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all-hail-draculaura · 1 year

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Wishes Come True?

First of all, thank you for reading the first chapter. I wasn’t expecting it to get likes that fast. Here’s chapter two, hope y’all like it. If you want to be added to the taglist, just make a comment.

Summary : The realization of entering the Dreaming and meeting Dream hits you like pile bricks. Doesn’t help when the Dream King is dissecting your brain of what you know. Going to his brother’s realm for a family meeting.

Word Count : 4,691

Warnings : bad language, major spoilers for season two/second book, low-key a crackfic

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So here we are, sitting at the kitchen table, across from the Dream King’s raven, Matthew, who is just eating a toasted bagel I made for him. The silence is so loud, staring at him, my coffee going cold in my hands. “So you’re real?” I asked him, but mainly, so I can have some confirmation if my sanity is still intact. “Well yeah, but when you say it like that it makes it sound that we are just some characters in a book or something.” he said. I snort at his comment. “More like a comic book, but hey who cares, right. So since you are here, why?” I inquired, taking a sip of my coffee. Matthew cocked his head, almost like he was trying to convey confusion. ��Uh, the boss sent me, you know, to watch you and stuff. Make sure you aren’t like a witch or something. Although I do have to be honest, it was difficult for me to be able to travel here and find you.” he explained himself. ‘I’m not the witch that Dream is going to have to be concerned about, and of course you would have trouble getting to me, I’m real, you’re not.’ I jokingly thought.

Getting up to dump out the rest of my coffee, my head still hurting from last night's events. I open up one of my cabinets to take a painkiller in hopes of getting rid of my hangover. Reminds me to text Delia to see if she is doing okay. “So you are just going to monitor my whole day then. You don’t mind if I invite my friend over or do you think Lord Morpheus would want me to be isolating myself until he and Lucienne are able to find an answer as to the whole situation?” asking Matthew. “I think it's best if you just live your normal schedule, since clearly you know how we work.” he replied, absolutely tearing up the last piece of bagel. I hummed in confirmation. Again silence.

Then it dawns on me something important, where are we on the storyline? I don’t want to fuck something up. “So what was the last conflict or battle did you guys have to deal with?”

“Um, I guess it was when the boss saved his ex-wife from this crazy author, why do you ask?” he answered.

“It is for me to know and for you guys to stay safe. Trust me, it's for the best.” I replied. Matthew croaked. “So, would it be okay if I invited my friend over, or is that too much interaction with another person?” asking as I get ready to call Delia. “I wouldn’t, I feel like the boss would think that you are conspiring with another person,” he said. I nodded. “Well, I’m just going to call her to make sure that she’s okay.” I informed Matthew.

Dialing up Delia’s number on my phone, waiting, only ringing twice before she answered me. “Hello.” Delia spoke groggily. “Hey Delia, just calling to make sure that you are okay.” I said to her. ‘Her hangover must be worse than mine, lightweight head ass.’ I thought. “Yeah, I’m doing fine, my head is just killing me.” she whimpered out in pain. “Make sure to drink water and eat something, please. Also, I have a question.” Feeling nervous to ask her if anything happened to her last night, like mine, I can’t be the only one with this problem right now. “Shoot away.” she replied. “Did anything happen to you last night, like sleeping wise?” hesitant saying the last statement. Matthew was watching carefully. “If you’re asking if I pissed the bed, I didn’t.” she joked. “Ew gross, I wasn’t talking about that,” thinking of another way to word it without being conspicuous, “Did any of your New Year’s Eve wishes come true this morning?”

It was silent for a minute. “No sadly, I think it's because I didn't wear the underwear and manifest hard enough. Why did your wishes come true? Oh my Gods, you have to tell me everything!” excitement in her voice. “Haha, you’re so funny, as if I’m going to tell you my wishes, what if they don’t end up working huh.” I joked, trying to cover my tracks. “Boo you whore, anyway I got to go, I need to take a shower. Feeling crusty from sleep. Goodbye bestie and good luck with your wishes coming true.” she hung up on me before I could say goodbye to her. I sighed. Groaning as I contemplated what is the next move for me to make now. Putting my head down against the cold tile of the kitchen counter to help relieve the anxiety that was building up in my chest.

“So, you guys had an eventful New Year’s Eve, and what do you mean by wishes?” Matthew chirped. “It’s um, something dumb my friend convinced me into doing. Basically, on TikTok, people are like eating 12 grapes and each one you have to make a wish for each one and sit under the table before it hits the new year, and wear different colored underwear to help you do different things in your life. I just guess that's when you guys came into my life last night, but why me, though. I have enough stress from life in general, I don’t need this.” I confessed.

“I know, I really have to talk to Lord Morpheus about this whole situation, maybe it's connected somehow.” saying in a deflating tone. Matthew croaked again, “Um, that’s a lot, but are you really sure you want to talk to him? The boss doesn’t like to be pulled around.” I responded with, “Yeah, I know what I need to say, but I am just nervous, you know his majesty is so ugh. I’m already causing a problem and don’t want to be in debt to him of all beings.”

Matthew squawked. “I can see what you mean.” Trying to figure out what to do next is always so tricky. Thinking back to what Matthew said earlier, about what their last conflict was. I quickly checked and googled if anything happened in The Sandman universe. Scrolling through the different sites from their wiki, blogs hyping up for season two, nothing has seemed to change for the storyline. My next move was to open up Tumblr to see if Neil Gaiman had updated anything. The tempting feeling of just sending him a response about this situation, but pushing it behind me in fear of being called crazy on the internet. At least I know once this problem is over, they won’t come to any harm.

Still coming to terms with everything, I looked towards Matthew, knowing what my next move was not wanting to do but needs to be done. I need to talk to Morpheus. “The only idea I have is that we both go back to the Dreaming to explain to the best of my abilities. What do you think Matthew, you think he would be fine with my intrusion right now?” asking in desperation. “I guess it’s worth a shot,” he replied. “Let me just clean up, I guess, and feed my baby.” I mumbled.

“Baby?”

“My cat.” I said. I opened up her food container, hearing little feet starting to run towards the kitchen. Scooped some kibble into her food bowl, enough for the day, not sure when I was coming back. Refilling her water bowl and cleaning her litter box, making sure that her day is safe. Cleaned up after Matthew's plate and my mug. I mentally prepared myself as I walked towards my room, to sleep and meet the Dream King again, Matthew following close behind. Getting comfortable in bed once again, closing my eyes and enter the Dreaming.

Matthew was just coming back from checking up on Rose Walker and her little brother, Jed. Morpheus wanted to make sure nothing had become of the descendants of an Endless. As he was making his way to the palace, he saw a girl enter through the gates into the Dreaming. This confuses him, he wasn’t made aware that there was going to be a guest today. ‘Boss did say that something felt off in the Dreaming, just thought it was him having a crisis again over something small. Maybe this is the reason as to why.’ Matthew thought to himself. Keeping a mental note to inform the boss after giving the update.

Entering the palace and landing before Dream, who was sitting on his throne, reading a book. “Matthew you have returned, what do you have to report back?” the king spoke. “Rose and Jed are doing well, nothing to worry about for them.” Matthew reported. “Very well, you may go now.” Dream announced. “Uh boss, I don’t know if you know, but when I was heading towards the palace, there was a girl entering the gates and into the Dreaming. She entered like she knew what she was doing. Did you have a guest coming over or letting dreamers enter the realm again?” Matthew informed Dream. Dream looked to be as uncertain as the bird of the thought of an intruder. Just when he thought that he could have peace in the realm, another problem arises. “No guests or dreamers, I have made sure of that while I’m still repairing the Dreaming,” Dream admitted, “Since you mentioned this intruder, you are to keep an eye on them. Tell me when you have-” Dream was cut off by the sound of the palace door opening.

There standing was the girl that Matthew was just discussing. From where Dream sat, he couldn’t tell anything different about her, only that she was a plain human. Although taking a quick analysis of her appearance, something did feel off about her. It was the same feeling that was resonating with Dream this night in the Dreaming. ‘Could she be the cause?’ he thought.

“See, boss, I told you someone entered the realm through the gate.” Matthew defended himself. “Silence, now human, how did you enter through the gate, more importantly my realm?” Dream said, his voice boomed with authority.

“I entered through the Gate of Horn, the gate of which that only lets in those who of truth and how I entered in your realm is what I myself are still trying to figure out, Lord Morpheus” her voice tensed with fear? Her statement matches Matthew’s. “You know who I am?” Dream interrogated. “Lord Morpheus I know of all your titles, Dream of the Endless, the King of Nightmares and Dreams, Prince of Stories, Ruler of the Dreaming, and many more, sir. I know of your raven, Matthew, and your librarian Lucienne who helped keep order while you were away when you were captured. There are many things that I know of, but know this my Lord, I come to you with no harm, just curiosity.” This time she spoke with a bit more confidence, but how bold of her to bring up his capture in his presence. Anger grew within Dream, ‘How can this mortal speak so freely in my realm, in my palace.’

“How could you know of such things, you are just a plain mortal.” spite dripping from Dream’s voice.

Deciding to test this mortal by appearing in front of her. This gave him the opportunity to properly examine this human, and why she was affecting the Dreaming. All he could sense was that she was just as normal as any other human, but something was gnawing in him about this situation. It seems that she was also observing him, but more with curiosity. It did not go unnoticed how she quickly bowed her head down to avoid eye contact.

“I swear to you, I truly do not mean any harm. If you wish to ban me from the Dreaming, I will not put up a fuss. I am willing to tell you anything and everything I know if you let me stay.” she was nervous again, as she should. No lies were spoken, though, Dream had no choice but to accept her plea.“You may stay,” was all he could say. She smiled in relief in front of him. “I promise you, my lord, anything you wish to know, I will speak all that I know of, should you just ask.” There is silence once again. “My first question for you, mortal, what is your name?” he asked.

