#anyway if its really what happened then backing out of an agreement without even letting the other person know sounds like shit

[shepherdenjoyer]

saw this as it was happening and assumed there had been some level of communication but what im getting from this is that there wasn't, and im like, yikes.

shortly put this breeder has been planning this litter for years and had two separate, and unfortunately unsuccessful trips to mate the dogs because of limited schedules and bad timing, and then that happened.

if it had been communicated i imagine it'd be fine but the fact that it wasn't... really isn't a good look considering they had agreed to not do exactly this !! gotta agree with what they finished off this update with.

#mine #on one hand 1. im just an observer 2. this is one side of things and i'd be curious to hear from the other breeder too #but idk if that'll happen and either way im definitely taking notes and paying attention to those things #i have no interest in either pairing. nothing wrong just not ideal fits for us #but i am interested in one of the breeders in the longer term so. 👀 #anyway if its really what happened then backing out of an agreement without even letting the other person know sounds like shit #especially regarding something as potentially impactful as this #im also like. i doubt they knew the mating was unsuccessful for the other breeder when deciding to do this. aka they didnt care abt #doing exactly what they had agreed not to do #idk man this is just my rambling thoughts and im just some guy but 😬

[tangerinesilk]

－ DISTRACTION : DAVE LIZEWSKI

dave was a great study buddy, but there's no doubt he was a distraction. he constantly made you turn your head twice at whatever he said or did whether it was some comic book character he rambled about or how his pale blue eyes shined under the warm lighting of his desk lamp.

pairing ✷ college!dave lizewski x college!fem!reader

rating ✷ r (18+ minors dni!)

tropes ✷ friends with benefits, spicy but no / little plot, unspoken love, domestic toward eachother but no dating, dorky and awkward people in love who just wont admit it theyre in love (sort of) | nsfw warnings below!

word count ✷ 1.7k

a/n ✷ um this was a random thought and it just sort of happened. stg it feels like i blacked out while writing this KSKFFKS what is going on with me. anyways been wanting to write about this cute dork for a while and why not make it really hot. posting now so i dont chicken out but ill edit later.... i always love feedback! xo

[ steamy warnings: mentions of public sex, dom & sub switches, p in v without protection, nipple play, hj + bj, f receiving oral from m, praising + heavy dirty talk, face sitting, finishing inside v ]

typical weekends: saturday night at dave's apartment.

dave was explaining something... it was something. something important, but all you could focus on was his pretty eyes and how soft his lips looked today. he pushed his glasses up more on his nose bridge again, looking down at his book for one of his college classes.

he was so into the subject, you didn't even have to nod. you were occasionally tapping the eraser end of your pencil against your blank notebook, only listening to every other word.

suddenly, your mind wanders to when you two were doing laundry at three in the morning and got a little spontaneous. then getting a bit handsy on the top floor of the library where no one usually was. maybe even the time when you were visiting him back home for one weekend and you both could barely keep it together with company downstairs.

ever since you both agreed on this friends with benefits agreement, your dry spells were no longer an issue. it seemed like both of you were touched starved, but not wanting to meet other people, strangers you didnt want or need to know.

so, after becoming lab partners in your fall semester of senior year, its been nonstop seeing each other. not just for sex, but hanging out to study, going to local comic book stores and libraries, even the occasional dinner and sleepover combo at his apartment or yours.

it seemed like a wild card at first, but you would never admit (outloud) to dave lizewski that you underestimated how great his tongue felt inside your pus—

"y/n, are you even listening?"

you cleared your throat, "hmm?"

he chuckled, "so you weren't... i know, its kind of boring."

now you felt bad, caught up from going down memory lane and he was excited about his new class.

you ran your hand over his curls, "im sorry, dave. my mind was wandering."

he turned, seeming interested, "about what?"

you felt the heat rise to your cheeks, "about... you know..." you trailed then shrugged, "stuff."

dave smiled, "oh yeah? you weren't, i dont know, thinking about me?"

you had seen this confidence grow inside dave as more time passed, and you weren't sure if it was cockiness, but you couldn't deny how cute yet attractive it was on him.

"why dont you go back to what you were rambling about? please. im all ears now." you lean in, placing your hands underneath your chin with your elbows on his desk.

its ironic how his full size bed was behind the two of you yet here you are, acting like this was the first time you've hung out.

he pressed wet kisses against your inner thighs, your clit aching for his mouth as his nose brushed against your skin. he'd let out a nervous chuckle as he noticed the wet spot forming on the center of your panties. you'd bite your bottom lip as he licked his lips, in awe of the mess you were for him.

dave pulled down your panties, shuffling them down your ankles before tossing them to the side. his strong hands run up the top of your thighs before holding your hips, pulling your core closing to his mouth. after his first, yet hesitant, kiss on your clit, you let out a faint moan.

soon his tongue was running over your open slit and tasting your sweet wetness. you arched your back, leaning back on his desk as he flicked your clit a few times. when he pushes his tongue inside you, a rush of heat runs over your entire body. you caress your own breasts and pull at your own nipples as he picks up his pace.

"fuck... god, yes. eat my fucking pussy." you whimpered. he got so weak when you uttered your sweet nothings. as dominant as he thought he presented himself, dave was a sucker for you.

just when you thought it couldn't get better, he slide his two fingers into your slit as his tongue flicks your swollen clit. you told him how you love when he curled his fingers inside you, knuckle deep and gathering your wetness every pump as he brought you closer to your orgasm.

your hips grind against his mouth and hand, painfully near your climax. he cursed under his breath as he felt your pussy clench around his digits. he pulls his mouth away from your clit, trailing more kisses over your stomach then rolls his tongue against your right nipple.

his hand still worked your slit, thrusting so fast that your head was spinning along with the pleasure of him sucking your erect nipple. you glanced down, seeing how his hard pressed against his khakis. just the thought of taking his cock into your mouth made you dizzy, bucking your hips against his fingers.

"yes... make me cum. i wanna fucking cum on your fingers." you muttered under your breath, pulling at his curls. dave's knees were giving out as he held his position but he loved to hear your continous begging.

he was about to see if he could pick up his pace before your hand reached down, sliding into the front of his stained pants and caressing his hard cock. he grunted against your chest, instantly weak from your touch which made him pause.

"hmm, what about i cum on your cock instead?" you giggled as your lips met his, "it's so hard... bet you've been thinking about cumming inside my tight pussy, huh, dave?"

he sighed, "shit..."

"that's what i thought, baby." you say before taking his fingers into your mouth, tasting your own cum. he takes a mental picture even though you've done this in your previous hookups.

you hop off the desk, playfully pushing him on his twin size bed. you slowly get on your knees, running your hand over the crotch of his pants that were already unbuttoned and half unzipped. it's easy for your pull his cock out, practically springing from his briefs.

his eyes are glued to you as your tongue runs up and down the base before wrapping your lips against his red tip. you half-giggle when you taste his pre-cum, then carefully take him all in your mouth. you gag a bit as his tip pushes further in, and he groans when your throat tightens around him.

you push your tongue out to make sure your teeth dont graze his cock as you deep throat him, incredibly slow, so he can watch in awe. he leans up on his elbows, falling apart as you take him in your mouth so easily and your hand pumping the rest of his base.

"fucking christ... fuck." he muttered, his dick twitching inside your mouth as your salvia runs down when you gag on his hard.

his hand runs over your hair, gathering it together to keep it out of your face— also to have a better view of him receiving one of the best blowjobs you've given him.

when you pull your mouth away, you giggle as you pump his cock with your spit lubricating for better motion. his face screws together the faster you pump, and he can barely take the pleasure.

"hmm, i bet you wanna cum on my face... and tits. but, i want you to cum inside me." you say as you but your bottom lip, running your thumb over the cum leaking from his tip.

"me too, baby. fuck!" he grunts, and it makes you smile at how much of a mess he is too.

you rise from your knees, relieving the pressure on them before straddling him on his bed. you pull off your top, tossing it on the other side of the room as he quickly peels his shirt off as well. his big hands run up your body, over your breasts once more as his thumbs move against your nipples.

"god, i want to feel every inch of your cock... so, don't stop until you're finished." you tell him as you run his tip agaisnt your slit before slowly sinking down on him.

"babe, shit... fuck." he whimpered, his fingers pressing into your hips as you arch your back.

"god, im so tight." you moan, "your cock is so big... can barely fit you inside me." you huff, your eyes closed shut as you slowly move your hips.

soon, you meet a nice pace of bouncing on his cock and he loosens up as he watches you move up and down. his bright eyes keep moving between looking at your tits and your face, completely amazed by your beauty.

you run your hands over his toned chest and abdomen, leaving light scratches on his skin from the waves of pleasure coursing throughout your body.

"dave, im gonna cum. oh, oh! i'm gonna cum." you announced to him and he was holding off anyways, his jaw clenched his much that it was beginning to feel painful.

as you arch your back and let out a long whine, he stills his hips as his warm cum fills you up. it was the first time he was fully inside you, and you were aching around his cock, feeling it throbbing against your walls.

he leans up, leaving a soft kiss just above your breasts before you two share another kiss. you can't help but giggle, both of you feeling that sudden hit of exhaustion.

you lift yourself from your cock and cum runs down your slit, letting him see the mess he made. dave smirks, expecting him to say that he'll get you a towel but instead licks his lips and starts to lean down between your legs again.

it was like deja vu. his tongue presses against your swollen slit, tasting your mixed cum before sucking on your sore clit. now you're so sensitive to the touch, you could orgasm again at any moment. he was so in tune with your body that he knew what pace to go and how long you could actually lasts.

you run your hands over your breasts, his tongue moving so perfectly between your slit and clit. you feel his press a light kiss against the area above your pussy before trailing more kisses up your body. then, you two shared another kiss, tasting each other's tongues once more before he laid next to you.

"you know, i've never had a study partner like you." you jeered, pressed a kiss against the start of his jaw.

he blushed, "me neither..." he raised his eyebrows, "trust me."

#dave lizewski #dave lizewski x reader #dave lizewski smut #dave lizewski x you #kick ass

[yanderemommabean]

For the smiles corp thingy imagine reader goes to the second meeting out of pure terrior and maybe even the small, little glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe this is all some fucked up prank. Only to find out its not and now they have to deal with being on a date with a scary, yet charming, CEO that wants nothing more than to spoil them 🥰

You’re petrified, clenching the sleeves of your outfit as higher ups you’ve never met before hover over you, inspecting you, nodding in agreement to things you aren’t sure of. They were all acting as if this was some business deal to finalize, rather than explaining why you were really here, and why there was just a tall figure awaiting in the head seat of the boardroom. 

“This outfit is nice, but I’m telling you, they need something more revealing!’ 

“Oh so you WANT other lowly people to look at our employer's spouse?! They need something luxurious but modest! “ 

“Modest?! Are you a puritan?! Their body should be admired just like the rest of them!”

You wince as their voices echo and raise, feeling tugged back and forth as they refuse to explain what’s happening. You were about to start screaming yourself, to try and get someone's attention, but everything paused abruptly. 

The man at the head of the table just raised his hand, and everyone went still. They slowly let go of you, gently patting and smoothing your ruffled outfit with soft apologies as they take their seats. 

The man said nothing. Ominously hunched over with hands clasped,he simply stares at you, waiting for you to take your seat at the opposite end of the table. 

You knew Lovely Smiles was an odd, dare you say dangerous, corporation, but this figure before you made your skill crawl even worse than the first time they interviewed you. 

“Alright! It’s my pleasure to be here with you, Y/N, and have you as a part of our team!” a board member speaks, sliding out a briefcase and rummaging through files. The man still simply stares at you, saying nothing, looking as if he will attack as soon as you simply adjust in your seat. 

“Now-” he says, sliding paperwork down the long table to reach you “We have a lot to cover! But before we begin, I would like to say on behalf of us and our amazing, benevolent employer, we’re so happy you agreed to be a part of this company for the long haul!”  

They begin talking about the rules, what you could and could no longer do by yourself, what rights you were wavering away as the ominous business man  seemed to continue staring at you. He leered at you as you tried to keep up with everything being thrown at you, as if he saw you as some cute trapped little mouse surrounded by big, scary lions. 

“Sir, do you have anything to add” a shaky voice asks, tapping papers on the table to straighten them as everyone waits for any sort of response. 

The man just hums, and slowly begins to stand, walking down the room with his head held high and his hands behind his back. 

“As you all know” a deep voice said, “I have many rules and regulations to keep this company in line. I take pride in making this a wholesome, but clean workplace”

The boardroom goes deathly quiet, some members seeming to shake as he continues to speak. As if they feared being a target for whatever issue he may have. “I don’t tolerate any sort of filth, profanity, or vulgarness. Not at the workplace, anyway” he chuckles, and you watch as some people nervously giggle back, still glued to their seats. 

“So, I’d like to add one more thing to the list of conditions my beloved will be signing” he stands behind you, making you feel small, weak, and able to be killed if he so desires. His fingers come to gently play with some of your misplaced hair, a smirk tugging at his lips as he watches you squirm under his gaze.

“If anyone is to touch my love, without strict permission from me, they are to be sent to me directly. I will…terminate them…in any way I see fit. If anyone is caught making them dirty, bruised, overworked, or upset, they are to be sent to me. From there, I will determine how to deal with them before execut-I mean, terminating them. Do we understand?” he barked out, making the members jump from the outburst. “Why yes of course!” Some cheerfully agree, while others nod and keep to themselves. 

You wonder why they’re so loyal to the man. What could they possibly have to gain by making you do this? Were they just as twisted and sick? You’re sure the answer would only make you more nauseated. 

“Good. Now, I’m sure my love hasn’t eaten today yet…and this meeting is coming very close to lunch time” he says as he watches their reactions “I can’t take them to lunch myself until this contract is fully explained and signed, as you know. So! Who’s willing to go beyond for the company and get us some lunch? I’m sure you’re just as starved afterall”. 

They all share a chuckle, and a few raise their hands to take the responsibility, almost scrambling to please the man they work under. 

“Hurry” he deadpans, going back to play with your hair as you stay silent, unable to utter anything as the scene unfolds. “So cute…” you hear murmured against your ear, his mouth just centimeters from touching your now heated skin. 

“I know I said I hate messes at the workplace but…When I get you home…" he lets his lips press just below your ear, his breath making you shiver "I plan to make quite the mess out of you”. 

(Mkay I kinda got a lil horny lmao I hope you liked bean! Sorry for any typos!

-Mommabean)

#Yandere CEO #yandere imagines #yandere scenarios #poly yandere #yandere harem #ish #Yandere corporation ??? is that a tag yet? #I'll make it one #mommabean

[ainri]

hello! I'm the one who asked for one of illumi (yandere) could you make it headcanons?

illumi zoldyck as a yandere (hcs and drabble.)

•hunter x hunter

•yandere illumi headcanons + small drabble

•mostly fem oriented

•assasin/servant reader

•fic warinings: !dark content!, mentions of death multiple times including reader + reader’s family, insinuated character death at end, forced labor, undergarmnet theft, swear words, mild gaslighting, obsessive thoughts.

•🔞

•masterlist

•a/n: this is my first request so ty!!! tbh i rlly like writing yanderes like its just so fun? anyways someone should really do a crime count because i had to put some extra stuff in the fic warning so that people wouldn’t go crazy on me or call me insensitive 🥰sorry for the wait i completely forgot abt tumblr…..🙊if it doesnt make sense its because i rushed it bc i felt bad for how long i kept my anon waiting (sorry anon pookiebear) and its 1:27am 😞😞

continuation of this post!

<🌟🌟🌟>

-how did you end up this position again?

-oh yeah thats right! your parents were also assasins who just happened to have ‘issues’ with the zoldycks.

-they had personal issues with silva due to a deal gone wrong between the two assassin families.

-how did silva handle getting played by your parents? by sending out an order to kill them.

-but silva is a higher class man with much bigger issues. who’s better to do the job than his son illumi?

-of course the original order was to kill you, your father, and your mother.

-when illumi saw you walking back onto your family’s estate something in him just snapped.

-he just couldn’t help it; he had to have you, no matter the cost.

-that was the moment he realized he couldnt just let you die or kill you.

-you were…special?

-that was the first mission he had ever failed… he just couldnt bring himself to kill you.

-after silva finished beating the shit out of him; illumi had an idea.

-illumi spoke of this idea to silva; to make you a personal servant in return for you and your parents’ lives.

-of course silva agreed, once silva privately told you of this ‘agreement’ you had to agree.

-best to not test the zolycks’ willpower and to not test the waters.

-working as illumi’s personal servant was fine, that was before your panties started disappearing randomly from your laundry bin.

-“master illumi, i hate to bother you with this but have you seen my panties?”

-“no. what are you saying servant?”

-he quickly retorted back, almost, no, way too quickly.

-of course, this all started to add up when the male zoldyck house staff started to ignore you + avoid you like the plague.

-apologizing profusely to you over the smallest mistakes or accidents.

-this was all bizzare…. you needed answers, as quickly as possible.

•••

it was a calm day of cleaning when suddenly you walked in on it—illumi torturing your male coworker who helped you clean the atrium yesterday. “master illumi, what are you doing?” the servant asked horrified and confused,

“none of your business servant-“ he stopped himself to reword his sentence, “you know what? no! i was teaching him a lesson for speaking to you. besides you only belong to me!-right? right? say you belong to me! i killed all of those men—no, boys for you and you can’t even say, ‘thank you master illumi.’!?” he was yelling, now losing his temper.

“master illumi i didnt ask for you to kill for me! whats wrong with you? you-you-you psychopath! youre being completely delusional and irrational!—“

CLANG

all you saw was black as you felt your vision go blurry with illumi hitting you in the head with skme heavy blunted off object.

“i don’t appreciate that (name), i don’t appreciate it at all. you ungrateful woman. all i ever wanted to do was love you. clearly you cant even allow me to do that much. what a shame.”

END

••••••••

©2023 ainri; do not repost my work without credit or repost my work in a different language♡

#illumi hunter x hunter #illumi zoldyck #hunter x hunter headcanons #hunter x hunter x reader #dark content #yandere headcanons #yandere #yandere illumi #illumi x reader #illumi zoldyck x reader

[autumn816]

fake dating + pregnancy fic👀

Hehe, here you go. Hope you like it😁

The double vertical lines glare at him.

The results are positive. They are positive. He is pregnant. He can’t be pregnant. There could be a chance that the results are wrong, right? They aren’t always true. But what are the chances that all five of the tests are wrong?

He’s pregnant. He’s pregnant. He’s pregnant.

Knock. Knock.

“George?” Lewis’ voice filters in from the other side of the door. “Can I come in?”

“Yeah,” George croaks, “it’s open.”

Lewis slips in the bathroom. He takes in George sitting on top of the toilet, lid down. Four pregnancy sticks laid on the sink and one in George’s hands. It doesn’t take an intellectual to figure out what it says but Lewis asks anyway.

“Is it—”

“Yeah.”

“All five of them?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh.”

This wasn’t supposed to happen, George thinks. Him and Lewis were two weeks away from staging a fake break-up. They had a whole plan for it. They had come up with that plan together with their teams.

After some fucking media released pictures of George and Lewis from a private event, they had pretended to be dating. Telling the fans they were just fuck buddies wasn’t even an option. So with Mercedes and Ferrari, George and Lewis had agreed they’ll pretend to date for a few months and then break-up. It was all going so smoothly until the night Lewis dropped him home after having dinner with the older man’s family. They had gone long enough without sleeping together when they started fake dating. That night was all it took for them to break their unspoken agreement.

So really this is on them more than anyone or anything (except maybe the condom they used. It clearly didn’t serve its purpose). They shouldn’t have slept together that night.

Cold hands flatten on his stomach.

“Crikey!” George hisses, breaking out of his daze. “What’re you doing? And why are your hands so cold?”

Somewhere during his daze, Lewis had come closer to George. Because Lewis is crouching down between his legs, rubbing circles on his skin. His eyes are on the same level as his stomach. “You’re pregnant.”

“Yes, now stop it.” George tries to pull Lewis’ hands away but the older man stays persistent. “Lewis, you aren’t going to feel anything yet. I, on the other hand, am feeling your cold hands. So please take them off.”

“Sorry.” Lewis doesn’t sound sorry at all and takes his hands away very slowly. His gaze stays fixated, nonetheless. “There is a baby in there.”

George snorts. “Yes, thank you for letting me know.”

Lewis looks at George.

“Sorry.” George is the one apologising this time. “I know we are both in shock right now.”

“Shock is a fucking understatement.”

Silence befalls over them for two minutes until George speaks. “We’re supposed to fake a break-up in two weeks.”

“I mean, we still could.” Lewis shrugs his shoulders. “Exes co-parent all the time.”

George rolls his lower lip between his teeth, gnawing at it.

Lewis tugs George’s lip out, swiping his thumb over the flesh. “But, I don’t think we should. I think it would be easier if we’re still—if we still pretend to be together.”

“You still want to do that?”

“Whatever we do,” Lewis says, cupping George’s cheek, “we do it together. You won’t be alone, love.”

George’s breathing slows. He knew Lewis wouldn’t just run away but hearing it is different. It felt good. It calmed him down, no matter how little.

Lewis presses a fleeting kiss on George’ stomach, making the man jump, and stands up. “Come on.”

George places his hand into Lewis’ extended one so Lewis could pull him up. “Where?”

“We can talk about the rest and what to do later. Right now, we’re going back to sleep.”

George opens his mouth to protest.

“We can’t do anything until our minds are clear. The edges of Lewis’ mouth curve upwards. “We have to take baby steps.”

George stares at Lewis.

“Too soon?”

“It hasn’t even been half an hour yet.”

——————

I was originally gonna do gewis fake dating because George is pregnant. So gewis are sleeping together and George falls pregnant. So to avoid backlash and people talking bad about George, him and Lewis decide to tell the others that they are together. But then I remembered one of my wips so this is basically a fic divergence, if you will. I was like what if gewis are already fake dating and George ends up pregnant during that🤔It was a different take to the prompt and I already liked it so I went with it.

—

Mash-up trope

#tw mpreg #thank you for sending <3 #ask games #lesi😈

[liliana-meadowpink]

Stinkbugs and Silk: a short palia fic!

It had been a long day. Lillie unlatched the gate to the mountain’s housing area and wandered through the trees to her campsite. She was greeted by Kenyatta as she stood up from the coffee table she had been sitting on.

“Oh, good, you’re finally home.”

“Yes, sorry to keep you waiting.” Lillie responded, walking to her stove and pouring two mugs of tea.

“Did you talk with Jel about my dress yet?” Kenyatta sat down on the coffee table again, accepting the tea. “You better have.”

(More fic under the cut!)

Lillie hesitated. “Yes, but…” How should she explain it? It was so uncomfortable having to go between her friends in this manner. She got the feeling this used to happen a lot with her human friends and it didn’t end well.

“But what?” Kenyatta prompted, setting the empty mug aside. “I don’t like how this is sounding.”

“Look, is there ANYTHING I can do to convince you to wear the dress? Anything at all? Jel worked hard on it and I don’t know if we even have time to make something different.”

“Not a thing. I’ll buy something off the rack.”

“Ken-ya-tta!” Lillie gasped, putting emphasis on each syllable for comedy. “You wouldn’t! You can’t anyway since your fashion tastes aren’t mass produced!”

“I MIGHT consider it… if you can guess what I want you to do.” Kenyatta smirked.

Lillie sighed. “You just said there’s nothing, so I’m gonna talk with your mom about the dress, and…”

“As if she would even listen?”

“Good point. Still, something has to be done. Sure, Jel caved into the pressure of other people’s expectations, but he still got your colors right and it’s supposedly comfortable to wear. Can you at least not be insulted by his efforts? Please?”

“Why are you defending Jel so much?” Kenyatta studied’s Lillie’s face as it shifted hues from its regular soft beige appearance to a color between that of the a scintillating centipede and a briar daisy.

“I… well, I, um… I… Don’t… exactly know.”

“Right. Well, look. Mom’s got a meeting with my aunt, the duchess, coming up. Go hide a stink bug in her desk.”

“Then you’ll wear Jel’s dress?”

“MAYBE.”

“Good. Thank you. I can definitely put a stink bug in there.”

“Great.”

“Are you already leaving?” Lillie followed Kenyatta through the trees, rummaging through her bag.

“Yeah.”

“Okay, well… At least take this antler? I have no idea what to even do with these things.”

“Thanks. See you later.”

“Yes, we will!” Lillie closed the gate and looked down at Aqua and Luna. “That went better than expected.”

The two palcats squeaked in agreement and scampered back to the house.

