bear 2.0 || @xddaengx💕💔🔄💯💯💯

↳ You never thought you would see your ex again... especially not at your front door with his hybrid. (did i want to throw hands at hobi’s new boo? yes, yes i did)

Loved By Seven || @imaginebeautifulworlds💕💔🔄

↳ Hiking was just an activity to get you out of the apartment, the last thing you imagined was ending in a whole different world by touching a jewel. That not being enough you end up meeting seven hybrids, and they all claim you shared the Connection with each of them making you their partner for life. (ahh cant wait to read more!)

Tiger Boy || @joonbird 🔞💕✅

↳ “You, a docile rabbit hybrid, have been waiting a long time to meet the mysterious tiger hybrid, Kim Namjoon.”

Welcome Home: The Series || @xddaengx 🔞💕💔🔄

↳ (there was no specific summary for the series but i still recommend you to give this a read!)

Crumble || @purpleyoonn🔞💔✅💯

↳ You had decided to make a change, not realizing your men would notice. The consequences bring to light your own insecurities, with which the boys decide it’s time you realize how precious you are to them.

Eye Of The Beholder || @purpleyoonn💕💔✅

↳ As you begin to notice minute details unseen to you before, you start to realize that what you thought was the truth, was anything but. The people you thought were acquaintances had different ideas of their meaning in your life, and needed to show you who they really were to you. (love all of their poly fics istfg)

The Serendipity of Things || @oh-so-scenarios🔞💕💔✅💯💯

↳ Who has time for soulmates? Jung Hoseok is too busy being the head of his mafia network. He won’t let the serendipity of his soulmate move him...right?

You Need Us: The Buried Secret || @littlenoona🔞💕💔🔄

↳ Asking for protection comes at a big price and you’re more than ready to pay it, but betraying the ones that provide it, is a big mistake.

Belong || @ratherbefangirling💕💔🔄💯💯

↳ Imagine you a sweet smelling omega are neighbours with BTS.

Fake Love || @jellifysh💕💔🔄💯💯

↳ “What was she even doing in that sicko’s car?” Jungkook growled, finally letting Yoongi go roughly and turning around to bang at the wall. “I swear to God if he wasn’t already in a coma, I’d knock him into one myself.” (i literally have ch1 in my likes right now to read and i cant wait to read it!)

Regretful Choices || @justcallmenikki7💕💔✅💯💯

↳ You get into an argument with your boyfriends, and you decide to take matters into your own hands.

Soulmates || @smaubts💕✅💯

↳ in which jungkook and y/n are soulmates and the random thoughts that occur in y/n's head are actually jungkook's thoughts, where he sometimes sings the weirdest songs.

The End Is You And I || @yonkimint💕💔✅💯💯

↳ Everyone has always considered y/n a wise soul. Her whole life, everyone, even her older brothers, have come to her for advice so when her psychology class requires a creative final project, she decides to create an anonymous “advice column” on Twitter. What she doesn’t expect is a DM from her long time crush and best friend, Kim Taehyung: “How do you know if you’re in love?”

Class Act || @jvngkook97💕💔✅

↳ in which Namjoon is the popular jock and you’re just another girl in the bleachers. OR what happens when the gentle giant takes notice of the introverted, yet dedicated fan?

Discord Discourse || @joheunsaram💕💔✅

↳ Kim Namjoon likes to spend time in a discord server… dedicated to him. With new friends and a budding crush, will he ever be able to truly be himself without revealing who he is?

Feel Your Touch || @jimilter🔞💕💔✅

↳ You have always known yourself to be a sexual switch in bed, flipping between exercising and submitting control according to different situations and partners. And this camboy you are addicted to, one that seems to kinda reciprocate your interest, submits so beautifully that you just want to command him. But when things progress to levels you never anticipated, you end up discovering pleasant surprises that might just change your life.

Helping Hands || @euphoricfilter��💕✅💯

↳ Yoongi always had a knack for fixing things, and with producing getting him nowhere, he ends up working for the school his long-time friend Seokjin, teaches at. With his new job, he meets you, and although your first encounter hadn’t been the best; at least not in Yoongi’s eyes, he could have never guessed how your relationship would bloom. And Yoongi gets to show you his hands can do more than fix your faulty heating. (bob the fcking builder yoongi.)

Oh, Honey! || @yoongiofmine🔞💕💔✅💯💯💯

↳ Namjoon never wanted a Sugar Baby, no matter what Yoongi and Hoseok said. You never wanted a Sugar Daddy, despite the insistence from Jimin. Until your life takes a turn and you really need the money, fast. What was supposed to be a one night thing, a birthday present for a big time rapper and producer, turns into so much more when you find in each other what you never thought you had been looking for.

Time || @bts-trash-blog💕💔🔄💯💯

↳ Time. It's always passing by, always changing things that you wish stayed the same. It brought the good and it brought the bad, hell it brought the down right best time in your life. The best thing in your life came with time. It came with some stumbled steps, tough spots...it came with time.

Do check out all of the other BTS Fics that i have reblogged as well!!

** if there is any fics that you guys would like to recommend, please do! i am slowly running out of fics to read **

#bts scenarios #bts fluff #bts angst #bts smut #bts werewolf au #bts mafia au #bts social media au #bts strangers to lovers au #bts hybrid au #bts ceo au #bts friends to lovers au #bts best friends to lovers au #bts childhood friends to lovers au #bts gamer au #bts established relationship au #bts fic recs #bts recs

623 notes · View notes

dearweirdme · 8 months

Note

I would love to hear your thoughts about the yoongi text after watching suchiwita.

I started doing a little more digging and didn't realize how much jungkook had to do with the potential disbandment. I originally thought it was because of a rapline member and tae, but its starting to seem like it was a taekook issue. When we first found out about the text, my initial guess was that it had something to do with tae and jk coming out, but now I'm not too sure. Could taekook have been having a rough patch/break up and it was affecting the group?

Hi anon!

That text is going to haunt us forever isn’t it? I don’t think it has anything to do with Tae and Jk breaking up or having a tough patch, though things cannot have been easy on them back then. I think the band as a whole was overworked and stressed out by the fame and the pressure that came with it.

Although it breaks a bit of my heart to hear him talk about comparing himself to others and thinking of himself as weird and slow, I so much love that he wanted to be open about this with us. It was evidently a really vulnerable time in his live and it takes strength to share this with the world. He was so overworked! He felt so tired all the time that he even wanted to get injured just so he could get some rest. All he could think about was resting. And if you top being tired to the bones all the time with constantly feeling not good enough, you start thinking about quitting. I really think Tae though he couldn’t do this.

I talked about Jk’s golden maknae status being a burden at times, and he too was clearly overworked. Edit, since I wasn’t complete on Jk here: Jk has also had trouble with coming to terms with being famous and not being able to do what he wants. While the life of an Idol give a lot of great opportunities, it takes away a lit of others. Jk was super young, and he has a taste for trying things. Being famous made it hard for him to do things he wanted. Insecurities and tiredness are really hard to deal with for a longer period of time. If we add to that Taekook being a couple but having no freedom to show it and being separated even. I can imagine them thinking about leaving together.

And that is where I think Yoongi’s text comes in. Because although Tae and Jk had their separate issues, just like the other members had theirs… whenever 2018 and the disbandment talk comes up.. we get Taekook as a unit.

It’s Yoongi sending them a text. One they had clearly shared with each other and talked about, but they did not share with the others.

youtube

It’s Jk comforting Tae in a way we had not seen before, even though they were supposedly awkward and distant at this time.

youtube

And now, we get Tae talking about it… and he is talking for both of them. He is talking about him and Jk as a unit in this. It’s a situation in which they shared something and in which they were going through the same motions and they were sharing their experiences (again, while supposedly being awkward and distant). Not only that, the members also see them as a unit in this.

So yeah, although we will never get to know what’s what exactly, I do feel this situation is quite telling. I think Yoongi’s text was able to at least ease some of the worries Tae and Jk shared. And I’ll forever love Yoongi for being able to help them get through a tough situation.

#taekook #Taekook analysis #yoongi text #suchwita

46 notes · View notes

threeletterslife · 11 months

Text

31 | Legends of Darlaria

⨰ summary: You wake up in yet another unfamiliar place. This time, however, these strangers seem to recognize you. With your previous judgments and aspirations thrown out the window, you're now forced to face where your loyalties really lie. Who will you betray? And which General will you choose to stand by his side?

⨰ pairing/rating: yoongi x reader & jungkook x reader | PG-15

⨰ genre: 70% angst, 30% fluff | war!au & magic!au

⨰ warnings: profanity, mentions of death

⨰ wordcount: 21.1k

⨰ join the taglist! (pm/send in an ask/reply/reblog)

⨰ previous | series m.list | next

⧖⧗Many, Many Circas Ago⧗⧖

The 11th city was a familiar place. Not so homely, but pleasant in its own way. Mostly inhabited by scholars and instructors of prestigious academies, it was quite the busy city. Yet there were no merchants who crowded the streets as they did in the 3rd city and no boisterous children running about as they did in the 10th. Your earliest memories were of adults heel-to-toe racing to their destinations with their noses stuck in their books. Your parents fit right into this crowd as divinist scholars, themselves. And if there was one thing in your life that has stayed constant from birth to the present, it was books—which you never minded. It was natural for you to take up reading when it was all that your mothers ever did. And besides, your home’s numerous reading nooks made it easy to cozy up with a nice fairytale and some thick, fleece blankets, listening to the soft crackling of candles and the pitter-patter of rain against the window panes.

When you were younger, possibly around six years old, your parents kept your birthstone in a little tin up on the top shelf of the tallest bookshelf in your home. It was a precaution most parents adhered to when their child was young. You were allowed to play with your birthstone occasionally but, of course, under supervision. Darlaean magic was never something to be messed with. And often, children did not understand the ramifications of this great power. Yet you were aware of it for as long as you could remember. Too often, you read (or really, looked at pictures) about antagonists in your fairytale books consumed by their greed and their thirst for control, attempting to break the limits of what their birthstones could achieve. There were those who tried to bring back the dead, those who attempted to force others to love them, and those who wanted to live forever. In the end, they would always spiral into mania or be forced into defeat by the protagonist. It went without saying that power came with handling the Darlaean birthstone, and that much sheer power always scared you—even as a child.

But you were still fascinated with your birthstone. It was a beautiful, white diamond—so tiny, so easy to lose, that you always felt the need to guard it with your life. You loved the way it would glint in the sunlight and cast small rainbows on your palm. You loved the way it felt when you carefully rolled it around in your hands, memorizing its shape and size. You even adored that it wasn’t a perfect sphere and had a little characteristic black carbon spot near its surface. You used to tell your parents that you could tell your birthstone apart from an entire heap of other diamonds. They’d always laugh and pat your head as if you were telling a joke, but you were always serious.

Your birthstone became your most prized possession. You polished it, sang to it, treated it as your doll, which your parents also found quite humorous. Though you weren’t familiar yet with how to use your birthstone to channel magic, you could already feel the sheer energy coursing through your veins every time you picked it up. It was such a good, intense feeling that you would often beg your parents—whoever didn’t have her nose stuck in a book—to reach for the tin hidden on the bookshelf so you could hold your birthstone in your hands again.

As you grew in age, your parents became more lenient with their household rules. They allowed you to eat sweets before bedtime. They began letting you sleep in during the weekends. They no longer kept the tin can far out of your reach. You realized only years later that they’d simply forgotten to hide it away once their research began picking up and their schedules became hectic. But you didn’t mind so much that your parents could no longer read to you before bed every night and were no longer present during dinnertime. Living in the 11th city, where you were practically the only child in a place bustling with well-read adult scholars, forced you to appreciate your own company.

You continued reading your adventure-filled fairytales, living vicariously through the topsy-turvy lives of legends and heroes. The best tales were always the ones with happy endings. And happy endings came when the protagonist was strong enough to defeat the villain. It made you starry-eyed and hopeful. When the world became doused in flames one day, you dreamed of being the one to extinguish them. Or, at least play a small part in it. And what better way to prepare for this moment than to practice your magic?

You spent hours hunched over on the floor of your living room, experimenting with your birthstone. The familiar smell of eucalyptus, the emerald green carpet underneath your legs, the wax candles lining the edge of the room (a total fire hazard amongst all of the books surrounding it)—they’re all sensories so familiar to you. Of course, on some days, patches of that emerald green carpet would be a bright shade of orange or clashing stripes of yellow and magenta. Sometimes the beige wax candles would flicker green for a moment. Other times, the eucalyptus leaves would turn a bright shade of pink.

You liked this natural ability to make changes. It started off small as color-shifting, temporarily changing the colors and patterns of any household item you could find—once even the grass patch outside your house, which nearly gave your good old neighbors a heart attack. But your abilities soon developed into size-shifting as well. Once, with a bit of luck, you managed to shrink an entire stack of books and in your excitement, displayed your fine work to your parents. Yet instead of being proud of you, your parents had a joint mental breakdown, for the stack of books you shrunk had been their lifelong research. Lucky for them, however, your alchemy skills lacked the finesse to make permanent changes, and in seconds, their research reverted safely back to its normal size in a few minutes. Even still, from that point forward, you avoided experimenting on books for your parents’ mental sake.

On your tenth birthday, your parents surprised you with a gift. You remember looking at the slender, mahogany box, excitement bubbling inside of you. Gifts on special occasions weren’t very normal in your household; birthdays usually passed uncelebrated, which you never really minded, but that only made this gift so much more special.

Yet inside the box was an ugly, gray quill, and right before the plumage began on the stem, your precious birthstone sat studded. You stared at it with a confused look on your face.

“It’s your trinket, dear,” Ma said with an excited smile. “Go on, take it out!”

Mother was also smiling, though she wasn’t as enthusiastic as Ma. “Quill trinkets are all the rage these days, Y/N.”

“It’s perfect for a scholar-to-be like you, honey,” Ma said.

Though you should’ve been grateful that your parents went out of their way to give you a trinket—something you’ll likely have until the rest of your life—it was hard to be happy when it was so… ugly. Though you never exactly had a dream trinket as many others do (you’ve always been more interested in the birthstone itself), nothing about a quill trinket sounded desirable to you. It was forgettable. Drab-looking, too. And you could already picture yourself running after it flying away in the wind.

Your mothers quickly caught on to your distaste.

“You don’t like it,” Mother said, her eyebrows furrowing just slightly.

“Eunbi, I told you you shouldn’t have asked Kihoon of all people for trinket suggestions for little girls!” Ma said accusingly. “What would a forty-year-old man know about what a child would want?”

“She’ll grow into it, Sura,” Mother said. “She’ll appreciate it when she’s older.”

“Face it, Eunbi. We fucked up. What ten-year-old would want a damn quill as her trinket?”

“I said, she’ll grow into it.”

“I like my trinket,” you lied to ease the tension in the air. “I really do like it, Ma. Please don’t be angry.”

She looked at you, shaking her head, her dangly earrings swaying back and forth. “Honey, I’m a divinist. You don’t need to lie.”

“I’m not lying.”

“Don’t lie to Ma,” Mother said.

“I’m not!”

“We can get you a new trinket,” Ma said. “Something that you like.”

“We have a conference next week,” Mother reminded Ma. “We won’t have time.”

“That’s okay,” you told them. “I like this one already.”

They were skeptical, but you proved to them that you did, in fact, like your trinket by carrying it around everywhere, keeping the gray thing pinned to your hair, behind your ear. But on particularly windy days, you always opted to stay home.

Yet never once did you ever consider getting a new trinket; your parents would be devastated. And even with your lacking relationship with them, you never wanted to be their source of trouble. Besides, the heroes in your fairy tales told white lies to save others’ feelings, anyway, and you looked up to these heroes, so it was only natural for you to mirror their behavior. After a while, the quill trinket became a part of you, and you learned to cherish it—but only after you found a way to temporarily color-shift it into more appealing hues.

Your parents didn’t interfere with your life too much, but perhaps that was a good thing. You had more time for yourself. They did, however, occasionally ask how your grades were in school, being scholars and all. It made you feel a degree of pressure to perform well in academia. And for a while, you believed you would one day become an alchemist scholar, which would break your parents’ hearts if you told them, so you never did. They always believed you’d become a divinist as they were, which made sense considering there weren’t many moments where you sat down to discuss with them. So you continued to keep to yourself and read your fairytales as a source of company.

These stories quickly became your solace. On your short walks to school, you liked to pretend you were one of the busy adults, sticking your nose in your books and beelining to your destination. Except, while you were reading tales of great courage and empathy, they were reading their serious manuscripts.

But your childhood wasn’t spent completely alone. You had plenty of friends from school, but they all lived in the 10th city, and you never wanted to bother your parents’ frequent silent reading times to invite them over to your home in the 11th. Besides, you preferred being alone. Other children sometimes tired you, though you never understood why. Perhaps it was because you quickly realized that there was a disconnect.

“My ma said that Pa’s gonna come back this winter! Maybe he’ll bring back some gifts!”

“Where did your pa go?” you’d asked, genuinely curious.

“Don’t you know? Jisun’s father went to war.”

“War?”

There are gasps.

“Y/N, you don’t know that there’s a war?!”

“How do you not know?”

“Why do you think we’re not allowed to go to the 1st city anymore?”

“O-Oh… I…” You had no excuse other than the fact that you were never taught that there was a war. Your parents never mentioned it, and you assumed the wars in your fairytales were always fiction.

“That’s funny, Y/N. I always thought you were gonna fight in the war.”

“Me too!”

“Me?” you asked, bewildered.

“You always carry your trinket with you,” Jisun said, pointing at the pink feather behind your ear. “My ma says only soldiers carry around their trinkets everywhere.”

“I-I just like having it near me…” The heroes in your fairytales carried their trinkets everywhere, to be able to react swiftly when problems occurred.

“My ma won’t even let me leave the house carrying my birthstone,” Jisun continued. “Do your parents want you to become a soldier?”

“No…”

“Oh.” There is a slight pause. “Wanna grab pastries at the bakery? It’s in the 10th city, though.”

“I’m okay,” you said. “I have to go home.”

You’d quickly left that day, locking yourself in your room and staring up at your ceiling in deep thought. A week later, you finally built up the courage to confront your parents.

“Mother, Ma, is there a war?”

Both of your parents looked up from their readings in shock.

“Oh, honey…” Ma said. “Yes… the war…”

The ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ got caught in your throat, but it didn’t matter that you didn’t say it because they seemed to glean it from your expression, anyway.

“We didn’t want you to panic,” Mother said. “But the war has been going on for decades. Over a century, even. It’s a stupid game of power, anyway. The only thing affected by it is the lives of pathetic soldiers.”

“Eunbi!” Ma said. “She’s a child. Let’s try to have some filter, please.”

“She needs to face the reality of the war,” Mother said. She turned to you. “Don’t waste your time and breath on it, Y/N. We’re all above it.”

“My friends told me that they thought I wanted to be a soldier.”

“What?!” Mother said, clearly offended for you. “How?”

“Because I always carry my trinket around.”

“They… don’t carry their trinkets around?” Ma asked.

“No, Ma, they don’t have trinkets yet,” you said.

“What do you mean they don’t have trinkets yet?” Mother frowned.

“Well… It’s just that they’re not allowed to leave the house with their birthstones,” you tried to explain.

Ma turned to Mother, her earrings swaying to and fro. “Did we give her access to her birthstone too early?”

“...Mayhaps,” Mother said. “But it’s too late now.” She made eye contact with you. “Don’t listen to them, Y/N. They don’t know what they’re talking about. You’re all children,” she said, shaking her head. “You’re not going to be a soldier. That would simply be preposterous.”

“Yes, Eunbi is right,” Ma said, nodding her head. “You’re our destined little scholar, sweetheart.”

Your interactions with your parents were sparse, but that never meant that they didn’t care about you. They found their own ways to show you love, which would have baffled your friends, but your mothers’ peculiar parenting was what you were used to and what you found comfortable. They would often leave new books on your desk. These books were never fairytales—mostly divinist research. But there were occasional alchemy books, too, which you would read over and over again when you were looking for something heavier than your usual fairytales. On weeks when your parents were away to attend conferences, they left you a few extra notes to spend at the mini-markets in the 8th city. They would also leave your thick peacoat out on your chair before you left for school in the mornings if they foresaw the weather taking a cold turn later in the day.

They simply didn’t have time to show it much, but they loved you. And strangely, all you wanted to do was to make them proud, which made you hide away the side of you that longed to become a hero, a successful alchemist—for their sake.

But there were still parts of your parents that you never quite understood.

They often talked about the 12th city, where the castle grounds lay.

“Oh, Eunbi, wouldn’t it be so nice if we could continue our research as royal divinists?”

“Yes, Sura, that does sound quite nice.”

But these conversations never amounted to anything. All your parents ever did was read; you seldom ever saw them write or conduct an experiment to back their claims. But they were divinists, and they were often blinded by their version of the future, no matter how idealistic it was. You didn’t like that they did this, of course. The heroes in your stories set off to make change; they would save entire towns and cities and kingdoms—sometimes even the world. You didn’t understand why your parents were so content with being stagnant on research that could allegedly impact so much.

As you grew older, your patience with your parents grew thin. Maybe there was a little bit of resentment there as well, for how could you flourish and become the best version of yourself if your own two parents had made no progress at all? You wanted to make them feel proud, but you began wondering if they would even care if you achieved anything. It was a horrible thought to have. And maybe it was because you were 12 and your rebellious pre-teen phase was kicking in; you were at that age where everything your parents advised you to do sounded stupid or like a mere suggestion. Or maybe this was how you should have always felt, instead of forgiving them and loving them unconditionally. These thoughts and feelings bubbled up inside of you until one day, they burst.

“Alchemy?” Mother said with a frown on her face. “You never showed any interest in it… Sura, what do you think?”

Ma was also frowning. “I don’t know, sweetheart,” she told you. “Why such a sudden change?”

“There was never a change,” you tried to clarify. “I’ve always been interested in alchemy.”

“I don’t know, Y/N,” Mother sighed. “We always assumed you were going to be a divinist.”

“But how?” you said, growing frustrated. “Did I ever read your canvases with you? Did I ever play with your runes? Have you ever seen me pick up your research manuscripts?”

“Well, no, but honey, interests change,” Ma said gently. “Divination… Well, it’s in your blood, sweetheart.” Her nose ring seemed to twinkle as she said this, along with her dozens of other piercings. They did that a lot when she was deep in thought, which was just about every second of the day. Usually, you thought the light was pretty; today, you found it annoying.

“We don’t want you to go down an unfamiliar route,” Mother said.

“Yes, Eunbi’s right. You could get yourself hurt without our guidance.”

You had to resist the urge to ask them, ‘Guidance? What guidance?’ But you swallowed those words. It didn’t matter; they probably knew what you were thinking. “You wouldn’t understand,” you told them instead. “Alchemy is what diamonds are good at. Divinists wouldn’t get it.”

“Oh, honey, your birthstone doesn’t dictate what type of magic you decide to specialize in,” Ma said. “There are plenty of diamond holders out there who don’t practice alchemy.”

“But I’m not one of them!”

“How would you know, Y/N? If you’ve never tried divination?” Mother asked. You could tell she was starting to lose her patience. And Ma looked ready to end the conversation.

You wanted to scream. ‘How would I know? I’ll tell you how I know! Because I’ve seen how consumed the two of you have become with divination! Because it’s all talk and no action! Because pattern-recognizing and intuition-honing isn’t real magic, and I want to do something that can make a difference!’

You didn’t say a single word but you swore you saw Ma wilt a little. That’s another thing you’ve always hated about divinists. It’s like they’re always in your head.

After this argument, your parents became even less attentive to you—if that was even possible. They stopped asking about your grades in school, stopped giving you extra allowance when they left for conferences, stopped gifting you books altogether. It made you feel unloved and unwanted, though you tried to give them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe their research picked up once more. Maybe they were hurt by your unsaid words and wanted some distance from you to sort their feelings out. Maybe you should apologize.

