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amnisx · 3 months

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~ missed me? - ❁ - yjw

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♡ pairing: yang jungwon x fem!reader

♡ word count: 3k ?

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♡ synopsis:

Sent to spend the summer time with my grandma, i end up right back to where i came from. A warm feeling of nostalgia washing over me as i found myself traveling back in time to my childhood. Old memories that i buried in the back of my mind resurfacing— everything from to the smell of the wild flowers that surrounded me, to the first boy i had ever let into my heart.

♡ concept: childhood friends to lovers, slow burn, fluff.

♡ warnings: heated argument, swearing, dark humor. (tell me if i missed anything!)

• ✉️ ami’s note: this story is written in first person! this was also heavily inspired by my own real life events so hope it’s good! (part 1/2)

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As a small child my mom had gotten a job where she needed to move a lot. We’d never stay in the same place very long, eventually moving somewhere else after a few years passed. It had never bothered me much until we moved to that one specific town..

I was around six when mom said we were moving again. I’d gotten used to it at this point. And inevitably so, because of our lifestyle, i never had many friends. I mean who would want to after knowing you’d have to abandon them only a year or two later?

Everything changed when we moved to mom’s hometown. I had personally never lived there, nor ever visited, but she always said how it was the sweetest place. I could tell she was fond of it so i had no reason to protest. (i wasn’t allowed to anyways ㅠㅠ).

I remember the night we got there, seeing grandma’s little wooden cottage for the first time was probably when it hit me. It was always like this. Every time we moved somewhere new i wouldn’t believe it until we actually got to the place. Her front porch had a small rocking chair that swayed back and forth by the cool autumn breeze, four wooden pillars that connected into a little fence at the front of the house, a few potted plants on the windowsill and even what seemed to be a fruit tree of sorts in the front yard.

I moved away when i was twelve, and was completely devastated when i did. I got seriously attached to the warm and calm neighborhood since it was the first time i had stayed in the same place for so long. At the time i was so blinded by my own pain of having to leave the people who were close to me, that i didn’t realize i was hurting them as well. I told myself i never wanted to look back at the years i spent here, trying to erase the memories i’d made. Shoving the hurt and old memories in the back of my mind.

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When i finally came back i couldn’t help but shake the feeling of subtle dread as i stepped off the train and onto the old dingy concrete platform. Grandma’s place wasn’t far from the old train station, maybe a 10 to 15 minute walk. When i actually think about it, i’m sure that train station is at least a hundred years old..

All i felt was a lump in my throat as i saw that wooden cottage before me again. The familiar smell of morning dew and wild flowers enveloping my nostrils as i stepped on to the creaking boards of the mini staircase that led to the front door. Grandma was expecting me, of course. But i was surprised when she didn’t answer the door. That’s when i see a small note stuck on to that same old rocking chair, the white paint starting to chip away.

“hello dear, so sorry im not there to greet you but i went out to town to buy some groceries. I’ll be back around 1 pm. The spare key is under the house mat. Love you~“

The corners of my lips crept up, leaving a small smile on my face as i put the note back and squat down to look under the house mat. It used to say “Welcome Home“ but it was so dirty that it wasn’t recognizable anymore. I gently lift it up, my eyes immediately meeting the small key. I picked it up and pushed it in the lock, slowly turning it to avoid the door creaking open like it usually did. As i softly pushed on the painted wood, my eyes scanned every corner of the inside of the house again. The slight fading of the floral wallpaper, the smell of chamomile tea mixed with the hint of rust of the pans from the kitchen and the sofa that was filled with pillows that grandma had made over the years. “Yep, this is home.” I quietly mumbled to myself.

I had two pretty large suitcases with me and it wasn’t very easy to lift them on my own. They were still resting in the front yard, i hadn’t bothered to bring them up on to the front porch yet. When suddenly, a familiar voice calls my name.

(?): “y/n? holy shit.. it is you.”

Confused and kind of nervous, i turned around to see the one and only Jake Sim. He had definitely grown up. He was much taller than me now, his face had matured and his body was.. well.. you could tell he worked out. Amused by my reaction he walks up to me and nudges my shoulder slightly with his the palm of his hand.

(JK): “you okay? You look like you’re in shock.” He softly chuckles, trying to get a reaction out of me.

(y/n): “J-Jake? Hi..! Wow.. it’s been a while, huh? Sorry about that.. I’m just surprised to see you.. You changed..”

(JK): “Heh.. puberty hit me, i guess. It’s been like four years, right? Damn.. time really does fly by.. anyways, you want some help?” He looks and points over at my suitcases, picking both of them up with ease as we both head through to the front door.

(y/n): “heh.. thanks..” I giggle nervously, gently scratching the back of my neck.

(JK): “no problem! Think of it as a welcome gift, hm? By the way, if it isn’t too forward, when’d you get back?” He asks as he gently places the suitcases in the living room beside the staircase that lead upstairs to the bedrooms.

(y/n): “i just came in today. I was gonna unpack a bit before going out, maybe..? I haven’t quite decided yet.. not gonna lie, im kind of nervous about seeing everyone again..” Jake suddenly gulps hearing my words, knowing exactly what i meant about it. His eyes softened and his hand slowly reaching out for my shoulder.

(JK): “y/n.. It’ll be fine. No one held a grudge against you or anything, okay? It’s been years. We’ve all changed and grown up since then.. How long you staying anyway?” His eyebrows furrowed as looked at me kind of intensely, waiting almost impatiently for an answer.

(y/n): “Thanks.. that makes me feel better. I’m only hanging around for the summer time though.”

(JK): “all summer, huh? Did ya miss any of us? I know the guys definitely missed you..” His facial expression looked almost smug now, like he was proud of himself when he muttered out that had everyone missed me.

(y/n): “they did, did they? Can’t say i’m surprised, i knew i’d always leave a mark on you guys~” I returned his cheeky grin and we both end up laughing a bit at the faint sarcasm.

(JK): “well.. i’ll see you around, yeah? I have somewhere to be, i’m glad to see you’re back.” He leaned in and hugged me. It was warm and comfortable.. like when you eat a home cooked meal you haven’t eaten in a long time and it warms your insides up.

(y/n): “yea.. see you around.” I release myself from his embrace and he starts to walk backwards bearing a small smile, waving me goodbye, before turning around and walking out of sight.

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Reuniting with Jake was only one the first of many nerve wrecking incidents that were sure to happen. A few hours pass, and i’d made myself comfortable in the upstairs guest bedroom, which was once mom’s and my old room. I analyze the room, my eyes following the small traces of boot scuffs on the hardwood floor and the faint scratch marks on the wall above the wooden flower headboard of the bed. (As you can tell, grandma kind of likes nature..) I couldn’t help but smirk at myself, remembering how i used to spend most of my free time in here. My old posters had thankfully been replaced with antique paintings and embroidery but surprisingly, grandma had kept all my old drawings and my ugly ass arts and crafts, storing all of it in the back of some dark wood cabinet.

I heard at the front door croak open, the sound of it was pretty loud, somehow it never occurred to anyone to oil it once in a while. I rush downstairs to meet my grandma. Still as short and sweet as ever. The last time she’d seen me was when we moved away, so i changed a lot in her eyes.

(GM): “omooo! my grand daughter is so grown up now. You’ve gotten sooo pretty, dear! Aish.. Does your mom even feed you? You’re getting too skinny.. Let me make you lunch, okay?” She gave me a quick peck on the cheek and headed straight for the kitchen.

All i could do was nod and let her do her thing. Grandma always showed her love for me through food, it’s probably a universal thing i guess. I quietly got installed at the dining table, looking at it, nothing had changed. It still had the same round light pink lace table spread, the same thin white paper doilies under the pearly porcelain plates and rusted silverware, and the same dried roses and chrysanthemums in a glass vase in the middle of the table.

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The next two weeks passed in a drunken haze. I didn’t really leave the house much, mostly staying home to catch up with grandma and help around with the backyard and some household chores. She told me to go out and meet up with my old friends, but i just couldn’t bring myself to do it quite yet. A part of me wanted to leave this weird, awkward, and uncomfortable prison i had built for myself that caged me to the house, but my thinking was quickly disturbed when a loud knock came at the door.

There were two long windows on each side of it. I push one of the white cotton curtains back just a bit to try and peer out to see who was on the other side of the door. Suddenly, my heart dropped.

It was Jake, but he’d brought someone else with him. It was the one person i was trying to avoid the most… Yang Jungwon. I’m pretty sure i wanted to actually unalive myself in that very moment when he saw me looking through the window. His eyes met mine only for a second but i felt my heart skip a beat. I move away from the window and shake myself back into reality before slowly opening the door. But an awkward silence filled the air as soon as i did.

(JK): “hey y/n… um.. we weren’t seeing you around for a while so we got kind of worried..” He mumbled, trying to break the weird silence.

(y/n): “oh.. that’s sweet. I was thinking of going out today, actually.” I could feel Jungwon’s eyes on me but he was staying dead silent. My cheeks and ears heating up, shying away from eye contact with either one of the two.

(JK): “you could go out with us now, if you want? Jungwon and i were gonna meet up with Jay and Ni-ki in a few. It’d be nice if you said hi to them.” i looked up at Jake, avoiding the boy next to him like the plague.

(y/n): “oh.. sure..! Let me get my bag.” i went upstairs to get my handbag and put my shoes on, saying goodbye to my granny before getting back to them and closing the door behind me.

In a sort of awkward but amusing way, Jungwon slid his body next to mine, tilting his head as he slowly opened his mouth to say something.

(JW): “um.. so.. y/n, how’ve you been?” he said in a slightly shaky and nervous voice, trying to meet my gaze as we started walking.

(y/n): “i’ve been.. fine, i guess. You?” I told myself there was no point in trying to run away again. I wouldn’t make the same mistake i made four years ago.

(JW): “i’ve been okay. I missed you, you know.” his mood seemed to brighten up, a small hint of excitement in his voice as he sees my cold expression melt away.

(y/n): “i missed you too.”

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I remember when i first met Jungwon. It was my first year of primary school and our moms had somehow gotten very close. He was a pretty outgoing kid, had cutely crooked teeth in the front, a funny bowl cut and was probably only an inch or two taller than me. Maybe it was our mom’s close relationship or the fact that we went to the same school, but for whatever reason, we became inseparable. I felt safe, comfortable and happy whenever i was around him. His smile and laugh was one of the most contagious things in the world. But as we grew up, maybe i started to smile at him a little too hard..

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Our walk comes to end as we see Jay and Ni-ki wait at one of those old summer picnic benches. They stand up and greet me with a warm smile, patting my back and going in for a small hug. We all sit back down and start to catch up, chatting about what i’d done since i moved away and stuff like that.

This bench was special to all of us in some unique way, a bunch of things having taken place there. We’d always stay out here as kids. It was probably one of my favorite spots in the whole town, seeing the tall grass surround it and the few patches of moss that was growing at the base of the table just made me smile. I found a sense of comfort here, maybe it was that certain tall willow tree that shaded the bench perfectly from the harsh sun, or maybe it was just being with old friends, either way, i felt at peace.

Despite everything that had went down the day i left, it all seemed as if nothing had changed. Of course, we had all grown up, physically and mentally but i was soothed by the fact that i could just be myself and not be so uptight around them even when it had been years since we all hung out like this. With one expection, and that exception in the form of Yang Jungwon that was probably the reason i had a lingering feeling of guilt as i sat at that wooden table..

I came to learn that Sunoo had moved across the country, and Sunghoon was on the road for multiple ice skating competitions. My heart sort of sank hearing the news, knowing i could’ve visited sooner. I missed my chance to see my friends in person and it hurt me more than it probably should’ve. I asked where Heeseung was and Jay replied that he was probably studying or at basketball training. Apparently he had a pretty tight schedule now.

(y/n): “i’m here all summer.. i’m sure i’ll get to see him soon, right?” i look around the table, trying to read the expressions of the boys around me.

(J): “yea of course! Heeseung would never pass up seeing you, y/n.”

(y/n): “really? you think so Jay? Last time we talked it didn’t end really well.. It didn’t end well with any of you..”

(JW): “we dont blame you y/n. It all affected us when you moved away..” I turned to look at Jungwon, his head was down and he was watching himself fiddle with his hands.

(y/n): “guys.. i really am sorry. For what happened.. i don’t know why i left things like that. It was just.. too hard to say goodbye so i thought it best to not say goodbye at all..”

(N-K): “that’s bullshit, y/n. You know that. You didn’t say goodbye because of Jungwon.” he scoffed. Ni-ki was obviously a little on edge.

(JW): “seriously Ni-ki? It’s my fucking fault? Let it go, won’t you? Anything between y/n and me has nothing to do with you.” The table was getting tense, the rest of us felt the anger start to radiate off the two.

(N-K): “Even now you’re acting like a selfish asshole, of course it has something to do with me, all of us. When she was leaving all you thought about was how it would affect you, and no one else. You think me, Heeseung, Jay, Jake, Sunghoon or Sunoo would’ve acted the way you did? Your head is so far up your own ass you can’t even realize that-” He slammed the palms of his hands against the table, slightly raising his voice causing everyone to shake a bit from the sudden shout.

(J): “Ni-ki that’s enough. calm down.. we all agreed to not talk about that anymore.”

(JK): “yea cmon.. y/n is right there..“ Jake mumbled in a nervous tone.

Ni-ki huffed and stood up from the table, ruffling the back of his hair in a frustrated manner before walking away a bit to calm down. All i could do was stay quiet. I think i was just scared to speak, or maybe i was scared of them. The atmosphere was now dense and serious and the lighthearted laughter that once filled the air had completely disappeared.

(JW): “yea just fucking walk away again..” He mumbled in an angry tone under his breath.

(y/n): “Jungwon, don’t. It’s not anyone’s fault, okay? don’t act like you’re twelve again.”

(JK): “goddamn it..” He stands up from the table as well, following Ni-ki to try and bring him back to the others.

We watched from afar seeing Ni-ki slap Jake’s hand away from his shoulder and angrily storming off into the darkness of the cool summer night. The sudden cold wind hitting my shoulders meant it was time to get home. Everyone apologized for Ni-ki’s behavior, saying that maybe seeing me was a little much for him right now, i nod my head, understanding that he might feel a bit frustrated or overwhelmed but i’m pretty sure everyone was. Jay and Jake retreat to their own houses after telling us goodnight, also eventually disappearing in to the dimly lit side walk. It felt kind of weird being with Jungwon alone, we just.. looked at each other.. in this uncomfortable and awkward way. Until one of us finally spoke up.

(JW): “y/n, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have lashed out.. like that, back then, i mean. And even now..”

(y/n): “I want you to know i’m not mad at you, Jungwon. Back then, I just felt so.. helpless. All of a sudden, i was stripped away from all my friends and everything i held so fucking close to my heart. And.. I acted like a dumbass trying to handle it..” I could feel tears swell up in my eyes. My lip started to quiver as i finished my last sentence.

(JW): “Is that why..?” I cut him off with a direct but shaky “No.” knowing what was at the end of his sentence.

Everything went silent for a while.. only the gentle melody of the breeze flowing through the willow tree branches and the crickets singing in the distance filling my ears. I wasn’t able to bring myself to look at him, especially in the eye.

In such a quick motion, he pulled me close. His arms wrapped around my waist and his face nuzzled in the nape of my neck. I could feel his nose pressed against my collar and his warm breath on my skin.

(y/n): “what are you?-“ I felt small droplets of water pooling in the crevice of my collarbone, hearing his small sniffles, my heart practically broke.

(JW): “You know how much i care about you, y/n.. maybe even a little too much..” I finally hug him back, letting my hands run up his back and then through his soft hair.

(y/n): “shh.. i know.”

