#latest air conditioner

[upgradeyourairconditioner]

Upgrade Your Air Conditioner with Sathya Store's Latest AC Collection Online

Are you tired of sweltering summers and chilly winters? Is your old air conditioner not living up to your cooling needs anymore? It's time to bring home the latest air conditioner technology from Sathya Stores, your one-stop-shop for all things cooling! With an extensive collection of air conditioners available online at offer prices with attractive discounts, Sathya Stores is the perfect place to upgrade your air conditioner for all seasons.

Sathya Stores has been a trusted name in the world of electronics and home appliances for years, and when it comes to air conditioners, they have carved a niche for themselves. With a reputation for offering high-quality products and exceptional customer service, Sathya Stores has become the go-to destination for all your cooling needs. Their commitment to providing the latest technology and energy-efficient air conditioners has won the hearts of countless satisfied customers.

Explore the Latest Collection of Air Conditioners Online:

Sathya Stores boasts an impressive range of air conditioners to suit every need and budget. Whether you're looking for an inverter AC, a Samsung AC, a split AC, or a window AC, they have it all integrated into their latest collection. Inverter ACs are a popular choice nowadays due to their energy efficiency and consistent cooling performance. And if you're a fan of Samsung's cutting-edge technology, you can now buy Samsung ACs online from Sathya Stores and experience superior cooling and durability.

Online AC Shopping Made Easy:

Gone are the days when you had to visit multiple stores to find the perfect air conditioner. With Sathya Stores, you can shop for ACs from the comfort of your home. Their user-friendly website allows you to browse through their vast collection, compare features, and read customer reviews, making the decision-making process easier. Plus, with Sathya Stores' seamless online ordering and delivery system, your chosen AC will be delivered right to your doorstep, saving you time and effort.

Sathya Stores understands that purchasing an air conditioner can be a significant investment for many. To make the process more affordable and convenient, they offer ACs on easy EMI offers with zero down payment. Now, you can bring home your dream air conditioner without putting a strain on your finances.

Sathya Kulu Kulu AC Offers:

To sweeten the deal further, Sathya Stores introduces their exclusive "Kulu Kulu AC Offers." These special offers come with extra discounts and additional benefits, making it the best time to buy an air conditioner online. Keep an eye out for these limited-time offers to grab the best deals on your favorite ACs.

In conclusion, when it comes to buying air conditioners online, Sathya Stores is your ultimate destination. With their latest AC collection, top brands, attractive discounts, and EMI offers, upgrading your cooling experience has never been easier. So, bid farewell to discomfort during extreme weather and say hello to pleasant indoor temperatures with Sathya Stores' top-notch air conditioners! Jump into www.sathya.stores to explore and buy AC online!

#latest air conditioner #Sathya Kulu Kulu AC Offers #buying air conditioners online #buy AC online

[buyanairconditionersonline]

Which is the best air conditioner for purchase in India? What factors should be kept in mind while purchasing?

 In a country like India, where temperatures can soar to uncomfortable levels, having a reliable air conditioner is essential for maintaining a comfortable indoor environment. With a plethora of options available in the market, choosing the right air conditioner can be a daunting task. However, with careful consideration of certain factors, you can ensure that you make the best online AC shopping for your needs. In this blog post, we'll explore the key factors to keep in mind while purchasing an air conditioner and discuss some of the top options available in India, particularly from Sathya Online AC Stores.

Room Size and Capacity:

The size of the room you intend to cool is a crucial factor in determining the capacity of the air conditioner you need. A unit with insufficient capacity will struggle to cool the room effectively, while one with excessive capacity will consume more energy than necessary. Measure the dimensions of your room and consult the AC's cooling capacity chart to ensure you choose the right size.

Energy Efficiency:

Energy efficiency is another vital aspect to consider, especially considering the rising electricity costs and environmental concerns. Look for air conditioners with high Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER) or Indian Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (ISEER) ratings, as they consume less power while providing optimal cooling performance.

Type of Air Conditioner:

There are various types of air conditioners available, including window ACs, split ACs, inverter ACs, and portable ACs. Each type has its advantages and limitations. Split ACs are popular for their quiet operation and efficient cooling, while inverter ACs offer energy savings and temperature control. Buy inverter AC online at Sathya for the best price online.

Brand Reputation and After-Sales Service:

Choose air conditioners from reputable brands known for their quality, reliability, and after-sales service. Research customer reviews, ratings, and warranty policies to gauge the brand's reputation and commitment to customer satisfaction. Prompt and efficient after-sales service is crucial for resolving any issues that may arise post-purchase.

Top Air Conditioners from Sathya Online AC Store:

Voltas Split AC:

Voltas is a trusted brand in the Indian market known for its durable and efficient air conditioners. Their split ACs offer powerful cooling, energy efficiency, and innovative features such as turbo mode and self-diagnosis. With a wide range of capacities and configurations, Voltas split ACs cater to various needs and budgets. You can easily buy split AC online at Sathya from the comfort of your home. 

LG Inverter AC:

LG is another leading brand that offers a diverse range of air conditioners equipped with advanced technologies. LG's inverter ACs are highly energy-efficient, providing consistent cooling while minimizing electricity consumption. With features like dual inverter compressor and ocean black protection, LG ACs ensure durability and performance.

Choosing the right air conditioner involves careful consideration of various factors, including room size, energy efficiency, type, features, and brand reputation. By keeping these factors in mind and exploring reliable options from trusted brands like Voltas, LG, and Blue Star available at Sathya Online AC Stores, you can make an informed purchase decision that meets your cooling requirements while ensuring comfort, energy savings, and peace of mind. Stay cool and comfortable throughout the year with Sathya Kulu Kulu AC offers and get the perfect air conditioner for your home!

#buy ac on emi #air conditioner online #buy air conditioner online #buy latest ac online #top 5 best air conditioners #sathya kulu kulu ac offers #buy ac online on emi

[buyinganairconditioneronline]

What are the Quick Tips to Buy the Best Air Conditioner Online?

With the scorching heat of summer, owning an air conditioner has become a necessity rather than a luxury. As technology advances, buying an air conditioner online has become a convenient and efficient way to beat the heat. However, with numerous options available, it's essential to make an informed decision.

Here we have provided you with the quick tips on buying the best air conditioner online for your home, and we'll show you why shopping at Sathya Stores online is a smart way to shop for your AC needs.

Determine your cooling requirements: Before making a purchase, calculate the area you want to cool. The cooling capacity of an air conditioner is measured in BTUs. Assess the size of your room and choose an AC with the appropriate BTU rating to ensure optimal cooling efficiency.

Research and compare models: Take advantage of the vast amount of information available online. Research different air conditioner models, their features, energy efficiency ratings, and customer reviews. Comparing different models will help you find the best fit for your requirements.

Energy efficiency: Consider buying an inverter AC online. Inverter technology allows the compressor to adjust its speed based on the cooling needs, resulting in energy savings. Look for ACs with high energy efficiency ratings to reduce your electricity bills.

Brand reliability: Opt for reputed brands like Samsung when purchasing an air conditioner online. Renowned brands offer superior quality, durability, and excellent after-sales service. Buying a Samsung AC online ensures you are investing in a reliable product.

Consider the type of AC: Choose between a split AC or a window AC based on your requirements and available space. Split ACs are more versatile and provide better cooling distribution, while window ACs are easier to install and suitable for smaller rooms.

Why Choose Sathya Stores Online for AC Shopping?

Sathya Stores Online is your one-stop destination for all your air conditioner needs. Here's why it's a smart way to shop for AC online:

Discount offers: Sathya Stores Online offers attractive discount offers on air conditioners. You can find great deals and save money while purchasing your desired AC model.

EMI offers: Sathya Stores Online provides convenient EMI options, allowing you to spread the cost of your purchase over manageable monthly instalments. This makes buying an AC more affordable and budget-friendly.

Zero down payment options: Sathya Stores Online understands the need for flexibility. With their zero down payment options, you can own an air conditioner without any initial payment.

Extensive range of options: Sathya Stores Online offers a wide selection of air conditioner models from top brands like Samsung. You can browse through various options and choose the one that suits your needs perfectly.

Buying an air conditioner online can be a quick and hassle-free experience if you follow these tips. Ensure you assess your cooling requirements, compare models, prioritise energy efficiency, consider brand reliability, and select the appropriate type of AC.

Moreover, shopping at Sathya Stores Online provides you with the added advantage of discount offers, EMI options, and zero down payment choices. So, beat the heat this summer by making a smart choice and purchasing your air conditioner online at www.sathya.store. Stay cool and comfortable throughout the season!

#air conditioner online #buy air conditioner online #buy ac on emi #buy latest ac online

[gotrending-blog]

Air Conditioner Price: Latest 2023 ACs In Different Price Brackets (February, 2023)

Air ConditionerCapacityApprox Amazon PriceCarrier 1 Ton 3 Star Inverter Split AC 2023 Model1 TonRs 29,990Godrej 1 Ton 3 Star Inverter Split AC Model 20231 TonRs 29,490Below 35000Samsung 1 Ton 3 Star Inverter Split AC (2023 Model)1 TonRs 32,599Below 40000Panasonic 1.5 Ton 3 Star Wi-Fi Twin-Cool Inverter Split AC (2023 Model)1.5 TonRs 38,990LG 1.5 Ton 3 Star AI DUAL Inverter Split AC (2023…

View On WordPress

#Air Conditioner Price #Air Conditioner Price 2023 #Latest 2023 ACs

[sathyapongalspecialoffers]

Sathya Pongal Special Offers on Air Conditioners Online

Sathya.Stores is offering special deals on top branded Air Conditioners for the Pongal holiday season. Customers can find a wide variety of air conditioners from leading brands such as LG, Samsung, and Carrier at discounted prices. Whether you're in the market for a split AC, a window AC or a portable AC, Sathya.Stores has something to suit your needs and budget.

One of the standout deals is on LG's latest smart air conditioners, which come equipped with advanced features such as voice control and smart energy saving modes. With these air conditioners, you can easily control the temperature and settings from your smartphone, and even schedule the AC to turn on or off at specific times.

Samsung also has a range of air conditioners on sale, including the popular Wind-Free model which features a unique air flow system that evenly distributes cool air, eliminating the unpleasant feeling of direct cold air.

In addition to these high-tech options, there are also more traditional air conditioners available at discounted prices, including models from Carrier and other top brands. These air conditioners offer basic features such as adjustable thermostat and energy-efficient cooling systems, making them perfect for those who prefer a more straightforward appliance.

Overall, Sathya.Stores is the perfect place to shop for a new air conditioner during the Pongal holiday season. With a wide selection of top-branded models at discounted prices, you're sure to find the perfect AC to suit your needs and budget.

So, if you're looking for a new air conditioner to beat the heat, be sure to check out Sathya.Stores Pongal special offers on top branded air conditioners. With a wide selection of top-branded models at discounted prices, you can save huge on your online AC shopping at Sathya.

Buy a refrigerator online today and take advantage of their special offers and deals, and enjoy the convenience of shopping from the comfort of your home. With their fast and reliable delivery, you'll have your new Air Conditioner up and running in no time. Don't miss out on the opportunity to save big on your purchase, visit sathya.store and shop now!

#latest smart air conditioners #buy air conditioners buy air conditioners online shop air conditioner online

[lev1hei1chou]

Orange Peel Theory

Gojo x reader, Nanami x reader (individually) Genre: Orange. Words: 630 Synopsis: Orange peel theory Masterlist

You sat on the kitchen island, a pile of oranges in front of you and a mischievous glint in your eyes. You had seen the latest social media trend of asking people to peel oranges for you, and you couldn't resist trying it out on your boyfriend.

"Hey, Satoru," you called out, a subtle smile playing on your lips. "Can you peel an orange for me?"

He looked up from his phone, his grin widening. "Of course, my dear. Anything for you."

You handed him an orange, fully expecting him to play along. Gojo took the orange and began peeling it, but instead of doing it the normal way, he started creating cute patterns on the peel. Hearts, stars, and even a smiley face adorned the orange peel. You couldn't help but laugh at his antics.

After a few minutes, you decided to leave the kitchen to enjoy the sunny weather outside. "I'll be back in a bit," you declared.

Gojo winked, still peeling away. "Take your time, sweetheart."

When you returned, you were greeted by the citrusy aroma of freshly peeled oranges. To your surprise, there were not just one or two, but a whole array of them neatly arranged on a plate. Gojo sat there with a proud expression, a twinkle in his eyes.

"Ta-da! I hope you like my masterpiece," Gojo said, presenting the plate to you.

You couldn't help but burst into laughter at the sight his creativity. "Wow, baby! You really went all out."

He chuckled, leaning back in his chair. "Well, when Gojo Satoru does something, he does it with style."

You picked up one of the oranges, appreciating the effort he had put into making them special. "Thank you, love. You always know how to make everything more fun."

He grinned, leaning in to give you a quick peck on the cheek. "Anything for you, my dear. Now, let's feast on these."

And so, the two of you spent the afternoon enjoying the sweet taste of oranges. Satoru Gojo sure knew how to make even the most normal tasks better.

You and Kento Nanami were spending a lazy Sunday afternoon together at your shared apartment. The atmosphere was calm and comfortable, with the soft hum of the air conditioner in the background. You found yourself craving something refreshing, and the pile of oranges on the kitchen counter caught your eye. Quickly, your mind went to the new social media trend. You knew Nanami would do anything for you, but still you decided to test it out.

"Hey, love," you called out from the living room, "could you peel some oranges for me?"

Nanami looked up from his paperwork, his expression serious as always. "Sure, I can do that."

You handed him an orange, expecting a straightforward peeling process. Nanami approached the task at hand with precision, his movements methodical. He peeled the orange so carefully that you couldn't help but watch in awe.

As he handed you the perfectly peeled orange, he spoke in his usual composed manner, "There you go."

You couldn't resist teasing him a bit, "Wow, baby, that's quite the skill. Are you sure you haven't been practicing your fruit-peeling techniques in secret?"

He quirked an eyebrow and looked at you, with a hint of amusement in his eyes. "I assure you, it's a basic skill. Efficiency is key in every aspect of life."

You couldn't help chuckle at his seriousness but appreciated the effort he put into such a simple task. "Thank you, Kento. You're unexpectedly good at this."

Nanami nodded, a small, satisfied smile playing on his lips. You fed him an orange, which he accepted almost instantly.

You continued enjoying the peeled oranges together, savoring the quiet moments and appreciating Nanami's hidden talents. This might have been a simple act, but it was one that showed the silent love that Nanami always had for you.

#jujutsu kaisen #jjk #gojo satoru #nanami kento #gojo fluff #nanami fluff #gojo x reader #nanami x reader #gojo satoru x reader #nanami kento x reader #jjk x reader #jujutsu kaisen x reader #kento nanami #satoru gojo #jjk nanami #jjk gojo #jujutsu kaisen nanami #jujutsu kaisen gojo #nanami smut #gojo smut

[kkginfo]

Minecraft has banned the use of NFT on its servers | KKG INFO

Minecraft has banned the use of NFT on its servers | KKG INFO

One of the most popular and best selling games today. Minecraft Last May we bring you all the details about “Let’s get to know Minecraft, one of the best examples of Minecraft”. We changed. Mojang Studios, developer studio of Minecraft, today announced that “Minecraft and NFTsHe made an important statement. Mojang Studios, with its statement, on Minecraft servers NFT application Absolutely That…

View On WordPress

#automobile latest technology #banned #glucometer latest technology #INFO #KKG #latest technology air conditioner #latest technology gadgets for education 2022 #latest technology to find underground water #Minecraft #new york technology college #NFT #servers #vacuum cleaner latest technology

[iznsfw]

Drunken

Loossemble's Son Hyeju x Male Reader Smut

19,012 words

Categories | cheating, longtimecrush!Hyeju, mutual feelings, drunk sex, daddy kink (and daddy issues), fingering, squirting, titfucking, anal, choking

Thank you for commissioning! Researched for the fic, ended up falling in love with Son Hyeju. Please give this a chance and read this for the story, too, and not only the smut. I indulged too much in this.

The relationship Hyeju and OC have is very much inspired by the one Cassy and Rob have in In the Woods by Tana French. Read it, please. Was amazing. The story was also written with someone I'm currently so in love with in mind, but we're not going to talk about that here.

And no, there's never enough daddy kink stories :P

“This is not fair,” the two of you say the very second you step into your shared dorm.

Two papers in two hands of two people that show two scores that aren’t up to par for the two’s standards. You and Hyeju were always meant to be a dynamic duo: peas in a pod in every way possible, and that includes academic success and failure. It’s like there’s a kind of telepathic force between you that sends the other down with you, too. It’s too late to try and cut the connection when you’ve known Hyeju all your life, a wish that’s beyond reality for plenty of the boys at Idalso.

The dorm is clean. Mostly. You’ve done your best to tidy up the pile of clothes at the end of Hyeju’s bunk bed and she’s done the same for the relatively empty bags of chips you haven’t stopped the habit of laying around, but there’s still the telltale signs that if Hyeju isn’t organized, you aren’t either. Printed drafts of your thesis lay crumpled on the floor. Her posters are minutes away from falling off the poorly painted walls. The air-conditioner doesn’t work as well as it did in your freshman year when your rowdiness outdoors—knocking into each other, trying to race to the door and ending up messing up the other’s clothes that were ironed in a rush—isn’t as compensating.

Today, the rowdiness is lost. It gets translated into rough groans that follow you on the way to the dorms.

That’s when you realize it.

You and Hyeju look at each other. Both of your pairs of eyes widen.

“Miss Ha failed your test?” she asks, normally bored pupils widening in disbelief.

“Miss Ha failed my test.”

“No erasure rule?”

“No erasure rule.”

“Oh my god.”

“Oh my god.”

Ball up the paper and shoot it in the air. It adds to the numerous pieces of parchment on the floor. You kick the rest of them in the air while your roommate slumps on her bed and groans. 

���Fuck this,” you say, hands on your head. There comes the urge to tear all your hair out and leave it at that damned professor’s door, blood and all, to make her at least feel a miniscule bit of remorse for failing you. You didn’t deserve that. You studied and studied and she still had to implement that stupid rule.

Hyeju catches a wrinkled and crumpled paper globe. Her sui generis lips release a soft sigh. “At least we have thesis confetti,” she says sullenly.

“I’m dropping out,” you declare. You’re surprised at how serious you sound. Normally you’d say it just to get a laugh out of yourself, but now you’re actually considering doing it. 

“If you drop out, I’m dropping out, too,” she answers, looking at you spitefully. “And then who’s going to take care of Daniel?”

Think of Daniel. He isn’t your roommate but he’s gotten close with you and Hyeju the past few years. “His inheritance is what’s gonna take care of him. Did you forget he’s rich as shit?”

“Oh, right. How could I forget about him?” 

You start picking up the papers of your drafts faster and knocking them harder into the wall. Why are you doing that? Nope, don’t have an answer to that. There’s a fiery rage inside you that Hyeju’s latest sentence is the arsonist of. 

“The fuck are you doing?” she asks in amusement. There’s a hint of disgust on her face. “Calm down. What’re you, my dad or something?”

“S-sorry.” You know the whole deal she has with her dad. You have to stop—thus, drop the balls of papyrus from your hand. “It was just… I don’t know why I did that.”

Maybe you do. Can’t be about the test though it’s why you started throwing a thesis tantrum.

“Chill out, dude.” She pats your shoulder and gives you a pouty look. “If you want to play strict dad with me: no, I don’t like Daniel. If I did, I would have sat on his lap and said,” she assumes a high voice and flutters her eyelashes at you, leaning on your side, “‘Let me help you with that, darling. I’ll do the dishes, too! Or maybe you want to put a baby in me while I squeeze the soap on your di—’”

“Stoooop!” 

Throw a pillow at her. She dodges it and sticks her tongue out at you. Oh yeah. How could you forget that she plays dodgeball with the friend who’s taken up the topic of your conversation? 

Oh god, shouldn’t have reminded yourself that Hyeju and your other friend hang out. You’re feeling weird again.

“Earth to daddy, Earth to daddy,” she says, snapping her fingers in front of your face. “Li’l shit, what’s gotten into you?”

You’re feeling something again. It creeps into your heart and tugs at its strings, just like how your roommate loves to tie knots in yours and watch you struggle around trying to walk with them. That’s how it felt when she called you that. It’s not the first time she took on a roleplaying banter with you yet that specific title has you hot. 

You need to take a walk. Take a walk to somewhere that doesn’t have you in a place where you could easily pin Son fucking Hyeju to the wall and kiss her till the heat subsides.