But the other part of you couldn’t understand why you should apologize for something you never said. And besides, if their love for you had purely been because they thought you were going to follow in their divinist scholar footsteps, then maybe you didn’t want anything to do with them anymore. And in that moment of sadness, confusion, and anger, you impulsively applied to the most prestigious academy in all of Darlae—in part of honing your alchemy skills but also to escape your parents, for the dorms in Botswana Agate Academy were rumored to be as lush as the chambers in the castle grounds. You didn’t think you were going to get in, but miraculously, an acceptance letter appeared in your mailbox one day. Welcome to Botswana Agate Academy, the title read. You nearly cried when you saw it.

You told your parents, of course, and they congratulated you, as any reasonable parents would, but they weren’t so happy when they realized you were accepted into their alchemy division and that the academy required a hefty tuition fee. But attending Botswana was like a dream. They sent you a beautiful uniform, one that was as elegant and pristine as the school, and they even offered to embed your birthstone in a new trinket that was easier to carry around. You considered it, of course, but ultimately decided against it. The quill trinket was really the last thing that tied you and your parents together. And as much as you resented them, you still occasionally felt homesick and longed for the good days when they used to read to you in bed. Besides, you’ve grown quite attached to that ugly gray quill, and as impractical as it was, it was still yours. Like a little quirk. Many heroes in your stories had something that made them special, too.

But ostensibly, you would’ve been considered special even without your unconventional trinket. Botswana taught you that you had a knack for magic. A “natural talent” was what your instructors were calling it. But they never realized how many hours of practice you put in to get this far.

You were adept in putting your skills into action, which showed that externally, you were, in a way, “talented.” But Botswana also emphasized the internal mechanisms of Darlaean magic, which included unfamiliar jargon and technical terminologies. You tried your best to keep up.

“The objective of today’s study,” Instructor Shin began, “is to delineate the differences between our two branches of magic and its three distinct types. Y/N?” she said, pushing up her silver-rimmed glasses and looking at you expectantly. With her thin eyebrows, even thinner red lips and pristine outfits, she was a respectable (and sometimes feared) instructor. Students often tried to impress her, for she was known to write excellent letters of recommendation to get into Botswana Agate’s sister academy for older students: Aven Quartz.

You sat right up when you heard your name, your heart already thumping in your chest. Unfortunately, it was normal for instructors in Botswana to cold call, and while it wasn’t your favorite thing about the academy, you managed to survive by simply overpreparing. “If you could be so kind as to start off the lesson this morning,” Instructor Shin said in her rather soothing voice, “please give a general description, as per the assigned reading, of the two branches for the class.”

Your throat felt parched, but you spent three hours last night hunched over your textbook General Knowledge for Botswana Agate Students (the one that Instructor Shin herself wrote), reciting every line in the 50-page reading, committing it to memory, then doing it over again and over again with your own words until the chapter showed up in your dreams. Still, your mind teetered on the line of going completely blank—public speaking had never quite been your forte—but you also couldn't let your efforts go to waste. “I… I believe the two branches of magic are light and dark,” you said a little hesitantly, fiddling with the quill behind your ear. “Colloquially, we call them rational and emotional magic, but those terms are misguided and outdated. Um… dark magic, if I’m remembering correctly, is the kind of magic that requires deep focus, objective reasoning and logic to cast. If the caster is successful, we would call that charm, a hex. I believe that dark magic is said to be reliable and consistent but can behave unpredictably when attempted to be cast with emotion. And um, light magic… it’s the kind of magic that requires channeling one’s emotions to cast what we call a whim. Its range of abilities tends to fluctuate, depending on the caster’s emotional state, so it has the potential to be extremely powerful—arguably even more so than any dark magic.”

Your hands were shaking by the time you finished speaking, and it didn’t really help that Instructor Shin’s facial expressions were always unreadable, her red lips pressed together eternally. But you must’ve been correct because she gave you a small nod, thanked you for sharing and called on another student to answer another one of her questions about the reading. “Tell me, Joonhee, why are we discouraged to use light magic here in Botswana?”

Joonhee was charismatic and confident, and he never looked nervous when cold-called. “It can be dangerous,” he said without missing a beat. “We want our magic to be reliable and consistent, like Y/N said. Light magic is unpredictable and may go terribly wrong if say, the caster’s emotions are extremely negatively charged. It’s only really condoned for our soldiers to use in the war.”

“That’s correct, Joonhee,” Instructor Shin said, nodding. “Though light magic is a useful branch in the face of danger or chaos, it does not mesh well with our everyday charms. Of course, you will be naturally inclined to one of these two branches,” she told everyone, “but to do well in Botswana Agate, you must learn the importance of dark magic. Now, Jangmi, can you tell us if our birthstones dictate the branch of magic we naturally gravitate toward?”

“Our birthstones do not,” Jangmi said confidently. “But I think they do dictate the type of magic we are the best at.”

“To an extent, yes,” Instructor Shin said. “But the general consensus is that anyone can excel at either branch of magic and every type of magic. I, for one, am a so-called destined divinist,” she said, holding up her black pointer, adorned with an emerald at the top, for the entire class to see. “But I teach alchemy at Botswana. Some of you may know me as your instructor for Introduction to Alchemy, and I would like to think that I am fairly skilled at it. So, students,” she said, “never feel limited by your birthstone. Now, Donghoon, what are the three different types of magic and which birthstones are associated with what?”

But poor Donghoon looked like he forgot to do the reading yet again. “I-I… uh, a-alchemy,” he stuttered, “...and healing… um…” He struggled to recall the last one.

“Divination,” Jangmi whispered next to him.

“Divination!” Donghoon magically remembered. “A-And… the birthstones associated… Uh…” He desperately looked down at the little pocket watch he always carried around—not to check the time, but to stare at the shining green peridot inside the glass. It seemed to make things slightly easier for him because you watched his eyes light up for a second. “For alchemy, there is peridot…” he trailed off, already stuck, but when he made eye contact with you, his eyebrows rose in remembrance: “Oh! And diamond…”

Instructor Shin was becoming impatient, however, so she interrupted him. “Let’s do our daily readings on time, Donghoon. Haeyun, could you tell us, please?”

“Yes, Instructor Shin,” Haeyun said. “There are four birthstones associated with each magic type. For healing, they are aquamarine, garnet, ruby and opal. For alchemy, they are diamond, alexandrite, peridot and citrine. For divination, they are amethyst, emerald, sapphire and zircon.”

“Correct,” Instructor Shin said. “Well, Donghoon, do you think you can enlighten us with your definition of alchemy?”

“I actually know this one!” Donghoon looked excited. “It’s the study of matter and small particles and using that knowledge to reshape our perceptions of them! The basics include color and size-shifting. More difficult charms include masking and true alchemy, which is just turning material into gold. Also, you can technically create things out of thin air, but it’s near impossible. But I’ve heard it’s been done before!” Donghoon sat back in his chair a little too smugly for someone who always neglected to do the readings. But his father was Head Instructor, so nothing could be done.

“Very good, Donghoon,” Instructor Shin said, issuing one of her rare compliments. “You’re correct. While gold has no monetary value in Darlae, in the past, and before the blockade, we profited from our gold trade, thanks to our alchemists. You’ll learn more about this with Instructor No in Darlaean History. It is also nearly impossible, as you’ve said, to create something out of nothing, but it has been done in the past. Our head instructor, fifty years ago, accomplished this. Head Instructor Jeon was his name. He created a small wine glass from nothing, and we still have it in memory of him. It is displayed in our dining hall if you would like to see it after class,” Instructor Shin said quite proudly. “Now, who would like to explain healing and divination in their own words?”

Even though there was the constant fear of being cold-called, you quite enjoyed Instructor Shin’s General Knowledge course. It was one of those courses that every first-year Botswana Agate student was required to take—like Darlaean History—and you could see why. Though the class was often densely packed with information and the readings never seemed to end, it was also enlightening and put much of your early experience with magic into words. Some struggled with it more than others.

“Hell, I totally fucking blanked in there,” Donghoon said as he scratched his head and nearly spilled the contents of his book bag as he adjusted the shoulder straps. You helped him steady the bag and he shot you a grateful look.

“Are you sure you didn’t just forget to do the reading?” Joonhee snorted as he walked past you and Donghoon, not even giving him a chance to answer. It’s a little rude, but Joonhee’s always been like that: confident, charismatic and cocky.

“Don’t worry about him,” you told Donghoon as the two of you began to walk to your next class, which happened to be an unpopular elective called Fashion Studies. You were only placed in it because you enrolled late—your parents didn’t have the time to sign some papers that would’ve made you an official Botswana student. And Donghoon was only placed in it because he forgot to enroll in half of his classes.

“I don’t really worry,” Donghoon said. He just shrugged good-naturedly. “He and I are in different leagues. He’ll probably become the damn General of the Darlaean Army one day. I’d be lucky if I even pass a single class here.”

You frowned. “Don’t say that.”

Donghoon shrugged again. “I’m only here because of my father. Everyone knows that. I’m just waiting to be kicked out so I can achieve my lifelong dream of starting a tea shop. I don’t need alchemy for that.” He suddenly looked around to see if anyone was watching. Then, he leaned in with a mischievous look on his face. “I wouldn’t even need Darlaean magic. I’d need Solaria’s.”

You raised your eyebrows. Why was he telling you this? Was it a test to see if you agreed? He was his father’s son after all, and there was an extreme backlash in the scholar community against Head Instructor Kim for so openly supporting the Darlaean Army when Botswana instructors were to remain neutral about the war. You decided to tread carefully. “Really? With the elements and stuff?”

“Yeah,” Donghoon said. “I’d need fire to boil the water and earth for the tea leaves.” He looked at you strangely. “You’re not going to tell on me, are you? You don’t seem like the type.”

“N-No, of course not. I’m just… surprised.”

“My father and I are different people,” Donghoon said with a shrug. “He can eat shit for all I care. I don’t support the war. It’s just stupid. People dying left and right. And for what?”

“People die out there?” you asked incredulously.

“What did you think they were doing? Playing tea party? Of course they die out there—our people, their people. We just don’t hear the stories because we’re so far in, you know, being in the 11th city most of the time. Most of our parents are rich enough to keep us sheltered. And we sure as hell don’t learn about it in Darlaean History ‘cause ‘neutrality’ and all that bull. But we might start this new curriculum focusing solely on Solarian war crimes. Courtesy of my father, you know. He thinks it’ll help with showcases, which are military propaganda by the way.”

“Oh…” This conversation surprised you. Donghoon was often characterized as stupid and ditzy by others. He’s the spoiled, stuck-up brat who leeched off of his successful father and had rocks for brains. But that most certainly wasn’t correct. It simply looked like he cared about things outside what Botswana could offer.

“Anyways,” Donghon sighed, “you’re smart, so I’m sure you’ll make correct judgments.” When he caught you frowning, he grinned. “You act humbly, but you’re top of your classes.”

Your face heated up. “Oh, I… I still don’t understand why they publicly post the class rankings…”

“It’s ‘tradition for excellence,’” Donghoon mockingly quoted while holding in a laugh. “And it’s supposed to motivate people like me. Obviously, it’s not working. Anyways, you know, you’re really good at alchemy. Really, really good.”

“O-Oh,” you said, feeling bashful. “Thanks. But I’m not naturally good or anything. I just put in a lot of effort.”

“Mhm sure. There are people like Jangmi who put in the effort but still can’t cast charms successfully, you know. She’s within the top ten in every class except Intro to Alch—the only class that doesn’t use a textbook. Magic doesn’t come so intuitively for others.”

Donghoon was strangely observant. You looked at him in surprise. “I didn’t know…”

Your response must have not been so satisfactory. “Hmph. You’re pretty shy, aren’t you?” Donghoon said. “I feel like every time we talk, well, I’m the one who’s talking.”

That made you crack a smile. “I enjoy listening.”

“Well, I enjoy talking.” Donghoon mirrored your smile. “Anyways, let’s go make some damn clothes while people die on the battlegrounds!”

From that point forward, you and Donghoon became close friends. He was easy to be around and didn’t see you as a competition as many of the other students did. He also always declined your offers to study with him, saying that it was only a matter of time before his father would have no choice but to let him drop out of the academy. “I’m aiming for failing grades in every single class,” he told you on your way to Introduction to Alchemy with Instructor Shin.

“Your tea shop dream would be closer than ever,” you said with a smile.

“You get me, Y/N,” was his enthused response as the two of you found your seats in the classroom in the second row.

Today’s class focused solely on color-shifting. Instructor Shin handed out red apples and told everybody to turn them blue. She gave no further instruction, stepping back and simply watching. For you, this was a simple task; after all, you’ve been color-shifting for more than half of your life now. First, you must become extremely aware of the feather behind your ear, feeling the power emanating from your birthstone. Then, closing your eyes, you imagined a world where apples were blue. They’ve always been blue! It was quite the norm. Blue apples growing on trees, blue apple pies, blue apple jam—you’ve all seen it before. Every time you’ve bitten into an apple, its skin has been a beautiful, shiny, navy blue. Why should the apple in front of you be any different?

When you opened your eyes, sure enough, the apple sitting in front of you was blue—the same deep blue you’d imagined in your head.

Instructor Shin’s eyebrows rose, but she didn’t say anything.

Donghoon laughed. “Y/N, in three seconds?!”

You could feel the heat crawl onto your cheeks as you felt every students’ eyes on you. Particularly, you felt Joonhee’s glare at the back of your head. And for the next several minutes, you watched the students around you try their hand at color-shifting for the first time. Most of them were able to change the color of their apples, but it was rarely ever blue. You saw a lot of purples and oranges. And Donghoon, who by habit only practiced light magic, accidentally cast a frustrated whim, which made the apple rot rapidly before your shared desk.

He snorted at his own failure and turned to you. “See?” he said. “I told you that you’re good.”

“I’ve just done this before,” you said.

“How?” Donghoon asked. “Didn’t your parents restrict your birthstone access until you were accepted to Botswana? I know a lot of families who did that in the 10th city.”

“Not really,” you said. “They let me carry it around since I was ten.”

“Hell, they really trusted you.”

It was always a little more like they didn’t trust themselves with you, but Donghoon didn’t have to know that. And besides, now you were partly thankful for your parents’ negligence. It looked like strict parenting stanched magical growth. But thinking about your parents made you feel a little guilty inside since you knew full well that you partly applied to Botswana to escape them after your horrible argument. Still, you tried not to show your inner turmoils and shrugged.

“I guess they did,” you said. “You need me to shift that back? Temporarily, though. I don’t think I’m good enough to do it permanently.”

Donghoon’s eyes widened. “You know how to do that?”

“I’ve never tried, but all I’d have to do is imagine a world where nothing ever rots. And that it’s always been that way.”

“Dark magic, huh?” Donghoon said. “I didn’t pin you for that type, but you’re good.”

You shrugged, and in a few seconds’ time, the apple looked ripe and red again—at least for the remaining class period. You and Donghoon fell into deep conversation after that, mostly Donghoon complimenting your skills and you becoming embarrassed. The two of you failed to notice Instructor Shin looking straight at you with an unreadable look on her face.

Every circa, Botswana Agate Academy invited each student’s parents to what they called Consulting. This entailed the student’s instructors reviewing the student’s standing in their classes and offering the student potential career pathways or advice to excel in the future. Most parents who sent their children to Botswana wanted to know anything and everything about how their money was being used. Your parents, unfortunately, had to attend a last-minute divination conference with their fellow scholars. So last-minute that in fact, rescheduling your Consulting was impossible.

So you sat awkwardly before your three instructors, nervously playing with your trinket behind your ear. “I’m sorry,” you said, embarrassed. “I told them the date three weeks ago… And reminded them frequently…”

“It’s no matter,” Instructor Shin said. “Consulting only concerns you, Kwang Y/N, so you’re all we need to begin.” She shuffled the small stack of papers in front of her and her two co-instructors. “Your rankings are considerably high,” she began. “In the top fifty for all four of your classes. Number one for Introduction to Alchemy, among 600 other students. You’re off to an excellent start.”

You’ve never been able to take compliments well. “Thank you,” you squeaked, awkwardly looking at your hands.

“You naturally gravitate towards dark magic and you were accepted into our alchemy division, so I assume you are also alchemy-inclined.”

You nodded.

“I have a question for you, Y/N,” Instructor Shin suddenly said, which surprised you, for she was always the kind of person who knew everything. “Your parents are divinist scholars, yes? Did they also teach you the ropes of alchemy?”

You shook your head. “No, Instructor Shin. They didn’t.”

“Self-taught?”

“Well, I read many books,” you said. “Um… fairytales, really. But a lot of the… um, a lot of the heroes were alchemy-inclined, so naturally…” It felt so stupid to admit.

Instructor Shin nodded. “I am impressed,” she said, to your surprise. “I have not met many students who have taught themselves the ropes of dark alchemy so well in quite a long time. I want you to audit my Advanced Alchemy course, and if that feels like a better fit, I want you to take it instead of your introductory course and skip the intermediate course entirely. How does that sound?”

Your eyes widened. “A-Amazing,” you managed to whisper in awe. “T-Thank you. Thank you, Instructor Shin.”

It almost felt like a dream. You? How could someone like you impress someone so skilled and intelligent as Instructor Shin? Not only did she want you to skip one course level but also two? How highly did she think of you to suggest such a thing? You would be sitting in class with students two or three years older than you!

It was the dream—to be able to hone your alchemy skills and actually be challenged in class. And yet… You nervously began to play with the feather behind your ear. Why did you suddenly feel an empty pit in your stomach? It was that feeling of dread, which was the last thing you should be feeling with all this good news. But you couldn’t help it. The thing about good first impressions was that there wasn’t much room to be better. (The charismatic villain in your fairytales always gave off a great first impression!) So how long would it take for Instructor Shin to be disappointed in you? How long would it take before you simply became another student in the crowd for her? How long would it take for you to lose the only support you’ve ever had?

You were no prodigy. You were definitely not a genius, either. What Instructor Shin didn’t know was the amount of time and effort you’ve put into your craft. You didn’t wake up one day able to color-shift in the blink of an eye. You worked your way up to it with much trial and error and sleepless nights in your living room. Your peers simply weren’t given access to their birthstones as early as you were. If they had, they’d probably be at your skill level or even higher. So what if you weren’t able to keep up? What if Advanced Alchemy ended up being too advanced for you? How disappointed would Instructor Shin be?

She seemed to sense your uncertainty, which was so palpable that even a non-divinist could feel it. To your surprise, she smiled, her thin red lips curving slightly upwards. You’ve never seen her do such a thing. But her smile was kind and warm and softened her eyes, and it alone almost made you feel a little better.

“My care for my students is never conditional,” she said gently.

Your head jerked up as you met her stare with startled eyes.

“No matter what you achieve and don’t achieve, I will always wish you the best,” Instructor Shin said. “But you don’t need to worry too much. I believe your accomplishments will stretch far beyond what Botswana Agate can offer. I don’t have to be a royal divinist to see it.”

An unconditional support system. It felt almost unheard of—something you’ve only ever seen in fairytales. You’ve tiptoed around your parents for years in fear that they would treat you differently after you confessed to them that divination in your future wasn’t likely. In fact, they did treat you differently after your confession, which you supposed subconsciously taught you that maybe their care was somewhat conditional.

So to have an adult tell you that they would never retract their care for you… It defied everything you’ve known up until now.

You could feel the emotions swelling in your chest. On the one hand, you were grateful. You’ve always dreamed of having a mentor in your life who truly, absolutely cared for you, and you’ve finally found one. But on the other hand, what about your parents? How was it that an instructor you’ve known for one circa understood you better than your parents ever have? They couldn’t even come to your Consulting! Couldn’t make a thirty-minute slot in their schedules for you. But here you were, hearing from Instructor Shin that you were an excellent student. They would never know of it. Nor did you think they’d care. Or maybe they would. Maybe they were still waiting for you to apologize for that day. A small part of you wished that was true. Because them being angry at you would be infinitely better than them not simply caring. But deep down inside, you knew what was really the case.

Before you knew it, tears streamed down your face.

At first, they were tears of sadness, for you couldn’t help but pity yourself and feel horrible that you continued to push your parents away from your life. But when Instructor Shin took a sheet of paper from the stack in front of her and masked it into a handkerchief, handing it to you with a look of endearment on her face, your tears of sadness turned into tears of joy.

You wanted to achieve great things—not for fame, not for recognition—but for a cause bigger than yourself. Instructor Shin believed in you, so what was really stopping you? You wanted to leave a mark, an impact. Just like the heroes in your fairytales. Every great hero had a mentor who pushed them to be better and inspired them to be resilient. While dabbing your tears away, you vowed that you would work harder than ever before, for now, you had Instructor Shin, who was willing to give you unconditional support. Your dream of one day becoming a hero—of any scale—felt closer than ever before.

Surprisingly enough, Fashion Studies was quite interesting. There were no required readings, no required magic skill set. All you had to bring to the class was a creative mind and a penchant for aesthetics. There, you learned about different fabrics, textures, colors, and the latest fashion trends in Darlae. At first, you and Donghoon couldn’t care much about clothes, but by the end of the second circa at Botswana, the two of you were speaking in common fashion parlance, going on frequent shopping trips in the 8th city and finding the school uniforms to be restricting your artistic freedom.

In your second Consulting at Botswana Agate, your Fashion Studies instructor, Instructor Yang noted that he never met students like you and Donghoon who were so excited to take his measly fashion course. Most students took electives that required “a little more brain-power” as Instructor Yang put it. You thought it was hilarious to hear that Donghoon was at the top of the class for Fashion Studies, which was the complete opposite of what he wanted.

“I got a little carried away,” was his excuse when you told him the news. “Hell, I’m gonna need to start slacking for my ultimate plan to work. There’s no way I’m going to let this class be the single piece of evidence my father uses to force me to stay here.”

With Donghoon trying to come up with more and more creative ways of getting expelled (refusing to wear the school uniform, never doing his homework, arriving to exams an entire hour late), your first year at Botswana was never dull.

Your Advanced Alchemy class was the perfect fit for your skill level too. You were being challenged (but not so much that you felt like you were behind), and the older students didn’t really see you as a competition but respected you as one of their peers. They also told you everything you needed to know about Botswana Agate—the good and the bad. But mostly the bad.

“Did you know there are rumors that the curriculum at the academy will change soon?”

“They’re going to make it pro-war, those bastards.”

“Head Instructor Kim is going to run this place to the fucking ground.”

“I heard they’re going to be making courses centered around light magic.”

“That’s bullshit!”

“I mean, you’ve seen how often soldiers have been patrolling the corridors and listening in on our classes, right? They’re totally trying to recruit for the army.”

“Yeah, I heard they’re going to start making showcases mandatory.”

“The next thing you know they’re going to make military enlistment mandatory.”

“I heard it’s like that in Solaria.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, they just knock on your door, drag you out and force you to fight.”

“Where did you hear that from?”

“Well… To be honest, from our soldiers. So it could also be stupid propaganda. I mean, since we’re on a volunteer-based enlistment and our army would do anything to look better than the Solarians. But who knows? Things are changing.”

“I wouldn’t put it past them. If I were them, I’d be embarrassed that the war’s been dragging on for this long. It’s crazy that neither side has agreed to a truce.”

If there was one thing you knew very clearly about Botswana students it was that most of them hated the war. It must be some sort of scholarly instinct. But, of course, there were always outliers.

Joonhee and his band of friends were as pro-army as one could get. They saluted every soldier they passed in the corridors, straightening up their posture and pressing two fingers to their forehead with their other arm glued to their side. You knew Donghoon was joking when he said that Joonhee would one day become the General of the Darlaean Army, but it didn’t really seem like a joke anymore.