“My name is (Y/n) (L/n), my lord.” answering his question without hesitation. Before he could continue speaking, he felt that she was starting to wake up, without saying goodbye first to the king.

I open my eyes to be in Dream King’s castle once again. Just as beautiful as last time, but this time there was no time to sight see, business needed to be done. Matthew landed on my shoulder, scaring the shit out of me. “Geez, you need a bell.” I exasperated. Matthew said a simple “sorry”. “So, where is Lord Morpheus?” I asked. “I would assume the library, probably overworking Lucienne and himself with searching for answers.” Matthew responded. “Where would that be?”

“Just follow me.”

We walked through various halls, taking mental photos of the amazing architecture, anxiety rising with each step taken. Our trip comes to a stop in front of a pair of doors. The library of which has ever held every book written, not written, to be written, and knowledge of everything and everyone. Opening the walnut colored doors revealed the vast library. Trying not to be awestruck, I faced forward to meet Lucienne and Morpheus staring up from their own conversations.

“Hi.” shyly saying, closing the doors behind me. ‘Oh my lord, I’m going to vomit.’ I thought, the anxiety is high right now. Morpheus made his way over to me. “Explain yourself at once, why is it we could not find any documentation of your existence? What are you?” he demanded. “I am just a plain human I swear, and to answer your first question, it is because I do not belong to your world. In all honesty, I don't even know Matthew was able to access or travel to my universe.” I tried explaining. The Endless’ face contorted to one of confusion and frustration. “Another universe you speak of?” he probed. “Yes, where you only live within pages of comic books and a TV series. This world that you live in is purely fiction, created for entertainment for the millions, but it seems that of late I have come to the realization that I have had my wishes answered. You can even ask Matthew, he was there when I had pieced it together.”

“It's true boss.” Matthew crowed in agreement. “All this was caused by a wish, a selfish wish at that.” his eyes narrowed down on me. “Yes sir, if I could take it back, I would, but now that I am here I do wish to help in figuring out how to undo this. I only want peace for this world and its inhabitants.” I start to pick at my fingers to calm my nerves. “My lord, if I may, shall I find you books on wishes, manifestations, and the such?” Lucienne asked. “Yes, it seems that we now have a direction to go in now.” Dream accepted. He turned away from me, and headed towards a table that already had a couple books on it already. I looked towards Lucienne, “Do let me help Lucienne, it is my fault that we are in this mess.” She sighed and looked towards Dream to accept the help, him being him simply refused, already feeling the stress from Morpheus she just walked away with a cart and off to work. I gave her a sympathetic look. “Come, we have much to discuss.” Dream demanded.

I walked over to the other side of the table, and took a seat across from Dream. “So what would you like to know, your majesty?” responding to him. “How did you come to when you made your wish?” he inquired. “Um, I guess it all started when my friend was at my house, she was trying to convince me to do some New Year’s Eve traditions. The first tradition goes that if you eat twelve grapes, make a wish on each one under a table, that they will come true into the new year, which I am thinking is the one that caused all this. The other tradition is sillier, I believe, if you wear certain colored underwear, it will help in your personal life, like for instance I wore red first to help me in my love life, white for peace, blue for health, and lastly yellow for wealth to come to me.” explaining the traditions again, but in little more in depth to the king. His eyebrow cocked up at my last statement. ‘Why did I tell him what colors I wore, he didn’t need to know that? That’s so embarrassing.’ I thought, my face burning.

“So through eating grapes and making wishes you are able to come here? What exactly did you wish-” he was cut off by Mervyn. “My lord, your brother, Destiny, is calling for you in the Room of Sigils.” Mervyn informed him. “I’ll be right there.” Dream said. He looked towards me in thought before speaking, “I have no choice, since I can’t trust you yet, you will come with me to my brother’s realm.” “Really, I always wanted to know what Destiny’s Garden looks like in person.” I perked up. “That is another question for another time, but now we have to change our garb to prepare us for entering the realm,” he affirmed. He pulled out his pouch of sand and poured some into his hand. Making a ring around me with sand, it started swirling around me, making immediate changes to clothes into a deep red gown. He also changed into what I deemed Edwardian/Victorian clothes. More swirled around us, as Dream transported us to the room where it held all his siblings’ sigils.

“So through eating grapes and making wishes you are able to come here? What exactly did you wish-” he was cut off by Mervyn. “My lord, your brother, Destiny, is calling for you in the Room of Sigils.” Mervyn informed him. “I’ll be right there.” Dream said. He looked towards me in thought before speaking, “I have no choice, since I can’t trust you yet, you will come with me to my brother’s realm.” “Really, I always wanted to know what Destiny’s Garden looks like in person.” I perked up. “That is another question for another time, but now we have to change our garb to prepare us for entering the realm,” he affirmed. He pulled out his pouch of sand and poured some into his hand. Making a ring around me with sand, it started swirling around me, making immediate changes to clothes into a deep red gown. He also changed into what I deemed Edwardian/Victorian clothes. More sand swirled around us, as Dream transported us to the room where it held all his siblings’ sigils. It was like the room had speakers when Destiny announced for Dream to enter his realm, “Brother Dream. It is I, Destiny of the Endless who calls you. The family must meet. Come to me.”

Dream grabbed a hold of my hand, blushing a tiny bit at the action, as we transported through the sigil, and came out what seems like a portrait of Dream himself in Destiny’s home. “Hmm. Well met, my brother. So a family meeting…the first since the prodigal announced his intention to leave us. Well, well. It will be interesting to find out why you called us here.” Dream conversed with his brother. Me being nervous, just stood quietly behind the Dream King. ‘They are going to have their unwanted family meeting. At least I don’t have to wait for season two I guess.’ I thought to myself, giving a small chuckle. While they talked I took it upon myself to look around, making sure not to stray too far.

Wandering around, I was able to bump into Death. The feeling of excitement runs through my veins. “Oh my gods, I am finally meeting Death of the Endless, literally the best sibling of the endless. You're way more beautiful in person.” I babbled in awestruck again. She had a look of confusion, but smiled. “Thank you, and who might you be?” she asked. “Well met sister. Her name is Y/n, and she is a problem I am currently dealing with. Couldn’t risk leaving her alone in the Dreaming. You have dressed formally also, I see. My compliments.” Dream praised, appearing out behind me, making me jump. “Well then, hello (Y/n), I’m Death, Dream’s older sister, but it appears you already knew that.” acknowledging the fact I knew about her. I nervously laughed. She turned to face her brother to stick her tongue at him playfully.

“A family meeting, eh Destiny? You haven’t redecorated in the last three hundred years, I see. Oh, well. And still wearing basic gray… So what’s the occasion?” Desire says coming out of their portrait. “Destiny will tell us that in his own time, Desire. He won’t be rushed… Only two of us are left to go then.” Despair spoke, following suit of her twin, Desire. I follow behind Dream as he and his sister walk over to catch up to their other siblings.

“Only one of us who will be attending this gathering, Despair. Wherever the other is, he has made his wishes on the matter perfectly clear.” Destiny voiced.

“Yeah, but I had kinda hoped he’d changed his mind. I miss him.” Death expressed her sadness. “We all miss him.” Despair added. “I don’t.” Desire disdained. They were talking about their brother, Destruction, of course.

Following Destiny until we stopped in front of the youngest sibling’s portrait, Delirium. “Sister. Youngest of the Endless. I stand in my gallery, and I call you. Your family awaits you. Come.” Destiny requested upon the painting. Slowly, but surely she came out.

“Um, hi. It’s, uh, me…Isn’t it nICE…all of us…togETHER like thIs…it’s so…NicE…” Delirium spoke shyly. Her voice reminded me of Luna Lovegood, a distant and kind tone. “Hush, little sister. Now we are all assembled, we will walk down to the Refectory. There are things to discuss. There is something I must say” Destiny announced to the whole group. Death went up to Delirium to comfort her. “Hi, sis. How are you doing?” Her voice was kind to her. Holding her sibling by the shoulder to show support. “Uh. YesterDay I did somE reAlly BAD StuFF. I mean real bad. yoU knOw…bUt TODAY I did some gOod ThingS. I doN’t kNoW.” Delirium said, almost like she hesitates with choosing each word. Seeing their family dynamics at play was interesting to say the least.

This whole situation felt really personal, whole family meeting and all. Thankfully the walk was painfully quiet as we reached the Refectory. Everyone took their seats at the heptagonal table, leaving me feeling awkward whether I should continue standing or take their brother, Destruction, old spot. Almost like they could read my mind, Desire spoke up, “Go ahead, take a seat, it's not like our brother is going to show up anyways.” I hesitantly took the seat that was in between Dream and Desire. “So brother, you have brought a guest, what’s the occasion? Finally got a play thing?” Desire teased, purely to get under Dream’s skin. I blushed at the accusation. Dream was about to clear up our situation when Destiny spoke before him, “Silence. I have sent for refreshments. In the meantime, please, make yourself comfortable.”

“Well…here we all are.” Death said, breaking the ice. “Yes, here we all are.” Desire continued. “Uhh, yes, here we…umm…soMetimES I forGEt wHAt I was goING to say. SometiMEs I RemeMBer thinGS eveRYonE Else hAs forGOTTen foRever aNd alwaYS. Does THat ever haPPEn tO yOu?” Delirium rambled on.

“I suppose you must be wondering why I called you all here.” Destiny’s voice bellowed. Everyone was now paying attention to the eldest sibling. Dream let slip a simple “Yes.”

