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bangtanfancamp · 2 years

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The Devil Wears Gucci ⬖ Part 6

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•summary:

As the dedicated personal assistant of the genius mind behind House of RM, the empire that rules the fashion industry, your world is turned upside down the day Kim Namjoon himself personally asks you to train his newest hire— the eternally insufferable Kim Taehyung.

•masterlist

•series masterlist

•pairing: Kim Taehyung x oc (feat namjoon)

•genre: enemies to lovers, slow burn, fast banter, devil wears prada au, fashion industry au, f*ckboi au, fluff, romance, slight angst

•word count: 4k of outbursts and emotional entanglements

•rating: this chapter- solid pg-13…. Not so far from now? Probably a mature rating.

•warnings: high banter, a few curse words, the fearsome aura of angry Namjoon, Taehyung being a butt, oc needing some anger management

•author’s note: it is entirely happenstance that this drops the day before Tae’s day of birth, but I’m going to claim it as an act of Army synchronicity a la Jung & Wallea Eaglehawk. I am so excited to post it. I started this in my drafts months ago, but needed to walk away so I could see it again with entirely fresh eyes. And you know what? I was happy with just a few tweaks. Enjoy bb’s. We all know this post will be voraciously re-edited over the next few weeks so get her while she’s hot- new fic fresh from the oven.

(Pic cred to @vantaholic)

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So here you are….

A week has flown by, and you’ve barely survived it.

Serena from Vogue has simultaneously been both your lifeline and a thorn in your side. You really wouldn’t have had the first clue where to start without her, but it’s been a crash course in surviving information overload all week. You’ve spent every waking second either drowning in her emails or pretending you have even the slightest clue what’s going on at all. “Event planner” wasn’t really a skill you’d anticipated adding to your resume prior to all this, but at this point, you could probably throw Kate Middleton’s next baby shower, and it would still be less stressful than this.

Every time you cross paths with Namjoon around the office, there’s a glimmer in his eyes that makes you shiver on a near molecular level. Something about his manner lets you know that even the slightest misstep with this whole event will most likely result in your termination. It’s a sobering thought to say the least—honestly, the tension is downright terrifying. It’s resulted in you taking every chance available to hide in the break room just to catch your breath.

Between Namjoon’s aura prophesying your imminent doom, Serena’s incessant emails, and your own anxiety, you feel fit to burst at any second.

In any other universe, this should have been an ideal situation to have an assistant in. A second in command you never hesitate to rely on. A helper you can trust.

Instead, the cosmos in all its infinite sarcasm has stuck you with Taehyung.

The thought alone is enough to make you sigh.

To no one's surprise, he’s been a petty, petulant little thing all week. Pouty every time you ask for his help. Resistant any time something is assigned to him. Adamant that nothing is ever his fault if it’s gone wrong and refusing to take accountability for any shred of it. It has driven you absolutely insane. You know the pressure on you is not Taehyung’s fault, but you also know that his repeated decisions to make even the smallest tasks difficult for you is a constant choice, and it makes you stark raving mad.

You know you’ve bitten his head off this week, but it’s only happened once or twice... every time you interact. Sigh. You know, you know. You’re not proud of it.

In any other circumstance, you might have been able to grit your teeth and deal with all his drama. Take it on the chin like a champ with an eye roll and a gag and keep swinging, but this week, the well of your patience is especially dry- not a single drop to give- but that sucker keeps showing up ready to collect anyway. He hasn’t necessarily been the worst version of himself, but if this is his best, god, you might need to retire before twenty-five.

You wished this wasn’t how it all panned out. You wish you were wrong: that you’d misjudged him all this time, that your rapport was now sparkling- friendship shiny and strong- but you haven’t, and it isn’t, and you doubt it ever will be.

The more he rubs you the wrong way, the more you snap at him. The more you snap at him, the more he goes out of his way to upset you. Back and forth. Rinse and Repeat. So on and so forth into infinity.

You suppose it was all bound to come to a head at some point.

You just wish you’d noticed sooner or noticed at all.

Maybe then you could have prevented what came next, or at the very least, could have braced for the storm.

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When the weekend for the Vogue gala finally arrives, you realize you’ve never been this eager for an event to be over before it’s even begun in your life. Once you’ve spent the morning poring over every last excruciating detail, all that’s left to do is tip the first few dominoes into place and let your worry fester. At this point, you’ve planned for every possible contingency. At least, you hope you have. It’s too late to change it all if you haven’t. What’s set in motion is set in motion.

Now all that’s left is to watch and see if all the pieces you’ve so painstakingly laid will fall into their proper place.

The entire day you’ve felt like a living, breathing google search result for nervous breakdown. You’ve been a jittery, shivery, high strung, frazzled mess no matter how many times you assure yourself that it’ll all be alright. After almost an entire day’s worth of effort, you’ve nearly managed to convince yourself that, hopefully, possibly, maybe, it really will all be okay. At least, you convince yourself of it enough to keep your lunch down. Most of the day, your tasks are executed without a hitch, and by 2pm, you finally start to believe that maybe the worst has passed. That the planning was the worst part, and this weekend will be okay.

It isn’t until late Friday afternoon that you realize your precious plan’s unraveling has already begun and it may be too late to stop it.

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“I cannot believe you screwed this up,” you grit through aggressively clenched teeth. It’s absurdly early on Sunday morning- only you, Taehyung and the crickets seem to be awake right now. An autumnal mist swirls around your ankles as you shoot a death glare your assistant’s way in the pre-dawn light.

“It was an easy mistake!” he defends.

“Oh, was it? Was it, Taehyung? Was ruining the front end of the biggest project of my entire career an easy mistake?”

“Jesus, you are so dramatic. Really, I still don’t get what the big problem is,” Taehyung shrugs flippantly, shooting an extra obnoxious eye roll to the heavens as he unceremoniously chucks your suitcase a little too roughly into the hatchback.

“The big problem is that we were supposed to fly in, Taehyung. Not drive. Do you have any idea how long it took for me to find a rental car that was available on such short notice? Not to mention, right before a holiday weekend? Thanksgiving is in four days! So you know what I had to do? I had to spend my whole Friday night and my entire Saturday calling rental agencies trying to fix this,” you dart a furious glare his way that he completely ignores.

“And yet you still found one-“

“That the company had to pay through the nose for, might I add.”

“Like Namjoon’s pocket’s couldn’t take the hit. Please,” Taehyung scoffs. “I’m sure that man doesn’t care one bit about holiday rental car rates. He just wants his press.”

“Not this again,” you exhaled, eyes rolling of their own volition. “I do not have the patience to endure you turning this into another one of your anti-Namjoon witch hunts. You’re the one who effed this up. Don’t you dare try to deflect this onto him. ”

“I don’t need to deflect,” he huffed indignantly. “Besides, You solved the problem like you always do because you’re impeccable, and we’ll still be there before everything starts, so I really don’t see why we’re still talking about this like the problem has no solution….Honestly, sometimes I think you just like having something to be mad at me about so you have an excuse to talk to me,” he winks, shoving your garment bag over top the suitcases in the backseat.

“You repugnant little- Hey! Be careful with that! It’s one of our sample gowns!’ You gasp, knocking him sideways to smooth out the garment bag. You certainly don’t have the capital to save anything if he ruined the organza stunner hidden inside. Shouting over your shoulder, you continue to scold him as you drape the bag gently across the backseat. “Taehyung, this isn’t an excuse to be mad at you. This is a legitimate reason to essentially be livid with you. Booking our flights was your responsibility so this is your fault!”

“I still got us the flights for the trip back though! It’s not my fault the airline goofed on the front end.” The nonchalance oozing out of him makes you want to throttle him.

“It is though, you see, because you were supposed to handle it. All of it. Not just pick and choose the parts you found fun. You were supposed to book in advance, confirm the flights and then check us in, but you didn’t so now I have to clean up your mess. There is enough on my plate this weekend without having to spend energy I don’t have compensating for your careless errors,” you grimace. “ I was supposed to arrive the day before so I could prep and get settled in, but noooo. Now, we’re up at the ass crack of dawn instead - on the day of the event- about to roll out on the worst road trip in history just to get there on time for event set up.”

You’re fuming. There are practically cartoon smoke stacks rising in vapors from your anger, yet Taehyung could not look less bothered.

“I see no reason to complain. Namjoon’s tickets were right. He’s still set to arrive on time, he won’t know anything about this, and we haven’t missed anything. Not really.”

“Stop justifying your nonsense, you little troll. This could have been an easy hour and a half flight with a mimosa in one hand and you six rows back from me while I basked in the ONLY tranquility I was supposed to have this weekend, but instead, I’m gonna be trapped in an overcrowded compact car with you for the next six hours!” you frown as the most indescribably irritating grin slides its way across Taehyung’s architectural face.

“Aww, baby girl, if you wanted to spend more time with me, you could have just asked from the start.” He reaches across to slide a finger down the angle of your cheekbone, winking intolerably as he does. In a flash, your hand reaches up to snatch his wrist away from your face as disgust and anger roll over you in waves.

“Okay, that? That is not a thing you’re gonna do on this trip,” you hiss, eyeing his admittedly massive hand currently clutched in your grip.

“I don’t know what you-“

“Can it,” you glare. “If you’re going to survive the next two days, there will be no flirting, no touching, and none of your generally douchey behavior. You are already this close to being my least favorite person on the planet; and I swear to God, Taehyung, if you tip me any further off balance, I will spend the rest of this weekend cleaning your blood out of the upholstery in this rental.”

His eyes go a bit wide at your outburst. Alarmingly, instead of snapping back with his usual venom or a salacious grin, he’s silent then for perhaps the first time since he froze you out after the wardrobe debacle. In a way, it startles you. Taehyung being quiet is an event you never quite know how to prepare for or recover from, and this moment is no different.

Your gaze flits up to look at him, just in time to catch something swirling in his eyes that you don’t have the first inclination how to read. As your breathing finally begins to settle, you realize you’re still clutching his wrist like a vice, which is when you, regrettably, also notice that Taehyung’s skin beneath your fingers is soft… so much smoother and so much softer than you ever would have anticipated. (Not that you’ve ever imagined such a thing.) In fact, You’re not sure why you even notice or what you’re supposed to do with this information now that you have.

The swirling feeling of being lost at sea doesn’t let up. Because at some point, you become distractedly aware of his pulse thumping wildly beneath your grip at a pace you don’t understand. Looking up, you find yourself stuck on corners and angles of him you don’t usually stop to notice.

Like the shroud of silver framing his eyes. The way his lashes are fluttering softly even as his brows pinch and his jaw tightens. The moment suddenly feels both too soft and too heavy to make any sense. His skin is too warm, his cologne is too sweet, and you’re far, far too close to each other. It’s all too much for your swimmy senses to handle.

