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#chaebol xiumin
spacequokka · 2 years
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Pairing: Minseok x Reader Genre: CEO AU, Office AU, Suggestive, Angst Rating: T Summary: You run out on him only to end up in his office that same day. Word Count: 1.1k ✊🏾😔 another failed drabble Warnings: implied smut, office relations
Inspired by this post.
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It wasn’t often you fucked up this badly. Office mixers tend to end up at a bar with someone table dancing. It was the life of magazine writers. Drink, wake up hungover, drag your ass to work, then do it all over again. But this time was different. This time you woke up naked in a hotel room.
You listened to the shower going with mild panic, unable to remember who you slept with the night before. One-night stands weren’t your thing, so what the fuck, past self? You took inventory of your body. There was a pleasant soreness from your core and thighs, as well as a twinge of pain from the side of your neck. No doubt you had love bites to cover up. Shit, fuck, shit.
Should you let him know you’re awake? All thoughts stopped cold when you caught the red LED of the clock on the nightstand. You were supposed to be at work thirty minutes ago! You flung yourself out of bed, tripping in the sheets as you fumbled to toss on your clothes and shoes. Ideally, you’d thank your lover for a wonderful night, but Giselle was waiting. Every second was precious and vital to keeping your damn job. With a wince of regret, you snuck out of the room and sprinted away.
Minseok heard the door close and stuck his head out of the shower. Surely, he was hearing things. Maybe he’d forgotten to put the do not disturb sign on the door and a maid had peeked in. He shrugged it off and finished washing his body, lamenting the loss of your sweet scent on his skin but taking comfort that if breakfast went well, he’d get it back and then some. Last night had been a wonder to him, an eye-opening soul-searching experience he wouldn’t forget anytime soon, if ever. The way you’d rode him hard and moaned his name so sweetly had his spine tingling just from the memories. He didn’t believe in love at first sight, especially with drinks involved, but he was sure he’d come pretty damn close. There were no words to describe how he felt realizing you were what he was missing in life. A smart, funny woman who didn’t care for who he was or how much money he had in the bank.
“Hey, wanna go get—” He poked his head out of the bathroom and stopped. The sheets were halfway off the bed. Your clothes and purse were gone. For a few minutes, he was confused. Why weren’t you in bed? Where was your stuff? He stepped out into the room and checked the corners. You were truly gone. What the hell? Minseok was no stranger to one-night stands, but he’d done everything to make it clear his time with you wasn’t that. He had every intention of seeing you again and again. But clearly, you didn’t. And of course, he didn’t get your number since he’d been so confident there’d be plenty of time for that.
Biting the inside of his cheek, Minseok went about getting dressed. He had a magazine interview shortly after lunch and could kill time before it at the office. Though he hated to do it, he pushed you to the back of his mind. No sense in dwelling over mistakes. The show must go on.
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“Mr. Kim is on his way.” The secretary smiled as she led the way to the CEO’s office. “He’s asked to have you wait in his office.”
“That’s fine.” You went through your purse making sure you had everything you needed. Notepad? Check. Pen? Check. Breath mints? Double-check. She opened the door and stepped aside for you. Mr. Kim’s office was bigger than you expected, but then what else would the son of a hotel mogul have? Everything looked so expensive, so far out of your price range. It made you feel out of place. But that didn’t matter. You weren’t here to cry over the class gap. You were here to write a story. Just when you were about to take a seat, the door opened behind you. You straightened up and turned around, only to be met with a vaguely familiar face.
Minseok couldn’t believe his eyes, or his luck. It’s a small world, after all. The two of you stood there in silence before he quietly shut the door behind him. He watched you carefully, waiting to see horror or guilt on your pretty little face, but it never came. Instead, you put on your best professional smile.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Kim. It’s great to finally meet you.”
“Finally?” He scoffed then bit the inside of his cheek, walking around his desk to his chair while pointedly ignoring your outstretched hand. “I get it. You’re working, so we must remain professional, huh?”
“I—” You didn’t understand his attitude but retracted your hand and took a seat. This wasn’t anything like the reports you’d heard. Kim Minseok was supposed to be an angel, an absolute gentleman. The prickly man across from you had so far been anything but. “You must be having a rough day. How about we just skip to the questions and I’ll be on my way?”
Minseok just barely kept his face straight. Now you wanted to skip the small talk and get out of there? He couldn’t stop the words from coming out. “Do you handle everything in life like this? Just in and out, go-go-go? Or is it just with me?”
You eyed him carefully. “I’m…sorry? I don’t believe I’ve met you before now.”
“Oh, really? So I guess I slept with another woman who happens to look and sound just like you?” He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the desk. “You did a great job covering up the marks I left on your neck. But what about the ones on your thighs, hm?”
Your face chilled as the color drained from your face. Now you knew why his voice sounded familiar. The hotel you left this morning was from the Kim chain. The room did look ridiculously luxurious. How in the world did you end up in bed with a fucking hotel mogul?
Minseok’s grin grew with each passing second as the situation became clearer to you both. He was delighted to know that you genuinely didn’t know who he was when you slept with him. Even if you’d only considered him another body, you weren’t after his fortune or assets. He could work with that. After all, there are no accidents. He lowered his voice to a whisper when he asked, “Will you tell me why you left without saying goodbye?”
You bit your lip as your cheeks flushed. “I-I was late to work. My boss is very strict with tardiness and I had to prep for this interview. If I had known…”
“Hm. Well, lucky for us, we have a second chance.” He propped his chin up with his hand. “So, how about I order lunch and we start over?”
⟨⟨ Series ML || Group ML ⟩⟩
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jongbross · 5 months
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This may sound silly, but I have such a thing for CEO!exo and chaebol au! Pls tell me I’m not the only one. Like have you seen them in SUITS!?!?!?! Breathtaking! They all scream old money, but a new age vibe.
So, with that being said, here’s the companies that I believe the exos would have:
-Xiumin: A soccer club. He loves soccer/football, so this a no brainer. Or a coffeehouse chain (like Starbucks). He did say he would like to try being a barista if he wasn’t an idol
-Suho: I feel his company would be journalism/media related. Like running an online newspaper or media company, like CBS or Forbes Media.
-Lay: Chromosome Entertainment. Need I say more?
-Baekhyun: Definetly a video game company of sorts. I feel that would suit him perfectly.
-Chen: ok, this one I struggled with but I see him has the head of a hotel/resort chain. Like he’s so nice and tender that he would want to extend that to ppl traveling around the country.
-Chanyeol: I see him running/founding an architecture/interior design company. Why not put that masters degree to use? 👐
-D.O: An extremely successful restaurant chain. I don’t think I need to explain lol.
-Kai: I feel he would be in charge of a generations old Performing Arts Institute that’s been passed down in his family. Like it’s super prestigious and renowned all over the world.
-Sehun: Definitely a fashion brand, a la Dior or Gucci. He just has that vibe.
What do you think? I would love to see a CEO one-shot series from you! Keep up the great work!
i never gave much thought about ceo!exo tbh, but it's a nice concept if you ask me 🤔 i can't pinpoint what companies they would have, except for:
junmyeon: something really fancy, like a perfume brand of something? or maybe a hotel chain? it suits him.
jongin: anything related to art, so i agree with you! i can see him having kind of a school of performing arts where people get in to learn how to be an idol or something? and he would have like all around the world, and the best students would definitely be presented to companies such as sm (jongin would be really stern about it though), hybe, and international labels as well. kind of a talent center, half of the next generation of idols/international entertainers would be his alumns.
baekhyun: ceo of his new company, of course 😃☝️ would be jongin's number #1 client - jongin finds the talented kids, mold them to be artists, and then they go to baekhyun's company where he manages their careers (with a much more human, fair approach then sm's, obviously 🤮).
okay, that's what i can think about for now. i'll definitely think about the other members too (:
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vicecityhq · 2 years
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██████████████]99% LOADING...SUSPECT INTO THE APD DATABASE...
WITNESS(ES) SAY HE REMINDS THEM OF: the gentle tinkering of a screwdriver, gentle clicks of a keyboard, a hard face with a soft demeanor, planning a dnd game night, glasses perched all the way against the bridge of your nose. . With a slight resemblance to KIM MIN-SEOK ( Xiumin ) of/the EXO.
CLICK BELOW TO VIEW ENTIRE FILE.