“The three sisters visited my garden earlier this day. In one aspect. The Grey Women.” Destiny explained. “The Fates? Here? That is indeed bizarre. I mean…this place is fate. It seems like the last place they would choose to manifest.” Despair pondered at the notion. ‘The Fates, why do they feel familiar differently?’ I thought, my brain racking with ideas trying to connect this feeling. I block out most of the sibling conversations to figure it out. This overwhelming feeling of déjà vu fills my body. My eyes widened when I remembered what happened to me, and why everything is happening. My heart starts to pound through my chest, I quickly look towards Dream in a panic. He was already standing, looking like he was about to leave. Maybe I should have been paying attention.

“This has no point. What have we to discuss?” Dream speaks up. “What have we to discuss? Well, what about you, my brother?” Desire pried. “Me?” Dream replied. “Indeed, tell me– how’s your love life? Killed any girlfriends recently? Or sentenced any more of them to hell? Maybe this mortal that you have brought is your latest victim of your affections?” Desire deride. ‘Oh no, we are at that part of the comic. What did I have to be included in this argument? Desire is just as bad as I thought.’ I thought to myself, anger building up in Dream’s defense. “... What did you say?” Dream said lowly.

“Well, you don’t exactly have trouble-free relationships, do you? Let’s see…there was that little one in Greece, what was her name? Carousel? Something like that.” Desire poked at Dream, “And that female on– what’s that pretty plane with all the twinkly lights? You know where I mean. But what you put her through wasn’t pretty at all. Oh– and I nearly forgot. Do you remember Nada?” Dream looks pissed, his anger was just radiating. “You dare…” Dream face twisted into irritation. I got up from my chair and backed away from them, not wanting to be caught in their crossfire. “Such a sweet child. She really loved you–I know. I could taste her heart. And what did you do? Because she wouldn’t stay with you until you tired of her, you sentenced her to Lucifer’s Domain. Because she hurt your petty pride, you’ve had her hurt and tortured for ten thousand years…”

Dream slammed the table with his fist, “ENOUGH. YOU have said ENOUGH, and MORE than ENOUGH. Why I should-” Dream was cut off by Destiny, “You will do nothing in this place, my brother.” Dream still heated, backed off, “I believe I will go outside…my…brother. I do not… care for the…company here.” Dream said in defeat. Death and I look towards him in hopes of if he needs comfort. Dream walks out of the room, and towards the balcony for some peace. “Well! What’s the matter with him? Do you think it could have been something I said?” Desire still instigating. “Shut up, Desire. If you ever want to speak again…shut up.” Death put them into their place. Desire held their head down.

Looking to Death as she got up and walking over to her. “I know you are about to go talk to him, and it’s best I’m not there, but can you make sure he is okay. I know he has been through a lot and want to make sure he is okay.” I requested from the Endless. She gave me a smile and rubbed my shoulder. “I will do my best, but my brother can be stubborn.” She comforted me. She started to leave to go support her brother, and I was left standing, watching the two talk.

“(Y/n) was it, may I have a word with you in private.” Destiny requested from across the room. “Um, sure.” Agreeing, feeling nervous. He led me into his garden, The Garden of Forking Ways, to speak with me. “So what is it you needed to talk to me about?” I asked. “My brother explained to me that you were simply a problem he was currently with, but that is just part of the truth, isn't it? Care to tell me the rest and why aren’t you in my Book of Destiny?” he questioned. I sighed, and told him everything that I knew and what I recently learned from getting déjà vu from hearing about The Fates.

“But I can assure you, I will not be in Dream’s path. We both know that Dream is planning on going to Hell to retrieve Nada. I will be on the sidelines, trying to find out answers to separate our worlds once more.” affirming my actions. I tried reading Destiny’s face, but I got nothing. All he did was hum in what I assume was acknowledgement.

Sand started to swirl around me, before disappearing I left Destiny one statement, “We both know what we know.”

Taglist: @emarich7 @chantzmar

#The Sandman #the sandman x reader #dream of the endless x reader #dream of the endless #morpheus #lord morpheus #morpheus x reader #morpheus x you #sandman x reader #sandman x you #sandman x y/n #wishes come true?

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namfinessed · 2 years

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is it that hard?- j.hs

genre: fluff, pining, f2l, mild angst and heavy suggestive content (13k)

summary: suddenly, hoseok being just your friend and waking up with five words swirling in your head, that you are sure you have never heard anyone utter before, both stop making any sense.

all works in the series can be real individually.

masterlist series masterlist (colors universe)

it was a normal day.

a completely normal day.

you woke up and went to work with uninterested steps only to find some relief in your boring routine when your best friend greets you right by the elevator with a cup of coffee that he knows you will crave.

“you are a lifesaver” you thanked him with a grateful smile and he nodded with the ever-present grin on his face, even bowing like a prince to be further dramatic which made you laugh.

you both walked to your cubicles, excitedly filling each other in on whatever show you were watching the previous night.

hoseok, quite literally, was the reason you got up in the morning. since he was a morning person, he called you right when he woke up because he knows that alarms are useless for you, and by the time you come to work, he’s either waiting for you at the elevator or in the break room, sometimes with coffee that he knows you will need. he always guessed on when you need it more, if you ever sounded especially tired during your call, he did you one better and gets you a bagel too because that’s just hoseok, ever so giving and loving.

the way you met was nothing extraordinary, he was introduced as the new member of your department and your utter lack of enthusiasm in the meeting had amused hoseok, he had silently laughed under his breath when you rolled your eyes at the irritating manager who kept dragging on his speech, that was the moment he knew that you two would get along.

that particular second or two, as you rolled your eyes, hoseok felt like a feather, his body got lighter as his tension faded away and his smile grew wider and that moment was etched in his mind, that temporary relief of seeing something real in all the robotic faces around him, he doesn’t think he will ever forget that. in his defense, you always remember how you meet a friend, especially a friend like you.

hoseok was a polite person, never hostile in his behavior or in the way he talked, he was always smiling but as much as hoseok was smiling on the outside, his co-workers annoyed the hell out of him and it seemed like you didn’t try to hide your annoyance unlike him and that’s how you became friends, he made a snide remark about an over-enthusiastic member on his team and you burst out laughing.

hoseok liked being the reason for your laugh then; that hasn’t changed.

“i can’t believe her, honestly” you shook your head as your eyes narrowed down on the topic of your conversation, kang mina. “why would she even expect me to do over-time just for the pathetic little project that she was supposed to be done with ages ago?” you continued to complain as hoseok snickered beside you. “she did the same thing to me, with our last project, i was so close to banging my head into my screen” he threw a petty glare at her and that’s exactly when she decided to turn around.

you held back a snicker as his glare comically melted into a polite nod and smile to her, he really couldn’t be rude to anyone.

and when she gave him a forced smile back, you could tell it took everything in him to not scowl at her. she turned to you, but she just nodded, she knew better than to expect a greeting from you.

“anyway, that stupid company camp trip they do is only days away now and i just want this project to be over by then, i want to properly relax this time around” you sighed as you leaned on the table behind you and hoseok raised his eyebrows at you.

“they announced it already?”

“yeah, only two days ago though, they will probably e-mail us later about it. i am definitely going this time” you nod determinedly. “this is a first, you are always the quickest to refuse the invitation for over two years now” hoseok recalls how adamant you were about not going as he stirred his coffee; he had tried everything he could to convince you to come but you didn’t budge.

‘i already see these people way more than i should, i’m not spending my precious vacation with them too’ is what you had said in finality then and hoseok, though dejected, had gone by himself, his extroverted nature made it easy for him to blend in with them but he wouldn’t admit it to you that he constantly pondered over how fun it would have been if you went with him.

“i thought it over and it can’t be that bad, you know? it’s free food and free stay for a few days in the countryside, and i heard that they’re taking a really sweet resort this time around. besides, you will be there so i want to try it this time” hoseok ignored how his heart skipped a beat when you mentioned him as one of the reasons you wanted to go, he reasoned to himself that you wanted him there, because he was, well, your friend. your best friend.

and he had no right to feel sad over the fact that you were just his best friend.

“i’m going too, so this should be fun” he hums as he excuses himself and leaves the break room, you blink confusedly as he moves hurriedly but shrug it off, thinking he must have something important to do.

that day, you reach home and fall on your sofa in a lump, not even removing your coat as you stretch yourself to relieve the tension collected in your neck and shoulders.

you groaned as you gathered the sheets around you to finally fall asleep that day and your phone dinged to alert you of a message.

‘good night pookie<3’ it read and it was from none other than hoseok, a smile immediately grew on your face as you recalled the first time hoseok had called you that, it took you by surprise then but you didn’t feel disgusted by it as you did with most nicknames. somehow, from him, it didn’t sound like the worst thing in the world.

you quickly texted him back and your smile remained as you slipped into a deep slumber.

and suddenly, it wasn’t a normal day anymore.

in the middle of the night, as the wind from your window that you forgot to close chilled your room, you kept tossing and turning as your skin heated up unnaturally, your sheets no longer being a comfort but a nuisance, you kicked them off somewhere in the middle of the night but you still were stuck in a place between the deepest sleep you’ve ever had to the most awake you’ve ever been. your pillow felt like a rock and your head felt two thoughts away from exploding into a million pieces.

but you stayed asleep, stubborn and adamant to get some rest, and it was miles away from a good sleep, but sleep nonetheless.

the following morning, you woke up with a start, sitting up as soon as you opened your eyes and placing a hand on your abnormally racing heart.

because it’s always been you.

where did that come from?

you couldn’t think of anything but those five words that stayed circling in your still tired mind, but you have never heard them in all your life, you don’t remember anyone telling you anything remotely as affectionate as that but somehow it seems like your mind is convinced that you have heard it and that you need to keep remembering those five words particularly.

you felt disoriented, you weren’t used to having such a restless sleep nor were you used to your heart beating out of its cage or even your sweaty palms.