-

Walking is your only exercise. You care not for the gyms and weights—why pressure yourself with those when you could just go for a simple walk? An hour is already sufficient enough to burn the breakfast. Only downside is that you get quite hungry afterwards, and though you don’t care for counting calories either, you’re pretty sure the food you have after your strolls is more than the amount you burned.

Actually, you could think of another downside: Hyeju doesn’t join you. She’s a homebody. A couch potato. A living pillow. She prefers to lounge at the dorm and play games instead of going out. She rarely comes along, which is why you’re guaranteed a few hours of isolation.

When you take into consideration that it isn’t isolation if tentative feelings accompany you, you’re partly glad Hyeju didn’t come along.

“Hey, is that you?”

You smile. There he is. You always pass by the apartments this time, and the old man who owns it is one of the few people you’re fond of. Being friends with a landlord wasn’t on your college bingo card, but you’re glad it happened. He’s kind, has white hair that almost matches the color of the spaces he owns, and a mouth that can simultaneously be like that of a sailor’s and a doting grandfather.

“Hi, mister Kim.”

“Hi there yourself,” he chirps. His smile is bright. Can’t say the same about the flickering bulb back in your dorm. “Where’s your girlfriend?”

Red colors your cheeks. “Hyeju’s not my girlfriend.”

“Never said she was.” He winks.

The explosion of scarlet first starts at your ears. He got you. But it isn’t exactly you to blame—everyone likes to push you and your girl best friend together. The old man knows what he’s doing. He just likes to toy around with you. 

“Mister Kim, don’t be like that,” you say. Scratch the back of your neck.

“I’ll be however the hell I want,” he replies, crossing his arms t in a friendly stance. “You two’re always glued to each other.”

“We’re just friends, sir.”

“Just friends my ass. Whenever that girl visits me, she’s always talking about you. It’s like you’re the only thing on her mind.”

That revelation was so out of nowhere, yet you welcome it. You like knowing that Hyeju, the girl you adore, adores you just as much. It’s the mutual feeling of fondness that keeps you breathing. 

“T-that doesn’t mean anything,” you say humbly. You’re somewhat right—just because Hyeju hides the truth that she drones on about you doesn’t mean she has a crush on you. You’ve seen and met her exes, and even back then they’re miles more charming than you.

“Wanna bet?”

“I’m broke—”

“No, no. Not in that way.” He shakes his head. “If you and Hyeju actually end up together, I’m letting you live in one of my apartments for free.”

“Mister Kim—”

“Think about it for your old man, will you?”

With that, he shows you a knowing smile and turns his back. Nothing more is said.

-

Just so it’s clear for everyone who comes across this story of yours: you don’t love Son Hyeju.

Anyone and everyone says the opposite. They treat you and her like famed characters on a popular teen show, pairing you up with each other and tearing off all hesitancy about thinking that they might be going too far. 

But now you’re here to make a stand against those falsehoods: contrary to popular belief, Son Hyeju isn’t the love of your life, and although you’ve been friends for so long people’d expect you walked into kindergarten class with your hand in hers, it’s completely platonic between the two of you.

There are no feelings. No speck of a disgusting yearning in your hearts despite the late night stroll you had to take to stop your wistful thoughts. No sir. Hyeju doesn’t love you that way, and neither do you. It’s simple.

Doesn’t seem that simple when you wake up in the dorm with what’s supposed to be a groan that folds itself back down your throat when you see her curled up in the other bed, blankets splayed and curled around her. No makeup on, except for lip balm she smears around her triangle-shaped mouth when they get chapped. No care for how she looks in the air (doesn’t matter when that’s the way you like it, the way she likes it). She lies there with slumber that could only be induced by an unmerciful college.

You’re glad you have her while you’re battered by the same cause of her sleep.

You try to be silent but her eyes open anyway. Her eyes are squinted, and she kind of looks like an emoticon as she pers around. She doesn’t know when or where she is. Grin because neither do you sometimes, but now that you hold that knowledge, you share it with her.

“Earth to Hyeju, Earth to Hyeju.” Echo her words from last night and resound them back to her.

“Earth?” she groans. “Wake me up when Idalso sends me to Mars.”

Yeah, that’s the Hyeju you know. The Hyeju you love. 

(Huh? Where did that come from?)

“I’ll go with you. Could use miss Jeong not trying to kill me.”

Hyeju runs a hand through her hair groggily and smiles sweetly. “Maybe she should come along and go through with killing you if you don’t stop ‘forgetting’ to pay me that five thousand.”

“Cute. I’ll pay you later, I promise.” Rise to sling the blinds up, letting light five-thirty a.m. sun spill through the squares. “Catch some breakfast at McDonald’s before class?” you offer. She’s your usual companion in the morning—you’d split the bill (because “you’re broke, and I’m broke,” she said, “it’s only fair we try to stop being poor together”) and have a nice opening meal of egg and chicken nuggets.

“Sweetie, it’s Saturday today,” she reminds you. “Don’t you remember?” She looks up from her phone and smiles at you condescendingly, as if she knew how that friendly nickname causes your system to shut down. 

You try not to show it. Try not to make it obvious that you turned your head to hide the fact that you were flustered. The fact that despite being only friends with her your chest still tightens at her casual pet names for you, like what she called you last night as well. It’s what friends do: joke with each other, call them unflattering names one second then sweet ones the next. The dorm has enough fans to keep the air circulated, and the sweat you broke last night is gone. So if that’s that, why do you feel so warm right now?

You wonder if Hyeju also feels the same heat in her stomach when you say, “Grandpa can’t remember things well anymore, darling. You’ve got to cut him some slack.”

“Wow, okay. That’s one way to put it, I guess.”

It’s lucky that it’s still dark enough for your red ears to be invisible. You hate it when you mess up your laid-back persona in front of Hyeju, the one you put up whenever you engage in these playful arguments. “Look,” you say, “do you want to get McDonald’s or not?”

“Can’t. Won’t. Shan’t. Too lazy.”

Your heart sinks. “Fine, I’ll just go to a café then. Still have that thesis to do.”

Hyeju lays back into the bed and shuts her eyes. She’s learned that when there’s a chance to sleep, she should take it. To you, it doesn’t look like she’ll let go of this one, even if rejecting it means eating together with you. 

You put on a coat and some shoes, then turn away. Fine, let her be like that. What did you even expect? You can’t be her only priority in life. Sleep, of course, and rest should come first, especially if you’re a college student. You have to brush the hurt creeping in your heart and do your own thing, just like you’d let her do hers.

Don’t catch her eyes opening and lingering on you. Your back is turned and therefore doesn’t let you see it. But if only you did, you wouldn’t have been doubtful about your future concerns, all related to her.

-

This is a different story though. This isn’t a love story—if anything, it’s how a love story ends.

-

Just so it’s clear for everyone who comes across this story of yours: you don’t love Son Hyeju.

Yes, it bears repeating. Sometimes you need to say it again to convince yourself. Convince yourself that you’re not constantly in lectures wishing that it was her beside you instead of your groupmate. Convince yourself that your soul doesn’t shatter in pieces when she refuses to join you in anything. 

Maybe you just need someone to talk it out with. Yes, that’s right. The whimsical yearning in your heart isn’t for Hyeju. You swear on it.

Oh, but you’ve never been very good at that.

“What’s going on? I came as quick as I could,” says Daniel. Yeah, that’s his name. It’s a common name that sounds foreign and unique, especially since he’s a transfer student who came from the U.S.. He has pale skin and brown eyes that are as kind as he is. You like him—he’s the only one you bother bearing besides Hyeju.

But this isn’t about her. You need to let go of her. What? “Let go of her”? Why do you think about her like you two were actually a thing?

“Nothing. Just… feelings.”

“Something happened?” He sits down and looks around confusedly. “Wait, where’s Hyeju?”

“That’s the thing,” you say as you smile tightly. “She’s what happened.”

Daniel’s not stupid. And even if we say that he was, he’s been your friend for two years. It’s short in comparison to your time with Hyeju, you know, but it remains impressive. You don’t have that many friends besides them. That, of course, eventually led to Hyeju and Daniel becoming friends with each other. That’s the reason for him catching your drift—he knows you like the back of his hand.

You order the third cheapest option on the list: an iced latte. Your friend opts for a croissant and some tea, something that reminds you that he isn’t actually from Korea. You often forget that when his Korean is more fluent than a native’s and he gels with other people so quickly. He’s an easy-going guy with everything flowing well for him.

“Let me guess: she did something?” he asks. Alright, close enough. His fingers drum a steady rhythm on the table while yours do so on your laptop keyboard.

“Yeah.” Shake your head immediately and contradictingly. What are you saying? “No. Yeah, probably. But I think it’s my fault.”

No, it isn’t a mere probability of it being your fault. It is your fault. Why are you placing expectations on Hyeju to show up for you? It isn’t on her that you get hurt when she doesn’t have the time or willpower to come along with you. So, why are you even bothering to talk about this? You should let this matter slide. Brush it under the carpet. Rewrite the news headlines. Whatever.

“Ah, couple’s quarrels,” Daniel says teasingly. He thanks the waiter for his croissant then takes a healthy bite into it. “Out of the honeymoon phase already?”

Should you be delighted that people think that she’s yours and you’re hers? You’re split between these two emotions—choose to be frustrated instead.

“Why does everybody think that we’re a couple?” 

“Well.” Your friend twirls his teaspoon into the dainty cup. Drill your eyes on it. The café is simple and affordable to eat from, but the furniture and aesthetic make you think of it as a fancier place to eat it. “You’re always together.”

“That’s all?”

“Let me finish. When some guy has the balls to ask her out, she says she has a boyfriend. She shows him your profile and number. She goes, ‘My boyfriend wouldn’t be too happy about that.’”

The latte somehow doesn’t finish its journey through the straw. “She does?”

You’re split between two thoughts to go by again. You should be happy that your friend, a friend who’s a girl moreover (never confuse a friend who’s a girl with a girlfriend—ever), feels safe enough with you to refer to you as someone who’d protect her, whether from creeps or the aggressive dogs that patrol your college grounds. It takes real trust to call a guy who’s a friend (again, avoid the confusion) your boyfriend when the time requires it. This means she trusts you to come to her if she needs saving from an odd guy or an escape out of situations.

But at the same time, you wonder if that’s what you really are to her, what you’ll only ever be to her: a fake boyfriend. The guy friend who doesn’t mind being called a boyfriend because he knows his low place in her heart. Does Hyeju even look at you as someone who’s not just an acquaintance?

“Yeah,” Daniel says matter-of-factly. “She really likes having you around.”

You don’t need to think about it when you reply, softly: “I do, too.”

The two of you sit in silence you don’t know the source of. Daniel stops eating suddenly. Similarly, all the appetite is lost and you have to put your plastic cup of latte down before you throw it at the wall and ruin the dining experience for everyone else. No, this is your problem. You should deal with it before dragging anyone into it.

“So, why did you call me? What is it about Hyeju?”

Ah, what are you thinking? Daniel shouldn’t even be here. Why did you even call him over? You did and now you don’t know why you suddenly want to throw the contents of your plastic cup into his face. If you give in, you’d be feeding into the delusion that he’s the one standing between you and Hyeju. 

That only leads to the second question of the day:

Why do you suddenly hate Daniel? Daniel is a nice guy. He doesn’t even make a move on her or disrespect her. 

You don’t like these feelings. It’s causing you to think all sorts of nonsense about everybody else, not excluding Daniel, who hasn’t done anything wrong. 

“I…” Sigh. This is the second time you’re finding an escape route so that you could be alone with your feelings. “I have to think about it. I need some time alone.”

“Oh, sure. Sorry about that.”

Hate how more guilt washes over your heart. See here, he doesn’t even protest or say something that might even be right, like tell you how you called him to come over in the first place or how there isn’t a good reason why he should leave. He simply wraps his croissant with a plastic he asked for at the counter and leaves, tea and all.

Great. Now you’re alone, like you usually are and always will be. Attempt to use it as a pro and work on your thesis. Type it all down on a Word document. Wait patiently, as you learned to, as your old laptop stops for the suffering you’ve caused it with the extra storage taken up by assignments. Contact your groupmates. Remind them to do their jobs.

It’s all going so well. That’s when she pulls up to the cafe you’ve been writing at with her hands perched on the wooden surface of your table, with the smirk that doesn’t ever leave without making sure it’s her certified look featured on her lips.

No need to mention names when there's only one girl who could make your world stop spinning.

You can’t stop staring, and it’s not even because she turned up out of nowhere. You’re always in a state of shock when Hyeju is around.

She never allows her hair to be restrained in a tight tail, so there she is with those luscious black locks spilling all over her shoulders. How she manages to look so cool and be the very person everyone wishes to be while having those soft cheeks only the evillest of people wouldn’t pinch you don’t know. Son Hyeju is cool and cute at the same time, somehow balancing those everyday without effort.

But you don’t love her. Just to remind everyone once again. No matter what happens, you have no feelings for her. And that’s that.

"Hey," she says, putting her weight on one arm. Then she curves down her head to peer at your screen. "Whatchu doin'?"

Immediately slam your laptop shut and look at her with annoyed eyes. Oh, why do you even try? You could never despise her. You could pray to god all night and day for you to hate Hyeju, to hate her to the ends of the Earth just to banish these strange feelings, and he wouldn't give in. Crazier and crazier her antics shall get and you'd remain loyal to her.

And that's all because she's a good friend. That's everything there is to it. 

Wait. Who are you convincing again?

"Oh, come on. Smile a little, pretty boy." Hyeju places a finger on one edge of your mouth then pulls it upwards. "There you go. Suh-miiile—"

Pretty boy. She called me a pretty boy.

"You p-plan on getting off the table or what?" you say.

People are staring at you and Hyeju but that isn't what's making you blush. What's gotten into you? You can't tell yourself it's because of her simply because it isn't because of her. Hyeju has as much effect on you as a cup of coffee.

(You thrive off caffeine, by the way, but that's not the point.)

"Sure. No. Uh… probably?" She looks up at the ceiling as if she's figuring something out, then clicks her tongue when she does. "Yep, nah."

Groan. 

Secretly, confessed only in the deepest corners of your mind, you like people paying attention to you and Hyeju. It’s not much about the attention itself but the way it makes them think that the two of you must be really close. Like, really really close. The kind that makes those who want Hyeju rush to her only to be met in the face with a barrier: you. They can’t have her because you do.

Not in that way, of course, but it still means something. If she has you, nobody else could, and if you have her, more so.

"Son Hyeju,” you say, fighting back the smile on your face as she ruffles your hair, “I swear to god—"

"Oh, please," says Hyeju, leaning forward with narrowed eyes and a wicked smile, "spare me, oppa. Spare me the blasphemy—"

That's enough from her, you think. Your hands dive for her waist. Pull her down onto your lap. Your thighs soften the blow and also play the role of a launch pad as one kick sends Hyeju in the air. More chances to tickle her come along with it. Okay, that bit about the lap was wholly unintentional, and you'll swear to god again for that. 

What isn't unintended though is the tickling you do on Hyeju's midriff and arms. It helps that she's so sensitive—soon she's laughing boisterously, struggling in your lap with her head upturned and triangle-shaped mouth letting out unkempt guffaws. She nearly kicks the two of you out of the café seat.

"Dude, you are such a loser, stop!" she laughs, still winding around like a screw on top of you. Laughs alternate between each syllable. "P-people are looking, fffucking quit—"

When that beautiful gummy smile breaks on her face, you don't want to. People can look as much as they like and you wouldn't give a damn. Tickling is Hyeju's punishment, and you'll do it to her anywhere to teach her a lesson.

"Ha, haha, I'm sorry, okay!"

"That's my girl." 

You’re not hurt anymore. For a few delicious minutes, you’ll forget you were ever pondering if you like her or not.

Stop completely because you’re easy to convince like that All she needed was that one magic word. Place her on the chair beside you and fold her hands on her lap as if she were a misbehaving child. 

"Now behave yourself."

Hyeju rolls her eyes. "And if I don't?" she challenges you. 

You raise your fingers in a curled position and direct them threateningly centimeters away from her ticklish spots. She gives up. She can't find a punishment worse than that.

"Why are you here anyway? I thought you didn’t want to come," you say, taking the liberty to open your laptop again. The screen directs you to your assignment tab after you type in your password. Sigh; still five thousand words to go. 

"I'm here because I've got nowhere else to be," she answers. She practices her own liberty, too, and sips shamelessly at your iced beverage.

Her eyes light up at the taste. "I got bored being alone in the dorm."

You think of her alone, and your heart immediately sinks. Maybe you should have stayed there. You’re her roommate—you’re there for her to have company. Sure, the roommates were paired up randomly, but it must lead to something now that you and Hyeju have met again. It was by pure chance that she reunited with you after years of being apart. There’s a string drawing you together, and you don’t know what it means. 

You do know that the reunion with your childhood best friend and seeing how she’s grown made your heart flutter. You act all mean when you’re around her, which is confusing when you’ve missed her so much.

"And I needed somewhere else to finish this thesis before miss Wong realizes it was due three weeks ago." Glare pointedly at her. Here you go again. Told you so. "Somewhere that's not occupied by a brat."

It's true. Call it what you will: an insult, a pointless accusation, but what you said rings true even in your childhood best friend's defiant mind. She could be a handful often.

"I am not a brat," she says, offended. She knows the truth and chooses to deny it. Typical. You should have seen that coming when she’s the girl who lies about the extra dishes in the sink not being her fault and her turn with the laundry.

Sigh. Act as the lawyer; you’re studying to be one anyway. It’s best to practice. "Remember when you cut up the slogan on the mayo label then taped it on me? I had 'white creamy filling; taste me!' on my back for the whole day!" 

"It was a big-ass sticker for a mayonnaise, okay? I couldn't stop myself." Hyeju admits this with hands raised in defeat. "But what about that time you shoved a Toblerone in my mouth while I was sleeping then took a photo of me?"

Raise your hands, too. You realize there's no way to weigh in the blame on a single person when you and Hyeju brought the brat out of each other. It's impossible to go by a day that isn't filled by at least one prank and joking quarrels.

Still, you find it fun. Hyeju's so easy to bond with, so easy to love. 

Whoa, where did that suddenly get here? Like you said, you love Hyeju, but only as a friend. 

So you do love her, in a way. Huh. 

That realization settles in and suddenly you're rendered frozen at the table. Your hands that ought to be finishing your schoolwork are frozen in mid-air. You're staring at the screen like you were watching a gory movie instead of trying to tick off your to-do list. 

"You okay?" she asks, one-of-a-kind lips sealed around the paper straw. "You kind of, like, went to another dimension for a bit."

How do you tell her you’re considering the fact that you might actually like her? You’ve known her for years. Something’s inevitably going to bloom inside you for her, right?

"Y-yeah. I'm good." Not. “And stop drinking my coffee.”

“You wouldn’t need it if you just did the thesis early. What’s so hard about it anyway?” Hyeju stands then bends over to glance at your laptop.

You don’t realize how short her dress is. It rides up to the centers of her thighs and you don’t know how to prevent anyone from seeing something forbidden without brushing down the hem of her dress. If you went down that road, you’d have to run your hand along her back and ass—you’d look like a pervert. 

Idiot. Think of something. Something that isn’t how you’d love to see more when you're just like everyone and shouldn't be allowed more eye access to her body. Only you know how many times Hyeju’s body came up in your mind when you were alone. Paired up with that attractive face that held a permanent pout, it’s impossible not to think of anything else. 

“Ugh! You are so dumb, you know that, oppa?” To your horror, Hyeju sits down neatly on your lap. She has her hands quickly frisking on your keyboard. “There’s a comma missing here, and a citation over here… oh, and a—”

“Save some for the rest of us!” a man about your age and height yells jokingly, cheering you on with a raise of his mug of hot coffee.

Both you and Hyeju look at him with confusion written all over your faces. Your words of surprise almost sync and match with the other for you realize your hands are on her hips, and Hyeju’s leaning back so comfortably in you that anyone would have thought it was another case of couple’s PDA. They’d be wrong though. She’s not your girlfriend. She can’t be your girlfriend.

So why is she so comfortable on top of you, as if she’s always been there? Why did your hands naturally rest on the beautiful slopes of her hips and pull her down the moment she stooped?

The guy’s grandmother smiles adoringly. “Young love,” she says with a dreamy tinge to her aged voice. "What wouldn't I give to experience that again."

You and Hyeju meet each other’s gazes and suddenly you’re unattached to each other. She guiltily settles on her chair and you take your hands off her. That was wrong. Why were the two of you so comfortable with being so touchy? Best friends don’t do that. At least, not best friends of the opposite sex. 

“I should go,” she stammers, standing up. “Call me i-if you need help, oppa.”

Just like that, she’s gone. Where did she go? Why did you lose her so fast?