FULL FILE:
Last Name, First Name: Noe Hyunjae Alias: Abraxas Realm of birth (if earth, nationality): Agdoeg, South Korea Age: 31 Date of Birth: April 10th, 1990 Gender: Cismale Preferred Pronouns: He/Him Species: Gumiho/Cyborg Lv1 1 Occupation: Chaebol & G.H.O.S.T. Medical Tech Sexual Orientation:  Heterosexual Associated businesses: 
VISUAL FILE:
Skin Color: Warm ivory undertones, tans to a golden hue Eye color: Hickory brown but can appear caramel depending on the light [reference] Scars:  Obviously has scarring on his right shoulder from the burns that resulted in amputation as well as surgical scars near the socket from the procedure. Piercings:  Left ear - lobe, upper lobe, industrial. Right ear - lobe, upper lobe, and double helix. Wears mainly simple studs or barbells in silver or black metallic. His siblings have gifted him various shaped and coloured acrylic studs, mainly with a star/celestial motif. Doesn’t wear anything that dangles or has a noticeable weight. Used to have a spider bite lip piercing. Tattoos:  A star chart map on his left pectoral [ reference ] each full circle corresponds to each of his siblings, including his, with his mother’s in the innermost circle and his father’s chart filling in the rest of the map. A geometric solar system along his inner left arm [ reference ]. His G.H.O.S.T. barcode is hidden in plain sight, on his cybernetic forearm, etched into the mechanical parts. Hair color:  Naturally dark auburn [ reference ] but is known to bleach and dye it various shades from ash blond to near black, keeping to the warm red tones. Abnormalities:  When his emotions run particularly high, his eyes seem to immolate with a spectral gold fire, regardless of form. Horns/ wings/ etc: Transformed form:  Has a cross fur pattern when in fox form [ reference ] and 6 tails.
PERSONAL FILE:
RELIGIOUS BELIEF: Spiritual but does not adhere to a specific organized religion
SINS:  greed  /  gluttony  /  sloth  /  lust  /  pride  /  envy  /  wrath
VIRTUES: chastity  /  charity  /  diligence  /  humility /  patience /  justice / temperance
KNOWN LANGUAGES: Korean, Japanese,  Cantonese, Mandarin, English, learning Thai
SECRETS: When they were young children, he had asked Sypha Jeup to marry him when they got older, but he’s sure she’s forgotten about that.
SAVVIES: Tinkering - Whenever he’s using a device, he finds himself getting lost in ideas of how to improve it. If given enough time, he’ll have fabricated a prototype out of scraps and begun tests, This has led to some interesting gadgets such as the God Furby. Tactician - Having always been drawn to strategy games and finding satisfaction in impeccable resource management systems, his mind has become used to viewing life as a series of cause and effect with the goal being to navigate those choices to achieve a flawless outcome.
Powers & Abilities: Dokkaebi Physiology, Sleep-paralysis Inducement, Supernatural Beauty, Possession, Shape-shifting, Illusion Manipulation, Insanity Inducement, Dream Manipulation, Nine-Tailed Fox Physiology
Traits:  Responsible, good humoured, intuitive, fierce, relentless,  vindictive,  manipulative
BACKGROUND CHECK:
Date of Birth: April 10th, 1990
Date of Death: N/A
Crime Record:  Officially spotless, but it's easy to control the narrative when you had a hand in installing and maintaining their databases.
Background/Biography:  tw: arson, amputation, gun violence, surgery
Heavy should’ve been the head that held the crown, however that burden was not meant for Hyunjae to handle alone. The love Noe Seokbin had for his wife ran deep and bore many fruit, and Hyunjae soon found himself surrounded by siblings in a house just large enough to hold their laughter. He took to the role of eldest brother as if he was born for it, always there to clean and bandage a scrape, pass the controller to when the boss was just too tough, and keep secrets from mom and dad. His father didn’t have to guide or control him as Hyunjae developed into the spitting image of the Noe patriarch, responsible, good natured, with his own hunger to master any technology he could get his hands on.
 And then their home was set ablaze in 2008. Hyunjae was the first to notice that they were a head short and he ran back into the building before anyone could stop him. He knew where Haemasu liked to hide, call it a big brother instinct, and used his arm to prop up a burning beam so the youngest could escape the inferno. He only collapsed on the lawn once he saw their mother clutching the baby of the family, knowing everyone was finally safe. The decision to amputate his son’s arm was not made lightly, Seokbin knew that there was a chance Hyunjae would never regain full functionality, even with the advancements made in prosthetics as complications could always happen. The paperwork was signed the night Hyunjae’s anesthesia wore thin for only a few moments, watching his son screaming his throat bloody in agony was convincing enough. When Hyunjae awoke after the procedure, he blankly stared at the space his arm used to be before asking after his siblings.
 The process of relearning how to operate with his non-dominant hand was long, but Hyunjae was always a dutiful student. Over time, the family noticed subtle but ever growing changes to Hyunjae’s prosthetic, the hard plastic fingers gaining more dexterity and accuracy with every passing iteration. Seokbin confirmed his suspicion by catching Hyunjae late one night, awkwardly using his left hand and teeth to modify his own arm. They reviewed the shakily drafted schematic and began building Hyunjae a proper arm together. Each version remained rather rudimentary and always had some tactile hurdle it couldn’t overcome. It was only when a budding cybernetics company looking for investors caught his father’s attention that real progress was made and Hyunjae’s arm became the company’s first major unveiling.
Through the trials and research, Hyunjae caught a taste for electrical and biomedical engineering and his academic path was set. He refused to rely on his name and legacy to achieve his accolades and sought his doctorate in secret. Balancing the demands of the blinding spotlight, thriving business, and academic bureaucracy with incredible time management and copious caffeine. He saw the scope of the cybernetics field to be too small, settling on limb replacement and tools for physical therapy and assistance, when it held so much more potential. The entire organ harvesting and transplant system could be upended, and should be revolutionized in order to meet the desperate demand. So he built lungs and kidneys from wires and sterilized metals, proving the concept but always looking towards replicating the heart and dreaming of augmenting the brain.
Much like how his father caught him tinkering well into the night, Hyunjae lingered in the shadows beyond Seokbin’s office door, overhearing a warning that threatened the very foundation of the city. He knew of the Noe and Jeup’s tumultuous history from his grandmother and her terrible bedtime stories, but that was all he thought of them as, simply stories from generations ago. Their fathers acted as opposite ends of a bridge between their families now, and Hyunjae remembered being told to watch over the Jeup children as he would his own siblings. Hyunjae confronted his father behind closed doors and accepted his cautious and patient approach. If the Jeup’s were so entwined with the bleeding underbelly of the city, it was best to appear unassuming, amass their allies silently and prepare for when they needed to go hunting. The Noe never lit the match, but they would control the fire.
Hyunjae found himself staring into the reflective abyss of Agdeog’s criminal scene, the random violence that consumed the city focusing into tendrils of a writhing, feeding monstrosity. Each act connected by thin strings of causality, and more and more of them vanished into the void surrounding the Jeup patriarch. With the scent of blood coating his tongue, he grasped a crimson stained thread and tugged. Much like his father, he was visited by a figure at his lab and expected a similar warning, instead finding himself mulling over an interesting proposal. The Veil’s cause resonated with Hyunjae’s sense of justice and so he submerged himself into the chaos, distancing himself from his siblings so they wouldn’t be caught in his wake. The group had the best intentions, but lacked the means or the ambition to actually do anything substantial. Hyunjae became an increasing voice and call to action as he rose through the ranks, navigating the battlegrounds with careful words to soothe emblazoned egos much like his father would negotiate among salivating businessmen. Millimeters of progress were finally being made, but it all unraveled when Hyunjae chose his family over everything else.
Having his baby sister, Dalnim, on his operating table broke something in him. All that careful patience was worth nothing when he was coated up to his elbows in her blood, holding her heart that fluttered weakly around the bullet lodged inside its ventricles. He worked tirelessly through the night, giving her his life’s work, needing it to give him back his sister. As the metal valves expanded, the mechanisms hummed as Dalnim’s pulse returned. Wracked with exhaustion, drenched in sweat and blood, he collapsed beside the table, clutching her hand until she squeezed his back. The next few days were spent carefully monitoring her, both to allow her to recover from such a traumatic event but to also keep her close in case of complications. When they both emerged from his lab, the world had shifted.
 The city was in a state of shock, unaware of how deep the scars would run from the carnage that unfolded. “Cut off the heads,” He remembered saying the words among the Veil, but that’s all they were supposed to be, words, an idea. It wasn’t meant to be a plan. It was a last resort, a way to knock the chessboard over when everything else failed. There was too much chaos, coursing anger, and bad blood infecting the veins of the city for something so brash to ever work. As the Veil faded into the mists, he watched the new generation step into their shadowed thrones, a hunger stoked by opportunity thick on their tongues. Whispers of Jeup's involvement with the Nightbloods reached him and Hyunjae knew he had to act before the noose around Agdeog grew too tight.
