#jongdae scenario | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

eomayas · 11 months

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exo getting caught simping for you

a/n: it’s ok to be a simp! some are suggestive (jongdae, baekhyun, sehun) this is a bit long btw!

minseok: “i miss you,” he says into the phone, cradling it to his ear. he can practically hear your smile when you respond with i miss you too. “what are you doing right now?” he asks, pulling the blanket closer to his chin and snuggling deeper in the bed. minseok wishes it was you that he was lying with, and not these hotel pillows.

“talking to you,” you reply cheekily. minseok giggles at this the way only a person in love would. “baby, you should probably get some sleep. you have a show tomorrow.” you say and he sighs, his bottom lip jutting out slightly.

“but i want to talk to you!” he whines, somewhat like a child would. you only scoff and tell him that he can call you in the morning after he’s had some rest. “fine. i love you, honey!” he says, just as the hotel door opens and jongin and baekhyun walk in, jongin making a face at him and baekhyun laughing.

“i love you, honey!” jongin mocks, bursting into a fit of giggles. “is that jongin?” you ask, amusement in your voice.

minseoks cheeks turn red. “yes, goodnight, y/n,” he says, rushing to get off of the phone.

“don’t hang up on me!” you say, letting out a light laugh at his embarrassment.

“y/n,” he groans, burying his face into the pillow. jongin and baekhyun are quietly waiting for him to say something so cheesy and incriminating, so that they can use it against him later.

you giggle and sigh. “alright. goodnight minseokie, i love you. tell jongin i love him too,” you say, blowing him a kiss into the phone before hanging up. minseok would have blown one back, but he is already getting mocked by his younger members and can’t handle the teasing he’s going to get for the next few days.

“minseokie!” baekhyun yells, making smooching sounds at him. jongin giggles and joins in, the two men jumping onto his bed and shouting the nickname and pretending to be you on the phone.

minseok wishes he was dead.

junmyeon: “please don’t leave,” your boyfriend groans, burying his face into your neck, holding you close to him. you rub your hands up and down his back soothingly. “come with?” he asks, pulling back to look up at you with wide eyes.

“no,” you say, punctuating it with a kiss. suho let’s out a groan and a fake cry, and you laugh. “you’re such a baby.” you say, running your hands through his hair.

“yours,” he says quietly, and you smile, squeezing him tightly before patting his back and telling him that he needs to get ready to leave. junmyeon stands up straight and looks down at you, a dejected look i’m his face.

“oh my god, you’re so dramatic!” you say, and he cracks a small smile. you gently whack him on the chest and clutches your hand in his, settling it over his heart. “it’s only a few days.” you say, rubbing his forearm with your free hand.

junmyeon juts out his bottom lip slightly. “i dont know what i’ll do without you,” he says, and a brief snort makes you both perk up and look around for culprit, finding sehun wheeling his suitcase behind him.

“you’re so dramatic,” sehun says to junmyeon, laughing at his leader and older friend. junmyeons face sobers, turning bright red at his youngest member making fun of him and seeing him in such a vulnerable state.

“go away,” junmyeon all but whines and stomps his foot as he says it, making you giggle at him. he rolls his eyes at you and you wave goodbye to sehun who (for once) listens to what junmyeon tells him to do. “this isn’t funny.”

“it kind of is,” you say, grabbing his hands and pulling him closer to you. he continues to pout, even after you cradle his face in your hands and smush his cheeks together. “i love you, junmy.” you say. he only hums in response and you gasp, letting go of him. “say it back, asshole!”

he smiles and pulls you back towards him. “i love you, y/n,” he says, his voice sincere. junmyeon puts his hands on your hips and leans down to your level, brushing his nose with yours. he gets close to your lips and you pull back slightly.

“i’m gonna miss you,” you whisper, looking into his eyes. he gives you a soft smile, and this time you let him kiss you, wrapping your arms around his neck and pulling him close. it’s probably too intimate of a kiss for public, but neither of you show any signs of caring.

“we’re leaving without you!” minseok and jongin shout, breaking up your kiss with your man. junmyeon sighs and goes back to pouting almost immediately, and you gently push him away from you and towards his group members who are starting to board the jet. “hurry up, lover boy!” minseok shouts before disappearing into the jet.

“go,” you say, pulling away from him at last. junmy sighs again, finally starting to head towards the jet, looking over his shoulder at you dramatically like they do in the movies. you giggle at that and wave once he gets up to the door of the plane. “i love you!” you shout, and rather than getting a response from him, the rest of the exos shout. “i love you too!”

baekhyun: you smile at your boyfriend on facetime as he hums absentmindedly. he’s looking away from the camera, and you get a nice view of his side profile. “baek,” you say, resting the side of your head in your palm.

“hmm?” he says and turns to the camera, a soft smile on his face. you smile back at him, hearts probably taking the shape of your eyes.

“i love you,” you say, suddenly feeling very embarrassed. he smiles wide, showing his teeth and making his eyes crinkle.

“i love you too,” he says. you hear a door open on his side, and he turns around to greet whoever it is. “hey, junmyeon. say hi to y/n.” he says, moving the camera to show his leader. junmyeon crosses him arms over his his bare chest, trying to shield himself from you.

“hi, y/n. sorry i’m not dressed, i just showered,” he says apologetically.

“it’s alright,” you reply.

“what do you mean it’s alright?” baekhyun shouts, turning the camera back to his face, sporting an incredulous expression.

you roll your eyes. “you know what i meant,” you say.

“you should only be alright with seeing me naked,” baekhyun says.

“i’m more than okay with that,” you say, and he smiles. he pretends to lift his shirt up, and junmyeon yells at him to stop, not while he’s still digging for his pajamas. you only giggle and add, “you can get naked whenever.”

“can you wait a second!?” junmyeon yells, frantically digging around his bag for his clothing so he can lock himself in the bathroom and get away from you and baekhyun.

jongdae: “you know i miss you,” you say into the phone, a hand on your chest, right over your heart where jongdae lives.

“yeah? how much?” he asks teasingly, a big smile on his face. he leans his shoulder into the wall and crosses one leg behind the other.

“a lot,” you reply, unable to contain your smile. so far, every conversation you’ve had with him since he’s been gone on tour. "she misses you too." you add coolly, biting the inside of your cheek.

jongdae's cheeks tinge pink and he looks down at the floor. "yeah?" he manages, putting a hand on the back of his neck, his face only getting redder at the thought of you. its been too long since hes had you.

"mhm. we miss you a lot."

he only smiles to himself and says "both of you can show me how much when i get back," just as the door to the practice room opens and kyungsoo enters, his eyes narrowed in jongdae's direction. when jongdae blushes bright red at getting caught, kyungsoo raises his eyebrows, a knowing smirk on his face. "baby, i gotta go." he says, clearing his throat and straightening his posture.

on the other line, you frown. "fine. but you are upsetting us." jongdae glances over at kyungsoo who has taken a seat on the floor, preoccupied with his phone.

"i'll make it up to you," he says, turning his back to kyungsoo's direction. "swear i will. just be good." he says lowly, already embarrassed from kyungsoo walking in on the both of you having borderline phone sex.

"don't know if i can do that, dae. we really miss you. she's getting lonely; nothing feels as good as you do," you sigh, resting your head on the couch pillow.

jongdae forces himself to think about anything other than your words in order to stop a tent from forming in his pants. "kyungsoo is here," he mutters, many minutes too late.

you gasp. "oh my god, jongdae! can he hear me?" you panic, irritated that he let it get that far with an audience.

"i dont think so?" your fiancee replies, his voice unsure.

"oh my god, bye, jongdae," you say, and hang up before he can get another word in. jongdae lets out a breath and squeezes his eyes shut, trying to rid his brain of images of you on top and underneath him.

turning around and sliding his phone back into his pocket, jongdae starts walking over to kyungsoo. kyungsoo lifts his eyes from his phone at the sound of jongdaes footsteps and says, "you should really turn your phone volume down," making jongdae stop in his tracks get insanely red in the face, embarrassment flooding his body.

chanyeol: "wait, listen to this real quick," chanyeol says, scrolling through his laptop to find the track he had showed you a few weeks ago. he's changed a few things and added more drums and a flute--he really values your opinion on his music and wants you to hear what hes made.

you wait patiently for him to click play. the opening notes make you smile as you remember the way you told him he should let them play before he stacks them and blends the sounds together. "replay that part," you say when you hear something new.

chanyeol rewinds a few seconds and presses play before asking, "this part?"

you listen and gasp when you hear it again. "yes! pause it!" you shout over the phone. "did you add a violin?" you ask, a smile on your face.

chanyeol smiles at the phone, impressed with the way you've enhanced your musical knowledge and have noticed little things, like the violin strings that are stacked behind drums. "i did," he says, proudly.

you sigh in awe of him. "yeolie you're so... you're so cool," you gush, like a little schoolgirl talking to her crush. everything about chanyeol amazes you and makes you smile, and yes, maybe it’s because you’re in love with him, but you also would like to think that it would be this way even if you weren’t, if you were just friends or some fan.

chanyeol can’t help but blush at your words, the tips of his ears turning red in the way that you love. “aw, he’s blushing!” jongin says, taking the phone away from chanyeol to tell you. you smile, your heart swelling at the image your brain conjures up.

“are his ears turning red?” you ask and chanyeol yells in protest, only making his blush deepen.

“of course,” jongin replies, ducking out of reach when chanyeol swings to hit him. you only giggle and sigh, feeling mildly upset that you are not there to witness one of you favorite things ever.

“give me back my phone!” chanyeol says, reaching around jongin for it, but the younger man is too quick and gets out of the desk chair and crosses the studio in record time.

“you know, he’s made, like, four songs for you. i don’t know why he didn’t show you one of those,” he says, a devilish grin on his face, though he’s telling the truth. at this admission, chanyeol launches himself from his seat. “i’m sorry! please! here, take it back!” he pleads, holding out his phone for chanyeol to take back and shielding his body from the blows that don’t come.

“shut the fuck up,” chanyeol groans at jongin, taking the phone off speaker and it putting it to his ear. “ignore him.” he says to you, running a hand through his hair.

“…so you didn’t write four songs for me?” you question. chanyeol bites the inside of his cheek, not ready to admit that yes, he did write four songs for you, most of which have lyrics that he hasn’t let anybody hear. “yeol.”

“hmm?” he says, settling back into his chair at the engineering table, his face burning. you smile, because you’ve got your answer.

kyungsoo: you run your hands over kyungsoo's newly shaved head, grimacing a bit when you run your hands the opposite direction of the cut and the follicles prick your fingers. "you don't like it?" he asks after seeing your face.

"i love it, actually. just feels weird," you say, dragging your hands down to the sides of his face and smiling down at him. kyungsoo gives you a small smile. he turns his head to the side and kisses the inside of your palm, your heart melting in your chest. "hi." you say shyly, kyungsoo leaning into your touch.

he smiles up at you, his eyes crinkling around the edges. "hi, pretty," he says, and you could just die. you remove your hands from the sides of his face and put them on his shoulders and adjust yourself in his lap so you are fully facing him and your legs are on either side of him, knees resting on the couch. kyungsoo laces his hands together behind your back, loosely holding you against him. “you look really pretty today.”

“just today?”

kyungsoos cheek turn a light shade of pink. “always,” he says, you smile at him and lean down to place a gentle kiss on his lips. the door to the lounge opens, and all 7 of the exos walk in loudly.

“y/n!” they shout when they see you on kyungsoos lap, making kyungsoo and you pull apart resignedly. irritation is etched on your boyfriends face at the interruption, and you gently pinch his cheek before moving to turn around.

“hi, you gu- kyungsoo, let me get up,” you say when he holds you tightly on his lap, making you turn around uncomfortably to greet the other members. at your request, kyungsoo let’s you get up with a sigh, holding onto the back of your skirt so you don’t accidentally flash the men behind you. “you guys did great tonight!” you compliment when you’re finally standing up and facing them.

a conversation breaks out, and you don’t notice when you lean against the couch and drape your arm over kyungsoos shoulder, gently stroking the side of his face. you both hold hands with your free one, and he rubs the inside of your palm with his thumb.

it’s only when you notice chanyeol cut his eyes at you and kyungsoo being so clingy that you smile. “kyungsoo, i’ve never seen you act like this!” he says, his eyes wide.

“like what?” kyungsoo asks absentmindedly, looking up at you with eyes that make your knees weak and your heart beat faster.

“so cheesy, and-“ kyungsoo snaps his head to look at chanyeol, daring him to finish his sentence. chanyeol closes his mouth, a nervous smile on his face just from a look from kyungsoo alone. the other members wait in silence, as do you, with amusement on their face, waiting for chanyeol to continue and claim his fate or to surrender. “never mind.” he says, waving kyungsoo off.

a collective giggle is let out in the room, and kyungsoo looks up at you with wide eyes, unaware of the effect he has on people.

jongin: “here,” jongin says softly, holding out his fork in front of your face. you try to take it out of his hands and he pulls it back, shaking his head. “let me do it.” he says, a shy smile on his face.

you comply and open your mouth, letting him feed you. “is it good?” he asks, watching you with so much love in his eyes it’s slightly overwhelming. you nod and give him a thumbs up, swallowing the food. jongin smiles and gives you a soft kiss on your lips.

this goes for the rest of the night; he’ll present food in front of your face and wait for you to open up to feed you, ask you if it’s good, and then kiss you. it’s sweet, really, and you don’t think anything of it, even after the rest of the exos join you for your meal.

sometimes you feed jongin, but most of the time he steals it off your plate or you put it on his. it becomes second nature for you both. “ooh, let me try that,” you say, pointing to the dessert that kyungsoo places down in front of jongin. your boyfriend cuts off a piece, giving you the first bite.

you accept the food and your eyes widen as you taste it. “kyungsoo, this is really good!” you say after you chew and swallow. he gives you a kind smile and thanks you.

jongin already has another bite of food waiting for you when you turn back to ask him, and you accept it with a smile on your face. he can only smile back, resisting the urge to grab your face and just kiss you until the sun rises, his group members be damned.

the man made sound of a whip cracking makes you and jongin snap your head in the direction, eyes falling on jongdae, minseok, baekhyun, and junmyeon all giggling, or holding back laughs. you smirk and look over at jongin, who wears an annoyed expression. “whatever,” he mumbles. you rub his back and he leans into you, making the situation worse because even kyungsoo joins in on the teasing, pantomiming cracking a whip and making the noise as well.

sehun: you cage your arms around him and put your chin on the center of his chest, looking up at him. sehun looks down at you with a small smile. “you’re cute,” he says, and if his arms weren’t pressed so tightly against his sides he’d boop your nose.

“so are you,” you say to him, loosening your hold around him and instead wrapping your arms around his waist.

