A choking sound echoes from the backroom, followed by a loud clank of dishes and Seokjin doesn’t need to take a look to know it was Jungkook, knew the vampire smelt you as you approached the coffee shop and knew your scent only grew stronger when you pulled the door open and wind followed you in, wafting the lobby with the sweet smell of you. Your flowery perfume easily overrode the bitter stench of beans and Seokjin himself had the pleasure of catching a small whiff of the incredibly addicting fragrance.
Instead of making your way up to the counter, you keep your eyes glued to the shattered screen of your phone as you blindly stumble for the closest table positioned by the freshly-cleaned window.
Seokjin sighs and carefully places down the cup he was drying, drapes the cloth next to it and shoves at the swinging door to the back kitchen. He finds Jungkook standing over the coffee machines, the technology beeping loudly as every wrong button is pushed.
“Jungkook, what the hell,”
Seokjin stomps over and grabs the teenager’s wrists together, pins them against the taller boy’s chest and forces him to take a step back.
“What are you doing?”
“I need a fucking distraction Seokjin, she-“
Jungkook flinches when the hard thump of Seokjin’s finger flicks against his forehead. He frowns and rubs the spot, despite feeling no pain.
“Hey,”
“Watch your language,”
Seokjin scolds and in turn Jungkook huffs in annoyance, decides to ignore him.
“She smells like… like rain?”
Seokjin peeks at the confused boy out of the corner of his eye, watches him rip his beanie off and scratch at his head before slipping it back on.
“Is it raining outside? She smells like rain, I smell rain and flowers and, what is that; ink? Day old ink, Seokjin, what am I smelling right now?”
“Can you wait her already? She’s been sitting too long, stop looking for a useless distraction from her and just go,”
Jungkook’s eyes widen in horror.
“Be her waiter?”
“What the hell did you do to my machine?”
Seokjin taps on the top of the coffee maker and gets an angry screech in response. He takes a deep calming breath, turning to a panicking Jungkook.
“Get out of my kitchen before I beat you. Go, go,”
Jungkook was more than strong enough to resist but he lets Seokjin throw him out anyway, long legs tangling together and causing him to fall to the tiled floor behind the counter. He quickly pops up, clears his throat out of embarrassment and locates you at the front of the store. His mouth immediately goes cotton dry, mind fuzzy and chest stiff at the sight of the tight fitting dress you wore. It was midnight black and squeezed at your every curve, heeled boots the same color reaching up a few inches below the hemline, right above your knees to teasingly leave an inch or two of glowing skin to his eye.
Your legs were crossed and bouncing beneath the table and your face was nearly fully buried into the magazine clutched in your hand. His heart skips a beat and thumps against his ribcage, causing him to suck down a painful breath before forcing himself to swirl around the counter and trips over his shoes on his way over to you.
“Y-Y/n?”
He curses himself in his head multiple times for stuttering. He was with you for hours yesterday but he was finding it difficult to speak to you. Especially with the way your dress dipped so low in the front and placed your breasts on display as he stood over you. He nearly choked again when you looked up at him, your expression brightening at the familiar face.
“Jungkook? Hey!”
He smiles shyly and looks down at his red leather Nikes.
“Hi,”
The sound of you swiftly closing your magazine snaps his gaze back up. You smile brightly and prop your chin on your hand.
“What’re you doing here? Do you work here?”
“What? No, no. Seokjin-”
“Your dad’s friend,”
He tries stopping the warmth from spreading through him at the fact that you remembered.
“Yeah uh, he owns it, I was just… um… hanging… out and,”
He bites his lip and you tilt your head.
“Saw me?”
He nods sheepishly.
“Am I interrupting?”
You jump to clear your other books out of the way, gesturing towards the seat across from you.
“No! Sit, please,”
Jungkook looks around first.
“Do you want a drink? I can have Seokjin make you something,”
You purse your lips in thought before reciting a request to him. When he turns and shouts your order loudly over his shoulder, you can’t hide the giggles that leave your mouth. He spins to you again with wide eyes and the corners of his lips turn up slightly when he sees your hands over your face, shoulders shaking with your laugh. Your eyes were sparkling and he thinks he better take that offered seat now before his knees gave out on him. He slips into the chair and quickly looks out the window at the sunrise to avoid eye contact with you, follows the raindrop trails as they slide down the glass pane.
“Isn’t it supposed to be hot today?”
“Hmm,”
You gain his attention and you nod at his top; another thick sweatshirt like the day before but this time pure white and greatly oversized, looking like it belonged to his father. He wore a matching white beanie and some black torn jeans, not the typical outfit for this time in the early months of summer.
“Oh, right yeah. I just, I’m allergic… to… the sun,”
He sees fearful realization flash in your eyes for a brief second before you mask it with interest.
“Really? Wow, that must be awful,”
“It’s a burden,”
He sighs, shifting in his seat.
“Staying so covered up all the time,”
He trails off and you chew on your bottom lip, your tongue briefly making an appearance before your mouth opens. He waits for you to say something but your lips press together again, your hands slowly reaching for your magazine.
“Can I get your opinion on something?”
“Of course,”
Jungkook replies without missing a beat, sits up straighter and leans his elbows on the tables surface.
“So I’m looking for an apartment right,”
His eyes rise from the book to your face, his jaw clenching uncomfortably. A war is fought in his eyes, blue threatening to shine through but sharp nails cutting into his palms due to his clenched fists bring him back.
“Okay,”
“And I just don’t know if this is a nice enough place or not like, I’m having mixed feelings about a couple of different things,”
You flip the pages in your pamphlet until you land upon an ad for an apartment for rent in town. Many colorful pictures tagged with captions decorated the sheets and you place the book down, spin it around and slide it towards Jungkook.
“I love how spacious the living room is, the wood floors are great, the giant floor to ceiling windows leading out to the balcony are perfect too, but I feel like the walls being brick like, brings the charm down I guess?”
Jungkook looks at the picture your manicured finger was pointing towards and tilts his head.
“I think,”
You look up at him in anticipation and he takes a breath.
“Honestly, I think the brick wall brings the charm up, not down,”
“Wait, really?”
You gasp and take a second look at the photo. Jungkook hesitates, wondering if hanging out twice was enough for him to take certain actions. He goes against his brain screaming at him to hold back and carefully moves your hand so he can face the magazine towards you. Thankfully, you don’t even flinch when his cold fingers make contact with your own but the spark that passes from you to him has him yanking away all too fast.
“Look at the brick colors, they’re so light and sandy colored with the occasional dark block, plus with the flooring being that deep cherry wood, soft beige furniture, maybe almost white, would look incredible,”
When he looks up, you’re staring at him with slightly widened eyes, admiration there but so small even he couldn’t detect it.
“Are you a secret designer?”
You tentatively ask and it earns you an embarrassed chuckle and a glimpse of rose dusted cheeks.
“No, no. Seokjin’s sort of a freak about that stuff, I’ve picked up a few things,”
“I heard that,”
Jungkook and you both jump at the unexpected third party, simultaneously glancing up and sheepishly taking in Seokjin’s unamused expression.
“I didn’t mean it badly,”
“Sure,”
He quirks his eyebrow and slides your freshly made drink in front of you with a contagious smile, gentle hand squeezing your shoulder in a friendly way.
“Enjoy,”
“Thank you,”
He shoots a pointed look at the teenager perched in front of you before he makes his way back over to the counter to help another costumer. You stare after him for a moment and Jungkook uncomfortably clears his throat, causing your dazed attention to snap to him.
“Have a crush on him?”
“What? No,”
You take one last glance.
“He’s just, he’s intimidatingly attractive, and he’s hard to look away from,”
You shyly admit, swallowing thickly the same time Jungkook does.
“Oh,”
“Is your entire family like that?”
He pokes at the inside of his cheek with his tongue, looks outside to look over the morning bustle.
“All of my brothers are very handsome, my father too,”
You whine.
“Remind me to never meet them,”
Jungkook watches you wipe your hands over your face out of the corner of his eye.
“Why’s that?”
Your palms loudly smack onto the smooth tables surface and you puff out air.
“Because if they look anything like him, or like you for that matter, holy shit,”
He turns to you fully.
“Are you calling me attractive?”
“Fuck yes,”
Your eyes grow dramatically.
“Wait no, oh god. I am so sorry; I didn’t mean to blurt that out,”
He purses his lips and shakes his head to dismiss you, drumming his fingers along the edge of the book. You follow his sight to his dancing knuckles.
“Right, the apartment,”
You take a deep breath before changing the page, thankful for the distraction.
“This other one is a lot smaller but it’s nicer, it also has the wood floors, the um, only one big window and the walls are normal in this one too but the building it’s in has a pool on the roof. Which I think is pretty neat,”
Your voice fades off to silence as Jungkook loses himself in the thought of you in a swimsuit, the image popping up in his mind. He thinks you’d look best in something red or pale blue, maybe black because the dark color looked absolutely stunning on you. He knew anything you wore would leave him speechless but before he could explore any other options, your voice breaks through his reality barrier.
“Jungkook,”
“Hmm,”
He sucks his lips into his mouth and pretends he was paying attention the whole time.
“Your thoughts on this one?”
He unfolds his arms from under his chin and lays them out flat to frame the sides of the small table, his eyebrows drawing in as you push the ad closer. You copy his actions and stretch your arms out on the insides of his, your skin brushing up against the soft fabric of his hoodie sleeves. He looks over your touching limbs and hides his smile by coughing, his hand flipping the magazine back to you.
“Well, you’re right about the substantial size difference,”
You glare down at the pictures.
“But there’s a pool,”
He nods in confirmation.
“But there’s a pool,”
You take the first drink out of your cup and greedily swallow it down, loving the way it splashed on your taste buds and left a sweet caramel aftertaste.
“Mm,”
“Good?”
Jungkook wonders aloud and you push the cup over to him without removing your eyes from the paper, your arm returning to its place against his. He lifts the mug and takes the smallest sip, the human liquid almost burning his tongue and making him jerk away from the dull taste. He quickly pushes it back over to you in disgust, lips smacking.
“I like this last one,”
You comment quietly, tracing your finger over the new photos he hasn’t looked at yet. You swirl the book around and move it closer to him, eyes trailing up to gage his reaction.
“This one..?”
He trails off, glancing up from behind his long thick lashes.
“Oh, this one is bigger than both of the last two. It has a second floor, an open second floor and from there I believe there’s access to the roof but not only that, it still has my cute windows and your brick walls and there’s actually a hot tub out on the balcony I think, wait,”
You lean forward and Jungkook’s airway closes up when the edge of the table pulls the front of your dress further down than it already was. Instead of staring, he turns away and looks at Seokjin, watches him smile and laugh with the costumers. To Jungkook it looked a lot like flirting and he’s surprised his dad hasn’t shown up to tear the place apart yet.
“Yes I was right, see,”
Jungkook turns back to you, eyes falling upon your exposed chest first before going lower to where you were pointing out a picture of a Jacuzzi.
“Do you like hot tubs?”
Your eyes flick up to his face for a second, thinking he’s just playing with you but when you see how serious he is you do a double take. You raise your eyebrow and lean back, prop your head up on your hand and in response Jungkook leans closer and does the same.
“Well?”
“Why?”
You ask, trying not to smirk at his obvious interest.
“Do you like hot tubs, Jungkook?”
“Me? Hmm,”
Cracking a smile, you scoff a laugh out beneath your breath; shake your head as he pretends to think about your question.
“It depends,”
This time you lean close too, squint at him when he replies. He looks over your face then meets your eyes.
“On?”
“On, who I’m spending time with, because you see, if I’m with my brothers or dad, seeing them in nothing but shorts wouldn’t be my idea of a good time, but if I was with… let’s say,”
“Me?”
You offer yourself up and he’s genuinely surprised for two seconds. He quickly regains his composure and nods.
“You,”
He repeats quietly, biting his lip. The way his eyes drag from your head down to your chest doesn’t go unnoticed.
“Probably’d like it a lot more,”
Your body gets hot at that, feels like somebody’s lit a fire beneath your chair and you try to hold off your smile as long as possible, but you break and drop your head to the table to hide it, curling your arms around you as a barrier while your shoulders shook. You shoot back up and lightly smack him on his hand.
“Stop flirting!”
He can’t contain his own wide grin, his head shaking.
“Not flirting,”
“Liar,”
You run your hands over your warm face after whispering; willing the redness you know was there to disappear. You pick at the clumps of mascara on your eyelashes to avoid eye contact, cheeks still embarrassingly pink and flattered smile present.
“I hate you,”
Your voice is quiet, gentle and obviously playful. You drop your arm and lick your lips when you look at his smug face.
“You don’t hate me,”
You take a deep breath and let it out in a sigh, watching your arms slot together the way they were before and Jungkook’s very large hands wrap around the sides so his thumbs can comfortingly smooth between the creases of where your elbows bent.
“I don’t,”
You admit quietly and he gets a pleasant warmth bomb going off in his chest because of it. It’s his turn to be flattered and his gaze bounces around the shop again before landing upon you. You puff your cheeks out and look over the different shades of brown in his dark irises.
“Your eyes are very pretty,”
You compliment him and you could hear his swallow with how thick it was.
“Thank you,”
Neither of your voices exceed a whisper for reasons unknown, the sounds of clanking coffee cups and quiet conversations, beeping machines and the crunching of paper as newspapers are opened and flipped through, even the muffled noises of the early morning traffic outside dulled down around you both and blended together into silence.
Jungkook felt pain when you looked at him the way you were, mapping out his features with a strange interest. You wanted to comment on how full and pink his lips were, how nice they looked shining under the lights whenever he licked them, how erotic and suggestive he looked when his eyes were half-lidded like that, staring right at you like he would pounce on you in any second if you two weren’t in public, but nothing would come out. Your throat was dry and your drink was right there, but you couldn’t find it in you to reach for it to take a refreshing sip, soothe the scratch that tickled. You couldn’t find the strength in you to pull away from his touch.
Your phone blares and you jump in shock, Jungkook quickly yanking his arms back like you two were caught kissing at a time you shouldn’t have been.
“Sorry,”
You quickly answer your call and even though Jungkook can hear that it’s your boyfriend he pretends he can’t, scratches at the table laminate as a distraction from taking your phone and tossing it to the bottom of the ocean just so he doesn’t have to listen to Mark’s voice.
“Why do you keep doing this Mark? You can’t keep hiding if you’re-”
It seems like you’re cut off because you stop suddenly, tap your nails impatiently.
“Um no, I’m trying to see you as much as possible but you keep-”
You sigh deeply, your fingers rubbing circles into your temple.
“Mark, this is for you, we should be going together,”
Your voice is lower now; Jungkook can tell you’ve had enough of whatever your boyfriend was saying to you. Your eyes were closed and you rest your forehead in the palm of your hand.
“You’re the one who wanted to move, not me. This is your doing and you’re making me go alone? What are you doing right now that you can’t come? Are you with those damn boys again? In fact, are they the reason you haven’t been home all week?”
It is a few seconds of yelling on the other end.
“No! We’re having this conversation no- Mark?”
Your eyebrows scrunch and you glance at your phone screen before pressing it back against your ear.
“Mark? Holy shit he didn’t,”
You throw the device down in frustration and Jungkook stops it from sliding off of the table, slides it safely to the center while you exasperatedly rake your fingers through your hair.
“I swear to fucking God,”
You mutter to yourself, hiding your face so you don’t scream at the top of your lungs with so many people around. Jungkook frowns and sizes up your tense shoulders.
“Is everything… okay..?”
“Yeah,”
You quietly lie to him, hands dropping and revealing your face. Jungkook knows you’re lying, is trying to refrain from reading your mind and figuring out the problem himself. He respected you and wanted you to trust him, invading your thoughts wouldn’t gain that for him.
“Actually no,”
He acts on impulse, drops his arm and lays his hand up flat in innocent invitation. You notice it and the corner of your lips turn up slightly, but you don’t fully smile. You place your hand on top of his and allow his fingers to curl around yours, his hand completely swallowing your smaller one whole. His thumb gently traces over the curves of your knuckles and you train your eyes on the flashy watch strapped around his wrist so the upcoming conversation doesn’t sound as pathetic as it seems. You looked like you were about to cry and that was enough for Jungkook to want Mark’s head on a stick.
“My boyfriend, he’s been so distant lately. I don’t think it’s another girl or anything because he is so damn troubled, nobody else would know how to deal with him but his friends and me. It seems like they’re all that matter all of the sudden? He’s never home anymore and he has me do all of this stuff for him and it’s not like I mind doing things for him, it’s fine, but it wouldn’t hurt to thank me every once in a while,”
Jungkook squeezes your hand to urge you to continue.
“I’m sorry for whining to you about my problems, he just frustrates me so damn much sometimes. I swear he’s going to break up with me; that’s what happens when you guys act distant right? You make us resent you before you leave so you don’t-”
“Hey,”
Jungkook’s voice is soft and you look up, almost burst into tears right there at his genuine concern; all of it for you.
“Jesus I’m sorry,”
You shake your head and try pulling your hand away, but he just grasps onto your wrist instead.