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(this like my first post ever and also the first time i’m trying out writing !? so please keep that in mind when you read this 🙌 I will be continuing this story !! again, hope you liked it 💗)

#enhypen ff #enhypen imagines #enhypen #enhypen jungwon #enhypen jake #enhypen jay #enhypen heeseung #enhypen sunoo #enhypen sunghoon #enhypen niki #enhypen fluff #enha #enha x reader #enha scenarios

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amiharana · 1 year

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some of my thoughts on link, zelda, and the champions

this post actually started off with me trying to answer the last part of this anon's ask, and then it spiraled into something else, so i'm going to have to make another post about the actual idea 😭 for now, you can have this long-ass fucking thinkpiece i typed up because i love the champions dearly and i wanted a much larger presence from them as i played botw. this post is really long so if you want to read it, please sit down and have a snack while you read.

so the last part of anon's original ask was about the champions singing together and the idea of a found family—

anonymous asked:

Also: imagine all champions, Link and Zelda hanging out on one of the Divine Beasts and singing a song together (i am very weak to champions being a found family)

like you're so #real for this anon. i honestly do hope we get more champions content in TOTK because nintendo completely missed on not expanding on a found family dynamic between link, zelda, and the champions. sure there's the champion's ballad DLC and age of calamity (i haven't played either of these. sorry. i will soon!), but that's not.. they're still dead in the DLC and AoC isn't considered canon i think it's more of an alternative timeline? so that doesn't really count.

me personally i think daruk and urbosa are very mother and father, and they probably were if riju and yunobo are their direct descendants (which is a whole other rabbit hole in itself; urbosa and daruk died most likely leaving little children and spouses behind ㅠㅠ). and maybe that is the point; daruk is the rock (because he's a goron lol) that keeps the family together and in the botw memories is seen to be taking initiative to lead and tell the other champions to get to their divine beasts when the calamity awakens. he’s steadfast and encouraging and jovial and that’s very father of him! as for urbosa, she straight up mothers zelda and link in-game, she's basically zelda's maternal figure after zelda's mom dies. she's not a stepmom, she's the mother that stepped up 💪❤️

mipha bears the Eldest Daughter Curse™ and revali is the moody teenager who’s Not going through a phase, it’s a LIFESTYLE MOM!!!1!1!1!1 and imo link and zelda kinda give goofy twin siblings (imagine like the pine twins) vibes to me

i like the headcanon that link had a younger sister pre-calamity, but i’d like to add my own twist to that. assuming that link used to live in hateno village, what if link's parents split after the birth of his younger sister, with his father taking link and moving closer to hyrule castle to fulfill his duty as a knight, and his mother not wanting to get involved with the war against the calamity and taking his sister to stay in hateno? link must have been really young at the time and barely remembers being able to play with his little sister :( so even if he had a sibling, he was basically raised alone for most of his life. and if his father was a knight of hyrule, i doubt that he could have been the most present father to link either... with zelda's mother dying when she was young and her father being a complete dick, that makes both link and zelda the "only child" kids that were raised in less than desirable familial conditions. and so, i think link and zelda would have their own difficulties integrating into this found family dynamic with the champions.

now i'm not an only child (i have demons for siblings tbh), but i think both link and zelda are very independent people who feel like they can only rely and trust themselves with the way they've been raised. it takes a lot for both of them to learn to be vulnerable and trust others, and they're very much not used to the mismatched deck of personalities they have to deal with within the champions, that being jolly father daruk, very cutthroat mother urbosa, sweet and soft-spoken mipha, and dickhead ass bitch bird revali. how can they navigate through these relationships with their lonely childhoods swept up in prophecies of old? it's much easier than you think and it has to do with anon's idea: strengthening rapport with each other by singing together atop a divine beast >:]

ok i'm joking, i think that's more the apex of the roadmap to becoming a found family, but it's a very cute idea 🥺 after link and zelda are finally cool with each other, there are so many opportunities for each of them to bond with the other champions individually. there's of course zelda falling asleep on mama urbosa in vah naboris, link and daruk have their father-son bonding time by daruk protecting link from getting smashed to a pulp by volcanic boulders, etc etc, but what about mipha taking zelda to all the monuments that detail zora history throughout the domain so that zelda can study them? what about revali teaching link how to use the paraglider so that he can actually hit targets at the flight range and get a chance to finally settle the score between him and link? i actually like that idea a lot, because then we could get an explanation as to why the paraglider even exists in the botw universe (revalink for the win ehehe). nintendo, my dear friend, there could be so much more to this world that you've introduced to us.

on one hand, of course botw is narratively focused on link and zelda and calamity ganon, and mechanically about the open-world map, shrines/divine beasts, etc, that break free from traditional zelda conventions. but it leaves the champions to only be side characters that, though they played critical roles in handling the divine beasts, are nothing more than ghostly figures with a handful of one-dimensional character traits that only create a further disconnect between the current world of hyrule vs. its pre-calamity past. which is why we get champion's ballad and age of calamity, which both somewhat expands on the champions as characters, but never more than giving them a few more traits and interactions that, to me personally, feel empty and inadequate. i want to have these intimate interactions with the champions as characters in the botw map, ones that i can walk up to chat with as though they were sidon or beedle or a random npc traveler. i want to feel close to the champions, and nintendo, though with weak attempts, doesn't give me that.

the picture that purah takes of the champions is so important to me. this right here is peak found family, a group of the most mismatched individuals that somehow meld perfectly together and balance each other out, and we only receive it through the DLC. that's so stupid. sorry nintendo, i want more than three minute long memories of a singular moment in a past life, i want more than npcs telling me who i used to be. i want king dorephan to tell us about the time zelda fell off of a waterfall and mipha immediately jumped after her to save her clumsy ass. i want to look through historical records of the gerudo and find one about urbosa launching daruk at the mouth of a molduking and daruk chewing her out for it later. i want elder kaneli gossip with me about an old rumor about how revali and the hylian champion of the past used to be found asleep together on the floor of the flight range's hut after a long night of training. i want the world of botw to give me signs and stories about how close the champions were with each other and to make my heart ache, to wish desperately to have known them, instead of like, 20 memories that only serve the plot, or honestly don't at all. but i digress!

i know for some people, the presence of the champions were meant to teach link about tragedy and loss and the effect of war and ruin and evil and cherishing your loved ones or whatever, but i simply did not get that message. that was not what i perceived the champions to be, because to me, the game lacked showing the relationships link and zelda had with the champions. like okay, you died and you also happened to know me. what if link doesn't really remember them at all? then what?

you receive twenty or so memories about the champions when including the DLC, and yes i do concede it gives us some more insight about their characters, but it doesn't do much more than that. the cutscene where mipha moves vah ruta to ready its lasers at the castle, where she wishes to see her father and sidon one more time, especially is an excellent example of emphasizing their significance to the people around them, to us as players and spectators to this hyrule... i want more of that.

i could be wrong about some of the stuff i've said, so disclaimer again that i haven't played the DLC or age of calamity, and maybe you do feel closer to the champions when you play those games! fanmade fic and art and headcanons have been really great ways of helping me view them in a multi-dimensional way, but going off the game's content itself, the champions feel like hollow spectres of people we never truly remember or get to know. maybe that's what they're supposed to feel like, but i don't want to feel that way about them. i'm too attached to them now, and i want to get to know them! curse you nintendo!!!

#loz #legend of zelda #botw #breath of the wild #loz botw #amihan's headcanons #amihan's botwverse #i might as well start making three hour long video essays like everyone else #i hope you guys are able to understand what i was trying to say in this post ???#throwback to that post that was like. the only way to make botw better is to make it a dating sim #because it's so fucking true #LET ME ROMANCE REVALI AS LINK!!!!!#LET ME HAVE A MOONLIT LAKESIDE WALK WITH REVALI AND GET TO KNOW HIM INTIMATELY!!!!!!#the more i think about it the more i think the games should have started 10000 years ago with the creation of the divine beasts #and the first hero and princess who fought against calamity ganon with these sheikah inventions #and then a sequel game to that would be the era of this link zelda and champions and botw #and THEN totk #idk... nintendo should put me on their storyboard team i think #sorry again that this is so long...

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subskz · 1 year

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GIRL I AIN’T EVEN FINISHED YET BUT I HAD TO SEND AN ASK I’M ALREADY GOING INSANE 🤣 HOW DOES IT FEEL BEING THE GREATEST AUTHOR OF OUR GENERETION,,, QUICKLY

the way changbin was introduced is saur fucken cute BFF BINNIE 🥹🥹 y/n saying he looks like he bends iron bars for fun GOT ME NAH WHY IS MISS Y/N A COMEDY QUEEN ACTUALLY

i kinda love iseul,,, she’s saur moch nd i #understand ha 🤌🏽 but y/n’s banter wit her and binnie is soooo good legiterally the way you write skz is so fucken natural and perfect (missus rin never gotta worry bout the “he would not fucking say that” allegations)

BUT WHEN Y/N MET CHANNIE 🫣 YA IT’S OVER FOR MISS GRINDSET NAH TELL MY WHY I’M GIGGLING AND KICKING MY FEET?!? you got me outchea like a repressed victorian man idk why but when channie flexed his fingers,,, that shit got me frothing at the mouf (#theory time: y/n’s hand felt hot for him too that’s why he reacted like that 😏)

this is alr so long so imma shut the fuck up and finish reading but I’LL B BACK TRUST AND BELIEVE

NO WAY YOU SERIOUSLY FLATTER ME ㅠㅠ thank you so much i’m very glad you’re liking it so far babe!!

yes bestie binnie was an absolute must! probably the most self indulgent thing abt all of this 😽 it makes me so happy that you find those lil bits amusing hehe i had a lot of fun w it as you can probably tell the interactions between binnie and the reader were some of my favorite parts to write! and i love that you like iseul despite her being a lil obnoxious lmao 😭 my fellow annoying girl enjoyer

it also means the world that you think skz are written naturally, that’s the highest compliment to me!! ur attention to detail is very admirable hehehe i won’t confirm or deny your theory just yet, but it’s an interesting one for sure 🫢

i had the biggest smile on my face while reading this message thank you again for sharing your thoughts w me my dearest grindset!! i hope you enjoy the rest of the first part as well ♡

#ask #grindset #💌#‘the he would not fucking say that allegations’ TOOK ME OUT ALSO 😭😭😭#long post

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onyourhyuck · 2 years

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HELLOOO MISS MISO???? YOU DUNNO HOW EXCITED I WAS WHEN I SAW NOT ONE, NOT TWO, BUT THREE NEW CHAPTERS OF HIS KARMA???!?????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!JAJDSJK YOU'RE SO FASTTTTT SKWKWOWEKN THIS IS THE BEST THING HAPPENED TO ME TODAY T^T ❤️❤️thank you for making the beginning of my june so joyful ㅠㅠ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ so far ive only finished reading part 6 ㅠㅠ im savouring them very slowly bc i dont want it to end ㅠㅠ

you are SERIOUSLY GOOD at writing action scenes 😭😭❤️❤️❤️❤️ everything felt so reall, like i could really picture the whole thing 😭😭❤️❤️❤️❤️ and GOSH GIRL BOSS AREUM FIRED A SHOT?? OMG WHATTTT I DIDN'T EXPECT HER TO KILL PPL SO EARLY ON (she keeps surprising me!!) I❕STAN❕ AREUM❕❕❕

to her sudden surprise, jeno also turns around. he faces the girl showing he was wide awake. their eyes locking in the silent night, with moonlight gushing down at their bodies.

i wonder if jeno had purposely turned around to look at her, or it was a coincidence? if it's the former he's really starting to be smitten with her ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ♡ either way i still like this part a lot ㅠㅠ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

and when she asked jeno whether he meant the words he said to jaehyun, was she referring to the part stupid jeno said they could "share" her? 😢 poor thing 😣😣😣 she's always the one who's more active in taking the initiative to do something or find out the answers, even when it hurts her a lot ㅠㅠ

HIIII TYONGGGGG OMG, NCISMXKS I HAVE TONS OF SPARE TIME BECAUSE IM ON MY HOLIDAY ALREADY SO ILL BE WRITING TONS AND TONS HAHA. CURRENTLY TYPING PART 9 COMING SOON IN A FEW.

THANK YOU SO MUCH YOU’RE LITERALLY GIVING ME DRIVE AND MOTIVATION TO KEEP WRITING 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻 ITS ALWAYS SO GOOD TO SEE PEOPLE SHARE THEIR THOUGHTS AND COMMENTS, EVEN BRAINSTORM AND ANALYSE MY STORIES.

I FEEL LIKE JENO WAS JUST WONDERING THE SAME THING AS AREUM. “I wonder if she’s asleep, I wonder if she’s awake,” etc etc because both of them are so active around each other and STUFFF, they just can’t get enough of each other.

🥲🥲🥲 Areum felt just so betrayed and stuff back when jeno was like “yeah we can share her” so casually as if he thrown her away to someone else she just met LIKE FJEKCJEOD. TRAUMATISING HIGHKEY. BCKEND

Jeno apologised tho🥲🥲 let’s hope he doesn’t hurt her again like thisssss.

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lgctaeha · 7 months

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My love!!

I miss you so, so, so much. I hope you’re watching me perform my hardest! I want to make you proud. We have a lot of catching up to do and so many places to see together. I also hope you’re doing well, I will call soon. I love you

Taeha sits crosslegged on the edge of her bunk, still in her stage-ready hair and makeup, taking a moment to relax after the end of a successful night of performances. Her phone continues to buzz at her side with calls and texts from friends, family, and other trainees still reeling from all the excitement. But all of that would have to wait, because for now a gift from a dear friend ( and newly debuted idol!!! ) had her undivided attention. She starts by flipping through her very own ‘Ticket to Ride’ album, admiring each of the Crystallis member photos and already committing a few of their new song lyrics to memory. Finally, she silently reads the accompanying note while she hugs the album to her chest, eyes already beginning to well as she’s overwhelmed with emotion. She feels so much joy and pride for her friend’s accomplishment, but she can’t seem to shake the bit of melancholy at the idea of them not being able to spend as much time together… But at least it was for good reason! Yujin was living her dream. And hopefully, the family concert was just the first of many shared stages together with Yujin as a member of Crystallis and Taeha… Well, to be determined. She swipes away a few stray tears, and reaches for her phone to pen a quick spam.

( ✉ ⇢ jinnie unnie 📷 ) AHHHHHHHH ( ✉ ⇢ jinnie unnie 📷 ) yujin unnie you are so sweet ㅠㅠ( ✉ ⇢ jinnie unnie 📷 ) and your poster and pc are so GORGEOUS! ♡u♡( ✉ ⇢ jinnie unnie 📷 ) i am so proud of you!!! ( ✉ ⇢ jinnie unnie 📷 ) we HAVE to catch up soon ok!!! maybe another museum trip? we can wear costumes so all of your fans don’t rush us while we’re out hehe( ✉ ⇢ jinnie unnie 📷 ) miss you and love you 3000!!! ♡

#submission #yujinlgc #╰ ❮ ❀ misc ⁄ gifts ; ❯#this was so cute thank you so much for this ;u;

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amistytown · 1 year

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Hello Noelle ♥️♥️ How are you doing?

I'm stopping by here to say that I'm doing okay and I hope you're doing good too. Sorry for the absence :') I'm facing a very overwhelming phase in my studies rn and I don't have the energy to go online atm ㅠㅠ

But I just want to say that I've done my proposal defense and the assessor was very impressed with my knowledge on my study (Considering I'm doing a thesis about blood glucose and that assessor is like an expert in this field, receiving such compliments made me feel very appreciated :'))

How are you doing? Is your job treating you well? Are you sleeping well? Are you enjoying your coffee every morning? I wish I can run over to your house and hang out together physically. Or just enjoy our time together by baking cookies or just watching any movies 😂 Giving you virtual hugs from afar

Here's a picture of Nemo sleeping to make your day. She's currently 6-7 months old now 💕 She's a very good girl (with occasional playful bites here and there sometimes). She likes to cuddle and enjoy playing with anything she can bite on 😂

Han 🥺❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I'm so happy to hear from you!!! Sorry, it took me so long to respond. I constantly feel tired and overwhelmed and am much slower than I used to be 😞

I'm sorry you're overwhelmed. Don't apologize for taking time for yourself. I know you're dealing with a lot, and I wish you the best with your studies. I hope you're able to take care of yourself the best you can and have a support system you can rely on. I wish I could make sure you're getting enough to eat, drink, and sleep, and be there to give you a hug and make you strawberry milk when you're having a rough time.

That's wonderful 🥹 I'm so proud of you!!! You should feel appreciated and proud of yourself. You've come so far and are doing an amazing job! I'm sure you put a lot of time and effort into your work and it paid off in the end.

I'd love to hear more about you and your days when you have the time! I enjoy getting updates from you 🥰

I'm doing all right, thank you! Work is going well. It doesn't pay well, but it's the first time I don't feel like a complete outsider lol. And being around books inspires me to write and work on my own projects. I've been dealing with a lot of fatigue lately that is getting in the way. I'm not sure if it's purely mental or physical or both. I plan to see a doctor at some point. Other than that, I am enjoying my coffee every day and playing as much Obey Me and Geshin Impact as I can. Still simping over Levi 24/7 🤣

I also joined a collab for Levi's birthday and have been writing a piece for that, which feels nice!

Omg, I wish we could hang out too 😭 I'd give you the biggest hug!!! I wish I could give you one right now! Chilling out and enjoying each other's company sounds so nice. I'd love to make cookies and watch a movie ❤️

Aw, Nemo is still so precious 🥹 Look at the cute face!!! Now everyone can see Nemo and melt from how adorable she is. I'm so glad she's doing well, and that you two have each other. Feel free to send pictures of Nemo whenever you want. She's too cute for words!!!

Thank you for stopping by! It truly made my day to hear from you. I miss and love you 💕

#about me #asks

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kyungwonrp · 2 years

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+ ... // STUDENT PROFILE ... LOADING

NOH SUJI, also known as HANNAH, is 20 YEARS OLD and currently enrolled in kyungwon university. she is in her 3RD YEAR of the UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM, majoring in COMMUNICATIONS. she is notably part of the DANCE CLUB. she works part-time ON-CAMPUS in the KYUNGWON FOOD HALL (PALGONG TEA). you may find her RESIDING OFF-CAMPUS in SONGPA-GU.