 G.H.O.S.T was founded under the promise of one thing, to control the uncontrollable. The city could not survive another war, and Hyunjae was going to ensure that it never would have to. Learning from the mistakes of the Veil, he selectively collected his allies in secret, knowing that if the gangs caught wind of a growing power they wouldn’t be able to help themselves and cannibalize the city in an effort to maintain rule over the ashes. He was patient and cautious, careful to not make any waves as the pieces slowly set themselves into place. Then his parents disappeared and the priorities shifted once again. He let his siblings bark and gnash their teeth, accusations flying as unanswered questions continued piling up. The goals of the Noe family and of G.H.O.S.T blending and blurring into the same: vengeance.
 Sangje challenging his leadership was not surprising, but the true pain came from watching the faith in him vanish in each of his siblings as they casted their votes. He maintained his composure as he passed the torch to his younger brother, bitterly swallowing the betrayal so that it could melt away in the acids of his stomach. They could sit in the seat he built, order the allies he secured, but they could never replace him as their elder brother.
INTERVIEW QUESTION (para sample): “Just run us through what happened that night”. - Officer
The bowtie around his neck was too tight.
Mingling under the crystal chandeliers of the Jeup estate, Hyunjae gave easy smiles and sweet words to anyone he came across, having the tact to attempt to appear equally invested. Sharply manicured nails occasionally dug into the jacket of his tuxedo, the brazen ones reaching up to try and swipe at his skin with some wafer thin excuse. The cost of being a generous benefactor was that everyone was hungry for a piece, even if the spotlight preferred to illuminate the illicit and scandalous affairs of the middle Jeup. Slipping away from glittery claws, he found himself at a balcony, watching the wind play among the leaves in a garden. He could almost hear the excited yips from a cluster of fox pups weaving between the bushes from deep in his memory.
“What happened that night?” Hyunjae turned, regarding the approaching police chief with a neutral expression, flicking through the possibilities and implications of the question. “At the gala, you excused yourself from the festivities rather abruptly.”
Hyunjae wore an easy smile, providing body language that would placate the man, “Nothing very exciting, I assure you. A business partner had not accounted for the time difference and requested a meeting. I didn’t think I would be missed once the silent auction was over.”
Satisfied with that answer, the two exchanged their pleasantries and went their separate ways. Hyunjae noted the eruption of raucous laughter carrying from the open doorway and wondered what headline that would create for tomorrow.
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No Such Thing 2
A/N:  This is the second chapter for a finished series, the links for which are on my mistresslist. 
Over the course of the next few months, you and Xiumin became fast friends. Though quiet, he had a great sense of humour, and once he became comfortable around you, he began to talk a lot more.  Once he began to open up, you realized that he was quite funny, and surprisingly mischievous.  He loved to play light-hearted pranks on you, and in general, annoyed you almost as much as Chanyeol did when you were growing up together.  
From replacing your conditioner with cooking oil, to replacing your mouthwash with oral laxative, to once hiding every single pair of socks you owned.  “Where did you even put them all?” you wondered out loud as you searched the apartment.
Xiumin lounged on the couch, watching a drama about a sleep-deprived gwishin-whisperer who falls in love with a dyslexic chaebol who owns a shopping mall.  “That’s for me to know, and you to find out, grasshopper,” he said distractedly, leaning forward as the main couple leaned toward their first kiss.
“You are such an ajumma!” you said, grabbing a stuffed animal, and smacking him upside the back of his head.
“Yah!” he yelled.  “You’re going to make me miss the best part!  Besides, violence isn’t going to get you back your socks!”
“Child!”
“Automaton!”
“Brat!”
“Robot!”
“Ajumma!”
“Sockless wench!”  
“Oh!” you huffed, stomping off to the sound of his laughter, to search the kitchen.  You finally found them, all packed tightly into a ball in a gallon freezer bag, in your 25 lb bag of rice.
Flopping on the couch, you tossed the bag to him.  “Found them.  You know, I liked you better when you were invisible.”
He flashed his billion-watt smile at you.  “Don’t lie. I’ve seen my reflection.  I know I’m handsome!” Leaning against the arm of the couch, he turned teasingly to you.  “Look all you like!”
“Sorry, you’re not my style.  I’m not attracted to squid!”  You ran away laughing as he threw the bag of socks at your head.
***
Another night, found you watching scary movies.  The sudden appearance of the monster startled Xiumin, and he jumped, and clutched your arm.  
You looked over at him, your expression deadpan.  “Really?”
“What?” he responded, eyes still on the screen.
Not saying anything, you waited until he turned to you, then looked down at his arms wrapped around one of yours.
He followed your gaze, then looked up, grinning endearingly, but still not moving.  
You made a fist as if to hit him, but he just held your arm even tighter, pouting down at you.  “Seriously?!” you asked.
“It’s scary!” he whined.
“How are you scared?  You’re dead.  You’re the thing that makes people scared!”
“Okay, well, yes, I’m gwishin, but I’m not scary gwishin!”
Pausing the movie, you turned to him.  “Have you met any scary gwishin?”
He shook his head, shivering.  “I haven’t met any other gwishin.”
“Really?!”
Xiumin nodded.  
“Wow.”
“That’s why I kept trying to interact with everyone who moved in here.  I was lonely.”
Your mouth involuntarily turned down at that.  It was just so sad.  “I have to tell you, before I met you, I could see…spirits, I guess, but never any that interacted with me.  Watching them was like watching a clip of a film repeating itself.  I don’t think that they were gwishin, not really.  I call them echoes, actually.  Before you, I never believed in gwishin.”
“I’m gwishin, and I don’t know if I believe in gwishin.  How can I be the only one?”
You shrugged.  “I don’t know.  Oh, wait, I never thought about it, but should I…I don’t know, offer you food, or something?”
He shook his head.  “Not hungry.”  Then sighed.  “I miss being hungry.”
“You miss being hungry?”
“Not hungry, like starving, but I miss the anticipation of eating.  The relief when you start.  The satiation afterward.  I miss tasting, and chewing, and swallowing.  I miss walking into a store, and having people look at me.  I miss being able to help people without frightening them.  I miss schedules, and plans, and knowing who I am, and having a future.”  By the time he was finished, his eyes were red-rimmed, and he was flushing.
You didn’t know what to do.  So, you thought about what you did when Chanyeol was upset.  Turning toward him, you pulled your arm from his now listless grasp, and slid your arms around his waist, laying your head on his shoulder.  “I’m sorry, Xiumin-sshi.”
He didn’t say anything.  Then, slowly he wrapped his arms around you, and curled his body closer to yours.  
You stayed like that for a long time.
***
A few days later, you accosted Xiumin while he was tidying up the dishes you had left in the sink. Another awesome perk of having him as a roommate is that he was almost obsessively clean.  You didn’t want to take advantage of him, but you had to admit that you were living the dream.  “Let’s go out.”
“What?”
“Let’s go out tomorrow!”
“Uhhh, okay?  To do what?”
You shrugged.  “We’re always stuck inside the apartment.  Let’s just go do something outside of this place. All I do is go to school, and come home. I want to breathe fresh air.  Let’s spend all day away tomorrow. And I want to see a movie.  Call?”
Xiumin nodded.  “Call.”
***
When you shuffled from your bedroom the next morning, Xiumin was pressing the buttons on the rice cooker to reheat your rice.  Walking over, you turned it off.  When he looked at you quizzically, you shook your head. “Eating out today.  I’ll be ready in a half hour.”
An hour later, (What?! You had asked, to his rueful look), you were ready.  As you were leaving your apartment, you put a Bluetooth headset in your ear. When you didn’t make any calls, he looked at you quizzically, and you said, “This way, I can talk to you, without looking crazy.”
“Ah…” he said, nodding.  “You’re clever.”
Blushing, you shook your head.  “I just don’t want to be carted away for a psych evaluation before dinner.”
You took him to your favourite coffee shop for breakfast.  “Good morning!” you called, as you entered, causing everyone to look up at you.  The baristas smiled, and bowed, and you bowed back, as you approached the counter.  Gesturing slightly to the board, you asked Xiumin, “What would you choose?”  
After carefully perusing the entire menu, he seriously answered, “Medium French press, no cream, no sugar.”
Making a face, you said, “Do you have no taste buds?  So bitter.”  Moving toward the front, you ordered a caramel latte, with extra caramel, easy on the foam.
