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mostlycompetentwriter · 11 days

Text

Thunderous

Pairing: Fem!Reader x Bang Chan

Word Count: 11K

Genre: Werewolf AU! Royalty AU!

Warnings: There are some elements of non-con in this fanfic. Please don’t read if you don’t like those elements. Mentions of knotting and rough sex. There’s also a lot of explicit smut and language throughout.

Summary: The Wolf King’s name seared your heart. You had been chosen as the youngest and most expendable daughter to be his mate. But you were terrified of the legends surrounding his bloody campaigns. How were you going to survive?

Tag List: @armystay89 @captainchrisstan @starseekersworld @melsunshine @kibs-and-bits

The Wolf King’s name whispered through the trees and hummed between the villages like the ancient stories of the gods.

Some of the villagers claimed that he could transform—bones cracking and teeth elongating until there was no man left. They said his claws could cut through trees and that his howl silenced the instincts of the mountain lions who cowered in their dens. In place of human skin, fur sprouted thick and rough, darkening until it matched the color of the shadows.

The myth and lore had been passed down for years, and you found yourself on the receiving end of all those stories. As the Wolf King’s future mate, you had also become something of an enigma around the kingdom. People looked at you with a glint of respect, bowing their heads and moving out of your way whenever you made your rounds.

The attention that you hated. Especially when the marriage had been arranged without your willing compliance. Young girl fantasies of handsome princes and distant lands vanquished in an instant. But even if you couldn’t indulge in happiness anymore, there had been a time when you allowed yourself to dream about your wedding.

Bubbling colors of red and green—like your kingdom’s annual yuletide celebrations—and a long, flowing white gown extending across the floor like an elegant brush of paint. Pure as you had always been. There was beautiful music in your dream, and a gorgeous prince to take you into his arms and glide you across the floor like the clouds moving in the sky.

Fantasies, indeed.

Instead, of merriment and goodwill, you found yourself trembling from head to toe, holding tight to the sleeve of your handmaiden’s gown as she escorted you through the recital hall, down the aisle to where you recognized the Wolf King waiting.

You had only met him twice before. Once, when you had just turned twelve, on the day your families agreed to meet over the prospect of securing peace between your rival kingdoms.

When you were both little children, the Wolf King had no reputation. He was just a boy, and you greeted him with a smile—ignorant of the true purpose of your first meeting. While your parents talked about the future, you showed the Wolf King your favorite flowers, handing him individual stems while your mother bargained your life away:

“A union is our commitment to peace,” your mother had once proclaimed, reaching out to softly pat your curls. “We think they’ll do well together.”

“Yes.” But Chan’s mother didn’t seem convinced. She was an elegant and beautiful woman with long black hair and bright red eyes to match his defining features. “Chan will decide who he wants to marry,” his mother said.

“Y/N will make a good wife when she comes of age,” your mother insisted. “We’ll hire the best teachers to ensure that she is prepared for her duties.”

“That matters little to us,” Chan’s father spoke, and he regarded you like one might grimace at an annoying ant to step on.

You shied away from his intimidating stare, looking instead at Chan as he designed a flower crown for you, placing it on top of your head with a proud smile.

It was the last time he would ever show such kindness.

Over the years proceding your first meeting, Chan became a man, and his reputation for ruthlessness and fury ignited a storm of gossip.

“The Wolf King stands taller than the gods!”

“The Wolf King slaughtered a village because they refused to bow down to him!”

“He’s a monster! Have mercy on us all!”

You became terrified at any mention of the Wolf King, wondering if your parents were still serious about a union. You found out the hard way when your mother invited the Wolf King and his generals to your kingdom. But you didn’t stick around for very long.

The next time you met, you were sixteen, and you ran away to the gardens in a rare show of rebellion against your parents who had expected you to dress pretty and show off for Chan.

But that wasn’t in your nature, and your instincts screamed at you to avoid the Wolf King. And you thought that you were alone in the forest. Surrounded by the quiet of the thick foliage. But then you heard the bushes move, and you noticed a large black head peering at you with piercing red eyes.

You relaxed when you realized that it was just a common wolf—probably one from the mountain packs, and you weren’t frightened. Animals had always held a special place in your heart, and you approached the wolf with palms upturned to show your peaceful intentions. The wolf never moved, and you stroked your fingers through the coarse fur on his head.

You returned home that evening thinking your father would scold you for running off like that. But you were instead warmly greeted by your parents who were both ecstatic. “He agreed to marry you, Y/N!” your mother exclaimed. “Isn’t that wonderful?”

It wasn’t.

Not at all.

And you had never experienced real fear in your entire life. But walking down the aisle in the chapel to where the fearless Wolf King waited for you, there was a bone-chilling tremble aching down your spine.

“So beautiful,” you heard faint whispers join together, urging you closer and closer to the Wolf King who gazed at you with the most intense stare you had ever received.

When you were within earshot, the Wolf King snatched your hand from the poor handmaiden who had been helping you walk down the aisle.

The girl quickly jumped to the side, bowing her head as the Wolf King forced you to stand in front of him, reaching down for your other hand. You reluctantly gave it to him, still looking at everything except for the Wolf King’s eyes, even if the little growl he gave showed that he disapproved.

You could hear your mother’s chastising voice in your head, scolding you for not pleasing the King. But you didn’t care anymore. Wasn’t it enough that you were standing there, giving your life away to a monster?

In the distant background, you could hear the priest delivering his lines, and when it was your turn, you gave your vow of allegiance, even if the words fell hot like acid from your unwilling tongue.

Thankfully, the ceremony did not require you to kiss him, dodging his wayward lips when they fell too close to yours.

There was a rush when the proceedings concluded, the firm ushering of hands leading you out of the chapel. You stumbled in your heels, bringing yourself inadvertently closer to the Wolf King who held tighter to your waist. You did not enjoy the closeness, swallowing down your nerves as you tried not to think about what came next.

The crowd eventually parted, giving you enough space to walk down the steps in the open air, briefly acknowledging the cheering crowd spread through the streets. There was a distinct awe in the noise from the people around you, clambering over one another to get a good like at yourself and the predator who would soon claim you for his own. Wanting to acquaint themselves with your kingdom’s bargaining chip—a small sacrifice to ensure an alliance between your people and the ones who fought under Chan’s domain.

On paper, it seemed like a worthy solution to helping your kingdom protect its borders and fight off invaders. The problem was that you felt the weight of pleasing a man you had no interest in—someone who frightened you to your core. A sick knot tightened in your guts and your stomach clenched tighter as Chan led you to Castle Miroh—the notorious landmark of his territory symbolizing the power of the ruling family.

As the main doors parted, you winced at the sensation of the cold and harsh air inside, and a shiver passed down your spine as you forced yourself to keep up with Chan’s incessant pace, footsteps clacking against marble. It was dark in the corridors, and the only lighting came from the flames ensconced along the walls, casting everything in shadows. Ahead in the distance, you could see the outline of a grand staircase, and your eyes worked tirelessly to mark each step on your darkened path.

It turned out that Chan kept his quarters on the highest floor, latching your fingers together the entire time, even as you forced down the bile permanently hitched at the back of your throat at the thought of all the blood that had stained those hands.

At the top of the staircase, you were pulled to the left, marching down an impressive corridor with a soft, velvet carpet beneath your soles. Eventually, you found yourself in front of a large, wooden door, and Chan ushered you through the frame, a hand to your lower back as your eyes paused on the King-sized bed waiting beneath an unholy painting of a bloody battle scene.

You will present yourself to the Wolf King, you recalled the words of your tutor. He will expect obedience from his mate.

You blinked away tears, knowing what you were expected to do next, and deciding to push through your nerves before you lost the contents of your stomach on the floor. Every fiber of your being screamed at you to run, but you ignored your instincts, loosening the straps of your dress to allow it to pool into a mess on the floor at your feet, and kicking it aside as you eliminated the remaining distance to the bed.

You didn’t want to show him that you were weak. That he had any sort of influence that might condemn you a coward. You could not be seen as pathetic in the eyes of a monster, crawling on hands and knees to the center of the bed, head ducked down between your trembling arms and waiting.

Your breath caught when the bed dipped beneath his weight, and you gritted your teeth, feeling his hands take your hips with a powerful grip, nails digging into the soft skin.

The Wolf King will fuck you, your tutor had said, Then he will bite you to complete the mating ritual.

You had seen the Wolf King’s teeth. Sharp like razors and pointed at the ends. You would be a bloody mess at the end of this, but no one could ever accuse you of shirking your responsibilities. You had done everything expected of you, holding on to this thought of solace as you waited for him to take his fill.

“Don’t,” he abruptly whispered, startling you as he laid down on the mattress at your side, closing his eyes and letting out a grumble, completely unbothered with his own nakedness.

It must’ve happened while you were turned away, but it was still jarring to see so much pale skin on display, marred with jagged scars and scarlet bruises. Eyes trailing over the swell of his chest, over the ridges of his abs, and down to this impressive cock.

You swallowed hard. “Aren’t you going to fuck me?”

“No,” Chan said, chest deflating. “You do not want that.”

His response surprised you, and you wanted nothing more than to hurriedly tuck the sheet around your body to hide you from him. “I thought you were meant to-”

“We are equals,” Chan interrupted with a much firmer tone. “And you are afraid.”

Equals? The word didn’t seem right coming from him, but you weren’t about to question what was seemingly amounting to an act of mercy. Quick as a flash, you had the sheet bundled against your chest, eyes wide as you looked him over. “The mating-”

“We can do the bite,” Chan continued as if he didn’t care that he wasn’t fulfilling the only purpose you had been given. “But in the morning. The celebrations earlier exhausted me. Such frivolous trivialities.”

“Won’t they notice-”

“Who are they?” Chan barked with a hint of a growl that had you flinching. “There is no one who orders the King around.”

His dark pupils met yours in the dark, searching for something. You swallowed hard, unsure what he was looking for, but focusing on the calming sensation of relief flooding your system at his unexpected mercy. “Thank you.”

He gave a curt nod, dipping his head to the space next to him. “Sleep.”

You obeyed, wondering if you could sleep next to him, even if he had shown you some degree of kindness. It still didn’t erase his bloody reputation, and it worried you to no end that you would be sleeping next to a killer. Born to fight his way to power and rule over his kind.

You took a deep breath, holding tight to the sheet, and closing your eyes. Perhaps it was the roller coaster of emotions weighing down on you from the day’s events, but you did manage to find sleep, even if it was troubled. Nightmares of wolves following you through the woods, red irises piercing you from the shelter of the trees, and claws slicing through flesh.

You gasped when your eyes sprung open against an onslaught of bright, morning light, heart palpitating in your chest when you met those same eyes looking down at you from above. Chan was a step ahead of you as if he could predict your movements, grabbing your hands in one of his own to hold them above your head. One of his powerful thighs slung across your lower body, holding you in place with a strength that ignited a fire of burning adrenaline.

“Hold still,” he said, giving you no other warning before teeth sank into the side of your neck, and your body panicked, fighting against him. Like he might take a chunk out of your neck and leave you on the bed to bleed out. Crimson against the cream-colored sheets.

Immediately, a pulsating shock erupted from the site of the wound, forcing a scream from between your lips at the overwhelming pain. “I know,” he said, and it was barely discernible over the sounds of your cries, unashamed to lose all inhibitions at the sensation of a pain you had never experienced before.

The Wolf King moved over top of you, and you flinched when you felt his tongue start to lap at the painful bite mark on your shoulder. “The pain will stop soon,” he said. “I’m sorry you have to suffer.”

You held back a whine, digging your nails into the soft flesh of your palms. You supposed he had helped the sting, but it still felt like a piece of glass was being sliced across your skin. Even if the guilt and remorse in his gaze were almost enough to distract you.

“Relax,” he soothed, releasing your hands which instinctively went to wipe at your eyes, drying the salty wetness that had accumulated.

“I- I can’t...”

“You can because you are mine now,” he declared in a tone that had a different flame sparking in your chest.

You nodded against the pain, focusing on taking deep breaths, and letting darkness take you under once more.

When you woke again, the King was ready for you. He explained that you were needed in the Throne Room to meet some important people. It turned out that the King had three brothers. They were all younger than him. Or so you had been told.

Their names were Felix, Seungmin, and Jeongin. Feared and revered for their triumphs in battle.

Your Wolf King seemed proud to show them off, standing before you in an organized line: from oldest to youngest.

Felix reminded you of your own cousins, with his lithe figure, so much different from the King’s own bulk, and a head of flaming orange-red hair.

Next to him, in the middle, stood Seungmin. Dressed in dark clothes that only made his already dark hair even more onyx-black. Bright green eyes appraising you slowly.

Finally, there was Jeongin. The tallest of the three. And sporting the same dark-colored hair as his middle brother. He seemed to be the most innocent, eyes wide with wonder.

“They are here to support you,” Chan went on after introductions had passed. “Call on them if you need any help.”

Unlikely, but you forced a nod nonetheless.

“You are dismissed,” Chan informed them after you gave your acquiescence, and you watched them retreat in the same formation down the hall.

In their stead approached a shorter man, dressed in full battle attire. Well-muscled to stretch the fabric of his shirt and pants, with serious dark eyes. “My King,” the man said, bowing once. “You are needed on the training fields.”

You flinched when the man’s eyes found your neck, likely noting the swollen mess that Chan had left behind. “I’ll be there shortly, Changbin,” Chan said, and he waited until the man was gone before looking at you. “The Castle is yours, my Queen. Feel free to look around and acquaint yourself with your new home.”

“I will,” you whispered, forcing yourself to stay still when he leaned in to press a chaste kiss to your forehead.

“Tonight, we can eat together,” came his parting words, and you grimaced at the idea of sharing a meal with him.

But the concept of sharing a meal with him was nowhere near as horrible as the idea that this place could ever be considered your home. What a nasty thought! This place was nothing more than a prison forced upon you because your parents were desperate for Chan’s allegiance.

“Why did he agree?” you huffed to yourself, spinning on your heel to start the trek back to your room—as much as you could remember. “Leaving me here as if I know where anything is!”

For months leading up to your shared nuptials, you had pondered the reason why the powerful Wolf King had even agreed to marry you in the first place. Neither of your meetings had been particularly impactful, and your Kingdom had nothing to benefit his own; in fact, your alliance was more of a detriment to Chan and his people—a burden that he willingly took on.

You turned the corner to the last corridor, grateful that you had managed to retrace your steps, faltering when you noticed something on the floor outside of your door. You kneeled to retrieve it, glancing at the writing and noting with a happy hum that it was addressed from the Northern Highlands!

“Grace!” you exclaimed, clutching the envelope to your chest as you quickly rushed inside your room, glancing back to ensure the door was locked before hopping onto the bed to rip the contents open.

Dear Y/N,

Congratulations on your marriage to Bang Chan - it will be a strong alliance for our parents and their Kingdom.

I apologize for my absence - Hyunjin was unable to make the accommodations.

As you know, snowfall comes to the Highlands in the upcoming months. It will soon be impossible for me to journey to you, or for you to make the journey here. I’d love to see you and your new husband before it is difficult to do so.

Please write to me when you can to arrange a visit.

Lovingly,

Grace

You read over the letter twice before releasing a deep sigh. Would your Wolf King even indulge in such a trip? Perhaps it wasn’t even necessary for him to go. You could make the trip on your own.

You held fast to that thought, of getting away from your prison even if only for a few days, as you lounged around in your room for the remainder of the day. There was little to entertain yourself with, re-reading Grace’s letter over and over again, and sitting outside on the little veranda attached to your room to watch the clouds moving in the sky.

It would be another mercy to escape Chan’s presence if you were to head North alone, but you were afraid that you were pushing your luck, wincing when you heard the door to your chambers opening again, returning inside from your observation of the grounds to greet Chan as you were expected to do.

“My queen,” he rumbled, reaching out to hold your shoulders between both hands, a grip that was impossible to mistake. “Were you able to see more of the Castle?”

“Yes,” you lied through clenched teeth, only breathing a little easier when he released you, eyes dropping to the letter in your hands.

“What is that?”

“It is from my sister,” you explained.

“I see.”

“She wasn’t able to attend the wedding,” you went on, saving yourself a bit of time as you scrambled for the best way to drop the news to him. Maybe it would just be best to try a blunt approach, giving him your demands since he insisted on calling you an equal. “I wish to see my sister,” you said, refusing to meet his gaze. “Before it is too dangerous to make the trip to the Northern Highlands.”

Chan grunted at your request, and you weren’t well-versed in his language to know what that meant. “She invited you?”

“I can go alone,” you said. “If it is too much for you.”

“I would love to come with you,” he said, disregarding the determination in your tone. “It will give us more time to spend together on our own.”

“Oh.” Your gaze remained trained on the floor, hopes dashed that you could leave him behind.

“It will be nice to visit there,” he said. “I will make the arrangements. You may write her back to expect us very soon.”

“As you wish,” you sighed, trying to keep the disappointment from your tone, flinching when he grabbed one of your wrists. He didn’t seem perturbed by your reaction, and you watched as he pulled a delicate piece of jewelry from his pocket.

“Well?” he smiled, something that made you shiver. “What do you think?”

“What is it?” you asked in return, resisting the urge to pull back the wrist clasped between his scarred fingers. Even if you did manage to finally meet his gaze.

“It is a gift for you,” Chan said with a smile you were not expecting—blinding and warm. “I made it myself.”

“You made this?”

“As our traditions dictate,” he agreed, keeping a firm hold on your wrist to clasp the little bracelet around your delicate flesh. “It is meant to show our bond to the world.”

You studied it curiously, noting the simple design and the small wolf-shaped carvings engraved in the metal. It was cold against your skin, even as the heat from his body balanced it out.

“Shall we eat?”

He dropped your wrist, and you were able to gather your bearings. “Of course.” You managed a nod, watching as he opened the door wide, allowing a small servant girl to enter the room.

The girl offered you both a respectful bow before she started to set the table, laying out silverware and fine china plates. Behind her, another girl rolled in a cart, wheels squealing on the floor, with prepared food steaming from beneath metal lids.

“Here, sit with me,” Chan said, patting the space on the bed next to him. “Until they are ready.”

You obeyed, sitting down next to him. Your gaze remained trained on the servant girls, moving about in a well-rehearsed manner as if they had done this too many times to count.

He reached for your hand, and you did your best not to flinch. “Look,” he whispered, urging you to follow his gaze. “This line on your hand, do you see the way it moves?”

You shivered as he traced the mark he referred to, following it up and down the length of your palm. “Yes,” you whispered, struck by the unexpected intimacy of the gesture.

Goosebumps followed the trail he left on your wrist, and you held your breath when he brought it to his lips. “The same as mine,” he said, almost reverently. Your eyes widened, breath hitching as he aligned your hands together. “A perfect match.”

You could hardly believe it, eyes searching back and forth, but seeing the same line digging into both of your skin. Like it belonged there.

“There are reasons for everything,” he said, and you felt a small flicker of shame when you read his knowing gaze as if he could sense those dark thoughts that you sheltered about him—wondering why you out of everyone in the world had been chosen to stand at his side. “I wouldn’t question so much,” he continued. “The things that fall into place so perfectly.”

He offered you a wink, surprisingly playful for a man of his reputation. “Let’s eat.”

You nodded, the most you could, and followed him to the table. He was polite as always, allowing you to pick first, waiting until your first bite before claiming his own. You were content, at that moment, to answer the questions he threw your way, increasingly aware of the way the place he had touched warming and the mark on your neck drummed in a gentle pulse.

The rest of the evening passed uneventfully, and there was less trepidation in your soul when you lay with Chan to sleep.

You journeyed to the Highlands the next morning, riding behind Chan on horseback, leaving the Wolves’ imposing Castle behind. There was a lightness about you as distance added more miles to your ride, growing brighter and brighter the further you traveled. Even with light conversation petering between you and Chan, you had never been freer in your entire life, the wind blowing back your hair as you soared across the plains.

Despite his repeated requests for you to take a break, you were determined to make it to your sister’s palace before nightfall. You wanted to see her outside, in the meadows that spread invitingly across the Highlands, and walk together just the two of you as you did as children.

There was excitement spiking hot adrenaline in your veins when the hills opened up in the distance, revealing a gorgeous mountain Castle with imposing towers and the familiar flags of your sister’s powerful family. She belonged to Hyunjin, taking his name and crest, and it made you sad to realize that there was a greater distance between you both. You loosened your grip on Chan’s waist, not realizing your grip on him.

You had grown tired of being around him, constantly blinded by the weight of his shadow. At least out here, with the sun beaming down from above, you could feel great relief from the pressure lightening. Perhaps there should be shame associated with your actions, but as soon as you could identify a familiar shape up ahead, you were already leaping from the horse despite Chan’s protests.

Thankfully, your sister was there to greet you, surrounded by two guards. Immediately, you jumped from your steed, falling into her arms and inhaling the familiar scent of her perfume. “Grace,” you squealed, keeping her held tight to you as if it would be the last time you could ever do so.

“Y/N,” she sing-songed back, and you smiled at her playful attitude, only growing a little despondent when you detected Chan’s approach from behind.

“Hello,” she greeted Chan with a polite bow. “It is an honor to welcome you to the Northern Highlands.”

“Your palace is beautiful,” Chan complimented, and you shivered when he drew fingers down the length of your spine—a show of affection that you would never get used to experiencing.

“Thank you,” she said, turning around to gaze back at it as if she were seeing it for the first time. “It has centuries of history.”

“I have heard the tales,” Chan remarked. “From when I was a boy.”

You tried not to snort, not wanting to relive any memories of Chan from his boyhood. Grace’s careful eyes, however, seemed to detect something, and she looked at you with a curious gaze. “Well, I can show you to your quarters.”

“No need, I’m sure one of your guards will know the way. I think Y/N has been waiting for some time with you. I’ll leave you both alone,” he said, even without your prompting, and your sister gave you a familiar smile.

“As you wish,” she said with a little curtsy, beckoning a guard forward with stern orders to help the Wolf King settle in while you and Grace took a stroll of the grounds.

You held your breath, not wanting your impatience to show as the arrangements were made. Only once Chan had started in the direction of the Castle, guards following him closely, did you exhale. Reaching for Grace’s hand, and tugging her forward.

“No need to drag me!” Grace chuckled at your actions, and she linked your arms together, steering you toward the familiar meadows.

You both settled into easy conversation as it always seemed to happen, topics flowing from one to another. There was a lot to catch up on, things left unsaid from your sad exchange of letters. Rumors swirling around the highlands, and stories from your own homeland that you consumed greedily, excited for any mention of your little Kingdom.

Even if you didn’t really belong to it anymore.

You wanted to walk forever, to keep going beyond the highlands. Escaping to a distant land with just you and Grace. A place where you could both live in peace and go about your days just chatting and reading together by the fireplace as you did when you were children.

She laughed at your complaints, forcing you to return to the Castle when the sun had started to set. Thankfully, you didn’t go all the way inside just yet, and the two of you sat down at one of the picnic tables in the gardens. As you settled next to Grace, bowing politely to the maids who brought you both a cup of tea, you frowned as you recognized Chan between the hedges, strolling along with Hyunjin, Grace’s King, down the trodden paths between the mazes.

You did your best to ignore him, focusing instead on the moment you had with your sister. The setting sun was warm as you reclined your head, eyes closed as you accepted the gracious touch—burning just as hot as your sister’s intense stare.

“Do you have something to say?” you huffed. “I can feel you looking at me.”

Her smile was clear in her tone. “You just seem...different.”

“How so?”

“Like you’ve been tamed.”

Your eyes flew open at the comment, glaring at her. “Stuck in an arranged marriage, you mean?”

“Mine was arranged as well, but you can rest assured that I don’t take the same comfort from my particular suitor.”

“I hardly take comfort from the Wolf King,” you argued, but Grace simply shrugged.

“You’ve never seen things as I do.”

“What’s so bad about Hyunjin anyway?” you asked instead, to direct the conversation away from Chan,

Her smile curdled. “He keeps busy with his whores,” she said, shocking you with such an accusation.

“Grace-”

“Don’t.” Your sister sighed. “There’s nothing you can do.”

She attempted to restore her previous smile, looking back over your shoulder with a sigh. “I like your Wolf King,” she eventually said. “He cares about you a lot. I haven’t seen him take his eyes away from you once.”

Grace must be imagining things. “He’s tolerable at best,” you decided, earning yourself a sigh from your sister.

“My how your perspective has changed,” she remarked, finally turning her attention to the lukewarm tea in front of her. “You were kicking and screaming when you first learned of the marriage.”

“It is something that was forced on me!”

“But you’re not the only one, Y/N,” Grace said with a tone filled with sadness.

Suddenly, you felt chastened and guilty for even protesting her. “For us both, it has created nothing but discomfort.”

“I think there is potential in your match,” Grace argued. “You resist because you are stubborn in nature, but I think there could be good things for you if you just tried to make it work. Wouldn’t it be better, sister, to live with him as lovers than as cold strangers?”

“He is too wild for marriage,” you weakly protested. But your argument held no merit, and you hated the logic in her words, turning away to glare into the distance.

Night passed before your eyes, like the dimmest flicker, and you had never been more unhappy to greet the rising sun.

It seemed that all good things inevitably came to an end, and you were holding back tears when you parted from Grace the next morning, holding the embrace for far too long. Even as you allowed Chan to help you back onto the horse, positioned directly behind him on the saddle, you kept your gaze trained behind you, watching Grace grow smaller and smaller.

Until she was gone.

Your heart was heavy when you returned to Chan’s castle that same afternoon, but your foul mood didn’t last for long. Distracted as you were, surprised by the bustling activities throughout the grounds, everyone scrambling for something you couldn’t identify. “Our moon festival,” Chan explained. “We will be shifting tonight.”

Oh, right. You had forgotten about that part, too distraught reminiscing on your brief moment of freedom with Grace. “I almost forgot.”

“There will be a feast tonight,” he explained. “We will both join as King and Queen.”

You scowled at the idea. “As you wish.”

Chan frowned at the comment. “You must be tired from the journey,” he continued, choosing not to react to your passive comment. “Feel free to rest in our quarters. I will come get you later.”

You agreed with a half-hearted grunt of acknowledgment. Sleep did sound like a much-needed relief from the exhaustion threatening each unsteady step you took up the stairs. It was what you blamed your disorientation on, barely noticing when Chan leaned in to give you a chaste kiss on your cheek.

That same spot burned under the barely-there attention. But you chose to ignore it, instead focusing on how your feet were throbbing when you landed on top of your bed with a huff, allowing tears to escape as you gave yourself a moment to purge the nasty emotions that had built after leaving the Highlands. Unable to do so as you rode behind Chan.

There were too many different emotions piled on throughout the day, mixing with a heady combination of your exhaustion from traveling. Countless thoughts also swirled through your head, and it was inevitable that you would fall under, losing yourself to the easy promise of sleep. An easier task than grappling with your conflicted feelings.

Darkness greeted you like an old friend, and your dreams were wild. One moment you were back with Grace, strolling through the meadows. The next, you found yourself in an empty forest, shadows chasing each breath evaporating on cold air, ensnared by a pair of red eyes in the thick foliage.

You stumbled on the undergrowth, falling backward ungracefully. You only had the wherewithal to put a hand over your face, trying to block everything out, as those eyes descended on you. Fear caught in your throat, and it was the lasting image that haunted you as you jerked upright in bed, barely withholding a scream when those same eyes met you in the real world.

“Y/N.”

Chan’s voice was deep, guttural in its intensity, and filled with concern. You flinched when fingers came out to gently remove sweaty bangs from your eyes, heart thunderous inside your chest. His hand paused in its motions, and for a fleeting second, you thought you might drown in his stare.

“Sorry,” you whispered. “Bad dreams.”

“I see.”

There was a question in his tone, but you didn’t know how to provide an answer, choosing instead to gently push his hand away. “It’s nothing to worry about.”

He nodded, lower lip caught between his teeth. “If you’re certain...”

You studied him for a moment, wishing that you could confide in him. But there was still a great distance between you, perhaps put there by your own accord, but heavy in its existence. “I shall get ready.”

Chan allowed you the space, agreeing to meet you in the hallway as you rose to get dressed, finding the dress that had been laid out for you by the maids. You slipped the fabric over your body, shivering as the silkiness slid across your skin like a lover’s caress.

True to his word, Chan was waiting patiently on the other side of the door, and you hesitated before taking the outstretched hand offered to you. Unprepared for when it pulled you in closer, under the scrutiny of his affectionate gaze. “Beautiful,” he declared, nostrils flaring as if taking in the scent of the perfume you sprayed.

“Thank you,” you offered in return, choosing to keep silent as he led the way, helping you down the stairs in your heels.

For once, you willingly stayed close to Chan, especially as you approached the Great Hall where the festivities would take place. Chan led you into the dining room, perhaps a bit too hastily, uneasy with the weight of his people’s stares boring down upon your figure. Dressed simply in that white gown—pure, as you had always remained—and looking entirely out of place amongst battle-hardened soldiers.

You caught Changbin’s stare from across the room as you sat at the head of the table next to the King. There was lust in his gaze. And it deeply unsettled you, to the point that even Chan caught your shiver.

He followed your gaze to Changbin who looked away at once. “Tradition says that the King can share his mate,” Chan whispered. “But I will not share you with him. So he can only look.”

You weren’t sure what to say to that. So you didn’t say anything in return. “I didn’t know.”

There was a brief moment of silence, and then Chan stood, addressing the room. “Let’s feast together, comrades! We run together at the moon’s highest cycle!”

A chorus of cheers and howls greeted his words, and everyone started to fill their plates, easy conversation flowing between the wolves like the smell of the delicious-looking platters laid out before you. Still, your stomach revolted, swimming in circles as you picked at the helping Chan had served you. You wrinkled your nose when his grease-stained fingers brought a piece of chicken to your lips, and you forced yourself to take it from him.

Chan sighed as you chewed, forcing the morsel down your throat as it stung. “I won’t be with you tonight, of course. We will likely stay out in the moonlight until dawn. But I will return in the morning.”

“Okay.” You shrugged, seemingly indifferent. Some time to yourself seemed nice. And you weren’t keen on being outside when they were no longer human.

“You don’t have to be miserable here, my Queen,” Chan suddenly said, tone taking on a hardened edge. Perhaps the first time he had ever sounded stern with you. “Wolves mate for life, and they choose their partners seriously”

You contemplated his words, chosen ever so carefully. “I - I will try,” you managed, recalling Grace’s advice from the previous day.

To live as lovers rather than strangers.

He hummed at your agreement, eyes glued to your form as he appraised you with something akin to curiosity. “Don’t roam so far from the castle tonight. It isn’t dangerous, but it is your first time. Of course, there’s usually nothing to fear in the gardens.”

There was a layered hint in his words, but you chose not to think about it too much, simply nodding your head as you resumed your task of picking at your food. There was nothing wrong with the offering in front of you, but your newfound uneasiness mixed with your emotional charge from earlier—it had not yet completely dispelled itself from your system—left an unpleasant ache in your chest.

As if something was missing…

Later that night, long after the wolves left the castle, you realized you couldn’t sleep even if you tried, listening to the chorus of howls from outside the castle walls. They rang through the night, loud and clear, and harmonized with one another as if perfectly in sync. Perhaps they were since Chan and his wolves shared a tight bond, and you wondered what it must be like to be so perfectly in tune with one another.

It was these thoughts that plagued you, and even as midnight came and went, you grew more restless. You resolved to walk through the castle, to quell your thoughts and ease your mind. Even as your footsteps echoed through the halls, you found yourself becoming more awake instead of the opposite effect.

Fresh air would be nice, you thought until you remembered the wolves outside. But then again, Chan did promise you that the gardens would be safe. You could trust him, right? Or was that the problem? Your lack of trust in someone meant to be your partner.

You resolved yourself in that moment to try. And if that meant venturing out into the gardens, then no one could accuse you of being silent and passive. This was your attempt at trying, and if it ended badly, then you would have all the more leverage to ignore him.

However, despite your attempts to steel your resolve, you found your heart beating impossibly fast when you greeted the moonlight outside. Each lungful of air that you forced down your lungs felt like sharp knives attacking your flesh. Gaze swimming in front of you, footsteps unsteady as you entered the hedge maze surrounding the gardens.

You inhaled deeply, trying to find comfort in the familiar smell of the foliage. There was a strange air of peace surrounding you, and that was all the solace you needed to keep going, admiring the way the colors of the blooming flowers bled in a different light. It was easy to grow distracted by the sight, as beautiful as it was, and perhaps you could blame your wandering eye for failing to adequately identify the rustling of something large in the undergrowth of the forest.

You hummed to yourself, leaning down to run your fingers over the soft petals of a rose. Its usual red was subdued somehow, under the moon’s glow, and you smiled at the effect, completely ignorant of a different red seeping through the hedges near your right.

It wasn’t until a gentle whimper sounded that you jerked to a stop, hand fluttering to cover your chest as you whipped around to locate the source of the sound. And what stood before you, as powerful as the looming mountains above the castle, nearly had you falling to your knees.

Except, you realized upon a second cursory glance, that there was something uncannily familiar about the beast in front of you, and it only took you another moment to make the connection. A gasp fell from your lips when you realized that it was the wolf from your childhood—the one you had found that day Chan visited your home for the second time. The one you played with in the gardens. The one you spent time with just talking and believing it was nothing more than a common wolf.

You stumbled then, recognizing the now familiar crimson eyes looking back at you—the same ones that belonged to your husband. The wolf, your Wolf King, butted his giant head against your outstretched hand, giving an affectionate lick to your fingertips.

“I understand,” you whispered, unable to decipher the emotion in your voice, but one thing that you knew for certain—there was a clear absence of fear. Because you had never feared this wolf, always approaching it with happiness, completely ignorant of its true state.