0~☆*:.｡.~☆~.｡.:*☆~ *:.｡.~☆~.｡.:*☆~0~☆*:.｡.~☆~.｡.:*☆~

“So… I, uh, I did it.”

“Now we just have to sit and wait.” Kenyatta smiled, watching the awkward way Lillie pretended she wasn’t rocking back and forth on her heels.

“Happy to help.”

“I'm glad. You know if this works out, I can think of some other tasks I might want to give you in the future.” She blinked when Lillie stopped fidgeting. “Usually Nai'o does this kind of stuff for me, but lately he's been busy with his family or whatever.”

“Oh, yeah, the fair’s coming up. They’re preparing for EVERYTHING. The jam, the animals, the music…”

“Are you going to help them out?”

“Not sure. I don’t wanna travel very far without my cats.” Lillie said, picking up Aqua and burying her face in his fur.

“Couldn’t you ask someone to take care of them for you?”

“Not really. It’s fine, though. I know one palcat is a handful, let alone four.” She put Aqua down and he rubbed his face against Kenyatta’s boots. “Gosh, I don’t even want to imagine the destruction they’d cause if they stayed with Jel for example! All the pretty fabric, ruined either by claw marks or endless piles of fur.”

“What about the cook?”

“Reth? Oh, he’d be good at it, but they would probably mess with the soup. Besides… Everyone else is too busy.”

Kenyatta thought for a moment. “How about the fishing galdur, uh… Einar, right?”

“What about him?”

“You seem pretty close. Always going to his cave. At midnight.”

“Whoa, whoa, hey. You spy on me?”

“Of course!” Kenyatta smirked.

“Well I don’t ALWAYS go to the cave. Usually I just catch him on the way there and we really only say a few phrases in passing. It’s small talk and nothing more.”

“You’re defensive again.”

“And you’ve been reading too many books.”

Lillie and Kenyatta stared at each other with increasing levels of frown before they both cracked up laughing.

“Okay, tell me honestly! Do you really think that Einar would be interested in ME?!” Lillie gasped. “He’s a three thousand year old galdur with TWO onenesses, and I’m a human who’s vaguely in my late twenties. I have nothing to do all day but run around helping people.”

“Do you like fishing?”

“Yes.”

“Then yeah, I think he would like you.”

“What, romantically?”

“You’re asking about this just to get me off the topic of you potentially having a crush on Jel.”

Lillie’s face went bright pink once more. “What? No way. He’s so obsessed with the night. I need sunshine to survive.”

“You’d make a great pair. Night and light.”

“We would be a very sleepy pair.”

“Good thing you’re learning how to make comfortable beds. If you keep going at it, you might be able to make a bed that’s good enough for…” Kenyatta trailed off when she realized how uncomfortable Lillie looked.

“I think we’re done with this conversation for now. See you later?”

“Yeah. Bye.” Kenyatta waved briefly as Lillie zoomed away.

#palia #palia oc #palia kenyatta #palia jel #palia einar #palia mmo #palia fanfic #palia beta

[jackdraw-spwrite]

Funerary Rites, Chapter 6

Words: 3334 Characters: Clockwork, Danny Warnings: None

For Ectoberhaunt 2023, Day 23 - Magic

Nothing happened.

Nothing Danny had feared, anyway.

The chill of the water was sweet on his tongue, soothing on its way down his throat. It felt like respite, like clarity, like lemonade on a hot summer day after too long outside.

Danny drank until the cup was empty, and then he refilled it and drank some more. He drank until the crystalline sweet of the water washed away the film on his tongue and in his thoughts.

Read the rest on AO3 or below the readmore:

Or some of it, at least.

Finally, he set the cup back on the countertop with a clack. He hadn't realized how thirsty he'd been.

"Thank you," said Caretaker.

"I didn't do it as a favor to you," Danny said.

"Of course not," soothed Caretaker.

"I would never do you a favor," Danny said, bristling. "I would have to like you for that."

"I see."

"I don't. I hate you."

Caretaker said nothing.

The words should have had an impact. Danny expected them to. Caretaker had been terrifying as he swung seemingly at random between anger and sorrow, the only constant the way he reacted to Danny's fear.

And now, even that had vanished.

"I'm afraid of you," tried Danny again.

There was a minute flinch, but nothing more.

"Have you had enough water?" Caretaker asked.

Was Caretaker ignoring what Danny had said? Danny bristled, took a breath to snarl another insult–

and let it out in a sigh instead. Without responses, hurling insults at Caretaker just made him feel like a little kid.

"For now," he allowed.

Caretaker nodded. "There is still the matter of food."

"No," said Danny.

"No?"

"I mean–" Danny made a wordless sound of aggravation. "I mean, the bread."

"No bread?" Caretaker asked, brow furling.

"No, I. You said there were consequences."

"There always are."

"You just don't know them, sometimes," Danny said, tone acidic.

"Precisely. It is why–"

Danny interrupted him. "And let me guess, you also don't know the consequences for the bread. Conveniently."

"Baking is an art, child. Of course–"

"Of course you won't tell me? Of course you're just going to feed me platitudes until I don't know which way is–"

"Daniel," said Caretaker.

Danny stopped.

Caretaker sighed. "If you would let me finish?"

Tightly, Danny nodded.

"Baking does not produce precise results each time, even for humans. The yeast used, the humidity and temperature of the day and oven, the age of the flour: all of these and more shape the bread humans bake, and not all of them are easily accounted for."

Caretaker placed his hands flat on the table, staring down at the patch of wood still wet from the tea. "It is why skilled human bakers work by feel, as well as by weight. It is why we work by feel as well as by weight."

Caretaker thumbed a surviving scrap of dough, dyed darker by the tea. "But through technique, we can reach something consistent enough. Even in Faerie. Even with the additional complexities our food provides."

Danny fought back the “consistent enough for what?” that wanted to launch itself from his throat. With Caretaker's patience evidently thin, he didn't want to trample on it.

For now.

"So you can tell me what bread will do?" he asked.

"I can tell you what this bread should do, if we make it correctly."

"Not all bread?"

"Not all bread has the same ingredients, even in your world."

Danny had probably known that. He wished he'd gotten more sleep. His brain felt threadbare.

"Okay," he said.

"You wish for me to tell you what the bread might do?"

"Yes," said Danny.

"I will tell you, if you do not purposely disturb the kneading this time."

"Fine." There were other ways to ruin bread, after all. And he wouldn't have to eat it. He hadn’t promised that.

Caretaker's mood lifted considerably with the agreement, and before long he was back to hovering over Danny's shoulder as Danny worked the dough, offering tips.

"If you keep your touch light and quick, it will stick less to your hands," he said.

“Really?” Danny tried it.

It did not.

“Like this,” Caretaker said, and demonstrated.

“You’re cheating,” accused Danny.

“Skill is often mistaken for such.”

Danny huffed, but began kneading the dough again when Caretaker pushed it back towards him.

When, eventually, the dough stopped sticking quite so much to Danny’s hands. He suspected it was less skill and more the kneading being done. When he pulled his hand back it would eventually, reluctantly, peel away.

Danny pushed it a few more times, and then dropped the entire glob into a bowl Caretaker held out for him, which Caretaker then covered and placed near the fire.

Not too near, though. Caretaker fussed with the placement in a way that put Danny in mind of a little old grandma.

"Okay," Danny said after Caretaker had found a satisfactory spot. "You said you'd explain."

"So I did."

Danny waited.

"I did not say when," said Caretaker. He held up a hand before more than a snarl could form on Danny's face. "However, you could offer something in exchange for me telling you within the next five minutes."

"I don't want to give you anything more. I already filled my side of the bargain." Danny frowned. "Twice."

"Twice?"

"This was already in the contract, wasn't it?"

"Food served to me between my departure from and return to the human world must have any and all consequences of consumption explained, if I request it, to the best of your ability?" Caretaker quoted.

"How do you remember that?" Danny asked.

"It is a skill. But no, it is not in the agreement. Right now, it is only food in potential. I would not be forced to explain it to you until I served it, and then only if you asked."

"Okay, fine. Once, then."

"You didn't specify when," said Caretaker.

"I didn't think I needed to," Danny said, frustration building again.

"And with someone other than myself, such assumptions could seriously hurt or kill you."

Oh. Right.

Danny swallowed. There was…that was a lot to think about. Especially right now.

He shoved the idea to the side to deal with when he was home. Or never. Possibly never. Preferably, even.

"Okay, okay,” Danny said. “If I give you something, you have to tell me, starting when I give it to you."

"Acceptable."

Danny gave Caretaker his water cup.

Caretaker's countenance cracked into a grin. "The bread," he said, and stopped.

"What?" Danny asked, outraged.

"Has,"

"Wait," Danny said, eyes narrowed.

"Several," said Caretaker. His smile grew.

"You said 'within five minutes' when you were suggesting what I could give you to get the explanation now."

"Ingredients," said Caretaker, encouragingly.

"But I only said 'starting now,' didn't I?” Danny asked. ”I didn't put a time limit on the end."

"Which results in?"

"You're saying it super slow to mess with me."

"Several consequences."

Danny huffed, blowing some hair out of his face. "You want me to make another deal, right?"

"Wheat," agreed Caretaker.

Danny looked around the kitchen to the sound of Caretaker saying "brings," "an," "element," and "of." The fireplace was still lit, flames low and steady. The tables and counters were still mostly clean, the only mess from the previous ill-fated attempts at bread.

"The hearth," said Caretaker.

Danny went over to it, and knelt. So close, the warmth of the flame melted under his skin, chasing away the morning cool of the kitchen.

"Hospitality," said Caretaker.

The kettle was set to the side. It was heavy with water when Danny picked it up, weighing it in his hands and in his head.

"You would need to explain the tea, if you offered it and I asked," Danny said. "And, you want to give me the tea."

And tea was mostly water. Whatever consequences were in it, they'd probably be less than what was in the bread. Assuming the whole food…thing made sense.

Which it probably didn't.

"And companionship."

Danny ignored that. "I'm not going to promise to drink the tea. That would be dumb. But you're probably not going to let me just say you can make it."

Danny thought so, at least.

"Salt," and "intensifies" passed before he came to a conclusion. Caretaker could be trying to lead him down a path Danny didn't want. He probably was.

“Flame.”

Danny bit his lip. Trying to think of anything else was like trying to catch wind with his hands, though. Now that the idea of the tea was in his head, it was hard to think about other options.

“Purifies, refines, transmutes. Extracts.”

"What if I said I'd listen?" Danny asked.

Caretaker cocked his head, eyes glimmering with interest.

"And, um. If I had a problem with it, I'd tell you why?"

Caretaker tipped his head.

That was probably a yes.

"If you explain the consequences of eating the bread, and you do it at…" Danny frowned A normal pace? That could probably be misinterpreted.. "If you space your words like me, in this conversation…wait."

Caretaker waited.

"If you explain the likely consequences for me if I eat the specific loaf of bread that we're making, and you do it by timing your words like I'm doing now, and you start the explanation within a minute after I ask, then I'll listen to your explanation about the tea and explain to you what my problems are with it. If any exist."

Caretaker was silent. Expectant.

There was something Danny was missing.

"I won't refuse to drink it until after I've heard the explanation?"

"Finally," Caretaker said, shaking his head. Darn.

"I won't refuse to drink it before I've heard the explanation," said Danny.

"Yeast," Caretaker nodded, and held out a hand.

Danny shook it.

"Good job," Caretaker said. "There are still a few holes in that agreement, but it's much more tightly phrased."

Danny ignored the praise. "The explanation?" he asked.

The corners of Caretaker's eyes wrinkled in approval. "And good attention to detail. Very well, let me set the water on to boil, and I will explain."

The kettle was refilled, then hooked to hang over the fire. Caretaker gestured Danny over to a pair of chairs a little ways away, and when Danny sat he steepled his fingers.

"Bread," Caretaker said, "this bread, will reinforce the roles of host and guest between us, and the rules of hospitality."

"Didn't you say those were really complicated?"

Caretaker smiled. "They can be," he said. "It would be difficult indeed for you to fill the role of a guest correctly, without the required knowledge. But there are reasons for our traditions. It will help you to fulfill the correct actions for your role."

"Help?" asked Danny, trying to fill the word with the skepticism he felt.

"Yes, help."

"Define help."

"Very well done," Caretaker said, corners of his eyes wrinkling in pleasure again. "English is such a treacherous language. I could have hidden quite the trap within that word."

"But you didn't?" asked Danny.

"I did not. The help would be a nudge. You could ignore it, were it even strong enough to notice."

Danny frowned.

"There is another option," said Caretaker. "If we shared it, if we broke bread together, instead of me serving it to you, then it would build camaraderie between us."

"Which would…?"

"It would simply make our conversations less strained. I believe you have noticed the conflict."

Noticed? Danny had been fostering most of it.

Not that Caretaker didn't deserve it.

Danny was silent as he thought. He didn't really like either option. But if that was all they did, then they were what he'd asked for. Neither would bind him to Faerie.

"How long does it last?" asked Danny.

"It depends," said Caretaker, then at a sharp look from Danny, added, "but guest rights and responsibilities end when the guest departs. The bond of broken bread will linger longer, but even those who do so together for years will find its influence faded after only a decade or two."

Faded after a decade, but not gone. A decade or two.

Danny didn't want to feel companionship for Caretaker. He especially didn't want it to last.

"The host thing, then."

Caretaker raised a brow. "Are you sure?"

Danny paused. "Maybe?" he said.

The kettle chose then to begin whistling, and Caretaker stood. "Do not feel rushed to decide," he said. "You will be free to choose the one you prefer when we eat."

And with that, he attended to the tea.

.

"I was thinking we would garden while the bread rose," said Caretaker, still chipper. "The gardens are in disrepair, after all." With a fluid motion, he poured the tea into first one cup, and then the other.

"Sorry," said Danny. He even was, a little. He’d forgotten how Caretaker used to play with him when he was little and lost and scared.

Caretaker didn't respond. Instead, he set the teapot back down and turned away to fiddle with some herbs.

Danny wondered if Caretaker was pretending he hadn't heard. Was it a mistake to apologize to fae? He couldn't remember.

"Here," said Caretaker, and placed a sprig of…something on one of the saucers before pushing it in Danny's direction. The other two, he placed on his own saucer.

Danny pulled the tea closer and looked skeptically into his cup. The liquid inside tinted the inside with a warm brown, still transparent enough to see clear through to the bottom, and Danny was put in mind of the green tea they served at the Chinese place his parents would take them to as a celebration sometimes.

Gosh, he wanted egg rolls. Rice. Some orange chicken, or sweet and sour soup, or…

Danny swallowed. He really didn't need to think about food right now.

The tea was something he could focus on. So close to it, the vapor rising off the surface curled warm and thick under his nose. It was filled with a hodgepodge of aromas that combined into something herbal and sweet and tangy.

Danny opened his eyes again, and discovered that Caretaker was using the sprigs to stir his tea. The motion would have been fascinating to watch if it didn't evoke the image of the world's largest and most undesired spider doing the same.

"Why are you doing that?" Danny asked.

Caretaker looked up, the ghost of a smile still on his face. "Stirring my tea?" he asked.

"With the sticks, yeah."

"I didn't want to serve you the tea with them already infused," said Caretaker, as though that explained anything.

Danny felt irritation start to fizz under his skin again. "Fine," he said. "What does the tea do?"

"Oh," said Caretaker, and the smile melted away. "I had forgotten."

"You forgot what the tea does?"

"No! No, something else..." He trailed off. "I am able to tell you about the tea."

Danny wanted to ask what Caretaker had forgotten. How could it possibly be hard to remember Danny was out of his depth? 

He didn't.

Instead, he turned the cup in its saucer as Caretaker explained.

"It should give you hope, and a little vitality–an infusion like this is weaker than the herb itself, but it also can extract some things better than others. The balance changes."

"Hope and vitality?" Danny asked.

"You are afraid. And you are tired. But, not much hope."

"Because it's an…infusion?"

"Among other reasons. Hope can be a heady thing indeed. I find I prefer a more moderate amount in my blends."

Danny leaned forward to take a deeper whiff, or perhaps a sip.

Caretaker's hand folded itself around his wrist, and Danny stopped.

"That is not everything."

"What else, then?" Danny asked. Confusion warred with revulsion in his head. He pulled his arm out of Caretaker's hand.

"The hope is given by snowdrops, the vitality by amaranth."

"And? Are they poisonous or something?" Danny didn't even know what those were.

"Not when properly prepared."

Danny did not want to be playing a game of 'poison or not.’ Unfortunately, the universe didn’t seem to care.

"Are they properly prepared?"

"Yes," said Caretaker. He managed to look almost offended at the suggestion. "I would not violate guest right so lightly."

"Okaay."

"There is also coltsfoot."

"Um."

“It should not be poisonous in the quantity present.”

“Um.”

"Yes?"

"Shouldn't be poisonous?"

"Most medicines are poisons, too," said Caretaker. "In sufficient dosages. This one I thought you'd like."

"But I'm not sick," protested Danny.

"And yet you seek a remedy for your parents' predicament."

"That's different," said Danny.

"Is it?" Caretaker took a sip of tea, and closed his eyes. "Ah. Coltsfoot brings justice."

Danny frowned. "You said it was poisonous, though."

"In sufficient quantities."

"Why would that be poisonous?"

"Justice? Poisonous? I suspect you have little wish to discuss such philosophical questions when you are so poorly rested."

Danny didn't even want to discuss philosophy things when he was well rested. “I don’t see what that has to do with poison, though.”

“If you drink only a cup, it will not poison you.”

“What about two?”

Caretaker smiled. “Even the whole pot should not poison you. I drink this daily. It is one of my preferred teas.”

“And…it wouldn’t be more poisonous to me than you?”

“You’re smaller,” pointed out Caretaker. “That, among other things, would affect it. But I can see no reason it might harm you. If I could, I would not be serving it to you.”

Danny nodded. That…made sense. There was the contract.

Then he frowned, recounting. "So it’s…vitality, and hope, and justice?"

"And morning."

"Morning," said Danny. That was odd, but…it was morning, right then. It was probably some kind of fae breakfast tea thing. He was pretty sure Jazz had kept some kind of breakfast tea in the kitchen at one point.

"Yes," said Caretaker. He'd closed his eyes again as he took another sip. "Mostly morning, in fact."

"Okay," said Danny. "And what does that do to me?"

"It helps you morn. Encourages it. Waters it, like a vine."

"Which iiiissss…. It's not anything weird, is it?"

"Humans morn. Most humans morn."

"....Huh."

"And I have morned for a long time."

Danny made a polite little noise of comprehension, not sure how to tell Caretaker that he didn't think he was the best measure of normal.

"And that's all?" he asked.

"It should ease thirst, and perhaps wet your lips. And clothes, should you make a mess. And it will warm you where it touches you."

"It will?"

"It is warm." Caretaker indicated the steam still rising from Danny’s cup.

"Oh."

Danny contemplated the tea for a moment more. But it really didn't seem like there was anything terrible in it. And Caretaker was drinking it, so it couldn't be too poisonous. And of the things he'd listed, only the morning seemed odd.

Danny probably could just eat bread for his whole stay here, and drink water. But if he was going to eat bread, something like this was a lot less…substantial, probably. There was a lot less plant in it, at least. It might be a good way to figure out what eating the bread would be like, when he eventually did.

So.

Danny brought the cup to his lips, and it was bright and floral.

He took a sip, and another.

He set the cup back down, and thought, trying to feel at the hope, or the justice, or the–

There was a void in his chest. There was a void in the world, great and desolate and terrible. Danny brought a hand to his chest, only peripherally aware of the ragged gasps he was taking as he looked up at Caretaker through suddenly wet and stinging eyes.

Caretaker looked back, a faint and rueful smile on his face. His eyes were shining with unshed tears.

 "As I said, it is mostly mourning," Caretaker said. "It is a stronger blend than most prefer. But one, I think, well suited to a funeral."

#danny phantom #jackdraw-spwrite #jackdaw-spwrite #danny phantom dp #clockwork dp #ectoberhaunt23 #funerary rites fae au

[asukaskerian]

If its not too spoilery, how marriage hunt goes in your AU?

:D

ok so the marriage hunt is an old tradition that's been slowly falling out of favor in its original form, which was pretty much a shitty "let's all five of us corner this omega we want and sexually assault them and then call it a marriage because it halfway stops their family from demanding reparations". it would leave the omega trapped because nobody else would want them now, and the betas could join them in their new family or not but, very subservient position for them if they did.

The same ways noblemen took hunting for food because hungry and made it a strange contest of skills and noble qualities, the marriage hunt in polite society has been evolving to have rules. 1. declare yourself to the family's elders first! 2. let the omega's litter join! 3. if the omega or their littermate kills you, that's not legally a problem and you can't take them to court or demand retribution over it!

also when you ask, you might find out they are already engaged to another litter and in that case you should give up and not go and declare a hunt anyway, it's considered elopement and will make relations with the wives' family very fraught, though it's not a crime in itself.

also teenagers find it terribly romantic but are too young to choose good spouses, so the courting hunt was invented. same rules except no lethal attacks and nothing more than making out and the results are not binding.

but, the old type of hunt still happens for the same shitty reasons, even if it's rarer now (just because it's not civilized doesn't mean nobody finds it convenient). some encroaching on the rules happens and is gossiped about but not a crime -- not declaring yourself to the family because you know you wouldn't get their agreement even if the litter itself wants you back, mostly -- and after the fact it's easy to pretend that's what happened. which is already conflict-inducing for civilians, but add bloodline ninja clans to that and whoa it's a much more dangerous game now.

Uchihas sometimes bride-hunt outsiders. Especially without familial agreement, because it's also a way to cut off the wives from the influence of their family. Outsiders who bride-hunt Uchihas get killed. Even if they're from an allied clan. If both litters were romantically involved then the husbands might get pressured to move onto clan grounds but they'll be on thin ice.

Senju bride-hunt and get hunted as a game, and they have been known to kidnap their intended right from the room they were getting ready in to marry somebody else. they're not a bloodline clan though and their strength comes from welcoming all types and their specific strengths and abilities, which would not happen if they were aggressive about acquiring people, so they really don't encourage the forced marriage version.

#ABO quest #marriage hunt

[localcryptidsteg]

ITS FINALLY DONE

Chapter 2- The Mountain Temple and the Monkey King

Following the golden furred monkey deeper into the jungle, Mk observed two things: first, the corruption seemed to recede before the spirit, just enough to allow he and Mei to follow safely after. Second, it closed in again behind them. There was no going back without the spirit.

Mei was the first to make an attempt at small talk. “So, you know our names.” She didn't finish the thought, tail swishing behind her as she waited for the spirit to pick up. “Mhm! Mei and Mk!” The monkey grinned, darting up a tree briefly to check their surroundings before hopping back down. He didn't respond further.

Mei sighed. “So what's yours?” She snipped. “Oh! Uh... I have a couple of em! My friends call me Sun Wukong, but most people call me... The Monkey King!” He turned with a flourish, posturing proudly with his hands on his hips and looking expectantly at the two...

... Who both just blinked back at him in confusion.

“Aw come on, you guys! Don’t tell me you’ve never heard of me! I used to be a huge deal!” The spirit pouted. Mei shrugged. “Sorry, man. There are legends about the two kingdoms that were here, but nothing about actual kings.” Mk nodded in agreement.

The monkey demon grumbled and turned around, going back to leading the little group. “Hasn’t even been that long, ungrateful-!” He muttered under his breath.

“Its been about 300 years, actually!” Mk interrupted. “And nobody who's come here before has ever come back, so it's not like we have a record or anything...”

Mei stopped that train of thought before Mk could spiral into despair, as he was wont to do. “Anyways. What about the other guy? If you're the Monkey King, is he just the Normal Monkey? And no offense but he was dressed a lot more like a king than you are.”

Wukong scoffed. “He's the resident asshole, also the Other Monkey King, but that's NOT important!” he brushed gracelessly over that particular topic, ducking under some vines and holding them up for his companions.

“So it's true then? There really were two kingdoms here at one point?” Mk asked, barely restrained curiousity in his voice. “What happened here?”

Wukong stopped, shoulders falling. “... That’s not my story to tell, bud.” He answered quietly. “Look, I'll explain what I can when we get to the temple, but-” he was cut short by heavy footsteps. “-It's not safe out here!” He half-hissed half-whispered, moving an arm protectively in front of the young spirit guides.

A towering creature made of twisted wood stepped in front of them, wandering the jungle aimlessly. It seemed, for a moment, like it would pass them by, but something made it stop and turn directly toward Wukong. The gold spirit chuckled nervously, tail lashing behind him. “Uh. Hey big guy! Don't suppose you're just gonna let us pass...?”