“We’ve just met yesterday and I’m asking you about apartments and crying to you about my boyfriend, what the hell is wrong with me?”
“Do you have anywhere to be? Can we go for a walk?”
When you don’t look up from your lap, fiery feud going on in your mind, he reaches across the table and carefully knocks a finger beneath your chin, forcing you to tilt your head up and meet his gaze.
“It will make you feel better, please,”
You blink, nodding slowly and he releases you to grab your phone and magazines, stands up and waits for you to lift your purse by your feet to join him. He pushes the door open for you and you both walk out into the foggy morning but Jungkook’s arm stops you from going any further than a foot from the entrance. You squint up at him, curiously watching him tug his beanie off and offer it to you.
“Here,”
“What-”
“So your hair doesn’t get wet,”
You wave your hands, sweet as the gesture is.
“Oh, Jungkook,”
When you don’t take the hat he places it on your head for you, makes sure the ends are folded over the tips of your ears to keep them warm beneath thick material. He crouches down to meet your height while he looks over his work, his face only a few inches from your own as he tucks a stray hair or two up into the hem and out of your face.
“There,”
He stands up straight and nods proudly, pointing at you.
“If you take it off I’ll bite you,”
The threat seems harmless enough but you can’t help but to think about it as you merge into the massive race of business people. There’s a hand as light as a feather falling upon your shoulder, abducting your attention away from the damp sidewalk.
“I was only kidding,”
Jungkook assures you gently and you nod. You knew that. His hand moves to your other shoulder, his arm firmly wrapping around you and drawing you into his side when a shiver noticeably wiggles your spine. He was cold but his jacket wasn’t and you find yourself pressing further beneath his cozy arm.
“Jungkook,”
“Hmm,”
You lick your lips and lean closer, feeling nothing but care and warmth from his touches, security and safety. Things you haven’t felt in a long time.
“I just,”
He doesn’t force you to spit out whatever it was you were trying to say, stays out of your head and gives you the chance to tell him yourself.
“I’m just glad I ran into you yesterday, I like having you around. I like,”
“Me,”
“Huh?”
“You like me,”
Jungkook finishes your sentence and you look up at him, thinking about his answer for a second. You snuggle back underneath his arm.
“Yeah,”
You settle for nodding, your mind not focused on how problematic your boyfriend was for once.
“Yeah, I like you,”
You feel a squeeze on your shoulder, a calming massage to say ‘I know’. The gesture encourages you to gain enough courage to ask your next question.
“Jungkook, do you have to be home anytime soon?”
“Um,”
He hums right by your ear while he thought.
“I don’t think so. Not for a bit, why,”
You don’t reply and he tilts his head in front of your gaze, smiling at you.
“Why’d you ask?”
You shake your head and he laughs.
“You asked for a reason, come on. Just tell me what’s up,”
“I don’t want to go look at these places alone,”
You pull out of his hold and he stops walking when you do. His face twists up in worry, his hand reaching out for you a few feet away from him.
“Are you-“
“Please come with me,”
You blurt out, tone laced with a certain desperateness you disliked. Your hands wring together as you nervously await his response. Maybe he’d think you were weird, you just met yesterday and now you were asking him to search for a house with you? It could be considered creepy but you hoped he felt as comfortable with you as you did with him already in the small amount of time spent together.
When he doesn’t say anything your heart races and you feel like you need to explain yourself.
“I just, Mark is out of town and being alone for this kind of stuff sucks you know?”
You trail off quietly, catching onto your own rambling. Jungkook was just staring at you and you didn’t know what he was thinking. But then he’s smiling at and relief is flooding through you.
A/N: HELLO I AM SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG. I started writing it a while ago but then I fucked up my leg and almost got COVID and now I’m studying for midterms and it’s a whole ass mess. Honestly I have no idea how unpredictable my update schedule will be for the next few weeks with all the studying and traveling I’ll be doing, but this series is still very much continuing! I sincerely hope you enjoyed this update. Let me know if you’d like to be added to the taglist — Rynn
A/N: holy shit this update is t h i c c. lmao i hope you all enjoyed the drama! shit is going down and i am living for it. next update coming soon! let me know if you’d like to be added to the taglist — Rynn
A/N: alright y’all i still feel hella bad about the impromptu hiatus so you get a double update today :) i hope you guys enjoyed! next chapter coming within the next few days. let me know if you’d like to be added to the taglist — Rynn
Your eyes widen as soon as you step into the common room.
This isn’t a party. It’s a fucking disaster.
The celebration only commenced twenty minutes ago, and already you can tell that it’s gotten way out of hand. Drunken students wander aimlessly about the area, packed so uncomfortably close together that just looking at them makes you feel a bit claustrophobic. Multi-colored lights flash overhead, no doubt one of the Muggle contraptions your housemates snuck in for this very purpose. The stereo system you helped set up just a few days prior is blasting music so violently loud that you can feel the ground shake beneath you with every beat. Aside from the occasional house elf, it seems as though every non-human frequenter of the common room has chosen to stay away tonight. Even the mermaids have elected to swim away from the windows.
Most of the unnaturally sweaty bodies blend together, a mix of faces you’ve seen dozens of times but can’t quite place. The vast majority of them are Slytherins, undoubtedly elated at the prospect of celebrating such a momentous victory. A good portion of them don’t even like you — your blood status was more than enough to get you ousted from the more elite circles, something you discovered early on in your first year — but the promise of free booze and bragging rights seems to have been too much for them to resist. A handful of visitors from other houses have made an appearance, even a few Hufflepuffs, but not nearly enough to puncture the sea of green attire. Part of you is proud. The other part is anxious.
Of course, there are more than a few familiar faces. Benjamin and Leo are playing butterbeer-pong in the corner, shouting at the top of their lungs every time they miss a shot (which, for two members of the winning team, seems to be quite often). Emilia and her girlfriend Abbey are downing shots of firewhiskey at the bar with smiles that make even you a bit uneasy. Anthony is passed out drunk on one of the couches, arms hanging limply at his sides and mouth wide open. Oliver is making out with a rather familiar-looking blonde on the far side of the room; you have no idea when he and Hannah Abbott got so close, but you suspect it’s better if you don’t ask.
And, of course, there is the matter of your friends.
For all the lectures they’ve given you over the years about drinking in moderation and being responsible at parties, they seem to be (for lack of a better phrase) absolutely fucking plastered.The four of you have been to your fair share of celebrations together over the years, yet you can’t recall a single time they’ve gotten quite this level of drunk. You’re already thinking of sarcastic comments to throw at them tomorrow morning while they’re nursing their hangovers. For now, though, you simply lean back against the wall and resign yourself to watching the chaos unfold with an endlessly amused expression.
Yoongi has planted himself firmly in the middle of the dance floor, shaking his hips and waving his arms like there’s no tomorrow. He’s attracted a bit of a following, actually, baffled onlookers scrambling to get a look at the notoriously stoic Seeker dancing to a Ricky Martin song. It’s easy to spot the newcomers among them. The more senior members of Slytherin have grown accustomed to Yoongi’s drunken dancing, having witnessed it up close and personal during the infamous Halloween Rager fourth year. Most of you have learned to tune it out by now. He seems to be enjoying the attention at least, grinning from ear to ear as he grinds to the beat of “Living la Vida Loca.” It takes every ounce of strength within you to stop yourself from recording it.
Jungkook is planted firmly at the bar, drunkenly singing along to the music while he tosses darts at a blank wall. He’s got a rather large bottle of whiskey — Muggle whiskey, which you’re quite sure they don’t sell in Hogsmeade — clutched in his free hand, the contents of which appear to be almost entirely missing. He sports a goofy grin as he throws a handful of darts at the opposite wall, entirely unconcerned by the fact that he almost takes a Hufflepuff’s ear off. No one seems at all bothered by his rather raucous display. A few of the younger Slytherins have gathered around him, probably hoping that he’ll keep them safe should the other Gryffindor show up. You know that even in this miserable state, he will.
Hobi, of course, is the most hopelessly wasted of them all. The man’s chugging a bottle of butterbeer as he dances atop a nearby table, not at all bothered by the odd looks he’s getting. In fact, he doesn’t seem to have a care in the world beyond moving his hips in time with the music and finishing his drink. You used to scoff and hide your face in embarrassment when he pulled stunts like this, terrified that it might get you on the wrong person’s radar — after all, you weren’t keen on taking chances when Umbridge was sniffing about. Now, though, you simply laugh and cheer him on from the sidelines, endlessly amused by the antics of your dearest friend in the world.
His lips quirk into a lazy smile as soon as he notices you. Rather than wave you over or shout for you like a regular person, he elects to jump off the table, throw his empty bottle over his shoulder, and sprint through the crowd to reach you. A few disgruntled patrons shout at him as he shoves them out of the way, but he pays them no mind. All he cares about, it seems, is you.
“There you are!” The man practically cheers once he finally reaches you, grinning from ear to ear. Hobi normally isn’t one to overdo it on affection — the kindest thing he’s ever said to you in public is that your company is slightly preferable to Jungkook’s — but drunkHobi is another story entirely. He pulls you into a bone-crushing hug, one that leaves you gasping for air as you rock back and forth. Your struggle only seems to amuse him further.
“Here I am,” you cough, awkwardly patting his back as he squeezes you. “What’s going on with you? Last time you hugged me, I’d just saved you from a Death Eater attack.”
Hobi releases you from the hug with a contended sigh. “I’m just so happy, y/n,” he slurs dreamily. “We’re finally celebrating! No more Voldemort, no more creepy skulls, no more Umbridge. Now we can just have fun, like we’re supposed to! Isn’t it amazing?!”
“Yeah. Yeah, I know exactly what you mean.”
You have every intention of pulling him towards the bar to grab a drink with you, but he seems to have other plans. Rather than join you on your quest for alcohol, he wraps his hand around your wrist and tugs you firmly towards the dance floor. The logical side of your brain urges you to pull away, to lock him in your room until he sobers up so he doesn’t end up doing something he (or you) will regret in the morning.
The other side already knows that he’s going to find a way to rope you into his schemes no matter what, so you might as well just go along with his plan now and get it over with.
A few of your housemates pat you on the back as you weave your way through the crowd, still reeling over the high of your victory — and though you hate to admit it, it’s actually kind of nice to receive some positive attention for once. You’re no stranger to high-spirited Quidditch after parties, but it’s been so long since you had a chance to play that you’ve almost forgotten the exhilaration. For a few precious hours, no one cares about your reputation or your propensity to find trouble; not even the prefects can find it within them to hand out detentions and ruin the mood. These little ragers are perhaps the only opportunities you have to completely let go, to forget the pain and stress and heartache and just enjoy yourself. You can’t believe you’ve gone this long without them.
You just barely manage to contain your smile as he stops point blank in the middle of the crowd; never one for avoiding the spotlight, that boy. It would be easier to shuffle in place, to simply move along with the music and blend in with the crowd — but when have you two ever gone out of your way to avoid attention? Without a care in the world, Hobi discards his drink, pulls you in as close as humanly possible, and rests his hands firmly on the dip of your hips. You don’t even bother holding back your laughter.
He’s so close that you can smell the cinnamon on his breath, the last remnants of his hastily-guzzled butterbeer. His grip on your hips is both gentle and firm, a silent reminder that he has no intention of letting you scurry off back to your room before the “guest of honor” arrives (which he already knows you’ve thought about doing). The space between you is so small that the beat of sweat trickling down the side of his face actually lands on the curve of your cheek. Your noses are less than an inch away from each other. To the untrained eye, you’re only seconds away from kissing.
Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. Appearances can be deceiving, and in this case, they’re simply unequivocally false. A few new faces might wonder whether or not there’s anything going on between you and your best friend of almost seven years, but most everyone in the room knows that this is the closest you and Hobi will everget to crossing the boundary between friend and lover. Such intimate acts of physical affection are rare between the two of you, particularly with you being so fond of showing your love through thinly-veiled insults, but they’ve been known to happen. Fortunately, your housemates know entirely well that such interactions hardly leave the dance floor, and certainly never lead to anything else. You’ve never had eyes for Hobi in that way, no matter how handsome he is.
As for him, you’re simply not his type.
Still, that doesn’t stop you from tossing your arms around his neck and pressing your body flush against his. He catches on quick, carelessly pulling you closer with a drunken grin. The pair of you move in perfect sync, lips quirked into easy smiles and heads thrown back in laughter. You shake your hips and wave your hands entirely out of tune with the music, probably coming across as idiots but too elated to care. His hands hold your hips so tightly that you suspect you’ll have bruises there in the morning, but you don’t mind; he’s an affection drunk, and you’ve learned to pick your battles.
You can’t help but chuckle as you dance. The air in this room is absolutely electric, and you can’t get enough of it. It’s been so long since you’ve gotten to let go like this that you’ve actually forgotten how addicting it is. In your early days at Hogwarts, before things really got out of hand and you started to split your time between pranks and dueling practice, this was practically all you did. You and your friends would sneak out every weekend to party with the older kids, nevermind the odd looks a group of thirteen year-olds got whenever they snuck into a seventh year celebration. It wasn’t even about the alcohol; there’s just something about the roar of the music, the enthusiasm of the crowd, the laughterin the air that intoxicates you. It feels better than words can describe to be back here again.
A few of the new partygoers, namely your Hufflepuff adversaries, shoot some odd glances your way as they watch you and Hobi practically drape yourselves over one another. He’s got his head laying on your shoulder and his arms wrapped firmly around your middle, teetering somewhere between enthusiastic and unconscious. You’re holding him as close as your body will allow, practically keeping him upright as the two of you sway along to the music. It’s a rather comical sight, you’re sure. It must look odd to them, your best friend clinging to you like a toddler, but you don’t care. It’s just nice to be together like this once more.
You’re just beginning to fear that he’s drank himself to the point of blacking out when a pair of familiar voices pipe up from behind you.
“Nice moves!”
“Think we can get in on this action?”
An amused scoff escapes your lips at the sound of Yoongi and Jungkook’s exaggerated cheers. They’ve somehow managed to drag themselves to this side of the room, though you can smell the booze on them from five feet away. Jungkook’s got one arm resting lazily on Yoongi’s shoulder as he shoots you a suggestive glance. The typically reserved Seeker is giving you a rather adorable smile, over the moon in his rose-tinted drunken state. They’re the picture of wasted, tripping over their words and wobbling on their feet, but you don’t even care. You simply lean over, grab them by their hands, and pull them towards you and Hobi.
You’re fairly certain that the moves the four of you are pulling don’t even deserve to be called dancing. All three of your friends are so drunk that they can barely keep themselves upright, much less will their limbs into performing any actual routines. Yoongi is just lazily waving his arms around, bearing a striking resemblance to those inflated plastic tube-men that stand in front of car dealerships. Jungkook is trying to do the robot, but he looks more like a toddler trying to learn sign language. Hobi is still holding you close, one hand planted firmly on your waist and the other trying to spin you around without losing his balance. You’re just content to sway your hips along to the music and try to catch them when they inevitably lose their balance.
Just a few months earlier, none of this seemed possible. The thought of dancing the night away with your closest friends after a Quidditch game was more of a pipe dream than an actual goal, what with everything going on. You’d resigned yourself to never again experiencing this sort of unadulterated happiness. As much as you tried to retain some shred of optimism, there came a time when you genuinely thought your best days were behind you, that you’d never get to spend time with the people you love most ever again.
You’re so glad you were wrong.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Taehyung hears you before he sees you.
He’s just barely managed to find his way into the common room. The route to Slytherin House isn’t particularly convoluted, but the halls are packed to the brim with drunken partygoers tonight, most of whom paid very little mind to his pleas for them to move out of his way. It took fifteen minutes just to push his way through the intoxicated mob, and even then he had cling to Jimin’s back while his best friend unceremoniously mowed down anyone unlucky enough to find themselves in their path. Jin and Namjoon followed reluctantly, already exhausted simply from the idea of going to the celebration. They’ve never been big on partying; honestly, no one in their friend group has. Taehyung would much rather curl up in his bed and catch up on the latest book he’d stolen from Jimin’s personal library.
But for you, he’s more than happy to brave the unimaginable horrors of a Slytherin rager. His friends wasted no time in teasing him for his eagerness to see you again — particularly Jimin, who’d been sporting a rather unsettling cat-like grin since the end of the Quidditch match. They were all keen to point out how excited he was to hang out with you, particularly when they know how much he despises parties. He doesn’t have the energy to tell them that there’s nothing going on between you two anymore; they’re clearly not listening.
Of course, he’d be lying if he said he hasn’t started to take some of their words to heart. Did you two really appear so lovey-dovey to everyone else? He’s not sure if your friends have jumped to the same conclusions as his, but judging by the way you glared at them after they introduced themselves in the stands, he’s guessing they have. He honestly has no clue why people would think such things about you two. Sure, you’ve spent a fair bit of time together lately, and sure, he spends most every waking hour texting you, and yes, he pushed through his social discomfort specifically to watch you at the Quidditch match earlier — but that doesn’t mean he likes you.
Because he doesn’t.
At least that’s what he tells himself, anyway.