The wolf gave you a meaningful look, and you were struck by the humanness of the gesture. Understanding dawned on you—Chan had always known. He had always known it was you—the one his wolf had chosen. The girl who had never shown fear to a beast that others considered a monster.

You had known Chan for your entire life without even realizing it, and your eyes welled with tears, watching him toss back his head and release a spine-curdling howl. One that was joined by a chorus of beautiful melodic cries, merging and joining together, and reaching down to your very bones.

You dropped to your knees then—a mere speck before the Wolf. You cried without fear, and this time, the tension between you and your King vanished like the stars in the night sky when dawn cracked across the horizon.

Three Months Later

On most mornings, Chan was gone before you woke up, and that left you with a disconcerting feeling of disappointment. You supposed there was much to do for the King of the Castle, but lately, it made you ache for something you couldn’t quite discern.

For the past several months, you found yourself opening up to the Wolf King in ways you would’ve never imagined. The truth of who he was, the Wolf from your childhood, along with Grace’s well-intentioned advice, had managed to crack through the stoic guard you had raised from the moment you bound yourself to him.

He taught you about the bond—how, even if you weren’t a Wolf and couldn’t experience the same emotions, he could feel each flicker of happiness or stroke of sadness as it moved through you.

You had not known of this connection before—because of your stubborn nature—and you would always regret resisting it. But things were better, and you could see the beauty in the bond and how truly spectacular it was to feel and understand another person so intimately. It made you wonder—for longer and longer periods of time—just how deep you could make that bond.

Curiosity weighed heavy on you, and your eyes cracked open at a gentle knocking on the door—an opportunity presenting itself when you recognized a familiar servant girl entering your room. “Good morning, Y/N,” she said, and you nodded in return.

At first, you had kept yourself closed off to the other maids, but this one in particular, Ivy, had been insistent. It was hard to deny her, especially when she became your best teacher, indulging you in learning everything related to the wolves and their way of life.

She was also quite willing and open to help you with anything, even if it involved the more intimate parts of your relationship with the Wolf King. You brought it up again that morning, growing more and more confident, especially since Ivy was completely shameless when it came to that sort of thing.

“I thought about your words from the other night,” you opened the conversation, watching as she put your breakfast down onto the table.

“You’ll have to remind me.” There was a teasing note in her tone, and you glowered at the playful look she shot in your direction.

“We spoke about the King,” you said. “You told me things…what I can do to please him.”

“I remember.” She took a step closer, and you were wary of the look in her eyes. “Does he not fuck you well?” Ivy asked, and her tone was absent of the same filter that would stop your tongue.

Still, you were embarrassed, looking down at your feet, wondering how to disguise the truth. “It doesn’t feel good when it seems like he just uses me to get himself off.”

That much was true as you had heard Chan masturbating next to you on countless nights, and your name often fell free from his lips.

“I see.” Ivy nodded. “He doesn’t know better. He was taught that a good alpha fucks his mate and makes sure that she is pregnant for him.”

You winced at her blunt explanation. “Is that all...wolves need?”

“Not necessarily,” Ivy said with a bright smile. “I can teach you...if you want.”

“Teach me?” you asked, gasping when Ivy placed a hand on your chest, forcing you to fall back on the bed.

She was all smiles when she crawled into your lap, grabbing your hands and securing them to her waist. You gasped when she started rocking her hips into your own, feeling the pleasant ache resonate up and down your spine. “The most important lesson of them all,” Ivy said with a twinkle of mischief in her eye. “The art of seduction.”

“I - Ivy...”

“Tell me, Y/N,” Ivy interrupted your ramblings, leaning down so that the tips of your noses brushed together. “Would you like that? Seducing your wolf? Driving him to the point where he can’t resist taking you?”

You moaned around your response. “Yes! Please show me.”

Her hips rocked harder into yours, and you could see white forming at the edges of your vision. “Leave it to me.”

And you did, surrendering to her touches, and the wicked way she showed you all the ways to drive a King mad.

The following night, you bravely waited for your Wolf King to return from patrol, wearing nothing but a sheer robe that left little to the imagination. Sitting on the edge of your shared bed, you caught each breath as it rattled between your lungs. Nervousness eating away at your resolve and leaving the poor skin around your cuticles abused by your touch.

Ivy’s advice rang clear in your mind as if she were there with you, holding your hands between her own as she taught you how to please the King. You blushed at the memory, hands covering the bare skin beneath your robe, caressing the delicate flesh as she had done the night before. Demonstrating to you the best ways to please a man, and to make him beg for you.

That kind of power held its curious appeal, and you thought about it constantly. Wondering what it would be like to make Chan lose his mind to the sin of your smell and touch. You could hardly wait, bouncing your leg and jostling the flimsy material of your coverings.

Thankfully, your Wolf King didn’t make you wait for very long, punctual as always in these recent times of peace in joining you during the evenings. The easy smile he always offered you vanished as soon as he closed the door behind him, eyes locked on your figure clad in so very little.

“Be assertive.” You recalled Ivy’s words, and you stood on shaky legs to take a few tentative steps towards him. The implication was not lost in translation. You could barely get out a greeting before Chan was on you in seconds, gently pushing you back against the wall. He pressed his forehead against yours and you closed your eyes. “You look beautiful,” he whispered, initiating the first indulgent kiss that lit a fire that you felt down to the tips of your toes.

“Then have me,” you said against the purse of his mouth, tongue tracing that full bottom lip. His gaze widened perceptibly, holding you at arm's length.

“What do you mean?”

“Take me the way you want,” you replied. “I’m ready. You love me, don’t you?”

The intensity in that gaze you had started to yearn for burned even brighter. “You know that I love you Y/N, and I understand why it would be hard for you to believe. I’m more than willing to take this chance to show you.”

He pulled away despite the tight grip you kept on his powerful bicep. Even so, you kept your eyes open as wide as possible to enjoy the scene playing out in front of you when he kissed you again. You curled your fingers into his thick black hair, remembering Ivy’s advice, and pulled his mouth against yours, crushing your lips to his. Chan’s chest rumbled as he kissed you fiercely in return, grabbing onto your arms as his tongue plundered the hot cavern of your mouth.

Your lungs screamed in protest, and you pulled away suddenly, shivering at his resounding whimper. You opened your eyes, keeping your hands in his hair to hold it back from his crimson orbs. You found the lust there, making his eyes appear darker. “It’s so hard for me to do this,” you said softly. “I- I want to please you…”

“You don’t have to do anything,” Chan replied. He pressed his hips into yours and you felt something hard against your stomach. “Y/N,” Chan murmured, leaning into your neck to inhale deeply. “I want you more than anything else.”

You shivered as you felt his other hand come to the sleeve of your gown, slowly sliding it down your shoulder. His fingertips slid across your skin, weakening your resolve. His lips followed his touch, peppering soft kisses along the exposed skin. He tugged on the fabric more and you felt the fabric at your right breast start to fall, slowly exposing the flesh to him. His blazing eyes looked down at what he had uncovered, as his hand moved up to hold your breast in his palm. You moaned when his thumb started to rub against your nipple, growing alarmed at the sudden ache between your legs. Like before, his lips soon replaced his fingers and you cried out when he gently nipped the sensitive skin.

He suddenly tugged the fabric back up, releasing your wrists so that he could have both hands when he grabbed the sides of your robe and tugged it aside to reveal your bare skin to him. Your hands fell to your sides as your chest heaved up and down to match each of your panting breaths. Clad in the lingerie Ivy had helped you pick out the previous night.

Chan’s eyes were glued to your bare torso. With a moan of his own, he pressed a soft kiss to your lips before he trailed his mouth down, over the soft skin of your throat, down your chest, and between the valley of your breasts, over your smooth stomach down to the top of your lace panties. Looking up at you with hungry, lust-filled eyes, Chan started to tug the fabric down your legs.

Clenching your fists against the wall, you couldn’t begin to describe what you felt when he pressed a kiss against the front of your panties, holding your thighs in his strong hands. Standing back up to his full height, he pulled his shirt off next, tossing it onto the floor. You breathed out deeply as your eyes greedily took in the sight of his muscled torso. Timidly, you reached out a hand, aware of his eyes watching your movements as you hovered your palm over his firm abdomen. “Touch him with your fingertips,” Ivy’s words whispered against your ear. He groaned, bracing his arms on either side of you, moving his head against the wall next to your ear. You heard Chan’s husky voice whisper: “Baby, please touch me.”

Your eyes fluttered at his request, and you placed both palms on his hard stomach, moving them up and feeling the muscles tense beneath your touch. Your hands danced across his pectorals, rising along with the muscles. You moved your palms over his shoulders and then back down, pausing when you hit the top of his pants. Before you could muster up the courage to move any lower, Chan’s lips were back on yours, kissing you senseless. You wrapped your arms around his neck, working your mouth against his, feeling your lips become swollen from his kisses. As your tongues touched, you felt Chan’s hands return to your thighs, lifting them so that you had no choice but to wrap your legs around his trim waist. Holding you against him, he carried you into over to the bed to deposit you on top. You missed his warmth as soon as he was gone and opened your eyes to meet his black gaze.

This was your chance. You remembered Ivy’s words and scrambled to get in position. Present. The command burned its way through your whole being as if you had no control over it. Instead, you turned on your hands and knees, arching your back and keeping your ass held high in the air.

You had never done this before, and you felt so exposed, but at the same time so good, so right, and you restrained yourself from trying to cover up against the shameless crimson stare watching you.

Suddenly, all went quiet, prompting you to glance over your shoulder. The Wolf King was staring at your ass, his mouth slightly agape. “Good girl,” was all you heard before Chan dove down abruptly to taste your dripping cunt, dragging his tongue all the way up to the source of the wetness leaking from you with a single, hot swipe, before latching on and sucking eagerly at the sensitive skin around your opening.

You keened at the sensation and shivered at his satisfied grunts and moans as he took his fill of your taste. It made you want to please him. To do whatever it took to make him completely lose his mind.

“Chan!” You moaned out, reaching beneath him to flick at your neglected clit. “More!”

Your demand did not go unanswered. With a grunt, Chan yanked your ass up higher for a better angle, digging his hands into the plush flesh of your hips. His touch was rough, and strong, undoubtedly leaving marks behind, but you absolutely loved it. And when the wiggling muscle of his tongue finally pushed inside, you cried out in absolute bliss and pleasure. Time itself seemed to slow down as that tongue relentlessly moved inside you, searching for that spot that could make you see stars and, once found, pressing down hard. Again and again, Chan dipped inside with his tongue, and each time you moaned for him. It didn’t take you long until your body tensed and shuddered, squeezing around the intrusion as you rode out your orgasm.

With a satisfied groan, Chan released your hips, and you collapsed on your stomach, still aching for him.

You attempted to look back at Chan, groaning when you realized he was pushing down his pants and underwear, freeing his stiffening cock before crawling back over you. You were met with a flurry of kisses, on your lips, your cheeks, and your neck, before his tongue trailed lazily over your chest and down to the delicate curls damp from your release.

You squirmed under him as he held himself up on his arms, dragging his eyes unbearably slow from your face and down to your toes. He moved one finger down over your stomach, and you watched it enter the forest of blonde curls around your center. Panting, and nearing combustion, you found yourself instinctively thrusting your hips up, begging him for more than just touches. Growling, he practically shoved your hips back to the bed, reaching down and jerking his thick cock with rough strokes. He abruptly flipped you over onto your back, craning his neck to look down into your eyes. “Let me make love to you, Y/N.”

His words sent a flurry of heat straight to your core. You had never had sex before, but you wanted it desperately. You told him as much and could see him visibly shaking. “I’ll go slow,” he promised, kissing your lips tenderly, before reaching down to line himself up at your entrance. You closed your eyes and winced as he pushed into you. Pliant and soft from his earlier ministrations, the bulbous head found little resistance as it breached your cunt.

You could feel his face bury itself into your shoulder, his knuckles turning white as they gripped the bedding, as if it was taking everything he had to go this slow. Once he was buried inside of you completely, you groaned, adjusting to the sudden intrusion. You could feel him still above you, and his teeth teased the skin at your shoulder. “Son of a bitch,” he growled. “It’s taking every ounce of control I have not to flip you over and fuck you senseless.”

His words, as crude as they were, only served to heighten your arousal. “Move,” you said, grabbing his black hair and pulling his face to yours. You kissed him quickly. “I’m fine.”

He needed no further encouragement, as he slowly pulled out before pushing back in. You could see the sweat breaking out across his forehead from the exertion, causing strands of his hair to stick to his forehead. His right hand moved behind you to grip the headboard as his hips slowly rocked against your own. As good as it felt, you could see he was about to lose it. “Faster,” you told him, and he complied, speeding up his thrusts and allowing some of the tension to escape his body. It was a little painful, especially when he let out a low growl and really started grinding his hips.

You could feel it building inside, the pleasure of his rough movements far outweighing the discomfort. You let out another moan as he moved in and out, feeling the smooth friction all the way to the tips of your toes. The Wolf King chose this moment to draw his hips back, dragging his length out to the tip, before slamming it back inside with a powerful thrust, rocking your body to the point that you felt your vision turn white for a moment. Without giving you time to recover, Chan repeated the motion over and over again, speeding up and adjusting the angle to relentlessly hit deep inside, hips bumping your clit with every smooth grind.

He grunted from his efforts, one hand on the headboard while the other came to grab your breast, his lips sucking at your neck. For your part, you arched your back against him, allowing your hips to come up a little to meet his movements as he hit even deeper inside of you, just barely kissing your cervix. Your fingernails scraped down the smooth skin of his back at this new angle. He moaned when your nails dug into his flesh, bringing his lips up to yours and you kissed him feverishly, tasting him like your life depended on it. One of your hands curled into his smooth black hair while the other gripped his bicep tightly, sighing happily as you felt the muscles move.

You wrapped your legs around his waist, trying to not feel overwhelmed by all of the things he was making you feel. Buried deep inside of you, you could feel him hit all the right spots, sending waves of pleasure to your tight center. Meanwhile, his lips were working magic against yours, leaving you breathless.

You could feel an intimate warmth building inside of you the longer he snapped his hips against yours. Groaning, you let out a cry as you felt something inside of you break open, releasing wave after wave of heat through your core, leaving your body drowning in pleasure.

There was a haze of lightheadedness clogging your senses, and you almost didn’t even realize the swell pushing against your ass, until it breached your core. “Chan!” you hissed at the combination of pain and overwhelming pressure, retreating and then swelling again as he ground that hot mass against you.

“My knot,” he groaned, and you could feel the heat from his chest against your breasts as he pressed even closer.

You vaguely recalled Ivy warning you about this, telling you that it would be hard to prepare for the massive instrution. You felt a spike of fear as it stretched you even further, and you worried that your virgin body would suffer. All you could do was grit your teeth and bury your head into the blankets beneath you, feeling the swell of his knot pressed against the cleft of your ass. You fisted the sheets between your hands. He would split you in half, and then you would be nothing.

“Y/N!” he growled, slowing his hips to a timid roll as his knot locked between you both, and your eyes rolled into the back of your head as you felt his release flood your insides, filling you to the point that your lower stomach had started to swell from his cum.

He groaned as you both came down from your highs, and you gently petted your finger through his unruly curls. He experimentally rolled his hips to test how firmly the knot was locking him inside and it wouldn’t budge. Your cunt squeezed the knot, eliciting another grunt from Chan, another twitch, and another spurt of hot cum inside of you.

The pop didn’t swell until Chan was fully seated, his thick cock barely able to seat itself fully between your pulsating walls. It was a painful stretch, of course, but you were hardly focused on it.

Chan continued to hump against you, long after his release and teetering on the cusp of oversensitivity, but those seductive hips had lost their rhythm. It was only moments later, as Chan pulled away from your lips and buried his face into your chest, that he growled when something warm filled your center. You let your hand wander down his spine, stroking along the individuals knots. You could feel him breathing hard above you, and you tried to soothe him back to normal.

You were locked together for a long time, and you were almost asleep when Chan was finally able to pull out, collapsing onto the mattress next to you, looking up at the ceiling. You watched as his chest rose and fell quickly until you could barely see it move at all, signifying his return from his high. Your own breaths came out much shorter, and you were aware of the sweat that coated your skin.

You watched as Chan ran his hand through his dark hair, moving it out of his face. Looking over at you, he turned on his side and used one hand to bring you closer to him, wrapping an arm around your waist. You hummed in delight as your chests pressed together, moving in sync with each other. Chan’s eyes scanned over your face as he leaned in and kissed your forehead. “I love you Y/N,” he said. voice rumbling. “I’ll do whatever it takes to prove it to you.”

You were barely coherent, collapsed against the sheets with a line of drool pooling out from your mouth. Closing your eyes, you let your head fall against his chest, savoring his warmth. “I trust you,” you said softly, and you could feel him sigh in relief. Simply holding you against him, surrounded by his warmth, you suddenly felt very much like you belonged.

“You and I have always been destined,” Chan whispered, and for the first time since you had taken your place as his Wolf Queen, you weren’t afraid.

Instead, you were irrevocably alive.

#stray kids smut #stray kids fanfic #stray kids x you #bang chan #bang chan smut #chan smut #chan x reader #bang chan x reader #chan x female reader #chan oneshot #bang chan oneshot #chan imagines

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milkteabinniechan · 1 month

Text

chai latte

MINORS DNI 18+ ONLY | ☕ / m. list

pairing: bf! Chan x afab reader

warnings: exhibitionism, fingering (f. receiving), slight public degradation

(join my ko-fi membership to see sneak previews of future writings and be entered in giveaways<3)

You sipped your chai latte and watched the people passing by the coffee shop window. Chan had just left the studio, excitement building in your stomach. Small sips. One. Two. Three. Any minute now he would walk through the door.

A bell dings.

That's the last thing you remember. A bell dings. And now your skin was on fire. You were trying to focus on your facial expressions. Could people tell? Could they see? Chan's hand was under. Under the table. Under your skirt. His head was tilted in toward your neck. Whispers.

"Channie..." You gasped

His fingers moved in rhythm with your breaths. Index and middle finger flicking, stroking. He loved to slide along your swollen lips, slipping in and out of your slit. So slick. Your thighs squeezed together.

"Look at you," Chan growled, "In public? In front of all these people?".

Chan masterfully used his other hand to grip your leg and pull it out, exposing yourself more underneath the table. Your hips squirmed and thrusted into his long fingers. Your hands holding on desperately to the seat of your chair.

You let out a small whimper. Your chest heaved forward and bumped the table slightly. Someone looked up from their laptop to see the cause of the clamor. The two of you made eye contact for a moment, you smiled innocently, Chan never breaking eye contact with your flushed face. To him, there was no one else in the room.

"You're going to get us kicked out of here, bunny." He teased. His warm breath coated your neck. You wanted to moan fuck me channie...! Before remember where you were, instead you turned your head to face him and simply said,

"You're evil." With your most needy face. Eyes wide and glossy. Your breathing had quickened now, speeding toward your orgasm. Chan pushed his index and middle finger deeper inside of you, hitting the soft spot you so despairingly needed to be hit. In and out. In and out.

"Come for me, bunny." Chan voiced deepened. The seriousness of his demand almost too much in your weakened state.

You bucked your hips in release. The immense pleasure hitting every nerve ending like perfectly timed fireworks. Your knees hit the table, toppling over your chai latte. Tea and milk spreading across the table top. You looked at Chan, frozen.

"I guess we made a mess."

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hoshifighting · 4 months

Text

Synopsis: Where you take chan's virginity in 7 minutes in heaven, and after you move to the contryside to study, Chan tries to find you throughout these years, looking for a few more minutes with your presence.

Word Count: 3.2k

Warnings: Smut, unprotected sex, fingering (f. receiving), oral (f. receiving, and a lil' mention of m. receiving), penetrative sex, muffle of moans, bathroom sex, closet sex, creampie, clit stimulation and etc.

In the bustling hallways of High School, there was a boy named Chan who seemed to effortlessly navigate the sea of students. With his easy going demeanor and infectious laughter, he became a familiar face at every social event, from the lively frat parties to the spirited gatherings in the gymnasium.

Chan had an uncanny ability to blend into any crowd, always surrounded by a diverse group of friends. Despite his outgoing nature, there was a mysterious quietness about him, a shyness that made him stand out even more. He was the type of person who observed more than he spoke, and his thoughts remained a well-kept secret.

You, on the other hand, were just another student navigating the complex world of high school. While not a stranger to the social scene, you maintained a quiet grace that captivated those around you. Chan couldn't help but notice your presence wherever he went, and your beauty became a constant source of admiration for him.

As the days passed, Chan found himself drawn to you more and more. He'd steal glances in the hallway, secretly hoping for a brief exchange of smiles. However, his shy nature prevented him from approaching you directly. Instead, he contented himself with being part of the same social circles, watching from a distance as others sang your praises.

One day, as you stood in the gymnasium, chatting with friends, Chan couldn't help but overhear his own friends discussing how dreamy you were. A subtle twinge of jealousy flickered in his eyes, and a pang of frustration nestled in his chest. He wanted to be the one expressing those sentiments, but fear held him back.

Despite his internal turmoil, Chan continued to be a silent admirer. At frat parties, he'd watch you dance with friends, and in the hallways, he'd catch glimpses of your radiant smile. His friends continued to tease him about your allure, unaware of the quiet storm brewing within him.

Then, in a random frat party, the room was filled with a buzz of excitement, laughter, and the occasional gasp as the game of truth or dare escalated. Amidst the dwindling crowd of friends, the bottle pointed to you and Chan, causing a hush to fall over the group. Chan's heart raced as he seized the chance he had been waiting for.

"Truth or dare?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper, eyes fixed on yours.

You grinned mischievously, caught up in the thrill of the moment. "Dare," you replied, a playful glint in your eyes.

Chan felt a rush of nerves and anticipation. "I dare you to join me for 7 minutes in heaven," he said, his voice tinged with a mixture of boldness and nervousness.

The room fell silent, and gasps echoed around you. It wasn't just the unexpectedness of Chan's daring move but also the rarity of his public display of affection that stunned everyone.

You met his gaze with a smile, realizing the significance of his bold action. Extending your hand to him, you whispered, "Lead the way, Chan."

As you both made your way to the closet, his hand felt clammy in yours, a testament to his nerves. Once inside, the door closed behind you, leaving your friends in the living room with wide eyes and curious whispers.

So, 7 minutes in heaven, huh?" you teased, breaking the silence.

Chan chuckled nervously, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah, seems like it," he replied, his voice a bit shaky.

You took a step closer, your eyes meeting his. "You know, this is probably the most daring thing you've ever done," you remarked with a playful glint in your eyes.

He grinned, trying to muster some confidence. "Well, when the opportunity knocks, you've got to take it, right?"

You laughed, appreciating his boldness. "I like that attitude. So, what are we going to do for the next 7 minutes?"

Chan's hesitance became evident. He awkwardly stepped closer, his hands brushing against your waist as he tentatively held you, clearly uncertain about the next move.

You smiled, noticing his uncertainty. "You know what people normally do in here, right?" you asked, playfully raising an eyebrow.

Chan nodded, his cheeks growing even redder. He was caught between excitement and nervousness. Sensing his discomfort, you decided to take the lead, moving your lips to his ear as your arms slid to hold his shoulder and neck.

"Don't pretend that you didn't call me here for a reason," you whispered, your warm breath sending shivers down Chan's spine.

His eyes widened, a mixture of surprise and anticipation dancing in them. As your lips met his, the atmosphere in the closet shifted.

he kiss deepened, and Chan closed his eyes, savoring the moment. For him, it felt like the most courageous act he had ever committed. As your lips moved in a dance, his tongue slipped inside your mouth, exploring with a mixture of curiosity and passion. His hands, once tentative, now gripped your waist, pulling you closer, and a gasp escaped your lips.

In the heightened intensity of the moment, Chan's inhibitions seemed to fade away. His hands traveled, moving to grip your ass, a bold move that made your heart race. The unexpected touch sent a thrill through you, and you couldn't help but gasp, your hands instinctively finding their way to the closure of his jeans.

As you began to unbutton his jeans, a mix of excitement and nervousness enveloped Chan's mind. He felt like a daredevil, a rebel breaking free from his usual reserved self. "What the fuck you're doing, what the fuck you're doing, what the fuck you're doing," his mind repeated like a mantra, the rhythm echoing the beating of his heart. And he was doing nothing. His body was tense, glued to the wall, watching you pulling his cock out of his boxers, already on your knees. "Oh my god Y/N…"

[…]

As time passed, Chan couldn't shake the memory of that fateful night at the frat party, and the 7 minutes in heaven that left a lasting imprint on his heart. Despite having other flings and experiences, your presence lingered in the back of his mind, a constant reminder of a connection that felt unfinished.

Graduation came and went, and as the days turned into months, Chan found himself yearning for the girl who had once whispered in his ear, and fucked with him for first time in the small closet. He tried every avenue to find you, but it seemed like you had vanished into thin air. The countryside, where you were rumored to have gone to study, felt like an impenetrable mystery.

Chan's attempts to move on were futile. He'd catch himself flipping his head 360° at the sound of a familiar name, hoping against hope that it was you. The intensity of his search gradually took a toll on him, and he realized that the girl from the frat party had become more than just a fleeting crush.

Years passed, and Chan matured, both in age and in understanding. He reflected on the significance of that one night, realizing that it wasn't just about the physical connection but the emotional one that had developed in those 7 minutes. It became a turning point in his life, shaping the way he approached relationships and connections.

Eventually, Chan accepted that some stories are meant to be cherished for what they were and not for what they could have been. The memory of the mysterious girl from the frat party became a bittersweet chapter in his past, a reminder of a connection that slipped through his fingers.

As life unfolded, Chan carried the lessons learned from that fleeting encounter, and while he didn't know where you were or what you had become, the impact of those 7 minutes in heaven remained etched in his heart, a beautiful and poignant memory of a love that never fully blossomed.

The soft glow of the evening sun cast a warm ambiance over Seungcheol's house as Chan, along with a group of friends, gathered for a casual dinner and some much-needed relaxation. Bottles of wine adorned the table, and laughter filled the air as the friends reminisced about their high school days and caught up on each other's lives.

Chan sat comfortably, sipping on his wine as he engaged in a lively conversation with Vernon, their laughter blending seamlessly with the others in the room. The atmosphere was one of camaraderie and nostalgia, a haven away from the stresses of their busy adult lives.

"So, Chan, what have you been up to these days?" Vernon inquired, raising his glass in a casual toast.

Chan took a thoughtful sip of his wine before replying, "Oh, you know, the usual grind. Work keeps me on my toes, but it's not too bad. And I've been trying to make time for some personal projects, too."

Chan's heart raced as he saw the figure enter, resembling you in a way that ignited a spark of hope in him. At first, he dismissed the possibility, unwilling to let his expectations deceive him. But then, a second glance shattered his disbelief—there you were, after all these years, standing before him.

Vernon's words faded into the background as Chan's focus zeroed in on you. His mind raced with a flurry of emotions, memories flooding back like a torrent. He couldn't believe the twist of fate that had brought you back into his life.

"Vernon, I think I'm going to lose it," Chan exclaimed in a hushed, incredulous tone, his eyes still fixed on you. While Vernon furrowed his eyebrows.

Vernon, sensing the gravity of the situation, chuckled knowingly. "Dude, this is crazy! Go talk to her!"

As he reached you, there was a mix of nervousness and anticipation on his face.

"Hey," he said, a nervous smile playing on his lips. "It's really you, isn't it?"

You met his gaze with a mix of surprise and joy, confirming, "Yeah, Chan, it's me. I can't believe you're here too."

The two of you shared a moment of disbelief and happiness, the years that had passed seemingly evaporating. Vernon observed from a distance, a grin spreading across his face as he realized the significance of the reunion.

The vibrant atmosphere of Seungcheol's house seemed to fade away as Chan found himself irresistibly drawn to you. Despite the years that had passed since your high school days, the connection between you two felt as alive and magnetic as ever. Every stolen glance and subtle smile communicated a language that only the two of you seemed to understand.

The pull became so strong that, at a certain point, Chan decided to follow you into the kitchen. The chatter and laughter from the other rooms faded into the background as the two of you found a moment of solace amidst the whirlwind of the reunion.

As you opened a drink, Chan approached with a lopsided grin. "Mind if I join you for a moment?" he asked, a playful glint in his eyes.

You gestured with a nod, and a comfortable silence settled between you. It was as if the passing years had only served to deepen the unspoken connection. Chan, feeling a mix of nostalgia and newfound boldness, finally broke the quiet.

"Are you dating someone?" he asked, the question lingering in the air with a weight of curiosity and perhaps a hint of hope.

You looked at him, the honesty in your eyes evident, and shook your head. "No, I'm not. Why do you ask?" you inquired, a playful grin playing on your lips. "Thinking of entering another closet with me?" you added, teasingly recalling the high school party that had marked the beginning of your connection.

Chan, surprising both you and himself, responded boldly, "Well, maybe I was thinking of something more than just a closet this time."

Your eyes widened in surprise, and a moment of tension hung in the air. The boldness of his statement sparked a mix of excitement and curiosity, and you couldn't help but be intrigued by the newfound confidence in Chan's demeanor.

As Chan stood there, his black jeans emphasizing the contours of his thighs, and his shirt fitting snugly on his chest, you couldn't help but appreciate the sight before you. A subtle "Hmm" escaped your lips, capturing his attention.

Feeling a sudden surge of boldness, you moved closer, crossing your arms to accentuate your figure, and you caught Chan's gaze. With a playful glint in your eyes, you asked, "Do you think Seungcheol would mind if we borrowed his bathroom for a few minutes?"

A devilish smile crept onto Chan's face, and he replied, "Oh, I think he wouldn't mind at all."

Taking your hand, he led you upstairs, navigating through the lively atmosphere of Seungcheol's house. The anticipation in the air grew as you reached the bathroom at the end of the hall. The door closed behind you, leaving the sounds of the party downstairs muffled in the distance.

He kissed you sloppy and hungry, his hands slid from your neck to your hips. His mind showed no sign of stopping, and his hands quickly worked their way up your dress, squeezing your hot skin between his fingers.

As Chan's lips hovered dangerously close to yours, a charged energy filled the small bathroom. His playful words echoed, "Now you don't escape from me." his hand holding one leg up and the other entering your pantie promptly feeling your juices wetting his fingers.

Feeling the intensity of the moment, you bit your lip, a mixture of anticipation and excitement coursing through your veins. The air crackled with unspoken desire, and in that confined space, time seemed to stand still.

You can feel his hand teasing you, almost entering, and you breath fast, anxiously waiting for him to fill you with his fingers. "Chan, come onn…" You whine, moving your hips, no success.

As you squirmed, caught between desire and the teasing banter, Chan couldn't help but laugh. "I'm starting to enjoy seeing you like this," he admitted.

His fingers curled with a sudden unexpected move, and your body jolted in response. A moan escaped your lips as the surprise electrified your body. His laughter mixed with the sound of your reaction, creating a symphony of shared delight.

His fingers traced patterns, each curl and movement making you moan louder.

"Better be quiet, or…" he trailed off, his words carrying a hint of playful warning.

Your eyes met his, a spark of defiance in your gaze. "What if I don't want to?" you countered, a challenging tone in your voice.

Chan chuckled, his breath warm against your ear. "Well, then, maybe I'll have to find a way to make you," he replied, his fingers continuing their mesmerizing movements.

Chan turned you around, his body pressing firmly against yours. He moved with deliberate confidence, his hand swiftly covering your mouth.

Your eyes met in the mirror, and the reflection captured the mix of surprise and excitement in your gaze. The muffled sounds of the party downstairs seemed distant, drowned out by the charged atmosphere within the confined space.

Chan's fingers tightened slightly, and his eyes held a silent request for compliance. "You better collaborate, If you don't want me to come out and leave you all wet here…"

His hands start to pump his length, getting on his knees, spreading your ass to suck your clit, then spitting on your pussy. The action makes you lay your chest on the sink, feeling your wetness drip on the floor.

"Now you're ready… Can you take my cock like a good slut hm?"

"Yes I c-can!" You let out with a hoarse voice, as you feel Chan's cock sliding your folds.

When his cock fully entered, you held back a huge urge to scream一and say how good Chan was filling you一his length stretched you out, and his tip brushed your g'spot, without he even try.

As his hips gained more rhythm, you could slowly feel your legs giving up to yourself, but Chan held you against his body preventing you from falling, taking the opportunity to place open-mouth kisses on your neck, his warm tongue sliding across your skin, making your body spasm over his. "Oh my god Chan you're fucking me so good, so good…"

Your body melted on his as he rolled his hips, then slammed back hitting your g'spot with pressure, he took his face from the crook of your neck and gave you a glimpse, seeing your body surrendered over his, slowly softening in his hands. Each time he went deeper, the naughty smile on his face grew as he whimpered your name into your ear.

In the midst of the charged atmosphere, you found yourself in Chan's arms, the shy boy from high school transformed into a confident man. His whispers, once reserved and uncertain, now carried a hint of boldness and desire as he shared naughty thoughts in your ear.

The bathroom seemed to shrink around you as the intensity of the moment escalated. Chan's touch ignited a fire within, and the playful banter evolved into something more visceral. The transition from the familiar high school connection to this new, mature intimacy left you breathless and exhilarated.

As he continued to whisper naughty things in your ear, the air seemed to decrease every second, and you tightened around his cock more and more, making his hips stutter. He already knew you would cum in one wave. Then he makes a point of holding you tighter, shaking his fingers quickly over your clit and rolling his hips, making your orgasm strong.

Chan's hand glues to your mouth muffling your screams, while he tries to swallow his own moans. "I always knew there was more to us than just seven minutes in heaven."

