Beta: n/a (at the moment) Rating:All Pairing: Min Yoongi x Reader’s DAD Genre: Celebrity au, fluff, drama, slice of life.
Summary: You admire BTS, but you weren’t madly in love with them, you could never justify giving up your life for people you didn’t actually know. You did however enjoy teasing the idols when you got the chance. Your father gave you the tickets to the BTS concert and a piece of cardboard.
“What is this for?”
“Don’t the best fans, hand make signs?”
“Come on we are going to be late” you pulled your father along the line you had priority entry and standing tickets in the middle of the stage which means where ever you turned BTS would be there. You remember your father handing you the tickets and a slab of cardboard with a grin.
“I know it’s early but Happy 13th birthday,”
“What is this for?” You tapped the cardboard confused.
“Don’t the best fans hand make signs?” He shrugged, “your mum used to write signs like this when she went to the backstreet boys, things like I love you Nick!”
“Mum was so lame,” You laughed
“Ahh but she would be so proud of you, if she could see the young woman you have become.”
I guess he had expected me to take a friend but they were all busy, you thanked him laughing off the idea of the sign, but you didn’t expect him to carry it under his arm, it was folded over the contents hidden from view, it made you a little curious. Your parents had been young when they had you, and your mother had passed away shortly after your first birthday. Your father did his absolute best to raise you with everything you could ever need and more. He worked hard and never cut corners and though he suffered in the beginning it paid off in the end.
He had been working at the stadium for years and so he managed to pull some strings and get some really great tickets. I was truly happy my father had gone to so much trouble for me knowing how much this band helped me through many struggles.
So after ducking to the bathroom you took your place in the standing area, there was some various chatting and your father was talking with some girls excitedly. He admitted he had never been to a concert and didn’t really know much of BTS. They explained the different members and they even leant him a spare army bomb.
~
Father’s POV:
~
When the music started and the show began needless to say I was dazed by the effects and music, the dancing, singing and visuals before him. “That one is Namjoon he is the leader,” The girls explained helpful
I waved the Army bomb and jumped to the music, a few guys approached me talking excitedly, I was honestly having a lot of fun getting to just connect with the performers and dance to the music. “It is nice to see another guy appreciate their music.”
“They are good performers why wouldn’t I appreciate them.” I grinned to the small group of guys dancing together, they gave me some snacks and a drink before resuming their circle of dancing and shouting.
“Hey you haven’t showed them your sign, this is their last song!” the girls said and pushed me forward with a grin, I gave a cheeky smile and opened the sign above my head.
I knew nothing about the group but I had wanted to show support with a brilliant sign that read, “MARRY ME” with red hearts. They were dancing and a few caught sight and giggled. I felt my cheeks light up as my face was on screen, I cheered and waved the sign happily and saw my daughter giggling and clapping in the background.
As the song came to an end one of the members sat on the edge of the stage and asked, “What is your name?” he held out the microphone.
“(name)” I smiled
“Ah, did you make the sign?”
“Yes, I thought every concert needs a sign of undying love” He grinned
“Who would you like to ask to marry you?” the man asked
“Yoongi,” One of the members pushed him forwards and the group chorused Yoongi as did some of the crowd.
“Ah, what do you do for a living?” Yoongi asked
“I work here actually, I bought tickets but I am the event manager, I make sure you get everything you want for the concert day, like fireworks.” I smiled “You guys have a great night, I loved the concert it was my first time seeing a real concert and not be working.”
Soon the patrons began to leave the stadium, I took my daughter to my office just to pick up the reports from the nights show, I called everyone to a meeting by the stage and smiled, “The concert was great, it really opened my eyes to what the audience gets to see. You guys have been working hard and I have some ideas on how to make the next two nights even better.”
“Thank you for your hard work tonight,” One of the performers from the band smiled, “Hey, it’s marry me (name)”
“Hey, thank you for the show,”
“We are one care short, so some of us will have to stay behind?” Namjoon said
“I mean if you want I can call a driver for you, or even drop you off somewhere,” He said, it is kind of my fault you only have one vehicle, “Hire another vehicle for tomorrow nights performance.”
“Of course sir,” they nodded making a note.
“Actually a ride home would be great,” Namjoon smiled and they split into two groups. They got into the vehicle and my daughter sat in the passenger seat, she played with the radio settling for classical tunes.
“What is the address?” I asked and put it into the GPS, the ride was filled with talking, “I am sorry, I don’t know much about BTS besides what I have seen tonight, what are your names?”
“Taehyung, Jimin, Namjoon.” They said smiling, “The others are in the other car, they are Seokjin, Yoongi, Hoseok and Jungkook.”
“Ah, sorry about the sign, I just thought it would be fun to write a sign and hold it up, my late wife had done that once before for her favorite performers, so I wanted to do the same, in her memory.”
“Ah that reminds me, do you mind if I stop by a bakery on the way home, it’s my daughters birthday today.” He ran in and came back out with some cupcakes and smiled. “You guys can all share them.”
Beta: n/a (at the moment) Rating:All(Marked Chapters 18+) Pairing: Hybrid!BTS x FailedHybrid!Reader Genre: Hybrid au, fluff, action, adventure, angst, drama, slice of life. Some marked chapters will contain mature/smut scenes, BUT they will not have plot in those scenes and are 100% skippable without losing your place in the story.
Summary:Human’s strive to be better, faster and stronger looking to animal DNA. Thus Hybrids are born. As the rise for designer and Pedigree Hybrids increase, so do the failed attempts. There is one species scientists are unsuccessful in creating, but, folklore says they have been here all along, hiding and blending in with the humans for many millennia. How clever they are.
After the first debacle of the overlapping rus things got easier the boys all synced up after the first year together making their ruts intense but short lived. They were super respectful and never tried to hurt you, Jimin also respected your decision not to engage in anything within the house or during their ruts so as not to cause any problems.
There were some changes within the home dynamic that brought the boys closer together, it was during Jungkook’s rut. He was still getting used to his prescription medicine, and his body went into another rut a month after the scheduled rut. It was common yet scary, he was in a fair amount of pain but they each refused any sort of physical help or pheromone sprays.
The youngest was so embarrassed when he woke up beside his oldest hyung, it seemed Jin couldn’t take listening to the Jaguar cry. Since the moment the two had met they had such a playful bond, the quiet shy Jungkook and the outgoing and caring Seokjin. Part of you was excited to see them all so caring with one another but you had to give them both a heavy warning.
“Jin, you can’t just take Jungkook to your bed when he is in his rut, what if he was influenced by his rut and when he woke up he regretted or hated you for doing something he didn’t consent to?”
“No, I promise, we didn’t do anything. I just held him because he was in pain and he didn’t have to deal with it on his own” Jin exclaimed, “I wouldn’t, at least I don’t think I would ever do anything with anyone without their consent.”
“I know, I just have to say this and advise you not to, if Jungkook begged you too would you have given in.” you sighed running your hand through your hair, the day had only just started and you were already exhausted.
“What if I consent to it beforehand?” Jungkook said nervously, not exactly excited to see Jin standing there, his tail and ears drooped slightly in fear. “I can write it out for you, I don’t want anyone to get in trouble for something I do. If I am in my rut I trust everyone in this house and consent to them if they wish to help me.”