“He’s batshit crazy, that one,” Donghoon told you, shaking his head. “He has to be the dumbest genius alive to waste his talents in the army.”

“Do you really think that they’re going to start to make showcases mandatory?” you said, brows furrowing.

“The parents would never approve,” Donghoon said. “Except my father. Even your parents don’t support the war.”

“So who the hell supports it?”

“Unfortunately, just about every other city,” he said with a shrug. “It’s just that scholars don’t believe in violence to solve problems. That and we don’t have that much hatred in our hearts.”

“I don’t get why your father can support the war, then.”

“Honestly, I think he’s after the money. You know, we get paid just to let the soldiers walk around our campus. The army thinks it’s ‘good exposure’ since they’re looking to recruit top talent.”

“Top talent, huh?” You sighed. “Your father must be getting paid one hell of a lot to let them change Botswana’s curriculum.”

“How do you think we bought our new summer home?” Donghoon laughed but soon stopped when you didn’t follow.

“I don’t get it,” you said. “Why would anyone want to go to war? Don’t you die out there?”

“Maybe they like the thrill,” Donghoon said. “I don’t get it either. You should ask Joonhee. He looks like he’s ready to enlist any day now.”

“But we’re only 12!”

“The younger the better,” Donghoon said. “We’re more malleable that way.”

“Malleable…” you repeated.

For someone who claimed they never read, Donghoon had quite the vocabulary. He cursed like a sailor, too, which you’ve unintentionally begun picking up. But besides the influence of linguistics, the more time you spent with Donghoon, the more you became impressed with his character. To you, Donghoon was the protagonist in your fantasy novels—a little bit of an outcast but with a set purpose in life and a passion that never seemed to dull. He may be thought of as goofy by his peers and instructors, but it was all calculated. He was a lot smarter and wiser than people thought. And you liked that he knew so much more than you. You had a lot to learn.

“You know, the soldiers have been looking at the class rankings these days,” Donghoon told you, giving you a meaningful look.

“The rankings?” you said, a frown creasing your forehead.

“Yeah. I’d say expect to be harassed by them very, very soon,” he said.

Sometimes it seemed like everyone except you was a divinist.

Donghoon’s prediction came true in just two days when three soldiers barged into your classroom, swinging the doors open so violently that they banged raucously against the walls. Their jet-black uniforms (even with the silver and purple stitchings) made them look like soot against the pure white interior of the room—like they didn’t belong here. And they didn’t. You could think of at least five other uniform designs that would’ve looked less intimidating, but perhaps intimidation was what they were going for.

The loud noise interrupted Instructor Shin mid-sentence and she glared at the intruders for a split second before continuing her lecture on Darlae’s 12 cities as if nothing had happened at all.

“Ahem.”

Instructor Shin ignored the soldier clearing his throat.

“Ahem.”

At this point, most if not every student had turned their heads toward the three soldiers at the back of the class, wondering if anyone was in trouble. Soldiers often audited classes but they never interrupted or drew attention to themselves. So this was quite new.

“If you could so kindly clear your throat outside so my students could continue with their lesson,” Instructor Shin sighed, looking up to glare at the soldiers. They looked unfazed, however.

“We’d like a word with a few of your students,” the soldier who was having problems with his throat spoke.

“Then it must wait until after class,” Instructor Shin said, swiftly. She pointed at the door with her black pointer. “Please kindly leave.”

“This is an order,” the soldier said, not moving one bit.

“Oh, yes, from who?” Instructor Shin asked, her eyebrows raising as they did when she believed one was lying.

“From Head Instructor Kim.”

Instructor Shin didn’t miss a beat. “I don’t take orders from that individual,” she answered, and before he could retort back, she continued: “You are walking on the territory of scholars, soldier. We do not follow orders from anyone here. We question and we think for ourselves. You may suggest and you may discuss, but you do not order—especially not in my classroom.” She paused, still glaring at the three soldiers. “You may leave now.”

The atmosphere in the room grew tense when they didn’t.

“I’m under the impression that you’re merely suggesting we leave,” the soldier said, crossing his arms over his chest. “And we are suggesting speaking to some of your students.”

Donghoon gave you a look from right next to you, and you can read what he meant as clear as day. ‘Can you fucking believe the nerve?’

“I will not allow my students to follow you out of my classroom and away from my supervision,” Instructor Shin said. “What you need to say to those students, you will say to everyone in this room.”

“You’re difficult, aren’t you?” the soldier said.

“As are you,” she replied. “Well? Don’t waste our time, now, soldier. Share with the class what was so important that you had to interrupt precious class time for.”

Another soldier stepped up, as if on cue, and pulled out a list from inside her stiff coat. “Lee Joonhee, Kwang Y/N, Choi Jangmi,” she read off in a monotone voice. Your eyes widened when you heard your name. “You have been selected as the top students in this cohort of the General Knowledge course. The Darlaean Army recognizes your excellent academic standing and would like to extend an offer to join our rigorous training program for adolescents. This is a valuable opportunity to strengthen your magic with future leaders of the army and prepare to fight for your nation to defeat our common enemy. Congratulations on your selection and we await your decision to accept.”

You could almost hear the ‘I told you so’ that Donghoon didn’t say but was most definitely thinking.

There was also a deafening and painfully awkward silence that followed after the soldier’s speech. It seemed like everyone was staring at you, Joonhee and Jangmi. The other two were practically bathing in the spotlight, but you suddenly felt the need to duck down and hide from the unwanted stares.

The bigger issue, though, was the fact that the soldiers still hadn’t left the classroom. Did they expect the three of you to decide whether you would accept on the spot? And if so, how would you let them down politely but firmly? It was really no question that you didn’t want this. Why the hell would you want to uproot your perfectly fine life at Botswana to join some training program that would inevitably make a soldier out of you? The last thing you wanted was to become involved in the war. So why were they acting as if this was a wonderful opportunity for you? War was where you went to die. How could you set yourself up for death when you had yet so much to accomplish?

“I accept!” Joonhee announced, interrupting your thoughts. “I happily accept, sir.” He saluted dutifully. “Thank you!”

You and Jangmi glanced at each other.

“I’d like some more time to decide,” Jangmi finally said.

You could feel your heart beating in your head. Now all eyes were on you, awaiting your answer, and you hated it. You didn’t owe the army anything, so why was it so damn hard to say no? You could also use Jangmi’s answer to stall for some time, but that would mean they’d hunt you down later to get a definitive response. Should you keep your rejection short and simple? Or did you need to explain yourself to keep them from getting offended? But then again, why would you care that they’ll be offended? They were clearly not-so-great people, disrespecting Instructor Shin in front of her own students! Yes, you should simply reject them. They’re used to curt replies, you assumed, taking orders from right and left, so it couldn’t hurt them if you declined their offer.

With a deep breath, you collected the strength to finally give your response. But it came out as a loud, flat, echoing, “NO.”

The sound of your own voice startled you; it also seemed to startle many others as your classmates stared at you in what you thought looked like disbelief. But it made sense. You usually never spoke so curtly, and you surely never had a reason to raise your voice. You were immediately scrambling to explain yourself. “I-I mean, no thank you… sir. I mean, sirs. I-I would… I would like to focus on my studies.”

“Very well,” the throat-clearing prone soldier said. He didn’t sound disappointed, though he did still look mildly annoyed from the encounter he just had with Instructor Shin. He and the two other soldiers saluted to no one in particular, and they finally exited the classroom.

When the heavy white doors slammed shut, loud chatter uptook the room. You and Donghoon watched as everyone else began to swarm around Joonhee.

“Why did you accept so quickly?”

“Are you going to drop out of Botswana?”

“Do your parents know?”

“Your parents are going to kill you!”

“Quiet!” Instructor Shin yelled in a voice so loud it echoed in the commodious room. Silence. Everybody scrambled back into their seats. Instructor Shin sighed as she gripped the edges of the marble podium. “I apologize for the distraction and for my harsh behavior. As you may already be aware, things are shifting here at Botswana Agate Academy. The army is looking to expand, and they would like to join hands with Darlae’s brightest. You will learn more about the war once some new courses are approved. I’m afraid it won’t be anything like Darlaean History, for those of you who enjoy that course. Things are changing, indeed…” She sighed again, shaking her head. “But for now, we will continue our lesson, students. And Joonhee? I’d like to see you after class.”

Everyone ooh-ed.

Donghoon rolled his eyes but you frowned.

“What do you think she held him back for?” you asked Donghoon as the two of you walked out of Instructor Shin’s class.

“Probably to warn him about the army,” Donghoon said, shrugging. “Let him go for all I care. He’ll become General one day.”

“Do you think Jangmi’s going to end up declining the offer?”

“Maybe,” Donghoon said. “I’m not sure. Her parents are scholars like yours, though, so they’ll probably never let her go.” He turned to you with a smile on your face. “But good for you for yelling their rejection to their faces.”

“I didn’t mean to yell!”

“Well, you did, Y/N,” Donghoon laughed. “They’re delusional if they think you’d ever join their stupid little fistfight club.”

“I just think it’s crazy they singled us out,” you said. “It must be some sort of strategy. You know, to make us feel special and accept their offer. They made it sound so grand, too.”

“It’s all bullshit,” Donghoon snorted. “Let’s hope they don’t follow you around, though. I’ve heard they’ve been doing that to a few upperclassmen.”

Donghoon’s hopes, unfortunately, didn’t come true. By the time you were back home from the academy for winter recess, your parents had a stack of letters from the army waiting for you in your bedroom.

“Honey?” Ma asked, a crease on her forehead. “Have you been getting involved with the army?”

“No,” you said, sighing as you threw the letters in the trash. “I’m just on their radar.”

“Their radar?” Mother said, crossing her arms over her chest. “It’s that pathetic Head Instructor of yours. Money-hungry pig.”

“Eunbi…” Ma said gently.

“It needs to be said,” Mother replied curtly.

“I’ve just been… Well, I know you haven’t been able to be there for my past Consultings, but I’ve been doing well at the academy,” you said, though admitting it feels a little strange. “I received an invitation to join their rigorous training program for adolescents. But don’t worry!” you quickly added after seeing your parents’ faces. “I declined.”

“They don’t take rejection well, it seems,” Mother snorted. “A couple of soldiers have been showing up at our doorstep and asking for you.”

“They have?” you asked in shock.

Ma nodded. “But once we move, we should be left alone for a while. ”

“Not unless they’re so desperate they find our new address,” Mother said, shaking her head.

“Move?” you asked, eyes widening. “Why are we moving?”

You’ve lived in this home for as long as you can remember. How could you let go of the cozy living room with its infinite number of reading nooks? The tall windows, the emerald green carpet, and the security of your room—you didn’t want to leave it.

You caught Ma giving Mother a worried look, and Mother cleared her throat. “Well…” She sighed. “Y/N, as divinist scholars, Sura and I make sacrifices to continue our research. You know that, don’t you? Recently… we have realized that our finances have been…” She searched for a word. “Bare.”

“Bare?” you repeated. Are we poor? you wanted to ask.

Ma answered anyway. “We’re not poor yet, sweetheart. We’re just a little in the rough, that’s all.”

“Sura and I have got it under control,” Mother said. “We’ll sell this home and move into a smaller one.”

“Nothing to worry about,” Ma said with a smile. It looked strained.

Your heart sank.

It was something to worry about. Your parents had been researching their entire lives, but they had never been close to bankruptcy. It dawned on you rather quickly that the only reason they were struggling now was you. You and Botswana Agate Academy.

“I can drop out,” you offered. As soon as the words left your mouth, you regretted it. What if your parents agreed? What if they did pull you out of Botswana? The palace-like architecture, the beautiful classrooms, dining hall, dorms… The endless knowledge in the grand libraries… Hell, it was like a second home to you. Your very own fairytale. Donghoon would also be absolutely livid that you were able to leave before him. And what about Instructor Shin? Your unconditional supporter? She would be so disappointed.

“That’s not an option, Y/N,” Mother said, to your surprise. “You will finish your education—whether it’s in divination or not.”

“Yes,” Ma agreed. “We couldn’t ask you to make sacrifices, honey.”

You didn’t argue against that—you didn’t want to.

But it still hurt a few circas later when your parents greeted you at the new doorstep of a significantly smaller home. The roof was battered, the walls a little tattered. There were no more bookshelves, so the books stacked up like pillars supporting the low ceiling. It was a one-room home, with no more reading nooks, no more windows and barely any natural light. The emerald green carpet where you’d taught yourself color-shifting was nowhere to be found—sent off to the 8th city to be sold for extra notes.

Your parents acted as if nothing had changed, however. And by that, you meant they were still a little distant, their noses buried deep in their books. It was almost as if they didn’t notice the change in the surroundings. But it was evident that they had lost weight. And it was hard to watch them hunch over and squint to read the small text in their manuscripts in the dim windowlessness of your new home.

If you were more adept in alchemy, you would’ve helped them remodel the home, but permanent shifts to larger items were something that even the best alchemists struggled with. It was also around this time when you realized that even after the argument you had with your parents earlier this year, they really, truly loved you. They wouldn’t be starving themselves, living in a small shack with no lights and bedrooms if they didn’t care. It pained you inside to think that you ever doubted them. How could you ever think that Instructor Shin was your only unconditional support when your parents had splurged the entirety of their finances on you? The guilt ate at you alive, and momentarily, your performance in the academy dropped as you processed your revelation.

“Something is bothering you,” Instructor Shin said, pulling you aside after the Advanced Alchemy lecture. Her face was stoic, yet her tone was gentle. “Are the soldiers harassing you?”

You shook your head. The soldiers have already moved on from you and Jangmi, having found older and more talented students to prey on.

“You haven’t been paying attention,” Instructor Shin said, but it was without disappointment—as if she was merely stating a fact and delicately probing you to answer why.

“I’m sorry, Instructor Shin,” you said, looking at your shoes.

Instructor Shin gave you a look that you could not discern. “Final examinations are approaching,” she said. “Try your best.”

You nodded, though you were unsure how you were going to concentrate on your studies in the lavish libraries of Botswana Agate when you knew your parents were at home skipping meals to fund your schooling. When you made it out of the classroom, the grand doors shutting behind you, Donghoon was immediately by your side. He must’ve been waiting for you.

“What was that about?” he naturally asked. “Did she tell you off because your rank dropped twenty places?”

You shook your head. “It wasn’t really a telling off…”

Donghoon raised his eyebrows. “Really? Not even a little scolding?”

“No… She seemed worried.”

“Well, did you give her something to worry about?”

How could Donghoon, the son of the rich Head Instructor of Botswana Agate Academy, understand the financial struggles of a meager divinist scholar family? And besides, if you told him that you were poor, he might try to help, and you would never want to burden him in that manner.

So you shook your head again, forcing yourself to smile. “I think you’re rubbing off on me, Donghoon.”

He snorted in laughter. “Thanks,” he replied, though he didn’t look like he fully believed your lie. “I’m on a mission to become the worst student ever admitted to this damn academy.”

Then three days later, two weeks before final examinations, Donghoon managed to drop out.

Well, dropping out wouldn’t be quite the right words; he was expelled. It took Donghoon almost one entire school year to realize his horrible marks weren’t enough of an excuse to convince his father to allow him to quit the academy. So he simply took another route and threatened to obliterate the most important artifact in all of Botswana: past Head Instructor Jeon’s alchemy miracle, the wine glass created from nothing. Donghoon was just seconds away from smashing the glass in front of everyone in the dining hall when his father ran in, completely red and breathless and expelled him on the spot. Donghoon left swiftly, having already packed his bags a week prior. It stung just a little that he didn’t really say goodbye, but maybe that was a good thing. You didn’t think you could’ve handled any more sadness.

Losing a friend took a toll on you, and that, stacked with worrying about your parents, stressed you so much that you missed an entire week of classes. It was only two days before your first final exam when you realized that moping around pitying yourself was something that the hero of your fairytales would never do. How pathetic! What happened to the girl who wanted to make an impact? The little girl who one day wanted to be a hero? Why was she crying over a friend who was now much happier? Why had she stopped studying when her parents sacrificed so much to put her in this academy?

You realized then and there that doing your utmost best in Botswana would be one of the biggest ways in which you could repay your parents—at least attempt to, for you could never truly repay what they’ve sacrificed for you. And so, in less than 48 hours, you crammed circa’s worth of information into your brain and practiced your alchemy skills until no end, forgoing sleep to do so. You managed to do decently on your exams, though not as amazing as you would’ve done had you never gone through a slump, but the recovery made you proud of yourself.

And as if there had been no hiccups at all, life ambled on.

Your third year at Botswana was much busier than the last two. You were juggling more difficult classes, along with two part-time tutoring jobs and another one as Instructor Shin’s Intro to Alchemy teaching assistant. The pay wasn’t outstanding for any of your odd jobs, but it allowed you to alleviate a bit of the financial burden off of your parents’ shoulders. You still managed to find the time to visit Donghoon occasionally, too. He had set up a nice little tea shop in the 8th city and loved to serve you his newest loose-leaf creations. Sometimes, he’d make his assistant watch over his shop and take you shopping around the 8th city—the two of you had never lost your penchant for clothes since Fashion Studies. You rarely bought anything, though you one day dreamed of owning closets filled with an assortment of fancy gowns and elegant petticoats.

You didn’t quite need to purchase clothes, either. You owned two pairs of the academy’s uniform, which was sufficient enough. And fabric was cheap in the 8th city’s mini-markets, so you purchased those in increments and shifted them into your desired designs. The shifts for larger pieces of clothing were only temporary, considering the expanse of the fabric and the complexity of the design, but after some trial and error (and an embarrassing number of sleepless nights), you were able to permanently shift scarves and gloves for your parents just in time for the winter.

Little by little, your alchemy skills grew.

Color-shifting and size-shifting were now considered elementary in your more advanced courses, and it was now expected of you to be able to shift the colors and patterns of items permanently. Examinations often tested the longevity of your color-shifts, which was at times nerve-wracking because it took days of waiting to see whether your charms worked the way you intended them to. Size-shifting from small to large items, and vice versa, was still a difficult task, and it was tested less often as even more experienced alchemists struggled with turning a pencil into the size of a bed. And masking was not tested at all, for it was out of the scope of what Botswana Agate could teach its young students. But that never stopped you from attempting to master it; you would inevitably learn it in Aven Quartz, anyway—hopefully, you’d have the finances for it.

So you began small, masking quill pens into tulips, masking goblets into bowls. The masking never quite lasted, but the fact that it worked in the first place was a miracle. You sought extra guidance from Instructor Shin, who was more than delighted to help. And by the middle of your third year, you were comfortably able to mask smaller items for an hour (or two if you were lucky). It wasn’t good enough for you, but it was good enough for your instructors, who informed you of your high rankings time and time again during your Consultings.

What always fueled you to push yourself further was the memory of your mothers when you first visited your new home two years ago. Their thin faces, the cramped single room, the missing furniture, the low ceiling, their backs hunched over, them huddling over dim candlelight to read their books… You were determined to get them out of the situation that you had caused them. It felt like it was your duty—a noble thing to do as their only child. And it would require you to be quite an accomplished individual.

Your alchemy skills weren’t the only thing going through rapid changes in your life. There was also Botswana Agate, though you weren’t too sure if these changes were for the better. Head Instructor Kim approved several new courses, if you could even call them that. No true knowledge was being dispensed in those mandatory classes—only military propaganda. A new academy uniform made its debut as well, looking suspiciously similar to the dark attire of the Darlaean soldier uniform: jet-black with silver and purple stitchings and a belt that cinched in the waist. It became difficult to differentiate between student and soldier, and now everyone looked like soot against the pristine, white walls of Botswana Agate. The changes were only slightly irritating, especially when you happened to run into Joonhee in one of those indistinguishable uniforms and you were unsure whether he dropped out of the rigorous training program for adolescents or if he became one of those annoying soldiers patrolling the halls of the academy.

“Hey! Y/N!” he said, a little too amiably for someone who was never too kind to you before. “Hey!” he said again, jogging over to catch up to you. “I haven’t seen you in a while.”

You wondered why he was greeting you so warmly. But upon closer look, you realized that he was, indeed, wearing the Darlaean soldier uniform and was probably looking to recruit you for the damn training program once again. You could come up with an excuse and run away or pretend you didn’t even hear him, but that felt a little mean. What if he genuinely wanted to catch up? Maybe he volunteered to be here because he missed Botswana and his friends. But you were never his friend, so why was he seeking you out? Nevertheless, you could never be so rude as to turn a person away.

“Hi, Joonhee!” you said with a smile. Upon closer look, Joonhee seemed a lot older now, although it had only been two years. He was taller, obviously, nearly towering over you in stature, and he had his hair slicked completely back, which accentuated his high cheekbones. He’d lost the chubbiness in his cheeks and had a heavier look in his eyes. But perhaps that was due to the dark circles. You wondered if he spent many sleepless nights in the army. You would imagine so, with all that death and treachery around you, how could you go to bed? “Um, how’s the program going?”

“Really well,” Joonhee answered, shoving his hands in his uniform pockets. “I volunteered to station here for a circa or two just to say hi to everyone before your commencement next year. I’ll be busier then, so might as well visit now. Plus, they don’t let us soldiers in at Aven Quartz just yet.”

“Oh, busier, how?” you asked.

“I did well on my last several showcases,” Joonhee explained. “So they’re going to step up my training. I’ll be fighting in the war by the time I’m 16 or 17.”

“Fighting in the war…” You couldn’t comprehend how casually he said it. In just a few years, Joonhee would be risking his life for Darlae, but you simply couldn’t understand why. He was a perfectly fine student with a bright future in academia ahead of him. Why did he choose to leave? It was a question that you would likely never know the answer to—you simply weren’t close enough to him to ask, and you didn’t see yourself growing closer to him anytime soon.

Joonhee nodded with a solemn look of duty on his face. “Fighting in the war,” he repeated. “Hey, listen. I’ve been trying to find Donghoon around here. You’re still close with him, right?”

Immediately, you tensed up. “Do you… need to tell him something?”

“Yeah. I was going to apologize,” Joonhee said. “I was only 12, and I was a fucking ass to him and a lot of other people. I know better now. Gotta represent my nation and everything.” He said this very proudly, jutting out his chest.

You’re pleasantly surprised. “Oh, that’s really nice of you, Joonhee. I can relay the message to him since he’s not here anymore. He dropped out. Er, I mean, he was sort of expelled.”

“By his own father?” Joonhee raised his eyebrows.

You nodded. “Yeah, it happened two years ago, a bit after you left, actually. A lot’s changed.”

Joonhee agreed. “A lot has…” There was a bit of an awkward silence before he decided to speak again. “Anyways, are you going to the showcase later this circa? I won’t be one of the judges, but I’ll be somewhere in the audience.”

Was this his smooth way of getting you to think about joining the army?

You shook your head. “They’re not mandatory anymore, and I’ve been busy with classes and my part-time jobs…” It was the truth, although it also sounded a bit like an excuse. But around three circas ago, the showcases were briefly made mandatory, until the fourth years refused to attend classes for two circas. Head Instructor Kim had no choice but to reverse the decision. If he hadn’t, you and the rest of the student body would have been forced to sit through nearly four to six hours of showcasing every circa, which meant watching every single Botswana Agate student put on a display of their skills in front of a row of Darlaean soldier judges, only to be given a numerical score. You would much rather get ahead in your classes or help Instructor Shin grade a few more papers in that time.

“Oh, that’s fine,” Joonhee said. “I wasn’t trying to pressure you or anything. But if you ever have time… You know, just check it out. They’re offering money to high-scorers now.”

“Money?” you asked, though a little too eagerly. Embarrassed, you tried to play off your interest in surprise. “I mean, that’s crazy. I didn’t ever think you guys would offer compensation.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty new,” Joonhee said. “It’s a good amount, too. About 50 jungs.”