He was met with a large wooden club being dropped a hair's breadth from his face. “Yeah, that's what I figured, RUN! GO GO GO GO GO!” The Monkey King frantically turned, shoving Mk and Mei ahead of himself. “You're not ready to fight this thing yet, so don't look back!” He urged as the trio sprinted away. The wooden spirit gave chase, only marginally slowed by the flora and terrain.

“WHAT GIVES, MAN? WHAT IS THAT?” Mk screeched hysterically. “What, you’ve never seen a wood knight before? Thought you were a spirit guide, kid!” The monkey shouted back. “Where are we going???” Mei yelled.

“Detour! Don't worry about it!”

The group made a mad dash toward what appeared to be a break in the trees, only to find themselves at the edge of a crumbled cliff face. “Fuck! I swear there used to a bridge here!” Wukong bristled, and thinking fast, grabbed Mk by the wrist. Mei looked like she could handle herself, but Mk was clearly new to all this.

“Ready kid? On three you gotta jump! Aim for that ledge!”

“What??”

“Don't think about it just do it-” The wood knight interrupted him, broaching the treeline “-Now!”

Mk jumped as instructed and Wukong followed. “See? Not so bad, right you two?” The spirit laughed breathlessly, clinging to the rock formation. Mk had already hauled himself to the flat ledge top. Catching his breath he looked around. “... Mei?”

When she didn't respond, his eyes snapped back toward the other ledge. The dragon girl was locked in combat with the creature, and actually seemed to be doing pretty well. She managed to topple it, even, but when she turned to follow the others, a wall of thorns and glowing magenta pustules seemed to errupt from out of nowhere, blocking the way forward.

“Mei!” Mk's voice cracked with worry.

“Im fine, Mk!” The dragon girl's voice floated over the wall in response. “You two go on ahead, I'll find another way around!”

Mk tried to protest but the sound of her footsteps thundering further away told him she wasn’t going to be reasoned with.

Mk looked helplessly between the wall and the Monkey King. Crestfallen, the spirit shook his head. “There's nothing I can do about big patches like that, kid. I'm sorry. I don't think she's coming back.” He scratched at the back of his neck, equal parts disappointed and frustrated.

Mk was silent for a moment before steeling his nerves “... She said she'd find another way around.” He turned to keep moving. “Mei never lies. So I have to believe she'll find another way. We have to keep going.”

Wukong observed the boy silently for a moment, a bit surprised by this new resolve. “Hm.” The spirit nodded. “Alright then.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The cliffside path to the Mountain Temple was just as corrupted as the jungle had been, at first. But as vegetation grew more sparse, so did the rot. The walk to the temple was spent mostly in solemn silence. Wukong had made it clear he didn't think Mei would survive the jungle, and Mk didn't want to talk about what happened.

It wasn't the most comfortable trek, but the mood shifted a bit as the massive stone temple carved into the side of the mountain came into view around a bend in the path.

“Here we are! Home sweet home! Sorta.” The monkey king turned and finally removed his mask, grinning at Mk.

“You really are a monkey!” Mk blinked in surprise, taking in the face peering back at him. Gold eyes set against a peach-toned marking blinked back. “What, did the tail not give it away?” Wukong's lips curled back over his fangs as he snickered at the boy's shock.

“Well no, I mean- I thought you were like Mei and it was just the tail, or it wasn't literal, or something!”

Wukong just grinned at him.

“Nah! Anyways, we're nearly there, so I should probably warn you about the others! Most of them are fine, but you're going to want to avoid the lion, the pig, and the bull for now, at least until I can show you how to purify the corruption. Lucky you, they don't usually show up unless you go looking!”

“Why? What's their deal?” Mk frowned, curious. He noted that the closer they got to the temple, the more gravestones and statues and little shrines littered the path. They all had worn masks tied to them. “And... how many others are there, anyway?”

Wukong slowed. “Too many. Not nearly as many as there used to be, but still too many. Their deal is the same as the guy you saw me fighting earlier. They're trapped here because they're mad and scared and won't let go.”

He hopped down a crumbled staircase in the path and held out a hand to steady Mk.

“You're not the first spirit guides to show up, kid. Most of them did help, a little. But they all eventually ran up against a spirit that was too much, and paid the price. The ones that are left now are the strongest and most wounded, or the souls who care too much about them to leave behind.”

Mk took the offered hand and hopped down as well. “So, which are you?”

Wukong seemed stunned into momentary silence. He thought for a moment, choosing his words carefully. “I suppose I'm the second kind. I can't leave until I know they're all ok.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wukong frowned as they finally made it to the temple. The entrance, clear when hed left, was covered by the same glowing, plant-like corruption the jungle had been covered with. “What on earth-?” He mumbled to himself. “Hey kid, first lesson! Look around and see if you can find some kinda big flower bulb!” He turned to see Mk, who was slowly being circled by little red lights.

The monkey bristled. Found us that fast, did you? He thought to himself.

“Don't panic or anything! Just wait and see what they are!” The ghost instructed the boy. The first of the lights hit the ground and turned into a small wooden creature with an axe. Wukong sighed in relief. Just sprouts.

Mk, who was being menaced with the axe, was significantly less relieved. He knew how to fight, in theory. But fighting was more Mei's thing, and she wasn't here yet.

“Uhhhh... little help?” He yelped, quickly sidestepping a clumsy swing.

“Just whack it real hard with your staff-thingy!” Wukong chirped unhelpfully.

“Can't you help me??” Another dodge out of the way.

“Kid, do I look armed?”

“It didn't seem to stop you from fighting that guy earlier!”

“Yeah but he wasn't armed either. Doesn't count! Besides, best I can do is hold them still or knock them over, now just smack the damn thing!”

Wukong hopped up onto a nearby stone pillar as a second glowing ball lighted on the ground near him and turned into yet another sprout.

It seemed to briefly consider going after Wukong, but decided against it, turning in favor of the easier target. “Mk! Watch your back, kid!”

Mk spun and cracked the new sprout in the head with the end of his staff, sending it flying. “Hey, you got it! That's the idea, kid!” Wukong cheered him on as it finally seemed to click that fighting the little spirits off meant he had to actually fight.

He managed the sprouts easily but when the third light finally joined the fight, it revealed itself to be much bigger. It wasn't too much tougher, but Mk found he actually had to gain distance from it and choose when to attack.

It kept trying to rush him, closing any distance he got. Wukong was actually a bit worried for the human for a moment as he was backed against the edge of the cliff path.

“Back OFF!” Mk ducked a sweeping arm, slamming his staff into the creature's side and letting off a pulse of gold light that shattered the creature. Unfortunately, the force of the blow also split his old, weathered staff.

Mk took a moment to realize it was over.

Meanwhile, Wukong hopped excitedly down from his perch and rushed over to the boy. “You did it! You did it kid! Ha! You really are a spirit guide!” The monkey chirped and chattered enthusiastically.

“What was that?” Mk looked warily down at his broken staff.

“There are deities in the land, bud! As long as you can tap into that energy, you can use them to purify the corruption, that's what happened! Go on, focus, and this time, try to aim it at that flower.” The monkey grinned.

He pointed at a bulb near the rot-covered entryway that opened once the last spirit was beaten.

“But... my staff broke.” Mk held up the two halves of the twisted wood stick. Some chipped crystal fell to the ground.

“You don't need it for something small like this! The staff is just a focus point; it makes life easier, but it's not necessary. But look, if it's really that important I have an extra one laying around somewhere inside the temple. You just have to get rid of that flower and we can go get it!” Wukong's eye twitched impatiently.

“Yeah yeah yeah, ok! I'm goin’! SHEESH!” Mk took a deep breath and approached the flower, focusing and trying to replicate what he did before. It took a few attempts, but he succeeded eventually, and the flower and the thorns and vines blocking the way forward lit up and disintegrated, almost like they were burnt away.

“Nice job, kid! Now come on, let's go find that staff!”

#lmk au #lmk fanfic #lmk fanfiction #lego monkie kid #lego monkie kid au #spirit guide au

[writergirl3]

"He Must Have Really Hurt You" - Aaron Z x Reader

So, me being the dummy I am, posted this the other day but then accidentally deleted it. Whoops.

This is the first piece from the 'Song Lyrics That Describe Your Relationship With 4 Town' series I started. I wrote Z's first, so here it is.

I've made this as gender neutral as possible, and changed George Michael's original lyrics to accommodate for all you non-blue-eyed folks (Y/E/C= your eye colour). You can listen to the song here while you read, if you want.

Anyway, hope you all enjoy 💜

"He must have really hurt you, to make those pretty eyes look so blue." - 'Heal The Pain', George Michael.

Rocking on his heels, Aaron patiently waits for you to answer the front door. Although it’s been just seconds since he rang the bell, each moment that passes feels like it’ll never end.

One day of unanswered texts, that’s what’s bought him here. You always, always reply to his texts, usually within minutes. After expressing his concerns in a string of ignored messages, he took matters into his own hands.

Come on, Y/N, don’t shut me out…

Aaron’s been your best friend for long enough to know what you’re doing. The pattern of behaviour is always the same. Whenever you get upset, you shut the world out. Even him. He knows how much you hate being vulnerable in front of people, even those closest to you. Although he’s much the same, he wishes you’d let him help you, nonetheless.

When the familiar click of the catch finally draws Aaron out of his thoughts, he needs only one guess as to what’s happened. Anxiously eyeing your face, which is somehow flushed yet sallow all at once, and your glassy eyes, he can see you’ve been crying.

And who’s made you cry? Well, he’s pretty sure of that too.

“A-aron…”

Offering you a small smile, your friend steps up onto the porch. “I was getting worried.”

“I’m okay, really…” Sniffling a bit, you clumsily wipe your nose with the tissue in your clasp.

“Really?” Aaron’s skeptical look makes you tear up that bit more, and he gently lets himself inside.

“I’m sorry, I’m such a mess.” Allowing Aaron to wipe your eyes, you dare to meet his own concerned ones.

“Don’t be silly, you’re all good. Was it…”

“...Luke.”

Ah, Luke. The famous Luke. The Luke that Aaron simultaneously despises yet aspires to be. The Luke that gets to call you his. That Luke.

Trying to push thoughts of the guys out of his mind, Aaron guides you into your living room as if it were his own. After helping you sit on the couch, his touch gentler than ever, he takes a seat beside you. “Do you wanna talk about it?”

No response. He figured as much, especially when he hears those tiny sobs that slip past your lips. Head in hands, you manage to sputter out something, at least, “He’s a jerk.”

It takes everything in Aaron and all his undisclosed love for you to refrain from murmuring a childish ‘I told you so’. Instead, he pulls you into his arms, cradling you gently. Unsure of what to say, he simply whispers, “I’m sorry.”

“D-don’t be…I’m better off without him.” 

If the sound of your trembling voice hadn’t broken his heart in two, Aaron would feel relieved, hopeful, excited. But, those emotions are near-on impossible for him to experience when you’re in such a state.

He murmurs out a small sound conveying agreement, and holds you tighter. With your head on his chest and your legs slung over his thighs, he reckons he could stay like this with you for the rest of his life. And when he happens upon your face all squished against him? He’s sure of it.

It’s only the sound of your sniffly snores that tears him away from his thoughts. He repositions the tiniest bit so that he can see your face, your complexion now evened out and settled back to its usual hue. Lips parted, hair a mess, Aaron can’t believe how imperfectly perfect you look right now.

Remembering the way you looked up at him when he first arrived, he can’t help murmuring under his breath in the softest, most velvety of voices;

“He must have really hurt you, to make those pretty eyes look so (Y/E/C)…”

With a small, semi-contented sigh, he goes back to holding you securely. As he’s about to shut his own eyes, he feels you stir.

“W-what did you…say?”

Shit.

Daring to gaze down at your perplexed expression, Aaron mentally slaps himself for being such a dummy. Why did he say anything? How could he be such a fool?

“Aaron?”

Licking his lips in an anxious frenzy, Aaron brings one of his hands to nervously scratch the back of his neck. “I said…he must have really hurt you…”

You give him a bit of a look, non-verbally reminding him that you’re not stupid. He sighs.

“And that your…your eyes-”

Before he can clumsily relay his sentiment, his lips are ambushed- in the best possible way- by your own. Feeling the soft skin for the first time, kissing you right back is the most natural instinct he’s ever felt.

Eyes popping from their sockets, he can’t believe that you’re doing this. Friends don’t do this, at least not those with a healthy relationship. But, when you pull away and his eyes happen upon your lovestruck gaze, he realises that you’re not friends anymore. 

Together, you’re now so much more.

---

Musing Meaninglessly Masterlist

#4 town #4*town #4town #4 town Aaron z #4 town x reader #4 town headcanons #4 town imagines #4*town Aaron z #4*town x reader #4*town headcanons #4town Aaron z #4town x reader #4*town imagines #4town imagines

[sleepym123]

Getting hurt

Since the last few posts of Jeff Hodek weren't really like how I see him, ama write an imagine for yall.

This is an imagine for that post where he becomes a father figure. So yes, this is a father child thingy ma bob-

Anyways, enjoy!

'Great..'

My eyes watered, closing hard every few moments. My wound stung, very bad.

I honestly don't know how it all happened, it was happening so fast.

I was just outside the house, walking around since I was honestly bored without him there. And people weren't outside to see me so...I couldn't miss my chance, right?

He left either to get food or 'get rid of someones annoying ass', its always one of those two. Or probably more reasons that I don't know..I honestly don't want to know that. He's been gone for two hours now.

I get the house to myself then, just chilling inside or out. Or, in this case, walk around the house.

I can't waist chances..

I decided to run like a little kid and I found out that there was a broken beer bottle in the backyard. The hard way..

Tears started streaming down my face as I try taking them out. It hurt so bad. I take out broken shards, blood running down my arm as I do so. "Ack-"

'Ow..ow..'

The wound stung, every shard getting out means more pain and more blood on the floor.

I'm still shocked, but its my fault anyways. I decided to be a little shit and run around like that. Now I'm just here, taking out shards and crying.

"Kid?"

My heart skipped a beat as I hear his whispery voice.

'He's home.'

He still had his coat on, with his mask and hat. I guess he 'found' some clothes for him laying around. From what he was wearing, you could not see his features, only his tired eyes. They softened a bit.

"H-heyyy dad!" I smiled nervously at him, not looking at the clearly wounded arm. Tears still streamed down my face as I smiled, some of my tears actually touching the corners of my mouth.

He looked at me for a moment, then looked down at my arm ad looking back at me again. He lowered his head and sighed, leaving the room.

I could only stay in my position, from fear I guess..

'He's probably mad at me,.. or at least disappointed.'

I now frown at myself, looking back at my wound and trying to go back to taking out the shards that were left. There were only three or four left, not much but its still painful. I sigh.

His footsteps made me look at him. He was holding bandages, and alcohol..? I guess he found them during his time out. I stayed silent as he walked towards me, kneeling down at me and lending a hand out.

"I help..?"

I slowly nod at him, still frowning. He took out a small piece of material from his pocked and shoved it into my mouth, which made my eyes widen. He took my arm and took a look at the wound, his eyes narrowing it.

"This ight hurt."

He said, looking at me now. I nod again, accepting my fate with this. He chuckled at me, patting my back with his free hand.

"It's ok.."

This made me feel a bit more better and comfortable. But I was still in pain. And crying-

He took out the last remaining few shards out of my arm and started pouring the alcohol onto it. I squinted my eyes and bit hard onto the material. That stung even more than before, making me cry.

He seemed to ignore me, and still poured onto my wound.

The alcohol actually made the blood stop running down my arm and cleaned my arm like water. The wound starts to let out white bubbly looking substance, still stinging.

He then started to bandage it, the white material wrapping around my injured arm.

I was now more calm, I stopped crying, just watching him wrap the bandage.

When he finished, he took a moment to look at the bandaged arm and nodded. "Looks ok." He nodded even more, in self agreement. I took out the material out of my mouth and smiled softly.

"Thank you, dad."

I say, hugging him with my other, non injured arm. He chuckles again, hugging back and patted my back a few times, then stroking my hair. He then let go of me and got up, me following him with a slight wobble. He put his hand on my shoulder, his smile twitching a bit and him nodding his head.

"Always here for..you...ok?"

He cleared his throat, before coughing a bit and putting his free hand near his scared mouth. He turned his eyes back to me.

"Ok."

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _

Incorrect qoutes!

Teen! Y/N, sobbing: I just wanna go home to my dad!

Jeff, poofing into existence: Kid-

Teen! Y/N, now calm: Oh, hey dad!

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Liu, talking to Jeff: Your kid is a troublemaker.

Jeff, confused: What kid?

Liu, pointing to Y/N that is doing something stupid:

Jeff: OH-

_ ___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Jeff: You are a bad influence on my kid.

Liu, confused: The hell do you mean?

Jeff: Hey kid, who's your favorite singer?

Teen! Y/N: FUKING TAYLOR SWIFT-

Liu: I can explain-

Jeff: You know we don't listen to her after that day.

Teen! Y/N: What happened that day, dad?

Jeff: Shush child, is better not to ask.

Teen! Y/N: Ok dad.

_ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Teen! Y/N, just getting a glass of water from the kitchen:

Jeff, behind them: The hell you doing so late?

Teen! Y/N: *screams*

Teen! Y/N: Oh, hi dad-

_ _ _ _ _ _ __ ____ _ _ _ _

Teen! Y/N: You are so drunk right now.

Jeff: I'm not drunk.

Teen! Y/N: Tell the time then.

Jeff, pointing to the clock: I'm not fucking drunk.

__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _

This is all I could think of for now. But I hope you enjoyed?

Have a great day/night!

Much love!

#jeff hodek #jeff the killer #creepypasta imagines #creepypasta fandom #creepypasta incorrect quotes #creepypasta jtk #jtk #papa Jeff #creepypasta comunity #creepypasta #liu hodek #hurt/comfort #IDK WHO I AM ANYMORE BUT HOKAYYYYYY #IM TIREDDDDDDDDDDDDD #AND IN NEED OF COFFEE

[thatonedreamer]

Seven people, seven lines

Thanks @wildswrites for tagging me!

We're gonna be dredging up some characters I haven't ever introduced on here for funsies.

Ambrosia (The Art of Storytelling) (which is a WIP I haven't touched in months)

“So I’ve gotten so predictable that you even know what time I’ll show up here? What a shame, maybe I should do something different sometime soon," Ambrosia said while smiling.

“There’s nothing wrong with some consistency here and there.” Consistency, that wasn’t really something she could afford in her life. She was a different person in this bar though, and this person knew what consistency was like the back of her palm. Maybe she would’ve been this type of person in a different life.

Damon (The WIP that is untitled but Passable was one of its titles)

He understood what it felt to not be noticed at times. Well, he used to understand it a bit more. He wasn’t completely alone now, not always. But the fact that he could end up being alone again was the thing stopping him from taking action to being less lonely. Ironic wasn’t it? Inaction, it was the best thing he could provide for most people in his life. He could explore the forest though, he knew one day he would. He just had to be desperate enough- no, he just had to take a few steps heading in that direction.

Finn (Passable WIP)

It’s amazing how the world can stop in its tracks. Well of course not literally, but there’s moments when the universe lets you know it’s taking a breath. And most people don’t realize those moments are happening until they’re gone. Finn realized that as soon as he had reached the front door. Seeing his mom sitting down on the couch was when most people would realize the world was taking a breath. She was so still, it creeped him out immediately. She was watching the news, or at least he assumed it was the news. He just remembers quickly going upstairs to his room and staying asleep until the next day. It was like his body knew what needed to happen before his brain did. Now that day isn’t even as traumatic as it could’ve been, but it was still an X mark on where his old life stopped and his new life began.

Ava (Passable WIP, y'all please keep in mind I haven't touched this in months either ;-;)

“Do you guys have to be so loud? What are you even getting your panties in a twist for anyway?” She sat down by a dark haired, equally dark natured at times, boy. Now what she meant by dark nature was that she’s never known someone to be so in love with nature in a morbid way, or at least she thought of it as morbid. He’s told them about a forest in his neighborhood, the “can’t be touched” forest or whatever he called it. She didn’t fully believe him, mainly because it seemed like he didn’t fully believe himself about it either. This boy was looking at her like she had her face melted off or something.

Logan (The Villain That Could)

“We can’t leave without the commander’s orders,” she quietly stated to the still grinning boy. This was his way of telling her she wouldn’t be able to reason with him on this. It also meant she’d have to come with him, despite the feeling of dread that overcame her when thinking of sneaking out. She took two more bites of her mashed potatoes.

“Why should that stop us? Come on, it’ll be like old times. Doing everything we shouldn’t be doing at night.” He nudged her gently on her side with his elbow as if that would make her comply; instead, she just rolled her eyes and kept eating. He was relentless, she knew this by the way he stayed up late to focus on tasks, the way his hands would sometimes shake with excitement, the way his eyes brightened. She nodded finally, in agreement. “Good, I’ll pick you up at 9pm,” this seemed to widen his grin.

And the last two are the beloved twins <3

Vanadey (The Villain That Could)

She stopped in her tracks to see his right hand man in front of her. She gave him the most frightened eyes she could. “Someone must’ve put something in his coffee… he gave me some papers to deal with prior to his death. I’ll give you the copies.” She even added a wiping of invisible tears to reel him in, “I’m so sorry this happened, I should’ve done more.”

(Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss)

Cora (The Villain That Could)

After spending two weeks at Pane-Metso, Cora wasn’t getting any further in trying to track down the villain. She had settled on asking a few citizens, thinking they would’ve seen things that cameras from far away wouldn’t recognize. The only coherent and not average answer she got, was that the villain had a gold coin on them that they had flipped before going into a building. She assumed Darthropos might’ve been… superstitious, which is ironic all on its own. Flipping a coin didn’t matter much to Cora anyway, if she wanted to do something, she’d do it with no hesitation. Going for things as soon as she got a chance to, was how she got the things she wanted.

I'll be tagging (no pressure ofc!): @vcaudley, @indigoreed1, @hexi-eibhin, @lexiklecksi

#writeblr #writing community #my characters #The Villain That Could #my wips #WIP #writing #tags

[liaromancewriter]

In your HC, Harper and Ethan’s relationship was a real (casual) relationship that happened to have On and Off moments, or was it more like an agreement of “this is convenient for both of us, but we know we’re not in love”?

In my hc, it was a mix of both scenarios: casual and convenient with respect and friendship at its core.

Harper and Ethan came up together during their residencies, and they were clearly top of their class. We know that as attendings, they're both renowned and accomplished in their fields. I doubt that they would be so successful now if they both hadn't distinguished themselves in their respective fields during residency. After all, that's the period in a doctor's training when they start to figure out the kind of physician (or surgeon) they will become.

I do see Harper as being a few years older than Ethan because of the length of a neurosurgery residency and her career trajectory. When they meet the first time, he can't help but be in awe of her. She's intelligent, confident and beautiful. All the qualities that he finds attractive in a mate. And he's cocky enough to let her know he's attracted.

I imagine that Harper feels the same way about Ethan, but also his being young and cocky was a bonus for her. Unlike other guys she knows, he's not intimidated by the fact that she's a surgeon and knows her way around a scalpel. At the same time, he's not another surgical resident that she has to compete against, so she doesn’t worry that being with him will derail her career plans.

Both of them are super focused on excelling in their residencies. As such, they agree to a casual and convenient relationship. When they have time for each other, they hook up, go on dates, plan quick getaways, attend weddings, dance classes, etc. and just hang out.  

I imagine the Edenbrook rumor mill knows they’re a couple and that it’s casual. Neither is the type of gossip or even show much public affection, but there’s a vibe around them and people pick up on it. There’s nothing to hide, really. They’re in different sides of medicine and specialties, and there’s no power imbalance (at least until Harper accepts the Chief of Medicine job).

I do think that despite their relationship being casual, the fact that they’re sharing this residency experience together, and all that it entails (long days and nights, grumpy attendings, missed plans), means that they become friends too. When either of them is busy, the other doesn’t complain because they both put their careers first. 

They’re also not exclusive because of that. They have an agreement that if either meets someone else, it’s okay. They put a pause on their relationship and return to it when it’s convenient. 

They have very different worldviews: Harper is a rule follower, Ethan is not. Harper is brilliant and beautiful, but she isn’t someone who knows how to compromise in her personal life. Ethan was open to compromise but only when it suited him. They’re stubborn people. Hence the on and off nature of their relationship. 

The idea of “falling in love” with each other doesn’t enter their minds. Love is inconsequential to what they both want out of their lives. 