“Yeah give me that form, I will consent too, not that I usually go about needing help, but there have been moments, and it wouldn’t be bad, we share our ruts anyway so maybe it would feel like less of a burden to suffer alone” Yoongi smiled
“I would consent,” Taehyung smiled
“You know I would help you guys out, I’m not shy?” Hoseok giggled
“Look I will draw up some forms and you can fill them out, if you wish privately, I don’t want anyone to feel pressured, and include the names of anyone you give consent to I need specific details and just because you sign these forms doesn’t mean consent doesn’t change, before you do anything I want you to ask and get clear verbal confirmation.”
~
It surprised you when each member of the household submitted a form of consent, reading the names on the first form you paused. Seokjin, Yoongi, Hoseok, Namjoon, Jimin, Taehyung and Y/n. Flipping to the next form you saw your name written then again, laying out all the forms you saw your name on each in tiny block letters. It made your heart tremble, looking up from the table they all stood, hands clasped in front of their forms like they were standing before a general in the military. Their eyes searched anywhere in the room but refused to look at you, crossing your arms, you leaned back in your chair. Suppressing a smile, you waited for one of them to break, waiting for one of them to explain why you were included on every form. They shuffled, scratching, fidgeting, shuffling or tugging at their ears or tails nervously.
“Did we do something wrong?” Jimin asked
“Uh not exactly this is just a little surprising that you included me but I am glad you all trust me enough to help you when you are in need.” You couldn’t help how red your cheeks had gotten and tried to reorganize the forms as a way of distracting yourself. Though the forms didn’t need to be sent away it was just collateral for if something happened. You carried them to the filing cabinet and placed each hybrid’s form into their respective folders.
“What is this?” Seokjin gestured to the filing cabinet.
“All your documents, from adoption to university, medical things, your stocks and shares, anything that you might need now or in the future.” I smiled
“Stocks and shares?” Namjoon asked
“You think I would leave you with nothing when this is over, I have given you each a portion of the program, if it is a success you will all be set for life, you will be able to live a comfortable life.” I explained, not game enough to face them while I spoke. “For helping me achieve my dream, you deserve to reap some rewards. Hopefully it will help you reach your dreams as well.”
A pair of arms wrapped around my waist, I heard a cheeky giggle, lifting my arm I saw Hoseok grinning up at me. “You are so shy, aww shy little baby”
My cheeks turned redder and my ears popped out from my hair, I covered my face in my hands and tried to drown out the chorus of coo’s from the boys. I whined at their relentless teasing, but it felt nice that they were all happy.
~
“Okay Yoongi, you need to slow down and start indicating,” he nodded and “Perfect and if it looks all clear then make the turn if not you can wait until it is clear.”
“Okay, I don’t see anyone coming,” he pulled down the next street. His movements were a little rough but he was doing well for his first time driving. It was just around the small estate but he was doing so well. “All right and then if you are done we can pull into the driveway or we can go for another loop around.”
He looked at me with a cheeky gummy smile and continued down the road, the boys waved from the front yard and I grinned. “Yoongi at the intersection go right this time.” He followed my direction and we arrived and he parked. I pulled out my phone and quickly texted the boys that we were safe just grabbing something to eat and then would return home soon.
“Come on, let’s have a couple of lamb skewers.” I dragged the snowy tiger hybrid into the small shop. We ate happily taking some extra food home for the others and I grinned driving home.
“You finished, you and Namjoon are almost finished with your degrees, it is good they still had all your records from when you first went to uni so you didn’t have to redo any subjects. Then there is Namjoon who frankly scares me, he just easily flies through his subjects and just has so much motivation towards studying.” I laughed, Yoongi pulled into the garage and shut the rolling door behind us. The others stepped into the garage smiling at us. “You will be a free man once you graduate, what are you thinking of doing? I am not telling you to move out or anything. I am just wondering if there is something you want and if I can help you get it.”
“I want us.” He took my hand and looked at me, “I want you and all those loud idiots out there, I want to be a family.”
“You are a lot more forward today Yoongi,” I smiled, “I like your honesty, and of course you can stay for as long as you want.”
“I guess reading all those psych textbooks has allowed me to accept who I am and I dunno it feels nice to just say what I want.” He looked at the six males dancing in front of the car, Taehyung upping his shirt like a soccer player and smacking his palms against his belly while Jimin and Jungkook were doing some form of twerking the latter upside down with his feet on the wall. I saw the light pink dusting his cheeks as he smiled, his cheeks puffing slightly making his eyes curve, “I want to live together as a family for the rest of my life.”
Or you can ‘Like’ this post (but good luck trying to find it a week later, we both know how many things you like a day, perhaps we will meet again in the future.)
Beta: n/a (at the moment) Rating:All(Marked Chapters 18+) Pairing: Hybrid!BTS x FailedHybrid!Reader Genre: Hybrid au, fluff, action, adventure, angst, drama, slice of life. Some marked chapters will contain mature/smut scenes, BUT they will not have plot in those scenes and are 100% skippable without losing your place in the story.
Summary:Human’s strive to be better, faster and stronger looking to animal DNA. Thus Hybrids are born. As the rise for designer and Pedigree Hybrids increase, so do the failed attempts. There is one species scientists are unsuccessful in creating, but, folklore says they have been here all along, hiding and blending in with the humans for many millennia. How clever they are.
Jimin had spent the entire day with Jungkook, getting him food and water intermittently and soothing the young hybrid during his most aggressive moments. The scent that was seeping from Jimin’s clothes was a little nerve-racking but nothing you couldn’t handle. It was easy to deal with hybrid-related things since you weren’t a full hybrid. The madness that stemmed around heats and ruts didn’t particularly exist when it came to you.
Honestly, it was a blessing, there was nothing scary than succumbing to your own instincts, sure sometimes it felt good but you preferred things to be consensual. There was no room for confusion that way. Some aspects of hybrid instincts were super convenient, but the idea that someone could be influenced by their own hormones and pheromones and make someone feel loved only for them to wake up and deny it all saying it was just because of their heat or rut. That was the fear of loving a hybrid, did they love you back or are their feelings being manipulated by their animal side.
Jimin carried a bowl of cold water and a small cotton face washer into Jungkook’s room, his face filled with concern over the younger male. He must not be handling his first rut very well, sounds of pain and growling could be heard well into the night. Jimin’s cooing and soothing voice were constant and the only comfort Jungkook received was when he collapsed from exhaustion his breathing would even out and Jimin would leave to get more cold water.
The next morning was oddly quiet there was no animalistic growling or painful shouts. If you listened carefully you could hear them talking softly. Jimin spoke about his first rut and how he was so scared. When the pain would strike Jungkook would whimper once more and apologize profusely to which Jimin would tell him he was okay and everything would get better.
“Breathe, Jungkook,” Jimin spoke and the jaguar would gasp in lungfuls of air. When the pain was over Jimin added softly “It’s time for your medicine, you should be able to sleep now. So try your best, you are exhausted.”
“Will you stay with me?” he mumbled, “I don’t want to be alone.”
“Alright move over,” Jimin said after a brief rustling the two stilled and there was a deep rumbling sound you could easily recognize as Jungkook’s unabashed purrs were smooth and warm. They were accompanied by Jimin’s which were a little quicker and bubbled more in his chest.
Taehyung stumbled from his room, his eyes weren’t exactly open but he staggered past your door and towards the kitchen. You heard him run into something heavy and you sighed pulling yourself out of bed to check on the Golden Retriever.