+ ... // LOAD STUDENT BACKGROUND . . .

august 24, 2020

FINALLY I LANDED. THAT FLIGHT TOOK FUCKING FOREVER. SDFHGSDKFHKS. god i felt like i was on that plane for literally years, thank god i don’t have another layover or anything because i would probably literally die? cory helped me get a sim card so i already have that and data so thankfully i don’t have to worry and also the school people are supposed to pick me up?

the airport is nice though, and god i have to get used to speaking only english? i’m glad i did those vlogs where i would practice only speaking english in itaewon or whatever because i would be so out of practice otherwise. gotta go tho! the university people sent someone to help me get to the dorms and set up lmao

september 7, 2020

so it was clubs week this week and i joined a dance club—which i’m super excited for by the way—and also the ksa. i wasn’t originally going to, but my roommate, who also happens to be korean, said i might as well go for some free food and maybe banana milk (which is stupid expensive in vancouver btw) and i did get some so win-win for me right? there’s some nice people here though and even though i wasn’t trying to make friends with more koreans, they’re all super chill!

there’s some cute guys too, but you didn’t hear that from me!

april 14, 2021

the weather is starting to warm up and the cherry blossoms!! are gorgeous!!! i don’t want to be that person but after seeing the cherry blossoms at the park and around campus, i really do miss jinwoo. it’s making me regret deciding to take spring courses but i gotta make the most of it right? idk when i’ll come back to canada sooooooo. my friends and i are taking a trip to niagara falls after finals though, and maybe if we can we’ll pop by to montreal too ... can’t wait to take all the pics! i’ll vlog it too

i want to try real authentic poutine and montreal smoked meat!!! exciting!!!

june 30, 2021

icb my (almost) year in canada is over ... i’m waiting for my flight back to seoul, and while i’m sad about leaving, i’m excited to be back home. so much happened that i don’t even know where to begin but i know i have tons of great memories for the future! hopefully one day i can come back again.

it’s not a goodbye, canada, but a see you later~

gotta get my last taste of tim hortons before i go though!

july 15, 2021

god busan is so nice? also jinwoo managed to take time off to come out with me so we’ve just been on like. a prolonged date. which is amazing and i don’t know how i lasted those like, 6 months without him. i am NOT a LDR girl and i really hope i don’t have to deal with that again. it was so hard ㅠㅠ but it’s all good now! i mean i guess when he goes back to seoul and i go to jeju, we’ll be separated again but without timezones this time and that makes it 100% better.

anyways i think i’ve definitely eaten my weight in seafood, multiple times a day everyday since we arrived. will i ever get sick of it? i doubt it. stay tuned i guess?

july 25, 2021

JEJU. IS. SO. FUCKING. NICE.

i would stay here forever if i could. why does summer vacation have to end? i don’t want to go back to school. i’m probably going to extend my stay in jeju by a few days, since i want to go back and eat that goddamn seafood noodle thing again. ugh. literally, i could eat that everyday and not get sick of it. i filmed myself eating there the first time but i’m just going to enjoy myself when i go back today. i will also say i’m very thankful my parents made me get my license all those years ago or i wouldn’t be able to do anything here and that would be no fun.

summer please don’t end. i don’t want to go back to school.

anyways, time for me to eat another giant octopus.

september 2, 2021

school started again and i want die.

i spent my first class organizing out my filming schedule for the next couple of months, so i was. productive i guess? i’m pretty excited for that so i’m not really focused on classes. but who cares about first week anyway right? LOL

oops prof is looking so i should probably try to pay attention now ...

#kw: accepted #krp #kpop rp #shin ryujin #itzy

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maatryoshkaa · 3 years

Text

the chance of love | bang chan

𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐘 𝐊𝐈𝐃𝐒 𝐇𝐈𝐆𝐇 𝐒𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐋 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒!𝐀𝐔

✑ Red pen, empty classrooms, and an overheard phone call:

The one where you’re determined to find one flaw about your seemingly picture-perfect class president, and he’s determined to make sure you pass the class—no matter how hard you’re trying to fail.

✑ PAIRING: student council president!bang chan x troublemaker!reader

✑ GENRE: high society/private school!au, retro!high school au, slow burn, slice-of-life romance, enemies-to-lovers, angst

✑ WORD COUNT: 13.8k

✖︎ TAGS/WARNINGS: fem!reader, mild language, bullying & family conflict themes, mentions of drugs/illicit activity. endless petty shenanigans (mostly from mc). y/n also has a bad relationship with her parents and a hard time facing her feelings in general (don’t we all). fortunately, chan’s patience—and tendency to use bad math pickup lines—could help with that.

disclaimer: levanter high is a private school only in this au. all the characters’ roles have stayed the same.

“F. Again.”

Snickers erupted around the classroom as your teacher flipped the mock exam paper onto your desk, shaking her head. Sure enough, scrawled across the front page in ruthless red ink, was your latest score—a solid 29/100. Shrugging, you rolled up the test papers before stuffing them into your backpack like a dejected morning newspaper.

“See me after class, Miss L/n.” Your teacher clicked her tongue in disappointment. Whispers from the back of the class began pricking at your ears.

“Isn’t she the eldest daughter of the Yuhan family? The first in line to inherit a multimillion dollar business.”

“The spring exams are right around the corner. If she flunks those, she won’t even graduate—let alone inherit a whole company!”

Their giggles died down the moment you turned around, the huddle of kids scrambling back to their seats and burying their noses in their books. One girl even flashed you an innocent smile.

If she flunks, she won’t even graduate—let alone inherit the company!

Despite their scornful tone, the words made you smile. Clasping your hands behind your head lazily, you leaned back in your chair and let your eyes fall shut.

Well. That’s the plan.

“I don’t understand.”

Mrs. Koh was pacing back and forth the empty classroom while you sat, jiggling your leg up and down in your chair. Her dotted white dress and perpetually pursed lips made her look vaguely like a chicken—what with the way she kept clucking her tongue—and you stifled a giggle as she turned around.

“You graduated middle school with an awards list a mile long. Then you were at the top of your class—no, all of Levanter High—for the last three years. People even speculated you’d graduate early. Now—” she rifled through the stack of your test papers, “maths. English. All the sciences—the lowest scores in your grade! So—stop bouncing your leg like that, for heaven’s sake—what happened to you?”

You fought the urge to roll your eyes. It was the same rant every time, and the same words left unspoken: You come from one of the most influential families in Levanter Hills. You were supposed to be a prodigy. “Maybe I’ve fallen in with a bad crowd,” you deadpanned, dropping your voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “Doing scary...delinquent things with scary delinquent friends.”

“You don’t have any friends, Miss L/n,” Mrs. Koh sighed, massaging her temples. Despite her blunt words, there was no contempt in her voice—since that bit was true. As the most prestigious private school in the city, Levanter High admitted only the children of the elites—and it was chock full of people so two-faced you’d nearly given up on making friends entirely. Some were down-to-earth and sweet enough—like that freshman, Yang Jeongin, who nobody could really hate, or Lee Felix, the cute art kid you’d had a fleeting crush on—but rumours flew faster than test scores fluctuated, and the more people speculated about your parentage, the more they seemed to keep their distance from you.

“I don’t think you understand the severity of this situation, Miss L/n,” Mrs. Koh continued. “If you don’t pass the final exams, not only will you be held back from graduating—you’ll be expelled from Levanter High, and transferred to the city’s...public school.” She shivered then, as though she’d uttered a curse. “Imagine the shame you would bring your poor family!”

You scowled at that. “There’s probably more personality in one of those students than all of our class combined,” you muttered under your breath.

“What?”

“Nothing, ma’am. May I go?”

She sighed, clicking her tongue again. Chicken. “Fortunately for you, we’ve come up with a plan. It’s a guaranteed way to ensure you graduate, so you don’t have to worry about a thing.”

“What—”

“We’ve arranged a tutor for you.” Mrs. Koh’s eyes glinted behind her spectacles, as if pleased with her own brilliance. “One of our best in Levanter High, a star pupil.”

Your eyes narrowed immediately, nearly knocking your chair over as you jumped up in protest. “But— “

Mrs. Koh’s eyes were stern. “You start tomorrow—right after school, instead of your usual study hall period. Room 302, three-thirty sharp.”

Mouth opening and closing in indignation, you finally sat back down with a glower. “Who even let you get all up in my business?”

She gave you a tight smile then. “Your parents.”

“Thank you for calling Yuhan Group. Your call has been forwarded to an automatic voice message system. To leave a message…”

You sighed, jamming your finger into the End Call button before flipping your phone shut. Just like always. You didn’t know what you had expected—it wasn’t like your parents usually answered your calls anyway, always brushing it off as being “too busy.” As a matter of fact, they’d never even bothered to give you their personal numbers, leaving you with nothing but the company’s phonebook instead.

Swinging your legs lightly, you leaned back against the bleachers, their cool metal soothing your sun-warmed skin. The sky was darkening, the horizon thinning into a sliver of molten gold. Across the football field, you could spot Hwang Hyunjin and his teammates shooting hoops in the basketball court, loyal cheerleaders and lovestruck freshmen cheering by the chain-link fence. Reluctantly, you hopped down to begin the trudge home.

It hadn’t always been this way between you and your parents. Once, you’d been more than eager to win their approval in whatever you did—from letting them micromanage every aspect of your life to playing the model daughter whenever they paraded you around company dinners like a prize pony. It wasn’t until they’d forgotten your birthday the third year in a row that something in you had finally clicked. And now here you were—determined to flunk every class you’d once aced.

Maybe it was plain spite. Or maybe it was something more complicated that you had yet to muster the courage to properly unpack. Either way, you weren’t ready to confront it right now.

A couple of detours later, you turned onto a street you’d grown familiar with—on the narrower side and crooked like a nervous smile, the concrete caved in and pockmarked with potholes. Tortoise Alley—where the buildings looked like shoeboxes that had been packed haphazardly together, unlike the Upper End of Levanter Hills, with its academies and business firms lined up as neat as Monopoly pieces.

Street signs flickered to life as minimum wage workers awoke and headed to their night shifts. Despite the drastic change in scenery, though, you felt yourself relaxing. Here, you didn’t have to worry about bumping into anyone that knew you. After all—to people like your parents—Tortoise Alley was the poorest, most unsightly part of the city—and being seen around here would be nothing short of embarrassing.

“Hey, Pippi,” you called out to one of the scraggly kittens dozing on the steps of the corner store. “Sylvester, Bowie!” You dropped into a squat as you greeted the stray cats one by one, feeling the first genuine smile today spread freely across your lips. “Shall I treat you guys to a fish sausage?”

They blinked back at you expectantly, Bowie giving a long, lazy yowl, and you giggled.

“I told ya, kid, your card got declined. ‘Ain’t nothin’ I can do about that.”

You looked up at the sound of the cashier’s muffled voice, and immediately ducked when you realized who he had been talking to.

Bang Chan. Student council president, head prefect, and probably future mayor of Levanter Hills if he kept at it, you thought, blinking in disbelief. He was unmistakable—his curly dark hair spilling over his downturned eyes, gray blazer pressed to perfection.

What on earth was he, of all people, doing in a place like this?

Two packages of instant noodles sat on the counter: a thick packet of hearty beef stew boasting flavour and sliced sausages (which Bang Chan was eyeing so longingly you feared he might ask for its hand in marriage any minute now), and beside it, a dismal package of spicy cup noodles—the cheapest brand on the shelf.

Bang Chan sighed. “I’ll take this one, then.” He slid the cheaper option forward, digging out a coin from his wallet and handing it to the cashier. He tore off the packaging and filled the cup at the hot water station, propping a math textbook up against the glass of a window seat.

You rolled your eyes. Goody-two-shoes. Pushing open the doors, you ducked in between the aisles before Chan could spot you. So his card had been declined—it wasn’t uncommon for spoiled kids to get their credit cards frozen by their parents after splurging ridiculous amounts on shopping trips and spontaneous vacations. Still, the thought of picture-perfect Bang Chan getting scolded by his parents after a scandalous night out made you smirk.

Fish sausage for Pippi, chicken for Bowie and Syl. Humming, your fingers flitted over the rows of deli meat, but the sound of muffled sniffling and heavy breathing made you stop. Peeking over the shelf curiously, you were met with the sight of the class president trying in vain to wolf the cheap noodles down, ears growing redder than the scarlet packaging itself.

Bang Chan. You knew a decent amount about him—an over-achiever, friendly to a fault, and apparently, someone with a spice tolerance lower than your worst grade. You’d heard of him, of course—guys and girls alike couldn’t seem to keep his name out of their mouths. Bang Chan, cookie-cut from perfection. Bang Chan, the golden-all rounder. Bang Chan, the son-in-law your parents would like more than they liked you.

He’s smart, sweet, and genuine, your classmates had gushed. And ridiculously cute!

You, on the other hand, had rolled your eyes. Genuine, my ass. Anyone with that many merits was bound to have a fatal flaw stashed away somewhere. You’d seen it firsthand, amongst inner business circles, in extortion and backdoor deals signed with warm handshakes and sweet smiles. You’d seen it with your own parents—both hailed business geniuses, hiding their torrid affairs from each other even though they both knew exactly what was going on. And so, the longer the praises got, the dirtier you were willing to bet Bang Chan’s secret was.

Watching him wince with every bite, though, was making you fight back a laugh.

The high-pitched trill of a phone ringer nearly made you knock over the entire shelf, and you turned away as Bang Chan fished his cell out of his bag.

“Hello? Yep, I’m on the way home, I just—what?” Worry immediately flooded his voice. “How did she scrape her knee? I’ll be back asap, just…”

Flinging the half-eaten noodles into the trash can and his books into his bag, Chan practically flew out of the door before you even had the chance to blink. You only realized you were staring after him when the cashier cleared his throat, and you snapped out of your bewildered stupor.

“D’you know that kid?” The cashier asked as he scanned your sausage packets. “He dropped his wallet on the way out. Might wanna return it to him.”

You stared at the worn tawny wallet as he slid it towards you. It didn’t take a look inside to tell it held no cash—Bang Chan really had been dead broke. Whatever he’d done, his parents were doing a fantastic job of grounding him.

“O-oh, yeah, no problem.”

Then a thought hit you, and you nodded at the package of ramen he’d been eyeing before. “How, uh, much is that?”

“Hey, Prez.”

Bang Chan whipped around, catching the wallet you tossed at him just in time. His eyes widened as they darted from you to the wallet, then back to you again.

“Relax, I didn’t take anything.” Not like there’s anything in there, you wanted to add, but you held yourself back. He hadn’t gotten too far—and there weren’t many roads that lead out of Tortoise Alley—so you’d caught up with him in no time.

“I—thank you.” His face broke into a stunned smile. “Y/n, right?” Both his warm expression and your name on his lips caught you off guard. Slowing his pace slightly, Chan stuck out a hand.

You eyed him up and down warily. Immediately, you could tell why people liked Bang Chan so much—the boy exuded a sincerity and openness that drew you towards him like a magnet. But it was this same crescent-eyed, toothy-grinned facade you’d seen on countless other adults and classmates—before they turned around and spread rumours about you—that made you roll your eyes and thrust the packet of beef noodles into his outstretched hand instead.

If Chan knew your name, he had doubtless heard the rumours about you, and you didn’t need to find out any more than that.

“You don’t come here often, do you?” You asked, raising an eyebrow. “You’re going the wrong way, y’know.” You jerked your head in the other direction. “The Upper End’s that way.”

Not waiting for him to answer, you headed back up the alleyway, counting the sausages you’d bought for the cats. Bang Chan watched you carelessly skip over the cracked concrete, nearly wincing every time he thought you were about to land in a pothole and twist your ankle.

He shook his head, chuckling. And though you would sooner slap yourself before acknowledging it, the same expression was spreading across your face, too.

“Did you hear? They’re giving Y/n one-on-one tutoring now.”

“The Yuhan girl? Some people really get their whole life handed to them and still aren’t grateful...”

You sighed, cranking up the volume on your Walkman as you pushed past the gossiping crowd huddled in the stairwell.

“I would’ve given up on her already, the attention-seeking brat.”

“Third floor,” you muttered, spotting the classroom Mrs. Koh had directed you to at the end of the hall. Room 302. You could feel the eyes digging into your back as you stopped in front of the empty classroom door.

“First and last time,” you grit your teeth. Your words sounded more like a prayer.

Operation: Terrorize the tutor so badly, he’ll never have the courage to approach you again. The way Mrs. Koh described him had made him sound like the typical timid bookworm, so a few raunchy innuendos would probably do it.

Just as you placed your hand on the knob, a force from the other side yanked the door wide open and you toppled forward with a surprised yelp. Flailing your arms with the grace of a dying swan, you collided into a rather solid...person standing on the other side. A burst of laughter echoed from the corridor—the girls from the stairwell had followed you out of meddlesome curiosity, you realised. Then, one of them made a muffled gasp—and as you peeled your face away from the chest of the person you were clumsily pressed flush against, you knew why everyone had suddenly fallen silent.