Ethan wasn’t ready to fall in love or to believe in it; his childhood had taken care of that. At the same time, in Closure I show that, despite his past, a part of Ethan always searched for love and permanence without knowing that’s what he was looking for. He wanted the love he remembered between his parents before everything went away.

If Louise hadn’t walked back into his life and if he hadn’t confronted his past, I doubt that he would have ever fully and wholly committed himself to Cassie and the idea of having a family of his own.

Anyway. You didn’t ask for an essay so I’ll shut up now. 😂

Character Asks: @bluebelle08 @crazy-loca-blog @coffeeheartaddict2 @doriopenheart @lucy-268 @jerzwriter @openheartforeverinmyheart @peonierose @queencarb @quixoticdreamer16 @rookiemartin @trappedinfanfiction

#ask and answered #open heart #ethan ramsey #harper emery

[scarletwritesshit]

Yosuke Hanamura x F!Reader ❀ Town of Blossoms ❀ June 9th, 2013

Did you learn anything at all from yesterday?

No. No you did not. In fact, neither of you learned anything. At least this time around, Yosuke didn’t bore both of you to death with an absolutely atrocious movie. As a result of passing out due to said movie, you both came to mutual agreement that it was totally acceptable to share a bed as friends, for just one more night. There was no reason why you two wouldn't have that kind of trust in each other, especially after living in a town with an degenerate killer running rampant.

He seemed less hesitant to curl up to you compared to the previous night, but ultimately, that didn’t mean much. Or maybe it did. But you just kept telling yourself that it didn’t, worst case scenario you take an already awkward situation and make it even more awkward with a deliberate misinterpretation of his actions.

Enough of that, anyways. There was something that you have been wanting to ask him.

“I’ve been wondering. Have you been keeping up on playing the guitar?” you said, pointing to the instrument that was standing in the corner of his room.

 “Somewhat,” Yosuke said, sheepishly. “I pick it up every now and again and try to play a few notes. As rushed as I was, the concert at Junes was a bit of a motivating factor to play it more than I used to.”

“Can you play any songs on it?”

“Eh, I can kinda do a couple of my favorites. Not with much proficiency, though.”

He picked up his guitar and looked at it blankly, as if he was mentally cursing himself for not playing it more.

"I've always had a dream of starting my own band," he said, leaning his guitar back against the wall. "Sometimes I would daydream about the whole gang playing a bunch of songs together in one of the country's largest concern halls. It was a hopeless dream, but the Junes concert gave me some kind of false hope."

"And so you picked up your hobby once again in an attempt to make that dream into a reality."

"Exactly, which as we both know, never came to light. I was hoping for at least one more concert together as a group, but that obviously never happened."

Yosuke absentmindedly fidgeted with the strings. The rebound made an off tune twang sound comparable to that of an overextended rubber band being released from its hold.

"I still have that bass that Souji borrowed in my garage somewhere. I was gonna let him keep it if he really wanted to."

"What kind of band were you going to try and talk Souji and the rest of our group into forming?" you asked.

"Some kind of like...alternative or punk rock band, if I'm honest. I know Rise wouldn't be so eager to go for that, and Kanji has already separated himself from his rebellious days. A man can dream, though."

"You could always go solo," you suggested. "Some of Japan's most beloved singers started out merely doing song covers."

"You're not wrong, but it's just..."

Yosuke looked away and continued silently plucking away at the strings.

"Just what?"

"It's just not as fun without a close group of friends. It's one thing to be able to focus on your practice alone, but goofing off with a bunch a friends is half of the fun," he said, looking down at the floor. Yosuke stopped fidgeting with the guitar strings, and simply rested his hand on top of the handle. He seemed to be noticeably holding back his emotions.

All of that over a lazy daydream? That couldn't be the case, and you knew him too all too well for that to be the extent of his worries.

"It's not about a band, but the Investigation Team, isn't it?" you said.

"...Nothing really gets past you, you know that?" Yosuke said, tearing up. "I was looking for an excuse for all of us to stay together even after our mission was complete. I knew that whatever I could think of, it would never work out in the end..."

"I'm still here for you, at least..." you said, attempting to console him. It was rather difficult to reassure him in this case, as this was the second time, that you were aware of, that this exact thing has happened to him. It would be kind of hard to still have hope after being almost completely left behind by both of your once close friend groups.

"I would hope so. I can’t bear to lose you too. Not after everything."

"Relax," you said, gently stroking his hair, "I promise you, I’ll be here to stay by your side."

Yosuke looked at you as if he was trying so hard to believe your words. Understandably, his self-doubt was preventing him from doing so, and he couldn’t seem to bring himself to accept your reassurance.

If only you could tell him what has been on your mind this entire time. You’d finally be able to truly guarantee him a lifelong companion. But you couldn’t. Not right now, anyways. You didn’t want him to interpret your words as pity, rather than a genuine confession.

Although he was smarter than that, there was always a risk, especially with a subject so sensitive for him. As much as it hurts the two of you to leave such intense feelings left unclear, it was a subject matter that you had to tread carefully on. You had to resort to your next best idea; distracting him from his thoughts in some way.

"Why not show me what you can do with that guitar?" you said, attempting to shift his focus.

He looked at it and blinked, as if he was for some reason intimidated by the thought of playing it.

"You...do realize that I’m not the greatest at playing it, right? Just because I pulled off an impromptu performance at a warehouse store doesn’t necessarily mean I’m good at it."

"I thought that it was an impressive performance, considering what little time we had to prepare for it.”

"Well, you should lower your expectations then. Just saying."

You moved back a bit to give him more room to set up. It wasn’t anywhere near professional grade equipment, but his instrument was of good enough quality for you to be able to tell that he was clearly dedicated to his hobby.

Despite it seemingly not being played for a long period of time, his guitar remained in good shape as well. He must’ve been routinely tending to it even during the long-term negligence of his practice. Perhaps he always had a lingering dream of being able to play music in a fairly popular band. It wouldn’t be too farfetched, as his room was clearly adored with his love for rock and a few other various odd artists.

"I can play a few rifts from one of my favorite songs, or I can dig up some old pieces I wrote. It’s up to you."

"I’d like to listen to something you wrote," you said. This was a bit of a gamble, as it could end up sounding absolutely awful depending on how good he was writing by himself. Despite this fact, quality was not a concern of yours.

Yosuke started digging through a stack of papers that he had sitting by his nightstand. He took the top few pages and shook them off to the side, sending a few pink flower petals flying off.

"Man, every time I think I’ve shaken away these bastards, I always find more," he complained.

"How did these even get into your room in the first place?"

"I left my window open on a windy day and they just kinda swarmed in. I’m still cleaning these up," he said, brushing a few more off to the side.

You picked up some of the petals that had been swept onto the floor. They were small and a vibrant pink, resembling the hydrangeas growing in a field visible from your window. In the handful that you have gathered, you took note of a few remnants of purple blossoms as well.

Wouldn’t that be something if they were from the exact same group of plants as the ones outside of your window?

"I think I found them," Yosuke said, throwing aside a last few stray pages of notebook paper. You looked to see the paper that he was holding, which was a few sheets of torn out notebook paper with various notes doodled in a sequence.

You could assume that he did seem to be rather proficient in writing music after all, or at least understanding the notes.

"I couldn’t tell you which one’s which. These are all a mix of pieces all with names like ‘cool rift I thought of number one,’ and so on.”

"Doesn’t matter to me which one you pick."

"Alright, well, let’s just hope that I don’t go with one of the particularly awful ones."

Yosuke flipped through the handful of papers he had. He tried to appear as if he was thinking about each work carefully to select which one to play for you, though you could tell that there were absolutely no thoughts in that head of his. It must’ve been quite some time since he had last read and played music if he was unable to envision his own work in his mind. He eventually settled on a page somewhere in the middle of the stack and pulled it out. He looked over the pages that were a part of it before placing them both down on the floor in front of him.

“I’m sorry if it sounds off. It’s been a while since I last looked at these,” he said. He played a few notes and made a few adjustments to the sound before starting.

Yosuke’s style was distinct, yet had clear remnants of what he was inspired by. It sounded like it could blend in perfectly with one of his many favorite bands while at the same time retaining what made his music his own.

He wasn’t kidding about his dreams of wanting to form a band. For amateur scribbles on notebook paper, it sounded like a coherent, flowing melody that was pleasing to the ears. You couldn’t help but tap your feet to the beat along with him, as it was actually quite catchy.

After he was done playing his short piece, he stared blankly at the paper in front of him. He didn’t say a word, perhaps waiting for your thoughts, but was too afraid to actually ask you.

“You said that you might’ve sounded off, but I think it was pretty damn good,” you said.

“Really, now?” he said, surprised by your approval.

"Of course. Seems like all of that music that you listened to paid off."

"Maybe,” he said, thinking. “Music isn’t so bad to play when you have some kind of positive influence in your life."

"Which, in this case, would be all of these different bands you listen to," you said, gesturing to the albums that lined his walls.

"Well, I guess whether it be someone or something, it’s a good motivator for me to keep chasing my goals, even if no one is there for me."

"That’s not entirely true. I don’t plan on leaving you any time soon."

You’ve been beating this fact into his head countless times for as long as you can remember. He may be hesitant to believe you, but you were insistent on remaining by his side for as long as forever may last.

He was a seeker of truth, wasn’t he? The truth was right there in front of him, but for some reason, he refused to accept it.

"You’re so insistent that I almost feel like I can fully believe you."

"What’s stopping you, then?"

"I’ve had the same thing said to me countless times in the past and the end result was always the same. It would take you until the end of our lives to prove it, and even then, I would be living with my lingering doubts."

"If it takes until the day we pass, then so be it. I refuse to give up on you and your dreams."

"...For some reason, it’s comforting to hear that coming from you."

"See?" you said, gently taking his hand. "Take that as a promise from me, and if I ever go back on my words, toss me right into a television."

"I-I don’t think you can do that…well I mean I can toss you at a television and break it, but not into one like the way you were implying," he said, losing track of the original topic.

“The specifics of that doesn’t matter. What’s important, is that you have every right to curse me, should I turn my back on you.”

You grabbed a small composition that he had set aside in a pile and handed it to him.

"Now, why don’t you play me some more of your music? The first one you played me was pretty good, and it could serve as a nice refresher for you."

Yosuke took the paper from your hand.

"Right. I was going to let you listen to more of my songs. Sorry for bringing down the mood..."

"You’re fine. I’m not the least bit upset at you being honest with your feelings."

"...Thanks. I feel bad, but I’ve never really been able to speak to anybody else about this kind of thing. Not since Souji went back with his parents."

"Like I said, I’m here to stay, no matter what life may bring us."

Though hesitant, Yosuke gave an understanding nod in response. He moved his previous song out of his way and back onto the pile to make room for the one you handed him.

The manner in which he played this piece was...different than the last one. Of course, it could be the general difference in composition, but something about him seemed to have changed in the few minutes between songs. He seemed to be playing with more passion…more focus.

Yosuke wasn’t playing just for the sole purpose of it being a pastime.  He was playing with reason. He had someone that he cared deeply about always keeping him on the right track, whether or not he wanted to admit it.

Now if only you could admit it yourself.

#persona 4 #p4 #fanfiction #fanfic #fluff #yosuke hanamura #yosuke hanamura x reader

[linuxlife]

Linux Life Episode 84

Hello everybody and welcome back to Linux Life I admit its been a little while since I made an entry which was informing you of the death of Mangelwurzel and entry of the new Dell Inspiron 3525 I am currently using to type this article on.

Reason its been so long was I actually went back to Windows (stop spitting at back please it’s not pretty) because I wanted to play Blur and a few other games. Well I did and in that time I also tried several ways to have a Linux installation in some form of VM.

So first I used Virtualbox which is a Type 2 Hypervisor basically what that means is everything is emulated in its own little sandbox and all the hardware is virtual. I did manage to get Ubuntu Studio running but to say it was rough would be an understatement.

Virtualbox does not like KDE to say the least and it was painful to run. Also the networking was slow. Sure I could have used normal Ubuntu to see if GNOME was faster but for all I have tried it many times I really don’t like GNOME. Everything needs extensions and the interface is horrible.

Finding apps requires typing in a search because of that stupid Mac Launchpad icon design. I really detest it. I’m sure if you were using a touchscreen then it makes sense but most laptops definitely are not.

Anyway after far too many hours wasted with that I moved on to try Hyper V which is a Type 1 Hypervisor which allows much more connection to base metal components... it lets you use your actual graphics card, the hard drive can be accessed better and you have access to USB and the likes which makes it much better.

Now at the time I was using Windows 11 Home as that’s what came pre-installed on the Dell. So I had to download Hyper V as it wasn’t there by default. So first I try Ubuntu as Canonical have an agreement with Microsoft due to WSL.

Sure enough it installed and was pretty fluid but it had no sound. There was an enhanced mode which refused to work as to do so it needed RDS (Remote Desktop Support) which also prevented sound from working (Huh ?).

To get RDS you need Windows 11 Pro which Microsoft informed me if I wanted a key would be £119. Hmmm not happy obliterated Ubuntu VM. Went web-side got a Windows 11 Pro for £1.67 as it was OEM key. They key would have been £3.35 but I found a 50% off code.

After a bit of fiddling I got Windows 11 Home to go to Pro using a key to switch it then once it did that registered the new OEM key and it worked and guess what I have access to Remote Desktop Services.

So as I felt that Hyper V could cope I now tried installing EndeavourOS which installed without a single hitch. I admit the network was slow but a million times quicker than Virtualbox.

It had no issues with KDE whatsoever but once again no sound. I installed several Hyper V tools and things from the AUR. Even changed out pipewire back to pulseaudio but no matter what I did, sod all worked. RDS couldn’t see the VM even including doing the various Powershell tips.

Bugger all, now sure I could have run Endeavour without sound but I had come this far damn it. OK deleted VM. OK I now have Win 11 Pro so lets try the Ubuntu stuff again.

OK now enhanced mode shows a dialogue and when I log in screen goes black and bugger all happens. Click off enhanced mode and Ubuntu is working. Enhanced mode just black. Setup Ubuntu. reboot now enhanced mode doesn’t come up and even the VM crashes now.

This wasted too many hours and days of messing around. I even got the RDS side running but when I tried to Remotely Access using RDS it crashed. What a complete waste of bloody time.

I even tried running a Ubuntu Studio VM using VMWare Player 17. It didn’t work.

I doing think about setting up a KVM version of QEMU to run a Linux installation but guess what if you want sound on QEMU you need to get a specific version called the Screamer and it won’t let you use KVM setup meaning it wouldn’t allow you to install the Linux.

By this point I just gave up I honestly don’t care what type of Hypervisor it is I am obviously too thick to get things running as they should and I gave up.

I almost tried Proxmox and XCP-NG but upon seeing what they entailed just gave up.

After all that I thought I would leave alone and just use Windows. Then everyone started informing my Facebook had been cloned, well lets just say that didn’t happen when I had Linux.

The internet under Windows just ran slower than when I had Linux. Watching YouTube stalled regularly, downloads failed due to time out and my frustration levels were getting to breaking point.

I tried to dual boot Linux as I found out how to shrink the partition in Windows and use it for Linux installation. So tried EndeavourOS but because of the Secure boot it wouldn’t let the system install.

However for some reason Fedora will install if Secure boot is still on. So I installed Fedora Beta 40 because I wanted to try the new KDE Plasma 6. Now I know it’s beta software so not to have many expectations but most of the software I use was not in the store nor could I find the appropriate dnf installer.

However Fedora now would boot but my Windows 11 wouldn’t the partition was there but it didn’t add it to the menu so now I could load Fedora but Windows wouldn’t load.

Tried OS Prober, Grub Customizer, no matter what I did could not get the Windows 11 partition to boot or get it in the options

Pissed off now I finally turned off Secure boot. Wiped the whole hard drive and installed EndeavourOS Galileo Neo (the latest version) and set up the Dell with KDE.

It now is running on KDE 6 Plasma 6.0.2 running Wayland. It is running seamlessly, the internet is quicker. No issues with YouTube. Updating fine. When I tried KDE 5 Plasma Wayland, Steam and several other programs stopped working.

Well Steam is working fine using XWayland (a Wayland to X11 bridge) and there is a version of Cairo Dock that works with Wayland (it is experimental but so far has not died on me).

So all is right with the world in that respect. Only issue is screen capture isn’t great in Wayland but someone is working on it. OBS and other video capture work fine but screen capture programs such Flameshot, Shutter and other need work.

Well Wayland is slowly being adapted so in time I am sure these things will be fixed over the next few months as more and more main distros seem to be moving to Wayland.

It works well enough and to be honest it's even faster for program launch it seems than the original X11 which is now over twenty years old.

I am yet to try the Steam Proton games such as Path of Exile but who knows maybe next time we speak I may have done so.

So with all that madness abound I bid you farewell for this episode.

Hopefully I will try not to break anything major... until next time take care.

#linux life #ubuntu #ubuntu studio #virtualization #virtual machines #hyper v #virtualbox #wayland #x11 #waffle #steam

[wincore]

romeo roulette | jung yoonoh

pairing: jaehyun x fem!reader

summary: if finding your soulmate is the same as a damn game of russian roulette, you are determined to not pull the trigger at all. except, you know who your soulmate is and he doesn’t—and given a choice to pretend, you find that jaehyun is the lesser of the two burdens to bear.

genre: soulmate au, office au, fake dating, fluff (a lot), angst (a little), romcom, magical realism (??)

words: 21.2k

warnings: language

song recs: playlist here !

a/n: behold ! a kdrama compressed in a fic ! ok i was lying there was more than a little angst but all in good fun <3 i have never experienced working in an office (thanks to the panny) but i tried making it as accurate as i could !! hope you have fun with this <3

It’s not that you’ve never been looked at with a lover’s gaze, it’s just that whatever look Jaehyun has been giving you is mildly uncomfortable. It’s not supposed to be that way. Hell, even his hand clasping yours are a little too clammy for your liking.

Jung Yoonoh. Get your act together.

You wish he were a better actor than this. For someone used to eyes on him in each and every room he’s in, he’s not very good at making eye contact. You’ll be saving this performance. Not to stroke your own ego but at least you know how to behave under strong gazes.

There are three people staring at the two of you and your fingers intertwined, scrutinizing your postures and the expressions on your faces. Maybe Jaehyun should face them instead of glancing at you wordlessly. He’s a terrible liar for someone who acts so smooth. 

You look up with a short smile. The aforementioned three are your coworkers—former class rep at uni and your current boss Doyoung, your friend Soojin and Jaehyun’s friend Sicheng from IT. None of them look happy—like it concerns them. If there was a competition for nosy coworkers, this entire group would be winning awards left and right (and that’s including you). 

They’re going to find out, an annoying voice giggles inside the quiet corner of your brain. Like hell, they will. You didn’t take up acting lessons in college for nothing. You just need to focus on the details.

This whole charade dates its beginning to a week ago. 

If someone were to tell you Jung Yoonoh from marketing is your soulmate, you would most certainly either laugh or take it as a genuine insult. Hence, you were glad when you found that he isn’t. 

It was an accident. You had glimpsed at his soulmark, right below his collarbone, at a particularly wild office afterparty—and somehow, you thought it was fitting that his tattoo was a little red heart. For someone born on Valentine’s day (which you know from a night out with coworkers, not because you’re remotely interested), if his soulmark was not something as disgusting as a heart, it would be the textbook definition of irony. But then again, fate is a funny thing. Your soulmark is a heart roughly the same size, with a little more intricacy in the form of a piercing arrow.

Despite all, however, if someone were to ask you if Jung Yoonoh is the worst person to be your soulmate, the answer is no. You can name at least five coworkers off the top of your head that you’d choose him over. You would choose him over Doyoung (and especially his nagging), you would choose him over Taeyong because he’s too hot and you also don’t like men in a higher position than you are, you would choose him over Jungwoo because you suspect he’s secretly a furry. Jaehyun is certainly better than your deskmate Dongmin who, despite an angelic smile, is: a) too distant to make actual conversation with, and b) in a relationship despite being your soulmate. Sweet-tempered Dongmin doesn’t even know it’s you. You’d love to be the bearer of bad news but this one—you’re not exactly ready for it yourself.

So that’s the explanation for why you hunted down Jaehyun and in a desperate attempt to not seem pathetic, coerced him into a role that has carefully picked benefits for either of you. You just have to bite the bullet sometimes.

“And I get what out of this?”

“Me? Temporarily, that is.”

Jaehyun laughs in amusement and you drop your smile, almost offended. If you were a gift, you’d certainly be an attractive, spicy, hot one—he doesn’t have to look at you so incredulously. In a neat business suit, Jaehyun is as kempt as ever though his tie could do with some more work.  As an HR assistant, his appearance pleases you. However as a person, the perfection annoys the hell out of you. He could show himself to be more human. It would make your job (both the actual and the metaphorical) easier.

“I’m leaving,” he announces with a nonchalant exhale. “You keep messing around during work hours like this and people are going to think you’re jobless.”

“Wait!” 

You jog up to him and block his path, crossing your arms as you huff at his indignance. 

“I said no,” he repeats, and when he tries to evade you, you push him back with your palm flat against his chest. Jaehyun doesn’t show any more discomfort than usual, biting the inside of his cheek.

“You haven’t found your soulmate, right?” you say, taking a deep breath. If you have to resort to psychological warfare, so be it.

His smile wavers and he straightens, no longer leaning against the printer desk. “No. How does that matter?”

“It matters because you’re going to be my pretend-soulmate. Now, don’t be a pussy.”

He opens his mouth and closes it, furrowing his eyebrows. “You can’t always trick me into doing what you want.”

“I’ll ask Doyoung if you say no.”

“See—enough with the tricks, they don’t work anymore. I’ve known you for two years.”

“I really will ask him.”

“Not convincing enough. You don’t even talk to Doyoung outside work.”

You groan into your hand, taking a few moments to come up with another plan. How is your obvious charisma not enough? You certainly can’t tell him how rejected you feel with the whole Dongmin situation even if his rejection hasn’t officially come yet. It’s too embarrassing for a grown adult to go through. You don’t mind being lonely for the rest of your life if you’re successful. There’s a price tag on each decision you make anyway.

“I’ll treat you to lunch every day. I’ll pay.”

You cross your arms, tapping your foot in anticipation. They say the way to a man’s heart is through the stomach. Besides, Jaehyun hates spending his lunch money on himself. This ought to do something.

Jaehyun places his hand in front of his mouth in mock surprise. “Oh no, out of your beloved paycheck? That’s kind of scary, honestly.”

“Jaehyun. Stop messing around. I’m being serious.”

He purses his lips, hesitation across his face. You don’t like the way he thinks, with quiet, lost eyes and no clear giveaways on his lips.

“Okay. I’ll do it.”

You smile in relief though you try somewhat to not let it show on your face. 

“On one condition.”

Your eyes dart across his face, nothing that tells what he might suggest next. You hate when you don’t get to decide on things.

“You have to come visit my family next month and pose as my soulmate—”

“No way.”

“—and when this whole game you’re playing is over, you’re going to say I rejected you.”

You stare at him, weighing the odds. 

“Fine,” you say finally, voice pitched in slight annoyance.

Jaehyun shrugs.

“But I tell my parents that I rejected you. Or they’ll come after you with a task force or something.”

You mutter the last part.

He grimaces, holding his breath for a good few seconds and then letting it go.

“Alright. It’s not like mine and your parents know each other—or will ever meet.”

“Fine then,” you say. “We have an agreement.”

“We have an agreement,” he repeats.

Now, back to more pressing matters. The people in front of you aren’t a stupid lot—even if you've seen Doyoung spend $500 on plush toys, seen Sicheng absentmindedly walk into a desk and pretend to not be in pain for the next five minutes and Soojin somehow convinced a senior to get her coffee because she thought he was an intern (in her defence, it worked). 

The only way is to act through. You clear your throat.

"We… we discovered it last week. Our signs match."

Technically, you drew an arrow with a permanent marker over Jaehyun's tattoo in an attempt to resemble yours. It's not awful, but perhaps not perfect. 

“Discovered? Like just happened to find out?” Doyoung asks.

“Isn’t Jaehyun’s on…” Soojin leans in to whisper hurriedly in your ear. “On his butt? Did you guys sleep together?”

You contort your face in disgust. “The what? What? Who told you that? And no.”

Soojin makes an ‘ah’ sound and leans back. “I should stop listening to office rumours then.”

"You should." You glare at her.

Sicheng is the only one without questions at the tip of his tongue but the look on his face worries you most. 

