#bangtanuniversity
Pairing:Yoongi x Reader x Jungkook
Genre:hanahaki, angst, established relationship
Rating:18+
Word Count: 1300
Warnings:blood, choking, coughing, vomiting, hanahaki disease, relationship issues, fighting, mentions of cheating, mentions of sex, mentions of hospitals and medical treatments
A/N:welcome to part two of the series! it is a bit short this time around, but we get to meet JUNGKOOK~~
~~~~~~~
The ICU waiting room is suffocating. The room is small and plain and full of people waiting to visit their loved ones. There is a family with about six kids to your left. The youngest children are roaming around, giggling happily. They don’t understand the implications of being in this place.
You shuffle around in the stiff chair, waiting for Yoongi’s doctor to come and speak with you about his condition. The Generic Hotel Art catches your eye. A field of flowers spreading out to the horizon. It’s a little too on the nose. Last night, you saw the illness taking over your boyfriend but you had no idea just how bad it was.
“Ma’am, you’re here to see Min Yoongi, correct?” A man in navy scrubs approaches you, a clipboard in his hands. “I’m Dr. Kim, please follow me this way.”
The doctor leads you through a set of double doors and down a hallway. You can smell the crisp clean scent of the hospital. You can see into each room and with each passing patient a lump grows in your throat
“Let’s stop here for a moment and talk about Yoongi’s course of treatment.” Dr. Kim stops suddenly, a few feet away from what you assume is Yoongi’s room. You can make out a lump in the bed, but the sheer curtains blur his face. “As I’m sure you know, his diagnosis is acute hanahaki disease.” You nod along, images of flower petals invading your mind.
“Unfortunately, the disease is so severe that the typical treatments we use to stop the spread will not be enough.” The doctor pauses as though he wants you to chime in.
“So will you be performing the surgery?” You question, chewing on the dry skin around your thumb nail.
“The surgery is either a very early intervention, or an absolute last resort.” He stops and you realize there is something not clicking in your brain.
“I don’t think I understand.”
“It would take several hours to remove the growths from his lungs and since he is already so weak, his odds of survival are about 25% at best.” The doctor gives you a moment to process the information, to realize how dire this situation truly is. He brings his hand up to squeeze your arm and it hits you like a ton of bricks.
Your legs start to give, but you cling to the wall. The doctor grabs your arms to help steady you. Tears are streaming down your face, each carrying the pain you feel just imagining life without Yoongi.
“Wha- what can you do?” You stutter, waves of sorrow shake your body.
“We need to track down the person he’s in love with and see if there are any feelings there. At this point the safest way to heal Yoongi is the natural way. He needs to feel that his love is, in fact, requited.”
~~~~~~~
You’ve never seen Yoongi so pale. And that’s really saying something, seeing as he never goes outside. His hand, that you’ve delicately placed in your own, is clammy. You can tell he’s really uncomfortable, but he still manages to sleep.
For the past hour or so, you’ve been doing two things: waiting for Yoongi to wake up and trying to figure out who stole his heart.
It has to be someone at his job, he’s always either at work or home. You knew a few of his work friends, but there is one name that sticks out. Someone he’s been working more closely with lately.
“Baby?” Yoongi’s hoarse voice cracks, his throat damaged by the foliage growing up from his lungs. He weakly squeezes your hand, and it sends a fresh wave of tears spilling over your lashes.
“Is it Jungkook?” You question him bluntly. He closes his eyes and tries to swallow. “I need to know, it’s your only chance at getting through this.”
Yoongi is unresponsive to your sudden interrogation, so you ask again. “Is it Jungkook?”
He nods.
~~~~~~~
“I’m sorry ma’am he is unavailable for the rest of the afternoon.” The receptionist responds to your inquiry to speak to Jeon Jungkook without even looking up from her computer screen.
The lobby of BH Music Group is familiar to you, though the receptionist must be somewhat new if she doesn’t recognize you. The sleek black leather furniture and a wall to wall mural from a local street artist haven’t changed, though. The speakers are playing a chill lo-fi beat track, no doubt created in house.
When Yoongi first got his job here, you visited him quite frequently. He had a little set up in an office with the other newbies, but it wasn’t long before he had his very own studio space. Genius Lab he called it. A bit cocky for an assistant producer, but it fit his brand perfectly. He started getting busier, so your visits became few and far between.
“Is there something else I can help you with?” The reception asks, cocking an eyebrow in your direction.
“Yes, sorry. Ireallyneed to speak with Jungkook.” You stress your words, trying to make her realize the urgency. “I’m Min Yoongi’s girlfriend.” Her eyes grow wide, and she nods before picking up her phone.
“Sir, Min Yoongi’s girlfriend is at the front desk asking to see you.” She pauses and you can just barely make out the sound of someone talking on the other line. She turns her attention to you.
“Ma’am, he’ll see you now.” She gives you a sympathetic look and hangs up her phone.
Two doors down from Genius Lab is Jungkook’s studio, Golden Closet. Standing outside of Jungkook’s studio feels a bit surreal. This isn’t your life, it can’t be. Your boyfriend loves you and only you.