-

Hyeju’s always called you oppa one way or another, but that moment left a particular jar in your heart. It shards the depths of the core and renders you speechless. You didn’t know that the person you’d love to hear that title the most from is your best friend. She’s supposed to call you that when she’s younger, but even if she weren’t, you’d still love to hear her call you that.

There’s a sense of fulfillment in being able to be Hyeju’s oppa. The one she always relies on. The one she sticks to through whatever happens. That’s why now that she’s told you to call her if you need help makes you ache. It’s the things that are seemingly so simple as that that send more yearning inside you.

The question is: what exactly are you yearning for? Who are you yearning for?

You think you know the answer. It’d take guts to admit it, to finally come clean. But what’s there to come clean about? You don’t love Hyeju. 

A ding from your phone just now. You’re nearly finished with the thesis, and it’s lucky that way since it’s from Hyeju. God knows she has ways of distracting you. Her clean moves at the dance she led and her chill yet stern voice when she commands a rowdy classroom steer you away from what you should be doing, like get away from her. Avoid her at all costs. Never tell her what you’re feeling because it’ll only end up badly for everyone involved. You don’t want to hurt Hyeju, and still you remain hopeful to not get yourself hurt, too.

It takes several seconds for courage to tie you down and pick up the phone. It’s a series of texts from her.

HyejU_U: hey

Sooooooooo

I’m sorry for what happened earlier. 

I didn’t really think and thought that you'd be fine with it

cause yknow

You pulled me down

and

We’re friends.

right?

Yeah, we’re friends, you think bitterly. And no matter how touchy you get, Son Hyeju, it’s all we’ll ever be to you.

HyejU_U: can we just move forward from it? If you want to ofc

Do you? Graduation is near and it’s still taken plenty of years of your life to get over Hyeju. Do you go forward and start on a new slate with her, or dwell in places you shouldn’t be?

Your fingers linger on the keyboard, then—

You: Sure.

Sorry, too

if i like

Made you feel uncomfortable

Wasnt my intention, i promise

HyejU_U: oh you didnt make me feel uncomfy at all.

So don’t worry <3

What a relief.

HyejU_U: i should be the one apologizing anyway

I thought it would be nice to be on you since ur arms feel good around me

Cock a brow. A giddy smile itches at the ends of your lips. Stifle it you will, though she can’t see you through her screen.

HyejU_U: sorry again

i just wanted to see if what i thought was true

Anyways. 

yeah, sorry.

You: so we’re good?

HyejU_U: we have a deal, dickface

;)

See, this is the thing you’re afraid to lose with Hyeju: the carefreeness of your little friendly touches and hugs, insults that take it just far enough, everything. If you told her how you felt (keep in mind that you might not actually like her romantically; you’re just thinking that you might), you’d lose your relationship with her—the one that formed before the two of you even knew what romance was. The one that’s kept the reunion as natural as could be without the need for awkwardness.

You’re so glad to have her back. As a student you’ve nearly cried knowing you passed a semester and worked night and day to finish a difficult assignment—none of those feelings can match the one of relief you felt when Hyeju told you everything was good on both ends. 

But for now, you’ve gotta try to put a dent into this thesis. You’re almost done, you swear. You’ve just been stalling—not intentionally. You swear on that, too. Your whole afternoon’s been swamped up in thoughts about her plus the thoughts about if you’re too perverted a man to be with her. There are a lot of questions left by you immediately responding to Hyeju choosing to sit on your lap. A lot of which are left unanswered.

Priorities. Sigh a little; there’s still work to be done, yet worrying about your best friend is on top of the list. You really should find a hobby when you’re already dragging your teammates behind. Plus, there’s the capstone to worry about that you haven’t prepared for even in the most miniscule bit. So there really shouldn’t be an explanation for why thinking about what she thinks of you is your number one priority. Why, you have plenty of other things to worry about.

You just can’t get her off your mind. These days it’s impossible to.

Abstain anyway, the best you can, from thinking about her and finally complete the thesis. It’s lengthy, well-edited, and has the perfect format to finally make you a lawyer. Attorney doesn’t sound too bad when it’s added to the front of your name.

You should celebrate, actually. The moment you think of it, Daniel suddenly messages you. He’s saying something about it being a Saturday, so you should go to the bar with him. You’re a social drinker, anyway. You could go there without going overboard. Addictions and vices form in these years of fresh adulthood, but you’ve never found yourself wound up in something.

So you do. They ask for your IDs and let you in after a short study of the cards. The guard gives you a lengthy lecture about not being alcoholics as young as you are, but welcomes you anyway.

If we’re talking about getting yourself wound up in someone, though…

“Dude,” Daniel says. He motions his glass to someone coming from the door. “Hyeju.”

You already know he’s rich, but what teacher did he pay to study him into mind-reading? “I wasn’t thinking about her,” you tell him defensively.

“No, I mean, she’s here.” He stares at said woman walking over to the bar with swaying hips. “How the fuck did she get here?”

Hyeju’s here? Swallow. Quick. What do you say? Where exactly in the bar is she right now? Why is she here? When did she get here? Why the fuck are you talking like a news reporter? 

“Hullo, boys.” She stops your train of thought and makes sure to dedicate all of them to her with her hands set on the table and a pretty crop top attached to the curves on her perfect body. You wonder where she got that dress. If she thrifted it, it isn’t obvious—her body does good work in making it look like couture.

“Hi, Hyeju.” Daniel acknowledges her with a nod. He’s a friend of yours and hers, just to remind everyone. He wouldn’t take another step with Hyeju, but you still have yourself staring daggers into his stubbled beard that lines his face and how he takes life as he would a game. There’s a reason why you’re the least tipsy among the two of you. He likes a challenge.

“Hi,” you say meekly. Hope your voice doesn’t sound twisted when your stomach suddenly is. Oh, and it’s not because of Hyeju. It’s the alcohol, pinky promise with a finger heart after. Alcohol’s never made your stomach turn this way though. 

Hyeju regards the shotglasses. “You went drinking without me?” 

“What does it look like?” Daniel asks, giving her the finger. It’s just the usual friendly argument that doesn’t cross lines or anything. The ones that you and Hyeju have. Why do you feel like punching him in the face?

Luckily, she doesn’t have a fragile heart. “Cute. Keep it that way.” She rolls her eyes then turns to you. “Oh, and you. I thought you liked having me around.”

“I’m sorry.” Ask the bartender for another shot then hand it to her. “I guess we just thought you were busy with training.”

She’s training to become an idol. It’s been her dream since she was a kid, when you played in the slides and dropped from monkey bars. She’s always told you she was going to be big someday, and you never doubted that for a second. She even had a name she planned to use if she were to be a performer: Olivia Hye. You weren’t gonna lie, it had a nice ring to it. Not too bad for a name she made up after skimming through a baby name book from the bookstore.

“I dropped out,” she says simply, downing the shot like water.

“What?” you and Daniel ask together. Both of your voices sync with the shock, too. Neither of you could get why she did that. It’s been Hyeju’s dream to become an idol for so long. She couldn’t give that up just like that, but she did.

“Yep.” There’s pride in her voice. “The whole thing was a shithole. I already have Idalso to deal with. I’m not gonna put up with that, fuck no.”

Your heart aches for her dream. Idalso University really is blocking her from achieving it. She could be out there on the stage, maybe having found a better agency, singing and dancing her heart out. Instead, she has to choose one problem at the time and hence goes with college. She has her own parents to please, and because you have yours, you get it. You truly do.

As for Hyeju getting a problem off her mind, like that terrible agency, your spirits lift. You raise a glass and clink it with hers. 

“To getting the hell out of this shithole,” you say; look at the girl you’ve lived for and loved with a smile, “and Son fucking Hyeju for doing it again.”

Your glasses meet. You’re somehow happy that it’s only two, yours and hers, that join. You can’t explain it for the life of you, but you like seeing Daniel become like a background character to it all. Just another extra in Hyeju’s show and yours. It’s cruel, especially when he’s been nothing but a good friend, but it is what it is.

“Tell you what,” Daniel says. “Let’s go to a noraebang tomorrow.”

She’s contemplative. “Isn’t the one near Idalso… like, expensive?” 

“So what?” He shrugs. “You did it, Hyeju. You got out of that company thing. I’m done with my capstone and so is he with his thesis. I say we all have some fun. On me.”

Daniel has the privilege of not worrying about things being expensive or not. It’s the norm for him. You kind of want him to play Dorothy and put himself in your shoes, then make him go through what you did. 

You know it isn’t fair and he’s just being kind. Still and all, your hatred rises.

“What now?” Daniel asks. “You guys in!”

“Of course!” Hyeju nods and claps her hands together. There’s a gummy smile on her face again. You’ve seen it on her many times, but you’ve also seen the sunset everyday—therefore, you’ll still be glad to catch a glimpse of it.

You guess since she’s in, you have to go, too. You say yes and that of course you’d love to go, and this time three glasses clink together prettily. Smiles are on each of your faces albeit yours is artificial.

"Could you act any less like a deadbeat dad?" Hyeju asks. She sits down on the stool beside you after Daniel leaves to get some air. Still feels like he's here when you feel like everyone's eyes are on you and her.

"I'm not doing anything." You say that because you aren't. You definitely aren't stirring a brew of jealousy inside you that poisons the maker, too. You're its creator yet the prophecy that was written tells that it'll turn against you, too. You’re Kronos, and it's an inevitable fate. 

"Exactly. That's what deadbeat means." This matter-of-fact statement from her is followed by Hyeju stealing your shotglass out of your hand right before you drink it. "Seriously, dude. What's up with you?"

Oh, you don't know. Maybe her possibly being your crush? It's such an immature matter, but you haven't had a crush like this. The others were just sweet-faced and from afar. Those are the girls you dream of. To have a girl like Hyeju, the one you've known since forever, with a spunky personality but an opposing pretty face, the one who's been your ride-or-die—it's complicated.

What else could you say to her when the truth is something you'd rather she not hear?

"I'm fine, Hye."

"Are you? You look…" She thinks about it for a while as she studies your hair and poorly combined outfit choices. She slicks your blunt strands back and smiles teasingly. "...sleazy."

"Fuck y—"

"Shhh." She places a finger on your lips. The side of her thigh touches your lap. You're so close that any word you utter won't pass without hitting her. "It's okay. I like it."

You purse your lips. You didn't expect that. She's taken seats on your lap that were uninitiated by you and let you lift her in the air when you hug her. All that and her fingers in your hair are the most surprising.

"You're drunk," you say, although she’s only had a few shots. 

Hyeju inches closer to you and holds your chin in place. "I'm sober as the next wolf, sweetie," she tells you. Her next words fail to show her hesitance. "And… and it just so happens that I really, really want to kiss you."

She's joking. She's playing around with your heart. You're not a virgin—you know what girls do. Hyeju doesn't strike you as the type to do that in spite of what’s going on, but you have to be careful. Your heart’s been bruised too many times already. 

Careful isn't the word for it when you take the first step and lean in for a kiss. Maybe you're drunk yourself. Dizziness enchants your mind as Hyeju's dreamy lips perfectly pout to the shape of your mouth. Her eyes are closed. It's like she's in a restful dream.

You can’t believe you’re doing it. You’re kissing her. Passionately, too—there’s real determination in the way you hungrily lean forward to devour her lips. 

The bar oohs and ahhs, then erupts into a crowd of applause. A few whistles come your way. You can feel Hyeju smile into your mouth.

-

Proclivities upon proclivities to keep her around you and only you couldn’t stop Monday from coming. You’ve only been to a noraebang once and that was with your family. It excites you to go to one again. However, you’d rather have only Hyeju to come, to be the exclusive member of the club that gets to hear her soft, pretty voice echo in the mic.

She’s really doing a number on you. Daniel’s your friend—sure, he might be out of touch with the local games and experiences, yet he’s still important to you. You can’t be mad at him over a girl who probably doesn’t even think the kiss at the bar was anything special. She hasn’t even talked about it with you and acts like it didn’t happen. Just another boy, just another day. That’s probably how you are to her.

Ouch. Way to go hurting yourself with your own made-up scenarios. As expected from you. 

The three of you decide to cut classes. It’s not like you’re in high school anymore. Professors just don’t give a fuck, unless it’s miss Wong. She’s pretty and quiet at first. Then you have to wait to see her get angry—that’s when all hell breaks loose.

No hell on the loose today. Just three little demons from hell called Hyeju, Daniel and yourself down on the loose and down the road to the noraebang. Hyeju’s in a loose black jacket and a plain white tee. You somehow notice that more than Daniel who’s sporting a graphic shirt with swear words from every language printed on it. You don’t have much to say about your attire when it’s nothing special, not even compared to Hyeju, who’s wearing simple clothes like you.

“If a teacher sees us out here—” says Daniel nervously. He’s never rebelled before. The most he’s done is missing a class. 

“No one will,” Hyeju promises him, opening the door of the place for the two of you though in your opinion it should be the other way around: you opening the door for her. What better way to show Hyeju that you could be a gentleman? Too late now. Plus, she doesn’t care much for that. That’s what keeps your excitement on a low burn. It takes more than opening a door and waiting around to impress Hyeju. 

You sign your names at the front. Daniel picks a nice, wide room with a glass table perfect for chips and bottles. The bright screen already shows snippets of K-pop music videos, involving sweet-faced Korean girls waving at the camera and running along a beach. As boyish Hyeju is compared to other girls, you could definitely see her doing that for her passion of becoming an idol. 

“What should we sing?” asks Hyeju, sitting down on the black plush seats comfortably. Her gummy smile is precious.

“Anything you want.” He slings an arm around her. His looped arm tugs her into a warm embrace. “Anything for the soon-to-be lawyer slash K-pop idol.”

Stiffen. Turn away and suddenly take good interest in the walls with a carved 3D effect. Much more interesting than whatever Daniel’s trying to pull on your best friend. Right, Hyeju’s your best friend. Nothing more. That kiss was a drunken mistake. You shouldn’t be getting angry. Besides, this noraebang was rented for you to have fun, not glower at Daniel doing nothing but be a good friend.

Hyeju laughs and leans into him gladly. “Stop, you’re gonna make me throw up!”

You feel out of place all of a sudden. Has she always been that affectionate with him? You thought that those touches and hugs were reserved for you only. Apparently not.

“Sing a song, Hye.” Your eyes don’t meet her gaze.

“They wanted me to debut with this song,” she says. The mic is shaky in her hand. “I—” She blushes. “I want to sing it for you.”

Sweetness infiltrates the air. It’s not of a scent or touch, but of hearing. It's Hyeju’s voice. It's smooth and soft as it passes through the empty atmosphere. No instrumental accompanies her voice, and you’re glad it’s that way. It allows you to marvel at Hyeju’s tone, quiet in spite of its sexiness.

And it takes that and several songs later, sung daringly by all of your trio, and jokes passed among friends that make you think about it. Really think about it. While Daniel and she sing their hearts out to the point of their voices cracking and laughs transforming into guffaws, you sit there and submerge yourself in thought.

You’ve seen Hyeju smile. It's pretty and sweet; her triangle-shaped mouth curls up into a half moon and it's everything you've ever wished for in life. No, fuck food. Fuck oxygen. All you need is her smile. It's cheesy as hell when you page through those types of quotes in those teenage romance books you probably shouldn't even be holding, but you swear that if Hyeju smiles for the rest of her life, it's enough for you to live. She just looks so pretty. Her resting bitch face, stone cold as the title of the expression suggests, is hot (yes, you're using that word), but when she chooses to smile—oh, you're as good as dead.

You don't like Son Hyeju though.

You’ve heard her sing in the noraebang room with her soft voice filling the vicinity. She doesn't sing much although she could. The day would come when she’d say "you know, I almost became an idol. I trained then dipped halfway,” and the pitched raspiness of her voice still would send you to heaven. It's a natural and beautiful thing, a trait she couldn't learn from the best vocal coach.

You don't like Son Hyeju though.

You’ve felt her hair when she leaned into your lap after laughing too much. "Stop, or I swear to god I will fuck your shit up," she told you, slapping your thigh after your terrible dad joke. You ran your fingers through her hair to calm her, but if anything it's an excuse to just touch her. You want to touch Hyeju, and not even in a sexual way. You just want your bodies closed up on each other with no awkwardness barriering the freedom to hold and be held.

And it’s not the kiss, but all these that make you stop your denial, and discover that you—

“—think I like Hye,” you whisper to Daniel when said girl leaves to get some beer. The flashing disco lights hanging from the ceiling can’t camouflage the red on your face. 

Daniel laughs and puts down the mic. The bump on the crafted table sends a tinged pitch of feedback to your ears. “Everyone likes her. So?”

He’s right. Everyone likes Hyeju. Yeah, they like her through every name she’s taken up. She was the star of the school back in middle school when she went as Hyejoo, then the ice princess of high school as Olivia Hye, and finally… as herself now that she’s grown up with you, Son Hyeju. She’s become so many versions of herself and yet people still like the real her. You still know the real her.

“No,” is what you say, as you twiddle your fingers. You don’t know how to say this without causing an uproar. “I like Hyeju.”

He considers this for a moment, weighing in your words. “Like as in… like like?”

A nervous swallow. Is Daniel the right person to tell this ? “Like like,” you reply nevertheless.

Daniel locks his chin between his rough fingers and strokes it thoughtfully. His face is clouded with a feeling you can’t read. “Well, a lot of people do, too. And they wouldn’t blame you for it. She’s—” He looks down at his shoes then back at the noraebang screen. “She’s a pretty girl.”

The understatement of the century. Hyeju’s face was carved with such beauty—curved, pyramid lips; slanted eyes; a cold look that you, unlike people when asked about their first impression of her, weren’t scared of—and she’s just so… easy to love. 

Yes, Son Hyeju is easy to love. Everyone loves her, but she can only ever reciprocate it in a different way to one man. Woman, perhaps? Anything goes, but you'd rather she gives it to you.

You're a selfish person, you admit that. More so when it comes to her. 

"Let's get this party started!" she says. You don't intend to flinch yet you end up doing it anyway when she sits down next to you and hands you canned alcohol. 

"There's only three of us, Hye," Daniel points out. The rounded metal springs up from the can and he gulps down a hefty amount of the spiked liquid.

"Three's a crowd. Especially when it's with you guys."

"So you're saying we're too much?" Match her sass with hidden bits of your own. You're only trying to make it seem like your heart doesn't beg to be held close to hers. 

"Too much is just enough for me." 

Hyeju drops both of her arms around you and your other friend and ruffles your hair. It's sweet. It should be. It’s exactly that which makes you fail to understand why your heart feels squeezed. Why is she also hugging Daniel in the same manner she hugs you?

The kiss at the bar means nothing. The kiss at the bar means nothing. You have to stop thinking that it means there's a ring on your finger already. 

You rise from the sofa to purchase chips because you’re starving, but not for healthy food. You wouldn’t dream of eating a salad when there’s junk food in your general vicinity, and it just so happens that there’s a vending machine you’ve got your eye on at the counter. Soon, a rainbow of plastic bags fills your arms. What they contain would work well to repay your debt with Hyeju. Daniel can eat these without worrying about money. He’s been a good friend. He deserves chips after the evil you’ve thought about him.

"I bought chips—"

Daniel is pushing Hyeju to the end of the sofa and has his lips locked on hers. His hands are in her hair. Her eyes are shut. You can hear the sloppy sounds of kissing bouncing off the noraebang walls. The instrumental from the radio is the cherry on top of everything.

Does this kiss guarantee a ring? 

"Wow," you say. Nod then laugh, as if doing it would make your situation better. “Wow.”

Hyeju turns her head and scrambles for broken dignity. It's too late. You've already seen it. Daniel doesn't even bother running after you when she bursts out of the room to chase you. You're immovable—each step is a promise to take you far away. You trust that promise to skewer you away from Son Hyeju, Son fucking Hyeju who led you on and played with your heart.

"Hey.” Her steps catch up with yours. Walk faster, but she only draws closer. You can’t escape from her now. “Hey!”

"What?" Turn to her, heavy breathing lining your shoulders. You stare into her small face and silently dare her to make an excuse.

To your surprise and her audacity, she does. "It's not what it looks like!" she says, swallowing. How could she be the one near tears when she's the one who kissed him? "Let me explain—"

"I know what I saw."

"Well, you don't see the bigger picture. He sm—"

"—smart? Funny? Rich?" Laugh and shake your head. Your laughs sound more and more genuine. You've gone a little sick in the head. "Yeah, I know. But hey, we're not supposed to be anything, right? Why am I mad? It's not like our kiss meant anything."

"Please, oppa. Listen to me."

"No, go sing together,” you say, then thrust the junk food you bought in her arms. “I’m sure you’re better off with him.”