“I’ve never seen your tattoo, now that I think about it,” he muses, turning to Jaehyun. “Although we’re roommates.”

Jaehyun clears his throat, looking around with shifty eyes. "Why is… why is everyone looking so suspicious?"

"It's just… so sudden," Soojin says, looking around at the others.

"Yeah," Sicheng mutters.

"Soulmate fraud is a big deal too, you know that right?" Doyoung informs. "You could get put in jail."

You throw up your hands in exasperation. "Why would we pretend? We don't have any reason to. And, uh, you're sure about the jail thing?"

You look at Doyoung, hoping your question didn’t come off too squeaky. 

"You’re right,” he says, sighing. “It’s so unlikely for soulmates to work in the same company, let alone the same building.”

“Oh, yes, I’m so lucky,” you mutter under your breath.

Doyoung sighs. "Look, we're happy for you. It's just that… it's a little sudden."

"Literally what I just said," Soojin says.

"Literally what she just said," Doyoung agrees quickly, not wanting to pick a fight. Sometimes you wonder who the real boss is.

"Look, just because we don't even acknowledge each other or find each other remotely attractive or wouldn't even be each other's office Christmas card candidate—"

Jaehyun nudges your side with his elbow and gives you a look that seems a lot like "You're making it worse".

You clear your throat. "That's what happens to most soulmates! You think you're going to land the perfect one and boom. You get a chump from marketing."

Jaehyun makes a sound of protest. "I didn't want a snob from HR either."

The two of you glare at each other, and you find that clenching his jaw makes Jaehyun slightly (around 0.05%) more attractive, or at the very least more bearable to look at.

Doyoung gasps. "Okay, I get it. You're having adjustment issues. I know a guy for that. He's helped every newly found soulmate couple adjust with each other."

"We don't need that," you interrupt, offering your fakest smile.

"You do," Doyoung responds, his smile equally fake. "I'll drive you this weekend if you're free. He’ll give you one free session. No more, because we all know how capitalism works."

People have got to stop copying your fake smile. You wish you could have it copyrighted because after all, it’s the same smile that tricks interviewees into thinking they got the job. It’s not evil if you say it isn’t. You open your mouth, look at Jaehyun doing the same and when you can't come up with an excuse, give up and nod. 

"Don't look so resentful," Doyoung says, tone slightly complaining. "I'm not doing this as your boss. We were friends in college and I'm just doing you a favour. A friendly favour."

Soojin hums in deep thought. "I feel like this is some sort of nepotism."

"I feel like you should open a dictionary once in a while," Doyoung mutters, only to get a vaguely threatening look from Soojin.

"Anyway," Sicheng diverts, eyes curious when he turns to Doyoung. "Why did you call us here?"

"Ah." Doyoung's eyes widen. "I heard promotion rumours."

Sicheng lets out a loud huff of annoyance. "You summoned us here for company gossip?"

Doyoung crosses his arms. “So, you’re not interested?”

“Who said that?” Sicheng responds quickly, leaning in.

The five of you huddle closer in a circle, looking as conspicuous as a cult. 

“You guys know that Jinyoung’s leaving, right?” Doyoung starts.

Soojin gasps audibly only to get a smack on the arm from Doyoung. “Why’s he leaving? He's like employee of the month every month. ”

A few chuckles pass through the group at her discontentment from months of losing out on the title.

“I heard he found his soulmate. Lucky ass gets tax benefits too now,” Sicheng complains. “Why is he leaving?”

“Oh, look who’s interested in gossip now,” Soojin coos.

Sichengs turns red in the face and looks away, clearing his throat. “You’re gonna answer my question, Doyoung?”

“Oh! Right.” Doyoung looks up from a text. “He got rejected by his soulmate.”

Soojin covers her mouth this time when she gasps and you can’t say your jaw doesn’t drop as well. 

“Rejected? Like our picture-perfect Jinyoung got rejected?” you repeat, trying to process the information. “Please don’t tell me he decided to be an idiot and sign a mutual rejection.”

“No, he didn’t lose his senses,” Doyoung responds with a duh undertone. “He’s getting the compensation money.”

You sigh. “Man, I feel bad for him.”

Jaehyun hums in agreement. There’s a hush over the group and you feel fear rise in your chest. You don’t want to be rejected. You’ve seen how happy Dongmin looks with his girlfriend—he’d reject you in a heartbeat. Of course, you could just receive the compensation money from the one-sided rejection and get it over with but you refuse to. It hurts to not be wanted. It hurts to not be wanted by someone who’s supposed to want you. To be specific, it hurts your pride. Every time you see the damn arrowed heart on Dongmin’s wrist, which he tries so hard to cover with his watch, you feel like throwing up. You’re glad yours isn’t as easy to spot—resting right above your hip bone.

“Anyway, someone’s getting promoted to that HR specialist position.”

You gasp. “Is it me? It’s me, right?”

Jaehyun rolls his eyes and you elbow him. “What’s with you?”

“Don’t get too excited,” he says, shrugging. “Isn’t it stupid to get your hopes up over a rumour?”

Doyoung breathes out. “Wow, (name) really sucked the life out of you, Jaehyun.”

You glare at him when Soojin breaks into a fit of laughter. “You- you know what that- you know what that sounds like, right?”

Your face contorts into disgust and you shake your head. “Let’s be more professional, alright, Soojin?”

She clears her throat and straightens her clothes, like a teenager being reprimanded. “I’m your senior. It’s embarrassing when you say that to me.”

Jaehyun speaks up and turns to you. “I think lunch break is almost over.”

You raise an eyebrow. “So?”

“You’re forgetting something.” He smiles, dimples showing, but his eyes come off menacing.

“Fuck,” you mutter under your breath. You forgot about that stupid lunch promise. 

“Hey. Professional,” Soojin warns.

You groan and link your arm through Jaehyun’s, making him bite back a smile. What is it with men and getting weirdly happy about lunch?

“We’re gonna go get lunch,” you announce.

“Ooh, (name)’s ditching quality time with coworkers for dates now,” Soojin coos.

You roll your eyes and exit the office, stopping to wait in front of the elevator.

“I think that went well,” Jaehyun says, shrugging lightly.

“Shh. What if they hear us?”

“Do you think they’re X-men? We’re a long corridor and closed doors away.”

You huff, crossing your arms. “Still…”

Jaehyun’s smug smile makes you want to smack it right off and this isn’t the first time you’ve felt this way with him. You swear he’s not as bad as some of the guys you’ve met but Jaehyun is simply annoying. An A grade nuisance. You can trust him though. If Soojin says he’s a reliable guy, you’ll believe her—she doesn’t bluff when it comes to seeing right through men, though she does have a tendency to believe stupid rumours.

“Your acting was shit though,” you snipe.

Jaehyun lets out a low sardonic laugh. “At least I was subtle when I was messing up.”

You cross your arms and huff. “You know what? You can take the next elevator ride.”

“Huh?”

You step into the elevator just as the doors open and quickly jam your finger to the close doors button. The look of betrayal on Jaehyun’s face is subtle but it’s enough to satisfy you. As the saying goes, when one door closes, another one opens—it’s very applicable to elevators. He can take the other one.

However, almost immediately after, the elevator doors open and you groan, opening your mouth to send a sarcastic congratulations to Jaehyun for pressing the button on time.

Your words hitch on your tongue. Dongmin greets the two of you with a smile, standing beside Jaehyun, who has his eyes averted from you.

“Hey,” Dongmin greets. “Congratulations. I heard the news.”

“Thanks,” you croak, clearing your throat with a bit of heat on your cheeks. Jaehyun looks like he might burst into a fit of laughter any moment and you shoot him a subtle glare.

“Where are you headed to?” You ask.

“Oh, I’m going to grab a sandwich from the cafeteria.”

“We’re also headed to the cafeteria,” Jaehyun declares, with a smile that’s almost devilish.

“No, we’re not,” you say quickly, making Dongmin raise an eyebrow. You hold back a groan. If only Dongmin weren’t raised to be the politest man you know and a little bit more of an asshole. 

You hum and turn to Jaehyun. “I told you about that new cafe. Remember, honey?”

Dongmin makes an ‘o’ with his mouth. “Nicknames, already? Ah, I’m so jealous. It must be great to get along with your soulmate.”

Oh, the sweet summer child that Dongmin is.

Jaehyun furrows his eyebrows. “Oh, won’t it take too long, darling? We have—”

He makes a show of checking his Rolex, a gift he received from his superior that he spares no chance to flex.

“—Around ten minutes left.”

You hold back a groan and plaster on your smile. “Come on. Now is the best time.”

“That sounds like a load of—”

You elbow Jaehyun hard in the gut and a restrained sound dies in his throat, eyes widening in the sweet look of discomfort taking over his features. You smile triumphantly and turn to Dongmin with an immediate change of expression.

“I’ll see you in office later,” you say, bowing slightly.

Dongmin nods and gets off on the fifth floor. You watch in quiet relief as the elevator door closes and turn to your dear companion, irked.

“Did you have to do that?” Jaehyun asks, voice raspy with pain.

“You deserved it. Don’t you dare make this a bigger mess than it already is.”

“You came up with it.” Jaehyun straightens, finally. Apart from the few loose strands of his neatly parted hair, he doesn’t seem all that disgruntled.

“And we’re going to set some ground rules,” you declare, closing your arms.

Jaehyun straightens to his full height, the space between the two of you diminishing. 

"Okay," he agrees. "Then we both get a say in it. It's a contract, after all."

"Fine. First rule, no being weird around Dongmin."

Jaehyun chuckles. "I think you need to be more careful about that than I do."

You pat his cheek. "Focus. Just don't- don't be around him for too long."

Jaehyun purses his lips. "Why are you so uncomfortable around him? I thought you were doing this because you didn't want to reject him."

You glance away, feeling uncomfortable. "It doesn't matter. I just don't want him to know."

Jaehyun hums. "Fine. My turn. No calling me a chump."

Your cheeks puff up as you try to contain your laughter. "It bothered you that much, huh?"

Jaehyun furrows his brows. "No one's ever called me that before. It's always 'oh my god, he's so handsome, who is he?' or 'ooh, I might faint from how hot he is'."

You giggle. "Alright, handsome."

Jaehyun exhales, his puffed cheeks making him look like a resentful five year old instead of a grown man with a professional job. You pause before you get back on track.

“No nicknames,” you blurt. “It’s weird when you call me something endearing. And your flirting feels kind of threatening.”

“What do you mean, baby?”

“See! You’re doing it again.” You cross your arms at the look on his face; anything close to victorious over Jaehyun’s features is unbearable to you.

He raises his arms in exasperation. “How are we supposed to make this work if we act like we don’t care about each other. Guess why Doyoung’s taking us to couple therapy?”

You huff, slightly pissed off. “You’re saying it was my fault?”

“I’m saying we could have avoided that with better acting.”

“You think you’re so—”

The elevator door opens with a ding on the first floor and you turn to find a bunch of interns back from their lunch break. It would be much less of an awkward affair if you and Jaehyun weren’t well into each other’s personal spaces, noses almost touching and with a mutual glare which could be easily mistaken for a look of something more sensual. You jump away from Jaehyun and leave the elevator as fast as you can, feeling far too conscious of yourself. With long strides, you exit the corporate airs of the building to a sunny, fairly populous sidewalk. 

Jaehyun catches up to you, bending and trying to catch a glimpse of your face with an incredulous smile over his.

“Don’t say a word, Yoonoh.”

“Ooh, you’re saying my name now.”

“This isn’t funny!”

“I find it plenty funny.”

“That’s because of your trash sense of humour.”

“Mhm.”

“Don’t look so smug.”

Mondays are the days that make you want to scream in agony, not Thursdays—though they are pretty high up on the worst days of the week list. Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe pretending to be in love with someone you simply cannot be in love with is an awful idea. 

Soulmates don’t need to be in love with each other, you think to yourself. There’s plenty of soulmates who are just in it for the financial benefits; you can just pretend to be one of them. This dilemma is starting to fray your nerves and Jung Yoonoh, with his lax disposition and dimpled cheeks, is making it worse. And to top it off, you now have to take him to your favourite (kind of secret) cafe in the name of the lies that slipped your tongue. It was supposed to be a quiet comfort spot for you.

You blow a puff of air out and dismiss the thought. Comfort spots aren’t real anyway when you’re all grown. There’s bound to be a breach. 

However, you will not let the (lacking) romance department of your life get sorted out by someone who doesn’t even know you. Lady luck would be an acquaintance to you at most. If fate is a game of chance after all, you might as well be the one spinning the roulette. You look at Jaehyun, piecing together the perfect plan for this seemingly frivolous play-pretend. The game is in your hands now. 

You blink at the figure of Jung Yoonoh under February sunlight on a modestly busy sidewalk. It’s not something to be surprised at—however, the stark contrast in attire makes you stare longer than you intend to. Wearing a black graphic hoodie and pair of worn out jeans, Jaehyun looks about as casual as you can bear. It’s always weird to see coworkers out of formal clothing.

“Are you just going to stare at me till Doyoung comes and picks us up?” he asks. 

You roll your eyes. 

“You look nice,” he says, and you glance down at your outfit with a flush of heat over your cheeks. It’s just a short A-line skirt, stockings and a sweatshirt. This is as basic as you get. What’s worse is that his comment didn’t sound sarcastic.

“You- You look nice too. I guess.” Once in a while, you will say something extremely stupid and pretend it never happened. The frequency increases around Jaehyun for some damn reason.

“You guess? I’m pretty sure I look more than nice.”

“And how long did you look at yourself in the mirror and practise catchphrases this time?”

Jaehyun’s ears turn the shade of cherries and you press down your smile. You knew that time you caught him talking to himself in front of a car window would play to your advantage. 

“What’s that you’re holding?” you ask, eyeing the plastic bag he’s holding.

“Ginseng,” he answers, staring blankly at the cars passing by. “I heard the couples therapist is in his sixties so he might find it useful.”

“Oh, old people stuff,” you muse quietly. “That’s quite thoughtful of you.”

You should’ve brought something, you think for a moment before realizing that couples probably don’t give separate gifts. 

“Thanks,” you mutter.

He raises an eyebrow. “For what?”

You shake your head. “Anyway, we might as well kill some time. Twenty questions. Let’s go.”

He laughs. “What are we, in college?”

You wrinkle your nose. “Don’t make us sound like we’re thirty. I bet you’re the kind of guy who has his retirement plan figured out.”

“Wrong,” he emphasizes, face leaning closer. 

“Fine. I’ll start the questions, you unsalted block of butter. How many relationships have you been in?”

Jaehyun opens his mouth and closes it, ears turning red. “That’s your first question?”

You roll your eyes. “Okay. I’m guessing it’s single digit and on the lower side.”

He rolls his eyes. “How many relationships have you been in?”

You shut your mouth. There’s a moment of silence, a breeze passing you by, carrying winter away in its arms to make room for spring. 

“Never found a relationship worth it,” you mutter, glancing away. 

Jaehyun hesitates before opening his mouth. “Me neither.”

“Good thing for us, eh? Love makes people crazy.”

Jaehyun faces you with a clipped smile. Never did you think Jaehyun from marketing would be relating to you on a personal matter.

“Oh, but I’ve had enough hookups and I can bet you’re mediocre at best in bed.” 

Jaehyun glares at you. “I am not and I can prove it to you.”

“Is that an invitation into your bed? No, thanks.”

He opens his mouth to retort but is interrupted by the Hyundai Grandeur pulling up to the sidewalk and rolling down the driver window to reveal Doyoung. He looks as overworked as usual, but his eyes are more tired, a bit of makeup covering the dark circles. You’ve heard his soulmate is a makeup artist for an idol group and wonder how they even came to be. Does fate throw darts randomly and pick its choice?

“Get in. Quick,” Doyoung instructs. “I have to drop you off and head home. My family is visiting. I didn’t even get a warning and they think I’m in a gay relationship with Taeyong because we still have our friendship rings from college.”

You want to laugh and agree but Doyoung looks rather pissed off so you hold it in. The two of you do as told, getting in the backseat and shutting the doors in sync. The car smells rather leafy mingling with the scent of fresh clothes and you eye the jar dangling from the rear-view mirror. You open your mouth to ask what scent that is when Doyoung’s voice rings out.

“What’s that?” Doyoung signals to the bag with Jaehyun.

Jaehyun looks down. “Ginseng extract.”

“Oh, the gift pack?” Doyoung asks. 

Jaehyun nods and Doyoung chuckles, shaking his head. “If that’s for Mr. Lee, forget it. He hates gifts. Something about inward appreciation and shit.”

Jaehyun groans, massaging his forehead. “What do I do with this then? Is this guy a priest?”

“Give it to Doyoung,” you suggest. “His family’s visiting.”

You hear an audible hum of approval from the driver seat and turn to Jaehyun making a face of reluctance. Maybe he isn’t so magnanimous after all, you think smiling.

“You’re both quite tame today,” Doyoung remarks, just when the silence is starting to swallow the inside of the car. “Makes me wonder if you need Mr. Lee after all.”

“We actually don’t…” You shake your head. “We’re here and it’s free so why not?”

Jaehyun shoots you a questioning look. It’s not like you can cancel when you’re in Doyoung’s car and already on the way. You’ve known your boss long enough to know the wrong answer to his questions. You look outside at Seoul streets and sigh. 

Jaehyun looks at you, your focus elsewhere and wishes this would end already. He has no idea what overcame him to accept your ridiculous offer but he must be just as ridiculous. At the very least, he finds you quite lovely to look at—not that he’d ever admit it to you. The foundation to this weird bickering friendship (if he can call it that) would be ruined by that. His ego, however, has been boosted up a few notches from the fact that you called him for help. He looks outside the window, holding back a smile. It’s a sunny day.

The therapist, Mr. Lee’s office building is a fancy one with an even fancier lobby. Baby pink leather couches cushion your bum nicely as you wait for your appointment. The architecture is that of a corporate firm and you feel quite at home with the large glass walls by the revolving door. This therapist guy must be rich as hell. The receptionist wears a formal uniform; her blouse is light pink with a grey pencil skirt and you like the look of it. You wonder if asking her where she bought it is time-appropriate. More couples sit around you and you, unfortunately, have to scoot closer to Jaehyun as a result. You do not want to catch that disease they all have. Why are they even here for therapy if they’re smiling at each other in that sickly enamored way? 

Now that you’re here, you’re starting to feel that this arrangement was ill-decisive. You should’ve done a better job of acting. You wonder if you can get a refund for that college course on acting, pouting as the ticking wall clock gets on your nerves. Even the marble floors are pink; the walls are mahogany red and there’s a heart-shaped wall clock, and should you glance around more, you’re going to nauseate yourself. This guy certainly takes his job seriously—or just really likes pink-red themes.

A woman in her early thirties exits the elevator and announces your names, and you click your tongue at the fact that she used Jung for your surname. It sounds distasteful. 

You follow her, starting to get nervous. You really hope this Mr. Lee isn’t as good as Doyoung says he is. Your fraud falling apart within three days is too embarrassing a defeat, not to mention bordering on illegal if found out. What the fuck does the government care about broken hearts and beneficial relationships? It’s so nosy. You understand the financial situation in case of happily bonded soulmates but apart from that, there really shouldn’t be this much discrepancy in the name of love.

Love drives people crazy. You’d rather not lose your good sense in the name of something so inane. After all, money makes the world go around, not love. 

Restricting a gag at the deep red heart on the door, you push them open with Jaehyun to find an old man sitting on a similar baby pink couch as in the lobby. He gets up to greet the two of you, the wrinkles on his face deepening when he smiles. Despite everything, he has a sort of grace to him, the one that comes with growing old elegantly. An upbeat song plays on a record player attached to the wall, although at a very low volume, and the tune reminds you of Animal Crossing. 

“Doyoung told me about the two of you,” Mr. Lee says, gesturing at the two of you to sit down. “How long has it been since you found out?”

“Six days,” you answer at the same time Jaehyun answers, “Four days”.

The two of you look at each other.

“Four-Six days. We didn’t keep track.”

“Ah,” Mr. Lee says. “How do you propose to celebrate your anniversary?”

You hesitate opening your mouth and declaring that you don’t really need to do that crap. Mr. Lee notices your expression and breaks into gentle laughter. 

“I’m kidding. Anniversary dates don’t matter,” he laughs. “It’s okay to celebrate your 100-day on the wrong day. Don’t worry.”

You purse your lips. To your dismay, Jaehyun isn’t as bothered by the sickly pink environment and Mr. Lee’s relaxed demeanour.

“I have a hundred percent success rate,” Mr. Lee assures the two of you, looking directly at you.

“That’s what I’m worried about,” you mutter under your breath and get a nudge from Jaehyun, who has his politest smile on.

You can’t believe Jaehyun has a better customer service mode than you do. If you didn’t know him, you’d be fooled into thinking he’s the nice guy character every office has. Unfortunately, that one goes to Dongmin. You hate getting stuck with nice guys (unless they offer financial stability).

“I think Doyoung might have been exaggerating,” Jaehyun explains calmly. “Whatever he told you.”

“He told me the two of you have a bickering problem. And staring at each other when the other isn’t looking.”

You cough. “That is not true. The staring part.”

Jaehyun narrows his eyes at you. “I knew you were checking me out,” he mutters.

You roll your eyes. “Keep dreaming, Jaehyun.”

Mr. Lee laughs. “Your bickering seems to be quite affectionate. I don’t know what that boy was worried about.”

You press your lips together into a thin smile, annoyed that anyone would ever describe your interaction with a man as affectionate. It makes you feel like an idiot. You were always better off alone—the universe was wrong to assign Dongmin to you. Maybe you needed to see the apparent love of your life clearly in love with someone else to snap you to reality.

“However, what is a playful lover’s fight in the beginning can turn into real fights.”

“Right,” you mutter. “It’s all fun and games in the beginning.”

“The two of you have almost no animosity—you’ve known each other before you discovered the soulmark, right?”

The two of you nod, having already reconciled yourselves to this session. It’s a one-time thing, you tell yourself. It will be over soon.

“The soulmate information shouldn’t influence the relationship you already had. If anything, it should be drawing you closer. First time awkwardness is common.”

He’s starting to sound a lot like your high school sex ed teacher. You get the idea to pretend to be sick and get out of this early.

“Company policy too,” Jaehyun mutters. “Unofficial company policy makes office romance out to be some sort of sacrilege.”

“You know, I was the CEO of your company so I do know the policies,” Mr. Lee says, smiling in the confident, reserved way senior citizens offering wisdom do. 

You choke on the water you were taking a sip of, a coughing fit overcoming you and Jaehyun hesitates before awkwardly patting your back.

“Huh? CEO? I’m sorry?” you manage. 

Mr. Lee lets out a loud, hearty laugh. “I stepped down two years ago.”

“That’s when I joined,” you and Jaehyun say at the same time.

Mr. Lee smiles at the two of you wordlessly. “I have an idea for the two of you. Why don’t you try turning your ‘I’s into ‘we’s? Do some activities together and when you talk about it, you’ll find yourself much closer.”

You narrow your eyes. “You know, Mr. Lee, I’m a little curious about your relation with the company—”

“My recommendations won’t help you get promotions faster.”

“Dammit.”

Jaehyun chuckles beside you but a glare from you turns it into a suppressed smile. The one thing that wouldn’t be a waste of time opened its door and closed it right back. 

“But you know how promotions work,” you press, leaning forward.

An alarm rings, so pleasant in tone that you know it’s a Samsung. Unfortunately, it’s the ugly flip model and you question Mr. Lee’s taste (and wealth).

“Oh, look, time’s up,” Mr. Lee announces, and you think you catch a hint of nervousness in his voice. 

Jaehyun springs up before his ears turn red, embarrassed by the gusto with which he himself got up and looks at you expectantly. You get up, sighing.

“Next time, Mr. Lee,” you warn. “I will get those details.”

“I charge by the hour.” He smiles.

“Stop threatening the therapist,” Jaehyun mutters to you, taking your arm and turning to leave.

“Oh, and,” Mr. Lee calls. “It’s always better to be honest than to pretend.”

You blink in surprise when Jaehyun tugs at your arm, bowing in thanks and leaving the room with you.

“Was it just me or did he see through us?” you whisper to Jaehyun.

He shakes his head, whispering back, “There’s no way he could tell. He’s probably referring to something else.”

“Like what?”

Jaehyun doesn’t answer.

“Tell me, are you always so domineering towards strangers even?” he asks. “I just thought you liked to press my buttons because I’m easygoing.”

You scoff. “Don’t flatter yourself. You’re not as cool as you think you are, especially since you get so hot and bothered by me.”