Your jaw dropped open. “50 jungs???” That’s enough to fund half a year’s worth of tuition! If you scored well on two showcases, that would mean you would be able to attend your fourth year at Botswana without financial worry. If you scored well on three showcases, you would have a profit! The image of your parents hunched over in their dimly lit home, thin and weary, flashed in your mind. 50 jungs would not be enough to buy a new home, but it would be enough to take care of several hearty meals. Possibly a few bookshelves as well.

“Yeah,” Joonhee said. “You should think about it. You were always good at alchemy. I bet if you walked in and showed them some of your masking, they’d be sold.”

You weren’t sure how he found out about your masking practices, which meant somehow, the Darlaean soldiers were still watching you, but it didn’t really feel like it mattered in the grand scheme of things. You now had a shot at winning a generous sum of money, which would solve most, if not all of your problems. And besides, your participation in these showcases was not binding whatsoever. You were never going to enlist, no matter how many showcases you happened to attend.

“Thanks,” you told Joonhee. “I’ll… yeah. I’ll definitely keep that in mind.”

“Tuition at Aven Quartz is more expensive, you know,” Joonhee suddenly said, which made you raise your eyebrows. “And they haven’t allowed showcases there yet; possibly never will. Just something to think about.” Before you could even react to his words, Joonhee saluted you. “I’ll see you around, Y/N. Talk to Donghoon for me, will you?”

He marched away, leaving you slightly conflicted and confused. Just how much did the Darlaean army know about you? You thought you were off their radar, but it seemed that they were quite well-versed with your financial situation, which was strange because you never told anyone about it—not even Donghoon. You weren’t sure if you could trust them, but money was money and you needed it. Your parents would thank you, right? You were only doing it for them.

With the next showcase almost an entire circa away, you had more than enough time to prepare. And you did so in secret, hoping that none of your friends would find out—in fear that they would get the wrong idea. If the Darlaean soldiers knew you were capable of masking, they would naturally want you to showcase it. So you stayed overnight in the academy’s libraries, reading up on the extensive possibilities of masking, which led you down the rabbit hole of alchemy’s origins. Most of it was a reiteration of what you learned in Darlaean History in your first year, but your research enlightened you with some new information as well. The term alchemy used to refer to the transformation of chosen items into gold, which was the reason Darlae became the prosperous nation it was today. Before the war and the blockade, Darlae’s 2nd city was dedicated entirely to alchemists, and they would spend day and night turning things into gold, which would then be sent off to the 1st city to trade with vendors from other nations. Now, the 1st city was a base site for the army, and the 2nd city was where talented alchemists resided to create nasty charms for the war. As Darlae developed, alchemy became a broader type of magic, which encompassed all things transformation, and the true act of alchemy—turning things into gold—grew obsolete as gold became monetarily useless. But true alchemy was a difficult task regardless, as documented in every book you got your hands on, which made you want to achieve it more than ever.

You practiced relentlessly in the privacy of your dorm. When you weren’t studying or working your part-time jobs, you were exploring the works of true alchemy, which was even harder than you knew it would be. There were many failures, and many points where you wanted to give up and showcase something much simpler. But when you reached those low points, you mentally scolded yourself. How could you be so selfish, thinking about giving up and living in such a lavish dorm with your parents having sold their beds and now sleeping on the hardwood floor? You were doing this for them; you only wanted them to live comfortably, as they had done before your rash decision to attend Botswana Agate Academy to escape them. And perhaps this was the impact you were meant to make in the world—to care for your parents when they forgot to care for themselves.

It sounded rather selfless, yet deep down inside, you wondered if saving your parents from their financial burden would finally get them to look your way. If this showcase was going to be a pivotal moment in your complicated relationship with them, you were certainly not going to dawdle. You were going to perform with no regrets.

And so you did.

After nearly a circa’s worth of sleepless nights, of sacrificing a minor bit of study time to practice your showcase, you gave an unforgettable performance. At least, you assumed it was unforgettable. The theatron went completely silent the moment you turned that metal spoon into a golden one, and not a single person in the audience clapped. You stumbled off the stage, your ears ringing and your legs feeling wobbly. It had all happened much too quickly, the judges announcing your name, the shining lights in your face, perspiration dripping from your brow and making your hands all clammy. It was only after you were halfway down the hall from the theatron’s exit that you heard the roar of applause.

It made you nearly trip over the air.

You had done it.

After so many failed repetitions, you had managed true alchemy! Your ears were still ringing, and the world felt as if it was spinning. Your accomplishment didn’t feel believable. Even up on that stage, you remembered, though it was hazy, that you would’ve been simply content with turning that silver spoon into bronze and hope those in the audience had bad eyesight.

You had to tell Instructor Shin! She was always the first person you sought when you reached a new alchemy milestone. But… that didn’t feel too right today. If you told her about your success, she would question why you had been dabbling in true alchemy in the first place (since it was such an obscure practice), and unable to lie, you would tell her you participated in one of the showcases. You could imagine the disappointed look on her face. She would lose her trust in you! Another one of her students lost to the Darlaean army! And oh, if she found out you were convinced to participate because Joonhee recommended it… You might as well never return to your assistant job.

But despite your worries, you still somehow ended up in Instructor Shin’s office, where she offered you a nice glass of iced water mixed with fresh mint leaves.

“A hot day today, isn’t it?” she said.

She must’ve been referring to your hot and sweaty face.

“Y-Yes,” you agreed, though she didn’t know that you had to imagine you were in a hot, pressurized inferno to transform the metal into gold. That, and the fact that you were nervous to talk to her, in fear that she would find out what you had done.

“I’m glad I ran into you in the hallway, Y/N,” Instructor Shin said, sipping on her own chilled glass of water while sitting at the edge of her marble desk. Your heart began to beat faster in your chest. Was she going to ask why she spotted you coming from the direction of the theatron, where the notorious showcases were held? You began to come up with all sorts of excuses in your head, though you knew that your execution would be horrible and you might as well have told the truth from the beginning. But before the worst of your thoughts could consume you, Instructor Shin continued. “I wanted to tell you”—you held your breath—“that I recommend that you apply to Aven Quartz Academy now, one year earlier than normal.” The glass in your hands nearly slipped. “I’ve discussed with your past and current instructors, and we have come to the consensus that Botswana does not have much to offer you anymore, Y/N. I—we— would rather that you move further along in your academic journey than stay here in classes filled with material that is review. I am more than willing to write your recommendation letter.”

Of course you’d love to apply early! That was all you ever wanted—to follow the natural scholar’s pace and study at Aven Quartz. You didn’t need to think much harder. “Oh, thank you!” you exclaimed, unable to contain your excitement. “Instructor Shin, I—”

Tuition at Aven Quartz is more expensive, you know.

You froze momentarily.

And they haven’t allowed showcases there yet; possibly never will.

Oh no.

Just something to think about.

Thanks to Joonhee, it was something to think about, indeed.

If you applied to Aven and were possibly accepted, that would mean your parents would have to pay the impossible tuition, more than double what they currently paid for Botswana. Your parents would have to sell the shack and live on the streets of the 11th city, foraging or begging for food! And there were only two more circas left until the end of your third year, which meant that even assuming you excelled in the rest of the showcases, you would still barely be able to afford half a year’s worth of schooling at Aven Quartz.

If what Joonhee told you was true, and Aven would never have army showcases, you would never be able to help your parents pay for your tuition. Even if you stayed one extra year at Botswana, forgoing Instructor Shin’s offer to apply to Aven early, you still wouldn’t save enough money to comfortably pay for schooling at the sister academy.

“You’re in doubt,” Instructor Shin said, her red lips pressing into a thin line.

You hung your head low. “I… I’m just…” You didn’t know how appropriate it was for you to tell Instructor Shin about your financial situation, especially if she wouldn’t be able to change anything about it.

“Talk to me,” Instructor Shin said. “There must be a reason for your hesitation.”

Of course there was a reason. But you had never been one to divulge others of your private matters.

“Y/N,” Instructor Shin tried again. “I cannot help if you do not tell me what is wrong.”

She did make a fair point. But how could she possibly help? This was between you and your parents! Yet Instructor Shin had helped you along at the academy for nearly three years now. She was practically your mother in Botswana. And what if she could help? What if you were underestimating what she could do?

“My family…” you began, your voice coming out much smaller than expected. You sipped your water, clearing your throat afterward. “My family is tight with money,” you told Instructor Shin. “My parents have been working hard just to pay my tuition here in Botswana, and I… Even I’ve been trying to work odd jobs to help. Aven Quartz is so much more expensive, and Instructor Shin, I… I don’t know what to do.”

For the second time in nearly three years of knowing Instructor Shin, her stoic barriers melted away, and she looked genuinely sorry. “I understand,” she said sympathetically. “Thank you for sharing, Y/N. Though I believe no amount of words and wisdom could convince Head Instructor Kim to lower the tuition at Botswana, I do believe it is a possibility at Aven Quartz. I am in good relations with the head instructor there, so I may pull some strings.” She paused, seemingly thinking of the right thing to say. “It would certainly be a pity for our nation to lose another talented scholar. I’ll do what I can. Meanwhile…” Instructor Shin trailed off, and you could sense that she was heavily debating on whether to say something. Finally, she sighed, tapping her fingers against her desk in deep thought. “But tell me, what do you want to do with your future, Y/N?”

You momentarily panicked. You hadn’t expected her to ask such a broad question! It felt like some sort of test—as if your answer would dictate how much effort she would put into helping you. But then another, possibly worse thought, occurred to you.

What if she knew? What if she knew that you were coming back from a showcase? What if she thought you were considering the army? Was that why she suddenly asked you to apply early to Aven Quartz? Was that why she was willing to go as far as to contact Aven’s Head Instructor to reduce the cost of your tuition? Was that why she was asking what you would like to do with your future?

When you hesitantly looked up at Instructor Shin, her sharp eyes pierced right into yours, and in them, you saw inexplicable omnipotence—as if somehow, she held all the knowledge in the world. For a second, it almost felt as if she was a divinist. But of course she would find out what you’ve done. Her words rang in your ears: it would certainly be a pity for our nation to lose another talented scholar—and her unspoken words as well—to the Darlaean Army. How could you ever think you could hide it from her?

And your future? Nearly three years ago, hell, even as a young child, you had it all figured out. Just like those protagonists in your novels, you were going to make a change, leave a mark somewhere, anywhere. You were supposed to extinguish the flames once the world was doused in them. Only now, that desire to make a change, that desire to be a hero, has manifested in your desire to change your parents’ living situation.

“It’s all right if you do not know,” Instructor Shin said in your silence. “Not many of your age are sure of their futures.”

“But I think I do know,” you said, though it came out as more of a whisper. “I want to make a change.” You were painfully aware of how naïve that sounded, but it was the truth. This was what has motivated you for as long as you can remember.

If Instructor Shin found your future aspiration to be callow, she did not show it. Instead, she nodded. “I will support any direction you decide to take,” she told you. “And I trust that you will make good choices.”

Her words echoed in your head even after you left her office, and they followed you as you slipped under your plush covers in your dorm.

I trust that you will make good choices.

But what if every choice felt like a bad one?

A single day after your showcase, there was a knock on your dorm door. You weren’t exactly expecting anyone, so it was an interesting surprise to see two students—no, two Darlaean soldiers—standing before you.

“Hello,” you said, unsure of what to expect.

They saluted in response, which puzzled you even more.

“Kwang Y/N,” the shorter one said while saluting, “you received a near-perfect score at your showcase the other day.”

Your eyes widened. In your own daze at accomplishing what you believed was nearly impossible, you had completely forgotten to stay to hear your score! Were they angry at you for leaving without dismissal? Did they come to scold you and tell you that your showcase was now invalid? “I’m sorry for leaving so abruptly,” you said, but it came out a little desperate. “I-I was nervous and I—”

“No need to apologize,” the taller soldier said, shaking his head. “We would like to let you know that the judges believed your performance was exceptional. And once again, the Darlaean Army would like to extend you an invitation to join our rigorous training program for adolescents.”

Oh.

They weren’t angry at all.

They only wanted to recruit you… Again.

Your mind began drowning in your options.

Either choice felt like a bad one: applying early to Aven Quartz and putting your parents in deeper debt (despite a reduced tuition) versus staying in Botswana to make more profit from the showcases and still putting your parents in debt. Yet, joining the training program was possibly the worst choice out of them all. How could you make the change you wanted to make when you were dead? What could you possibly get—what would anyone possibly get—out of you being in the army? Nobody in your life—except perhaps Joonhee—would approve. The idea itself was so preposterous that you couldn’t even consider it an option!

You’ve rejected the offer before. You could surely do it again, and this time, it would be easier as there would be no crowd of curious peers staring at you.

“I’m sorry,” you said with a shake of your head. It felt good to stand your ground. “Unfortunately, I’m not interested.”

“But—” the taller soldier began, yet he stopped himself. “Very well, then,” he said with a sigh. You were partly surprised at how easily he relented. “But our army has never seen a showcase like yours before. Just wanted to let you know.”

The two soldiers left you in peace, which was what you wanted since you opened your door and saw them. You thought that was a done deal, and you could go on your merry way to figuring out what the hell you were going to do with the two options you had left. But it turned out that you weren’t completely off the Darlaean Army’s radar. Exactly 24 hours after your encounter with the soldiers, there was that same knock on your door.

Were they back to convince you to join? Were they going to threaten to not give you the money from your showcase?

You were slightly nervous but a little irritated too. Why couldn’t they respect your decision? It wasn’t like you—a single 14-year-old—could really make a difference in the entire Darlaean army, so why were they being so persistent? Was it due to ego? Did they believe that no one could possibly resist an invitation to fight for Darlae?

The thought increased your irritation, and you swung your door wide open, ready to somewhat politely give these damn soldiers a piece of your mind. But your plans dissipated when you made eye contact with a serious-looking man outside your door. He was older than any soldier you’ve seen so far and was tall and slender, with a high nose, downturned lips and glinting eyes that seemed to stare into your soul. His army uniform was uniquely adorned with silver shoulder epaulets, and a beautiful round opal decorated his belt buckle. The man exuded a quiet confidence, and that, coupled with the fact that his uniform looked high-ranking, suddenly made your brain turn to mush.

“Hello,” he said, his voice much deeper than what you expected.

You stared.

Then, realizing you were being rude, you squeaked a delayed, “H-Hello.”

“I am Lieutenant General Son,” the man introduced himself. “Pleased to meet you, Y/N.”

You weren’t very familiar with army rankings, but his title contained the word General, which was enough to make you realize you were face-to-face with a very powerful individual. Your palms began to accumulate sweat, and you nervously fiddled with your trinket behind your ear. “N-Nice to meet you too. Sir,” you added in haste. Your eyes glanced behind the man and to the hallway, hoping that none of your peers happened to walk past in fear of rumors spreading that you were beginning to consider joining the Darlaean Army. You weren’t sure if you should invite the man into your dorm; that felt a little strange, for he was a complete stranger. It was also exceedingly peculiar that the Lieutenant General of the Darlaean Army personally sought you out. You decided to keep the conversation where it started, the door frame creating a border between you and the army official.

“I was told you have now twice refused to be a part of our training program for adolescents,” the Lieutenant General said. “Why is that?”

Your eyes widened. “Oh, I-I… Sir, I…” How could you respectfully tell him that you want nothing to do with the army?

“Your parents are divinist scholars as I understand,” the Lieutenant General continued, saving you from responding to his own question. “I suspect you’ve been conditioned to think quite poorly of the army.”

You stuttered, unsure whether to accept or deny his statement.

“And that is fine,” the Lieutenant General said. “I do not care what the scholars think of us. A nation cannot develop properly amidst a war. I’m sure you already know. Darlae may be rich in resources, but our scholars’ research will never see the light of day until the blockade is over and our 1st city is restored.” His eyes pierced into yours. “If you choose the army, Darlae will thrive from your contributions and your accomplishments will be tangible.”

Of course he came here to sell the army to you. That much was expected. What was unexpected, however, was the fact that he brought up quite a good point. It was true that scholars’ research was not the nation’s priority. Your work—if you did become an alchemist scholar—would be buried amongst the hundreds of other research manuscripts until the war was over. But then again, there also wasn’t much longevity in becoming a soldier, and you wanted accomplishments that would last. If you died on the battlefield, the only contribution you’d make would be becoming fertilizer for the soil. It was an overwhelmingly dark thought—that Donghoon would often joke about—but there was truth in it. You’d rather die knowing your work could be uncovered someday, instead of being a casualty count in a textbook decades later.

The Lieutenant General nodded in your silence. “I will save my compliments and further persuasion. I’m sure you’ve heard enough. Allow yourself time to ponder. I want an answer in three days.”

With that, he handed you a crisp envelope from inside his uniform jacket, and before you could ask what it was, he turned and walked away. You stared at the back of his head, processing the encounter in your mind. It didn’t seem like he was trying too hard to convince you to join the army—if that was his plan. He had left relatively quickly too. But perhaps he was busy. If he had given you the opportunity, you would’ve refused him on the spot. Now you had three days to come up with a kind way to reject the offer.

Sighing, you closed the door, sliding up against it and staring at the thin envelope in your hands. It was shut with a dark violet wax seal with the royal emblem stamped on it. It was no secret that the army was heavily funded by the royal family, but you never thought they’d make it so obvious. Carefully, you tore the seal open, half-expecting to see the money you won from the showcase. But instead, you found a single sheet of creamy paper and on it were a few words handwritten in black ink. You frowned. What had to be written that could not be said out loud?

Y/N,

A payment of five thousand jungs and ownership of a new home in the 12th city will be contingent upon your agreement to continue with the program. Consider it wisely.

Lieutenant General.

Your jaw dropped open.

Five thousand jungs was more than enough to buy a new home from your parents. But they were offering a new home for you regardless! And in the 12th city! This was everything your parents had ever wanted. One could only be invited to live in the 12th city, and this was the invitation! Your parents could officially become royal divinists. Their lifelong dream would come true!

But… at what expense? This was obviously a bribe, which you were unaware that the Darlaean Army was capable of doing, for you’ve never heard of a story like this. Perhaps they were better at hiding things than you thought. Still, you didn’t understand. You’ve rejected them twice before. Why would they come back to you a third time? Was your showcase truly that remarkable? You would be but one single soldier! They probably sacrificed hundreds of soldiers per week, so why did it matter that you joined their training program? Wouldn’t you simply be a casualty to them sooner or later? A number reported to the higher-ups?

Accepting the offer would mean doing away with all of your parents’ problems. It would also mean creating new problems for yourself. You would have to give up becoming an alchemist scholar. You’d have to give up Aven Quartz. Hell, you could kiss your friends goodbye; no sane Botswana student would accept the fact that you’d seriously consider joining the army. And though Instructor Shin told you that she would trust any decision you were to make, she would still be disappointed.

You were in desperate need of brutal wisdom, to help you snap out of delusion—if you were in it—and there was only one person who you knew you could count on.

“Y/N!” Donghoon greeted you as soon as you stepped into his tea shop. He rolled down his sleeves and jogged toward you with a grin on his face. “Fancy seeing you here! It’s been an entire circa!”

He was right. The last time you saw Donghoon, it had been to tell him Joonhee’s message, and he had simply shrugged it off, saying he never cared too much about Joonhee anyway.

“Hey!” you smiled, though it was a little hard to with so much on your mind. “Is this a good time?”

“Did something happen?” Donghoon asked, raising his eyebrows. He knew you too well.

“Um… kind of,” you replied.

“Let’s hear it, then,” Donghoon said. He pulled up an extra wooden stool to the coffee table and sat down, gesturing you to do the same across from him. So you did, unsure of how you should start your story at all. “Whatever it is, it’s giving you frown lines,” Donghoon snorted. “Spit it out. You know I won’t judge.”

Somehow, you felt like he would.

“It’s about the army,” you said.

Donghoon sighed. “Those bastards are still harassing you? Here, I’ll help you come up with effective ways to make them regret ever messing with y—”

“N-No,” you said, shaking your head. “It’s… Well, you know about the training program, right? The one they wanted me to join back since you were still in school.”

“Yeah…” Donghoon said, cocking his head. You could tell he was unsure where you were going with this. It made you want to tread lighter than before.

“Um… I…”

“You’re not actually thinking of doing it, are you?” Donghoon accused. His tone was sharp, and you were immediately struggling to defend yourself.

“N-No! I’m… But I’m just… I don’t know, I feel like I should consider the option at least.”

“Why?!”

You struggled to remain calm. “They’re offering me a lot of money. And a home in the 12th city.”

“All for you?” Donghoon frowned. “They told you that they’ll give you all that if you join?”

You nodded, pulling out the letter for proof.

Donghoon glanced at the words on the cream paper and shook his head. “You can’t do it, Y/N. You can’t become one of those bastards. Your life will be filled with blood and gore and death! Do you really want someone else’s guts on your hands?”

Even the thought made you want to hurl. “Of course I don’t! But…”

“This can’t possibly be about your parents, Y/N. They’re shit people!”

“They’re not!” You didn’t mean to yell, but it hurt to think that someone who had such a horrible father still believed your parents were just as bad. “They’re just busy!”

“That excuse works from time to time. Not every year since you were born!” Donghoon exclaimed. “They’re trying to bribe you, Y/N. Don’t you get it? You’re probably the most talented scholar they’ve ever seen. Why else would the fucking Lieutenant General come to see you himself? But you can’t bargain with your own life to make your parents happy! Let’s face it, Y/N, what have they done to deserve it?”

Anger flashed through you. “They’ve been living in a shack for two years to pay for my tuition!” You took a deep breath, trying to calm yourself. “I’m sorry for yelling, but they care more than they let on, Donghoon.”

“So you’re just going to waste your talents in the army so you can repay your parents?”

“I’ll never be able to repay them. I was off frolicking in the fancy halls of Botswana while they were starving and sleeping on hardwood floors, Donghoon.”

“I don’t get it.” He shook his head. “You could’ve asked me for help. I can still give you the money you need.”

“You know I hate being a burden.”

He sighed. “I know… But don’t do it. You’ll figure out a way. Do you want to work part-time at my tea shop? The pay’ll be amazing.”

“Donghoon, I just need advice. Is it really such a bad idea? Maybe… I don’t know, maybe I’ll be able to make an actual change if I’m in the army. Even if I did become an alchemist scholar one day, my work would probably be buried because of the war.” You didn’t know why you were starting to defend the idea of joining the army. It felt wrong, especially to do in front of Donghoon.

“Of course it’s a bad idea,” he said as expected. “It’s a fucking horrible idea, that’s what it is. They’re going to turn you into a killing machine. They’re going to make sure violence is ingrained in your body. You won’t ever be the same again. They’ll have you become their puppet! You’ll fall for their propaganda! They’ll have you thinking that the Solarians are the scum of the earth!”

“But is that true?” you asked.

“Why the hell are you asking if it’s true, Y/N?” Donghoon said, exasperated. “How can you question common sense? Have you actually fallen for their propaganda already? How long have you been considering joining their training program?”

It hurt that he was accusing you of these things, and the pain caused you to react before you could think. “You don’t understand how it feels to not have money! You don’t understand how humiliating it is to even think about asking others for help. You don’t even understand the stress I’ve gone through just to keep myself in school. You wouldn’t get it at all because you’re fucking rich and you dropped out!” As soon as those words left your mouth, you regretted it. “Donghoon, wait. I didn’t mean—”

“Go fucking join the army, then.”

“W-What?”

“If money is more important to you, then go throw away your dignity. I don’t care. Go be like Joonhee and waste your talent.”

“Donghoon…”

“Maybe you’ll become the General of the fucking Army one day.”

“It’s not money that’s more important… This is about my parents.”

“You don’t owe them anything.”