He’s genuinely caught off guard by the potent scent of alcohol wafting throughout the room when he walks in, so much so that he actually has to hold his breath for a moment. It’s not the first time people have drank around him, but he’s never seen anyone take it to this level of extreme. Students of all houses are drunkenly shuffling about the common room, yelling and laughing and attempting to dance through the inebriation. It seems as though every single person here is intent on drinking to the point of blacking out. It’s an odd scene to him; Hufflepuff parties have nothingon this.
It’s not just the booze that throws him off; everything about this place is overwhelming. The strobes flash so quickly that he can barely make out his surroundings, differing hues of red, green, and blue bathing the dance floor in uncomfortably bright light. Unfamiliar music blasts through a set of speakers in the corner — no doubt from a Muggle band he’s never heard of — with such force that the floor is actually shaking. A few people are haphazardly throwing darts (and missing horribly) at a nearby wall, while a group of couples nearby have retreated to the corner to make out in plain view of everyone else. It’s easily the most rambunctious celebration he’s ever attended. Is this how Slytherin parties always go?
There’s so many bodies packed in together that he can’t even begin to discern where you’re standing — but thankfully, he doesn’t have to. Even over the incessant blare of the music, he can hear your familiar laugh echoing from amidst the crowd. The sound has his lips tilting into an easy grin. Jimin is already tugging him towards the beer pong table, but he has no interest in joining him; rather than get plastered with his friend, he wrenches his arm out of Jimin’s grip and follows the sound of your voice. Namjoon is shouting a few playful remarks as he walks away, but Taehyung can’t find it within him to care. He just wants to see you.
Despite his eagerness, he can still vaguely hear his friends laughing behind him. Jimin is naturally the loudest, evidently tickled pink by the doe-eyed look on his best friend’s face. Namjoon snickers with a shake of his head, both entertained and exhausted. Jin is trying to muffle his amusement, always the nicest of the group, but his chuckling is still audible from within the depths of the crowd. He knows they just want the best for him, but part of him wants to turn around and boot them out of the party before they can embarrass him again. Who knows what they’ll say when they see you?
Surprisingly, it takes him less than a minute to find you; your laughter is loud enough to guide him with ease. A few drunken dancers bump into him as he pushes his way through the crowd, but he isn’t bothered by it — how can he be, when you’re only a few feet away sporting the brightest smile he’s ever seen on another human being?
Dear God, you’re a sight to see.
Your head is thrown back in joyous laughter as you dance in a circle with your friends, entirely lost in the rhythm beneath your feet. Laughter slips easily past your lips. Hobi stands to your left, Yoongi to your right, and Jungkook on the other side of the makeshift ring. The four of you are holding your hands together so tightly that your knuckles have turned white. None of you can dance to save your lives, but you don’t seem to care — you just close your eyes, smile, and allow yourself to enjoy the moment. Your friends have wrenched their eyes shut as well, which Taehyung cannot even begin to comprehend. How could they not be entirely mesmerized by the image of you? How is it that every single person in this room isn’t absolutely hypnotized by you?
The poor boy actually forgets how to breathe for a moment as he watches you twirl around Yoongi. He’s been surrounded by all manner of fantastic things for as long as he can remember — flying brooms, talking animals, evil wizards with their souls locked away in fragments scattered across the country — but nothing has ever looked as magical as you do right now. Everything he’s learned seems pointless now. Why has he spent six years studying potions and spells when the most miraculous creature in the world has been walking around the castle this entire time? How had he never seen you before that night in detention? Merlin help him, how has he never noticed how incredibly beautiful you are?
He must be quite a sight, he thinks, standing stone still in the middle of the dance floor while he stares at you. The logical part of his brain urges him to move, dance, do somethingbesides watch you like a creep, but he can’t bring himself to do any of those things. He can do absolutely nothing but watch you: eyes scrunched up in laughter, sweat glimmering in the light as it rolls down your cheek, lips curled into an incandescent smile. Everyone else looks dull next to you. Every painting in the castle is worthless when compared to you. You are an absolute dream, and he hopes he never wakes up.
His heart swells in his chest with such intensity that it actually catches him off guard. For a moment he worries that he’s having a heart attack, because there’s simply no way that this is normal. No one should be able to make him feel this way, so insignificant and horribly out of control. His very existence seems worthless next to yours. Everything is too much — the lights, the music, the stench of firewhiskey and cinnamon — but he can’t bring himself to leave. Truth be told, he can’t bring himself to do much of anything besides stare at you. He could stand here forever, he thinks, and be perfectly content. As long as you’re here.
Even if he wanted to ponder why you were suddenly making him feel this way — and he really doesn’t — he never gets the chance. Your eyes land on him in the midst of one of your spins, and before he can even comprehend that you’ve caught him staring, you let go of your friends and jog across the floor to meet him. His breath hitches when he notices that your smile has only grown. Again, he tries not to think about what that might mean. It takes every ounce of strength within him not to pass out when you reach forward and playfully jostle his shoulder.
“There you are! I was starting to think you wouldn’t make it.”
He doesn’t miss the joy in your voice, though he isn’t arrogant enough to think that he’s the reason it’s there. Still, he can’t help but notice how happy you look to see him. Your enchanting grin only grows wider as you take him in, eyes raking down his body so subtly that he barely notices; Slytherin sneakiness, he supposes. He’s sure he looks rather unremarkable in his blue jeans and Hufflepuff sweater, especially compared to you (though at this point he’s convinced that you could wear a garbage bag and still be the most beautiful person he’s ever seen). He writes off the glimmer in your eyes as curiosity rather than excitement.
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” he confesses, hoping you know just how sincerely he means that. “Are these parties always so…wild?”
You chuckle. “Not really. Usually they’re pretty tame, but it’s been so long since we’ve had a chance to celebrate that we decided to go all out. Is it too overwhelming?”
“Not at all! Just different from what I’m used to. It looks like you’re having fun, though.”
The mere mention of amusement has you looking over your shoulder towards your friends. Jungkook shoots you a suggestive glance, brows raised and lips quirked into a smirk. Hobi whistles at you, and Yoongi shoots you a rather obvious thumbs up. You scoff and raise your middle finger, which only serves to make them laugh harder than they already were. As much as they seem to exhaust you, Taehyung can’t help but smile as he watches you interact with them. It gladdens him to know that you have such a close relationship with your friends. You deserve it.
“Ignore them, please,” you insist, just barely managing to suppress your smile. It breaks through a moment later, though, as your eyes light up with a sudden epiphany. With no warning whatsoever, you reach out, grab Taehyung’s hand (which doesn’t help calm his racing heart at all), and gesture towards the dance floor. “Let’s dance!”
The very thought of dancing with you has his palm sweating against yours. He’s managed to hold it together so far, but he’s fairly certain he won’t be able to make it through the first song without embarrassing himself somehow. You probably know everyone at this party, and the last thing he wants to do is humiliate you by letting everyone see you dance with a no-name Hufflepuff. Slytherins value their reputation, that much he knows, and he doesn’t want to risk ruining yours. He’s so scared of making things hard on you that he almost refuses — but funnily enough, you seem entirely unbothered.
Despite the fact that being seen with him so publicly could spell trouble for you, you don’t hesitate to pull him further into the crowd. He hasn’t even agreed to join you yet, but he isn’t surprised by your impatience; if there’s one thing he knows for sure about you, it’s that you don’t waste time when it comes to getting what you want. He just doesn’t understand why you want to hang out with him. There are dozens of cooler, smarter, and far more interesting people you could spend your time with. Why are you so intent on being around him? He’s not complaining, of course — he’ll gladly take any chance he can get to be around you — but it doesn’t make sense. He can just add it to the list of things about you that confuse him.
He’s still reeling over your invitation when you come to a stop on the edge of the dance floor. An unfamiliar song blasts through the speakers, but it’s upbeat enough that he doesn’t have to worry about slow dancing or anything of that nature. Still, you don’t hesitate to reach out and take his hands in yours. All of your friends are staring at you, and he’s fairly certain all of his are doing the exact same thing, but you don’t seem to notice. You simply smile, pull him closer, and lead him in a frenzied dance of waving arms and shaking hips.
Taehyung’s never been particularly good at this sort of dancing, but apparently, you couldn’t care less. Rather than poke fun at his corny moves, you cheer him on, entirely unbothered by the odd looks you get. Your moves aren’t exactly coordinated either — you’re basically just flailing your arms around and attempting to move your hips in time with the beat — but it doesn’t seem to bother you. All you care about is having fun. You’ve been that way ever since he met you, completely uncaring of what others think of you. It’s just another thing he admires about you.
Your friends hover a few feet away, caught up in the music but still throwing the occasional glance your way. He suspects they’re hanging around to make sure you’re safe, which he understands; he’d never even dream of doing anything to hurt you, but it’s always good to be cautious. If anything, it makes him happy to know that your friends care about you so much. The two of you don’t spend that much time together in public like this, so it’s nice to know that you’ve got people watching your back when he isn’t around. That’s not to say he thinks you can’t take care of yourself — you’re easily one of the most formidable people he’s ever come across — but he worries about you more than he cares to admit. He hasn’t told his friends about this, of course, and he doubts he ever will. Some things are better left unsaid.
You two probably look a bit ridiculous right now, though neither of you have any interest in changing that. After everything that’s happened in the past few years, he’s fairly certain that you’ve earned a little reprieve. Rather than stress over what the other partygoers think of your improvised routine, you simply smile at each other and continue to move along with the music. He’s fairly certain he can see Hobi grinning at you from the corner of his eye, but he hasn’t the slightest clue why. He suspects that you do, though you probably aren’t keen to share it.
“See? Isn’t it nice to come out of the background every one in a while?!” You shout through your laughter as he spins you around.
Taehyung can’t help but laugh as he answers. “I guess so. But only because I have such a good dance partner!”
“Flattery will get you everywhere, Mister Kim!”
He snickers and pulls you back towards him. You’re still grinning ear to ear, absolutely delighted with the little routine you two have going. He can take or leave dancing, but he’d do just about anything to keep that smile on your face. You could ask him for the moon right now and he’d find a way to give it to you. Anything for you.
You’ve only just finished doing an improvised foxtrot when music cuts off rather abruptly. A chorus of groans sound out from the crowd, a sea of drunken teens annoyed by the loss of their entertainment. He suspects it’s just a routine glitch of the sound system, a mechanical error that can be fixed given a few minutes of tinkering — but when he looks over to the stereo and sees Jimin and Jungkook grinning at him, he realizes that this is anything but accidental. He’s tempted to march over there and demand that they put an end to whatever it is they’re planning, but he doesn’t get the chance; Jimin pops another disk into the machine, and a needlessly romantic slow song begins to filter throughout the room.
Most everyone seems perfectly content with this development, eagerly falling into each other’s arms to sway in time with the music, but both you and Taehyung freeze in place. He doesn’t even know this song, but the tender undertone of the piano doesn’t leave much up to interpretation. You two are the only ones that haven’t joined in, and it is glaringly obvious how awkward the air between you has become. Whereas a moment ago you were bouncing around and laughing without a care in the world, you’re suddenly rather sheepish, biting your bottom lip and staring intently at the floor.
He curses himself for being too scared to act. Truth be told, he’d love nothing more than to dance with you like this, he’s just terrified of the thought of you rejecting him — and make no mistake, he fullyexpects you to reject him. Why wouldn’t you? You’re the most incredible person he’s ever met in his entire life. You’re passionate, creative, funny, intelligent, caring, beautiful; you’re a force of nature, and he’s just…Taehyung. He’s average in every way, an unfamiliar face adept at blending into the background. You command attention when you walk into a room, whereas most people in this school don’t even know who he is. You could have anyone you wanted. Why would you waste your time with him?
You’re going to shoot him down, and he knows this, so he just doesn’t ask. He simply looks down and shakes his head, awaiting your impending refusal. He’s already thinking of excuses to run back to his room and avoid you, to hide beneath the covers and never emerge ever again. Perhaps you’ll be merciful and spare him a passing glance in the halls next time he sees you. He’d be happy with a slight nod of the head, honestly. Just let me down easily, he thinks. Hopefully he’ll have enough courage to show his face around the castle after you —
“Well? What are you waiting for?”
His head snaps up so fast the room actually starts to spin for a moment. You’re giving him a nervous grin, shaky hand outstretched before you. You still seem a bit caught off guard, but you don’t look away, even when his eyes meet yours. This is the most anxious he’s ever seen you, and it honestly takes him aback. To see the most fearless person he’s ever met look at him with such worry in their eyes…it doesn’t seem natural. He shouldn’t be able to make you feel this way. No one should be able to make you feel this way.
The two of you stand there for a good thirty seconds, just staring awkwardly at one another as you wait for him to take your hand. He’s sure Jimin and Jungkook are shaking their heads as they watch you two freeze like deer in headlights. Part of him is still reeling over your invitation, convinced that you’ve made some sort of mistake, but he pushes those fears aside. Better to take a leap of faith and get it over with, he supposes. So, despite the fact that he’s fairly certain this is a dream, he reaches out, takes your hand, and pulls you close.
And has to stop himself from passing out in the middle of the dance floor when you smile at him.
Countless other couples surround the pair of you, giggling and whispering and pressing little kisses to one another’s faces. Jimin has found a (rather unlucky, in Taehyung’s opinion) girl to occupy his time, while Namjoon has elected to simply hum the tune below his breath while he reads. Yoongi and Jungkook are dancing together, albeit not the least bit seriously, what with the way they snicker and flail their limbs about in an overly-exaggerated fashion. Neither Hobi nor Jin are anywhere to be found, which strikes him as odd, but he doesn’t have time to worry about them or whatever they may or may not be doing — not when you’re standing so close that he can feel your breath fanning against his face.
He’s almost certain that he’s blushing, and silently prays that the lights are concealing the tint of his cheeks. Still, the boy’s doing a rather good job of keeping himself composed, all things considered: he hasn’t thrown up all over your shoes, said something horrendously embarrassing, or even stepped on one of your feet (all of which he was sure would have happened by now). You seem a bit anxious as well, lower lip caught between your teeth as your eyes wander around the room. You go out of your way not to look into his eyes. He does the same.
His mind is going absolutely haywire. How on Earth has he managed to end up here, slow-dancing with the most notorious troublemaker in all of Hogwarts? A girl that, not even a month ago, barely knew of his existence? Someone that he has told his friends time and time again that he has absolutely no interest in? Someone who has been popping into his head more and more frequently over the past couple weeks? Someone that makes his heart threaten to beat out of his chest every time she walks into the room? Someone that, though they’ve only known each other for a short time, he considers one of his closest friends?
Nothing about this situation makes sense. He left his room twenty minutes ago with every intention of keeping to himself at this party, and now he’s got you wrapped up in his arms in front of the entirety of Slytherin. He knows this is foolish, that whatever monumentally stupid part of his brain that convinced him to do this is going to get you both in serious trouble, but he can’t bring himself to care about that. He can’t bring himself to care about much of anything besides you.
“You’re uh…you’re pretty good at this,” you mumble, mercifully distracting him from his racing thoughts. “Do you dance a lot?”
The nerves in your voice actually manage to pull a smile from him; at least he knows you’re as anxious as he is. “A few times, yeah. My parents host these fancy galas every couple years, and they didn’t want me to embarrass myself, so they made me take dance lessons.”
The idea of him taking dance lessons is obviously outlandish to you, given the puzzled expression on your face. “Really? That doesn’t really sound like your thing. I had you pegged as more of a wallflower.”
“I am,” he chuckles, subconsciously tightening his grip on your hand as the two of you twirl in place. “I hated those classes. I convinced them to let me drop out when I was fourteen.”
“Not keen on being in the spotlight?”
“Not even a little bit. Well…not usually, anyway.”
You smile at his comment. Perhaps he’s just fooling himself, but he can swear that it looks like you’re blushing, too. You’d never admit it, of course; if there’s one thing he’s learned about you over these past few weeks, it’s that you’re incredibly gifted when it comes to burying your emotions. You once mentioned that it was a skill you learned early on. He still isn’t sure exactly what you meant by that.
Rather than question you about it and drag up old feelings that are probably best left forgotten, he smiles, steps back, and lifts your hands in the air. You get the hint immediately. With a grin so bright it almost hurts to look at, you wrap your hand around his index finger and spin. Jovial laughter escapes your lips as you twirl over and over again, entirely unconcerned by the odd looks you’re getting from the other dancers. You couldn’t care less. Neither could he, really; how could he be anything but gloriously happy when you’re smiling like that?
You stumble into his arms as soon as you finish twirling, more than a bit dizzy. The two of you chuckle as he grabs you by the shoulders and helps steady you. It would be easy to walk away, to use your dizziness as an excuse to leave and avoid more awkwardness between the two of you — but you don’t. You simply grab his hand, pull him close, and continue on with the dance. He’s more than happy to let you do so. Right now, he’d let you do just about anything if it meant keeping that merry look on your face.
And so the two of you continue, laughing and spinning and swaying back and forth with your fingers intertwined and your eyes glimmering. A smarter person would notice the glares you two are getting from the Gryffindors that had snuck into the party. A smarter person would think about how bad it looks for a Slytherin to be dancing with a Hufflepuff. A smarter person would realize how incredibly dangerous this entire thing is. But right now, you two are absolutely dumbstruck by one another.