When his unreadable gaze lifts to flit between your eyes, a smile creeps across his lips, sending a warmth you don’t understand blooming deep within your belly. You realize neither of you have spoken in so long that the air around you feels like it’s made of torched sugar. The kind that cracks the second Taehyung whispers a soft “Got it, boss lady,” without his gaze ever leaving your eyes.

It’s such a deep rumble at such a low, rich octave that you begin to imagine what fabric it might be made of if sound had a texture. A deep golden corduroy maybe, you think. Even a blood wine velvet. A thought that makes you furrow your brows as you attempt to ignore that you ever had it.

Taehyung’s hand begins to slip slowly out of your grip as some small part of you registers a reluctance to let him go that you don’t have time to fully process. Taehyung licks his lips as his eyes follow your movement, and a little zing illuminates your skin. This moment is lasting too long. It’s too weird, too intimate, too… pleasant. You have got to get out of it. What is happening to you?

“Just to be clear though - when you said I tip you off balance, did you mean it?” He asks calmly with devilish eyes. It’s almost intoxicating in a way it really shouldn't be.

“Huh?”

“Knew I’d get under your skin at some point, Jagi,” he grins. But it isn’t like his smile earlier, the one so open and real that it drew you in before you could catch yourself. No, this one is…It’s almost triumphant. Like this was all a game. It’s smarmy and insincere and settles on your tongue like milk that’s gone sour. Something about it breaks the spell and all that beautiful golden sugar shatters like glass in the dirt. It’s finally enough to help you remember where you are and who you’re with. It’s almost enough to make you disappointed.

“Why do you always have to… ugh. Car- now!” you snap.

“What?? You said it- I’m just getting a little clarity here!”

“For the love of God, get in the car and shut up, Taehyung, or I will make you shut up,” you bark.

Biting back your fury, you can’t bring yourself to look in his direction anymore. His audacity alone gives you a jolt of all the clarity you need to fully shirk out of whatever inexplicable haze you’d just been in. While stomping to the car though, you find yourself feeling off for reasons you can’t fully pinpoint.

When you’re finally far enough away from him to breathe in neutral space, you sigh, trying to wrap your head around it all. Trying to make sense of the maelstrom in your head. Why does he always make it so easy to hate him? And why is it so disappointing when he does ?

You swallow back your resignation, trying instead to focus on the overwhelming task ahead of you. It’s still early morning- there’s a lot more day ahead of you. Maybe this whole exchange was just a symptom of your sleep deprivation coming to a head. You tut at yourself for succumbing to whatever siren’s spell you were just under. Vengeful thing would have been kinder if she’d just drowned you by the rocks instead of letting you think, for even a fraction of a second, that Taehyung actually might…

No. Not now. There are more pressing matters now. You don’t know if there will ever be time for that. With a shake to clear your head, you reach to get in the car and get on your way. But just before your fingertips are mere centimeters from the driver’s side door, Taehyung is suddenly bumping you out of the way.

“Ah ah, you drove last time. It’s my turn. To shotgun with you,” he shoos, shoving you away by your shoulders. Palms too warm even through the down of your coat.

“Fine,” you huff in acceptance, trudging back around the car as you reel from the last few minutes, no drop of fight left in you.

Maybe you should just drop it. Let it be. Maybe you could at least catch up on some sleep before you dove headfirst into the weekend from hell.

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Taehyung dutifully takes over as both driver and playlist curator. Somewhere between the sounds of his favorite jazz trio and the hum of the open road, you find you’re fresh out of the energy to fight your tiredness as the weight of sheer exhaustion finally drags you into sleep. To your surprise, it's actually real sleep. The kind of rest that flutters between heavy and deep, and just below shallow. The kind where your dreams take on a life of their own.

Along the way, you have a hazy recollection of polaroid moments- a smooth voice akin to a lullaby, someone’s knuckle grazing along the curve of your cheek, a whispered goodnight too faint to be clear, but they all feel blurry, too out of focus at the seams to have been reality. Were they dreams? Were they memories?

You can’t be sure. But When you rouse a few hours later, you realize there’s a jacket laid over you- Taehyung’s jacket, to be precise --draped across you like a blanket. Was that the touch you’d remembered? The one you thought was a dream? His hand brushing your skin as he tucked you in?

The cologne on the lapel is smoky and sweet, oddly comforting. Some half awake part of you wonders if maybe his skin smells this nice too while the more alert part of you balks at the thought and shoves the idea all the way back into the fifth ring of hell you’re sure it came from. No level of sleep deprivation ever warrants whatever insanity just tempted you to press your nose to Taehyung’s neck to check to see if he also smelled like vanilla and cedar wood chips. What did this week do to you?

Beside you, Taehyung seems to notice you stirring. He slides his eyes your way as you shuffle in the passenger seat before softly announcing,“The princess wakes,” to no one in particular.

“Don’t call me that,” you frown, voice muffled by the dampening of post-sleep gravel. You can feel how ridiculous your face must look, half awake and fully cranky, but you can’t be bothered to change it. “How far out are we?”

“Just another hour or so. Might need to stop and stretch my legs soon though.” He shifts his long legs beneath him, his knees ungracefully knocking the bottom of the steering wheel as he does, teetering too close to where your hand rests on the seat. It causes your eyes to take a regretful journey down the length of his nicely toned legs stretching against the cut of his linen pants before you can catch yourself. You realize what's happening with a shock, and suddenly, there’s nothing more interesting than the open road. God, you need some coffee.

“Did I really sleep that long?” Distract, distract, distract. The topic must change, you think.

“Been a long week,” he shrugs, adjusting the music to the next song on his playlist. You take a second to analyze him and his sudden nonchalance, but you’re too tired to question.

“Who’s this?” You ask as you shuffle and stretch. A melancholy piano instrumental plays through the speakers backed by a groovy r&b beat- its catchy. Sexy and sad all at once.

“Finally figured out that bridge.”

Your brows scrunch as your groggy brain tries to piece together what he’s referring to until it hits you all at once. “Is this… the song you were playing at Namjoon’s?’

“The day I got framed for theft? Yeah,” he nods as you sigh.

“That was such a mess. I’m so glad it’s over now.” You glance out the window, unsure what to do with where the conversation has gone.

“I finished the arrangement before that show, by the way.”

“What sh… oh.”

A twinge of guilt pings in your belly. His show. The one he’d invited you to during the glorious stretch of that day when the two of you actually felt something more like friends. In the chaos and fallout that followed, you’d forgotten all about it, but Taehyung, it seemed, hadn’t.

“Oh, that- how did that go?” You mumble, too scared to meet his eyes.

“Fine. Better once I stopped moping and realized you weren’t going to show.”

His eyes never leave the road, and somehow that’s harder. Had he been… looking for you? You had no idea he’d even meant it when he asked you to come, let alone that your absence would make a difference. Suddenly the mysterious, additional ice in his bite in the aftermath of the Namjoon incident comes into clearer focus. He hadn’t just gotten chewed out by his boss or sold out by his coworker, he’d been let down by his friend, or whatever it is you were to him. Which was somehow worse.

The shame sticking in your throat makes it impossible to speak, but before you have to, Taehyung saves you from it by taking an exit and pulling up to a gas station off the side of the highway. When he parks, the air in the car is charged, tense in a way it doesn’t make sense for it to be. Like something else is happening but neither of you know how to say it.

Taehyung’s large hand grips the drive shaft as his gaze drifts in your direction, stopping before he can meet your eyes.

“You need anything from inside?” He asks, voice low.

“No, I’m fine,” you swallow, before he nods, his full lips in a glum line, and leaves the car, stretching his long limbs in the morning sun as he does. The fabric of his shirt creeps up, revealing a sliver of golden skin above his linen waistband. In a flash, you feel your cheeks heat in a way that feels like a blush as you tear your eyes away and slink further down into your seat.

You have no idea what’s going on with you.

You couldn’t explain it if you tried to.

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Tag list: @namjooningelsewhere @haliwithluvv

If there are more, pls message me and I’ll be happy to add you

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mcfiddlestan · 2 years

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Nosy Asks: 13, 14, 25, and 39

13: Biggest turn ons

Hmm...sense of humor is a big thing for me. Laughing is my favorite activity. I love making people laugh; if someone else can make me laugh, I'd probably fall in love. I was always crushing on the "class clown" kids. Intelligence without arrogance (Hiddles comes to mind😏)...like if you're funny, you're probably smart. And no lie, I really like nerds. Geeks. Fanboys/fangirls. Freak the fuck out about something, let it light up your eyes. I will adore you. Physically, though, my taste runs to curvy womens and husky mens. I like meat on them bones (and I don't wanna be The Fat One, lol).

14: Biggest turn offs

Arrogance. Being overly critical. Interrupting/talking over people. Just general obnoxiousness. Nothing physically really turns me off (tho super skinny ppl make me nervous, like I might break them). But I do tend to avoid Latinx men for no other reason than they remind me of my dad. And I don't like my dad, so. No thank you.

25: My idea of a perfect date

Dude, Idk. I've never been on a date. Idk what you're supposed to do on a date. The first thing my last ex and I did after meeting face to face was go to the nearest Tesco, buy a couple of £3 Meal Deals, find a place to sit (a stone bench in a churchyard near our hostel), eat, and talk. It was pretty cool. Something like that I guess? Maybe a museum date? Take me somewhere with a lot of history or books or something? lol idk.

39: My favorite ice cream flavor

Mmm mint chocolate chip! And it has to be green. None of this white mint shit.

Thanks for asking!

xoxo

Nosy Asks

#Nosy Asks #tdwg #asked and answered

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vanaera · 4 years

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Aaaww!!! The devil wears Gucci made me smile so much!!! Do you plan on continue it? Or it’s already discounted? Hope it doesn’t sound rude. But anyways love your fluff!!!

Yes hon, I am planning to have more parts for The Devil Wears Gucci! Jimin has yet to have character development and I haven't started yet in CEO!OC's character arc, although I already hinted some bits in the A Window to Your Heart. (We're not even in the quarter of the story hons!). I am still currently story board-ing the sequence of the events as I did a bit of mistake and jumped a few scenes when I posted the Christmas special, Baby It's Cold Outside. Nevertheless, it's just a minor mistake as it didn't totally mess up the parts of the series yet. (And I've been on a writing rut during the Holidays after uni crushed my writing soul so excuse my un-productiveness hehe).

Anyways, thank you for your support and appreciation for this series! I didn't know someone will actually enjoy me writing about reversed gender norms and the silly banters of OC and Jimin. Writing grumpy Jimin has always been a dream of mine and I also get to vent out my frustrations in uni, workload, and scheds through his character. Thank you so much fo this very big love!!!!