“I kicked my toe.” he pouted
Seokjin slapped the table with his hand and shouted, “You trying to hurt my Taehyungie?” you tried not to laugh at the eldest hybrid’s childish antics, he had stood up and started an imaginary boxing match with the table. Seeing that Taehyung was now smiling, Seokjin took some imaginary punches falling to the ground a couple of times before wrapping his legs around a table leg. “He is a feisty one.”
Sides hurting from the laughter, Taehyung fell over with laughter. He sat on the floor watching his hyung’s performance and the two of you finally settled when he declared himself the winner and resumed his breakfast as nothing happened.
While making yourself a cup of coffee you decided to check how everyone was coping, Seokjin and Taehyung seemed quite fine and happy, you caught a sleepy Hoseok on his way to a shower, he paused in his tired state and gave you a hug. He paused for a moment and you suspected he had fallen asleep against you and you had to lightly shake him awake.
“Good morning Hoseok”
“Mmm… morning” he muttered before continuing his journey towards the bathroom. Giggling as he struggled with the bathroom door handle twice before huffing and forcing his eyelids open long enough to open the door properly. Passing the bathroom you knocked softly on Namjoon’s door, he called you in politely.
“Good morning Namjoon, is there anything I can get you today?”
“Ah no, I will be out soon for breakfast, I was just working on a few things for an upcoming essay.” He sniffed, “You smell good today, I thought I should remind you that I am due for my rut tomorrow and I will be fine on my own, I have my prescription of suppressants. It would be best if I am left alone, although the symptoms are usually subdued I will be a little cranky.”
“Understood, feel free to text me if you need anything, I am always happy to help.” I nodded and headed back out stopping by Yoongi’s door. I knocked and heard a shuffling of blankets.
“Don’t come in,” He called his voice sounding hoarse,
“I understand, let me know if you need anything Yoongi” I scolded myself for forgetting that Yoongi was starting his rut today, I headed to the kitchen and I spoke with the three hybrids sitting around the dining table.
“What helps you through your rut, if I make each of you something for when you get your rut will that help, Like I can make you a basket every six months or so depending on your hybrid species. I could get your favorite drinks and snacks, your favorite movies, or a special pair of pj’s. Or, I could buy you some pheromone spray that can help calm you.”
“No Spray” they all shouted looking momentarily panicked.
“Okay, no spray,” I agreed, letting them write a list, Namjoon emerged and gave a list of drinks and snacks that he always enjoyed when he was feeling sick. Hoping to bring them some sort of ease during their uncomfortable rut period. You guided Jin, Taehyung, and Hoseok out to the shopping center, the four of you filling a shopping cart with different items that each believed would help.
“What about these?” Taehyung held up some cute pj’s they were matching, each was purple with stars, and Hoseok and Jin grabbed them, sizing them up to their chests. “They have room for our tails.”
“Look you can have a set too,” Taehyung said and I grinned, making sure to carefully check my phone for the boy’s sizes. I had made sure to make notes on their sizes for any clothing or shoe purchases.
Or you can ‘Like’ this post (but good luck trying to find it a week later, we both know how many things you like a day, perhaps we will meet again in the future.)
Summary:Lillia’s duties include, scheduling Director Kim’s days and repairing, cleaning and overseeing that the whole headquarters is running efficiently. But when the mission falls into her hands this admin has to step up and into the field to save the day. Partnered with a retired spy, what could go wrong?
A/N:This was for @moccahobi ‘s birthday, sorry it took so long.
The stale scent hit with a sense of realisation. Yes, this was really happening. Dimly lit crystal chandeliers created the perfect atmosphere; hazy, seductive, private, like a dream. Upon a dais off to the left of the establishment were private ‘rooms’, each one lined with an elaborate black and silver wallpaper and separated from the common areas by sheer black curtains that hid luxurious high back winged chesterfield sofas in dark leather.
The woman that had just appeared in the doorway took her time looking around the room. The bar was against the back wall, a perfect vantage point to watch over the premise. Smart. Behind the last private room was a door leading back to the kitchen and to the right of the bar was a small stage and dance area.
Taking off the ridiculously high end jacket, Lillia readjusted her sleek black dress. The outfit had been coordinated by Taehyung who had taken the job of dressing her very seriously. His enthusiasm made it all feel akin to a dress up game. She was sure that without his help, she may have made an absolute fool of herself. When hearing about meeting in a bar, even one as extravagant as this one, it wasn’t Lillia’s first reaction to think of high end fashion. The bars she frequented were more laid back; business casual, a nice pair of jeans and a smart blouse. Clubs felt like a place one would show off but not as classy. This was neither; the restaurant was 5 star Michlin with a waiting list until Christmas, and even if you were lucky enough to get a booking, only patrons with exclusive membership cards were allowed access to the Lounge.
She glanced down at the freshly laminated card; to the untrained eye, it looked just like the real thing. Taehyung sure had been working over time. Without him, Lillia was sure she wouldn’t make it through the mission, let alone the afternoon meeting her new team mate. It had been tough trying to decipher her superiors' expressions earlier that morning.
“But you’re the field agent!” She had protested, eyes wide.
“I know but we’re relying on you. The rest of us have been compromised.” Taehyung spoke softly, trying not to spook her so early in the mission. He stood before her, looking like the very picture of a spy who knew what he was doing. His velvetine suit was professionally pressed and the gold cufflinks at his wrist, V shaped like his code name, gleamed under the flourencents. A strong cedar scent bloomed as his arm slung over her shoulders and he guided her down the hall to a quiet office.
“Now, what’s the first thing you should do when you enter a new place?” Lillia blinked up at the handsome agent in disbelief. Did he really expect you to participate in a quiz at a time like this? Taehyung laughed dryly, perhaps realizing how unequipped she truly was for this mission. “Check for exits.”
Slowly walking towards the bar, she made sure to check all potential escape routes. The most obvious and, hence, the most guarded would be the entrance to the lounge. The hall towards the bathrooms appeared to be a dead end. Her eyes scanned across the room again and stopped on a waiter carrying plates of Pajeon (파전) and Yangnyeom Tongdak (양염통닭) emerging from the kitchen. As the door swung back and forth behind him, Lillia caught sight of another exit beyond the cacophony of chefs. Outside, a kitchen hand stood in the alley on his smoke break. The ashy scent drifted back through the kitchen and into the bar area.
Exit count confirmed. Two potential escape routes in case things went pear shaped.
“Once you have confirmed your exits, you pick the easiest spot in which you can make said exit in an emergency. This is really important and could save your life.” Taehyung stressed his point by catching Lillia’s eyes before they had a chance to wander about the small office. “Then you look for potential threats; who looks like they could cause trouble, size them up; who can you take in a fight; who do you avoid and how many of them can you take. Citizens hold themselves differently; an agent like me can blend or be the highlight of the room. We play our cards to our advantage. A potential target also holds themself differently, they are usually confident in their surroundings, blending into their background and at ease.”
Dodging two young men holding hands on their way to the bathroom, Lillia felt her cheeks flush as she apologised to the two. They seemed awkward, the blonde one reluctantly following while the other younger male apologized profusely, explaining he hadn’t meant to spill his drink. His purple hair made him stand out and Lillia made sure to take note as he ducked past, assuring the older man he ‘would help clean it up’. They were both dressed well but the blonde’s fancy suit was stained with wine and Lillia could understand the young man’s concern. They didn’t seem like they were threats. The blonde moved slowly like he had no energy to fight the younger male with the purple hair who moved like a model, his feet crossing over one another, legs positioned perfectly with every step.
A voice called, a few other clientele at the large table now filled to the edges with delicious foods and drinks. There wasn’t really anyone who stood out as a threat.