After you ordered, he made a face at you.  “So sweet!”
“Like me!”
He plucked you on the forehead, and you frowned, unable to react without calling attention to yourself.  
After breakfast, you went to a sports equipment store.  Other than dramas, you had discovered that Xiumin loved watching soccer, and when you would come into the living room in the mornings, what he was watching would be a toss-up between the most tooth-achingly sweet romantic dramas on the TV, or old World Cup games on your laptop.
He raised his eyebrows in surprise, after you greeted the employees, and began looking around the store.  “You like sports?”
“Not particularly,” you answered.  “But oppa likes soccer, so I’m thinking of getting him something from here for his birthday.”
Xiumin tilted his head in consideration.  “He…doesn’t look like a soccer player.”
You shrugged.  “You don’t look like a bodyguard and yet, thanks to you, I’m still around.”  He fell silent, and you made a beeline for one of the employees.  “What should I ask?”  Over the course of the next three hours, he fed you questions for the employee–with tangents to discuss soccer games past–and by the time you left, you had bags full of apparel, shin guards, cleats, gloves, and a particularly obnoxiously bright soccer ball.  
A flyer on the window of the store caught your eye.  “Looks like there’s a pickup soccer game at the park in a half hour.  Do you want to go?”
He looked at you sideways.  “Why?”
“You know, I’ve been thinking about it.  I need to pick up a sport.  For exercise.  I’m getting a little soft around the middle.”
Xiumin eyed your waist.  “You look the same, to me.”
“I know my body!” you yelled, stomping off toward the field.  
When you were almost there, he asked, “Are you really going to play?”
“Of course not!” you scoffed.  “Do I look like I want to be embarrassed, and beaten to a pulp at a game today?  I’m only going to watch, so that I can learn the basics.  You’ll explain it to me, won’t you?”  You looked up at him, pleading with your eyes.
Looking down at you, he suddenly blinked.  Swallowing hard, he took a small step back.  
“What’s wrong?”
Smiling, he shook his head.  “Nothing. I just…yaaah, you really shouldn’t try to do aegyo.  It looks weird on your face.”
Wrinkling your nose at him, you riposted, “Your face looks weird on your face!”
You both watched the game which, admittedly, wasn’t as boring as you thought it would be, especially once he explained the rules to you.  
“Wanna make a bet as to which team will win?” you asked.
“You’re on.  How do we choose?”
“Kai Bai Bo?”
“Call!”
Hands behind your back, you faced each other.  “Kai Bai Bo!”  He had bai (rock), and you had paper (bo).  
“I win!” you crowed.
Xiumin groaned.  “Best two out of three?”
“Call!”  
You still won.  You picked the team with the red belts, leaving him the team with the black.
After the game was over, you had won the bet, and you turned to him in victory.  “So, I get a wish?”
He rolled his eyes, but he was grinning.  “Sure.  What do you want?”
“Are you kidding?  I’m going to save it!”
“Save it for what?”
“For hard times.  Just remember…” you shot a finger-gun at him, clicking your tongue “…now you owe me a wish!”
After that, you went to a neighbourhood bakery for lunch.  “Hello!” you sang as you entered.  
The baker smiled at you, as she emerged from the back, her eyes crinkling as you approached.  “Do you know what you want?”
“Oh, not, yet–I think that I’m going to have a hard time today–everything looks so good!”
She smiled again at your compliment.  “If you don’t mind, I was frosting a cake.  Just call for me when you’ve decided!”
After she had gone, you asked.  “Doesn’t everything look delicious?”
Xiumin nodded.  
Watching where his eyes rested, you decided on the mocha bread, a steamed pork bun, and a roll of tuna kimbap.  After you had purchased your food, and were sitting, you asked, “So, what movie do you want to see?”
“Mmm, Logan?
“Oh, I heard that it’s sad!”
“Do you want to watch something else?”
“No, I do want to see it, I just know that I’ll probably cry.”
His eyes softened.  “Well…you can cry on me.”  
Looking up at him, you were suddenly nervous, so you quickly tore a piece of your mocha bun, and stuffed it into your mouth.  “Oh, really?” you asked through a cheekful of bread. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
***
Logan was heartrending.  And you did cry.  And, true to his word, Xiumin let you cry on his shoulder.  
As you were leaving, a tall, handsome boy approached you.  “Hi!  I’m sorry to bother you…I don’t normally do this…but I noticed you crying during the movie, and it was just so sorrowful, and lonesome that I had to come over and make sure that you were okay.”
You stared at him in surprise, glancing at Xiumin. Alone? Couldn’t this guy see that you were with–
Oh.  No.  No, he couldn’t.  Smiling, you shook your head.  “Thank you, but I’m fine.  I just always cry at sad movies.”
“Oh, really?  Then…why do you watch them?”
Gesturing vaguely, you looked off into the distance.  “Sometimes…tears can be cathartic, I guess.”
“Really?  I’ll have to keep that in mind.  I’m Ong Chang Wook, by the way.” He reached out to shake your hand, then withdrew it awkwardly, when he saw all the bags you were carrying.  “Do you need help with those?”
You flashed him a grin.  “It’s fine.  I’ve been carrying them all day.  They’re not that heavy.”
“A nice girl like you shouldn’t have to carry her own bags.”
A blush started at your neck, and slowly crept up your cheeks.  “Ah.  I don’t…really know how to respond to that.”
“You could…give me your number?  Let me take you on a date?”
Your eyes widened in shock.  This was awkward.  Xiumin was standing right next to you, glaring at the guy as if his gaze could light the other man’s hair on fire.  Furthermore, you were surprised at your own reaction.  This guy would normally be just your style.  He was tall, handsome, with bright eyes, and a sweet smile, and, despite the cliche of the meeting, sincerity shone through his gaze.  And you felt…nothing.  “Ah, well, normally, I would love to, but I…I…”
His face fell.  “You have a boyfriend?”
You nodded, looking away from his eyes, “Something like that…”
“Of course you do, as pretty as you are, and with such a sweet heart.”  He ruffled the hair on the back of his neck.  “Ah, well.  I hope that he knows what he has.  Listen, if he ever lets you down, just come here looking for me.  I love movies–I’m here all the time.  I’ll treat you well.”
Face flushing even hotter, you looked down and nodded.  
After watching you for a moment, he smiled and nodded back.  “Okay!  Are you sure that you don’t want me to carry your bags somewhere?  Hail a taxi for you?  Walk you home?”
You shook your head.
“Alright, then.  Well…enjoy the rest of your night!”
Looking back up, you flashed him a sincere smile.  “Thank you!  You, too!”
He nodded decisively, and then, shoving his hands in his pockets, he turned around, and walked away.
Both you and Xiumin were silent on the way home.  You had wanted to suggest having dinner out, but the evening’s mood had somehow taken a more pensive turn.
Suddenly, you heard deep barking and growling, indicating that something of considerable size was approaching at an accelerated rate.  Looking around, you spotted a huge dog bounding toward you, a tall child running after it.  Without thinking you shrieked in surprise, and jumped behind Xiumin, dropping your bags to scrabble at the back of his jacket.  
He stood in front of you in a defensive stance, partially crouched, as he growled back at the approaching dog.  
Said dog stopped in it’s tracks, as abruptly as if it had hit a wall, with its back legs shooting between its paws.  Scrambling backwards, its tail between its legs, it slinked, whining, back toward its master.  The boy grabbed it by the collar, scolding it, before bowing to you in apology.  Returning the bow, you watched as he led the dog away, its back end almost dragging against the ground in the dog’s effort to display submission.
Once they had turned the corner, Xiumin turned to you, looking worried.  “Are you okay?”
Mutely, you nodded, embarrassed at your reaction.  “I’m sorry; I panicked.”
Smiling, he tilted his head, so that he could look directly into your eyes. “Sorry, for what?  It’s not like it could have hurt me.  Besides, I don’t mind if you think of me as your protector.  I rather like that.” He leaned closer, wrinkling his nose teasingly, “Makes me feel all manly.”
Snorting, you picked up your bags, and pushed past him.  “Don’t let it go to your head.  Anyway, I’m hungry.”  
“Hi, Hungry, I’m Xiumin!”
You ended up eating at the neighbourhood pojangmacha, with Xiumin convincing you to try the liver, so that you could let him know what it was like.  “Sadness.  It tastes like sadness.  And tears.  And a high iron count.”
He snorted.  “It’s good for you.”
“Just because something’s good for me doesn’t mean that it’s good.  I’d rather lick Bubba than eat that again.”
“You should take better care of yourself.”