This is the reality you must face though. You reach forward and knock firmly against the door. It takes a long moment of eerie quiet for the door to open. A tall man with big bright eyes looks down at you from behind the door. His skin is flawless and his dark hair hangs, slightly mussed, next to his sharp jaw.
He’s beautiful.
And that makes you hate him even more.
“Hi, Y/N, please come in.” Jungkook bows his head and stands back from the door. You enter, slowly walking past him. His studio looks very similar to Yoongi’s. Speakers, mixing equipment, a computer. He’s got a keyboard with red backlighting and a handful of little tchotchkes lined up in a row under his monitors.
“Would you like to sit?” He motions toward the leather sofa on the back wall of the studio. Crossing your arms, you shake your head and lean against the wall instead.
“Yoongi is in the hospital.” You blurt out, eyes avoiding Jungkook’s. The emotions are already building up again, creating pressure in your chest. “The ICU, actually.”
“Oh god. I’m so sorry.” Jungkook sits down in his desk chair. “What can I do?” He asks after a moment’s pause.
Something about the sincerity in his voice breaks you. You crumble onto the floor and let out a sob. Jungkook, seemingly unsure of what to do, moves down to the floor next to you and opens up his arms.
What he offers is a hug, some comfort. What he gets it’s a dozen slaps to the chest and more crying.
“Did you know?!” You cry out between sobs. “Why did you do this?!”
“No! What?” He asks, not fighting you, but pulling you closer. “I don’t know what you mean.” The sobs take over and you give up fighting him. His arms are strong, but not smothering.
Jungkook, practically a stranger, holds you while you cry. It must have been two or three full minutes before you’re calm enough to speak again.
“Yoongi has hanahaki disease.” You can feel Jungkook’s chest jolt, his breath catching. “Did you know he’s in love with you?”
~~~~~~~
A/N: Thank you for reading! Thank you for everyone who has joined the tag list so far, I am so grateful for you. Feel free to send an ask or DM anytime! <3 Part three coming next week! Check out my master list here.
Tag list: @dee-ehn@kseokwu@mrcleanheichou@halesandy@sonderkook@rapunzel76@cuteipat@dal-light
Min Yoongi x reader | Single Parent | Fluff | PG | wc: 1100
For this year’s Secret Valentien project by @btscreatorscorner I was assigned the lovely @sunshinerainbowsbts so hereby I present my gift to you, Sunny (Even if its a little late).
Beta read by @rkivian and@mapleglasses27
|MASTERLIST|
The sun had truly shown itself from its better side today, having peeked through the clouds ever since the early morning hours and warming the chilled winter air. Maybe it too understood the importance of this day. Well, the importance it held for some.
And even though this was easily the day your boutique made most of its earnings, you could not help but dread the day. In itself, the day was hectic at best, but the days up to it were just as chaotic because of all the preparations you had to do. It was also the reason why you were currently running on minimal amounts of sleep.
Fortunately for you, the amount of customers seemed to be decreasing ever so slowly, making it possible for you to finally take a small break. Your tired legs almost buckled under you as you leaned against the counter, eyes darting around the shop.
Finally alone.
“What a day…” you sighed, closing your eyes only for them to shoot open in shock when you suddenly heard the all too familiar sound of the chime on top of the door, warning you that someone had entered the shop. You straightened your back and looked over at the door, but there was no one there.
Maybe, your mind was playing tricks on you? It would not be the first time nor would it be the last time it had done so. But that thought was shot down when your ears picked up on footsteps coming toward you. The steps were hesitant and came to a sudden stop, you held your breath; Fear striking.
Seconds passed before you heard a whimper, immediately you jumped up from the chair and rushed toward the sound. Your eyes darted around, trying to locate the source of the noise. However, it seemed that the source itself had other plans because as you stepped around the counter, something or rather someone tugged at your pant leg.
Chubby fingers clung to the fabric of your pants, their snotty little nose buried in your leg and big doe and teary eyes looking up at you like you held the answers to the world.
“A-app-” The child hiccupped, pressing themself even further onto you.
Without even thinking, you had swiped the child up into your arms and started to comfort them. “Shhh, I am right here,” you murmured, your voice soothing and soft while caressing their hair to provide the comfort they so desperately needed.
As the sobs subsided, the child pulled back and looked at you. Finally, you took the time to look over the child; A mop of dark hair paired with big doe eyes, a cute little button nose sprinkled with freckles and chubby cheeks that matched the chubby legs and arms every child that age should have. They wore a beige dress with small hearts on.
A beautiful little girl.
“Hey there pretty little lady”
The girl let out a squeak and pressed her head into your chest again. You could not help but giggle. A few seconds went by before she peaked up at you from her ‘hiding’ spot.
“Appa.. no appa,” she stuttered, falling over her words in her attempt to communicate with you. You nodded your head knowingly, understanding what she tried to tell you. Your eyes flicked over to the shop windows, but were only met with the darkness from outside.
A sigh passed your lips; this was going to be difficult.
“Would you like some chocolate milk?” you asked, already moving toward the machine as the girl started nodding her head rapidly. Another giggle passed your lips at how cute she looked, her hair tossing around her head and a little pout on her lips.
You settled the girl on the counter and gave her a cup. She wrapped both of her hands around it, moving it up toward her lips before taking a big sip. When she moved the cup away, she let out an ‘ah!” while smacking her lips.