#fic: the devil wears gucci #TDWG #aera blushes #pretty anonie #thank you so much for the love uwu #i rarely get this much love so excuse my sappi-ness #i just feel so happy someone out there is reading tdwg #thank you for making my day #after days of total numbness and deprecating myself #i finally have more reasons to smile #☺️☺️☺️

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benehancock · 5 years

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Clouis

Final Season - Episode 3.

their short date

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kimchikai-sooshi · 5 years

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And all this time the Devil was NOT Ji 😱

If you know what I mean lol

Mind blowing fic .... ❤

🐻⌚🐧

#kyungsoo #jongin #kadi #kaisoo #kaisoo fanfic #tdwg #spoiler

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renasy · 5 years

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THE WALKING DEAD - THE FINAL SEASON

All this. It's worth it. But you want to know something I didn't tell you? I never had a plan. I never knew where we were going. I never knew anything. I just fought and fought and fought, and hope you didn't notice.

#tdwg #clementine twdg #aj twdg #telltale the walking dead #skybound games #young mom #big sis lil bro #My Gifs

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homieswithhades · 5 years

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Not to be that person but angry james is kinda hot 😳😳

#tdwg #twdg james #the walking dead game #twdg s4

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saturnmyg · 6 years

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The devil wears givenchy (2) | Min Yoongi

❝ You’re a therapist who one day gets a call from someone who claims to be satan asking for an appointment. On the day of the appointment you expect to see a teenager or someone in their mid twenties instead you’re met with a man in a screaming red suit whose hair and eyes are as dark as the night but with an attitude of a spoiled brat, he surely cant be satan. ❞

➵ paring: Satan! Yoongi x Therapist reader

➵ A/n: my tired dumbass forgot to add some of the stuff i wrote on my phone so i had to delete the pos and add it so the story makes sense

| warnings in this chapter : cursing, mention of death, unlawful arrest

Previous / Next

Masterlist

⤑ ⤑ ⤑ ⤑

‘’ma’am we’d like to question you on where you were yesterday when the murder happened next door‘'Asks the shorter of the two.

He has brown blondish hair with green eyes and a face that you instantly can tell that he used to, or maybe still is, a fuckboy/player. The taller, who has shoulder length hair and hazel eyes, meanwhile looks like a guy who'd apologize if someone else poured soup into his lap. Ever since you've opened the door he's been wearing this uncomfortable expression, which you cant blame him though, because right now you do look like a beast who's hibernation sleep was disrupted.

You stare at them blankly ‘’aren't you two too old to be playing pranks on people like this?’’

Almost as if they were expecting that answer, they simultaneously pull out their badges. ‘’Ma'am this is a serious issue, you have to come with us’’

One thing you've always have hated is the police. They were never there to help your family, and as a drug dealer you saw how unjust they acted. Putting your friends into jail while the rich brats who committed serious crimes only got sentenced to be on a six month parole.

Basically they're bastards in your eyes and nothing will ever convince you otherwise.

‘’Do you have a warrant?’’ you ask raising your eyebrow

‘’Thats not importan-’’

‘’It is’’ you interrupt ‘’unless you have a warrant you cant take me anywhere , go check the camera footages of the places I've been i'll even give you the number of various people that can testify that i was at work during that time.’’

The shorter police officer pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs deeply before looking at the taller one. They nod at each other and the hairs on your neck raise at that action. Before you can even jump back the taller one grabs you by the arms twists them behind your back and you feel the cold metal of the handcuffs on your skin. He grips your arm so tight you're sure it will leave bruises later on. As he drags you out of your apartment the shorter one comes to your right side and gives you a pitiful look.

''Sorry lady we're just doing our job''

Sighing deeply, you glare at the one still holding your arm. For a second the thought of how you could you sue them with the claim that the unlawful arrest traumatized you and how you could make some pretty good money, flashes through your head. But you decide to not do that, there's no reason to get into more trouble with the police than you already are in. Also the claim wouldn't even work because you we're pretty aggressive from the get go, meaning that the judge would've instantly known that you're trying to scam them, which would result in either jail time or a hefty fine.

You huff slightly as the taller one harshly pushes you into the car while the other one already gets into the passengers seat. The car smells like vomit mixed with baby powder and you're disgusted. You're pretty sure these guys have never cleaned the car throughly and a shiver runs down your spine just at thought of whatever you could be sitting in.

Giving up, you lean your head forwards and close your eyes. Slowly counting from a hundred to one while in the background some country song is playing which only adds to your misery.

Twenty minutes later you're escorted into the busy police department. The color of the walls reminds you of vomit, literally, its a bleached out neon yellow that contrasts too much with the green metal bars of the cells that are on the right side of the room.

Looking around you see that at least you're not the only ''criminal'' who looks raggedy. Just like you most of the accused ones getting interrogated have the same annoyed expression on and you sigh deeply.

The police officer behind you pushes you towards a table where a muscular back is faced in your direction.

‘’Jeon’’ the officer on your right calls out and the person at the desk turns around. He's a doe eyed man with a strong nose. He seems to be in his early twenties, sporting a coconut hairstyle, which weirdly suits him.

‘’Suspect of the case from yesterday night’’ The other office speaks up and pushes you down on the chair.

Jeon looks down at you and raises his eyebrows, not expecting to see someone in their pajamas, who looks like they have been through hell and back. He nods and the other police officers leave, the taller one with the shaggy hair , puts his hand on your shoulder as if to comfort you or maybe say goodbye, you aren't sure. Though you do feel disgusted that he touched your for more than it was necessary and you shrug his hand off you.

The noise of the chair scrapping along the floor rips you out of your concentration and you look over to where jeon is sitting. Theres a dumb grin on his face as he's opening the files on the table and you're instantly ticked off. This guy hasn't even talked yet and you already wanna strangle him, his whole demeanor screams of someone whose lowkey a know it all and is smug about it.

‘’It’s not everyday you see a criminal in satin pajamas’’ Jeon speaks up ,pointing at your clothes ‘’but really though, it looks like you have a lot of money, so what in the hell are you doing killing people out here, got bored with life? needed more actio-’’

‘’I want to speak to my lawyer’’ you interrupt looking at him with a blank face. Besides the fact that they detained you with no rightful claims ,you also have to deal with this frat boy looking guy whose three braincells seem to be struggling to even get him to breath normally.

So you're going to call your good friend , Jung Hoseok.

Jeon sighs as if he already expected you to say that, turns the phone on the desk so that it faces you. ‘’go ahead.’’

After dialing the number you look at the clock and see that its 10 am and silently pray that Hoseok picks up the phone. Since he usually sleeps like the dead till late afternoon on weekends you're not sure if he'll even hear the phone ring. It wouldn't surprise you though if he didn't pick it up, cause this wouldn't be the first time he basically left you for the dead.

Looking up you see Jeon still sitting on the other side of the desk and raise an eyebrow. ‘’Can i have some privacy?’’

The young police officer doesn't answer and clicks his tongue instead before getting up and walking into another room that seems to be the department's kitchen ,and you turn your focus back to the phone.

After the fifth ring you hear a click and a deep groggy voice bark into the phone ‘’what?’’

‘’Hey’’ you drag the word out ‘’its me y/n-’’

‘’Yes i guessed that by your voice, what do you want?’’

‘’So remember how you said you'd help me if i ever was arrested? so uhh so apparently your time to shine has come’’ you almost stutter out. Its not that you're afraid of Hoseok but lets just say no one talks to him in the morning until he's in a better mood. For whatever reason he always wakes up really pissed and snaps at anyone in his vicinity and from the looks of it , you're the victim today.

You hear a thud and then bedsheet rustling and you put your hand in front of your mouth to block out the snicker that escapes your mouth.

‘’you almost made me fall out of bed, what in the hell did you do now? don't tell me you finally killed that boy from the bakery, you know that there are-’’

‘’Jesus christ Hoseok, no!’’ you interrupt and sigh deeply ‘’you know the boys next door? they got murdered and now I'm at the police station because these idiots think I've done it, despite having no actual backup for that claim.’’

‘’An unlawful detention’’ Hoseok states and you can practically see him furrowing his brows.

''basically, so i need your help, please i'll even buy you those space shuttle looking ass shoes you want’’ you plead

‘’They're called Balenciagas have some respect, but give me twenty minutes and ill be there, its the police department thats around twenty minutes from your place?’’

‘’God i could kiss you right now, and yes it is, seriously thank you’’ you sigh

‘‘Gross’‘ Hoseok says and you can hear the disgust in his voice , and he hangs up.

While you're waiting for Hoseok to arrive ,you continue to look around the police department. The man behind the green bars is now awake, his body swaying to the tune he's singing, while he has this dumb grin on that every drunk person has at some point, and you turn away . On the walls you notice there a pictures scattered of the officers that work in this department, some with quotes underneath that say something along the lines of ''have fun with life!'', as if to make it seem like this is a cool and peppy place to be.

Grimacing you look away, let out a quiet ‘’yikes’’ while raising your eyebrows before your eyes fall on the small corner section thats the department kitchen. You see Jeon leaning against the counter, his head low as he's starring at his phone whole the other hand is holding a bitten bagel. To your horror you see that he's eating it straight with no dressing or whatsoever and you wanna scream out loud.

Before you can even say anything, the little bells on the main entrance jingle and you turn your head to see Hoseok frantically walking towards you. His whole appearance is disheveled as he stands in front of you heaving like an asthmatic chain smoker , before taking a chair and sitting down next to you.

‘’I want the premium ones’’ Hoseok speaks up not letting you greet him ‘’so tell me what happened’’

‘’The boys next door got murdered’’

‘’Where were you during that time?’’ Hoseok asks

‘’Look i don't know what time they died, when i came home i could hear the music still blasting’’

‘’Tell me yesterday's schedule then’’ Hoseok continues

‘’I woke up the usual time, which is around six thirty, went to work and stayed there till seven, then went to the convenient store thats the closest to my place because i’m a dumbass who still hasn't bough her groceries and went home’’ you answer.

‘’Any witness?’’

‘’Secretary Kim’’ is your immediate answer ‘’he was there the whole day and there should be camera footage that we can use, oh and the girl at the cash register from the convenient store, her name is Hyunjin or something like that, she has turquoise hair’’

Hoseok taps his finger against his cheek multiples times before he gets up and loudly says ‘’Whose the officer overseeing my client?’’

Several heads turn to face you two at hoseok's question and you see Jeon walking towards you. ‘’Thats me’’

Hoseok scrutinizes Jeon , a displeased expression on his face before he stretches out his arm and points at you ‘’why was my client detained?’’