Nose nearly brushing yours—and smelling vaguely of vanilla—the boy blinking back at you with a surprised smile was none other than Bang Chan himself.

Eyes widening in horror, you immediately shoved him away. A glower settled on your features as you rapidly carded your hands through your hair. Why the hell is he here? You had been expecting stoic nurse’s aide Kim Seungmin, or even the student librarian, Lee Minho—and instead, you’d gotten the student council president himself. Stupid, smiling, infinitely patient—

“Bang Chan?” The awed whispers behind you finished your horrified thoughts for you. “That lucky bitch—I want him to tutor me, too!”

“Look at the way she practically threw herself onto him. Doesn’t she have any shame?”

“D-don’t tell me,” you stammered in disbelief, “you’re the tutor?”

“Your tutor,” he confirmed, “at your service.” Chan leaned forward with a wink, and you took another instinctive step back.

If you’d known it was going to be him, you would have never returned that damned wallet—let alone bought him that cursed ramen, for heaven’s sake. Terrorize the tutor? All your plans might as well have had lit themselves on fire and thrown themselves out the window.

You heard Chan clear his throat as he pulled out a chair at a desk by the window. Reluctantly, you took a seat.

“Can I see your mock exams first? We can figure out where to go from there.”

With each crumpled test package you fished from your knapsack, you could sense Chan’s eyes widening more and more. 44 percent. 20 points out of 90. And…

“0/150?” He read aloud in disbelief, turning over your Advanced Functions paper as though looking for the missing points himself. X-marks littered the papers like a swarm of fire ants, and Chan raised an eyebrow at a question where you had scrawled, ‘It is against my religion to solve this equation.’

You could imagine what he was thinking—a year ago, the sight of anything less than a 90%, let alone an entire stack of failed tests, would have made you feel sick. Now, though, you felt strangely detached, watching with mild amusement as Chan perused your papers. You could almost hear the gears turning in his head as he furrowed his brow, one hand propping up his pale chin. Realising you were staring, you quickly diverted your attention to the window just as Chan stacked the tests into a neater pile.

“We’ve got lots of work to do, but it won’t be an impossible task.” He slid one of the mock exams towards you—the Advanced Functions paper, 0/150 emblazoned across the front.

Just you wait, you thought drily, tapping your fingers in a show of boredom.

“Let’s start with functions, yeah? Since it’s your lowest mark right now. Curve sketching and optimization, finding the asymptotes of a function.” You heard him flip open his textbook and prop it up. “To put it simply, you’re finding the derivative of the original function to solve for its limits.”

You peered out the window. “Why?”

“Well, it can tell you a lot about the graph of a function—if it increases, decreases, or stays constant on a given interval.” You could hear him sketching something on your test paper, voice low from concentration. “It’s important to identify extreme values by finding all the points where the derivative equals zero, and where it doesn’t exist.”

One of the girls that had sneered at you in class was standing on the field outside, and you quickly moved away from the window. “Why?”

“Because you’ll get a better sense of the bigger picture—especially in some special cases, like vertical and horizontal asymptotes that won’t even have limits.”

“Why?”

“Well...” You could hear the amused smile in his voice. If Chan had caught onto what you were doing, he didn’t say anything, only giving your bag a gentle pat. “Why don’t you get your notebook out and write all this down first, so you can remember it better?”

“Didn’t bring it.”

“You don’t bring a notebook to school?”

“Mhm.”

He cocked a disbelieving eyebrow at you, and for a second you thought you’d won—that maybe Bang Chan was capable of losing his temper, and you had succeeded in driving him to his breaking point. But to your dismay, he just chuckled and pulled out a lined notebook from his own bag. “You can have mine, then. It’s new.”

Taken aback, you accidentally made eye contact with Chan for the first time since crashing unceremoniously into him in the doorway.The downturned corners of his eyes gave him the semblance of a puppy—but unlike you’d initially assumed, they were completely rid of any naiveté or gullibility. Instead, there was nothing besides a calm, amused glint that seemed to pin you in place—like a flashlight that had trapped a thief red-handed.

Bang Chan had definitely caught onto you.

And yet he hadn’t made a move to accuse you of anything—but somehow, that made you feel even more exposed.

Doing anything to break the tension in the room, you snatched the notebook from him and quickly flipped to a blank page. Sliding a pencil into your hand, Chan began explaining the concepts again. The session dragged on like an endless game of cat and mouse, both of you chasing the façade out of the other—and every time you thought you’d gained the upper hand, a lighthearted laugh from Chan reduced your efforts to smithereens.

Vertical and horizontal asymptotes be damned—it was Bang Chan’s patience that seemed to have no limits.

By the end of the session, Chan had managed to wriggle three completed problems out of you, while you had gleaned absolutely nothing from him. If anything, he looked even more refreshed than before, and that frustrated you to no end.

“With that look on your face, people are gonna think you’ve lost a fight or something.” Chan closed his textbook as the clock hit 5:00 P.M. sharp, his eyes glimmering with a hidden laugh.

You rolled your eyes, grumbling, “Yeah, right. You look like you couldn't throw a punch to save your life, Bang Chan.”

He quirked an eyebrow again. You suddenly grew conscious of just how close together you were sitting—Chan resting his forearms over the closed books now, his bangs mere inches from brushing against your face. If you leaned in right now, a voice at the back of your head piped up mutinously, you’d be kis—

Chan leaned forward and you froze, eyes instinctively squeezing shut. After a few seconds of pitch-black darkness and your heart hammering in your throat, you heard the class president clear his throat.

“What are you doing?”

Eyes fluttering open, you saw that Chan had been reaching for your knapsack behind you, and was now helping you tuck your papers and books back inside.

Oh.

Feeling the blood rush mercilessly to your face, you snatched your bag back, muttering, “J-just—a reflex.”

A wicked twitch of his lips. “Reflex?”

“Felt like the right thing to do. Y’know, when something scary suddenly moves at you?” You mumbled helplessly. Just let this damn day be over.

“Hm? You’re the one who said I couldn’t throw a punch, and now I’m the scary one—where’s your fighting spirit now, Miss L/n?”

“We’re not in a fight, for heaven’s sake,” you threw up your hands, practically kicking the chair into place as you stood up. You had no idea why his words were making your face heat up so much, but Bang Chan sure had a way of making your blood boil.

“Maybe not. But if it was, I have the feeling today’s score would be 1-0…” he leaned forward again, making your heart leap back into your throat. “Me.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night, Big Nose,” you bit back sarcastically. For the first time today, Chan’s eyes widened in stunned indignation, and you took the chance to turn on your heel and march out the door.

“1 - 1,” you called back, feeling a satisfied smile spread across your lips.

Beep.

Be—

The call connected right as you were about to hit End, and you were so surprised you nearly forgot all the words you’d mustered up the courage to say.

“Hello?”

“Uh—Mother?” The word felt foreign in your mouth, and your mind immediately went blank.

The other end was silent before she finally replied. “So now our daughter remembers to call?”

“I wouldn’t if I had the choice,” you muttered, kicking at the dirt at the edge of the field. The tutoring session with Chan had ended nearly an hour ago, but you never started to head home until the sun began to go down—when you absolutely had to.

You heard her give a condescending laugh. “We had to find out about all your failed tests through the principal, too. Do you have any idea how humiliated your father and I were? How long it took to cover it all up from the press? Not to mention the lengths we went through to make sure that Chan boy agreed to be your designated tutor.”

At this, your feet stalled their swinging. “You what?”

“They wouldn’t let us fake your damned spring exams, like all the others used to do—some new progressive policy about academic integrity, and all that. Naturally, we threatened to sue, but they insisted on finding you a foolproof tutor to make sure you pass.”

Your stomach churned unpleasantly. “So you and...Father agreed on him?”

You could hear the condescending smile in her voice. “Of course. You never appreciate anything we do for you, do you?”

You forced yourself to ignore her passive aggressive remarks, pushing down a biting reply. “Why Bang Chan, then?”

“They told us he was the perfect student—5.0 GPA with honours and awards, student council president, and star of the track team. Being your tutor is a prestigious position, you know, and we wouldn’t settle for less.”

Each word that came out of her mouth made it harder to resist the urge to roll your eyes, but a small spark lit up in the back of your head. “What if...he isn’t as perfect as they claim?” You began, choosing your words carefully. “The guy’s just another high schooler—and you never know what kids could get up to these days.”

Your mother chuckled. “We’ll have him disposed of immediately, of course. We won’t have any of that nonsense near the company name. But why—”

That was all you needed. You clasped the phone shut, cutting off your mother’s lofty voice.

Well, you had a new line of attack.

You didn’t have to make Chan give up on you—and if today was any indication, that might as well have been a Herculean task in itself. You just had to stall his progress—long enough for you to dig up something on the seemingly picture-perfect class president that your high-and-mighty parents disapproved of. Hopping off the bleachers with a newfound determination, you dusted your hands off on your skirt and grinned.

Time to get digging.

“The equations aren’t going to solve themselves, you know.”

Chan was watching you in mild amusement, one hand propped up against his cheek. You only crossed your arms stubbornly, the page of math problems he’d written out for you still blank.

“You can’t just sit there forever,” he continued, chuckling.

“Watch me.”

“As much as I’m having fun doing just that, I was given instructions not to let you go until you’ve completed some practice.” Chan glanced up at the clock on the wall. It had been at least a half hour since the school bell had rung, and the school was nearly emptied out by now. The blinds were half down, letting only a warm, dim glow filter into the classroom.

“Looks like you’re stuck with me, then,” you answered drily, spinning a pencil in your hand. “Poor you.”

Chan felt his lip quirk as you began doodling on the corner of the page. It wasn’t his first time tutoring someone, and he’d certainly seen his fair share of girls who played dumb in hopes of spending more time with him. But if there was one thing in the world Bang Chan disliked, it was two-faced people—and he’d always felt that their batting eyelashes and extravagant dates stemmed from an idolized image of himself that demanded more than Chan could offer.

Fake or not, though, he still treated everyone the same—it was in his nature—but no one had ever quite caught his attention like you.

Whether it was the indifference you seemed to emanate with every step, or the quick-witted sarcasm coating your scathing words, there was something about you that set you starkly apart from everyone else at Levanter Hills. For the daughter of one of the wealthiest families in the city—and the heir to a conglomerate business, no less—you were one of the most genuine people he’d ever met, and your unapologetic attitude left Chan helplessly chasing after more. He had a feeling you were far from stupid, but he had yet to find out why you were so dead-set on acting like it. And each curveball you threw him just felt like another layer to an equation he was determined to solve.

With a pace akin to that of pulling teeth, you finally finished two questions. As much as you hated to admit it, Bang Chan was a phenomenal tutor, and he made it nearly impossible for you to make the same mistakes twice. The two of you were engaged in a simultaneous race against time—Chan’s valiant efforts to finish tutoring you before the spring exams rolled around, and you searching high and low for any information you could use as leverage against him with your parents.

You were running out of excuses. And the only thing really distracting you were those stupid dimples of his every time you failed to get on his nerves.

Damn it, Y/N, focus.

Before you knew it, a month had flown by, alongside several more units. And you hadn’t found anything, no matter how hard you’d tried. From tracking him down in the hallways to eavesdropping on your classmates’ mind-numbing gossip, all your efforts had been fruitless.

The ‘bag of weed and pills’ you’d spotted Seo Changbin giving him one morning had turned out to be nothing but herbal teas and vitamin supplements.

Chan had turned down the invites to all of Hwang Hyunjin’s wild parties with an apologetic smile.

And no matter how many times you watched him misplace his tattered wallet and go hungry during lunch, he’d never even stolen a single cookie from the cafeteria.

Even on the evenings after your tutoring sessions, when all the other student council members pulled out fake IDs to hit the snooker lounges and clubs downtown, Chan headed to the school garden to read instead.

“He’s literally a robot, Minho,” you groaned, burying your head in a pile of checked-in books. “I’m failing my mission, big-time.” The student librarian patted your back sympathetically, but you could sense his amused smile without even looking at his face.

Besides Tortoise Alley and the football bleachers, the library was one of your go-to-places to linger after school: first, because the students there were usually too busy to pay you any attention, and second, because the only person that hadn’t stopped being friends with you after you’d sent your grades plummeting was the student librarian. Lee Minho didn’t pick sides or give away secrets, and that was precisely why he was the sole person you’d been confiding in.

“You lost the moment they set you up with the president,” he laughed, clasping a binder shut and filing it away. “That guy doesn’t have a bad bone in his body.”

“I know,” you mumbled glumly. “I need to figure out a plan. The exams are in three weeks.”

“I wish you weren’t so adamant about failing.” Minho was smiling, but his voice was sad. That was what you found refreshing about him—Minho was honest, but he never tried to force his opinions on you. “I’m going to miss you wreaking havoc in class.”

You snorted. “They won’t.” As if on cue, there was a knock on the door, and you nodded in the direction of the jam-packed corridor. A gaggle of cheerleaders and upperclassmen excitedly waved for Minho to come outside before casting you looks of thinly concealed disdain. The student librarian sighed, waving them away with a polite smile.

“I have to say, though—you haven’t been searching as hard these days,” Minho remarked.

“What d’you mean? There’s nothing left to find.”

He shook his head. “You used to snoop around at every chance you got. Practically gave the FBI a run for their money. Now it feels...halfhearted, and all you do is mope around at lunch.”

It was true—you used to leap at every lead you got, scribbling wild theories in your notebook and forcing the amused librarian to listen. Then, the tutoring sessions had grown longer and longer, and you had felt the motivation slowly seep out of you.

“Well, I’m not exactly eager to ruin his reputation,” you finally muttered sheepishly.

Minho had a strange glint in his catlike eyes. “Weren’t you, though? You used to be ruthless to anyone who tried to get in your way. So what makes Bang Chan different?”

“Because—” you gesticulated wildly, trying to unscramble the thoughts in your head, “if I fail now, they’ll punish him too, and the thought of that...” Somehow, the thought of that’s become more unbearable than my parents’ iron grip on my life.

You stopped yourself before blurting out the rest, but there was a knowing grin spreading across Minho’s face nonetheless. Before you could reach over to smack him, he jumped to his feet, calling, “Library’s closing!”

You pinched him and he yelped, laughing. “See ya, asshole.”

Truth be told, underneath the back-and-forth quips and playful sarcasm, being with Bang Chan had become one of the few safe places you had left in this city. Maybe it was because when the school bell rang, you no longer wandered the streets aimlessly until the setting sun eventually forced you to head home. Maybe it was because—despite his firm lectures and lessons—Chan had never forced any expectations on you. for once in your life, you didn’t feel like your reputation preceded you. Chan had never brought up the rumours that flew, but he’d never treated you differently, either. And in fleeting moments like these, when you reached the empty classroom and were greeted with Chan waiting expectantly against the doorway—dimpled smile and all—you felt yourself wanting to freeze time forever.

“How was the probability test?” He asked, closing the door and pulling out a chair for you.

“Awful,” you declared dramatically as you plopped yourself down, and he laughed. The sound made something in your chest ache. “I didn’t understand a single thing.”

Chan didn’t reply, his smile faltering. His brow was furrowed, and before you could ask him what was wrong, you felt his hand gingerly reach behind you and peel something off the back of your jacket.

Two pieces of torn lined paper fluttered onto the desk. SPOILED BITCH was scrawled across one in cursive red ink, FUGLY SLUT following closely on the other.

Oh. Your ears reddened, images of the whispering girls who you always squeezed past in the stairwell flashing through your mind. How long had they been stuck on your back?

Chan’s expression had darkened, and you nudged him lightly to ease the sudden tension that had gripped the room. “I—wish they’d come up with something more original sometimes. They’re just from—some of the people I used to be friends with, before all the, um—” you gestured to the pile of assessments, shrugging. “It happens all the time. It’s okay.”

The look on Chan’s face said otherwise. A part of you ached to tell him the real reason behind the botched exams—about your parents’ sky-high expectations, the suffocating feeling of having the public’s eyes on your every move; about the corporate world you both despised and were in line to inherit. Chan was watching you with eyes so soft you instinctively tore your eyes away, throat tight and face burning hot. Your hands quickly fumbled in your bag, pulling out your test papers.

“That’s the probability test, if you want to look through it,” you said, trying to change the subject. Chan eyed you skeptically as you handed it to him, and scanned the mark in disbelief.

“You finished all the worksheets perfectly. The questions here are practically the same. And yet…”

You shrugged, feigning innocence. The two of you had sped through five units in a week, but you didn’t have the heart to tell Chan that the only reason why you did all the questions so diligently now was to make sure you knew how to answer them incorrectly later on. And so, with every session you left with perfectly answered worksheets, you brought back more failed tests to a completely dumbfounded Bang Chan.

“And you’re sure you don’t want to review this unit again?” Chan asked uncertainly. You beamed at him.