“Does the pretty little lady have a name?”
“Yejun” She answered proudly, puffing out her chest.
“Hello Yejun” you said and introduced yourself, offering your hand to her with a smile. She took your hand into her much smaller one and gave it a light squeeze before going back to sipping on her chocolate milk.
Yejun seemed much more at ease with her chocolate milk in hand even though her father was still missing. Luckily enough it was not long before your eyes caught sight of a frantic looking man outside of the shop windows. The two of you locked eyes for only a split second before his eyes flicked to the child in front of you.
“Yejun! Thank God!” The man ripped open the door and ran toward Yejun, who was making grabby hands toward the man while crying “appa”.
He frantically pulled Yejun into his arms and held her against him tightly for a few moments, before sitting her down on the counter again: “Are you okay?” he was fidgeting over her, feeling and searching for anything that might not have been there before their sudden separation.
Fortunately, he found nothing.
He heaved a sigh of relief and planted a kiss on her forehead, then he turned around to face you.
“Thank you so much for finding Yejun!” He thanked you before beginning to ramble about how she had suddenly disappeared from one moment to another.
You could not help but notice that Yejun’s dad was just as handsome as she was cute. She had inherited his dark hair and cute button nose, but what really made your knees bent was the gummy smile he showed as he looked at his child.
“I understand. Children are hard work, but Yejun has been nothing but an angel,” you assured the man with a gentle touch on his arm.
His eyes lightened up when you complimented his child, chest filling with pride that even in such a highly emotional situation his little girl had been polite.
“Still..-” He started but stopped when Yejun tugged at his shirt, the man bending down toward her and she whispered something into his ear. He let out a soft ‘ah’ before straightening himself up.
This time when he looked at you, you could not help but notice the light glint he had in his dark eyes.
“Can Yejun and I invite you out for a cup of coffee?” He asked confidently. However, the sudden confidence seemed to diminish as fast as it had come when you did not reply immediately. “Of course only if-”
You touched his arm, making him halter in his sentence. You gave him a shy smile.
“That sounds wonderful, let me just close the shop.”
I choose the prompt: Kid playing matchmaker because who isn’t a sucker for diff BTS?
OT7 x reader | Fantasy | Hybrid | Slice of life | Romance | 18+ | wc: 3400
╰ You leave the stress of everyday life for a simple life in the woods, but apparently, you aren’t the only one who wanted to get away. The goal? To find yourself. And maybe each other along the way.
⟶ warnings: Sadness, talk about death.
Banner made by the @papillonsgf.
Beta read by the @moccahobi and @taetaesbaebaepsae thanks to both of you.
|MASTERLIST|
He gave you a small nod, walking over to the bar cart in the far corner of the office before grabbing what you assumed to be a water bottle and poured it into two glasses. He strode back to the desk, placing one of the glasses in front of you before taking a seat. He took a sip of water and turned to you with a gentle smile.
“Let us begin then.”
The conversation had started out rather dull. Mr. Wang simply went over the legal rights regarding the will while reminding you to ask, if you had any questions. When you stayed silent, he let out a deep sigh to prepare himself for whatever he was about to tell. It scared you a little. You had never seen him act nervous. But when he began speaking again, you suddenly understood why.
As soon as Mr. Wang spilled the will’s details, your jaw dropped. Your mind was overworking as it tried to comprehend what you had just been told, but you could not. It did not make any sense.
“Are-” you swallowed the lump in your throat “-are you sure this is what the will says?”
His eyes narrowed and you flinched in your seat, eyes darting down to your lap before he replied sternly, “do I have to remind you, miss Yun? That I have never lied or deceived you, or anyone from the Yun clan for that matter.”
“I-… It just seems too good to be true,” you muttered and unknowingly began to pick at your nails, pulling at the hangnails around them. Had you been out of line? you wondered, but before you could linger too long on your mistake Mr. Wang offered to show you the will. Immediately you nodded your head, not knowing what to expect. Not really.
He settled his briefcase on the desk, opened it, and pulled out some papers. He offered them to you and with timid hands, you took them from him.
Your eyes darted over the words repeatedly, eyes widening as you began to understand what the papers said. Mr. Wang had told you the truth: Jihoon and Soobin had indeed left you a property near the countryside of a town you had never heard of before. Furthermore, they had also left a hefty amount of money to you.
“It is true” you murmured while your fingers skimmed over the signatures of your adoptive parents. You remember a few years ago when you had gone to the bank with Jihoon and you had been taken back by how beautiful his signature was. You had asked – no – begged for him to teach you. He had finally agreed in exchange for you to help make dinner that day. As the memory faded you quickly wiped your eyes with your sleeve.
“Good. Then I only have to ask you whether you wish to sell the property or keep it”
“I-I am not quite sure” you stuttered, it all was too much. You could not wrap your mind around it. They lived such a simple life in a one-story house within walking distance to their flower boutique where both of them worked. You would never have guessed that they had that kind of money.
When you had somewhat gathered your thoughts you took a deep inhale and then asked in a timid voice, “Could I get some time to think?”
Your eyes locked with Mr. Wang’s, who had a small smile on his face as he nodded his head in understanding, “Of course. I will take care of the estate until you have decided. Is that okay?”