It isn’t until you unlace your fingers to wrap your arms around the back of his neck that Taehyung realizes just how much trouble he’s in — because when Jimin is right about something, it’s never good.
I’m telling you, his best friend had drawled as their group hurried towards the Slytherin Common Room, he’s falling in love.
——————————————————————————
A/N: HOLY SHIT Y’ALL I AM SORRY THIS TOOK SO MF LONG PLEASE DON’T HATE MEI posted the last update literally two days before I started college and have had next to no time to do anything that isn’t school related. It’s been hella stressful, not gonna lie, but I think I’m finally getting the hang of things, which is why Castleton is BACK BABY! I sincerely hope you guys enjoyed this extremely mushy update (which you deserve after waiting for so long adjdjdj). The next update *should* be coming shortly. Please let me know if you’d like to be added to the taglist — Rynn
Anon asked: So, I was wondering, if you could of course, do a Mafia and Yandere BTS reaction where they discover that the S/O works for the law (as public prosecutor, judge, policewoman, whichever you think best) and she doesn’t know they’re mafia members she wants to capture? I hope it’s understandable and sorry for the English
Ooohh this is a neat plot! No worries love! Your English is perfect! And here you go!
Seokjin
Having the love of his life, working with people who were trying to take him down? He would be distraught. The man who always knew what to do, didnt at this point. He knew he had to choose between the empire he built, and the life he built with you. It would be hard for him to choose but he finally decided. He would choose you in the end. As you told him, not wanting to hide it from him anymore, he put a hand up to you as if to say, “Say no more.” You were caught off by his reaction to finding out you were a lawyer going again him and his crew. He was frantically packing things as you stood there, trying to figure out what he was doing and if he was listening to you. He didn’t want you getting frustrated, and walked over to you, placing a hand on each side of your face with a sigh as he spoke, “I don’t care about anything else right now. My crew will be fine. But right now you and I need to get on my jet and get the hell out of dodge.” He said looking into your eyes before going back to closing his suitcase, grabbing it with one hand, and then your hand with the other. “I have wired money to my account in (different country/island) so we can start to rebuild there. I’m not going to let you go back to your old life, I’m going to take care of you from now on.” You tried to protest but he was t having it. He would have you by his side. He couldn’t let you go, even if it would take moving to another country, and starting his life over with you.
Namjoon
Finding this out, would set him back, ALOT. He would sit in his leather chair, in the safety of his office as he sat there, trying to figure out what the next move was, over the words of the man who was telling him everything he dug up about you. He felt a painful pang in the pit of his stomach when you walked in with a smile on your face, ready to go out to lunch with him as the two of you usually did on weekends. Your smile slowly fades as he greeted you with a serious expression instead of that smoldering smile of him that he only showed you. You felt your heart leap out of your chest, as you were sat down across from him and he pulled out his phone, showing a video of you going to work. You opened your mouth as you tried to explain, but nothing came out, to which he shook his head and clicked him tongue out. He ordered the man who brought you in to leave, which made you uneasy in your seat. You weren’t sure what was to happen next, as he walked behind you, and placed his hands, firmly on your shoulders. When it was just the two of you, he finally spoke, “(y/n)…why didn’t you tell me?” A heavy sigh left his body as a sigh of relief left yours. “You could have talked to me, I don’t care who you work for, I care about you.” He wanted you to know just how much he was there for you and how and how he wanted you to confide in him, no matter what it was. He did want there being secrets between you two, because he loved you so.
Yoongi
If he were to found out, you would better believe that getting far away from him or his men, would be the best option. Did he love you? Yes. However, he also loved his job. No, it wasn’t the money he loved, it was the people he took care of. They were his family, when everyone else left him in the dust. But now you were here, and part of that family after the time he spent with you and fallen for you. Though that all came crashing down once you told him the truth. You couldn’t hid it any longer. He had been nothing but good to you, plus those sly eyes and cold, hard stares was no help either. How could you not confess when he looked at you in certain ways? As you started to talk, all he could do was stare at you, however the way he looked at you, wasn’t a way you had seen before. It was cold, alone and angry. He was silent the whole time as you talked. After you were done, he moved his head to the side, as if in a thinking position, before he motioned for one of his men who was standing at the door, over to you. At this you started to panic. Was he going to k*ll you? Or worse…torture you? You were scared out of your wits as the man grabbed ahold of your arm, but it was Yoongi’s words that made the tears that started to form in your eyes stop. “I never want to see you again, do you understand? Never show your face around here.” At this you could help but sob as the man led you away and out of the house. However, as soon as he heard the sound of your crying and protesting go quiet and the sound of a car door close, he started to show how he really felt. His hands flew all over the place, glass items and furniture being flung and going crashing to the ground, the sound being so loud, it was sure to drown out his cursing. When he had no energy left he just stood there, within all the mess and chaos. It wasn’t that he wanted you to leave, more than anything, he wanted you to stay, but he knew that it was the best option for you to go; he wasn’t about to risk putting his men in danger, let alone you. This wasn’t the kind of life he wanted you to get mixed up in. Surely, if anyone else in this kind of business was to know about your true identity, then they would sure come for you even more.
Hoseok
Not knowing what to do, he would snap. His men had never seen him this way before. He was just a man in love, with someone who was normal from the everyday life he lived, or so he thought. Betrayal was a big thing to him, being as that’s what he felt from people outside of his small mafia community, so when the tables turned and someone just as important as you had betrayed him, that’s when he lost it. He wasn’t upset with you, per se. It was more towards the people you worked for that he detested. He grew upset and couldn’t help but make an outburst as he slammed his hand on the giant dinning room table the two of you sat at. He wanted the truth, but now that he was presented with it, he wished that he would have just kept his questions to himself. You didn’t know what else to do, but sit there in silence as he paced the room, with a ring-fingered hand stroking his chin. “Now what am I going to do-What am I supposed to do (y/n)?!” He didn’t mean to yell at you, but couldn’t help it, he was torn on what to do. Either let you go, or keep you. He couldn’t quite eliminate you just like he did with other people who tried getting information from him. He wouldn’t. He was at his wits end. Selfishly enough, he wanted you to stay with him, no matter under what circumstances, so he looked at you and said, “Leave your job and stay with me. I’ll take care of you.”
Taehyung
This man’s heart would break, after finding out the truth about you. Just like Hoseok, something inside of him would snap. You didn’t know what was going on when you were dragged into the main room of the mansion where “business” deals were made. This worried you for the fact you weren’t really brought in there, due to the violent nature of the status of the room, but also by the swift and gripping motion that his men had used on you. You admit this scared you, but that washed away once you saw a saddened Taehyung, sitting there on the floor, while looking at a file, with some snapshots of you. You’re secret was out, and there was no trying to deny it. You weren’t scared, being as he was always gentle and kind towards you, without showing you his violent side. No, you were sad, seeing him curled up on the floor like a child who had just found out something life changing but traumatic, like a divorce or finding out that the Easter bunny wasn’t real. You wanted to cling to him and console him, but you kept your distance, as you tried your best to explain everything in a few sentences. It was at this moment that he reached over to you and gripped onto a piece of the clothing you were wearing, he looked up at you with tears in his eyes as he asked, “Why, why, why? Were you with me, just so you could complete your jo-“ He couldn’t finish as he hung his head low and gritted his teeth, but never let go of you. It wasn’t until he looked up again that caught you by surprise,”Well I don’t care- (y/n) I love you..and I don’t care who you are. I’m not going to let you leave me.” He definitely had snapped, but he was more blinded by love. All the time and effort he spent on you wasn’t going to go to waste, and if anyone tried to rip you two apart, whether it be his people or yours; there would surely be hell to pay.
Jimin
You’d be surprised by what came next. You had a feeling of haziness as you woke up on the floor, only to see Jimin sitting on front of you. You weren’t sure what happened before this, but you had a hunch. Jimin held up a file, and along with some photos on a phone that one of his men snapped of you. He had been following you for sometime to which you got angry about. You asked Jimin why, knowing that you had trusted him the time while the two of you were together, in the which he replied, “I trusted you too; but here you were feeding information to the FBI.” He crouched in front of you with a tilt of his head and he tossed the phone back to its owner. “No, Jimin!-“ You tried to speak but was cut off by the feeling of his hand on your face, followed by his thumb on your lower lip. He looked at you for a while. His cocky smile, turning into a frown. “Why?” He asked with a small choked growl as his expression turned pained. “I loved you so much…I really though you had loved me too..” He said in a whisper as he pulled away and stood up. He had to regain himself again and that’s just what he did. He was still a gentleman about this as he told his men to take you home, safely and to forget this whole ordeal, and to forget you. It was the only way he could keep you safe. After this moment, he would never give his heart to anyone else again, because you still had it and he would surely go back for you again.
Jungkook
He had never felt so much pain and anger in one second. Yes, he was the youngest, out of all the gangs in the city, but he stil held himself together, making his appear older than what he was, but blindly falling in love for someone at his age, was still something he couldn’t help. When he found out by your true self, from word on the street of seeing you at work downtown, that’s when he knew that he was a fool. He was angry. Usually when someone double crossed him, they would get what was coming to him, but this was you they were talking about. He just couldn’t bring himself to hurt you, not now, not ever. This made things much harder. His right hand man would tell him that he had to do something or if not then he could possibly go away and do hard time for their history. However he wasn’t going to let that happen. He knew he had to let you down easy. If you were to get more involved with him, you would just meet with a terrible fate in the end, and although he didn’t want to live without you, he would rather do so, instead of living with you being six feet under. When he ordered his men to bring you upstairs to the rooftop of the bar he owned, you were sure that this was your fate for being found out, having him watch as you were thrown off his building, but that wasn’t the case. Instead, he gave you one last, longing look before pulling away from you and snapping his fingers and looking back towards the city as you got whisked away. He never said a word, no that would’ve been too hard to do, and what could he say? There was nothing. All he could do was stand there, a fist cupping his mouth, tears falling as you walked out of his life and back to yours.However, just like Jimin, he would surely show up in your life once again. It was like puppy love, and wherever you went, he was sure to follow.
Anon asked: Could I have a Yandere BTS reaction where S/o, who was kidnapped, coldly speaks: “You can control me… what I do, what I say… But know this. You will not control who I love. And that will never be you” please? Thank you!
Wow! Loving the creativity! Here you go lovely!
Seokjin
He would be astonished, by your wit and nerve, but it didn’t sway him even the slightest. If it was one thing he knew, it was that he wasn’t going to let you get away. You could say all you pleased, but you were his, and his alone. The only thing he would muster up after the time you spent bickering with him, would be a simple “tch” with a click of his tongue, as if desregarding all you had to say in that moment.
“Tch- Are you done?”
Namjoon
The smile and laughter that came from him would grow uneasy, until it disappeared all together. At first he would try to laugh it off, making jokes here and there, asking through a smile what you were going on about, but as he noticed that your were being serious, he too grew serious himself. After all he did for you, he thought you would be happy, and want to stay by his side, but hearing how unhappy that you were with him, would put him in a anxious frenzy. He wanted nothing more than for you to be his, but he also wanted you to be happy about it too.
“Huahah- Wh..what did you say? You don’t want to be with me?”
Yoongi
You wouldn’t have the time to speak for long, as the minute you brought up how you didn’t want to be there with him, he would get up from where he was crouched in front of you, and make his leave from the bedroom, making sure to lock the door behind him so you wouldn’t try to escape. After taking you from the filth of the outside world and people, you had wanted to leave yet to return back to it? He was not about to listen to any of that.
“Im doing this all..for you. The least you can do is be grateful and not try to shove it right back into my face. You’ll come out when you’re grateful again.”
Hoseok
This man would do a whole 360. The usual smiling Hoseok would be replace by a serious one as you talked down to him. He was always keen when it came to you saying what you wanted, and he always listened with interest and love, but he couldn’t with this. He didn’t like to show you this more abrasive side of him in front of you, but he couldn’t help it. You had really dug under his skin with what you said.
“Baby…let’s not get too hasty right now. You’re probably just tired, and should go take a nap and sleep on this. You don’t know what you’re saying right now.”
Jimin
He would go into a full breakdown as you explained how and why you could no longer be tied down to him. He didn’t want to hear it, no he couldn’t hear it. He started to pull on his hair and smack his head with his hands and he pulled from the strands, with a “No, No, No! Don’t say that!” Until he was finally able to calm down, somewhat, before getting on his knees and pleading to you.
“(y/n)…please.. you can’t do this- or-or-or say that! I love you….please…”
Taehyung
As soon as you brought up how unhappy you were, and how you wanted to leave he wasn’t going to hear it. Immediately, he slammed his hands on the table he was sitting at as he pushed himself from his chair and went over to you with a shake of his head. He would grab you by the shoulders, of course he didn’t want to be rough with you, that was the last thing he had wanted, but his mind and vision was cloudy as he tried to gain his composure, but it was no use, all he could do was gently shake you back and forth as he asked, “why, why why-“ over and over again.
Jungkook
Being the king of manipulation, he would sit there, pouting as he listened to all your anger and sadness. Tears would start to form at the corner of his eyes as he tried to plead with you. Of course this was all just an act, that he put on in hopes you would fall for it and stay. He never wanted to lay a hand on you and use force so he did what all he knew he could and that was use his pitifulness and charm.
“Don’t leave (y/n)..I’m sorry, I’ll change, you know I’ll do anything, for you. “
Anon Asked: Heeey beautiful peeps,if it’s not to much trouble how would vampire!Bts react to a banshee s/o? Btw your writing is amazing
Aww thank you angel!~ This is so cool! Here you go !
Seokjin
This boy would be as cocky as can be. He would always brag to his family and friends, that the two of you would have the cutest children if that was in the cards for the both you; claiming that becuae of his suave and swift genes, being paired with your beautiful and graceful ones, you were bound to make beautiful and strong babies. His friend where a little worried. Although he seemed happy, they warned of how it might not be a success relationship, and that your mind was known to be “moody” or so they thought. The words and warning of others didn’t sway him though; He knew exactly how to handle anyone, and knew that if it came down to it, he would be able to do so, with a raise of his eyebrow, and a flash of that smoldering smile of his. If anyone needed the warning, it was you, because he was a ball of s*x appeal and charm.
“To hell with them! You are the love of my life, and I pretty much like it that way.”
Namjoon
At first he was timid. He wasn’t really sure how he should’ve approached you, being as he knew you weren’t a vampire such as himself, but he also didn’t know just exactly what you were. After telling him, he grew wide- eyed, but continued conversing with you, then one thing led to the next. Now, here he was, paired with a creature who wasn’t seen with vampires too often, but he wasn’t complaining. The two of you would earn some odd looks and whispers, but after soemtime he would just pull you into a warm hug in front of everyone,as he grazed your neck playfully with his teeth, but never breaking skin. You two had so much in common, and had so much fun together, that not one comment or word changed the way he felt. He just saw you as someone that he loved, and knew that he would love for a very long time; maybe even forever.
“I really do love you (y/n). I don’t care what anyone else says, or thinks.”
Yoongi
He was never really one to get out, let alone date. Sure, he had friends and family that he visit and who he visited occasionally, but never had he been interested in someone before. It wasn’t until he met you. He had met you at a party his friend Taehyung was hosting. Of course, he knew who you were, at least when it came to face value since he was watching you from across the room almost all night long, but he suddenly grew closed off when he brought you two together. In all honesty, he was just nervous more than anything, but after a few laughs and small conversations, the two of you hit it off. Now here you were, months down the road, happily together. Like Namjooon, he never cared at where the two of you came from, all he cared about was you as a person (half person you could say) and the moments that you two now shared. You made him comfortable and come out of his shell more. You made him feel alive (again)
“I don’t know what it is about you…but its like you drew me in. No one has ever had that effect on me.”
Hoseok
He absolutely loved that you were different than him. Vampires? Yawn. Just kidding! He loved his kind, and his family being the most important thing to him, were just the same! But it was almost like a culture shock when it came to you and your own. He was actually excited to learn more about you and all the traditions and history behind you. He wasn’t that weirded out like most would be when it came to dating another species. No no, this boy was so comfortable around you, it would actually surprise you! He based most of the relationship on your personalities and the way you connect to each other. However, that came as no problem for him, for he was not your typical dark, and cynical vampy, oh no, he was the playful and optimistic type; which was pretty uncommon in his community. Which is why the two of you worked out so well. He could care less about what people said about him, so he would give the same care for the thoughts towards his relationship with you. Unless, it was directly towards you, then he would show his evil side.
“ I love you so so soooo much! nothing it going to stop that !”
Jimin
He would treat you the same just as he would anyone else, but with more love and affection, being as you were his someone special. Although, with you he came off a quiet clingy, and it wasn’t just because he was a bloodsucker. Oh no. This boy found you ravishing and mysterious, and just like Yoongi, he wanted to know everything about you, but he was outright about it. You were timid, you admit. Vampires of his kind were known to be mischievous liars and cheats, but he was different. At first he was flirty, even with your own friends. You thought he would at least go for your Bestfriend who was a forest fairy, but was surprised by his interest in you. When you did ask him why he had chosen you out of everyone else he just ruffled his hair back and flashed a warm and sincere smile,
“ I was drawn to you, by your beauty and mystery.. even if you don’t think you are, to me, you’ll always be the most beautiful creature I’ve ever laid eyes on.”