‘’She's under investigation for possible murder’’

‘’An unlawful arrest’’ Hoseok counters

Jeon crosses his arms over his chest and rolls his eyes ‘’Its not unlawful she-’’

‘’Do you have any evidence that she's the murderer?’’ Hoseok interrupts

‘’No but we're looking for i-’’

‘’So you're telling me you handcuffed her, dragged her to this place ,despite the fact that she already answered the officers question at her home ,and you don't even have one shred of evidence that could link her back to the boys besides that she was their neighbor?’’ Hoseok raises an eyebrow

‘’We didn't want her to have the possibility to run away’’

‘’She would have been gone by the time the police had arrived’’ Hoseok retorts, clearly annoyed ‘’meanwhile until they have finished checking the camera footage we will deny every accusation'' he continues and kind of slams his hand down on the table ''If this investigation lasts longer than 36 hours we will file a civil suit for unlawful restraint and a violation of her civil liberties’’

Jeon just sighs deeply , tongues his cheek before he walks away, clearly not having any of this but you don't feel bad for him. Thats what he gets for even deciding to work in the police force.

Hoseok sits down again and sighs deeply ‘’you have some of the worst karma ive ever seen’’

With a wry smile you hold up your handcuffed hands ‘’i mean , you could say i’m living my orange is the new black fantasy’’

‘’ha ha ha’’ Hoseok laughs monotone ‘’But seriously though this is a fucked up situation and I've seen the type of shit you have done’’

Hoseok is kind of an childhood friend. Hoseok's father worked as as a lawyer for your ex boss, until he died of an incurable illness and Hoseok was taken under the bosses wing. Even as a child Hoseok already had a brilliant and eccentric mind, which he used in helping them with lawsuits. Never actually participated in court since he was a minor and couldn't act as an attorney. He then continued to go to college to study criminal justice and graduated on top of his class. Till today his clients consists of gang members in which he impressively has won many cases.

But then again this is Hoseok we’re talking about, he's slick as a whistle.

After you left ,you and Hoseok kept in touch, mainly because you were paranoid that something would happen and you'd end up in the exact situation you currently are in. Although for some reason Hoseok refuses to accept cash from you, and instead wants you to buy him stuff that he either cant afford or doesn't want to spend money on.

‘’Let me just do the paper works then’’ Hoseok murmurs , picks up the suit case ,puts it on his knees and opens it before taking out a file. Taking the mechanical pencil from his brown suit pocket and tapping it against the paper.

...................

Its been four hours since you arrived at the police station. Bored out of your mind you stare at your cuffed hands and try to move them. You wince at the sharp pain on your wrist and sigh. At this point you've already went through the seven stages of grief and currently you're at dissociation. Hoseok, who has finished the paper works, is meanwhile starring intensively at his phone like he's trying to solve the Da Vinci code.

Tapping your foot against the floor in a fast rhythm , you turn your head towards the main entrance just to see the two police officers from earlier strolling in.

‘’The footage shows that you're not the criminal’’ The taller one says while the smaller one roughly yanks your hands towards him.

‘’Careful’’ you bark out and hiss when the cuffs fall from your wrists. Slowly you rotate your hands, stretching out your fingers as your lets your joints crack.

‘’Are you the officers that arrested her?’’ Hoseok asks and gets up to stand next to you.

‘’yes’’ the taller one responds

‘’What are your names?’’ Hoseok asks, picking up the notepad from the table.

‘’Jesse and Roscoe Fitzgerald’’

‘’I see’’ Hoseok says ‘’brothers huh’’ he continues to scribble his number down, clicks his mechanical pencil twice and you're not sure if you're just seeing things or if for a millisecond the butt of the pencil really just glimmered red.

Hoseok rips off the page and hands it to the officers ‘’you will be hearing from me shortly’’ and puts his hand on your back between your shoulder blades and softly pushes you towards the entrance.

The minute you're outside in the parking lot you turn towards hoseok with an expression of disbelieve and laughter ‘’did you really just video tape them?’’

Hoseok just glances at you and opens the car door ‘’this thing has been recording everything ever since i stepped a foot into that place’’

‘’That's illegal’’ You say, and get into the passengers seat

‘’Not when it can be used for court’’ he replies and fixes the rear view mirror.

⤑ ⤑ ⤑ ⤑

‘’Thank you for coming on such a short notice’’ Yoongi says, his hands clasped behind his back. ‘’As you've noticed we're basically drowning in work, which is why i came up with this idea’’ He presses the button on the small remote control in his hand and a blue print of an abandoned building appears on the wall behind him.

‘’Fifth’’ Yoongi addressees the fifth judge.

The fifth judge is a tall broad man, with a dark beard and round face that comically gives out his kind disposition. Originally he was the first judge but then got transferred to be the fifth for being too lenient on the souls.

‘’I heard your hall and tenth’s are the only places that aren’t having troubles’’

The judge sighs loudly ‘’i wouldn't say that’’ he answers with a groggy voice ‘’its thanks to my assistant that we can minimize the work but there's always something going wrong, cant speak for tenth though’’

‘’Well thats normal’’ the first speaks up ‘’we’ve always had a lot of work to do’’

‘’Doesn't mean its necessary’’ Yoongi replies and faces the projection behind him ‘’This is one of the warehouses that's currently empty, this is where we'd put the new interns in’’

‘’We don't have the time to train them’’ The first judge continues. The first judge unlike the fifth, is a small man with a stern face and a white goatee beard. Yoongi particularly dislikes him mainly because he's always opposing his ideas but then never actually comes up with any solutions.

Basically acts typically like every old person.

Yoongi closes his eyes for a second, noticing that his anger is growing and counts to ten before he continues. ‘’I was getting to that part’’ and sends the elderly man a pointed look. ‘’We'll have to sacrifice multiples of our workers and work overtime for a while, but they would be training the interns’’

‘’What if they suddenly quit?’’ The tenth speaks up.

‘’thats a good question’’ Yoongi replies ‘’the whole training program would be an insight on what their job would be like, of course there'd be different sections to fit each of the ten departments but-’’

‘’That way they could decide to quit beforehand and spare us from wasting time’’ she continues

‘’Exactly’’ Yoongi points at the papers laying on the table before each judge. ‘’If you look on the paper you'll see that the estimate of workers that each of us would have to send is around 30 to 40 percent’’

‘’How long will the building be ready for the trainee's’’ The first judge asks

‘’Maximum six months, we'll have to come up with the training plan, the building needs to be renovated too, plus we need to find demons who are willing to work’’ Yoongi answers.

‘’Speaking of demons’’ The tenth judge speaks up. He's a fairly tall man with umber colored skin and a goatee like beard but only that he doesn't have the mustache. Yoongi doesn’t work with him as much as with the others mainly because the tenth is the last one to send the souls up to heaven, meaning he has the least amount of workload.

‘’What are we going to do about the demons that are going rampant here and in the human world?’’

‘’technically seen our duty is only to judge the souls’’ the voice of the seventh judge is heard, a huge red fan hiding most of her face. Its been said that the seventh judge is a beauty but no one has actually ever seen her face. ‘’ the only one who has enough power to discipline and who the demons will actually listen to is you’’ she points a dainty finger at Yoongi

‘’Ill deal with that later’’ Yoongi answers ‘’but thats it for today, please carefully read the documents and make your preparations as fast as possible.’’

The judges stand up , bow slightly before leaving the meeting room.

The percent of the demons rampaging in the human world has skyrocketed in the last few weeks. Its like as if they're all looking for the same thing, treasure hunt style. A competition on who gets ,whatever it is they're looking for, the fastest. And honestly its been stressing yoongi out.

‘’I guess the meeting went well?’’ a honey voice echoes through the room and yoongi turns around to see his advisor leaning against the door frame. Its Park Jimin, a demon with looks that rivals any model, to the point where if he didn't have a single horn coming out of his forehead Yoongi would have thought that he's an incubus.

‘’Beardy was trying to argue again’’ Yoongi replies while rolling his left shoulder

‘’Thats because he's old’’ Jimin says ‘’you tend to lose or not care about how you come off to other people the older you get, which by the way reminds me i forgot to ask how the counseling session went’’

Yoongi glances at Jimin ‘’besides the fact that the counselor looked like a teacher who works in a private christian boarding school , it was good’’

Jimin raises his eyebrows at the description ‘’well at least she did her job’’

‘’She sure did’’ Yoongi answers and picks up the document from the table before walking up to Jimin ‘’she's actually the one who came up with the whole training regiment, she unexpectedly has a sharp business insight’’

Jimin hums as he's walking next to yoongi down the hallway ‘’she'd be a great addition to have’’

‘’Already asked her that she declined’’ Yoongi counters and they round the corner ‘’don't think you're off the hook though''

‘’Why?, her methods clearly are functioning since you've haven't blown up yet’’ Jimin answers with a smug smile

‘’Yeah cause the counseling was literally a day ago’’ Yoongi rolls his eyes

‘’Thats a miracle considering you'd blown up if you didn't find your pencil in 3.5 seconds’’ Jimin replies and opens the door to Yoongi's office

Yoongi's office is elegant. One side of the room has a dark wooden wall which is where the heavy mahogany desk is. Yoongi actually wanted to put an indoor waterfall by that wall but jimin stopped him, saying that there would be no use for it anyways and it would just cost unnecessary amount of money, counting out the water bill that would come cause of the constant stream.

Yoongi finds the room gorgeous, jimin on the other hand finds it looks too much like an office of a mob boss that you'd see in a movie. The only thing thats missing would be an old vinyl player ,playing some classical music, probably something that would match the cliché decor and vibe, like Shostakovich's string quartet no.8

‘’Cause theres a regiment that needs to be followed which you all clearly aren't’’ Yoongi replies and walks over to his desk.

‘’Anywho’’Jimin ignores Yoongi's reply ‘’the meeting with the heads of the cold hell has been postponed because of a blizzard’’

⤑ ⤑ ⤑ ⤑

‘’They did what?’’ your friend Jieun slams her hand on the table.

You're sitting in a dainty little coffee thats located in the shopping centre. The whole decoration is cutesy and pink. White abstract cupid angels that are made out of pipes are hanging on the wall. In the background a poppy song is playing. , that sounds like its from kyary pamyu pamyu,

This whole environment really isn't your style. Not that you hate pink or anything, you get why it appeals to people but its just not up your ally. The only thing that looks cute to you are the uniforms the waitresses are wearing ,which color combination are pink and orange with small peaches on the apron on the skirt.

Your friends like to joke and say that you're kind of like a modern day morticia addams, which to some extent you are in the way that you basically only wear black but if the real morticia would see your apartment she'd probably have a heart attack.