As Chan's whispered words filled the air, the sensitivity already took care of you and you could barely manage to get your own words out, your breaths coming in quick pants. Chan gently held your hair, guiding your face to meet his, and with a whisper, he asked, "Kiss me, please."

Your lips met, and he opened his mouth to moan, and the world seemed to fade away. Chan's arms wrapped around you, pulling you even closer. His body trembled as his release washed over him, the intensity of the moment building with each passing second. You could feel your pussy dripping his cum out of you, while he hid his face on your shoulder, whimpering as the remaining pleasure made him tremble.

The connection between you and Chan transcended the past, and in that shared kiss, the years apart melted away. As the intensity of the kiss lingered, you managed to break away for a moment, breathless and flushed. A playful smile danced on your lips as you looked at Chan and whispered, "Well, this 7 minutes in heaven has lasted a lot more than just seven minutes, hasn't it?"

Chan's eyes held a sincere warmth as he gazed at you, and with a soft smile, he said, "You know, everything is heavenly when you're around."

His words, like a gentle breeze, warmed your heart, and you felt a surge of emotion at the unexpected beauty of his phrase. Meeting his gaze, you replied, "Then let's make every place we are, heaven."

538 notes · View notes

arikazu · 1 month

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♡ date with chan ♡ soft launching

Bang chan x female reader

171 notes · View notes

goquokka00 · 4 days

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More Than Anything

Summary: You and Bangchan had been in a very healthy relationship for 8 months. It was obvious that you were both head over heels, but there was a tiny issue...you've never had sex before. This is the story of how Chan slowly helped you gain confidence for your first time with him.

Pairing: Bangchan X Reader (F!)

Genre: Smut (MDNI), Fluff

Warnings: nipple play, handjob, spitting, oral sex (male and female receiving), unprotected penetrative sex (reader is on the pill but please wrap it before you tap it guys), praise, cum shot, pet names, Chan kinda guides reader, sickeningly sweet Chan, 100% 18+ (seriously like if you're a minor don't read pls and thank you <3)

Word Count: 7.7K

You still couldn't believe that you had been in a healthy relationship with the man of your dreams for 8 whole months. Hell, you couldn't believe that you were dating the one and only Christopher Bangchan. Even after all this time of being able to be by his side through the good times and bad, through all of his wins and failures.

You considered yourself extremely lucky. And so did he.

He had an incredible woman who was so sweet and so kind to him. When he didn't take care of himself, you were there to yell at him for not going to bed, or not eating or drinking enough water. There were times you even threw pillows at his head just so you could try and get him to listen to you. And if he was being completely honest, he wouldn't have it any other way.

Well, he would. And you would too. See, you both loved your relationship. It went from a honeymoon phase of you two being extremely giddy and clingy, to a much more serious relationship. You both still made time to see each other a lot, Chan coming to visit you as much as he could. But it wasn't just cuddling up while watching a movie, sharing small pecks and kissing each other's cheeks and noses and foreheads anymore.

Almost every time you two were together, makeout sessions would occur. Hands would start wandering. And every time that Chan thought he could take it further, you'd always back out. Every single time, without fail.

Now, back when the two of you were fresh into the relationship, and makeout sessions would rarely occur, Chan could understand. The two of you didn't know each other that well. Hell, even he didn't want to push anything all the way yet. But, that was way back then.

Now? Now you two knew each other way better. You two knew each other so well, it scared the other members of Stray Kids any time they heard Chan talking about you. But...when it came to taking things past the making out like highschoolers...you'd back out.

The reason for you was simple enough. At least, that was what you thought. You hadn't ever had sex. You were a virgin. And while you wanted nothing more than to have Chan fuck you senseless, you were scared. More scared than you thought. Partly because of all the questions you had.

What if it hurt? What if it didn't fit? What if he didn't like what you had to offer? What if he didn't like the fact that you weren't experienced? What if he didn't like your body? What if things got awkward afterward?

All of these questions, and so many more, and nobody to go to. At least, that was what you felt. And so, you backed out.

But...you didn't realize what messages were being sent to Chan.

Tonight wasn't much different from the other nights you two hung out. Greet each other by the door, eat the food Chan brought with him and visit about your days while eating dinner, then go to the couch to put on the show you two had decided to start together, only to end with you in Chan's lap, lip locked with the incredible man.

Kisses with Chan were always so magical. His lips were plush and soft, and always moisturized due to him using Chapstick religiously. And the way he held you to him every time you two made out, his tongue dancing perfectly with yours? Oh, it MELTED you.

But, you didn't fail to notice how his hands started to wander. At first, they were wrapped around you, just resting. You didn't really mind that. But it was when his hands started to move up your sides, his thumbs going to just sit under your breasts when you knew what he was up to.

And so, you pulled away, out of breath. Your eyes laid on his closed ones, that opened in the confused manner they usually did. And as usual, you were the first to speak.

"I-I...I can't...I'm so sorry..." It was the same thing, over and over. You always said you were sorry, but Chan was really starting to have a hard time believing it.

And this time, he decided to speak up about it.

"You always say that, though." Chan's voice was soft, but he sounded upset. Was he upset that you weren't letting him fuck you? You were about to speak up, until Chan continued. "Is...Is it me?"

"What?"

"Am I doing something wrong? Am I making you uncomfortable?"

"What? No, No, Chris, that's not--You're perfect!"

"Then why do you always wanna stop? Do you not see me like that?"

"Of course, I do. Trust me, I really, really want to, Chris. Seriously."

"Then what is it?" His voice was soft, yearning to understand. It was how Chan always was. He was so sweet like that, always wanting to help you if you needed it. Even if it was just him listening to you, he'd be there in a flash. But you just couldn't get yourself to look at him.

"It's stupid."

"It's not stupid, nothing is stupid if it's troubling you, hun." Once he said that, he placed a hand onto your cheek, guiding your face to his, tilting his head. God, he looked like a confused puppy. You'd gush over him if you weren't feeling so embarrassed right now. "You know I love you, right?"

"...yes."

"And that you can talk to me?"

"Yeah."

"Then talk to me. Please, Y/n?" Chan placed a peck to your lips, giving you a smile. "I wanna understand what's going on. It could be the dumbest shit ever, and I'd still listen. You know that. So what's going on?"

You took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. You didn't want to look at him when you said it. But he was holding your face so that you'd look directly into his eyes. Those warm, comforting, sweet eyes of his that you usually could never look away from. But then, you said it.

"I... I've never had sex before." You watched for Chan's reaction, seeing him keep a warm smile on his face. He was wanting you to continue. "I just...I'm nervous about a lot of it. I want our first time to be good, y'know? And I feel like I'm gonna disappoint you because I haven't done it before."

"Oh, you could never disappoint me, sweetheart." Chan brought you down for another kiss, pulling back and brushing some hair out of your face. "And I don't care if you haven't had sex before. Really, I don't."

"Really?"

"Really." Chan nodded at your small question. "I love you for you, not for your experience in bed. What will make having sex with you magical is getting to do it with you. It doesn't have to be mind-blowing, or hardcore. As long as it's with you, I'm happy."

"But what if it's not what you expect?" You couldn't help but ask questions. You were an overthinker. Thankfully, Chan had plenty of experience with overthinkers, thanks to being a father of 6 with a motherly figure who stuffed his children's mouths with tissues.

"I'm not expecting a lot from you, hun. I just want you. Point blank period." Chan then took your hand with his own, kissing it.

"And if it hurts?" That made sense for you to be scared about. Thankfully, Chan had an answer.

"We'll go slow. I'll prepare you and wait for when you're ready." Chan gave you a smile, watching you take a breath to try and calm your nerves. And before you could ask him anything else, Chan spoke up again. "Y/n, there's no need to rush into it. It'll happen when it happens. Okay?"

Hearing him say that made you feel a lot better. Chan was a man of his word, too. He would wait. Especially now that he knew you were nervous. If that was all it was, then he'd wait until the end of the earth. And you knew that, too.

"Okay."

After having that talk with Chan, you felt a little more confident in yourself. A little. You were still scared to shove something in a hole that's never had anything in it before, but it was completely understandable. Thankfully, Chan would be willing to wait until you were completely ready.

Speaking of, you had just gotten back to your apartment from work, already feeling exhaustion hit you like a bus. Your plan of action was to just change into one of Chan's sweatshirts and shorts, lay on the couch, order food, and watch a movie.

And so, you did your thing, changing and getting onto the couch, relaxing with a blanket before starting to search for a movie. It didn't take you too long to just pick one that showed up, deciding on good old 'Enola Holmes'.

It was when you were just about to order food when you got a phone call from Chan. An unexpected phone call. But you still picked up, a smile on your face. You couldn't help it, you were in love.

"Hello?"

"Hey! Can I let myself in?"

"What?"

"I'm outside of your apartment, I brought some, um...what are these called again...? Oh, whatever, I'm here with food. Can I come in?" You practically laughed at your boyfriend's words, before speaking up.

"Yes, you can. Door should be unlocked."

"Perfect! See you in like, 2 seconds!" And in two seconds you saw him, indeed. He came right through the door, shutting it and taking off his shoes before coming over to the couch, smiling when he saw your face. "Hello, gorgeous!"

"Channie, I thought you had work until late tonight." Not that you were complaining. He bent down, placing a peck on your lips as he sat next to you, setting the bags of snacks and drinks down.

"I was supposed to work late tonight, but our manager let us off early. Figured I still had time to come and see my favorite girl!" Chan explained. He then hugged your side, noticing the movie that was playing. "Enola Holmes? Again?"

"What? It's a good movie!" You whined. Chan only laughed, starting to open a bag of chips as you leaned against him, drinking a bit from your water bottle. Sure, you may have seen the movie about a hundred times, but you couldn't help it. The series was good, in your eyes.

That's what the two of you did for a while. Eat, catch up, and watch Enola Holmes. It was when the second movie in the series started when you both settled down, you still leaning against Chan while he had an arm over your shoulder. You were engrossed in the movie, paying attention to every little detail.

But then, you felt a hand on your stomach.

You glanced over to Chan for a moment, knowing that it was him. But he was watching the movie, seemingly engrossed into what was going on. Little shit.

And so, you went back to watching the movie, only to feel his hand go further up, going right in between your breasts, up to your chin. You did your best not to say anything, just wanting one night of peace, but you always said something.

So you kept your mouth shut, wanting to see where this would go.

Chan tilted your head to the side, keeping his eyes on the TV as he placed a few kisses onto your neck, going up to your cheek, only to go to your ear, giving it light nibbles. Okay, he was definitely up to something.

"Chan..." It was like a warning. A warning that Chan was going to happily take. And throw into the garbage.

"Just relax..." His voice came out in a whisper, gently guiding your head to face his, only for him to gently kiss you. And who were you to not kiss the man back?

The kiss was soft and gentle enough, but it didn't stay like that for very long. Before you even knew it, the kiss had picked up, the two of you moving in sync with passion, tongues twisting together. Your arms were around Chan's neck, Chan's hands firmly on your waist. And before long, Chan's hands started to wander. One slipped underneath the hoodie you had on, the other going to your cheek as he pulled away from you.

"Can I keep going?" This time, he wanted to make sure you were okay to continue. And upon seeing you hesitate, Chan continued. "Just a little further? We don't have to go all the way."

You liked that idea.

"O-Okay." With a shy nod from you, Chan smiled, before grabbing the base of the hoodie, slowly pulling it up a little bit. But then, he stopped and looked to you.

"Can I take this off?"

"Yeah." You nodded once more, before watching as Chan pulled the hoodie off of you. And like that, your top half was exposed to him. He knew you hated wearing bras at night, so he was expecting you to not have one on. But...he wasn't expecting to see perfection.

"Holy shit, you're so beautiful..." Chan then looked up at you, placing his hands back onto your waist. "Can... Can I touch your chest? Are you okay with that?"

"Y-Yeah..." And then, Chan looked back down at your beautiful chest, staring at it in awe before slowly reaching towards it, placing his hands over them, just squeezing them a bit.

They were so soft...so squishy, so...perfect. He slid his hands down, placing them just underneath before lifting them up, admiring them in his own way. They were so beautiful, just like you were to him. He also didn't fail to notice your perky nipples, screaming for attention.

"Ch-Chan..." You breathed out, watching him work with your chest. Chan looked up, giving you a concerned look.

"Is this okay? Does it feel good?"

"Yeah...i-it does..." Chan smiled at your response, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to your neck, trailing down and kissing your collarbone, and then your sternum.

"Good...that's good." And then, he looked up at you, his fingers starting to gently roll your nipples between them. It was so gentle, but it felt so good. You let out a small whine at the touch, Chan just smiling at how responsive you were. "You are just so...you're so beautiful, hun. Absolutely breathtaking."

And then, he placed a few kisses onto your breasts, making you flush. You couldn't help but feel shy, but you also felt incredible. The amount of body worship he was doing made you feel a lot better about yourself. That was for damn sure. And when he came back up, he placed a firm kiss to your lips, looking at you in the eyes with the sweetest look in his own.

"I love you so much, baby." He spoke gently, like if he talked too loud, he'd break you into a million pieces. It made you smile.

"I love you too, Channie." You then placed your own kiss onto his lips, feeling his hand on your thigh.

"I wanna go further." He still spoke softly, bringing his hand up towards your waist, hooking it onto the waistband of your shorts. It made you tense up a bit. "We don't have to if you're not ready. But fuck, I want you so bad."

"I-I..." You let out a sigh, Chan immediately stopping, taking in your tense stature.

"Hey, we don't have to. Okay? It's totally up to you on what we do right now." Chan didn't want to pressure you. That was the last thing he wanted. And knowing that made you feel just a little bit better.

"I...I'm not ready yet...I'm sorry-"

"No, don't apologize. It's okay, okay?" Chan smiled, placing a kiss to your forehead. You just let out a sigh, looking down. You felt bad, not being able to give Chan the one thing he probably really wanted. But then, you noticed the tent in his sweatpants.

"Chan, y-you're..." You trailed off, eyeing the bulge before looking back up at him with sad eyes.

"Hey, it's okay. I can take care of it later. Don't worry about it." Chan told you, putting a hand onto your cheek. You took a breath, leaning into his touch, glancing back down at his sweats. "Seriously, it's fine."

"It's not fine." You immediately countered him, giving him a determined look. "How long have I been cockblocking you? It's not okay, a-and it's not fair."

"Y/n-"

"Chan." Upon hearing his name, Chan stopped talking, seeing your determined face. God, he loved when you always looked so determined, whether it be because you wanted him to take breaks, or if you were trying to beat some video game against whoever you were playing. "I...I wanna help you."

"Y/n..." Chan trailed, not sure if you really wanted to or if you were just saying that because you felt bad. "You don't have to if you don't want to, I mean, it doesn't take long for me to jerk one out. It takes me like 4 minutes tops-"

"Chan, just...please?" You gave him a soft look, crawling a little closer to him. "If I didn't want to, I wouldn't offer."

"Fuck..." Chan knew that was the case, too. If you didn't want to do something, you wouldn't speak up about it or bring it up. And seeing that pleading look in your eyes made it easy for Chan to make his mind up. "Okay. Yeah, i-if you want to, I'm okay with it."

Hearing him say that made you smile. You placed a peck to his cheek, before backing away to focus on his visible erection. You spared him one last glance, seeing his eyes on you with anticipation. And then, you brought your hands to his waistband, pulling it back just enough for his cock to spring out. Chan hissed upon feeling the cool air hit it.

Your eyes widened upon seeing him for the first time. He was so...it was beautiful. And big. You wanted to say 7 inches, and it was fat. Veins ran up and down his shaft, and it oh, so slightly curved up. His tip was red and leaking, too. You just couldn't take your eyes off of him.

"Everything okay?" Chan's words got you to look up at him. He looked so eager, but nervous. You didn't know exactly why, but...you guessed it was because you weren't doing anything.

"Yeah, you're just..." You glanced back down at his cock, watching it twitch slightly. "It's a sight."

Chan laughed slightly at your words, which made you giggle. It was good to know he wasn't as nervous as he looked.

"So um...how do I do this?" You looked back up at him, curious on how he liked it. You knew that you had to move your hand up and down around him, but you didn't know the specifics.

Thankfully, Chan was happy to guide you.

"Here, put your hand around it like...oh, like that..." Chan took your hand, putting it around his base, not having you move quite yet. He needed a second himself, if he was being honest. Just seeing your hand around him...your smaller, softer, daintier hand around his cock was just...oh, he could cum if he thought about it enough. "And grip firmly, not like, death grip, but--holy..."

"Like this?" You tightened your grip just enough to where Chan wouldn't slip out of your grasp. Not too loose, not too tight.

"Fuck, just like that..." Chan let out a groan, sinking back into the couch a bit as you held his cock, before getting to the next step. "Okay, and just move your hand at a nice pace...fuck, baby, just like that...squeeze towards the tip, and...hoooh my god..."

You followed his instructions, keeping that grip as you moved your hand up and down, tightening your grip slightly as you got towards his tip. And obviously, Chan was enjoying it, breathy moans leaving him as you jerked him off.

"Feel good?" You asked, just wanting to make sure you were doing good. Chan nodded, running a hand through his hair.

"Yes, it's so good, hun...ungh, can you spit on it? Make it nice and wet for me?"

Of course you could. And so, you leaned over his dick, gathering spit into your mouth before opening and sticking out your tongue, letting the saliva fall onto his tip. And that sight alone brought Chan even closer than he intended.

"That's it, baby girl...go a bit faster...yes, perfect, you're doing such a good job..." Chan's brow furrowed, his hips bucking to meet your hand, more moans leaving him as you continued to follow his instructions. They were still breathy, but getting higher. "Oh, fuck, I-I'm gonna cum, keep...keep going, please, baby...ugh, yes...!"

And like that, Chan let out a nice and long moan as he came, white ropes flying out and landing on your hand. You continued to move, slowing your pace bit by bit, helping him ride out his orgasm. You figured that was what you were supposed to do, at least, from the porn you've watched. And once he calmed down, you stopped, carefully taking your hand off of him.

"Feeling better, Channie?" You asked, giggling when he groaned, giving you a fucked-out expression as you stood up.

"Are you sure you've never done this before?" Chan laughed a bit as he watched you go to the kitchen, cleaning your hand off before getting a rag for Chan. You couldn't help but laugh as well, coming back to him to help him clean up.

"Positive." You kissed his cheek before starting to wipe him down, Chan just groaning.

"First you give me an insane handjob, and now you're giving me aftercare?" Chan said, watching you tuck his now soft cock back into his pants before setting the rag on the table. You nodded, Chan just smiling and bringing you down for a kiss. "Fuck, I don't deserve you."

"I should be the one telling you that." You replied, grabbing his sweatshirt that you originally had on, sliding it back over your body. Chan just pulled you to him, letting you rest on his chest.

"I can't wait for when you let me give you the best first time ever." Chan told you, kissing your forehead. You smiled, melting into him as you both went back to watching your movie.

"Me too."

It had been a few weeks since the last exchange between you and Chan. It was really hard to get the image of his face melting in pleasure out of your head. The way he looked when your hand was wrapped around him was so ethereal, and it made you wonder what he'd look like when he was finally inside of you.

Just thinking about it made you want to do it even more. You felt ready enough, and after getting to experience the small amount you did with him before made you realize that as long as it was with him, you'd be okay. But...there was a tiny problem.

Chan had gotten extremely busy.

You two never really had time to hang out these days, all because Chan was busy with releasing a new album with Stray Kids. They had filming, photoshoots, practices, recording sessions, and before they knew it, they were on stages, performing for Mnet. It was almost like they didn't have time to breathe, and you felt bad for all of them.

But you really just missed your boyfriend.

You found ways to distract yourself, though. One of which being going to the gym and getting a good workout in. That was what you were about to do currently. You were in a sports bra and sweatpants, keys in hand as you texted your friend, letting her know that you were about to head over, only to see that she had bailed on you for a date. Rude.

You just let out a small sigh, setting your things down on your counter, before seeing that you were getting a call from Chan. You smiled, excited to hear his voice after not hearing it for a while. And so, you picked up, not even having a chance to greet him.

"WE WON!" You just laughed, hopping up on the countertop as you heard you excited boyfriend on the other end of the line.

"Hello to you, too."

"What, no congratulations? You're killing me over here, you know..."

"Ah, sorry, sorry. Congratulations, Chan."

"Thank you. But can you believe it? We won! I was seriously nervous, but we still managed to come up on top."

"You always do, baby."

"I know! And guess what?"

"What?"

"I'm gonna have time to see you! I'm heading over now, actually."

"Now?"

"Yeah, I'm about...2 minutes? Yeah, 2 minutes out. We just got here, so I'm walking to your building right now."

"Ah. Well, I'll leave my door unlocked then."

"Perfect! I'm expecting a hug from you when I get inside."

"Alright, I suppose I can spare you one."

"Great! Then I'll see you in a bit." And with that, he hung up. You wanted to change into something a little more decent, but you knew you wouldn't have time. But you also felt excitement shoot through you, knowing that Chan would like to see you in this.

Speaking of...it didn't take your boyfriend long to come right through the door, smiling brightly as he spotted you on the counter, not realizing what you were wearing quite yet.

"Hey!" He quickly took off his shoes, leaving them by the door before taking his coat off, hanging it up.

"Hey." You replied, smiling just as brightly as Chan was. You couldn't lie; you really missed him. And it was good to see him again after so long. You watched as he finished putting up his coat, turning to face you. And that's when he noticed what you were in. His eyes widened, a sharp inhale coming from him as he walked over to you slowly, taking it all in.

"And... what are you wearing?" Chan's eyes couldn't leave your body. God, it looked so perfect, and he really wanted it off of you. He walked between your legs, placing his hands onto your bare sides, gently rubbing up and down as he gave you a playful smirk. "This isn't for me, is it?"

"Well, I was supposed to go to the gym, but got bailed on." You rolled your eyes as you spoke, putting your arms around his neck as you looked back to him.

"And you didn't change?"

"I didn't have time to, baby. You were practically already here once we got off the phone."

"So then...this is for me." Chan smirked, tilting his head to place kisses onto your neck.

"I didn't say that." You replied, tilting your own head to give Chan more space.

"You implied it."

"I definitely didn't do that."

"Well, you could've changed while we were on the phone." He had a point there. You've done it before, plenty of times. But you didn't this time. "Is this a sign? Are you finally gonna let me rock your world tonight?"

"Mm..." You weren't actually sure if you were all for that. And upon noticing your hesitation, Chan pulled away, looking to you.

"Hey, remember what I said. If you don't want to, we don't have to." Chan then placed a kiss to your nose, putting his forehead on yours after. "You're ready when you're ready. Not when I'm ready."

You nodded at his words, knowing he wouldn't ever push you to do something if you didn't want it. You just weren't sure. And so, you let out a breath.

"I... don't know." You looked away for a second, before looking back to his eyes. "I want to, but I'm still nervous, you know?"

"Yep. And that's totally understandable." Chan placed a kiss to your lips, giving you a smile. "Tell you what. I am hard. You never fail to make me hard. If you wanna jerk me off again, then let's start there, and see where it plays out, yeah?"

You took a second, thinking about what Chan offered. Now that you thought about it, you had been wanting to try something for a while, since you had given him that handjob. And since the opportunity opened itself up, you decided to take it.

"Yeah, okay." You gave him a smile, nodding. Chan smiled back, crashing his lips onto yours a second after. He picked you up, bringing you to your room before setting you down on the bed. You then, watched as he took his pants off, his hard cock springing out once more before he went and laid on the bed, lifting his sweatshirt up a bit.

"Alright, baby. You know what to do." You did. And so, you went to him, wrapping your hand around his base, slowly starting to pump it. Chan let out a sigh, already feeling pleasure course through his body. You repeated what you had done the last time, keeping your grip tight, squeezing towards the tip and loosening as you moved back down.

"Fuck, just like that...you're a natural at this, baby girl..." Chan hissed, letting out a breathy moan as you continued. But then, upon seeing him enjoying this, you smiled, only to lean your head down to his cock. Chan watched with wide eyes, seeing you get close to him. "Whoa, what--"

"I wanna try something. Is...is that okay?" You wanted to make sure Chan was okay with it, not wanting to do something he wasn't comfortable with.

"I-I mean, yeah, sure...just...just don't push yourself o-or anything." You nodded at his words, letting out a breath. And then, you stilled your hand, before opening your mouth and placed his tip inside. You glanced up at him, hoping that this was okay.

The face you saw told you everything you needed to know.

His jaw was open, his brows furrowed as a silent moan left him. And once you brought your tongue in to swipe against his tip, going over his slit, an actual moan left him. His hand immediately went to your hair, running through some of it before gripping your head. And then, you started to carefully bob your head, not wanting to graze his cock with your teeth.

"Holy fucking shit, baby...your mouth feels so good..." Chan could hardly believe it. He hadn't ever felt anything this good or wet. He was sure that your pussy would be even better, but your mouth was just as amazing. "Oh my god...I'm not...I'm not gonna last, I'm already so close..."

You just took that as an incentive to go faster.

Chan just held onto your head for dear life as you did your best to move your head, using a hand to pump whatever wasn't in your mouth. And to Chan, it just added to everything he was feeling. Your hand, your mouth, your tongue, it was perfect. So perfect, he couldn't stop himself from cumming.

"F-Fuck! I'm cumming!" You could feel him doing that.

You just kept your mouth around him, letting him shoot his seed into your mouth as you slowly pumped his length, waiting until he finished. And once he had finished, you slowly pulled him out of your mouth, swallowing his semen. That got an audible moan from your boyfriend. You looked back to him, a shy smile on your face as he looked at you in awe, gulping himself.

"Was...was that okay? I didn't graze you with my teeth or anything, right--"

"Shut up." And like that, Chan immediately sat forward, capturing your lips with his. You were a bit taken aback, but you kissed him anyway, hearing him moan at the taste of his own cum. It didn't take him long to find one of your breasts, groping it as he pulled away, watching you moan a bit from the pleasure.

"Chan--"

"You are absolutely incredible. You know that, right?" Chan's eyes didn't leave yours as he lifted your sports bra up, revealing your perky nipple to him. He immediately leaned down, taking it into his mouth. You just let out a breathy moan, arching your back as you felt his tongue flick the hardened bud, watching Chan seperate from it with an audible pop. "Please, I'm begging you...I gotta taste you, baby. Let me return the favor. I wanna make you feel so good..."

You gulped, feeling yourself gush at his desperate pleads. He really wanted to do that? Did you want that? You did, but you felt nervous. Then again, you remembered to the first little exchange, and how loved Chan made you feel. Every ounce of nerves left your body because of this man.

And how could you possibly deny that?

"I...okay..." You gave a nod to him, and the sound Chan made as a result was delicious. You watched as he got up, grabbing your sweatpants and took them off of you, leaving you in your panties. He tossed those sweats to who knows where, before grabbing your panties. Before he pulled them off of you, he gave you one last look.

"Are you sure you wanna do this? We really don't have to if you don't want to." You swore you were going to get a cavity from how sweet this man was being to you.

"Chris." He gulped at your use of his English name. He knew you only used it when you were serious. "I'm sure. I trust you."

Chan smiled, quickly coming up to peck your lips, leaving another kiss on your forehead.

"I love you." He whispered. With that, he went back to where he was, slowly pulling your panties down and off of your body. Immediately, his eyes went wide.

Your cunt was so fucking beautiful in his eyes. It was sopping wet, it was pink, it was everything Chan could've ever hoped for. And the way you clenched around nothing...oh, it had him reeling.

"Holy shit, baby...your pussy is so pretty..." Chan adjusted himself, wrapping his arms around your thighs as he brought his head close, placing a kiss around your cunt. It made you whine. "And you're so wet...did sucking me off turn you on, baby girl?"

"Y-Yes..." You didn't know why, but you felt obligated to answer him. You couldn't help it. Chan just smiled, placing a kiss onto your clit, making you whine once more.

"Aw, you're so cute like this...I'll make you feel so good, okay? I'll make you feel so good..." And with that, he licked one long strip up your pussy, making you gasp and squirm, your back arching off of the bed. Chan hummed at your reaction, before diving in.

It was very safe to say that Chan knew what he was doing.

The way that he licked through your slit, only to clamp his mouth around your clit and suck, all while flicking his tongue against your sensitive bud made you moan out in ways you never thought were possible. He'd make slurping noises as he tried to suck up all of your juices, only to go back in for more. And eventually, he dove his tongue into your hole. That rewarded him with a dirty moan from you.

As he fucked your hole with his tongue, his nose bumped your clit, the man literally rubbing his face against your cunt, which felt so good. You couldn't help but grind your hips against his face, your hands flying down and gripping his hair as he continued to please you in ways you never thought were possible.

"C-Chan! Oh my--it's so good, your tongue is so good...!" You couldn't take much more. You knew yourself, and you could feel your body reacting. Chan could, too. It really didn't help that you were unexperienced, and that meant that you didn't have much stamina. "I...fuck, Chan, I'm close, please..."

Chan hummed, only increasing the speed of his movements. His hand gripped at your thigh, doing his best to keep them open as he brought you right up to your orgasm, which shot straight through you.

You squealed, your body jolting at the feeling of your orgasm hitting you hard. Your back arched, your thighs immediately clamped around Chan's head, and your hips bucked up. Chan held you steady, helping you through your orgasm until you finally calmed down, releasing your thighs from Chan's head.

"Shit..." You really didn't have anything else to say besides that. You were out of breath, panting like you had just run the high school mile. You heard Chan's laugh, wiping his face off with the bottom of his hoodie before moving up to you, kissing your cheek a few times.

"You did so good, hun, really. And you tasted amazing, too." You just let out your own breathy laugh at Chan's comment, tired after that orgasm.

"Where...where did you learn how to do that?" You looked to him as he hovered above you. Chan just smiled, brushing some of your hair out of your face.

"That, my beautiful girl, is a secret."

"Chan!"

"Y/n!"

"You're no fun..."

"Sure I am, you were enjoying yourself a minute ago--"

"Christopher Bahng!"

"Sorry, sorry!" Chan could only laugh at the pout you had on your face. After he placed a kiss to your forehead, he placed his own forehead there, rubbing his nose against yours. "I love you, baby."

"I love you, too." You smiled at his gesture. You really had the sweetest boyfriend. But his brand new hard on definitely didn't go unnoticed. You could feel it on your cunt, just sitting there. "Are you hard again?"

"Hey, you know I can't control it." Chan told you, giving a shy smile. You just smiled back, thinking to yourself for a second. It was already so close to you...it was so close to being inside of you.

"Well...you wanna pop my cherry then?"

"Wait, are you serious?" Chan's eyes widened at your comment, not expecting that from you. When you nodded, Chan immediately flushed, getting a little bit nervous. "Like, actually? You want me to take you right now?"

"Yeah." You gave him a nod, taking a second to breathe before continuing. "It's kind of what I said earlier. I trust you, a lot. And I know you'll be gentle, so..."

Chan immediately responded with placing his lips on yours, letting out a hum as he held you close to him. He was so happy, you made him so happy. And all of his patience, all of this waiting...

It finally paid off.

"Wait right here, I gotta go grab a condom-"

"It's fine, I'm on the pill."

"Are you actually for real right now?"

"Yeah?" Chan moaned at your response, wanting to just cum on the spot. Not only was he going to be your first. But he was going to be your first, and he wouldn't have to wear a dumb rubber on his dick while doing it.

He just wanted to worship you.

"Fuck, baby, you're gonna kill me one of these days...legs up for me." Chan watched you as you lifted your legs up, and he adjusted them so they rested on his shoulders.

Then, it was up to you to watch him closely, watching as he focused on getting himself lined up. You could feel his cockhead rubbing up and down against your pussy, trying to get himself just a bit more wet. The feeling made you shudder. Finally, he was ready, and his tip was prodding at your entrance. Before he entered you, he looked into your eyes, gulping.

"If it hurts, tell me and I'll stop immediately. Okay?" You nodded at Chan's words, watching him take a deep breath. And then, he was pushing into you.

Both of you moaned when his tip slipped inside of you. Chan moved so slowly, sinking deeper and deeper, almost like he was wading into water. You were so tight. You were tight, and warm, and wet, and soft, and it was perfect. He was honestly surprised he didn't bust right away.

As for you, you were surprised that it didn't hurt as much as you thought. Sure, it stung a bit, but that was probably because of how girthy Chan's dick was. If you were gonna be honest, it was more...uncomfortable? No...it was more unfamiliar than uncomfortable. It was new to you, and it was new to your body. It made your face scrunch, which didn't go unnoticed by Chan. He immediately stopped, looking into your eyes.

"You okay? Does it hurt?"

"No, I'm fine, it's just...weird, I guess." You squirmed a bit, trying to figure out what you thought.

"Good weird or bad weird?"

"Good, I think."

"So I can keep going?"

"Yeah." Chan nodded at your response, continuing to push in. The deeper he got, the more pleasurable it got. And before you knew it, he was sheathed inside of you, waiting for your signal to move.

"Feel okay?" Chan looked at you in the eyes, watching you nod. Your face was finally starting to show pleasure to him, which made Chan relax. And after you moved to try and adjust yourself a bit to get more comfortable, pleasure shot through you, and you moaned.

"Fuck..." Your brows furrowed as your jaw dropped, your eyes going to Chan's. "You...you can move."

"Okay...okay..." Chan then did as you said, starting to give you slow thrusts. Both of you moaned out, your head falling back as Chan's fell forward. You both basked in each other, enjoying how good you both felt because of the other.

"Chan..." You whined, reaching up for him. Chan moved down, letting you wrap your arms around his neck. He moaned into your ear, keeping his hips moving, his pace getting slightly faster with each thrust.