“i know,” he says, and you roll your eyes. sehun moves hair out of your face and leans down to place a kiss on your lips. “cmon, let’s finish.” he says, sliding out of your grip. the two of you had choreographed a dance to a song you both liked, and had been using the exo practice room for a few hours now.

you nod and he jogs over to the speaker to play the song again, and then comes back to get into the starting position. you watch yourself in the mirror as you hit all of the moves, your feet feeling like they barely touch the floor. sehun watches you too, getting lost in the way that you move so freely, like you’re weightless and gravity isn’t any concern of yours.

he misses a few steps and you notice, smirking at him through the mirror. “keep up, lover boy,” you say, doing the last few moves as the song comes to a close. you wipe your sweaty forehead with the hem of your shirt, and sehun comes over to you, just as the door to the practice room opens. you turn and wave at jongdae, and he greets you and sehun with a wave, his phone pressed to his ear.

sehun takes this moment to pull you closer to him by your shirt. you let out a light laugh at him, and awkwardly keep your hands off of him because youre both sweaty. “i’m all gross,” you say.

“me too,” and he leans down and kisses you, his hands sticking to your skin through your shirt. you hold onto his arms, cringing at the feeling of sticky skin on sticky skin, and pull away.

“it’s too gross,” you say, making a face. sehun frowns at you, and you have to hold back a smile.

“you think i’m gross?”

“when we’re both sweaty? yes,” you say say, putting your hands on your hips.

“i like you when you’re sweaty,” sehun replies. “i like you when you’re all dirty.” he adds, making you exclaim in protest and draw the attention of jongdae, who just gives you both a disgusted look.

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proudahgase-exol · 10 months

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Sex and after sex with exo

Ot9

I'm adding Jongdae because I want to 😁

This is 18+ if your a minor please skip 😊 🔞

Tbh I don't know what I was thinking when I made this all I know I had this idea at 3:40 am 😁 I hope you like this mess 😅

Xiumin:

He will like to have sex on the bed, and he also would like to do any position but his favorite might be doggy he seems to be that kind of man. He also might like to have sex in the couch if he feels like it.

After sex: he will clean you both up with a warm towel but if you had multiple rounds he will give you a bath and make sure your comfy in some soft clothes will cuddle well making a small conversation as you fall asleep on his chest.

Suho:

He would most likely have sex on the bed or couch on the bed he will have full power but on the couch, you take control he likes it when your ride him he will have a glass of wine in one hand well the other one is on your ass. He's sometimes supper soft and sweet but when he's stressed he will take it out on you by being rough. He likes to choke you and make you beg.

After sex: He’s a big aftercare guy who will make sure you all clean up and comfortable on the bed if he was rough he will be super gentle and kiss the bruises he left will give you a glass of water and cuddle you well he plays with your hair.

Lay:

He would also like to have sex on the couch or bed, he will most likely ask you to take control because he likes it when you dominate him, he also might like to have sex in his studio when he’s not too busy or when he super horny.

After sex: he will be super soft and sweet he will ask you to keep him inside for a bit but then he will get up and clean you up then he will cuddle you to sleep.

Baekhyun:

He’s a freak so anywhere we’re he can have you bend over it will be more than okay. he loves to slap your ass and leave marks. kitchen, bathroom, bedroom couch, stairs, bed anywhere he thinks it’s good to fuck he will and he also might record it for when he’s away and he misses you.

After sex: he will be super lazy to get up and clean you both up so you will have to do it yourself so when you try to stand up you will complain about how sore you are so he will get up and clean you both up but he will be teasing the shit out of you for that.

Jongdae:

He seems to like sex anywhere too but for some reason I see him having sex on the bedroom only he will catch you off guard sometimes it’s vanilla and sometimes is rough it all depends on his mood. When he wants vanilla he will go all out some nice home cook dinner and a movie then go from there, but when he wants it rough it shows just prepare yourself for a long night.

After sex: he will be super sweet clean you up well kiss the bruises and tells you that you were so good to him will make sure you're all comfortable before he gets next to you and cuddles you he might sing you to sleep (he have such a beautiful voice I love him)

Chanyeol:

At his studio….. he would love to record you guys having sex he loves the noise you make. He might also like car sex when he’s super horny he might love it when he’s driving and you're giving him a blowjob he likes to have passionate sex but when he’s angry or stressed he will fuck your brains out and make you beg him to stop but we both know we won't till he tired.

After sex: if you had sex in the studio he will clean you up and help you get dressed then he will make his studio couch, comfy for you he will pull some blankets and pillows out so you can take a nap well he finish working. But when you're at home he will refuse to get you clean up if he was gonna screw you again in a few hours.

Kyungsoo:

Shower sex or bedroom when he feels super romantic he will have sex on the bed but if he’s in the shower with you he will get had and just push you against the wall and fuck your right then and there he also will be into choking it turns him on.

After sex: he will ask you multiple times if you are okay or if he hurt you then he will get you clean up and cuddle you as you watch a movie or have a conversation he will rub your back softly till you both fall asleep

Kai:

For sure dance practice sex when you go and visit him he will ask you to join him and that will escalate into something more. It will be floor sex our mirror sex it all depends you also will get either Kai or Jongin one is rough and the other one is soft but both will mess you up and leave you sore.

After sex: if it was at the studio he will get you both dressed without getting cleaned up then will rush to get home to take a bath if you are lucky you might end up having bath sex but if not he will get you to bed and cuddle and will give you little kisses here and there

Sehun:

This mother fuckerlooks like he will enjoy car sex he likes the risk, and he will also like window sex he’s all about the risk of getting caught. He might also like to have sex on the living room or kitchen of the dorms. He seems to have strong stamina so a lot of sex with him he also will like it when you seat on his face he loves it.

After sex: you will take turns cleaning each other up and after he will take you to eat. If he sees you walk funny he will make fun of you and tease you then he will carry you around because he will feel bad but still proud.

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paintingwhiteceilings · 8 months

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❃EXO as roommates❃

a/n: I know most people are here for the svt posts but it’s been a while since I have done an exo one. I literally just pre-ordered D.O.’s albums; I am already delusional as is without getting new do kyungsoo content :’)

Anyway, bc of having lived in a studio apartment complex, I well aware that nothing breaks or makes living in student housing more than roommates. CURSE YOU BONGO DUDE I AM STILL NOT OVER YOU WAKING ME UP AT MIDNIGHT WITH YOUR LACK OF RHYTHM.

Xiumin/Minseok: 7/10

✾ He would nag the entire time that the house is not clean enough and that you left your shit lying around. Whoever said that student housing tends to be messy has not met Xiumin.

✾ He has been cleaning ever since he moved in and will not stop until he has moved out. Xiumin will scold you when you try to help him out as you are ‘not cleaning right’, whatever that means. Fortunately, that means he will rarely ask you to help him with the chores so you still get to enjoy a clean house without having to put the effort in.

✾ Honestly, his healthy lifestyle choices kind of motivate you to do better. He will definitely take you with him to the gym when you let it drop that you might be interested in getting in shape. Free gym coach, basically.

✾ He organizes roommate days weekly where the two of you spend planned time together because he believes that roommates should become/be friends.

Suho/Junmyeon: 9/10

✾ He will adopt you as one of his children. The moment you step foot in your shared housing, he has accepted that he has yet another child to take care of and no, you can’t convince him otherwise.

✾ He takes care of you and makes you feel right at home; he is the definition of the mom friend. Are you having trouble making new friends? He will introduce you to his. Have you been too busy studying and forgotten to eat? He will drop by the grocery store.

✾ The only downside to roommate Suho is that he can be overbearing and slightly judgy. You will hear “I am not mad, just disappointed” a lot when you, for instance, decide to go to out with your friends during finals. Apparently, that is irresponsible.

✾ Did you really move out of your parent’s home, or did you just replace your parents with Suho?

Baekhyun: -10000/10

✾ He drives you absolutely insane and makes you regret moving in with him. Nobody is safe from his teasing and antics and you are stuck with it until the lease is up.

✾ He convinces you to divide the chores through games that he somehow always ends up winning. He has not done any chores since he moved in and he somehow keeps convincing you that this is the fairest way to determine who has to do the dishes.

✾ Boundaries, what boundaries? Locked doors will not keep him out. He will definitely throw himself on your bed telling you all about the drama of people you do not know when you are trying to study for an important test in the quiet solitude of your room. If you’re home, he will not leave you alone.

✾ Always spontaneously invites people over and forgets to text you about it. At this point, all his friends have seen you in your comfy but definitely not fashionable clothes.

Chen/Jongdae: -1000000000000/10

✾ He. Is. So. Loud.

✾ The walls are way too thin to live with him. You can always hear him before you even see him. The type to wake you up in the middle of the night or early in the morning because he has no awareness of how loud he truly is.

✾ It wouldn’t even be such a problem, but bro never shuts up either. If he is not talking, he is constantly singing or humming. Chen truly doesn't have an off button.

✾ Add to the loudness problem that Chen is a morning person. He is so chirpy in the morning, singing a song on top of his lungs whilst he eats his breakfast. I wouldn’t even be surprised if he is the type to try and have full on conversations with you minutes after you’ve woken up, getting offended when your replies are curt.

✾ You had to ban game nights because he gets too competitive, whining so incredibly loudly every time he loses. One time the neighbours filed a noise complaint and he still maintains he wasn’t that loud.

Chanyeol: 8/10

✾ A really fun person to live with if you like a very present roommate. He will constantly ask you to hang out and play games or watch movies because he can’t be alone for five minutes. However, compared to Baekyhun, his energy is a lot more chill.

✾ He will spend a lot of money on random geeky stuff, filling up the entire shared apartment with figurines, posters and that one Halloween costume that definitely was way too expensive. I can see him being the type to have a hallway full of boxes of stuff he ordered online. He has no idea of what actually is in them because he ordered it impulsively so long ago.

✾ Despite you living in student housing, he will make sure the interior looks stunning. He cares way too much about everything matching and will not allow you to place anything in the house without discussing it with him first. You can’t really be mad at it because your place looks like an Ikea showroom.

✾ Docking points because he will be either playing music or games at night. Trust me, nothing is worse than having someone practice their instrument when you are trying to sleep (Curse you bongo dude). All you can hear is him practising the same guitar riffs over and over again.

D.O./Kyungsoo: 6.5/10

✾ Listen, his cooking is amazing, it would make being his roommate worthwhile. He will always make enough food for the both of you, and if you do not dine together, he will leave his leftovers for you in the fridge to try. He genuinely enjoys cooking for others and is happy to try out new recipes on you.

✾ That being said, living with him is more like calmly co-existing in the same space. He will only talk to you when absolutely necessary and it takes him a long while to really open up to you (if he does at all).

✾ He respects your personal space and wants you to respect his, meaning he won’t go out of his way to spend time together. Being roommates does not automatically mean that you have to be/are friends in his book. If you click, that’s neat, but don’t expect him to invite you over for game nights for the first few months.

✾ He is definitely the passive-aggressive roommate that sends you a text over the smallest of things. Why confront you face-to-face when can send you a 2 AM text telling you to pick up that one sock that fell out of your laundry basket?

Kai/Jongin: 6/10

✾ He is an absolute sweetie, do not get me wrong. With his friendly and bubbly personality, he will try his hardest to become friends with his roommates. He will take every initiative to organize roommate events such as game nights, clubbing, etc.

✾ That being said, do not leave him alone in the kitchen, he will definitely accidentally set it on fire and you will be the one that has to clean up because do we really trust him after that? We have all seen his attempts at cooking, it never fails to be a disaster, so guess who is in charge of cooking from then on.

✾ Who needs matching cups and plates? Not you because he has shattered at least one of each set. Do not get too attached to your worldly possessions because Kai will knock them over or drop them on accident.

✾ He genuinely wants to help out with chores but he is so clumsy you still end up doing most of them. You can’t even be mad at him because, well, it is Kai.

Sehun: 2/10

✾ Is he even your roommate? You have no idea, he rarely helps out with anything. He has been so spoiled that he refuses to lift a finger and at this point, you feel brainwashed because he is getting away with it.

✾ If you are younger than him, he will be paying for everything you guys need, so that is a win. If not, be prepared for your bank account to take a massive hit because “the oldest should pay.”

✾ You guys get a lot of free stuff as Sehun knows to subtly let it drop to his friends, mostly Suho, that you guys direly need something. All of his friends basically function as sugar daddies, and neither of you is complaining about the free toilet paper.

✾ The type of roommate that judges your outfits and comments “Are you really going to wear that?” and leaves you on read when you text him about rent. He can be nice but tends to choose violence every time he wakes up. I hope that you’ve got thick skin.

✾ Despite his snarky comments, you know that he genuinely appreciates and cares for you based on how clingy he is. Good luck going clubbing without him. Your phone will keep buzzing with texts asking you when you will be home because he is too scared to sleep without another person present in the house.

masterlist

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cstlji · 3 days

Text

friday nights || byun baekhyun

1:34 AM 250424

word count: longer than i expected

pairing: byun baekhyun x reader (ft. im changkyun)

description: baekhyun ignores you for an entire week, and you don't know why.

genre: bestfriends to lovers!au, jealous!baekhyun, mutual pining, angst-ish, fluff after lmao

a/n: kinda rushed ending (?) lmk if you guys want a part 2 or a longer version!

You and Baekhyun have been best friends ever since you both got stood up by your dates on prom night. You vividly remember Baekhyun's reaction as your dates began making out in the middle of the dancefloor, leaving you both partnerless — and almost miserable. So, you invited him that exact moment to ditch the night and have some fun of your own, basically and invitation to sit on the gutter as you eat your melting ice cream.

But, that was a story for another time - now you’re in your third year of college. Your friendship’s been that long, and you swore, the last time you checked, the platonic energy between the both of you was almost tangible. Although you had a moments when romantic thoughts about him invaded your mind.

You swore it were mere milliseconds, though – and that you didn't think about how his hands could perfectly fit in yours and, how sweet his lips would've tasted like. Nothing of that sort, really. You knew that the both of you were awfully platonic, and nothing more. You didn't want to entertain thoughts of you and him together romantically, because it would never happen. Plus, you went out on a date last week.

You and Changkyun were totally hitting it off. And you would've told Baekhyun about him, but he's been ignoring you for the past 5 days. No calls, texts, nothing. Everytime you'd visit him on his breaks, he's always be out, or busy, or just not in the mood — which rarely happened.

So, you planned to corner him into telling you what's wrong. You really had no clue, but you've got a feeling that it had something to do with you. It was your break, and you checked your phone for Baekhyun's schedule. You both exchanged schedules the beginning of the semester, which is also probably why he'd been successful in avoiding you.

There was an overlap between your schedules. His class would end at around the same time as yours would start. But you were really determined to know what the hell's wrong you could just be late to class for a couple of minutes. And after a long, painful wait — catch him, you did.