Mean it. Turn away. Don't bother to look at her when you know she'll go crawling back to Daniel. He's totally her type. He's everything, you're nothing. He's smart, you're not. He loves her more, and you do—just not enough. Now you understand why they were so touchy and close in the room.

Anger is irrational when it was just a kiss. The two of you weren't official, either. If you weren't before, you sure as hell aren't now. It's just not meant to be. 

She likes Daniel, not you. And even though you want to be, you aren't supposed to be angry at Hyeju. She was swept into a high school love triangle that happened a little later in her life, and ultimately chose the better guy. No need to drop names. The kiss was enough for you to know which man she chose.

Besides, you don't love Son Hyeju anyway. Isn't that what you've always told yourself? That's right. You don't love her.

Denial is a river flowing down your cheek.

-

The dorm becomes a cemetery of the living dead. You and Hyeju have not spoken to each other for three months. She stops waking you up for class, and you do the same. The place is notably cleaner after the two of you rely only on yourself to tidy up. Lost are the sarcasm, friendly touches, teasing arguments. It’s like the two of you never knew each other.

It’s through this that you discover that you have to be careful what you wish for. You always thought about Daniel putting himself in your place, and it happened. Ever since the kiss, Hyeju’s been chattier with him, and he pulls her close the way you used to, and she smiles at him like she used to at you, except that it’s wider now. They’re together. Officially together; you’ve seen their Instagram posts. 

Moreover, she’s happier than ever, flourishing without you.

And you? You’re still stuck in that noraebang, replaying that fateful kiss over and over in your head. Each time you close your eyes you see Hyeju and Daniel in a passionate liplock. It’s the kiss that ruined what you had with Hyeju and has made your quality of life deteriorate. You didn’t know that Hyeju makes up almost every part of your day. Mornings are empty without your stroll with her. Post-exam nights aren’t as fun when she’s not there to bring drinks. Afternoons are lonely when she’s always out with Daniel.

You hate the fucker. He knew you liked Hyeju. You’ve told him about it right before the thing he did with her even happened, so it’s impossible that he’d forget. Besides, like he said, the two of you are always together. He surely would have picked up the signs. Unfortunately, he whisked her away just like that.

You dislike to feel like the scheming guy in coming-of-age films who doesn’t get the girl, but it’s the perfect portrayal of your emotions.

Wake up for class. She does, too. You have the decency to not gawk at how good she looks even in a casual tank top and plaid shorts, but she doesn’t even try to hide that she’s staring at you. Just not for the same reason, you assume. You’re just her boy best friend. With the way things are, you aren’t even a friend to her anymore.

You smear cheese onto a soft slice of bread. Still, her eyes are on you. From the corner of what takes up your vision, you could tell that she’s trying to figure out how to make this less awkward. You’d think that an eternity’s worth of effectively giving each other the cold shoulder would make her learn how to do it. She’s a smart girl anyway. She should have figured that out.

“You know… you can’t just keep ignoring me.”

Freeze—it’s the first time she’s spoken to you in a while. And you weren’t prepared for that. It’s like someone threw a punch in your stomach, but it’s also a breath of fresh air. How those two feelings could converge into each other you don’t know. 

“So stop it, will you?” she continues. She swings her legs out of the duvet and places her hands snug on the edge of her bed. “Stop treating me like I’m a…”

“Like what?”

“Like I’m your fucking ex,” Hyeju snarls. The duvet crumples in her fist.

Scoff. Fold the bread slice tight onto the other squared end. Talk about a good morning. “Ex? We were never a thing, Hye… ju.” 

Right, it isn’t like that anymore. You can’t call her Hye like the old times.

The hurt that registers on her face, still pretty in the midst of pain, comes by so fast it would take a magnifying glass to see it clearly. Now she’s the one scoffing. She recovers quickly from the stifled nickname so well that you never would have guessed you disarmed her. “That’s the thing. You’re right—we weren’t boyfriend-girlfriend. So why are you acting like I’m a ghost?”

“I wonder why,” you say. “Couldn’t be because you kissed me then decided to kiss another guy while I was away. Nope, totally out of the question.”

What happened? It seems like just yesterday the two of you were throwing insults and playfully quarreling with each other like it’s natural. This is a real disagreement here. This can’t be resolved with a smile or hug. You and Hyeju aren’t like that anymore. It’s a thing of the past.

Just like your friendship.

“If you’d just let me explain—”

“You know what? I don’t have time for this. Go with Daniel to class. Have a good life with him. Just call me if you get lost.”

Don’t even try to take a bite out of your cheese sandwich. You leave it on the table. Later, it’ll become stale and cold, similar to your friendship with Hyeju, or whatever kind of fucked up relationship you have.

You storm out of the dorm. You’re glad to get out—you’re already worried about the test later and the night class with miss Wong. Don’t need a situationship to take up your mind either. 

The day passes like a car on a rocky, jagged road. It’s difficult to muster a smile to the freshmen the moment you come in to help miss Jeong teach, or work on your test when that argument with her fills your mind rather than equations you should have memorized. The whole day is torture, and you don’t dare wish it on anyone. Not even that asshole Daniel

“What’s up with you today?” people ask you. “You sure you’re alright?” “Where’s Hyeju?”

You don’t answer.

When the night comes, it’s relief for your sore mind and body. That test beat you up and the sun was too cruel to your skin. Even if night classes could last till the brink of dawn, you don’t mind. Take comfort in the fact that it’s only a discussion and nothing more. 

Barely listen though. Two a.m. creeps by and you haven’t taken in a thing. Usually miss Wong would have you focused, keeping in mind that she’s strict and merciless, but you’re too tired today. Your bones ache though you didn’t do much walking. They’re only symptoms of heartbreak.

You don’t want to see a doctor. In fact, you want to get worse.

Miss Wong looks up at the clock. “Is it alright if I extend for just five minutes?” she asks. Her pencil skirt struggles to contain her strides on the platform.

A chorus of mixed responses echo in the classroom. Others, the top students in particular who participate in every club you could name, say it’s fine. Some already have excuses to make: they need to work on homework; they have other classes to go to; every excuse existing. You don’t know which side you’re on—you don’t want to come home to another angry night with Hyeju, and at the same time, you can’t be assed to stay.

Then—

Ringing. It’s all you hear. Your classmates’ voices drown out in it. It’s supposed to be soft, but it isn’t anymore when everyone shuts their mouth in alarm. Look here, look there. You don’t know where it’s coming from. 

Your hint is the light in your pocket. Fish it out. It’s coming from your phone.

“I thought I told you guys to put your cellphones on mute during class,” Wong says, sighing. Her glare shoots you a warning.

Okay, you’d say sorry to her and put your phone away. Drop the call. Anything. But the first thing you do is wonder:

Why the fuck is Son Hyeju calling you?

Aside from all the tension between you, your natural instinct is to answer. Your next is to ask her, “Hye?”

“Oppa…” comes her voice from your speaker.

Before you could wonder why she’s calling, you notice that Hyeju’s voice is… lonely. Yes, lonely. That’s the word you’d use right away if you’re asked to describe it. No, it can’t be just that. It’s mixed with something else. It’s higher, a little more groggy.

Forget that you were fighting. Forget that she kissed Daniel and broke your heart. She wouldn’t call if it isn’t something even her pride can’t protect. “Hyeju? What’s wrong?” 

“I’m lost.” 

-

Those are the two words she utters before breaking into sobs. You’ve never heard or seen Hyeju cry. She likes to treat problems with anger rather than sadness, slicing away at every conflict with groans and cursing professors for low grades. If she’s crying, it must mean something’s wrong. Something’s very, very wrong.

You’re keenly aware that all eyes and ears are monitoring your moves, but you don’t care. You rise from your seat and start gathering your laptop into your bag. You forget about your notes. Fuck them. Hyeju comes first. 

“Where did you go, Hye?” Walk out of the class. If miss Wong has a problem with that, she can tell you about it tomorrow. 

Sniffles on her end. Her quiet, low cries break your heart. “I don’t know what I’m doing anymore. I need you, oppa. I have… I have nobody else. Please come and get me.”

“Hyeju—”

“Please,” she whispers. Her voice lowers to a whine. “I’m alone. I’m so alone.”

Tears itch at the bottoms of your eyes. You have to come and get her. Need to forget the fight and silent treatment that ensued. All that means nothing if Hyeju’s in need of your help.

Where the fuck are your keys? Remove them from the loop of your jeans and click the button. In the driveway, your car’s headlights shine. Yep, there it is. You once regretted buying a secondhand car like that. Now that it can get you to Hyeju, you vow to take care of it for life. You’d spend thousands to repair it if it breaks down.

But right now, it’s Hyeju who’s breaking down. She’s all alone somewhere and she needs you. In a way, you need her, too. She’s the one who’s braver to admit it.

You’ve never driven faster in your entire life. All the while you stay on the line with Hyeju. Your grip on the wheel tightens whenever she lets out a hopeless little sob. She’s crying so hard that you want to roll into a ball in the corner and cry, too. You can’t do that. You have to be the stronger one, the one who comes to her like she’s done for you and tells her that everything’s going to be alright.

You make no promises. 

Eventually you coax a location out of her and break several speed limits. Ignore the cops that yell at you. They can all go and fuck off. Hyeju needs you. You’re her best friend. It’s what friends do.

“Motherfucker,” you curse, upon seeing that the location she led you to was a club. It’s hidden in the corner of a creepy alley. “Hyeju, are you drunk?”

“Nooooo…” she drawls, giggling through her tears. “Your voice is so nice, oppa. It really makes me feel better. Did’ya know that?”

No time to be flattered. You burst into the club and find her in the midst of flashing lights and crowds of bodies. Your ears ring because of the music. Whose idea was it to hire this DJ? He thinks he’s doing such a good job, too. 

Hyeju’s in the center of it all. Her black coat is too big for her, but so is the crowd. When it moves, it drags her along by the toes. She’s… smiling? Wasn’t she crying on the phone just minutes earlier? Maybe she drank more. This can’t be good.

“Hyeju!” Start walking faster. 

She sticks her tongue out at you and starts to sprint upon seeing you get close.

You have no time for games. This isn’t even in the least bit funny. What if someone spiked her drink? What if that was the reason she’s acting funny? Worse: what if someone’s planning to take advantage of her? All these concerns bump into each other in your head as you run after her. 

A couple of “excuse me”s and “sorry!”s after you quickly squeeze in between dancing people. Drinks spilled on the floor. Anger from two dolled up ladies. (A look to your right and… yep, not only from them.) Disapproval from the DJ who even calls you out. Boos from the crowd. You don’t care about them. You only care about getting Hyeju to safety. She can’t be here in her vulnerable state.

Before she could dash out from your line of vision, you grab her wrist. Seal your grip around it tightly so she can’t escape. “Son Hyeju,” you say, glaring at her. Ever since she stopped crying, she started to play around. This isn’t a game but to her it is. A fun game, to be more precise. “What the fuck is going on?”

“Oooh, you caught…” She burps. Playful giggles spill from her mouth. “... me!” Hyeju gives you a drunken smile and claps for you regardless of her right hand being held into position. 

“Why are you here?”

“Why are you here? See? I can ask stupid q-questions, too!”

You whisk her away from the ongoing party and into the cold night air. You’re about to throw your jacket on her when you see that she’s wearing one, too. 

People are starting to stare. Pray that no one intervenes, even if they have good intentions. After all, you’re a man with a woman under the influence. They have every right to be concerned, but you hope that just for now they know you wouldn’t dare hurt Hyeju.

The wind blows a breeze that almost knocks you to the floor. You draw Hyeju to yourself to warm her. You can’t risk her catching a cold. 

”Let me go, oppa!” Hyeju’s mood goes from sad to drunkenly cheerful to pained. She forces her wrist out from your fist harshly. Your arms no longer wrap her. “You don’t like me anymore, right? And I have a boyfriend!”

Capture her hand again. She can’t escape and run away a second time. You’ve done that too much to know that it’ll send her down into a dizzying spiral. You’re cowards, the both of you—that’s why you flee whenever a problem arises. You don’t know how to deal with it. 

That changes now. Get in your vehicle. Pull her in, too. “For your information,” you say, locking her seatbelt in place, “you called me. You asked me to pick you up.”

The car roars to life and speeds down the road. The night barely provides light for you to move along. It’s beautiful nevertheless. Stars peek out from the depths of black. The moon is dim yet reassuring. What fate does it have in store for you? Would you accept it if you knew? How could they all look so serene while you have your drunk crush next to you starting an argument?

“And you’d loooove not to do it, wouldn’t you?” Hyeju’s words suggest that she’s no longer that drunk but the way her words come out like jumbled words in a newspaper crossword tell you otherwise. She leans against the door and crosses her arms. “It was a mistake to call you. You, you fucking hate me.”

Does she really believe that? You may hate Daniel, but you never once hated Hyeju. You’ve only had wistful feelings for her even after she kissed him. You still checked up on her socials and watched her as she ate lunch with him. You remained loyal to her, like a dog following its owner through scoldings.

Yeah, you really are just her dog.

“I don’t hate you, Hye,” you say with conviction. You’re determined to make her believe that. It’s difficult when you’ve never been the type to be good with words. 

“Yes, you do! You wouldn’t even let me explain why I kissed Daniel!”

“For fuck’s sake, I was hurt! I didn’t know what to do!”

“Then hear me out for once!”

“Alright.” Your hands slap the wheel, unintentionally bumping the horn and causing Hyeju to cringe. “Go on. Tell me what happened.”

“He was the one who kissed me, the fucking idiot! He kissed me out of the blue and wouldn’t stop!”

Wait.

What? 

Daniel, your friend and Hyeju’s, initiated the kiss? Hyeju didn’t want it to happen?

If only you knew, you would have beaten up Daniel a long time ago. 

You can’t even speak. You had it all wrong. You can’t believe there was an explanation for everything and you refused to hear it. 

Hyeju begins to sob again. Her words circle in the air like an incantation. It’s equally because of the alcohol and her emotions. “I was… talking to him about my training, but then he kissed me.” She wipes her face and laughs humorlessly. “He started making out with me and, a-and I didn’t know how to stop it. It was like I was frozen.”

“You… you didn’t kiss him?” Your tone is broken and incredulous. “He made you do it?”

She looks almost offended. “Why? Why would I ever kiss that bastard?”

“But you’re dating him.”

“I am,” says Hyeju, hands in her hair, “Hah, okay. I'm dating him, yeah, but that’s just because I thought you didn’t like me. I only want one person in the world, and it isn’t Daniel Smith.”

“Hyeju—”

“It’s you, you clueless little shit!” She punches your shoulder and muffles her face into your car pillow. Her next scream is elongated, filled with frustration. When she lifts her face from the pillow, her eyeliner and blush are smeared and wet with teardrops. “It’s you, and I only want you!”

In vino veritas.

The confession is as out of the blue as Daniel’s kiss was. You’re in a state of shock and disbelief—too much information is coming into your brain. You want to punch Daniel in the face for shocking her with an unwanted move. You want to hug Hyeju. You want to tell her that you’re sorry for not hearing her side of the story. 

Most importantly, you want to tell her that you want her, too.

It’s too late now. She’s seen you disregard her voice and choose to have a one-track mind. There’s no way she wants you anymore.

“Why the fuck would you ever want me, Hyeju?” 

“Because!” She lets out a shivering little sigh. “You don’t treat me like… hlk, like I’m a trophy to show off. You’re my friend. You know how to be mean but you take care of me even if I’m too moody sometimes. Even if I don’t want to come along with you outside because I’m scared I’ll make myself look stupid in front of you. Even if… even if I love too hard but don’t show that I love you most and that sometimes you take care of me more than my dad does and I know it’s wrong to see you that way when I’m with him now but I really want you to take care of me but still kiss me too if I need it and be okay with me calling you names like ‘daddy’ and still being your best friend besides being my boyfriend… but I know it can’t happen anymore and I ruined everything—”

“Hyeju.”

More tears flow down her face. “—and I know you won’t ever love me the same again but I’ll regret forever, long after we graduate, that I never showed that I loved you, that I was a coward—”

“Hyeju,” you say, gently. Pull over at the university parking lot. You have your finger on her mouth, sealing them to stop her droning. She pauses. She doesn’t do it without breaking down. “Please. Don’t tell me you don’t know it. It’s been happening under your nose every single day.”

“What?” she murmurs, eyes glassy as they connect with yours.

“I like you, too.”

Silence. Several beats go by. They’re too lengthy to be fake. The next nuance confirms that:

Talk about relief. Talk about passion. As if she’s forgetting that a sudden kiss was what opened Pandora’s box, Hyeju grabs your face and does exactly that. Again, it has too many things to it that blocks it from being faux. The unique shape of her lips mold onto yours, as if your lips were made to kiss each other all the time. It’s back to the café again, wherein she does something and you subconsciously follow along. Your hands are on her phenomenal waist. And soon you’re unbuckling her seatbelt so she could sit safely on your lap, where she’s supposed to be. Where she belongs.

She drops her touch to your shoulders. She massages them, and you groan delightfully. Now it’s your turn to hold her face and lean in closer. Hyeju’s mouth tastes of sweetness and alcohol. You don’t know how those two tastes could mix together. Hyeju makes it work.

“Oppa, daddy,” she whimpers. She pulls away. The distance is still close to nothing. “Daddy, I love you.”

It’s a sudden nickname, still detached from when she uses it with you jokingly, yet there’s no hesitance here. You know your truth. “I love you, too, Hyeju.”

“Will you take me to bed?” She starts grinding down on your shaft needily. “Please say you will, daddy. Please say you’ll make me happy.”

“You’re drunk. I… I don’t know if I should.”

“‘m not. Maybe. But I’ve wanted it to happen for a long time,” Hyeju says. “I won’t mind, I promise.”

She couldn’t get any more sober with that. So you do what any man would do if they were called daddy by Son Hyeju: lift her out of your car, not caring to check twice if it’s locked, and bring her to bed. Take her coat off—she won’t need it if you’ll make her warm from the inside and out.

Her arms round your neck and her face is buried in your chest. Her words come out in a desperate, needy tone that you haven’t heard from her since the day you met. Who exactly were you to make her this small?

Her daddy, of course.

See, as tough as Hyeju makes herself out to be, she’s still needy. She still has her own problems that haven’t let go of her now that she’s older, like the daddy thing. You only fully understand it now when you lay her on the bed and continue kissing her. Hard. Her moans call out for you. They aren’t merely things to whine if it feels good. It’s not even a matter of want anymore; her shivers and cries indicate of her carnal need for you to do what you will with her.

“Don’t be scared,” she tells you, closing her eyes as you kiss her perfect jawline. “You wanted me for so long, right? Well, I did, too. Do what you want to me. Fuck me, daddy.”

“You talk extremely dirty for someone who’s drunk,” you chuckle. 

“Not so drunk anymore. You make me sober.”

“Sweet talker. You’re all bark and no bite.”

Hyeju has no retort to make. Your lips on her gorgeous nipple render her speechless. The cute pink nub is hard, and grows harder at your loving suckles. Her breasts are the perfect size for squeezing. Relish in that fact by squeezing her left breast while dedicating more of your attention to the other, making her become sensitive with each action. 

You’d say you have bite, for you do so lightly on her breast. She gasps. “Daddy!” she cries out.

“Fuck, don’t say it like that.” Your cock throbs already. It’s the same feeling you get all those times before, the times you’d get into an argument with Hyeju and she’d call you that.

“What? It’s not my fault you can’t handle me,” she says wittily.

“Don’t try me.”

“What?” She cocks a brow. “Hit too close to home?”

You have to shut her bratty self up. Tug her pants off, sliding them off her silky legs. Her pink panties are a hint to the gentle color of her pussy. Find out about them anyway—push the underwear aside and shove three fingers in her.

“Oh shit.” Hyeju’s squeeze on your digits is instant, like an impulsive reaction. 

Think about if Daniel has done this to her before and pick up the pace. You’re fingering her like the walls of her soaked pussy would banish him and let you have her all to yourself. “Son Hyeju,” you growl, “shut the fuck up.”

“W-won’t—ah!” 

If you don’t make her quiet, you’ll at least reduce her words to pathetic moans. You’d say you’re successful. Your rapid thrusts send Hyeju’s screams paralleling the night wind with their strength. 

You’re surprised again and again at how loud she could get. She’s always so quiet except for the occasional sarcastic remark. She can make no more of those if faced with the relentless fingering you do unto her pussy. They draw out strings of dampness when they withdraw, and fill her right to the knuckles when you go back in. Her hips squirm and you have to place a hand on her thigh to continue.

“Daddy, daddy, daddy!” she screams. Her mouth is open while she sits up to look at what you’re doing to her vulnerable cunt. “It feels so fucking good, don’t stop!”