Taehyung
He would always be taken aback by you. Not because of what you were, but for the fact that he had never been close to your kind before. He was a nervous wreck around you, and always found himself to be tongue tied. Just like a smitten kitten, he would be cautious, in a sense of doing things that made you happy, rather than annoyed, worried you would fall for a werewolf, or perhaps a merman. He also wouldn’t want you getting upset with him, in fear of you screeching at him, although that was something else that had him interested, for he had never been with someone who held such power.This made him giddy; he loved bringing you along to anything whether it be family gatherings, or just hanging out with friends. He wanted to show you off, and he would just do that.
“Wow…I’ve never met someone with such grace and strength at the same time! You never cease to amaze me, my love.”
Jungkook
Just like Taehyung, he found you very interesting, even if the two of you were together for some time now. He sadly admit that he was unsure of you and being with you. He was still too easily swayed by others words, but after seeing you and spending time with you, he soon found himself missing you when you weren’t around more and more, and thus he knew he had caught feelings. It was strange to him being as he stayed traditional, dating only in the vampire community, but he just found you so exotic and interesting, how could he stay away? It wasn’t until he was introduced to you, that he was hooked. He just coudn’t take his eyes off of you the minute that he laid them upon you. You would find his starring quite often, but you didn’t mind, it just made you flustered. For one thing, this vampire would be quite clingy, and somewhat possessive. He didn’t want anyone else, but you.
“I’m sorry for starring, you’re just so lovely my dear.”
i@petalskook asked: Hi bae I can ask for a reaction to bts mafia au when a rival member enters his house (in order to scare his wife but ends up almost ab*sing her) and they arrive and see that scene. I know it’s a sensitive issue, but I want to see blood thanks
Here you go sweetheart!~ Enjoy!
WARNING! This post contains material that might trigger some, so please read at your own risk!
Seokjin
This man would go full on “killer-mode” the minute he saw you on the carpeted floor of the living room, with a man towering over you, and his fist high in the air above your head. He would waste no time, as he grabbed this man and picked him up so far off the ground, that for a moment, his feet couldn’t touch it as he slammed him against a wall nearby, with hate in his eyes, and rage in his voice as he yelled at the top of his lungs, screaming and asking what he was doing there in his house, let alone what he was doing to you.The man would try fighting him off, but it was no use,Seokjin, was much more powerful than him in that moment. All he could see was red, nothing else mattered in that moment, but the want to kill him. Even if you tried to yell for everything to just stop, he wouldn’t listen, it’s not that he didn’t listen to you, but his mind wasn’t in the right place then and there. He would be beyond gone. Seeing you in pain, broke him like no other. His mind would get the better of him as he pulled the man from the wall, another thought of you being in pain crossed his mind, another slam against the wall the man went. Then another thought crossed his mind, making him slam him against the wall once more. By this time, the man started to stir as he started to slowly loose consciousness, but this still didn’t stop Seokjin from continuing to slam him, again, and again. It wouldn’t stop until, the man blacked out and grew limp.
“I’ll never ever let you or anyone else touch (y/n) ever again!! “
Namjoon
He was a smart man when it came to everything around him. That’s why he was so great when it came to how he did business. That’s why he knew he had to remain that way once he saw this man in his house, with his wife. No. He wasn’t having it. He would go over to the two of you, rip you away from him and put him behind you.as he pulled out his g*n and aimed it at him with a blank expression. He had no remorse for this person right here and now. How could he? He broke into a place that was supposed to be his own personal space, and roughed up his girl, and now he was going to rough him up, but not without asking some questions first. He knew that someone put him up to this, and he wanted to know just who. The man told him he wouldn’t say a word, because of loyalty, but this made Namjoon raise an eyebrow, and found himself pulling the trigger, but click his tongue as he missed and gently grazed his shoulder.But this still wasn’t enough to make him talk. It wouldn’t be until Namjoon hit him with the butt of the g*n, before aiming it at him again, saying how he wasn’t going to ask twice. He finally talked, but not without making sure Namjoon kept his word on not to shoot him again. Once he talked, he pulled the trigger with a solemn expression as the room grew quiet. After he made sure he wasn’t going to make another sound he recoiled his weapon and turned to you with a sadly tone, apologizing that you had to see that.
“I don’t keep my word when it comes to the (rival gang name), or anyone who touches my woman.”
Yoongi
Even though he would be seething with anger the minute that he saw this other man about to hurt his most favorite person in the world, not to mention even touching you, he would put that aside, as something within his head snapped. The other man, knowing just how crazy thatthe Min Yoongi, could be, he quickly moved away from you, throwing you against the couch in the process; He just had to get away, but it was too late as Yoongi was by him in the blink of an eye, gripping his shoulder tightly, so tightly that he the man thought if he squeezed an inch harder, his acromion would surely break in his hands. Through the cries and groans from the rival member, Yoongi would talk to him, in a amused yet calm tone, reminding him on how he knew just where his family lived, and it would be a shame if something were to happen to them, due to this careless act of his. After the whole ordeal, he let him off the hook, only because he loved to put fear in others, it gave him so much pleasure, and he definitely knew that this man was doing just that now, fearing him. As he scurried out the house, Yoongi would then make his way over to you, to make sure you were okay. Of course, then you would see his true emotions as a look of sadness and pain crossed his face, but he didn’t care. You made him vulnerable and he wanted to show you, just how sorry he was that he wasn’t there in the first place.
“Now…I know your parents live on Richmond street along with your little sisters. It would be a shame if something were to happen to them while in the safety of their own home, wouldn’t it?”
Hoseok
Even though he was one of the big bosses around town, his smile and positive attitude still held some weight. People around town found him crazier this way, because they never knew when he was going to snap, or what he was ever thinking. His smile, was his poker face. That’s why whenever he flashed a smile towards the man who had ahold of you, it was instant regret for him. The rival member slowly stood up, with your arm still in his hand after his episode of him shaking you. Hoseok, seeing how frightened you were as he sat down across the room, motioned over to you and pat his thigh, with a soothing voice as he cooed out, “Come here, baby.” He knew the man was going to let go as you easily slipped your arm from his now shaking and clammy hand.After you went over to go sit down, and he made sure his arm was firmly, but warmly wrapped around you, that’s when business would start. He would motion for his right hand man, who had also been in the room behind him, to grab him before he could cause anymore trouble. He would then set you down gently, on the chair he sat on, before getting up and rolling up his sleeves. The smile that was once plastered on his face, was now turn downward into a frown as he walked up to this man. He paused for a moment, wanting him to see the rage he felt, before he finally pushed his fast into his stomach, reeling it back to his at his fist, then smile before swiping it across his mouth once, twice, and a third time. He would wail on him until no end.
“You’re going to regret touching my precious wife. I’ll make sure of that.”
Jimin
Just like Jin, he would see red. He had just came home from working out at the gym, but stopped in the doorway, only to see this man atop of you, as you thrashed about, as he tried to grab your arms and hold you down. Immediately, he would run over to where the scene was unfolding with a booming, “NO!” as he grabbed the strap of the bag and threw it over the man’s neck, before giving it as tight tug. He put all his might and strength into choking him. No matter how hard the man smacked his flailing hands back against Jimin’s face, as he tried to get him off of him he never let up. And he couldn’t until he knew he was dead, or at least unconscious. He would try pulling him back away from you, not wanting him to fall against you, but during this, the man broke free and turned the tables on Jimin as he started to wail on him with his fists while he tried gaining composure yet again, but it would be of no use. Even if he gave him a few good hits, Jimin wouldn’t feel any of them as there was still adrenaline coursing through his body. All you could do was watch in horror as the fighting continued on, until the other man grew so tired and weak, that he finally gave up. He laid there, in his sweat and blood, as Jimin stood up and spit at him,before ordering the man who was with him, waiting outside, to “take out the trash” and clean up the mess, before going over to you, and cradling you in his arms, apologizing over and over again for not being here with you instead and letting it get this far.
“I’m so so sorry babygirl…don’t worry. He’s never going to touch you again…”
Taehyung
He was the kind of boss-man who loved to play mind games with his victims, and that’s just what he did with this man who was in a sacred place of his, scaring the love of his life. He had to hold back whenever he saw this man holding onto a scared and crying you. He stood there for a moment, with a few of his men who had followed him inside, feeling that something wasn’t right that night, and they were right. He stood there for a moment, with a finger tapping against his lips while he hummed out, going around and asking each person what they thought that this mans punishment should be for breaking into his haven, and touching his angel. He chuckled at the responses, before shaking his head and agreeing that he should give him a pass this once, and let him go. The man ran from you and towards the front door, before Taehyung could change his mind, but was pummeled with Taehyung’s fist, sending him falling to his knees. That’s when Taehyung howled then got serious as he crouched down to his eye level, with a stare as cold as ice. He couldn’t believe that this man, thought he would let him leave without a scratch on him. He would then shake his head with a click of his tongue before letting his boys have at him. He would then proceed to go over and take you in his arms, leading you away from the scene behind you, and the screams of the man.
“You really think I would let you go so easily? Ha! You touched the most important person in my life. Boys- It’s free game from here.”
Jungkook
He would be in an array of emotions, since he wasn’t one to display them so well or easily. The only ones who he expressed true emotion towards, was you and his family. Everyone else had thought he was ‘hard-shell’ or cold blooded. In which, he was when it came to certain people. And truly the minute that he unlocked the door to his house, and saw this man scrambling away from you, as soon as he walked into the giant living room, man did his blood run cold. He scrambled to his feet as the man scrambled to his, while he tried getting away from you and the now angry Jungkook. But it was no use as Jungkook would tackle him to the ground and pin him down, with his hands to his throat. His eyes glazed over with a blank expression as he dug his hands deeper against his skin. You not wanting this to go any further, would yell out at him to stop. His hands would shake as his glazed over look stopped as it was replaced with anger. He would shake his head, and tell you how he hated him and wanted him to die for touching you. His emotions would get the better of him. He wouldn’t think clearly and this was his downfall, as the youngest boss. When it came to you, he would hurt anyone that even dare look your way, but this man did more, so he wanted him to pay with his life. He was out for blood.
“Don’t you dare touch her you b*sterd !!I’ll end you right now!!”
Anon Asked: Hi, I don’t know if you’re still taking requests, but could you write a BTS reaction to meeting their little sister’s boyfriend? Thank you
How cute! Here you go honeybun!~
Seokjin
He would be a mix of emotions, with both good and bad. Hearing of you having a boyfriend made him scratch his head a few time. When did you start growing up so fast already to this point in time right now? It’s not that he didn’t want to make a good impression on this boy, because he did! He wanted to appear as the cool, but mature older brother, but that wouldn’t go quite as planned. Immediately, he started to throw out jokes here and there, some actually making you two laugh, but the rest made you cringe, and once this happened, he started getting nervous as he told embarrassing stories on when you were younger once upon a time to try and cover up the awkward silence, but it just seemed to make things worse. But it was all in good fun. If he could laugh at all his joke, no matter how “ bad” them seemed, then he was a good candidate in his book.
“Awww (y/n)! Don’t make that face! We’re just joking around. That reminds me! She used to make that face when she was young with our parents. It was a funny story…”
Namjoon
An exasperated and heavy sigh would escape him as he heard about this boy and the news of his coming over so he could met your parent(s) and him. He knew the day when you would start dating would come, but he didn’t know it would be so soon, and although he was all for others to do what they wanted as long as it made him happy, he would have some trouble with this when it came to your and your love life, but he would push away his thoughts and disagreements, until he met your boyfriend first. He couldn’t judge something or someone without sitting down and getting to know them first, and that’s just what he intended to do. The talk with him went well, as he would be serious but understanding of all he would say, though he remembered to remind him that even though he seemed like a good guy right now, he could always change into the bad guy if pushed enough, and that usually happened when it came to his family or members. But you being his only baby sister, he had a softer spot for you, and just wanted to make sure this boy knew.
“It was nice meeting you. You’re not a bad kid at all and I feel you have good intentions for (y/n). Please, don’t make me regret saying that.”
Yoongi
It would worry you when telling your big bro, Yoongi, because it was never good when it came to boys being around you. You thought back to the time, some guy was looking your way, before going up to you with intentions of getting your number, but that didn’t happen, as Yoongi was set off and attacked him like a loyal dog, protecting their owner. He was that protective of you. And although you didn’t mind that, this was totally different. When you told him, you expected him to go into a fit of rage, but he was surprisingly chill and mature about the situation. Of course he wanted to meet him right away, before things between you two could escalate, and that’s just what he did. He would talk calmly, but sternly with him, making sure his words reached him. He wanted to know all about him, and made sure he wasn’t caught up in bad crowds or around anything that could potentially hurt you later on. Even though he knew relationships sometimes didn’t last he made sure to let him know how he felt about him being with his little sister.
“This is me being nice, because you’re someone my sister likes. But if you don’t treat he well, then you’ll end up seeing another side of me.”
Hoseok
You thought that maybe he would be happy for you, which he was! But his initial reactions was to be serious and sit down with you and him to have a just as serious conversation with him. This would worry you a little, being as you though he would be different about this whole situation, but he was just watching out for you, his baby sister. You’ve seen the way he could get whenever he was upset, and you thought that’s how he was right now, and you were scared that he would run off your new boyfriend, but that feeling went away as he smiled at him, before he polietly and seriously talked with him.He didn’t want to know his whole life story, maybe not until he knew you were going to be around for a while, but he wanted to know things from the people he was around, if he drank or smoked, if he was safe when it came to driving and being out and about, and the most important question, if he really and genuinely, liked you and saw a relationship with you. Even if it was something that embarrassed you, he had to know his answer so he knew that he was being forreal and not just stringing you along.
“I get it. What’s not to like about (y/n)? She’s a jung. But I want to know what you like about her..and if you really like her, like her.”
Jimin
The two of you were so close, that hearing about you having a boyfriend would set him off, but he pushed it back with all he had. He saw just how much you were growing and didn’t want to get in the way or hold you back from doing so, but it would be just so hard to watch it all unfold. Now that there was a new addition to the family though, he couldn’t help but feel somewhat threatened. Though he knew that this jealousy was selfish, so he would do his utter most best to try and get to know this other guy. Of course the mature side of his would peak little by little until he found himself sitting down with him, having a nice conversation with him here and there. At times he found himself gritting his teeth so he wouldn’t say something rude or out of turn, so he kept all his smart remarks to himself for your sake. By the end of the day, he thought to himself that this kid wasn’t as bad as he thought, and he kicked himself for being so rude right away, even if he was doing it discreetly. Still, he would make sure to keep an eye on him nonetheless, but eased up on him.
“I guess you’re alright, I’m just watching out for (y/n)..I love her so much and just want whats best for her.”
Taehyung
At first, he would not be happy whatsoever. Even when you joked with him or talked to him in a lighthearted tone, that frown didn’t lessen up. It’s not that he didn’t want you to do what was best for you or made you happy, but it was hard to get over his anger and annoyance. Here you were, his little sister, dating some guy he had never met, but even still, when you told him he was coming over for dinner, Things just got worse, he would say how he didn’t want him coming over. He was only going to be home for a while longer before leaving again for work, so he didn’t want to have to spend that time with someone he didn’t know very well. Even though this was a lie. Tae loved meeting people left and right. He was a people person and got along with everyone he met. But it was a different story when it came to someone who could later on hurt someone he loved dearly.When you realized he wasn’t going to change his mind, the only thing you could do was plead with him. After seeing you do this, he realized how happy you were with this guy, and who was he to take away your happiness?
“Okay, okay..Just stop crying..Big brother is sorry..I’ll do my best to accept him, if it’ll make you happy.”
Jungkook
Now having him as your older brother would make him a little pest from time to time, especially with this. Like Jimin, he would be a little salty, but he wouldn’t even try to hide it, it would just directly come out, and without warning too. When he came over for a family dinner, that’s when everything turned upside down. He would make snark remarks at him, trying to jab at him and get under his skin, earning glares and frowns from you. All he could do was smirk and chuckle with a smug shoulder raise. Your parent(s) seeing the way this was making you and your boyfriend feel, made sure to pull him aside to let him know. That’s when he would start to feel bad, and feel that, maybe, he was going to far. He apologized to the both of you, and expressed how he really felt, even if it did put a bad taste in his mouth, but he wanted you to know that he didn’t want you to feel bad for the person you took interest in. He would retaliate for tonight, until the next time.
“I’m so sorry (y/n)…I didn’t mean to make you feel bad, I was just being protective of you..”
Smoke and Mirrors: a magician’s trick, the art of making an entity appear to be floating through the use of smoke and mirrors. In figurative speech, something which, once examined, is proven to be an illusion. Like the moon reflected on water, or a flower reflected in a mirror. Unable to be touched.