“what the hell?” you whisper to yourself as you look around your room in a hurry, trying to scan for anything that could have made you feel this unsettled.

nothing looked out of place, everything looked the same. you unconsciously patted yourself to find your forehead and eyebrows lined with beads of sweat that you wiped away with your already sweaty palms.

what was going on?

as you frowned at your state and started moving around your bed in a daze, the shrill sound of your ringtone made you jump before groaning at how stupid you must look right now and grabbing it harshly from the bedside table.

“good morning pookie” hoseok greeted in a sing-song tone with a rough voice, having just woken up a while ago, as soon as you answered his call.

because it’s always been you.

you don’t answer hoseok and silence continues between you two as you frown yet again, trying to zero in on those five words and why you can’t get them out of your head.

“pookie...everything okay? do you need five more minutes?” though hoseok’s sentence starts with worry for you, it fades into a more playful tone as he thinks that maybe you just didn’t want to get up today.

“yeah, yes, everything is…alright, everything is the same, as it’s always been” you ramble as you try to convince yourself that these were just words, you will eventually forget them but you still couldn’t understand why your skin burned the way it did or why your chest suddenly felt like it was out of air.

“…well, i’m glad you are up, it would have been a pain to wake you up again. see you at work then, get your ass up and get ready soon” hoseok sounds unsure, not knowing what to make of your rambling because you never talk this much in the morning but he decides to let it go for now.

“see you at work, hobi” you say in a small voice, cutting the call and falling back on your bed with a thud and you solidify in your head that no one would know about this until you figure it out yourself.

it was a normal day.

a completely normal day.

at least that’s what it was before your chest filled with the weight of something that wasn’t heavy per se, just an uneasy fluttering that didn’t go away.

you tiredly leaned your body on the printer as it churned out pages that you needed to revise for your project, your eyes kept falling shut as the lack of sleep caught up to you.

because it’s always been you.

there it was again.

constantly revolving, wavering in your head, and refusing to be forgotten.

words that you have never uttered or heard someone else utter.

“there you are! i’ve been looking everywhere for you” you heard in the distance but you didn’t move or respond, your body stayed on the printer as its slow buzz and the gentle clattering of pages against each other served as a lullaby to you.

because it’s always been you.

you groaned, turning your head away with your eyes sealed shut, hoping that ignoring it would make it go away.

“hello” hoseok sang as he stepped closer to you but he paused immediately when he saw your knitted eyebrows and shut eyes.

because it’s always been you.

he stepped in front of you, thinking that you would at least see him then but you seemed way too lost in whatever you were thinking to register his presence, so hoseok tugged on your hand, his touch as gentle as ever.

because it’s always been-

your eyes snapped open, breath coming out in a rush as you looked around you, just like you did in the morning. when you see hoseok in front of you, you don’t know why you do it. maybe you were exhausted, maybe you were just sick of thinking of those five words, maybe the night of no sleep was catching up to you, but your body falls on him as a sigh of relief escapes you, quiet as ever, your body was looking to seek any kind of relief you could get and your palms curl on his dress shirt, and hoseok freezes.

his arms stay in the air as his body stays alert at the sudden contact but hoseok scolds himself, he was your friend and you were not feeling well so he had to quit acting like this was the first time you both have ever hugged, hell you both have come close to cuddling when you were drunk sometimes so he sucked a long breath and his arms wrapped around you, his palms gently patting your body to calm down.

he didn’t ask why you were this way; he didn’t ask even when you moved away from him, seemingly still in a daze, and left the room with papers bunched up in your arms, hoseok never asked because he didn’t want to make whatever you felt, worse. that was the last thing he wanted.

and frankly, his body betrayed him the second you touched him. he would never tell another living soul that he had to clutch his chest to calm his racing heart before leaving the copy room himself.

“damn, really? how much are they spending this time around?” you overhead from your cubicle and your interest peaked as you listened in carefully.

because it’s always been you.

you shake your head to forget about that right now, you were way more interested in what your colleagues were talking about.

“yeah, i didn’t believe it myself but seems like they want to do better than our rival company, so they are going all-out this time” you squinted your eyes as you tried to figure out what it could mean, and when you looked up again, they were looking right at you with a frown.

you frowned right back at them.

fine, eavesdropping wasn’t great but it wasn’t a crime either, they didn’t have to look at you like you killed someone.

they started whispering to each other as they bundled their work into their arms along with their coffee cups, heading into the break room while throwing dirty looks at you.

and you glared right back at them, leaning back and groaning as soon as they completely left your vision. you rolled back in your chair to hit against hoseok’s chair, startling him and moved your chair to his side. his figure momentarily froze as you invaded his space, before loosening up to lean into your side.

“do you know what they were talking about?” you whispered, for dramatic effect. you didn’t need to, considering that most of the people around you went for their break but hoseok played along with you anyway.

“who?” he whispered back.

you pointed, as sneakily as you could, towards the two girls who acted like you set their hair on fire by listening in on them. hoseok leaned forward, even more, to catch who you were showing and your throat closed up when you felt his breath right by your cheek.

he moved away as quickly as he had come forward but your breath stayed caught in your throat, your hands reached to scratch your neck nervously as your skin got warmer than necessary.

because it’s always been you.

“no, i wasn’t listening to them, i had my headphones in. but they look very pissed and keep pointing at you” he informed you and you took full offense to it, completely forgetting how flustered you were just seconds ago. “i listened to one conversation, only for two minutes, i swear hobi, i don’t know what that did to them, they won’t stop looking at me like i kicked their puppy.” you complained to him and he hid his grin at your whiney tone.

hoseok’s eyebrows shot to the sky as you started getting up, with obvious irritation on your face and he immediately sat up straighter, looking around to find where your eyes were throwing daggers.

“hey, you two.” he heard you say loudly, obviously directed at the two girls, his eyes widened as you pinned them down with a glare. “i don’t think this is a good idea, maybe we sh-“ he starts to say, as always, trying to defuse the situation and even tugs on the hem of your skirt to try and get your attention.

but you are running on no sleep, you have been annoyed since the second you woke up and these girls were grinding on your nerves.

“do we have a problem?” in contrast to your words, you have a polite smile on your face because you, if not anything, are professional, at least that’s what you always tell hoseok. but anyone with eyes and ears could see that you were so close to losing it on those two.

hoseok is stuck somewhere between being proud that you don’t take shit from anyone and petrified about your manager finding out.

he can only exhale in relief when you sit back down and turn to him with a smile. and hoseok smiles back easily, even if the lingering fear of your manager stays, it looked like you didn’t care so he let it go.

“so yeah, where was i? they were talking about something having a huge budget this time and how our company is competing with the rival company, that’s all i got before they left” you rambled on as if the last five minutes didn’t happen as if you didn’t just subtly threaten your colleagues and hoseok is yet again amused by you.

“i think it’s about the camping trip”

“there’s a budget for it this time?”

“yeah, didn’t you know? they are planning some fancy evening event too, i just hope it’s not mandatory to attend” he shakes his head as he says it, if he hated anything in the world, it was stuffy suits. he much preferred his comfortable style of baggy jeans and trendy t-shirts.

“i am looking forward to it, there’s this dress that i’ve been dying to wear since i got it but i haven’t had anything to wear it to” hoseok knew exactly which dress you were talking about, you had excitedly face timed him to show him the dashing hot pink dress that you got on one of your impulsive shopping trips.

hoseok has been dying to see you in the dress too.

but he can’t say anything about it, he can’t tell you all the thoughts he had the second you showed him the dress.

all he can do is smile tightly at your excitement and pray that you don’t notice anything.

because it’s always been you.

“they are taking forever to load these bags, hell i would do it quicker” you stand with your arms crossed, a semi-permanent scowl resting on your face that hoseok laughs at. “they are almost done, besides look at what i got” he opens his backpack wide, showing you the various snacks he packed and wiggles his eyebrows at you and you gasp in delight.

“you perfect son of a bitch” you reach out to grab some of the snacks and smile so wide at them that hoseok’s not sure if you are talking about him or the snacks.

he’s guessing it’s the snacks and he’s 100% right.

but he watches happily as you continue to gush about your favorite peach-flavored drinks and chocolates that you know you will devour immediately. somewhere in the middle of your happy trance, you glance up to catch him staring at you already with the fondest look on his face.

“what?” you ask, never really knowing how to read a room and hoseok immediately snaps out of it, shaking his head with a nervous smile.

“it just seems like you love the snacks more than me” he pretends to be hurt, cradling his chest with sniffles as fake as your eyelashes, and you roll your eyes with an involuntary smile, “that was never in question.”

and soon, after a little longer of your constant complaints about the bags, everyone started boarding the bus and you got on last, looking everywhere to find yourself a seat in the packed bus.

there were empty seats, but they were next to people that you had no interest in sitting next to, most of them would chew your ears out and you didn’t want to get violent in a moving bus. just then, you saw hoseok’s hand waving you to him and you made your way to him.

“saved you a seat” he offered, getting up and showing you the window seat which you happily settled into. “don’t you like window seats too?” you asked, fiddling with the scarf in your hands and hoseok shrugged. “on the way back, i’ll take it. for now, you relax” he sang the last line and slumped into his seat. your heart warmed at his thoughtfulness and once you caught onto how you didn’t stop staring at him, you quickly jerked your head away and leaned it onto the bus window.

the ride was bumpy, which you expected given the less-than-perfect road leading to the resort situated somewhere in the middle of the hill. your body was thrown in a different direction every time the bus took a turn and it irritated your half-asleep state, your head was starting to hurt from how many times it hit the window but one particularly harsh bump landed your head on something warm and soft.

you sighed happily and nuzzled carefully into the warmth being offered and felt a weight on the top of your head that you blissfully ignored.

because it’s always been you.

after another hour or so, the bus finally halts and you stir awake once you feel the weight on your head vanish, you yawn loudly as you stretch your legs under your seat and look up to see hoseok awake but he looks a lot closer than he was when you first started.

hoseok, on the other hand, was freaking out because he woke up with your head on his shoulder, both your arms tangled somewhere in the middle of your bodies, and his head was resting on yours. he almost jumped in surprise but then paused at the realization that he would wake you up.

he watches with his breath caught in his throat as you slowly sit up and move your arms around to relax them, he didn’t know what you were thinking, he didn’t want to know if it was anything remotely close to disgust.