Just like anyone else who walks into your place for the first time

But after yesterdays mishap, or lets just say arrest, Hoseok drove you home and the minute you stepped into your apartment, the fatigue caught up on you and you feel asleep instantly. To which you woke up at three o'clock in the night and basically fucking up your whole sleeping schedule.

‘’Stop shouting’’ you hiss at Jieun ‘’people are already starring’’

‘’Whatever’’ Jieun waves her hand dismissively ‘’So they just dragged you to the police department like some sort of dog?’’

‘’Yup’’ you answer and take a sip of your smoothie

‘’And they only let you go after four plus hours, with the ‘’ups my bad haha’’ excuse?’’

You nod

‘’How are you not outraged?’’ Jieun asks bewildered ‘’you're planning to do something against them right?’’

‘’Jieun’’you sigh ‘’clearly i'm going to do something cause uh, fuck the police , but at the same time its out of my hands cause hoseok is in the picture’’

‘’Hoseok?’’ Jieun tilts her head ‘’what did he do now?’’

‘’Apparently the pencil in his suit pocket was video taping everything the moment he stepped into the police station, so i assume he's using that as evidence or whatever’’

A grin overtakes Jieun's expression and she leans back into her seat ‘’that slick ass motherfucker’’

Jieun's appearance is misleading. She has red dyed hair, freckles and a gummy smile ,that makes her look like an angel, yet she swears like a sailor. Hell even her mannerism are something that society deems as ''unladylike''. But thats something you love about her, she's always straight up without actually being hurtful but also respects peoples choices. You met her in college actually, she was your tutor in your senior year and its basically thanks to her that you manage to graduate with good grades, you continued to stay in contact and thats how you two became best friends.

‘’By the way’’ You speak up ‘’how's work?’’

‘’Ugh don't remind me’’ Jieun groans ‘’the models we're currently working with are even more stuck up than you and keep barking commands at us like we're maids’’

‘’Well have you talked to their manager?’’ you ask ignoring the dig at you.

‘’What can he do? he's a wimpy guy and they don't listen to him, i honestly feel bad for the guy but sometimes i wanna snap on him’’ she answers and takes a bite off her cake

‘’Is it too late to change the models?’’ you ask

‘’Mhm yeah pretty much , since the clothes fit them quite well and we don't have the time to get the rejected models since we have to meet the deadline.’’

‘’Sounds tough’’ you hum

‘’Well its whatever’’ Jieun replies and shrugs her shoulders '' besides yesterday’s fuckery whats been going on with you?’’

‘’nothing much, been thinking of redecorating my place’’

''Good, sorry but that place looks like forever twenty one designed it and i honestly don't know how you haven't lost your mind cause of it’’

you shake your head and laugh ‘’oh but this will sound weird as hell but i have been noticing something’’

‘’Oh?’’ Jieun raises an eyebrow and leans in close

‘’So basically lately I've been encountering people that have this really off vibe’’ you start

''Off vibe?''

‘’Yeah , like soulless you know? They have this vacant look in their eyes, even if they're smiling and it sends a shiver up my spine, and then on top of that they are good looking but to the point where its creepy.’’

''Oh wow'' Jieun replies

‘’Like i ordered a pizza few days ago, cause i forgot to buy groceries again, you know the usual- ‘’

‘’Thats a bad habit'' Jieun interrupts and points at you

''Yeah well i'm here for a good time not a long time’’ you answer and roll your eyes ‘’anyways so the delivery guy finally arrives and i kid you not he had the exact same vibe, as a matter of fact he's the first one i noticed who has that whole ''thing'' going on.’’

‘’So?’’

‘’so i accidentally touched his hand when i gave him the money and his skin was cold’’

‘’Maybe he just has a low body temperature’’ Jieun says and cuts a piece of the cake with her fork

‘’No jieun you don't understand, it was cold like a dead body’’

Jieun stops in her tracks and slowly looks up to you ‘’how do you know how cold a dead body is?’’

‘’Whatever thought is in your head get it out okay’’ you wave your hand dismissively ‘’his temperature was so low as if he died of hyperthermia ,it was honestly creepy and disgusting’’

‘’So-’’ Jieun puts the fork down and counts off her fingers ‘’vacant stare, too good looking to the point of creepiness, cold body, what else?’’

‘’Sleazy personality or full on listless’’ you continue

‘’Sounds like a demon to me’’ she says and continues to eat.

Another thing about Jieun is that she has always been intrigued by otherworldly beings, such as angles, aliens, you name it, she’ll probably have the whole wikipedia site memorized.

you blink at her ‘’sure right and i'm Mary the virgin’’

‘’Literally every description of a demon is that they're good looking, yet soulless and they give off this vibe of uneasiness. so yeah I'm pretty sure that were demons’’ Jieun says and you can see it on her face that she totally believes whats coming out of her mouth.

‘’Lets hypothetically say they're demons , what would they even be doing in the human world?’’ you ask leaning against the table

Jieun shrugs her shoulders ‘’i don't know, kill humans? look for souls? who knows’’

A memory of yoongi ranting about demons going rampant flashes through your head and you shake the thought off, he was just using religion as a metaphor right? though you did notice how weird he acted at the end of the session.

‘’Anyways’’ you say, deriving from the topic ‘’i need new clothes so lets go before the shop close’’

‘’Aight let me just finish this cake and we can go’’ Jieun says and stuffs a big piece into her mouth.

Snorting at how her cheeks protrude out, you get up and walk over to the counter. Behind the counter stands a woman in your age, thats listless scrolling through her phone. Her whole posture contradicts with the place, almost as if she's tired being here but you don’t blame her, instead you clear your throat to get her attention. Slowly she raises her head and her eyes widen big as saucers when she sees you and she puts the phone instantly down.

‘’I'm so sorry!’’ she says with a panicked expression, probably afraid that you're going to have her call her manager out and complain about the customer service

‘’No no its alright’’ you smile and wave your hand dismissively ‘’id like to pay though’’

While you're telling the cashier what you and jieun ordered, jieun gets up from the table, collects the trays and puts them on the rack that is close by and walks over to where you are standing.

‘’Have a nice day'' the cashier says and Jieun smiles before winking at her ‘’you too’’

You who saw the whole ordeal just rolls your eyes , grabs her arm and drag her out of the shop.

‘’Damn can a girl flirt?’’ Jieun grumbles

You let go of her arm ‘’no, we all know that you shouldn't flirt with people working in customer service that shit is creepy’’

‘’That shit is creepy’’ Jieun mocks you ‘’thats because you're stuck up, a prude, a vir-’’

‘’Im not a virgin'' you interrupt and glare at her

‘’Are you sure?’’ Jieun raises her eyebrows ‘’why else would you dress like a modern day goth kid that used to listen to MCR or panic at the disco’’

‘’Okay first of all panic at the disco isn't exactly emo-’’

‘’They wrote one pop song and that was for big hero six and suddenly its not emo?’’ Jieun interrupts, a grin growing on her face‘’ you just proved my point''

You nudge her ‘’i don't want to hear that from someone who listens to Lana del rey and suddenly thinks they're a witch, what are you, 18?’’

Jieun just pats you on the shoulder and shakes her head ‘’not everyone has a shitty music taste like you but thats okay! humans are meant to be individuals!’’

Offended you lean away from her ‘’rude’’

Jieun just laughs, shakes her head and walks into a store that looks like they sell clothes for kids in their early twenties.

You sigh deeply and call out to Jieun, whose already inspecting black cargo pants with a long belt on it. ‘’ you do realize we're in our thirties right?’’

‘’I should be saying that with the way you dress, i'm going to make you an outfit and you're going to try it out’’ Jieun answers without even looking at you, takes a pair of the black pants and scurries to another corner of the store.

Meanwhile you're sitting on one of the small square seat that are scattered across the store and wait for your best friend to return with whatever outfit, you just hope its not colorful.

Madonna's song music is playing in the background and you're instantly catapulted back to 2000. Once your friend ,whom you rarely visited because she lived right next to your grandmother, forced you to watch the music video and after some time even you got into it and started to dance. Which on the other hand surprised your friend because she thought you'd be one of those awkward teens who had no rhythm instead you turned out to be someone who could bust out some serious moves.

‘’Okay so’’ Jieun reappears and rips you out of your thoughts. To your relief you see that the bundle of clothes she's holding are all pretty much black, though you do spot a dark green and and a checkered gray. ‘’Try these out and if they look good we'll take them''

You raise your eyebrows ‘’and i don't get a say in this?’’

‘’Hell no, otherwise you'd walk out of this place looking like a nun, and i mean like literally.’’ Jieun replies, shoves the bundles of clothes into your arms and pushes you towards the dressing rooms. Pulling the curtain close behind you, you set the garments on the small chair and strip out of your clothes.

Few minutes later you rip the curtain aside, a mixture of shock and perplex on your face. ‘’Really?’’

Jieun whose been starring at her phone finally looks up and her face lights up at your outfit. You're wearing a sleeveless crop top turtleneck and the black cargo pants from earlier. ‘’What? you look good in the outfit and i made sure its black too’’

''I mean yeah its aight b-''

‘’So whats the problem now’’ Jieun interrupts, sighs and gets closer to you

''the problem'' you continue and give her a pointed look ''is that i’m old and you got me out here dressed like some insta faux goth girl , it even has the hoop chain look!’’

‘’You do realize you have the a baby face right?, you look barely 22 and thats only if you're wearing makeup’’ Jieun replies and pinches your cheek. ‘’who did you kill to get those genes?’’

You pry her fingers away from your face ‘’thats why i have to dress my age how else will people take me serious’’

Jieun gives you a skeptic look ‘’i can guarantee you're already not getting taken serious with your usual get up’’

Instead of verbally replying you just roll your eyes and go back into the dressing room.

After you've tried out all the outfits jieun coordinated for you, you begrudgingly take them to the register. As the cashier is ringing up the items you look around the shop and see a guy standing right behind you in line. As you take in his beautiful features, a slow wave of panic and shiver overcomes you and you nudge jieun.

‘’Look’’ you hiss

Jieun lazily follows your field of view and shrugs her shoulders when she sees the man ‘’not my type’’

‘’of course not you're a les-, thats not the point what i mean is he has the same off vibe like all the other ones i told you about’’

At that jieun looks closer and her face suddenly pales and she looks back at you ‘’thats a fucking demon’’

‘’Clearly he's human'' you say and inch closer to her ‘’but i wouldn't be surprised if i hear about him tomorrow in the news’’

‘’Your total is 129.90′’ The voice of the cashier interrupts. You take out your purse and hand him the money. Not even waiting for him to bag your clothes ,you quickly stuff them into the plastic bag thats on the counter, disregard the weird look the cashier is giving you and grab your best friend by the arm. ''lets go''

Jieun just nods and with few long steps you're out of the store. You're not sure why exactly you're reacting like this, its almost as if your whole entire being is cornered by a predatory animal and theres no way to escape from it.