He walked out with two of his friends, who you knew as Minseok and Jongdae. It was Minseok who spotted you first. He called Baekhyun and pointed at your direction.

"Hey, Y/N." Minseok waved at you, and so did Jongdae. You smiled and waved back as Baekhyun's eyes widened.

"Go on first, I'll catch up later." He told his friends, his eyes avoiding your gaze. The two walked off after saying goodbye.

"What are you doing here?" Baekhyun held your arm, gently pulling you to the side.

"You were avoiding me for a week, what's up?" You asked, eyeing him carefully. He reached to the nape of his neck. He removed his cap, fixed his hair, and put it back again.

"I... wasn't avoiding you," he said, still avoiding your eyes. You weren't convinced, so you pulled his face to meet yours.

"There, see!" you exclaimed, "you avoided my eyes again. What's wrong, Baek?"

"Nothing," he muttered. He glanced down his wristwatch, and urged you to move. "You're literally five minutes late to your class, get moving dumbass."

"No, I'm not leaving 'til you tell me what's wrong. Is it something I said? or did? Or, like, did something happen to your family? Come on, talk to me, don't shut me out like this."

You were honestly nervous, you feared that the friendship you had would be gone in a blink if you didn't do this.

Baekhyun sighed, and met your eyes. You heart dropped to your stomach. It felt different from his usual teasing glints, there were hints of longing. His eyes glossed a little, eyes bloodshot red. You immediately reached to his face, and his eyes closed and he leaned to your touch.

"Baek," you sighed softly, "have you not been sleeping?"

"Mmhm," Baekhyun hummed, hand on top of your hand on his cheek. "Let's...talk later." His eyes met yours this time.

You nodded with a soft, gentle smile. "Of course. Come over later? Let's watch a movie tonight." Your thumb ghosted over his cheek.

"But that's for Friday?"

You swore you saw Baekhyun frown a little from the loss of touch as you retreat your hand from his cheek, but you decided you were just crazy and that it wasn't like that.

You shrug, hands on your pocket. "We could do it like, two days earlier, it's fine."

"Why? So you could ditch on me and go on a date again?" He blurted out.

You audibly gasp, earning stares from passerbys. Your hand flew to your open mouth. "What do you mean? I didn't ditch you, I asked you if it was okay and you said yes!"

"I didn't!"

"You did! I even have the text messages here if you need refreshments, dude."

"Don't dude me, Y/N," Baekhyun groaned, rubbing his face roughly. It was an a look of frustration, and you felt it was directed to you.

"Is this why you're mad at me? Because you thought I ditched you?" Your voice slightly trembled. Now you were frustrated and confused.

"No!" he abruptly said, "No, I'm - I'm not mad at you, I just, Friday nights are for us," You internally winced, because you took that in way that isn't how friends should take it as.

"And you — "

"Baekhyun-ah!" You both looked at the direction of the voice. It was Junmyeon who called out with a smile as he approached you. "Oh hey, Y/N, what's up?"

You smiled and tried to push the argument you just had at the back of your mind. "Hi, oppa."

Baekhyun sighed, "What's wrong, hyung?"

"I couldn't find Chanyeol, he told me he'd be with you." Junmyeon's lips parted a lottle, "Did I interrupt you guys?"

"Yeah, we're kinda bu—" You interrupted Baekhyun.

"We just finished talking, oppa," you glance at your watch to avoid Baekhyun's intense gaze. "I have to get to class, I'm suuuper late. See you later!" You waved Junmyeon goodbye, and turned away quickly.

You hear Baekhyun call to you as the distance grew farther. You didn't want to lose Baekhyun over a fight like this, especially when you thought of him in a different light yet again.

~ • ~

Baekhyun's heart broke a little as he looked at you walk away. He let out a heavy sigh as he massaged his eyebrows.

Junmyeon noticed. "Are you good?"

Baekhyun looked up at him and nodded yes. Junmyeon was not convinced though, but he decided not to push it. "Come on, let's meet them."

Baekhyun stayed silent. He moved on autopilot, basically just following Junmyeon's footsteps — but not before looking back to the place you once stood at.

The guys laughed loudly in the middle of the restaurant. Baekhyun and Junmyeon settled down, "Did you get food already?" asked Junmyeon.

"We ordered pasta and pizza, you could order more if you want to, though," Minseok said. "It's Jongdae's treat for missing the last get together."

"Nice."

The guys continued to talk, and joke around. Food kept arriving at their table, and everyone dug in except Baekhyun. He was staring at nothing, just picking on his food with a fork.

"Hyung, are you okay?" Jongin nudged Baekhyun. He looked up, and forced a smile.

"Yeah, of course." There was a moment of silence before Chanyeol broke the ice.

"You guys remember Changkyun?” He asked. Baekhyun’s ears perked up, the name was familiar. Too familiar, in fact. His eyebrows knitted tightly, he couldn’t help it.

“What about him?” Sehun popped a fry in his mouth. Lay tilted his head slightly.

“He’s throwing a party tonight, he invited us.”

“What’s his business inviting us? We don’t even know him,” Baekhyun bitterly spat and did not go unnoticed by his friends.

Chanyeol and Junmyeon exchanged glances with Kyungsoo, who sighed and said, “We can just not go, it’s not a big deal.”

Baekhyun just drew a big sigh and ruffled his hair. To say he was pissed was an understatement. He’d been so bothered about you dating other guys, and he hated the fact that he couldn’t even tell it to you directly.

After all, you both agreed on staying strictly platonic after having witnessed your sister and her then bestfriend get married and divorced on the same year.

“What’s with you, Hyung? You rarely act this way,” Jongin asked, eyes full of concern.

Sehun snickered, “He always acts this way whenever a certain someone’s involved.”

Minseok hummed in agreement. Baekhyun groaned as Kyungsoo spoke, “You mean Y/N?”

“Precisely,” Sehun confirmed with a smirk.

“Aren’t you strictly platonic?” Jongdae asked.

“Yes.” Sadly.

“Huh, so why are you jealous?” Kyungsoo asked.

“I am not jealous.” Lie.

“You definitely are.”

“I’m not.” Yes, he was.

“You like her, don’t you?”

“What?” Yes.

“You do!”

“What are you even —“

“Someone’s got a crush —!”

“I—“

“Just admit it, Hyung!”

“N —“

“Baekhyun —“

“I love her, damn it!”

Silence filled the table. Everyone suddenly laughed out loud after his outburst — they knew you got Baekhyun fucked up in the head and they love to see it.

Now, Baekhyun’s admitted it and there was no going back. He had avoided saying it for the longest time for the fear of it “coming true” when he knew that he had no say in his feelings from the get-go.

“Just tell her, confess, do something,” Kyungsoo said.

“That’s easier said than done.”

“Would you rather lose her to Changkyun?” Lay suddenly spoke up. Baekhyun looked at him, and he knew his hyung made a point. He had to do something.

~ • ~

Time went by fast, and it's been two days since you last saw Baekhyun. Still, no calls nor texts from Baekhyun. You were beginning to doubt your decision of avoiding the conversation — you start to think that you should've let him finish talking before walking out like that.

Is he gonna drop by tonight? It's literally friday, its — its your movie night. Or is he never gonna talk to you, and you end up losing the love of your life?

Wait, no. He's your bestfriend, so you love him, right? Its that kind of love that's purely platonic, isn't it? Plus, you had a date! And you totally hit it off, you swore to god.

Okay, maybe you lied. You and Changkyun were bonding over relationship traumas instead of building up a new relationship. You both had a cup of sweet tea, but the conversations you had left a bitter taste in both your mouths.

Changkyun also mentioned someone he liked, and was in fact, asking for advice. That's why you both set another date for tomorrow, solely for the sake of advices. Besides, you also enjoyed complaining to him about Baekhyun's annoying habits that you secretly liked.

You then pace back and forth, probably hyperventilating and on the verge of another panic attack. You bite on your nails as you watched a late night game show, or atleast tried to watch.

You couldn't focus on it. You sat down, your knees bounced up and down. So you stood, but you kept pacing back and forth. And you'd look at the television, but would later find yourself starting at the clock. You were so immersed that you failed to notice the numerous missed phone calls.

Until the door bell rang. You sprinted towards the door, opened it in one motion.

And there he was, holding a bouquet of roses. He offered a sheepish smile, and offered up the bouquet.

You didn't even realize you've been holding your breath 'til you saw him on your doorstep. You immediately engulfed him with a hug, your tears threatening to spill.

He hugged you back as he buried his face at the crook of your neck. You missed his scent, so much.

You pulled away, "I - I thought you wouldn't — "

He cut you off, "Don't go."

You look at him, confused. You wipe your tear-stained cheeks, settling your hands on his biceps. "What? What do you mean?"

"On that date," he said, eyes intensely on yours. "Don't go on that date, please."

"Well, that's for tomorrow still, I —"

"No, you don't understand. I," Baekhyun took a deep breath. "I don't just mean tonight. I mean, don't ever go on a date with another man. Please."

You were speechless as you watched Baekhyun frown in thought, trying to compose what he wanted to say.

“I,” he paused. He looked his shoes, and licked his lips in anticipation. “I get livid when I think of another man touching you, or holding your hands, and the mere thought of you kissing someone else makes me go insane, you have no idea.

“My heart races when our fingers touch, and I can’t help but want to kiss you when you do something childish. Or when you cry because of a stupid movie — I want to grow old with you, sit under a tree and watch as our children run across the fields. I — I love you. For the longest time, I’ve loved you. I love you, Y/N.”

You were speechless and shaking. Here was the man you longed for, confessing his love to you — and you couldn’t believe it. Your jaw drops, and he looked at you with great intent.

“I love you, too,” you said, tears rolling down your cheeks. “You dumb idiot, what took you so long? I kept it all in, I waited for you for so long! I —“

He captured your lips with his in the softest way possible. A moment lingers as he pulled away,

“I’m sorry for making you wait, Y/N. I —“

You pull him back in, deepening the kiss as you hook your arms around his neck — bodies flushed against each other. He dropped the bouquet, and put his hands on your hips, pulling you closer to him.

“Shut up and kiss me, baby.” You said in between breaths and kisses.

#bbh net #byun baekhyun #exo baekhyun #exo fanfic #exo #exo junmyeon #exo chanyeol #exo jongdae #exo scenarios #exo imagines #baekhyun x you #baekhyun x reader #college au

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mymoodwriting · 7 months

Text

Beyond The Stars

F!Reader x EXO

Genre: Amnesia AU, EXO Universe/Planet

Warning: Amnesia, Manipulation, Lies, Interdimensional Travel, Betrayal

Words: 4.8K

Chapter Seventeen

(Prev//Next)

Prompt: You’re the most important thing to EXO, you’ve been with them for years, and when you wind up missing, it greatly upsets them. Their journey to find you and bring you home starts a chain of events that leads to facing their own greatest fears, making unlikely allies, traveling to other worlds again and finally gathering the strength to take down their greatest enemy. Along the way you get to see their true colors and fall in love all over again, although you might come to realize you don’t like what you see in the mirror.

@suhappysuho @starillusion13

“Destiny? What do you mean?”

“This is a safe haven.” Suho explained. “I’ll show you, but you all have to be calm.”

“You’re not exactly making me feel any better here.” Taeyong commented.

“Just follow me.”

Others were hesitant to follow, but they did so. Lay took your hand and led you along with the group. You looked around, realizing this was some kind of ship, and that brought up so many more questions. At least now it made sense what Suho had said earlier, the ship’s name was Destiny. You came to some steps, although Suho told everyone to give him a moment and went up.

“Captain!”

From below you heard some happy cheers, followed by running. Soon enough you saw someone with Suho and then they noticed you.

“Wow… that’s a lot of stowaways.”

“It’s a long story, but the new faces won’t be staying. They just needed a safe place to stop, hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all. You wouldn’t bring enemies on my ship. Welcome aboard everyone.”

You went up onto the main deck, taking in your surroundings again and being amazed. You weren’t out on the ocean where you would find such a ship, but sailing through the sky. You ran over to the edge to look overboard.

“This is amazing.”

“Careful now, don’t want to lose anyone.”

Xiumin came over and pulled you back, reminding you to behave yourself. You apologized and promised to stay close. You were brought over back to the crowd and over to the gentleman you had seen talking with Suho before.

“We should probably introduce you. Y/n, this is the captain of the ship.”

“It’s nice to meet you.”

“The pleasure is all mine.” The gentleman bowed. “I’m Hongjoong, captain of the Ateez crew, and this is our lovely ship Destiny.”

“It’s wonderful.”

You got to meet the rest of the crew as well and struck up a conversation as the leaders stepped away to talk among themselves.

“I’m Taeyong, leader of NCT. Thanks for allowing us to remain on your ship.”

“A friend of Suho’s is a friend of mine.”

“I want to ask though… how did you meet Suho?”

“He helped us long ago to save our world, and thanks to them we now roam free, always ready to help others. Destiny is our safe place, and for you as well. You’re always welcomed on my ship.”

“Thank you for your hospitality. I hope we cross paths again under better circumstances.”

“I’m sure we will.”

“Do you think you and your people are good to travel?” Suho asked. “Or do you need to rest. I’m sure-”

“No, no, we’re alright.” Taeyong assured. “We should return home and fully rest.”

“Okay then.”

You all gathered to see the Neos off, and you hoped to see them again some time in the future. With the third party gone there was a shift in the atmosphere.

“So what really brought you by?” Hongjoong asked. “You are not one to show up unannounced.”

“I’m here to collect on the favor we’ve asked of you.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Wait.” You asked. “What favor?”

You didn’t answer, but a look was exchanged between Hongjoong and Wooyoung. The other boy went off to the captain’s quarters and returned with an hourglass moments later.

“What is that? It looks so cool.”

“It’s called the Cromer.” Wooyoung explained, handing it over to you. “We don’t use it as much anymore, but it serves another purpose now.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ll see.”

You only pondered on that for a moment before the Cromer floated up into the air and away from you. DO had stepped away from the group, and the Cromer flew over to him. In the blink of an eye the hourglass had shattered, but all the pieces remained in the air. All the glass was separated and you could tell DO was focused on it. One moment there was glass and then it turned to sand. You had no idea what was going on, let alone as Kai stepped forward and allowed the sand to pour down onto his hand.

“What are you doing…” You mumbled.

“Remembering something long forgotten.”

“Why are you going there?” Hongjoong asked.

“We can’t keep running.” Suho stated. “We have to face our enemies head on.”

“What does that mean?” You questioned.

“You’ll find out soon enough.” Chen assured. “Promise.”

“Kai?” Suho said.

“I got it.”

You didn’t know what that meant, but you watched as DO put the Cromer back together as if nothing had ever happened. It returned to your hands and you looked it over in awe.

“You could stay a while.” Hongjoong suggested. “Get some rest and prepare.”

“Can’t keep pushing things off.” Lay said. “But thank you.”