“good morning” you gave him a tired smile and he nodded, waiting to see if you were going to say anything else but you don’t. you don’t even seem to acknowledge that you both were pressed against each other for the past hour or so, he isn’t sure how to feel about that.

“it looks lovely, doesn’t it?” you ask him, and he leans forward to look out the window. his gaze shifts to the resort where you will be staying for the next few days. you were right, it was quite lovely, it was covered with pastel flowers and had vines growing on its sides and it looked massive with a vintage touch to its exterior.

“we should get going” he mumbles suddenly, his voice unusually stoic as he hastily gets up and starts packing his coat and scarf into his backpack. “hobi, there’s no rush, half the people in the front haven’t even gotten off” you tell him, and he looks at the door to see that you were, once again, right. everyone was standing up to leave now so it was starting to get crowded at the door but hoseok couldn’t stay around you, this close, for much longer. he doesn’t trust his mind or body too much when they are with you.

so, he ignores what you say and marches down the bus length while murmuring apologies to the people he was softly pushing out of the way. you stare at him as he gets down the bus, confused and annoyed because he could have just waited and then gotten down, you would have gotten down with him but you let it go, thinking that the travel must have been exhausting for him.

you take in the view with a deep breath and an easy smile on your face, the sun was shining as bright as ever, but the wind quickly proved to be too cool for you to stay and enjoy for too long so you made your way along the rocks to the resort.

because it’s always been you.

people greeted you as you entered the cottage to which you tried to give your most professional smile, the lobby was packed with everyone you knew from work and you already felt suffocated when you pushed around to get your room key.

“a suite room?” you frowned at the lady at the reception and she nodded, you shook your head at her, there was no way your company spent that much money on you alone, there had to be a catch. you heard your manager, ms. ahn’s, voice calling out to you, to which you turned around and bowed when she approached you.

“i hope you got some sleep on that bus, we have a campfire planned in the next few hours and i look forward to seeing you there” she smiled warmly but you knew what that meant, it was compulsory to attend and you had no way out of it. “can’t wait” you answered, not trying to hide your sarcasm, “also, is everyone getting a suite room?” you asked, lifting your key.

ms. ahn looked at you like you were crazy and you hesitantly lowered your key.

“everyone is sharing a room because you know how a budget works” ms. ahn laughed heartily and you wanted to pull her eyes out because you knew for a fact that she got one of the biggest rooms there and she was staying alone. “then who am i staying with?”

“hoseok, you two seem close so i thought it best for you to share a room” then she walks away to greet the others who have arrived, your eyes land on her key while your feet stay frozen on the ground.

not only was it incredibly unprofessional for her to just assume you would be okay with sharing a room with him, but it also drove you insane that she had the best room in the entire cottage, complete with three rooms in the premium suite room all to herself.

and it wasn’t like you didn’t want to share a room with hoseok, given the choice, you would probably choose him over everyone else too, but you would have appreciated it a lot more if you had been told about this before. you didn’t particularly want to walk around hoseok in your booty shorts.

you couldn’t do anything now; you couldn’t argue with your manager nor did you want to stay with anyone else, so you sucked in a deep breath and walked to your room.

you opened the door to find a reasonably sized lounge area with a television, gaming consoles attached to it, and a singular couch, you sighed out in relief when you found two rooms in the suite instead of one like you had feared.

“i was worried about the same thing” you heard hoseok say from his doorway, “don’t get me wrong, i just prefer sleeping like a starfish at night” he plops down on the couch and pats the spot next to him, you scurry to sit down next to him and groan as you feel your muscles appreciate the softness of a sofa instead of a bus seat.

hoseok had gone as pale as a ghost when he was first told about the both of you sharing a room, he was so terrified of the thought that he had rushed to the room to check what it was like and much like you, found relief in the two separate bedrooms in the suite but there was also a tinge of disappointment he felt, that you didn’t.

because while he did not trust himself around you, he also knew that somewhere in him, a small (big) part of him would have been ecstatic to have you that close.

but he gave himself a pep talk before you arrived, he was going to do everything in his power to ignore his feelings, he was going to ignore how his heart jumped whenever you smiled at something he said, he was going to ignore that you were right next door to him, he was going to ignore all of his thoughts for this week.

“sometimes, i look in her eyes, and that’s where i find, a glimpse of us” a co-worker sang loudly as he strummed the guitar, his face was lit up by the crackling campfire in the middle of the circle you were all sat in.

you were not going to lie, he had a good voice and his guitar was somewhat soothing in the calm of the night but you were getting bored, the alcohol in your cup had run out hours ago and you were too lazy to go and get a refill.

hoseok, on the other hand, was having the time of his life, harmonizing with the guy who was singing and swaying lightly with the people sitting beside him. he looked happy, you noted with a smile on your face, and then it was like you couldn’t look away from hoseok.

you liked seeing him happy, you liked seeing him sway without a care in the world, you had always liked seeing hoseok, you had always liked hoseok.

but he was especially pleasant to look at today and he didn’t even do anything. he was wearing a cream cardigan with a black t-shirt and sweatpants so, it wasn’t a special look at all, just something he would wear at home too.

you couldn’t look away though, it didn’t matter that it wasn’t special, it didn’t matter that it was the most ordinary outfit you had seen him in, it didn’t matter that hoseok was only your friend. seemingly at that moment, nothing mattered more than hoseok and the fire basking his face in a glow, you weren’t sure you would ever be able to forget this hoseok.

hoseok, your friend.

because it’s always been you.

you had never looked at him this way and every laugh that left his lips made you question if you had ever made him laugh like that and if you did,

why was the sound so much more precious to you now?

why did you want to sit beside him, share the cardigan and sway with him?

why did he suddenly feel so far away?

why was your heart beating out of your chest from just looking at him?

why was this minute different from all the other hours that you’ve spent with hoseok?

you aren’t sure why your eyes tear up, you don’t even notice until your hands reach to wipe them off, you aren’t sure why everyone looked and felt so happy around you and even if nothing was wrong, you didn’t feel it. the last time you felt like this, five words had been stuck in your mind with no escape and that feeling of beautiful breathlessness had returned with a vengeance.

you take a shaky breath in, force your eyes away from hoseok and his otherworldly glow, and focus on the burning pit in front of you with more resignation than you would admit to.

unbeknownst to you, hoseok had been noticing your every move from the corner of his eyes, since you both have been sitting opposite each other, and concern for you filled his every crevice when he saw you wipe away tears, he did not know that it was because of him or for him, he had no knowledge that you had started looking at him the way he looked at you, he only knew that you were crying and he couldn’t wipe your tears away.

his eyes snap up to see you swiftly excuse yourself and leave the place with arms folded across your chest, he doesn’t even think before he hurriedly gets up himself and follows you aimlessly. you stop at the lake which was barely illuminated by the moonlight and your body stays tense as you stare emptily at the water body in front of you.

you hate the way you feel, the slow tightening of your chest was unfamiliar and uncomfortable with a realization that you weren’t ready to face.

because it’s always been you.

“his singing was that bad, huh?” hoseok stepped beside you after giving you a minute to yourself, till he couldn’t just stand and look at you, not being your usual self at all. you let out a tired chuckle and ready yourself to see hoseok, more beautiful than usual, without making it too obvious how you were looking at him.

“i wish he just stopped when his voice cracked singing jingle bells” you retorted and his loud cackle of a laugh, that you had grown to love, had filled the area and you quickly accept that you loved his sound more than any calm in the world. “it’s the middle of fucking august” you throw your hands up, your smile growing when the place rings with his laughter again.

so, you could make him laugh like they did, even louder actually, and that fills you with pride you didn’t recognize.

it all dies down to a dull hum in the atmosphere, a little too loud of silence for two people who would spend hours and hours talking.

“i like your cardigan” you blurt out, wanting to desperately fill in the silence somehow and hoseok raises his eyebrow at you with a pleased smile. “you can have it” he offers it so easily but then again; you shouldn’t have forgotten how selfless hoseok was.

“no, no” you shook your head, you didn’t want the cardigan, you wanted the man wearing it. “i meant, i like it on you” you correct yourself and swiftly glance away to look at the branches swaying lightly in the wind, even if the absence of light made you strain your eyes.

hoseok does a double-take at your words.

his entire body feels warm and he wants to run away because he can’t have you see him all flustered and flabbergasted over the simplest compliment.

could you perhaps feel the same way?

a fleeting thought comes across his mind and he instinctively turns to you for confirmation, with renowned hope but when all he meets is your eyes far away from him and the familiar disappointment he’s felt since his heart grew a second beat for you, he recoils and immediately scolds himself for even having that thought.

“don’t compliment me all too much, it will get to my head” he tries to joke but his voice comes out weird, what his face could hide, his voice really couldn’t but you don’t notice, you are busy with hiding your own face.

“i take it back, that cardigan will look better on me” you retort, you never could let someone win a round, and hoseok bites back laughter at your wittiness as he shakes his head, disagreeing with you and you gasp, because how dare he but you clamp your mouth shut as he starts shrugging the cardigan off.

you can’t help how you hold your breath when he steps forward and drapes it over your shoulders.

he nods with a smile you’ve never seen him sport before.

“it does look better on you.”