You nodded your head furiously. It was more than okay. You already knew that you would not have it in you to have anything to do with it until after you had decided what to do.
“I only need your signature here,” he showed where you had to sign, then handed you a pen. Your eyes darted over the contract, making sure that you understood what you were about to put your signature on. You let out a sigh before putting pen to paper and signing the contract.
“Terrific. That will be all for today miss Yun”
You rose from the chair and bowed to him, “Thank you for your time, Mr. Wang.”
As you had taken a hold on the door handle a firm hand landed on your shoulder, making you stop in your tracks and turn around. Somehow Mr. Wang had left his seat without you hearing him and was now standing behind you.
“Please do not contact the Yuns biological children.” He said firmly, however his eyes were filled with sympathy. You wanted to ask why but held your tongue. You were already physically and mentally drained.
You just wanted to go home.
“I promise.” You whispered, before taking your leave.
You went back to work shortly after the conversation with Mr. Wang and had found somewhat of a routine: wake up, work, sleep and then repeat. It was only temporary until you had decided what to do with the new information you had gotten.
Today was one of the days where you woke up a little later than normal, having hit the snooze button twice or thrice before leaving the comfort of your bed. Luckily for you, you had found the clothes you would be wearing today - another thing you had learned from Jihoon and Soobin. However, you were still late and it irritated you to no end.
After having tugged on the clothes which you had laid out the day before, a sudden grumble came from your stomach, causing your gaze to dart around until it locked up on the wall clock. You did not have time to eat. Actually, you had to leave your apartment now if you wanted to be on time.
You left the apartment, slamming the door shut, and began the fifteen-minute walk toward your workplace. You tried to ignore the rumbling from your stomach which disagreed with your decision to skip breakfast (again). However, the rumbling continued and became louder and louder until you no longer could ignore it, making you take a right turn and walk into a café.
With a coffee in one hand and a half-eaten bagel in the other, you entered the office building. Despite still feeling irritated from your late awakening and sudden coffee stop, you still muttered a friendly ‘hello’ here and there.
You settled into your spot near the window and wiggled out of your jacket. You took a short moment to collect yourself by sipping on your coffee. Then you cracked your fingers and stretched your back before getting to work; opening up whatever excel sheet you had worked on earlier in the week. You were on autopilot: clicking away on the keyboard, totally oblivious to anything that was going around you.
When out of the corner of your eye you noted a red notification had appeared. You clicked on it and a new window opened, displaying an email from your manager, Mr. Choi. You frowned a bit. Weird. You did not have any deadlines – that you were sure of. The email did not sound at all how Mr. Choi normally wrote, it seemed too urgent and demanding. He wanted to see you now.
As you walked toward your manager’s office, you noticed several of your colleagues talking quietly. One or two of them looked at you, but none spoke. You could sense that something was off.
Even the secretary seemed to know something you did not, she could barely utter a smile. “He is already waiting for you, miss.”
You knocked twice before slowly opening the door and peeked inside to find Mr. Choi at his desk with a serious, almost stern look on his face.
“You wanted to see me, sunbaenim” You took a small step into the office room, eyes locked upon Mr. Choi, searching for a change in his demeanor – a flicker of a smile or something. However, none came. Instead, he looked just as stern – if not more.
“Take a seat”
“Okay” you whispered mostly to yourself, then walked with timid steps towards Mr. Choi.
You settled down in the chair in front of him, acutely aware of the discomfort that was spreading through the room. Your eyes flicked down to your lap and noticed you had already begun fidgeting with your fingers. In an attempt to seem more collected, you folded your hands and stared at them, avoiding Mr. Choi’s gaze.
Moments went by without anyone speaking, the only thing that could be heard was the breathing from the two of you. You waited for a little longer, still anticipating him to speak, but when none came, you slowly lifted your gaze. Mr. Choi was pinching the bridge of his nose and exhaling noisily.
“Sunbaenim?” you asked in a timid voice, a little scared of what was going on inside his head. You had never seen him like this. Not even once through the three years, you had worked here had he ever looked so… gloomy.
As you opened your mouth to repeat yourself, Mr. Choi put up a finger to his lips to betoken silence, and then spoke “Tell me, how has work been lately?”
You could not help but stare at the man, dumbfounded. Why would he even care to ask that? Scratch that. How would he even know that anything was wrong? If anything was wrong that is.
You were about to answer with the all too familiar answer: fine, but you stopped yourself when your eyes locked with his. His gaze intensified as if he stared into your soul.
“And be honest.”
Your eyes darted around, not quite sure what they were looking for. Maybe just an escape from the intense gaze of Mr. Choi. Your gaze landed on your lap once again, but this time they stayed there as you tried to gather your thoughts.
How had work been lately? It had not been on your mind until Mr. Choi had brought it up. But now, your mind was overworking itself to find an answer.
It was true that you had felt… different, since the sudden appearance of that attorney, Mr. Wang, at your workplace. And the last meeting did not help either. It had left you with even more questions – and doubt.
And now Mr. Choi had awakened even more doubt in you.
Were you even happy at your work? You had been – or at least you thought so, but as you were seated in front of Mr. Choi you could not help but wonder: Were you happy though? It was not what you dreamed of, but it paid the bills and the job itself was fine (and to be honest, you probably could not find a job with nearly as good a pay with your experience).