“How can I not owe them anything?” you said. “Look, Donghoon, I’m not saying I’m going to join the army. I just… It’s a lot of money. That plus the new home in the 12th city… And I’ll be learning alchemy during that training program, but I’m being paid to do it! You have to understand that logically, all signs point to me at least contemplating the offer.”

Donghoon shook his head. “It already sounds like you know what you want to decide.”

“No, I—”

He abruptly stood up, cutting you off. “I would never even consider accepting an offer like this. But maybe it’s meant to be. You’ve always liked carrying your trinket around.” He glanced at the baby blue feather pinned to your hair. “If you’re going to be directly involved in the perpetual circle of violence between the two nations, then we should go our separate ways.”

Your heart sank. “Donghoon…”

“I don’t serve soldiers in my tea shop,” he said. “You can leave.”

Tears began to well up in your eyes. “I never said I was going to do it…”

He gave you a look that questioned your words.

You shakily stood up, lingering at the coffee table, unsure if you should really leave. If you went now, you would most likely never come back again. Donghoon has never tolerated anything involving the war; as soon as you even so much considered the idea, he’d already pulled away. But Donghoon seemed content with breaking up your friendship as he had already rolled up his sleeves and had begun working behind the counter again. It was as if the two of you hadn’t had a conversation at all.

Confused and hurt, you slowly stepped out of the tea shop, vision a little blurry from your tears. The more you thought about your lost relationship with Donghoon, the faster you began to walk, hoping to leave the sadness behind you. Before you knew it, you were running, though you could barely see ahead of you. Your quill trinket threatened to fall out of your hair, so you ripped it out and held it in your hands, not caring in the slightest that you were wrinkling the feather.

A sob left your mouth as you sprinted across Botswana’s empty corridors. Maybe you shouldn’t have yelled at him. Maybe you should’ve thought before reacting. Maybe you should go back and apologize. But your legs refused to stop, and you continued to run—though you didn’t know where—until you ran into somebody, nearly losing your grip on your trinket. If they hadn’t grabbed your arm with impressive reflexes, you would’ve tumbled back. When you looked up, hastily wiping your tears away with your uniform sleeve, you saw Joonhee.

He frowned, letting your arm go once you regained your balance. You were too out of breath to apologize. “Are you okay?” he asked.

All you could do was shake your head.

He didn’t ask any more questions. Instead, he offered you some water and a handkerchief, which you gladly accepted. By the time you finally calmed down, you and he were sitting at the edge of Botswana Agate’s marble fountain—the same one that was trashed in protest when Head Instructor Kim announced the curriculum changes (that were really just army propaganda). Your trinket, though a little wrinkled and now its original shade of ugly gray, was safely pinned back behind your ear again. Joonhee sat silently, waiting for you to speak, though he most likely had hundreds of other tasks to attend to. Starting to feel a little guilty that he was wasting his time in silence with you, you blurted out a question that happened to cross your mind at the moment.

“Why do you want to fight in the war?”

Joonhee turned to you, eyebrows raised. “That’s a loaded question. Have you got the time?”

You nodded. “Three days, in fact.”

He looked confused, but he didn’t question it. “I mean, I hate the Solarians, so naturally, I’d want to… you know, do away with them, I guess. But it’s a lot more than that, too. As a soldier-in-training, I get to represent Darlae. I get to fight for our beliefs and our pride, and I would die trying. You know, besides the 10th and 11th cities, people are actually proud to be Darlaeans. I think it’s because they don’t have their damn noses stuck in books all the time. They live in reality. They right the wrongs and take action when needed. That’s how I see it. I’d rather be out there fighting for my nation than fester in research that’ll be forgotten about when I’m dead.”

Death… You felt too young to be contemplating it. Sometimes it didn’t even feel real that you could simply cease to exist. The thought was terrifying, and you didn’t know how Joonhee was so content with it.

“But won’t you be forgotten about if you die on the battlefield?”

Joonhee thought for a moment. “Have you ever read The Wisdom Tree?”

Though you were confused why he offered such a topic change, you nodded. “I think I read it once when I was young, but it was a little too dark for me.”

“Well, I grew up with that story,” Joonhee explained. “The main character sacrifices his life for someone he loves, yet he is never forgotten. His lover makes sure his name is never lost in history. Plants a sentient tree in his honor, and the townspeople forever seek advice from that tree when faced with difficult decisions. Hence, the title. But yeah. I trust my comrades to carry on my legacy if I die, and they trust me to do the same. You can die and still be a hero,” he said. “I’m willing to put my life on the line for a chance at a warless Darlae. Shouldn’t that be our priority? Ending the war?

“You know, when the blockade’s over, I want to explore the world. See what else is out there. Think of all of the books of different cultures and languages that I would find. I could go back to learning. Real learning. Not being cooped up and being fed outdated information because the nation doesn’t have enough funding for the academies. Who knows? Maybe one day I’ll even publish a book of my own.” He turned to you, an amused look on his face. “Shocked?”

Of course you were shocked. You always assumed he volunteered for the sake of fighting, though you realized now it had been a horrible misconception. It was hard to believe that Joonhee’s the same age as you (a few circas older, though) when in fact he was starting to sound like the damn Wisdom Tree himself. You wondered if he gained this wisdom in the army.

You can die and still be a hero.

Why did you never consider this? What was this odd comfort that washed over you?

Has the scholar community been wrong all along? Maybe soldiers didn’t crave violence. Maybe they craved to be heroes. And what was so wrong with that? Wasn’t that who you wanted to be?

“People die out there,” Joonhee said. “We all know that. But it’s never a waste. No one dies without purpose. Every soldier who falls on the battlefield brings us one step closer to winning the war.”

“You’re not afraid?” you asked.

“Afraid of dying?” Joonhee shrugged. “Not really. But maybe my sentiments will change when I go to battle in a few years. I’m pretty stubborn, though. I think I’ll survive.” He turned to you with no particular expression on his face. “You’ve got three days, huh?” he said. “I’d say let everything sink in. You’re smart. You’ll make the right decision in the end.”

What do you want to do with your future?

Come to think of it, you’ve never really had a clear dream. It was always about being a good person—someone undeniably altruistic and kind, who helped anyone in need, like the heroes you grew up with. For years you believed that to be a hero, you were required to be present for whatever big change you ignited. To be a hero, you believed that you were guaranteed to survive.

But that didn’t have to be the case.

You can die and still be a hero.

Of course death was still an opaque subject, but this realization gave you another option. If you were really going to make a difference in the world, if you were really to become some sort of hero, you were going to have to make sacrifices: first for your parents, then for the future people of Darlae—for the scholars who dreamed of a real education, for those who wanted to explore the world, for those who wanted a peaceful kingdom. If those sacrifices led to your demise… Well, it didn’t seem like the end of the world anymore. I’m willing to put my life on the line for a chance at a warless Darlae.

What brave words. You wished you could say the same thing with even half of Joonhee’s confidence. The truth was, you were still terrified. The war always felt like it was an untouchable force, something that no matter what you did, would never go away. But things were different now. You could make a difference. Every soldier who falls on the battlefield brings us one step closer to winning the war. Those words stirred something inside of you.

Perhaps it was a sense of responsibility, a sense of duty. A real hero would die trying to fight for what would help their loved ones. A real hero wouldn’t care if their fight ended in death, as long as something was changed. A real hero would be selfless and brave and kind.

Gone was your prejudice against those who volunteered for the army. They were human too, not just violent people who joined for a taste of blood. They were aspiring heroes. Just like you. They wanted to right the wrongs, even if they ended up dead because they trusted their comrades to carry on their lives. It was so valiant, such a grand gesture that it made your heart beat faster thinking about it.

And the more you thought, the clearer your future became.

It was obvious the choice you had to make.

So when the Lieutenant General came knocking on your door three days later, you were prepared. There was not a waver in your voice, not a single doubt when you uttered the words:

“Yes, sir. I accept.”

You didn’t know what to expect as a reaction, but you should’ve known it wouldn’t be very reactive. The Lieutenant General only nodded, his expression unreadable. “Welcome to the Darlaean Army, cadet.” His dark eyes glinted. “You will begin in one week.”

In a singular week?

That didn’t leave much time.

You only hoped your parents wouldn’t be too angry.

“I believe we’ll be reacquainted on the training grounds,” the Lieutenant General said. “When that time comes, cadet, I expect you to salute when you see me.”

You nodded, standing up straight and half-ready to salute him now. “Yes, sir!”

You nervously entered your single-room home in the 11th city. Your parents were sitting in the dark, hunched over their books again, right where you had left them circas ago. You felt a little sick. If they reacted the way Donghoon did, you wouldn’t know what to do with yourself.

“Mother? Ma?”

Your parents turned around, their hollow faces half-obscured by the darkness of the room. Ma was the first to speak. “Welcome back, sweetheart!”

“Did we miss the end of the school year?” Mother asked, setting down her book and blinking heavily as if the light that streamed in when you opened the door blinded her.

“No, I came back on my own accord,” you said. “Actually, I, um…” Already, things weren’t going the way you imagined. You struggled to find the right words. “There was a showcase at Botswana several days ago,” you began carefully.

“Showcases are military propaganda, Y/N,” Mother said, standing up with wobbly legs. Her back never stood straight and she stared at you behind full eyes. “I hope you didn’t participate.”

You gulped. “T-They were offering 50 jungs for the best performance.”

That seemed to put Ma out of her weary trance. “They were? Oh, honey, did you do it?” There was a hopeful lilt to her voice, and you hung onto it, in hopes that they would forgive you for making a choice without their input.

“Of course, Ma. I, well, they liked my performance so much that they um, once again offered me a spot in their training program for adolescents.” The information spills out of you quickly, before your parents can even react: “They’ll be paying us five thousand jungs and have already invited us to live in the 12th city.”

“Five thousand?!—”

“Live in the 12th city?!”

Mother shakes her head. “Y/N, why would they offer you so much?”

Even you were unsure of the exact reason.

There was a bit of silence. It seemed like neither of your parents knew what to say.

Finally, after what seemed like a very long time, Mother spoke. “Is this… Is this what you want, Y/N?”

“Yes, honey, do you really want to become a soldier one day?” Ma chimed in.

They didn’t seem angry or upset, just puzzled.

“I do,” you said. “I really do.”

“Well…?” Ma looked over at Mother, who had harsh frown lines all over her forehead.

“You’ve already accepted, haven’t you?” Mother asked.

You began to play with your trinket in your hair. “I-I did… Are you mad?”

“No,” Mother said. “Only surprised.”

“You’d finally be appointed as royal divinists,” you told your parents, worried that they were still wary of your decision. “And we’d get to move out of this home and into a much nicer one in the 12th!”

“Yes…” Ma said.

Your parents looked at each other, and maybe it was because you weren’t very close to them, but you couldn’t discern what they were wordlessly saying. You weren’t a divinist, after all.

If they suspected that you only accepted the offer for their sake, they didn’t make it obvious. They never even asked what you performed for your showcase. Didn’t even ask why you had such a sudden change of heart. Instead, they rather quickly packed up the little belongings that they had and moved one city over to the castle grounds—as if they couldn’t wait to get out of the 11th city. Soon after, your parents became appointed as royal divinists, their lifelong dream coming true, and you became a young soldier-in-training, your dream of attending Aven Quartz long forgotten.

Everybody at Botswana was surprised when you left. Some even questioned the sanity of your parents, for what kind of scholars would selfishly allow their only child to die in the war so that they could work for the royal family? What kind of pathetic parents would use their children to achieve their dreams?

But your parents never had to hear these talks, and neither did you after a while. Soon, you and your parents settled into your new, magnificent home in the 12th city. The ceiling was unreachable, mahogany bookshelves towering over the other delicately-crafted furniture. Even the emerald green carpet was back, though it wasn’t the same one you grew up with. But the countless windows, reading nooks and candles brought you nostalgia, and you cherished the homely feeling along with your parents, who gained back the weight that they lost and looked much happier than before.

By the time you left for the castle grounds, it felt as if you’d lived in the 12th city all of your life—as if you left behind all of the bitter feelings towards the army in the 11th, where the scholars sat, forever reading their books and doing nothing about anything.

⨰ previous | series m.list | next

⨰ a/n: behold the LONGEST lod chapter yet!! it took me over three months to write and edit :') hopefully you enjoyed this quick look at her early life! don't worry, jungkook will show up soon

please consider telling me your thoughts with a comment, an ask or a reblog :) i love hearing readers' impressions/rambles/predictions! if you want to join the taglist, send in a private message, ask, reply to this post or reblog with your request!

74 notes · View notes

jmdbjk · 11 months

Text

Take Two. My song of the summer.

Let's get it!

[hits pause] Also, JK in his motorcycle pants in the Seventeen tiktok has brought me back to this:

Thinking about JK tooling around Seoul on his motorcycle... my brain:

Back to Take Two... Lesss gooooo!!!!

The opening bars of acoustic guitar conjure a road trip vibe... top down/sunroof open/windows down/wind blowing through my hair freedom to go where ever. Young forever.

Hearing all of their voices blending, harmonizing, and JIMIN! His background vocals, ad libs throughout are sending chills through me all the way to heaven!! AND HIS LOWER REGISTER! We got it all.

And all of them showing up in force does my heart good...

I truly hope this vibe is part of their future music. I think it might because I can see Yoongi playing guitar while the rest sit and sing on these stools... a live performance is coming, I just know it!

God I miss them so much.

#bts festa #bts take two #song of the summer #they will be back #until then apobangpo #can't help looping #i will stream better in a minute just let me loop one more time #jimin's ad libs are like bright sunbeams shining on my heart

41 notes · View notes

blackpink-ocs · 4 days

Text

ლ her favorite people ლ

# BTS

" I swear to God sometimes I feel like I have eight older brothers not two"

She met them through her brother. At first she was really shy everytime she goes to visit him. For the guys, they basically couldn't resist her cuteness and took her in as their little sister. She is the closest to taehyung and Jimin once stated he feels that she is his younger sister of how he is overprotective. She has a love hate relationship with Jungkook he always teases her, like pulling her hair on stage, making fun of her hight, mimicking her and also teases her because she felt jealous of him since she felt he took her older brother from her. But now it is her turn to tease him about something or someone. She is admitted that she had a huge crush on yoongi and said that whoever is his future wife she will be so lucky. Jin and hoseok were the first guys who welcomed her and made her feel at ease and she has a huge respect for namjoon even though she is the least to, but he always gives her good advices and ask about her well being.

# soojin:

" oh my god, don't make me blush, what happened to you"

People didn't expect them to be friends, seeing as soojin is more reserved and more shy than jia. But as they say opposite attract and they built a beautiful friendship. When rumors start circling about soojin being a bully, jia was one of the the few people who believed her, when her company gave up in her and her boyfriend broke up with her. Only jia opened her door to her and didn't leave her alone in her darkest time. She basically helped her stand on her two feet and redebute as a soloist. Besides miwa soojin also knows everything about jia and the same for her.

# sejeong:

" unnie please stop you are giving me second hand embarrassment"

Fans didn't know about these two friendship till they acted in business proposal together and their chemistry on screen was the same behind the scene. It was then that fans discovered that these two knew each other way before filming together. They were invited in various variety shows together. It was always fun seeing their dynamics.

# keeho:

" do you want to know what is my biggest regrets, giving you my number"

Jia met him in one music show, he was lost trying to find his way back to the bathroom. And her being the good sunbae helped him, in their way they got to talk. If she was being honest she founded cute how he was Stuttering in front of her being all shy and what not so she gave him her number if he has any concerns he wants to talk about or if he wants to ask anything she was there. It was her first mistake. Now he calls her in the most random moments to talk about the most random things. When he talks about her in lives he always calls her baby noona to annoy her, the disrespect.

# Dino:

" how old are you ?, we are the same age grandpa"

They met through Jungkook and mingyu, both of them are the maknae of their group, they debuted around the same time. Looks like normal people but they are chaotic. They feel like they know each other since forever, They make fun of their dating rumors " please people we're not dating, you know why? Because jia like certain age category and height" yeah he sold her out, one time dispatch followed them thinking they will catch them in a date for them later to release pictures of jia pulling his hair because he stole one bite of her ice cream and him screaming for help.

# Kim you jung:

" please tell me what the next episode going to be about I can't wait"

They met through T.O.P, he thought that the young actress should have friends from her age group and who is better than the outgoing jia. Their are friends since pre debut. They always support each other projects and go out together for vacations. Skinship is a must between these two. They are each other main chick. Being in the industry since she was a little girl, youjung didn't get to live her childhood properly, so getting to meet jia was like a breath of fresh air.

7 notes · View notes

i-am-baechu · 10 months

Text

Forever (M)

Genre: Space Pirate! Yoongi, Weapon Shifter! Reader, ancient magic, quest time lol, romance, fluff, smut, violence and angst

Summary: The nation of Qepriotan was a doormat nation because of the overruled space pirates and bandits. There was a time when it was thriving but it was all taken away when the Marigold saber went missing. Centuries later, Yoongi’s father thinks he's found the said saber and will use it to become king of Qepriotan. When he requested Yoongi to steal the saber, he was met with something he wasn’t expecting from touching it. A beautiful girl with dark orange eyes stared at him with a blank face.

Warnings: Bad parents, sex (lol), kind of a slow burn, and violence

Authors note: Hey guys! I got fucking sick from the sun. I went to visit my grandma and it was so hot that my body went lol. I would die in the medieval ages. Sorry for the wait!

The nation of Qepriotan was once beautiful. Trees cover every inch with rivers as clear as diamonds flowing through. It was safe and the King, Lee Shin, made sure to keep it like this with the Marigold saber or L/N Y/N. It wasn’t until his son, Cho, started showing signs of anarchy. Shin accepted this because he blamed himself for his son’s attitude. Paying more attention to being a king than being a father and realizing it later when it meant nothing to Cho. In his eyes son, he will always be wrong and there was nothing he could do about it. Fearing the worst, he sent Y/N away to a secret location. Obviously, it wasn’t that secret because this is where our story starts when a space pirate's son touched this mystic weapon and his fate was changed, forever...

“Yoongi! Stop daydreaming and look at the map!” Min Yoongi sighed to himself and looked away from the stars to look at one of the crewmates with a frown. Yoongi was the captain's son which means no one would hurt him but that just meant physically. The crew hated Yoongi and that was because he didn’t do much on the boat. He would always be in his room looking out his window or playing his piano. He barely talked to anyone that included his father, the crew put together that he thought he was better than them.

This wasn’t the case. Yoongi hated his father and everything he did. He thought it was wrong of him to steal from nations or just stealing in general. He watched his father steal from the poor and the rich like he was riding a bike. His father loved Yoongi with all his heart and wanted to give him the life that he never had. The only way he was going to do this was by stealing what he wanted or what he thought Yoongi would like. Yoongi’s mother passed away when he was young so he didn’t really have an opinion on her. He heard from others that she was kind and was a well-educated woman (which was rare for pirate wives). Yoongi’s only real opinion of her was that she was beautiful and he was glad that he looked like her.

Yoongi followed the crewmate to where his father was to look at the map. His father was too busy talking to someone to even notice Yoongi coming into the room and he felt better because of that. He sat at the table and looked at the screen with a bored look. He didn’t understand why he had to look at the map when everyone else could do the same. Looking at the map is boring until it beeps, which is what is happening now.

“Captain! We're on the island!”

Why did he even need me here? His dad turned around and looked at Yoongi with excitement, “Yoon, when did you come in?”

He didn’t answer him because his father walked away to the steering wheel. Yoongi shrugged his shoulders and left the area with annoyance. They were in Qerpiotan and he knew that it was going to be boring. No one lives here anymore and he didn’t really know the story behind it but he also didn’t want to know. He was about to go back to his room when he heard a soft voice. He raised his eyebrow and looked around with a confused look. The soft voice was singing but he couldn’t figure out any of the words. He walked away from his room and down the hall more to see if the answer was there but there was nothing, “What the hell?”

“Yoongi! Your father needs you!”

Yoongi sighed and put his hand up letting the crewmate know he heard him. He heard footsteps walking away but he still heard that soft voice. It was alluring but he thought he was going crazy. He entered the main room and crossed his arms over his chest as his father gave him a wide grin, “I have good news.”

“What?”

“I picked you to take the Marigold saber.”

Yoongi heard the crew around grunt at this but he just raised his eyebrow at his dad, “Why me?”

“I thought you would like this. Marigolds were your mother's favorite flower.”

Yoongi sighed and nodded his head, “Fine...I’ll do it.” He knew what his dad was doing. Whenever he wanted Yoongi to do something, he would throw his mother into it. It was annoying and yes, Yoongi could easily say no but his heart told him to do it.

His father smiled at him and nodded his head, “I can’t wait for you to see the saber. I heard Lee Shin, the king, put magic into the sword.”

Yoongi raised his eyebrow and looked outside at the ruins of Qepriotan, “Magic?”

“It’s just a rumor...Now go son, go get the saber.”

Yoongi nodded his head and saw that everyone was glaring at him in the room. Annoyed that they were mad at him for this, they should be annoyed at his father; It wasn’t his decision. He walked down the hall towards the exit and that soft voice started to come back to his ear. It was beautiful and soft, it made him frozen. He just wanted to know where this voice was coming from. He shook his head and exited the ship onto the glider to go down to the ruins. He started to go down and the voice only got louder, he wondered if everyone could hear it or if was he just going crazy.

He parked the glider next to the rundown castle and he tilted his head at the building. It was ruined but it looked like it was ruined on purpose. He looked back at the ship and then back at the castle, how did his father find this place? He took out his knife and started cutting off the vines that were blocking the door. He kicked the door open and looked around to see pure darkness. The moment he opened the door, the singing got louder. As if he was in the same room with the unknown person. He took out his flashlight and went inside the building.

Out of all the buildings that he was forced to explore, this was different. He couldn’t explain but the aura that this castle was giving made him feel safe. He had no idea how to explain it. He went deeper into the castle and the singing only got louder so he followed the voice. Forgetting the saber altogether, the singing was clouding his mind and he wanted to figure this out.

He opened another door and some vines hit his head but he ignored it. He walked into another room and saw there was light coming through the cobblestone roof onto something on the floor. The singing stopped and he looked around to see if the singing would come back but alas it didn’t. He walked towards the light and saw the saber staring at him. He tilted his head at the saber and gently touched the gold metal but when he touched it, the singing came back and a bright light blinded him. He looked away from the light and when he looked back, his eyes widened. There was a girl with dark orange eyes staring back at him with a blank expression. She was dressed in a simple light blue dress that stopped at her thighs but the dress was clearly from a different century.

She blinked her eyes and tilted her head at him as he did the same. She gently placed her hand on his cheek and a small smile appeared on his lips, “H-Hello...”

Yoongi sat there in shock and swallowed some spit, “Hey...are you the Marigold saber?”

“Y-Yes.” He nodded his head and looked down at her hand on his cheek. He felt his body get hotter when she leaned forward with her blank face, “Are you okay?”

“Don’t worry about me. Are you okay?”

She put her hand down and looked around with a confused face, “What happened? Where's Shin?”

Yoongi's eyes widened at this and gave her a confused look, “King Shin? He’s been gone...it’s been centuries since he's been alive...”

Her face turned into shock and she looked away from Yoongi to look at the plants around them, “H-He’s gone?”

“I’m sorry....”

“It was...it was only a matter of time. I wished he never hid me away, I just wanted to say goodbye.”

Yoongi felt sad for the girl but he was awkward. He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do, he never comforted anyone in his life. Especially a girl, “Do you have a name?”

“Yes, I do. L/N Y/N. What’s your name?”

“I’m Min Yoongi. Can you stand up?”

She raised her eyebrow and nodded her head slowly, “I’m sure I can.”

He stood up and rubbed the back of his neck in a nervous manner, “What the hell am I going to tell Dad?”