“It’s just you,” he whispers earnestly and your pulse rises. “No one else.”

You cough to kill the awkward silence and walk faster to the elevator. Jaehyun follows at a leisurely pace and it’s never occurred to you before but the sound of someone’s footsteps can also be annoying, proof currently standing beside you.

The elevator doors open, and much to your appallment, a young couple happens to be full blown making out inside the elevator, hands where there certainly shouldn’t be in broad daylight. Jaehyun whips his face away, clearing his throat loud enough for the couple to detach themselves from each other and hurriedly exit, fixing their clothes on the way.

“So he wasn’t lying about the success rate,” Jaehyun states quietly, a look of resigned horror on his face.

You can’t even respond for a few moments, following him into the elevator and shaking your head to get rid of the thought that inevitably jams itself inside your head. It might have a point, however.

"Maybe we should kiss too," you think out loud.

Jaehyun stiffens, looking at you with wide, fearful eyes. "No."

"We have to kiss, we're dating!" You exclaim, hands on your hips.

"We're not actually—ah, whatever. It’s not worth bickering with you."

"Why? Afraid you'll fall in love with me?”

Jaehyun shakes his head, and you’re suddenly aware that your bickering keeps drawing you closer to each other, your faces nearer than you’d realized.

"If anything," he starts with a confident smile. "You better not fall in love with me."

"Oh, please. You're taking this way too seriously."

"You're the one that wants to kiss me."

Your cheeks heat up. "You're- I- That's not—argh, fuck you."

Jaehyun looks smug, and you have the unstoppable urge to punch it off his face. You take a deep breath. Violence is not the way, (name).

“If we were a few years younger, you’d be begging for mercy under me,” you seethe.

Jaehyun’s eyes shift over your face in confusion, ears burning bright red with each passing second. Before he can open his mouth, you let out a short yell.

“Not like that, you pervert,” you say, leaning away from him. 

“I didn’t even say anything. On an unrelated note, were you a delinquent in school?”

You roll your eyes. “Kind of. I had a temper and a sharp tongue.”

“And now you’re a people pleaser. That’s quite the development.”

You smack his shoulder. “You’re getting on my nerves, punk.”

He makes an ‘oh’ with his mouth before smiling. “You totally did the delinquent accent.”

“I’m guessing you were the shy, little boy who flushed red at conversations about kissing.”

Jaehyun clears his throat in annoyance. “I was not. I was quite popular in high school and college, you know?”

“Yeah,” you mutter. “It’s that face of yours.”

“Sorry, what? I didn’t catch that.”

“Oh, look, we’re on the first floor.” You exit the elevator, leaving a puzzled Jaehyun to follow in stumbling steps.

“I don’t think Doyoung’s picking us up,” you state. “You take the bus? Or do you have a car to flex? I don’t ride in anything below a Tesla, unless it’s Doyoung because he’s technically my boss.”

“You’ll have to do with good old rented Hyundais,” he answers.

You exhale. Maybe he’s getting used to you. The bus stop is opposite the building, the structure squeaky clean and a bunch of people waiting on the seats. It’s a busy place and you wonder if the scammy-therapist-slash-your-former-ceo’s business has anything to do with that. You sit the first chance you get, shoulders pressed against Jaehyun’s for the lack of space and admiring the passing traffic. Seoul really just depends on the lenses you see through. Work days make the screen tinted grey and blue and you hate them often but some days, it’s good to experience those. Weekends are brighter, sunny and usually not with Jaehyun but he doesn’t really put a damper on them either.

You scan his side profile, a little envious when you realize that his confidence isn’t misplaced. You might have trained yourself to be more of a pleaser over the years but he’s the sort of person people come to like naturally. Moreover, his skin is perfect and his hair is always looking styled even in a mess. Fate and Life are partners in crime when it comes to being unfair.

Jaehyun turns to look at you and you snap your head to your lap, turning on your phone and staring at the homescreen for a good few seconds.

“Twenty questions,” Jaehyun announces. “Let’s play again. I’ll go first. Do you check me out when I walk away?”

“What is this, playing my own cards against me?” You scoff. “You’re so full of yourself.”

“So, yes or no?”

“Sometimes,” you mutter. “But it’s not the good kind of checking out. I’m checking out how terrible you look with your mess of a tie.”

Jaehyun laughs, the sound a hearty rumbling sort and you can’t help but smile back at that. It’s kind of cute when he laughs—the sound of it and the way his cheeks are dusted pink.

“My turn,” you say with a cheeky smile as you lean in to whisper. “Have you ever had a wet dream about me?”

Jaehyun chokes on air, coughing out the surprise as he stares at you dumfound. You stick the tip of your tongue out and throw him a wink, thoroughly enjoying this victory against him. It feels great to fluster someone like Jaehyun.

“No,” he says with clear emphasis. 

“Even the night you said I was so unbearably hot very loudly to Sicheng?”

Jaehyun leans back sighing, covering his face with his hand. “I was tipsy. And it was my first night out with coworkers. Give me a break.”

You giggle. “Honestly, it wasn’t that bad. There were worse incidents that night. An intern threw up on Doyoung’s shoes—I can’t even imagine the horror the poor girl experienced.”

Jaehyun shakes his head, smiling through his hand. 

“Have you ever sent nudes?” you ask, wiggling your eyebrows.

He sighs. “Maybe. Have you?”

“Oh, wouldn’t you like to know?”

He curls his lips. The answer seems to be no but you’re at least seventy percent sure he would be attracted to you in a world where your personality traits weren’t being nosy and annoying.

“Do you think you’re a good kisser?” Jaehyun asks, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees.

“Definitely.”

He scoffs, a smile tugging at his lips.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” You cross your arms.

He shrugs, leaning in slightly as though flirting (if he had the audacity). “We could test that.”

You feel your cheeks heat up. “What happened to no kissing in the contract?”

“It’s not officially there.”

You roll your eyes, glancing away. “You know, I’m starting to believe you were some sort of desperate fuckboy in college.”

“I- I was the hottest dude on campus and if we went to the same college, you would be pining after me. I literally had the Campus Prince title and girls would follow me to see me in class.”

He crosses his arms, a frown tugging down his lips.

“Ooh, Jung Yoonoh’s getting fired up,” you say in a monotonous voice. “Wonder how many girls you pulled with your chewed up fuckboy dialogue.”

Jaehyun scoffs but he clearly finds your accusations amusing, as hinted by his unbothered smile. He asks a question again.

“What’s more important to you—truth or happiness?” 

The question catches you off-guard. Jaehyun’s eyes are delicately curious, nothing too strong and even so, you find yourself holding your breath under his gaze.

“Huh?”

“Twenty questions. We were playing?” Jaehyun raises an eyebrow.

“Right.” You clear your throat, rubbing the back of your hand. “I… I’d choose happiness, I think. I’m… I’m not sure.”

“Really?” He doesn’t look too hellbent on taking apart your answer so you breathe out. He’s starting to pry into you finally. “I think the truth will make you happier.”

“That’s not- that’s not always true.” You look away, hoping the quietness of your voice ends the conversation there. You don’t know how to talk about it—you never really have. You’ve ugly cried over the lack of your love life to a stranger after five shots of whiskey but you don’t think you can talk about things like this sober. You don’t even know why you answered. Jaehyun makes you feel oddly comfortable.

Jaehyun shrugs, getting up when the next bus halts in front. 

“What did you major in?” you ask, following him.

“Business,” he answers before thinking. “Kind of hated it. But I started out with IT and that was somehow worse.”

You gasp, taking a seat beside him on the bus. “I started with IT too! It was a nightmare. You took that Database Management course?”

Jaehyun smiles. “It was like the course equivalent of reading the back of a Wi-Fi Router.”

You laugh. Maybe he isn’t so different after all. 

“You know, you do look like a business major,” you hum, furrowing your brows as you pretend to scrutinise him.

“So, you’re indirectly saying I either look like a rich kid or a jackass.” Jaehyun raises an eyebrow.

“They’re both the same thing.”

The laughter from the two of you makes an old woman behind you grunt in displeasure and the two of you apologize. It’s nice to talk like college kids again. The Seoul sunlight shines on Jaehyun’s face and you bite back a smile when his dimples appear. They aren’t all that bad. If you get along like this, there’s no reason to worry about fate and the universe and other superfluous things offered to you on a boring old ceramic plate. It’s a smooth ride.

Your eyes drift to Dongmin’s workspace instinctively and you shake your head. This is exactly why you were avoiding him and even started the entire fake relationship with Jaehyun. You’d choose fake dating a (good-looking) chump from management over embarrassment and possible heartbreak any day.

You groan internally before glancing again and find the desk empty. Surprised, you blink and turn only to scream at Dongmin’s figure behind you.

“Shh!” he says urgently. “Don’t move. And don’t panic when I say this but there’s a bug on your shoulder.”

“What the fuck? Get it off, please,” you say, voice choking up.

Dongmin rolls up a stack of papers and you let out a low screech. “Don’t kill it on my shoulder!”

“Sorry,” he says and your eyes soften as he gently pushes the paper against your shoulder and takes it away. You breathe a sigh of relief and he signs you a thumbs up as he wiggles the paper in the air outside the window. 

“You saved me,” you say, smiling.

He returns it, his most beloved eye smile making you wonder if you made the right choice. Wouldn’t it be fun to just crash everything and watch it burn? You know you want to. Benevolence and grace were never your style. However, it’s his smile again that stops you. Maybe you don’t really want to be the bad guy after all. You’re sparing him from confusion and dread.

You’re sparing yourself from rejection and inevitable loneliness (yay).

It’s been a week, discussing details with Jaehyun before the both of you collectively decided to just wing it and hope you’re not caught. After all, there’s no real way to prove you’re not soulmates if you’re careful enough (the same way you can’t prove someone’s cheating if they’re careful enough but that’s quite a depressing analogy). Perhaps if you renounce the soulmate benefits (and Dongmin didn’t smile as often at you), it would be less morally taxing. You, however, are greedy. When you want something, you’ll do anything to get it.

You stare at the computer screen and sigh, cross checking the employee records for incorrect data and your eyelids start to droop. Of all the days, you just had to be assigned the most boring task on a Friday. You also should’ve gotten sleep instead of getting mad at Jaehyun’s dry responses to your plan of action. It was perfectly viable; unnecessary, but perfect nonetheless.

Soojin rolls her chair backwards into yours. “We’re going drinking tonight. Wanna come? You can bring your boy-toy too.”

You roll your eyes. “As much as I’d love to call him that, he’s still the chump from marketing for me.”

“Or,” Soojin emphasizes. “Your actual soulmate. How lucky is it that you work in the same building, in the same company?”

“I’m not sure if you’re being ironic.” You scroll through the database with trained eyes.

“I’m not. A lot of soulmates don’t even get to see each other because of their line of work. It’s so tragic.”

You’d be glad if you didn’t get to see Dongmin ever too. But you’ll keep that to yourself. You hum in response and hear a sigh from behind you.

“Let’s have fun,” she whines. “Is Jaehyun that much of a downer? He’s one of the hottest dudes in the building. I thought you’d be cheery.”

You pause and think to yourself. She does have a point. You’re definitely supposed to look happier. Your soulmate has the looks of a model and fifteen year old you would fawn over him no doubt.

“It’s the work,” you answer. “I’m working overtime to compensate for my rent.”

You work overtime anyway because you hate heading home to an empty apartment. 

“Ah, you signed a new lease, right? Near Songpa?” Soojin looks at you with pity and pats your shoulder. “You know what? I’ll treat you to drinks tonight. You deserve a day off, missy.”

You smile. “Thanks, Soojin.”

“And,” she adds in a singsong voice. “The love of your life is here.”

You furrow your eyebrows before tilting your head and almost sighing in exasperation at the figure of Jung Yoonoh outside the glass door. He may not show it, but you know distress when you see it. You’ve seen enough squirming undergraduates at company interviews. 

You quickly get up from your seat, praying that he didn’t mess something up. However, you find it cute when he looks like this, the urge to fluster him even more presenting itself to be rather tempting.

“I think you have a sick obsession with me, Jaehyun.” You cross your arms after closing the door behind you.

He exhales, closing his eyes for a moment before taking your arm and pulling you away from the door. 

“Woah, this isn’t high school. You can’t just pull me into a corner to make out.”

Jaehyun’s ears flare hot red and he clears his throat. “You’re in high spirits today.”

You weren’t, actually. Somehow, teasing Jaehyun gives you the same rush as caffeine. You just love when the nonchalance on his face turns into discomposure.

“I came to give Doyoung these files. Or you, since you’re practically his assistant.”

You ignore his comment. “There’s clearly something else.”

“The team sports event is coming up,” Jaehyun starts, hesitating. “I’m not managing it this year. I have to participate.”

“So?”

“So Dongmin has a higher chance of finding us out. What if he sees my mark in the changing room and it all goes to shit?”

“Great! He’ll think you’re his soulmate and I’ll be spared from this nonsense.”

“I’m being serious. It’s already difficult living with Sicheng and having to change with my doors locked. It’s kind of suspicious.”

“Do you guys sleep naked with each other or what?”

“No, but I do sleep with my shirt off.”

“Ugh. Why would you give me that image?” you complain. The image isn’t bad per se but it’s not what you need right now.

“You clearly liked it,” he mutters. 

You furrow your eyebrows. “You’re not doing this just to give me a load of unnecessary anxiety, are you? Do you know how swamped with work I am?”

“No, of course not,” he answers, no indication of which question he answered. “Also, is there a reason Soojin’s glaring at me?”

You wave your hand in dismissal. “It’s just the haven’t-warmed-up-to-coworker’s-new-boyfriend glare. Don’t worry about it.”

He doesn’t seem too relieved but you have more anxious thoughts invading the privacy of your Friday evening. You have to keep up your composure. It could happen one way or another, perhaps in a situation better than a team sports activity, but you have to figure it out. You reject your soulmate anyway—the same way he would.

Glaring at Jaehyun one last time, you get back to your desk. Jaehyun looks at your receding figure and finds himself checking you out, the largest blow he’s taken to his dignity. He shakes his head, breathing in and out. This is so not like him. He’s supposed to be the suave, handsome guy who people can’t seem to get to and yet—yet, you do it so easily. It’s unfair. He swallows his heart and tells himself he’s too old to feel this way. He’ll just drown himself in work and pretend love is a commodity like everyone else with a corporate job is supposed to. 

“You know,” Soojin starts when you get back. “Jaehyun kind of looks high if you look at him long enough. Weed is illegal though but who knows? Maybe he’s a bad boy deep down after all.”

“Which rumour have you been paying attention to now?” You sigh deeply.

Soojin laughs. “It’s funny to hear everyone’s opinions. Even if most of them turn into scandalous tall tales.”

“Anyway,” she continues. “I’m clocking out. I’ll get Jaehyun to take you to the sake bar.”

You look at her, puzzled.

“You’re a matching set now,” she follows up and you groan.

“Don’t give me that cr—”

“Toodle-oo! Let’s have some fun before we’re grey and old, eh?”

You sigh and nod. Maybe you should look into a caffeine fix, even if it costs you a mental power outage at the end of the rush. It’s not like you to be so down on a Friday but alas, Fate is as miserable a woman as you are. The sake bar is starting to sound good.

Or, you could always watch a few ASMR cooking videos instead of staring blankly at the employee records. Either way, this Friday better improve by tonight.

“This is going great,” Soojin says, louder than she probably intended after her fourth shot.

“Of course it is,” you mutter. 

You haven’t yet had a chance to drink more because of two reasons: one) Soojin is hogging the alcohol and two) it would be embarrassing to get drunk in front of Jaehyun. Adding to your misery, Soojin has been gushing over her soulmate and the way she always makes breakfast for Soojin, listing off every single recipe she’s made. You would love to listen but you’re a tiny bit past your limit.

“Wooh, Jaehyun, you look hot,” Soojin whistles, in more of an older sister manner. “I can almost see your tattoo. Why don’t the two of you show us at the same time and we can take a commemorative picture?”

You cough loudly. “Mine’s on my waist, Soojin. I’m not ready to expose skin.”

“Right. Sorry.” She turns back at lightning speed to bother Dongmin with her stories, who smiles at her politely. It seems so genuine that you’re slightly enamored with it for a moment. There’s Jungwoo from marketing beside him, some more HR employees and thankfully, no interns. Doyoung is the only one partly miserable in the lot, talking into the phone for half an hour now. 

“Shit.” Jaehyun nudges you and whispers, “I forgot about the tattoo. This T-shirt makes it very visible.”

You look at him, alarmed. You fix his jacket, startling him, and pull the zipper all the way to his neck, making sure to backhand him on the chin.

“There.”

“It’s hot in here.”

“What do you want me to do about it? God, you’re like a child.”

“I’m like a—okay. Just cover my tattoo with foundation or something.”

“You think I carry around a whole bottle of foundation?”

Jaehyun blinks, deeming it safer to keep his mouth shut. 

“Okay. Fine. I have an idea. Come to the washroom with me.”

“Oh my, this isn’t your making out in the corner type of thing, right?”

You glare at him and he shuts up, following you quietly to the surprisingly clean restroom. The fact that it isn’t gendered makes you very glad. You make Jaehyun sit on the low enough basin counter and push your knee against it to balance yourself as you take out a permanent marker from your bag.

“I hope Doyoung doesn’t fire me for sneaking away,” you mutter angrily. “He didn’t even make me receive his calls all day.”

Jaehyun scoffs lightly. “Please, Doyoung adores you and your work ethic. He talks about it more than what I need to overhear. That and Taeyong’s detailed aquarium maintenance rules.”

“He does?”

Jaehyun clears his throat and you hold back bombing him with more questions till you’re done with painting an arrow into his tattoo.

“Isn’t it weird?” He looks at you with round, curious eyes. “Yours is a heart. Mine’s a pierced heart.”

“Hm. Funny coincidence.”

“Do you have to sit on my lap for this?”

“I’m not sitting on your lap,” you hiss. You are kind of close. You train your eyes on his collarbone as you pull his neckline down. 

It would be so embarrassing to be caught like this. You’d rather be caught making out with someone in the broom closet. You hold back a pained sigh. Jaehyun has some nerve speaking to you when you’re already annoyed with him. Couldn’t he just have worn his business attire? Why does he get to go home early? Taeyong is far too lenient a boss. You start swearing internally, getting nervous when you think about the consequences of your actions.

“Has anyone ever filed a complaint against you?” Jaehyun asks, and you nudge his chin upwards to draw the line on his tattoo.

“For what? Being perfect and successful?”

“For that attitude. The ‘take what I want’ attitude.”

You roll your eyes. “No. You’re saying it like I’m awful to the core for trying to take what I want. I haven’t got such a bad soul, you know, as souls go. You wouldn't write articles about how good a soul it is but… it’s well enough.”

Jaehyun raises an eyebrow and you avert your gaze from his eyes. This sort of proximity shouldn’t be bothering you, you shouldn’t be rambling.

The door opens right then and in a fit of panic, you do the unthinkable. You press your lips to Jaehyun’s and pray that whoever walked in has no idea who you are and more importantly, can’t see the permanent marker in your hand. 

“I’m so sorry!”

You know that voice. You half regret it when you hear it. Dongmin exits the bathroom as quickly as he entered and you pull away to look at the empty space. Beside you, Jaehyun stays so still that you forget he’s there for a moment. You breathe out in relief though part of you still feels a heavy ounce of regret.

You turn back to Jaehyun and find his doe eyes soft and lost in thought.

“I get it now,” Jaehyun whispers. “It must hurt. That he doesn’t care about the system.”

“What are you talking about?”

“That he’s so reckless about discarding you.”

You separate yourself from him further, standing up and brushing your clothes. “You’re overstepping.”

“Sorry,” he responds quietly. 

There’s a pause.

“Did you just kiss me right now?”

“Shut up. I didn’t want him to see us and especially this.” You wave the marker in front of his face.

“You just kissed me in a fit of panic. That’s the first time I’ve seen someone respond to panic this way.” Jaehyun looks a little too smug.

“What are you implying?” 

“You wanted to kiss me.”

You scoff. “Don’t get too ahead of yourself.” 

You want to knock the smile right off his face but you stick to flicking his forehead, his yell of surprise satisfying. This Friday night was supposed to get better. In fact, you are going to make it better if life won’t. The soju won’t drink itself and you deem that Soojin has had enough. 

Ignoring Dongmin’s confused look, you order far too many soju shots to be considered healthy. As you promised yourself, you are going to make this Friday better.

//

You just had to go and get drunk. Jaehyun stares at you, blinking slowly and wondering just how much you can embarrass yourself before it becomes a burden for him. He has to get you home; you’re practically a matching set now. But are the halves of a pair supposed to take care of the other when they get drunk?

“You know what, guys?” You announce, standing up abruptly and immediately getting pulled back to your seat by Jaehyun. It doesn’t stop your mouth however.

“I hate the stupid system,” you continue. “To tell the truth—”

He smacks his hand over your mouth. Jaehyun has had enough of the silent mini heart attacks you give him. The rest look at him with puzzled looks and he can’t even bring himself to give them a polite smile before dragging you out of the bar. The night breeze is cold enough—maybe it’ll sober you up.

"You're so annoying, Jaehyun," you mutter, massaging your forehead. "Did you know that?"

Or maybe it won’t.

"Never heard that before."

"How do you always keep to yourself and still be the center of attention?" You cling to his arm for balance. 

"Have you considered that maybe a polite man isn't as scheming as you think he is?"

You curl your lips. "Stop using big sentences. I hate that I barely know you, and I know everyone."

Jaehyun purses his lips. "You just enjoy the power that comes with figuring people out. Don't you?"

"Whatever you say. I want life to be a nice and smooth ride but then again, I can't even face my soulmate." You let out an airy laugh. "I didn't really need one though."

Jaehyun laughs in disbelief. "You look like you're dying of loneliness."

"Ooh, that's a big claim, Yoonoh."

"You say I keep to myself but what about you? You like hiding, don't you?"

You laugh. "Is this the part where I say we're nothing alike?"

He purses his lips, shaking his head in dismissal. He's just tired of chit-chat with someone who smells like she robbed a liquor store in Itaewon.

“You must think I’m some sort of selfish, vapid, work-obsessed overachiever,” you continue, tilting your head with a blank look in your eyes.

“Well, not exac—”

“But guess what? Your opinions are invalid, Jung Yoonoh. You’re just some chump from marketing. A very good-looking chump but still.”

Jaehyun swears under his breath as you fling your arms open in the same manner a speech-giving patriot fighting for freedom would. Unfortunately, the freedom struggle is private in this day and age, and you just smacked him in the nose instead.

You sigh deeply and he looks at you again, warily now as he holds his nose.

“You’re not exactly wrong either. I’m so empty. Like a bottle of soju with no soju. Could you bring me some?”

Jaehyun massages his temples and solidifies his resolve. He’s had enough stares from people on the sidewalk. With delicate concern, he holds you up with one arm around your waist, balancing your weight evenly so you can stand. Promptly, you bury your face into his neck and an embarrassing, high-pitched squeak evades the filter of his mouth. You’re just so adept at making his days (and nights) worse.

Jaehyun tries his best to carry you to the parking lot without any signs of struggle but good lord, are you uncooperative. Once he’s down lugging you to the passenger seat, he breathes out in relief at long last and makes sure you don’t fold in over yourself dozing off the seat. Getting you to sit up, he finds himself smiling the slightest bit at your smudged lipstick. Even like this, you’re quite pretty. 

Realizing what thought came over him, he shakes his head vigorously as if he’s committing a horrible crime. He just has to get you home—Soojin had texted him the address prior to the outing just in case—and then he can go back to pretending whatever he even is supposed to.

The sports event is really just HR and Management trying to one-up the other in a more quantitative way. You’re not really fond of the sweat and heavy breathing that comes with physical exertion if it’s for the sake of competition. Competition is such a childish, masculine way of handling things, especially emotions.

HR is leading in wins, however and that means you have something to rub in Jaehyun’s face. You hate participating but you’re not allowed to opt out without a medical certificate. At least one competition, and you had to choose the three-legged race. All these potential partners, and Dongmin had to choose you.

“I’ll win,” you tell Jaehyun, stopping by him once you exit the changing room. The indoor stadium is usually a recreational facility for senior employees but on sports day, it’s closer to a gladiator arena. The seats are green and occupied by grinning employees, most of them glad for a day off but also upset they don’t get to attend their personal affairs in it.

Jaehyun stops himself from rolling his eyes. “Shouldn’t it be a ‘we’? You need a partner. Oh, are you sad you can’t pick me?”