You sat back in mild offense.  “I’ll have you know that I take excellent care of myself!”
Xiumin raised a brow, and started ticking off on his fingers.  “You never eat organ meats–”
“–Because they taste like sad!”
“you get an average of 4 and a half hours of sleep a night–”
“Hello!  Grad student!”
“your breakfasts are woefully small–”
“I’m not that hungry in the mornings!”
“you often skip dinner–”
“Everyone does that occasionally!”
“you don’t drink enough water–”
“I prefer tea.”
“you always say yes to anyone who asks for a favour, no matter how much it puts you out–”
“–and now I have an army of minions who owe me favours.”
“you don’t take vitamins–”
“I eat enough vegetables…”
He stopped, giving you a look.  “You have a quick-witted answer for everything, don’t you?”
“Admitted.”
He leaned forward, his arms crossed on the table.  “What am I going to do with you?”
“Enjoy me.  I am a delight.”
Xiumin smiled, but said nothing.
Suddenly, there was a skidding noise, and a middle-aged man fell off of his bicycle, onto the sidewalk.  Jumping up, you rushed over to ensure that he was alright, which he was–just a bit shaken.  Upon investigation, you all discovered that the air pressure in his tire was too low, and he had run into a small rock that, with normal pressure, the bike would have just gone over, but with with the low pressure, turned into a hazard.
“I…think I know what to do,” Xiumin said.
You raised an eyebrow.  
He nodded.  
“Okay, do you know how to fix this?” you asked the man.
He shook his head.  “The bike was a birthday gift from my daughter.  I have a little toolkit in the basket, but I never really bothered to figure out how to fix anything.  She usually just does a checkup for me whenever she comes by, and fixes whatever is wrong, but she has been a bit busy, lately.”  
“I think that I can help you.”  Moving over to a small patch of grass on the corner, you listened to Xiumin’s directions, and within an hour, had the bike up and running for the ajusshi.  He rode off after thanking you profusely, and you watched Xiumin watch the man go, a small smile on his face.  “So, you know how to fix bikes.”
“I guess I do.”
“That’s pretty neat.”
He looked down, smiling modestly, then back up at you.  “Come on.  Let’s go home.”
***
Upon your return home, you collapsed on the couch, arms and legs splayed everywhere, like a starfish.
Xiumin lifted your legs, and plopped beside you, resting your calves on his lap, his hands resting on your shins.  
Your eyes were closed, and you were drifting off, when you heard a soft, small, “Thank you.” Roused, you looked at him through half-lidded eyes. “For what?”
“You know what.”
“For allowing you to look upon my glorious visage day in, and day out?  Ah, so annoying!  Why am I so aggravatingly good looking?  Eh, you’re welcome; you’re welcome!  Don’t mention it again; it’s too embarrassing!”
He rolled his eyes.  “I’ll do my best to contain myself.   But…don’t think that I don’t know what you were doing.”
You stilled. Then, throwing an arm over your eyes, you said.  “I really don’t know what you were talking about.”
“Really?  Let’s see, today, I had people greeting me, or at least greeting you, who was right next to me, I got to talk about soccer, watch a soccer game, have a schedule, make plans, help someone…am I forgetting anything?”
Sighing, you mumbled, “I tried to eat whatever caught your eye.  Except for the coffee.  You have horrid taste in coffee.”
“Philistine.”
“Pretentious snob.”
“Child.”
“Liver lover.”
He laughed outright.  
***
A few weeks later, you both were huddled under blankets on the couch, watching a drama–he had finally sucked you into their world, and you had a standing appointment to watch the new episodes with him twice a week–when a feral thunderstorm knocked out the power.  You sat in the dark for a few moments, before groaning, “Really?!”
Xiumin went to the window and looked out.  “It looks as if the entire area is without power.  I can’t see a thing.”
You groaned again, and flopped backwards on the couch, pouting. “It was just getting good!”  About to direct him to get the candles and matches, you saw that he was back with them already in hand.  
Lighting three, he placed one on the living room table, one on the sideboard in front of a mirror–creating even more light–and one on top of the television, and came back to sit next to you on the couch.  While dim, there was enough light to see everything, so there would be no danger of you hurting yourself as you maneuvered around most of your apartment.  
“Now what?” he asked.  
“Wanna play Godori (Go-Stop)?”
“Not enough light.  You’ll strain your eyes.”
“Yes, Oemma,” you muttered under your breath.  “What about Truth or Dare?”
Shrugging, he nodded.  “Why not?  You go first.”  You both turned to face each other, bringing up your legs to sit cross-legged under your respective blankets.
“Okay.  Truth or Dare?”
“Mmm…truth.”
“Okay…”  You looked around.  Without his memory, this would be harder than you had previously anticipated.  “So…who has been the best tenant here, so far?”
“Bubba.”
You slapped him on the arm.
“It’s the truth!  She’s my favourite!  She’s cute, she’s cuddly, she purrs when she sees me.  And, didn’t you say that you were going to pick up more cats?  I’m waiting!”
“I do need to do that,” you mused.  “Will you go with me, to choose?”
His eyes softened.  “Really?”
“Of course!  You live here, too!  We should pick out cats that we both like!”
“Okay!” he said, giving you a high five.  “It’s your turn.  Truth or Dare?”
“Let’s see…truth.”
“Copycat.”
“Keep it moving, old man.”
“How do you know I’m older than you?  You could be my noona!”
Grinning, you said, “I could be.  Maybe you should start calling me that.  And then you can do whatever I say.”
He wrinkled his nose, and said, “Or, I don’t know, maybe I’m older than you; who knows?”
“So, maybe I’m your dongsaeng?”
Xiumin nodded.  
“Okay, Gwishin Oppa.”
He shook his head.  “You are so annoying.”
“I’m a professional.  I’ve been annoying Chanyeol oppa for years.  Decades, at this, point.”
Reaching across, Xiumin plucked your forehead.  “Alright, let’s get back to it. Truth.  Let’s see…what did you think when you first saw me?”
You mused.  “Well, remember when I first saw you, I had a concussion.  I thought that, maybe I was hallucinating.”
“What did you think of me?”
“Of you, personally?”  He nodded.  “I liked–like–your outfit.  You’re lucky that you’re gwishin, or I would have borrowed that jacket a long time ago.”
“Is that all?”
You were silent for a moment.  “Okay, so I have eyes.  You’re handsome, what of it?”
He crowed.  “See?!  I knew it!  Squid, BS!”  You rolled your eyes, as he celebrated, then calmed himself, running a hand over the side of his hair, as if to smooth imaginary out of place locks.  “Your turn.”
“Truth or Dare?”
“Truth.”
“Well, this is going to be a fun evening.”
Xiumin waved a hand at you.  “Just get on with it.”
“Right. What does it feel like?  Being gwishin?”
Thinking for a moment, he drummed his fingers on his knee.  “Honestly?  It feels like…nothing.  I don’t get cold…I don’t get hot…I don’t get hungry… Nothing in my body aches–you know, all those little random pains, and twinges you get throughout the day?  None of that.  It feels like…it’s like floating in body-temperature water, only without the feeling of the pressure of the water.  Unless something major happens, like someone kicks me, or I don’t know, hits me with a broomstick.  That hurts.  At least, for the moment.  Once the sensation passes, however, it’s like it was never there.  Does that answer your question?”  You nodded.  “Truth or Dare.”
“Dare.”
“Okay!”  He rubbed his hands together, a mischievous smile on his quirking his mouth.  “I dare you…to take a serving of each one of those vitamins and supplements that your oemma brought over the other day.”
“What?!  That’s not a real dare!’
“I said, what I said.”
“You’re ruining it!” you moaned.
“Do you forfeit?”
You glared at him.  “No!”
“Then go do it!  Go on.  Run along.”  
Giving him the evil eye the entire way, you took the vitamin.  “Are you going to be like this all night?”
“I don’t know,” he cackled.  “Am I?”  He wiggled his brows, and you rolled your eyes.  
“My turn!  Truth or Dare?”
“Dare.”
“Alright!  Let’s see…” You were silent for a moment.  Then it hit you.  What were you supposed to dare him to do?  No one could see him.  He couldn’t eat.  He couldn’t drink.  That crossed off both public humiliation, and ingestion of repulsive substances.  Then again…  “Alright…you know that song I like?”
“Which one? You listen to a lot of songs.”
“The one that I was obsessed with.”
“Yeah?”
“Dance to it.”
His grin dropped.  “What?”
“I want you to dance–and sing–to Monster!”
He sighed deeply, as if you had sentenced him to walking the plank.  