Y/N slowly got up but her legs were shaking and she finally gave in. She fell back on her bottom and looked up at Yoongi with an embarrassed look, “I’m sorry for asking but can you help me?”

Yoongi glanced down at her and nodded his head, “Yeah.” He put his hand out and she gently placed her hand into his larger one. Their eyes locked onto each other and Yoongi saw her eyes flash towards him. Her hand fit right in his hand but he thought nothing of it, he was just helping a girl up. He brought her up slowly and she fell into his chest. She looked up at him with big eyes and gave him a small smile, “I’m sorry...I guess it’s been a while since I used my legs.”

“Centuries to be exact.”

She rolled her eyes and let out a small laugh, “Don’t remind me. Did you hear my singing?”

He looked down at her and nodded his head, “That’s how I found you, why?”

“That means you're my next wielder.”

“W-What!?”

She moved away but intertwined their fingers together with a small smile, “Those who hear singing from weapons are the next wielder...do they not teach you this?”

Yoongi glanced down at their hands and then back at her with a confused look, “There is no wielder or whatever...I have never heard of that before.”

“Pity...Well, there is now.”

“How do you change into a sword?”

She smiled at this and leaned towards his face as Yoongi watched her with wide eyes, “Each wielder is different. With Shin, he would use a mind link with me but with you it's different. It’s a physical touch.”

“You’ve been holding my hand this whole time and nothing. I think you're just making this up.”

She closed her eyes and shook her head. She stood on her tippy toes and placed her forehead on his, “Close your eyes.”

He rolled his eyes but he did what she told him to do. As soon as he closed his eyes, the touch on his forehead disappeared and a new weight appeared in his hands. He opened his eyes and saw the saber staring right back at him, “What the hell?”

“I told you it was different. Now to change me back, touch the orange crystal.”

“What the fuck is going on today?” He gently touched the crystal and with flashing lights, Y/N was in front of him again. She gave him a small smirk as he looked at her with a blank expression (it was a lot to take in), “See I told you.”

He sighed and rubbed his forehead roughly. His watch started beeping and cursed under his breath. He pushed a button on the watch and brought it up to his mouth, “What?”

“Are you having trouble, son?”

This isn’t what I need right now. “I’m fine. I’ll be up there in a few minutes.”

“Okay, son.”

He glanced at Y/N as she watched with her head tilted, “What’s that?”

“A watch. I need you to turn back into the sword.”

“Okay, where are we going?”

Yoongi let out a fake laugh and shook his head, “Home, I guess.”

The ship erupted in cheers when Yoongi entered the main room. He gave an awkward smile and nodded his head toward everyone, “Are they always this loud? I guess that's fun.”

Yoongi wanted to laugh but he kept it in. His father went up to him and put his hand on his shoulders with a proud smile, “How do you feel?”

“The same, I guess.”

“I’m going to let you keep it. You deserve it.”

“Thanks...”

Yoongi walked back to his room and locked the door. He touched the orange crystal and Y/N gave him a comforting smile, “You really don’t like your dad.”

“You can say that. Do you eat?”

Y/N let out a small laugh and nodded her head, “Of course, I eat.”

“Well I didn’t know...I’ll make you some soup.”

“I can help you cook, I used to cook for the maids.”

Yoongi nodded his head and walked towards his small kitchen with Y/N behind him. He took all the ingredients out and watched Y/N organize them in the corner of his eye. He was shocked at how well they got along. She was cheerful and well the opposite of Yoongi. He also noticed that her eyes would get brighter whenever she looked at him but he just assumed it was because she was different.

They sat at the dinner table with empty bowls and Yoongi had some questions, “So...you change into a weapon.”

“Yes, I am. I thought we made that clear.”

He rolled his eyes as she let out a small laugh, “But how? Did you get picked by some higher being or what?”

“My parents were weapons.”

“You had parents?”

She nodded her head and looked down at the bowel with a frown, “Technically they are my parents but I wouldn’t call them that. Shin was my only father figure...Weapons don’t normally have a happy family. Parents are always gone while you go away to specialty schools. I went for wind and sound waves, just like my parents...I didn’t even know their name, that’s how much I didn’t know about them.”

“Did you ever talk to them?”

“After I turned five, I never saw them again. Never really looked for them either. Weapons get born just like humans but they're lonelier, I suppose.”

At least we have that in common, “How old are you technically?”

“Technically I’m around 300 I think...but in human age, I’m 28 ish.”

“I’m older than you then in that department.”

She tilted her head at him and looked him up and down, “How old are you then?”

“I’m 30.”

“You don’t look thirty.”

“Thank you? We should change you back to the saber in case they come into my room in the morning.”

She nodded her head but before their foreheads could touch. She kissed his cheek and gave him a wide smile. This made Yoongi smile but he quickly wiped it off when she turned back into the saber. He sent the weapon next to him on the bed and he sighed to himself, “What a day...”

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

There’s nothing like waking up in the morning with the sirens going off and yelling. Yoongi got up and touched the orange crystal by accident making Y/N appear with a scared expression, “What’s going on?”

“I’m not sure...but whatever it is, it’s not good. Go back into your weapon form, I don’t want you to get hurt.”

She nodded her head and touched his forehead gently. He placed the saber in his belt loop and made it out of his room in a panic. Everyone was running around with panic on their faces, which can mean many things. One of the things that Yoongi was thinking about was that someone is attacking the ship. He went to the captain's headquarters and tried his best to avoid everyone running in the opposite direction. Yoongi opened the door and saw his father clicking buttons at his desk, “Dad what’s going on?”

“Someone is attacking us, you need to go with Namjoon and Jin.”

“What? Why?”

“They’re after the saber, you need to go now.”

Yoongi hated his dad but he didn’t want to leave his dad to die alone. Yoongi shook his head at his dad and stood his ground, “I’m not leaving you.”

“Yoongi, there’s already a boat waiting for you. They will take care of you, I will call you when things are okay again. Okay?”

Yoongi sighed and knew that he couldn’t argue with his dad on this, “Fine. Good luck.”

He ran out of the room and towards the back of the ship to leave. With each step he took, the heavier his heart felt. This could be the last time he sees his dad again and that’s how he left him, he sounded so evil but he couldn’t help it. “Yoongi, It’s okay. Please don’t say those things about yourself.”

“It’s hard Y/N, I feel like I am evil. My mother is probably looking down at him with disappointment and I can’t blame her.”

“Enough. You don’t deserve this treatment, especially from yourself.”

“Fine, Y/N. I’ll stop.”

He opened the door and saw Namjoon and Jin talking to each other not seeing that he entered. Namjoon and Jin were his father’s closest guards and he grew up with them. He didn’t talk to them at all but he was familiar with them, that’s better than nothing. He let out a small cough and they turned to look at him with a small smile. Jin was the first one to move forward toward him, “Yoongi, are you okay? This can be a lot.”

“I’m okay...thank you, guys, for coming with me and protecting me.”

Namjoon nodded his head with a tight smile, “Of course, we need to get going before things turn for the worse.”

Yoongi nodded his head and followed them onto the boat. Namjoon spawned out of the glider while Jin turned on the engine. Jin pushed a button and the gate opened letting Yoongi see the blue sky with the clouds welcoming him to a new adventure. The boat started and they were off. Yoongi glanced down at the saber and sighed to himself, What the hell is going to happen?

Jin glanced down at the saber and smiled, “I heard so much about the marigold saber.”

“Like what?”

“I know that she transforms into a human, that kind of stuff.”

The silence on the boat made Yoongi feel uncomfortable but he quickly shook his head, “W-What do you mean?”

“Namjoon is my weapon. You don’t have to hide it from us.”

Yoongi glanced at Namjoon and then back at Jin, “Did my father know this? About the saber?”

“If he did, he never told us. Namjoon knew because he felt a connection at the temple. He assumed you were the next wielder for the marigold saber.”

Yoongi took the saber out of his belt loop and stared down with a sigh escaping. He touched the crystal and Y/N appeared looking at them with a shocked look, “There are other weapons! Yoongi told me there was no more.”

Namjoon let out a small laugh and kept his eyes on the sky, “There isn’t a lot left. So, of course, Yoongi wouldn’t know they existed.”

She turned towards Yoongi with a frown, “You lied to me.”

Yoongi rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest, “I didn’t lie. I just didn’t know, there’s a difference.” He glanced back at Jin with a serious look, “Where are we going?”

“We need to go to Phiaserat. We have to have the council know that the Marigold is back in existence and has a new wielder.”

Yoongi glanced at Y/N and then back at Jin, “How long would that take?”

“At least a week because we have to stop in a town for gas. Hopefully-”

Before Jin could finish his sentence, something hard hit the boat and caused it to get damaged. The hit was so hard that Y/N fell backward into Yoongi’s arm and with a natural response, he wrapped his arms around her waist holding her tight. Protecting her from whatever will happen. Jin glanced over his shoulders and saw that they were the same pirates that were attacking the main ship. Jin glanced at Y/N with a serious expression, “We need to fight them.”

Y/N’s face turned into a shock and glanced at Namjoon, “How are we going to fight them? I-I-”

“Namjoon transforms into a gun and you can use your special powers. We need to act fast before it turns bad. Let’s go.”

Y/N nodded her head and turned towards Yoongi, “Are you ready?”

He nodded his head and as soon as their foreheads touched, he was ready to fight. Namjoon set the glider on autopilot and prayed that it could glide safely to the ground. Jin snapped his fingers and Namjoon transformed into a sniper rifle. He turned towards Yoongi and nodded his head, “Good luck.”

“Thanks?” Yoongi glanced down at the sword and sighed, “What are you doing Y/N?”

“Walk on air.”

“A fucking excuse me?”

“Trust me okay. Just go on the edge and take a step, I’ll take care of the rest. Okay?”

Yoongi leaned forward and looked down, only now realizing how high they were. He swallowed his spit and nodded his head, “You won’t kill me?”

“Yoongi, no. I won’t kill you okay? Trust me.”

Jin looked through his small scope and aimed at the crew shooting cannons toward them, “Namjoon are you ready?”

“Always.”

With that, Jin shot a bullet but it wasn’t a normal one. The bullet was covered in poison making sure whoever was hit was brought down. The bullet flew through the sky and hit the crew in the chest. The loud gasp echoed through the air and he held his chest in pain. The poison quickly went through his skin and he started coughing up blood. Jin smirked at this, “Good job, Joon.”

Yoongi nodded his head and put his foot on the ledge. He closed his eyes and put his foot out, “Please don’t kill me.” He put his foot out and when put his weight down, he didn’t fall. He looked down and saw an air bubble holding him up, “Oh, thank god.”

“I told you to trust me.”

Yoongi started walking slowly and then he started running towards the boat, “Y/N, what do I do?”

“We’ll use my soundwave, it will be powerful enough to send them backward and away from us. Just swing the sword forward and I'll take care of it.”

“Okay, I trust you.” He did what he was told and watched the waves erupt from the metal. They were so powerful against his palm that he watched his skin vibrate. He held his ground and when the sound waves hit the boat, they were sent back with them screaming away. Yoongi watched them and put his saber down with a shocked face, “You're really strong...”

“It was because you trust me...we have a bond now you know.”

“Thanks...thanks for not letting me die?”

“You're not good with words.”

“I’m sorry...”

“No, no...I like it.”

Before Yoongi could say anything, Jin yelled out to them, “Guys come back!!! We need to try and land this boat!”

“Can we do that, Y/N?”

“Of course, we can. We can do anything together.”

Yoongi smiled to himself and felt his heart flutter a bit. He yelled back to Jin, “We’ll land this boat!”

“Okay! Once we land, we’ll fix the boat. We’ll camp for tonight!”

Night time came and everyone was sitting by the fire. Jin made everyone soup and he was sitting next to Namjoon talking about something. Y/N looked at Yoongi and gave him a small smile, “I’m going to the river.”

He looked at her with a raised eyebrow, “For what?”

“I just want to be by the water. It's peaceful, want to come?”

Yoongi glanced at Jin and saw that he was immersed in the conversation with Namjoon, he probably wouldn’t notice. He looked back at Y/N and nodded his head, “Sure...”

She stood up and when he followed her, she intertwined their fingers together and whisked him off. They went through the tall trees and Yoongi couldn’t take his eyes off of her. She was so lively and had this gentleness to her that he couldn’t explain it. They made it towards the river and she turned towards him with excitement, “Are you ready?”

“What are we doing exactly?”

She tilted her head towards that, allowing the moonlight to highlight her eyes, “We’re going to walk on water together and sit. We can learn more about each other.”

He nodded his head and held his hand out toward her. She glanced down at his hand and then back at him with a small laugh, “Do you want me to hold your hand?”

“Isn’t that how-”

“I do want to hold your hand.”

She placed her hand on his and gently pulled him towards her. The two put their feet on the river and they started to head towards the center. Y/N glanced at Yoongi and stopped, “Is this okay?”

“This is fine.” The two sat on the water and he glanced down at the water, “Is this your air power?”

“Yeah, unless you want to take a swim.”

He let out a small laugh and she looked at him with a surprised look, “Wow! You actually laughed and it didn’t sound sarcastic.”

“I can laugh, you just have to be funny.”

“I am funny, you're just boring.”

He scoffed at this and gently flicked her forehead causing her to laugh. She rubbed her forehead and he glanced down at her with a soft smile on his face. When she opened her eyes she saw that he was looking at her and she suddenly felt shy, she’s never felt this way before. She bit her lip and glanced down at his hand. She placed her hand on top of his, making Yoongi glance down, “You really like my hands.”

“I do...they make me feel safe.”

“That’s good. I make you feel safe with me?”

She nodded her head and looked up at him with a sincere look, “I do...I want to protect you.”

“Likewise.”

Her eyes widened and she leaned forward with sparkles in her eyes, “You want to protect me?”

He felt his face get hot at how close she was and he nodded his head, “Of course I want to protect you...”

“That makes me so happy.”

“Why? Shin protected you.”

“With you it's different.”

He glanced at her and then back at the moon with his red face, “Is that a good thing?”

“It is...I like different things. I like you.”

“I-I like you too..”

She looked at him and smiled. She leaned her head against his arm and he was shocked at the action but he didn’t hate it. He brought his arm up to wrap around her shoulder and she couldn’t help herself from nuzzling her head into his arm. They stayed like that with the moonlight shining on them and the fireflies surrounding them.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

It took the group two weeks to fix the boat. It took them a week to find the supplies and then another week to fix the boat. During the two weeks, Y/N and Yoongi went to the river almost every night to spend time together. She learned about his childhood and he learned about her time with the king. Jin and Namjoon noticed the two getting closer and thought it was cute, which is why it took two weeks. They wanted the two to get closer.

Within two weeks, Yoongi didn’t hear anything from his father. He was worried about his father but he knew that his father was hard to kill, he had to be alive, right? He asked Jin and Namjoon if they heard anything from the crew or even his father but nothing. They told him that the attack could’ve hit the communication line and that's why. He was hoping that was the reason.

They went forward to Phiaserat and during this time, Yoongi missed those times he had with Y/N. It was peaceful, he didn’t have to keep an eye out for danger and drove the ship once in a while. He just wanted to be with Y/N and he didn’t know why exactly. They stopped at the town that was near Phiaserat and decided today was going to be a free day. Jin and Namjoon went off to look at swords while Y/N took Yoongi to a cafe.

Yoongi opened the door for Y/N and she ran into the building with excitement. She looked at the menu and pointed at it, making Yoongi smile softly, “They have white cake, we haven’t had that for a long time.”

“We never had it together.”

“Oh? Really? Let’s change that now.”

He let out a laugh and ordered the two cakes as Y/N found them a seat. The two sat together and she looked at the busy walkway with a smile, “It’s so fun here.”

“It’s loud but it’s not too bad.”

“I like it. They're going to have a flower festival, I saw it on a flier. It’s going to be in the main square, can we go?”

He saw her looking at him with that innocent look and he couldn’t help his face getting red, “Yeah we can go.”

“Oh, that’s so exciting! I love flowers, they're so pretty.”

Just like you. The two ate their cakes as Y/N continued to show her excitement about the flower festival but as she did it, there was some icing on the corner of her mouth. Yoongi leaned forward and gently brushed away the icing with his thumb which caused Y/N to freeze in her spot. His thumb felt so soft against her skin and it made her feel so shy. He saw her shy expression and a smirk appeared, “You okay?”

“I-I’m okay.”

The sun went down and evening arrived. The sky was light purple with orange hues, it was beautiful. The two went to the town square holding hands as everyone in town was getting excited about the festival. All around there were flower booths and Yoongi took a marigold off. He tapped Y/N’s shoulder causing her to turn around with a confused face. Yoongi gave her a soft look and pushed some hair back, placing the flower into her hair.

She let out a small giggle and kissed the side of his hand, “You need a matching one now.”

She grabbed another marigold and placed it behind his ear with a shy smile. She placed a kiss on his cheek. When she pulled away, she grabbed his wrist and went towards the front to watch the different flower floats. She clapped her hands when each float went by but he couldn’t focus on the flowers, only on her. When the last float came by, she went toward them and started talking to them. Yoongi smiled to himself as he watched interact with everyone. It was nice to see her so excited to talk to anyone. He looked away for a second when he heard excited gasps, it was just a jester handing out flowers to the little kids. He let out a small chuckle but that chuckle quickly disappeared when he saw a man talking to Y/N. It was clear he was interested in her with the way he kept leaning towards her and this annoyed him. He glared at the scene and walked towards them with heavy footsteps.

“I like these flowers because-AH!”

Yoongi grabbed her arm and dragged her away from the guy. Before he left, he sent one last glare to him, “Let’s go, Y/N.”

“Eh?”

Yoongi continued to drag her and she looked at his back with a confused look, “Yo-Yoongi? What’s wrong?” Yoongi didn’t answer the question as they went down the long alleyway. He gently pushed her against the wall and slammed his hand near her head. She tilted her head at him as he leaned towards her, “Yoongi, are you okay?”

“I don’t like him near you...”

“Eh? He was just asking about flowers..”

“He was too close.”

“Eh-”

Yoongi leaned down and gently placed his lips against hers. Her eyes widened at the softness but she slowly closed them when she melted in the kiss. He tilted his head and his tongue slowly entered into her mouth as she accepted it. He leaned away and looked down at her face to see her cheeks bright red and out of breath. He went down to his neck and she let out a small moan when she felt him kissing his neck, “Yoongi~! We're outside...”

He moved his hand up her thighs and brought her into another kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck and brought him in closer as his hand went up higher. He pulled away and brought his hand up to gently grab her boob. She grabbed his wrist and covered her mouth as she let out another moan, “Yoongi~..”

“Fuck, Y/N, turned around.”

“Eh?”

She turned around and she looked over her shoulder to see Yoongi unbuckling his pants. She felt her face get hotter when she saw his length glistening in the light above him. He moved up his shirt and looked down to see a big wet spot. He let out a small groan at the sight, she looked back at him with her big eyes, “Y/N fuck...”

He grabbed his cock and took a deep breath before putting it in, just the thought of him being in her was making him go crazy. She let out a loud moan when she felt him and couldn’t help getting louder, “Y/N...your voice...”

He put his hand over her mouth and she started to suck on his fingers. His eyes widened at this and he felt his body get hotter. He turned her head and looked at her with a shy face, “Do-Don’t let other guys talk to you like that...only I can.”

She blinked her eyes at this and she let out a wide smile appear on her red face, “Yes!~”

He leaned down and kissed her again as he thrust into her. He swore he could die at that moment. Her soft lips on his and the way she was tight around him was making him lose focus. This was the greatest feeling for the both of them. He didn’t want this to end.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

“Just go down the hall and the door on the left is the council.” Jin gave the guard a smile and went up to the group with a smile. They were finally in Phiaserat, this was a big moment for Yoong and Y/N, this was going to let her stay with him forever and no one could rip her away from him. They knew what could happen to their well-being if they did that. The relationship between Yoongi and Y/N became stronger, they weren’t together per se but they knew they had a strong bond. A bond that made both of their hearts flutter.

“Are you guys ready?”

Y/N glanced at Yoongi and nodded her head, “I’m ready. Yoon, are you ready?”

“I’m ready.”

He grabbed her hand and gave her a small smile as she returned it. Namjoon glanced at Jin and gave him a thumbs up at the scene in front of them. They all walked towards the door and before they opened Y/N glanced at Yoongi with a nervous smile, “Are you sure you want this?”

He raised his eyebrow at her and nodded his head, “Of course I want this.”

“Are you sure? You're going to be with me forever.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Her eyes widened and she felt her face get hot, “Really?”

“Really.”

Jin opened the door and They saw seven men sitting on a raised platform making sure they were looking down at whoever entered. Y/n’s grip got tighter and Yoongi rubbed her knuckles to relax her. One of the men at the platform leaned forward to look at her and then at Jin, “Registration?”

“Correct sir.”

“Will the weapon and wielder step forward so we can start the process?”

Y/N and Yoongi did what they were asked to do. While Y/N felt scared under their eyes, Yoongi was standing strong, wanting nothing but to have Y/N to be with him forever. Another man spoke up and it caused Y/N to jump, “Names.”

“Min Yoongi.”

“L/N YN.”

The room got quiet and this made her feel even more uneasy. There was a loud gasp and the same man that asked them to step forward, got down his platform. He walked towards her and she wanted to disappear, “You're the Marigold saber...it’s been centuries since we’ve heard of you.”

She glanced at Yoongi and then back at the man, “I am...”

“This is your wielder? We can't go with him.”

Yoongi glared at him and moved in front of her, “And why is that?”

“She’s royal property.”

“The fuck she is. I’m her wielder and you are not taking her away from me.”

The man glared at Yoongi and let out an unamused laugh, “You can’t be serious. She should be used for research.”

“You are not touching her.”

“Guards!”

Yoongi's eyes widened and watched the doors open to see guards coming in with swords. Namjoon and Jin glared at the guards that were surrounding them. Yoongi pushed Y/N to be completely behind him as he glared at the guards all around them, “What do you think you're doing?”

“I told you we need her for research, she should be a part of the museum.”

“You're not going to take her away from me. It’s not happening.”

“You’re doing a disservice to this country-”

Yoongi rolled his eyes, “I’m not even here from this country.” Before anyone could say anything, the roof above broke and people landed around them. Yoongi was shocked when the person turned around, “Dad?”

“Go to the third floor and complete the registration. Once you do that, they can’t take her away from you.”

“Dad-”

“Go now.”

Yoongi nodded his head and turned towards Y/N, “Are you ready?”

“Always, with you.”

They touched their foreheads and Yoongi was ready to fight. Yoongi drew an “X” in the air and blasted away the guards that were blocking their way. He glanced at Jin and Namjoon, “You ready.”

“Let’s go!”

Namjoon transformed into two pistols and Jin followed Yoongi up the stairs. There was screaming and groans that echoed through the building. Jin with his skilled shooting was making things easier for Yoongi and with Y/N’s power, the soundwaves echoed through the stoned stairwell. Jin shot someone in the head and looked at Yoongi, “Go into the room! It’s on the left!”

Yoongi ran and opened the door wide. He closed the door and locked the door as there was banging on the wooden door. He touched the orange crystal and watched Y/N look at him with a determined look, “Are you ready?”

“Forever?”

He cupped her face and brought her in a quick kiss,“Forever.”

#bts reactions #bts scenarios #bts imagines #bts jungkook #bts namjoon #bts seokjin #bts taehyung #bts jimin #bts yoongi #bts x reader #bts hoseok #Bts #yoongi x reader #bts min yoongi #bts yoongi x reader

22 notes · View notes

socksjinie · 2 years

Text

#fighton! ✱ 1 | bts

synopsis. like every college, this one also has gossip and drama to fill the hallways, as well as lot’s of parties and games to attend. but when two of the most popular groups start to collide the whole campus goes into havoc. suddenly all eyes are on them. what will be the final outcome of this clash of clans?