"You're doing so good, baby...fuck, you're squeezing me so well..." As Chan praised you, he moved down and kissed your neck, leaving marks as he moved faster.

There was one thrust where his dick rubbed right up against your soft spot. Upon feeling it, you let out a filthy moan, one you didn't even know you were capable of making, and you clenched around Chan, which made him moan out as well. You were already tight, and now that you were clenching? Chan was certain he just saw God.

"Baby, you can't...fuck, I'm gonna cum already...you're driving me up a wall here, you feel too good..." Chan moved faster, bringing a hand down to your waist, holding onto you as he snapped his hips up into yours, making you moan out and grab onto him, clinging for dear life.

"I-I'm close, I'm gonna cum!" You held onto Chan tighter, your boyfriend just leaning down and kissing your lips, grunts leaving him as he got closer. And before you knew it, you hit your orgasm, your thighs trying to close once more as your body trembled, a loud and very pornographic moan leaving you.

You were almost certain you heard Chan growl in response to that.

"Fuck!" Chan immediately pulled out, hitting his own orgasm as he jerked himself off, shooting his white ropes onto your stomach. Once Chan had calmed down a bit, he fell forward onto an arm, one hand still on his dick, just holding it as he breathed heavily into your ear. You were also breathing heavily, your arms relaxing around him.

"Oh...my god..." You trailed, Chan swallowing his spit as he slowly sat up, running a hand through his hair.

"So... how was that for your first time?" Chan asked, smiling down at you. You just mumbled nonsense, Chan only laughing before standing up, leaving you for a few minutes. While he was gone doing...whatever he was doing, you had time to just try and calm your body down.

Eventually, Chan came back, placing a few kisses onto your cheek and forehead before picking you up and bringing you to the bathroom, setting you into the water before taking off your sports bra. He then took off his sweatshirt before getting in behind you, laying you back against his chest.

"You okay?" Chan asked, holding you close to him as you nodded. Chan just smiled, placing a few more kisses onto your head before starting to use a rag and clean you off, making sure you were clean from your first time. "Did you enjoy yourself?"

"Yeah. It was magical." You smiled up at him, Chan smiling back and placing another kiss to your lips, continuing to wash you off. "I'm really happy you were my first time, Chan."

"I'm happy I could be your first time." Chan told you, setting the rag aside before rubbing your shoulders.

"So is this aftercare a first time thing, or can I expect to get this treatment every time?" You asked, Chan just laughing at you.

"You know I'll spoil you any chance I get, baby." Chan told you, kissing your head.

Eventually, he got out of the water, drying himself off before slipping on a pair of sweatpants he had left at your apartment, turning to you and helping you out of the tub. He dried you off as well, and just slipped one of his hoodies onto you. And then, he took you to the bed, laying you down before getting in next to you, pulling you into his chest.

"I know I've said this a lot tonight, but I really do love you, baby girl. You're the best thing that's happened to me." Chan told you, seeing you smile in his arms.

"After Stray Kids, right?"

"After that? No way in hell. They're a close second though."

"Ah. I'm telling them that."

"What--Baby, don't do that!"

"I'm totally telling Minho first, he'll air fry you, or maybe stuff your face with tissues, or-"

"Y/N!"

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding." You just giggled, placing a kiss onto his lips before snuggling into his arms.

"I love you, too."

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chahnniesroom · 7 months

Text

tenderness | chapter 9: a time to learn

[noun] /ˈtendərnəs/

1. the quality of being gentle, kind, or loving

2. the feeling of pain, aching, or soreness

pairing: bang chan x female reader

summary: in a world where soulmates are rare and precious, you don’t know why the universe has decided to give you one. you never could have imagined that they would be an idol, and one that you worked with at that, or the challenges that would arise from your bond.

chapter word count: 6.8k

chapter warnings: injury recovery, lots of emotions happening

a/n: no words can describe how difficult this chapter was to write haha i apologise for some of the transitions between scenes and also for the fact that i did not proofread more than a cursory skim.

i am not a doctor and i did minimal research on anything medical related

previous chapter | masterlist | next chapter | read it on ao3

Chan’s not a doctor and he’s never wanted to be one. But the longer that he spends in the hospital, the more he wishes there was something he could do to help. He knows that in a way, his presence is helping. The doctor tells him that for injuries, a soulmate bond is actually beneficial because sufficient Charge can increase healing times.

The doctor also explains that the more serious injury is the initial stab wound. The blade had damaged Y/n’s liver, which had required surgery and now demands constant monitoring. It was the main reason that Y/n would have to stay in the hospital for an extended period of time. While the second wound was larger and required more stitches, it was fairly shallow and was expected to heal without any issues.

As expected, there’s various bruises from the fall, but what surprises Chan is that he’s told Y/n is suffering from a mild concussion. When he had watched the footage that he had saved from social media, he could see that Y/n may have hit her head, but it hadn’t seemed that hard.

It means that Chan hasn’t left the hospital yet. It doesn’t really help that Y/n was specifically brought to the hospital that her father owns and that she’s situated in one of the nicest rooms available. With a large private bathroom, a separate room that has a few couches and low tables to entertain guests, and a large bed that’s almost more comfortable than the one Chan has at home, there’s no reason to leave. Yonghwan has been going back to the dorms to collect clothes and other personal items, like Chan’s laptop and some equipment. After a few days, the boys are allowed to visit too, although only in small groups and for short periods of time.

Chan kind of hates the medications that Y/n is put on. He knows that she needs them to deal with the pain, to protect her from infection, it's just difficult to witness how they make her woozy and extremely tired, drifting in and out of consciousness. When she is awake, her thoughts are scattered, she can’t concentrate for long periods of time, and she spends most of the time watching Chan as he works or dozing.

It's a relief when she's finally weaned off of the ones that have the worst side effects.

Although she gets her phone back pretty soon after waking, Y/n doesn’t really touch it until her doctor lets her know that her concussion has healed and she’s been cleared to look at screens without any limitations. Chan has helped her with messaging some of her friends and family, but she seems pleased to have full access to her phone again. Chan leaves her to catch up on everything, taking out his laptop and opening up a track that he’s been trying half-heartedly to finish a first draft of.

He gets pulled away from his work a couple hours later when Y/n calls his name. She’s biting at her lip and staring with a furrowed brow at something on her phone. He immediately sets aside his laptop and turns to face her, trying not to worry.

“What’s up?” he asks.

“Did you- I saw-” Y/n takes a second to gather herself and then flips her phone to show him what she’s looking at. It’s a Twitter fanpage, dedicated to Chan’s Bubble subscription. The last tweets are the updates to his profile picture, background photo, name, and status.

He did it in a fit of anger, knowing it was about as much as he could do without getting in trouble with the company. He wouldn’t dare send any messages about the incident, especially ones that could be twisted the wrong way and end up hurting Y/n, but he couldn’t just sit and pretend everything was okay.

So he deleted it all. Or, rather as much as he could. Replacing the pictures with solid black, leaving the status line empty. He didn’t have as much freedom with his name, but left it as “찬“ and nothing more. He hadn’t sent anything since then, either.

The other members hadn’t changed anything on their profile, but they too had been subdued in their messaging. The first couple of days, they did nothing. After that, Changbin, Jisung, and Felix joined Chan in the continued radio silence. Hyunjin had sent pictures of the sunset, when it was Y/n’s favourite time of the day and the clouds were painted pink against the blue background of the sky. Minho, Seungmin, and Jeongin had messaged only a couple times since then, reminders for Stays to eat well, get lots of rest, and stay safe.

There hadn’t been an official statement released by the company, but news of the incident had spread like wildfire.

“And yesterday was Sunday,” Y/n says slowly. “You were here the whole time, what about Channie’s Room?”

“What about it?”

“You didn’t do it?” When Chan just shrugs in response, Y/n’s brow creases like she’s trying to figure out some sort of puzzle. “What? But you… You always do it. Did the company tell you that you can't?”

“No, they didn't have to. I already let them know I wasn't going to."

"Then why?"

“I didn’t want to. I don’t want to,” Chan says sullenly, even though the explanation makes him feel like a toddler who doesn’t want to share their toys.

“What do you mean? It’s- You promised Stays! Here you can go now, just go to your studio and do a short live. If this is some sort of roundabout punishment for what happened-”

“I don’t want to,” Chan repeats. “All they’re going to do is spam the chat with questions about what happened. I don’t want to deal with that and honestly I don’t know if I can go through that without blowing up on them.”

"But-"

"Is it really so hard to believe that I have had other priorities the past few days? That I don't want to have to pretend that everything is okay?"

Y/n seems to soften at that. Chan reaches out and he catches her hand in his, mindful of the tape and IV that’s attached to it. The Charge warms between them.

“No, no, I’m sorry. It’s-” she hesitates for a moment. “I’m glad that you’re taking a break. Sorry if it felt like I was pressuring you.”

“You weren’t. Everything that I’m doing, it’s my decision. I know everything has been pretty overwhelming lately, but you’re-”

Before he can finish, the door to their room slides open and a nurse steps in to serve them dinner.

“What were you going to say?” Y/n asks once they’re alone again.

“I don’t remember anymore,” Chan lies. “So it probably wasn’t that important. Let’s eat.”

Chan’s almost glad for the interruption. The moment is gone now and Chan’s just now realising that he has no idea how Y/n would react if he had said what he wanted. That she was his biggest priority right now. That he cares about her. That he would do anything for her.

He’ll do that later, when they’re at home. When everything has calmed down.

—

Chan wakes to the loud smack of someone’s hand against a table. His face is burrowed into the soft fabric covering Y/n’s shoulder, his arm is wrapped around her waist, and the whole length of his body relaxed by the warm thrum of the Charge. He cracks open one eye and, after seeing that neither Y/n nor Eunsung, who was the source of the noise, have seemed to notice, quickly closes it to feign sleep.

When Eunsung speaks, his tone is exasperated, like he’s had this conversation multiple times before.

“Are you even listening to yourself? You can’t keep doing this. You have to talk to him about it,” he insists. “The doctor said you have acute fatigue and the only reason it’s getting better is because the two of you are practically glued together right now. The second that he starts going back to schedules, it’s going to be the same as it was before.”

“I was doing fine before,” Y/n defends herself. “Things just got so busy with all the concerts, I forgot to eat enough. As long as I make sure that I’m getting enough calories, it makes up for the Charge. I promise, I'll make sure to take better care of myself."

Chan has no clue what they’re talking about. Acute fatigue? Y/n not eating enough? Chan hasn’t heard anything on these before.

"I don't think you understand. It's not about you doing things to take better care of yourself, it's about him not letting you take care of yourself. If you Charged for at least 6 hours a day then you wouldn't have to worry about eating more than you used to. You shouldn't have to be making up for anything," Eunsung argues.

"Listen, Eunsung-oppa," she says. "I know you're saying this because you're concerned, but I know what I'm doing. This is… This is bigger than just Chan-ssi and I. He's not just my soulmate, he's the leader of Stray Kids, a producer for 3RACHA. It's- The work that he does- What I see on Twitter, the comments on Youtube, the posts on community. He has the power to reach so many people and make lives better. And he does. He’s such a good person. How can I do anything but support him in any way I can? Even if that means letting him push himself without stepping in, then I'll do it. I trust that he knows his own limits."

“And if that means him ignoring your limits?”

“Eunsung-oppa-” Y/n protests.

"You've talked to him about it," Eunsung interrupts her, clearly able to read something in her tone of voice.

"Yeah, I- I understand how you feel, being on that side of it. I thought that I could convince him, but it turns out that he convinced me instead."

"But the conversation you were having, it was about him taking care of himself instead of you prioritising your needs, wasn't it?" he presses. Y/n confirms, but it sounds reluctant.

“He didn’t want to hear it. He was… I don’t know. I don’t want to say what he said to me.”

“And he never brought it up again?”

“He did, kind of. He said sorry the next day. And I know he’s sorry. I know some of the things that he said were just in the heat of the moment. I get it, I really do. He was stressed, tired, we probably weren’t getting enough Charge, even then. But… It hurt. What he said,” Y/n says, her voice small. “What he really meant. It still hurts a little, every time I think about it. Every time I see him.”

"Sometimes you two are too similar. You’re both just pretending you’re fine, but you’re not. I know Chan, maybe not as well as you, but in a different way. He’s not the type to just let this type of thing slide. As much as I hate him right now for making you hurt, if he doesn’t know that you’re hurting, then there’s no way that things will be fixed. I think you need to talk again, if he cares about you at all then he wouldn't just let this go."

"I think you're overestimating our relationship a bit."

"What? Even after the past few months, you guys aren't close?"

“I’m not delusional, I never had fantasies of us immediately falling in love like in the movies or shows, I just,” she shrugs with the shoulder the Chan wasn’t curled up against. “I don’t know, I just thought that we could be friends or something.”

“You wouldn't even consider yourself to be friends?” Eunsung says in a low voice.

“Actually, at one point I did think we were friends… or maybe more,” Y/n admits with a hollow laugh. “I was wrong. His attitude keeps changing, I can’t keep track of it. One second he’s annoyed at me for nagging him and the next he’s carrying me to bed because I fell asleep on the couch. But wherever we’re arguing, it feels like it’s always my fault. And I know, I know that I’m hard to be around. It’s just hard. The moments of… care, they were an illusion. It was all fake, like kids playing house. He can tolerate me of course, but in the end, I'm just someone he works with.”

"You don't think that if he were to hear what you're saying, he would be sad?" Eunsung asks. Y/n stays silent for a while.

“I don't know. What he said to me. I thought a lot about it. I- I want to make his life better, but I think… I think I make it worse. I don’t understand why we’re soulmates, I can think of a million people who would be better for him than me,” she finally confesses, voice sounding wet.

Eunsung shifts forward, but before he can speak, a nurse knocks on the door and lets herself in. It’s enough noise that Chan takes it as an opportunity to pretend to wake up. When Y/n notices, she looks back towards the nurse and quickly sits up straighter so that Chan's arm naturally falls away from where it’s wrapped around her.

“I think you should go to the company, Chan-ssi,” Y/n suggests after the nurse has finished redressing her wound and has left. Her voice is back to normal, upbeat even, and if Chan hadn't been awake then he wouldn't have been able to tell she had just been in a heavy conversation. It’s scary how easily she can mask her emotions. “I don’t want you to fall behind because of all the time you’ve been spending here. Eunsung is already heading there, he can give you a ride.”

“What am I, a chauffeur?” Eunsung mutters, but he stands up and gathers his things without waiting for an answer. “Come on, let’s go.”

Normally, Chan would protest being ordered around, but at this point he’s just grateful to have some space to process what he just heard. He knows that Minho and Jisung were planning to visit soon and that Felix would be dropping by shortly after, so at least he feels somewhat comfortable leaving Y/n alone. He feels lightheaded and… bad in a way that he can’t describe. It's different than when he first found out that Y/n was hurt. Now it's almost like he’s dissociating, but worse because having an out-of-body experience would be better than the heavy press of emotions that he feels now. It’s clogging up his airways and all he can do is focus on following Eunsung out of the room.

Chan hasn’t had many opportunities to interact with Eunsung, but he knows for sure that they were never as tense as they are right now. It’s understandable though, after what he just heard. When Chan starts toward the lane where he usually gets picked up and dropped off, Eunsung instead steers him toward the parkade.

“This way, superstar. Unlike you, I actually have the freedom to drive myself.” Chan barely notices the thinly veiled jab, he’s still reeling from the conversation. He can’t think of a comeback and really, doesn’t feel like he deserves to give a rebuttal.

When they finally stop in front of a car, Chan catches himself right before reaching for the back car door instead of the one to sit shotgun.

The pair sit in silence for the first half of the ride, until Eunsung finally speaks up.

“You know, you don’t deserve her,” Eunsung says, eyes trained on the road ahead.

“And you do?” Chan fires back, thinking of all the rumours he’s heard from the rest of the staff, the giggles he hears whenever Eunsung interacts with Y/n. Although his guilt is creeping up and clouding his thoughts, his first instincts are to feel defensive.

Y/n is his soulmate, not Eunsung’s.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh come on, I’ve seen how close the two of you are.” He tries hard to not sound too accusatory, but instead his words come out as overly bitter.

"Yeah, we're friends."

"And is that all you want to be?"

In response, Eunsung just laughs incredulously. “What? Even you thought- You think that I like Y/n? I’m-” He can’t even finish his thoughts before he starts to laugh again. “Of course I like her, but she’s like a sister to me.”

“Of course you would say that-”

“I’m married, Chan."

"What?" Chan exclaims. "But, but everyone was saying you- I thought- Who are you married to?"

"Saerom. I've definitely mentioned her before, I know for sure that Y/n has too."

“Oh,” he says dumbly, “I thought- I thought Saerom was the name of your dog.”

"What?!" Eunsung turns to gape at Chan.

“How was I supposed to know? You said you have to take her on walks otherwise she gets too restless, you talk about buying her treats! You said she doesn’t like it when you’re travelling for too long, it sounds like how Berry gets when the family goes on vacation. Just because she has a human name doesn't mean she is a human. I've never seen a picture of her either."

“Oh, I cannot wait to tell Y/n about this.” Eunsung continues to laugh while Chan hides his face in his hands. His cheeks feel like they’re on fire. He’s relieved that Eunsung isn’t secretly in love with Y/n but also mortified that he thought his wife was a dog. At this point, opening the car door and flinging himself out doesn’t sound like a bad idea to get himself out of this conversation.

“You don’t wear a ring,” he says, probably digging himself further into the hole he’s currently in.

In response, Eunsung hooks a finger under the collar of his shirt and pulls out a chain, a ring dangling on the end of it. They turn into the company parking lot and Eunsung kills the engine, turning to face Chan directly.

“Chan-ssi,” he says seriously. “I know that there are rumours about a relationship between Y/n and I. She knows about them too. I’m not deaf to the chatter or the way they react when we’re together. Just, is it really so bad if people suspect that the two of us are soulmates? And I’m not saying this because I enjoy all the rumours. It’s because I know that they mask any sort of interactions that you have with her. If any other staff finds out that you’ve been visiting her in the hospital, they wouldn’t think anything of it other than you being concerned because she’s a manager and you were right there when it happened.”

Even though Chan doesn’t like the idea, he knows that Eunsung is right. It’s safer this way. He just has to get used to swallowing the possessive part of him that wants to publicly declare his soulmate bond. He can do this if it means protecting Y/n.

“You’re right,” Chan says quietly.

“I know all of this must be hard for you and even harder if you didn’t know about Saerom. Just know, we’d never do anything outside of being friends, I promise. If you don’t trust me, then at least trust Y/n. And,” he hesitates for a moment. “I know you heard our conversation earlier.”

“What?”

“I saw when you woke up. You’re not as good of an actor as you think you are, but luckily for you, I don’t think Y/n noticed.”

“I- I really messed things up, didn’t I?” Chan says, feeling defeated.

“I’ll be honest, it’s going to be difficult, fixing your relationship. Y/n is very independent. It’s definitely one of her strengths, but it’s also a big weakness. She doesn’t ask for help, even if she needs it and she’s very hard on herself. You know her family, she’s used to doing things on her own. She’s trying her best with this whole soulmate situation and she was really opening up. She trusted you.”

The past tense in his sentence shouldn’t hurt as much as it does.

“You hurt her,” Eunsung continues. “But I know Y/n will forgive you. She cares about you, a lot. If it wasn’t obvious by… everything that has happened so far. You just have to talk to her.”

“I- Thank you, Eunsung,” Chan finally says. “Thank you for being there for her, for helping with all of… this. I’m sorry.”

“You’re a good person, Chan-ssi. I want things to work out between the two of you.” Abruptly, Eunsung’s tone hardens. “But if you make a habit of hurting her, just know that sasaengs will be the least of your worries.”

—

Chan forces himself to try and be productive for at least an hour in his studio before resigning himself to the reality that he wouldn’t be able to get anything done with how distracted he is. He spends the whole time wishing that he was back at the hospital.

Right as he’s about to call it a day, Jisung- who has just arrived after visiting Y/n and assures him that she’s still doing okay- and Changbin join him. They’ve actually been getting work done in the past few days and quickly run through the progress that they’ve made. Even with their presence, Chan’s attention span is practically non-existent. Everything seems to remind him of Y/n.

He ends up staying until the sun starts to set. When Changbin and Jisung start to discuss dinner options, he takes the opportunity to pack up his things.

“Hyung, are you not joining us?” Changbin asks.

“Sorry-” Chan starts saying.

“Hyung just wants to go and see Y/n again. He doesn’t care about us anymore,” Jisung whines playfully.

“That’s not true!” Chan says indignantly.

“You don’t have to lie, just make it up to us.”

“Anything,” Chan agrees.

“Have dinner back at the dorms with us tomorrow,” Jisung says instantly. “You need to bring new clothes to the hospital anyway, you can save Yonghwan-hyung a trip this way.”

Chan realises this was his plan all along and reluctantly agrees. Logically, he knows that nothing will happen to Y/n while he’s away, he just feels better being able to see it with his own eyes.

—

When he gets back to the hospital, he’s surprised to find Y/n just staring blankly at the wall in front of her. She doesn’t react to the sound of the door opening or Chan’s greeting while he had closed it again. He approaches her cautiously, afraid of startling her, but still manages to make her jump when he gets into her field of vision.

“Oh!” she says breathlessly, putting a hand to her chest. “Sorry, I didn’t know you were back.” She automatically smiles at him.

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah! Yeah, just had a weird day,” she says in that same strange voice she had back in Japan. Chan is starting to realise it means that she’s hiding something.

“Y/n-”

“Maybe it’s just because you were gone. Not to be clingy or anything, I’m glad that you were finally able to go to the company and get some real work done, but I’ve gotten used to having you attached to my side,” she jokes. It’d be convincing if her voice was more steady, if her smile reached her eyes.

“Uhm,” Chan says, not quite sure if he should pursue the topic further or go along with Y/n’s attempt to gloss over it. “I’m sorry, I promised that I’d go back for dinner tomorrow.”

Y/n rolls her eyes at that. “You don’t have to apologise for that! I’m glad that you’re finally getting to see them after being cooped up here. They're your family, you have to spend time with them.”

“I wasn’t forced to stay here though! I want to be here, I want to be with you. You're my family too,” Chan says earnestly.

Y/n's lips press tightly together at that and she breaks eye contact.

“How about this, Eunsung-oppa was planning to come by tomorrow sometime anyway. He said that he’d bring me some non-hospital food and I couldn’t say no,” she says instead of responding to Chan’s comment. “Felix wanted to come by again too, so you can go home at the same time as him. I’ll tell Eunsung-oppa to come by around dinnertime so you don’t feel like you’re leaving me behind, is that okay?”

“Okay, but promise me that if anything happens then just call me and I’ll come back.”

“I promise.”

—

Dinner with the members is rowdy as usual, maybe even moreso. Chan doesn’t think much of it, happy to have a distraction from his thoughts, until he takes a second too long to respond to someone and catches a couple of concerned glances. He realises that the boys are being overly rambunctious to keep him present. It warms his heart and makes him feel guilty at the same time.

After eating, Jisung slumps onto the couch, stretching out so that his feet hang over the side. Chan joins him, smothering him in affection before he leaves for the night. He knows that Jisung has been more anxious than usual these past few days and although he wishes he could do more to help him, his biggest priority at the moment is Y/n.

“Minho-hyung and I met Y/n’s family yesterday,” Jisung says, voice muffled from being pressed against Chan.

Chan bolts upright, accidentally elbowing Jisung in the process, forcing a groan out of him.

“What? When?” he demands. His mind is racing, finally able to sort out Y/n’s strange behaviour when he had last seen her.

“I forgot to mention it at the studio, but when I was visiting, they also showed up. I don’t really know what I was expecting, but they seemed alright.”

“Just alright?” Chan prompts him, trying to calm his heart rate which has spiked.

“Uhm, I mean her parents were very… polite. They spoke to Y/n privately so I just met them briefly.”

“Where did you go?”

“Her brother, Siwon, I forgot he’s a doctor too. He took me to a private lounge they had, there weren’t any people around which was good. He seemed nice, concerned about Y/n.”

“Well not that concerned,” Chan mutters darkly, “since he didn’t even bother to visit until yesterday.”

Jisung stares at him, clearly shocked by the sudden vitriol.

“Sorry,” Chan says, running a hand through his hair and making it stick up wildly. “It’s just been a lot these days, my emotions are everywhere.”

“It’s okay, hyung,” Jisung says cautiously. “It’s been a lot for all of us, but mostly you and Y/n.”

Chan hums in agreement, but still feels bad.

“You can go back now if you want,” Jisung prompts him.

“What? No, I-”

“I can tell you’re distracted,” he says. “Go, we’ll still be here when she’s better.”

Chan goes.

—

The route to the hospital and through the back entrance is becoming more familiar by now. Chan accidentally startles Y/n when he opens the door to her room, but her expression quickly settles to one of relief upon seeing him. Now that he’s looking closely, he can recognize the same, strained smile that he first saw at Chuseok.

She shuffles to the side of the bed and lifts the blankets so that Chan can sit beside her. He wraps an arm around her and pulls her closer.

“The boys all missed you,” he says in greeting. “Dinner wasn’t the same with just the eight of us.”

“Oh come on-”

“You’re part of us, now. I told you before. And-” Chan hesitates for a moment. “I heard that your parents visited.” Y/n stiffens for a second, before relaxing again.

“Ah, Jisungie, the little snitch,” she says, the fondness in her voice opposing her words. “Yes, they dropped by while you were away.”

“And?”

“Well, my eomoni was telling me that it was a sign that I should quit my job, get out of the industry, said I was stupid for getting between the sasaeng on you, the usual. But I got my abeoji to look over my files, when I asked he said that I can be released tomorrow!” she says excitedly, smiling so much that her eyes curve into crescents. “I get to go home!”

It’s clear that things with her parents didn’t go as well as Y/n is projecting, but Chan is too much of a coward to push more. Somehow that righteous anger that had filled him when he had talked to Jisung has been replaced with uncertainty. He doesn’t want to get into yet another disagreement with Y/n now that he knows what she truly thinks of him. Or rather, what she thinks that he thinks of her. He needs to focus on bringing them together instead of allowing them to drift further apart. He vows to bring this topic up another time, when things are better between them.

“That’s great!” he replies, but even as he says it, he can’t help the nervousness that starts to form in his stomach at the thought. He is happy that she’s been healing well and will definitely be reassured to have her back home, but until now, the hospital has served as a sort of protective bubble for Y/n, shielding her from the outside world. He has the irrational sense that keeping her here longer is the same as keeping her safe for longer.

—

“Bang Chan-nim?” The doctor that has been in charge of Y/n’s care steps into the room and glances at Y/n, who is busy packing away her things. All morning she’s been in a good mood, enthusiastically talking about what she plans to do once she’s back at the dorms. “Can I speak to you for a moment?”

“Of course!” he replies. He tells himself that everything is alright, but can't stop himself from running his hands through his mess of hair, palms prickling with nerves.

The doctor leads Chan to his office and smiles at him gently, like he’s about to break some bad news and needs to make sure that Chan doesn’t also break. It makes things worse, Chan’s stomach starts to churn, his mind racing.

“This might be a difficult conversation, but you may already be aware.” The doctor starts slowly. “Y/n-nim works with idols, right? In the entertainment industry?”

“Yes,” Chan agrees, but he’s confused. Did someone leak the news of Y/n’s injuries? Is there a sasaeng that’s been visiting the hospital? He wants to pull out his phone and immediately call the company and force them to do more damage control, but the doctor continues.

“These days, there is a lot of pressure for young women, especially those who work with or follow idols, to fit into certain beauty standards.” Chan nods. He’s seen countless people destroy their bodies to try and lose more and more weight and knows how devastating it is, but he still doesn’t understand the point of this conversation.

“I’m concerned about Y/n-nim”-the doctor interrupts Chan’s thoughts-“When she came to the hospital, we were focused only on her injuries, but throughout her treatment, we have noticed that she is underweight. The testing that we’ve done tells us she has not been getting enough of what her body needs. Not getting enough food, not enough charge, and not enough rest. She's showing signs that she was becoming malnourished.

“It’s not uncommon to see those with soulmates, especially young women, take advantage of the bond, reducing charging time and saying that they will eat more instead. They often eat a normal amount so that it doesn’t concern anyone, but it’s not nearly enough to make up for the missing charge. Both of you have probably been more sensitive lately. It wouldn’t surprise me if you’ve also noticed yourself being irritable or having rapid mood changes these past few days."

Chan can't do anything but stare as the doctor pulls out a small packet of paper. His pulse roars in his ears and all he can feel is guilt, pooling in his stomach and creeping towards his extremities. He feels nauseous. This is his fault.

He thinks back to all the nights where he stayed in the studio, just a little bit longer to finish a track, sliding into bed to charge for only a few hours before they had to wake up. Of the extra meals, protein drinks, snacks he had consumed that he thought nothing of, too used to the varying diets of the rest of the members depending on their schedules and the ups and downs of bulking up or cutting calories. He’s used to the heaviness of his eyelids, the pounding headaches, and occasional dizziness that were the result of sleepless nights.

All these things he had taken in stride, forgetting that Y/n had been dealing with too. He had the luxury of being an idol, during schedules and tour, there was always breaks for food. But he had seen the way the managers and coordis had to run around, only eating when they had a couple minutes to spare.

He knows that he’s snapped at Y/n more than a few times, patience worn thin enough that at the end of the day he doesn’t have it in him for niceties. Of course, he had felt bad about it after the fact, but Y/n hadn’t seemed very phased by it and he had forgotten about it until the next time. It wouldn’t be the first time that stress made him more easily annoyed and ill-tempered, but now he realises why he seemed quicker to get caught up in his emotions.

The doctor continues talking, but Chan feels like he's underwater, the sound is muffled. This is his fault.

"Bang Chan-nim!" The doctor clasps one of Chan's hands in his and finally pulls his attention away from his self-loathing thoughts. "Are you okay? I know it can be a shock to find out, but don't feel bad. It's very common to be surprised, people are good at hiding things like this, even if you're close to them and I know that your bond is still relatively new. Luckily there are a lot of strategies we have to help your soulmate get more Charge, even if you both have busy schedules. Okay?"

"Okay," Chan replies weakly, he can barely focus on what’s being said, all he can think of is that he's the reason his soulmate is malnourished. And he didn't notice. That they think Y/n has an eating disorder, when it's him that has dictated the amount of charge that she gets. The doctor flips open the packet of papers and starts to highlight it.

"The most important thing right now is increasing Charging time. With Y/n-nim's injuries, her bedrest and all the time you two have spent charging have already been helping a lot. Take this recovery period as a time to build new habits and establish a routine that involves more skinship. I understand you two are busy, but I expect you try for at least 6 or 7 hours of sleep while charging, but more if possible. If you're both doing work on the computer, watching a show or movie, or eating, then sitting close enough to touch will help recharge without taking away from your regular activities. As you may already know, for the most efficient charging more skin-to-skin contact is recommended." He flips the front page back over and places the packet onto another, larger, stack of papers. "More details can be found here and this is the rest of Y/n-ssi's care instructions, prescriptions, and other information on soulmate bonds."

"Thank you so much," Chan says, automatically reaching out to accept all the papers.

"You're welcome. This must be very overwhelming, but Y/n-nim is healing quickly. Your bond is helping her recover much faster. We caught her malnutrition fairly early and expect that she'll be at normal energy levels within a few weeks. Don't feel guilty and try not to worry too much, Bang Chan-nim. Your bond is a good thing, not a bad one." The doctor smiles warmly, checking his watch and standing up. "Y/n-nim should be ready to be discharged now, let's go back to the room so that we don’t keep her waiting."

Chan follows the doctor back in a daze. Y/n is sitting on one of the chairs in her room, scrolling on her phone when they arrive. She brightens when they enter.

“Can we leave now?” she asks eagerly. Chan beelines to her side, reaching to hold her hand.

“Yes, everything has been sorted out now and Bang Chan-nim has all your care instructions. Please give us a call or come to visit if you have any questions or concerns at all,” the doctor says.

“Of course.”

“Looks like everything is ready to go. It was very nice to meet you both, although I wish it could have been under better circumstances. I hope that the rest of your recovery goes well, Y/n-nim, and please do not hesitate to contact us for anything.” With that, the doctor bows and leaves the room.

At the same moment, a nurse knocks on the doorframe as a greeting, pushing a wheelchair through the open door. Y/n’s smile fades when she sees it.

“Oh, no,” she says quickly. “I can walk, there’s no need for one of those.”

She turns to look at Chan for support, but he just shrugs helplessly. Secretly, he would feel better if she used it. After only a week in the hospital, she isn’t close to being fully recovered, even if she hides it well. He’s seen the slight grimaces when Y/n tries to shift positions and the way her face is lined with pain when she walks or has to stand straight for longer than a few minutes. If she pushes herself too much now, it’ll just extend the overall healing process.

“Really, I don’t need it,” she insists. “What was the point in all the walking practise? Besides, Chan-ssi and Yonghwan-ssi will be beside me, they won't let anything happen to me.”

The nurse looks sceptical, but agrees. Before they leave the room, Y/n twists her hand trying to break Chan’s grip.

“It’s too public,” she murmurs when he tightens his hold instead. “Just in case, I don’t want anyone to see anything that can be misinterpreted.”

Unable to think up an argument against that, Chan reluctantly lets go. Y/n hooks her arm with Yonghwan’s instead and they make their way out, Chan hovering behind them anxiously. They’re all wearing masks and hats and the car that’s going to pick them up is waiting at a private exit, but there’s a shared urgency in their movement. By now, the media has turned their attention to other stories, but with the radio silence from Stray Kids since the incident, fans have had nothing to do except theorise and wonder what’s happening behind the scenes.