Clapping your hands, you chanted, “Do it!  Do it!  Do it!  Do it!”
“Give me the music, at least.”
“Oh, I’ll give you the music!” you cackled, grabbing your phone, and bringing up the song.  You raised your knees to your chest, wrapping your arms around them, as you watched him get into position.  “Ready?” you asked, an avid grin on your face.
Xiumin sighed again, looking skyward.  “Ready.’
You queued the music, and then watched him go.
To say that his performance was a disappointment would be an understatement.
He was…good.  He was really good.  He didn’t miss a step.  When the music was over, he was kneeling in front of you, a cocky grin on his face.
“Well, that was certainly…upsetting.”
He barked a short laugh.  “Disappointed that I didn’t make an idiot of myself?”
You sniffed.  “Quite.  How did you do that?”
“Like you said, you were obsessed with that song.  I don’t know how many times you watched it.  I just picked it up.”  He brushed a piece of imaginary lint off of his shoulder.  “It’s not like it was hard.”
“I hate you.”
“You should appreciate greatness, when you see it.”  He grinned.  “My turn.”  
You groaned, and waved a hand languidly.  “Continue.”
“Truth or Dare?”
“Truth.”
“Now, who’s being a coward?”
You glared.  “Fine.  Dare. What are you going to do, ask me to drink a bottle of water?”
He cut you a look.  “Don’t tempt me.”  You closed your mouth with a snap. “Let’s see…I dare you…to call Chanyeol, and tell him that we’re dating.”
“WHAT?!”  Xiumin guffawed, wrapping his arms around his middle, and falling over on the couch.  “ARE YOU INSANE?! YOU WANNA DIE?  YOU WANNA GET ME KILLED?!”
“Do it, or pay the forfeiture penalty.”
“What’s the penalty?”
“Uh, we never decided.  So…that means that I get to come up with one right now.”  You squinted at him.  “The penalty is that you call Chanyeol, and–”
“Yah!”  You threw a stuffed animal at his head.  “It has to be a penalty that would work for both of us!”
He ducked, laughing, then held up his hands.  “Okay!  Okay!  The penalty is making up your bed for three months.”
You gasped.  “You’re a monster!”  You detested making your bed, finding it pointless.
Xiumin tapped his fingertips together.  “Decisions, decisions.”
Grabbing your phone, you glared at him, trying to stare him down as you made the call.  It didn’t work.  
He hid behind your stuffed animal, peeking over the top, with a naughty glint in his eye.  
“Hello?” you brother answered the phone.
“Heeeeey!  Oppaaa!  How’re you dooooing?”
“Are you drunk?”
“No!  No…just, uh…just calling to see how you were…”
“I’m fine,” he responded, his voice deepening in suspicion.  “How are you?”
“Me?  Oh, I’m great!  Great!  Everything’s great!”
Real concern tinged his voice.  “Is everything really okay?”
Realizing that you were freaking him out, you closed your eyes, and bit the bullet.  “Remember Xiumin?”
“Yeah, that creepy guy who lives in your house, and probably watches you sleep?”
“Don’t be mean.”
“Okay, that totally not creepy dead guy who lives with my sister rent-free?”
“Uh, yeah.  Him.  Hey, listen…we…we’re kind of…uh, sort of…y’know…dating, if you w–”  You couldn’t finish your sentence through the incoherent screaming blasting through your phone, threatening to damage your speakers.
Xiumin winced.  “I can hear that from all the way over here.”
“Can I tell him that it’s a dare?”
Xiumin waved his hand magnanimously.  “You may.  As angry as he sounds, he might pop an aneurysm, just to come after me.”
“Haha, justkiddingoppait’sajokewe’replayingTruthorDaresonevermindhaveagoodnightbye!”  You hung up the phone, cutting off Chanyeol’s tirade.  He hadn’t even taken a breath.  After a moment, your phone began to ring.  You both looked at it in horror.  Tossing it to Xiumin, you lifted your hands. “You did this!”
He took the phone by a corner, swiped right, and carefully brought it up to his ear.  “Hello?” he asked, his voice tentative.  Another blast of baritone fury ripped through your speakers.  His eyes widened, and he looked at you, whispering, “Your brother has quite the vocabulary!”
Grabbing the phone, you turned away from Xiumin to take ownership of the conversation.  It took twenty minutes, and a lot of explanation and pleading, but you finally got your oppa to calm down, and disconnect the call.  
When it was over, you turned back to Xiumin, and stared at him, wide-eyed.  “You so owe me.  He was on his way here with red beans.  So, now, it’s my turn.  Truth or Dare.”
“Dare.”
“Take off your jacket.”
He looked at you quizzically, covering his upper body with his arms, and partially turning away from you.
You looked him up and down.  “What are you thinking?  I just want to see what happens.”
He cocked his head.  “Actually, I’ve never done it before.  I don’t know what happens, either.”
“So, let’s see it.”
Standing, he slipped his jacket off of his shoulders, and tossed it toward the couch.  As soon as it left his fingertips, it dissolved into black mist, and reformed around his body.  “Well,” he said.
“Well,” you repeated.  “Now we know.  Your turn.”
“Truth or Dare.”
“Truth.”
“Why didn’t you take that guy’s number at the movies?”
Your face flushed.  “What guy?”
“Oh, you remember him.  Tall, charming, really, really, ridiculously good-looking.”
“Oh, that guy,” you said faintly.
“Yeah, that guy.”
“I don’t know.  I guess that he just wasn’t my type.”
“Tall, handsome, and polite isn’t your type?”
“What’s the point of being so uselessly tall?  It just makes him harder to reach.  Why do you ask?” you queried, turning the tables on him.
His face flushed crimson.  “No reason.  Just curious.  It’s your turn.”
“Truth or Dare.”
“Dare.”
“I dare you to tell me the truth about why you asked me that question.”
“That’s cheating.”
You pointed to your phone.  “Do we need to rehash what I’ve already gone through tonight?”
He chuckled softly, and shook his head.  “No.  But that was funny, though.”
You kicked him.  “Speak!”
He rolled his eyes.  “I just wanted to…make sure that you didn’t turn him down…because of me.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah…”
“Well, I didn’t.”
“Okay.”
At that moment, the power came back on.  “I guess…we can stop playing, now,” you said, slowly.
“I guess we should.”  You looked at each other for a while, then he smiled, and turned on the TV.  “Let’s see if we can catch the last bit of the drama, shall we?”
***
You were having a crap day.  A terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.  You had been tasked with a presentation which you had been working on for weeks.  It had taken all of your spare time, and even more of your sleep, much to Xiumin’s constant, silent, judgemental disapproval.  Even though you had been allotted a budget to create it, you wanted it to be perfect, so you had, admittedly, gone a bit over budget, and had yet to even be reimbursed for the portion that your partners had already agreed to pay.  
The presentation was due in three days, the same amount of time in which you hadn’t slept, and you just found out that, despite all of your hard work, they had decided to go in another direction–without telling you. In fact, when you confronted them, they lied, saying that they accidentally lost the thumb drive with your most recent update on it, and so decided to just come up with something else.  True, you still had an earlier version saved on your computer, but unless you forfeited going to class, and teaching, and sleeping until it was due, you didn’t have enough time to redo all the work you had lost.  
The day was grey, which matched your mood perfectly.  You don’t think that you could have taken it, if it had been sunny.  You morosely wandered around campus, trying not to cry every time you thought of what had happened. It wasn’t just the loss of the work, or the fact that they had decided they wanted to change the subject.  It was the fact that they had lied. They had lied to your face, grinning as they shovelled their bull-crap, and expected you to believe it.  Or maybe not.  Maybe they didn’t even care whether you believed the lie, they just didn’t want to have to undergo the awkwardness of a conversation where they told you that the last six weeks of your life had been mostly pointless.
Then there was the guilt.  It burned.  Had there not been enough meetings?  Had you not explained your plans well enough?  Had you not told them what you were doing in enough detail?  Was your work really that subpar?  The questions swirled inside your head in an endless refrain.  You couldn’t even begin to answer them.  
So, you wandered, for hours.  You didn’t want to go home.  Xiumin would probably be there, and your facade just wasn’t ready, yet. For the first time since you had met him, you wished that you lived alone.  Making your way down to the lake, you sat on the shore, drawing your knees to your chest, staring at the mist drifting over the water, and thinking.  After a while, there was movement to your right, and one of your students sat down beside you.
“Hey,” she said.
“Hey, Hangah” you responded.
“What’s wrong?”
You flashed her a smile.  “What makes you think that something is wrong?”