“Today is Hoseok’s birthday and he will be here any minute. We can’t get distracted.”
The friend counter argued, “we should ask him when he comes back. Maybe he is one of the paid dancers from the company. I still think we should have had the actors fake kidnap him and drop him off at the party. Or abducted by aliens Spa treatment.”
“We want him to have a fun birthday, not be traumatised,” The other friend laughed, noticing their other friend was distracted, “What are you looking at?”
“That purple haired guy looked like he might be a dancer, did you see the way he moved so smoothly? Plus his leg muscles were pretty big, it would have to be something dance related. Did you order a feminine and masculine exotic dancer”
“I think he might be in the same company, you said yourself his thighs were pretty strong and it’s all the rage at the moment to dance for fitness. He has a natural appeal about his movements, a confident guy.”
Lillia smiled, she had to admit the young man did have perfect form, it seemed so obvious he was a classical dancer, or even a model. His posture was too immaculate for any other style or profession. Reaching the bar, she traced her hand along the smooth surface of the immaculately polished bartop. The bartender approached with a classic customer service smile.
“What can I get for you?” He smiled hopeful for something to do. It was still early in the evening and there wasn’t much for him to do but wipe non-existent dust from the stone benchtop. The ultra-fine mirror chips added to the cool white surface, a subtle feature that was enlivened by the low light, sending soft sparkles like stars at different angles. The surface contrasted the dark furnishings of the establishment.
“Lemon Drop Martini please,” Lillia gave her signature shy smile, it was something she often used to her advantage. She watched, intrigued by the bartender’s enthusiasm, as he concocted the beverage with expertise, his hands flourishing about in a fashion one might relate to that of a composer.
He presented the pastel yellow drink in a martini glass, rimmed with sugar crystals and a single spiral of lemon rind floating in the centre of the glass. The drink was both sweet and sassy bringing a refreshing tingle across her tongue. Someone sat on the stool beside her patting his hands against the bench top gaining the bartender’s attention.
“Good evening, I will have what the young lady is having.” A voice said confidently, his voice was warm and light, it seemed to brighten the dark room. While taking another calming sip letting the flavour coat her palette, Lillia peeked up out the corner of her eyes through her lashes.
She found herself examining his appearance for a moment, was he who she was to meet? Remembering the description of the man, trying to compare the unique illustrations created by Taehyung’s words with the man before her.
“The guy you are meeting is young, only a little older than myself. I never met him myself. He retired when I started but from what I’ve heard, he dresses well. You will know when you meet him; he always picks a silly undercover name and everyone who works with him says he is really talkative.” Taehyung laughed, “we haven’t got his face in the database anymore which is the only reason he agreed to work on this case. Since everyone’s identities have been blown, you two are our only options.”
“Lillia,” outstretched her hand to the young man turning in her barstool allowing her body to turn towards him, a sign of trust and interest. Lillia eyed him a little more openly making him giggle in a manly, yet precious way. He tried to act cool as he leaned partially on the bar, his hand taking his drink from the barman.
“J-Hope.”
A silly undercover name. This must be the guy.
He only took one sip before his face contorted; eyes crinkling, his nose scrunching up and jaw tightening until it clenched in an intriguing way. Unable to stop herself, Lillia let out a string of giggles. He looked so adorable, his fists shaking slightly as his body and expression tried to repress his distaste for the drink. It seemed his face was too honest towards his feelings.
“Wow! That is sour,” he laughed, looking at the cup with a frown. Lillia found the down pull of his lips and his slight pout made him seem younger and playful.
“I have a question, I don’t know if you know anything about literature but I wanted to know which state Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn is set in?”
“Ah, that would be Missouri. My father is a literature teacher,” He smiled almost bringing the martini glass up to his lips when he remembered the sour flavour and placed it back on the bar.
Luckily having finished her drink Lillia took his glass, standing. “Can I order a Mojito to the first room thank you,” Taking his hand confidently, Lillia walked towards one of the four private rooms. Letting the black lace curtain fall into place blocking them from the patrons outside.
“Uh, So…”
“Please sit, we have a lot to discuss.” Lillia looked at the young man gesturing to the plush leather couch beside her. The young man with little hesitation sat on the sofa, his smile never fading as he looked around the room curiously.
“So I take it you received the information pack regarding the biggest party of the year tonight and the business that will be going down behind the scenes,” Lillia spoke seriously trying to create a game plan with the more seasoned spy. “I was thinking we pretend we are married, from what I heard Jeon’s men usually go off to cigar rooms and the wives gossip amongst themselves. If you can infiltrate their small friend group, I can infiltrate the wives.”
“Uh…” J-hope smiled a little confused. Was the idea stupid?, she worried suddenly. Too Risky? “Sounds great”
“You don’t sound convinced,” she frowned. “Anyway, here’s the plan. You’ll be the CEO of a law firm, something with big money that Jeon wants and needs in his circle. Like I said, the party is tonight.” Lillia expressed her thought process on the mission. It was a pretty simple plan with no complicated triple crossing, threats or elaborate backstories. Hopefully that all worked in their favour.
Steps on the dais silenced Lillia quickly as the waiter spoke as he ducked in through the dark lace curtain. “I have a mojito,” he smiled. “Is there anything else I can get for you?”
“That is all, thank you.” Lillia smiled, offering her new partner the drink. “I thought you might like this better, it’s not sour. Tastes a bit like Sprite with mint”
“Oooh I like Sprite.” He smiled, taking a sip eagerly as her phone started to ring. It was Taehyung. Eyeing the room through the sheer curtain hoping their conversation wouldn’t be overheard, she answered.
“Hello?”
“You two need to get out of there,” the man breathed urgently down the line. “Jeon and his men are on their way. If you are spotted, you won’t be able to get close enough without blowing your cover. Get out and head to the headquarters asap.” The line went dead, adrenaline spiking in Lillia’s veins and she could feel the adrenaline course through her.
“We have to go.” Grabbing the young man by the arm, he rushed to down the beverage before grinning at her like a big goofball. If this weren’t a life or death situation, she might have found him endearing.
“Alright, I am ready to go on my mission!” He called out to the large party. They waved back, grinning, some looking confused. “I will see you when it is all over.”
Was he drunk? His judgement must be impaired! He was jeopardizing the mission by announcing to the bar he was on a mission. Wanting to get them out of there as soon as possible, she dragged him through the kitchens, muttering quick apologies to the staff, dodging rogue flames. There was a split second of fear that washed over Lillia as she saw Jeon’s men standing in the alleyway. Gripping Hoseok’s hand, she ran as fast as she could, weaving through the crowd until their faces were lost in the sea of late night shoppers and early club goers.
Lillia had a specific set of skills not known to many. They included but were not limited to; Bullet Journalling, Home workouts, great phone presence (Tae always said she could lure someone in with her sweet voice) and finally attention to detail. Ironic. She wasn’t sure how helpful any of this would be today.
Across town, the pair took the bus and headed to a small office building that housed an accounting firm. The female agent led Hoseok into the small, shiny elevator until they reached the 13th floor in silence, all the while still holding her companion by the hand. They disembarked, walking a few corridors and towards the reception desk. The seat that was usually occupied by Lillia now held a frazzled looking Taehyung.