Description: Listless idol Jeon Jungkook has lost his creative spark. Something just feels…missing. And between jet-setting across the world and constantly evading public scandals, Jungkook’s life up until now has felt like a movie. One thing Jungkook can count on, however, is video games. Y/N has been gaming forever. And when a new VR game called Arcana is released, both Y/N and Jungkook are all over it. But what will become of Jungkook’s online persona when life forces the two to work together? And will Jungkook manage to keep his identity a secret from one of his closest Internet friends?
Genre: Romance, Drama, Fluff, Angst
Pairing: Jungkook x (gender unspecified) Reader
Word Count: 12.1k
Tags: Solo Idol!Jungkook, Gamer!Jungkook, Makeup Artist!Reader, Manager!Seokjin, Florist!Hoseok
Warnings: Swearing and mentions of alcohol, although infrequently
A/N: Haha….ha….ha….um, well this is awkward isn’t it? I haven’t been active on here in a long, long time! But God does it feel nice to return. In the time I’ve been away, I’ve been working on a lot of things at once. Too many chefs in the kitchen, except the chefs are projects/responsibilities and the kitchen is me and is also on fire. I think right now more than ever, I’ve leaned into writing to help me feel a bit better about the world. So if this story can make you happy that’s honestly all I can ask for. I don’t think I’ll be keeping a posting schedule, as that feels like too much for me right now, but maybe in the future I’ll come up with a schedule that doesn’t feel overwhelming! Regardless, I’ve missed you guys and I’ve really missed posting my writing here. I hope you all still remember me! And I hope you enjoy this story. Really. As always, please feel free to send me any thoughts or concerns! Questions, critique, comments: send them all my way! I can’t wait to get chatting with you all again.
And I’m on Twitter! I’ll put the link here if you want to follow. I’m very active over there!
“Well work harder, damn. Tiki’s about to go down,” you say, gritting your teeth as you whip around toward the dragon staring your party down.
It circles you, never once looking away, several stories tall with glowing yellow eyes that seem to leave trails behind in the darkness of the cavern. You feel at once impossibly small and impossibly fragile in front of such a behemoth, all purple scales and saliva stringing across pointed fangs.
“Just focus on offense for now,” says Sapphire, grunting as he lunges sword-first toward the dragon.
Your brows shoot sky high as Sapphire, a DPS like you, runs straight for the enemy. His silver knight’s armor clanks in his wake. “Wait!” you call, but it’s too late. Your teammate has his sword plunging in and slicing out and slashing wild before you can even prep your next spell. “Jesus, Saph!”
You hear his laughter like bells echo through the cavern, seeming to bounce against the domed ceiling and drip like water from the clinging stalactites. “Tiki! Distract!” you call as the dragon whips wildly: first toward Sapphire and then toward you. “Shit,” you whisper, examining your mana with a hiss. “I need a second to recover!”
Tiki, a massive green orc and also your team’s tank, rushes in with his battle axe. Upon the first hit, the dragon writhes in pain and turns toward Tiki, ire in its yellow eyes. Tiki says nothing, just lets out a string of labored breaths as he swings his heavy weapon. Sapphire is quick to attack at the dragon’s heels. The dragon opens its mouth to spew flames across the charred cavern, aiming right for Tiki, but before it can Zero finally heals him with a flash of white light and a bolt straight to his broad green chest. You jump, turn to the side to see Zero is standing beside you about twenty feet from the dragon.
“Get spelling, Nova!” he shouts, long blonde hair flying in the breeze his spell created.
His voice, deep and gruff, doesn’t suit his pretty, dark-skinned elven body: particularly the well-rendered female…curvature. Every time he talks, it takes you off guard. You shake it off and nod once.
“Loli! Get punching!” you call to your resident monk as she idles near the dragon’s tail. She says nothing. You sigh, rest a hand on your hip. “Loli!”
She jumps to attention. “Sorry! My roommate needed me,” she says with a laugh, rubbing the back of her half-shaven head.
“Tell her to piss off!” calls Tiki as the dragon, halted by Zero’s healing spell, recovers and swings a mighty paw his way.
Your mana is finally restored and, shutting your eyes, you summon a bolt of ice. With a shout, you spin your staff over your head before slamming it down with a thunderous clap. Ice splinters dizzyingly fast from the ground beneath your staff and crawls like frost until it hits the dragon, stunning it still for a few seconds.
“Health’s low! Saph, go for the kill!” Lolita shouts as she lands a solid punch on the dragon’s belly that shatters your freezing spell.
Without waiting a second more, Sapphire shoves his sword into the dragon’s heaving chest as it writhes from pain. It looses a cry that sends vibrations through the cavern. A few rocks tumble from fissures in the cave walls, and a stalactite cracks and careens toward the ground where it explodes into shards.
And, with that, the massive beast falls to its stomach, its head clunking to the ground in front of Tiki’s feet. The ensuing silence rings in your ears as the five of you stand completely still, waiting. It wouldn’t be the first time an enemy has fallen only to reveal a dormant ability that results in a second battle. None of you says a thing until the massive body before you begins to dissolve into pixels, leaving you with only the skull as a prize and a bag of loot in place of a carcass.
Lolita is the first to break the silence with a loud hoot. “Wooh! Hell yeah!” she shouts, clapping her hands.
You chuckle, lean on your staff. “Loli, you can only celebrate halfway since you missed half the fight,” you tease with a fond sigh.
She rushes toward you, wipes off her blue robes and crosses her arms. “My roommate came in!”
“And you didn’t warn us,” Zero chides as he smooths a few flyaway hairs, smiling. That model of his is just too pretty…
“I-,”
“Guys!” Sapphire shouts, jumping once as he examines the loot bag. “Look at this!”
You spin your staff in your hand and jog to stand beside the knight. His red eyes are bright, digging through the bag until he produces in one gloved hand—
“Is that a Philosopher’s Stone Fragment?” asks Tiki, similarly enraptured as he comes up beside Sapphire’s flank.
Sapphire nods. “Which means—,”
“Which means we’re one step closer,” you say, and you lock eager eyes with Sapphire who only nods. “Well shit!”
“Also means we were right to come this way,” Lolita says, holding up one finger as if correcting us. “And whose idea was that?”
Zero shoves Lolita by the head and turns back toward the loot bag. “Anything else?” he asks.
Sapphire digs around before shrugging. “A shield,” he says.
“Don’t need it,” Tiki says.
“And…mm…,” he pauses, brow furrowing as he pulls out a piece of paper. He purses his lips, runs a hand through his blue-black hair, cocks his head to the side. “Schematic?”
“For what?”
“Oh!” he exclaims, turning to you as he hands you the paper. You look it over and scoff. “Superior elemental staff.”
“Cuts down the mana I need to do spells,” you say, rolling your eyes as you pocket the paper. “Coulda used that today.”
Sapphire claps your shoulder. “Next time! We’ve still got three fragments to find before anyone else does.”
You nod. “Well, with that settled…,” you begin, itching to use the bathroom.
“Ah! You gotta leave?” asks Sapphire.
You nod. “Got work in the morning.”
“Eugh,” he sighs, shoulders slumping. “Me too.”
“Me three,” says Zero.
“Ah, the working world. We’re lucky, huh Tiki?” Lolita says with a wistful sigh as water from overhead drips onto her shoulder. She jumps a little, but settles easily. “Don’t you miss your reckless college days?”
You laugh. “I only graduated last year,” you say, turning toward Sapphire. “Speaking of which, Saph did you ever go to school?”
He stiffens. “Ah, uh…,” he begins, glancing at his feet. He’s quiet for a moment. “No. Not past high school,” he says with an almost sheepish nod.
You don’t say anything, but it seems like there’s something he’s keeping to himself, something he doesn’t want to share. Sapphire is always like that, but this feels a little different.
“Hm,” you say, sensing his discomfort. “Welp, I’m gonna peace out for the night. Message me when you guys wanna go for the next fragment. I’ll keep researching where it might be.”
“Mm, sounds good,” says Tiki. “I’m starving. Loli, wanna get some food?”
Lolita glances at Tiki out the corner of her eye. “You mean, like, real food?”
Tiki sighs. “Obviously real food. I don’t wanna waste money on game food.”
She laughs and nods. “Alright. I’ll meet you at your dorm.”
“Mm.”
Without another word, both Tiki and Lolita blink out, leaving nothing behind them. You turn toward Zero and pat his back. “Sorry for getting on your case tonight,” you say. “I was worried Tiki would fall and then…well, you get it.”
Zero shrugs, examining one of his perfect fingernails. “No, I wasn’t on my game tonight. I’ll be better next time.”
“Me too,” you say, waving as Zero too blinks out.
You turn toward Sapphire and offer a smile. “Sorry for asking about college,” you say.
He stiffens, brows raised. “Hm? Oh, no it’s fine,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck with a smile. “It’s just, uh…well, you know my dad always wanted me to go to college so…”
You wave your hands, shake your head. “Forget it, alright? I won’t bring it up unless you do first.” You smirk. “You played tank tonight, didn’t you?”
He laughs. “Yeah, a little.”
“Don’t do that shit,” you say, but you can’t help your smile. “What would we do if we lost you in the middle of a battle?”
You can see his posture go a little straight. He turns to you, blinking. “You…?” he begins, but cuts himself off with a laugh. “Ah, mm, well…I’d better get going.”
“Mhm. Message me if you get any new info about fragment locations,” you say, then chuckle. “Or if you just wanna talk about The Bachelor or something.”
He laughs with you. “I don’t watch The Bachelor!”
“Well, whatever you watch!” you call as you jog a few paces away. You offer a wave which Sapphire mimics before pressing the disconnect button on your headset.
You shake your head, disoriented as you return to your bedroom, your window sitting before you, the outskirts of Bucheon spreading out in spindly arms around you. Your head throbs a little and you wince, removing your sensor gloves and setting them gently on the light wood table beside your computer. You guide one of the philodendron leaves to the side so it won’t tickle the gloves. You shuck off the sensor jacket too and leave it draped over the back of your gaming chair. Slowly, you return your attention to the window, smiling down at the sea of lights undulating in the dark. It’s a nice evening, you notice as you press the pads of your fingers to the cool glass.
Your phone, until then sitting dormant on the tabletop beside your potted jade plant, pings to life with a notification. Your eyes widen and you grab for it, stretching your torso as you do to work out your aching muscles. Tonight’s session with the group had gone long, and the fatigue on your back is severe from slumping in that gaming chair like a shrimp. And even though you have to move your upper body to activate the full range of Arcana’s sensor controls, your ass feels like you’ve just sat through back-to-back, four-hour lectures.
BeastSlayers™
SacredSapphire: miss u guys already :-(
You laugh, watch as Tiki begins writing a message in response.
TikiTikiRoom: ..
TikiTikiRoom: dont be soft bitch ill kill you
You pad down the hallway, watching your phone as you stumble through the dark apartment with one hand on the wall bracing you. You connect your phone to the TV speakers and play some lofi something or other, bop your head as you enter the kitchen and flip on a flickering yellow light. You rifle through the freezer, produce a cherry red popsicle. You press it to your lips and smile.
Lolovely: I haven’t even made it to Tik’s dorm wtf why are you being sappy already?
CodenameZer0: Looool, Saph? More like SAP.
TikiTikiRoom: press f
SuperNova: I think it’s sweet :’)
SuperNova: Wanna voice chat?
SacredSapphire: nonono
SacredSapphire: someone’s coming over lol
Lolovely: ominous…
You chuckle and take a bite of your popsicle. But as you do, the thing turns to mush and slides from the stick like slop, staining your white shirt and your lips red. “Shit!” you exclaim, then rush to the freezer.
With a sigh, you notice that a layer of ice is frosted over the back. And as you jam your hand in, you can feel that the temperature is higher than it should be. Hence, melty popsicle. You groan, take to it with a knife from the creaky drawer. You chip away at the ice and keep chipping until the back of the freezer is visible once more.
“Cheap piece of crap,” you mumble, kicking the fridge with your socked toe.
You return to the group chat to a slew of messages.
TikiTikiRoom: WAIT SAPH DO YOU HAVE A BOY/GIRL/THEYFRIEND??
TikiTikiRoom: IM GONNA HAVE AN ANEURISM
Lolovely: !!!!!!!!!
Lolovely: ??????
CodenameZer0: Hohohoh
CodenameZer0: Could it be?
SacredSapphire: NO!!
SacredSapphire: i don’t have a boy/girl/theyfriend! i’m too busy, rip
SacredSapphire: it’s just someone
SacredSapphire: don’t worry about it lol
Lolovely: sus…
Lolovely: nova’s better at this stuff
Lolovely: interrogation
Lolovely: think if i scream hard enough nova will come back?
Lolovely: NOVAAAAAA
You laugh and take a few photos. First of the old laminate floor which now resembles a crime scene in cherry popsicle red. Next of your shirt, now streaked in slush. Third, of your face, lips stained like you’ve smeared lip tint on your skin. You pull a pout before snapping the shot, then send all three together.
SuperNova: I crave death.
SuperNova: Stupid cheap fridge. Freezes over literally monthly.
SuperNova: I hate it here.
Lolovely: oooh that pic…
Lolovely: kinda….sexy hehe
SuperNova: ???
You set your phone aside and take to cleaning the floor. Last thing you need in this shithole is an ant infestation. Your music bumps gently through the sound bar beneath your TV. Sure, your apartment is decked out in tech, but the place itself?
You glance around the kitchen, a sanitary white with pretty fixtures, and suppress a sigh. It’s all for show anyway, this apartment. Like almost all the others in the area, it only looks nice. The reality, however…
Well, it’s melted popsicles and a shower that only runs lukewarm.
You check your phone with a hip against the countertop.
TikiTikiRoom: lewd lol
SuperNova: Shut up lmao nothing lewd about my shitty fridge.
SuperNova: Anyway, no I’m not gonna help you bully Saph.
SuperNova: Leave him alone or I’ll bite your ankles.
Lolovely: !!!
Lolovely: qu'est-ce que pas?
Lolovely: Nova…you’ve been defending Saph lately…
Lolovely: hold on i’m seeing something…
CodenameZer0: Don’t threaten my ankles.
SacredSapphire: nova baby ur the only loyal one here
Laughing, you type your response and make your way to the couch, falling flat on your stomach with an unpleasant thump.
Jeon Jungkook sits still, swiveling in his gaming chair with a soft smile as he watches the messages surge through the Discord group chat. Even though they’re busy teasing him, Jungkook can’t help the swell of fondness in his chest for his group mates. He leans back precariously far, the room nearly pitch black save for the shifting LEDs on his keyboard and the purple screensaver on his monitor.
SuperNova: It’s you and me, Saph.
SuperNova: Now come here and get your kith :3
Jungkook chokes a laugh with his hand, covering his mouth as his eyes squint. He tosses his head to the side, lets out a sigh. Quietly, he touches the photo you sent and lets it spread across his screen. He chuckles, examining your expression. Displeased, you eye the camera with furrowed brows and a pout. Briefly, Jungkook considers telling you it’s cute.
But he quickly clicks out of the photo, clears his throat, and catches up with the chat.
CodenameZer0: God, barf.
TikiTikiRoom: no kithes for zero
Lolovely: lolol i want a kith :(
SuperNova: Get in line then. Saph first.
SacredSapphire: i….*blushes*
SacredSapphire: N-N-Noona!
CodenameZer0: FUCKING BARF GOODBYE
Zero’s icon goes offline and Jungkook laughs in earnest now, his head lolling back. But before he can respond, the door to his studio opens with a robotic jingle. He jumps a little, turning his whole body toward the door. He nearly falls off the chair as he swivels.
In the doorway, Kim Seokjin shuffling across the threshold with two cups of coffee in a carrier. He looks a little disheveled, hair windswept and eyes scanning the room round and round. His gaze lingers here and there: resting on Jungkook’s wall of figurines, then on the futon still pulled down and covered in a messy heap of sheets, then on Jungkook’s face as he sits perfectly still, perfectly redhanded. Jungkook’s mouth agape, his fingers poised to type another message to the group chat, his computer monitor showing no lyrics, no notes, no Ableton. Just his screensaver.
Jungkook had planned to pull up his WIP song before Jin arrived, but the opportunity to do that has long since passed.
“Uh…,” Jungkook says, dumbfounded with round eyes glowing in the flashing keyboard lights. “Hey, Seokjin.”
Jin’s nostrils flare, his expression fiery. His attention flashes to the sensor gloves, the controllers sitting beneath them, the sensor jacket left astray on the ground, haphazard.
“Jeon Jungkook-,”
“I can explain!”
Seokjin glares at him, cocks one single brow. “Uh-huh?”
“I…,” Jungkook begins, flustered as he rises to his feet. He feels like he’s in school again. Seokjin’s gaze is disarming, intense, and his knuckles are white as he crushes the cardboard handle of the coffee carrier. “Uh…I was taking a small tiny little break.”
“A small,” Seokjin begins, placing the coffee on Jungkook’s work desk and resting his palm beside it, “tiny,” he continues, leveling his eyes with Jungkook’s, “little break?” Jin’s jaw is clenched.