Maybe it was time for you to be honest?
“I-I suppose it could go better,” you cringed internally as you heard your own words and immediately tried to correct yourself, “but I am certain it will get better soon enough.”
As you finished your sentence your eyes found their way back to Mr. Choi, who regarded you with a slightly tilted head and a raised eyebrow. He did not seem to believe your words either.
“Unfortunately, your work performance suggests otherwise and has done for quite some time.”
You were shocked and hurt. You thought you had done what was needed from you, but it seemed you were wrong. It had been going downhill for longer than you had thought.
“You have been with us for quite some time and I – and the rest of the company greatly appreciate the time you have spent working with us, but unfortunately we have to let you go,”
You were never good enough, a voice hissed.
“I understand,” you muttered sadly after a short moment, eyes darting around until they locked onto his face. His eyes were locked on you, they were filled with pity and empathy.
“I have some documents you have to sign and thereafter you can take the rest of the time off.”
You were feeling defeated: Nothing you could say would make him change his mind, so you simply nodded your head.
The feeling of defeat lingered as you walked out of Mr. Choi’s office having signed whatever documents that were needed for your resignation, and started the short but tortures walk towards your desk. You could feel the burning eyes from your colleagues – or should you say, former colleagues?
In a quick manner, you collect the few personal belongings that had found their way to your desk through the times. Then, you looked at the now naked desk and let out a soft ‘bye’.
To whom? You were not sure of. To the desk? The office? The colleagues? Maybe, it was a farewell to it all.
You walked out of the building with your head hung low, not wanting to meet the eyes of your former colleagues; you could hear the murmurs run through the office.
You slammed the door shut to your apartment and leaned against it. You could not hold in the annoyed grunt that escaped your mouth as you closed your eyes.
A moment went by like that: enjoying the comfort of the darkness and silence that the room offered. But even in the silence, your mind was working on overdrive trying to comprehend what had happened.
You had just been fired.
What were you supposed to do now? You did not know anything else in this city. The job had been the whole reason for why you had moved in the first place –and now, you did not even have that.
Soon enough you would not even have money for that. How were you supposed to be paying your bills? –To be living? You had to find a new job, did you not? But you already had a hard time finding a job when you first came to the city, and to find a new one with the lack of education you had, would be a challenge. You were sure of it.
You pushed yourself away from the door with a heavy humph. Your fingers found your temples and messaged them in tight circles.
What were you supposed to do?
You wanted to scream but held your tongue. Instead, your eyes darted around your room in an attempt to find – something – to get these negative and nagging thoughts out of your head.
Your eyes suddenly caught sight of the white envelope that the attorney had given you, still sealed shut. You had not felt the need to open it, but now - now it seemed to be calling your name. And who were you to deny it? You certainly did not have the energy for that after the day you had.
So with two quick steps, you snatched the envelope and ripped it open. Then you took out the content and flicked through it; some photographs and a folded paper. So with trembling hands, you unfolded the paper and immediately, recognizing the handwriting, Soobin.
You took a shaky breath, eyes taking in the first line of the letter. It started with the customary ‘Dear _____,’. However, it was the next line that brought tears to your eyes, ‘You are reading this letter because Jihoon and I have died.’
You had to stop yourself from continuing, overwhelmed by a sudden pressure on your chest; the frustration of having lost your job, but mostly the overwhelming feeling of grief and sorrow. You blinked away the unshed tears, and instead, you focused on the photographs you held, flipping through them until you stopped at a picture.
It was a beautiful photo.
It was of Jihoon and you helping each other by carrying a cardboard box out to the car. It was the day of your move to the big city. The elderly man was looking at you with crinkled eyes and a smile. You remember how amused he had been because you had done the one thing he explicitly told you not to do, not to fill the box with too much. – And you had done just that. Your head was thrown back and you could almost hear the laughter which resonated out of you.
The corner of your lips tugged up in a small smile, still feeling suffocated by the sorrow.
Your heart arched both with happiness because of the memory, but also sadness. Sadness at knowing that you no longer could make those kinds of memories and that it would only be just that – memories. So with the back of your sleeve, you wiped away the tear that was threatening to fall.
You took a moment to calm yourself before flipping through the last few photographs, stopping at one particular. It was different from the others. Older; it was black and white, and blurry. Still, you could easily see a couple embracing with smiles on their faces, totally oblivious to the world around them.
Your face flushed, feeling like you were intruding on something you were not to see, however, you could not take your eyes from the photo.
The longer you stared, the more you realized who they were - a younger version of Jihoon and Soobin. They were looking into each other’s faces, holding each other as if their life depended on it (something you had seen yourself in real life). They stood with their arms around each other in front of a small brick house and in the background, you could hint out what may be a forest. However, that was all you could see because of how blurry the image was: the figures and lines blurring into one another.
Your fingers brushed against their blurred figures. You wanted to touch them just one more time.
A tear splashed onto the photograph. You had not even realized you were crying until that moment. Quickly you wiped your eyes, not quite understanding your feelings.
Were you crying because of grief? That you no longer would be able to see and touch them again. Would every past memory be tainted because of them being gone so suddenly? – or could it be that for some strange reason you felt happy. A strange emotion to be feeling at a time like this. A time when you should be grieving.