He knows that it’s making him paranoid. He finds that he’s constantly looking over his shoulder when he’s in the hallways of the hospital. He’s never been more careful trying to cover up his appearance and avoid anybody who looks like they might recognise him.

They can’t risk the chance of a sighting of Y/n, especially now that her face was captured and shared on social media by fans before JYPE’s legal team was able to step in, and pictures of Chan with Y/n would make things much worse. There have already been rumours about how close Y/n is with all the members and who she is, using pictures from other schedules and events, somehow identifying her in blurred out clips from vlogs that have been posted, and even old footage from when she worked with Xdinary Heroes as evidence.

It scares Chan. Scares him so much that he can’t talk about it to anybody.

Although Y/n’s time in the hospital was fairly short, all things considered, Chan feels like he’s the one that has changed during this stay. Everything he has learned has made him feel like his chest has been opened up and his insides have been scooped out, leaving him hollowed out and unsteady.

When they finally get home safely, it feels like Chan can breathe easily for the first time in days.

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captain19cb97 · 1 year

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A Surprise (M) b.c

Getting the chance to come back to Seoul for a couple months to work with your boyfriend's group, you also have the chance to show up without him knowing you're back, and the reunion is better than you hoped it would be.

Pairing: Idol!Chan x Fem!Reader | Older Sister!Reader x Felix

Word Count: 5.2k

Genre: Smut (18 + MDNI) Fluff, Established Relationship, Established Friendship w/SKZ members

Warnings: This story is 90% smut, if you are not 18 or older, please DO NOT INTERACT with this story. Unprotected sex (reader is on birth control, but regardless, be smart and safe! Use protection) Pet names (Baby, my love, love, babygirl, princess) name calling (Whore but affectionately it is unspoken but it's done consensually) Praise, cursing, light choking, casual mention of food.

You [9:35 p.m.] Min, Jinnie! I'm ready whenever you two are.

You set your phone on the counter after locking it so you could look around the apartment again for a moment. The company had paid to have some of your things shipped out, mostly clothes and things like that, because you refused to let them buy you new clothes, saying that you'd have nowhere for the new things to go once you flew back home. But you did compromise on letting them pay for everyday things, like kitchen utensils and the like, so you could actually inhabit the apartment for the close to 2 month that you’d be staying in it.

The company had asked you to come work with Chan and the guys, being that you were Felix’s older sister, and since they knew about your relationship with Chan, and how amazing of a photographer you were. You were obviously, more than happy to spend so much time with your brother, your boyfriend and the rest of the members, even if you were going to be working for a lot of the time.

It was still 2 months straight, though, and it was about to be the most amount of time that you and Chan have spent together, in person, since before getting together, since you’re living and working in a different country right now.

You stood in the doorway to the master bedroom, marveling at the sight before you. It was beautifully decorated- simple yet cozy- and there wasn't a single thing you could find to complain about as you continued to look around, even after hearing your phone go off from the kitchen counter.

You made your way back over to grab you phone, seeing that the boys had texted you back.

Minhooo [9:39 p.m.] We're on our way, Noona!

Hyunjinnie [9:40 p.m.] I'm so excited!

Little Bro Sunshine [9:40 p.m.] I can't wait to see you!

Jisungie [9:41 p.m.] Bin-Hyung and I will keep Channie-Hyung busy until you're at the dorm. Can't wait to see you either, though, Noona!

Seungminnie [9:43 p.m.] IN-ah looks like he's going to explode, he's so excited.

Innie [9:44 p.m.] I AM excited!

You [9:45 p.m.] I'm excited too, boys! I've missed you all so much

You decided that now would be a good time to text Chan, telling him you were finally home. Halfway through your flight, you'd messaged him- like you'd planned, telling him you'd had a layover for a couple hours somewhere, but that you were going to use that time to get some food and to walk around to kill time and stretch out your legs.

All in the hopes that he wouldn't question why you'd be texting him so much later then when your flight home would've landed already. You were so excited to surprise him, and you were thankful for the guys, for helping you get everything planned out.

You [9:50 p.m.] Hey baby! Finally made it home, but I'm feeling super jetlagged so I'm going to get some more sleep. I'll text you when I get up though, okay? I love you; I hope your day was good! 💕🥰

And after that, you waited for Minho and Hyunjin to knock on the apartment door and for Chan to text you back, which only took a couple minutes.

Chris💙 [9:54 p.m.] Glad to hear that you're home, my love. Okay, sleep well, I love you more xxxx <3<3 I'm going home in a bit to do the same thing.

You [9:55 p.m.] Dream about me then?

Chris💙 [9:55 p.m.] I already do, love

Chris💙 [9:56 p.m.] Get some rest, babygirl. I'll talk to you later?

You [9:56 p.m.] Cheesy boy! Videocall when I get up? If you're not busy.

Chris💙 [9:57 p.m.] Only for you. And I'll never say no.

You [9:57 p.m.] I know 💕 night, baby

Chris💙 [9:58 p.m.] Good night, love <3

After another few minutes, finally loud knocks sounded at the door, and you could barely contain your excitement as you pulled it open to two smiling faces.

You didn't even say hi, just quickly grabbed them both, pulling them in for a tight little group hug as they both laughed at your reaction, but hugged you back just a tightly.

"I've missed you both." You sighed happily, letting them go after a moment.

"We've miss you, too, Noona." Minho smiled at you as Hyunjin nodded.

"Lots," Hyunjin added, hugging you again. "How was the flight?"

You let out a soft sigh, "Not too bad, I slept most of the time knowing that I'd need the rest for the time difference. Honestly, I'm just tired from all the photoshoots I’ve done this last week and a half."

"Looking forward to a few days with nothing to do?" Minho asked with a smile.

You grinned, "Absolutely. After that, it's going to be a busy and long few weeks. But I can't complain when I get to see you guys so much again finally."

The boys smiled, "Well," Minho started, "You could complain, but we all know that we're going to make sure you have no reason to."

"Or have plenty of reasons to." Hyunjin laughed.

You shook your head, rolling your eyes at both of them, "You two are ridiculous."

"And you missed us." Hyunjin pointed out, a wide smile on his face. "But that's a topic for another time, because Changbin-Hyung texted me and they're leaving the studio soon so we need to go."

"Let me grab my things then," You said, spinning around towards the counter only a few steps away from you, glancing back at Minho, "Did Jisung order dinner like we planned?"

He nodded, watching you quickly pull a familiar looking hoodie over your head, "Yeah, it'll get there about the same time as us, if we leave now."

You scoffed playfully, pulling on both shoes, "Alright, alright, come on then." You smiled, making sure you had the key to the apartment in case you couldn't remember the code, before shoving your phone into the pocket of the Chan's hoodie and following them back out the door and down the hall, making sure the apartment door was shut and locked behind you.

The whole drive was spent just talking to them about everything that had been going on since you'd all been together back on their last tour, Chan had finally gotten the chance to spend some time back home with his family after a few years and you'd been so excited for him.

When Felix told you that he was going too, you were even happier, knowing your little brother was getting the chance to go home to be with the rest of your family for a little while, even though you were a little upset that you couldn’t also be there.

The boys told you about the few concerts they'd had since coming back to Seoul, some things that had happened in the studio when they were practicing and just everyday life for all of them- little things that Chan or Felix didn't always have time to tell you when you would talk to either of them.

The closer you got to the dorm, the more excited, and nervous, you became, and they both noticed- even in the dark of the car. Minho glanced at you after he finally parked at the dorm, offering you a small smile, "It's going to be great, Noona. Don't worry too much, okay?"

Hyunjin put his hand on your shoulder before you guys got out, "Yeah, Channie-Hyung isn't going to know what to do when he sees you."

"All I know is that I'm definitely going to cry." You mumbled, climbing out of the car, "How much time do we have?"

Hyunjin unlocked his phone, "Hannie said they just left the company, so we have like 15 minutes or so."

You nodded, following behind them into the building, "I'm so excited to see the rest of the boys."

"Yongbok-ah's been freaking out most of the day, he barely slept last night." Minho mentioned as you guys stepped off the elevator finally.

You cooed softly, "Yeah, he'd been texting me nonstop until my flight boarded about how excited he was. I missed my little brother." You smiled as they stopped in front of the dorm and Hyunjin put the code in before turning the handle. He smiled down at you before he slowly pushed the door open for you, motioning for you to go first.

There was a loud gasp as you stepped through the doorway, "She's here!" You heard Innie yell before three sets of arms engulfed you into a tight hug.

You giggled, squirming a little to get your arms free to hug them back, "Hi, boys!"

Felix laughed, "I can't believe you're actually here!" he exclaimed.

"I missed you, Noona." Innie grinned.

Seungmin smiled widely, "Took you long enough." He joked softly.

You managed to get your arms free, and touching each of them as you smiled happily, "I missed you guys, too." You told them before you all pulled apart from one another before you grabbed Felix for a long hug. “I missed you.” You whispered, feeling your eyes sting slightly as you hugged him.

It had been a long time since you guys had been together and since you and Felix have always been so close, it’s been hard being apart this long.

He immediately relaxed against you, hugging you just as tightly, as he sighed softly, “I missed you, too, Noona. I’m so happy you’re back.”

10 minutes or so later, you were firmly planted on the center cushion of the couch, facing the front door and watching Hyunjin accept the takeout boxes from the delivery guy with a smile and a soft 'thank you' bow before closing the door and facing the rest of you with a smile.

"Food's here, now we just need the star of the show." He joked, taking the bags into the kitchen.

"Han just texted me," Minho looked up at you, "Changbin-ah just parked, so they'll be up in a minute."

You let out an excited but shaky breath, "Oh, man, I'm weirdly nervous." you admitted softly.

Felix dropped his head to your shoulder and let out a soft chuckle, "That's okay, Noona! This is how Channie-Hyung was in LA before you got there."

You grinned at him, tightening your hand around his for a quick second, "Really?"

Seungmin nodded, "Oh yeah. He couldn't sit still, from the second we got back to the hotel until he ran out of the room to meet you at the elevator."

You grinned at the memory of that night, at how excited you had been to see Chan standing outside those doors when they opened. You hoped that's how he'd feel now.

Minho looked at the boys, "Okay, they left Channie-Hyung in the lobby, so they're coming in in a second and then he'll be up after that, so we should go hide in the kitchen." He looked at you as they all started getting up and walking away from the living room, "Ready?"

You took a deep breath and nodded, "Ready."

He smiled just as the door burst open with two panting boys who quickly looked around the room for you before they ran at you for a quick hug.

"He's almost up here, we waited by the elevator until he got on." Changbin said quickly, letting you out of the hug.

"He must have found it weird that you two just left him like that." You chuckled softly, watching them head for the kitchen too.

Han shook his head, "We were messing around before that to make it look more real. Changbin-Hyung 'chased' after me for smacking his hat off outside the car." He explained.

You just let out a quiet laugh, "You guys really went all out for this, huh?" You asked softly.

They both smiled at you as you stood from the couch to stand a little ways away from the door for when Chan opened it. "For you guys? Yeah! And we'd do it again." Han grinned.

Minho grabbed his arm, "Sentimentality later, he should be at the door in a minute." he whispered, tugging Han into the kitchen with him.

You just shook your head and spun around, keeping your eyes on the door until you heard the handle starting to turn and your heart began beating so fast, you were worried it would beat out of your chest as the door was slowly pushed open.

"You know," Chan's voice started before he had even put a foot through the doorway, "You two are lucky that there wasn't anyone in the lobby, to see you guys being-" He stopped talking, his eyes landing on your pair of shoes by the door as he stepped inside, before his eyes slowly landed on your figure in the middle of the living room, the rest of his sentence slowly falling from his lips. "Like that.."

It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop as you smiled at him. "Surprise." you whispered finally.

Already, you could feel your eyes stinging with tears as his mouth dropped open slightly as you stared at each other for a solid 10 seconds before he launched himself at you. Dropping everything he had been holding in his hands to the floor before his arms wrapped around your body, tightly, pulling you into his chest until your feet were off the ground.

He buried his face in your neck, breathing deeply as he somehow pulled you closer to him- not fully believing that you were there, that you were in his arms again as he heard you let out a soft cry into his shoulder where you had buried your face, your arms wrapped tightly around his neck, and your legs around his waist.

"You're here. You're really here." He breathed out, a few tears dropping from his face onto the fabric of the hoodie adorning your body. "I can't believe you're actually here." he whispered, cupping your tear-streaked cheek as you nodded slowly.

It was so nice to be home.

"I'm really here." You whispered back before he quickly blanketed your lips with his before you both pulled away again, hugging each other tightly as you finally put your feet back on the floor.

He took your face in both of his hands, his vision slightly blurred from happy tears as he smiled down at you, "You lied to me." You let out a tearful laugh and nodded, he sighed, leaning down to kiss you again, his lips brushing yours lightly, "I missed you so fucking much."

You eagerly kissed him back again, fisting the fabric of his jacket at his waist, "I missed you, too." you mumbled, pressing your forehead to his once you'd both pulled away.

As soon as the boys realized you guys were done kissing- Han had peeked his head out the kitchen doorway to double check- they all quickly emerged into the living room again, cheering loudly like the dorks they are, for you both.

Chan looked at them, a mix of bewilderment and pure surprise on his face as the realization hit him, why they'd all been the way they had been since the day before, "You guys knew?"

"We helped plan this." Seungmin answered him, a proud smile on his lips.

Chan glared playfully at Felix, “You! You knew too?”

Felix couldn't stand still, bouncing happily on his feet, "Oh, it was torture having to keep this a secret from you, Hyung." He breathed, "But so totally worth it!"

Chan felt you lace your fingers with his, making him look down at you, "Definitely worth it." You grinned up at him.

A couple hours later, after you’d all eaten and enjoyed just spending the time together, you and Chan got ready to leave for the night. The boys had told him that he had the next few days off, to just enjoy spending time with you before you and Felix spent a day or two together, before your busy schedules really started.

Chan looked down at you and nodded gently, before turning to look back at the guys, "If you guys need anything, just text me. Or her."

"Chan, they know." You giggled, offering the boys a smile, shouldering your purse finally. "Either or though, doesn't matter."

Minho shook his head, "We'll be fine for a few days. Just like when you went home, hyung. Now get out of here and spend some time together."

He smiled wide, nodding in response, "Thank you, guys. Really. We'll see you in a couple days, I guess."

You grinned, throwing a smile back at Felix then the rest of the boys, "See you guys this weekend, don't do anything I wouldn't do."

Han laughed, "Knowing you, Noona, that's not a lot."

You faked a hurt expression as you pulled open the front door, "Wow, Ji, just wow. I mean, you're right but still, damn." You sighed playfully, "Don't do anything that will get you in trouble." You offered instead, smiling back at them, "Better?"

Chan let out a soft sigh, "I'm worried about what you talk about with them." He joked, taking your hand in his, "Have a good few days, boys."

You giggled at him, rolling your eyes playfully, "Nothing bad, obviously." You looked back at the rest of them, "Bye, boys! Goodnight."

Finally, after hearing them all bid you goodnight and goodbye, you and Chan disappeared through the front door and down the hall, enjoying the soft silence that had enveloped you both as you made it down to his car.

"Princess." He grinned, opening your door for you before quickly throwing his backpack into the backseat.

You let out a soft laugh, shaking your head as you slid into the seat, "Thank you."

He chuckled, rounding the car himself, after making sure you were in the car and your door was shut. After a minute or so, he'd put his music on low, and grabbed your hand in his, pulling it up to his lips, "I still can't believe you're actually here." he whispered again, lips grazing your knuckles.

You smiled, leaning over to kiss his lips. Keeping your hand on his cheek as you slowly pulled away, "I hope it was a good surprise."

He nodded quickly, touching his forehead to yours for a moment, "You know how much I've missed you; I couldn't be happier right now."

You pecked his lips again before settling back in your seat fully, "Neither could I."

He grinned over at you, squeezing your hand once before finally pulling away from the dorm and onto the road to your apartment, following the gps that you’d put into the dash when you first got in the car.

The drive was quiet, comfortable, and your hand never left his until you both were getting out of the car a couple minutes later. You waited at the front of the car for him to grab his bag from the backseat, and it was only then that you realized he didn't have his laptop. Which you pointed out as much when you guys got into the elevator.

"If I have the days off, and I have you, I don't need my laptop." He answered with a smile, "I'd rather spend all this time with just you, and not worry about working on anything."

You could feel the warmth of his words spreading through your body as you made it to your apartment door, "As much as I adore that sentimentality, baby, what are you going to do when you can't sleep and want something to do?"

You felt his chest against your back as you went to open the door, stopping when you felt his lips graze your ear, "Why would I want my laptop, when I can just do you, instead?"

Your breath hitched and your barely turned your head to look up at him. Seeing that cocky, smug grin on his lips didn't help the sudden want growing within you, "You're shameless." You said weakly.

His smug look only worsened as he finished opening the door behind you, "When it comes to you? Yeah." He muttered, gently pushing you inside the apartment, keeping your gaze as you both moved, before shutting the door with his foot.

You pulled him closer to you, not even bothering to properly put your things down before you pulled his lips down to yours in a heated kiss, moaning softly at the feel of his hands on your ass as he pulled you closer to him too.

It was a miracle that neither of you crashed into anything as you led him down the hall and into the bedroom, clothes trailing behind you after being haphazardly pulled from your bodies. Lips and hands barely left each other's skin as Chan laid you on your back on the bed, moving to hover above you, a lovesick grin on his face the second he looked down at you.

"I don't know how I got so lucky to be with someone as beautiful as you." He whispered, cupping your cheek lightly.

You flushed under his gaze and words, diverting your eyes from his, "You know damn well I think that same thing about you." You mumbled, meeting his eyes again and reaching up to cup his cheek too.

Chan grinned, turning his head to press a soft kiss to your palm, "6 months is way too long without you. I'm going to show you how much I missed you, my love." he whispered, leaning down to capture your lips with his.

You nodded just barely, relishing in the way he was already running his hands softly over your body, "Show me." You pleaded gently, arching your back as his hand found purchase between your legs.

He trailed his lips down your neck, lavishing your skin in unspoken confessions as he rocked his hips into yours- limbs tangled, wrapped around each other as you both steadily found yourselves closer to the edge.

You gasped, feeling him thrust deeper, but keeping the same pace, "J-just like that, baby, fuck yes."

He grunted above you, watching your face scrunch up in pleasure as you clenched around him again, "You're so good to me, love," He panted in your ear, "So fucking good to me."

You whined, throwing your head back into the mattress as you clenched around him and dragged your nails down his back, "You're the one doing all the work, baby." You hissed, feeling his lips latch around your nipple. "I should be telling you how good you are to me."

He chuckled, barely lifting his head to fully gaze up at you, "The sounds you're making are telling me enough, babygirl." He grinned smugly, lapping his tongue around the perked bud again.

You arched your back at the feeling, eyes closing as you sighed in pleasure before pulling his face up to yours, both of your hands on his cheeks as you met his eyes, "I love you," You panted softly, your lips grazing his, "Ruin me, baby. I want more. Please?"

He closed the space between your lips, grunting into your mouth as he hoisted your leg over his hip, his fingers digging into the flush on the back of your thigh, "You want more, huh? I'll give you more, babygirl."

If you thought you were rushing towards an orgasm before, you had no idea what you were truly in for. Chan braced himself with one hand on the bed up by your head, the other still tightly holding your thigh as he picked up his pace, moaning at the feeling of you clenching around him again as you moaned out loudly at the change in pace.

"This what you wanted, huh? You wanted me to fuck you instead of make love to you?" He let out a dry chuckle, bowing his head a little, and watching his cock disappearing inside you. "Do you want me to fuck you like you're a whore? My little whore?"

"Yes!" You cried, hands gripping the sheet beneath you as you squeezed your eyes shut, "Fuck, baby, yes. 'm your whore, I-I wanna be your whore."

He quickly pulled out, leaving you gasping and confused until he roughly grabbing your waist, "On your hands and knees then, babygirl. Whores don't get to look at me when I fuck them."

You had to keep yourself from moaning at his words as you did as he told you, dropping onto your forearms as he gripping your ass with both hands, squeezing and spreading your cheeks a few times, before you felt the tip of his cock at your entrance again.

You had no idea where this sudden change came from. The few times you guys have had sex since getting together, sure he'd fucked you, but, God, not like this. Not that you were complaining, you'd gotten a taste of this Chan on the many, steamy phone and videocalls over the long months, but this was different- this was first-hand, and you were living for it.

You moaned at the feeling of him rubbing his tip up and down your folds, wiggling your hips slightly in anticipation, "Please?" You begged, turning to look at him over your shoulder.

He put his hand on the middle of your back, pushing your chest further into the mattress, "You'll get it, babygirl. Behave."

And as he finished saying the words, he slowly pushed back into you, bottoming out before pulling out again just as slowly, listening to you gasp at the difference in angle.

As much as you both liked being able to look in each other's eyes, grabbing each other's faces to pull the other into heated, deep kisses during sex, this angle was making him hit every spot within you, and he knew it too, just from how you were crying out, and burying your face into the sheets as you clenched tightly around him, pulling him deeper.

You could feel the burn in your knees from the prolonged stance as you pushed back against him with every hard thrust. You could feel his fingers digging into your hips as he pulled you backwards into him each time, too. And listening to him let out low, deep groans as he fucked into you was quickly sending you headlong into an orgasm you knew was going to hit you hard.

You could feel it as he pulled you up and back into his chest, bucking up into you as he wrapped an arm across your chest, the other falling between your legs as his rubbed rough figured 8's onto your clit- the overstimulation making it harder for you not to fall limp on the bed, and had it not been for Chan's arms, you would've.

One of your hands gripped around his wrist on the arm across your body, taking his hand and moving it to the base of your neck, the other reaching behind you both, around the back of his neck as he continued to thrust, panting heavily into your neck.

"Are you close?" he grunted, enjoying the feeling of your body pressed tightly against his as your hand fell to his ass, grabbing a handful.

You nodded quickly, dropping your head back onto his shoulder, "So close, baby, I'm so close." You whimpered as he gently tightened his hand around your throat, as the knot in your stomach quickly tightened. "Fuck, I’m gonna cum.”

Chan's hips faltered for a moment, feeling you clench around him before he picked up the same pace, letting your throat go and grabbing your chin to make you look at him. "Cum for me then, babygirl." He demanded, "You've been such a good girl for me- my pretty little whore." He brushed your lips with his as your walls tightened around him again.

You cried out, letting him silence the sound with his mouth on yours as you finally came, ears ringing as the pleasure overtook you as he continued roughly thrusting into you, letting you ride it out until his hips stopped and he spilled inside you only moments later, panting heavily as he let go of your jaw and pulled his hand from your core.

He held you against his chest as you both tried to catch your breaths, bodies sticky with sweat from the heat between you both.

You felt his lips at the base of your neck after brushing your hair to the side, "You okay?" He asked, adjusting you both as he pulled out.

You whimpered softly at the oversensitivity, but nodded, "Perfect, you?" You asked, turning to look at him as he stood from the bed.

He grinned down at you, a tired expression on his face, "Never been better."

You barely huffed a chuckle, slowly moving to put your feet on the floor to stand too. "Shower?"

Chan didn't reply, only held his hand out to you, helping you stand on wobbly feet before following you to the bathroom. He looked at you, an amused look in his eyes as you stood slightly unsteadily as you turned the shower on, waiting for the water to get hot. "You sure you're doing okay?" He teased.

You glanced back at him, splashing a small handful of water towards him as you stuck your tongue out at him. "I'm probably going to be a little sore in the morning, but yeah, I'm fine."

He nodded as you turned back around, his eyes shamelessly raking over the naked expanse of your body as you paid him no mind. His heart felt full, having you home with him again, and even though the distance was tough and sometimes painfully hard, in this moment, he felt like it was worth it.

He hadn't realized that you'd finally turned back to look at him, ready to tell him the shower was ready. You caught his eyes, your brows pinching together in question as he just stared at you still.

"What?" You asked finally, the word spoken so softly, it was almost drowned out by the stream of water behind you.

He took the two steps between you both, hand coming to rest gently on your waist and smiled down at you- a look of pure love and adoration in his eyes as you tilted your head up to look him in the eyes. "I’m just so happy you’re home again. I love you." Was all he offered in response before he gently pressed his lips down to yours in a chaste kiss.

You sighed into the kiss, smiling as you both pulled away, "And I love you. Not to ruin your sappy love moment though, but can we get into the shower now? I, uhm, have your cum coming down my thighs." You said softly, cheeks slightly darkening before Chan let out a quiet laugh and nodded, letting you go before slapping your ass as you climbed into the shower.

You yelped at the sudden contact, spinning to playfully glare at him as he followed behind you, pulling the shower curtain closed, "Really?"

“It was right there,” He sent you a cheeky grin and shrugged just barely, "Couldn't resist."

#bang chan au #stray kids x reader #bang chan x reader #bang chan smut #stray kids smut #chan smut #chan x female reader #chan x you #stray kids fluff #stray kids imagine #chan fic #stray kids fic #chan x y/n #chan fluff #stray kids drabbles #chan drabbles

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ikykwklk-ash · 3 months

Text

"You hate shopping, but..."

Pairing: Bang Chan x fem reader

W/c: 2225

Synopsis: Your best friends (Hyunjin and Felix) force you to go shopping, but you don't know that it's all planned for you to meet their friend.

HI! It's my first ff that I write completely in English, I hope you like it and if there are errors please let me know!! :"

★★★★★★★

You hate shopping... You've always hated it. But your best friends dragged you into this "tragedy" because you lost a stupid bet.

So here you are, waiting for Hyunjin and Felix to come out of the dressing room.

You've spent 30 minutes waiting for them to get ready, and when they come out of the two separate small rooms you tell them they look fabulous, not paying attention to how they're dressed because you're getting bored.

The two of them stare at you for a few seconds and then they look at each other, and you, oblivious to what they are mentally saying to each other with that look, give them a bored look. Your friends, after giving you another look, look at each other again and nod without speaking to each other.

Hyunjin and Felix grab your arms and lift you up by the weight, at first you are confused by their actions, then you see that they are heading toward a dark clothing store, and you understand everything. You try to break free from their firm grip, threatening them to put you down. But they do not listen to you and continue their walk toward the store laughing.

When you enter the store a boy a little taller than you, with dark hair and chocolate brown almond eyes, turns to you and greets you: <<Hello and welcome to S Class, how can I help you?>> and smiles. Between you and you think he has a beautiful smile; he is cute after all. When the boy's gaze falls on you, your eyes meet for a split second before you lower it in embarrassment. You feel his gaze on you even as Felix speaks: <<We could use some dark clothes for our friend, Channie hyung!>>

You turn your head sharply toward the blond man. <<Do you...know him?>>

Hyunjin replies in place of the other <<Of course! He works with us for JYP>>

Oh. You didn't know your friends worked with such a handsome guy.

The raven smiles again (how beautiful his smile was....) and nods <<What do you like to wear?>> he says as he looks at you again.

<<Oh uhm...oversize things mainly, but not always yes here...preferably dark>> you reply feeling yourself on fire. You mentally insult your friends for taking you to a store with such a cute clerk. The boy nods and after a moment tells you to follow him.

Before you follow him Hyunjin whispers in your ear <<you know you're as red as a tomato y/n?>> you simply shut up and punch him lightly on the shoulder, and he, like a good drama queen makes a dramatic face and tells you that you hurt him, and you simply laugh.

You follow the raven, go through various sections of colourful clothing, genre that is not for you, eventually you come to a small section where there are garments that have all the dark shades you like.

The clerk teams you from head to toe, and you don't take your eyes off his dark chocolate eyes, you want to stay and look at him more, but you know you can't, because he turns and picks up a pair of ripped, baggy black jeans, smiles, and then tells you you should try them on. You look down, pick them up and head for the fitting room, your friends and the boy arrive a few minutes later with more short-sleeved T-shirts and oversized sweatshirts in dark shades, pick out the ones you like and enter the fitting room.

You come out of the dressing room, wearing the jeans he gave you, paired with a white shirt and over it a black T-shirt with AC/DC written in red and large in the centre. You see Hyunjin and Felix still talking to the boy.

<<So, we forgot to introduce you. y/n he is Chan hyung and Chan hyung well she is y/n>>

<<Ehm... nice to meet you Chan-ssi>> you bow feeling a little uncomfortable.

<<My pleasure y/n>> he replies to you.

<<O my god y/n! How good you look dressed like that!>> exclaims Felix, realizing that you felt uncomfortable.

<<Oh, thanks Lixie, I'd like it better with this oversized sweatshirt, though>> you reply, mentally thanking her. You show the sweatshirt you had decided on earlier, it was beige with a black rose at heart level, as soon as you had seen it you liked it immediately.

<<Oh, that's right you look very good dressed like that y/n>> Chan says blushing slightly.

You simply blush at the compliment and say nothing.

You try on other garments and finally choose the first outfit you had tried on that afternoon. You spent the last few hours chatting with Chan, because Hyunjin and Felix had decided to try on outfit after outfit, unfortunately for you, from the colourful sections. You knew they had done it on purpose, in fact they were your friends and knew you better than anyone else.

At first you do not know what to talk about, you are very embarrassed, and you realize that he is too since every time you look at each other you blush. So, you stay silent, and you listen to the songs playing on the radio in the store and without realizing it you start humming Growl by EXO and he looks at you <<Do you like EXO?>> and you start talking about their songs and your bias.

And from EXO you move on to talk about other groups, other singers, and music in general.

At the end of the day, he asks for your number, and you show him your cell phone so he could save your number. He sends you a funny sticker and you, as soon as you hear the notification that a message has arrived, open the chat, and laugh and shake your head. You pay for the clothes you bought and say goodbye.

Before you, Hyunjin and Felix leave the store, Chan calls you back and asks you to meet the next day at 10 a.m. at the mall.

You come home and throw yourself on the bed smiling, don't even bother to change, take off your favourite blue sneakers and fall asleep, there with a smile on your face and your clothes still on.

Months pass and you and Chan, who you found out is named Christopher Chan Bang, spend your days texting and hanging out together, sometimes with the addition of Hyunjin and Felix, sometimes with his friends who you found out were also friends with Hyunjin and Felix, and sometimes alone. One day he asks you to go out for breakfast together and spend the day walking, and you gladly accept. You write to your friends that the next day you would go out for breakfast and spend the day together. You don't sleep at night because of excitement and spend it on video call with Felix.

The next day at 8 a.m. you get out of bed, with a smile coming to your ears and feeling anxious about "the date," if you can call it that, you take a shower, get dressed in flared jeans, an oversized black sweatshirt with a print and the usual sneakers, put on your makeup quickly to cover your dark circles and make yourself presentable, and go to the bar you decided on. You arrive ten minutes early, so you check your cell phone while you wait for him and continue listening to music, sitting on a bench nearby.

Shortly after you feel someone touch your shoulder from behind, you jump in the air and turn around, to your great good fortune it's Chan <<sorry if I startled you>> he says in embarrassment and with that smile of his that gives you butterflies in your stomach.

You laugh and shake your head and tell him it's okay, his smile stays as he looks at you and asks if you want to go into the bar and you nod smiling back.

You enter the cafe and sit down at a table; a waiter reaches your table and asks what you want.

<<For me a coffee and a pistachio croissant>> he says, you instead order your usual cappuccino and chocolate croissant.

<<Coming right up guys>> said the waiter smiling.

<<Hey y/n tell me a little about yourself, passions, hobbies>> asked the boy to interrupt the moment of silence that had arisen from embarrassment.

<<Oh, uhm... I don't have many hobbies, but I love to read and, as you know, listen to music, do you?>> asks.

<<I write stories and take pictures>> he replies blushing.

<<Can I read something written by you?>> you ask with your eyes probably shining with curiosity and he replies that he'll see, laughing right back at your false pout.

Shortly afterwards your order comes to you, and you continue talking for a while. When you finish eating, pay for everything, and leave the café, you ask if he would like to go to the park for a while and he nods, smiling at you, so you set off lost the playground near the town square. When you arrived, he takes a camera out of his backpack and starts taking pictures of your surroundings and you look at him smiling <<you look like a child who has just been given the game he wanted>> you say laughing slightly.

At some point, however, you too end up in the lens and blushing you complain <<Channie please I can't stand someone taking pictures of me!>>.

He doesn't listen to you and takes the picture, and you cover your face with your hands out of embarrassment, until Chris tells you to take them off and you glare at him, claiming that you are neither beautiful nor photogenic.

<<Y/n you are beautiful, you are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen come into my store>>

You blush and reply that he is more beautiful than you, at that sentence he begins to stare at you softly, you smile and look at him your turn, he comes up to you and arranges a lock of hair behind your ear.

<<You know that you have a beautiful smile? Every time I see you smile, I see the streets of Tokyo with its cherry blossom trees>> he says before his lips rest on yours in a gentle kiss that triggers a whole zoo in your stomach and makes you blush, it was a tender kiss. His lips tasted like coffee and pistachio and for a moment you think you might become addicted to it. When you part you, both look at each other and blush, but you notice that he has a slightly startled look on his face at what he had done, and you, to let him know you liked it, kiss him again, putting your arms behind his neck, and he puts his on your hips.

It's a beautiful, unforgettable moment, once you separate from the kiss, he tells you <<Y/n...I know it's early to say this, but I love you so much...>> you look at him and smile, you smile like an idiot and you know that because you feel you are smiling so much your face hurts.

<<I love you too Christopher>> you whisper so softly that Chan is not sure he heard you right and asks you to repeat and you laugh. You laugh and you are happy to have a kind and caring boy like Chan. You're glad you met him, you're glad because if it weren't for your friends, you would never have met him.