Jungkook swallows hard. “Mhm…”
Jungkook expects Seokjin to bare his canines, to sneer at him, to scold him to kingdom come. But his manager simply eases into a sigh and leans away from Jungkook, rubbing his forehead. It’s clear the will to fight with Jungkook is slowly leaking, and before long Seokjin has fallen backwards onto the futon, crushing the blanket mountain in his descent.
“Listen,” Seokjin says, fatigue in his voice. “You’ve got…so much going on in the next few months, you know?”
“I know!” Jungkook says, quick to sit beside Seokjin, brows knitting. He feels like a kid again, and the disappointment laced through Jin’s words feels like his childhood. “Trust me, I’m not just…like, procrastinating. It’s not that.”
Jin eyes him sidelong. “Then what is it?”
Jungkook stiffens, his back straight as a board. He clears his throat, stares at the coffee. “Let me get those,” he says, rushing to his feet with a clumsy stumble and grabbing the coffees before returning to his spot beside Jin. He hands Jin a coffee, expectant and, begrudgingly, Seokjin takes it and sips.
“Don’t avoid the question,” he says, stern. “If anyone’ll understand, it’s gotta be me, right?”
Jungkook nods. “No, you’re right!”
“Like, we’ve gone through some hard shit and where have I been? Right behind you. From day one,” he says, leveling a serious look at Jungkook. The lighthearted mood has fled from the room through the cracks in the walls. “All I’m asking is for you to put in the effort.”
Jungkook sighs, rests his forearms on his knees, laces his fingers around the coffee cup. He stares at the space between his toes. “I just…,” he begins, voice choked with insecurity. He doesn’t want to say it. In fact, he’d rather do just about anything else.
Because, after all, saying it means it’s real.
And if it’s real, then it’s a real problem.
“Listen,” Jin begins, patting Jungkook’s back. “I get it. Making music…it can be really tiring, right?” he says. Jungkook can only shrug. “And sometimes you might not feel like you can do it. Like you don’t have the inspiration.”
“Mm…”
Seokjin gives another pat, stronger this time. “But that’s how life is, Jungkook. Work doesn’t just wait. You’re an adult now. You’ve got adult responsibilities. And when you make a passion into your full-time job, you kinda sacrifice the freedom. Deadlines are a thing. You can’t just…be flippant and casual about it.”
“I’m not being casual,” says Jungkook, and for the first time since Jin walked in his voice is strong and steady. He sits up straight and meets Jin’s imploring eyes.
Seokjin offers a small smile. “Good,” he says. “I trust you. And, you know, you’ve got a whole team of producers behind you who wanna see you succeed. All you’ve gotta do is call.”
“I know.”
“You’re not doing it alone, alright?” he asks, and Jungkook’s throat tightens a little. “That’s the good thing about making your passion into your full-time job, huh? Now…well, now it’s not just your responsibility. It’s divided.”
“Yeah.”
“Well…,” Seokjin says, patting his thighs as he pushes to his feet. “Just wanted to drop by and check on you.”
Jungkook offers a smile and nods, standing with his manager. “Yup.”
“You do remember what’s on deck for tomorrow, right?” asks Seokjin, cocking a brow as he takes another swig of coffee.
Jungkook nods again. “Screen test with the drama people.”
Jin smacks the side of Jungkook’s head and crosses his arms. “Not the drama people!” he says, rolling his eyes. “It’s IJBC.”
“IJBC, right,” Jungkook says as he tenderly rubs the side of his head. “I remember.”
“Do you even know the name of the drama?” The younger boy falls silent, sheepish. “It’s called Give Up Generation, Jungkook.”
“I remember,” Jungkook says, pouting a little. “I just…forgot for a minute.”
Jin can’t help chuckling. “Get to bed early then so you don’t have dark circles,” Jin says with a smile, nodding as he turns toward the door. “Ah!” Seokjin pivots around, casting a disdainful look over Jungkook’s shoulder at the foldout futon. He pulls a scowl. “Sleep at home tonight, will you?”
Jungkook chuckles. “Alright. Stop nagging now,” he says, patting Jin’s back as he guides him out the door and into the hallway. “Bye, Jin!” he calls, not awaiting a response.
Slowly and with his head down, Jungkook shuffles back inside and slumps into his gaming chair, staring at his screensaver. He heaves a deep down sigh, lets it escape through his lips nearly pinched shut. Like exhaling cigarette smoke.
His phone pings to life with an incoming message.
SuperNova: Alright, I had your back before but I don’t cosign the Noona Agenda. I don’t even know if I am your noona.
Lolovely: seconded.
Lolovely: plus it’s icky.
TikiTikiRoom: boooooo
SuperNova: Wait, I think I just heard something in the hallway. Hold on.
Lolovely: SCARY!
TikiTikiRoom: burglars lol
Lolovely: ctrl z yourself, tiki
Lolovely: what if it is though…?
TikiTikiRoom: doubt it.
SuperNova: !!!
SuperNova: Lol it was a package…?
Lolovely: so late…?
SuperNova: Yeah…Lemme open it hold on.
The next message that comes through is a photo you send. Jungkook sits up straighter, opens it quick, and grins once he realizes what it is. A cardboard box, relatively big, sitting torn open on your kitchen floor, the photo features a look inside at several pretty makeup palettes and brushes. Jungkook doesn’t know the names of everything he sees, but he knows why it’s a big deal.
SacredSapphire: !! they finally sent it!!
SuperNova: They did!!
Lolovely: wait what? what did who send?
SuperNova: Lol, sorry. Uh I guess I only told Saph. But the brand I’ve been communicating with actually sent me a PR package! I’m gonna use it on my next job.
SuperNova: This shit’s super expensive too, so I’m lucky I’ve been in contact with a rep.
SuperNova: Gotta use the best to be the best!
TikiTikiRoom: i forgot ur a makeup artist lol
TikiTikiRoom: .-.
SuperNova: …
SuperNova: We’ve been group mates for like four months jfc
SuperNova: Anyway, yeah I’m glad. I guess they sent it to the wrong apartment? So my neighbor brought it over. He just got back from work.
Lolovely: neighbor?
Lolovely: cute neighbor?
SuperNova: He’s like seventy so no, not really my type.
SacredSapphire: nova, that’s super cool. i’m sure you’re gonna get big gigs soon.
SuperNova: Well, I can hope haha.
SuperNova: No, well…all I can do is work hard.
SuperNova: >:-)
All you can do is work hard, huh?
Jungkook tosses his phone to the side and rubs his hands up and down his face. He pinches his eyes shut and relaxes into the back of his chair, feeling the lull of sleepiness finally pulling at him.
And instead of going home like Jin asked, Jungkook simply pads over to the futon and, without moving the blankets, collapses atop them and falls asleep where he falls.
“I’m very sorry.”
“No…uh, no it’s fine.”
“Of course, you can keep the fees or whatever.”
“Oh, um, I…no, I’ll refund those too.”
“Really? I’ll give you a really good review!”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“I’m really sorry.”
You sigh, plant a hand on your forehead and heave a sigh. Forcing a smile, you shake your head and press your phone into the crook of your shoulder, bending down to give your fiddle-leaf fig a hose down with your watering can.
“It’s fine. Things come up, you know?”
The girl on the other side of the phone, a young independent model going in for headshots, had called you an hour ago and had spoken at length about why she has to cancel her appointment with you today. How the photographer did this or that, how she actually watched a few tutorials online and figured she could do it herself, how she felt so so bad. You feel bad for her, of course. Kind of.
“Listen, I’ll give you a shoutout on my page, alright? I’ll tag you in my story,” she says.
You shake your head. “No, that’s fine. Just, um…you know, take care. Remember to clean your brushes.”
At this, she laughs. “Thanks for being so cool. I was actually super nervous to call and cancel. I’ve had to cancel a few things like this before, and I’ve had bad experiences,” she says. “Anyway, I’ll recommend you!”
“Alright.”
“Thanks!”
You nod as she hangs up the phone. Gently, you rise to your feet and set your watering can aside on the kitchen table. You set the phone beside it, pausing to glare at the black screen. Well…there goes your Sunday. You turn over your shoulder, pad to the window, crack it open a little. A bracing breeze whistles through, cooling your skin. You shut your eyes against it — only for a moment — before you turn on your heel, shove your feet into your sneakers sockless, swipe your phone and house keys, and shove out the door.
The florist’s is a healthy walk away, but the weather is nice enough and you’re too tired to brave the subway even if it’s only a few stops. You pass buildings and parks as the landscape becomes more and more urban and the high rises look like they could puncture the cloud layer. Before long, you’re standing in front of Happy Garden and, stepping through the sliding doors that are always left open and all-but nonfunctioning with the lush green plants climbing all around. You breathe a sigh of relief, pat your chest a little as the fresh, grassy scent settles your heart.
You aren’t there for more than half a minute before Hoseok stumbles out from the back room, grinning wide with a bouquet of hydrangeas in his hands, wrapped in butcher paper and twine. He curves around the stumbling greenery littering every surface and encroaching on every walkway and comes to a stop in front of you. He smiles.
“Hey,” you say before he gets the chance. You hold up one limp hand in a lazy wave.
He glances up and down, from your head to your toes, and sighs. Still holding the hydrangeas, he rests a hip on the checkout counter and cocks a brow.
“That is the opposite of encouraging,” you remark with a scowl.
He chuckles, pats your arm. “What’s up?” He jerks his head toward the front of the store where bouquets are displayed and you follow behind him as he leads you there. “Unsuccessful raid?”
“Contrary to popular belief, my life doesn’t revolve around video games, actually,” you say, but his laugh wipes the grimace from your face.
His fluffy hair bounces as he bends down to add the hydrangeas to the display and when he stands upright once more he crosses his arms. “You know what I mean. You’ve been in here a lot lately.”
“Pardon me for trying to raise plants,” you say with a pout.
Again, he laughs. “Jesus, stop trying to pick a fight!” he says. “You must be in a really bad mood if you’re here acting like this.”
“Well what’s that supposed to mean?” you begin, outrage all over your face, before locking eyes with Hoseok and composing yourself. You sigh, nod your head. “Yeah, no I’m being annoying.”
He smiles, heart-shaped, and the apples of his cheeks grow rounder. What a joyful guy, you think to yourself with a wistful sigh. “Tell me about it then.”
He pulls one of the empty display boxes over and offers you a seat as he begins tending to the plants all around. You oblige, settle in, and sigh again. “It’s just…everything kinda feels like a dead end right now.”
“Hm?” he asks over his shoulder, graceful hands guiding a waxy leaf back in place.
“Like with my work,” you say, then shake your head. “No, that’s not it. Not entirely.”
“What do you mean?”
“Like…things are okay, you know? I’m getting PR gifts. I’m growing my following on Instagram. I’ve got consistent clients,” you say, nodding. “Like everything is fine, you know?”
“But something feels…missing maybe?” Hoseok offers as he moves to spraying the ferns with water.
You shake your head. “More than that, it’s…like, I feel like I’ve hit the ceiling of what I can do, you know? Like what if this is the best I’ll ever do?”
“Is that bad?” he asks.
You sigh. “Not bad, just…disappointing,” you say. “I wanna work on movies. Red carpets. Editorials.” You rest your chin in your hand and your elbow on your knee. You stare up at Hoseok, now trimming brown leaves from another plant across the store. “I don’t wanna be stuck doing birthday parties forever.”
Hoseok hums, turns toward you with his hands in his apron pocket. He offers a smile. “You sound like a brat.”
You stiffen, eyes wide. “I-,” you start, but there’s really not much you can say to retort. So, softly, you slump once more and shrug. “Yeah…”
“And if you keep that attitude, you’re never gonna be an editorial makeup artist. I can promise you that,” he says with a nod as he approaches once more and crouches before your knees, still smiling. “Everyone has to grow somehow, you know? Be grateful you’ve got opportunities to build your resume.”
You nod. “Yeah.”
“What brought all of this on?”
Shrugging, you glance away toward the big croton plant in the corner, basking in morning sunlight, leaves all stiff and red and green. It’s a pretty plant. You tilt your head to the side, stare longer.
“That model bailed,” you say, but you’ve almost forgotten the self-pity of a moment ago. You stand to your feet and wander toward the plant, hitting halfway up your thigh. You crouch before it and look it over. “Hoseok, this is a really big croton.”
He laughs. “Mhm.”
“How much?”
“With the pot and given its height, it’s going for thirty-five-thousand won.”
You raise your brows. “I expected worse.”
“We’re fair here!” he protests, wagging his finger at you as he comes to stand beside you.
You smile softly, run a finger along the edge of a leaf. “It’s really pretty.”
“Suits you,” he says.
Without noticing, your anxiety begins to subside. “I think I’ll take it.”
“I’ll give you five-thousand off since you’re having a bad day,” he says, patting your back.
You turn to him with a smile. “Thanks.”
He chuckles. “I’ll loan you the dolly so you can get that thing home. Just bring it back before two.”
You stand up, stare down at the plant, nod once. “Mhm.”
Hoseok makes his way toward the cash register, punches in a few numbers. You linger a few steps behind, still staring at the croton. You get a good feeling off that one. Hoseok would tease you if you said as much, but you know when to listen to your intuition.
“Your big break will come Y/N,” Hoseok says as he rings you up, not once glancing to meet your eyes. “Just keep going.”
Jungkook sits with his head leaning against the rattling van window, eyes half-shut. Seoul blurs past him in shades of silvery grey and it’s all he can do to keep himself from falling asleep. For all his nagging, Seokjin had been right about one thing: Jungkook was sporting purplish bags beneath his eyes from a restless night’s sleep. Jin sits beside him now, frowning at his phone as he scrolls through Twitter. He’d given Jungkook a very stern talking to once he’d seen him, and really Jungkook deserved it. He knows that.
“Your voice is in good condition, right?” asks Jin.
Jungkook sits up straight, clears his throat. He shrugs. “Yeah. Why?”
Still stewing over his phone, Seokjin waves his hand without looking up. “Don’t worry about it.”
Jungkook sighs, leans back once more, gazes out the window once more. His phone buzzes once and he grabs it quickly, eager to distract himself.
BeastSlayers™
SuperNova: [image attached]
SuperNova: check him out OJO
Jungkook clicks the image you sent and chuckles as it loads up. The photo features nothing of you save for one hand, reaching out from behind the camera, throwing up a peace sign. Behind your hand, a houseplant. A pretty big one at that.
Jungkook smiles and drafts his reply, but the others are quicker.
CodenameZer0: Another plant? Lol isn’t your apartment overflowing with them by now?
SuperNova: Hush. Look at him.
LoLovely: cute!
LoLovely: does he have a name?
SuperNova: I don’t name my plants.
TikiTikiRoom: lol
TikiTikiRoom: because THAT would be weird
CodenameZer0: At least Nova can care care for a plant in the first place.
CodenameZer0: Let’s be honest here, Nova’s probably the only one among us who is even remotely responsible enough.
SacredSapphire: Nova it’s cute!
SacredSapphire: name him after me ;3
SuperNova: Sapphire?
SacredSapphire: hmmm say my name hehe
CodenameZer0: STOP IT FOR THE LOVE OF CHRIST
CodenameZer0: IF THE FLIRTING DOESN’T STOP I’M GETTING YOU A TWO-WEEK BAN ON ARCANA
SacredSapphire: SHIT okay okay, let’s just take it easy
SacredSapphire: talk this out like adults…
SuperNova: Once I’ve finished setting up my new plant, I’m gonna play Animal Crossing. Anyone free to join? I’ve got oranges and mums.
SuperNova: Also had a meteor shower last night and have leftover star fragments first come first served.
The offer is tempting, to be sure. Not only would he receive star fragments, he’d be able to wander your island with the others. It might feel like you guys are side-by-side for real. Jungkook reaches into his backpack, slumped between his knees, and rifles around for his Switch. But as he produces the case, Seokjin shoots him the evil eye.
“If you’ve got time to play games, you’ve got time to review your lines,” he says, cocking a brow.
Jungkook sighs a little, slides the Switch back inside his bag. “I’ll look them over again.”
“Good.”
He takes one last look at his cell phone, checking the group chat with a frown that pinches the sides of his lips.
TikiTikiRoom: MEMEMEME
TikiTikiRoom: if any of you fakes get there before me ill go apeshit
TikiTikiRoom: i need so many
LoLovely: don’t need fragments, just wanna see ur cute face hehe
SuperNova: /blushes
SuperNova: I’ll open the gates once Sapphire Junior is nice and settled.
CodenameZer0: I’ll come too. I wanna shop.
SuperNova: Can’t you be cute like Lolita?
CodenameZer0: /gags
SuperNova: You coming, Saph? I’ll save a few fragments for you.
TikiTikiRoom: FAVORITISM
SuperNova: I am transparent about my favoritism toward Sapphire.
SuperNova: Because he is indeed my favorite.
LoLovely: *shocked pikachu face*
SacredSapphire: soz :-( i can’t
SacredSapphire: working
SuperNova: :-(
SuperNova: Next time we’ll all come to your island.
Jungkook tries not to feel that twinge of melancholy that tugs at his chest. That one he always gets when his friends go out for barbecue or grab drinks and hit the karaoke rooms. The one that feels like he’s really, deeply, fundamentally missing out on something important.