You had to sit down.
After finally sitting down, throwing the letter and photographs onto the table, the tears had free rein: rolling down your cheeks while you sobbed. You tried to stop the sounds coming from you by biting down on your hand. It somewhat muffled the sobs.
But your mind. Your mind was working on overdrive and kept going even as you cried your eyes out, trying to make sense of what was happening and what it all meant.
They were gone. That was the reality, was it not? You would never see them again. That you knew. But… you did not even get to say your farewell to them. Their biological children made sure of that –Why?
And what did the photographs mean? They had to mean something. They looked happy in the photos, were they happy before they died? You hoped so. They deserved happiness even in their last seconds
— Actually, especially in their last seconds on this earth.
What were you to do now?
Hmph, the older photograph had to have a deeper meaning, right? Jihoon and Soobin surely had not simply given to you for no reason. Could it? No.
It had to mean something, right?
—But what?
Your tears seemed to slowly stop, so with a hand you wiped your tear-streaked face, flinching slightly in the process: Your face was sore and puffy.
A few moments went by in silence, only your rapid breathing could be heard and a soft humming sound echoing through the apartment. You let out a heavy sigh and ran your fingers through your hair, pulling it away from your face. Your eyes locked upon the content, thrown carelessly on the table.
You took a deep breath and reached for the content, your fingers brushed against the paper. You could easily feel the folds and dents from the pencil where Soobin had pressed a little too hard.
You could not help but clench your jaw when you started reading the letter again. Your eyes ran over the words that were slightly blurry, slowly a heartwarming smile stretched over your face. You had to blink rapidly to stop the tears that threatened to fall again.
The photograph was indeed meaningful. A reminder of them and the love they shared, but also a reference to the estate that they had left you.
It was bittersweet: It pained you yet it was the perfect opportunity for you now. An opportunity to start again.
A new beginning.
OT7 x reader | Fantasy | Hybrid | Slice of life | Romance | 18+ | wc: 3100 out of 7300
╰ You leave the stress of everyday life for a simple life in the woods, but apparently, you aren’t the only one who wanted to get away. The goal? To find yourself. And maybe each other along the way.
⟶ warnings: Sadness, anxiety- and panic attacks, talk about death and cursing.
Banner made by the @papillonsgf.
Beta read by the @moccahobi and @hoebii, thanks to both of you. Truly.
|MASTERLIST|
You could not remember how - or when for that matter, you had arrived home after you had been informed of the sudden passing of your foster parents. The only thing you remembered was how you had walked mindlessly around while the lawyer, Mr. Wang’s, words kept echoing in your head, a dark reminder of how you had not known of their passing before fourteen days had already gone by.
You had a hard time believing what Mr. Wang had told you, he must have been pulling a joke on you. A cruel one. They could not be dead. They simply could not. Even as you tried to contact them via phone and they did not answer, your mind kept coming up with alternative reasons for why: Maybe they were on vacation or had forgotten theír phones somewhere - it would not have been the first time. However, as hours went by the relation of the situation settled in, and you cried.
They were gone.
You squeezed your eyes shut tightly, trying to control the tears which were streaming down your face as your knees buckled under the mental and physical strain, collapsing onto the hardwood floor.
The pressure around your chest increased, making it hard for you to breathe.
Once again, it was as if someone was strangling you - or holding you underwater. No matter how hard you tried, you could not catch a breath.
For a short moment, your vision darkened, then flashed with a collage of heartbreaking memories. Memories that now felt empty without them. Your first time meeting Jihoon and Soobin outside of their flower shop, the day they invited you into their home, and the first time they told you that they loved you. The last time you had been more than one around the dining table, enjoying a home-cooked meal and the room was filled with love and laughter. You screamed as the memories blurred and darkness once again took over.
When your vision returned, your breathing had steadied slightly but your lungs were still burning, aching for oxygen. With what little energy you had left, you sought comfort in yourself; bending your upper body toward your legs and tucking your head in between them. You tried to remember the breathing technique you had learned earlier in life before Jihoon and Soobin came into your life.
It took a few tries before you had figured it out. Inhaling through your nose and holding it for a few seconds, and then exhaling through your mouth ever so slowly. Breath in through the nose, hold it, and out through the mouth. In through the nose, hold it for a moment, and then exhale through the mouth. You kept repeating until your breathing settled down and the burn in your lungs had subsided.
You no longer had any energy left in you, your eyes twitched until darkness consumed you once again.
The following days had passed by without you noticing. You could not remember much of what you had been doing the days after your mental breakdown. You only remember the overwhelming feeling of distress and hopelessness.
However, today seemed slightly better than the day before - and the day before that, and the one before that one too. It might have been because you had actually gotten a full night’s sleep without any form of nightmare, something you had not experienced since that day in the office.
You had woken up from your slumber twenty minutes ago but had yet to leave the comfort - and warmth - of your bed. You shifted out from under the covers and into a half-sitting position with a book in hand. You were completely lost in the book; immersed to the point you had blocked the real world out. The noises of the waking city melted away. The cars, traffic, and voices became silenced and were replaced with a warm humming background noise.