“If you guys need any help, you know where to find us.”

It was sad to be saying goodbye to new friends so soon, but you went wherever EXO went without hesitation. You hoped to see them again and get to know them more when the time comes. You gave the Cromer back to Yeosang, and they all wished you well. Sehun and Chanyeol took your hands, and you all said one last goodbye before you closed your eyes, ready for the next adventure. The quiet and calm of the open sky faded into the sounds of nature, and you opened your eyes to find yourself surrounded by trees.

“Woah… where are we…”

“Some place we never thought we’d return to.” Baekhyun mumbled. “Come on, we have some place to go.”

“You guys really need to stop being so cryptic.”

“I know, sorry. We’re still processing everything too.”

You followed the boys through the words, quite intrigued by the fact they knew exactly where they were going. After a while you came to this cabin. It seemed abandoned with nature having taken it back, but it all retreated as Lay waved his hand. You went with the boys inside, seeing all the dust that’s been collecting. Sehun was quick to blow that all away, but a silent stillness remained.

“So… what is this place?”

“An old home.” Xiumin said.

“Are we staying?”

“For the foreseeable future, yes.”

“Then we should start cleaning up.”

Your bright spirit was a bit of a contrast with the rest of the atmosphere, but the others agreed with you. The others helped you clean up, making this place feel more like a home. While cleaning you found an interesting picture. It was a group photo of the boys with a handful of unfamiliar faces. There was something strange about this whole place you couldn’t quite put your finger on, and this picture added to that uneasiness. Before you could dwell on it more you heard Lay calling out to you, and you made your way to the back of the cabin, finding a greenhouse. You stepped into a garden you had never seen before, amazed by its beauty.

“Wow…”

“This is an old garden of mine, and you can see the plants have taken very good care of each other.”

“They must have missed you.”

“I missed them too.”

“What happened here? I saw a picture of you and some other people. Was this home before you met me?”

“For a long time it was, but we had to flee.”

“So why are you back now?”

“Cause we need to fix things.”

“Fix things?” You thought for a moment. “Is RF the reason you left this world?”

“Yes. This place was home, and then we wound up being held captive. When we escaped, we left this world in their hands. We have to correct that mistake.”

“That’s dangerous… facing RF head on… especially if the two of you have history here.” “I know, but it has to be done. For starters we need to check in with old friends.”

“Old friends?”

“You can meet them later.” Kai said as he entered the garden. “We have to find them first.”

“And how are you gonna do that?”

“A lot of remembering.”

Kai stepped forward, going into the garden and sitting himself down. Some vines crept over, wrapping around his arms and waist. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, making you wonder what he was doing. You had never seen Kai in the garden like this before.

“Are you picking anything up?”

“I can sense them… but it’s faint…”

“It’s been years at this point. Will that be enough or should I look for them?”

“No. This should be enough.”

After a while longer Kai opened his eyes, the vines moving away and releasing him. He gave you a big smile and came over to press a kiss to your cheek.

“Suho, Sehun, and I will be going out for a bit. We’ll be back as soon as we can.”

“What? Can’t I go?”

“This place is unknown, and it’s best if you stay here where it’s safe.”

“Then why not bring our house here?”

“We don’t want to draw attention to ourselves. Besides this place was the blueprint of the home we have now. Stay and be good.”

“Alright… don’t be gone too long.”

“Hopefully we won’t.”

The trio went off, and you focused on making this old place feel new. Kai scouted ahead first to make sure no one would get hurt and that they could lay low. Alleys always worked in their favor.

“Where are we?” Sehun asked.

“No idea.” Kai admitted. “Since the frequency is so faint I can’t get an exact location, but they have to be around here somewhere.”

“So like a needle in a haystack.”

“At least I narrowed down the search, didn’t I?”

“Don’t fight.” Suho reminded. “We have no idea what they’re like anymore after all this time. We might not be welcomed. Just lay low and don’t draw attention.”

The area they were in wasn’t that popular, but there were still plenty of people around going about their day. They seamlessly blended in, walking down the street and looking around. Nothing much had seemed to change about the world, but that wasn’t entirely a good thing. While walking Sehun had gotten a strange feeling, stopping before a building.

“Sehun?”

“There’s something about this place.”

“What place? A dojo?”

“I can’t explain it.”

“Wouldn’t hurt to give it a try.”

The three went inside, seeing that the place was empty, except for one gentleman. They were cleaning the weapons rack. They began their welcome speech and turned around, only to cut themselves short.

“Suho… Kai… Sehun… is that really you?”

“Surprised to see us. Shownu?”

“I thought I’d never see you again.”

Shownu ran over to embrace the three in a hug, still processing that they were really there. So much had happened since they last spoke. There was a lot to catch up on, but something else was more important.

“What are you doing here? I didn’t think you’d return.”

“We have to right our wrongs.” Suho explained. “We’re sorry we took so long.”

“It’s just incredible to see you now.”

“What about the others?” Kai asked. “How are they?”

“I’m not so sure. We don’t keep in touch. It was better if we remained separate. Although for a while I was in contact with Wonho, but he hasn’t been around in months. I’m worried something happened to him but I have no way of finding out.”

“That’s alright. We plan to reunite everyone. If you don’t have any pressing business, we could go now.”

“Absolutely. It’d be so good to see everyone’s face again.”

Once again Kai relied on a faded feeling, going ahead to make sure everything was safe before returning for the others. Shownu did need a moment to recover from the nauseating feeling of teleportation before they could continue. It was another small town, but nothing vastly unfamiliar to Shownu. Neither of them knew where to look so it was back to walking the streets. Although this time around they had someone with a slightly better eye than them.

“Have you been avoiding me?”

“Huh… Shownu!”

Wonho ran over to hug his hyung, embracing them tightly with disbelief clear on his face. This seemed like a dream, more so when he realized his friend was not alone.

“You… is it really you?”

“Long time no see, right?”

“I can’t believe this.” Wonho stated. “What’s going on?”

“We’ll explain later, right now we’re just trying to find everyone.” Suho said. “Did you keep in touch with anyone?”

“No. Only Shownu, but that didn’t last long.”

“How did you find me anyway?”

“It’s a bit complicated… I received a watch in the mail with some instructions and a location… I was hesitant to use it but when I did, I found my way to you.”

“That must be what I sensed.” Sehun said. “The energy from you traveling back and forth. Without it we might not have found Shownu so easily.”

“I’m glad I could help.” Wonho teased. “So who are we looking for next?”

“No idea.” Suho admitted. “We’re just going to the nearest signal.”

“Got it. Ready when you are.”

“You’re very eager.”

“It’s been a long time.”

“I know.”

The five of them made the journey to their next location. Another town, and another needle in a haystack. Still, the more of them they found, the better they all felt. This time around everyone was surprised to find Minhyuk with Changkyun in a cafe. The reunion there was far bigger than the last.

“Have you two been in touch this whole time?” Wonho asked.

“Not consistently.” Minhyuk admitted. “Changkyun would stop by once in a while to check up on me, nothing more.”

“I have incredible timing don’t you think?” Changkyun teased. “I’m so happy to see you all, but also surprised.”

“When we get back to the cabin we can talk.”

“That place is still standing? I would have thought for sure RF would have destroyed it or something.”

“They’d never be able to get close.”

It was great to see each other, but they still had others to find. With the next jump some had gotten used to the nausea, and others not so much.

“Gosh, that always feels weird.” Changkyun commented. “So, who’s here?”

“We don’t know.” Kai said. “Just following a feeling.”

The group walked around for a while. They weren’t sure who to be looking for but once again Sehun had a strange feeling. He led the group inside a building, finding Jooheon behind a glass in the middle of work.

“Jooheon.”

“Hm?” The boy got up. “You… oh my gosh.”

Jooheon rushed out to embrace his brothers, tears stinging his eyes. Suho and the others let them have their reunion, aware they hadn’t seen much of each other in a long time too.

“What’s the reason behind all this?” Jooheon asked. “I thought we’d never see each other again.”

“It’s a long story.” Kai said. “But we’ll get to it. We just need to find the others first.”

“About that…”

“What?”

“I… I wish I could have told you all this sooner… but Kihyun… he was in a car accident… he’s…”

“I’m so sorry.” Suho mentioned.

The news took everyone by surprise, although Sehun had been looking around. Once again he felt something was off, except it was different this time around. He stepped away from the group, and Kai noticed, following him.

“Sehun, what is it?”

“I’m not sure… but I feel like someone else is here…”

“Someone else?”

Kai wasn’t sure what Sehun meant, but he had his own way of figuring things out. He closed his eyes and took a moment, then disappeared. Moments later he returned and threw someone to the ground. This person had a visor covering their eyes like some VR headset, and seemed to be wearing some kind of armor. The others had noticed this as well.

“What the heck?”

“This person’s been spying on us. Any ideas?”

“RF let us go.” Minhyuk said.

“That doesn’t mean they wouldn’t keep an eye on you.”

“They weren’t following us.” Sehun added. “So they must have been here keeping an eye on Jooheon.”

“Me?”

That’s when the spy decided to move, making an attempt to run but Kai was quick to follow. The two engaged in some quick combat. This person was skilled, but Kai’s powers gave him an advantage. He managed to land a hard kick to the face, causing the other to slam to the ground. There was the audible crack of the visor and then all movement ceased. Shownu and Suho flipped over the spy, realizing a familiar face was under the mask.

“Kihyun…”

Everyone was confused and shocked. The news they had just been told suddenly became a lie, and this brought up so many questions. They all agreed that they couldn’t stay here for much longer so Suho made the call to go back home, taking everyone with them.

“Clear the table.”

Shownu called out orders as he carried Kihyun inside, Jooheon quickly wiped everything off the nearest table. Everyone gathered around as Kihyun was laid out on the table, helping to get the gear off of him. Others that had heard the commotion came to see what was going on, although there were no time for greetings. Things were taken off Kihyun to make him more comfortable, but the visor wouldn’t come off.

“So…” Minhyuck spoke. “How do we get that off him? Seems attached to his face and I don’t wanna… what if I hurt him?”

“You won’t.”

Another voice caught everyone’s attention. They all looked over at the door, seeing a tall figure hidden under an umbrella walk in. Once the group had gotten to the old house Suho made it rain to cover their tracks and it was pretty bad outside. This person seemed pretty clean, barely a drop of water on their umbrella, and not a speck of mud on them despite the surrounding woods. The umbrella was lowered, Hyungwon revealing his face.

“There’s a button on the left side of the visor. Press it and it will come off without issue.”

No one moved but Minhyuck, feeling around and finding the button. When he got the visor off he tossed it to Chen. Kihyun didn’t react, the other boy starting to shake him.

“Kihyun… Kihyun, wake up.”

“He won’t.” Hyungwon said. “And I suggest you don’t fry the visor.”

“What do you mean he won’t wak-” Shownu said but was cut off.

“It was supposed to be me!”

Jooheon yelled, storming over to Hyungwon. The older boy didn’t move, not at all afraid of the other. It was clear Jooheon wanted to fight, but Wonho was quick to run over and step in front of Hyungwon, holding his arm out. Shownu and Changkyun had moved as well, grabbing Jooheon and pulling him back despite his protests.

“It was supposed to be me!”

“Jooheon, what are you talking about?” Changkyun asked. “You’re not making any sense.”

“I was supposed to be in the accident! Not Kihyun! I saw you there, Hyungwon, I saw you there at the crash site!”

“What?” Shownu’s grip got tighter. “Jooheon, stop this and explain yourself.”

Jooheon kept glaring at Hyungwon, wanting to punch him, but he stopped fighting when Shownu asked. The two holding him waited a moment, making sure he was calm before letting him go. Wonho stayed with Hyungwon, but wasn’t sure what was going on.

“I’ve always felt that something was off about the accident.” Jooheon began. “I’ve had dreams of it, where I’m the one in the driver’s seat, it felt so real, too real, to just be a dream. I remember seeing you there when the ambulance took Kihyun, and then you disappeared. It was supposed to be me right? You changed that somehow. Why? It should be me on that table!”

“I couldn’t let RF get to you, I’m sorry.”

“Wait, you’re saying that Jooheon’s dreams are real?” Minhyuk asked.

“Those aren’t dreams, but memories of another timeline. I’m surprised you retain fragments of the accident.”

“So this…” Changkyun was mumbling. “This was what you needed to change?”

“What?” Shownu questioned. “What are you talking about?”

“Hyungwon came to me once, long before the accident, he asked me for a favor, said it was important. He needed to change something in the timeline, told me when and where Minhyuck would be, asked me to look after him, keep him safe for as long as possible.”

“Wait, you’ve been in contact with Hyungwon this whole time?”

“Yes… yes, I have.”

“So, that’s how you found me? I found that watch, a customer left it. I was just messing with it, I didn’t know it…” Minhyuk trailed off as he came to a realization, looking at Hyungwon. “You left that for me! You wanted me to use it!”

“Yes. It’s why I left one at Wonho’s place too.”

“It was you? You… you set us up?” Wonho seemed hurt. “Why? WHY!?”

“I needed a distraction. You’re all on RF’s radar, if you were found to be time traveling they’d focus on you since you were messing with the timeline.”

“You gave one to Kihyun too!” Jooheon questioned. “Didn’t you! You knew he would feel guilty over what happened and would want to change it! Why didn’t you just stop the accident!”

“You don’t think I tried to stop it, despite knowing better. There are things that are fated to happen, that accident was one of them. It was going to happen, one way or the other, if not at that moment, then later. Every attempt I made to change it ended the same, Jooheon was severely hurt and taken by RF. I couldn’t stop it, but I could change who was taken.”

“Why! WHY!”

“What did you do?” Changkyun growled. “Kihyun didn’t just get into the driver’s seat…”

“I did what I just did here. I showed him the truth, the accident can’t be stopped, and I gave him the opportunity to save Jooheon.”

“No you manipulated him!” Jooheon spat. “I see no reason why it shouldn’t be me on the table.”

“It’s because of me.” Lay spoke up. “Isn’t?”

“Yes.” Hyungwon nodded. “I’m sorry.”

“Wait, what? What does Lay have to do with this.”

“Everything.” Xiumin added. “Jooheon, you know more about Lay’s plants than any of your friends. If RF got to you, they would learn that and… well I suppose Hyungwon knows what the outcome of that is.”

“You’re seriously defending him? He’s the one who betrayed us, who turned Baekhyun in, when you asked us to look after him.”

“We did.” Sehun got up. “But not Tao, right Hyungwon?”

“Yes. Tao asked me to bring Baekhyun in, he knew it wouldn’t end well if he was kept from the group any longer. I’m sorry.”

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Shownu asked.

“Cause he told me not to.”

“So you just betrayed us?” Wonho said. “You picked him over us?”

“That’s not it.”

“That’s exactly what you did!” Minhyuk yelled. “You betrayed us! And stayed with RF when they gave us an out!”