No, he doesn’t feel it. Instead, he focuses his attention on the printout Seokjin had given him three days ago. He scans the lines over and over, committing them to memory.
“No! That’s the thing, she didn’t even tell me!” says the girl below your brush.
You attempt to guide the highlighter across her cheekbones, but before you can make contact with her skin she’s jerked away once more, talking so animatedly that you can’t even tell if you’ve made her eyebrows even.
“That’s shitty,” says her friend beside her, likewise preoccupied as Jieun struggles to match her skintone.
The two of you lock eyes, both hovering over the two women as they chat over matching cups of coffee. Jieun puffs out her cheeks, raises her brows, and goes back to work, smoothing foundation on to the client’s chin with a brush.
You stand in a nice apartment — all marble floors and high ceilings and windowed walls overlooking Seoul. When you’d gotten the offer for a Seoul gig with Jieun, you’d been hesitant. The subway ride is long and you prefer to stay relatively local. But something made you agree. You don’t know exactly what. Call it divine intervention or epiphany or Jung Hoseok, but the words just keep going had been replaying in your brain since you last saw your friend. The pair of women — likely in their thirties — had booked both you and Jieun to do their makeup for a Sunday luncheon.
“And you know she’s looking out for him,” says Hyejin with a scoff. “As if I’m gonna bite the kid’s head off.”
“Maybe you will,” jokes the other woman, laughing just as Jieun reaches in to apply some liquid blush to her cheeks. “You know she’s got a soft spot for him.”
“Yeah well it’s a soft spot in all of our wallets if he doesn’t get his shit together,” says Hyejin, sighing. There is real woe in her expression and you can feel from the shift in atmosphere that things have turned serious. “He’s talented, you know? But…sometimes I think she goes too easy on him,” she continues, and this time her tone is decidedly softer, the movement of her face less pronounced.
You use the opportunity to work some powder beneath her eyes with a sponge. “Well, that’s motherhood for you,” says the other, flippant.
“Have you seen what the folks are saying on Twitter?” asks Hyejin as you apply shadow to her eyelids. “About his voice.”
“Hm?”
“Well some of his bigger hate communities have been compiling all the footage of his stage mistakes and they’re spreading it around,” Hyejin says with a huff. “Stupid, honestly. They’re making it out like he makes those mistakes all the time.”
“Netizens are like that, Hyejin,” says the other woman, now easing into her chair with her eyes shut as Jieun can finally get to work setting her base.
“Still…”
“Nowyou’re the one defending him,” she remarks with a laugh.
“It’s not that,” Hyejin says, scoffing. “It’s just…like if he doesn’t prove himself soon, all those commenters are gonna have more ammunition, you know? Which is annoying for all of us.”
“Sounds like you care a little bit.”
“I dont.”
“Hm.”
You focus on Hyejin’s full lashes, applying mascara with delicate, steady strokes. She hums a little as you use the pad of your fingertips to tame stubborn eyeshadow into blending more seamlessly. It seems, at least, that the conversation has died down. For that, you are very grateful.
“Say, do you two know anything about k-pop?” asks Jieun’s client.
The two of you lock eyes once more. It’s true that you are well-versed in pop culture: video games, TV shows, YouTube drama. But you’d be lying if you said you tune in to Inkigayo every week. And despite Jieun’s age and her trendy look, you know she’s not the type to keep updated on current idols. And you see in her brown eyes your own shock mirrored.
“Um…no, not particularly,” you answer for the both of you. Jieun releases a breath she’d been holding and smiles her thanks. “Do you two work in the field?”
Hyejin waves her hand and sighs. “Don’t go bothering them with those sorts of questions,” she says, and you notice for the first time the easy poshness that this woman has. Even with her head tilted back and her eyes shut tight, she seems sure of herself.
You envy her just a little for that.
“What? They’re young,” says the other woman, grinning with her eyes shut as Jieun works on her eyeliner. “You ever heard of RTE?”
“Hey now,” says Hyejin, warning in her voice.
“I’m just curious,” the woman continues with a sigh. “Look us up if you haven’t.” The woman chuckles, reaching out blind to smack Hyejin’s upper arm. “Hey, maybe even tweet something nice about our artists!”
“Knock it off and let them work,” Hyejin says, prying open one eye to meet yours. She offers a smile, apologetic, and sighs. “She’s just playing around. You can ignore her. It’s what I do.” She nods her head and leans it back once more.
Quietly, you get back to work. But you can’t help but feel like this woman’s incredible presence makes you paler somehow.
“What’s the point if it makes me unhappy?” Jungkook shouts, brows knitting, eyes growing watery. “The money, the lifestyle…what good is it?” his voice settles into a bare whisper, cracked.
“You only say that because you’re young! You’re stupid! You’re naive! You think things work out just because you want them bad enough?” says his costar, glancing down at the script every now and again as the two stand across from one another.
The set bustles on behind them, crew carrying tall lights and fixtures as they scuttle by. But Jungkook and his costar — a man named Namjoon acting as his older brother — continue their scene under the watchful eye of the cameras, trained right on them. Less of a screen test and more of a chemistry check between actors, Director Lim watches the monitor closely with his scrabbly chin in his palm.
“So what if I fail?” Jungkook asks with a quiver, referencing his script once to make sure he got the line right. “What’re you gonna do? Tattle on me to Dad?”
“I won’t have to,” Namjoon says, sighing as he grips the bridge of his nose. “He’s got his watchdogs trained right on you.”
Jungkook stiffens. “He’s been…following me?”
“I told you you’re too naive for the real world, Jiwon.”
Director Lim claps his hands and in an instant the tension and the scene are broken. Jungkook takes a respectful step back from his costar, and Namjoon offers him a bow of the head. Jungkook returns it, fighting off a nervous grin, and turns to the director as he circles around the equipment to stand in front of them. He’s a middle-aged man, handsome in a way with salt-and-pepper hair and eyes that seem to grab you and hold on like a snare. Jungkook is pinned in place like a bug in a shadowbox.
But Director Lim’s face splits in a crooked smile and Jungkook feels himself ease, exhaling long and slow. “Great job, boys!” he says, clapping both of their shoulders. “You were selling it well.”
“Thank you, Sir,” Jungkook replies too quick, like an eager child.
Director Lim chuckles, pats him again. “I’m praising you, kid. Don’t look so scared.”
He swallows hard. “I…I know. Um…thank you, Sir.”
Behind the trio, a group of stylists cart a rack of costumes quickly to the other side of the set, snagging the back of Jungkook’s shoe as they do. Jungkook stumbles to his knees, caught off guard, and the girls jerk to a stop as they catch themselves on the clothing rack. The two stare down at Jungkook, wide-eyed, and each of them covers their mouths. Immediately, they bow their heads in apology, both muttering sorry, so sorry almost too quietly to hear. Jungkook shakes his head and stands to his feet.
He too bows his head. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been standing there,” he says gently, hoping to assuage their concerns.
But the girls remain bowed, as if too afraid to even lift their heads. Jungkook, puzzled, leans down slightly to meet their eyes, but they glance away so quickly that he can’t even get a proper look at either of their faces.
“Um…it’s really not a problem,” he says, but before he can say more Director Lim approaches with a grim severity in his eyes. Jungkook, quick to stand up straight and face the director, stutters a little as he settles himself in front of the stylists. “It’s no big deal,” he says to Director Lim, but it’s like the man can’t even hear him.
“We were distracted, Sir,” says one of the girls, raising her head slightly to meet Director Lim’s gaze. “We are very, very sorry.”
“It really isn’t-,” Jungkook begins.
“You think it’s appropriate to crash into my actors? In the middle of a conversation about their performance?” Lim asks, but it’s clear the question isn’t meant to be answered. His tone has shifted into something cold. “You could have very well injured Jungkook.”
“I’m fine-,”
“But what if you weren’t?”
Jungkook shuts his mouth, staring helpless at the girls as they both stand up straight once more, eyes on the floor and hands knitted in front of them. He feels a hand on his back between his shoulder blades and jumps a little, turning quick to find Namjoon standing close.
“Don’t,” is all he says, voice terse and so quiet Jungkook almost doesn’t hear it, before dropping his hand and taking a half step back.
Jungkook’s jaw clenches, his hands work into balls as he stares. The lighting is low, dramatic as if a scene composed by Lim himself. The two girls lift only their eyes to gaze up at him.
“We’re very, very sorry, Sir,” says one of the stylists, guiding a lock of dark hair behind her ear.
“Mhm,” he says, looming. “Make sure it doesn’t happen again. Can’t afford to replace two stylists and a makeup artist in the same week.”
Jungkook simply stares, Namjoon’s warning freezing through him like ice. His limbs feel leaden. And as the two girls rush off, dragging their rack behind them, Jungkook focuses again on Director Lim.
He swivels back around to the two actors with a bright, fatherly smile. “Pardon me,” he says, waving his hand with a warm laugh. “Gotta keep the crew in check otherwise they’ll slack off.”
“Ha,” Jungkook puffs out in response, smiling in turn.
Namjoon hums a little. “Why don’t we try the reconciliation scene?”
“What in the world do you mean?” Hyejin yells into her phone just as she ushers you into her apartment. You eye her as her face grows red, her brows coming together. “He’s not quitting!”
Hyejin pauses to offer you an apologetic smile. She’s dressed in a modest pajama dress, padding barefoot along the cool marble floors. She leans against the arm of a nice black leather sofa, raises a hand to her flushed cheek, looks at her toes with vexation. Carefully, you set your makeup kit on her kitchen island, meeting her eyes with raised brows as if asking permission. She waves her hand, nods once before pinching the bridge of her nose between her index finger and her thumb.
“Listen, we knew Lim was difficult. But this is a huge opportunity for his career.” Hyejin rubs her kneecap, massaging. Her short hair falls along the line of her jaw as she dips her head in a deep sigh. “I know you know that, Seokjin. But you’re his manager. You’ve gotta keep convincing him.”
You begin unpacking your things, setting them neatly along the edge of the countertop, and try not to eavesdrop as Hyejin continues letting out chopped sighs. You can hear her fidget around the apartment behind you. She’d called you again, only a few days later, to secure you for another important event. A meeting, she’d said. You didn’t want to agree. Wanted to say you were too busy, that the commute was too much.
“Hey,” she whispers behind you. You jump, but turn nonetheless to find her cupping one hand over the phone’s receiver. Her eyes are severe, jaw clenched. “How long can you stay? This call might take a while.”
You raise your brows, think back over your schedule. “Hm…,” you respond, then shake your head. “I’m free all day. But…when’s your meeting?”
She stiffens, eyes flashing to the clock on the oven. “Shit,” she mutters. She approaches you with a frown. “I’ve only got two hours to get everything ready—Yes! Yes, I’m still here Seokjin. Stop panicking, for Christ’s sake—,” she says, her shoulders pinching. She glances at you again. “Um…”
You glance around the apartment. It’s spotless, as usual. But you spy in the corner beside a massive potted umbrella tree a taupe pantsuit, hanging beside a steamer. You’d have thought someone in her position would have sent it to the cleaners to be properly steamed, but perhaps it had slipped her mind. With the way she’s pacing around the apartment, still dressed in her pajamas, you wonder if perhaps she’s not as put together as you thought.
“I’ll steam that,” you say with a nod, pointing to the suit.
She stares at you, wide-eyed. “Oh, no. You don’t have to do something like that-,”
You shake your head. “No problem. What else do you need done here?” you ask, consulting your wristwatch with a hum. “If we keep it light, I can have your makeup done in forty-five minutes.”
She blinks at you. “Uh…well…,” she begins, then jumps a little as a voice in the phone shouts loud enough for you to hear. “No! No! Can you relax? I’ll talk you through it in just a minute! I’ve gotta sort some things out,” she shouts back at the phone. She turns her attention back to you with a sheepish smile. “Um, I need to steam the suit, wrap the fruits — they’re a gift for the client —, call the restaurant to confirm the reservation, shine my shoes, organize our documents chronologically and set them up in a binder,” she says.
You have to admit that the sheer volume of busywork has you taken aback. But you steel yourself with a bracing sigh, nod once, and offer her a smile. “Consider it taken care of,” you say.
“Ah! I…I really feel bad dumping all of this on you,” she says, crossing her arms with knit brows. “Normally I’d have my assistant doing all of this, but she’s ill.”
“Not a problem,” you say, smiling once more. “Just take care of your phone call and leave the rest to me! As long as we’ve got forty-five minutes for makeup, we’ll be fine.”
She lets out a sigh that seems to deflate her, shoulders slumping as if in profound relief. She nods once, smiling, and turns on her heel. “I’ll be in my office, alright? I promise I’ll be out in time!”
You give one wave as she rushes through a clouded glass door and shuts it behind her. You roll up the sleeves of your sweater and get to work on the suit.
Two hours later, and you’re accompanying Hyejin out into the apartment hallway. She pauses as the door clicks shut, waiting for it to give a chime, and turns to you with a sigh. She looks pretty. You had to rush a bit once she emerged from her office, and after taking care of the other chores you found it difficult to focus on her makeup, but you’re proud enough of your work given the circumstances. You’ve managed to match her eyeshadow to her pantsuit with gentle oranges and reds.
Since you were rushing to finish everything in time, the two of you hadn’t had a chance to exchange words. Perhaps you are curious — just a little — about the emergency she had to quell over the phone. Or maybe you just want a proper thank you. So you linger beside her in the well-lit hallway, you let your eyes wander to a potted fern in the corner by the elevator, wait for Hyejin to say something.
“I’m sorry,” she says, sighing. She glances at you through her lashes.
Your eyes go wide. “Hm? What for?”
“For having you do all of that,” she says, flitting one manicured hand. “I feel guilty.”
You shake your head. “No,” you say with a smile. “It’s no problem at all, honestly. You had me booked for an hour and a half anyway.”
She sighs again. “I really feel bad.”
“Don’t worry about it…,” you say, eyeing her. She crosses her arms, vexed, and purses her lips a little. “Um…was that call about an artist?” you ask.
She snaps back to herself, glancing at you. “Oh? Yes. That was about our biggest artist actually,” she says. “I think I’ve got it taken care of though, thanks to you.” She guides the two of you to the elevator. “I’ll pay you extra, alright?”
You laugh. “No, no. It’s fine! I’m just glad it all worked out.”
She stares at you, scanning you for a very long moment as the elevator rises to your floor. You try not to fidget, not to shrink under her scrutiny, but you feel yourself recoiling just a little. Her gaze is intense, knowing, as if she can see right through you and she’s looking for something. And as the elevator arrives, she gives a hum that sounds contented and you wonder if she’s found it.
Jungkook glances around the empty pavilion, scanning the cobbled streets for any sign of escape. From above, a dark mage is laying waste to the small shanty town. Not a single player has ventured out this way, all following a lead in the Elysian Forest to the west. But after you had mentioned a tip you got from researching at the Library of Arcana, you’d suggested visiting the seaside nook on the far south of the map. A legendary evil slumbers hidden, you’d recited over voice chat with a laugh, Sounds about right.
Only now, Jungkook’s alone. His hands are sweaty around the controllers in his palms and the realistic graphics are serving only to make him more nervous as the mage swings low near the central fountain and sets off a spray of fire just in front of him. Jungkook can almost feel the heat.
Jungkook had set out to do some scouting. Nothing extreme. Just a simple peek about, seeing if he could find any clues. He sent a message to the group chat, but he hadn’t waited on a response before he signed in. He’d had no idea that the Big Bad herself would come flying from the fountain the moment he touched the water with his sword. And now she’s circling him like some sort of hawk. Quickly, Jungkook calls up his inventory menu and searches through his items. A few extra swords he picked up, some ritual herbs, his old chainmail armor, some healing potions and…
The fragment…
If this mage takes him out, he’ll end up dropping his entire inventory. Including the fragment.
And by the time he can make his way back over here, other players will have come running from the commotion.
And the fragment will be gone.
“Shit,” he hisses out, dismissing the menu and focusing back on the mage as she releases a chilling cackle.
The quaint village is smoking, with thatched roofs catching fire and whole storefronts crumbling into piles of simmering stone. The sky is nearly blotted out with ash, and all he can see is that mage, swirling around up there in billowing black robes and shiny white teeth exposed in a wicked grin.
Jungkook glances over his shoulder toward the street he’d taken in to the village, but it’s too smokey to see anything more than the outlines of ruined buildings. There’s no way he’ll be able to navigate his way out of here without a lantern. And if it’s this smokey, he’s absolutely positive that nearby players have noticed. Which means more competition.
And more people to snatch his fragment when he falls.
The mage gives a cry, shouts her line, “Not enough yet?!”, and swoops down at a dizzying pace. Jungkook stumbles back, but he’s not fast enough. She’s approaching in a dark blur, too quickly for him to counter. A flash of regret washes through him as he squeezes his eyes shut inside his VR headset. He doesn’t want to see this.
He waits for a tense moment that way, anticipating the melancholy piano chords that accompany in-game death, but none come. Instead, he hears very keenly the sound of the mage grunting as if in pain. And, in an instant, he opens his eyes wide to see standing on the other side of the fount