“Nuh-uh. The exams are in two weeks. Just teach me the next one.”

“As you wish.” He leafed through the pages, one hand sliding a pencil out from his front pocket. Flipping your test so the blank side was facing up, he quickly sketched two overlapping circles as you watched in confusion. After a moment, you realized that Chan was drawing a venn diagram.

“Let’s compromise, because there’s one important probability review I think you need.” He tapped at the left circle, eyes studying yours. “Let’s say this is you—Event A.” Then he pointed at the right circle. “And that’s Event B. That can be—your classmates. Teachers. Parents.” He paused. “Ex-friends.”

He was still thinking about the notes, you thought, shifting uncomfortably in your seat. You raised an eyebrow at him, unsure what he was getting at.

“You’re what probability theorists would call...mutually exclusive events. There are zero outcomes in common, because the events are independent of each other.” He lightly shaded in each side, leaving the overlapping centre blank. “Nothing one does—” Chan firmly scratched out Event B, “should ever affect the outcomes of the other.” Tapping Event A, which you noticed he’d labelled ‘Y/n.’ He pushed the diagram towards you now, a small smile on his lips. “You are your own phenomenon, no matter what the others try to make of you, see?”

You stared back at him, a thousand different thoughts coursing through your mind.

It was incredibly stupid. Ridiculously cheesy. The metaphor barely made sense.

And yet it was the cutest thing you had ever heard.

“You’re smiling,” Chan declared triumphantly, and your expression immediately soured.

“No, I’m not.”

“So you did understand it! And my metaphor worked. You’re my star pupil.”

Your cheeks flared redder than the markings on the paper. My star pupil. “No, I didn’t. It made zero sense. That was the nerdiest—”

Chan’s laughter made you slowly trail off, and you felt a stubborn smile tug at your lips, chest relaxing as you reluctantly broke into laughter, too.

Yes—it was moments like these when you found yourself wishing you could stop time.

“One week left until the spring exams! Take out your textbooks, we’ll be drilling some review problems…”

Time was ticking, and your search had grown more frantic than ever. If you didn’t find some viable excuse to have Chan dismissed as your tutor, you only had two options left—and you were no longer sure which one was worse.

If you still failed the exams, your parents would undoubtedly find a way to punish Chan instead.

And if you passed the exams, you would be stepping onto a path that would seal the rest of your life in a world you wanted nothing to do with.

“There has to be something,” you muttered helplessly. You were bouncing your notebook up and down your lap anxiously, the page you’d titled Operation Bang Chan riddled with countless crossed-out ideas. Drugs? Nope. Theft? Nope. Party animal? Never in a thousand years.

The doors of one of the school entrances swung open, boisterous laughter breaking through the still afternoon air.

“You sure you don’t want to head downtown with us today? Loosen up a little before exam week.”

“I’ve got plans today.” Chan’s voice made you duck for cover, peering through the slats of the bleachers. It was the student council, having just disbanded their weekly meeting.

His answer had roused a few whistles from the boys, and you could spot some girls’ jealous expressions from yards away. “No way,” a blonde girl exclaimed, “are you taking someone out?”

Another boy gasped theatrically. “Is it that girl you’ve been tutoring? She’s old money, you know—you’d be filthy rich if you scored.” He waggled his eyebrows meaningfully.

Your heart skipped a beat, but Chan waved him off, shaking his head as they let him go. You didn’t realise how hard you had clenched your fists around your notebook until you felt the sharp sting of a papercut. Old money, spoiled brat, entitled bitch—you thought you’d long since grown used to the labels people liked to slap on your name, but hearing them thrown around Bang Chan somehow felt like ripping off a fresh bandage again.

Shoving your books back into your bag, you carefully hopped down and started after Chan, hiding on the other side of the chain-link fence so he wouldn’t spot you. All the other sports practices had ended, leaving only a few stragglers batting on the baseball diamond or shooting hoops in the basketball court. Soon enough, though, you had stepped off campus and were weaving in and out of golf trails, still tailing him. Only as you passed stretches of freshly cut park fields and pruned flower gardens did you realize that Chan was heading in the direction of Tortoise Alley.

Sure enough, he made a sharp detour—and you stepped onto paved concrete again, the familiar crooked road opening up before you.

You lingered by the corner of the street, staring after the raven-haired boy curiously. Where on earth is he going?

A mewl came from your feet where Pippi and Jimi had slinked over, and you shushed the cats, petting them distractedly. When you looked up again, Chan had disappeared. Frowning, you squinted down both ends of the alleyway before spotting him behind the windows of the corner store again. Another packet of cheap instant ramen was clutched in his hand, and you snorted incredulously.

If eating nothing but junk was a capital crime, you’d have hit the jackpot.

Chan emerged from the store, breaking into a light run to catch a crossing light. As if on cue, his wallet tumbled out of his back pocket and back onto the corner store steps.

Sighing, you dusted your knees off—despite the cats nipping at your shoelaces in protest—and jogged over to the corner store to pick the tattered wallet up. Empty again, besides his cards, IDs, and numerous receipts—all for the same brand of cheap instant noodles.You shook your head in disbelief. With all that ramen, he’ll die of a stroke before he finishes exam week.

“Can I get two sandwiches?” You called over to the cashier, digging out your own wallet. You quickly slid the change over the counter, eyes not moving from Chan’s dwindling figure in the distance. “Two sandwiches, some sausages...and an iced tea, for good measure.”

Muttering a quick thank-you, you grabbed the items and dashed out of the store to catch up. Chan was heading in the same direction as the first day you’d bumped into him—where the roads slowly began cracking open so badly they became more packed dirt than paved concrete. The buildings, too, seemed to sag with every turn of the block—brick walls worn through until the scaffolding was exposed, and tangled telephone wires hanging low above your head like dozens of thin black snakes.

You finally reached the end of the uneven sidewalk, where Chan walked up to what could only be described as the most dilapidated house on the street. The yellowed lawn was littered with shingles, torn from the roof from spring thunderstorms and wear. The windows were so packed with grime you couldn’t see a single thing inside. Broken furniture and debris were piled in the driveway.

What was Chan, of all people, doing in a neighbourhood like this?

Crouching behind a stack of discarded lumber, you squinted across the darkening street. Chan pulled out a ring of house keys from his pocket, and your eyes widened.

Bang Chan lived here?

The screen door unlocked with a shrill squeak. Inside, you could hear children’s voices—younger siblings—shriek in delight, and a toddler tackled Chan’s knees from behind the door. He chuckled, ruffling the boy’s hair just as another small girl jumped out from behind the door.

There’s no way. If Chan’s family came from one of the poorest neighbourhoods in the city, then how on earth did he afford to attend Levanter High?

Your body seemed to react faster than your bewildered mind, hands scrabbling for your cell phone. Flipping it open and fumbling for the camera function, you snapped a photo—instantly feeling a rush of guilt and self-loathing wash over you with each click of the button. It’ll be better than my parents threatening to ruin his life if I fail, you reminded yourself, gritting your teeth. But your reasoning did little to stop you from feeling as though you had stumbled across something forbidden. Somehow, this felt even more illicit than any of the wild ideas you’d written in your notebook, and you could feel your fingers trembling around the flip phone. Get yourself together, y/n. You forced yourself to poise the phone again, clicking the button—and froze when a bright flash burst forth from the camera.

You instantly slapped a hand over the light as the street fell silent. Heart racing, you lowered the phone—and stopped dead when you realized Chan had turned around.

He was now staring straight at you.

Your breath caught in your throat, heart plummeting into your gut. He was already ushering the children back inside, a thousand emotions flickering across his face visible even from across the road. He slammed the front door shut, leaving only the two of you standing on the darkening street.

Your mind was racing. Run. Stay. Hide. Walk towards him. Explain everything. Lie your way out.

Once again, your body responded first, pulling you up and feet stiffly dragging you forward. Still, you kept your gaze trained on the crumbled concrete, knees burning from squatting for so long. When you had reached the steps to his house, you couldn’t bring yourself to move any closer, and instead, your eyes wandered up slightly, fixing on the toes of Chan’s shoes. They were clean but overworn, you realized numbly—to the point where even the tread on the sides looked smooth. Why hadn’t you ever noticed before?

Of course, you knew the answer to that question—it had simply never occurred to you. Everything that drew you to Bang Chan had always been beyond the surface, from the mischievous light in his eyes when he laughed at your stubbornness, or the way his soft smiles could feel like home.

Nothing, though, like the frigid stare he was fixing on you now.

“Have you been following me?” The unfamiliar flatness in his voice made you shrink back.

“I-I wasn’t—I didn’t mean to—” The words seemed to jumble on your tongue. I got lost? That was my flashlight? I was just trying to ruin my own life, not expose yours? You could smell the lies in your words from a mile away, and judging from the look you could feel Chan giving you, he wasn’t impressed, either.

“I doubt you came all this way just to ask me about your homework.” Your eyes darted up to his face, and you almost flinched at how stony his expression had become. His piercing gaze was moving between the phone in your right hand, and his wallet in your left. Anyone could see that you had absolutely no reason to be in this neighbourhood—let alone with your cell phone out, camera poised and flashing.

This was definitely enough for your parents to demand a tutor change. You’d gotten what you wanted. So why did you feel like absolute crap?

“You live here?” You finally asked, your wavering voice making you wince.

He crossed his arms. “So what if I do?”

The obvious answer hung suspended in the suffocating air. Like all elite schools, Levanter Hills only admitted children from families with high-earning incomes or illustrious bloodlines. It was one of the many reasons why you despised its system to its core. Only a select few from “subpar” socioeconomic backgrounds were let in on merit-based scholarships that worked them to the bone—if they were lucky. Those kids either hid their backgrounds or else they wouldn’t last—tormented by the others to the point of dropping out. So you’re not supposed to be here.

“Delete that photo.” Chan’s sharp voice cut through your thoughts. “Now.”

“Chan, I—”

“Save it,” he growled. “So everything was true? What they all say about you?” You recoiled, and he gave an incredulous laugh. “You really don’t give a damn about anyone but yourself, do you?” He motioned towards the phone in your hand. “After all, everything’s just a punchline for you to use. And I thought you were different.”

Feeling a lump forming in your throat, your shaking eyes met his narrowed ones, and suddenly everything made sense. The long afternoons tutoring you without a single complaint. Why he could put up with every tedious trick you pulled with the patience of a saint.

“Give me the phone.”

“What if I sent it to everyone?” You demanded, striding up the steps defiantly until you were practically nose to nose.

“Don’t you dare—”

“Why?” You shot back. “Because you don’t want everyone to know you’re here on a scholarship?”

Chan’s eyes widened as if he’d been slapped, and you huffed an incredulous laugh. “That’s it, isn’t it? You were just tutoring me to keep your scholarship?”

“Y/N—”

“Don’t touch me,” you hissed, and the hand Chan had instinctively reached towards you stiffened. “All that—phenomenon crap and stupid mutually exclusive events—that was all just sweet talk, too, then?” A dry laugh forced itself out of your throat as you muttered, “You’re just like everyone else. Playing any role if it gets you what you want.”

“Play?” Chan spat. You wanted to hit a nerve, Y/N. Congrats, you did it. “Maybe this is all a game to people like you—from your grades to your parents’ money to the people trying to help you—but I’m not playing along. I can’t afford to.”

You could feel the hurt and anger rising in your chest now—that same, horrible, childish anger you’d harboured against your parents, classmates, and life for so long. It was from this anger that you’d crafted a mask of spite, stopping at nothing until the day you could tear the expectations the world had tied you down with to shreds. But with anger soon came tears, and the last thing you wanted today was for Chan to see you cry.

Biting your bottom lip to keep it from trembling, you shoved his wallet—along with the bulging bag of food—into Chan’s chest so hard he nearly stumbled back. Jamming your hands into your pockets, you turned on your heel and stormed back up the street before Chan could open his mouth again.

An overwhelming silence seemed to swallow Chan the moment you disappeared from his sight, and he felt his fists clenching involuntarily. A timid click behind him made him turn around, his baby brother opening the door a crack and peering at him worriedly.

“Hey, hey, don’t worry about me. Take—here.” He quickly opened the plastic bag, but his fingers stalled when he saw its contents. Huge deli sandwiches, sausage sticks, a full flask of iced tea—food he’d only been able to stare longingly at before, not daring to overspend even trivial savings on simple luxuries. He never even thought you’d noticed.

“You’ll do it, won’t you?”

The principal peered at Chan expectantly over his glasses. Before Chan could reply, the older man added, “It’s just a tutoring job, and I’ve noticed your extracurriculars have been lacking lately. You do remember you’re here on scholarship, and all?” There was a sly edge to his voice that gave his kindly gaze a sour twist.

Chan swallowed hard. “O-of course. But who…?”

“Y/n L/n.” The principal looked smug with Chan’s answer. “Her parents own the leading retail business in the country, and she’ll need a clean academic record to inherit that company without any complaints from its stakeholders. She’s bright, of course, but her marks have been falling drastically as of late. Nobody knows why, but that’s not the concern—your job is just to make sure she passes the spring exams, understood?”

Chan nodded absently as the principal prattled on, snippets of his words jumping out at him. Born into a million-dollar family. Used to be a prodigy, but now she seems determined to be a delinquent, instead. Everything about you should have put him off, but he’d spotted you around his neighbourhood. The first time, he had been astonished—there was no reason for someone like you to be in a place like that—and yet Chan had never seen someone look so at ease. He had seen the way you hand-fed scraps of sausages to the strays every day, and called each kitten by name. In those moments, you looked unguarded—tranquil, but unmistakably lonely, completely unlike the ugly rumours attached to your name.

“If she fails, she’ll be dropped to the public school.” The principal fixed Chan with a knowing look, the unsaid words hanging heavy in the air between them. And you’ll follow her there. “We wouldn’t want that, would we?”

Staring into the principal’s condescending eyes, Chan felt his stomach churn. He might not have known what it was like to be born into a million-dollar family, but he knew better than anyone how it felt to be held to suffocating expectations wherever he went. The reputation he’d carefully built was immaculate but fragile, and just looking at the principal was a constant reminder that the shadows of the life he’d been born into would precede him no matter how hard he worked.

You’re just like everyone else. Hell, maybe he was. Chan hadn’t missed the way your lips had quivered before you’d quickly turned away, and he’d fought the urge to pull you back. You don’t give a damn about anyone but yourself, do you?

His mind flickered back to the scholarship the principal dangled above him like a tantalizing dog bone.

And why it felt like he had just lost something much, much more.

It had been nearly a week since your encounter on Chan’s doorstep.

You’d missed all your tutoring sessions since, ignoring Mrs. Koh’s harping calls after you as you stalked out of last period every day. Every time Chan spotted you in the hallways, you immediately made a sharp turn into the closest corridor, letting the other students drown you in their sea of pressed gray uniforms.

Why did it bother him so much? No rumours about him had surfaced. Even so, he found his mind wandering more towards you than the photos you’d taken of him that day.

“This is your last practice test before the spring exams,” his homeroom teacher called out, clapping her hands. “As usual, your rankings will be posted on the bulletin outside…”

He filled in the test absentmindedly, perking up when the sound of two teachers whispering worriedly in the hallway reached his ears.

“I don’t know how they could’ve gotten in! An answer sheet for yesterday’s test is gone!”

“Are you sure it was stolen?”

“Positive. I could’ve sworn I left it in the copy room...who would’ve done something like this?”

Chan was out the door the moment the bell rang, gut instincts propelling him down the hallways and up the two flights of stairs until he reached the third floor. Heart racing, he threw open the door to the tutoring classroom. For the first time in the past week, your bag was lying on the desk as if you’d intended to sit down, but you were nowhere to be seen. And sure enough—sticking out shamelessly from the front pocket, in broad daylight—was a crisp answer sheet, and one wrinkled test.

Feeling the blood rush to his face, Chan snatched the papers out of your bag with a breath of disbelief. I knew it. He had to have been a fool for worrying about you all this time, for wondering if his words had been too harsh. Just as he thought—you had been making fun of him all along. Never had he ever thought you would stoop this low, but this was the final straw. As he turned over the papers, hands trembling with anger, Chan spotted something that made him stop. Furrowing his brow, he took a long, hard look at your test—then back at the stolen answer sheets in disbelief.

You had purposely filled in all the opposite answers.

That was why you had stolen the answer sheet? That’s...unheard of. It can’t be. Dumbfounded, he shook your bag lightly, but nothing else fell out except for a chipped No.2 pencil and the black composition notebook he had given you. The pages flopped open, revealing a well-thumbed page riddled with pen marks and scribbles. Operation Bang Chan had been scrawled across the top, and Chan squinted curiously, trying to decipher the scratched-out notes.

Operation Bang Chan, you had written in block letters, find out what he’s hiding!!!

Maybe he sells drugs? was crossed out furiously, followed by goes to HHJ’s wild parties? The crossed-out list went on, and the conspiratorial notes slowly turned into shorter, more miscellaneous ones:

Takes way too many caffeine pills!! *Note: Tell him to sleep more.