“He made a promise.” Kai added. “Isn’t that right? Tao could see the future if he focused with Luhan at his side. He knew what would happen if Baekhyun stayed away from us. He knew what would happen to him, to the others, and that we’d escape, but he knew we’d be back too. So, he needed someone to look after this world in our absence.”

“Yes.” Hyungwon admitted. “I made a promise, and that meant gaining RF’s trust, even if it meant losing you guys. I’m-”

“Don’t.” Wonho interrupted. “I don’t want to hear it, just wake Kihyun up and go.”

“I… I can’t… he’s comatose.”

“What!”

“The visor… it controls him, he’s lifeless without it.”

“So that’s what my fate was.” Jooheon said. “Comatose.”

“No… no it wasn’t. Messing with the timeline has a price, even when you find a loophole.”

“You… you killed him!” Changkyun shouted. “You killed Kihyun!”

“I’m sorry.”

Changkyun charged at Hyungwon, but he disappeared before he was grabbed. The boy fell to his knees distraught. He felt partially guilty for having helped Hyungwon in his plan, not knowing what the outcome would be. Shownu went over to comfort him, Wonho screaming as well and punching the wall. Minhyuk had fallen to his knees as well, holding Kihyun’s hand, his own silent tears falling.

“Fix this.” Jooheon looked at Lay. “You can heal him.”

“The mind is a far more complex thing to heal.”

“But you can do it.”

“I… I don’t know.”

“No, the answer is yes, you can fix him!”

“Jooheon, I don’t-”

“Don’t give me that crap, you can!”

“I don-”

“Maybe we can.” Baekhyun interrupted. “When Haechan and the others were stuck in the inbetween they were pretty much comatose. You woke them up, so you could-”

“We knew where their minds were, knew where to go and get them out. We have no idea where Kihyun is, he could be brain dead for all we know.”

“Then take him there.” Shownu spoke.

“What?”

“Take Kihyun’s mind to the inbetween, if he’s truly alive then you’ll find him there, right? And you can bring him back.”

“Do it.” Jooheon said. “Whatever that is, do it.”

“We can’t just do that.” Suho said. “The inbetween isn’t our place. We didn’t wake the others up, we helped one of their own go in and get them out. We can’t-”

“Then call your friends! Get them to do this!”

“Jooheon-”

“What do we have to lose?” Minhyuk added. “We didn’t know what had become of Kihyun until now, but this isn’t living.”

“The inbetween becomes a personal hell if you stay there.” DO said. “It’s not-”

“Kihyun put himself in a car accident.” Wonho cut in. “He knew the consequences then, he’d understand them now. So whoever you need to call, call them and try to save him, that’s all we’re asking.”

It got quiet. Suho looked around at everyone, the decision had fallen to him. He took a breath then looked at Lay, nodding his head.

“Lay, DO, with me. Xiumin, you and Chen know what to make, the garden here is like the one back home, so you should have what you need. The rest of you look after y/n.”

You had heard the commotions from before, but Baekhyun had you stay hidden just to be safe. Nothing that was spoken made sense to you, not until the end and talking about the inbetween. You peeked your head around the corner, seeing this person unconscious on the table. Everyone seemed busy with things so you carefully approached them. You looked at them for a while before someone else approached. They looked you over and then pulled you into a hug.

“Y/n!”

You didn't react, confused as to who was hugging you and why. He had such a huge smile on his face, but it faltered when he saw your confusion.

“Y/n, it’s me, Wonho, we grew up together, remember?”

“What?”

“We went to elementary and high school together. You disappeared a few years ago, we thought you were dead.”

“Wait, what? You’re saying we know each other?”

“Yes.” Wonho pulled up a picture of you and him together. “What happened to you?”

You were quiet, staring at the picture, then you looked over at Chanyeol who was in the room. The sad look on their face told you everything you needed to know.

“I’m... I’m from here, this world is my home… why don’t I remember that! Why don’t I remember my past!”

You started to panic, drawing a blank on your childhood, on everything before knowing them. Cahnyeol took a step towards you but you backed away.

“No… what’s going on… why don’t I-”

“A lot happened when we met.” Suho added, having overheard things and coming over. “We met by chance and you helped us but RF caught up to us, we couldn’t just leave you for them to do who knows what so we took you with us. We never planned to come back here and we couldn’t return you either. We didn’t want you to feel home sick… so we made you forget your past…”

“I…”

You had tears in your eyes, the lack of memories making you feel so lost. Your past had always been a fuzzy thing, and when you thought back on it something else always came up to distract you. This wasn’t how you thought you’d get answers. Even if you did know Wonho you felt nothing familiar about him.

“It’s our fault. We got you involved, we never meant to, I swear, but we had to keep you safe.”

“Did you?” You spat, eyes flashing black for a moment. “What you did… was it really for my own good… or for yours.”

You stormed out, not wanting to hear anything anymore, having some new information to deal with. Once you were gone the others looked at each other, then Wonho.

“You knew y/n?” Suho questioned.

“Yes, and I thought I knew you too.”

17 notes · View notes

rancidtae · 8 months

Text

ARCADIA’S LULLABY | CHAPTER 5

Genre: Mafia AU. Vigilante AU. Sci-fi (AI). Warnings: ANGST. fluff. mentions of near-death experiences. mentions of drug use. emotional tension during breakfast. chanyeol crying. Pairing: exo & Original Female Character (Jung Jiah/Kang Rina) - Kim Minseok/Original Female Character - Zhang Yixing/Original Female Character Word count: 11k+ chapter summary: the one where shit gets real and sehun just wants everyone to talk about their feelings and let him have his breakfast in peace. a/n: WE'RE SO BACK. (we're so over) but make it old-friendship-turned-sour core.

guess what you need isn't always what you want from me

masterlist - meet the characters

082809 - 5:34 pm.

13 years ago

“Yo, open up.”

It was the third time he knocked.

Chanyeol pressed his ear against the wood and heard the muffled murmur of a news anchor.

“C'mon, I can hear the TV, I know you’re in there.”

Not one to be patient when people were purposefully being assholes, he fished the set of spare keys Mr. Kang gave his mom from the pocket of his ripped jeans and jingled them extra hard. Just to piss her off and warn her.

“Wow, this is depressing.” he blurted out, closing the door behind him.

His 15-year-old neighbor did not look surprised, nor tried to pretend that his presence wasn't unwanted. Chanyeol, however, had never worries about being on her good side. They'd been annoying each other all their lives.

Tall piles of books covered the living room, some even went over his head. They were playing videos of the memorial with the president giving a speech in the background on the TV. A steaming bowl of noodles and some side dishes waited on the small dining table.

It was the anniversary of the Seoul Metro bombings.

As always, every year the city shut down for the memorial. No one was allowed to forget such a dark stain on the country’s history. Over 900 casualties, even more injured.

Chanyeol remembered the day of the attack. His mom rushing to pick him, his sister Yoora and Rina from school, earlier than usual. She didn't answer their questions until they got home and she locked the door behind her. Mr. Kang didn't pick up Rina until the next afternoon, and he looked like a ghost.

That was the day he learned the meaning of the word terrorism.

He took a look at the family picture by the entrance and picked up the remote, turning the TV off.

“What is that?” Rina suddenly asked, making him jump on his feet.

She was curiously looking at the pale pink box under his arm, and it took him a second to remember he'd brought it with him. With every year that passed, Rina only looked more and more like her mother, the resemblance was scary sometimes.

He fixed his throat. “Pastries from Swimmy’s”

Of course, she knew that. It was her favorite bakery.

Rina, however, turned around with feigned disinterest.

“Ah. How’d you even get them? Aren’t they closed today?”

“I don’t know. Yoora’s boyfriend sent them, but she hates him right now so she gave them to me.”

“Cupcakes?” she asked over her shoulder, rattling things inside the fridge.

“Multiflavor.” he nodded, fighting back a cruel grin when she stills.

“You want some?” she asked, pointing at the bowl of steamy noodles.

Chanyeol couldn't remember her ever willingly offering him a bite of anything.

“Nope, I’m good.” he chirped.

Her face dropped. Suddenly deciding that there's nothing inside of her interest, she slammed the poor fridge door.

“Ok, let’s go,” he finally said, feeling like he annoyed her enough for the day. He did not lie when he called the scene depressing.

Her sitting down on the floor and eating overcooked noodles alone when there was a perfectly nice summer afternoon right outside kind of softened his heart.

“Where? Why?”

“Seriously? We’re not gonna sit here and eat them alone, that’s some loser shit. Plus, it’s way too much sugar.”

“It’s not” she protested, struggling to put on her worn-out white Converse.

“Maybe not for me, but it is when you spend your life slugging inside. When’s the last time you went for a run, huh?”

Naturally, they ended up making their way inside Arcadia, her father's arcade spot just a few blocks away. They entered through the backdoor, using Rina’s spare key that she religiously wore around her neck.

Baekhyun nearly landed on his ass when he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye, hand to his chest when he recognizes them and immediately lighting up at the prospect of eating pastries.

Rina found a seat on the countertop, while Chanyeol brought two chairs for himself and his legs from the backroom. Baekhyun picked up his copy of Rebirth and saved his strawberry-flavored gum for later, carefully wrapping it in a sticky note, much to Rina's disgust.

The three indulged in a cupcake each, humming in bliss.

“So," Baekhyun smacked "where you been?”

“Busy.” she said, legs swinging happily, licking buttercream off her pinky finger.

“Doing what?"

"Stuff."

"Like what, sleeping inside a coffin? You look like you haven’t seen the sun in months.”

Chanyeol agreed. “You’re gonna regret staying inside once we’re back to school.”

Rina was not about to tell them she'd been reading those books at home, one per day like an apple. Her father kept bringing new ones, leaving them stacked up on every surface he could find, building a labyrinth out of them.

The last was Fahrenheit 451. Baekhyun would've liked it if, but he was more of a manhwa guy.

She took a look around the room, all the machines were on. She remembered something. “Wait. Why are you working today?”

Baekhyun pointed one finger at the door. The open neon sign was off, and the door was locked. “I'm not. My aunt and my cousins are visiting and I needed some alone time. And they’re all on because–”

“He doesn’t like the silence.” Chanyeol said, mockingly, with his cap on sideways and clearly finding Baekhyun childish.

“Please don’t tell your dad.” he requested with his customer service voice. “That reminds me, you think he’ll give me a raise if I ask him?”

“Aren’t you only covering shifts for Yuan? I don’t think he even knows you work here.”

He did not take well to that. Sitting up straight and dropping what was left of his cupcake on the box, he put his hands on his waist.

“Only covering– what are you talking about? I know this place better than Yuan ever could. I’m more of an Arcadia member of staff than he is or could ever be” he started counting down with his fingers, Rina took a deep breath. “I’m the general manager, I’m HR, marketing, I’m the cleaning and security staff, I keep an eye on Mintchoco at the back and even–”

Thank god, a knock at the front door interrupted his rant. Jongdae was leaning over the glass, cupping his face and pointing at the lock on the door. Minseok stood just behind him on the sidewalk.

Standing up with a groan and still complaining about the disrespect under his breath, Baekhyun let them in.

Minseok was hugging a ball against his side, had dry blood on his left knee, and his usually squeaky clean soccer shoes and white socks all dirtied up. Jongdae was no better, face dripping in sweat, fanning his shirt, complaining about the heat.

“Swimmy’s?” Minseok asked, eyes wide.

“Like I said” Baekhyun continued. “Arcadia is me. I am Arcadia. I know the consoles. I love this place. This is like home to me. I absolutely, totally, most definitely deserve a raise.”

“If you love it so much shouldn’t your pay be enough?” Asked Jongdae, standing under the a/c vent.

“Right. He makes a good point. You should be doing it for free, even”

Baekhyun glared at Chanyeol. “So what are you suggesting? Unpaid labor? I have a family to feed.”

“Your parents do the feeding in your family” Laughed Minseok, asking Rina to pass him a strawberry cupcake. One of the same strawberry cupcakes Rina had threatened Baekhyun and Chanyeol not to touch.

Chanyeol gave her an odd look, she pretended not to notice it.

“Just say you’re saving up to buy yourself a laptop.”

“That I will get my hands on soon if our dear Rinrin here tells Mr. Kang how good of an employee, and friend I am.” he paused. “Maybe just mention the employee part, nepotism goes against my values.”

"Ok” she agreed. But then she crossed her arms and lifted her chin, and Baekhyun’s cheerful grin crumbled. “But you’ll owe me”

“Ah. What’s this?” he sucked on his teeth “I thought we were friends.”

"You said nepotism goes against your values.”

“So you’re blackmailing me.”

“We’re negotiating.”

“Woah. This is unbelievable. You're really growing into an evil little thing.”

"Speaking about evil little things, we saw your boyfriend on our way here. He was totally asking to get his ass kicked.” said Jongdae through a full mouth. “Ith wath him, right Mintheok?”

Minseok tried to telepathically get him to keep his mouth shut, but he kept going, clueless.

“Looked like he pissed Youngjae off again. You know how he hates being stared at”

By her boyfriend, they were talking about Kyungsoo, who was nothing of the sort. He was, though, known for being excellent at getting on the bad side of people. It wasn't his fault, some just read him wrong.

Kyungsoo was just misunderstood. Often. And Youngjae was a bully.

“And now she has been summoned. Our peace maker.” Chanyeol announced, watching her expression drop. She jumped from the counter and started putting her hair up on a ponytail.

Extra tight, extra high. She meant business.

“Wait. For real?”

“You know, just because you’re a girl and your dad’s a teacher it doesn’t mean Youngjae and his friends won’t beat you up one of these days” Jondgae called out, finally noticing his mistake.

“Hold on, wait wait wait! You’ll tell your dad, right?” Baekhyun asked, watching her walk behind the counter and get the pepper spray from its secret spot.

“You’ll owe me.” she said, and walked out of the door.

The guys saw her cross the street and disappear from view.

"What was that?" asked Jongdae.

"Pepper spray."

Chanyeol groaned. “Dude, why did you tell her? Mr. Kang’s gonna be upset if she’s home late.”

Jongdae did not take well to that, and quickly started firing back questions about how is it his fault that she likes to take on other people's problems.

Sighing, Minseok rubbed the crumbs off his hands and silently made his way to the door.

“Really, you too?”

Minseok shrugged. “She shouldn’t be going alone. And you shouldn't have let her take the pepper spray.”

Jongdae, not at all surprised, only shook his head and stuffed his mouth with another bite. The outcome came as no surprise, he was just glad that the possibility of Rina getting in trouble and Mr. Kang being upset about it had significantly decreased.

Minseok wasn't much of a fighter, but he knew how to make younger kids respect him.

“Are these fresh?” Jongdae was frowning at the cupcake. “How’d you even get them today?”