She looks beautiful. Her shirt is lifted above her breasts, making them bounce madly due to the timing and force of your thrusts. Her eyes could never be more watchful. She can’t believe she actually has you between her legs and fingering her to orgasm.

“Got any comeback for me, Hye?” you ask smugly. 

Hyeju nods. Her lips are parted again. Although you haven’t had sex with her except for now, you know what that dropped jaw means: she’s close.

Her walls are impossible to part completely. She’s too damn tight that you bet she’d still be so with one finger. The grip of her slippery, wet cunt is like no other. You reach deep into it and stroke out till you find the place. That’s how Hyeju starts to shiver. She can’t manage it.

“Oh, yeah? What do you have to say now, sweet?” Wrap your lips around her nipple. It’s another one of your unfair advantages over her.

“I-I-I—I can’t!” 

The recoil of Hyeju’s tits is amazing. Harshly squeeze the boob you’ve relatively neglected to make sure she can’t get a word out of those pretty lips. Take a further step and smack it, too. She moans in satisfaction. Your harsh squeezes imprint a replica of your hand on her pale skin. 

Of course, you don’t forget to keep your fingers going. You change techniques now and then, switching from gentle circling to rapid fire shoving. Whether it’s one or the other, Hyeju’s fuckhole swallows you up. She doesn’t mind which or what; she needs your harshness the most. It’s what counts as a whole.

“Daddy, I’m gonna cum! Please make me cum on your fingers, make your babygirl cum… oh—oh, fuck!”

Combined with your thumb nudging her small clit and your digits absolutely destroying her tightness, Hyeju does the unthinkable: she squirts on your hand and on your bed. Liquid gushes on your shirt; it’s so consistent and clear that a new determination is founded within you. It’s to make your unbearably hot best friend cum like she never has.

For the record, it’s the first time you’ve made a girl squirt. You didn’t expect that it would be this satisfying. Seeing Hyeju’s blissful face and the shake of her beautiful legs make your efforts worth it. Watching yourself do it to your best friend and make her feisty, boyish self let out screams and pleas brings increased triumph.

“No, oh god, it’s too much!” Hyeju says this but her legs part more. Her head is tossed back and her moans don’t stop. “Fuck, fuck, fuck, I can’t—daddy!”

“Messy little brat.” Rub away at her clit. Feel the spurt of her cum hit your finger. “That’s it, cum for daddy. Keep those pretty thighs open.”

Hyeju mewls at the mixture of degradation and moans. If Daniel had said that to her, she probably would have thrown up in a bucket. When it’s you, on the other hand, everything changes. She wants you to call her every harsh name out there and accompany it with sides of praise. She’ll only feel this good when she’s with you.

Hyeju is anything but obedient. Things change here in the dorm, where her pussy is spread and prone to your touch. Her midriff, soft yet slender, rises over and over. The hose of her wet orgasms still hasn’t stopped.

“Goddammit, you’re squirting so much. Am I that good, hm, Hyeju? Is daddy that good to his pretty little girl?” 

“Mmm, mmm, don't— no more, daddy, no more!” Hyeju’s core is already spent, and you haven’t even put your cock in her yet. 

Stop. Not before you leave a kiss to the sensitive bundle of nerves that you abused. It’s a mark now, something invisible that subtly says to everyone that you got to fuck her. You got to fuck Son Hyeju. You made her cum like never before.

Spit on Hyeju’s center then spread it to her lips and nub. She moans. “You’re so wet, Hye.”

“Whatever.” She’s blushing. “I’ve had better.”

You have to say you’re a little provoked. You know it’s false seeing the smug look on her face and after making her squirt, but who exactly has done her better? Daniel? Definitely not him. The possibility still does well to spur you to jealousy.

“Oh,” you say, smiling tightly, “so that’s how it’s gonna be, huh?”

Hyeju gasps happily when she’s pushed to the wall and on her knees. It’s reminiscent of how Daniel did exactly that: pinning her to the wall before kissing her. Your anger brews into a fire just thinking about him. 

“Yeah. What’re you gonna do about it?”

Unbuckle your belt. Your jeans join it on the floor as well as your briefs. “I’m gonna clean that dirty mouth of yours.”

“And how are you gonna do that, daddy?” Hyeju pretends not to know what’s coming.

It’s your belief that actions speak louder than words. That’s why when you place your cock in between Hyeju’s lips, it resonates inside her more than your promise to purify her mouth. Logic fails here when dirty sins can’t remove Hyeju’s dirty words. One wrong and another doesn’t make a right. Oh, who cares? This isn’t a class. This isn’t your thesis. You focus only on feeling the softness of her triangular mouth, the wetness of the back of her throat.

Holding your cock by the base, you lead its tip into rubbing every corner of Hyeju’s mouth. Her cheeks make an outline of your girth as you press your head against them. Her jaw becomes slack after you press your dick down to her tongue. You’re technically doing all the work here because you’re fucking her face, but you’d argue that Hyeju contributes just as much with her tearful eyes that are more puppy than wolf.

The shape of her wet orifice leaves ample space for you to rub against everything. Your tip draws a triangle on her lips right before slipping inside. There you keep your word and clean her dirty mouth. Push those naughty words down her throat with immediate thrusts. That way, she can only moan, nothing else. No sass can be heard from her now.

“You’re such a bad girl, Hyeju,” you say. Curl your hand ‘round her messy hair and direct it downwards. She groans, her mouth now upright for yout fuck easier into. “You shouldn’t like having your mouth used like this. You shouldn’t be on your knees for your best friend when your boyfriend’s waiting for you at home.”

Hyeju knows you’re right. She shouldn’t. She isn’t supposed to enjoy having her throat rammed and spread. She shouldn’t be cheating on the man she claims to love. It’s a mistake of hers to be here anyway, underneath another man. 

Her second mistake is to like everything the way it is..

Her third is to tongue your shaft like she would a sweet treat. She wants to taste all of you, from your thick tip to the base. She’s not had much to work on with Daniel, but she knew it would be a good time when you sprung out your cock. She makes this worth it—she seals her lips at your base, her nose pressed firmly at the bottom of your tummy, then produces such a harsh suction that the grip you have in her black locks of messy hair tightens. A curse is what you let out besides precum. 

“Fuck,” you say. Pull her head closer. Aggressive thrusts fire away. “Didn’t know your pouty little lips could suck dick so well. I bet it’s bulging your throat. Is daddy right about that?”

She tries to nod. Her gags stop her intended action; your thrusts have sped up and are now destroying her tight throat. No space is left for her to breathe when her mouth is stuffed with your length. Even her nostrils can’t take in much air if her nose is pressed that tightly to your stomach.

Place a hand on the wall in order for there to be no aches for her head when you thrust wildly. “You know, I changed my mind. Maybe you’re a good girl, especially with that face. Go on, touch yourself. I know you want to.”

Permission is granted by her daddy. Hyeju gives a cry in response then leads her hand between her legs. Letting you fuck her face has made her wet beyond imagination. She doesn’t need to press directly on her pussy when there’s slick all over her thighs. She gathers them all up and places them back in her pussy. She moans as she swirls her digits inside her. Here’s how it works: she has one hand masturbating, and the other on your thigh to caress it and at the same time keep her balance.

Take note of that. “You’re a smart girl, Hyeju. Smart girls shouldn’t be letting their faces get fucked. We can’t have that happen, right?”

You say that yet your actions tell a different story. Your violent pumps into Hyeju’s mouth to use it to the limits are endless. Hyeju’s moaning. She enjoys it more than she should. Of course, you jam those moans, as pretty as they are, down her throat. 

Slap your cock on her lips.

“You know what I mean.”

Slip the whole of your length out then in again. Make her brush those luscious lips against every inch.

“We really, really can’t have that happen.”

Caress her cheek. Her eyes are awaiting and obedient. Look down into them and almost feel bad for ruining her, your best friend.

“Daniel might walk in anytime. He’ll be looking for you.”

Your movements are cruel as time goes by. You shouldn’t be treating your best friend like this. You shouldn’t even be having sex with her. All of these ought to stop you in your tracks—you don’t.

“And what will he say when he sees his precious girlfriend on her knees for his best friend?”

Hyeju begins to whine. She doesn’t want him to walk in; she’s enjoying this too much. What she doesn’t want to happen even more is for you not to blow your load inside her warm throat. People can’t have what they want all the time, but she swears she won’t want anything else if you just give her what she wants. That’s for you to absolutely use her. Be cruel to her and it wouldn’t sting.

“He’ll start to think how better you are with me. You’re a bad girl, Hyeju. You know that and you still want me.”

You’re right in every way. She is better with you. You just fuck her better, treat her better, kiss her better. She can’t kiss better the wound she’ll leave in Daniel if he just so happens to walk in. Maybe she could, but she’d put salt on it when he discovers how good you make her feel. It isn’t fair to anybody. To you, the one she accidentally hurt; to Daniel, who was the one (no, make that the two with how he was her last resort and how she gave him false hope); to her, who can’t go without you.

“Let go.”

Nine.

It takes exactly nine strokes in between her folds for her to cum. Drool sheens your girth. Some even drip from her mouth. It’s like she’s in heat; she’s whining as she tries to cum and suck you off at the same time. Hyeju ends up sucking your shaft with desperation, legs quivering and threatening to give away.

“Cum with me, Hyeju,” you command her. Pull out, rather regretfully, but take comfort with how pretty she’d look covered in your cum. Your hand wraps around you and jerks you off. Although it can’t match Hyeju’s mouth or her ass, it’ll do well in shooting your load on her.

Your best friend keeps calling your name squeezed between “daddy”s as she fingers herself to orgasm. She collapses pathetically on the floor, in a pool of sweat and cum. Her shirt and the floor of your shared dorm room are stained. No need to wonder where those white stains come from; the only suspects are you and Hyeju. It’s a partnered crime for her squirt comes out at such a velocity that it rivals your cumshots.

“Take my load, Hyeju, fuck!”

If there’s anything Hyeju isn’t, it’s submissive. It somehow changes when she nods and opens her mouth. You’re introduced to a whole new side of her. Her post-orgasm face is one you hope to admire everyday. Look at the expressions she makes when her eyes are crossed and her tongue is out for you and you have difficulty choosing between the two. 

You and Hyeju exchange a tired look. If you’re to be specific, a look is how everything starts. You became friends with her because she was staring at you too long a time in class. You quickly reunited with her in college when you looked to your back to see to whom the familiar voice belonged. It took one quick glance to see that Daniel had kissed her in the noraebang.

Similarly, a look is what causes you to shamelessly throw Hyeju on the bed again. By now her limbs curl into yours like this were a completely natural thing that happened between you, as if she were always being fucked and manhandled like this. Your kisses now are more aggressive, too. They aren’t nervous like earlier, when you still weren't sure if doing this was right. Hyeju responds by engaging in a battle for dominance, pushing forward and pulling the forces connecting you. 

You win in the end.

Slam her back down to the mattress. Her anticipation is written clearly in her eyes. “I’m going to ruin you, Son Hyeju,” you say.

She laughs in your face. “Bet.”

Alright. You’ll show her. It’s a friendly bet you’ll take all seriousness in.

Align your dick with her waiting cunt. You shed all attempts to tease her or dive into foreplay. What she needs is your cock inside her, rearranging her insides. If that’s so, you’ll give it to her. 

“Oh!” Hyeju gasps. Her pretty eyes are big above her hands covering her face. She never guessed you would feel this good inside her. “You’re so fucking big, daddy. It's, it’s better than I imagined, fffuck.”

Steer all your weight into this thrust specifically. Your tip makes contact with her G-spot and sends her legs shaking. Send her a couple inches further on the mattress. Her godly tits begin another round of bouncing. There’s no other routine you’d love to watch. 

Already you've put your hands on her hips. They’re to pull her closer if she gets lost. Again. You have to make sure you won’t lose her this time. This chance was given to you for a reason. You have to keep her here, show her all the love you’ve kept bottled up all these years.

Hyeju squirms a lot. That’s what your grip is for. It’s to keep her on the bed so she can easily receive your pumps. And what a good job she does at receiving them—Hyeju’s hips shiver as they’re subjected to a force her sensitive pussy can’t handle. She’s always going into things she can’t handle. This is no different. Time with Daniel was okay, but you’re a different story. You ensure that she’s always filled to the hilt until she’s bottoming out. 

Deeper and deeper you go. Your cock knocks up into her tummy. You curse; it’s hotter than it’s supposed to be. Something as simple as that shouldn’t be so arousing.

“Oh, you like that? You… you like seeing your big cock stuffing my little pussy?” asks Hyeju. Her teeth are parted to let in air she so desperately needs to formulate these words. She knows they’ll turn you on. “I know you do, daddy. Look at your meat ruining my insides. You’re going to cum so much inside me. And I’ll take it all. I’m a good girl. I’ll show you I’m a good girl.”

She leads your hand to her throat and closes your digits around it. Get the message. Squeeze there tight. Her strangled gasp is everything.

“You are, huh?” you say. Your composure is long gone. “Are you always this tight, Hyeju? Are you always this good? Or is it just for daddy?”

There’s something incredibly hot in the way Hyeju gushes and screams for you. Her nipples stand in the air, aroused by the quick penetrating done to her pussy. It seems almost impossible for her to be this wet. Each push of your hips brings forth a gush of wetness that wets the sheets and your joined crotches. Bring out your cock for a second to quickly flick its tip on her clit.

Hyeju gropes her own chest with closed eyes. “Ohhhh, fuck!” 

Return to your routine of drilling her. Her whole body reacts violently to your pounding. Moreover, every part of Hyeju’s beautiful body screams to be touched. Her jiggling thighs and breasts, her midriff prone to your thrusts, her face that’s never looked this slutty… where should you start? Your touch is given multiple choices, and you choose all of them. Your hands roam her body and squeeze and feel and grope. In response, she moans. The volume of her acute voice turns up with each, almost like her body has triggers that would draw out louder sounds. 

You think of it that way and now Hyeju’s screaming as you propel inside her while keeping a hand on her clit. 

“Daddy, o-only you, daddy!” she proclaims in a helpless scream. “No one can make me feel as good as you do, just keep fucking me, don’t stop!”

You’ve got your answer. Smile in satisfaction and, since she’s a good girl and gave the correct response, lean it to worship her breasts. Does slapping them count as worshiping? Hyeju thinks it does—her high groans and yells are enough to be context clues. You marvel at the size of her chest, so subtle with the baggy clothes she wears but now in their full, naked glory before you. It’s impossible for them to be presented to you without a squeeze being done.

“You like my tits, daddy? I’ll let you fuck them all you want, just finish inside me. I’m safe today. Promise, p-pro—”

Bury yourself deep inside her, to the point that your cockhead pushes at her cervix. Fill her up. Hyeju moans happily. She rolls her body up and down. The stimulation seduces you into making (kind of) breeding her a job well done.

“Thank you, daddy.” she sighs. She’s still erotically grinding her hips. It’s karma for overstimulating her a little earlier when your fingers filled her. 

“S-stop, Hyeju.”

“Stop? Alright, sure. I think that’s enough now. Daddy doesn’t want to fuck my tits anymore.”

Naughty little brat. She knows just the right words to tick you off and turn you on. It makes you want her to pound her into the bed again so that not even the old mattress can forget that it was the place you and Hyeju fucked.

“I’m just kidding, silly. Sit down! Yes, thank you.” 

She flashes you a smile after you do as she says. It’s a rare moment in this session with her that she has the say in what happens. Somehow. It can’t be completely true, not when she’s on her knees again for you. Not when her tongue trails worshipful lines on your cock and draws tight licks on your tip. Shiver. You’re a bit sensitive yourself.

“Now see how good this feels?” 

She takes her glorious breasts in her hands and wraps them around your cock. You let out a guttural moan. Hyeju’s tits rival her mouth and pussy. It’s a close competition, with the advantage of softness most of all. Oh, when she starts to move, gliding her supple skin up and down your size, you almost cum on the spot.

Her bosom is a portal to heaven, you swear. Your legs feel light. Your core is hot as your size disappears between her breasts, buried in the soft and safe haven she provides. The friction is so overwhelming that you doubt it could even be a real sensation.

She makes a show of rubbing your tip on her nipple, similar to what you did to her clit. The two of you are sensitive, so you moan in harmony as it happens. After gliding your cock on her large breasts, she goes back to titfucking you. 

It’s all a matter of technique. Whenever she presses her chest together, your cock is suffocated with euphoric tenderness. On the other hand, when she simply moves up and down, you’re given the opportunity to grind down at the skin between her pale breasts. Each route leads to an inevitable fate: exploding all over her a second time.

"P-please stop, Hyeju," you say. You can't handle no more and there's so many more things you want to do to her.

"Awh." She pouts. Fat tears risk spilling from her eyes. God, she could be so cute sometimes. "What do you want, daddy? I can be good."

"Turn around."

"Ohhh, I see what you want." Hyeju turns around and spanks herself. Her ass ripples photogenically. "Of course. Of course you want it."

Hyeju can be so many things. A few minutes earlier she was a submissive babygirl for her daddy, and right before that she was a brat. Now, she transforms into a seductress. She doesn't lace or lingerie to become one. She has that fantastic body to do the work for her.

Hyeju starts to dance. Your eyes are trained on her. They never want to see anything else than her swaying her butt with a dancer's grace and charm. 

"Giving me a show, huh?" 

"Unless daddy wants it already." 

"I do."

She squeezes her ass cheek before reaching her pussy. Then, she rubs her wetness on her pink, puckered hole. She lathers some at the inside of the rim, too. She didn't expect to fuck you today, no matter how many times she's dreamed of it, so there's no lubricant around. Hyeju has to make do.

"Oh!" she squeals when you give her a playful smack on the ass. "Impatient. Daddy's impatient. Don't worry, I'll give it to you."

“You did this before?”

“Duh.” Hyeju smiles sweetly, quickly returning to her good girl side. “You ready now, daddy?”

Apparently, it’s a rhetorical question, for Hyeju immediately guides your tip into her backside. You do your part in spreading her cheeks. Both of you moan at the first contact. It’s difficult by itself to insert just your tip through. She’s too tight. 

You’re sinking into this long-chased dream. You’ve seen Hyeju walk around the dorm with no shorts on. Sometimes you're able to catch a glimpse of her bare ass when she dresses up in the dark. It’s normal when it’s with you, considering that your friendship transcends time, but she doesn’t know that yearning’s been put in your heart in those moments. You want her. You want Son Hyeju.

And now, she’s submitting herself to you. She’s given you her body, her tits, her pussy. Now she offers you an equally delicious choice: her supple ass that’s bouncy as it finally sits down completely on your lap. 

“Good daddies bounce their babygirls on their knees, right? Should’ve known that, dummy. So come on, pound me. It isn’t hard.”

Well, you are. Hyeju’s ass is constricting you yet you enjoy every second of it. Her tight little asshole clings to you as you do as she says. You’d do anything for Hyeju, and that doesn’t exclude engaging in anal sex with her.

Choose a rhythm to go by to enjoy the tightness Hyeju gives you to the fullest. She leans into you and hums quietly, lower lip worried between her teeth and ass steadily rising and resting. The flexes of your thigh also stimulate her needy pussy. Your knee brushes her clit steadily while your cock penetrates her asshole better than any toy could. Better than any boy would.

“Oh, that feels so good, daddy…” Hyeju murmurs. “Keep spreading me like that, yes.”

Just when she thought you’d switch to being gentle, your thrusts become sporadic. She can’t find which timings you’re going by. The calm before the storm, so to say. Hyeju’s whimpers and whines are your thunder, and they soon live up to their name when they grow louder, filling your ears as would the violent downpour of raindrops. 

“D-daddy, daddy, oh my god—” Pain partners up with pleasure in wrecking her hole. Darn you for reaching in front of her to rub her clit as well. Too many things are happening at the same time. “Daddy better make me cum, please, please—”

Your size fills the tight space of her ass so much that it’s difficult to move. The juices of her pussy that she’s used as makeshift lube can’t even do the job they’re assigned to. However, you don’t care about that. You simply fuck Hyeju’s fat, delectable ass like it’s been your long-term dream. In a way it is, but you’d be dreaming about it long after it’s already been fulfilled.

Hyeju stands up to take the lead and work her butt on you. You know she’s an excellent dancer but you never knew she could be this good at twerking either. 

“Holy shit, Hyeju, your little asshole feels amazing,” you moan. Spank her, though she’s undeserving of punishment when she’s amazing at using that ass.

“And your cock is so fucking big in my ass,” she says. “I don’t want anything else, daddy. Ohh, god, keep doing that.”

Her rear end bounces and claps together as they take in your fat cock. She looks back at you lustfully, watching you ruin her supple ass. Reach for her breasts to match the velocity of her thrusts. You’re two forces colliding, each filled with fire to defeat the other with pleasure. It’s a losing game when Hyeju’s ass is just as good as her pussy, which you continue playing with to bring her to orgasm.