“Not at all.” You cross your arms, annoyed at his mock pity. 

Right then, Dongmin jogs up to you in a blue tracksuit. His hair sticks to his forehead because unlike you, he takes sports very seriously. Jaehyun, on the other hand, just seems to enjoy the competition. As a guilty pleasure, you’d like to see the two of them compete one day. That would be a competition worth betting on.

“I’ll have to borrow your soulmate.” Dongmin laughs. “The race is starting.”

Life strikes again with its poorly timed irony.

“Don’t mind me,” Jaehyun says politely.

The race is easier than you thought it would be considering most of the other employees struggle with teamwork. You’re the HR team for a reason. But then again, you feel a certain hollowness pervade you while you’re pressed to Dongmin’s side. Wouldn’t it be nice?

All you can think is that Dongmin and you are perfectly in sync. The realization comes off as sad despite your victory and the wide grins on both of your faces. 

Jaehyun purses his lips and gives the two of you a nonchalant look. He’s avoided getting caught in the changing room quite well. For some reason, he’s glad that you’re winning but also dissatisfied about it. He would certainly feel different if he were participating in that race, wouldn’t he? He would win. Losing a competition is a huge blow to his ego. Lately, he seems to be losing a lot of races. The two of you have been growing closer and he doesn’t mind late night discussions about flawed systems and childhood memories; but the fact that you’re growing on him is something for him to be on edge about. He’s never felt so close to someone, and still so far.

“Oh, they have good chemistry, don’t they?” Doyoung comments beside Jaehyun, before taking a sip from his bottle.

“What chemistry?” Jaehyun snaps and Doyoung almost chokes on the water.

“Chill out, man.” Doyoung eyes Jaehyun’s figure in concern. “She’s like officially yours.”

Jaehyun refuses in a series of sputtering responses. “That’s not what I meant. I’m not jealous. I’m not that kind of man.”

“I didn’t paint you as that kind of man either,” Doyoung mutters before speaking up. “But love, Jaehyun. Love’s a weird thing.”

Jaehyunn ignores his comment and walks down to the grounds, jogging up to you. He immediately forgets to say anything at all. Smooth move, Yoonoh.

You just stick out your tongue at him subtly.

“I told you we’d win,” you say.

Jaehyun crosses his arms. “Congratulations. I thought you, quote, hate this stupid competition for dunces.”

You clear your throat and Dongmin laughs beside you. Before he can offer his bottle, Jaehyun offers his own in a rush. You raise an eyebrow but don’t question it.

“You guys really are a perfect pair.” Dongmin laughs. “Sometimes I wish Mijoo was my soulmate.”

You give him a pitiful smile. There go your happy feelings of victory.

“But I’m happy this way.” Dongmin nudges your shoulder with his. “Don’t give me that look.”

That is not the look he thinks you were giving. You smile. 

“What about this? We can go on a double date! Those are fun, right?” Dongmin muses, crossing his arms.

“No,” you and Jaehyun refuse in a panic, and Dongmin blinks in confusion at the overwhelming response.

“I'm more of a homebody,” you explain.

“Yeah, me too,” Jaehyun agrees.

It makes Dongmin laugh aloud. “Oh, fate didn’t go wrong with the two of you.”

Your smile wavers. Did it go so wrong with you and Dongmin? Jaehyun’s hand brushes yours and you look at him. A perfect side profile and flushed hot cheeks with dimples to die for. You wouldn’t mind being in love with him. You don’t mind love much at all. 

Shaking off the thought, you watch as Dongmin leaves the two of you to run to the changing rooms. Eyeing Jaehyun’s red team sweatshirt with “Management” in big typography over the chest, you look back up to his face. 

“Why did you jog over here so desperately?” You wiggle your eyebrows. “Jealous?”

“Yes. I am irreparably in love with you.”

He leans in quickly and you flinch, making his dimples show up.

“Asshole,” you curse. “I’ll file you for harassment. Don’t do that again.”

“Isn’t it harassment when you feel me up while you draw—” Jaehyun leans in to whisper. “—the soulmark?” 

“I would never have my hands near your greasy existence if I could,” you huff, scandalized. 

But the thing is, Jaehyun is getting better at this game of flustering each other and you don’t like it one bit.

“Hey, you know Dongmin’s girlfriend?” he asks suddenly. 

You nod. “Kind of. I’ve seen her pictures on Instagram.”

Jaehyun pauses before humming in realization.

You cough. “Not that I was stalking them or something. Obviously.”

Jaehyun gives you a knowing smile but doesn’t question anything, much to your aggravation. It would’ve been better if you had a chance to prove you weren’t stalking them but then again, that is exactly what you were doing.

“Well, we went to the same college. Same major too.”

“Are you serious? Wait, how do you know? Does this mean you stalked their Instagram too?”

“Too?”

“Shut up.”

There’s a beat of silence. 

“She’s not exactly the evil homewrecker type,” he says.

“I know that,” you snap. If anything, you feel like the evil homewrecker even if Dongmin’s supposed to be your soulmate.

They’re so reckless. Jaehyun was right—you do blame them in a way. They don’t care who they trample under their nauseating parade of romance. But then again, that parade is better than a personal rejection.

“I’m just saying… don't hold it against them.”

“I don’t remember asking for advice, Jung Yoonoh.”

Jaehyun shrugs, dropping the issue. The preparations for the next race is starting and it has something to do with passing balls from basket to basket—you get bored already when you see Doyoung stretch before shaking hands with Taeyong.

“Wanna get ice-cream? We funded the food truck this year.” Jaehyun looks expectantly at you.

“Sure.” 

You contemplate holding his hand for a moment but let that thought bury itself. You don’t have to pretend right now. 

Much to your despair (or delight) however, Jaehyun takes your hand absentmindedly as he walks towards the exit. It’s not that you’ve never held hands before, it’s just that Jaehyun’s skin is soft against yours.

“I can’t believe you and Mijoo were in the same course.”

It seems she’s ahead of you in every direction you look to tread on. Of course, you will not be telling Jaehyun that. You don’t exactly feel jealousy—can’t feel jealousy when your life is perfect as it is. And for Jaehyun? You hate to admit it but you’d trade places with Mijoo any day.

“Well, she didn’t really like socializing back then so I didn’t know we were in the same program either.”

You chuckle, glancing down at your intertwined fingers despite your best efforts. It feels nice like this. It feels nice to be wanted by someone—even if it’s a lie.

“Do you think- Do you think they’re brave?” You ask. “They didn’t even hesitate to disregard the system.”

“I think people in love are always brave.”

You hum, looking down at your feet. All the more reason the system fucked up. You were never even supposed to be partnered up. You’re not brave—the face you put on is. The idea of love seems to get further and further away from you.

Just then, Jaehyun tugs at your hand, walking slightly faster and making you complain as you jog to catch up with his long strides. The food truck is fairly large, on the street outside to the stadium entrance. February is catching up with its heat and you curse at global warming for this hot winter day.

“You can take up to five scoops of different flavours,” he informs you, grinning sheepishly. “I guess the cups aren’t large enough for beyond that.”

“I didn’t know you were this passionate about ice-cream,” you say.

“Sicheng rubbed off on me.”

You laugh. IT must have given Sicheng enough stress to develop a sweet tooth. You love the HR Department when you look at the others in your company.

Jaehyun has a nice smile. You don’t know why you think that but you do and now you can’t focus on anything apart from the pink dust sprinkled over his cheeks and the handsome dimples that accompany. You don’t want to stare but clearly, Jaehyun must have been blessed by some divide being if not for fate. Maybe he’s a mess up like you. As far as you know, his soulmate doesn’t exist. That little red heart is so simple that none of the soulmate designs match it.

A rather repulsing part of you is happy about it. You like the feel of Jaehyun’s hands. You like the way he looks at you. You wouldn’t mind it if he were yours.  

Jaehyun’s house is as cosy as his mother makes you feel. It’s been a while since you’ve been home and if you were perhaps less emotionally constipated, you would have tears welling up in your eyes. There’s quite a few relatives too but then again, every Asian family jumps at the chance to celebrate something as mediocre as engagements and marriage and soulmate findings. Apparently, hormones are perfectly fine to them once you’re not teenagers anymore.

This isn’t so bad. What was so scary about meeting parents again? Jaehyun’s dad did challenge you with a questionnaire but lucky for you, you know exactly how interviews work. You’ve got enough information on Jaehyun from the man himself for this visit. The briefing he gave you was boring though; you already know what you need to know about Jaehyun.

You sit at the table, while most of the other guests work in the kitchen. Jaehyun’s mother asks you questions about your life, friendly and welcoming in every way possible. Mothers are truly god-sent. You wonder how she produced someone as far from divine as Jaehyun. (Except in looks, perhaps.)

You say that out loud and get a sharp quip from Jaehyun, his mother’s eyes lighting up at your childish interaction.

“Oh my, fate is never wrong!” She remarks with a wide smile. “I’ve never seen Jaehyun open up so much with anyone before. He was such a shy boy in school, you know? All the girls would send letters and confessions and he would just turn red in the face.”

“Mom.” He smiles all too sweet at her but you can see the panic in his eyes.

She rolls her eyes before turning to you. “Darling, you have no idea how proud I feel to see him this at ease. I was honestly getting tired of all the ‘your son is so polite and well-mannered’ comments. Some bickering ought to do him good.”

“Mom,” he repeats, straightening. “I think auntie needs some help setting up the table.”

“Don’t shoo me away yet. I have to tell (name) about the time you were elected class representative in middle school. And all those sports and acting awards.”

“You don’t have to advertise me, Mom,” he says, dropping his face into his hands to rub at his eyes, already growing tired. “I’m already- I’m already hers.”

His mother coos and apart from the expected deep red flush on Jaehyun’s skin, you find yourself feeling hot in the face too. Jaehyun’s aunt calls for his mother right then and you watch as she makes her way to the kitchen entrance, the two women glancing at you and giggling to each other over some shared words.

Jaehyun takes the opportunity to grab your hand and walk away to a more obscure part of the house upstairs. With significantly less relatives, it should be a good hiding spot unless discovered by his giggling cousins that he refuses to introduce you to. 

“Aw, what a shy baby,” you coo, smiling at the thought of a younger, easily-flustered Jaehyun.

His ears are bright red and you think that he’s still easily flustered. He just doesn’t show it much anymore—there’s only one dead giveaway.

“Forget everything my mom said,” he instructs. “It’s not important information.”

“Oh, no, darling. Your mother is a gold mine of vital information. You know what? I’m going to go chat her up right now. I’m sure you were quite the teenage dream I should know about.”

Jaehyun grips your wrist before you can escape, pulling your closer.

“Don’t.”

You don’t know if it’s the proximity or the fact that there are most definitely a few family members that could walk in right now—but you find yourself embarrassed as you look at his face. It’s very pleasant, handsome even, and the strands of his hair look irresistibly soft from this distance. You reach your hand out and brush the hair out of his eyes, almost instinctively. 

“You have nice eyes, Jaehyun,” you say out loud, not sure why. He doesn’t fluster this time but it makes you all the more aware of your nearness.

Your eyes glance at the bottom of the staircase to see a little girl, around nine, hiding from behind the wall that separates the dining room and the kitchen. You return your gaze to Jaehyun with a smirk.

"We should kiss right now. Your little cousin's watching."

Jaehyun looks mildly disgusted. "Why would I want to kiss you in front of my cousin?"

You roll your eyes. “You don't get it, do you? The fastest way to convince a family is through rumours.”

Jaehyun raises an eyebrow. "So?"

"Oh my god, you're an idiot. Nosy cousins are the most effective way to spread rumours."

"Ah." Jaehyun looks enlightened enough for you to continue.

"Okay, but first you need to have these mints." You take out the emergency mints from your purse.

"What? I don't need mints. I have nice smelling breath.”

"Everyone needs mints, Jaehyun. Especially men."

Jaehyun sighs heavily. You take the opportunity to grab his wrist and pull him into a corner. 

"Have this mint or else."

You hold his face between your thumb and forefingers, cheeks squishing under the pressure as you force a mint in. He lets you do it for some reason, looking lost as he gazes at you. 

You raise an eyebrow. "Oh my, you're enjoying this. Pervert."

"Wha—what? You have to stop thinking you're hot shit, oh my god. I just got distracted for a bit."

"By me, right?"

"No! I just zoned ou—you're enjoying this."

You bite down your smile but a giggle escapes you anyway. Jaehyun rolls his eyes though he smiles, looking far too close to irresistible when his dimples show.

"You can't keep teasing me," he says, voice low.

"I've been doing it for two years. I'm pretty sure I can do it for at least two more."

Jaehyun scoffs, laughing at your statement. "You know what? I'm going to get back at you from now on. I've been so lenient."

You snort before pressing the back of your fingers to your nose. "You? You're going to get back at me? You’re good at lip service, Jaehyun."

“Huh. You might be right about that.”

There's a beat of silence and you look at him expectantly. In the next beat of your heart (or lack thereof), he cups your cheeks and presses his lips to yours, surprising the life out of you as your back hits the wall. It's not just a touch either, his mouth moves over yours and when your knees feel weak, you reluctantly admit that the rumour about Jung Yoonoh being a good kisser is true. Maybe his body count isn't a lower-end single digit after all.

He pulls apart with a short smile tugging at his lips. "Satisfied?"

You sputter out a response before clearing your throat. “I- I don’t think anyone really saw us in this corner.”

Jaehyun makes a low humming sound. “Or you could just say you want me to kiss you again? I know I’m a good kisser.”

“Fuck off.” You punch his chest, eliciting a quiet grunt from him.

You move away from him, peeking from behind the wall. Oh, she saw it alright. The giggling gives it away and the fact that a few more younger cousins have gathered. This is ridiculous. The fact that you wouldn’t mind more is even worse.

You turn back to Jaehyun with steel-set eyes. “No more kissing. Ever. Never again. Kissing is officially banned.”

Jaehyun looks perplexed. “I thought that was a good kiss. Did you not enjoy it? What do you mean no kissing?”

“And I take it back.” The heat on your face is still burning steadily. 

“Oh, I see. You liked it so much that you’re embarrassed.”

“You’re such a pain in the ass.”

“So I’m right?”

You roll your eyes and quickly walk down the stairs, a few words of complaint left hanging in the air as Jaehyun follows behind, stumbling over the steps.

Jaehyun likes how comfortable this is. He doesn’t mind glaring daggers at each other but this is fun too. It’s like he doesn’t have to be careful about the lines he might be crossing—there aren’t any damn lines at all. He can’t call it love, at least not by definition, but something is there. Something that is solid enough and heavy enough. Something he would be ready to hold on to.

You laugh at a joke Jaehyun’s dad makes. A family is the only place to feel at home. It might not be yours but maybe at the end of the night, you can convince them to disown Jaehyun and adopt you as their child instead. His cousins seem to be interested in the same things you were as a high schooler and it surprised you. Your job lets you advise the older cousins in a fairly friendly fashion. The little ones seem to like your dress and you find them far too adorable with their pink cheeks and dimples, much like Jaehyun’s. Speaking of which, he definitely got them from his dad. You look around and wonder how Jaehyun has so many female cousins and not an inkling about how women work. 

It doesn’t hurt anymore that Dongmin discarded you so recklessly.

He’s wrong. Jaehyun’s wrong. It doesn’t hurt—didn’t hurt right now at the very least. When Jaehyun kissed you, you didn’t think of Dongmin or his girlfriend or anyone else. You thought that Jaehyun’s skin is somehow always the right temperature. 

You shake your head. Jaehyun drives your getaway car and you shouldn’t get too comfortable in its worn-out leather seats. This shouldn’t be any different to you; you aren’t supposed to find love in every corner. This was all a survival instinct. 

The more stories Jaehyun’s mother shares with you over dinner, the more you find it comfortable to be here. You don’t feel this welcome in your own apartment (although, there isn’t exactly anyone else living there but you and the goddamn pigeon that wakes you up at six in the morning). The more the night progresses, the more you want to believe in this lie. Jaehyun glances at you from time to time, his gaze neither uncomfortable nor harsh and you smile at him when he does. Right now, there is no loneliness and the air is warm and smells of freshly cooked food; the way familial love works is such a mystery. You feel content.

“Why are we doing this again?” you lean in and ask Jaehyun, eyes focused on the TV as he tries to fix it.

“Because I need to get out of work, and fulfilled soulmates get a day off on Valentine’s day.”

You nod. “Your apartment kind of stinks. I feel sorry for Sicheng.”

“This is clean,” he defends, pointing at the lack of any visible mess in his room. His work table, however, has too many items scattered over it to be called neat. There’s a fairly large TV attached to the wall and you’re a little jealous about it. You only ever watch shows on your (quite beloved albeit small) laptop. The blinds aren’t fully closed, the evening city lights trying their best to pry their pervasive fingers in and add something more to the peach hue of Jaehyun’s room.

The doorbell rings just in estimated time for food delivery, a sigh leaving your mouth along with a ‘finally’. His place is strangely comfortable and much less of the war zone that you expected. There’s no reason to feel awkward, really, or even the bubbling in your stomach. You’re not seventeen, in your crush’s house. Jaehyun isn’t even someone you like that way.

It’s just two friends hanging out and watching a movie and doing other friendly activities. Two friends hanging out on Valentine's day. Two friends who have kissed more than once.

What do lovers do anyway?

This thing with Jaehyun has turned into clandestine smiles at the office building, subtle texts of ‘did you eat?’ and ‘good morning, idiot’, racing hearts at brushing hands on the occasional off-work hangouts (you refuse to call them “dates”) and overall, a lot more pink hearts floating over his head when you see him. It’s positively appalling. 

You don’t mind it one bit.

“Happy Valentine’s Day!” The delivery man wishes as he leaves and you feel a sudden rage bubble up in you. 

“Ah, does he think every couple celebrates Valentine’s day? And just because we’re in the same apartment means we’re a couple? Wow.” You cross your arms, scoffing. “Who’s he to wish me?”

“Why… Why are you getting mad?” Jaehyun asks quietly, slightly confused.

You glare at him, your anger not quite dissipated and walk back into his room, placing the box of confectionaries on the bedside table with a loud thud. Jaehyun follows, placing the drinks rather clumsily beside it. He gives you one last look of concern before settling down on his bed.

You let out another huff of complaint.

"Does everything have to be heart-shaped?"

You stare at the nauseating display of baked goods delivered in a pretty heart-shaped box. The brownie is in a clear plastic box that has a tiny bouquet of hearts atop it, the coffee cups have heart stickers around the rim, and the pastry itself is heart-shaped or rather, two halves of a heart. One of them is strawberry pink and the other chocolate brown.

“You seem… suddenly fired up,” Jaehyun comments quietly.

You don’t really care if you look crazy to him right now; he’s already seen the worse parts of you. You’re just so annoyed at all this red and pink that was delivered. Aren’t cafes supposed to stick with that beige-cream palette? 

While you contemplate, Jaehyun tears the little sugar packet and attempts to open the lid of the cup at the same time, your blood pressure rising at the sight because you were half sure he’d spill the drink. After much difficulty, he shakes the packet trying to get just enough sugar but of course, like the clumsy oaf he is, he misses almost entirely, spilling sugar over his coffee table. It’s oddly endearing but that’s a thought you’ll keep to yourself.

He turns to you with a sheepish grin and you give him a look of distaste.

“You are a sorry excuse of a person, Jaehyun.”

“Look me in the eye and tell me you wouldn’t mess this up.”

You turn to look him in the eyes, the honey shade alluring under warm apartment lights. They really are pretty. 

“I, and every other sane human being, would not mess up adding sugar to a cup of coffee.”

“You faltered for a moment there.”

That was not the reason you faltered. You roll your eyes and look away, taking a sip of your drink and sighing at the taste.

“How do you even like Americanos? Don’t you like a bit of cream and sweetness?”

 “I don’t really care for bitterness,” he answers.

“Wow, you must be a masochist.”

“And it’s quite obvious you’re a sadist.”

You snicker. “That makes us quite the pair.”

“I would like that sentence in a non-BDSM context, thank you.”

Jaehyun turns on the TV and the Netflix logo animation pops up. You raise an eyebrow at his ‘Continue Watching’ list, eyeing Bridegerton and Sweet Home, and wondering if he could be any more of an enigma. You can’t possibly figure him out at this point. You groan when he picks a title.

“Ugh. Do we have to watch a romantic comedy?”

“What? They’re funny. And I thought you liked those 2000’s movies.”

You believed in unicorns and sock goblins and love back then too. These days, you hate to see other people in love, especially when it’s fake. The movies you loved are now the movies you hate. The couples you eyed with delight at parks and cafes are now the bane of your existence. In fact, you’d go as far as to say that you enjoy the digital fireworks from a couple having a massive online breakup. Things falling apart are entertaining when it’s not happening to you.

You purse your lips. Can't you see other people happy without wanting to tear it down for yourself?

“Fine. But I’ll pick the 2000’s romcom.”

Jaehyun shrugs and hands over the remote. You see Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds on the poster and click on it immediately. The Proposal has a good enough comedy to romance ratio, in your opinion.

“I’m kind of surprised you came,” he says quietly.

“Why?” You raise an eyebrow. “Is it because of the suggestive nature of visiting someone’s apartment on Valentine’s day? Did you think we’d be doing something… more fun?”

You lean in and bat your eyelashes suggestively, although you’re clearly joking.

“I think you should know better than to get mouthy with me,” he answers as he leans in further, making your heartbeat hike at the proximity. Maybe he’s figured you out. Wouldn’t it be so nice to figure each other out at the same time—like puzzle pieces fitting together?

You move away from him. “Well, it’s not like I can go anywhere else. And I didn’t want to stay in my own apartment.”

“Maybe you enjoy my company?”

“Look, I would be sipping my coffee at a perfectly aesthetic cafe if it weren’t Valentine’s day.”

He raises an eyebrow at your nonsensical declaration and you sigh, trying to explain yourself.

“Cafes just terrorize the single folk on Valentine’s day. You should always go with Netflix,” you say.

“And chill?”

“Do you even know what that means?”

“As I’ve told you so many times, I am not stupid.”

You inhale, an idea presenting itself.  

“Hey, since we’re technically a couple, shouldn’t you be sharing your Netflix password with me?” you ask, pressing your lips into your cutest smile.

“No.”

“You’re so stingy,” you mutter. It was worth a shot.

Jaehyun laughs, your hand reaching out to poke his dimples but you stop yourself. You weren’t supposed to get this comfortable. This wasn’t your place to be. Lost in thought, the moving screen leaves you unfazed and you can’t look at him anymore. However, Jaehyun reaches out right then and wipes at the space beside your lips, your focus lifting from the beginning scenes of The Proposal and latching onto Jaehyun’s lips.

There’s a pause, your head clearing itself of thoughts when you make eye contact with him. Soft hair, doe eyes, full lips and dimples—he’s so damn attractive, it hurts your existence. Does he have to be this close to you? You have mixed feelings about that look in his eyes.

“Can I kiss you?” he whispers suddenly.

“Yes,” you answer.

If you look from a rational point of view, you should not have said that. You should have said anything but that. But you don’t want to think right now. Jaehyun’s touch is warm over your skin as his hand rests under your jaw and the other on your waist.

You should not have said that. But you feel loved.

Somewhere along, you find yourself parting only to kiss again, the feeling of skin so delightful in a way you’ve never experienced. Your shirt hikes up and you see Jaehyun eye the little heart with the arrow—the sign you so despised with a gentle smile.

“It’s pretty,” he whispers.

It’s pretty but it isn’t his. He doesn’t have to look at you like that—he’s come a long way from nervous glances and now he’s the one making you nervous. Just say it isn’t love and it will be alright.

You part, sobering up for a moment and you disentangle your limbs to sit at the side of his bed.

“What’s- What’s wrong?” Jaehyun whispers.

You exhale.

“All my life, I wait and when it comes, it’s all wrong,” you say, staring at your lap. Self-pity is the most disgusting kind of pity to feel. You’re past crying at things like this. You’re past crying for an ounce of romance, every time you listen to a love song on the radio or look at an Instagram post of a couple or pass by lovers on the sidewalk content with each other. You don’t even have cats to return home to. Modern loneliness is wearing you down but you can’t believe in fairytales anymore.

He scoffs, smiling bitterly. “I don’t even know if this is worth losing my dignity over.”

“Jaehyun—”

“We can’t pretend anymore—I can’t pretend anymore,” Jaehyun exhales. “I want you enough to forget the system. Give me an answer. Please.”

You don’t mind forgetting the system right now. Jaehyun’s lips are always the right temperature; the warmth of his body seeps through his shirt as you press yourself to him in a hug. He’s perfect and right now, you want to believe he’s perfect for you—even if he isn’t, you want to believe it into existence.