A loud ringing abruptly brought you back to reality. It startled you, causing you to drop your book in fright.
“Fuck me.”
You had placed a hand on your chest and looked at the fallen book in disbelief before your eyes flickered around for the source of the sound. Your eyes locked upon your phone, screen flashing with an unknown number. You had seen the number before though. A few times actually.
You let out a deep sigh, a mixture of relief and annoyance as you reached for the phone.
“Hell-o-o”
“Miss Yun,” a deep voice pierced through the phone’s speakers.
Instantly, your back stiffened and ice ran down your spine; you recognized the voice as the elderly lawyer, Mr. Wang.
What could he possibly want? You were not ready for any more depressing news. You were not even over the ones he had given you a week or so ago - and you probably never would be.
“What do you want?!” you flinched as soon as the words passed your lips, you sounded so angry and frustrated that you felt embarrassed. This was not how you wanted to come across, neither was it how the Yun’s had raised you. You needed to be respectful towards others - especially your elders.
You became more and more aware of how inappropriate your tone had been as the silence filled the room.
“I am so so sorry, I did not mean any disrespect or hardship, sir” You apologized profusely and vehemently, but the words died in your throat as your ears perked up, registering a chuckle sounding through the phone. Your mind must have been playing tricks on you because you thought you heard him chuckle “funny girl”.
“There is no need to apologize, Miss Yun.”
You let out the breath you had held.
“I would imagine I would have been a little irritated myself if the position had been reversed” Mr. Wang continued.
“Still that is no reason for being disrespectful, sir”
“Do not linger on it, ____.”
It was the first time he had ever called you by your first name and, to be honest, it took you by surprise. It felt so out of character for him.
“Now as for the reason why I am calling: I have news regarding the settlement with the Yun clan and other information I would like to pass along to you.”
You were nodding your head slowly, trying to comprehend what he was saying.
“Would it be possible to meet up within the next few days?”
You hummed, still not quite sure where all this would end up.
“How does -” there was a short moment of silence, only the sound of what might have been him flipping through pages of his calendar, before continuing; “- Thursday at 1 pm sound?”
“Yeah, sure” you muttered, already knowing you had nothing planned and even if you had, you would cancel in a heartbeat for whatever information there was regarding your ‘parents’.
“Great! I will send a message with the place and time.”
“Yeah, whatever” you mumbled, hoping he did not hear it and if he did, he ignored it and ended the call with a curt yet quick farewell, then the line went dead. You looked at the phone in frustration and let out a heavy sigh, your mind was already overworking itself, making you fear what was to come.
Thursday arrived way too fast for your liking. Your nerves had been building up ever since Mr. Wang’s call and now that the day had come, they were reaching a breaking point. You had been anxious the whole day; pacing around your apartment since you had awoken and had tried to eat. But even the smallest amount of food had made you sick to your stomach. And now, you were squirming in your metro seat and picking at your cuticles out of habit.
You were not sure of how long you had been picking at your fingers, only stopping when a monotone voice sounded from the speakers, declaring the next stop which just happened to be your stop. As you took a hold of your bag, you noticed how the skin around your fingers was raw and inflamed. It was almost bleeding.
“For fuck sake” you mumbled annoyed, your skin had only just somewhat healed from last time. However, you could not linger on it for too long since you had somewhere to be, so with a heavy sigh, you left the comfort of your seat and went over to the doors, waiting patiently for them to slide open.
You exited the metro station with quick steps stopping shortly when you noted how the mass of people only seemed to grow even denser as you arrived at the street. Your heart raced at the sight of the packed place, starting to feel overwhelmed at the thought of having to go through the sea of people. You had to zigzag around people, making sure not to collide with anyone while looking for the meeting address Mr. Wang had sent you. Even as you frantically looked for the address, your mind was just as frantically coming up with what-if scenarios. You could not help it. You were not sure what Mr. Wang could possibly want to tell you, that could not be said over the phone. What if he had mistaken and your parents had not wished for you to inherit anything? Or what if it was even more devastating? Another death in the family, maybe?
Finally, as the crowd seemed to thin out, you could look around a little easier and as your eyes flicked around they locked upon a building. Then your eyes darted to your phone, making sure that you were indeed at the right address. You were. So you tucked the phone back into your shoulder bag and your eyes - once again, locked upon the building.
The whole building was made of glass, reflecting the beautiful blue of the autumn sky to glowing with orange hues from pale peach to tangerine whenever the sun peeked through the clouds. It was stretching itself toward the sky, almost as if to break through to the heavens.
Then your eyes slowly traveled back down from the top of the building, until they settled upon the entrance. Immediately, noticing a black-suited man standing in the foyer of the building, staring at you with a stern look almost as if to tell you that you did not belong here. However, you already knew this, but Mr. Wang wanted to meet up here and you could not back down now.
Or could you?
No.
No, you could not do that. You had to know what Mr. Wang could possibly want. He wanted to meet up instead of simply telling you over the phone - like most people would and it had piqued your interest. Moreover, since it was most definitely about your deceased parents, you had to know.
You inhaled and exhaled with a sigh, then began the short walk toward the entrance with shaky legs. You could feel the stern-looking man’s eyes on you as you neared the entrée. It made you uncomfortable; the way he was burning holes into you, confirming you that you did not belong there.