‘’Im 99.99999 % sure this guy is a demon’’ Jieun says ,heaving as she's having trouble keeping with your long strides.

‘’Speaking of demons ‘’you slow down your pace ‘’i got a letter today from the local shrine where my grandmother used to live and they want me to visit them tomorrow wanna tag along?’’

‘’God yes’’ Jieun replies ‘’i'll ask them to do a purification on me just to be save’’

‘’i’m finishing tomorrow at six, do you want me to pick you up from work or will you already be at home?’’ you ask

‘’Workplace’’ jieun answers ‘’by the time you're there most of the work will already be done’’ She nudges you ‘’ will you wear one of the outfits we bought?’’

‘‘Come on’‘ you groan ‘‘thats disrespectful to visit the shrine looking like that’‘

‘‘God has seen your ass naked many times , so i don’t think its that disrespectful to show up with a little bit of your stomach showing’‘ Your best friend deadpans.

‘‘So god is into voyeurism?’‘ you raise your eyebrows. Just the thought of some otherworldly being watching everything you do , is creepy as hell to you.

‘‘And i’m the disrespectful one?’‘ Jieun gasp and slaps you on the shoulder ‘‘He just watches you’‘

‘‘So if he’s watching me how is he looking after all the other humans then?’‘

Jieun shrugs her shoulders ‘’ maybe he has like a billion eyes or something’’

You shake your head ‘’ how did we go from a friendly man to some sort of creepy being that probably belongs into one of H.P lovecraft’s books’’

‘‘Lovecraft was a terrifying being’‘ Jieun says ‘‘ i mean have you seen how he looks? that guy constantly had this weird expression on, as if he starred into the abyss and found something that no human should have ever discovered’‘

‘‘You talk like you’re a vampire who has actually met him’‘ you counter

‘‘If i were id have make sure to get turned into one by the age of 22 so i could avoid having wrinkles, wouldn’t want to end up looking like Carlisle cullen ’’Jieun says and puts one hand on her cheek

‘‘Carlisle is supposed to be 23 in the movies’‘

Jieun turns her head and looks shocked at you ‘’Oh Jesus christ they did they character so so wrong ,because that man looks like moldy cheese’’

‘‘Jieun’‘ you snort and hit her on the arm ‘‘don’t be disrespectful’‘

Jieun just laughs and pushes you into another store

⤑ ⤑ ⤑ ⤑

‘‘The next appointment will be in a week’‘ you say to the elderly woman ‘‘would you like us to remind you on monday morning?’‘

‘’ yes dear’‘ she answers and smiles ‘‘ such a hard working gal , you youngsters have it hard nowadays but remember to always take a break, alright?’‘ and puts an boney hand on your arm.

‘‘Of course ‘‘ you smile and see her out.

Closing the door behind you , you walk over to where secretary Kim is sitting and lean on the reception desk ‘’Next monday on two o’clock for miss davenport’’

‘‘Noted’‘ Secretary kim answers and looks up. ‘‘I’m not trying to pry into your private life but-’‘

You sigh ‘’ its about those police officers right?’’

‘‘Correctly’‘ he answers and pushes the glasses on his face up

Not wanting to go through all the bullshit of explaining it to someone again you just quickly summarize it ‘’ they basically accused me of murder and then it turned out that i was not the murderer’’

Secretary Kim just raises his eyebrow and gives you a skeptic look, almost as if he’s judging you. Taken back by the expression on his face, you furrow your brows and lean back , tilting your head ever so slightly.

‘‘Anyways’‘ you continue braking off the tense silence that was hanging in the air for a few seconds ‘‘i’m clocking out’’

‘‘See you tomorrow’’ Secretary Kim replies and goes back to starring at the monitor.

You walk back to your office, shut your laptop off, not before saving the documents and put on your Jacket. After wrapping your scarf around your neck you pick up your purse, shut the lights off and walk out of your office. Checking your phone for the time you notice that you’re slightly late on schedule and almost run out of your workplace. Not even bothering to wait for the elevator to come you walk down the stairs in long strides hoping that you wont fall and bust your head open, which has happened once before

Finally arrived at the parking lot you walk towards your car. Opening the vehicle’s door you carelessly throw your purse into the backseat, take your phone out of your pocket before connecting it via bluetooth to the stereo. After choosing a song from your spotify , you put it onto the dashboard and drive off.

Twenty minutes later you arrive at the location Jieuns having the photoshoot. You notice that your best friend is nowhere to be seen so you just continue to chill in the car waiting for her to show up. You’ve only made the mistake once where you disturbed her during a shooting and just the sheer thought of having to experience the scolding from that day makes you have goosebumps.

‘‘How loud are you going to have the music blasting in this car’‘ Jieuns voice rips you out of your thoughts and you jump in surprise

‘‘Are you trying to kill me?’‘ you heave and clutch your chest before lowering the volume.

‘‘No but apparently you are’‘ Jieun answers ‘‘ how in the hell are you not deaf yet?’‘

‘‘Whatever’‘ You continue ‘‘ how was work?’‘

Good, something funny happened actually’’ Jieun puts the seat belt on

Driving out of the parking lot you glance over to your best friend ‘’ oh?’’

‘‘The models were bitchy as usual but the manager actually got pissed’‘

You raise your eyebrows ‘’don’t tell me he made a scene in front of you guys’’

‘‘He sure did’‘ Jieun says ‘‘ you should have seen the faces of the models , that shit was comical’‘

‘‘And humiliating too’‘ you laugh and Jieun joins in.

...........

After an hour of you two singing early 00 songs, you finally pull up to the shrine. The weather has gotten colder and you see the moon hanging high in the sky. When you get out of the vehicle you look around in awe. The huge red pillars of the gate thats towering meters above you plus the glistening of the snow gives the environment a mystical vibe. The paper lamps that are shining brightly on the porch of the shrine gives the finish touch ,almost making it look like its straight out of a fantasy book.

‘‘Not to sound like an old sentimental lady but this is breathtaking.’‘ Jieun speaks up and you both burst out laughing.

Walking through the gates you see a woman walking down the steps of the shrine towards you. She’s wearing long blue divided trousers ,that is tied tightly at the waist and a snow white garment thats tied so that the left left side of the seams are facing outside. .

‘‘Y/n?’‘ She calls out with a smile

‘‘Thats me’‘ you answer and smile back. Jieun next to you is star struck on how beautiful the girl is. She notices how the woman’s dark skin glistens slightly blue in the moonlight, how her full lips stretch over her pearly white teeth. She’s utterly beautiful and Jieun is smitten.

‘‘Please follow me, the priestess has been waiting for your arrival’‘ The beautiful woman continues , and walks ahead.

‘‘I think i just saw an angel’‘ Jieun whispers and nudges you. You just roll your eyes with a smile and follow the woman. Walking up the stairs you get a closer look at the building and see old inscriptions carved into the wood. Distracted by the sacred decoration you don’t even notice the woman pulling aside the paper sliding door , which to reveals a moderately sized room.

Besides the scriptures, to which you assume to either be poems or holy scriptures, and small statues of deities ,there isn’t much to see.

‘‘Please go ahead’‘ The woman says and bows before scurrying down the hallway.

As you walk into the room you notice another woman. Unlike the shrine maiden, as you call her, the priestess ears a dark violet colored patterned belted robe and the same blue loose trouser that you saw earlier. Her expression is friendly as she looks up from the book in her lap.

‘‘Y/n’‘ she calls out almost as if she’s known you your whole life.

Looking closer you find fine lines adoring her face and you’re instantly reminded of your grandmother. Though a sharp pain flashes through your head and you close your eyes.

Worried the priestess stands up, walks over to you with quick long strides and puts a hand on top of your head. To your surprise , you feel warm energy pooling into you and the pain ebbs away instantly and you look at her in shock.

‘‘Why don’t we sit down and have a chat’‘ She says with a gentle smile and you nod before sitting down on the floor.

The priestess sit down on the opposite side, facing you and jieun, with a serious expression ‘‘I’m sure you’re wondering why i called you here’‘

‘‘Yes’‘ you say ‘‘ i have no memory of ever being here, so i was curious what this is about’‘

The priestess sighs wistfully ‘’ Its about your grandmother’’

#bts x reader #kkreationsnet #prettyboysnetwork #bangtanbuds #btsguild #bts scenario #kpop scenarios #kpop x reader #kim namjoon x reader #kim taehyung x reader #kim seokjin x reader #jungkook x reader #jung hoseok x reader #min yoongi x reader #park jimin x reader #tdwg #demon au

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buckttommy · 2 years

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left a comment on your MCU/buddie fic but HAD to send you a message as well - literally got me in a way that a fic hasn’t in a long time. i promptly sent it to like…four people and we all absolutely fell in love with your writing, your characterization of them within that world, the whole thing. congratulations on finishing it and thank you so much for writing 🖤

😭😭😭😭😭

I'm glad you liked it!!!!

#catws au #TDWG #jack answers mail

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aajjks · 7 days

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TDWG!JK And if you’re so sure that I am turned on by you then just fuck me and take it all out in me. Bet you can’t even last longer than 5 min.

“Who do you take me for? You’re not going to be able to take me baby- aw yn you’re so sweet- offering yourself to me- I love it.”

#ask: tdwg!jungkook

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wholahayola · 5 years

Photo

#louis twdg #tdwg #telltale the walking dead #telltale games #telltales the walking dead #my art #wo de #giftart

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bangtanfancamp · 3 years

Text

the Devil Wears Gucci ⬗ Part 5

Previous ╎ Next

•summary:

• masterlist

•series masterlist

•pairing: Kim Taehyung x reader (feat. Namjoon)

•word count: 4.5k

•rating: honestly, mature seems like a bit too much, and pg-13 feels like an early 2000s rom-com, no.... neither? Both? Idk. Use your discretion. 🤷🏽‍♀️

•genre: enemies to lovers, fashion industry au, devil wears Prada au, f*ckboi au, fluff, romance, slight angst, slow burn, fast banter

•warnings: high banter, a few cuss words, the fearsome aura of angry Namjoon, Taehyung being a butt

•author’s note: Hi guys! I know it’s been a hot minute since I updated this baby (and by hot minute I mean May of 2019. 😬 it’s not usually this bad for other stories though.) So sorry! Hi to old readers, and welcome to new ones! But either way, this chapter is fast and fun and was a treat to write. Hope you enjoy!