Does he ever stop reading?

Likes beef noodles. (flaw: eats too much instant ramen?)

Forgetful AF!! Gotta staple his wallet to the back of his pants sometime.

Despite himself, Chan chuckled. Finally, at the bottom of the page, he caught sight of a few barely-legible lines that hadn’t yet been scribbled out.

Mom says they’ll stop making him tutor me if he’s not as perfect as they say. Gotta get rid of him before they start blaming him, too.

He frowned, setting the notebook down carefully as words from his meeting with the principal rang in his head. She used to be a prodigy, but now she’s hell-bent on being a delinquent instead. All you need to do is make sure she graduates, understood?

Chan glanced from your latest failed test to the notebook, mind wandering to all the ways you had tried to worm your way out of each tutoring session. He thought back to the night he’d caught you with your flashing phone camera, and the way you had looked like the ground had been yanked out from beneath your feet. You—someone who he’d known to always have a quick, witty response to anything he said, unable to form a single explanation.

You had been purposely trying to fail, and you wanted him gone—that much was clear. But why? He scanned the empty classroom again. And where on earth could she have gone?

Chan dashed into the hallways, peering into classroom windows from door to door. A group of girls lit up and tried to stop him, but Chan brushed right past, search growing more and more frantic. After ten minutes of futile searching, he had reached the end of the last emptied corridor, and was about to give up when a strange sound made him stop.

Halting in his tracks, he pressed his back against the door he had heard it coming from. He was at the very end of the hall, everything silent besides the pounding of Chan’s heart—and, if he held his breath, the unmistakable sound of someone sniffling. Before he could debate whether or not to knock, a shrill voice he didn’t recognize pierced his ears—tinny and crackling, as though coming from a cell phone.

“Ungrateful brat—say that one more time, I dare you.”

“I said,” the sound of your voice made Chan turn his head in surprise, peering through the tiny crack the wooden door had left open, “it’s not the tutor’s fault. I won’t pass, no matter what you try.”

You were standing with your back pressed against a desk, phone in hand. Your voice was remarkably steady, but Chan caught the way your bottom lip quivered violently.

“You stop your ridiculous whining right this instant—”

“It’s not whining,” you breathed a laugh, throat tight with frustrated tears, “it’s crying. But I guess you’ve never been around whenever I cried as a kid, so you wouldn’t know.”

“Why are you spouting all this nonsense now?”

Your free hand was clamped onto the edge of the desk, knuckles white from how hard you were clenching your fist. “Maybe I’m sick of you guys making every single decision for me. Maybe because it’s been s-suffocating me, and I just want you to listen for a change. And it’s not nonsense—I’m being completely serious.” You paused, trying to stop your breath from trembling. “But you’ve never taken me seriously, either, have you?”

The older woman on the other end of the phone—your mother, Chan realised—huffed indignantly. “You don’t want us making the decisions for you? As if you could ever amount to anything if it weren’t for our help! Kids like you shouldn’t be making adult decisions.” She sneered, adding, “Without us, where would you even be? With those dregs in the public schools and slums, who’ll never accomplish even a fraction of what you could! Don’t get smart with me, young lady.”

“A kid from those neighbourhoods has already done much more than I ever could at this damned school.” Chan’s head snapped up then, heart leaping into his throat as you continued furiously. “Yes—everything I have is because of you. Because of you, the only people who want to be my friend are people who want my money or social circles. Because you’re s-so great, everyone sees the power of your names before they care to find out who I am as a person.” You inhaled shakily, ignoring your parents’ protests on the other end of the line. “You want to know the truth? I envy those kids from those neighbourhoods, Mother. At least they can say they worked hard for what they have.”

There was a long sigh from the other end, and the sound of your mother shushing your father’s angry shouts in the background. “We just want you to be the best, sweetheart—we only want the best for you, see?” The fake sympathy in her voice made Chan’s stomach twist. “We want you to succeed, to lead the company like you were born to do—”

“But have you ever asked me what I want?”

A long silence fell, save for the sniffling you were trying desperately to muffle, and Chan’s heartbeat roaring in his ears.

“What?” Your father demanded angrily.

“How could you possibly want anything else?” Your mother laughed, sounding genuinely confused.

“Stop calling me already,” you whispered. “You only call me when you want something from me. But you’re never on the line during the holidays, and you never call me on my birthday, either. You never wanted a daughter—you wanted a damn trophy.”

Your father sputtered angrily, “Who—who taught you to say all this? Get back here this instant, or we’ll call the school. You can’t just keep running away from this, you—”

There was a clattering crash as you threw your phone across the classroom, and you sank to the floor in an exhausted heap. Why were you doing all this? It was a question that had been thrown at you since you’d first let your marks drop, and now you knew the answer better than ever. Because it was the only way you knew how to shatter the mold you had been born in, to get back at the endless expectations your parents tied you down with like a tightening leash.

As you finally let the tears flow, shoulders heaving from the force of each muffled sob, Chan was hit with the sudden realization that somehow, you were just as trapped as he had always felt himself. By some sick twist of fate, you—a girl from Levanter Hills, a neighbourhood he both despised and longed after—had no more control over your own life than he did.

Taking a deep breath, he pushed the classroom door open slightly. The creak made you jump like a startled cat, your tear-filled eyes widening. You instantly shrank away when Chan took a step forward, and he felt his heart break.

“What?” You muttered, flustered gaze falling on the answer sheets he still clutched in one hand. “You here to s-scold me, too?”

Glancing down at the papers, Chan folded them quietly before stuffing them into his back pocket.

You were wiping at your tears furiously. “Fucking—hell. Damn it all,” you cursed, but no matter how hard you tried, they wouldn’t stop falling—and so you resorted to turning your back to him. “Go away, Bang Chan. I hate it when people see me cry.”

“I won’t look, then,” Chan promised earnestly. You were now burrowed underneath one of the desks, and he sat himself down, facing away from you. You could feel his back brush against yours slightly with every inhale he took, the warmth radiating from his palms next to yours on the polished floor, and inexplicably felt another sob threatening to give way.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Chan asked quietly. You didn’t have to ask to know he was talking about the phone call. So he heard everything.

“It wouldn’t have changed anything,” you shrugged, exhaling slowly. “Besides, you didn’t need to know. Who c-cares why a spoiled brat with everything handed to her wants to fail her exams?”

There was a beat of silence. Then came his soft reply. “I do.”

You turned your head at that, heart leaping into your throat. He really wasn’t looking at you, you realized—his knees were tucked in, mirroring you and staring at the other end of the classroom. Bang Chan, always a man of his word. You almost wanted to smile. “You don’t have to lie to make me feel better, y’know.”

At that, Chan did turn around, and you nearly flinched back at how close his face was to yours. “I’m not.” You looked away immediately, still trying to stop the damned tears from spilling down your cheeks.

“Alright,” you muttered, “now stop looking at me. You promised.”

You could sense a small smile on his face as he turned away again. His back was directly pressed against yours now.

“You didn’t tell anyone about the pictures,” Chan finally said after a couple beats of silence, and you scoffed.

“Why would I?” Chan raised an eyebrow as you sighed. “Everyone has things they’d rather the world not know. It’s not like you did anything wrong, anyways. Not like me.” You mumbled the last part sheepishly, painfully aware of the photos still sitting in your battered phone.

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” you heard him reply, and before you could roll your eyes, Chan continued, “Well technically, you never did anything with the pictures. I’ll just assume that you were so...dazzled by my charms you were dying to snap a few photos of me, yeah?”

“N-no! I—” you wheeled around in protest, but gave up when you saw the mischievous grin on his lips. You sighed, settling for a light smack on his arm. Despite the heat rushing to your ears, you felt yourself relaxing. Sitting there in a quiet classroom and watching the sun begin to set outside the half-closed windows felt like a rare kind of intimacy—not the tales of intimacy from jocks and cheerleaders against locker room walls, or the intoxicated kind you used to hear your ‘friends’ boasting about after Hyunjin’s parties. It was an intimacy that demanded stripping off prejudices instead of clothes, one that washed away the fake bravado you had been using as a crutch for so long. You wanted to lean into Chan’s warmth, his steadying presence dissolving the tension that had seized up your body the moment your parents had called you.

“None of what they said was true, you know?” Chan spoke again, more softly this time. “All that crap about—never being able to get anywhere without their help, I mean. None of those marks from previous years were a scam, which means all your talents and accomplishments—must’ve come from up here.” He lightly tapped the back of your hair, then added thoughtfully, “You’re mutually exclusive events, after all. A phenomenon that—”

“Shut up, you big-nosed sap, just—shut up,” you cut him off, but there was no venom in your words—not even a hint of your trademark, biting cynicism, and Chan broke into a grin. “And don’t smile like that.”

He looked bemused. “Why not?”

Your eyes flickered down to his lips only for the fraction of a second, but the words were already tumbling out of your mouth.

“It makes me want to kiss you.”

You half-expected Chan to laugh it off, or even roll his eyes like he usually did whenever you teased him. What you certainly hadn’t expected, though, was for him to cock an eyebrow at you, unflinching. “Then do it.”

His gaze was piercing—challenging, almost, any trace of the goody-two-shoes you’d teased relentlessly completely gone. Flustered, you tore your gaze away.

“Why are you being so nice to me?” You finally mumbled. You could tell Chan hadn’t anticipated this question, his expression turning pensive. I gave you hell during all those tutoring sessions. I filled in all the questions wrong on purpose. I spent all my free time trying to bring down your reputation.

Chan could guess all your unspoken words without even glancing at your face. He would have been lying if he said the same question hadn’t crossed his mind multiple times before. But the truth was, Chan had always seen in you what you didn’t see in yourself.

Why are you being so nice to me?

“Because you deserve it,” he replied simply, and when you made an unconvinced noise, he continued. “Because I’ve seen the way you fight off the bullies for some of the freshmen. And the way you stop by Tortoise Alley every evening to take care of the abandoned cats on your way home. Because, despite all your biting words and bravado, you’re the only person I’ve ever seen not retaliate against the people who torment you every day.”

And when his eyes met yours for a split second, Chan finally found the courage to confess the last reason—the one that had trumped all the rest.

“Because—somewhere along the way, I think I ended up falling in love with you, too.”

Your eyes widened, but Chan’s gaze was as soft as it was steady, holding you firmly in place as you felt your heartbeat quickening erratically.

“Are you blushing?” He nudged you teasingly, making you sputter in protest.

“Leave me alone!”

“But I like seeing you flustered.”

“It’s only because I’m embarrassed by your lame attempt at being cute,” you grumbled, the blatant lie making your voice sound pitchier than usual. No doubt Chan had picked up on this, because his grin had grown wider than ever.

“Mm. So you think I’m cute?”

“Speak for yourself. Prim and proper Bang Chan’s fallen for the heretic of the school,” you declared in a sing-song voice, smirking when his face glowed bright pink. Laughing, you let your head fall back onto his shoulder, feeling his hair brush against your cheek when he did the same.

“You’ll be rid of me soon,” you finally reassured him. “I’ll just steal the answer sheets again so they expel me for cheating or something. Then they won’t be able to blame you f—”

Before you knew it, Chan’s hands had locked around your wrists, forcing you to turn around and face him. His furrowed brow made your heart skip a beat, and you fell silent. In the warm shade, his dark pupils had dilated with a look so intense you almost thought he was angry—or was it because of something else?

“Wh-what?” You stammered indignantly, trying to yank yourself free, but Chan didn’t budge—only sighing, and forcing you to look at him again.

“You know, there’s another way to get back at your parents without screwing up your own life.”

You were trying to to give him a skeptical look, but Chan watched your pupils dart nervously between his face and down to the floor. You had never liked attention, he noticed, but that had never stopped his eyes from instinctively searching for you amidst crowded classrooms and bustling hallways every chance that he got. He could focus throughout four-hour exams, monotonous council meetings, and he’d mastered every studying tactic in the book—but the moment Chan thought of you, his mind went all over the place. He couldn’t help it—there had just always been something else beneath the nonchalant façade you put on that drew him to you. Maybe you had never liked attention, but it just so happened that Bang Chan only ever had eyes for you.

“How?”

He didn’t reply, eyes only flickering down to your lips for a split second, and before you knew it, Chan was kissing you.

Your mouth parted in surprise, and he pulled back slightly with the panic of one suddenly awakening from a dream, apology already tumbling from his lips. But your hands found his lapels before your head could make sense of it all, pulling him back down with a desperation you didn’t know you had. His lips crashed against yours like the final answer to an unsolved equation, a silent response to the question you’d asked moments before. When you tangled your fingers at the nape of his neck, you felt Chan’s self-control shatter, and he began kissing you back, harder than before, the kind of kiss that left your skin burning and all your nerves alight with a thousand tremors. One of his strong arms found your waist, pulling you impossibly closer into him as his other hand tilted your chin up to give his lips better access. Your teeth brushed against his lower lip and he groaned softly, low in his throat, mouth parting—and a jarring clang sent your eyes fluttering back open. Chan cried out in pain, and it took you a second to realize he had knocked his head against the bottom of the desk you were both curled up under.

There were a few beats of dead silence before the two of your burst into peals of laughter, Chan burying his face in your shoulder in embarrassment. You playfully rubbed the crown of his head.

“I think,” you began, still catching your breath, “I think I may like this plan of yours much better than my old one.”

Chan gave you a wicked smirk. “Well,” he murmured, nose brushing against yours, “we’d better get to it, then, hm?”

The flustered look on your face was the only confirmation Chan needed before he pulled you in for another—and much lengthier—kiss.

“Congratulations, congratulations!”

There was a chorus of echoed praises and applause as the numerous guests your parents had invited over to their house took turns greeting them.

“Our own Y/n—the highest exam scores in the country!” A woman exclaimed, clapping her gloved hands giddily, and your mother simpered.

“That Bang Chan boy must be a fantastic tutor, too,” another gushed, before dropping their voice to a furtive whisper. “But I hear he comes from a rather...shameful disposition.”

Several gasps were elicited from the gathered crowd, one of them murmuring, “Yes, so I’ve heard…his family’s from the Lower End, no?”

“Parents work minimum wage, too...how he got into Levanter, quite frankly, is beyond me!”

Your father cleared his throat irritably. Spotting you across the dining hall, he bellowed, “Y/n!”

You immediately cringed, trying to hide in the sea of other networking business families, but your mother was already waving you over. You had hated parties like these ever since you could remember, but your parents had insisted on throwing one to “commemorate” your graduation and the end-of-year exams. Everyone looked like a walking mannequin—all spouting the same smalltalk, their polite smiles hiding backhanded compliments, but you kept your head up like you’d been taught and forced a smile of your own just the same.

“There she is! My lovely daughter,” your father cried, hands clamping down on your shoulders like a vice the moment you reached him, and you resisted the overwhelming urge to shove them away. “We really thought she had no hope, you know—teenagers these days! But she turned it all around in the end, just like I knew she would.”

“A born genius, I’d say—just like her father, with her mother’s looks!” One older businessman chortled, raising his glass of champagne, and everyone made sounds of agreement. The man’s hand had found its way to the small of your back and you grit your teeth, remembering another one of the many reasons why you despised the company your parents insisted on keeping around them. Still, you willed yourself to stay put, knowing that there was a reason why you had agreed to it all so readily.

“Ah, that’s right—we did say you could invite some of your friends today, didn’t we, honey?” Your mother chirped at you before craning her head around the room expectantly. “Where are they? Did you ask Jia? Or perhaps that Suho boy…” she went on, dropping the names of other socialite children, and you resisted the urge to laugh.

“I did, Mother.” You spotted a familiar head bobbing in the crowded hallway and immediately began to relax. “He’s right—there!”

Your parents’ colleagues chittered in anticipation, the crowd parting with gasps and murmurs, and you felt a genuine smile spread across your face as Bang Chan walked in.

When you’d told him about the party, Chan had immediately begun searching for a black suit and tie before you’d insisted that he dressed comfortably instead. So here he was—practically parting a sea of socialites dressed to the nines, wearing simple black jeans and a loose dress shirt with the collar undone.

Even so, he was still the most captivating person in the room.

You could sense the horror on your parents’ faces before you even turned back to look at them. “Ah,” your mother managed, throat sounding tight.

“Your—friend, yes?” Your father asked, his tone sounding more like a plead than a question.

You beamed up at Chan before looping your arm tightly in his. “My boyfriend.”

You could practically see the smoke billowing out of your father’s ears as you rested your head on Chan’s shoulder. Meanwhile, Chan had given the man who had touched you earlier a glare you’d never even thought he was capable of, and now everyone stood a good foot away from the two of you.

All the other guests were frantically reassuring your parents, who were slowly turning purple. “You know how high school sweethearts are,” one lady crooned, and the rest parroted along.

“They won’t last long, I’m sure...she’ll come to her senses soon...just let them be young...”

“Which university have you selected, Miss Y/n?” One of them asked you, trying to lighten the atmosphere by changing the subject.