“and that’s five for me!” you screech excitedly after you, once again, beat hoseok at mario kart. he just sighs in faux disappointment and drops his console, though a small smile threatens to sneak on his face at how happy you sound.

“i can’t believe how horrible you are at this” you continue to tease him and hoseok doesn’t want to break your bubble by admitting that he’s been letting you win from the start.

tekken, he just made the weakest moves and didn’t dodge your attacks, he found it cute when you kept wincing in pain as your avatar took a hit or two.

racing cars, he intentionally kept bumping into the sidelines and delaying his obvious speed over you.

wwe, well, he didn’t even try for that, just pressed one button so you wouldn’t get suspicious and let you beat his avatar to a pulp.

and everyone knew hoseok was a genius at mario kart, so he let you take all the power-ups and sat back to watch you win again and again.

“i can’t believe how horrible i am at this either” hoseok really couldn’t believe how ridiculous he got over you, he never let anyone win but you, he wouldn’t even try to take a win away from you.

“that was fun, we should do this again so you can watch me beat your ass every single time” you hummed, as you fell back on the couch beside him, still giddy from winning and he scowls playfully, “as if you will win next time” he argues, knowing damn well that he will let you win next time too.

you smack his arm with a pillow and hoseok, being the dramatic guy he is, falls on the ground while clutching his arm while you hold back laughter on the couch.

you were glad you both weren’t acting any different after what happened at the campfire. that night, you got no sleep, you continuously wrapped the cardigan around you while images of hoseok’s soft voice and smile kept you up all night. hoseok already knew that he had crossed a line he never should have so as soon as you got up, he tried to act as casual as he could and convinced you to stay in and play games with him, and somewhere in the middle of the excitement of playing, the previous night slipped your mind but now, it was back.

and you were back to not being able to forget how he looked at you again.

hoseok stayed on the floor and patted the spot next to him, and without a word, you laid down next to him, and when he shifted to lay on his side so he could look at you better, your head lulls to instinctively fall on his shoulder.

you felt warm, you felt safe and you felt, as cliché as it sounds, complete.

you felt complete with hoseok.

because it’s always been you.

you meet his eyes which were already on you and both of you burst into giggles, you don’t know why you are laughing, but you were and it felt like the rest of the world closed in you two, suddenly nothing else seemed to matter other than the smile you kept on each other’s faces.

and right now as you slumped on his shoulder with quiet laughs escaping your lips, hoseok wishes for nothing more, for the rest of his life. he realizes nothing made him feel more accomplished in life than seeing you happy because of him.

you felt it too, the residual feelings of the previous night catching up with a vengeance and you had to turn your head away.

you couldn’t risk giving away how you felt about him, you couldn’t give away how your eyes were drowning him in pink, you couldn’t give away that you wanted to drown in that pink with him.

because it’s always been you.

“should i go and get us something to eat?” he finally broke the silence, but he broke it with a whisper, a whisper that traveled down your spine and made you squirm in your spot. “that would be nice, yeah” you whisper back with a gulp and your eyes stay trained on the revolving fan above you as hoseok gets up and leaves the room.

a long breath pushes out of your body, it was like every single time you were around hoseok these days, your breath voluntarily stayed fighting in your body, even your breath was scared of being found out by hoseok.

then you close your eyes and wish for your heart to stop him from taking a hold of it any longer.

hoseok scrolls through his phone, waiting for the food he ordered at the small restaurant beside the resort, looking through movies and shows you would like to watch while eating.

“ah, hoseok!” he heard and turned around to see his co-worker chaeyoung and her friend walking towards him, he bows politely with a smile and they do the same. “you are getting breakfast now?” she asks him when the waiter places his order on the counter and he nods, “yeah, it’s for me and y/n” he doesn’t even realize he’s smiling as he says that.

“see, he won’t go anywhere without them” chaeyoung complains playfully, narrowing her eyes at him and he tilts his head in confusion. “haha, w-what do you mean by that?” hoseok’s voice is tight as he asks this and his laugh is fake as ever.

“we were supposed to go apple picking this morning and you told us you couldn’t, we were all wondering why but obviously, you have better plans” she teases him with a wiggle of her eyebrows.

right, the apple picking.

that he never told you about.

call him selfish but after the campfire, he couldn’t resist not being around you and he also knew that you wouldn’t like apple picking so he never ended up telling you, it wasn’t just to keep you with him.

at least, that’s what hoseok likes to believe.

“i was just tired, it has nothing to do with them” hoseok tries to backtrack and make up an excuse but he knows that chaeyoung wasn’t listening to a word out of his mouth. “whatever you say, hoseok” she sang before leaving him to himself.

later, it was hoseok’s turn to stay sleepless throughout the night, his baby pink t-shirt, out of nowhere, felt too tight on his body.

because it’s always been you.

massages were always a good idea but with kang mina biting your ear off with reminders of all the work you have to do, you would have rather just kept your tense shoulders to yourself.

“and don’t forget to send me that update on friday, i need it on my table as soon as we go back” this was the fourth time she was telling you about it and you wanted to turn the table over her head. “yes, i remember what you told me ten minutes ago” you gritted with a forced smile and almost smiled genuinely when the masseuse got to kneading the knots in your back but it quickly dropped as mina started talking again. “well, you tend to be quite forgetful, so this is just precaution,” she says it so casually that it infuriates you even more.

where was hoseok when you needed him?

normally, you would pick a fight with her (and win) but she was your leader for this particular project and you didn’t want to risk being responsible for overtime so you just nodded stiffly and threw your head on the soft table with a thud.

a few hours since you were all called for massages and you were separated from hoseok, you were already going crazy. you truly didn’t understand the depth the hate for your co-workers ran until you spent one solid hour with them in a stuffy, warm room filled with the smell of aroma oils.

“also, how’s it going on with you and hoseok?” mina asks, her tone a lot more careful and her volume almost a whisper, you whip your head at her. “what about me and him?” you didn’t mean to sound so defensive but it came out that way. and with the way mina was looking at you, you knew your response wasn’t normal.

“aren’t you two dating? i’m just asking what it is like?” first of all, you weren’t aware that mina felt close enough to ask you about your personal life, and second of all, your brain was short-circuited as she asked that.

even though the thought of you both dating coming from another person’s mouth, sounded good to you.

what were you doing?

hoseok was your friend.

“we are not dating, i don’t know why you would think that” you quickly dismiss it and mina shrugs, “everyone thinks that” and turns her head away before you could ask anything else.

you walk back to your room in a daze, a daze of both the spectacular massage (that you could finally enjoy towards the end) and also rushing thoughts of what mina said.

you looked around you, the room was filled with people you knew and you wondered if she was right, you wondered if all of them, giving you friendly smiles and waves, thought that you and hoseok were exclusive.

and you weren’t sure what to feel, sure it would explain why no one would flirt with either of you, but it didn’t make you any calmer about your already unsure and raging feelings for hoseok.

speaking of the devil himself, you felt an arm crash onto your shoulder from behind, you didn’t even bother looking at who it was, you already knew.

“i swear to god, that masseuse just gave me five extra lives, his hands were magic, literally magic” he raved about his massage and you couldn’t bring yourself to excitedly share details about your massage too, you couldn’t get it out of your head that hoseok was giving them confirmation for whatever they thought.

you nervously looked back up to meet the eyes of your manager who smirked at you and hoseok’s arm around your shoulder, and maybe if you were in the right mind, you would know that she was giving her usual, employee-friendly smile, you would know that she wasn’t thinking of you and hoseok at all.

but you weren’t in your right mind, hoseok’s hand on you suddenly felt heavier than it ever did before, it held the weight of your co-worker’s whispers, it held the weight of your growing heart for him, and the heaviest of all, it held the weight of everything you were scared of ruining if you ever told him.

you were stuck between wanting to simultaneously feel this weight forever and never feel it again.

it used to be light as a feather, a pastel pink bubble you could float in, a reassurance in your demanding workplace, a friend you could count on for everything, and now, it was still all that and so much more than you could handle.

“we should go and get ready quickly, the party starts soon” your voice was odd, tight and nothing like how you talked to hoseok, none of the warmth you held for him reflected in your voice and he must’ve noticed too because his arm slowly slips away, you were left both in relief and yearning at his movement.

“is everything okay? did something happen?” he says with so much concern in his eyes, that you almost let loose of every resolve you’ve held onto and in that quick second, you could have spilled your love for him on the floor.

you loved hoseok.

you are not sure you ever loved him as a friend.

you swallow tightly, you loved hoseok, you finally admitted that to yourself while he scanned your face and body for something that could be bothering you. you would never see him like this again if you told him, you would be ruining everything if he even got the slightest hint of what you truly thought of him.

“just don’t want to be late” you offer a weak smile and walk away as hoseok starts to say something, you needed to get out, you needed to stay away before you ruined the both of you.

you needed to do everything you could to keep him in your life, even if it meant burying your heart six feet underground.

because it’s always been you.

you got ready in a robotic manner, styling your hair in a practiced way and putting on your favorite dress ever, and for makeup, you switched from your usual basic look to a smokey eye and dark, red lips that you hoped would give you enough confidence to just finish one more day around hoseok without wobbling at your knees.

you stared at yourself in the mirror, you looked prettier than ever, and still, something felt off. you were restless, scared of all the possibilities that would appear in the next 24 hours that you had to stay with him. nevertheless, you forced a smile on your face and decided you were going to have fun tonight and that you were going to stay far away from hoseok until you left this place.

“you ready?” a knock sounded through your door and you swallowed nervously, grabbed your heels, and made your way out.

your heels almost fell on the floor once you saw hoseok.

you had never seen hoseok so dressed up but with his classy black trousers, satin black shirt with a matching jacket on top, and a thin necklace dangling off his neck, you wanted to run back into your room and stay there until he got himself out of that outfit.

hoseok could sense the tense atmosphere, he could see the difference in the very way you breathed around him now, he could see how you shifted from foot to foot as you stood with your heels in your hands. but hoseok didn’t know how to ask you about it, how could he ask you when he too was scared of what you would say?

he wouldn’t know what to do if you said it was nothing, that the way you stared at him up and down was just a friendly appreciation, hoseok would rather carry his heart to a grave than hear you say that to him.