You spend the rest of the day holding hands, staying hugged sitting under a tree, and kissing each other from time to time in between. And toward evening he walks your home, holds your hand to the door and smiles at you, kisses you before letting you go, and you want to tell him he can stay, but you know it's too it's too soon to do that. That time will also come though, maybe tomorrow, or the next day, or the day after that.

You walk into the house with that silly smile that has never left your face during the day, take off your shoes and put them in place, go into the bathroom and put on your pyjamas. You smile. You get on the bed and text Chan asking him if he has arrived home safely; soon after that you text in the group chat with Hyunjin and Felix and tell them everything. As soon as you send the message Felix starts a video call and you accept it.

<<I can't believe it Y/n!>> your friends say at the same time.

<<Me neither! I'm not sure if it's a dream or reality!>> you smile radiantly. You tell them straight about the day and then ask how and what they did during the day. You talk some more with your friends and then decide to call it quits and go about your business. You close the call and see that Chan has answered that he has returned home safely, and you answer him.

You are so happy that if you could go back to the past, you wouldn't change a comma. "I love you" you text him and then you turn off the phone and get under the covers and close your eyes falling into a deep sleep.

★★★★★★★

Taglist: @foivestarrsketchez

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written-in-flowers · 22 days

Text

The Drifter: The Weaved Web (1.01)

Pairing: Chan x Demon!fem!Reader (future)

Genre: adventure, fantasy, romance, fluff

AU: western!au, fantasy!au, bounty hunter!au,

Word Count: 20k

Overall Summary: A demonic bounty hunter drifts into the sleepy seaside town of Levanter Bay, and there is where she finally finds a real home.

Tags: western!au, demon!reader, fantasy!au, high fantasy, kidnapping, child kidnapping, demon summoning, mentions of death, mentions of trauma/PTSD, arachnophobia, descriptions of violence,

Disclaimer: These works are completely fictious and for entertainment purposes only. They are not meant to reflect or label the members of Stray Kids. The events within never took place.

Please do not repost/translate!

****

Episode 1: Sacrifices.

Episode Summary: A rash of child kidnappings has unsettled the quaint town of Levanter Bay, Sheriff Bahng and his deputies are at a loss until a strange demon comes riding into town.

***

‘Welcome to Levanter Bay, The Sunny Side.”

Levanter Bay appeared anything but sunny. An overcast sky blocked any sunlight that might’ve shone on the open bay. The water washing up on the docks appeared gray and dark, small waves lapping at the wooden stilts holding up the port. From the top of the hill, the small town resembled a semi-circle of small buildings leading out to the docks far off. It did not seem any different than any other country town, and after a week of riding and camping, a warm bed and a hot meal sounded good. Giving gentle kicks to Summer's sides, the black mare started to walk down from the hills.

“What do you think, girl?” You asked your mount with a soft pat. “How does a warm night in a stable of hay sound?” When Summer huffed, you said, “I know we're low on money. With a bit of luck, this place will have a bounty board and we can get some coin. It'll all work out, I promise.”

Summer gave another snort, and you furrowed your brow. “Don't be bitter. That thing with the snakes turned out okay in the end. We got the reptile guy's amulet and returned it to the villagers. Everything was fine like all the other times. Whatever job we find next will be just as easy, and we can end the day with a good pint of ale and some hay….” You then scratched her neck, “And maybe an apple? A sugarcube?”

You smiled when Summer whinnied softly. Reaching the bottom of the hill, you saw the quiet town up ahead of the dirt road. People riding their own horses and driving wagons passed you on their way into town, likely on their way to the ships at the end of the main road. You considered taking one of them when you finish up business in town. The destination itself never mattered to you. Each location offered up more chances at new experiences and new lessons. The Shadowlands provided nothing but melancholy and pain. The mortal world teemed with life, and you wanted to feel it all.

Once you entered town, you saw the scope of the townspeople. People of all races, human and magic, lived side by side in harmony. You spotted a werewolf in human form, his ears and nose a dead giveaway, talking to an elderly man through a post office window. Out of the local bank came a blond man, counting bills before sticking them in his bill fold. Two women, one a feline werecat and the other a reptilian walked together to a market stall run by a young human. Back home, the only people around were other demons like yourself. Those who passed through The Mar already departed the mortal realm, therefore could not be considered “alive”. They’d been shadows who could do nothing but wail in their misery. You made eye contact with a skinny elf walking out of a barbershop, and grinned.

“Morning, sir,” you nodded at him as you rode past.

Townspeople in such a tight knit community tended to eye strangers closely, but they appeared extra suspicious of you. A young mother walking past with her children spotted you, and held them closer to her sides, rushing away from you. It's your horn stumps, no doubt. No amount of hair or hats could hide the two stumps on the front of your head. The first tell-tale sign of a demon was their horns, their markings being the second. You covered yours with your jacket and gloves, but if anyone did see them, they'd see the ancient fire runes inked onto your shoulders and wrists in adolescence. It’d been your markings that drew Him to you in the first place.

‘Children of the flames are mighty and strong. I can make you stronger.’

Summer gruffed when a reptilian woman crossed her path, but you calmed her down immediately. Clearly, your dreadsteed hadn't gotten over her last encounter with reptiles. You apologized to the woman, then asked:

“Excuse me, can you tell me where your inn or hotel is around here?”

“In the market square,” she said a tad affronted, closing her coat over her chest with folded arms. “The White Pearl, is the name. Ask for Changbin, he'll get you a room, Miss.”

“Thank you, and sorry again about my horse,” you patted Summer's neck, “She's…skittish.”

The woman gave a contemptuous huff, then walked away. Riding into the large town square, you pass vendors selling their wares until you find an inn nestled into a corner. You guessed it by the hanging sign that read “The White Pearl” with an open clam shell underneath. Through saloon doors and large windows, you saw patrons already enjoying a drink and a meal inside. The thought of a hot breakfast crossed your mind, and your stomach growled. Dismounting Summer, you tied her up to a pole next to other horses, and walked inside.

Nobody noticed you walk in, since everyone appeared focused on their own conversations. Good. You didn't want anyone seeing you. Crowded places tended to have too many eyes, and too many eyes also meant too many mouths. You've run out of enough taverns to know to keep a low profile until you've taken a good look around.

‘Mortals are weak and simple. They are meant to be beneath our feet.’

“Howdy there,” a voice caught your attention.

He stood behind the bar cleaning pint glasses. Seeing his muscled arms and short stature, you guessed a dwarf but he appeared a bit too tall. A forest dwarf, then. He wore a flannel shirt rolled up his forearms and a white apron around his waist. You gave a small smile and head nod as you approached.

“Welcome to The White Pearl,” he glanced up at your horn stumps, but did not linger long, “What can I get you? We have our daily lunch special, a hot sandwich with a drink of choice.”

It sounded good, but your light purse felt heavier than ever. “I'll take a bit of water for now, thanks.”

The innkeep went to work pouring water into a glass. “Just passing through, ma'am?”

“For the moment,” you answered, taking a drink from the cold mug. “I was wondering if your sheriff’s office had a bounty board? My horse and I came from Newport a few miles west, and we've gotten cleaned out since then.”

“A bounty hunter, hm?” The man nodded, taking you in for a moment. “Yeah, Chan has a hero's board outside the station. You won't find anything that pays well there though.”

“Poor town? I thought with the port nearby you'd be off better than some other places.”

“You'd think that right?” He noted, “But since our docks were invaded by pirates a few months ago, our mayor has been working on rebuilding it. You'll be doing quite a few jobs I expe-Hey, you!” He snapped from his friendly tone to a harsh one. You looked to see a child walking secretly out of the tavern, guilt on his face. “What did I tell you about pickpocketing, Eunwoo? Come here, empty them out.”

The young moon elf, detected by his high pointed ears and soft lavender skin, came over to the bar. From his pockets he withdrew a leather bill fold, two gold coins, a single dice and a silver spoon.

“A spoon?” The innkeep questioned, lifting the utensil. “Eunwoo, who could you have sold the spoon to?”

“People always need spoons, Changbin,” the boy shrugged. “There can be somebody eating soup and not have a spoon.”

“I've told you before,” Changbin slid the contents into a wooden box behind the counter, “If you're hungry, I'll give you a free plate and a drink. You don't have to steal.”

“Sorry, Changbin,” he pouted apologetically.

“Now, go on into the kitchen and tell Wooyoung to give you a lunch plate. You can feed Honey too, if you want.”

The elf child smiled brightly, then rushed through a door behind the bar. He turned back to you, “Seo Changbin, I own this place. You are?”

“YN,” you answered, “Just YN.”

“You're a demon? I thought demons had strange names? I met one during the war named Tarhez.”

You giggled, taking a drink, “I changed it when I decided to live in the mortal world.”

“Oh yeah? What is it?”

“Multak,” you said, your true name sounding rough and deep. You laughed at his stunned expression, “Told you it's hard on mortal ears. In my language it means ‘shield of fire’.”

“Interesting,” he replied sincerely. “If you couldn't tell from the patrons eyeballing you right now, we don't get many demons around here.”

“Not many of us decided to stay when the war ended.”

You almost could not go home when the war against Nor'goth ended. The evil, primordial demon lord escaped from your realm into the mortal one, claiming that all humankind deserved punishment and enslavement. While most demons joined him, a fair few of you went against him. The Blind One, Sakmarth, led a force to defeat Nor'goth once and for all. You might have not known mortals at the time, but you knew nobody deserved enslavement. It simply went against your code. The image of the mighty, dark demon sent a sickly chill over your body. Glowing orange eyes that saw into your soul and tentacles that tore down several men at a time came to the forefront. He’d been monstrous. Even now, so many years later, you still heard his guttural voice in your head.

‘You are mighty, shield of fire. Join me, and together we can bring this world to its knees.’

You’d told him ‘no’ before sending him back into the abyss.

“What about you? If I'm correct, you're a dwarf, no?”

“Woodland Dwarf,” he smiled, “And proud of it. I came down from the Blue Mountains far west, with nothing but a dream, my axe, and my bear.”

“Bear?” Your eyes widened.

“Yeah, my bear Honey. She's right there,” he nodded over to an open window where you saw a massive grizzly bear walk past. “I've had her since she was a cub. She's dangerous and looks like it, but if you give her some food and a head scratch, she’ll love you until the day you die.”

“Like my Summer,” you pointed out your own horse outside, “She's a dreadsteed. That's like a demon horse to mortals.”

“A dreadsteed? I think I saw those on the battlefield. Some demons I knew had them.”

“They're faster than lightning, stronger than oxes, and make good war horses,” you added. “She's gotten me out of a few jams in the past. I bet your Honey did the same.”

“She did. I took her into battle myself…Seems we both have war stories to tell,” he drawled, gazing over you again. “Listen, if you want a good paying gig, Sheriff Bahng always has open bounties in the station documents. If he thinks you're up to snuff, he'll pass on something to you. He should be there now.”

You finished your water, then nodded appreciatively. “Thanks, I'll go check out the board, then I can come back for that special.”

He gave you a nod, and you left the inn. Summer shifted her feet when you untied her. “The place seems alright,” you told her. “They got a pet bear, but I'm sure it's not in the stables.”

Changbin said you’d find a listing outside the sheriff’s office. Feeling your light coin purse and hearing your rumbling stomach again, you knew you’d need to find a job soon. Walking through the busy market square towards the sheriff’s station, you spotted the wooden bulletin board covered in different colored papers. Reading some of them, you realized most involved hunting down excess wildlife in the forests beyond the town, finding lost items or relatives, or helping settle disputes. Nothing particular stuck out to you, but mindless work was better than no work at all.

“What do you think, Summer?” you turned to the black horse you’d guided by the reins to the board. “Want to go hunt down some feral boars with me?” The black stead huffed and shook her long black mane, almost as if declining the offer. You chuckled, “Alright, that’s a no.” You looked at the board again, “Well, we gotta pick something. I might be demonkin and you might be a dreadsteed, but we have to eat too.”

You continued looking for a proper posting when someone came out of the office. He wore a beige button down and denim jeans with black boots. The badge on his breast glinted in the morning light, the word ‘sheriff’ across the top with the town sigil on it. Black curls kept back from his face, even with his big nose he was handsome. At least, other women might think so. You turned to him right as he stretched and basked in the warm sun.

“Excuse me, Sheriff?”

“Oh, good morning,” he smiled, noticing you standing there, “I've never seen your face around here before. You're new in town?”

“Just stopping here,” you explained. “I was checking out your listings board.”

He sized you up for a moment. You caught him looking over your black jacket, plain shirt and boots, getting a sense of you before his eyes landed on the crown of your head. Your horns were the price you paid to live amongst humans. His eyes stayed on them a moment, then he looked back at your face.

“What’s a demonkin doing so far from home?” he asked curiously.

The usage of your peoples’ true name surprised you. “Living.”

“Clearly, you’re not keen on doing it for long if you’re looking at our board,” he said, almost amused. “Do you have a speciality?”

“Warlock,” you answered, “Sort of goes hand-in-hand with my kind.”

He nodded again, “How long have you been drifting?”

“Since the war ended.”

“You fought?”

“Yes, sir. I fought with the Mortal Armies.”

“Against your own people?”

“Not all of us see other races as beneath us. I like to think of myself as one of the good ones. Now,” you stepped closer, “Does your office have any private work or do I help Mrs. Young with her feral boars? The innkeep at the White Pearl said you might.”

The sheriff gave you another once over, then said, “Tie your horse up there and come in. I think I have something up your alley.”

You tied Summer to a post outside the door, and followed the sheriff inside. “I’m Chan, by the way,” he introduced himself in the main hall, offering his hand.

“YN,” you replied, shaking it firmly.

“A demonkin named YN,” he mused, “Never thought I'd see one of your type around here.”

You looked around the small office to see two other men already in the room. One of them was short with cheeks expanded by the donut he’d stuffed into his mouth. By the long fluffy tail sticking from behind the chair and his black nose, you saw the squirrel hybrid immediately. The man jotting down notes in a book had two slits in his shirt that revealed the dark purple wings close to his body. When he looked up at you, his eyes matched his wings. A shadow fairy. The squirrel hybrid only nodded, but the dark fae sat stock still. You registered the stunned expression and realized he recognized you. Not many mortals knew you by sight, mostly by name and your demon name at that.

“YN, these are my deputies: Han Jisung and Lee Minho,” he pointed to the hybrid first, then the fae, “Boys, this is YN. She’s come looking for work. I thought she could help us with the Hook Clan.”

Both men also sized you up like their sheriff. Han spoke up first, “Speciality?”

“Warlock,” you answered again. To prove it, you flicked your wrist to make the donut in his hand disappear and reappear. “That’s nothing compared to what I can really do.”

“Hm,” Han stuffed the other half into his mouth before you could do it again.

“As I live and breathe…” Minho said softly, “Multak.”

“You know her, Minho?” Jisung questioned in surprise.

“Have we met before, sir?” you asked him next.

“Not personally,” he answered, “But every shadow fairy who was at the Battle of Incheon knows the fire demon Multak.”

Incheon, home of the dark fae race. You recalled it fondly: tall dark trees with their canopies of leaves hiding the light-sensitive species, and wooden houses sitting on stilts or floating on boats throughout the wide rivers and lakes. Shadow fae came in all shapes and sizes, but they proved to be fierce and formidable allies. Nor’goth’s forces kidnapped and drained the fairies of their powers to weaken them, even breaking their bodies to do it. Your heart had gone out to the wisps, the smallest and most gentle of them all. All they do is tell fortunes and guide people to their fates.

“Wait…” Chan stood still, examining you once again, “You’re the fire demon?”

“I’m a fire demon,” you said, not wanting to go into the differences between the demon clans in The Mar.

“She stopped Nor’goth almost single handedly-”

“-Almost-” you emphasized, “It was a group effort.”

If the Orcs had not distracted his people with their fiery catapults and if the elves had not shielded you, you wouldn’t have been able to strike. Your sword, a runic blade of fire, struck Nor’goth right in his heart.

“I don’t know,” Minho said in a sing-song tone, “It was your flaming sword that vanquished him in the first place.”

“You have a flaming sword?” Jisung’s eyes widened with wonder.

“It’s a runic blade,” you turned to Chan, “So, who is this Hook Clan?”

Minho sensed the change in subject, but you knew he wasn’t done. Nor’goth and the war are the last things you wished to discuss in detail. You did not agree with the Shadow Lords about Nor’goth’s sentence; banishing him to the underworld prison, The Abyss, will not hold him forever. You didn't care how weak they'd made him.

“They’re outlaws at the edge of town,” Chan answered, going over to a desk where he kept a stack of folders. He brought it over to you, withdrawing reports and documents for you to see. “They started off with stealing cattle or crops from the farmers, but they’ve escalated in recent weeks.”

“Escalated how?”

You noticed the three men appeared apprehensive, a tension starting to stiffen between them.

“They started kidnapping children,” said Minho. “The last kidnapping was Wang's little girl, Hyeyoung. Before that was Seo Dobin, and before that was Lee Sanghee. The only connections we’ve been able to make,” he flipped through his notebook and found a page. He walked over to you and showed you the page, “All three were between eight and ten, taken from farmlands, and in broad daylight. We don’t know where they are, why the clan is taking them, or what they plan to do with them.”

“What makes you think it was them?”

“The clan always paints a red hook somewhere when they’ve struck. It’s been found at each scene.”

“That’d be foolish of them to do,” you noted, reading more of his notes. “That’s basically telling you that it was them.”

“They’re not the brightest bunch, if I’m being honest,” Minho replied.

“Which means they’re least likely to have done it,” Chan told him. “Kidnappings like this require a thought process and planning. The Hooks have always operated loosely: pick a target, slaughter anyone who gets in the way, and take what they want. If they are kidnapping these children, they would’ve slipped up at some point.”

“They could be hired by somebody else,” Han chimed in from his desk. “Red Hook will work for whoever pays him enough. If they’re taking kids, it’s likely someone is paying them to do it.”

“Then who?” Chan looked over to ask him.

One person came to mind, but you’d sound foolish. Nor’goth is currently imprisoned in the Abyss, an island floating in a dark void, powerless and useless to anyone. You read Chan’s reports and cross-checked them with Minho’s notes. You hated to think it, but some dark warlocks and shadow magic practitioners use children in their rituals. Just because a ritual lists ‘innocent blood’ or ‘innocent souls’ does not mean the caster needed a child. Even demonkin preferred using animals over defenseless children.

“-I think it’s just too easy to scapegoat a group because of their reputation,” Chan’s voice caught your ear. “I want to catch Red Hook and his band of outlaws, but I want to arrest them for crimes they actually committed.”

“His mark’s has been found at each scene-”

The outlaws must be hired to help. They reminded you of a band of thieves back in the capital city who were stealing resources from a nearby mine. It turned out they stole them for greedy goblins.

“Do you know anything about this clan aside from their crimes?” you interrupted them. “Their leader? Anything significant?”

“We don’t have a name, but he calls himself the Red Hook,” Chan told you. “According to people who’ve seen him, they say he’s a magic user.”

“Human?” you directed this at Minho.

“Can’t say for sure, since the clan is a mixed bag,” he replied, “But the people we interviewed said they didn’t see any magical distinctions.”

“Where do they hide out?”

“Around,” Chan shrugged. “Last location was an abandoned farmhouse northwest of here. We checked it out already, and they’re no longer there. They tend to drift around to keep us a step behind them all the time.”

“My friends in the forest tell me when they see them,” Jisung said, “But they’re pretty well hidden a lot of the time. It’s likely Red Hook is concealing them somehow.”

“Friends?”

“The animals,” he explained. “The rabbits, squirrels, gophers, moles, and the like. I can talk to birds sometimes, but not always. It helps to have eyes in the trees,” he grinned mischievously, picking up a bag of trail mix.

“I’d like to talk to the families,” you said, seeing the children’s names once more.

You didn’t see anything peculiar other than they’d taken two girls and a boy so far. Some rituals called for a certain number of souls, but never spoke about sexes. It can certainly be a coincidence. Although, you rarely came across those in your line of work.

“We already did,” Minho told you, “They don’t know anything.”

“I’d still like to talk to them myself. Their children might have something in common that you missed.”

“Does this mean you’ll take the job?” Chan asked, and you detected a glimmer of hope in his voice.

“For a fee.”

“Naturally,” he nodded.

“With a demon on our team,” Minho said, “We’ll have this case wrapped up by supper.”

“I don’t know about all that, but I’ll do my best,” you insisted.

Chan moved to his nearby office when the door opened. In walked a rotund, dark-skinned man in a blue suit, wearing a bowler hat and checking his pocket watch. He didn’t look at the men at first, but when he looked up, his eyes settled on you. Shock took over his broad, square face and brown eyes widened with realization.

“Good afternoon, Mayor,” Chan intervened before the man could speak, “What can I do for ya?”

“Chan, there is a demon in our station,” he said, voice quivering slightly.

“She’s a bounty hunter,” he assured him. “She’s come to help with the missing children.”

“Demons don’t like children.”

“We do, actually,” you retorted, arms crossed. “And no, not to eat them,” you added disdainfully.

“YN's a bounty hunter, Gerald,” Chan said. “She's just agreed to help us with the missing children. I think it'd be beneficial to have someone like her helping us. YN, this is our Mayor, Gerald Wallace.”

“Nice to meet you, sir,” you tried keeping the annoyance from your voice.

“I don't know, Chan,” the mayor said, “You know folks around here. They won't take kindly to a…demon being in town right now.”

“I only want to help,” you fixed your jacket, “But if you don't want me here and want your children to keep being snatched up, then I'll be on my way.”

“Wait, wait,” Minho came to your side and faced the mayor, “Mayor Wallace, this demon isn't a normal demon. She's the demon who ended the war.”

Did he really have to keep telling people that?

“Impossible,” the mayor scoffed, “There's no way that demon stuck around after the war.”

“I did,” you said. “Do you want my help or not?”

“We do,” Chan answered quickly. “We do.”

“Chan,” Mayor Wallace turned to him stiffly, “May I speak to you in private, please?”

“Of course,” he gestured to let him pass, “This way.”

He shot you an apologetic glance, then followed the mayor into an office.

“Sorry about that,” Minho said, “I promise our townspeople normally aren't this prejudiced. Things have been uneasy around here, so you can imagine a newcomer strolling into town concerning people.”

“Explains everyone's apprehension,” you replied, seeing Chan and Mayor Wallace through a window. You can see both men starting to heat up during the conversation. “It doesn't bother me as much as it used to,” you said, “I understand my people did heinous things when they came here. Not everyone is so quick to forgive.”

“But not everyone is like that here,” Han reassured you. “They'll warm up to you soon enough.”

You didn't particularly care if the little people liked you. You didn't plan on staying too long anyways.

“Where are you staying in town?” asked Minho, walking over to a small bookshelf behind his own desk. “The White Pearl?”

“I need money for a room and a stable first,” you told him, feeling that rumble in your stomach again. “I hoped I might get at least an advance. We've rode a long way.”

“We can talk about that when Chan finally finishes with Gerald,” he casted a glance over to the window. Chan appeared to have quieted the mayor down, but the man remained unconvinced. “You can go on ahead and tell Changbin I sent you. He'll give you a room, and some feed for your horse.”

“Appreciated,” you nodded, “Tell Chan he can find me there.”

“-Chan, I'm telling you this isn't a good idea!” Mayor Wallace said, coming out of Chan’s office. “We already got the docks to rebuild, the town council is on my behind about the merfolk situation and now we have our children going missing! Then, you got Han over there who'll tell anybody that'd listen that we got a demon and cause a damn hysteria!”

Chan appeared more amused than upset by now, and asked, “Han, you planning on causing a hysteria?”

“Not today, Chan.”

“See? Gerald, you put me in charge of the safety of this town,” he patted his shoulder, “Trust me.”

Wallace's shoulders sagged, and he gave you an uncertain glance, “Alright. I trust you. You never let us down before.”

“There you go,” Chan concluded, steering Mayor Wallace to the door. “You tell the council we have our best people on this…”

“He really knows how to de-escalate a situation, huh?” you asked, impressed.

“That's why he is the sheriff,” Han nodded. “Come on, I'll take you back to the inn. You can get settled before the work begins.”

Han led you out the door, and you untied Summer. “Looks like we got a job after all,” you grinned, petting her side. She huffed and you said, “No, no snakes this time…I think.”

“Wow,” Han marveled at Summer, taking in her fiery eyes and black mane. “A real dreadsteed.” He wiggled his nose at Summer, who nodded her head. When he gave a grin, cheeks puffing out, he said, “She's a tough cookie, huh? She says you guys just came from Newport.”

“You can talk to her?” You guided Summer back to the inn.

“Animal hybrid,” he pointed at his own chest. “I can talk to all kinds of animals, even demonic ones.” He glanced at her again, “Summer is an interesting name for a dreadsteed. Is that her real name or a new one?”

“It's her name,” you said. “I gave it to her when we came back to the mortal realm. I named her that because summer is my favorite season. We don't have seasons where I'm from.”

“How dreadful,“ Han frowned, “I can't imagine living anywhere that is so desolate. I used to live in the forest before Chan found me and brought me here.”

“Found you?”

He scrunched up his nose guiltily, “I might not have been the most law-abiding squirrel at the time. I'd been caught stealing food from different farms, and rather than send me up the road, he gave me a place to stay and a job.”

“During or after the war?”

“After,” you both reached the steps of the inn, “A group of demons attacked my village and destroyed everything. I didn't have anywhere to go, so I ended up outside town. Chan found me hiding in someone's boat and took me in.”

“That's awfully kind of him.”

“That's the kind of guy he is,” he shrugged. “He really cares about everyone.”

Han and Changbin helped you and Summer settle into The White Pearl. By the time Chan arrived, you'd devoured a hot sandwich and given Summer hay and an apple for her patience.

“Everything squared then?” You asked him. “Your mayor seems…”

“He's only being cautious,” Chan insisted, “But with a bit of convincing, he's willing to pay the 50 gold price.”

Fifty sounded more than fair to you. After that, he insisted on taking you to the childrens’ families himself. You both mounted your horses and headed towards the first farm.

“What can you tell me about their families?” you asked him, riding Summer alongside him on his own horse.

“Seo Dobin, the first kid taken, lives at the Seo vineyard not too far out of town,” he began. “His parents grow grapes and berries and are part of the Seo pack.”

“Pack? He's a werewolf?”

“Yes, but don't worry. Junhwan and Eunji are good people. Dobin's dad can be a bit of a hothead; I’ve had to put him in holding once or twice, but he’s usually a nice man. His mother, Eunji, does some work at the bakery here from time to time.” He noticed your pensive stare, and said, “They’re all good people. Each and every one of them.”

“Good people can have enemies too,” you replied. “Enemies that they don’t know about, even. What do the other families do for work? Minho said the children were taken around farms?”

“The farms are the least guarded parts of Levanter,” he said, “Since they’re owned by the families and not the town. The Seo family mainly deals in grapes and berries to make into wine; The Wang family grows wheat, and the Lee family grows corn.”

“All crops where the stalks can grow high,” you added to your mental list of notes.

“Where the children can be snatched without anyone seeing them,” Chan added, nodding to himself. “I thought the same thing. It’d be harder to take them from a pig, horse or cattle farm because there’s always people patrolling those types of places. A crop of plants? Easier to walk through them and wait for the kid to go right by them instead.”

“Are there any other farm-”

“-I already told them not to let their kids go running off into their fields or in the woods,” he answered ahead of your question. “I told the kids at the schoolhouse to go straight home after school, and don’t talk to any strangers they meet on the road.”

“Did you instill a curfew?”

“I’ve considered it, but I don’t think it’ll help much. These kids are taken during the day off their families’ own land. I’ve asked a few of our local hunters and mountain men to keep an eye and an ear out for anything suspicious too.” He hesitated, and you worried what question would follow it. “Minho’s convinced it’s the gang, but it’s not them.”

“No, it isn’t.”

“And I think you already have an idea who it is.”

“The idea that magic casters use children in their rituals was a myth perpetuated by religious zealots who fear magic and everything it can do,” you said, keeping the bite out of your voice. “While innocent blood or souls are called for in a good chunk of blood magic rituals, anyone who truly knows magic and reads magic texts will know that it means an animal. Whoever this person is either is a magic user who doesn’t care about translations, or a magic user who doesn’t understand the magic they are trying to wield.”

“You say ‘magic user’. Do you mean, like, a human using magic?”

“Yeah,” you nodded. “Fae, demons, merfolk, some species of hybrids are all born with magic already inside of us. It’s in our bones, and in our blood. Our specialty, if we have one, is just a choice we make in using our magic. Humans…No offense, Sheriff, but humans were not meant to have magic.”

“Really?”

“That’s not a jab at humankind. I’ve met plenty of human mages and warlocks who use their gifts rightly,” you said quickly. “I mean, physically. Their bodies are not meant to hold it. Yes, they can perform little rituals and incantations and make potions, but real magic? No. It'd kill them, so they likely wear trinkets or charms that harness their power. I think whoever is taking these children plans to use them for something, otherwise you would’ve found their bodies by now.”

“Perhaps they're using them to gain more power?” He suggested.

You considered the idea. “It's a possibility.”

You both arrived at the Seo farm, where you saw a farmhouse, barn, and a chicken coop. Beyond the house, you saw rows upon rows of vineyard bushes. The barn door wide open, you saw two young men pouring fermented grapes into a barrel. Briefly you pictured a young wolf pup running around the front yard area, maybe with a toy plane or a kite while his mother watched over him from a window. The same woman who happened to be outside the house with a tub and washing board.

“Sheriff!” She gasped, dropping the board in the water and coming his way. “Sheriff, have you found him? Have you found Dobin?”

“I'm sorry, Eunji,” Chan frowned, getting off his horse and removing his hat. “But, I have someone here who'd like to speak with you about that day.”

“Who?” she looked at you. Even with the crinkles on the sides of her eyes, Mrs. Seo looked younger than you expected. Her wolf ears perked at the sight of you, and you saw her nose twitch slightly. Her claws long and black, led to furry arms underneath her linen dress. “A demon? What's a demon doing here?”

“I'm here to help, ma'am,” you answered, dismounting Summer and standing in front of her. “Sheriff Chan told me about the children in the area, and I want to help you.”

You expected her to question you like so many others, but instead she breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness! We need all the help we can get. Dobin has been missing for three weeks now, and nobody can find him.”

Worry filled her eyes and you spotted the shaking hands she wrung together. You pitied her and said, “Where was the last place you saw him?”

“Back here. Come with me.”

She led you both around the house to a backyard. You saw the typical horse and wagon tied up outside the barn in a stall, calmly eating hay. The vineyard started behind a wooden fence that bordered the entire crop, and seeing the uniform rows stretching for acres made it the perfect kidnapping spot. You imagined a small boy being snatched without anyone seeing him or his kidnapper.

“He was down there,” she brought you both behind the fence to point down a middle row, “Helping one of our pickers gather grapes. He always loves helping pick the grapes,” she smiled fondly, “We know he sneaks some, but we let him. Our picker, Taeyong, said he turned his back to put some buckets in a wagon, and when he looked back, Dobin was gone. At first,” she wrung her apron in her hands nervously, “At first, we thought the little rascal was hiding from us. You know, the way children play hide and seek? He does that from time to time and it worries me something awful,” you heard the panic in her voice even speaking about it, “But when it…it started to grow dark,” her eyes began watering and her lip trembled, “We…Oh, why did I let him go?! Something told me not to, but he was with Taeyong! He was safe! I should've been more careful! Why?! Why didn't I pay more attention?!”

Chan embraced her as she started to sob. She reminded you of the women in the villages during the war. Women who grieved for their fallen children, who begged you to find their lost sons and daughters. Their pain radiated onto yours, stinging your eyes and bringing a bout of helplessness. This warlock, whoever they were, needed to be stopped.

You nodded at Chan, then proceeded into the vineyard. Cautiously, you walked outside of the trodden path where you saw dozens of footprints having worn down the grass into the dirt. Wheel marks told you they'd just finished collecting ripe grapes for the day, and it's unlikely you will find any child size footprints here. Taking a whiff of the air, you only smelled freshly toiled earth and ripening grapes, not flesh. If you concentrated, you caught wisps of human sweat but nothing of a child. Time would’ve drowned out any proper scent. You envisioned a small boy, eight-years-old and greedily munching on grapes he'd picked off the vines. He'd have walked away from Taeyong. What could make him walk away from the safety of an adult? Standing in the middle of the row, you scanned over the vines to only see more grapes. He had plenty to pick from here, so why did he walk away?

“Taeyong,” you sensed Chan walking up behind him, “Did you ever interview him?”

“We did.”

“What's his story?”

“Exactly what Mrs. Seo just told you,” he said, “He was picking, turned around, and the boy was gone.”

That sounded too convenient. “Any idea why the boy would walk away?”

“More grapes? Berries, maybe?”

You started walking alongside the path again. Turning to face one of the hedges, you noticed breakages in the foliage.

“He went through here,” you said, seeing a break between two stalks. You then spotted small footprints still in the dirt. “Yes, yes, he went through here. Otherwise Taeyong would've seen him walking away.”

You pushed through the vines to the other side without another word. Dobin didn't stop here. He kept going. You inhaled deeply, trying to mesh through the various earthy scents for something human. Scanning the floor in the second to last row, you saw them. Embedded in the hard packed dirt were small paw prints. Four toes with a palm, they went one in front of the other through the dirt. You crouched to touch one, and realized they were cat prints.

“Do The Seos have any pets?” You asked Chan, who just broke through a brush behind you.

“A dog, some chickens and two horses.”

“No cats?”

“No cats.”

Slowly, you followed the cat prints until they went out past the fence. “He followed a cat,” you concluded, “Into the forest.”