📕 this is a revamp; the old archive is here

pairing. bts x oc's

genre. college au + fluff + slice of life + smut + angst

word count. 10249

warnings. foul language, tension, fights, and jungkook being called virgin boy 24/7

a/n. to celebrate a special day with lots of special people ♡ here's to everything we've been through together, we are forever~

✱ chapters. #1 - #2

“Good morning, South!” Yoongi’s voice echoed through the halls of his college, and even though he should sound excited, his tone was drained and maintained in a monotone. A really, really, bored and sleepy one.

Yoongi was responsible for the radio station. Well, one of them actually, but his regularity inside the dark booth was so prominent, that no one else knew who the others responsible were.

On duty days he had to wake up extra early to be able to do all the announcements for the university, as required. It was his giant love for music that made him volunteer to take care of the station — that and the fact he really enjoyed being alone. Having the studio all for himself in a building filled with young adults was like having the golden ticket to the chocolate factory.

And to those said young adults, having him there was more than a benefit. The halls were always filled with good music.

“We’ll have pizza for lunch today — which in all honesty is golden even for the students who aren’t broke — and don’t forget! Saturday we have the volley male team game. If you miss it, you’re not a Trojan…” He ended his morning announcement by inciting the students with yet again another sarcastic remark.

He was about to prepare the playlist to be played for the rest of the day around campus when he heard a knock on the door.

Getting up tiredly from his chair, he exited the station booth to the lounge — which was currently empty much to his happiness — and went towards the door. He was about to get overly grumpy, not wanting to have meaningless morning conversations when her face showed on the other side. Carolina. A smile immediately formed on his face.

“My lifesaver!” He says, a glint of relief reflected in his eyes, as he swings an arm around her neck, pulling her inside. She was holding two coffee cups and although one was for him, he didn’t wait much before grabbing it with a cheeky smile.

“Oh, good morning for you too, sir!” She chuckles amused. “What’s up for today?”

“I guess pizza for lunch?” She sees him scrunching his nose, pondering his options, which makes her laugh. “I’m getting too old to read these announcements. They sound ridiculous! Namjoon should definitely have a heart-to-heart with his dad…”

Almost every morning Yoongi had to talk with the principal to receive the announcements. It was a mix of headaches and second-hand embarrassment every damn time.

“You’re still in your twenties, Yoongs…” Carolina rolled her eyes with a smile insisting on escaping through the corners of her mouth. “But yeah, pizza sounds nice for someone who only slept three hours — I think? And still has volley practice to attend.” She sank into his embrace further, lacking the energy. “I need the carbs. Desperately.”

“You’re also getting too old for that. See?!” He teases and she yawns.

“Team granddads, always.” The reply sounds muffled, her face resting directly on the curve of his neck.

“Can you keep one eye open though to help me with today’s playlist? There’s still a couple of songs I need to add and I always trust your taste.”

As he asks it, Carolina seems to gain life, straightening her back once again. “Sure! What vibe are we setting today?” There was nothing more pleasing than to hear the songs you liked being played through the halls, and this girl, in particular, loved sharing her musical references with Yoongi.

“We have to go more college vibes,” He said throwing air marks and mocking the principal’s tone. “So help me out here. No swear words either.” He scoffs.

“Oh god, we’ve gone preppy…” She sighs as he sits on his chair once again and she finds a spot at the end of his lap, checking the list Yoongi already had. He casually drank his coffee waiting for her ideas. “Hmm, what about cosmos midnight? They have a nice vibe and could cheer your morning up… Something like- Talk To Me?”

“Like I said before: my lifesaver.” He gave her a soft squeeze on her waist and she looked over her shoulder to smile back at him.

Carolina and Yoongi would seem like a couple to everyone that passed by them. They were both crazy affectionate with one another, which was strange considering they weren’t like that to anybody else — especially Yoongi. But in reality, it was just a genuine friendship. They are very similar, which helps, but also very comfortable in each other’s presence to the point of not touching being weird. It could be anything really, side hugs, cuddles, intertwined hands… The only thing that kept them from indeed dating one another was the fact they praised their friendship way too much. That and the fact Carolina now had her eye out for a mystery drawing guy.

“Let me add that one to the playlist and we’re good to go.”

“And where we might be going?” She asked slumping on his chest and making him laugh.

“Cafeteria, you lazy ass. I’m starving!”

“I always forget how much you can eat whenever you have a game coming,” She laughs it out getting up from his lap.

“I love playing, but I really do hate the intense practice…” He mused and once again swung his arm around her neck as he closed the door of the radio station, heading towards the cafeteria.

By this time of the day, the corridors of the university were beginning to get flowed with people who had morning classes to attend, which consisted mostly of all the freshmen and juniors. And there were two juniors in particular that were always the theme of conversation around here. Eyes were glued to them wherever they went. Kim Taehyung and Park Jimin, the inseparable childhood friends.

Taehyung, majoring in Fine Arts, was as eccentric as it could get. He would often change his hair, some said it went according to his mood, which now was blue. And how he manages to look like a god in every color possible it’s worth hours of debate, which every girl and every guy would pleasingly go through. And contrary to his exterior looks, he was the kindest person on earth too. That only contributed to the swarm of people swooning over him.

As for Jimin, well, Performative Arts major and also head of the football team. How he got both going said a lot about him. He was appointed to being the official quarterback ever since he first set foot in this college, and between that and his stunning stages, he got to be undoubtedly the most popular guy in the entire university — maybe even state — in a glimpse.

And the curious part comes now. Despite both of them being best friends and overly popular, when it came to their social circles, they didn’t belong to the same groups. Much like their own personal interests, their little troupe is polar opposites. That doesn’t mean they don’t support each other or even talk about everything. The major interest in the halls — although more and more scarce — is if they trade secrets behind their friends’ backs.

“And then,” Taehyung was balling his eyes out laughing, “The seagull flew right from under the barrel next to the big one’s and I was getting all soft but the video- The video stopped and it switched to that meme of Nemo-”

“Fish fish fish fish fish!” Jimin started singing with balled fists enthusiastically, also laughing loudly. Taehyung joined him in the chanting.

“Why did you stop?” The youngest asked after a couple of ‘fish’ chanted, realizing he was doing it alone.

“Look! There’s Deo. Let’s go to her!” Jimin dismissed his friend, dragging him by the arm towards the girl. She had her attention on her locker, stuffing some books inside. “Morning, baby!” He said cheerfully over her shoulder, and Taehyung just leaned on the locker facing the crowd passing by.

“Morning!” She replied smiling widely and turning around to give him a tight hug. “Oh- hi.” She added, noticing Taehyung standing close by.

“Hey.” He nodded.

“Oh, c’mon guys. You already know each other, no need to be shy!” Jimin chuckled lightly, pushing Deo a bit closer to Taehyung.

“So… How’s it going?”

“Good!” Deo answered almost immediately, turning again to her locker to grab a book. “Well, I gotta get to class. See you.” She pointed out, slamming her locker door and throwing a death stare at Jimin. And then she left.

“Oook!” Taehyung broke the silence with a smack of his lips. “So are we seeing that movie tonight or what?”

“That was weird…” Jimin kept looking at the place in the crowd where Deo had wandered off, completely absorbed in his thoughts. “She looked weird. Don’t you think?” He glanced back at Taehyung but his friend had crossed his arms and had a questioning raised eyebrow, expectant of an answer. “Uh? Oh, yeah! Yes! We are. What was the movie again?” Jimin smiled sheepishly, lost in the conversation.

“I told you about it five times already,” Taehyung sighed. “That noir one.”

“Oh! Yeah, that’s right. The noir one… Yeah, we can totally watch it tonight!”

“‘Kay then. But don’t forget!” He said with warning eyes, pulling away from the lockers to get going. “Gotta go. I’m probably late again…”

“I’ll be there!” Jimin said louder as Taehyung kept going farther away, but his eyes went back in search of Deo. For the popular guy he was, he suddenly felt abandoned, and worst of all by his two best friends. One was clearly mad at him, although the why of it wasn’t that clear… Still, he needed to do something about that. And with that in mind, he made his way to class.

Nearby, Jungkook, Hoseok, and Hyori were sitting in the lounge near the smallest bar. The morning sun was so pleasing shining through the big windows that the latter made them sit outside to enjoy some vitamin C. And suddenly, this seemed the perfect opportunity for Jungkook to vent out his problems. He wasn’t one to talk about what worried him, even though he knew his friends were always available and supportive. He was just accustomed to dealing with stuff alone. But this time, he felt like needing a second opinion.

“I just don’t understand where it came from!” Jungkook let out frustrated. “Yesterday everything was fine, and now this morning as soon as I set foot on campus somehow all eyes were on me… I got to know through a guy that came asking if I was a virgin because I wanted or because I had problems down there!” The day hadn’t even started and the words ‘virgin boy’ had already hunted him in the halls.

“Maybe you just need to let it go. I haven’t heard anything like that so far… Try and focus on something else? You know how these things are, they die down if you don’t pay much mind-” Hoseok suggested.

“It won’t! Everyone’s whispering about it.”

“I bet it’s just a jealous guy spreading that around to piss you off-” Hoseok tried but got interrupted.

“Wasn’t a guy.” Hyori finally said something gaining Jungkook’s full attention. “I might be completely wrong though because I don’t have evidence just the word of a girl I tutor…”

“Just tell me!”

“She said Carolina was the one telling her…” Hyori admitted and Jungkook furrowed his eyebrows in deep thought.

“What Carolina?” Hoseok intervened curiously. “And she just started it out without no apparent reason?”

“I don’t know her face, so I don’t know how to explain… The girl just told me she was from the volley team?”

“Same as JK!” Hoseok exclaimed, “Did you piss her off over practice?”

“Jungkook!” Hyori slapped his shoulder so he could get out of his head and pay attention to them.

“She- She lives in my building? And we have some classes together… And sometimes practice.” He answered honestly still in trance. “But I don’t remember having any interaction with her?”

“You either did something and you’re just not remembering because boys never pay attention enough or she just likes to rile you up and it’s working,” Hyori commented.

“I don’t think I did?” Jungkook kept rummaging his brain after some kind of interaction they might have had.

“Maybe she has a crush?” Hoseok shrugged and Jungkook looked over to Hyori questioning. He needed girl intuition. “Even if it’s a weird way to call for attention… I mean- Virgin boy?” Hoseok bit down a burst of laughter.

“Hmm… That’s an option, I guess? Who is she anyway?” Hyori asked curiously. She normally had a lot of information to share since the majority of students she tutored around campus loved a good gossip, but not always knew who they were talking about.

“I don’t know how to explain it to you… She has half her hair dyed. Like the bottom half.” Jungkook said it as if was impossible for Hyori not to know who the girl was by that description. “Ah but really why did she start that?!”

“Outstanding description!” Hoseok teased making him huff. “Here. Found her through the volley team account!” He passed the phone over to Hyori.

“Ok… Isn’t this the girl that dates that troublemaker? The radio guy?” Hyori said scrolling down Carolina’s posts. “She seems bad news… I know for a fact they are always on that radio booth together, so I think it’s unlikely she’s pinning over another guy.”

“She’s dating Yoongi?” Jungkook muttered more to himself in realization than anything. “Ok but— What should I do? About the whole virgin boy thing…”

“Tell her to stop?” Hoseok sighed. “And if she doesn’t, I don’t know… Maybe just tease back!” He said jokingly but the other two didn’t take it that way.

“Oh, that’s a good option… I mean, the worst that can happen is her boyfriend beating you up but he’s way smaller than you so you probably have a chance.” Hyori pondered and Jungkook thought about having to start a fight with Yoongi. “Or! She will beat you up.”

“I can’t start a fight with my roommate though.” Jungkook chuckled.

“Maybe that’s why she started this! Because he asked her to?” Hoseok was confused by his own track of thoughts.

“The fact is we don’t even know if it was really her…” Hyori started, still scrolling down the other girl’s feed. “I’m betting she’s the culprit cause look- She totally has the ‘I’m causing trouble tonight’ style, but! You never know. We can’t go around accusing people out of nowhere…”

“I feel like that’s exactly what you’re doing right now,” Hoseok commented laughing.

“But why though??? Like. Why?” Jungkook was still pissed off he didn’t have the answers or the solution to this nonsense. The last thing he needed was a weird rumor about him going around right before an official match.

“Ok, that’s it. Off to class both of you!” Hoseok got up and started pulling them with him.

“Wha-” Jungkook started to protest but Hyori cut him off.

“Let’s go, virgin boy! Can’t arrive late and ruin my perfect academic life.” Both she and Hoseok started laughing realizing the boy in question was cursing under his breath.

As the group parted ways, Hyori walked at a fast pace to her class. She hated being late but the conversation with the boys took more of her time than she was expecting, and she couldn’t afford to lose any word that left the teacher’s mouth.

When she got to her physics class, there were only a couple of seats vacant and she took the one that was nearest to the teacher’s table. That way she could still record the class in case she missed something and take notes later on at the dorm.

She was in the middle of a way too long sentence when someone tapped on her shoulder. As she turned around, she saw Eunwoo, a boy from her class she wished she knew a lot better but never had the guts to go and talk to him before.

“Sorry, can I take a peek at your notes? I can’t keep up the pace with her.” He smiled sheepishly.

“Sure! Can you see like this?” The girl turned her laptop a little to his side, trying at the same time to hide how red her cheeks already were.

The class continued but now Hyori was a little out of focus. She could still catch some words here and there, but the fact that Eunwoo was almost breathing down her neck was making her lose her senses. The only thing on her mind was the smell of his perfume that had quickly intoxicated all the air she was breathing.

“Hey, it’s Hyori, right?” He asked leaning against the table as she was packing her stuff. The class had finally come to an end — She just didn’t know if that was a good thing or not.

“Yes, that’s right”

“Well, uhm, thanks for helping me out during class! I pride myself on typing fast but I really can’t keep up with Mrs. Green,” He chuckled scratching the back of his neck and Hyori laughed alongside him.

“It was nothing, really! But I get you, I sometimes record it in case I miss it,”

“That’s clever,” He commented amusedly. “And uh… I was thinking… If you aren’t too busy maybe we could study together or something… After class?”

Hyori took a moment to breathe, being taken by surprise. “Sure! That would be great! Just say where and when!” Hearing that his eyes took a crescent moon shape yet again. But to her horror, she sounded way more cheerful and euphoric than she intended to.

“Can I have your number? I have practice after class but we can check our schedules and set a date?” Eunwoo casually took his phone out of his pocket.

“Of course! I have some tutoring to do as well, but sure, we’ll manage.” She laughed nervously as he handed his phone to her.

“I’ll give you a ring then, so you can also have mine. Text you later, Hyori!” He grabbed his backpack and opened another killing smile to her, walking towards the door.

“Bye!” She said dreamily, letting out a long sigh she didn’t even realize she was holding. Boy, she was starstruck.

As Hyori left her class and made her way through the crowd, she spotted Jungkook with eyebrows furrowed staring intensely at his cellphone. He was probably waiting for her for them to meet Hoseok at the cafeteria. It was pizza day after all. No one could push them away from there.

Unlike them, however, there was another group assembling in the halls. One that much preferred to eat outside and away from prying eyes. The fresh air didn’t make it to the top list of motives they always gathered on the bleachers, though. It was the peace and quietness that made it through to the first place. And since it was unusual for people to have lunch there, they had maybe half an hour to eat comfortably before the field would be filled with youngsters that wanted to lay down or play some ball.

“Hey losers!” Carolina said approaching the boys. Yoongi came right beside her, with a hand on the back of her neck and the other holding his phone as a text popped up. He had this incessant tired look on his face like he had gone to bed too late. And he probably did.

“Where were you this morning? I didn’t even see you,” Jin — the oldest of the group and also Carolina’s housemate — questioned.

“I have classes starting at eight, remember? I don’t have your easy senior life.” She replied, sitting down next to Taehyung. He was currently sketching something in his journal, not really paying attention to the conversation or his surroundings.

“After all these years I deserve a break don’t you think?” The oldest said chuckling.

“Not really”

“We’ll talk about that in two years… You’ll see.”

“Where’s Namjoon by the way?” Yoongi asked making everyone, even Taehyung, look around for their friend.

“Is he sick or something?” Carolina got worried.

“Nah, I gave him a ride this morning…” Yoongi addressed her concerns.

“He’ll probably show up in a few,” Jin commented returning his attention to the sandwich he was previously eating.

“I bumped into him in the cafeteria earlier,” Taehyung had his eyes trailed on the paper resting on his leg, pencil moving swiftly in his hand. “I think his class ends a little after ours,”

“There he is!” Carolina pointed looking behind Jin. Namjoon had a fast pace and his hands were packed with large books. And although he was a little clumsy, he was a true catch. Tall, honey skin, charming dimples, cozy style, and a brain to die for.

“Guys!” He called out astonished, “Did you hear it?!”

“What happened this time?” Yoongi questioned uninterested, drinking from Jin’s coffee.

“The rumor about JK being a virgin!” He spilled out and received different reactions. “You think it’s true? Like. He’s a nice kid and all but I didn’t think he was that nice,” Namjoon attempted to sit down and almost fell off the bleachers if it wasn’t for Jin and Taehyung holding him.

“A virgin?” Taehyung scoffed. “I think he had a girlfriend or something… Jimin mentioned it once,”

“Why do we even care? Let the kid be,” Yoongi said taking a bite of the sandwich that was in Carolina’s hand.

“What would Jimin know though?” Carolina glanced at Taehyung, “And besides, I trust the theory of the purity ring he has on his finger all the time… Or the one about his willy-”

“Like the Jonas brothers?” Jin interrupted her ready to have the laugh of his life.

“That was even a thing?” Namjoon asked, completely lost. “Is he impotent though?” And to that Carolina nodded and muttered a ‘probably’. “Oh man, poor guy,”

“And you seem to know a lot about the subject,” Yoongi addressed her with a smirk, “Odd!”

“I happen to know because he has some classes with me that’s all…”

“I say we ask him gently on the way home today,” Jin suggested. “Maybe his father is a preacher… OR! He’s like those guys from Game of Thrones. How’s it called?”

“Eunuch,”

“No, his father is a designer, I know him,” Taehyung said casually.

“He’s not a eunuch, for fucks sake,” Namjoon let out with a chuckle. “I’ve seen him around in boxers. He’s-” And instead of concluding the phrase he just gesticulated making everyone imagine what he was trying to say.

“Ok!” Carolina said cutting the subject. “Can we now discuss the fact that Jin was caught trying to wear my bra yesterday, please?”

“I SAID I WAS JUST DOING AN EXPERIMENT!” Jin burst and the others with him, but from laughter.

“He was probably trying to open it with one hand only. You know, for practice,” Yoongi said in a monotone as if discussing the weather.

“Bro, you could have said that… I would help,” Taehyung offered.

“Wow,” Carolina looked at them. She couldn’t even act surprised anymore, this was practically her routine.

“That’s some… Kinky shit right there,” Namjoon pointed out starting to eat his lunch.

The group can seem a little odd to the outside viewers but they weren’t concerned about public opinion. They all had a lot in common, and not bothering to be anything but themselves was their first principle.

Carolina and Taehyung had practically been raised together. Their parents were friends for a lifetime and to top that, they were also neighbors. When she came to college though, her schedule didn’t match his, and that’s how she ended up wandering around in some clubs trying to spend time and also trying to find someone to share her new apartment with. She would share it initially with Taehyung but unfortunately for her, he was already doing so with Jimin, his best friend. She didn’t have to search for long though, because on her very first week she somehow ended up in a vintage game conference and met Jin — a senior in college who was still desperate to get out of the campus dorm. And he even knew Taehyung, so it was a no-brainer to rent her spare room to him. Yes, he was a guy, but her parents were pretty open-minded, so was she, and if he knew Taehyung… Well, that was a major plus.

In her second week, she met Namjoon, a nice and outspoken guy that was friends with Jin, and started casually sitting with them to grab some lunch. She only came to discover he was the son of the dean a month later when the group ended up in a mess — another common thing between them. Yoongi however, was a different case… Carolina met him because fate once more moved in her favor.

In the building she lived in, there were more apartments and one of them belonged to Namjoon, who coincidently shared it with Yoongi and Jungkook (the now nominated college virgin boy according to Carolina, who may or may not have spread that rumor out). How did she discover that? Well, Jin asked Namjoon for a ride but turned out that Yoongi was actually the car owner and also the driver. Namjoon had never attempted to lay hands on a wheel.

Yoongi was a tough one to crack at first, but once she unraveled they had the same music taste, they became really close. Nowadays, she will mostly spend her time skipping classes at the radio station, giving thoughts on Yoongi’s playlists whenever she is allowed to.

In college, they mostly hang out in the bleachers because it is sunny and pretty far out of the rest of the campus population. And when it rains or it’s so cold they can’t stand being out, well, they either go to the lounge area to chat and eat something or to the big abandoned stairway located on the left-wing of the building. After classes, it’s always agreed to chill over at Jin and Carolina’s apartment since they have tried it once at Yoongi’s — seeing he isn’t one to get out of the house that much — and that didn’t go down that well. Carolina had arrived at the boys' apartment only to find Jungkook casually eating cereals just wearing boxers, and let’s just say she didn’t understand why he was there in the first place.

The clock on her phone marked two o’clock sharp, and despite them being all super tired already, the day had to continue. They still had a couple of classes in the afternoon. The sun made them feel sleepy, especially after having their stomachs filled, so when they had to get up to go to class, it seemed more like a herd of zombies walking than actual human beings.

The boys had this protective habit of walking Carolina to her class, so every day after lunch she was the first to arrive at whatever class she had. And as soon as she entered the door, they would disperse, each of them going off to their department. But today she decided to take her usual “sneak break” as soon as she set foot inside the room. She waited for the teacher to call out her name, announcing she was present, and soon after made her way out.

Her trips to the broom closet were getting more and more usual. The girl gained this habit in her first week, and it became more and more regular when random doodles started to appear on the walls and door of the little space. It intrigued her. As far as she knew, she was the only habitant of the broom closet in the art department, and those drawings felt like hints, or even… Gifts. The smell of cigarettes made it even more appealing each time. She was absolutely dying to find who the mystery doodle person could be.

Unfortunately, her time there had to be brief this time, she really needed to return to her photography class. And she wasn’t really in the mood that day. Carolina didn’t see the point of having a class like that if she wasn’t actually with a camera in hand, photographing stuff. She didn’t need to know how many pixels there were in how many centimeters. So, inspired by the doodles in her little safe haven, she scribbled on her own iPad.

Everything was fine until she heard ‘pop quiz next week’ coming out of the teacher’s mouth. She wasn’t one to pay attention to her grades, but she really liked photography and this teacher. Somehow he was always very supportive of her, something none of her teachers so far had shown her, so the least she could do was to impress him enough. Her mind began racing and she looked around to see whom she could manage to get some info from, for the quiz. Her eyes stopped on a pair of scribbling hands. She really had no choice.

“Psst, virgin boy,” Carolina called out none other than Jungkook. Despite very much unknown to her, he was the most familiar face she had in that class. And as he turned around, showing a fake uninterested semblance on his face, she continued. “Can I borrow your notebook real quick?” She whispered to him.

“Why?” He asked, this time genuinely confused. If it was anyone else, or a different circumstance, Jungkook wouldn’t hesitate to help someone out. He liked feeling helpful. But she was the culprit behind this whole ‘virgin boy’ rumor, and he didn’t even know why.

Earlier on, he had overheard some girls from the volley team confirming the information Hyori had given him, about Carolina being the one spreading it, and it only pissed him further. He thought of confronting her about the subject but he wasn’t really a guy to pick fights like that… And besides, nothing he could do would change the fact everyone believed what they wanted to believe.

“Dude, just help me out. I have zero things written down.”