You cup Jaehyun’s cheeks, unsaid emotion in his doe eyes, and kiss him. This time, you mean it with every ounce of your being. There’s no more flustering each other, just the hot flush of intimacy when you feel skin that doesn’t burn you. It’s just the right feeling. There’s no way this can be wrong. 

Aren’t you getting ahead of yourself? You wish the voice would pipe down. It’s a coward, fearing fate just as everyone else does. But you are better than that, and this feeling is too enjoyable to let go. You don’t want this to fade.

Just then, Dongmin’s face comes to mind and you think that maybe if you kiss someone else with all you have, you don’t have to think of your shortcomings ever again.

Jaehyun pulls apart and you miss the warmth.

“You’re not… You’re not thinking of me, are you?” he asks. 

You don’t answer, even if the silence is overwhelming.

“I’d rather not have you close your eyes and think of someone else when I’m in front of you.”

“I’m sorry” is all you can say.

“You can at least pretend to love me.” His voice is a hoarse whisper. “Could. It’s not like this was ever supposed to work out.”

You gulp, looking away. “Jaehyun, come on. That’s not like you. We were- we were just… having fun.”

He takes a deep breath. “It hurts to not be wanted by someone you want. You know that. So why are you doing this to me?”

Because misery likes company.

“I’m sorry.”

It seems the phrase you barely uttered when you were younger is tumbling out of your lips in a mixture of grief and pity. Perhaps it’s karma. Perhaps it’s fate. Perhaps it’s just the consequences of your mistakes.

Jaehyun parts his lips, a sigh departing. He leans in again, pushing away all of his thoughts. A little more hurt won't kill him tonight. How and when did you bring him down to his knees?

However, he's stopped by your hands against his shoulders, his lips hovering over yours.

"Let's stop," you say. "You're right."

"Isn't this what you wanted?"

“I don’t- I don’t know. I don’t know anymore.”

You wish you could be brave enough to burn the instruction pamphlet from destiny. But right now, you need to get away from Jaehyun, away from any more misery business.

“I’ll get going,” you say, gathering your stuff. 

Jaehyun hesitates but doesn’t stop you. He would never stop you, can’t stop so how could he even dream of stopping fate? This can never work out. It felt right in the moment but you don’t know anything more than that. You can’t close your eyes and pray everything disappears. No one else will solve your problems for you, you know that.

It’s time you start fixing the mess you made. You leave with a polite goodbye and hear a loud sigh behind you once the door is closed. Blinking away the urge to walk back in, you take long and quick strides to the elevator. You’re going to fix this.

Maybe if Lady Gaga’s ‘Poker Face’ wasn’t blasting at full volume at this stupid office party, you could be thinking a little straighter.

He was right. You can’t pretend anymore. There were thousands of ways this could have gone better. You didn’t have to pretend to be soulmates when you’re not. You could’ve discarded your belief in the whole system like Dongmin and Mijoo and dated someone out of spite. You didn’t have to drag Jaehyun into your sorry mess. You need to take out the nail you hammered into your own foot.

It’s the first time you’ve visited the rooftop restaurant from the company’s subsidiary chain of high-end restaurants but you imagined it would be bigger. It’s the news’ fault for making this place seem like a football field. However, you might be feeling that way because the distance between you and Jaehyun is suffocatingly small as is the distance with Dongmin. You don’t need to see Jaehyun tonight.

You don’t intend to make your confession a public affair and you certainly don’t believe in tack things like atonement. However, improvement begins with a step in the right direction. Maybe you’ll be a better person after this. Maybe you’ll still be as annoying and pushy as ever. You need to get it off your chest so you can proceed with the already tedious journey that comes with a soulmate rejection. You wonder why there’s so many man-made laws about soulmates when fate has made it complicated enough as it is. Love is the same as legalese when it comes to this system.

You flit about the crowds, smiling and greeting people and swerving away from Jaehyun every time he tries to approach you. You’re trying to make a good decision for once. He better not intrude. You’re wearing pink too, for the first time in a while: a satin shirt, pants and blazer set in dull pink.

“Dongmin,” you say, pulling him by the sleeve of his blue tux, and away from the rest of the HR team. “I have to show you something.”

“Hm? Show me?” He blinks at you. 

You get him to follow you to the inside the premises, stopping when you’re far into a 

“Uh?” Dongmin looks around before leaning in to whisper. “You’re not plotting to murder me, are you?”

You blink, and he laughs at you incredulously. “Why are you so serious?”

“I was lying,” you rush. “With Jaehyun. He’s not my soulmate. You are.”

Dongmin blinks in confusion. “Are… you joking? That was a weird joke but it could pass as funny—”

“Dongmin.”

You pull out your shirt from your pants, exposing the tattoo on your hip. It’s the little arrowed heart that has been plaguing you for years but now when you look at it, you feel no animosity. After all, it’s been through the same things you have. 

Dongmin’s face falls into stunned silence, eyes fixated on your waist.

“That’s- That’s my—what is this?”

Russian roulette is certainly not the same without a gun.

“I lied, Dongmin,” you answer, fixing your shirt back in. “I was so afraid of your rejection that I made an even larger fool of myself.”

His initial shock seems to have partly subsided.

“You… Why didn’t you tell me?” He looks momentarily hurt.

“You have Mijoo, Dongmin. I can’t ruin something like that.”

A love that doesn’t need fate to fix it.

Dongmin glances away in guilt and sighs, though the sound is croaky. This must be more than what he can take.

“I’m sorry,” he says, haltingly. “I hurt you, didn’t I? When I thought I was being brave, I hurt you instead.”

You smile bitterly. “We all hurt someone, Dongmin. I still have to fix that one for myself.”

He scans your face, lips trembling slightly as unspoken words die on them.

“We’ll tend to the legal stuff later, hm? No compensation. We can file a mutual rejection.”

“But—”

“Shh. I’m happy enough as coworkers and I get paid more than enough for this job. Might get a promotion soon too.”

You wink at him with an added finger gun, trying to play it cool. Despite everything, a weight feels lifted from your shoulders. Now that you are truly alone, you might as well embrace this growing loneliness crawling under your skin. Discomfort could be something you can get used to. 

When you get back to the warmly lit rooftop, the HR team looks at you curiously. You have the most self-destructive thought you’ve had in a while and tell yourself, you might as well if you've come this far. This is it. This is your social death. Honesty is the best policy, unfortunately.

“Dongmin and I have the same soulmate mark,” you announce. “We’re soulmates but we’ll sign a mutual rejection.”

Doyoung looks almost like he’ll faint and Soojin’s mouth is so wide open, you could practice throwing some mini basketballs in. This is your team—almost a second family, and it’s time you stop trying to hide yourself or disguise your feelings as something they’re not. They’ll get over it, as will you.

“J-Jaehyun?” Soojin looks to your side and you turn to find Jaehyun frowning.

“You could’ve discussed this with me,” he says, an odd sound of relief in his laugh. 

It hurts to look at him but you muster up your strength.

“I’m sorry,” you say, facing him. “I didn’t want to drag you into this hell with me.”

Into this loveless hell made for you.

“(name).”

It’s so painfully quiet in this corner; there are so many eyes on you and only the hurt taking shape in Jaehyun’s eyes knock some sense into you. 

“I’ll leave first,” you say, bowing as you take your leave.

You brisk up your pace and exit the venue as quickly as you can and into the building corridor.

Unfortunately for you, you recognize the pair of footsteps that follow you—both of them having their timings wrong. Boys don’t chase after the girl when she’s walking away. Boys should leave a girl alone when she feels like she’s about to cry.

You turn to face two men and groan internally. This is the worst possible situation—you’d rather crawl into a hole than look at either of them. The corporate light shines harshly on either of their faces but the look on them is so earnest, you want to close your eyes and scream. You don’t mind being alone. You were overstepping when you wished you weren’t.

“(name),” Dongmin starts. “I’m sorry it turned out this way. If you’d told me, we could have talked this out.”

A light scoff leaves Jaehyun and Dongmin purses his lips. It’s kind of funny watching both of their tall frames in hesitant postures and you cross your arms. You’re going to deal with this quickly like you always should have. If you’re dealing with fate, you need to have a clear head—and fortune doesn’t favour fools. Being with Jaehyun was nice but he is not yours. Dongmin may have been assigned to you but you’d rather not ruin someone’s relationship.

“What would we have talked about?” you ask. “Compensation charges? Apologies?”

You see a hint of positivity on Jaehyun’s face and turn to face him, frowning.

“And you. Don’t look so smug. You’re the reason I realized this crap. It hurts. Like hell.”

He opens his mouth but no words come when he’s far too taken aback. He can’t offer consolation now, not after everything. You knew this would happen. You would undoubtedly end up wishing you didn’t fall in love with him on the day you leave.

“(name). Listen to me,” Dongmin calls again, voice gentle.

Jaehyun sighs. “We’re both fucking this up, dude.”

Dongmin takes a sharp breath.

“You know, soulmates can be platonic,” he reasons, looking only at you. “People are made for each other differently and maybe you and I—”

“You’re just making her feel worse,” Jaehyun cuts him off.

“How do you know that?” Dongmin asks, finally turning to him. “Because you’ve spent a month or two with her? I’m her soulmate.”

“I think a month or two is much better than a stranger with the same damn birthmark.”

“Oh come on,” Dongmin scoffs. “The system exists for a reason.”

“I don’t give a shit about the system. The same as your girlfriend—oh, sorry, did you forget about her already?”

“It’s not like that.” Dongmin quietens. “We’ll figure something out.”

You pinch the bridge of your nose. They’re worse than you are—honestly, you don’t know what you expected from the timid emotional maturity of men. Both of their polite facades have melted and you’re starting to miss their sweet-tempered work demeanour.

“Come with me,” Dongmin tells you.

He wraps his hand around your wrist and tugs, Jaehyun visibly tensing up at the gesture. He presses his tongue against his cheek in annoyance but refrains from doing anything rash. You feel sorry when you look at him.

“Dongmin,” you whisper. “Can we- can we have a moment?”

Dongmin nods in understanding and exits the hallway to cool off with a few splashes of water in the washroom.

“Would you go with him?” Jaehyun asks, jaw clenched. “An acquaintance as most? Are you willing to run into the arms of fate that you hated so much?”

He looks bitter and you can’t think of a sugar-coated response. You’ll just have to tell him how you feel.

“I need to sort things out, Jaehyun. This—”

You point from him to yourself.

“Couldn’t work out thanks to fate. Dongmin and I will never work out because he’s braver than I am. You know he’s doing all of that just so I don’t get hurt, right? He’s not suddenly in love with me.”

Jaehyun purses his lips, looking down to his feet. Is it so bad that he let jealousy get the best of his mouth? Envy isn’t so awful. He looks from your eyes to lips and wishes he were young enough to believe in fairytales.

“You don’t have to be brave,” he whispers. “You don’t have to be so brave to fall in love. You don’t have to be brave to stay with me.”

“We tried, Jaehyun. And we can’t cheat fate. That, at the very least, requires bravery.” 

You press your lips into a thin line. It hurts. It hurts so bad to look at him and face the consequences of this flawed design. It’s unfair. It’s unfair that you have to follow the rules even after trying your best to break them. 

“You wish you never met me, don’t you?” you whisper. “I made a mess.”

Before he responds, you bow in a short goodbye and walk towards the elevator. There’s no footsteps behind you, no Prince Charming. It’s just you and your high heels clacking against the cold marble as you head back to an empty home. You always thought freedom would feel different, that distance would give you perspective. It just feels awful when no one is around you at all. When you have no one to pick up morning calls from, receive texts from asking if you ate, spend time in peace without uttering a single word—are you free or are you lonely?

The rules state that the two of you are different. It is true. You are as different as love in real life and love in the movies; and neither of them have happy endings now.

You wish you drank some more last night if you were going to embarrass yourself like that. Thankfully, it’s the weekend and you have two more days to figure out how to face your coworkers. You frown when you think of Jaehyun. Were you wrong to tell him that you simply couldn’t choose him? What if fate is right and it falls apart? You stir your morning coffee, the will to drink it fading slowly. It’s already fallen apart—and it wasn’t fate who did that, it was you. Should you have taken his stupidly warm hands and asked him to follow you? You don’t understand how it works at all.

Centuries of questioning what love is, poking and prodding at it like a lab sample, and there’s still no perfect answer. Love is blind. Love is cruel. Love is a fever. Love is temporary insanity. Love is acceptance. Love will set you free. There’s just too many variations. You can never tell if fate is meant to make it easier or worse. 

No one questions you at the office and you're not sure if you’re glad or aggravated. Only Doyoung shoots you a pitiful look which you brush off and immediately get into work. Embarrassment is only real if you acknowledge it. However, every time Dongmin tries to talk to you, you ask for space and even alone in your thoughts, you don’t get it. They just have to drift to Jaehyun.

You wonder if what he said was true, that he wanted you enough to forget the system. It’s clearly ruined now. The spiral of thinking has you zoning out during work more often than not and even Doyoung ends up reprimanding you for your lack of focus. Sometimes you want to snap but other times, you’re just hopelessly reciting the events over and over in your head. This was supposed to happen, wasn’t it? You don’t even have the strength left in you to blame it all on Jaehyun.

You pace in the corridors after work, contemplating popping by the Marketing Department. What could go wrong? Sure, it was a little dramatic of you to leave like that but everything can be fixed, right? You groan. What you were supposed to be fixing, you made worse. Are your hands cursed or something? You shake your head, returning to your desk to gather your belongings and head home.

Unfortunately, the sight of Doyoung sitting in your chair alarms you and you stop a foot away. 

“If you’re going to reprimand me for watching cat videos instead of checking the employee records, I can assure you my efficiency is still top-notch.” 

“You’re—what? Never mind.” Doyoung shakes his head. “Can you give this ginseng pack to Jaehyun? I owe him.” 

Oh no. You know where this is going.

“You know I’m going to keep that for myself, right?” You make a face. “I’d rather die than face Jaehyun right now.”

Doyoung shrugs. “Who knows? Maybe he’ll be the one running to you. This is in case of an emergency.”

You give him a fake smile and Doyoung shakes his head. “Good to see you’re still great at pretending to be fine.”

You sigh. “Thanks for looking out for me, bossman.”

Doyoung blinks, hand covering his mouth when an audible gasp leaves him. “Woah. I think that’s the first time I’ve heard you thank me. But don’t call me bossman ever again.”

“Noted,” you say, taking your bag and leaving with a short goodbye. You’re lucky he lets you off work early, even if you never took it. Employees usually can’t leave until their superiors does and if you were a senior employee, you’d be giving your juniors quite the hell.

You seem to be good at concocting hellscapes. Perhaps, you should look for job openings in the underworld. One last thought of Jaehyun exits your head and you take the bus home, admiring the city you live in and the warmth of people and their relationships. You don’t feel jealous; you just bask in them for the time—be it a mother and her son or two bickering sisters or a lovely old couple. That’s how it’s meant to be, then. That’s how love works.

Jaehyun smacks his head against the sofa armrest for the fifteenth time in a row.

“Dude. You’re going to permanently ruin the fabric.” Sicheng says, eyes trained on his laptop screen.

“I should’ve said something more.” Jaehyun’s voice is so zombie-like, he thinks he should cast himself in the Train to Busan sequel as an extra.

“I’m glad I’m not you,” Sicheng mutters.

“Can you give me some sort of consolation, at least?”

“That’s not what I’m your friend for.”

Jaehyun sighs and resumes smacking the back of his head against the armrest. He really needs to figure this out. After all, he can’t really Google the solution to this.

“One thing doesn’t make sense,” Sicheng says, finally looking up from his screen. “Why do you have the same mark as (name)’s if you’re not soulmates?”

“You’re so incredibly—but adorably—stupid, Sicheng. She drew it in with a permanent marker. She kissed me too! It was sudden and weird but I didn’t mind it.

“Yikes.” Sicheng makes a face. “So… you didn’t take a shower for how long now?”

Jaehyun furrows his eyebrows. “What?”

“The ink hasn’t washed off. I heard you singing in the shower yesterday, how could you not have washed that off? Ugh. Don’t tell me you miss her.”

Jaehyun’s eyes widen as he jumps up and rushes to the washroom. Looking into the mirror, the tattoo poking out from his T-shirt resembles yours a lot more than his. The arrow is still drawn in. Jaehyun’s shoulder slumps. He doesn’t know what he was expecting. Turning the tap and letting the water flow, he wets his hand and rubs at his collarbone to remove the arrow.

Except it doesn’t budge. His skin turns painfully red from the rubbing but the ink, which usually washes off in less than five minutes has no intention of leaving. Did you use a different brand of marker the last time? When was it anyway? 

Jaehyun breathes out, firming his resolve. He needs to be with you.

Sicheng blinks in surprise as Jaehyun grabs his car keys, not even bothering to change from an all-black getup of a T-shirt and jeans like some emo teenager, and shuts the front door behind him. Not even a ‘goodbye, I’m leaving!’

Sicheng sighs. Love makes people crazy. He’s not falling into that trap when his soulmate literally doesn’t exist, the same as his soulmark. It seems the contestants in this game are full of exceptions.

You hit your head against your pillow. To visit Jaehyun or not to. You haven’t left your bed since you woke up around seven in the morning, and now it’s ten. Your bedsheets are a mess because you’ve rolled around too much on them (in despair, not with someone unfortunately).

You need the quiet sometimes to let your mind rest, to let your heart rest. You needed time. But maybe it’s been long enough and now you’re just searching for excuses to hold on to your last shred of dignity.

You lift your head up and glare at the box of ginseng on your table. Should you? You reluctantly get up, feeling a sting of pain in your back for lying in that awkward position for so long. Right when you’ve put on your slippers, the doorbell rings and you groan. How did the package you stress-ordered last night arrive so early? These deliveries are getting faster and faster.

You walk to the front door and open it thoughtlessly, freezing up at the sight. Your first reaction is to cover yourself. You’re not exactly your best-looking version at the moment. Jaehyun’s dark circles almost match yours but he’s better dressed than you are—in a black T-shirt and jeans while you’re wearing a Gudetama pajama set.

“We’re not just friends,” he blurts. “We’re not soulmates but we’re not just friends.”

“Huh? Oh my god, this is the most embarrassing I’ve looked.”

Jaehyun furrows his eyebrows in a question look. 

“That’s not important! Look—”

He pushes you inside, closing the door behind him. His hair is so disheveled and messy, he barely even looks like the same well-maintained marketing employee you know. 

Jaehyun tugs at his T-shirt, pulling down to reveal his tattoo—albeit with your marker-drawn arrow through it. He does have a pretty well-built chest, you note before chiding yourself for getting distracted.

You raise an eyebrow. “Do you, uh, need help scrubbing it off or something?”

“No.” Jaehyun lets out a huff of exasperation. “It won’t wash off. If it’s what I think it is—”

“Miracles don’t happen to people like us, Jaehyun,” you say quietly.

He gulps. “I don’t know about miracles but… I just needed an excuse to see you, I guess.”

You look up, a rose blush over Jaehyun’s bare face, and run your finger over the tattoo, sighing at the warmth of his skin. Your hand travels up to his cheek, resting atop it while you muster enough courage to look Jaehyun in his chocolate brown eyes.

You pull away. This isn’t the time. You still have an internal crisis to sort out. Are you even deserving of love? It makes much more sense if the answer is no. 

However, Jaehyun pulls you in by the waist, his right palm warm against your cheek.

“I don’t care what anyone says.” He runs his thumb over your cheek in a painfully fond manner. “You’re worth more than the price I pay for this.”

He leans in and presses his lips to yours swiftly, your head clearing of thoughts almost immediately. It feels so right, you can feel the spark, the red thread around your skin, hear the bells. This kiss was far more perfect than it was supposed to be.

You part, gasping. Jaehyun blinks at you, breathing heavily.

“Kiss me again.”

Jaehyun does as told and you might just believe in miracles this way. With his hand around your waist and in your hair, his lips over yours and the low rumbling laughter that parts the two of you—you might just believe in miracles. You might just believe that love isn't something you deserve by earning.

“I like this,” Jaehyun comments. “I like the way this is.”

You press your finger to his lips. “I think you should shut up and kiss me some more.”

Jaehyun rolls his eyes. “I know you’re sexually repressed as of now, but that’s no reason to take advantage of me.”

You scowl, punching him on the shoulder and moving away from him.

“Come back,” he complains in a quiet voice.

“I am not going to do that.” You cross your arms.

“Come on,” he mutters, inching closer as you inch away, till your back hits the couch and you tumble backwards onto it, your legs on the headrest. Jaehyun laughs at your position, leaning in to keep his hands on either side of you, a doting look over him.

“Hey, did you know if I kicked my leg up, it would hit you in the balls?”

“Please don’t do that.”

You giggle, Jaehyun’s nose rubbing against yours in a bunny kiss. 

“Is your place usually this much of a mess?” Jaehyun raises an eyebrow. 

You sigh heavily. “I was having a bad day, okay? Or… a bad weekend.”

“Do you even have food?”

You look away, crossing your arms. Jaehyun sighs and shakes his head.

“We should go grocery shopping. How do you live like this?”

You scoff. “Oh, spare me the lecture. I’ve heard enough horror stories about your room from Sicheng. You can’t hide from me by sweeping your clothes and belongings into his room.”

“Snitch,” he mutters under his breath.

You can’t help the giggle that erupts from your mouth and you immediately cover it. Jaehyun smiles at you fondly and you look away, unable to bear that gaze of his.

“It really won’t wash off, by the way,” Jaehyun states, scratching at his collarbone.

You narrow your eyes, smacking his arms away to roll off the couch. Taking his wrist, you walk into your bathroom and turn the tap on. Something’s strange. But also strangely right.

“Look, I already tried—ow! Don’t rub that hard!”

You blink in confusion, trying again despite Jaehyun looking like his soul already left him. It doesn’t work. Your marker isn’t even that permanent. At least his regenerating skin cells should get rid of that arrow. Unless the ink was deep enough to pierce all the layers, as in a soulmark.

You gasp.

“You were right!”

“I told you s—”

"That's the point, isn't it?" you say, realization dawning as your eyes widen. "To see if people will question the system at all."

Jaehyun shrugs. “Maybe.”

"Oh, all those unhappy marriages that could have been saved," you say as you exhale. 

Jaehyun chuckles lightly. "I think that the point was, people can be happy without their soulmates. It's whoever you make one out of. Or I Googled too many articles on anti-soulmate propaganda."

You smile, leaning in to press a kiss against his cheek. Watching his ears turn bright red is the cherry on top.

“Okay, fake-boyfriend-turned-real-soulmate.” You give him a cheeky smile. “Did you rethink your decision about sharing that Netflix password with me? I get the girlfriend free pass, right? Right?”

“I didn’t even share it with my mother.”

You whack his arm, him possibly used to it by now, judging from his lack of response. 

“Idiot.” You cross your arms. “We can Netflix… and chill then. God, I can’t believe I said that.”

Jaehyun breaks into a chuckle. “You’re so pushy.”

 “And you like being pushed around, nerd.”

“Who said that?”

Jaehyun wraps his arms around you, spinning you so that your back hits the door. He leans in to kiss you again and you smack your palm over his pouted lips. You laugh at his face, his eyes brimming with confusion.

“You’re in my apartment. I make the rules here. Think twice before you start a game with me, Mister.”

His shoulders droop. “Fine. Can you at least let me kiss you four times a day?”

“Five times, if you ask.”

He laughs before leaning in again. “Can I kiss you now?”

“Wasn’t it obvious?”

“You are one hell of a woman. Emphasis on hell.”

You laugh and grab his collar, pulling him in for the kiss that seals this deal.

You realize a few things in the moment: a) You don’t have to play roulette to find love, b) You don’t have to pick your poison to find love, and most importantly c) Love is right where you make something of it. Fate is still not in your good books but if it bends to you this way, you don’t mind at all. If Jaehyun kisses you like this every day, you don’t mind one bit. 

#jaehyun x reader #jaehyun scenarios #jaehyun imagines #nct x reader #nct 127 x reader #cznnet #neowritingsnet #nct scenarios #nct 127 scenarios #nct imagines #nct 127 imagines #nct fluff #nct 127 fluff #jaehyun fluff #nct fic #jaehyun fic #jaehyun fanfic #nct fanfic #moonwrites #i know i said no more 20k+ fics but............ this is literally karma isnt it #anyway i hope there aren't any typos i proofread like once that's enough k #also this is queued bcs im going on vacation ! :D