“How did we miss these?” Chan wondered, following the prints with his eyes.

“Because they were hidden,” you answered simply. You took a few sniffs, then said, “A cat. Yeah, definitely a cat.”

“So, our kidnapper can turn into a cat,” Chan said, standing beside you at the threshold of the forest. “Clever. Most children like animals, especially children who live around them. Dobin likely saw the cat and followed it.”

The image of Dobin, innocent and cheerful, following a cat before being snatched gave you shivers. Stepping further, you let your sense of smell guide you, but sadly it wasn't as strong.

“Deputy Han,” you looked at Chan, “He's an animal hybrid.”

“Yeah, obviously.”

“How good is his sense of smell?”

“Pretty damn good.”

“Have him come here. He can help me track down this cat.”

“I'll have Eunji call the station.”

You saw a rush of adrenaline pump through him. He finally had a lead. According to his notes, Dobin, a werewolf, went missing three weeks ago; Sanghee, a garden fairy, disappeared two weeks ago, and Hyeyong, a werecat, was a week ago. Two girls. One boy. All from farm families outside of town. All of them are magical. The connections seemed too close to be a coincidence. Thinking of the timeline again, you realized they'd taken a child each week. They'd need a fourth, if they follow their pattern. Problem? You had no idea which farm they'd strike next.

****

“Alright, children, remember what Sheriff Bahng said. You're all to go home straight after school, and don't talk to strangers.”

A rustle of books and papers sounded at dismissal. Slyvia followed the other children outside of the schoolhouse, her lunch box swinging from her clawed hand and books to her other side. She saw classmates rushing ahead of her to the general goods store for sweets, while others waited for their parents to retrieve them. Her own mother had taken to coming for her since the disappearances began, but not today. She had too much work. Slyvia immediately thought of all the chores waiting for her back at the ranch. Her mother will need help with the washing, and then she has to muck out the stables. She hated cleaning the stables, but with her brother and father away in the big city, there is nobody else to do it. Walking past The White Pearl, her sensitive nose already smelled the manure.

“Hey Slyvia! Wait up!”

The reptilian child turned around to see a boy running to catch up to her. Barney Pebbles was a lumpy elf halfling boy who lived on the farm next to her family's ranch. Sandy blond hair fell behind his pointy ears, and she saw the run bring pink into his cheeks. Slyvia smiled a toothy grin at him regardless.

“Want to…Want to walk home together?” He huffed, catching his breath as he came up beside her. “My Ma says it's safer if there's two…two of us.”

“Sure!” Slyvia beamed. “Sheriff Bahng says we need to look out for one another.”

The pair continued walking together. “Did you hear about the demon?” he asked, pushing blond hair from his forehead.

“Demon? What demon?” She wouldn't deny the pang of fear that struck her. “Where?”

“My Pa was leaving the bank when he saw a demon on a big horse riding past him,” he explained as they reached the end of town, “He says she had these stumps on her head, and her horse had flaming eyes!”

“But don't they have wings? My Uncle Sithlin says some have wings.”

“I didn't think to ask,” he grew quiet, then said, “Do you think they're behind the other kids?”

“But that started happening before they came.”

Slyvia thought about her missing classmates. Dobin, a boy slimmer than a tree branch, once offered to split blueberries they found near the school. Sanghee, a garden fairy, always radiated kindness and befriended her on her first day. Hyeyoung, a werecat kitten, helped her find her bonnet when it flew off her head. Their disappearances worried everyone. Slyvia hoped her friends were okay, and that Sheriff Bahng would find them in time. Her father told her Sheriff Bahng was really smart and made of tough stuff.

The other kids said he could talk to sea creatures.

Slyvia and Barney walked down the dirt road leading out of town. They passed by merchants going in and out of town, and greeted neighbors they saw along the way. They continued talking about the newcomer, and she couldn't stop the bundle of nerves in her stomach. She remembered the stories her Pa and uncles told her about demons. They're supposed to be evil made into flesh. Thinking about a winged monster gave her jitters.

“-Mr. Edwards says that the demons he saw were super tall! As tall as trees, and they could breathe fire.”

Slyvia listened to his story while she looked up the forest lined path ahead. She saw the crossroads where it split between the town, another village and the capital city. The tall directory signs were her first milestone back home.

“Maybe they're helping whoever is taking the other kids,” she suspected. “My Nana says they use babies in their rituals, and feast on newborns.”

“You think?”

‘Meow!’

The two children stopped in their tracks at the sound. When it sounded again, they realized it came from the forest bushes nearby. Slyvia's nerves stood on end. Barney stepped closer to the threshold, bending to peek into the bushes.

“Barney…”

“It's a cat,” he said, “I think it's hurt.”

“Barney, don't go in there.”

She could smell it the closer she came. Barney, ever the animal lover, ignored her warning and walked further into the forest.

“Slyvia, come quick,” he said worriedly. “It's hurt.”

Slyvia came up behind him, and sniffed the air. Most cats smelled according to their environment. Barn cats smelled like horses and pigs; house cats smelled like coffee and linens. A wild cat carried the scent of leaves and trees. This cat didn't have any of those. She walked behind Barney, her heart starting to race.

“Barney Pebbles, you come back here,” she said, panic building in her voice. “We're not supposed to wander off.”

“It might be really hurt, Slyvia,” he replied over his shoulder.

Feet crunching the forest floor, Slyvia tried peeking into the shrubs from behind him, but couldn't see anything.

“Come here, kitty,” Barney crouched in front of it, “It's okay. I won't hurt you. Hey! Wait!”

The sound of rustled leaves told her the cat scurried from the bushes. Barney went after it, and Slyvia followed. A downward wind brought a scent to her flat nostrils. Not a cat. Not a dog. Not a bird, rabbit or wolf. She gasped. It was human. She saw a flash of black and white dart behind one of the trees, Barney only a few paces behind.

“Barney Pebbles! Come back here now!”

“Calm down, Slyvia. It's only a-AH!”

“Gotcha!”

“Barney!”

Slyvia cried out his name as an arm grabbed him from behind a tree. She froze in place, her breath becoming haggard and drying her throat. She could hear Barney struggling, and a man’s voice drowning him out. The sound of snapping twigs came from her right, and she spotted them. Three men wearing red armbands stepped out from behind the trees, malice on their faces. Slyvia ran. Her heart pounded in her chest with each foot step. Panic put them right on her heels, and she beat the ground harder.

“Get her!” She heard the silvery voice say from the distance. “Don't let her get away!”

The young chameleon ran through dense shrubbery, the tiny branches snagging on her dress and scratching her colorful scales. She'd do what her Papa taught her. With a quick glance back, Slyvia dove into a nearby bush and closed her eyes. She envisioned herself turning from her usual pale green and yellow to a dark brown. She brought her knees to her chest and tucked her head and tail inwards. The footsteps charging after her came right beside her bush, and she stuffed her face into her dress to muffle her breathing.

“Where'd she go?” One of the men asked. “She can't have gone far!”

“If Maurice hears we lost her he'll burn us alive!”

“Ah shoot, Suho, does it really matter? That was a girl, and Maurice only needed a boy.”

“She can go blabbing to the sheriff and his deputies,” the other man retorted. “We're so close, Baekhyun. I can taste it now. If we help that old man with his ritual, he'll give us whatever we want. That means gold and women!”

“I…I don't know, Suho,” a higher voice said uncertainly. “They're kids. I thought we didn't harm youngins.”

“We're not harming them. Maurice says they'll be fine. It'll only hurt for a little bit.”

“You believe that?”

“Of course, I do. Now, you go that way; Chanyeol, you go that way and I'll check down here. She can't have gone too far.”

Slyvia heard the men split up. The last image of Barney being lifted off the ground came to her, and she shivered. The men, whoever they were, also kidnapped the other children. She needed to tell someone quickly. When the coast was clear, Slyvia gingerly climbed up the tree behind her. Her fingers sticking to the branches, the child moved from one tree to another with ease. The Seo family lived not too far from this spot; she can go to them to call the law. She needed to find Sheriff Bahng. He needed to know that Barney is in trouble.

****

Han and Minho appeared some time later, the pair having appeared through a portal.

“I thought it'd be faster than horses,” Minho explained, closing it with a wave of his hand. “What have you found?”

“There's paw prints,” you told Han as you both walked to the blocked off spot in the dirt, “But no animal scent.”

“You think it might be a hybrid?”

“It doesn't smell like an animal or hybrid,” you said. “It's…I don't know. Chan said you have the best nose, so I thought you could track what I can't.” You stopped right by the forest entrance, “They go about three or four yards into the woods, then it goes cold.”

Han nodded, “It shouldn't be that hard. If we can't track the cat,” he pulled out a small handkerchief from his pocket, “We can track Dobin.”

“What's that?” You eyed the blue and white cloth in his hand, seeing grape vines stitched into the border.

“Dobin's head scarf,” he answered. “He wears it when he goes into the field. His mother thought it might help.”

You watched him take a deep inhale of the scarf, closing his eyes in concentration. Soft black nose wiggling, tail twitching at the new scent, Han immediately glanced up to the tree ahead. He started walking without saying anything to anyone, sniffing occasionally as he went.

“You think it's a human shifted into a cat then, huh?” Minho asked, coming up beside you.

“I can't pick up anything to the contrary,” you told him. “My sense of smell isn't very strong here. He might find out what I can't.”

Minho grew quiet while Han stuck himself into a bush. “I was looking through my library at the station. I keep it there for research purposes and all that, you know? I thought while you and Chan checked out the different locations, Han and I could try finding any magic rituals that require sacrifices.”

“Psh, that's a lot. What did you find?”

“That the shadow casters of yesteryear really enjoyed sacrificing things to ancient gods,” he snorted. “But I did come across a few rituals of interest. One in particular intrigued me.”

“What was it?”

“The Secrets of the Mystics by Arnold B. Miller described this group of ancient mystics who called upon gods to sustain their power,” he began. “They regularly sacrificed people to a god named Yuth’ik. I couldn’t find anything that gave any background on Yuth’ik other than that he was defeated by a warlock named Vivian Moon and several others centuries ago. They banished him into another realm, where he’s likely laid dormant for thousands of years. If the Hook clan are really working for someone, it’s someone who wants to release Yuth’ik.”

“For what purpose? More power?”

“Most likely.” He gave a slight scoff and shook his head, “If they’d gone to an actual magical being, we’d tell them what a stupid idea that is. I will say this: I pity whoever this person is.”

“Why?”

“The ancient gods weren’t known for their kindness,” he said. “A lot of the stories in the book mentioned the summoner having to give something in return.”

“Four souls isn’t enough?”

“That’s just to open the cage. If Yuth’ik really is a god, they'll expect gifts. The person behind this doesn’t understand that once you summon a god or a demon or any powerful being, you’re their servant for life,” he looked over at you, dark eyes serious and stern, “For life.”

You couldn’t stop yourself from laughing. Shaking your head, you said, “Will they ever learn?”

A part of you expected Minho to take your words offensively; he does live amongst humans, and is close to them. Yet, you heard him snort and say, “Never.”

The three of you traveled further into the forest. Han sniffed every bush, tree and flower patch that carried a wisp of Dobin’s scent. You admitted his sense of smell must be incredible if he can follow a trace three weeks old. His bushy trail flicked and wiggled whenever he caught a particularly strong scent. Both you and Minho kept your eyes on the trees around you, searching for the slightest change or movement.

Underneath the canopy of leaves and sunlight, you took in the vibrancy of the world around you. Nothing grew in The Mar. No trees, flowers or grass thrived there; the only animals around were the vicious beasts lurking around the mountain ranges and rocky canyons. A cool breeze wafted through the trees, brushing your cheeks and hair, and you inhaled deeply. Why would anyone wish to destroy such a glorious place? Nor’goth’s armies tore down trees, burned wheat fields, and polluted rivers to keep the mortals from feeding themselves. He believed cutting off their supplies left them powerless, but the people you’d met proved the opposite.

“Did you guys hear that?” Han sprung up from the newest bush, whipping his head side to side in a panic.

“Hear what?” Minho asked, irritably. “Jisung, we’ve been walking for ages. Have you found anything yet-”

“-Shush!” he interrupted him, putting a hand up for silence.

The two of you watched the hybrid carefully walk sideways, his head pointed up into the trees. A feeling of apprehension came over you when he stopped underneath one of the thicker trees. The smooth motion of an arrow being notched caught your attention, and you turned to see Minho’s bow armed and ready to loosen. Han braced his hands up against the rough bark, and sniffed. The immediate image of an enemy dropping onto him had you withdrawing your sword from your back.

“Jisung…” Minho whispered harshly, but Han ignored him.

“Slyvia?” Han said, confused. “Honey, what are you doing up there?”

Both you and Minho shook when a figure jumped down from the tree onto their feet. Minho unleashed his arrow, but thankfully it stuck into the tree inches above the child’s head. Skin the color of the trees, the chameleon-hybrid’s scales gradually changed to light green and yellow in seconds. Bulbous, beady eyes were on either side of her nose, full of fear and worry.

“Deputy Han!” she cried, immediately wrapping herself around his middle, “Deputy Han, you have to help me!”

Han bent down to her level right as you and Minho reached her. Her heavy breaths making her chest rise and fall, you saw tears spilling from her black eyes and shoulders shuddering in every sob.

“It’s Barney!” she sobbed, voice cracking at the end. “They took him! The bad people took him! You have to help him! Sheriff Bahng has to get him!”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Han said, hands rubbing her shaking shoulders, “Just take a deep breath, honey. You mean Barney Pebbles? Fred’s little boy?”

“Yes! We were walking home together, and he-and he saw this cat in the bushes and I told him, sir, I told him to not wander off but he did! Then, we chased it-it- in-into th-the woods and this bad man picked him up and these other men started chasing me! We have to save him! We have to!” she fell back into Han’s arms, sobbing into his shoulder as his eyes met Minho’s.

“Where did this happen, Slyvia?” Minho asked next, bending down to look into her face. “How far?”

“That way,” she pointed behind him. “I don-don’t know where!”

“Alright, alright, you go with Deputy Han and talk to the sheriff,” he said to her gently. “My friend and I will go look for Barney.”

Slyvia took one glance at you, then buried her face in Han’s neck. You expected that reaction. Crouching beside Minho, you said, “We’re going to find your friend, and bring him back, okay?” She flinched when you met her eyes again.

“You’re a demon…” she said, voice muffled by Han’s shirt collar.

“I am,” you nodded, standing with Han and Minho, “And you want to know what that means?”

“You’ll eat my friends!”

“No,” you giggled, “It means bad guys are scared of me. The bad people who took your friend will hand him right back to me if they know what’s good for them.”

This seemed to calm her slightly, though not enough for her to look at you. “I’ll take her to Chan,” Han said. “We can get in contact with her folks, and Barney’s parents.”

“I’ll give him a heads up.”

Minho reached into a pouch on his belt and withdrew dark blue dust. Putting a pinch between his fingers, he blew it out into the air. Rather than disappear or fall to the ground, the glowing swirl of dust stayed in the air.

“Chan, we found Slyvia Eleon. She says Barney Pebbles was just grabbed. Han’s bringing her to you; YN and I are going to scout the area.” With another puff of air, the dust cloud quickly darted away from you and down back to the farm. “We should go to where he was taken,” he said to you, “We could check it out while their footprints and scent are fresh.”

“Good idea.”

“Slyvia,” he addressed the little girl again, “Sweetie, do you remember any details about where he’d been taken? A tree or flower or a specific place?”

Slyvia turned her head, sniffling, and thought for a moment. “It was near the direction sign. I remember because I live past it.”

“On which side?”

“The…left. The left side of the road.”

“Alright, thank you, Slyvia,” he petted her head, “Don’t worry. My friend and I are going to find Barney.”

“They’re going to kill him,” she broke back into a sob. “They’re going to kill him and eat him!”

“Nobody is killing and eating anyone,” Han assured her, rubbing her back as he began walking away. “Mrs. Seo just came back from the bakery too. She can give you a snack and you can tell Sheriff Bahng…”

Watching Han take the girl away, you looked to Minho, “Do you know the sign she’s talking about?”

“I do. It’s far though. Take my hand.”

You didn’t question it. Taking his hand, you watched the dark fae aim his outstretched palm to the ground. Glowing and sparkling a bright purple, you recognized the spiraling and crisp winds of a teleportation circle. In a flash of light, you and Minho left your spot in the forest. You could feel yourself being thrown into a tornado, spinning and spinning through gushes of wind, before landing on soft grass.

“Here we are,” Minho said, removing the circle with a closed fist.

You found yourself on the dirt road a mile from town. On the crossroad corner stood a tall post with different directions on it. ‘Levanter Bay 1 mile’ ‘Gold Rush 5 miles’ ‘Sunwind 10 miles’ went in various directions.

“Slyvia said they saw the men down towards town,” Minho started walking in that direction. “Their footprints will still be in the dirt; we can follow those.”

“This Barney kid,” you caught up with his quick strides, “What do you know about him?”

“A bit simple-minded, but a really nice kid,” he answered. “His family owns a pig farm. He loves animals, so it’s no surprise he followed a cat into the woods despite all sense.”

“They took him from off the road instead of a farm,” you noted. “They’re getting desperate. This ritual of theirs must be happening soon.”

“Yuth’ik’s ritual can happen at any time. They just need the four souls and the right words,” he said. “They need all four in order to open the portal to let him through.”

“That explains the rush. It’s risky to be snatching kids from the side of a somewhat busy road,” you nodded at a passing wagon, “Someone might’ve seen the two of them going off the path.”

“Perhaps, but if they went deep enough, nobody would’ve heard them.”

You both stopped when you reached two sets of clear footprints going off into the grass. Minho and you walked along them, and that’s where you picked up a scent. Barney Pebbles must sweat pretty heavily if you could pick it up so quickly. It started by one of the trees at the edge, then carried off through a large bush. When you looked inside, you saw tiny prints in the dirt and a breakage in the leaves.

“The cat hid in here,” you told Minho, “And he followed it.”

“There are more prints over here,” Minho called from nearby. You saw him standing between two large trees, looking at spots behind them. “The shapeshifter had accomplices. Two or three by the looks of the sets.”

“What were they planning to do? Ambush the kid?”

“To make sure he didn’t escape,” he examined one of the trunks with his hand.

Reaching into his pocket, he withdrew a small piece of blue chalk. Well, at least you thought it was chalk. Minho started rubbing the blue stick onto the thick brown bark as one might a piece of paper. You came up to him, and saw the blue chalk having outlined handprints along the edge of the trunk. You counted two large hands on one side, then two more on the other.

“Two over here,” Minho went and did the same to the other tree, “And one more over here. Three culprits.”

“What is this?” you asked him, wiping some of the chalk with your finger.

“It’s a little invention of mine,” he said, putting the chalk away. “I enchanted a few pieces of chalk so I can lift prints. It’s damn helpful when investigating scenes. I got a fingerprint off one of them,” he said, putting a thin piece of film into the pouch, “I can cross check it back at the station. If it’s one of the Hook Clan, we’ll know who.”

“Intriguing,” you nodded, “I never heard of an enchantment that can do that.”

“I like to experiment with magic,” he shrugged. You both walked back to the scene of the kidnapping, “Magic is so versatile and fluid. It can be used for anything, if one puts their mind to it.”

“That bit of powder you used to contact Chan,” you said, “You invented that too?”

“I wish,” he said, “It’s one of the ways fairies communicate away from home. Fairy dust,” he petted the leather pouch. “Can transport messages or people from one place to another.”

“Just think happy thoughts?” you joked, remembering the stories.

Minho laughed, “No, no happy thoughts required. Just a deep breath before you teleport.” He stopped at the spot where you smelled Barney and his kidnapper the strongest. “What can you smell?”

“Male,” you sniffed the air, and let the aroma linger in your nose, “At least 30-years-old. He’d been standing right here,” you pressed yourself against the tree. You put your nose to the trunk, catching a bit of his sweat on the skin. Something then threw you off, “Coal.”

“What?”

“Coal,” you sniffed the spot again, “Or something like it. He had some sort of dust on him.”

“The clan sometimes hang out in abandoned mines or lumber yards,” Minho said, putting his fingerprint dust on the bark next to you. “That might be where it comes from.”

“We should tell Chan and Han,” you advised, “Then we can see what they learned from the little girl.”

“Alright.”

He took your hand a second time, and opened up a transport circle once more. In another howling winds, you left the wilderness for the hustle and bustle of Levanter Bay. Stumbling forward a moment, you caught yourself in a deep breath. Hardly anyone appeared bothered by the demon and fairy who’d just popped up in the middle of the town square.

“Minho,” Changbin came down the steps of the inn, wiping his hands with his apron, “Is it true? Was Barney taken?”

“News travels fast, huh?” he quipped.

“His dad is in here,” he nodded to the inn behind him, “Hollering about someone taking his boy and that he was gonna hunt the bastard himself.”

“Oh god, no,” Minho groaned. “Don’t tell me he went into the woods?”

“No, no, I talked him down, but he’s more pissed off than Honey when she can’t catch any fish,” he said. “You didn’t find him, did you?”

“We didn’t, but we have leads,” he answered. “Just…make sure they don’t do anything stupid.”

“People know the clan is involved,” Changbin said seriously. “Fred was talking about going to the Brandstone Mine south of here.”

“The mine?” Minho looked over at you, then back at Changbin, “Why there?”

“Rumor has it that Red Hook and his boys are up there,” he answered, looking between the both of you. “It’s only a matter of time before someone takes it upon themselves to take them out.”

“That’s a dumb idea,” you snapped. “It can cause them, or whoever they’re working for, to do something rash.”

Like kill their captives and dispose of their corpses. Minho was about to give Changbin instructions when a voice called out from behind him, “Lee! Hey, Lee!”

A big burly man with a thick blond beard and short blond hair came storming down the steps towards him. From his red face, you could tell he’d been ranting for a good while now. Minho sighed irritably, “You go to Chan. I’ll handle Fred.”

You nodded, and watched Minho reach Fred first. Fred, standing several inches above Minho, started shouting right away. You thought Minho might flinch at the sudden rush of anger, but the deputy remained cool. Deciding Minho and Changbin could handle the distressed parent, you walked ahead back to the station. Inside, you found a group of people sitting in the middle of the room. Slyvia sat on the lap of a woman who could only be her mother, and another chameleon hybrid who must be her father. A slender woman with blond hair was beside them, anxiously listening to everything they were saying. Barney’s mother, no doubt. Chan and Han sat in front of the girl, talking to her softly and gently.

“-Did you see what they looked like?” Chan asked her. “Anything particularly different or noticeable about them?”

“No,” she shook her head. “I was hiding.”

“Could you hear what they were talking about?”

“They said that they’d get burned alive for not getting me,” she said. “But the other man said they didn’t need me.”

Slowly, you approached and put the pieces of her story together. “Did they say any names?”

“Suho, Baekhyun and Maurice.”

“Kim Junmyeon,” Chan grunted, “How’d I know he’d be involved?”

“And Baekhyun too,” added Han.

“Who are they?” Slyvia’s mother asked.

“Part of the Red Hook clan,” Chan told her. “We think they’ve been taking the kids. But, Maurice…I don’t know any Maurice around here. Jisung?”

Han thought for a moment, then shook his head. “Nope, nobody comes to mind. Does that name mean anything to you?” he asked the parents, and they shook their heads.

The moment Slyvia’s parents spotted you, they gasped. Her mother clutched her tightly, while the male stood in front of them. You didn’t make any move towards them, instead deciding to keep your distance.

“That must be who they’re working for,” you finally spoke up. “Minho and I found four sets of prints on the trees near where he was taken.”

“That’s a demon!” the man said, “Sheriff, you got a demon in here!”

“She’s a friend, Salazar,” Chan insisted, standing up to put himself between you and the father. “A friend.”

“That’s a damn demon! There ain’t no demon that's friendly! I’ve seen what those things can do! I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the one taking all the children!”

“I’m only here to help, sir,” you said from your spot.

‘Their kind will never accept us! They know nothing of respect or obedience! They must be subdued!’

You shut out Nor’goth’s voice from your head. “Minho and I found some information that backs your daughter’s story,” you said.

“She’s his niece,” Barney’s mother said, stepping in front of him to address you. When she tucked hair behind her ear, you saw a point at the curve. A Sunwind Elf. “You’re here to…to help us?” you heard the disbelief in her voice. She looked at your horn stumps, then back to your face. “With Barney?”

“Yes, ma’am. I take it you’re his mother?”

“I am,” she nodded. You noticed her puffy eyes, and trembling lips. “Slyvia says he was taken by a shapeshifter.”

“We believe so,” Chan answered.

“Your husband is a human, isn’t he? I saw him outside,” you asked her, coming closer.

“He is,” she nodded. “I’m from Sunwind. What does that have to do with anything?”

“So, your son is a halfling,” you looked to Chan, “Dobin is a wolf pup. Sanghee is a garden fairy, and Hyeyoung is a werecat. They’re all children with magic inside of them.” You turned to Minho’s desk where you found a book left open. When you turned a page, you saw a chapter titled: ‘Yuth’ik: God of the Trees’. Rather than tell Chan that these magical children are likely being used for their magic, you said, “There has to be a connection, right?”

Chan glanced at the open book, then at you, “Yes, there might be.”

“It was those damn bandits in the woods,” Mrs. Pebbles snapped. “They did this. They must have. Who else is vile enough to kidnap innocent children? On a count of them being magical, no less!”

“Them, and someone they’re working for,” Chan told her, putting up a hand to calm her. “Wilma, go find Fred. Lord knows he’s bound to do something crazy.”

“Too late, Sheriff,” Han said with a deadpan voice as he looked out the window.

“What?”

Everyone converged by the window where a group of people on horses started kicking up dirt. Their calls and cries mixed together, and you knew what happened by their angry faces.

They started a damn mob.

“Damnit!” Chan cursed, grabbing a rifle from beside the door and rushing outside. With all of you behind him, he called out to the crowd, “Hey, hey, hey! What the hell's going on here?! Minho!”

Minho and Changbin tried closing off the horsemen, but there were too many. Fred Pebbles, sat upon a white palomino, glared down at Chan.

“They got my boy, Sheriff!” he said, voice hoarse and deep. “Those bastards have my boy!”

“We know, but there’s a way to go about this!” Chan shouted over the ruckus, “Hey now! Hey!”

“Pebbles, damnit man!” Mayor Wallace appeared from the mercantile with a few other customers, “What are you doing?!”

“I'm gonna make this all right!”

“Like hell you are!” the mayor blustered. “We are civilized people! Not animals!”

“So what are we supposed to do?! Let those filthy sons of bitches take our children?!”

“Of course not, but Fred, riling people up and going out there like this can make stuff worse!” Mayor Wallace wiped his brow and said, “Let's all go into the town hall and discuss this-”

“-I'm tired of listening to y'all. You ain't don't nothing-”

Chan cocked his rifle and fired it into the air. The loud gunblast caught everyone’s attention, some of the people ducking and others whipping around angrily. The crowd focused on him, Chan walked up the steps of The White Pearl, and he glared down at them.

“What the hell’s gotten into all of you? I thought we were people, not animals!”

“They keep taking our children, Chan!” one woman shouted from her horse. “Somebody’s gotta do something!”

“I understand that, but if we went around hanging every single person we thought was guilty, we’d be no better than them,” he remarked. “I know you’re all worried. I know you’re all hurting, but we need to be smart about how we handle this. Red Hook might have his morals-”

“-Horse shit!-

“-But the person he’s working for doesn’t,” he continued. “Now, thanks to Slyvia and our bounty hunter, we’ve discovered some new information.”

“Such as?” Mayor Wallace asked.

“They’re operating in a coal mine,” Minho said, getting up onto the porch beside Chan. “Anybody know any abandoned mines around here?”

“There’s the Willfire mine up north,” the woman on the horse called out. “My husband used to work there before the war.”

“The old Brandstone mine too,” said Mayor Wallace. “But, that was gold, not coal.”

“The coal could be dirt,” suggested Changbin, the woodland dwarf. “If they’re living in there, they likely got the dirt on their clothes and hands.”

“It’s a long shot,” an elderly man said from atop his horse, “But they could also be at my family’s mine. It’s gotten run over by spiders, but if they could’ve exterminated them before moving in.”

You shuddered thinking about the large arachnids.

“Alright,” Chan nodded at their answers, “I say we split into groups and search these mines while they’re off guard. Deputy Han will lead a group to the Brandstone mine; Deputy Lee will lead one to the Willfire mine, and I’ll take a group up to Mr. Choi’s mine. If you find them, do not engage,” he said these words firmly, “We need to catch them off guard. Whoever is helping them will not hesitate to kill anyone who opposes them. We need to be vigilant and patient.”

“And I will stay with the rest of the town here,” Mayor Wallace said to Chan. “Changbin and I will organize something for the children and the families. You know, keep everybody calm during this whole thing.”

“Sounds good…”

“They’re going after magical children,” you whispered to Minho and Han. “They plan to use their magic to open the gates.”

“Makes sense,” Minho nodded.

“Those poor babies,” Han frowned worriedly.

“We need to find them quickly,” you told them. “Now that they have four children, they can start their ritual.”

“Seungmin! Seungmin, where are you?” Chan’s words interrupted you, as he looked through the crowd.

“Right here, Sheriff.”

Dressed in a pin-striped shirt with an apron around his waist, Seungmin fixed his glasses on his nose and looked up at Chan. Just by the golden eyes, black wolf’s nose, and furry pointed ears, you realized Seungmin was a werewolf.

“Where’s your pack at?” Chan addressed him.

“Likely back home at the den,” he answered. “We’ve been looking ever since little Dobin was taken. He’s one of us, you know. I’ll get word to my father about your search parties.”

“I’ll call on the wisps!”

A young fairy came floating up to the steps. Black hair in front of his face, the garden fairy’s bright green wings batted as he landed on the floor. You noticed he held onto the medical bag across his body. “They can fly faster than light and move between the different parties if they find something. The trees may have information too.”

“The trees?” the words left your mouth before you could stop them.

“They don’t say much,” he said, “But they will speak to me.”

“Jeongin,” Han said to you, “Garden fairy. He’s also our doctor, believe it or not.”

“And who the hell is she?!” another woman in the crowd asked.

“That’s a demon!” the elderly miner gasped, taking a few steps back. A couple others did the same, but you did not react to their shock. “Sheriff, Sheriff, did you know you got a demon next to you?”

“I do, and she’s been extremely helpful since she arrived this morning,” Chan said.

“I told you,” Mayor Wallace hissed at him. “I said they wouldn't take kindly to her.”

“How do you know she ain’t got anything to do with this?” asked Fred, taking a few steps back on his horse. “Their kind eat children!”

“We don’t eat human flesh,” you rolled your eyes, annoyed. “I don’t know what human started that rumor, but demons who still hold up to our code never harm the young.” You briefly recalled the children who’d get lost in the afterlife, and end up in the terrifying Mar. “I’m only here to help,” you said.

“For some gold, I expect!”

“And because whoever is doing this is harming children, and children are sacred to my kind,” you replied sharply. “Their souls are pure and precious.” Whenever a lost soul passed through your gates, a demon always took them back over to the heavenly cloud world of Divinity.

“Get your heads out of the sand,” Changbin said to the group, “She’s good people.”

“How would you know?” the old man asked.

“Because I've met dangerous people before, and she's dangerous in a different kind of way.”

“That's just her demon magic working on you!”

“Alright, if you don't believe me then let's get someone else's opinion.”

Changbin whistled through two fingers, and from behind the inn came an enormous grizzly bear. Far too big to be a normal bear, you suspected. Honey came right up to Changbin’s feet, sniffing for a scrap of food. It was when she smelled your scent that she moved over to you. Yes, it was silly of you to reach out to a bear, but you put the back of your hand to her wet nose. She gruffed once, nudging your hand with her nose, and then putting her head underneath it for a few scratches.

“Honey’s never been wrong about anyone before,” Changbin gave them a satisfied smile.

“Plus, she’s a war hero,” Minho said, “She killed Nor’goth.”

The name sent a ripple of uneasiness through the crowd. Even you, who defeated him, couldn't help shifting at the words. Skin hard as rocks and dark purple Nor'goth towered several feet above anyone else. Burning orange eyes stared at you with hate as you challenged him. If it weren't for your allies, you may have died trying to defend your people and the mortal world.

‘I will not suffer your insolence anymore, Multak! Prepare to meet your doom!”

“Is that true?” One man said with wide eyes.

“It is,” he answered for you. “I don't know about you all,” he said, going down the steps, “But I think it's pretty handy having a demon around.”

An agreement mumbled amongst the townspeople, but you didn't care. “Chan, we're running out of time,” you hissed at him. “The longer we wait, the closer they get to completing their ritual.”

“To do what?”

“What else? Summon a being they have no business summoning,” you said. “It is going to blow up in their faces, and a lot of people can get hurt if we don't get a move on.”

“Alright,” he nodded.

All the groups split evenly, everyone mounted their horses and began riding out of town. You looked around for Summer, realizing you'd left her at the Seo farm. No matter. You whistled a three note tune, and a burst of fire came from across the square. Summer dashed through the portal, charging past other people and horses to get right in front of you. She kicked the ground, head swishing as the commotion riled her up. Taking her reins, you held her still before mounting her.

“YN!” Chan rode up to you on a white horse, “You’re with me. We’re checking the Choi mine.”

You gulped thickly, “Isn’t that the, um, spider one?”

“It is…” he then smirked and your cheeks burned, “Is our strong fire demon afraid of itty bitty spiders?”

“They are not ‘itty bitty’ and they’re gross!”

His laugh made you grumble, and you charged ahead of him. Summer snorted, making you kick her sides lightly. “Hey, I didn’t pick on you about the snakes.”