(Pic cred to @vanteholic)

─────────────────────

In the next few days following the incident at Namjoon’s, Taehyung is distant towards you at best. His glacial irises skim right past you in his new contacts every time he has to speak with you. His normally heavy lidded gaze that lingers all too long is replaced by cursory glances so icy they make your skin prickle.

His voice is a calm shade of indifference as he brusquely accepts his assignments and swiftly attends to them. His body language is aloof- elegant jawline gritted and lifted airily away from you, not deigning to come down from the clouds to speak to you, his broad shoulders forever angled away from you. It frustrates you completely in more ways than you care to mention, not the least of which being that you have never been ignored so…. beautifully… before.

Even just thinking such a thing makes you roll your eyes at yourself. You can’t believe you’ve even allowed Fuccboi extraordinaire Kim Taehyung to linger in your thoughts for more than two seconds, but somehow, the more he’s ignored you, the deeper that weasel has gotten under your skin.

For one thing, you resent the power his newfound silence toward you has brokered him. Because that’s the thing, he’s still his outrageously personable self with everyone else in the office. Everyone but you. Which puts you in the bizarre position of having to seek him out if you need something instead of your usual dynamic of having to constantly swat his presence away, and you hate it.

You aren’t sure what childhood trauma this dynamic is dragging up, but the button it pushes in you is maddening. You hate that his pouting somehow gives him the upper hand in your unspoken feud. You hate that he behaved so badly on that outing that you nearly lost your career, and yet somehow you are the one feeling like you need to apologize. But most of all, you hate that he’d been right in that hallway.

He’d been able to see what you hadn’t- your work relationship with Namjoon really is terribly unhealthy. It had been staring you in the face for so long- long before Taehyung ever came to work at House of Rm- but it had taken Taehyung and all his audacity to finally make you look it in the face.

You had a crush on your boss, which was bad enough to begin with, but beyond that, your natural lean to accommodate had been taken advantage of. You had, in fact, been so trained to walk on eggshells that you resented Taehyung for shattering one instead of directing your fury toward the boss who’d lined the hallway with breakable things in the first place.

Taehyung had metaphorically grabbed you by the shoulders and shaken you that day, and your world hasn’t felt quite right since. Self awareness never is an easy thing, but something about a boy you’d thought to be hopelessly immature calling you out on your own blind spots has been tremendously unsettling. The clarity you had in the aftermath of that has been hard to swallow ever since.

So much so, that this whole bizarre dance between you and Taehyung has now been going on every day for the last two weeks. Neither of you seemed to know how to call a ceasefire, so instead you both drowned each other in hostility and avoidance. Silent exchanges and chilly body language with no end in sight.

That is, until today.

─────────────────────

It’s bright and early Wednesday morning, and before you’ve even stepped foot out of bed, there’s a message lighting up your phone. Rolling over and groaning, your groggy gaze lands on a clipped, succinct message demanding your first stop of the day be Namjoon’s office once you clock in for the day.

Blearily, you consider hiding back under your duvet instead, wondering briefly if you’d get any sort of severance pay if you quit by simply not showing up. Probably not, but at least no one would yell at you that way. Michelle from HR was always pleasant . Maybe she’d be helpful enough to fetch the things from your desk whenever they officially let you go.

Sitting up, you sigh, knowing good and well you’d never have the gumption to do something like that. Not to mention the list of other reasons why that would be a terrible idea even if you did, not the least of which being there is no way in hell you could ever afford this apartment if you quit.

But as you walk to the window, peeking out at the first few rays of daylight, you realize you’re never here often enough to enjoy this place anyway. Taehyung had called you out on that the first day he’d met you, an annoying fact that continues to itch at the back of your brain no matter how much you hate it. Defeatedly, you pull the curtains back into place, knowing that even though it’s barely 6am, there’s no point in leaving them open. You won’t be back in this spot again til well after dark.

Rubbing your eyes with the heels of your hand, you take one last moment to yourself before going to get yourself ready for your day.

You wonder what nonsense will come your way today.

─────────────────────

As you round the corner to Namjoon’s office, you’re shocked to almost brush hands with Taehyung when you both reach for the doorknob at the same time.

“What are you doing here?”

The question leaves your mouth with more bite than you intend, but you’re honestly too tired for this.

“My job. I do work here, y/n.”

His eye roll is barely contained as his broad shoulder pushes past you, but not before he pauses. For the first time, you notice the recycled cardboard tray full of coffee cups in his other hand.

Coffee pickup was one of the first jobs you’d offloaded onto him the second he’d proven himself capable in his first month. You’d always hated it anyway, and you were glad to get rid of it. Doing so had not only given you an extra 15 minutes of sleep every day, but relief from the anxiety of having to take responsibility for any barista mix ups. You got sleep, freedom, and free delivery? A win in every direction.

But since that awful day with the closet debacle, despite keeping up his responsibility, Taehyung hadn’t brought you a single beverage. He’d still pick up Namjoon’s, get one for himself and often one for Mina….,but not one for you. At first, you’d been furious at his pettiness, but now you’d accepted your fate of either suffering though breakroom coffee or having to make your own at home, both of which defeated the fifteen minutes of sleep you’d been trying to eek back so you’d been suffering without it for the past two weeks.

The warm aromatics of the drinks in his hands swirl under your nose, and just for a second, your eyes close as you imagine stealing one from his hand and dashing from the building. You’ve really got to get these runaway fantasies under control.

When your eyes open again, Taehyung has the most curious look in his eye. He sighs like he’s been debating something, and is unhappy with himself with the resolution he’s come to.

“Here.”

His large hand moves to gently twist a drink free and shoves it in your direction. As your mouth falls open, he’s quick to cut you off.

“You’ve looked like crap without your caffeine lately. I don’t need you nodding off at the desk again today. Your snoring really throws off the mood.”

Affronted, you’re tempted to pour the entire drink down the front of his outfit and hope it tarnishes the buckle on his knock-off gucci belt, but you press a manicured nail into his chest instead.

“I have never fallen asleep in the office, and I do not snore.”

“Ah ah, hands to yourself, ma’am. This is a place of work. Try to contain yourself.” He tuts as he brushes your hand away.

Squinting at him in derision, you’re about to bite out a comeback when the door suddenly swings itself open.

“Good morning, both of you,” Namjoon announces.

“Oh- good morning, sir.”

“Joon…”

“... is not a name you, of all people, are allowed to call me.” Namjoon’s voice is all venom despite the placid mask he keeps over his eyes as he calmly retrieves the cup marked with his name from the tray in Taehyung’s hands. “Come inside, both of you. There are matters to attend to.”

“Yes, sir. Coming sir.” You follow sheepishly, adjusting your oversized blazer dress as you come to sit in the chairs across from his desk.

“Yes sir, coming sir,” Taehyung mocks under his breath for only you to hear as he sits beside you.

“I will kill you,” you mouth to him silently once Namjoon turns away.

“Promise?” He mouths back with a mocking grin.

Wrapping your knuckles around the arm of the chair to keep from reaching over and strangling him, you try your best to refocus your attention toward Namjoon.

“What can we do for you this morning, sir?” You ask.

You hear Taehyung swallow a muffled gagging sound beside you, but you keep your eyes focused ahead and ignore him. The forced politeness tastes acidic in your mouth these days, but as it stands, Namjoon is still your boss. and you’ve still got a job to do, so the quicker you can get out of this office, the better.

“As you know, award season will soon be in full swing. Our show at fashion week this year was met with rave reviews, and we’ve had quite a few starlets walking the red carpet in original House of RM gowns this season. Rachel McAdams in particular caused quite the stir in that little red, sheer lace number.”

When Namjoon looks your way with a secret nod and fingers steepled under his chin, you can’t help the way you beam back at him. You spent months going back and forth with her stylist to plan that, and your pride at it being received so well was positively glowing out from breath your skin.

“Since the brand has been garnering so much positive attention as of late, we have been asked to host Vogue’s fall party celebrating iconic women in cinema, and as the woman who helped us attract so much of this attention, I’d like for you to take point coordinating it.”

You feel your brows shoot up beyond your fringe of their own accord as his words sink in.

“Me? Sir, you want me to plan the event?”

“Unless you think you’re not up for the task,” Namjoon arches a brow pointedly.

“Oh, sir of course not- I mean, of course, I’m not saying that! I’m up for the task. I am. Anything you need, I’m on it.” You nod out, with altogether too much enthusiasm.

“Good,” he clips, turning his gaze to Taehyung. “As for you, as her assistant, I need you to make sure none of her regular assignments slip through the cracks while she focuses on this. I need you to be at her beck and call for anything she needs during this process so the event on the 14th goes off without a hitch.”

“- the fourteenth?” Something that feels like cement hardens in your gut when you hear the date.” Wait— Do you mean the fourteenth of next month?”

“No, I do not. I mean the fourteenth of this month.” Namjoon states plainly.

“Wait, but sir, that’s only a week and a half away.”

You feel your eyes round with panic.

“Which is precisely why I need you to get started. I’ve already taken up too much of your morning.”

“Not at all, sir. Thank you for the opportunity.”

“Yes, yes. I’ll have Serena from Vogue email you all the details we’ve already discussed, and you can take the rest from there.”

Swallowing, the full weight of the task you’ve just been given begins to crush it’s way into you. Your “yes, sir” is small, with none of its usual punch. Perhaps you shouldn’t expect more of yourself when you can barely get a grasp on the oxygen necessary to stay conscious right now.

Clearing his throat beside you, Taehyung seems to catch on to your lightheaded state and speaks up for you before your wooziness can make you tip over in distress.

“On it, boss.” He winks, clicking his teeth cheekily,and for once, you’re grateful for the distraction he creates. “It’s in good hands.”

“It better be,” His smile is tight and insincere. A terribly unnatural thing on his sharp features. “The brand's reputation is riding on this.” Namjoon makes direct eye contact with you as he says this, and you wish the shiver running down your spine was because you thought his eyes were striking and not because you’re scared to death.

“That’s a bit ominous for a sunny morning, isn’t it? Don’t think it’s quite the right mood in this room to be making such grandiose statements before noon.” There’s an irritation creeping its way into Taehyung’s jaw the longer he watches Namjoon stare you down. You’d chastise him for it if you didn’t feel like you were on the verge of passing out.

“You’re still new to this world so I’ll give your naiveté a pass, but there was nothing grandiose about that statement,” Namjoon corrects. “In fact, it may not have had enough weight. If this is not the event of the season, then it may as well not happen at all.”

You feel your blood run a bit cold at the chill in Namjoon’s voice. If you’d thought Taehyung had been icy the past two weeks, he had nothing on Namjoon. The man was practically SubZero when he wanted to be. God, you wanted this over with.

“Absolutely. We’ll make sure it’s an event to remember,” you promise, rising to stand. You have got to get out of this office before you start shedding your skin out of anxiety.