“You are back!” The man exclaimed, relief written all over his face. “I have no idea how to be an admin.” The telephone rang and he snatched the phone, shoving it to his face. “Hello, this is Jack– I don’t care if you have fruit flies in your home, Timothy! Stop calling me-”
Rolling her eyes, Lillia snatched the receiver from him. “Hello sir, I understand you have fruit flies… I will send pest control out at ten tomorrow. Bye bye now.” Lillia hung the phone up and began typing over Taehyung’s shoulders, frowning. “You idiot, did you not read the codes I left for you?” She straightened up. “Fruit flies means he wanted to report his mission to Mister Kim.”
The other man blinked, fingers toying with the telephone cord. “What does it mean if they are asking for a dry cleaning order?” She rolled her eyes again.
“It means they are asking if there are any new missions.” Lillia frowned again. “As long as you didn’t forget the most important one…”
“What is that?”
“If someone asks if Mister Kim has paid his outstanding Pottery class fees,” she prompted but the man looked ashamedly at the table, now distracting himself by pushing a pencil around.
“We wouldn’t happen to tell them that Mister Kim doesn’t do pottery and to stop calling?”
“This is serious Taehyung! It means someone might be in danger and that they think their cover has been compromised!”
“Oh, that makes a lot more sense… I am going to have to call some people back.” He pulled at his shirt collar. “Anyway, they will be fine, I swear us agents are smart.”
“Oh yeah, you aren’t really giving me any hope for the agency. Besides, you’re an agent! You should know these!”
“I’ve never had to use them!” Before she could snap at him, he stood, clapping his hands. “No time to dilly dally! We have a mission to begin. Follow me.” Taehyung gestured and J-hope smiled, shaking Taehyung’s hand.
“Nice to meet you, I have heard so much about you,” the agent come admin assistant said to the other man as they walked. You are like a legend around here. I heard that in your last year you retired because you faked your death by diving off a bridge into the Han river and caught the target whilst at your own wake. The agents said you injured your shoulder during the bridge and that’s why you left the business.”
“Uh yeah.” J-Hope giggled, looking perhaps uncomfortable by the memory. Lillia shot Taehyung a warning look as he opened the doors to a conference room. A usual office meeting room, straight out of a movie; with a big table, many chairs, a lectern, white board and projector. He presented the pair with thick manila folders.
“I hope everything fits,” he said as he watched them flick through the dossiers. “This was meant to be my operation before the breach. Once you’re familiar with your new personas, we will get you dressed up.”
“It will be fine.” Lillia nodded, slipping the ring onto her finger and smiled, it was expensive, extremely so. It had to be to catch the attention of Jeon and the wives. Outlandish high end fashion was the only way the two would be able to disguise themselves into the exclusive party. The backstory was easy to remember and yet since it was so simple it seemed real. The two of you had met at a dance class and were partnered together and the chemistry was perfect. One afternoon when class was dismissed the two of you just couldn’t bear to part with one another. Instead deciding to swap a few stories over coffee, which then turned to dinner and well you have been together ever since.
“Alright, get changed and I will get you some gadgets and little toys to play with.” Taehyung grinned, shooing you off to the changing rooms. Down the hall were a few powder rooms, each the same modern look, white tiles and walls, big square mirrors, fluorescent lighting and an indoor plant on the counter. The plastic tub was filled with different coloured fabrics. First the underdress required for quick change and get away, simple black dress used to blend into the crowd, not wanting to stand out. The over dress however, was an elaborate red dress in satin with a full petticoat and a mock neck of lace and embroidered flowers. The shoes were a simple black and the jewelry was dainty, giving off the innocent vibe.
This was it. Slipping into both very beautiful dresses Lillia looked in the mirror shocked, it wasn’t her usual style. She felt very elegant as the fabric fell around her. The wig she was given was amazing quality, she couldn’t tell where the wig started or ended the hair just looked so natural, in its elaborate updo. It looked like she was heading to a red carpet event and knowing the scale of the party there probably was a red carpet and paparazzi. Walking slowly around the room in her shoes until finally she felt comfortable enough to run or fight. Once Lillia had perfected the walk and her best smile, she believed she was ready to face cameras and potential threatening figures within the party.
Heels clicking as she went, she strode back into the conference room entering to see J-Hope standing in the corner smiling at the luxury brand suit. His hair was hidden by a soft silver tone wig with a pencil thin moustache on his lip.
“Wow!” He breathed and it was then Lillia noticed he wasn’t looking at his suit, his eyes did the classic slow lift from the small sparkly heel trailing along the dress following each curve until his eyes locked on hers. “You look really beautiful,”
Unable to respond, Lillia tugged her dress slightly, unbeknownst to the two men but her underdress was riding up. Taehyung barged in excitedly pushing a trolley of weapons and gadgets. Breaking the spell that had rendered the two silent and unable to look away. Lillia took some slow breaths and tried to concentrate on the mission in order to cool her pink cheeks. J-Hope seemed undisturbed by Taehyung’s presence blatantly staring at the curve of Lillia’s neck and the softness of her flushed cheeks. Taehyung paused, smacking his hand into J-Hope’s chest trying to bring him back to the present, before pressing some weapons and gadgets towards him.
“These are your little toys for the mission,” he smiled, stepping past the more seasoned agent, taking his time to explain each device to Lillia. Helping her conceal them. “This is a thigh holster, I assume you don’t need help with this one?”
“I got it.” Lillia rolled her eyes, her breath heavy in exasperation. Not that she wasn’t happy for a change of scenery, she just preferred the simplicity of her admin job. It’s not like her stapler would ever double cross her, nor her cat pen holder had the means to poison or torture her. Placing her stiletto clad foot onto the chair, she lifted the dress to expose just a fraction of her thigh and harnessed the weapon securely in place. Looking up with a small huff she saw both men had paused while talking about J-Hope’s watch functions to stare. Putting her leg down and smoothing the dress back into place Lillia cleared her throat, “Anything else?”
“This is a special one, even I haven’t gotten to drive it yet” Taehyung pouted, reluctantly extending a set of keys out to the pair, his thumb giving one last caress to the Mercedes logo on the fob, “make sure you, treat her right”
It was just as you expected a party filled with glamorous celebrities, the super rich and most influential. Handing the keys to the valet, JHope looked around amazed. Camera’s were flashing, no one was really taking photos of you both, you were still nobodies. “This is an elaborate gift, seriously the weirdest birthday I have ever had, but this suit is amazing and the car was wild.”
Lillia thought this was a little strange but shook her head, maybe he was being sarcastic. She couldn’t be too sure, after glancing at his profile she had noticed he did have a weird sense of humor alongside his strange choice of code names. The red carpet was shorter than she had anticipated and as they reached the beautiful building the adrenaline started to kick in. The stone steps lead them to the security. Lillia’s clutch was scrunched in her hand and she willed herself to relax, she had grabbed J-Hope’s hand guiding him towards the check in.
“Good evening, your names?” Stopping at the entrance, they were quick to accept the invitation, reading both names and checking their list, holding her breath for a moment before the guard smiled. “Thank you, you two enjoy your night.”
Ducking past Lillia let out a long breath relaxing her grip, the agent by her side chuckled and rubbed his thumb against the back of her hand. Which she had forgotten she had grabbed in the first place, eyes drifting around the room trying to keep her professionalism on the case. The flooring and pillars looked like they were all carved and polished marble, crystal chandeliers swaying gently in the cool air. It was like everything you would want in a fantasy aesthetic ballroom from the eighteenth century, but, with all the luxuries of electricity and ducted air conditioning. “You seem really nervous.”