Running behind the group headed to the last old mine, you already pictured the eight-legged creatures likely waiting at the end. The old man mentioned that they’ve likely been driven out by the gang, so you clung onto that. Your skin crawled at the idea of having to fight ginormous spiders when a flash of white caught your attention. Chan’s horse, snowy white, came up to you once again. You got a good look at the animal, seeing the shimmer in its white coat and strands of silver streaked through its mane. Rather than fully black, the beast’s eyes glimmered a dark green color.

How did Chan get his hands on a sea steed?

“Where’d you get it?” you asked over the clopping feet.

“What?”

“Your horse! It’s a sea steed! How’d you get it?”

He gave you a proud smile, “My Ma gave it to me!”

“Your Ma?!”

“She's a mermaid! You should meet her sometime!” He added.

“Your mother is a mermaid?!”

“Yeah, from the Southern Sea,” he said. “My Pa worked as a fisherman, and that's how they met.”

“You're a halfling then?”

“That's usually what people call me.” He then turned to you with a grin, “Not all of us halflings are so obvious.”

“What can you do then? Besides gathering search parties and solving crimes,” you smirked at him. For once, you're not the one under scrutiny.

“Nothing extraordinary really,” he shrugged. “I used to sing whenever I worked on my dad's boat, since the fish would always come to me. But then I felt bad about luring them to their deaths so I stopped. I can breathe underwater…I could live in Hydrus if I wanted.”

“Hydrus?”

“It's the merfolk capital of the world,” he said. “My Ma sits on the city council. She's a healer there and has her own apothecary. She told me I could always come live with her, but I prefer being on land.”

“How come?”

“My Pa mostly,” he answered honestly. “He needs me more than her. She has her family down there; he's only got me and our dog. My sister lives with her, but she and my cousin come to visit sometimes.”

“Your sister?”

“Hannah. She's got more mermaid than human, so she struggles living on land. Do you…Do demons have families?”

You gave it a thought. “In a way?” You decided, “We have our clan, which is a family. The Keepers are our parents, and everyone your age is a brother or sister; anyone older is an aunt or uncle.”

“Are you allowed to visit home or are you banished or something like that?”

You shook your head, “I can go if I wish. My horns…” you hesitated, “They're what I traded to live here, but I'm not exiled like some of my kin.”

“So, in a way, you fought against your family.”

“I did. I wasn't happy about it, but I did what I had to do.”

You pictured the demons you fought against during your ride. Brothers and sisters, standing on the other side of the field, severed their ties with the Shadowlands and became Nor’goth’s servants. It hurt you to fight them; you'd grown alongside most of them, and saw them as family. But, Sakmarth said those who break their vows are no longer part of the demon realm. You found that easy to understand but hard to carry out.

The Choi mines happened to be several miles outside of town. Dusk began to set by the time you reached the outskirts of the mine. The trees around gave almost no sunlight. Whatever light did come through broke through the dark leaves in the canopies. The same canopy where you saw the thin, silver strands of webs. Cobwebs hung from the dark branches and stuck to the tree roots at the bottom. Apprehension settled into your stomach seeing them so high. Already, you felt their pincers snapping close to you and their furry legs skittering when they rushed around. However, seeing Chan and the other townspeople getting off their horses, you knew showing fear would disappoint them. You are Multak, fire demon and vanquisher of Nor'goth. You can't be afraid of anything.

“Mr. Choi,” Chan looked at the wizened old man coming over to him, “What direction do we take from here?”

“Down this dirt path to the end,” he pointed at the path leading further inside. “My family sold the land when those damned tentaculars started nesting there. If the gang's anywhere, it is right here.”

Chan nodded and let him take the lead. He and several others kept their pistols and rifles ready as you carefully moved through the dead forest. One false step or loud twig might send a signal to any beasts in the area. You kept your hands firmly wrapped around the sword handle, doing your best to not tremble. You peered between thick patches of webbing; tricks of light and shadows created long legs and thick bodies creeping behind the silvery webs. There’d be no way for the gang to survive in arachnid infested woods; they’d be cocooned and devoured in minutes. Their warlock must have cleared them out; you might run into nothing along the way. At least, that’s how you comforted yourself.

“I thought demons weren't scared of anything,” Chan teased.

“I'm not scared.”

“Then why are you shaking?”

“Am not.”

“Don't worry, YN. If a spider comes, I'll kill it for you.”

You rolled your eyes, but the image left you feeling nauseous. Going deeper into the dense forest, you began hearing small cracks of twigs or rustling of leaves on the ground. The clicking and clacking of the tentacular species pinched your ears; you thought you might throw up right there. There used to be dozens back home, and you always avoided their nests. This forest is their ideal environment.

“Wait,” Mr. Choi whispered, putting up a hand, “I see lights. Yeah, they're right there.”

A glowing orange light broke the darkness of the forest on your left. Everyone turned to see it hiding behind dense bushes and trees. Anxiousness stiffened your bones when you saw thicker webs in the trees above you. They must have scared them off not long ago if the webbing appeared so fresh.

“Fred,” Chan called the burly man, “You take Ryu, Harold and Donny and flank them on the right. Mr. Choi, Samantha, and Jenny will take them from the left.”

“And you, Sheriff?” the woman, Samantha, asked.

“YN and I will draw their attention.”

You hardly heard Chan’s orders. You didn’t keep your eyes off the trees for a moment. Phantom hissing and clicking sent shivers up your spine, leaving you in a cold sweat that wet your palms. Back home, clearing out spider nests or infestations was left to the newest soldiers. Shadowland spiders looked nothing like mortal ones. Their venom burned through flesh and bone, and their pinchers stabbed like sharp knives. You hated them. You pushed them from your memory as Chan encouraged you forward. Steeling yourself, you tried keeping your fears deep in your gut instead of on your face. You’re supposed to be a big, scary demon. You are a demon of the fire clan, a warrior forged from rock and flame; not a baby afraid of a few pests.

Very large pests

Carefully, you both walked towards the firelight. Chan kept his rifle pointed ahead and you kept your sword at the ready. The sounds of chatter and laughter caught your ears first. When you and Chan reached a small bundle of bushes, you crouched down to peek through the foliage.

Around a campfire sat four men. One of them, broad and wide, turned sausages in a skillet over the fire while another, slender and narrow, poured more ale from a barrel nearby. One lounged back against large sacks, his hat over his face and a fourth sat on the floor arranging coins into small piles.

“I got twenty gold here, Suho,” the one with the gold said. “That’s five pieces each. I thought you said Maurice would make us rich! This ain’t rich!”

“The real money’s coming soon,” Suho, turning sausages, said. “After he’s done with those kids, he’ll hand over the rest.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Idiots…” you whispered to yourself. The realization came to you right away, and you shook your head. “They’re the gifts.”

“Gifts?”

“In order to appease Yuth’ik, the summoner has to offer gifts to the god. This warlock did not really need lackeys to kidnap children; they could have done it themselves. They hired these bandits to then hand them over to Yuth’ik.”

“A double-cross…Suho wouldn’t like that.” He thought for a moment, then said, “Follow my lead.”

Chan stepped out through the bushes first, casually walking into the light. You went right after him, eyes sticking to your surroundings. From the rocky face behind them, you guessed they must not be far from the mine entrance.

“Evening, y’all,” Chan said in a friendly tone, “How’re you doing tonight?”

The four men scrambled to their feet. They each reached for a nearby weapon to hold up, but you noticed the shock in their eyes. Only Suho appeared calm and easy.

“Evening, Sheriff,” he replied in a casual tone, “We were just enjoying a nice campfire, some ale and the night time breeze. Care for some?”

“I’m afraid I’ll have to pass. I’m here on sheriff’s business tonight.”

“Is that so?” Suho glanced at his members, who sneered back at him. “That’s a shame,” he cocked his pistol, “Because I’m in the mood for bandit’s business tonight.”

“Do you happen to know anyone named ‘Maurice’, Suho?” Chan took a step forward, unafraid of the gun pointed at him.

“Nah, don't ring a bell, I’m afraid,” Suho shook his head.

“Hm, that’s strange. A little reptile hybrid said you might, and a few friends of mine have been looking high and low for him.” You heard his friendly, polite tone turn serious. “I thought The Hook clan didn’t harm children.”

“We don’t,” he said.

“But the person you’re working for does, and that’s okay by you?”

“I don’t work for anybody but myself,” Suho said.

“Stop with the games, Junmyeon,” Chan cut across him. “I know you and your gang have been kidnapping children from the town. You might be a thieving, no-good outlaw, but I never thought you’d be the type to hurt kids.”

“We don’t have anything to do with that.”

“We have your fingerprints on the trees where Barney Pebbles was taken,” he said. “Who’s Maurice and what is he doing with the kids?”

“I don’t know a ‘Maurice’.”

“Junmyeon…these children could be in serious danger. They’re innocent, and I know you wouldn’t let some psychotic warlock kill them.”

“Again, Sheriff, sorry to disappoint you, but we don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Do you even know the man you're working for, Junmyeon?”

“I only work for myself, so yeah, I do know the man I work for.”

“Whoever he's summoning tonight is going to expect human sacrifices…and it's not the kids.”

“What'd you mean?” Asked the shortest one, wide eyed and worried.

“He needs the kids to open the portal, but he has to have gifts to offer the tree god thing. I'm guessing that's you and your boys. Now,” he took another step, “You can tell us where he is and we stop him or you become an ancient being's dinner.”

You heard a small twig snap from somewhere behind you, and every nerve in your body stood on edge. It could either be a friend or a foe. A big, furry, hungry foe. Up in the sky, you saw the russet colors slowly fading to black. You’re running out of time.

“I still don't know what you're talking about,” Suho declared, but not as strongly.

“-Junmyeon,” Chan came closer, “Don’t make this harder on yourself. Tell me where Maurice is, and you'll be free to move on.”

“Ha, I doubt that. You’ll have me cuffed before I even talk.”

“You're telling me you want to get eaten then?!”

You grunted and walked past Chan into the light. Eyes glaring at him, you let the fire light wash over you to give them a better view. All four men froze in place at the demon standing on the other side of their campfire. The cracking, burning wood crunched under your boots when you kicked their skillet aside and stood in the fire. The burning flames licked up your legs to your thighs, but you hardly felt them. You might as well have stepped into a warm bath.

“Listen, scumbag,” you growled, making sure he heard it, “Tell us what you know about the warlock and where he is before I pull you into this fire with me.”

Suho, clearly not one to back down easily, pointed his pistol right at you. “Stay away, demon,” he said stiffly, though you could smell the sweat coming through his pores. Fear. Your demonic roots savored the fragrance, “Or I’ll shoot!”

In a swift motion, you reached out and brought the heavy man right to the edge of the fire. High pitched screams followed his panic kicking as flames danced close to his ankles. Suho tried uncurling your fingers from his shirt collar, but to no avail. You bore your eyes into his as you spoke.

“Where is Maurice, human?”

Too afraid of being burned, Suho did not answer you right away. You quickly looked to the men around him, seeing how they’d backed up and away from you. “I asked you a question,” you grunted, lowering him closer to the fire, “Where is he? Where?!”

“Pl-please!”

“Innocent children will have their lives sucked out of their bodies, and you’re standing there refusing to help them?!” You dragged him into the fire at last, though kept him above the lowest of the flames. The sound of running feet told you his members left him behind to be tortured. “Do you know what we do to people who harm children in the Shadowlands? Hm?” You brought him in closer, “We burn them!”

You dropped him into the fire, and Suho screamed hysterically. Rolling away, he rustled around on the ground to put out the tiny flickers on his back. Panting and sweating, the gang leader stared up at you in horror. Most likely because the fires burning inside you had finally reached your eyes. Their mortal hue turned into burning coals, and your fingers itched to set him aflame.

“In the mines!” he screamed, cowering under your fiery gaze. “He’s in the mines! He has his little pets helping him! Please, don’t eat me! Please!”

“Where’s the entrance?”

Suho whimpered, not answering.

“Where’s the entrance?!” you demanded.

“Tha-th-that-t- wa-ay!”

He pointed to his left, and you nodded. Storming off into the nearby path, you already saw the sky gradually becoming darker and darker. The warlock could start their ritual at any moment.

“Hey!” you heard several pairs of feet coming up behind you, “Hey, what was that?”

Chan came up beside you, but you kept on moving. “Intimidation,” you said, “You weren’t getting answers, and we’re running out of time, so I stepped in.” You smirked over your shoulder, “Nothing makes a man talk more than under the threat of eternal flames.”

“You weren’t going to actually kill him though, right? That…That isn’t how we do things here.”

“Of course not,” you scoffed. “Yes, people like Suho deserve whatever fate they have coming, but when that happens is not up to me.”

“Oh…”

You knew why he asked that. “I’m not that kind of demon, Chan,” you told him, “I might be a demon, but I’m not a thrill killer. I only do it when-”

You stopped at the sight of metal tracks some yards away. The mine entrance was on the other side of them, dimly lit and foreboding. Empty cargo carts sat on the tracks, and you saw crates stacked on top of one another. Whoever worked this mine abandoned it long ago, and several residents had taken it up. All the fire from before extinguished when you saw the gargantuan spiders roaming the area. The stinging sensation of bile crept up your throat, and your skin started crawling again. Big and hairy, most of them varied in colors of white, gray and black. You almost turned back, but knew to do so now would be abandoning the children and also negating any perceived toughness.

“Kind of hard to intimidate a wild beast, huh?” Chan asked, humored by your weak attempts. “Especially big ones with several pairs of eyes-”

“-Nothing needs that many eyes or that many legs!” you harshly whispered. “How can we get past them?”

“Fire,” Mr. Choi croaked from behind, pulling out a large matchbox. “It’s how my grandfather used to do it back in the day.”

“Works for me,” Chan shrugged, turning back to you, “YN? Would our fire demon like to handle the big nasty spiders?”

You stuck out your tongue at his smug smile. “I’d love to,” you responded pointedly. “Let me show you how it’s done.”

“Please, be my guest.”

He then made a hissing sound that made you punch his shoulder. You knew he was only teasing. Any other time, you’d tease him back but the sight of a spider coming down from the mountain with a bundle between two legs caught your attention. Fire. Warmth and light always scared off nocturnal beasts.

Taking a step out of the treeline, a prickling sensation went up your legs, most likely the formation of goosebumps all over your body. You searched for a starting point for the flames, which happened to be the light shedding of webs along the tracks. In a single thrust of your hand, a bolt of red-hot fire shot from your palm and onto the metal tracks.

Like a spark to gunpowder, the fire quickly began spreading. The beasts sensed the fire right away, and scurried away from the light. When one of them spotted you, it screeched loudly and scuttled over to you. With a high scream, your entire body went into a panic and you shot both hands out. Shrieking screams pierced your ears as the flames engulfed the creature, whose cries died out along with a few others. Your comrades, not wanting to miss out, started shooting. Gun blasts added to the fires scaring off the spiders; some of them took several shots while the proper marksmen got them between the eyes.

“Come on,” Chan took one of your wrists, “Let’s get inside.”

“Inside?!”

You imagined more spiders awaited you in there, “This is no time to be a baby! Let’s go!”

Guiding you through the scorched earth, you kept your eyes peeled for any more spiders, but they’d appeared to have been killed or scared off. You’d gotten right into the entrance when your party came up behind you.

“There’s more where they came from,” said Mr. Choi, “But don’t you worry. I grew up in this mine. I know it in and out.”

“Yuth’ik is an earth god,” you deduced from research, “He’s likely far underground where there��s roots.”

“I know the right place,” he nodded.

Chan and Mr. Choi led the group, and you did your best to keep your shaking legs moving normally. Someone came up beside you.

“You really showed Suho.” It was Fred, carrying his rifle across his chest. “I ain’t ever seen a man scared out of his wits like that before.”

“Being the good cop wasn’t working,” you shrugged, “So I played the bad one.”

“We could have used someone like you when this all started.” Once he realized how that sounded, he recovered, “I mean, the sheriff and his deputies are great at their jobs. It's…Things weren't being done quick enough.”

“I understand,” you said. The amount of webs did not match the spiders outside. There are more of them. “He was doing the best he could with what he had. I'm glad to be of some use here.”

Fred moved to talk again, but the group then stopped. In the spacious coal mine, you saw them right when everyone else did. High above the floor, cocoons hung from the ceiling and stuck to the walls. Bundles long and short were covered in several lengths of sticky webbing. You gulped back the fear burning in your throat, and stepped over to a nearby cocoon. About the average size of an adult, you poked it with your sword. When it didn't move, you looked at Chan with a worried stare. Your suspicions proved true when you cut a hole in the head to see the corpse of a young elf maiden inside. Sickly pale and blue, her paper thin skin and hollowed cheeks suggested she'd died ages ago.

“How horrible…” Samantha frowned, opening another to find an old man.

“Donny,” Chan looked at Fred’s farmhand, “Stay here with Samantha and start cutting the bodies down.”

“Harold and I'll keep watch,” Fred said, pulling out a flint to light a nearby stick.

“Good idea,” he nodded his approval.

As the other four started removing bodies, the rest of you went further into the mine. It didn't take much longer to reach the heart of the mine, and it was there that you thought you might scream. Dozens of spiders small and large covered the walls, and stood on the ground around a platform of rocks. None of them caught your scent yet, but one false move will have you setting the place on fire in a panic. You flinched when a warm hand grabbed yours.

“Stay with me,” Chan whispered, his fingers gently taking your wrist this time. “We need to stick together.”

“The kids!” Mr. Choi gasped, pointing at the platform.

Wrapped from the neck down in white webs, four children wriggled around an archway carved into the stone wall. You heard their sobbing pleas through the unrest amongst the beasts, and you forced out your fears. They needed you. It was then that you finally saw the warlock named Maurice. The top half of his body was a human torso, aged but strong with white hair braided back from his face. The bottom half was a spider's form, eight legs keeping him standing high above the children. That explained why the creatures hadn't killed any of the clan members.

“My children!” He said, his voice a delicate hiss, “Tonight we bring forth the power of the old magic! We bring forth our salvation! We bring forth our victory!”

The beasts approved, clicking and clacking in their language.

“For centuries, mortals have feared our presence! They run from us! They hunt us down and kill us!” He continued, “But tonight, sweet children, the old god Yuth’ik will give us our redemption. We will have our revenge!”

“Ugh, disgusting creature,” Mr. Choi scoffed. “Let's get him-”

“-Not yet,” Chan stilled him with a hand. He scanned the area and shook his head, “There are too many of them. They'll overpower us. We have to be smart about this.”

“Or extremely dumb,” you said, a thought coming to you. “You stay hidden and wait for my signal.”

“YN!”

Your knees wobbled walking towards the entryway into the main area. A human would be of no concern to the spider hybrid, but a demon from The Mar might keep him distracted.

“-No more will you cower in your nests, feeding off scraps! You will have fresh meat!-”

“I wouldn't say my meat is fresh!” You shouted over the chatter of the room, “But demons are an acquired taste, I've been told.”

Maurice paused in surprise at the sight of you. Black eyes held you in their gaze. He had four of them. Nobody needed that many eyes.

“Ah,” he grinned, teeth sharp and white, “Here's the demon I've heard so much about. Was it you who harmed my children outside?”

“They were in my way.”

Confidently, you walked through the horde, which parted to make way for you. Glittering black eyes stayed on you as you moved. Having them all in one place suffocated any fresh winds coming through the tunnel passages. Your skin prickled having them so close to you. You kept a tight grip on your sword at your hip, gripping so tight the pummel dug into your palm. No fear. Show no fear.

“You know summoning an imprisoned god is against the celestial laws, Maurice,” you continued. “The Blind One doesn't take kindly to people who disobey him. I suggest you release those children and take your spider friends back where they came from.”

Maurice gave a mocking laugh, “As if you could do anything to stop me. Once my ritual is complete, no mortal alive could stop me.”

He turned away from you to face the archway. “You'll have to give him something in return,” you said, “And be in servitude to him for life. I don't think you want to be someone's puppet, do you?”

“I will do anything I must,” he said. “I shall be the ultimate supreme lord. Everyone will bow down to me or suffer the wrath. The weak mortals you so eagerly helped will be scum beneath my feet.”

“Please, help us!” A red-haired girl with leaves in her hair cried. Sanghee, no doubt. “Help us!”

“Please!” said the werecat Hyeyoung.

“He's going to kill us, please help!” pleaded a blond boy with concurved ears. “Help! I want to go home!”

“Silence!” Maurice shouted angrily over his shoulder.

He lifted his head towards the arch and began muttering the incantation. It brought forth a vortex of black and blue, and gradually a white light broke through. You gasped at the recognizable swirls of The Abyss. Unrest rippled throughout the horde, who'd begun moving away as the portal opened.

“Children,” the warlock called out to the spiders, “Dinner.”

You screamed as several spiders hurried towards you, some clawing over others to reach you. Fear and panic set inside you again, and erupted on its own. Bursts of fire cracked and burned the ground around your feet, keeping a protective circle as you started launching fireballs at any beast in sight.

‘Bulgakgan!’

Flames shot out continuously from your hands, and as you moved in a clockwise circle, spiders were incinerated. One minute there, the next a stumbling ball of fire. Sensing a greater foe, the rest of the spiders began crawling away. This boosted your confidence significantly, and you switched to your sword. With another command, the dragonfire runes on your sword burned red and heated up the steel blade. Swinging and slashing the air, the spiders burned from the flaming steel alone. You hardly noticed the grunting and struggling occuring on the platform above you.

Chan was locked in a struggle with Maurice. He blocked the hybrid's long legs with his arms, then gave a swift kick to the steady legs on one side. Maurice shot bolts of gray and black shadow magic at him. One barely grazed his bicep, and you heard his loud painful cry. Maurice, believing him finished, sent more shadow bolts at him just as Chan rolled away. Getting onto his feet, you watched through your own fight as Chan turned around. Mr. Choi, holding his own against his own foes, tossed him a rifle. Maurice chuckled right as Chan raised his weapon.

“For Levanter Bay!”

You heard the war cry from behind you. Fred, Samantha and Donny appeared, sweating and fueled with adrenaline as they covered the front entrance. A gunshot bounced off the walls, though the thick webs kept the sound suppressed. Chan's bullet missed, which amused Maurice, who curved his hands until more dark matter materialized between his palms. Chan quickly reloaded, but Maurice rushed at him. With another shadow bolt, he knocked Chan squared in the chest and launched him back several feet.

You hurled a fireball at his legs, causing him to fall against the wall. This split second diversion was all Chan needed to shoot a bullet into Maurice's forehead from the ground. Their leader defeated, propped up by his legs, the other spiders disappeared from battle up through ceiling tunnels leading further into the mountain. You took deep breaths, heart pounding in your chest as you rushed over to Chan's side.

“Chan, are you alright?” you asked, looking him over.

The shadow bolt singed his shirt, the black mark vibrant against his chest, but otherwise no blood. It hadn't gone through completely.

“Thick skin,” Chan winced through a laugh. “Merfolk side, they say.”

You both stood up on shaking legs, “Still, shadow magic is nothing to sniff at. You need to get that checked out.”

“Yes, ma'am,” he saluted halfheartedly.

The thought of Chan being mortally wounded by shadow magic came to you. You'd grown to like Chan. You felt glad for his merfolk blood. His eyes glimmered even in the dim torch light, and his soft smile warmed your cheeks. You turned from him to see Mr. Choi cut the children out of their cocoons. To avoid more butterflies, you started helping him.

“Papa!”

Barney Pebbles ran to his father the second you freed him, weeping and reaching out before the man embraced him tightly. The other children took comfort in the adults who'd saved them.

“Sheriff Bahng!” Dobin, furry with a black snout, ran over to him, “I knew you'd come! I told everyone you'd come for us!”

“Of course I did.” Chan hugged him and patted his back. “Your parents have been worried to all hell about you. Let's not keep them waiting.”

“Or stick around for more of those things!” You added, shuddering and sheathing your blade.

The rest agreed and walked with you out of the mine. You took in deep breaths of fresh air, feeling the breeze cool down your body. Heat never bothered you, but it still felt nice to fan your flames. You watched Barney and Fred riding back on his horse, the young boy protected by his arms. Being raised in The Mar by the warrior fire clan, people thought your clan were cruel. In fact, it'd been the opposite. You sat on your horse, remembering the time an air demon healer soothed your cries after a particularly nasty spar in the yard.

“Ma'am?” Hyeyoung sat on Samantha's horse, tearful and shivering. “Are you a real demon?”

“Yes, I am.”

“But demons are supposed to be mean.”

“I'm only mean to the bad guys.”

She grinned at this, but said nothing else as she leaned into Samantha's embrace. When you reached the main road, you caught up with Minho and Han towards town. Minho found nothing at his mine, and Han only ran into vagrants with nowhere to live. What you really anticipated was the missing children with their parents. Word spread about your mission while you'd been gone, and as you rode to the town square, all four children rushed to their parents. Cries of joy and smooching kisses reached your ears, and it brought warmth into your chest.

“Oh, thank god!” Mayor Wallace appeared from the school house building, which doubled as a meeting hall apparently. He hustled over to Chan, “Chan, Chan, thank goodness you came back safely! And you got the children back too!”

“It wasn't all my doing, Gerald,” Chan insisted, dismounting his horse. “I had help.”

Mayor Wallace looked at you once more. You expected words of suspicion or caution, but instead he held out his hand, “Thank you, YN. We wouldn't have our children back if you'd not stepped in on time.”

“I was only doing my job, sir.”

“And a fantastic one you did.”

Someone called him from afar, and he excused himself. The weight of the battle, using your own magic, and the adrenaline wore you down. The hazy feeling of exhaustion came over you within minutes. You looked on the townspeople being reunited with friends and loved ones fondly, similar to scenes you'd come across during the war. The fear of the past few weeks lifted at the return of the four children. Taking a seat outside The White Pearl, you continued observing them.

Nor’goth used to claim that humans were selfish beings that knew nothing of loyalty. They were animals that killed each other needlessly. The people of Levanter Bay proved him wrong. The mortal world proved him wrong. When the tides grew high and the odds stacked against them, mortals banded together under one flag. They created The Allies, and stood as one against a common enemy. The Shadowland cities did no such thing until the war, and Sakmarth liked to say mortals had much to teach them. You couldn't help being in awe of them at that moment.

“Hey there, Honey,” you said kindly as the bear waddled up the steps towards you. She sniffed your palm once more, then licked it. “You should've mentioned you liked spiders. I would've brought back some legs.”

“They're too boney and don't have enough meat for her.”

With the pet came its tamer. Changbin stood at the door a foot away, leaning on the frame.

“She usually eats salmon or roots and berries I pick up on my hunts,” he took a seat beside you to watch the community. “You really pulled it off, huh?”

“You doubted I would?”

“Not for a minute,” he shook his head, “But it's amazing. The kids are saying you had a flaming sword?”

“It's a rune blade.”

“Interesting,” he nodded thoughtfully. “You'll make big money off of this. Saving children from a spider hybrid must be-Haha, what's with the shudder?”

“I hate spiders,” you grumbled. “Why did it have to be spiders?”

He laughed and patted your back, “Come inside, hero. We cooked up a feast to celebrate. You look like you could use a drink or two too.”

“Good, I'm starving!”

You went inside with him to find tables of food laid out. You went in right away, sneaking apples to give to Summer later on. As you tore into a chicken leg, Han and Minho appeared in front of you with their own plates.

“Spider hybrid, huh?” Minho sniffed, “I suppose we were wrong about the human warlock theory.”

“Very,” you nodded, taking a huge bite of your chicken leg before turning it over. “He hardly got a chance to summon Yuth’ik.”

“Chan said you got there in the nick of time,” Han said, forking mashed potatoes into his mouth. “He said he might have gotten killed if you hadn't come along.”

“And that he inherited his mother's skin,” Minho sipped an ale cup before saying, “Well done, Multak. I told you we'd have this thing finished by supper.”

You both grinned at one another before digging into your supper.

****

The festivities carried on through the night into morning. You crashed into your bed upstairs and passed out instantly. When you left your room for the common area downstairs the next morning, you were met with applause. This reaction startled you, But not as much as the praise.

“Thank you, YN!” Fred Pebbles came over from the bar and lifted you into a bear hug. “From me and mine, thank you!”

“Woah, okay!” You laughed out your surprise.

“We mean it,” Wilma walked up from behind him, holding out something to you. “Here, take this as a thank you.”

Made of pure tiger's eye, someone engraved the blazing sun into the small charm. It hung from a thick string that glistened in the sunlight.

“It's a tiger's eye,” she explained. “My people wear certain stones for different things. This charm will protect you on future quests.”

“Appreciated, Matriarch.”

She smiled at the elvish title. “No, thank you. Barney is our only son. When we heard he'd been taken, we thought he'd be dead for sure. It was by the light's grace that you showed up when you did.” You saw her watery eyes and hugged her tightly.

It then occurred to you that The Pebbles' weren't the only ones with tokens of gratitude. When Wilma and Fred left, the other parents met you outside. Sanghee’s grandmother gifted you a valerian plant, meant to bring strength and knowledge to you. Dobin's father and mother gave you a wolf tooth, a special gift given to allies of specific werewolf packs; Hyeyoung's werecat parents did something similar with a cat claw. But, it was the children who warmed you the most.

“There's the demon lady!” Dobin said from across the square.

They'd all been standing in the middle of the market with Han, who smiled at you. “Well, go on,” he encouraged, “Jump her.”

You flinched at the gaggle of children coming your way. They didn't jump on you, but they surrounded you.

“Do you really have a flaming sword?”

“Can you make people turn into dust?”

“Hyeyoung said you set the spider man on fire!”

“Ms. Demon Lady, did you die?!”

You didn't know which one to answer first. However, their barrage of questions ended when Chan appeared.

“Come on now,” he said, shepherding them away, “Don't crowd YN. You got school.”

The children groaned in disappointment, but still walked away. You fixed your jacket on your shoulders, watching them going towards the schoolhouse. Most people you helped handed you the money, and then sent you on your way. The people in those towns usually didn't know you'd helped them at all; they only cared when their own people rushed into danger. Yet, the cold reception you received when you arrived turned warm and friendly.

“You've become pretty popular around here,” Chan told you. “You're all the kids have been talking about.”

“And clearly their opinion is the only one that matters,” you smiled in amusement. “How are the kids doing?”

“They're still shaken up, since, you know, a spider hybrid kidnapped them and planned on sacrificing them to a tree god,” he answered, “But they're happy to be back home. Thanks to you.”

“And you,” you added. “How's your chest? That bolt hit you pretty bad.”

“Minho took care of it for me,” he shrugged, though you noticed the slight wince when he did. “It just stings. Nothing to worry about.” He then fished in his pocket to withdraw a leather pouch, “The mayor wanted me to pass this onto you. Your payment.”

You opened the pouch to see dozens gold and silver coins in the bottom of the bag. With an approving nod, you already budgeted what amount went to what expense.

“So, um, where do you plan to go now?” Chan asked you, hands in his pockets as he walked with you to the stables behind the White Pearl. “You can always pick up other jobs around here. Someone always needs help. Mrs. Young still has a boar problem; she says they keep eating her cabbages. I didn't know they even ate cabbage,” he added with a soft laugh.

You chuckled, coming up to Summer's stable. Your horse kicked the ground gently, a greeting. “As tempting as Mrs. Young's boars sound, Summer and I were planning on heading to the capital.” You pet Summer's snout, smiling softly as she huffed. “Don't worry. We'll take a ferry there.”

Chan stayed silent, then said, “Um, that might be a problem.”

“How come?”

“The ferry isn't running right now,” he said, thumbs hooked in his pockets. “Our local sea serpent has been seen close to the bay, and the King declared the ferry closed to keep people safe. You know these sea monsters. They like knocking boats over and eating people.”

“The King said this?” You faced him, arms crossed in disbelief. “I didn't hear anything about that.”

“It came in an hour ago,” he said. “Private government papers and other boring stuff. The damn thing nearly swallowed a whole navy ship, so imagine a little transport ferry. Psh, they'd stand no chance.”

Not once did you ever hear a royal decree not being posted or spoken about anywhere. Looking over Chan, you noticed the slight curls in his black hair, pushed back from his face and left to grow out. Brown eyes looked at you with a twinkle of hope inside them. You supposed you could stay a little bit longer. It isn't as if you had important business anywhere else. Levanter Bay did not seem to be a terrible place; the sunshine is something to be desired, but the people were actually nice. You touched the tiger's eye necklace you'd been given, as if rubbing it might produce an answer.

“I guess we can hang around here,” you said casually. “What do you think, Summer?” You asked your horse, “Want to hang around here for a bit?” You laughed when she grazed on the hay inside a feed bag. “I guess that's a ‘yes’.”

“Great,” Chan grinned. “That's really great.”

“Looks like you're in luck then,” you walked up to him, casually, “You'll have someone help your station get out from under the bounties up on that board.”

“I'm not proudful. We could use a demon in this town. Except, maybe one that doesn't burn down a whole cave because of a few spiders.”

“There were more than ‘a few’,” you punched his shoulder, but he only laughed. “There were hundreds, and I took out a good amount before everyone else joined in. I noticed you, Sheriff, didn't fight any spiders.”

“I was fighting the biggest one!”

The two of you talked about Maurice and his disgusting army on the way back to the inn. You had enough gold to buy you food and board at the inn, and you actually liked Changbin and Honey didn't scare Summer.

It's not such a bad place after all.

***

A/N: Wow, my first Stray Kids fic (well, a real one. The last one doesn't count too much to me). I hope you guys really enjoyed this one! I have one for each of the members coming up soon! Like, comment, and reblog! it keeps posts alive <3

Episode 2 >

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