“Good girl, Hye, keep bouncing that fat ass on daddy,” you whisper in her ear. Love to hear her weak little moans; they show you that she likes this as much as you do. Probably more. “You want to cum, right? You want to squirt on me again?”

“Yes, daddy, please!” Hyeju is in paradise although her skin feels like it’s been set on fire. She hasn’t felt this good before. “No other cock can do me the way you do, daddy, I’m all yours! Make me cum, cum inside me, daddy!”

You’ve changed her. She’s a totally different person outside of the bedroom. She hides her approval in sarcastic comments and teases you about them. How is it that she’s completely submissive and good for you? 

Your ego swells. Smack her pussy just enough to make her gasp. “Whose pussy is this?”

“Yours, daddy!” 

“And this ass?”

“It’s all yours, daddy,” sobs Hyeju. “Always so fucking big inside me, so much better, you need to make me cum—”

Pull her down to your lap then thrust inside her all while not letting an inch withdraw from her snug butthole. “Cum for me,” you say.

“Ohhhh fuck!” 

Hyeju begins her sexy body rolls again as a profane spray of clear liquid fires from her pussy. She’s so wet; when you rub her clit, a squelching sound is produced. She’s too turned on from the feeling of you savage pounding inside her. She slaps her own pussy to go along with your rubbing, then leads your fingers inside her cunt again. She’s still so tight. 

The combined feeling of two of her holes being violated has her tired. She could be murmuring a spell and you wouldn’t know because of how jumbled and jarred her words are. The syllables make out your name and title. At least, that’s what you could understand. It would take an experienced veteran transcriber to make sense of Hyeju’s sounds.

You blast her ass with so much cum that it overflows, like water threatening to spill from the brim of a glass. Your joined cores are so wet and sticky that neither of you feel like moving. You want to stay in the narrow yet pleasurable comfort of each other’s touch forever.

It’s so pleasant that you could only hear the gratifying sound of each other’s pants and not the knocks on your door.

So safe that you don’t hear the sound of a lock being skewered with because each other’s bodies are more homely than this dorm.

So distracting that when he comes in through the door and yells in disgust, it’s the first time you feel an awakening sobriety.

#kpop smut #idol smut #girl group smut #female idol smut #loona smut #loossemble smut #olivia hye smut #loona olivia hye smut #son hyeju smut #son hyejoo smut #hyeju smut #hyejoo smut #loossemble hyeju smut #male reader #x reader #idol x male reader #idol x reader #reader insert #pov smut #kofimission #commission

[brightside-of-the-upsidedown]

-KICKS YOUR DOOR DOWN- @intothedysphoria

Thank for reminding me of my latest brain worm!

On the night Billy went to get Max, Neil gets impatient, he and Susan went to go pick them up after getting a call from the Sinclairs (which goes over about as well as you'd think...)

But they never make it there, because the demodogs run them off the road near the quarry and both die.

Billy is just a few months from 18, so he can take Max. Their parents' life insurance will help them for a little while, but Neil hadn't paid the house off yet or a lot of things, so they move to the trailer park until Billy can graduate and save up enough money to move them back to California because Max hasn't had any luck getting a hold of her dad.

They're forced to get their shit together and hash out living together in a new situation.

Max is surprised by how much more chill Billy becomes. At first she thinks it's because of the bat, but she notices all the little ways he used to tense up around Neil has stopped or faded. He's still irritatable, but much calmer and happy to mind his own business so long as he knows where she's going.

Billy has to pick up more work than just the pool, so he starts working at the mall too as the gym instructor (and gets to see Steve). Women still oogle him, but the manager watches out for anyone crossing any lines and makes sure things stay professional. Billy ends up picking up more shifts there than the pool, because he can bring Max along more often (because running an air conditioner at home is more expensive than giving her pocket money to run around the mall).

Plus Steve in those damn shorts.

Of course, Billy gets dragged into Upside-Down business. "Gotta keep Max alive and that cute ass in one piece, Harrington."

#harle hums #harringrove #steve harrington #billy hargrove #stranger things

[suiana]

yandere! artist x writer! reader

"your latest chapter was nice... I drew the main characters in the garden scene."

you looked at him with a teasing smile as you accepted the drawing with open hands. the lines were clean, the brush strokes all perfectly controlled... he really was a talented artist huh?

you placed the drawing on the table gently and brought gestured for the artist to sit down in the chair beside you. you snickered at the way the tip of his ears turned red as you leaned on his shoulder and sighed happily. yes folks, your boyfriend was none other than the school's talented and beloved artist and you were the cool fanfic author. the best ship dynamic ever.

you had been dating for a month now and it all started because this artist of yours... was a huge fan of a fandom you enjoyed writing for. you still remember how he approached you with a flushed face as he shoved a small sketch of the main characters and scurried away. ah, he was so cute~!

you chased after him, teasing him intensely as you tried to recreate the scene which you wrote for the entry scene. (spoilers the scene was a kissing scene) and thus began your friendship which blossomed into a lovely romance.

though, he would get overly possessive at times. but that's okay! it's kinda cute if you're not lying. the way he would grip your shoulders as he threatened to kill the guy you looked at... it's so cute! you just couldn't take him seriously! I mean, come on. there's no way your adorable artist boyfriend would actually kill someone, right? haha!

you snapped back to reality as your boyfriend started rambling about his boring school day. you played with the hem of his school blazer as he complained and whined about how the air conditioner in his private art studio broke down and he couldn't draw in peace. chuckling a little, you ruffled his head and kissed his cheek to calm him down.

the way his face flushed almost immediately was almost scary but alas, you found it nothing more than cute.

"keep up this cute act of yours and I'll recreate that sex scene from chapter 3"

"h-hah?!"

god your artist boyfriend was so adorable.

#suiana rambling #suiana brain rotting

[smad-lesbian]

Imagine: Heathers are SO JEALOUS of JD flirting with Veronica, so they decided to make a party where the only person invited was Veronica. (It means that they all ditched the Remington's party, so no Veronica puking on Chandler's shoes, no Chandler saying that she will destroy Veronica's social life, no Veronica going to JD and no Chandler drinking drano)

Hell yeah, really love this prompt, I am a sucker for jealous Heathers and extremely oblivious Veronica.

Also this is how it should have gone-

"Don't forget to buy corn nuts!" Chandler yelled out from her car, leaning over it to scream at Veronica, who was heading inside the 7/11, said girl nodded at Chandler's demand, only slightly rolling her eyes before turning back, looking at the other two Heathers standing in the back seat.

"Do you guys want anything?" She called back at Duke and McNamara, both who were having small talk at the back of the red porsche.

They both turned to face the taller girl, Mac shrugged while Duke pondered for a second before looking up, "A big gulp, please." Veronica nodded, before turning back, entering the cold 7/11.

Duke and McNamara turned right back to their conversation about whatever latest gossip was going on in the halls of Westerburg.

It was only after a good 15 minutes that Duke began to shift in her seat, her fingers fidgeting with the hem of her skirt in a nervous manner.

"Veronica has been gone for a long time now." Duke whispered, looking out the window at 7/11.

"Shut up, Heather!" Chandler snapped at her, but she furrowed her eyebrows at the words, her lips pursed as she internally (she would rather die than say it out loud) that Duke had a point, it had been a suspicious amount of time since Veronica got out.

Chandler sighed in annoyance, before digging her palm into the car keys, pulling them out with a tad too much force as she quickly opened the door.

"Come on." She said vaguely, not bothering to look behind her as she strolled into the 7/11, knowing that the other two Heathers were right behind her.

The semi-cold breeze of a barely functional air conditioner hit her as she scanned for the familiar tuffs of brown hair.

It wasn't long before she locked eyes with Veronica, she was facing away from them, looking engrossed into something.

Chandler noticed the familiar trench coat.

Oh, for fuck's sake.

She heard quite whispering behind her, probably McNamara, who also noticed the Bo Diddley rip off was talking to Veronica, leaning on the counter with a wolfish grin.

She was going to bury him alive.

Chandler walked (Stomped) over to the pair, putting a firm hand on Veronica's waist as she came within arms reach of the girl.

"Ronnie! Mind telling me what the fuck is taking so long?" Chandler asked Veronica, her voice sickenly sweet as she dug her nails into Veronica's arm.

Veronica didn't seem to mind brushing off the clear annoyance with an eye roll, "Sorry Heather, I was talking to JD, must have lost track of time." She said, her gaze flicking back to JD for a second, before she was distracted by another presence behind her.

"Well, sorry to interrupt, but we have to get going." Heather Duke said with gritted teeth as she sent JD a glare before giving Veronica a small, yet sweet smile.

Veronica gave a small smile back, before feeling a hand snake up around her waist, whom she already concluded was probably McNamara.

"We are so sorry to interrupt your eye fucking, but we have to get going." Mac glared at JD, who shrugged it off.

"Well, I'll see you later." He winked as he disappeared, probably to spike his slushie with steroids, Chandler thought, before tugging Veronica's arm outside.

Veronica grumbled in partial annoyance before she went along, mostly unfazed by the unusual amount of physical contact.

They soon got back in the car, (Veronica, Duke, and McNamara in the back, Chandler driving).

Chandler looked back at Veronica who seemed more interested in glancing outside the window, Chandler growled as she dug her nails into the steering wheel.

"Change of plans, party at my house tonight."

#heathers #veronica sawyer #heather chandler #heathers the musical #heather duke #chansaw #heather mcnamara #heathers 1988 #dukesaw #mcnamawyer #poly!heathersxveronica #poly!heathers #poly heathers + veronica #smadwrites #asks

[pedrito-friskito]

Hiya! New to tumblr here, and I just saw your list! Hmmm I’ll go with 🎲 ROLL FOR FIC 🎲: Jack Whiskey Daniels & Fluff. ❣️ Thanks! 💓

hi lovely!!! thanks for the request!

full disclosure: this is the first time I’ve written dear ol’ Jack! put a bit of my own twist on it (and obvious canon-divergence cuz that’s just how we roll) - and the prompt I rolled was “is that my t-shirt?”

enjoy! xo

a promise - jack “whiskey” daniels x fem!reader

word count: 2.5k

warnings: a bit of heartbreak, we kick canon to the curb, fluff and fluff and sweetness and fluff

You never thought you’d see him again.

That was the long and short of it. You knew him before, before he became one of the top agents for some secret service he wasn’t allowed to talk about. When he was just Jack, eldest son of the farmer that owned the ranch down the lane from the one you’d moved to after your parents inherited it. He was a few years older than you, all broad shoulders and cow-licked hair hidden beneath a dark suede hat. 

You still remember the first day you met, the way he’d grinned at you from behind silver-rimmed aviators and tipped the brim of his hat in your direction. 

“Well, hey there, darlin’.”

It was never a dull moment, with Jack Daniels living right across the way. He flirted with you endlessly, and you brushed him off more often than not. He was nice, and you got on well, but you weren’t blind or deaf; you knew he had a different flavour of the week that he brought home well, every week. While the rest of his family lived in the ranch house, Jack had taken it upon himself to turn the upper level of one of the barns into his own bachelor pad. 

You saw it yourself at the tail-end of a Fourth of July barbeque, a few too many beers and a little too much sun clouding your judgment. Jack was fresh off his latest fling with some sweet little blonde thing, and you were about a month out from your breakup with your college boyfriend — to him, graduation equaled ending things. It was hot, sweat pouring down your back and not even the shade was enough to escape the humidity. 

Stumbling a bit, you wandered the Daniels ranch on your own, a Corona dangling from your fingers, flip-flops thwacking against the grass with every step. You’d been gone maybe ten minutes when the barn came into view, you spotted the AC unit in the second-storey window, and found your destination.

You didn’t expect to find Jack sitting inside, mumbling to himself, and as you climbed the steps to his space, gripping the rail like a lifeline, you heard your name mumbled amongst his words.

“Just talk to her, ya big coward. You talk to girls all the time!”

As soon as you reached the top step, the blissful cool air from the air conditioner lifted your hair, and you nearly tumbled back in relief. Your gasp caught Jack’s attention and he shot to his feet, rushing forward and grabbing you, pulling you up and onto the solid floor. “Easy there, darlin’.”

His hands on your waist felt like fire, and he flinched away from you, the tips of his ears turning bright pink and his cheeks following suit. You couldn’t help your chuckle as he rubbed the back of his neck, staring down at his boots.

“You’re cute when you blush, Jack,” you grinned, sipping your beer. “I mean, you’re cute all the time, but especially when you—”

“Can I kiss you?” he blurted, and you were sure you hadn’t heard him right.

“Huh?”

“Please?”

Wordlessly, you nodded, your lips parting slightly, head whirling as you tried to catch up with what was happening. Jack took your beer, setting it safely on a desk near the staircase. There were all kinds of books scattered across the desktop, words you could barely make out. He put one careful hand on your waist next, ducking his head slowly, treading carefully, like you were a horse that might spook easily. In a way, you were; you knew his reputation, your heart was still on the mend. But in that moment, none of it mattered.

You hooked your fingers in the collar of his t-shirt and pulled his face down to yours.

Kissing Jack Daniels was like watching a fireworks display. Bright lights exploded behind your fluttered eyelids, replaced your blood with sparks of excitement. His lips tasted like whiskey and cinnamon and his hands moved to your hips, long fingers nearly meeting at the small of your back. The tip of his tongue touched the seam of your lips and you sighed into his grip, melting as you let him taste you, revelled in the girlish thrill that zipped through your entire being.

Despite the alcohol buzzing in your brain, the sun warming your cheeks, your body begging for him to give you more, you pulled back.

“I don’t wanna be another notch in your bedpost, Jack,” you murmured, your voice suddenly small, the confidence you’d tried to pour into your kiss slipping away like a summer breeze.

“You won’t be,” he assured you, shaking his head, tipping his forehead against yours. “I’ve been…I’ve been thinkin’ about you, darlin’, a lot lately. Lot more than usual.” The corner of his mouth lifted. “Was tryna pluck up the courage to come talk to ya before you found your way up here.”

Your grin matched his. “Must be fate, then.”

“Fate, kismet, call it what you want, sugar, but I know one thing for certain: I’d like to spend the rest of this night kissin’ you, then maybe you let me take you out on a real date tomorrow night?”

You linked your fingers together at the back of his neck, his wayward curls tickling your knuckles. “Promise me something, Jack.”

“Anythin’.”

“Don’t break my heart.”

He leaned in and kissed the corner of your mouth. “As long as you don’t break mine.”

You woke up in his bed that next morning, the warmth of him curled around you. Despite the heat in the air, you basked in it, pushed yourself against him in all the right places until he was rousing beside you, hands starting to wander and lips finding yours again.

“Mornin’, sugar.”

The summer evolved from there. The majority of your time was spent at the Daniels’ ranch, following Jack around like a little lost puppy. He took you on long rides on horseback, exploring the hills and valleys that sprawled behind both your family ranches. 

You watched him in the pastures, galloping along on his horse, Whiskey, lasso in hand, corralling the cattle back to their barns. He was a sight to behold, but watching him with that lasso was another thing entirely. His skill was something you’d never seen before. Jack tried to teach you, and by the end of the summer you were able to rope a cow from the back of your own horse, but you knew you’d never be as good as Jack.

Fall crept in, and there was no stopping the pair of you. You crept out of your own house and across to Jack’s barn nearly every night, the pair of you falling asleep in each other’s arms, waking the next morning to do it all over again. Rinse and repeat, there was no end in sight, and you silently berated yourself for every time you’d brushed off his flirting before the Fourth of July.

And then everything changed.

It was an unseasonably warm week. Mid-October and just as hot as it had been in July, and you’d planned a ride to the lake not far from the ranch. You’d packed a picnic, donned one of Jack’s plain white tees over your bikini, and headed over to the barn to start saddling the horses while Jack showered.

When he finally met you in the stables, you knew something was wrong. There was a pinch to his brow you’d never seen before, some unknowable spark behind his eyes that made your gut twist.

“Jack, baby, what is it?” You cupped his cheek in your hand, swiped your thumb across his skin.

“Nothin’, sugar,” he answered, shaking his head and pulling out of your grip, pushing his aviators up his nose.

Whatever it was, he hid it well as you rode to the lake, and it was another blissful day. The lake was quiet, secluded, and when Jack rolled over you on the blanket, planted his hands either side of your head and lowered his body to yours, your forgot any worry you had. You never made it home that night, instead following Jack up to the barn, your fingers twined together.

But when you woke the next morning, he was gone.

His dresser drawers hung open, their contents emptied. His favourite lasso was gone from the hook on the wall where he kept it, his hat beside it also missing. The side of the bed he’d occupied all night was cold, and a piece of paper with your name scrawled across the front sat on his pillow.

Inside, only two words: I’m sorry.

Tears in your eyes, your head spun. Anger spiked — more with yourself than with him — and silently, you told yourself that you had been right all along. You never should have let him in, let yourself get close to him. You’d only ever asked him for that single promise, and he’d broken it the first chance he got.

You collected your things from the barn, realizing you were still in his t-shirt, and walked back home in a blur. It took a few days for you to find the courage to go talk to his parents, if they knew where he had gone, if he was coming back.

“Oh, sweetheart, he didn’t tell you?”

That was the beginning of the secrecy. Even his own family didn’t know exactly where he’d gone, but that he’d been chosen specifically and that he’d be trained to become one of the best. It was what Jack had always wanted, they told you, and with every word, you felt like you knew him less and less.

You thought you were what he always wanted. He’d told you so.

 Resigned, you pushed him from your mind as much as possible. It wasn’t easy, with the Daniels’ ranch always within view, a summer full of memories tugging at you every time you set foot outside your front door. You decided not to let it ruin you, and dove into working on the ranch, helping with the cattle and the horses and using what Jack had taught you.

Before you knew it, years had passed. You knew he came home for Christmas and his mother’s birthday each year, and you made it a point to make yourself scarce. Christmas was harder, especially when your families started celebrating together on Christmas Eve. The first year he was there, you’d nearly burst into tears when he cornered you in the kitchen and called your name softly, but instead, you pushed past him and spent the night in your room with a bottle of whiskey.

He didn’t come on Christmas Eve again, and now, it’s been nearly ten years. Ten.

Ten years, and yet when you gallop toward the road that cuts between the Daniels’ ranch and your own, broad shoulders come into view, and you know it’s him. Same hat on his head, mirrored aviators glinting in the sun, plain white t-shirt that strains in all the right places.

It’s been a decade, but as your horse gallops another few feet closer, you know instantly that something is wrong.

Your brow furrows as you get even closer to the fence separating you from him, tugging the reins until your horse halts, sliding from the saddle. Your chest is tight, your heart racing as you close the distance.

“Hi.”

“Hey there, sugar,” he drawls, and you inhale deeply, ignoring every girlish instinct you’ve buried so deep over the years. “Been a long time.”

“What are you doing here, Jack?” you ask, your voice blunt. You feel uneasy, unsure what’s going on, and you don’t have the time — or the emotional space — to beat around the bush with him.

He reaches up and pulls the aviators from his face. Those bottomless brown eyes are on full display, and in an instant you can feel yourself getting lost in them, but then something catches your attention, just beside his left eye. A scar of sorts, round and raised.

Following your gaze, he rubs at the mark. “I…I messed up, darlin’. Made some big mistakes, took a big hit, and they put me on leave, sent me home.”

“What d’you mean, a big hit? What happened to you?” The curiosity is obvious in your voice.

“I got shot,” he says, blunt as you’d been, and your heart skips in your chest. “M’alright, sugar, I swear. I’d lost some of memory when they woke up, but they found a way to bring ‘em back.”

Your brow lifts. “And how’s that?”

The corner of his mouth quirks, but it’s a ghost of the Jack Daniels smile you fell for that summer. It’s different, softer, sadder. You watch as he reaches into his back pocket and pulls out something square. He hands it to you.

It’s a polaroid picture.

A picture of you.

You recognize it. The day at the lake. You’re sprawled back on the picnic blanket, your hair a fan around your head, Jack’s t-shirt covering your top, bikini bottoms peeking out beneath. You remember him standing over you, camera in hand. Is that my t-shirt? Smile, sugar, c’mon and gimme a good one.

You don’t know what to say. The words swirl around in your brain, some anger and some happiness, some relief and some fear. You just stare down at the photo, the younger version of yourself grinning back. “I…”

“You brought me back,” he says, and leans forward, resting his forearms on the wood of the fence. “More than once, I might add. But this time…this was different. I’m done, I think. For a long time, maybe forever. And I…”

“You thought you could waltz back into my life?” you snap, your fingers bending the edge of the photo. The anger has won out. “After what you did?”