Taehyung takes your cue, rising as well.

“It had better be,” Namjoon’s haughty eyes rake over both of you one last time before his gaze falls back to his laptop.

The silence in the room is your cue to leave, and you take it in a heartbeat.

─────────────────────

You’re not sure how you’ve gotten here, but suddenly, you find yourself sitting at your own desk, gaze pointed glazedly out the window. You must have blacked out for a second there and walked here on autopilot after the shock of this morning. Taehyung sits in silence across from you, digging something out of his laptop bag, as you try to wrap your head around what’s been asked of you.

House of Rm has been asked to co-host one of the biggest Gala’s of the season, and you’ve been asked to run it. To coordinate every last detail. To get all the glory if it succeeds and all the derision if it fails.

You think you’re going to have an aneurysm.

You need a drink. Grasping for the cup on your desk, you’re surprised when the taste on your lips isn’t coffee at all, but a decadently spiced tea instead. It’s decidedly autumnal, and even though it’s delicious, the surprise of it throws you for a loop. Taken aback, you look first at the cup, then up at Taehyung and back at the cup.

“ Taehyung, what drink is this?” You mutter in confusion.

“It’s a chai latte.” He responds without looking up.

“A what?”

“A caramel chai latte, actually.”

“Why-“

“The cafe put out their fall drinks today. Besides, I haven’t seen you drink coffee in a while. No sense turning you into a jittery mess with an americano. Figured I’d ease you back in.” He shrugged. You’re pretty sure there’s still plenty of caffeine in this drink if you remember correctly, but there are already too many points to argue about.

“I haven’t had coffee because my assistant stopped bringing it to me.” You frown.

“Be that as it may, my point stands, and You can’t tell me that doesn’t taste like fall in a cup.”

Taking another sip, you find he’s entirely right. The beautiful blend of spices reminds you of baking as a child, the rich swirl of cinnamon and clove settling in your bones like a welcome home.

“And what makes you think I’d like that?” You quip, making yourself wince. Why couldn’t you just tell him thank you?

Taehyung gives you a pointed look. There’s a weight in his gaze you don’t quite understand and don’t have time to decipher before he’s turning away and sighing.

“Because the whole world knows you love fall,” he shakes his head with his eyes on his work. “If you don’t like it, we can always trade.”

“Why? What did you get?”

“Pumpkin Spice Latte,” he states plainly as you scrunch your nose.

“No thanks, I’ll stick with this one.”

For the first time in what feels like forever, you hear a little huff of air leave his nose that sounds almost like a laugh. “What’s the problem?”

“There’s no problem. I just like my chai.”

“No, that’s not it.”

“Yes, it is, I’m very content with my drink.” You swallow a sip for emphasis.

“I know that. It’s a very you drink. I wanna know why you looked like you’d rather jump off a building than take a sip of my PSL.”

“Was it really necessary to refer to it by its acronym out loud?”

“It’s more efficient. Don’t try to distract me,” he wags one of his long, jeweled fingers in your direction. “Answer the question.”

Grimacing, you take another extended chug of your latte to stall. “Fine. I hate pumpkin, okay?”

Taehyung looks positively aghast.

“Are you insane? Do you hate kittens and babies too?”

“That is entirely out of line.”

“I’m not so sure it is. Do you also have a deep seated hatred for angels and miracles too?” He leans forward, face cradled in his chin as he studies you in disbelief.

“Look, I just don’t have a thing for pumpkin, all right? Which was a perfectly acceptable personality trait-“

“Flaw.”

“—Trait,” you correct, “until Starbucks’ marketing team went ape with that pumpkin spice latte guerrila marketing and now it’s a societal expectation that people have to like it or else-“

“— or else people will know your true identity as a witch who should be burned at the stake for her crimes against humanity,” he deadpans.

This. This is why you couldn’t say thank you.

“You know what? Not liking certain foods is perfectly normal. I don’t need to justify myself to you,” you huff, gathering up the haphazard stack of papers on your desk into a bundle. You don’t need this in your life. You can go work in the break room if necessary if that’s what it takes to avoid this scrutiny.

“I guess, but that doesn’t explain how the human embodiment of autumn hates her own season’s golden child fruit.”

“Gourd,” you correct. “ A pumpkin is a gourd, not a fruit.”

“Whatever,” he dismisses. “Actually, no. Don’t. That proves my point. Why do you know so much about it if you hate it?” Taehyung sing-songs with his arms crossed.

“Because I made it past eighth grade?” You shrug with an admittedly judgmental frown on your face.

“Touché. I didn’t make it past fourth clearly, so this is news to me.” He rolls his eyes at you, and if you weren’t so annoyed, some part of you would be relieved that he was at least talking to you again… if you weren’t so annoyed.

“Look, I love spice. I like cinnamon just fine. I like sweaters and cool crisp weather and rain and multicolor leaves crunching under my boots, but pumpkin and I just... never hit it off okay? It's just a preference thing, really,” you’re trying your best to sound nonchalant, despite being boggled that the conversation has lasted this long and desperately wanting to end it. You have other awful, career deciding stress to attend to. You don’t have time for his off-brand Sherlock theatrics.

“Bull crap. There’s a story here, and I don’t get why you won’t just share it.” Taehyung pouts over his tightly crossed arms. If he sticks those lips of his out any further, his face will probably start to cramp.

“Because. There’s nothing to tell,” you hiss, rising over the computer monitor to make sure he hears you loud and clear.

Mina chooses that exact moment to come sashaying by, and Taehyung immediately pounces on the opportunity to give his nonsense an audience.

“Mina, baby, my love- come over here!” He bellows, slipping his lanky fingers under the edge of her sweater’s cuff to pull her over. She tips over giggling until her bum is seated square on the edge of Taehyung’s desk, most likely enthralled by the pet names he’s just graced her with, no doubt.

“Taehyungie, shush. People will hear,” she blushes but says entirely too loud, preening under his praise and fishing for more.

“Let them, my love.” He crinkles his nose up at her, snapping his teeth at the air, and you’re pretty sure Mina has transformed into an entirely different state of matter- some gloopy puddle or a puff of evaporated glitter- you’re not sure which, but either way, she’s simping all over your workspace and you’d much rather get on with your day.

“I hate to interrupt all this fun, but I do actually have things of my own to attend to, so if you don’t mind, I’ll be excusing my-“

“Sugarplum, get this: y/n doesn’t believe in pumpkins.” Taehyung whisper-announces like the petty town gossip he is as Mina gasps.

“Like, she doesn’t believe they exist?” She asks, peeking over her shoulder to survey you like the circus oddity you are.

“For Christ’s sake. I didn’t-“

“No, like as a religious belief. She thinks Pumpkin Spice Latte’s are Satan and Lillith’s first born child,” Taehyung explains.

“Y/n!” Mina chides, voice full of shame and shock, as her small palm rushes to brace against her ample bosom.

Dropping your stack of files on the desk, you drag your hands over your eyes.

“You know, Taehyung, one of these days, I’m going to walk straight up to your desk with a number two pencil and just stab you right between the eyes,” you grit.

“Oof,” he winces. “What an imaginative way to die. Do you think about this often?”

“Only every day.” You smile.

“In such stunning detail too? I’m sure Michelle in HR would love to know that. Might have to drop her a post it note.” He eyes you with concern, and you feel your blood pressure flair.

“You do that,” you challenge, teeth locked in the unfriendliest smile your face can create, as you try to remember what you learned about regulating your breathing from that one semester you got into meditation, but find yourself coming up short. Maybe this is what they meant about it being easier to draw on if you made it a habit.

“Why do you hate the best part about fall though, y/n?” Mina asks like she really wants to know, but also like she’s a little bit afraid of you.

“There’s no additional reason! Why does no one believe me?” You’re on the verge of screaming now. What was that sound? Did a blood vessel just pop?

“Because people don’t have hysterical breakdowns over having their buttons pushed when there’s ‘nothing there’” Taehyung pantomimes two absurdly large quotation marks as you squint so forcefully at him that you can feel a tension headache forming.

“Fine!” You stand, slamming your palms on your desk. “You wanna know the real reason why??”

“Yes,” Taehyung says airily. “That’s what I’ve been asking for the last fifteen minutes, isn’t it?” His brows lift over his angled face as if to say ‘duh’ as he picks at lint on his trousers.

“You insufferable little— you wanna know the truth so damn bad? Fine! Here it is: I really genuinely didn't like the taste of pumpkin as a kid. Truly. And everyone knew it. So to have a little fun with me, my sixth grade crush Joey Mancuso got my attention by asking me on a date but when I looked his way, he yelled psych! And pumpkin pied me in the face! In front of the whole grade at lunch. I had pumpkin pie filling in my ears for three days! It was a nightmare! So there? You happy? There’s your why okay???”

You’ve been gesturing wildly out of frustration and now that you’re done, you’re panting, chest heaving as you loom above Mina and Taehyung, both of whom look both concerned and afraid respectively. Heads around the office have turned to look your way at the commotion, all of them disappearing like gophers back into their holes the instant you make eye contact with them.

“Oh my god, that’s awful,” Mina cringes, beautiful face scrunched in horror, but instead of comforting you, you catch the way she inches her hips away from you, like emotional instability might be contagious if she sits too close to it.

“What a dick,” Taehyung sneers,” But still, why blame the noble pumpkin for his foolish transgression? It’s not the pumpkin’s fault it was wielded by that little asshat.”

Suddenly, you get it. You understand why cartoon character’s vision turns a sloppy shade of red when they're angry, because as you look at Taehyung's clueless face, all you see is scarlet and the urgent need to asphyxiate him.

“Why you little— are you serious right now?!”

“As a heart attack,” he tips his head confidently.

“That’s what you got from that story???” You shriek.

This absolute son of a — You’re sure there’s something about how to handle this in one of those new hire pamphlets on “de escalating tension in the workplace” but at the moment, none of it seems relevant. All you really want to do right now is smash his pretty little head into the desk so he’ll be quiet, but you know that definitely isn’t on the list of conflict resolution tips, so you flex your knuckles instead and just try to imagine it.

“You know what? If anyone needs me, I’ll be in the fourth floor commons working on the itinerary for Vogue’s fall gala and ignoring you until you dematerialize into dust,” you snarl at Taehyung as you snatch up your laptop and huff away.

“Hey! You forgot your drink!” Taehyung calls out.

It takes everything in you not to cap your rampage off by flipping him off and adding an extra sprinkled dash of a shouted “fuck you” at him as you stomp away. You breathe harsh through your nose as you exhale, proud of yourself for having that modicum of professionalism, at least.

You were wrong earlier , you think. It’s better when he doesn’t speak.

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