“Shut up, it’s my first time. Not all of us have been on one hundred billion missions like you.” He laughed and with her hand still in his he led the way through the sea of people towards the music. It was a live band, currently playing dinner music for greeting guests, old classical ballads. JHope led Lillia towards the dance floor and started a slow waltz. He enjoyed dancing and hated waiting awkwardly for someone to start. As always he took the initiative.
“What are you doing?” Lillia asked, her cheeks flushed in embarrassment, many people were watching. It felt kind of like a performance. JHope signalled to the band as the song came to an end and they scrambled through their repertoire of songs before the brass took over with some swing tunes.
More couples took the dance floor jiving away happily and JHope beamed, nothing felt better than making people dance. It almost took brute force to pull him away from the dance floor. But with the sweetest voice Lillia guided him away from the crowd and towards the elevator. The two headed to the fifteenth floor. Looking around nervous but trying not to show it, not wanting to look pathetic next to her more experienced colleague. Who at this moment was making faces and wiggling his lip brushing his fingers over his fake moustache.
“J-Hope, we have to find out what they are planning to do with all the weapons they have been buying from overseas.” She whispered, readjusting the two dresses she was wearing. It was awfully warm under so much fabric, the sooner they got the information, the sooner they could leave. Her mind was occupied with thoughts of freedom from the crowds, of returning to her desk and ergonomic computer chair. Wheeling back and forth whilst preparing cold lemonade for guests and a scented humidifier. Yes, this will all be over soon and she could return to her normal life, “Let’s go.”
The two snuck down the hallway and paused looking around the corner. There were two guards passing a flask between themselves. Taking a small breath Lillia told her partner to stay, perhaps she could play innocent. Walking along while looking at her phone she waited for the men’s reactions, “Uh excuse me, I don’t know if I am in the right area, but I was asked to go to a private party, I naturally assumed it was the pent house but it seems to be too quiet here. Do you know where I can find this private party? The man was really handsome.”
The two guards allowed Lillia to get closer, closer enough for her to use her tiny bracelet gadget on them, two fine needles and a quick acting tranquilizer, they were down for the count. Waving J-Hope over, Lillia tried to carry them around the corner near the service elevator. Stuffing them behind an indoor plant with their flask beside them the two ran back to the door and slipped inside.
Inside the room was quiet, the wall was lined with unmanned computers and one man with their back to them. He had purple hair and was talking to some young man in the corner who was tied up with tape over his mouth. The purple haired man was lounging in the arm chair, talking to his hostage. “Stop looking so hopeful,” He whined, “I am under orders and yes we had a good time but, I have to follow my orders or I will die alright?”
The man on the floor rolled his eyes, Lillia knew he noticed them but wouldn’t let his eyes so much as flicker in their direction. Wanted to slap herself in the forehead, these were the two guys from the bar, the purple guy was in on it. That poor young man must have been so traumatized and taken hostage for no reason by Jeon’s men. Yet as the purple haired man tapped the blonde man’s cheek he didn’t look afraid but more bored.
Lillia moved ready to line up the shot ready to tranq the guy when the door opened and closed behind them. “Finally you are back, did you find his accomplice, we know he wasn’t working alone-” He froze gun pointed at J-Hope and herself, she pulled him down as he shot, the sound muted by the silencer. The guard who had walked in fell to the ground with a heavy lifeless thud, the blonde ‘Hostage’ had untied his bonds and snatched his kidnappers gun.
“Crap,” The gun now in the older man’s hand, aimed where the guard had just been. Peeking over the armchair Lillia saw the blonde point the weapon between the other man’s eyes. “Double crap.”
Pulling the tape from his lips he grinned, “Ah Jiminie, you are cute and our time together was truly sweet. But we live in two different worlds.”
“Yoongi, You wouldn’t do this to me would you, we had fun.” Jimin pleaded, his eyes wide and pouting. Yoongi leant down his hand firmly in the purple tresses and he planted a kiss on the younger man’s sweet full lips. He knocked the young man out and turned to you both, “I will take him down the service elevator you two head down and out, this party is a distraction from the real business. We have to get back to headquarters.”
Muttering could be heard and looking behind the couch Lillia could see the guard, clutching his wound and whispering into a walkie talkie. Yoongi shot him again, from the corner of her eye Lillia noticed how J-Hope flinched and how pale and sick he was looking. Backing away from the lifeless body, Lillia grabbed his clammy hand dragging him up onto his feet and out of the room. Following Yoongi with his unconscious hostage to the service elevator. “They know what you look like so you two better get out of here.”
Taking the regular elevator, you ripped off Jhope’s wig and moustache, he was shaking. “This is all like a prank right, this is a fun little scavenger hunt right, you are all paid actors for my birthday?” Lillia was piecing together her mistake, she knew where she went wrong and cursed. Ripping off Jhope’s jacket and flipping it inside out before helping him put it back on, now a totally different colour. Seconds before the door opened Lillia was able to rip off her wig, party guests were getting into the elevator.
Pulling Jhope into the corner, Lillia took a moment to start unclipping her dress using him as a barrier. She looked up at him and wiped his brow with his pocket handkerchief. Feeling sorry for him getting caught up in such a dangerous mission and on his birthday. “What is your real name?”
“Jung Hoseok” He whispered, trying not to speak too loudly. She understood after what they had both witnessed, it would be hard for him to know who he could trust.
“Jung Hoseok, I am so sorry, I was an idiot and thought you were a spy.” Lillia whispered, the top dress she had been wearing had been shimmied down to her hips as subtly as one could in a pact elevator. It was like a strange cacophony of emotions, they were scared having witnessed someone getting shot, they were now in serious danger and here she was trying to comfort him while stripping out of one dress. He too was in a whirlwind of emotions pointedly staring at the wall behind her head.
“How do you accidentally get the wrong person?” His hushed tone didn’t hide his frustration. “I think it is pretty clear who is and isn’t a spy, what gave you the impression that I was one of them.
“You answered the question.” Lillia frowned, “The dress is stuck and if I don’t get it off we are going to be caught and killed,” She said, her eyes looking desperate, she couldn’t die like this, she had cats and indoor plants that needed her. Hoseok moved without hesitation, sliding his hands down the dress trying to find where it was caught.
He must have heard the panic in Lillia’s voice as he gripped the two sides of the fabric and ripped the over dress delicately and as quietly as possible. “An elite spy company is using a basic literacy question as the pinnacle element of identifying if one is a spy?”
“Well, when you put it like that, it does sound rather stupid.” Her cheeks flushed red and the two moved with the crowd from the party.
“You think?” He took her hand and began dragging her from the party, out to the car in the parking lot. Stopping for a moment to have a short breather.
“We forgot to get the keys.” Lillia muttered letting Hoseok have a moment to collect his thoughts, his day which had started fun and lighthearted had just turned sour. The two headed to the valet and grabbed the keys when they were spotted.
“Run!” Lillia shouted as they dodged guards and various henchmen.
She almost giggled when Hoseok slid across the hood of the car and jumped in, the two driving off a bullet lodging in the back windscreen. The glass was strong. The two drove off getting a few blocks down the road when they pulled over. They had spotted Yoongi all but dragging Jimin down the street; the young man’s head flopped back, his glasses askew.
“Need a lift.” Lillia called, he jumped in dragging Jimin behind him and the four of you sped off to the Headquarters.
“Why are we stopping here?” Yoongi asked.
“Because as the admin, I know the ins and outs of the building, I had the fire marshal in and I had to show him the blueprints of the building. There is a secret entrance, follow me.”