He looked at her still not following her track of thoughts. First, she badmouths him and now she asked for his notes… And there was also the fact that to him, she didn’t seem the type to care about stuff like this, she was always drawing or doing anything else but paying attention. At least in the classes they shared. But something about it intrigued him. From the way her expectant eyes were watching him to the real motive she wanted his notes specifically.

“Fine.” He ended up saying. “But you owe me one,” He passed her his notebook, to which she grabbed firmly, not letting go of his gaze.

“That’s not how it works, virgin boy,” He couldn’t help but snort. It was starting to piss him off this whole nickname thing. And the more he thought about it, about the reason behind it, the more bothered he would get.

“Just hurry up.”

“If I want to,” Carolina dismissed, opening the camera on her iPad and starting to take photos of the pages before her.

“So what? You’re keeping my notebook?” He arched his eyebrow, a smirk showing on his lips.

“Why?” She paused the task to look at him curiously. “Is there something here I can’t see?” And he faltered his stance for a second, but a second was what it took for her to notice it and start imagining what she really could find between the pages of his book.

“Browse away,” He pointed out the object with his head, “But if you want to keep something of mine, I can bring you a sweater. At least is comfier.” And the look he offered her, made her want to just kick his head out.

“Is that you flirting with me, virgin boy?” She pressed on his new nickname, blood boiling. Jungkook snorted once again.

“You wish. Just hurry up,” He turned back to face the board once again. “Or neither of us will pass the pop quiz next week. I need to write down what he’s saying.”

“Here.” She said taking the last picture and handing him his notebook back. “And hurry up writing it down! I need the rest of it, thank you!”

Once the class was over, Jungkook gathered his things and left. He had volleyball practice tonight so he wanted to go home and rest as soon as possible. Turns out he made a poor choice when he decided to stay up playing overwatch with some of his friends.

He was about to leave the main hall when he heard someone call his name. Someone who was giving him lots of headaches lately.

“Hey, virgin boy! You forgot the rest of the notes!” Carolina said almost sprinting to catch him.

“Really? I think I got everything the teacher said?” He turned to face her, playing dumb.

“No dumbass, you forgot to pass them on to me.”

“I don’t think I did.”

“But you did.” Carolina pushed back and he smirked.

“Nope.”

“Seriously,” She puffed. “Can you just stop this… Thing. And give me the notes? I really need them and you’re the most organized one so far. Plus your handwriting is- You know-”

“What?” He arched an eyebrow amused. “Pretty?” And she huffed rolling her eyes, completely impatient. “Well, maybe if you hadn’t started calling me virgin boy…”

“It affects you that much, huh?” She narrowed her eyes looking at him, a smile threatening to pull at the corners of her mouth.

The truth was: it was indeed Carolina starting the rumors. She didn’t plan for it to get that far, not even in her wildest dreams she thought the next day everyone around campus would be talking about it. But she underestimated Jungkook’s reputation, and the volley team’s integrity to keep a secret.

It all started when their coach decided to appoint Jungkook — the ace of the boys' team — to watch a simple match between the girls. He was supposed to analyze their techniques and help the coach out to sort a better lineup since there was fresh blood coming in. Carolina was already the designed setter of the official team, and Jennifer — Jungkook’s unofficial booty call — was the designed captain, she was also a year older than the both of them. Same as Jungkook, she played in the wing spiker position. That day, the coach decided to make a team with Jennifer in charge and another with Carolina in charge since their game style differed quite a lot.

Everything was going fine, until Carolina herself smashed a ball on the second touch, doing a feint, but Jennifer raised up to the net, trying to block it. The ball happened to be quick so the coach couldn’t really pinpoint if it touched the court line or not. But that didn’t matter to Carolina because she was sure it had hit Jennifer’s hand, therefore, the point was hers.

At the time, Jennifer cried out to the coach Carolina was lying and the ball had not touched her attempt to block. The coach couldn’t solve the debate so he asked for a second opinion — Jungkook’s. He took a while to give the answer, and by the way he looked between the two girls, Carolina simply knew: he had seen the ball touching Jennifer’s hand, but she was also his booty call. So when he gave that point to Jennifer, she wasn’t surprised. Or hurt. Although it sucked losing a point like that, knowing she was supposed to have it. What came afterward though, was what truly pissed her off.

She had stayed behind at the court talking strategies with the coach for their next game, after all, she was the setter on the team, and it was her obligation to think the game through. And she was certain the lockers would be empty by the time she went there to take a shower. But she was wrong. As soon as she opened the door, she overheard Jennifer and Jungkook’s voices talking about none other than herself. Jennifer had told him she didn’t know how a player like Carolina deserved to be frontline, and at the time Jungkook laughed.

Carolina had marched out of the lockers that day fuming. And she wasn’t one to lose her cool like that, but something inside her snapped. So the next thing she knew, she was telling their libero Jungkook was still a virgin when the short girl inquired if Jungkook was doing Jennifer in the lockers and if that was why she couldn’t change her clothes.

“You’re the one losing here, sweetheart.” Jungkook stuffed his hands in his pockets, “Anyway, you still have a week.” He turned around ready to leave but was stopped.

“Hey!” Carolina held his arm. “First of all, you should work on that pet name thing, virgin boy, sweetheart is a major turn off — unless you’re like. British. But anyway! Just-” She let out a long sigh. “Borrow me your notes, please, I swear I’ll be quick,”

He looked at her and almost gave in. She really wasn’t one to be desperate because of notes or grades… But she did him dirty in the end. He had to put up a fight somehow. “Not today,” Jungkook got loose of her hold and started walking towards the exit.

“God, I could break his legs right here.” She muttered to herself seeing him walk off.

Carolina was ready to punch someone into a locker but she refrained herself, knowing it was of no use getting in trouble over him. Instead, she was planning on wasting all her rage at the volleyball court later on. Tonight’s practice was co-ed.

The halls were all empty and Namjoon found himself wandering through the corridor he already knew like the back of his hand. He wasn’t in the mood for how the rest of his day was about to end, but he also knew there was no use in postponing this any further. So he made his way to the principal’s office — or better yet, his dad’s office.

“You’re lat— What clothes are those?” Dean Kim frowned displeased, as soon as he gave Namjoon a quick glance.

“My going out clothes…? Why? There’s something wrong?” The boy asked, looking down at himself to inspect if there was indeed something off.

His father sighed. “I told you this dinner was important. I needed you in formal attire.” He added sternly.

“I don’t have anything more formal than this, dad… I’ve been in college all day,” Namjoon sighed, trying to contain his temper from coming out. “And besides, nobody will even notice me, I’m sure,” He added trying to lighten the mood.

“Either way, we don’t have time for you to change now. Your mother is coming too so we’ll have to go pick her up,” The older man said without even looking at his son, turning around to pick up his briefcase.

“Mom is coming? Why?”

“Because it looks better in pictures if she’s there,” He paused. “You already know this stuff,”

“No, I don’t. I don’t know why you two have to keep pretending… Don’t you see it’s a burden for mom?” Namjoon pointed out sadly. It hurt his heart to see his mom sad, and the more he tried to recollect his memories with his parents, the more he could see that was the only look he had ever seen on her face.

“I don’t think this matter really concerns you,” He said in a cold tone, trying to put an end to the conversation.

“Yes, it does dad. God!” Namjoon let out in frustration, sitting down on one of the puffy chairs. “I’m your son and I have to see this act go on… And how it hurts all of us! This is not right. Can’t we just— I don’t know. Let’s just go the two of us.”

“I already told you. This is not up for discussion, Namjoon. Since when do you stand up to my word, huh? Those friends of yours…” The dean basically spat. He didn’t approve of his son’s friends ever since the day they all came into his office for a prank they pulled and the whole cafeteria had to be evacuated.

“This has nothing to do with my friends. I stand up for what I believe is right, and you would know that if you paid more attention to the real me, not the idea of a son you created in your mind,”

“Why can’t you just have a good record and study hard so you can have a bright future?! I just want what is best for you. One day you’ll realize that.”

“And I do that. I study hard, and I have great grades. The only thing lacking for you is appearances,” Namjoon retorted, hurt by his father’s words.

“Dressing better wouldn’t do you any harm. You look like a delinquent in those baggy clothes. I’ll ask your mother to take you out shopping soon. Now we have to go,”

“Sure thing… dad,” Namjoon said in a quitting tone, following his father out of the building, towards their luxurious car.

He just wanted this night to end and it hadn’t even started. Ever since Namjoon was little, he couldn’t remember a moment when his mother was truly happy with his father. From early on, she decided it would be best to be a stay-at-home mom and take care of Namjoon and his younger sister. Mr. Kim was making more than enough money being the university dean to take care of the whole family, so why work? But that made Namjoon’s mom become more and more unhappy with time, and she didn’t have the strength to get away from the dependent relationship she had with her husband. When she finally managed to find herself a job and ask for a divorce, Mr. Kim found a way to continue controlling her. After all, what kind of strong and powerful family is one that isn’t able to hold a marriage? Namjoon just wanted to see his mom happy but he was still far from being capable of holding the power to change such things.

As his night continued to go disastrously, Jungkook and Carolina were already at their volleyball practice, where their coach decided it would be a good idea to have a match between teams. Boys and girls, all against each other.

Jungkook wasn’t lucky enough to be put on the same team as Carolina. And every once in a while, when he looked at her, he could see there was lots of pent-up anger inside that she was ready to let out by smashing some balls. Their coach even commented he wished she could play with the boy’s team in the upcoming game due to how roughly and determinedly she was playing.

The more the match unfolded, the more the tension between them grew. They were going head to head in the net. That was until the coach made Carolina play as a spiker to try out the substitute setter in case something happened to her. That’s when it happened. The very first ball she spiked, went directly into Jungkook’s face. He was thrown straight to the floor with a bloody nose and a sore back from the impact.

Jungkook never thought he could have such an impact on a girl. Especially not in this one specifically. It was just some stupid notes… He could not help but think about how would she react in case she was dumped. He took a mental note as he got up from the floor to try and do some peace offerings after resuming practice. Or at least understand why there was such a bad vibe between them.

So when the time came to hit the lockers, he got ready as fast as he could and waited for her outside. Somehow, while waiting, he kept finding the situation funny that she could be so uptight. And that made him mad at himself because he was supposed to be mad at her.

“So I guess practice wasn’t good enough to unload your rage?” Jungkook asked with a grin on his face, grabbing Carolina’s arm since she decided to pretend he didn’t exist.

“Better take your hands off if you don’t wanna see what’s left of that rage” Her eyes glowed while staring at him intensely.

“Oh, c’mon! Are you seriously mad because I didn’t give you my notes?” He almost snorted and that made her blood boil.

“Yes. I am.”

“I’ll give them to you then, if that’s what it takes to stop your whole hulk mode,” His hand was still holding her arm, keeping her in place.

“No need,”

“I see you also have a big, big pride,” The grin on his face duplicated size.

“I just have an intolerance to bitchy people,” She stared at him so seriously that his superior pose started to crumble. “Now if you’ll excuse me,” She got rid of his hold and turned to walk away. Jungkook took a second before being functional again.

“I don’t actually.” He grabbed her arm once more, making her spin back to him. “I’m the bitchy one? Really?” He took a step closer, getting rilled up.

“What do you even want, virgin boy? Tell me ‘cause I’m kinda losing my patience here,” She huffs. Carolina was close to losing her temper and even closer to punching him in the face.

“You’re the one acting like a child even though you started this ridiculous rumor about me and you still have the guts to say I’m bitchy.” He clenched his jaw. “You need to swallow that temper of yours. If you want the notes just tell me instead of this.” And she laughed acidly at his words, taking yet another inch of a step closer to him.

“Listen, sweetheart, I asked you once. Maybe twice, for the notes. I won’t ask for them again. And the one being childish is clearly you. You came to offer your notes after I asked for them. And I said no. But for some fucking reason you don’t let me go.” She forced her arm out of his grip, never once breaking eye contact. “I call that childish behavior. Either you state what you want or you leave me be.”

He sustained her eye contact for a while. Tong brushing against his inner cheek. “Fine,” He snorts and leaves. Simple as that.

That night Jungkook arrived at home so pissed off and bothered by their encounter, that he just got inside his room and decided it was best to sleep. He even ignored Namjoon’s attempts to call him to share a meal.

On the other hand, still on campus, Hyori was trying hard to study for one of her upcoming exams but the buzzing of her phone and a certain doe-eyed boy kept her losing focus. Deo was on her bed, trying to read a book she had bought last week but the constant beeping and buzzing were making her stressed. And although she didn’t want to pry, she couldn’t stop herself from asking.

“Why is your phone always beeping?” Deo approached the subject, putting her book aside. It was unusual for Hyori to have her phone on while studying and her roommate knew that.

“Oh!” She turns around to face Deo, a blush creeping in her cheeks and a fast hand trying to silence the device. “It’s just this guy from my physics class. No biggie!”

“A guy?” And if before her book had been put aside, now it was completely forgotten. Deo straightened her back, sitting crossed-legged, paying full attention to the conversation they were about to have.

“As I said, no big deal. So don’t make it be! But yes. He’s cute and his name is Eunwoo,”

“How can I not make a big deal out of this when you just said he’s cute and you’re clearly putting your studies on pause to answer him?!” Deo answered excitedly. “What are you both talking about?”

“He’s just super friendly that’s all!” Hyori let out a laugh, a nervous one. “If somehow it happens to be something more — not that it will — I’ll let you know. Really.”

“Uhu…” She eyed her suspiciously. “But do you have a date yet?” The smaller girl wiggled her eyebrows teasingly making Hyori roll her eyes at the change of attitude and laugh right after.

“What’s up with you though?” Hyori changed the subject, adorning a more serious tone. “I could see you furrowing your brows and thinking hard on your bed.”

“It’s just this book… So intriguing.”

“I see. Sure it is…” Hyori said eyeing the girl to see if she would finally say the real motive. “You know what’s funny? I have like. A million texts from Jimin asking me why you won’t talk to him. Does that ring a bell?”

“Ugh. He’s such an annoying ass,” Deo whispered more to herself in defeat. “You know his friend? That Taehyung guy?”

“The artsy one?” Hyori recalled.

“Yeah, the one with blue hair. Anyway, you know I can’t stand him, right? And today Jimin just came to me with like ‘oh hey guys you are best friends!’ and no we’re not!” Deo let out a long and hard sigh. “It pissed me off. He already knows I don’t like the guy but he keeps pushing.”

“And why is that exactly? That you don’t like him?”

“I can’t believe you’re going to analyze me right now… I think you should drop out of psychology,” Deo tried, attempting to ease the mood but Hyori wasn’t having it. Her face was frozen, meaning she was still expecting an answer. “Well, first of all, he’s a weirdo. Just the other day he came to Jimin saying that the light bill was getting too high and that he needed to watch out for the lights he forgot to turn off. Bro, we live in the dorms!” She rolled her eyes, annoyed to think back at that moment. “And the real reason… I think it’s because I’m jealous?”

“Jealous of Jiminie or… Taehyung?” Hyori pressed in a suggesting tone and that made Deo snort.

“Why would I be jealous of Taehyung?!” She asked confused.

“Of Taehyung… For no big deal. Now, of Jimin… Well. The way I see it, maybe you’re having a moment of ‘why this loopy blue-haired guy is messing with my emotional’?”

“I don’t see it… I just don’t understand why Jimin likes him so much. I mean, I’m his best friend too! I should be enough… And ok, I know it’s not fair.”

“Yes, he’s a little… Excentric? Out of the box? Anyway, the point is, he can be like that but he is kinda funny in his own way… And Jimin speaks highly of him. He’s always blabbing about how great of a friend and moral support he is. So even if you don’t like the dude, just maybe tolerate him for Jimin? You know you love Jimin.”

“I smiled at the dude today!” Deo whined in defeat. “I won’t be disrespectful towards him because that wasn’t how I was raised but I really can’t stand his face.”

“That’s either called love or pure I want to have sex with you,” Hyori smirked, teasing her roommate.

“How— I don— Ok you know what?! Just go back to your studies and text the cute boy.” Deo stuck her tongue out to her laying down once more to resume her book.

“Ok, scratch that. It’s more like. I madly want to have sex with him” She chuckles loudly. “But hey! I’m not judging. The dude is weird but he’s super handsome!”

“I DON’T WANT TO!” Deo protested, throwing a pillow on the other girl’s head.

"And you know what? The girls I'm tutoring said pretty good stuff about him too…” Hyori continued teasing. “His hands are that big for a reason"

“HYORI!” Deo hid her face in one of her pillows, flustered. “Do you think he’s good at it though? Because he has the fame but you never know.” She lifted her head up to ask.

“Oh, I’m pretty sure he knows what he’s doing.”

“I think you are the one who has a crush, huh? Loopy is your type then?”

“Loopy is… Hot. I give him that. But I’m more of a naturalist boyfriend kind of girl,” Hyori said, a little pensive in the last part, thinking of what her type would be. “Loopy is more your type really.”

“Just. Don’t ok! And don’t give Jimin any ideas. And stop having ideas too!”

“Will you start talking to Jimin again?”

“Yes…” Deo sighed. “You know I can’t stay mad for long.”

“Then it’s a secret.” She winked and laughed hard right after because Deo pretended to throw her book to her head as she did with the pillow.

But that girl talk really made Deo think. It wouldn’t be fair for Jimin to wait until the next morning for them to reconcile — if you could even call it that — and it shouldn’t be something done by text either. Or even through call. So putting her book aside for good this time she decided to drop by their dorms.

Hoseok was the hall supervisor so that wouldn’t be a problem for her to reach their dorm that late at night. She put on some sweat pants and went out with her pajama shirt. Who cared? At this hour, very few roamed the corridors.

She knocked on their door and soon it opened. Jimin greeted her a bit surprised, with his hair messy and torso bare.

“Hey… Sorry to drop by this late,” Deo started and Jimin immediately involved her in a big hug. “I should be the one giving the hug, you know.” She chuckled against his skin.

“Why were you mad at me today?” He asked with a pouty face, not beating around the bush.

“Can you?” She pointed at the door signaling him to close it and he did so. They both stayed in the hallway, away from his roommate peeking curiosity. “I just— I’m sorry. I was being childish just because I’m jealous of all the attention you give Taehyung. I promise I’ll work harder to be nice to your friend.”

“You could’ve just stopped at the sorry but now that you said everything, I’ll make you keep the last part!” He gave her a big smile when she rolled her eyes.

“You’re an ass.” She said trying to maintain a straight face but failed miserably.

“Do you wanna come in? We were just watching a movie!” Jimin said already opening the door. He first shouted for the other boy to put a t-shirt on, and when he gave the green light, he let Deo in. Somehow they managed to hang an old projector on one of the walls over the bed and were watching the movie like they were in a cinema. They had popcorn and everything.

“Tae!” Jimin called for him again before entering all the way, Deo right behind him. “Deo is here!”

“Shit…” Deo cussed under her breath only now realizing she was wearing her pajama. “Jimin,” She started, ready to give an excuse and leave when the blue-haired boy got up from behind a bed to greet her.

“Hey there,” Taehyung gives a little wave with his hand. “Bro, can I press play already? I hate to pause it in the middle of an important dialogue. I always end up forgetting everything,” He looked frustrated at Jimin.

“Just a sec!” He turned to Deo once more. “Do you wanna watch the movie with us?”

“Oh, I don–“

“Effort remember?” Jimin almost whispered to her.

“Sure.” The girl sighed. “Do you mind?” She addressed Taehyung directly for the first time.

“Uh, yeah, sure.” He said casually playing with the hair from his nape. “But please don’t make me back up to the beginning of the movie.”

“I won’t!” She raised her hands up as a peace offering.

“Ok. I’m pressing play! Shut the lights, Jimin!” Taehyung said once again sitting on the floor between beds and turning his attention to the scene being projected on their wall.

“Go sit!” Jimin ordered Deo, pointing to the bed but she stood still. She didn’t want to have to sit in Taehyung’s bed and since this was the first time she actually got to see their room, she didn’t know which one belonged to who. “C’mon!”

“Popcorn?” Taehyung asked, raising the bowl towards her. At the sight of his hand, all she could think about was that silly conversation she had with Hyori about it and she found herself blushing from the thoughts that crossed her mind. He was just beneath her.

“No, I’m good! But thanks.” She dismissed quicker than intended.

As someone who didn’t care much about hands and their beauty, she had to admit that his hands were just something else… And suddenly the room was too hot, and the actors were talking but she wasn’t getting any of it.

“I want!” Jimin exclaimed breaking the imaginary tension and shoving his hand down the bowl, taking a hand full straight to his mouth.

For the rest of the movie, Taehyung kept on making comments about the whole aesthetic of the scenery while the other two remained in silence, just watching. Once it ended, they ended up enjoying the final credits and the music that came in, too absorbed by their talk about the actors in question. Jimin already had his head on Deo's lap and was close to falling asleep because she had been playing with his locks for the longest time.

"This is the kind of movie that makes me regret choosing performative arts," Deo commented after a big sigh, a frown adorning her features.

“Why?” Taehyung turned his body around so he could look up and face her directly.

"Oh well... There's a lot of things I like to do and it gets hard having to choose only one. It's like choosing between kids, you know? I like photography, but I also like dancing and singing and I also really like movies so how am I supposed to pick one?"

“It’s not that hard if you are open-minded enough to be a lot of people at the same time,” He pondered, offering sincere advice. “I don’t think I want to do just one thing for the rest of my life either,”

"I meant more like in learning. Like. These majors are too expensive for me to take every single one I like." She answered back, Jimin’s eyes kept blinking slowly, almost lulled by his friends voices as background sound.

“Hm… You just have to choose the one you identify yourself with most, not thinking you will be giving up the others. That’s what I think” Taehyung said after a long time of looking at the ceiling, thinking.

"That's a good way of thinking"

“Why are you so quiet?” Taehyung questioned Jimin once their eyes made contact. It wasn't much like him to be quiet.

"Oh, no reason!” He straightens his back smiling at Deo as a thank you for all the fondling. “I was just thinking along with your conversation… When I was little I used to get picked on a lot by my family because I liked to dance but I also liked football. So anything is possible if I think about it. I'm having the best of both worlds." He chuckles.

“I remember that,” Taehyung laughs along with him, thinking about those moments from their childhood.

"So, yeah, don’t stress too much. We can multitask, or try," Jimin said pinching Deo's nose to make her smile. "As long as you work hard for it, you can do it!"

"That's also a good way of thinking,” She pointed surprised. “Never knew you could be that wise, Jimin," She teased. "But anyway, it's getting late so I should get going." And although Jimin pouted dramatically as she got up from the bed, he followed her, knowing he too should rest a bit.

“Working hard remembers me of the review I have to write due tomorrow” Taehyung sighed, making the others laugh. “There’s never a chill-out moment without paperwork to do after,” The boy in question went back and laid on the floor amongst pillows like a starfish, stretching every ounce of his body.

"Do you need me to walk you to your dorm?" Jimin asked Deo. He didn't like it when she would wander around campus late at night. And her eyes weren’t on Jimin’s but on the blue-haired guy showing now part of his own torso while rolling on top of pillows. “Deo?”

"Oh! No! No, I’m ok.” She was quick to snap out of her thoughts. “Thanks for the popcorns," She looked again towards Taehyung to thank him, already close to the door.

"Sure, anytime!" He leaned on his elbows to show her a boxy smile. He indeed looked like a God waiting to be painted.

Deo shook her head, turning again to Jimin.

"See you tomorrow, babe." She lifted herself on her tiptoes and gave Jimin a tight hug, making her way to her own dorm in quick paces. “Please visit often!” She managed to hear Jimin’s voice cheerful and all she could think of was ‘God, no’.

@singguks × @socksjinie × @bluenpjm

✱ if you want to be tagged for the next chapters, comment down below!

297 notes · View notes