“Miroh Heights,” you replied, and they gasped in delight, glancing nervously back at your parents.

“But—but that’s all the way across the world!”

“Well, she can take over the company once she’s done her studies all the same,” your father said gruffly, and the crowd chimed in agreement.

“Such a prestigious school, too!”

“If only my boys were as gifted.”

Your parents nodded in pride, slowly beginning to calm down, and the woman turned to Chan.

“What about you, er—young man?”

He smiled. “Miroh Heights.”

Another deafening silence swept through the room. Chan’s fingers lightly intertwined with yours, squeezing reassuringly. This might as well have been your parents’ worst nightmare—as far as they knew, Bang Chan was the suitor from hell, eloping with their prized daughter—and the fact that the pauper had won the exact same opportunities as the trophy princess they’d spent a lifetime trying to perfect was enough to make your parents look completely stupified.

You squeezed his hand back. Mission successful. “Thank you for coming, everyone—enjoy your night!” You flashed them all your most dazzling smile before making a beeline for the nearest door. Pulling Chan along the winding corridors, you finally made it outside, breathing a sigh of relief as the cool night air hit your flushed skin.

“I—thought your mother was going to flay me alive with those nails of hers,” Chan gasped, holding onto his knees as he caught his breath.

“I can’t believe you really self-sabotaged yourself in the end,” you mused, “spreading all those rumours about yourself.”

He grinned. Despite having helped him comb back his hair, a few stubborn curls still fell into his bright hazel eyes. “Worked like a charm, didn’t it? Word travels fast in tight social circles.” Chan cast a doubtful look behind him, where guests were still milling in and out of the extravagant manor. “Don’t you want to stay, though? It’s your party, after all.”

You sighed, kicking off your heels. “That’s just the excuse my parents like to use to show off their most recent triumphs. They couldn’t care less—especially after all that.” You threw a devilish smirk back at Chan before pulling out the pins in your hair. “Bloody hell, this shit’s uncomfortable.”

Chan watched as the locks fell around your face again, hands carding messily through them. To any of the other guests, you might have looked like a madwoman. But to him, you were nothing short of stunning.

“You’re gawking, lover boy.” You elbowed him, feeling your cheeks heat up under his soft gaze. Chan just chuckled, shaking his head and pulling you towards the gates—where an impatient Seo Changbin was waiting, his beat-up Harley humming against the curb.

“Back in my garage, 6 AM sharp,” the dark-haired boy grumbled, chucking the keys for Chan to catch. He gave you a small nod, adding thoughtfully, “And use protection, lovebirds.”

“Changbin,” Chan warned, and he held up two gloved hands in mock surrender, stepping back and eventually disappearing around the curb.

“Since when does the respectable student council president know how to ride a motorcycle?” You quipped, amused.

“Since Seo Changbin dragged one back from the junkyard, and I had to make sure the kid didn’t kill himself learning how to work one,” Chan muttered. Before you could respond, he’d hoisted you onto the back of the bike princess-style, and you giggled.

“So,” he began, “I have one last probability question for you.”

“Go for it.”

“What are the chances that...I can take you out tonight?”

You rolled your eyes and groaned, fighting the smile that was tugging at your lips. “Depends on what we’re having for dinner, because all they gave me was bad champagne.”

Chan looked genuinely worried then, bottom lip catching on his teeth. “Well, if you want to eat around the Upper End, I’m sure I could—”

“I want ramen, Prez.” You snuggled against his back, knotting your fists around his waist. “Ramen.”

His dimples appeared. “Ramen it is.”

Chan started the engine, speeding towards the familiar haphazard lights of Tortoise Alley, and you pressed a kiss to the nape of his neck as you murmured a quiet answer to his question.

“One hundred percent, by the way.”

2K notes · View notes

zukump3 · 3 years

Text

ignoring them for 24 hours ✧ hc

you ignore your boys for 24 hours. or, at least, you try to.

genre: fluff

requested: yes! i added todoroki just cause

as perceptive as he is

izuku probably notices immediately how you’re avoiding him

you two wake up at similar times because you go to sleep at similar times, but this time you woke up before him

he gave you a sweet “good morning” and kissed your cheek, but you only smiled and went to the bathroom

he thought that was strange. you usually say good morning back

but then again, it was such a small thing that he didn’t really overreact over it

however, when you left his dorm without saying goodbye or anything like that he got a little worried

once classes were beginning, he went to your dorm to pick you up and walk you to class like usual but

you were already gone.

“what the...” he would murmur to himself, frowning now

what was up with you? were you ignoring him or something?

what even annoyed him further was that you spent the whole day with fucking bakusquad!

bakugo didn’t seem to like it of course, but kirishima and the others accepted your company like it was nothing

he tried to sit next to you at lunch but once bakugo noticed his presence, he immediately yelled at the green haired boy to “fucking beat it!”

“but i-“

“WHAT DID I JUST SAY?!”

the fact that you didn’t even come to his defense kind of hurt him

he didn’t even eat at lunch

he was so bummed out that he just poked at his food with a frown on his face

of course you noticed this. you had been watching him all day and it broke your heart to see your baby like this omg ㅠㅠ

you couldn’t do it anymore. you got up and sat next to him at lunch and you swear he shined brighter than the sun when he saw you

“y/n! i-you-“

“i was trying to praaank you,” you pouted. “but you looked so upset after what that bomb bitch said-i couldn’t do it anymore.”

his pout matched yours.

“don’t do that again... i was seriously worried!”

he makes you stay by him for the rest of the day 😭

ignoring him for 24 hours challenge: failed.

y/n only lasted 5-6 hours.

todoroki literally doesn’t notice at all

he doesn’t talk much, and seeing that you don’t talk to him much in the morning doesn’t really bother him

he just assumed you were tired and didn’t really care

you two usually got coffee together in the morning but as he went to the common room to wait for you, he was a bit peeved that you didn’t show up

he just assumed you fell asleep or something, or maybe you weren’t in the mood

not gonna lie, he was already missing your presence but he wouldn’t push you to interact with him if you weren’t in the mood

when he goes to class though, he sees you laughing and smiling with the rest of dekusquad

having a good time, apparently

he sits with you guys and listens, and his brows furrowed when he heard you say

“i wish i would’ve gotten coffee this morning. really wanted some mocha.”

...?

did you forget that you two got coffee literally every morning?

okay, whatever. something was definitely wrong with you but he wouldn’t push.

you two also sit together during lunch but you sat between tsu and izuku instead

he’s like

what. the fuck.

he stares at you for the entirety of lunch time 😭

he doesn’t even mean to, he’s just so confused?

like why are you ignoring him? you guys didn’t fight or anything last night so ?? why??

the day continues like that

whenever he comes around you leave, whenever he talks you look away from him

he’s a mixture of irritated and annoyed

irritated bc he doesn’t know why you’re acting this way, and annoyed because he wants to fucking talk to you

you’re one of the only people in this class he talks to on a daily basis and you’re pushing him away??

he only says something when it’s kind of late and everyone is tucked away in their dorms

he has a key to your dorm room don’t ask why so he goes ahead and enters

you’re on your bed, giggling about how well the prank is going to mina when you hear the doorknob jiggle and your boyfriend enter the room

“shoto!”

“we need to talk, y/n.”

you make a face. “actually, i-“

“y/n.”

the sternness in his voice makes you look up at him, kinda scared at just how serious he looks

“you’ve been ignoring me all day. why? did i do something?”

“i—“

“if i did, please tell me. communication is important in every relationship and our relationship is very special. if you do not talk to me, i have no way of knowing what i did to hurt you and-“

“shoto! oh my god, it was just a prank!” you tell him quickly, standing up and holding out your arms.

he lowkey makes a 🤨 face.

“a prank...?”

“yeah. ignore your boyfriend for 24 hours prank,” you sigh. “i was so close.”

he sighs with you, walking over to hug you tightly, which feels so good after today.

“it’s a very stupid prank.”

you giggle against his chest.

“yeah. very stupid.”

ignoring him for 24 hours challenge: failed.

y/n only lasted 18 hours.

another one that notices immediately

you went the extra mile as to leave his dorm way earlier than he wakes up, which-

how tf did you do that

he automatically doesn’t fucking like that.

“y/n?!” he’ll yell out into his bathroom and grumble when you aren’t in there, or anywhere else in his room

he doesn’t even see you until class starts, sitting and laughing with fucking dekusquad

not only that, with midoriya

“hey dumbass, why’d you leave my dorm so early today?!” he asks you, and your eyes don’t even meet his.

you just continue scribbling at your desk.

his eyes turn white.

“i’m talking to you!”

“bakugo, please go have a seat. you’re being incredibly too loud.” aizawa would tell him, slipping his face out of his yellow sleeping bag.

he looks at his teacher, then at you, then back at his teacher before cursing and marching to his desk

probably always glancing at you through the day

the fact that you’re smiling and laughing with fucking deku

that just makes his mood even worse

you’re supposed to be smiling and laughing with him, not that crybaby

obviously his friends notice how mad he is

“dude, why so pent up?” kirishima would ask him and bakugo would literally snark

the red head smirks. “oooh—its y/n isn’t it.”

bakugo pauses.

“how the fuck did you know-“

“you know she’s pranking you, right?” kirishima would laugh at the look of anger that crosses bakugo’s face.

you’re ignoring him for a... a...

a PRANK?!

he’s livid.

during training he will not hesitate to march up to you

“you think it’s funny to ignore your boyfriend for a stupid prank, huh?! you think that’s so funny don’t you?!”

“bakugo, i-“

“SILENCEEEE!” he’ll literally roar at you and blast you like 10 feet away 😭

cue him being your partner and beating you up for practice

ignoring him for 24 hours challenge: failed.

y/n only lasted 5 hours.

kirishima understands the concept of “personal space”

he knows that sometimes, you don’t wanna be bothered

and sometimes, he doesn’t wanna be bothered

but sometimes he doesn’t care about that concept.

he will poke and pester at you if you do this challenge.

if you wake up and don’t say anything to him, he’ll yank you down to the bed and whine at you until you manage to squirm out of his arms and go to your own dorm room

he’ll stand right next to you during breakfast

and i mean he will always be standing next to you.

no matter how many times you move around the tables, he’ll somehow end up next to you

like ?? does he have super speed or something 😭

he will not tolerate you ignoring him

like not at all

during class if he cracks a few jokes and you don’t respond to them he’ll probably fake cry

“y/n, you’re making me feel very unmanly right now!”

you swear you didn’t know it would be this hard

he probably notices it’s a prank though when he’s walking next to you in the halls and you’re not even speaking to him, just staring forward

“ahh... you’re trying to play a little joke on me or something? well, we’ll see how long you keep that up!”

retorts to making you jealous the entire day.

hangs out with literally every girl, even the fucking invisible bitch

you can’t take it anymore when it nears 6pm and he asks uraraka to come back to his dorm and watch movies with him

being the amazing girlfriend you are, you get up, land in his lap, and cuddle up to him tightly

he grins at you, preppering you with kisses

“told you you wouldn’t last, y/n.”

ignoring your boyfriend for 24 hours challenge: failed.

y/n only lasted 11 hours.

#bnha x poc!reader #bnha x reader #izuku x reader #mha x reader #mha fluff #mha headcanon #mha headcanons #bakugo x reader #kirishima x black reader #kirishima x reader #todoroki x reader #todoroki headcanons #kirishima headcanons #bakugo headcanons #midoriya headcanons #midoriya x reader

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aizawaslovebot · 3 years

Note

Hello idk if you’ll see this or if you’re still accepting request but I wanted to know if you can do an angst male reader where he’s really close to yachi as friends and plays volleyball with the karasuno boys but like he’s ignored and pushed to the side and no one really notices until he leaves the team and moves to Tokyo only to later join the nekoma team and they actually pay attention to him and he kinda has a run in with his old team latter. Sorry if it’s confusing this is my first ask😅

—shadow on the moon

[nekoma x m! reader | karasuno x m! reader]

synopsis: perhaps they relied too much and gave back too less, and this was karma's sign of ending the cycle.

warnings: angst, self-depreciation, + hmm i feel like it's lackluster because i couldn't imagine karasuno doing something like this

words: 1350

—note: i couldn't write the reunion part? idk why i've rewritten it a few times now but i'm not satisfied ㅠㅠ if you want something changed, please tell me!!

<- go to navigation | go to haikyuu m.list ->

It was ambitious of you to dream of becoming heard when they couldn’t even spare you one glance.

You didn’t want to place the blame on the team. It wasn’t their fault that you’ve always been hardly in the limelight. It wasn’t their fault that you’ve always been a wallflower. It wasn’t their fault that you could easily be outshined by anyone in the team.

It was, however, their fault for their inability to notice your presence no matter how hard you tried.

As a middle blocker in Karasuno, it was appalling how they failed to acknowledge you and your prowess— to the point that you even doubted you had the ability to block for the team at all. Communication has never been easy for an introvert like you, who always depended on the possibility of some extrovert adopting you into their social circle. So despite the overflowing hurt built up on the prospect of being casted to the sidelines, always shoved to the benches as a warmer, you were unable to voice anything out.

This arrangement continued even through your second year with the team. Heck, it even got worse— with the way Hinata, who, no matter how small, easily got the attention of everyone, and Kageyama, a naturally-born genius with a career ahead of him, you were easily overshadowed by first years of all people.

Truthfully, you should’ve been in Nekoma High right now. At the end of your first year at Karasuno, your dad was promoted and was given the privilege of an apartment in Tokyo for easier access to his new work. You were very naive to push the move to months later, desperately hoping for at least acknowledgement from the team, that they recognize you as one of their middle blockers.

It wasn’t the case at all. Were you that replaceable? Were you that insignificant to the team? Were you that unnoticeable? Were you so useless that they won’t even miss you at all?

Perhaps he could take back that last thought.

A very kindhearted first year managed to notice you, introvertedness and all. Yachi Hitoka had come to be someone very dear to you, someone who had always been ignored. You were not used to the attention she gave you but you managed to get used to her warmth. The way she’d greet you first out of anyone in the gym or the way she fretted whenever you needed to be bandaged on the rare days you get to play— everything about her was warm.

And you’d be forever grateful for the kindness, the attention, and the love she had extended for someone as unnoticeable as you.

Sadly, all the tears can’t be prevented. Even as Yachi rushed to see you one last time before your departure, nothing can’t stop the inevitable partition between a wall-flower like you and the continuously developing crows. You couldn’t help noticing the way only she had come to see you one last time, but you swallowed it all once you remembered you chose not to tell anyone else.

It’s not like they cared anyway.

But, there’s no use dwelling on the past. You’re far happier where you are today— with a family who always made it upon themselves to vocalize their recognition for the immense talent you had.

You had met the members of Nekoma twice: on that one game on the last day of golden week and during the training camp in Tokyo. Sure, you weren’t actually given the chance to play that much but you were beyond amazed at their prowess. No one seemed to outshine anyone in the team and everyone worked harmoniously regardless of their skill level. What you silently wished for, the chance of having a team like that, actually came true.

The day you joined them was memorable, far more memorable than you’ve ever imagined.

“Y-You’re K-Karasuno’s middle blocker!” Number 7, Inuoka, you think, gasped when you entered the gym with Coach Nekomata and Coach Naoi.

Taken aback at how you, of all people, were easily recognized, you staggered in embarrassment. You hid behind Coach Naoi which caused the two coaches to snort or laugh because of your actions.

Lev perked up in curiosity, vaguely remembering a middle blocker from the last training camp who, despite the way he stood out from the rest, wasn’t actually a starter. Stumbling like a deer who was recently born into the world, Lev ran up to you with sparkling eyes. However, it was really a scary sight if anyone were in your shoes.

“Why are you at Nekoma? Why weren’t you a starter? How come I’m taller than you but you’re better? Is there a se—” Yaku, the one who was like Suga-senpai, grinned wryly and dragged the excitable first year away from you after he apologized.

After hearing the coach’s announcement regarding your transfer, Kuroo smirked.

“It looks like Karasuno carelessly let someone as talented as you go.”

Judging from the way you flinched, Kenma immediately concluded there was more to it so he kicked the captain’s shin without regard.

“A-ah… They don’t really notice me at all,” was your quiet reply, which took everyone by surprise.

“EHH?! Well, we’ll take care of you! Welcome to Nekoma, (L-(L/N)-san!!” Yamamoto cheered, though he faltered when he shyly uttered your name.

The team was far more accepting, you mused, as you were unable to stop the comparison from your former team. It wasn’t that Karasuno was all high and mighty— they just couldn’t make it feel like you were a part of them and for so long, you figured it was because of how you were behind everyone else.

Nekoma reminded you that despite that, if that were really the case, you weren’t alone. They like to exaggerate by saying you were really talented, and you were, and it made you feel like you were having progress— like you were part of the family.

While you slowly began to progress from your past, the flock of crows weren’t doing so well. In fact, they weren’t doing good at all. When Yachi arrived to practice, right after the day you left, no one could deny the drop in her mood. Something was wrong but no one could place it.