“i just need to put on my heels” your delayed response isn’t lost on him but he nods, pursing his lips and watching you try and push your feet into those heels that he was sure would be torturous.

he watched you struggle, hobbling on one foot as the other foot struggled to push itself completely into the heels, “fuck, they fit just last week, what the fuck happened?” you muttered, still trying to put it on with less grace than you would’ve liked.

and before you knew it, hoseok had taken several steps forward to lend his shoulder for your support and you don’t think as you grab onto his shoulder firmly, strapping the heel properly and sighing out. you shift onto the next foot and finish putting it on too, squeezing your hand around his shoulder tighter whenever you had to.

you puff out a breath of relief as you lift your head to look at hoseok again, and he’s looking down on you, his eyes swirling with something you could only describe as intense. the hand on his shoulder starts to fall away as your breath becomes shallow, but his hand quickly reaches to grip yours, making sure that it didn’t move away from his body.

because it’s always been you.

you opened your mouth to speak, to say something, to ask him why you had never seen his eyes that way but all words were stuck in your throat as you stay frozen in his steady glare on you.

hoseok couldn’t move his hand away, he couldn’t breathe, he hadn’t been able to even think since you stepped out of your room. he shared the confusion that you had in your eyes but something in him hit against his very surface, begging to be let out.

should he risk it?

should he risk the friendship he valued so much?

was it worth it to even give you this small confirmation of how he felt?

to make things worse for his poor mind and heart, you stepped forward too, refusing to look away and the hand on his shoulder slid down, slowly, unsurely, with a stutter in every glide but reaching to flatten against his chest at the end and his hand circled on your wrist as you paused to sense how his heart beat at that minute.

too quick, skipping a few beats here and there, and wanting to burst out of his cage.

much like yours.

because it’s always been you.

hoseok held his breath as your fingers folded against his chest, he thought he was dreaming when you started leaning in or did he lean in first? he wasn’t sure who finally tilted their head to meet each other in the middle but he knew that if you both continued moving the way you were, you were seconds away from kissing.

then, your lips closed on each other, you felt lightheaded, you felt like a trainwreck that you were waiting for, finally crashed spectacularly. he wasn’t even touching you but you could feel licks of fire beneath your skin, your body felt the urge to touch him, to reach for him while he was this close to you. and every kiss you had before this, longer and filled with more hunger than this one, paled in comparison.

for that one second that you finally kissed him, every other yearning you had for anyone else, felt like nothing but a passing cloud and hoseok, he felt like the ever-present sky.

you wanted to grab his neck, you wanted to gasp into him, you wanted not even a bit of your body to be away from hoseok, you were drowning in pink of your love and need, you wanted to take him down with you.

hoseok’s heart was beating louder and louder, something about knowing that you could feel the way it beat for you too, made him tighten his grip on the hand that rested on his chest now.

like he wanted to tell you, ‘this is what you do to me, this is how you ruin my very anatomy, this is how i know that i can never love someone the way i love you.’

the message he wanted to convey was as desperate as he felt because now that he’s finally gotten a taste of you, he can’t go back from this, he can’t go back to anyone else, he can’t go back to pretending he never had his heart set on you.

feeling especially greedy, his other hand jerked to hold you, to finally feel you in his arms, to savor this moment properly before he could never see you in the same way again, and just like that as if every star in the sky was written against him tonight, the spell broke. you moved away so quickly, so easily slipping past his fingers that have waited to touch you like this forever now.

hoseok was left frazzled, his hand hovered in the air and his other hand dropped to his side in disappointment and his lips stayed still, already missing the warmth and he tried not to feel the drowning in him when he saw you look at him like he had stung you.

this was exactly what he was afraid to see on your face.

the regret.

the possibility of disgust.

he felt sick to his stomach.

you couldn’t believe what you had done, you couldn’t ignore how hoseok’s jaw set tightly or the faint yearning still swimming in his eyes, you knew he was too nice to say anything to you even if he didn’t want it to happen and you couldn’t believe you that you never even asked him.

“hoseok, i’m so sorry” you rushed to say and his face twisted in pain at how you said it.

the regret.

he felt it was too cruel of you to hand over the world to him and then snatch it away before he could hold it.

“i’m so, so sorry, i don’t know what came over me, it happened so fast, and i wasn’t thinking and i’m just so sorry” every word you uttered felt like a new knife digging into his skin, and he almost wanted to get on his knees and beg you to stop talking, to stop apologizing, to stop whatever it is you were doing to him.

hoseok didn’t feel like smiling and brushing it off as he usually would, maybe he would’ve even laughed it off and assured you it was okay but all he could manage to do was stand still and wish that everything before you apologized, remained true, and remained in his memory because that is all he might have now.

“let’s just go to the party, everyone must be waiting” you pushed past him in a hurry and then paused when you noticed something on his face.

the remainder of your red lips was smudged on his.

“you might want to wipe that off” you whispered, pointing to his lips with a face as red as your lipstick, before practically running out of your room, burning with guilt and shame.

and to hoseok, it felt like you were asking him to remove all evidence of whatever happened between you two.

he watched you leave with his twitching hands dug into his pockets, why wasn’t he able to utter even a word? why didn’t he stop you and ask you what it meant? why didn’t he stop you and tell you what he felt? why didn’t hoseok do anything at all except watch you walk away from whatever would change you two forever?

filled with regret, just as you, but also completely different at the same time, he wiped his lips off you and left the room too.

the ‘classy’ event was more or less a wild party for professionals to finally let loose and forget about work, even if it was just for a few hours. you were dragged away for drinks as soon as you arrived, and for the first time ever, you felt grateful for your co-workers who took you away.

“where’s hoseok?” chae-young screamed over the music and your blood froze, you had come to forget him and what you did, but it seemed like there was no escaping hoseok wherever you went. your answer to her was a weak shrug and chugging of the drink you held so tightly in your hands now.

knowing that it was free drinks all night, you took the liberty of downing pretty much anything and everything you saw and it wasn’t long before you ended up on the dance floor, surrounded by your drunk co-workers, your manager also joined you all at some point and maybe you would have been irritated when you were sober but you couldn’t bring yourself to care about it right now, the sweet burning in your throat took your mind off everything for a while.

that was until you caught hoseok’s eye from across the room.

normally, you would be the one standing in the corner of the room and watching everyone have fun so it was strange to see hoseok, huddled up with his coat on his shoulder and a drink completely full in his hand with an uncaring air around him, he didn’t smile at anyone who passed by which came as a huge surprise to them.

he didn’t even smile at you, though your eyes caught his multiple times.

and even if you were drunk, even if your senses were brought down to ground zero, you still felt hoseok’s glare somewhere deep in you as your heart slipped and sank continuously. you couldn’t give less of a fuck if someone was ignoring you or didn’t care about you but everything seemed different with hoseok.

all you could care about was hoseok not smiling at you.

hoseok didn’t enjoy a minute of seeing you dance around happily and not being able to dance with you, or not taking shots with you, getting silly drunk with you. he missed it all, dearly but he didn’t move.

he would’ve left but he knew about the creeps that lurked in your company and even if he smiled at them in the office, he wouldn’t hesitate to break their face if they decided to touch you any more than necessary. though he was sure that you would beat him to it. he saw you look at him, several times and a small part of him hoped that you would take him away, kiss him again, tell him that you loved him, hoseok hated you for the enormous hope you gave him with a single kiss.

his heart soared with possibilities but your apology kept him from floating too far away, it kept him tethered to solid ground, a ground where you didn’t seem to love him the way he loved you.

once it got too late and alcohol ran out, everyone was ushered out of the ballroom, hoseok set his half-empty glass on a nearby table and waited for you at the entrance.

you came out with flushed cheeks, hair that resembled cotton candy, and a body glazed with sweat, your steps stuttered when you saw him waiting but you didn’t say anything, he didn’t say anything. you both silently walked, you were scared of speaking and hoseok was scared of what more you could say to break his heart.

as you reached your door, hoseok got more and more impatient, with you, with himself, and the world in general.

he has waited hours, days, months, and years for you to look at him the way he looked at you but then you did, even if it was for a minute or two, and ran away before he could do anything about it.

“are you really going to not say anything?” hoseok’s voice stopped you from getting into your room.

“about what?” you breathe out, refusing to turn around and see him because you know that any restraint you have would break loose if you turned around. hoseok scoffed and for the first time ever, he felt angry with you, his heartbreak had morphed into a few ugly emotions that he could no longer contain.

you felt his anger, even many feet away, you felt it seep into your skin but you were hell-bent on protecting your current status with him and your own heart.

“nothing happened, hoseok. good night.” and just as you are about to slip into the comfort of your own room, “at least, look at me when you lie to me” hoseok’s voice was harsh, it sounded way harsher to you because it held the truth that you didn’t want to hear, at least not yet.

but you are just as stubborn, if not even more stubborn than hoseok.

so, you turned around and your knees buckled under you when you saw hoseok’s stony expression, you didn’t know that a single kiss could change someone like this, but behind all the anger, hoseok’s pain was just as noticeable.

you convinced yourself that he wasn’t in pain, that he was just confused about why you would kiss me.

“n-nothing happened, now i am tired, can i go sleep?” you crossed your arms over your chest, trying to look determined and strong but you sounded weak, your voice wasn’t as stubborn as you, it didn’t mind giving away your emotions.

with that, you pushed your door open and left it ajar, as hoseok followed you in with heavy steps, his boots thudding loudly in the otherwise dead silence of the room, the door hitting the wall as he roughly shoved himself inside your space.

he was tired of making himself small and fitting himself to whatever the situation required, he was done making space for others and not himself.