“No,” he replies instantly, staring up at you from under the brim of his hat, “I don’t. I know what I did, how I hurt you. I know tellin’ you that what I did broke my own damn heart worse than anything I’ve ever experienced before doesn’t make up for it.”

There are tears brimming along your lash line, and you blink furiously, trying to force them back, but one betrays you, slipping down your cheek.

“I’m not askin’ for you to give me your forgiveness, sugar, but I am askin’ if you’d let me try and earn it.” He shakes his head slowly, and you can see the sheen in his eyes, made worse when he sniffs and rubs at his nose. “I know I don’t deserve it, but maybe if—”

You reach out suddenly, two fingers pressed to his lips, cutting him off. You know you should be angry, you know you should be a lot of things, but now… “Promise me something, Jack.”

“Anything.”

Another tear slips down your cheek as he wraps his fingers around your wrist lightly, squeezes his fingers at your pulse.

“Don’t break my heart again.”

You see his sharp inhale, the sudden lift to his chest. “Never, sugar. Never again.”

#my fics #a promise #jack whiskey daniels #sleepover sundae #jack whiskey daniels x reader #jack daniels #agent whiskey #agent whiskey x reader #jack whiskey daniels fluff #jack whiskey daniels fic

[cold-heart-warm-writings]

It’s getting hot in here… and for once, it’s not because the Host Club just walked in the room. Excessive heat warning! How are the members handling it?

Tamaki: He would claim that he is the definition of Mr. Calm, Cool, and Collected, but he has never been any of those things. He does though manage to seem not phased by the heat… at least in the company of any ladies. As soon as the ladies leave, he’s melting into a puddle on the ground and complains loud enough for everyone to hear it. 

Haruhi: Goes to the pool, humors the neighborhood children and sets up a sprinkler, makes homemade fruit popsicles, eats chilled watermelon, sits under a large umbrella. She’s not the biggest fan of the extreme heat, but Haruhi is resourceful. She’ll find a way to stay cool.

Kyoya: You will not catch this man breaking a singular bead of sweat. As soon as his phone dings with that excessive heat warning notification, he has a plane booked to literally anywhere that is not this goddamn hot, and is gone. Even his entire family thinks he’s rotting in his room, but no, he’s fucked off to an entire different continent. He’ll catch you in a week once the weather has decided to be reasonable again.

Hikaru: A menace in the best way. Hikaru comes prepared with water squirters, water balloons, those clown flowers that shoot out water, sponges to fill with water to chuck at people, you name it. He takes the heat as an excuse to absolutely LAUNCH a water filled anything at someone, and while initially annoyed, the victim ends up thanking Hikaru for the cool surprise. 

Mori: Swims laps in the pool. Can you think of a better way to cool off? The sun might be working hard, but Mori works harder. He is staying fit and fun out in the sun. Completely unbothered.

Kaoru: Kaoru uses the time to binge play video games and whatever manga he’s behind on inside. Why would he run around outside when his house has the latest state of the art air conditioner? You think his mom, uber fashion model, would allow for sweat stains? Absolutely not, his house is chilled to perfection, part of the problem of global warming, but when it’s this hot? Kaoru does not care. Let the world burn, he’d rather freeze.

Honey: Run. When it is this sticky, humid, and overall disgustingly hot outside, you think our loli boy can sleep? You think he can take his little cozy nappy time with his blanket? There is no wrath like that of a no nap time Honey. Run. Maybe get some ice cake to offer up as a sacrifice. Good luck to all who dare cross his path.

#ohshc #ouran high school host club #ouran #ouran host club #kyoya ootori #hikaru hitachiin #kaoru hitachiin #haruhi fujioka #tamaki suoh #takashi morinozuka #mitskuni haninozuka #wow me posting? more likely than you think :) it's so damn hot :)

[redfurrycat]

🤠🙌🤝🐓Post-Mission Fic Recs🐓🤝🙌🤠

Check the Top Gun Masterlist post for the latest updated version. 💕

Ao3 Authors: AncientAviators, Andrealyn, Aphroditedany, BeautifulCreature, BeccaAnne814, Bubbles_1801, Callsign_striker, Collieflower, Crueltether, Cryinginthebronco, Dalearden, DraconisWing24441, GreenB3ans, Greenstuff, Happytree, Hey_its_me88, Hockeyandfootballismyish, HopeaLumi, Hypnagogicpunisher, Iridescent, MadeItUp, Magdarko, MayWilder, Milestaller, Noona96n, Ok_thanks, Ravens_Words, SamHeartfilia, Tasteofoxidation, Thatsquirrelfromiceage, Theinsouciantknitter, UnicornFlowers, Vannral, Whoreothins, Winterbitch, Xo_em.

*Post-Mission==>From the moment they land on the carrier up to many years after The Mission.

sugar (i've got a taste for you) by tasteofoxidation {E}

“You’re a dog, Bradshaw.” “Bradshaw hyphen Seresin, actually.” Or Jake and Bradley are on their honeymoon and Bradley has a better use for his mouth than their old toxic banter.

Too Hot to Handle by callsign_striker {E}

Bradley isn't convinced about his latest posting to NAS Key West, Florida. But everything happens for a reason - even, it seems, when the air conditioner breaks.

The Tiniest Problem by BeautifulCreature {G}

Bradley has an allergic reaction to his and Jake's new puppy.

wreck my plans (that's my man) by Ravens_Words {T}

Fake dating turns into a fake engagement, which then snowballs into a fake (almost) wedding.

going back to the corner where i first saw you by iridescent {M}

Bradley’s just about resolved to finally call it a day when the power goes out. They’re plunged into immediate, opaque darkness. There’s a lengthy pause. Bradley’s pulse slowly creeps upward as the seconds tick by, an anxious tension coiling in his gut. It truly is pitch-black; he can’t even see the outline of his hand a few inches from his face. “Christ.” Jake’s voice cuts sharply through the stale air, breezy and amused. “And here I was assuming the millions in funding included routine generator maintenance.”

Feels Like Home by MayWilder

a window breaks down a long dark street {M}

“I’m gonna go inside,” Jake murmurs against his lips, despite how they’re flush against one another and he isn’t pulling away. “I am.” He bites at Bradley’s lower lip, prompting the other man to tighten his grip on his hips. “Remind me again why?” “Cause we’re taking it slow and proper,” Jake reminds him. He lets his hands fall down the slope of Bradley’s shoulders and squeezes his biceps. “Dates. Holding hands. Maybe even a date where we hold hands.” Bradley chuckles and ducks his face down into Jake’s neck. “Right. Romance.” *** alternatively titled: Four Times Jake Romances Bradley + 1 Time Bradley Romances Him Back

something to be sheltered {T}

“My wife has asked that you join us for dinner tomorrow night,” Beau says carefully. “Your wife, sir?” Jake’s brow furrows. “Why would she like to meet me?” “She thinks its important that my mentee sees a healthy work-life balance.” “I’m your mentee?” Jake teases, smirking lightly. “And you talk about me enough that your wife wants to meet me?” “You can continue to be a pain in my ass,” Beau sighs, looking up at the ceiling. “Or, you can take the offer of a free dinner with a beautiful and intellectually stimulating woman.” “Oh, I definitely want to see this side of Cyclone,” Jake grins. “Domesticated.” “You’re bordering on impertinence.” “Me? Never.” “Let’s go back to when you respected me and my position.” Jake appears to settle down, but only slightly. He clears his throat and squares his shoulders. “I’d be honored to attend dinner with your family, Admiral. Just tell me a date and time.” *** or, Beau Simpson didn't mean to adopt a fully grown naval aviator, but, you know; shit happens.

all the love i didn't get to tell her {T}

Her birthday was always the worst. The anniversary of her death was manageable. It had been a day that Bradley was anticipating with dread, but it had been expected. Watching her finally close her eyes and take her last breath had come with an ugly mix of emotions. Pain, at never hearing her voice again. Relief, that she was no longer in pain. Selfish relief, that he was released from the burden of watching her deteriorate. Guilt, at the relief. And all together, it was Bradley’s grief. That terrible grief that had him clutching her lifeless hand, hours after it began to stiffen and Hospice hadn’t arrived, and - oh god, his mother was dead. Carole Bradshaw would never again make whole the lives of those around her. All of the horrible people in the world, and the beautiful shining light that was Carole Bradshaw, was out.

High Flight by GreenB3ans {T}

About post-mission life, focusing on the “found family” aspect of “Top Gun.”

hangster slice o' life by whoreothins

close shave {T}

He imagines grasping Bradley’s chin, tilting his head just so as the razor rasps down his neck, and - yep, he could kiss Mav right now. Jake looks up, waggling his eyebrows and holding up the razor. “You mentioned a shave, sweetheart?” he drawls. Bradley is a bit unkempt for Mav’s wedding. Jake helps.

Chicken soup {G}

Well, let’s see,” Bradley says dryly, ticking the items off with his fingers as he goes, “you developed viral pneumonia from God knows where - probably one of our students - and had a fever of 104 degrees, which is the critical threshold for medical attention, you vomited all over our living room, and you were delirious, so I rushed you to the ER.” turns out Rooster is a mother hen, after all.

hangster 'verse by milestaller {E}

like, what up, I got a big cock

“Wait. Why is your callsign Rooster, anyway?” Phoenix snorts beer up her nose. or, what happens when Hangman doesn't know how to quit when he's ahead.

imagine being loved by me

This is… it’s fucking nice, is what it is. It feels easy in a way that Jake never would have expected it to. It’s gotta be because they’re going back to their normal lives tomorrow, no pressure of having to see each other every day to make it awkward. A decent amount of mutual attraction helps, too.   The morning after, and beyond.

Favorite Poison by AncientAviators {M}

Reprieve (Can You Ever Forgive Me?)

“Exactly. If you wanna—” Maverick waves his hand, shaking his head— “I dunno, go start up a ranch somewhere, then do it. If you wanna go back to school, then go back to school, start a family, don’t start a family, get married or never settle down. Follow your dreams. Figure out if you even have any other dreams. Don’t…” He pauses, voice quieting, going soft and sincere, and Bradley’s chest aches a bit. “I don’t want you to ever limit yourself just because you feel like you owe it to your dad, Bradley.” A brief moment of silence. He knows he probably shouldn't ask, he might not be able to handle the answer. “Is that why you stuck around?” “Because of my dad, or because I felt like I owed it to yours?” Maverick asks, eyes coming back up, a small, sad smile on his lips. He holds Bradley’s gaze, the fire flickering on his face, the shadows dancing and disappearing before coming back in rapid succession. Or: Post-Mission healing, Jake and Bradley have history, and Bradley's trying to figure out his life.

The Hand That Feeds

He kind-of wants to be, honestly. He really wants to be. He thinks he could spend the rest of his life with Bradley, doing just this. Coming home to each other, having dinner together, falling asleep in the same bed. Maybe it’s the few sips of wine he had or he’s just losing his mind, but he can almost imagine himself giving up flying for Bradley, if it meant more time with him. They got lucky, being kept as a squadron. Jake needs to thank Iceman, Maverick, and Cyclone. He’ll have to send gift baskets.

what time is it where you are (i miss you more than anything) by cryinginthebronco {G}

Sipping on his coffee, Jake unlocks his phone and smiles to himself when he’s greeted by a stream of new messages. There are a few from his sisters and Javy, but he gets those out of the way with short replies. The thread he leaves for last is filled with short messages, photos, and a couple of videos, and Jake has to bite his lip to keep himself from smiling like an idiot. It takes him a couple of sweeps to get to the first unread message that makes warmth spread in his chest as he reads it. or jake and bradley trying to navigate a long-distance relationship

You've Got Me Hypnotized by theinsouciantknitter {E}

Jake has a problem. A six foot one, hundred and eighty pound, absolutely fucking stacked problem. It’s got auburn curls, rugged scars, honey brown eyes. It’s the kind of problem that makes him want to slam his head into a wall and then maybe mope over a Jane Austen novel. The problem haunts both his dreams and his waking hours. The problem also hates him, which is just the icing on the cake because the problem is Bradley Bradshaw, and Jake is in love with him.

Slow Down by UnicornFlowers {G}

“So he summons all his charm and from the depths of his chest manages to gather the words, “Are you getting tired of me?” Those…those weren’t the words he gathered. So why did they come out?” Or: Jake deserves endless love.

Shake it off by Happytree {E}

“This is the bit that’s going to piss you off,” Jake warned, “so think of tonight as an apology and a final hurrah okay Roo.” “What the hell did Mav dare you?” Jake took a deep breath as he looked him in the eyes, “No sex for two weeks.” “That asshole!”

Your Voice Can Take Me There by greenstuff {E}

“I’m not that drunk,” Bradley protests. Jake stops pushing him and falls in step at his side instead. Bradley immediately misses the warm pressure against his back. “So you don’t want to go back to your place?” Jake asks in an undertone.

got me like nobody by magdarko {G}

The Daggers organize a reunion six months after the mission. So, of course, they play strip poker.

The Highs and Lows of Having a Naval Aviator as Your Omega by hockeyandfootballismyish {T}

Bradley wasn’t quite sure when he started to refer to Hangman- no Jake as his omega. It may have been sometime after the Mission when his omega saved his life and simultaneously gaining his second kill to cement his title as one of the best currently or maybe it was when they hooked up for the first time and Bradley couldn’t help but stare in absolute awe at the man riding his knot and taking his pleasure as he pleased.

A Life With Blondes by Aphroditedany {T}

Two years after the events of Top Gun : Maverick and an ugly accident involving Jake, Bradley and Maverick, the Dagger Squad members discover an interesting fact about Jake's personal life.

it simply is by hypnagogicpunisher {M}

It starts simply. The other Daggers joke about changing his callsign to Pheidippides, ask him when he’s running his next marathon. They’ve seen him pushing through the workouts, running the extra mile, the deepest, ugliest parts of his soul hopes they’ve noticed physical change with that too. And unsaid words sting in the back of his throat that Pheidippides died at the end of his run.

’til the storm breaks loose by vannral {E}

'”Do you want to stay?” Rooster asks, willing to meet him half-way since Jake can’t get a goddamn word out. Jake lifts his chin, his jaw clenched so hard he might crack his teeth into ground up glass.' In which Bradley’s going into heat, Jake checks up on him and they’re faced with just how much they mean to each other. (+snapshots of their life together afterwards.)

Use Your Words and Everything Will be Alright by HopeaLumi {E}

They've been dating for almost two years and Rooster still has trouble communicating and Hangman... is hanging in there.

young | numb | starved by crueltether {G}

“Where’s your head, Bradshaw?” Jake asks softly, letting the backs of his fingers trail a path up the valley of Bradley’s abs to the hollow of his chest and then back down. “Y’been quiet since we got here.”

what momma don't know by collieflower {M}

“You never told your Momma we got married.” Bradley tensed under him before shooting straight up to his elbows. Jake jostled, ending up with his hands propped up on either side of Bradley, bare inches from his face. “Shit,” Bradley hissed. “Yeah, shit.”  - When Bradley learned that Mav pulled his papers, he was angry. When he learned it was on his mother's request? He was furious. In which the Bradshaw-Mavericks are too stubborn to have an essential conversation, and Bradley's been running so long he'd accidentally left his mother behind.

Where Most of Love is Found by thatsquirrelfromiceage {M}

“It won’t be your fault, okay?” Hangman continues. “None of it. But you have to go, now. There’s no point in both of us dying.” There’s a gentleness to his tone that before today, Phoenix would have scarcely believed him capable of. Unforgivably, she feels the anger start to ebb away, despair crawling up through her veins to take its place. “The point,” she growls through tears, “is that you’re my team. You’re my team, Bagman. I am not leaving you behind.” Or: a year after the suicide mission, and six months after the Daggers have reunited to form their own squadron, Natasha and Jake are caught in a gas explosion.

he loves me, i love him not by hey_its_me88 {M}

Exactly three days before their leave ends, before he gets shipped off to Japan and Bradley to Florida, Jake opens his door to find the mustached pilot standing on his steps with a bouquet of roses. Jake shuts the door.

speak low if you speak love by andrealyn {T}

You'd think that after the Dagger mission, Hangman and Rooster would pull their heads out of their asses and realize that they're both being idiots about how they clearly want to get together. Unfortunately for everyone around them, their stubbornness reigns supreme. It leaves their friends with no choice but to Much Ado the shit out of matchmaking them together.

Fire in the Blood and Smoke in the Air by MadeItUp {M}

Dirty and Sweet (Get it on)

As things wind down after the mission, Rooster struggles with a need for something a little dangerous. That something absolutely should not – cannot – be Jake Seresin. But a little friendly competition and a lot of alcohol can go a long way to changing a man's mind. Hangman eyes Rooster’s empty beer, then his own. “How about that second shot?” “You tryna put me off my game?” “I don’t need you drunk to beat you, Rooster.” “What do you need me drunk for?”

feels good to know one thing

Jake doesn’t have the best relationship with his family, so when he’s summoned home for a special occasion, he calls up the one person he can trust to stick with him – after all, Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw has never ever lost a wingman. But he’s about to find out that getting shot down in enemy territory to save Mav was a whole lot easier than surviving a long weekend chez Seresin. “So it’s a big family thing?” Jake says carefully. “Everyone bringing their partners?” “Well of course, Charlie’s promised to bring the kids and I’ve not even met Matty’s new girlfriend—” “So that means I can bring someone?” Silence on the line. His mom is no fool. She knows when she’s been played. “Of course, Jakey,” she says. “You’re welcome to bring anyone you like.”

Will Get Fooled Again

Personal history isn’t enough to get in the way of professional opportunity, and when Lieutenant Commanders Jake Seresin and Bradley Bradshaw are selected to develop a pioneering Strategy Development Program at TopGun, working with the best young aviators the fleet has to offer, each figures they’re up to the challenge both in the air and on the ground. After all, a little rivalry can heighten the senses and bring out the best results… Or it can bring out something else altogether. “I’m not hard to impress,” Jake says, laying the cue down on the table. “I just don’t like people kissing my ass.” “Really?” Rooster says, and there’s a marginally lower register to his voice, a flicker of something crossing his expression that has excitement sparking in Jake’s gut. Walking round to take his drink from where he’s left it, Jake faces the others, resting the ass in question on the table and taking a sip of his drink, before answering. “Hero worship’s for people who don’t know their own worth.” He flashes a winning smile at his friends. “Some of us don’t need it.”

The Dagger Squad by BeccaAnne814 {M}

After the Dagger Squad proved they were the best of the best, the Navy decides to keep the team together. These hotheaded pilots love to tease and torment each other, so how much worse will it be when they’re all living under the same roof?

Sweet Tooth by xo_em

Tiramisu (Take Me Home) {T}

It’s always like this - going home. It takes so much out of him. But what is leave for, if not family?

What a Great Word, Milkshake {T}

Bradley curses Natasha under his breath. He’d let slip in recent conversation that he might be developing decidedly not-so-platonic feelings for the man currently sitting in his passenger seat. A mistake, apparently.

Birthday Cake {M}

It’s Jake’s birthday today and he hates it.

Toothache {T}

Bradley wakes with his arms full.

No Sweeter Fruit Than This (Apple Pie) {E}

There are a few peculiar things of note about Jake Seresin.

No More Wasting Time by DraconisWing24441 {E}

Having just completed a mission that required multiple miracles, Bradley thinks the most miraculous thing of all is that he’s not furious at Maverick anymore. Or Hangman. Now that his relationship with Maverick is on the mend after talking about their past, Bradley starts to realize some other things. Like the fact that Hangman isn't such a bad guy and he maybe actually really likes him, like, a lot. Jake, meanwhile, starts to realize that Bradley may not, in fact, hate him for being an ass, while also trying to hide the fact that he’s been in love with Rooster for years. Without the anger characterizing every interaction, Bradley and Jake are left with the conclusion that there's more there that they hadn’t realized until now. But, as Bradley and Jake's icy relationship unexpectedly begins to thaw into a tentative friendship, the friction that existed between them sparks something deeper than they ever expected. Letting go of the past and respective fears is harder than they thought, but when it comes down to it, the question remains: will they have the courage to leap off their perches and take the shot?

I took the stars from your eyes and then I made a map by dalearden {E}

Before Jake knows it, his jaw has dropped and the gears in his brain have stopped turning as he struggles to process what he’s seeing. He’s seen Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw all dressed up before, a few times over through the course of their respective careers that kept forcing them together as though fate was playing a twisted little game with them, but somehow, this time it hits different.

bad idea, right? by ok_thanks {M}

From: ABSOLUTELY FUCKING NOT!!! (AGAIN) No greeting for me? Don’t I get that Bradshaw hospitality?