Their ignorance only made Yachi even sadder.

Their realization came later than anyone ever wanted. No one could deny the decline in their defense. After all, they had always been too complacent— relying on the shadow of which they were sure was there to block in place of others. Perhaps they relied too much and gave back too less, and this was karma’s sign of ending the cycle. The shadow of which they relied on has found its light, leaving everyone else in the dark.

The quality of Karasuno’s plays slowly declined and it shone through during their practice match with Dateko before they leave for Tokyo. There’s nothing they could do though. After hearing from Kenma that their middle blocker transferred to them— to their fated rival, of all people— the mood amongst the members dropped. They can’t be like the protagonists in coming of age movies where limits are non-existent or main characters who, despite all odds and flaws, get to reunite with their love interest. They know that they’re living in reality and reality has made it a point to tell them how big of a mistake it was to underestimate you, your skills, and your being.

No one would expect, not even Coach Ukai or Coach Takeda, that you had been so hurt all this time. All they could do is wait for the day that the fated rivals battle it off in court, and this time, you stand on the opposite side.

It was ambitious of you to dream that you would be heard, but not a single soul can stop a dreamer from reaching their goals. It was ambitious to dream that they would finally realize your worth but you succeeded. So as they weep in regret and sorrow over their late revelation, you finally stand proud with the family you always wanted.

—reblogging helps, thank youu!!

#haikyuu x reader #haikyuu x male reader #nekoma x male reader #karasuno x male reader #angst #platonic #haikyuu!!#hq #x reader #x male reader #daichi sawamura #kuroo tetsuroo #yachi hitoka x male reader

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unreachablevoice · 3 years

Text

Wear Your Heart On Your Wrist And Together, We’ll Soar To The Sky

Yo so here's chapter five! I had a hard time ending this for some reason because on one hand I wanted to end it on the last part before the line break, on the other, I wanted to include the one on the last part after the line break. My brain is very fried right now ngl

Btw so curse words are now filtered. I mean as much as I like cursing (please don't tell my parents, I don't want to die ㅠㅠ), I really think it's not ideal for it to be seen in my works (only in the fanfics). I'm still going to write warnings tho but like the actual curse words are just censored...

Anywho, hope you enjoy!

Warning: Swearing and cuss words may be present. Please read with caution, thank you!

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Chapter Five – I’m Sorry

Juleka had decided to wait for Marinette in their room right after their dinner and has been waiting for her for about a half-hour or so, give or take. And she’s okay with it. It was perfectly understandable for Marinette to stall for time before they talk about their feelings—which, she has to admit, is something they both don’t like to dwell much on—because it was her who asked to talk to the girl, not the other way around.

Shaking her head, she vaguely hears the ravenette talking to her friends outside. She hears soft murmurs and giggling just outside the door and, for some reason, the sound forms a knot in her stomach. Maybe it was because she missed being near that laughter, basking in the light that everyone knows (well, maybe some people in their class don’t) is Marinette.

Slapping her hands to her face to wake herself up, she wiggles on the bed to sit properly and at least keep her nerves at bay. It’s not that she’s nervous that Marinette would lash out on her or push her away—it’s perfectly understandable, though, if she were to do that since she did it to her first—it’s more like, she’s afraid that this “talk” they’re going to have will eventually hurt her.

You see, Juleka didn’t actually just started researching about Lila a few weeks ago. No, she had been researching for years (a good two to three years to be exact). And no, she did not have that hard of a time in scavenging the internet for answers to the Italian’s tales, so her lies weren’t really the main reason why she took a long time before talking to Marinette (except Lila had grown a bit better with her lies over time and had weird “proofs” and sometimes talked about people not from their generation (one of which was a weird artist she didn’t know about and couldn’t have bothered to remember the name of and she distinctly remembers having to stay up late and use her computer for hours on end, only to find that one article that said that they hated politics, which lead to the inevitable conclusion of how could Lila’s parents—who are supposedly involved in that division—be involved with that person?). So, yes, she definitely now has a hacker as a part-time job because Wikipedia can easily be edited by anyone so using that was a bust and just made her work a tad bit harder).

There was also the issue of how many lies the brunette tells every day. Seriously, she was like a rattling gun, spewing out bullsh■■ after bullsh■■ that Juleka can’t even count and determine which is real or fake in her plethora of words anymore!

But what really, really made her delay the restoration of hers and Marinette’s friendship is Lila herself. The teen was confused about her reasons for lying. She can’t say that she’s doing it because she wants to make friends, no, if that were the case, then if she’d already talked to Marinette, she’d know that the ravenette would accept her for who she is even without all her “glam”. But that’s not only the case. Juleka is also confused about the looks Lila kept giving Marinette.

Being an emotionally stunted teenager, the younger Couffaine isn’t one for chatting so she just opted for watching people’s body language. She has done so for years to the point that she can proudly say that she was almost an expert at it. So, imagine her utter shock and slight horror whenever she sees Lila staring at Marinette.

It wasn’t the normal I-hate-you-and-wish-for-your-death stare that you give to your mortal enemy, no, it was more crazed and unnerving. It made Juleka uncomfortable to even stand near the brunette. Something about her stare just screamed... something... something she can’t quite explain and she knows for sure that that something is fuelled with not-so-good intentions.

Shaking her head, the teen focuses on the sounds outside the door. Or more like, lack thereof... suffice to say, she briefly panics.

The brunette fumbles around the room before promptly sitting down on the bed, back ramrod straight with her hands clasped together atop her thighs. Sweat drips from her forehead and down her chin as she hears the doorknob rattle (was it just her or was it extra loud in her ears?) a few seconds before the door opens painfully slow.

Holding her breath, Juleka watches the raven-haired girl she’s been waiting for look around the room and sigh before going rigid when she finally catches sight of her.

“Marinette!” She abruptly stands up before remembering that what she’s doing is, in fact, embarrassing so she sits down again. “We–Welcome back.” She shrinks in on herself and busies her hands with fiddling with her sleeves.

“...yeah, I’m back,” the ravenette says while gently shutting the door with her hands behind her back.

. . .

What now??????????

Pointedly trying not to look at each other in the eye, uncomfortable silence blankets the whole room. Gosh, should she start? Oh, who is she kidding, of course, she should start! She was the one who wanted to talk to Marinette in the first place!

“I– um,” she stutters and swallows the rising lump in her throat. Gosh, was it just her or was it getting hot in here?

She dabs the sweat on her cheek with the edge of her sleeves and chances a peek at the blue-eyed beauty.

Ever since she had met her, Juleka had always been mesmerized by the girl’s beauty. Thick eyelashes that seemed to be an inch long; big, doe eyes that looked at the world with so much purity and compassion that Juleka has never wanted to protect anyone so much more than at that moment. Eyebrows that look so cleanly brushed you’d think she got it made, and pink lips that hid smiles brighter than the stars.

She’s got Mme. Cheng’s petite looks and strong physique, and M. Dupain’s big heart and safe arms.

The younger Couffaine could clearly remember how, even as a child, the Eurasian girl had always been the subject of almost all of their schoolmates’ affections. Even until now, women, men, and children alike still turn their heads whenever she walks near.

She recalls that even she—before she met Rose—had had her heart stolen by the girl at one point.

Briefly shaking herself out of her stupor, Juleka gnaws at her lip and tugs at the loose thread she conveniently found on the hem of her shirt.

Back to the matter at hand, how can she start their conversation? Should she apologize first? Or maybe talk about what she found out about Lila? Ah, seriously, this is why she should've listened to her brother’s nagging about needing to socialize with more people her age. Damn social interaction for being so gross.

“Juleka?”

She snaps out of her reverie and raises her head to the voice. Marinette looks at her with a confused glint in her eyes while her lips are curled with worry. Ah, did she take too long to answer?

She clenches her fist to somewhat ground herself and furrows her eyebrows. Her eyes shake with fury (for the Italian) and fear (of being rejected by the ravenette) and her sight seemed to go dark and bleary. “Lila, she—!”

“What about her?”

The ravenette’s interruption makes her head snap into attention that she almost felt whiplash. She stares at the girl’s apathetic face with confusion and opens her mouth. “She—!” she cuts herself off as she sees Marinette raise an eyebrow and sigh.

“Come, sit down”—she pulls at Juleka’s arm and sits her down on her bed— “and talk. You don’t have to look at me, you don’t have to try to placate me or whatever, just speak. You called me here to talk, but all you’ve been doing is pausing and looking up at me every five seconds instead of talking.”

The Eurasian girl’s voice sounded steeled but as the goth meets her eyes, she sees her gaze slightly wavering. Finding a hint of anxiety and fear lie just beneath her bluebell eyes and a small tug downwards on the corner of her lips gave Juleka all the more courage to communicate with the girl. Because her bundle of nerves could never be compared to what Marinette must be feeling right now.

“I know Lila lied,” she starts. “I–I’ve known for a while now and the reason why I didn’t… didn’t say anything yet was because I wanted to be sure.” She pauses and looks to the side, placing her frustrations on the edges of her sleeves.

“I mean, at first, the reason why I–I didn’t hang out with you as much as before was because you didn’t like Li–Lila that much so I thought you’d like some space,” she explains and tries to gulp down the lump in her throat before continuing. “But when I found out why exactly, I wanted to have more proof before talking”—she looks down at the floor and traces the lines with her eyes— “so… so that when they try to put down my–my–my voice, like they did to… to you, I can persuade them.” She feels Marinette’s eyes on her but, strangely enough, it wasn’t as piercing as she thought it’d be.

Grasping at thin straws of her courage, she arranges her bangs to hide more part of her face and continues, “I–I know I shouldn’t have waited too long to say any–anything but—” she cuts herself off and hunches her shoulders to hug herself. “—I was scared.”

She shuts her eyes and the image of Lila’s creepy gaze—the one she’d always direct to Marinette—appears in her head. “Not only because… because I may also be pushed away by them, I mean, I–I already knew that I will be if… if I said anything, but also because of… of Lila.”

She snaps her eyes open and looks at the ravenette in the eye. “There’s something there. Something in her gazes, her touches; something… something I can’t explain and… and it scares me.” She feels her hand lightly shake and her heart pounds heavily in her chest. “You have to stay away from her, Marinette.”

She looks down at her lap and wrings her hands, anxiety creeps inside her heart and her breathing grows heavy. The very thought of having one of her oldest friends—ever since école maternelle—be targeted by someone quite possibly dangerous scares her.

She hears a sigh and suddenly, warmth covers her shoulders. She looks up and—oh. Oh, Marinette’s hugging her. Marinette’s hugging her.

She shakily clutches the girl’s back and lays her head on Marinette’s shoulder. Even though the Eurasian was physically smaller than her, she seemed to always have such a big figure.

“I know.” She hears Marinette’s soft voice and a shaky sigh slips out from her lips. “I know that there’s something up with Lila. I know that… that it could be dangerous and that’s precisely why I never liked her, why I always kept my distance whenever she’s near.”

True to her words, Juleka had always remembered Marinette frowning whenever she hears Lila’s voice, leaving whenever Lila joins in on their conversations.

With one last squeeze, the brunette feels the Eurasian break free from the hug but leaves her hands on her shoulders. “Thank you for looking out for me,” she says. “Thank you for telling me all this even though I know that it must’ve been hard for you.” With a soft curve of her lips, she places their foreheads against each other. “Thank you, Juleka.”

Tears prick at the edge of her vermillion orbs and she tries to blink them away, only to have them spilling down her cheeks.

She chokes back a cry and shakes her head. “I’m sorry,” she sobs. Tears continue to flow down the brunette’s face but she makes no effort in wiping them away, opting to just wrap her arms around Marinette like a lifeline. “I’m sorry for pushing you away, for not listening to your words, for… for everything. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

She cries and screams like a child. She apologizes for everything; she berates herself for ever doubting her friend. And for once, she doesn’t worry about being controlled by a megalomaniac who dresses up with a deflated balloon over his face.

She shouts and wails and cries like there’s no tomorrow. And if the vigilantes of Gotham take in the displeasure of hearing her, then, she hopes that they’ll just leave her be and pretend to not hear anything.

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Waking up to the sound of her ringtone and a slight running of water, Juleka opens her eyes. Only to find it hard to do so. Ah, sh■■, okay, her eyes are hella puffy and are hella squinting. She really hopes that their swelling will go down before they have to meet up with the rest of the class in the lobby.

Groaning, she sits upright and stretches her arms above her head before the sound of a door opening catches her attention.

“Oh, you’re awake,” the familiar voice of Marinette reaches her ears. She sees the said girl bring her an ice pack for her eyes and thanks her.

After minutes of preparation, they leave for the lobby and Juleka is praying to the gods that their classmates won’t notice that she cried the night before. Marinette said that her eyes didn't swell anymore and are just a little reddish and not that noticeable but she’s still anxious.

It’s been two days and Juleka spent it all crying and reconciling with Marinette so she didn’t have time to rest properly. Not like she’s the only one, though, because Marinette also didn’t have time to rest in favor of her dramatic display of apologizing.

Although, there were times when the Eurasian’s friends would visit her in the middle of another one of Juleka’s repenting rituals. And it was so awkward because, just as Juleka and Marinette became not so close after Lila’s arrival, she and Marinette’s group also became distanced. And even if she had already apologized to the ravenette for two days straight, she knows that such bridges won’t be that fast to rebuild.

“Jules!” A familiar voice snaps her out of her reverie and she smiles at the small, blue-eyed blonde running towards her.

“Hey, Rose,” she greets the pixie-like girl with a pat on her head. She lets Rose hug the life out of her for a few minutes before letting go and joining their classmates.

She waits as Mmes. Bustier and Mendeleiev take their roll call while silently observing a certain Italian. Her eyes follow the girl’s every movement, from her little hand gestures whenever she’s boasting about her “achievements” to the way her eyes always seem to trace Marinette’s figure from time to time.

There she goes again, she thought, staring at Marinette like a predator to its prey.

Juleka distinctly remembers in her two-day repentance to Marinette about their talks of Lila’s actions. How, whenever people’s attention seems to turn away from her, she’d always make an incident to grab it again. How she’d always target Marinette for some reason, like that time when she was almost expelled—which Juleka now knows was another one of Lila’s ploys to bring down Marinette’s reputation—and a certain incident inside the bathroom (that she heard from Adrien in one of their visits).

Seriously, so Marinette already tried to reason with Lila! She just decided to not only ignore her but also threaten her! That little f■■■er!

Frowning at the reminder, Juleka thanks the gods for making Lila be on the down-low after the almost-Scarlet Moth incident. Although, she still can’t help but be suspicious of her inactivity.

By the gods, if this girl starts again and gets them killed or in danger—in any way form—she’ll start a riot, not even Gotham’s ruthless villains can save them!

She watches as Marinette walks past Lila—who’s chatting with Alya about something with gusto—pointedly ignoring her odd stare and not noticing the puddle right by her feet!

“Marine—!” she cuts herself off when Lila suddenly wraps her hands around Marinette’s arm and jerks her away from the small pool of dirty water.

“Right, Marinette?” Lila chirps sweetly—making Marinette promptly join in on their conversation—while further coiling her arms around Marinette’s own, etching a deep scowl on the ravenette’s pretty face.

Marinette roughly shakes her arms off of Lila’s vice grip and fixes her sleeve. “Sure,” she answers short and fast before rushing over to her friends without looking back.

“Aw, how nice! Lila helped Marinette avoid that puddle!” Mylène gushes beside her and chats up with Ivan about more of Lila’s “good deeds”. All the while, Juleka is left staring at the brunette looking strangely proud with herself as she continues in conversing with Alya.

“Right...” she mumbles, even more confused than she already was when she first saw Lila’s unnerving gazes at Marinette.

What the f■■■ just happened?

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Oof, now Juleka's confused. Are you also confused? Because I sure as hell am! I wonder what Lila's deal is tho?

Btw, I headcanon the Couffaine family to be just ride or die, fuck the police, type of people because Juleka literally suggested kidnapping as "cool" and Anarka just straight up yelled at an officer because he won't let her children scream like there's no tomorrow (lol) so yeah Juleka swears in this one ://

Anyways so like I know it's been like what a month? yeah a month, but actually I've been writing an original and I'm actually currently trying to put more focus on that hahaha well like at least until I gain like a lot of chapters in advance so that when the time of posting it comes, I'll just be sitting back and waiting until my supplies of chapters run out lol

So yeah, didn't see that coming didya? (I'm sorry I just don't know what to say ㅠㅠ)

Btw, I just looked at my followers count (and I just did so because I'm using my computer and it's right there!) and wowie I've long passed 500????????

WHAT??????????

I just wanna say thank you for all the support and I love you and I genuinely don't know why y'all still follow me even tho I basically go MIA every damn week ♡〜٩( ╹▿╹ )۶〜♡

Go become a Patron if you want to have early access to different updates! :)

TAGLIST: [turns out I can still put a few people on the taglist,,, so it's not CLOSED,,, yet?????]

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