She turned, pointing to the building whose back faced the lake.  “That’s my dorm.  I like to study at the window, and I’ve watched you wander listlessly back and forth, for the last three hours.”
You snorted, then sighed.  “That’s what I get for having perspicacious students.”
She scoffed, and tossed back her hair.  “I’m a senior.  I’m only one year younger than you.”  After watching your face for a moment, she turned back to the water.  “For the rest of today, pretend that I’m not your student.  Pretend that you’re not my TA.”  She was silent for a long moment.  Then.  “Unni, what’s wrong?”
Your face crumpled, and you buried it in your knees as you began to cry.  “I’m sorry!  I’m so sorry!”
She didn’t say anything, just leaned against you, with an arm around your back, until the storm had passed.
When it was over, you lifted your head, and sighed.  
Hangah tilted her head to look at you, and said.  “Wow. You look like crap.”
You burst out laughing.
She dug a crumpled paper towel from her pocket, and handed it to you. “It’s fine.  I just used it to dry an apple that I washed.”
You wiped your face, and then blew your nose, and sighed.  “Thank you.”
“Are you ready to talk about it?”
Nodding, you told her the whole story, also explaining how guilty you felt over the fact that you hadn’t been able to do what they wanted.  She listened wordlessly, and when you were finished, her brow wrinkled.  “You apologize a lot.  It seems like you think that this is all your fault, but in reality, if they didn’t like what you were doing, then they should have told you sooner.  They shouldn’t have let you pour yourself out like water while they were deciding that they wanted to do something else.”  You looked at her in shock, and she gazed back at you steadily.  “It’s not your fault.”
You blinked.
“Take it in, unni.  This…was not…your fault.”
Your face twitched.  
“All they had to do was say, weeks ago, that they’d rather do something else.  Why put you through all of that work, only to change their minds at the last minute?”
You looked over the water, your face perplexed.  You didn’t even have a response.  You were so used to taking responsibility for everything, that the idea that this wasn’t all your fault hadn’t even occurred to you.
“Unni?”  Hangah’s soft voice brought you back to the conversation.  You turned back to her.  “Are you hungry?”
***
Later that evening, you returned home, stuffed to bursting with the treats with which Hangah had plied you, saying that the best cure for sadness was something sweet.  She had fed you, and made you watch funny movies until tears were once again running down your face, though these had been of laughter.
Xiumin was nowhere to be seen, so you showered and changed into pajamas, and decided to treat yourself by curling up in bed with a book.  After all, without the presentation looming over your head, your next few days were homework free.  The mist and fog had turned into rain, which pattered steadily, comforting you as you cuddled under your blankets, with Bubba curled against your stomach, purring steadily.
A knock sounded against your door.  
“Come in!”
Xiumin poked his head inside, about to ask if you were ready to watch your drama together, when he frowned.  “What’s wrong?”
You put down your book.  “What do you mean?”
He came inside, and sat on your bed.  “Your face…it’s all…I don’t know. Something’s wrong. Your eyes are wrong.  The way that you’re breathing is wrong.”
Sighing, you looked away.  “Something was wrong, but it’s okay, now.”
He stared at your comforter, tracing imaginary patterns on it, with a finger.  Lifting his eyes to you, he asked, “Could you tell me, anyway?”  Smiling ruefully, he added, “Otherwise, I’ll just worry.”
You smiled at him, and told him the story of your day.  Though hanging out with Hangah had gone a long way toward making you feel better, the negative feelings of the situation were still too fresh to be completely gone, and you found yourself tearing up again as you told him everything.  
When you finally couldn’t take it anymore, and your voice broke on a sob, he shook his head in panic, and moved toward you, climbing behind you, and wrapping his arms around you to hold you close.  He whispered compliments in your ear, about how you were such a hard worker, how conscientious, how assiduous, how intelligent.  You fell asleep to the soft sound of his voice, soothing, and sussurant.  
It was dark when you awoke.  You turned over, to see Xiumin watching you.  “Oh, that’s right.  You don’t…sleep.”
He shook his head, smiling ruefully.  “Do you feel better?”
You nodded.  
“Good,” he said, watching your face.  “I’ll go, then.”
You nodded again.  “Okay.”
Xiumin swallowed hard, as he watched your eyes in the darkness.  “Did you know that you have little ripples in your eyes?” he asked.
“I’m…sorry?”
“In the colour,” he clarified.  “It looks like a sandy beach after high tide.  Pretty.  It’s pretty.”
“Thank you.”
“You have a…small mole under your chin.”  You blinked at him. “That’s…something else that I noticed.  That you may not know.  I thought that you should know.”
You smiled.  “Now I know.”  Blinking, you realized that, he was slightly closer.
“You also have a mark behind your right knee.  It’s shaped like a wide M.”
“I always thought that it was shaped like the US state of Florida.”
He shook his head.  “No, it’s definitely an M.  I spent an entire afternoon staring at it while you were taking a nap on the couch, one time.”
You quirked an eyebrow.  
“It was before we…you know. Met properly.  I had nothing else better to do.”
Nodding, you blinked, trying to focus on his face, which had come even closer.  “Xiumin-sshi?”
“Xiuminah,” he whispered, just before his mouth met yours.
Follow me @vampwrrr for the latest updates. 
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sweetjellytine · 7 years
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I’m Not Okay: Chapter One
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Prologue
They say I look good, as if I overcame everything They say I look alright But I feel like I could cry I’m barely holding it in But no one knows
As soon as I opened my eyes, even though I feel weak and numb, I gathered all my strength to search in this unfamiliar place, this is not my house where I live with my father; I made small steps as I heard a familiar voice commanding demanding instructions with his stern low voice; My eyes glowed with hope seeing Chen without realizing I was running downstairs with all my might
“Chen, Where am I?” I questioned him as soon as possible my hands gripping on his arms
He signaled his unfamiliar men to leave us alone and went back to looked at me with his piercing gaze, He let out a smirk before touching my face with his right hand and made his head closer beside my head and whispered something horrible beyond on my belief 
“Don’t you remember anything?” He asked mocking me
I was still idle trying to remember anything and trying my best to replay what really happened not until he whispered again
“Happy Birthday, Agasshi.” He greeted me and my head spins and pricked by the haunting memory of what happened to me last night
I let go of him and pushed him hard causing us to be feet apart, I can feel my tears pouring down to my cheeks; why does the person I trust betrayed me
Last night It was Jin’s 25th birthday, everyone in the elite society and mafia circle are present, security is tight with Chen’s supervision, Chen is her bodyguard for almost a year now and everything went smoothly and threats for her are lessen since Chen is unbelievably good when it comes to protecting her that’s why the tyrant Mr. Yoo, Jin’s father, is all hands up to Chen Jin was at her hotel room when someone knocked to the door and her nanny gladly took it for her, It was Chen dressed in suit; Who wouldn’t believe that this man is her bodyguard, his looks its just captivating like the other elite ChaeBols that his father set up to her Chen loose his breathe seeing his Agasshi so beautiful in a a red tube Chanel gown; so red like roses against her perfect milky white skin; hair down in soft locks, Chen almost forgot his real motive getting into the realms of the Yoo Mansion; his Agasshi will be the one who will pay for all the bad things happened in his life He cleared his throat and told her they need to go the banquet hall where everyone is waiting and where will Jin be last scene; Chen offered his arm to her and Jin gladly took it, He can smell his perfume infuriated his mind and soul but he needs to focus his head on his plan, there’s no backing out becasue his real men are in their places and one word from him they were ready to attack The emcee presented Jin and everyone’s eyes darted to her while she was going down elegantly on the grand staircase; Chen is still beside her assisting her not to trip or fall down on the stairs and when they arrived at the very end even before Jin could go to her father; all lights turned off causing loud murmurs and panic from all the guests in the room 11 minutes had passed and all the guests could do is search in the dark, you can hear emergency signals and shouts of Jin’s father and relatives that they must protect her and a liitle while the lights went on and Jin was gone and Chen was on the floor acting like he was hit He immediately stood up and acted to find Jin but the truth is he was going to meet his men where escape cars are waiting; it was a perfect execute plan where his men disguised as guests, hotel staff and security Jin was held by SeHun and Kai. She did try to escape from their strong hands but she can’t, they were dragging her up to the point that one of her shoes fell off “CHEN!” Jin shouted when she saw Chen approaching, Kai covered her mouth immediately “Hyung, SuHo Hyung is on his spot and ready anytime.” Kai talked to Chen making Jin eyes widen realizing that they are together in kidnapping her Jin tried to freed herself not until Chen knock her down punching her upper bare back with his strong hit; Jin’s body fell unconscious on Chen’s arms; Chen signaled his dongsaengs to open the trunk where they would place Jin, It was not a wise decision to put her at the back but this is the only thing they can least do The three of them rode inside the car and Chen is the one driving, the security wouldn’t suspect him if he drove since he was the head of both of his acting men and the police appointed by Mr. Yoo and too lured everyone into a big lie, SuHo who was in his place revved up his heavy tinted car and crashed the exit of the hotel, what cause the commotion to follow him is the dangling piece of clothe outside his car’s trunk that turned out to be a dummy for Jin, all the police cars and security followed him until he ended up throwing the car on HanGang bridge and swam out of the car once the plan was executed and it was indeed perfect, Chen escape from the hawk eyes of everyone without any difficulties and successfully kidnap Mr. Yoo’s only treasure