“you don’t think i’m tired? all i’ve been is tired since i’ve met you because you haven’t given me a break, you don’t think i’m tired of feeling like this, like you’re always just one centimeter away from me, like you’re always one step away from becoming mine, how you always take two steps forward with us and ten steps back? you don’t think i’m tired of holding my hopes to the sky, always just wishing that you’ll take me, that you’ll let me have you, that we’ll be something? you don’t think i’m tired of loving you when you don’t love me? do you have any idea how much i have loved you, and how much i will hate myself for loving you even after all this?” hoseok’s voice is loud and travels across the room in heavy waves that drown you, as he finally spills everything that’s been on his mind for months.

because it’s always been you.

and a glimmer of fear still crawled on him about what would happen now but he couldn’t deny how light he felt, he finally said it all.

you did the grave mistake of snatching yourself away from him after giving him you for those few minutes, and that was enough for hoseok to snap, to have you and lose you just like that broke him and he threw his pieces across the room such that they landed right at your feet.

you looked at him, shell-shocked and breathless as ever, the room felt too small for both of your hearts at that moment, yours racing in panic and his racing in anticipation and relief.

hoseok loved you.

you heard it, loud and clear.

why weren’t you saying anything back?

your entire body froze, suddenly no words would make it past your throat and hoseok waited, he waited for you to say something but when you continue to stare at the floor, he swallows and wishes he never said anything at all, he wishes he never saw you in that hot pink dress, he wishes he didn’t love you but there was nothing he could about it now, so he left but not without saying something that pulled you back to life.

“don’t say it was nothing because it was never nothing and we both know that.”

you watched him leave with parted lips and your eyes squeezed shut once the door shut behind him.

because it’s always been you.

you couldn’t deny that hoseok was right, it wasn’t nothing, if you could go back to one moment in your life, even if it changed things forever, you would back to those few minutes that you didn’t see hoseok as a friend but as a man, who you wanted and needed, you would back to that bliss of getting lost in him and him getting lost in you.

you suddenly sat up, realizing that if you didn’t like hoseok (what you’ve been convincing yourself to this whole time), you wouldn’t have kissed him, you wouldn’t have felt that urge to touch him wherever you could.

and you find how cruel you have been to him, how you have been giving him hope only to snatch it away, how you already stained him with all the pink your love had to offer and left him to deal with the stains himself.

hoseok couldn’t stand it, sitting in his room with his hands folded over his knees, it took everything in him to not rush to you and apologize and take back everything he did but he was stubborn for the first time ever, he couldn’t just ignore that you kissed him first, his ego screamed at him that it was you who started it, so you should be the one to end it and hoseok was also sick and tired of having to tip-toe around you and his own feelings.

he was done apologizing for things he didn’t do; he was done smiling and going with the flow, hoseok needed an answer from you and he was going to be hard as a nail about it, nothing could change his mind now.

hoseok was unaware of you heading his way, he jumped when he heard your knock on his door, his heart going back to beating so loudly and so quickly that he had to pat his chest to calm himself down.

he opens the door and his stomach tightens as he prepares himself for whatever you would hand over to him.

he was prepared for you to call it a mistake and request him to move on and be friends, he was prepared to be a friend again because hoseok needed you, in whichever form you would give him.

what he was not prepared for was you pushing into the room and plopping yourself down on the couch in his room with a scowl on your face, you didn’t say anything, just sat there stubbornly with words you weren’t sure you could say out loud.

hoseok noticed your heels, how they were digging into your skin and how you kept pressing into them, how your skin grew pink and blue with bruises, and with a sigh, he bent down in front of you, lifting your ankle and slowly removing the heels for you and every trail his fingers left on your skin, had you sitting straighter. his hand circled your ankle and he worked with the straps, taking his time to detach them.

your blood ran warmer than ever, your head felt dizzy and your lips pursed as you watched hoseok remove your heels, you were sure he could hear the thumping of your heart but you refused to say a word and if anyone understood how hard-headed you could be, it was him so he decided to try his luck one last time.

“i know how stubborn you are,” he said, with more fondness than he would’ve liked, “so i’m going to ask you this, for the final time, do you still think it’s nothing?” his voice was low and rough, laced with exhaustion and yearning. his hands stayed on your ankles, his fingers running circles, in hopes of making you feel what he did.

“if it was nothing, is it that hard for you to say it?” he continued.

“i can’t only look at you anymore, i need to do something, and i am not sure how that will end for us” his words stung like electricity coursing through your veins.

you wanted to kiss him again, you wanted to fall on top of him and let him have you, you wanted to give him everything he wanted. you still didn’t say anything but hoseok saw it, he saw how your face changed from resignation to curiosity, of what would happen if you gave him yourself.

hoseok felt stubborn too, so he pressed on, “i’m not going to move a muscle until you tell me what you are thinking of right now” you lunged forward, reaching to grab him but hoseok held your arms in place, he needed to hear it even if everything in him twitched to have you. “say it and i promise i will always be yours” his face scrunched as he urged you, begged you with his eyes as his fingers left your arms to cup your cheeks and you nuzzled into his palms.

“it wasn’t nothing.” you whispered like it was a secret between the two of you, like you were scared of telling him that secret.

because it’s always been you.

hoseok’s eyebrows raised in amusement at how reluctant you had been to admit to that one thing and he understood the fear you felt, of what could change between you two but now that he knew for you that you liked him too, his face broke into the largest grin as your face stayed unsure.

he leaned forward with a chuckle, fingers threading your hair back, and whispered to you, “goddamit pookie, you are making me do all the work here”, you smiled with him, your heart singing wildly, and said, “that’s how it’s going to be, will you be okay with that?”

though your words held humor, they also held all the questions you wanted to ask him.

will you stay with me when i’m being overbearing?

will you be okay with loving me because i’m deeply flawed?

will we be okay if we do this?

will you love me even if we are ever over because i don’t believe in a world in which you don’t love me?

“there’s not a single thing you could do, that i would not be okay with except kissing me and acting like it didn’t happen” you laughed loudly, partly in embarrassment and also in pure joy at how easy he made it seem. and he grinned at you.

“why?” you couldn’t help but ask.

“because it’s always been you, that my heart has betrayed me for.”

those five words, coming from hoseok, finally had meaning, they finally felt true and you have been hearing them forever but hoseok uttering them with oh so much love in his eyes, it fit the puzzle you had been trying to piece for so long now, perfectly.

a rush of relief went through you at his words, you felt reassured, you felt on top of the world and that you could conquer everything, loving hoseok and hearing that he loved you gave you that rash power.

and today, hoseok was the happiest man in the world.

“i do have something to say,” you clear your throat, finally you felt like you could say what you wanted, “maybe i’ve been ignoring it for too long, maybe you are right, maybe all of this really is not nothing but you need to know that i’m putting my heart on the line here and i’ve never done that before. so help me understand, what i feel, what you feel, i want to know it all now.” hoseok listened carefully and he could feel how much it was hurting you to love someone because it was still so new to you, his heart dipped as you voiced your request, he would give everything in him to make you understand.

“do you trust me?”

“yes” the answer is simple and quick, you would trust hoseok with your life.

“i promise to take good care of your heart, but you can do whatever you want to mine, i don’t care as long as you keep it while I keep yours” you smiled sheepishly at him, your face growing red at his careless but affectionate words.

hoseok meant it, you ruin him, destroy him, tear him apart, he didn’t care anymore, he was blinded by the veil of love you had thrown over his eyes and he never loved seeing nothing but you, more.

“i’m going to kiss you now,” your breath hitched and you stared at him with skin as hot as a furnace, “this time, you are not going to pretend like it didn’t happen, because this is happening and you won’t deny this anymore, you will never call it nothing anymore” he inched closer and closer with every word he spoke, his breath fanning over your face as you shuddered where you sat.

“i really hit a nerve by saying it was nothing, didn’t i?” you teased him and his head fell back in laughter. “i almost bust a nut pookie, never do that to me again” and before you knew it, hoseok’s lips melted into yours, your body lit up in urgency as you sat up, accommodating the way he moved his arms around you only to end up holding your face between his hands.

for everything hoseok wanted to do to you, he seemed to only want to cherish this minute that he had you, even if he was no longer afraid of you running away.

“it was everything i ever wanted” you spoke in between kisses, calling back to his earlier question that you had stayed silent for, now that you told him everything from your fear to love, you no longer wanted to stay quiet.

“good because i’ve waited too long for this” his arm finally gave into his greed and trailed on your hips where he held onto for dear life, as if your hips kept him from floating into the sky, he was desperate to prove to you that every fiber in him, every fiber that pieced him, craved for you, he was starved from being near you and doing nothing all these years.

your hands dipped into his shoulders, fingers fisting his shirt that you could no longer appreciate on him, you needed it on the floor.

and hoseok could always guess what you needed.

he refused to leave your lips as he slightly leaned back to hastily remove his shirt off his body and as soon as it was on the floor, he came rushing back in, his fingers now digging a little deeper into the apples of your cheek and your body burned from within, you felt as hot as you did the night you first heard those five words.

because it’s always been you.

you both had waited too long for this and somewhere in the middle of it all, hoseok’s hands enveloped yours and pressed it onto his chest where his heart bled freely.

“do you understand now?” he asked you.

“do you understand how i feel, do you understand how you feel?” he asked you again, he had no qualms of having to make you understand every day if he had to.

he had never looked more beautiful as he asked that, all stained with the pink of your love and eyes filled with determination to never make you doubt his or your love again.

and finally, you could tell him with confidence, “i do.”

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