But then again, where did you belong?
You wrapped your arms around your stomach to shrink into yourself, lowering your head in an attempt to make yourself even smaller. With your head bowed down, you distracted yourself by counting the cracks on the pavement.
You were so preoccupied that you did not notice that someone had opened the door for you. It was only when the warm air slapped you in the face and a gasp slipped past your lips, you realized that you had stepped into the building.
“Can I help you, ma’am?”
Immediately, you whipped your head around and your eyes traveled over the man until they landed on his face, still as serious and stern as a stone. A few seconds went by with you simply looking at him and not uttering a word, so the man rephrased his question.
“Do you have an appointment with someone today, ma’am?” the man asked, face softening slightly as he noticed your disheveled appearance; swollen eyes, cheeks flushed and splotchy, and hair slightly tousled.
“-Yes, sir,” you said timidly. You loosened the scarf around your neck in an attempt to cool yourself down from the sudden heat. In addition, to reduce the uncomfortableness you had felt ever since he had settled his eyes on you.
“Can I have the name of the person you have an appointment with?” He asked and fished out a tablet from the inner pocket of his jacket.
“Oh. I am here to see Mr. Wang.” As soon as the name passed your lips, the man’s eyes flicked back to the tablet and tapped on its screen. A few moments went by when he suddenly looked at you again, this time with a brow raised; “Miss Yun, I assume then?”
You nodded.
“Do you have any ID on you miss?”
You nodded once again, opening your bag and started looking for your identification card. You scolded yourself as you roamed through the bag, it had to be there somewhere in the mess of a bag. When suddenly your fingers brushed against the chapped sides of a card. You could not hold back the small victory wiggle as you pulled the card out.
The man simply took the card from you.
He glanced at you to make sure that you were indeed the same person as the one in the photo. His eyes flicked from your face to the card and back. Unable to bear the scrutiny in his eyes, you looked away and started fidgeting with the few loose threads from your scarf. You found yourself getting hotter and hotter, afraid that he would not recognize the person in the photo. You had changed since the photo had been taken.
“Everything seems to check out, miss Yun.” The stern look washed away from his face as soon as your identity was confirmed, a loose smile finding its way onto his face instead. “You will have to take the elevator to the 42nd floor where Mr. Wang is staying, either he or his secretary will be there to welcome you.” He continued while pointing you towards the elevator.
“Thank you,” you said, a shy smile painted on your face. You gave a quick bow, then walked down the long hallway toward the elevator. You did not have to wait long for the elevator - maybe a few minutes, but no more than three.
You leaned against the elevator wall as soon as you entered and waited for the doors to close. As you stood alone inside the empty elevator, the nerves you had tried so hard to ignore ambushed you: you were staring blankly ahead of you while your heartbeat increased to an alarming pace, it felt as if it was about to jump out of your chest. Blood rushed to your ears, flushing out all other noises than the sound of your overworking heart.
A sudden ding chimed and the doors slowly slid open. Your eyes widened and darted over to the screen where the floor number shined brightly. 42nd. The floors had passed by way too quickly for your liking. You did not even have a moment to collect yourself before you stumbled out of the elevator with wobbly legs. You steadied yourself against a wall just outside of the elevator, taking a deep breath while closing your eyes, trying to calm yourself down. Luckily it did not take you long before your heartbeat slowed down to a somewhat normal rate.
With shaking legs you began your small walk down the corridor. Your eyes darted around, trying to find either Mr. Wang or a secretary - anyone for that matter, but none came into view.
You kept walking until you came by an empty desk. You look around, trying to see if anyone was near still, none were to be seen. Then your eyes landed on a dark mahogany door with four golden letters on it: ‘WANG’.
It had to be here.
You took a few steps towards the door and knocked on it, still somewhat scared about what may happen in there. Somehow you were still holding on to the hope that your parents would be standing in there, but you knew better. It would only happen in dreams. And this was anything but a dream.
You fidgeted with your jacket while waiting for any kind of response when suddenly the door was ripped open. A gasp passed your lips as you came face to face with a pair of kind eyes behind a pair of brown eyes behind a pair of glasses. There was a hint of kindness and somehow they seemed to calm you a little - but only a little.
“Thank you for coming, Miss Yun. I hope it was not too much of a problem for you.” Mr. Wang said, stepping aside for you to enter the office. You shook your head to make it clear that it was fine (even if it had been a problem, you probably would not have said anything).
“Then please sit down,” he said, pulling out the chair for you. The corner of your lips quirked up in a small smile in gratitude before sitting down in the chair he had offered.
“Would you like anything to drink? Coffee? Water? A soda?” He asked while walking behind the desk you now sat in front of. The question threw you slightly off, reminding you why you were there. This was not going to be an easy or short conversation.
It was going to be a difficult one, you already knew it.
“Just water, please.” You answered timidly, suddenly not having the courage to speak any louder in fear of your voice breaking.
He gave you a small nod, walking over to the bar cart in the far corner of the office before grabbing what you assumed to be a water bottle and poured it into two glasses. He strode back to the desk, placing one of the glasses in front of you before taking a seat. He took a sip of water and turned to you with a gentle smile.
“Let us begin then.”