Jin couldn't believed what had just happened; the person she trusted besides her father betrayed her 
"Did you forgot your promise?” Jin asked him with her trembling voice
Chen remained silent, of course he did not forget his promise in fact that promise almost made him to gave up on his plan
10 months ago
Jin was at his father office; seated in one of the chairs for any guests that may visit him until Mr. Yoo signaled his own bodyguard to let someone in and it was Chen the newly appointed bodyguard for Jin, Mr. Yoo motioned him to come closer and he did followed him politely
Then he turned back his attention to his daughter and explained that Chen is a good bodyguard, he also a nurse that can keep track of her medications; Jin is just silent and afraid to made any protest because what can she do, all her father wants is to protect her
“Araso, Appa.” Jin quietly muttered
“Chen, this is Jin, Your Agasshi.” Mr. Yoo said while making him step forward closer to them
And like in the movies, When Jin stood up from her seat and turned around to face him; everything went into slow-motion, everything is blurred but not his target, He only see her in photos send to him by D.O whenever they spy on her; she was indeed beautiful in those stolen pictures but he never expected her to be a goddess in person, his heart skip a bit when she smiled to him, he was drowning with her beauty not until Mr. Yoo told them to at least talk and know each other 
Jin and Chen are walking side by side on the big garden of Yoo Mansion, all were surrounded by guards and the two of them are followed by Chen’s men, he had introduced his men to Jin awhile ago, they would be his wingmen in times of need, XiuMin, ChanYeol, BaekHyun are also awed when they saw their Agasshi and Chen knew they will tease him to death for targeting the next victim as beautiful she is
Jin strike a conversation to Chen but Chen only did is to answer yes or no like a real bodyguard do but suddenly Jin turned around to him and cupped his face with both of her small warm hands that soothes Chen and surprised the others with her sudden skinship 
Chen was stiff while Jin was courageous
“You know what, my mother told me that when you surprised someone with this gesture and the person you holding didn't loose his or her eyes on you, she said that the person is indeed trustworthy.” Jin told what her mother taught her
It is true although Chen was caught off guard with her sudden affection he remained calm and all eyes on her
“So I gave you all my trust.” Jin confessed
And Chen did is nod his head before Jin let go
“So promised me to be my friend and don’t betray me, cause I trust few people, Myself, my father, my late mother and now you.” Jin emotionally spoke while holding her pinky in front of him
Jin was waiting and Chen was hesitant but latter swore his pinky because what matters to him is his plan 
“I didn't know you will be too gullible.” Chen said sarcastically
“Am I gullible or just plain stupid that you easily played with?” Jin countered what he says
Jin and Chen grew closer, Jin trusting him with all her heart, Chen being a nurse is also the one who gave her medication, Jin is in great emotional trauma when she saw her mother hang herself on the grand staircase of their previous mansion, it was said to her that it was suicidal but she latter found out from the secretive chitchat of her grandmother and father one afternoon that it was a inside job and her mother was murdered
Jin was allowed to attend the birthday party of her cousin but with Chen on her side, it was held at a high end club, Jin was dancing with her other cousins while Chen was not too far watching her and monitoring her every move
Jin was having fun when she noticed that someone is looking at her but when she turned to look at him he disappeared, she didn't mind it once but when it keeps on repeating she felt scared and suffocated, she excuse herself as sweats forming on his forehead despite of the air-condition place, She squeezed herself from the sea of people and run inside the bathroom when she saw that the man is following her, she hid herself in one of the cubicle and sat at the very cornered and balled herself, shutting her eyes and closing her ears with both of her hands
A deep voice was calling her; it was unfamiliar and she could do is to shout for Chen’s name and the deep voice disappeared and her bodyguard’s voice is echoing in the comfort room alongside with his loud door banging of the cubicle where Jin trapped herself in
When Chen successfully opened the door, Jin although weak and knees wobbled went to Chen’s embrace and cried her heart out, Chen wrapped her between his arms and body, he felt she was trembling and conscience hit him a bit, but truth to be told, it was him who made her see things with the medication he injected to her that turned out to be illegal drugs causing her hallucinations to become worsen
“How long would you keep me here?” Jin asked as her hands balled into fists
“After I get what I want.” He boastfully brushed to her face
Chen get closer to her and whispered again 
“You have two choices my Agasshi, it's either I blow your head off or stay good like a puppy?” He warned her with his deep scary voice sending shivers to her spine
Her tears started to stained her cheeks again and Chen gave her a quick kiss on the wet part reminding her that its her life on stake with one wrong move
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jungyongsang24-blog · 7 years
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[Outfit Upacara Penghargaan yang Buat Para Idol Bak Anak Orang Kaya] Pada sebuah postingan di forum diskusi online, netizen membicarakan soal outfit para idol saat hadir di upacara penghargaan. Tampil rapi dan glamor, netizen berpandapat bahwa outfit mereka membuat para idol ini terlihat seperti seorang chaebol. Dengan gaya yang kalem dan sopan, hal tersebut menambah kesan seorang chabeol dalam diri mereka. Netizen lain pun berkomentar seperti, "Daftar ini dimulai sangar kuat dengan EXO tapi gambar terakhirㅋㅋㅋㅋ" "Exoㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ" "Exo terlihat glamor dengan outfit tersebut tapi mereka sangar keren saat memakai baju biru. Ketika mereka keluar mobil, aku mendengar lagu dari flower boys" "Semuanya tampil glamor tapi Exo dan Black Pink paling terlihat seperti mereka dari keluarga bangsawan" "Aku juga suka outfit putih BtoB !ㅎㅎ" Bagaimana menurut kalian? Cr.koreanID V.EXO UPDATE . . . ✔private acc @sitiannisanurm #EXO #엑소 #EXOK #엑소ㅋ@exok.smtown #EXOL #엑소ㄹ @exokm.exolsmtown #EXOM #엑소ㅁ@exom.smtown #XIUMIN @xiurista90 #SUHO #LAY @zyxzjs #BAEKHYUN @baekhyunee_exo #CHEN #CHANYEOL @real__pcy #DO #KAI #SEHUN @oohsehun #WEAREONE #SARANGHAJA #CHANSOO @exol.chansoo #like4like @galaxy_fanfan @7_luhan_m @hztttao (di Indonesia,Makassar)
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spacequokka · 2 years
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EXO as Rich Kids
I saw this post and got a good laugh with a cute idea. Here are the drabbles and one-shots I was inspired to write.
⟨⟨₩⟩⟩‎ Minseok - 1.1k - You run out on him only to end up in his office that same day.
⟨⟨₩⟩⟩ Junmyeon - 0.5k - Junmyeon stops for a cup of coffee.
⟨⟨₩⟩⟩ Yixing - 0.6k - At the company’s milestone celebration party, Yixing has a surprise for you, his hardest worker.
⟨⟨₩⟩⟩ Baekhyun - 1.3k - You don’t know the first thing about running a business, so you enlist the help of an investor to help you save it.
⟨⟨₩⟩⟩ Jongdae - 0.5k - Rumors fly wildly over why he rejects request after request for marriage and the reason is simple: none of them are you, the quirky little developer he hired.
⟨⟨₩⟩⟩ Chanyeol - 1.0k - Chanyeol has his assistant hire a sitter for his toddler.
⟨⟨₩⟩⟩ Kyungsoo - 0.4k - Easily one of the most influential people in the country, Kyungsoo still rides the bus. But why?
⟨⟨₩⟩⟩ Jongin One | Two - 1.6k - You confront him and find you might have bitten off more than you can chew.
⟨⟨₩⟩⟩ Sehun - 1.3k - Of all the places to run into an old friend, a strip club isn’t high on the list.
Last updated 2/7/23.
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