“Mr. Kang asked me to pick them up. I don't know how he did it, but he got them to bake these for him.” Chanyeol answered, pausing for a bit before adding. “He asked me to get her out of the apartment.”

Jongdae and Baekhyun nodded in understanding, no more questions on the subject were asked.

081322 - 05:12 pm

Consciousness comes in waves.

First, pain. Second, something warm and blinding.

Sunlight.

Third: white.

The room slowly comes into focus. White walls. Wood framing the window. Sheer curtains.

Fuck. It really fucking hurts.

She can deal with that. The disorientation? That’s different.

A burst of anxiety threatens to come to the surface at once.

Everyone has cycles waiting to be kickstarted at the beck and call of the smallest trigger. Good or bad, but most importantly, unavoidable.

Jiah spent a good chunk of her life testing out remedies for the bad ones. Prescriptions. Therapists. Thoughtfully curated lists of habits; healthy for the long term, destructive for a quick fix.

And even though nothing could have prepared her for this, time has worked on her.

So as the events from last night come back to her and the doorknob turns with a click, she stays calm and lets her eyes close again.

The person lingers for a moment, doing god knows what. His shadow flickers through her eyelids. Eventually, she’s alone again.

When she opens her eyes again the drowsiness has faded. There’s a classic mid-century flip clock on the nightstand. A piranha plant figure stares back at her with its teeth all bared out, and her transmitter’s politely placed next to it.

She knows right away whose bed this is.

Painfully, she props herself up to a seated position and inspects the sling and the dressed wound. No ethical doctor’s gonna give her the dose of painkillers she’ll need for that.

She’s wearing a thin, depressing hospital gown, and that will not do.

He's definitely loaded. The house is enormous, enough to get lost in and fit her apartment maybe five or six times. Several doors line down the hallway leading to a vast, asymmetrical set of stairs. Vaulted high ceilings top up a communal area, with a long skylight that washes everything in abundant natural light.

She pads down the stairs, following the sound of voices and laughter.

And there he is, stomping out of what looks like some kind of office made of glass walls.

“Hey, hey, wait. No. That is not fair, how was I supposed to–”

He locks eyes with her.

Bewildered. Like he forgot she was there and that just a few minutes ago he was in that room with her.

She looks back at him, like she didn’t know it was him the second her eyes landed on that piranha plant.

A tremor goes through his body before he starts coughing violently.

“Fuck— what the fuck?” more coughing, he plucks something from his mouth. A ridiculously chunky piece of pink gum covered in thick saliva.

Heads turn at the rough edge of her voice “That’s what happens when you try to chew a whole wheel of hubba bubba tape at once.”

Byun Baekhyun stares back at her like she just said the most offensive thing possible, gum still between his fingers.

“Well you can’t just stand there and– lurk looking like– like Shanks and not expect to scare the shit out of innocent people.”

Two figures by the kitchen entrance watch them. One looks kind of confused, the other one crosses his arms and holds back a smile.

“One Piece? Are you twelve?”

“Says the grown woman who can’t get her arm through an oversized sleeve.”

“I'm wearing a sling, you asshole.” she snaps. Baekhyun looks down at the fluttering sleeve, sucking in his lips between his teeth.

And then, like switch is flipped, their expressions shift. Her brows soften, and a wry grin tugs at the corner of her lips. A lighthearted smile spreads across his face.

Jongin gives the person next to him a bewildered glance.

“What’s up with the hair?”

Baekhyun runs his fingers through it. “You don’t like it?”

“Let me rephrase that, did you go to Lady’s Room and talk to the girls?”

Silence.

“I don’t know what–”

“You still touch your hair when you’re lying.”

“Ok. Yeah. No.” He points a finger at her “You’re not going Sherlock on us when you just woke up after a near-death experience.”

“Says who?”

“Says me," he snaps with an attitude, quickly adding “Doctor’s orders.”

“So first Yixing’s a cop and now you’re a doctor?” Startled, Baekhyun opens his mouth and closes it. “What’s next, Kyungsoo’s a wedding planner?”

“Youth pastor, actually. Very successful. The youths love him. And I could be a doctor if wanted, by the way.” he scoffs.

She cocks an eyebrow.

“Whatever. Ah, this won’t do. You suck at reunions. Go back upstairs, we’re doing this again.” he waves his arms at her, urging her back up the stairs. Surprised, she spurts out a laugh. The rebound pain from her shoulder makes her stop and hiss.

“Alright, leave her alone.”

That face she’d recognize anywhere. It’s unfair that they’ve all aged so nicely. Kim Jongdae looks like an upgraded version of himself, just with different hair and somehow, better skin.

“How are you feeling?”

“Lucid enough to steal my clothes, clearly.”

She realizes she's been staring at him like an owl and fixes her throat.

“Been better.” she nods, bowing quickly, awkwardly waving at the end. “Hi.”

Baekhyun snorts. "Did you just bow?"

Jongdae bows back and waves, amused but ignoring Baekhyun. “Wanna take a seat? I bet you're starving.”

She’s famished. The thought of food is enough motivation to postpone the thinking about everything that is happening right now. And since she's not escaping anytime soon, she might as well acknowledge the other person in the room.

“So, is Jongin your real name, or is this another Juyeon/Sehun thing?”

The kitchen is ridiculously huge, with another skylight at the top and an island at the very center. She sits down, leaving an empty stool between her and the impostor, who shares a look with the other two men.

“Yixing slipped up, wasn't hard to figure out.” she explains.

Jongin fixes his throat. “Jongin is my real name.”

“And how do you know Taemin?”

“We used to go to the same dance studio for a while.”

“And he just introduced us. By coincidence.”

Baekhyun steps in. “You had a horde of mercenaries on your track. We were trying to get them before they got you and Jongin was there to keep an eye on you. Him being Taemin’s friend was a happy coincidence.”

It's not convincing at all, and the thinking starts.

That’s for being so fucking stupid. Do you realize what you got yourself into?

Go ahead, big guy.

“Where’s Chanyeol?”

“What, are we not enough for the welcoming party?”

Jongin, however, knows what she's thinking. She doesn't like it.

"It wasn't him. The man in the bathroom came with backup. We thought we’d handled all of them, but a stray one took us by surprise and shot you.”

“I mean, we can show you the footage of him following the guy.” Baekhyun offers immediately. “But come on, you don’t think he–”

“No need.” patching her up defeats the purpose of taking her down, but that doesn't make up for several loose ends. “However, the manhandling was unnecessary.”

“You did kick Jongin in the balls.” Jongdae reminds her, putting a glass of cold water in front of her.

“If you guys knew I was being followed then why didn’t you just give me a heads up?”

How did they know?

And where’s the rest?

Baekhyun smiles. "You made it abundantly clear to Yixing that you didn't want us near."

"So why didn't he come?"

“He was out of town, but he asked you to be careful. Several times, he said.”

He did. And she rejected his attempts at helping her beyond getting Haneul protection. Several times indeed. He was very insistent. She brushed him off every time.

Disoriented, she sticks to nursing her glass of water in slow sips. Several details keep her alert.

One, eyebrows/Tuxedo Mask/Sehun had or has been protecting Lee Chungjae, despite Yixing’s insistence that they’re not involved with his people.

Two, Baekhyun definitely went sniffing around Lady’s Room, and if she knows anything about him, he didn't just stop at that.

Three, Junmyeon and Minseok are members of the syndicate.

The sound of a motorcycle roaring outside grows closer and gets her out of her head. The conversation has moved in a completely unexpected direction without her.

“This might be out of my expertise, but I don’t think you can compare periods to getting shot.” Jongdae says, unbothered by the noise.

“Why? Blood is blood, no matter where it comes from” Baekhyun argues. “And I’ve heard scary stories about cramps”

The steel door is slid open just enough for a tall man to come in, balancing piled up pizza boxes and complaining about someone needing to lube up the damn rail.

“This is the last time you use me as a delivery guy” he declares, dropping the boxes on the counter. He stops when he notices her. Stoic as ever, a face impossible to forget. “You look rough. Bet you wish you listened to my advice about not getting in the way of bullets.”

She frowns, but then another figure walks in. He's holding two helmets, sliding the door shut with a nudge of his shoulder. He takes a look at her, evidently unimpressed.

“I heard you were begging to see me. How you managed to live all these years without me, now that’s an unresolved mystery, one of many.”

“I don’t know how I held up, honestly” she replies, voice flat. “Every day I woke up feeling like my life was missing something.”

“Poor thing.” He tsks, mockingly pouting at her, hanging both helmets on the wall. “But I heard you’ve had some interesting characters keeping you company, so at least you weren't lonely, right?”

The bitter undertone is unexpected.

“Rin,” Baekhyun calls, a smile on his face, and a sideways less friendly glare at Chanyeol. “You still like orange soda, right?”

They move like protocol, opening the boxes and taking drinks out of the fridge, Jongin walks out of the kitchen after losing a match of rock paper scissors to Jongdae.

Chanyeol stares at her like she's about to stab someone. The pizza looks too good for her to care.

“So, up to anything exciting?”

“Not much. You?”

“Oh, come on. Half of the city’s freelancers are searching for you as we speak. Those were some expensive mercenaries following you around.”

“Makes you wonder how shitty the cheap ones must be.” she points out.

“You also looked too calm for someone who thought she had a gun pointed at her face.” he finishes, folding a piece of pizza in two and devouring half of it with one generous bite. "Definitely wasn't your first time."

“I didn’t think you had it in you.” she shrugs, taking a first bite. It's good. She has to close her eyes and sigh for a moment. “And it wasn’t my first time, he ruined my favorite jacket the other night, remember? Got my ear ringing for a few days.”

Sehun shrugs. "You got in the way."

“Right, how’d that happen anyway?” He points at his big ass ear. The left one. Eyeing hers like he didn’t get the point across. Her hair is covering the transmitter, but of course, they don't need to see it to know it's there.

She snorts, not amused at all. “Aren’t you too comfortable?”

Jongdae calls his name, something like a warning. Chanyeol drops the subject and focuses on getting his hands on a second slice, Sehun chuckles at the scene.

“You guys couldn’t wait for us?”

Jongin reappears, followed by a familiar face that feels like a punch to the chest.

His eyes scan the room, curious about the sudden silence. It ends when he notices her. There's a flicker there, but whatever he's really thinking is quickly guarded by a stoic expression.

“Why is she here?”

“She’s feeling fine,” Baekhyun shrugs. “I’d be dying to get out of bed after 15 hours of sleep too.”

Do Kyungsoo offers no answer, doesn’t even spare her or Baekhyun another glance. He washes his hands in silence, takes the spot next to Jongin, grabs a slice of pizza for himself and that's that. Her eyes stay on him, surprise slowly dissolving from her face.

And then Baekhyun claps, starling her.

“Shit, I almost forgot. Dessert first!”

It happens at once—a sloppy plan set in motion by Baekhyun’s insistence. Ignoring whatever he has in store, Jiah beats Chanyeol to the last slice of neapolitan while Jongdae helps Baekhyun look for something in their endless cabinets.

"The drawer by the coffee machine,” Kyungsoo mutters.

Someone must cover her eyes for this, Baekhyun insists. Jongin gives her a careful look waiting for her consent. She shrugs, pushing the last bit of crust past her greasy lips, and soon her eyes are engulfed in the warmth of his hands.

There’s the sound of hushing and Chanyeol’s poorly contained laugh, then a click.

“Ok, ready? Jongin, hands off. You can open them.”

She blinks away the flash of white and frowns at them before looking down.

Cake.

Pink frosting and strawberries. It’s decorated in terrible piping work, topped with those colorful sprinkles that taste like nothing and several thin and tall candles scattered around.

There’s a message in red jelly, off-centered.

“Sorry you got shot on your–”

Whoever wrote it miscalculated the space they had available, so the word birthday has all the letters stuck together and get increasingly smaller.

Baekhyun’s satisfied grin stays put even when he ducks as a strawberry flies over him. Jongdae yelps dramatically when another hits his shoulder, his hyena laugh is interrupted by a long string of complaints.

Jongin warns her not to eat the frosting, because Baekhyun got excited with the food coloring and it tastes like medicine.

“Did you bake this?” she bites down on a strawberry. It's just a hint of sweet but perfectly juicy, it bursts in her mouth “It’s looks like a 4 year old decorated it.”

“Ok, It’s her." Baekhyun says. "Good job, team."

“Do you think I’m some kind of impostor?”

“You have a whole new name, we had to make sure.”

“Wait, so that was your birthday?” Sehun asks, shaking his head when Jondgae offers him a paper plate with a slice of cake. Only Chanyeol seems to be interested in trying it, taking his sweet time getting rid of the frosting.

The cake itself isn’t that bad. Just the usual vanilla cake mix flavor, a little dry but easy to eat.

“No, today is her birthday.”

“Is it?” Jongin asks, scanning her face.

“Yeah. August 13th.” Baekhyun stops. “Wait, you didn’t–”

The question trails off when all she does is shove another piece of cake inside her mouth.

“I usually celebrate it in December.”

Several weirded-out looks come her way.

“Damn, that’s fucked up.” Sehun mumbles, and now he's getting looked at wrong. "What? I’m just saying, if I had two birthdays I’d celebrate both."

Jiah closes her eyes and blows on what's left of the candles. “That'd be hard to explain to other people, though. My friend Irene gets me flowers, but that’s about it."

Irene. Yeri. Taemin. How could she forget? They must be worried about her. Before she jumps down from the stool, once again Jongin answers a question before she gets to ask it.

"It's ok, I told Taemin we left together."

Jiah stares at him in disbelief. "No, it is not. He knows I don't leave parties with random dudes and--"

Jongdae makes a face. "Jongin's definitely not a random dude."

"He knows me too. He'll have fit, but he knows you're safe with me, trust me."

"But Yeri-"

"Fine. He dropped her off at her dorm."

"Where's my phone?" she asks Baekhyun.

"I'm afraid it didn't make it through the night, but--"

“Question,“ Chanyeol asks out of nowhere. "Why aren't you freaking out?"

"Excuse me?"

“Someone put a price on your head, and they’re being generous about it. But you're... worried that your friends won't believe you had a one night stand?”

“It's not my head they want.”

"Excuse me?"

Chanyeol’s lips part, a burst of surprised laughter escaping his mouth.

“Yeah. No, totally.” he frowns, nodding. “They put a hole through you just for funsies. They were just trying to start a tickle fight.”

“He could’ve easily taken me down in the bathroom, but he didn’t.” She gets different looks of disbelief.

Jongdae frowns. “You still got shot after that, and I’m pretty sure that wasn’t just a warning.”

“Those were expensive mercenaries, right? If they wanted me dead, I would be.”

“And this, everyone, is why they tell kids not to do drugs,” Chanyeol gives the room a look, pointing his hand at her “She wasn’t this delusional before.”

“Shut up and eat your pizza, Chanyeol” Kyungsoo says, much to her surprise.