“Wait,” Jimin groaned, “There is a bomb.”
“A what!?” Hoseok shouted
“A bomb.” Jimin tried to sit up, “Look Jungkook and Namjoon they go way back, they used to be trainees together, Namjoon was smart and passed his tests well, it was only normal for him to progress so quickly to become the head of the intelligence agency, but no matter what Jungkook he couldn’t pass the test.”
“So what does that have to do with a bomb?” Hoseok asked
“It wasn’t until years later he found out he had passed the test multiple times, it was Namjoon refusing to let him become a spy. Enraged Jungkook wanted to prove he was good, he began doing his own thing but he shot the wrong guy, instead of the target he shot a spy and he became a wanted criminal.”
“So what does that have to do with a bomb?” Hoseok wanted to start punching Jimin for some real answers, nothing was making any sense.
“He wanted to talk to Namjoon to clear things up, clear his name but he needed collateral in case things went wrong. He is a ride or die kind of guy.” Jimin said
“I can see that little man brought a whole BOMB to talk to some guy.” Hoseok scoffed.
“Listen, let me help you, I am only working for Jungkook because I owe him, I am not a bad guy, I follow the highest bidder.”
The group took the tunnel from the market place fruit shop, passing behind the butchers and news agency and up to a small elevator. They squished in and headed up to the sixth floor, the elevator was rickety and moved so slowly but when they got to the top the four stepped out into the staff room.
“We have to find the Bomb and disarm it,” Yoongi said
The group split up Lillia going with Hoseok bumping into a familiar face standing behind the front desk, his hand on the shoulder of a sweating Taehyung “Hey Mister Kim what are you doing back, do you need any more details about the building?” Lillia grinned
“Ah Lillia, you weren’t at your desk I thought you might have been sick.” Kim Seokjin was the fire marshal who had recently visited in order to obtain some blueprints of the building in order to grant a fire safety certificate. It was all routine inspection stuff but something about his looming figure and watchful eyes even some of the questions he asked seemed out of the norm for a fire marshal.
“No, it is my friend Hoseok’s birthday today. We are heading out, I was just wanting to help Taehyung find a document he is missing.” Lillia smiled, stepping around the computer and opening up the bullet journal. “Have you finished logging the reports?”
“Yes, 26 in the folder” He showed her and she sighed. “Did you order for the coffee machine? We ran out of beans a week ago and if I am back at work tomorrow I want beans, go onto the website and order one medium arabica and robusta blend.”
He nodded and followed the orders, “Did you log any appointments?”
“Yes,”
“Did you leave a gap between 11:30 and 12:30 for Mister Kim’s lunch break?
“Uh no.” Lillia sighed “Send out apology emails and reschedule them, Did the pest control come in?”
“No one came in?” Lillia sighed and reached over the counter for the phone and began by sending out a quick call leaving a message on the answering machine of a pest control business complaining about bugs in the office staff room. This was a decoy message that would be sent to all available agents letting them know the headquarters had been breached and to lay low for a while.
It took a few moments but everything was done. “You are a terrible substitute admin, Tae” He laughed, dry and with no feeling, a bead of sweat was rolling down his neck.
“So Mister Kim, did you finish our building’s inspection, did we pass the fire safety regulations?” Lillia asked, noticing the strange reflection in the tiles behind the counter. It appeared that Mister Kim was holding a gun pressed against Taehyung’s back.
“Of course we finished it a few days ago, you are all approved and fire safe,” He smiled, his hand massaging Taehyung’s neck in an effort to look like they were pals having fun and hanging out. “Please call me Seokjin, Mister Kim makes me feel old.”
“Seokjin, something has been playing on my mind since you visited for the fire safety inspection?” Lillia smiled sweetly, “You never sent a permission to enter the premises report two weeks before entering our building, any inspection requires two weeks’ notice.”
Seokjin began laughing, pinching the bridge of his nose and revealed the gun. Pointed directly at Lillia’s head, “You know I never thought I would be called out for something as silly as a permission form. Most people see my face and let me get away with it.”
“Not this Admin.” Lillia grinned, and the scuffle began, Taehyung knocked Seokjin out cold, the three of you racing off to where the bomb was hidden. Yoongi and Jimin were in the middle of disarming it. Ringing the fire alarm to evacuate the building.
They cut the wrong wire and the timer began to tick faster. “It is no use there are one hundred wires and buttons, we do one thing wrong and we will die, everyone should be evacuated, let’s get out of here.” Yoongi called, the group agreed and ran down the hall, Taehyung scooping up the unconscious Seokjin as he went.
It was a race down the stairs and out the door everyone was heading out when Lillia stopped racing back upstairs and behind the front desk. She collected her bullet journal, this thing had everything she needed to keep this whole company running. With the information secure, she ripped the side of her dress and raced back into the stairwell. Hoseok, who had waited on the stairs, grabbed Lillia’s arm and raced along. A few steps too quick and he tripped and twisted his ankle.
“Argh” he hissed, standing and hobbling down the stairs hissing as he went. He was moving but not fast enough, he wouldn’t make it and Lillia wouldn’t let him die on his birthday. Mustering all her strength, thinking about her home workouts Lillia lifted the young man into her arms. Continuing out the front doors into the marketplace, the explosion began behind her. Ground shaking as she ran further from the building, the heat burning behind her. The warm glow similar to what one might feel sitting beside a bonfire roasting marshmallows.
Like a slow motion movie Lillia ran Hoseok in her arms, his hands clenched together behind her neck. Her beautiful dress had a small rip near the thigh and her curls bounced around her face. She was a woman on a mission. She stopped on the corner where Yoongi, Jimin, Taehyung and an unconscious Seokjin sat dishevelled and dirty.
“We lived!” Lillia sighed in relief, each startled by Hoseok’s phone ringing.
“Hey buddy, where have you been, we have been messaging and calling all day. It is time for the main event of your birthday. You can’t miss it” His friends voice echoed around the small group.
With reckless smiles and a few shrugs, Lillia guided them all into her work car. The six of them arrived at the bar ordering shots which they all happily downed together. Yoongi and Jimin were drinking and lounging against each other tired, Seokjin woke downing Taehyung’s drink and getting pulled onto the dance floor and Hoseok had dragged Lillia into the crowd with all his friends.
They were all super friendly and Lillia couldn’t stop laughing when Jimin finally managed to get Yoongi to dance. The whole group retreated back to their booth noticing two new additions to their party. Jeon Jungkook and Kim Namjoon were drinking calmly beside one another, both looking like hell in their ripped and slightly burnt suits. It seemed the two also made a quick exit barely making it out alive.
“This is the wildest birthday I have ever had in my life.” Hoseok shouted over the music.
Rating: All audiences Genre:Fantasy, Comedy, Fluffy Fluff, Adventure, Romance, Drama. Pairing:Bts x Reader
Summary:Being BTS’s assistant manager sounded more fun than it was, their schedule was busy and they no longer had time to talk, eat and play. On top of that you couldn’t get close to them for fear of rumours spreading. An accident on set leaves you in a bit of a pickle. No longer do you have to care for the seven tiny boys. No they are huge! Or is it you who is now small?
You were working for the BTS boys, running around getting random props, bags, water, food and other miscellaneous items. You would carry paperwork from Sejin’s office to other departments and staff. You worked precise and efficiently, not allowing for any chance of mistake.
At least you tried to, you of course made plenty of mistakes in the beginning taking the form for props to the set design, taking the costume designs to Sejin and even carried the budget into a TXT live stream luckily you were not caught on camera. Bowing and stepping out.