Can You Feel My Heart? by bubbles_1801 {T}

I Can't Drown My Demons, They Know How To Swim

A few months after the mission marks the 5th anniversary of Jake’s first air-to-air kill. After a poorly timed comment from one Bradley Bradshaw, Jake spirals into a depression. Can his new found family rescue him from himself? More importantly, will he let them?

I'm Scared To Get Close, And I Hate Being Alone

After an unexpected voicemail from his father, Jake finds himself getting a migraine for the first time in years. The pain is almost too much to bare and he's still unsure of his standing within his newfound family. Cue Bradley being the best boyfriend and Ice and Mav being the worried parents that they are. Set between the main story and epilogue of I Can't Drown My Demons, They Know How To Swim.

Misconceptions by SamHeartfilia {M}

Jake "Hangman" Seresin received an incomplete mating claim from one Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw a week after graduating from the Naval Academy. No one but his best friend know, and now that the uranium mission is over, things are looking up. His claim is completed and he's feeling like himself for the first time in years. Of course, everything starts change when his secrets come out. Secrets he was only just coming to terms with himself.

newton's law of motion by noona96n {T}

law i inertia Bradley's hospitalized immediately after The Mission, and Jake has a revelation™ law ii force & acceleration Bradley recuperates at the Seresin's Ranch and has a revelation™

the shapes of love by winterbitch {T}

sink your teeth into me (keep me)

Rooster doesn't need to know what animal Hangman shifts into, but he sure wants to find out. It's just another piece of the man he's hopelessly in love with, and he wants to know everything, no matter how much his friends tease him. Through a series of events, he finally finds out, and maybe gets more than expected Or shifter au where rooster is a wolf, hangman is [redacted], there's a LOT of pining, and icemav are cute together (ice is a tiger, mav is a fennec). they get their happy end

I see forever in your eyes

Having gotten together (and engaged in the same day), Rooster and Hangman don't get any less annoying with their behaviour. Rooster would even argue that their friends are more annoyed with them now, but he's too deliriously happy to care. He has the love of his life by his side, his friends surrounding him, and he's getting married. Life is great (and it's about to get even better) Or shifter au with smitten puppy rooster, disgustingly in love hangster, some background icemav and ANOTHER proposal

#Post-Mission Recs List #hangster #sereshaw #hangaroo #bradley rooster bradshaw x jake hangman seresin #bradley rooster bradshaw #jake hangman seresin #🐈red🐈furry🐈cat🐈tag🐈

[barelytolerabled]

Lost Chances

Spencer Reid x fem!Reader

Summary: you finally express your feelings toward spencer not expecting anything

Warnings: none, not an happy end?

WC: 634

Taglist: @envraijesaispas @rosecentury @taygrls @thisismeraki @thenerdthatwrites @bigbunnygucci @jordie-gvf @cynbx @saturnstringz

a/n: let me know if you guys would like a part 2!!

As the moon cast its soft glow over the empty BAU office, you found yourself alone with Spencer Reid. It was an unusual occurrence, given the chaotic nature of your work and the constant presence of your colleagues. But tonight, the two of you had stayed behind, caught up in an intense discussion about the latest case.

Sitting side by side at his desk, the familiar warmth of friendship lingered between you, but so did an unspoken tension. You had been best friends for years, sharing everything from laughter to tears, but there was always something more lurking beneath the surface.

"I'm not in love with you anymore," you breathed, the words escaping your lips before you could stop them. Relief washed over you like a cool breeze, but it was tinged with sadness, knowing that you had carried this hidden affection for Spencer for far too long.

Spencer's expressive eyes widened, searching your face for a sign of deception. The flicker of confusion on his features was soon replaced by a tinge of sadness, and the realization settled in his gaze that he had been oblivious to your feelings. "I didn't know you ever were," he replied softly, his voice laced with regret and a hint of longing.

His response cut through you like a knife, leaving you feeling exposed and vulnerable. The connection you shared, the unspoken bond, had led you down this path, but now it seemed you had taken a wrong turn. Perhaps it was too late to salvage what you once thought could have been.

"I never said anything," you admitted, your voice barely above a whisper. "I was afraid, Spencer. Afraid of losing what we had. But now, it feels like I've lost something anyway."

His eyes never left yours, locked in a gaze that held years of memories and unspoken words. Slowly, he reached out and placed a hand on top of yours, offering a gesture of comfort in this bittersweet moment. "I'm sorry, I never knew," he murmured, his voice filled with regret. "I never realized what we could have had. If I had realized, I would have done things differently, so differently..."

A tear slipped down your cheek, betraying the depth of your emotions. "I didn't want to risk our friendship," you confessed, your voice trembling with the weight of missed opportunities. "But now, I can't help but wonder what could have been."

Spencer's thumb gently brushed away your tear, his touch tender and full of unspoken longing. "I understand," he whispered, his voice barely audible. "It is hard not to feel a sense of loss. To know that we could have had something amazing, something beautiful, and it slipped through our fingers."

Silence hung in the air, heavy with unspoken words and the remnants of shattered possibilities. The night stretched on, the only sounds filling the room were the soft hum of the air conditioner and the steady rhythm of your hearts.

In that moment, you both realized the depth of your connection and the pain of lost chances. The road not taken haunted you, but it also held a glimmer of hope. Maybe, just maybe, this conversation was the catalyst needed to explore the depths of your feelings.

As the night drew to a close, you found solace in knowing that even though the timing may have been off, the bond you shared would always be there. It would take time to heal the wounds left by unspoken confessions, but the foundation of your friendship would remain steadfast.

And who knew? Perhaps, in the future, the stars would align once again, granting you both the chance to rewrite your story with a different ending—one filled with love, courage, and the possibility of a love that had been silently yearned for all along.

#criminal minds x reader #criminal minds fanfic #criminal minds x y/n #spencer reid #spencer reid fanfic #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid x fem!reader #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x you #spencer reid fluff #spencer reid smut #spencer x you #spencer x reader #spencer reid one shot #criminal minds fic #criminal minds oneshot #criminal minds

[lilapplesheadcannons]

Nie MingJue was welcomed by the gust of cold air from the air conditioner as he walked in. The long anticipated rain did very little to dissipate the summer heat. Instead, the outside felt like a sauna. His shirt was sticking to his back, and the skin under his wristwatch was itchy. Baxia meowed in welcome.

Before he could finish taking off his shoes, though, his phone rang. It was Meng Yao.

"Heyyy." Meng Yao sounded perky. Like the way he sounded when Jin GuangShang got busted in a hotel room with two prostitutes. Or after the son of Meng Yao's old boss, the obnoxious greasy git that tried to grope Meng Yao in a lift, drove straight into the railings of a bridge. (A miniscule part of MingJue will resent Xichen until the next life for never telling him about the groping incident, for allowing Wen Chao to die painlessly in a hospital bed instead of begging for his life, choking on his own blood while MingJue tore him into pieces). Anyway...

"Is everything ok?"

"I am going with Mo-shi to A-Yu's school. He has been suspended."

"Damn!"

"Don't worry. I'll talk to the principal. I am sure he can be persuaded to see how that can easily be misconstrued into an attack against a non-binary student by the press. A-Su will meet us there." Meng Yao's voice sounded silky smooth.

Nie MingJue isn't worried. He doesn't know Mo XuanYu's principal well enough to care for the man. But he knows the mottled bunch his in-laws are. Especially after the shovel talk Qin Su and Mo XuanYu, two people not even reaching his sternum, gave him while the oldest ZiXuan stood calmly smiling at him with his back blocking the only door. All lives must go through some trials and tribulations. It was Mo XuanYu's principal's turn.

"Can I help?" He was quite free for the rest of the day.

"Well, not us. But Saozi needs someone to look after A-Ling for an hour."

"Ummm, me?" MingJue was pretty self-confident in his capability to deal with anything. That anything, however, wasn't a baby that couldn't even walk. He had taken care of HuaiSang since their dad passed away, but HuaiSang was a 5 years old child then. Albeit he came with his own set of challenges, but at least he wasn't a fragile 6-month-old.

"Yes, she's got to run to a venue, client is throwing tantrum. But don't worry. My mom and Mrs. Jin will come pick A-Ling as soon as they can. They went to an auction to Caiyi. If not, Xuan-ge will try to sneak out."

"OK."

The bell rang. It must be Jiang Yanli. MingJue opened the door while hanging up the phone.

Yanli smiled apologetically. She was carrying the baby in a carseat. Behind Wen Ning was packed like a mule with miscellaneous bagpacks and diaper bags. He was also carrying a teddy bear under one arm and a bassinet under the other. The baby was fast asleep.

"Sorry. One of my clients is having a major issue at her wedding. A-Yao said he was free, but I guess he got called away by A-Yu."

"It's ok, it's ok. Don't worry about it." Nie MingJue took the carseat. Wen Ning walked in to drop off his load while trying not to trip over a curious Baxia. In the next ten minutes, MingJue was familiarised with the baby food, formula, bottles, clothes, diapers, and enough syrups, drops, and creams to open a pharmacy of his own.

"He was just fed and changed. This is his naptime anyway. Don't worry, popo will come around to pick him up in an hour."

Nie MingJue smiled at her reassuringly. "Don't worry, Baxia and I will keep him safe."

Yanli relaxed. "Again, terribly sorry. I'd ask mom, but she and dad are out of the country. Give me a call if you need anything, ok? Let's go, A-Ning."

The duo rushed out. MingJue smiled at the seeming nonchalance that the Jins had for anything as he closed the door. Jiang Yanli acted as if her divorced parents going away together on a vacation abroad was the most natural phenomenon. A-Yao acted as if Mrs Jin taking her ex-husband's mistress to her latest fad was nothing out of ordinary. Even A-Yao going with another one of his dad's ex-mistresses to his half-sibling's school was just daily bread and butter. They functioned as a pack, a pride that had already devoured it's wayward patriarch, and one MingJue hoped he would never run afoul.

He could guess why it was him and not anybody else who was left holding Jin Ling. There was a silent, cold war of the uncles going on between Jiang Wanyin and Meng Yao to establish invisible territory, aided and abetted by HuaiSang, who very likely had a betting pool running somewhere. Wei Wuxian was a part of it, too, with strong backing from Lan Wangji, who would happily find a match if Wei Wuxian ever wanted to set the world on fire just for funsies, but they recently got their paperwork sorted and took a toddler with extreme separation anxiety home. It was obvious it would be a major loss for A-Yao if he couldn't provide impromptu babysitting on a day he was supposed to be free.

Jin Ling frowned , squirmed in his bassinet, and then opened his eyes. He was very clearly not impressed by what he saw because he broke into the howls of anguish.

Poor baby! MingJue picked him up and patted his back while pacing. Must be jarring going to sleep in your bedroom and waking up in an unfamiliar room with a semi-familiar giant staring at your face. Jin Ling simmered down into occasional whimpers. Baxia closely followed MingJue, obviously concerned for the deformed furless kitten. MingJue's phone rang again.

"Hello," Meng Yao sounded grimly determined, "how are things in your end?"

"Good, good. We are just getting along, " MingJue reassured. Over his shoulder, Jin Ling broke into a babble of babytalk with Baxia.

"That's better than us."

"How bad are things?"

"He fought with another kid, one of his cousins from the other side. That brat has to be hospitalised. School is thinking of getting police involved."

"Shit!" MingJue remembered his youngest half-brother-in-law. He was a twig of a child, surly and shy. He must have been pushed really hard for him to retaliate so badly.

"Yeah, Xuan-ge is on his way to here. If we can combine some legal threats, bad press, and monetary compensation, we can probably make things go away. Love you."

Meng Yao hung up. MingJue slowly whistled. He could understand why A-Yao was trying so hard to get XuanYu off without any blemishes. The Jin siblings were a hyperambitious, over-achieving bunch. Having one of their owns kicked out before completing high school with allegation of assault was not something A-Yao's delicate sensibilities could live with. His thoughts were interrupted by Jin Ling, who turned his head to make direct eye contact with him and said, "Shit!"

Nie MingJue almost dropped him in panic. Even not taking Jiang Yanli into account, a woman whom he had personally seen physically pull Wei Wuxian and Jiang Wanyin apart, what Meng Yao would do to him if he ever learned that Nie MingJue taught his precious nephew to swear boggled minds. It wasn't even the cursing that was the worst part. One of the major bones of contention between A-Yao and Wanyin was whether Jin Ling would say shushu or jiujiu first. Jin Ling, like a good deplomat, had avoided saying any meaningful word so far. But when did things go in MingJue's favour anyway?

"No, no, A-Ling. Bad word. We don't say it."

Jin Ling tilted his head inquisitively. "Shiiiit?"

"Oh no, oh no. I am sorry. I shouldn't have said that. You shouldn't say it either."

"Shit!" Jin Ling spoke in conviction. He had found the first catchphrase of his life, and it was obviously getting all the right traction.

Maybe he'll forget if he gets distracted?

"Look here, this is kitty. Kiii-ttyyy. Say kitty. Meow, meow."

Baxia stared at him at mild contempt. Jin Ling spoke enthusiastically, "Shit!"

MingJue could feel himself breaking into a sweat despite the AC. This was exactly the type of stressful event Dr. Wen advised him to avoid during his checkup this morning. She was overall impressed with his blood pressure and his cholesterol and even smiled at him when he confirmed he got 9 hours of sleep every day. Now, he had gone and undone a year's progress.

"No A-Ling, kitty. Come on, Baxia, help me out here, old girl."

Baxia continued to look as unimpressed as ever. Jin Ling stuffed his left fist in his mouth.

MingJue decided to use threat because it was obvious his rotten old cat had no better nature he could fucking appeal to.

"What do you think will happen to you when Meng Yao kills me? Do you think he won't try to make it look like a burglary gone wrong and murder you too?"

Baxia finally said something, "Mrrrrrrrrrowwww!"

"I am glad you trust him so much. Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but he knows you peed in his shoes that time. He's just biding time, you'll see."

Baxia simply turned her tail and walked off. Jin Ling continued to slobber on his fist like it was a lollipop. MingJue took a deep breath. Why was he, a man in his late 30s, arguing with a cat over a baby? His phone went off again.

"Oh, hello, darling," Meng-shi sounded like a bubbly teenager over the phone, "How are my two favourite boys doing?"

Light-weight, light-voiced, a hummingbird of a woman; Meng-shi was the exact opposite of the stoic, statuesque mother figure MingJue was used to having. He informed her that they were, in fact, doing perfectly well.

"Well, you see honey, there was an accident on the highway." Meng-shi's singsong voice was tinged with anxiety. "We are waiting for the road to clear. Won't take long. Will you two be ok?"

MingJue reassured her and then hung up. Great! How hard can looking after a baby be? He just needed to not swear anymore.

Jin Ling looked thoughtful as he took his fist out of his mouth, then with the sound of ripping papers came the stench of the deepest, darkest depth of hell. MingJue felt a hot liquid on his forearm leaking from the baby's diaper.

It took ages and an insane amount of babywipes to clean Jin Ling up. MingJue also made the effort to scrub his forearm raw and sniffed A-Yao's cologne to clear his sinuses. On the brigher side, Jin Ling was so delighted by his gagging that he seemed to forget the swearword.

As he was spraying the house with airfreshner, his phone went off again. Finally! Please let it be Meng-shi. Or better yet, Jiang Yanli herself. But no, all his hopes were dashed at the sight of the caller id.

"Hello, Xichen."

"Oh, hi, hi. How are things?"

Before MingJue could answer, Lan Xichen continued, "So Wanyin called to say that A-Ling needs babysitting. Wanyin isn't in town, but I'd be happy to take him off your hand. I am quite free today."

MingJue stared at the phone in disbelief. Et tu, brute! Xichen had shared ice creams with him in kindergarten when they were expressedly forbidden to buy those without grownups. Xichen cried with him at his dad's funeral. Fuck, the man slept off his first break-up in the sofa MingJue paid for. (Ok, A-Yao helped too because he's so much better at vouchers and sales). But here was the smiling serpent, stabbing MingJue for petty personal gains.

"No, I wouldn't want to presume." MingJue tried not to sound curt.

"Oh, come on," the treacherous snake purred, "Do you really need the aggravation? Why not take the time to plan a special meal for A-Yao? I bet he'd like that."

The backstabbing beast. As if A-Yao won't castrate MingJue for surrendering his precious nephew to the opponent team.

MingJue copied the purr, "Oh no, Jin Ling and I are already planning a special meal for A-Yao when he gets back. Thanks for your offer. Bye."

"But..."

"BYE!"

Things some people would lower themselves to do for gaining brownie points with a dimpled shortie! MingJue shook his head mournfully. Jin Ling restarted his whimpering.

"What is it, A-Ling? Do you miss mommy? She'll be back soon. Don't cry."

Just on the cue, Jin Ling's stomach rumbled. Nie Mingjue put him down on the carpet with a sigh and went to heat up the water. Midway making the bottle, he got suspicious of the sudden silence and came out of the kitchen to see Jin Ling tugging on a fistful of Baxia's fur. A terrified MingJue was about to jump in, but it was obvious the baby had carte blanche. MingJue, who still bore the marks on his forearm from the time he picked up kitten Baxia and brought her home, sighed at the unfairness in the world and went back to the bottle. He was sighing a lot today.

Jin Ling drank his bottle with much gusto but took a serious offence at MingJue's paltry attempt to burp him. He turned his head and babbled in complaints and seemed quite close to saying "Shit" again. So MingJue gave up and started giving him a tour of the flat.

It was when he was showing the baby Baxia's cat tree that Meng-shi rang back.

" Sorry, sweetheart, we need to take a detour. It'll be another hour. I'm really sorry," She sounded breathless.

MingJue wasn't too bothered. He had changed the baby. He had fed the baby. Surely the worst was over? Just to prove him wrong, the baby broke into tears again.

MingJue checked his diapers. It was dry. He checked his clothes too for good measures in case there were any rogue insects. But A-Ling was all clear and still yelling. MingJue carried him to the kitchen this time with him and made another bottle with one hand, but A-Ling spat it out. He was beginning to go red in his face. Desperate for a miracle, MingJue took him to the bedroom. He put the baby on his knees and tried to rock him side to side, just like how he had seen his own mother rock HuaiSang. Baxia meowed, then jumped up on the bed. He asked the cat, "What do I do now, Baxia?"

But the baby stopped whimpering. Baxia had crawled next to him and put a paw on his tummy. The baby yawned, then closed his eyes.

Within half an hour, MingJue felt his leg go numb. It was also lunchtime, and he skipped breakfast this morning for fasting blood glucose levels. But he didn't dare to move the baby.

Another half an hour crawled away. Finally, he heard keys rattling in the door.

"Da-ge?"

He could hear Meng Yao's whisper.

"Over here, in the bedroom." He whispered back.

It wasn't just A-Yao, though. Jiang Yanli and Jin ZiXuan peeked from behind him, three of them showing matching grins. Probably, the baby could sense his mom nearby because he blinked his eyes open.

It was an... impressive reunion, to say the least. If MingJue hadn't witnessed the whole thing, he'd easily believe that the mother and the child hadn't seen each other for aeons. Jin ZiXuan updated him as he put the baby items back into the bag.

"He's going to be fine. After school detention. The other kid is in trouble, though. He's been hitting A-Yu for a long time. Other students spoke up. He's the son of Mo-shi's sister, and well, it seems Mother dear has been talking nonsense to the boy. His dad works in a company affiliated with us, though. He came in to apologise. We'll also bring this up in the next school board meeting. I am sure people would be interested to know how the school was so quick to punish my brother without proper investigation. " His smile reminded MingJue of a documentary he had seen only the night before on great whites.

He felt Meng Yao touch his arm. He was almost blinded by the beatific, grateful smile. Well, he couldn't blame Xichen anymore. A man could go a great length for some dimples.

"Thanks! I owe you one." Meng Yao whispered.

MingJue felt a pleasant tingle in his spine. A-Yao was generous in his paybacks. He was in luck.

The Jins were ready to leave. Yanli waved Jin Ling's chubby fist for him.

"Say goodbye to shushu, A-Ling. Say goodbye to Gufu."

However, Jin Ling opened his mouth and said, "Bai-ya!"

Everyone paused.

"He said bye! His first words!" Jin ZiXuan was in tears. But Jin Ling protested, "Baiii-yaaa!"

As if in response, Baxia walked up to Yanli and meowed. It dawned onto people only then.

"My son's first word. It's a cat's name!"

MingJue struggled to maintain his smile as he waved them goodbye. If only ZiXuan knew the original first word his son had uttered. MingJue kept his fingers crossed that Jin Ling wouldn't say "Shit" until he was at least one.

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #mdzs crack #grandmaster of demonic cultivation #cql fanfic #nie mingjue #meng yao #jiang yanli #jin zixuan #jin ling #lan xichen #mo xuanyu #meng shi #baxia #nieyao #xuanli #xicheng