Baekhyun agrees. “Yeah, don’t be a dick.”

Sehun sucks his lips inside his mouth, subtly eyeing everyone.

Jiah shakes her head. “That's fine, I’m not exactly worried about convincing you.”

“They want you dead.” Chanyeol enunciates slowly, like he’s talking to a foreigner “You were lucky we were there.”

“Probably, yeah.” She’s not gonna deny that. “I appreciate what you did."

He shakes his head at her like she’s fucking stupid.

“What? You want me to suck your dick or something?”

“Alright, this is fun.” Jongdae exhales loudly, moving away to get a glass of water, slapping Sehun’s back.

Chanyeol pushes his tongue against his cheek, nodding at her. “Right. What’s dying for you anyway, right? You’ll just pop right back up in another decade.”

Jongin doesn’t let Chanyeol’s jab sink, he turns to her in genuine curiosity. “Sorry, but can you explain where you're coming from?”

“You leaked those voicemails. Your name might not be on the story, but they know it was you.” Kyungsoo turns, stirring iced tea with a glass straw “You destroyed Lee Chungjae’s reputation right after his father announced his candidacy.”

“Im Nayeon leaked those voicemails.” she corrects him, and no one notices, but Baekhyun smiles, a spark set in his eyes. “I only did what was necessary to get them to the public. Therefore, I’m the only connection to her.”

“So what you’re saying is that you’re some– kind of medium?”

“She’s saying Nayeon is alive,” Baekhyun says, leaning over the island and looking at her with excited eyes. “That’s what you’re saying, right?”

“Yes. How did you—?”

“A week after her death her name came up, just like yours.”

“Her name came up?”

Though Baekhyun’s smile stays intact, he visibly pales, and that’s when Jiah knows she just hit a spot.

The question has without a doubt and without her meaning to, landed somewhere. Jongdae and Chanyeol share a look. Only Sehun, Jongin, and Kyungsoo are doing a decent job of keeping their faces straight.

She just knows they’re gonna have a conversation about this later, once she’s gone.

“Why would someone put a mark on a girl who’s already dead?” They visibly relax at her answering her own question. Kyungsoo just barely squints at her. He knows better.

“Shouldn’t you know that? You’re the one claiming she somehow survived that fire” Chanyeol juts his chin at her.

If she had to put a name to the look on Baekhyun’s face, it’d be all work and no play.

“There’s something I think you’ll want to see”.

081422 - 02:58 am

“You know what’s weird?” Baekhyun mutters as she hands him a photograph.

Fresh out of the printer, the girl smiling in it is Yoo Jeongyeon. She was 23 the last time she was seen last year and attended the same university Nayeon did. The only string connecting the two is a few common friends on Facebook.

Baekhyun tapes her picture next to the other seven photographs on the board. Like the rest of the room, the board’s made of glass, worn out and opaque by the constant use of tape on the surface, unlike the transparent, clean walls around them.

The station is rather impressive, she had to just stand there when she first entered and stare at the computer station sprawled before her on the only brick wall at the back.

A cluster of screens stands tall, commanded by a main, curved, and wide monitor, flanked by a couple more of them on each side. And just in case that’s not enough, an extra trio of monitors hangs above, suspended from the ceiling by sleek metallic arms that sell the illusion that they’re floating. All of them on cast a gentle light on the surrounding consoles, keyboard, touchpad, and devices she does not recognize, each meticulously organized and aligned for optimal efficiency.

Her curious eyes took it all in while Baekhyun scratched the back of his head and acted like it was just some humble setup. Honest work, he called it, still in progress. She still can’t figure out what else he can add, or how he can rearrange what’s an already pristine network of wires hidden at the back, and she’s too afraid to ask.

“None of Nayeon’s friends have posted anything about the investigation or the voicemails. That’s weird, isn’t it? If there was a possibility that your friend was murdered, you’d be outspoken about it, right? You’d want answers.”

“They could’ve been threatened” Jiah reminds him, staring up at the eight pictures on the board.

A line of girls stares back at them, all of them undergrad students, just like Nayeon. There’s a pattern in there, difficult financial situations, complicated and sometimes no familial affiliations or support network, and they’re all seriously attractive under current beauty standards.

Two of them are orphans. Two are foreign. The last one, Jeongyeon, makes an exception by keeping in touch with her mother until the time of her disappearance. Baekhyun started working on the list and gathering info with Yixing last year, and so far, every single case has turned cold. Not for a lack of investigating, she has their files, courtesy of Yixing, splayed around her.

“Still…” he mumbles, leaning his head to the side and reaching for his glass of iced coffee, looking startled when nothing but ice cubes hit his upper lip “If one of the girls at the salon were in that situation, you’d ask for the truth, threatened or not.”

Her stomach twists at the thought. She would not stop at asking for it, she’s confident that she’d turn the city upside down until she found them, but who’s doing that for these girls?

“It’s different. It’s my job.”

“Pretty sure you’ve gone past the limits of journalism.” Baekhyun tuts. “But you see it, right? There’s something here. I’m not being a conspiracy junkie.”

“I see it, yeah.”

“Have you tried talking to Nayeon’s friends?”

“I don’t think we should be focusing on her friends like that, we might not even be focusing on these girls the way we should,” she says, rushing to explain when Baekhyun opens his mouth “Don’t get me wrong, there’s a pattern, but Nayeon was– she left a message and everything, and these girls are all…”

“Silent?” Baekhyun offers.

“Yes.” she sighs, leaning back and looking up at the ceiling. “They’re all silent, it can’t be a good sign.”

“The truth is rarely pure and never simple.” Baekhyun says, breaking her out of her trance.

She frowns and snorts. “Did you just quote Wilde at me?”

“The Importance of Being Earnest” he smiles proudly. “Kind of out of context, but it’s true.”

She smiles at him, sighing and looking back at the board. “In my experience, most of the time the truth turns out to be boring and people end up disappointed. Everyone wants a conspiracy.”

“That’s true. But when it’s not boring–” He gives her a meaningful look, and she wonders if that’s what she looks like to other people.

“Yeah.” she agrees, he doesn’t need to finish that sentence for her to know what he means. “This doesn’t look boring at all”

“And it doesn’t look fun either, does it?” he sucks in a sharp breath. "Maybe they’re not silent, we’re just not listening the way we should.”

As it turns out, The station has no semblance of soundproofing. When someone comes in through the kitchen, they can hear the low hum of voices, the sound of keys being dropped and groans of relief as shoes are taken off at the entrance.

A few seconds later there’s a soft knock on the glass.

She doesn’t know what she expected, but it was certainly not Kim Junmyeon dressed in casual attire instead of a suit like the last time she saw him, fresh out of a syndicate debut. Now he looks more like an older brother checking on his little siblings. A dad even.

“Baekhyun, it’s 3 am. I know this is how you choose to live but she needs rest” his eyes look as tired as he sounds.

“Do you think she’s here against her will?” Baekhyun asks, offended.

He walks in, leaving the door open behind him. Jiah thinks she sees a shadow walk past through the living room, but it’s gone before she can notice anyone.

“How are you feeling?”

“Better. Thanks for the help. I appreciate it.”

He nods. “It’s what we do”

“And for the lawyer, the other day. Yixing told me” she adds. And maybe it’s the meds kicking in, or the emotional exertion of the day and having to see so many old new faces, but fatigue is beginning to weigh down on her.

“You did well,” Junmyeon says. “The girl needed help, he had it coming.”

He buries his hands inside the pockets of his jeans, pointing at the board with his chin. There’s a signature curious pout on his face. “What’s this about?”

“Don’t be nosy. We’ll explain in the morning” Baekhyun answers, fingers dancing all over his keyboard with speedy clicks. Junmyeon doesn’t look too convinced, letting out a loud sigh that makes her feel even more foreign in this place.

Do they all live here? Together? At their age? What about Minseok?

“Alright. There’ll be a lot of that in the morning.” he gives her a look she does not reciprocate. “I’m going to bed, you two should get some rest.”

He stops just as he’s about to walk out the door.

“We don’t have a guest room ready, since someone decided to use it as a storage room, so I hope you won’t mind taking Baekhyun’s bed”

“She’s getting the coziest room in this house, she doesn’t mind” Baekhyun speaks for her, standing up and leaning over her to start shutting down his monster of a station.

She catches a glimpse of Junmyeon's reflection on the dark screen that Baekhyun turns off first. He stands there for a moment, looking at them with a pensive expression before he turns around and closes the door behind him.

Some rest might be nice, she thinks, as Baekhyun starts talking her ear off again.

7:34 AM

A few hours later she’s closing his bedroom’s door behind her as quietly as she can.

The house is silent. No one can be bothered to be up so early on a Sunday, and she counts on that being the case until she figures out where her—

“Hey there. You looking for these?”

She can’t escape him, can she? A very sleepy and messy-haired Baekhyun has a hold of her boots and her bag, closing the door across from his room behind him. She gets a glimpse of someone’s sleeping form.

“I hid them, just in case you tried to sneak out,” he explains, rubbing his puffy eyes before stretching loudly. At this pace, he’s going to wake everyone.

“I need a shower” she winces at how loud her voice sounds “And I already stayed here for too long. Can I have them back?”

“Shower?“ he pretends to think over, nodding "We have plenty of those around here, I believe. Soap, towels, shampoo. You still take them at hell temperature?”

She blinks at him.

“Baekhyun.”

“Rina.”

“I’m serious.”

“So am I! You can’t just leave on your own until we’re sure it’s safe for you out there, you’re not exactly in the condition to bite attackers either.”

“Am I a hostage?”

She doesn’t like the sweet little smile he gives her. “You’re a guest.”

“But you’re telling me I can’t leave.”

“We can negotiate after breakfast. Come on, I’m giving you a tour of my favorite spot.”

Thirty minutes later she’s waiting for him to pay for a ridiculous amount of overpriced breakfast sandwiches with different fillings. The cashier, a lanky guy with a bored expression on his face and ginormous red headphones swallowing up his ears puts everything inside a bag.

Baekhyun sends a cheeky smile in her direction, making sure she’s still standing by the end of the counter, shifting uncomfortably in a huge pair of slippers. The lack of socks makes the experience even worse.

“That’s a lot of food,” she points out.

“We’re feeding ten adults, I promise you it’s never too much of anything in our house” he answers, starting the engine.

“Ten adults?”

“I texted Yixing. It’s been a while since we all had a meal together. I don't remember the last time we used the dining table.”

She sighs, leaning her head against the passenger window and trying to find any familiar street.

“Slept well?”

“I’m very uncomfortable with this and I don’t appreciate you withholding my things”

“Oh-kay, someone’s grumpy in the morning.” he chuckles, leaning over the steering wheel as he takes a turn. “Consider this your punishment for trying to leave without saying goodbye. You got a deadbeat father complex or something?”

She glares at him, half-heartedly.

“Come on, it’s just breakfast with the boys. Best meal of the day, with the boys.”

“It’s not just breakfast, you know that” she mutters, closing her eyes to rest them for a second.

“Hey, it’s just us,” He surprises her by finding her wrist resting on the seat. His fingers curl around it, giving it a light tug, like a kid trying to get a grown-up’s attention “No one will jump you or anything. I know things are awkward, but they won’t have to be once we all talk and catch up, yeah?”

The red light goes green after what feels like an eternity. It takes him a second to notice, and he’s back to quietly driving them across the street, still not letting go of her wrist.

“You trust me, right?” he asks suddenly, giving her a glance.

“Seriously, out of nowhere?”

He doesn’t laugh, only turns to look at her with a serious look on his usually relaxed features. “Cause I trust you, Rin. I hope you know that.”

The fuck?

“Ok? Thanks–”

“I mean, I don’t know what you’ve been up to, obviously, or what– you know? Happened, but I know I trust you.” he nods firmly, fixing his throat and suddenly avoiding her eyes. "Whatever happened, it doesn't matter to me. I'm just happy to see you again."

She feels the sudden need to get out of the car, but her shoulder would probably combust, so she gives him the softest of nods. The feeling that it's a mediocre reply lingers.

Eventually, he lets go of her wrist.

About half an hour later, she's watching Jongdae fix a generous batch of coffee while singing his heart out to an OST only someone over 30 could recognize. He was the first to wake up, walked into the kitchen, took a look at her and immediately scolded Baekhyun for not getting her slippers closer to her size.

They belong to Chanyeol and he thinks it’s just hilarious that she walks like a duck in them.

They all come down one by one in different states of sleepiness. All Jiah can think is that life has taken a seriously strange turn, and there’s not much she can do about it other than hold on to a cup of coffee and watch in silence, hair still wet.

“How are you feeling?” Junmyeon asks once again, taking some multivitamins and eyeing a plate of fruit that Sehun tries to keep safe from Chanyeol’s prying hands, asking him for the third time if he washed his hands.

He looks like Jongdae had to drag him out of bed, bed sheet imprints leaving red lines on his left cheek, swollen eyes and messy hair. There’s even dry drool on his chin. She wants to point it out, but they're not comfortable like that with each other.

He eyes the third spoonful of sugar she drops on her coffee but keeps any comment to himself.

“We can ask Dr. Jangmi for something stronger if you need it, just let me know.”

“Alright, thanks. I appreciate that,” she says for what feels like the 20th time in the past 24 hours.

Thanks. I appreciate that. This is weird as fuck though, can we not do this?

“Huh? What's this? What’s going on here?”

There is a soft giggle at the end of Yixing’s question. He's taking his shoes off, stumbling a bit, not closing the door behind him, holding a coffee cup carrier.

“Breakfast.” Jondgae says, and Jiah suspects he made a face. Whatever that means.

“Hey,” he makes his around the island and engulfs her in a careful hug. He's warm to the touch from being outside. “How are you feeling?”

"I’m ok.” she smiles, not being able to help her lips from pouting. “My shoulder’s kind of fucked, though.”

He frowns, shakes his head slowly, hands moving up and down her good arm, leaning down to press his lips to her temple. "I know. I'm sorry. But the more rest you get, the faster you'll feel better again, so don't rush yourself."

She nods, letting her weight rest on him for just a bit, eyes fluttering open when white cotton and a head of thick black hair passes by, startling her.

Kim Minseok is putting two extra carriers next to the one Yixing left on the island top. The door is now closed, but she never heard him come in. And now he's handing people coffee.

Chanyeol thanks him a thousand times. It seems like Jongdae's coffee making skills are controversial, he nags at them about being ungrateful, but walks over to get his cup anyway.

"Oh, that's–"

Jongdae's extended hand stops abruptly at Yixing's interruption. The cup Minseok was just about to give him is now being held by both of them.

"Dirty chai. That's Rina's." he explains.

Jiah, unsure about how to proceed, stares at the cup in front of her face, neither releasing it. Jongdae drops his hand, eyes shifting between them.

Yixing blinks curiously at Minseok, whose face she's avoiding to turn to look at.

Sehun leans over and grabs a cup of his own with his ridiculously long arms.

"Are you guys gonna give it to her, or–"

HIs comment wraps it up. Yixing gives her the cup, smiling down at her and paying no mind to the tilt of Jongdae’s eyebrow or Junmyeon's side eye.

“Oh, before I forget. I told Haneul you're taking a break. He sounded worried, maybe you should give him a call?”

Right. Haneul. She’s been so distracted that she forgot about him as well. Yixing offers her his phone, but Baekhyun cuts him off and tells her to focus on breakfast while it's still warm.

Kyungsoo is the last one to take a seat at the table, lazily scrolling through his phone. There’s a pair of thick-framed glasses perched on top of his nose. He sighs at Baekhyun’s loud moan when he takes the first bite.

“Just as good as I remembered.”

The table is filled with the sound of eating and the low hum of someone's lofi playlist playing from the speakers. The moment lingers just long enough to become awkward.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I love uncomfortable silences during breakfast, I heard they’re good for digestion,”

Junmyeon stops mid-bite and gives Sehun a look.

“What? I mean she’s here now, can’t you just catch up? Ask her what happened on the third day?”

“Ok, Sehun. Just finish your sandwich.”

He rolls his eyes, pointedly taking a big bite.

“Didn’t you have something to show us?” Jongin asks helpfully. Jiah has noticed that him and Sehun stick to each other, despite being on opposite ends of several traits.

“Glad you asked,” Baekhyun claps his hands, standing up as he licks his fingers having successfully devoured his sandwich. He disappears for a bit and comes back wheeling the glass board behind him.

Yixing turns to the side in his seat, pointing at one of the pictures.

“There’s another girl?”

“Yep,” Baekhyun beams, the excited smile on his face melting immediately. He fixes his throat. “Long story short, these girls all are missing, they’re also all students, and they could be connected to Nayeon’s disappearance. We’re thinking they might help us find her.”

“Did you just say find her?”

“I did,” Baekhyun points his finger at Junmyeon, happy that he caught that “Nayeon is alive.”

Other than Sehun noisily blowing on his drink, the silence is heavy with skepticism.

“We’re keeping a positive mindset here. There is a big, big chance she didn’t die in that fire. The body they found at her apartment was declared burned beyond recognition, and Nayeon didn’t have recent dental work done on her, so they couldn't even look for a match. And before you accuse me of being delusional, Rina came to the same conclusion all on her own.”

“Is this true?”

Jiah nods at Junmyeon. “She sent her brother the recordings through a shipping company days before the fire and scheduled the delivery. He got the package in the mail exactly two weeks after the fire.”

“So she knew she was in danger.”

“Creative.” Chanyeol mutters, impressed “She found a way to let her brother know without putting him in direct danger.”

“And then he tried to end Lee Chungjae himself.” Sehun adds.

“If she went through that effort, she would’ve tried to hide, right? It was only a theory, but Lee Chungjae probably has a reason to believe this as well, and he doesn’t want any loose ends.”

Junmyeon’s face is unreadable.

“And well,” she points at her shoulder. “I think that night proved my theory.”

Yixing leans back on his chair, crossing his arms. It’s followed by a dry chuckle at the other side of the table.

“Can we just tell her?”

"Baekhyun tries to interrupt, but Chanyeol has a point to make.

"Nah, let her know, or she’ll go out there and successfully get herself killed this time just because she thinks she has backup.”

Jongdae tries as well, not without giving her a careful sideways glance that she doesn’t return, staring back at Chanyeol with just a slight narrowing of her eyes. Her lack of reaction so far has made his demeanor get a little more vicious.

“Let’s not–”

“How do you think they knew it was you, even with your editor protecting you?” Chanyeol finally asks “Your protector snitched on you, didn’t think twice before selling you out to Lee Chungjae’s team. He’s putting good money on his dad's campaign, did you not know?”

“Protector?” she blurts out, neither a question nor an affirmation. “Are you- wait, you mean Namjoon?”

She snorts.

“I mean, yes? He knew about the investigation. I let him know before it came out.”

“You’re full so of shit. It's just sad.” Chanyeol shakes his head slowly.

“Like I said before, I’m not worried about convincing you.”

“Why?” he dares.

She can't judge him for being so remarkably slow. He doesn’t trust her, he’s probably terrified of whatever he thinks she represents. Yixing didn't lie about people being wary of her.

It’s disappointing to see him handle what he thinks is a threat so poorly, but then again he always was a heart-on-his-sleeve kind of guy.

Others keep their silence and listen. Kyungsoo, even Junmyeon. Minseok's glare is impossible to ignore.

“Because sometimes being underestimated can work in your favor.” she speaks slowly like it’s a child across from her and not a man two years her senior.

The tension spikes. All these resources, a wide range of skills, a seat at the syndicate, and just a few harmless words make their mood drop.

Junmyeon leans in. “So what I'm hearing is that you put yourself at risk just to... prove a theory.”

“Of course not,” she wonders if he paid attention at all to what she said. “I hoped they’d come expecting to find Nayeon through me, so I set up a lead. It’s not about if they take it but who does. Chungjae's not doing this alone.”

“And did it work? The bait?“ Jongin sounds hopeful.

"I’m hoping it did.”

“You’re hoping it did?” Junmyeon repeats. “It’s been 48 hours, what if they realized you’re bluffing and decided you’re not useful anymore?”

“I’ve got it handled.”

“You never mentioned any of this” Baekhyun says, breaking his silence.

He has a look of disappointment on his face she wants to get rid of, and then she remembers that pale grin he gave her yesterday, like he was about to break into a cold sweat.

“I’ll let you know what I find.”

There's something happening right in front of her eyes. As much as she wishes she could trust Yixing, his explanation about them being wary about her association with Namjoon doesn't cut it.

Her eyes find Minseok's and she hopes he's better than Baekhyun at subtlety. If getting himself a seat at the table is any indication, chances are he is.

Something indeed, and she's nearly convinced that it goes against the deal he signed a few days ago.

But that's not it, isn't it? There's more to it.

He lifts his chin, just barely, it feels too much like a silent warning. It has the opposite effect he wants. The dirty chai kicks in at once.

“Frankly, I don’t think you’re in the state to be handling anything right now.” Junmyeon’s amused little chuckle kills her momentum.

“I agree,” Yixing says, much to her disappointment “Even if you’re right, it doesn’t mean you're in any less danger.”

“I know how to take care of myself."

“Do I need to remind you that just almost bled out on the way to the hospital? This is obviously getting out of your hands. I won’t have your picture next to those girls'.”

Junmyeon points at the board. He's wearing a ring on his index finger. She's surprised it fits. Maybe he had it resized.

“You can leave it to us this time, we’ll handle it.”

“I appreciate the concern, but it's not your decision to make.”

"Question," Baekhyun says, a surprisingly serious look on his face. "Would it be so bad to let us help?"

“That's not the point. I promised Im Haneul I’d see this through.”

“Wouldn't be the first time you let someone down. He'll survive.” Chanyeol coldly replies.

Her blood starts to boil. They're cornering her, and her patience has a limit.

“Alright, I don’t know what your problem is, but let’s get it over with."

A deep voice has heads turning to the right. “You know what his problem is. Don’t play dumb, it doesn’t suit you.”

If Chanyeol’s voice was venomous, Kyungsoo’s tone feels like battery acid.

Chanyeol wastes no time. “Only a handful of people survived Hwacheon's fire, how did you make it out?”

“You shouldn’t believe official records, the prison system in this country is a joke.”

“So no complex escape plan? I was expecting some prison break shit from you.”

“Sorry to disappoint.”

He shakes a finger at her.

“I heard rumors, you know? About this girl that worked for Kim Namjoon. No one knew where she came from, not even back in their hometown. They said she was a witch, could sniff out a traitor from a mile away,”

Jiah has to give it to him, he sure knows how to set the mood with the storytelling.

“And then one day, she disappeared without a trace. People said he killed her after she tried to turn on them, others said someone in their circle knocked her up and he sent her away. Whatever happened, she vanished.”

“A hundred years passed and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar, an airbender named Aang." Sehun says, arm coming to rest around Jongin's shoulders. He pretends not to hear him.

“I don't know what you want me to say."

“Was it him, Hwacheon’s fire? Is that how you got out?”

To her utter disbelief, he's being serious. All she can do is open her mouth and close it, look around to see if anyone else understands how stupid that is.

Kyungsoo shrugs. “You’re not denying it.”

“No, Kyungsoo. Kim Namjoon didn’t blow up a federal facility to help me escape. I can’t believe I have to explain this to you. I didn’t even know them back then.”

“Hwacheon is just ten miles away from Songju, isn't it? Right where Namjoon’s operation started. That was you. November 10th, the prosecutor's kids, the clean up, the start of the syndicate. You were there.”

"I was." she says without hesitation, still not understanding what's the big deal.

"Why?"

"Because they helped me out. And I because wanted to."

“Well, since we all know he cashes in all his favors, I guess the big, scary question here is what did you have to do to pay off your debt after they helped you out? Was it witchery, or was it-”

“Ok,” Junmyeon interferes, putting one hand on the table. “You’re crossing the line.”

“Don’t worry, he’s not even close.” she says with a light tone, but the slight curl of her lips betrays the cutting edge behind her words.

"I just hope that if you got knocked up, you had the sense to get rid of it. Otherwise, you're an asshole for putting yourself in danger when you have a kid somewhere."

“Wow. When did he become this fucking pathetic?” she asks, genuinely curious, but they're all either too uncomfortable or embarrassed to grace her with an answer.

“Ok, I’ll translate for him.” Sehun chimes in, leaning forward with a serious expression on his face. Jongin closes his eyes and expects the worst. “What he's trying to ask is, did you engage in premarital sex with Kim Namjoon and/or any of his associates?”

Yixing drops his head. Jongin looks kind of mortified but kind of amused at Chanyeol's immediate response, shaking his head and rolling his eyes.

“That is not what I’m asking.”

“No? So you’re worried about my hypothetical kid now?”

“Ok. Chanyeol, drop it. Let’s get back on track.”

But she likes this track. She doesn't see the point in dropping it yet.

"If you’re taking the misogynistic route, at least do it right. Don’t be a half-assed piece of shit, it’s pitiful.”

“Rina.”

“I’m not finished, Suho.”

A quick oop follows.

"I get it. I know what this is about. I see you. You're still dealing with your abandonment issues, but that’s not on me."

Chanyeol's face drops.

She carries on, no remorse. "What? You think you're special because your daddy wasn't around to play ball? Give me a break."

“Jesus. Ice fucking cold.”

A sharp grating sound. He forcefully shoves his chair back.

“Hey, hey–”

“Park Chanyeol.”

Chanyeol stands up at full height and others follow. Jongdae tries to talk some sense into him. Yixing doesn’t hesitate to do the same when she mirrors Chanyeol's stance, arm extended in front of her, shaking his head.

Sehun seems to be out of little quips. Like him, Minseok remains seated, looking at the scene from the end of the table.

Poor Jongdae, he's still trying. “Sit down, man. C'mon.”

But Chanyeol's not listening, his jaw is locked in, teeth gritted together. Finger pointed at her, spit spraying in the air.

”You let us all think you were dead.“

"I had my reasons.”

She’s trying her best to not lose it against his stupid loud voice that takes up the room. Her head, her shoulder, her back, they all hurt. She should’ve left the moment she woke up, barefoot.

Chanyeol throws his arms in the air, growling.

“Your reasons? To let everyone mourn you for what? A decade. What the fuck is that about? Who does that?”

“I'm sorry, what’s the acceptable protocol for you? Enlighten me.”

“Dude, you’re seriously not asking that.” he winces, like he'd rather not look at her. “Kim Namjoon, seriously? That was your only option? You. Everything you tried to preach to us. Looking down at us, talking about better ways and shit, like you were some kind of paragon of virtue."

“Ah, fuck off. Seriously, fuck off." she repeats with closed eyes, an exhausted mantra. "Don’t selectively bring shit from the past into this."

"Was that just to make yourself feel a little less bad about, huh? About getting Yuan killed because you couldn’t keep your mouth shut?”

It feels like the air was sucked out of the room. No one was ready for that, perhaps not even Chanyeol. For a fleeting second he looks like he caught himself off guard.

Jiah lets out a shaky, hoarse little laugh, mumbling to herself. "You don't know shit. Not even now."

"You know you can repeat that all you want but that's still the truth."

“You wanna talk about the truth? The only reason I was there that night was to warn you, but you treated me like I was out of my mind. Everything I tried to tell you would happen, happened. That's the truth,"

Silence, she's not done yet.

"And then you got in that stupid car and sped down the fucking street,"

Not even near.

"You didn’t look back. You had the chance to leave it all behind and move on with your life while mine wasted in jail. But now you wanna act like I owe you an explanation?”

There's no way they remember that night as vividly as she does. Every tiny detail, the smell of shitty sewage water against her face, the weight of some asshole’s knee on her back pinning her to the street, the overlapping of people yelling in panic. Red and blue lights blinding her. Blasting sirens.

“I don't blame you. I fucked up time and time again and it’s not like you could’ve done anything to get me out of it.” she admits.

“That’s right. You fucked up and we fucked up. So you decided that was it? You couldn't reach out for help or at least contact us? Did you not think of the consequences of letting people believe you were dead?”

She can’t help the bitter smile, half of her wanting to ask Chanyeol what he knows about consequences, but he’d mistake that for her wanting to hear an answer. Ten years later it’s not something that interests her.

"Pretty much, yeah,” she replies shamelessly, after a moment of consideration.

“That easy, huh?”

“Honestly, I was miserable back then. I was a kid, I only had you, I thought I could fix it, but everything kept getting worse.” she says, and the dam has not cracked yet, but it might. Any second now. “So yeah, after the fire, when I realized I had the choice to start over, I took it. That part? That was easy, yes.”

Chanyeol blinks at her, like he's not sure he's looking at someone.

“I was very careful. Don't think this situation here happened because of me being sloppy. I never planned to see any of you again, and I was at peace with that.”

She wants to carry on but her throat feels raw, and Chanyeol’s breathing through his mouth. A couple of fat, anime-like tears spill down his cheek.

The dust has settled and it's clear that the room has shifted. Yixing was just sitting right next and now there’s some distance between them, like she’s exuding toxic fumes. Baekhyun looks like a kid with glassy eyes and a red nose. It’s too late to take back, it’s all out of her chest, too heavy to cage it back up.

“I do have a question though, why are you wearing my rings?”

Kyungsoo stands up, walking past her and stopping just to throw something on the table. The metallic rattle is enough to let her know what it is.

“They meant something,” he replies, chillingly calm. “Back when we thought you were dead.”

“But now that I think about it, I don’t think you made it out of the fire.”

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