Sejin was patient with you and you were grateful, you got to see the BTS boys when they came in for dance practice but they were usually so distracted. They loved having you around but you felt like you got seconds with them before they were gone again. You missed the days when they were little.
You were sent to gather some old props for some new song that would use them as references, you were excited but they never really told you much of anything, everyone was pretty tight lipped. But they assumed you couldn’t speak Korean and in their defence you kind of couldn’t. Sure you had studied Korean in school but talking with the boys was one thing and coming to Korea was another.
Locating the storage room you flicked on the light and pinned the door back, you were running around looking for the items when you saw the old doll house, the one you had built for them. The kept it for a few Tiny Tan recreation videos and was moved into storage at some point.
Stepping closer to see the pile of little clothes they used to wear, it made you miss them more. Taking care of them, talking whenever you wanted and just sharing your friendship. It was such a beautiful memory, but so long ago it was more nostalgic than anything.
You would give anything to be able to go back to that moment. Turning you found the box you were looking for, trying to carefully get it off the top shelf and lower it down you had a lever digging into your chest. Grasping the crate you pulled it off the shelf and tried to safely place it on the floor. The corner of the box getting caught on something.
You stepped back hoping whatever was in the way was now clear for you to place the props container on the cement. Even though you knew you should be heading back already you didn’t want to take the wrong box of props to set. Just a quick glance inside to prevent any further delays that might occur taking a second trip.
There was a small creaking sound like something falling into place. Opening the box you heard a whirring noise above you looking up to see the same machine that had miniaturized the boys in the first place. Someone had turned it on and it was pointed at you. Looking down you saw the lever which had previously been dug into your chest. It must have been caught on the box and as you brought the box down it took the lever with it.
Unlike other times the lever seemed stuck and the machine was making so much noise you were generally worried it would blow up leaving you with severe burns.
“I’m an idiot.” You gasped falling forward into the box lid clattering somewhere off to the side. A soft leather jacket breaking your fall, next to Hoseok’s spiked mask. That was close. Taking a deep breath you tried to wriggle towards the edge of the box only falling deeper into the soft leather. You heard the door to the prop room open.
“Where did she go?” Exasperation dripping off the strangers words.
“We will find her later, we have to take the props out quickly.”
The box was lifted and you dove under the fabric hiding in the jacket pocket. Hoping not to be spotted by anyone. They began taking things from the box. Please don’t throw or drop me.” You whispered
“Hey, my old leather jacket,” Yoongi grinned, “This is from when we were shooting danger.”
“Yoongi it’s your turn to get your hair done.” He walked over and sat in the chair, squished against the arm of the chair and his body. Pushing him he moved slightly making a small noise of confusion.
“Stay here, I just need to grab another bottle of heat protectant spray,” the stylist said, Yoongi’s hand went into the pocket and your only defense mechanism was to curl up in a ball. He pulled you from his pocket and looked down at you confused.
If you were to fall you weren’t sure you would survive, the world was so big and you were so small. “What is- Y/n?” He shut his mouth quickly and hid you close to him, “what is going on?”
“I was getting props and I bumped the lever and got miniaturized,” You sighed sitting in his hand, “That’s not the only problem I think the machine is broken, meaning I might be stuck like this forever.”
“You are going to have to hide in my pocket, we will figure this out once the shooting is done.” He said with a small smile sliding you back into his jacket pocket. “My very own tiny hand warmer.”
Your cheeks flushed as you tried to make yourself comfortable in his pocket. It wasn’t the most fun experience, the dancing was erratic and you were starting to feel sick. That and the temperature in the small space was climbing.
After a few takes Yoongi went to get a drink pulling you from his pocket and smiling. “I am sorry, it mustn’t be comfortable.”
“Yoongi, it’s time for solo scenes,” Seokjin said, “I just finished mine, so you are up next.”
“Alright, um… Y/n, accidentally shrunk herself,” Yoongi lifted you into the older members view, still keeping you hidden from the other staff members. Seokjin’s face split into a grin as he let out a little aegyo whine. Yoongi was being called again so he gently placed you in Seokjin’s hand, “Can you hold her for a bit and keep her safe and out of sight?”
“Hello love, tell me how I look, is my handsome face as beautiful up close.” He laughed holding you up close to his face, eyes big, you laughed at how silly he looked when he was cinema sized.
“Your jokes are funnier when you are this big,” You giggled and he scoffed, your laugh had caught the attention of Jungkook. Once he recognized you, he bore a mischievous smile. The fake maknae and the golden maknae were quick to taunt and tease you, poking your sides and making you giggle some more. “ᵀʰᶦˢ ᶦˢⁿ'ᵗ ᶠᵃᶦʳ!”
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Beta: n/a (at the moment) Rating:All(Marked Chapters 18+) Pairing: Hybrid!BTS x FailedHybrid!Reader Genre: Hybrid au, fluff, action, adventure, angst, drama, slice of life. Some marked chapters will contain mature/smut scenes, BUT they will not have plot in those scenes and are 100% skippable without losing your place in the story.
Summary:Human’s strive to be better, faster and stronger looking to animal DNA. Thus Hybrids are born. As the rise for designer and Pedigree Hybrids increase, so do the failed attempts. There is one species scientists are unsuccessful in creating, but, folklore says they have been here all along, hiding and blending in with the humans for many millennia. How clever they are.
There was something hard about bringing up such a topic with all the members in the house. You knew what needed to be discussed, but it was getting to those topics that were hard. It became even more awkward once Jimin returned, he seemed super affectionate which you loved, it was good to finally express some of the feelings you had locked away. It was the looks from the others that made it hard, the way they tried not to touch you. The hierarchy shifted slightly and suddenly they didn’t want to anger Jimin, for fear they would be kicked out. It wasn’t healthy for them to live in fear and tip toe around you.
On top of all this emotional relationship stuff there was work to be done, currently everyone in the house was in University excluding Jimin and yourself and you were trying your best to help each of them where they needed it, keeping them fed, showered, well rested and happy was taxing.
Jungkook was struggling with his class and you decided to help him by creating flash cards for his upcoming exam. It was in the middle of your study session that Jimin stepped behind you wrapping his arms around your waist and kissing your neck softly. You didn’t want to cause a scene but it tickled and the giggles escaped without your permission. Closing your eyes and melting back against Jimin’s chest, it felt almost scandalous like you shouldn’t be caught showing affection which you knew wasn’t true.
Huffing and standing Jungkook’s chair clattered loudly startling you from your moment, Jimin stepped around you looking concerned. “Jungkook?”
Jungkook was angry, his chest heaving underneath his thin black shirt, his eyes were sharp and his tail fluffed. Jimin reacted instinctively, not meaning to but his tail fluffed as well and the two were growling and hissing low at one another. “What is your problem?”
“I am sick of you acting like you care so much about Y/n, when you were the first one to turn your back on her when you found out she wasn’t human.” Jungkook shouted, figures came rushing from the hall and spilling into the living and dining area.
Words were thrown back and forth and just as things were starting to look physical you threw yourself between the two receiving a punch to the jaw. Jungkook looked horrified and Jimin was being physically restrained by the others. Blinking until your head cleared, you caught sight of Jungkook’s nose pinkened and his cheeks wet as his chest shook with tears. “I-I didn’t-”
He took off to his room slamming the door and though he was trying to be quiet in a house full of hybrids and animalistic beings. You heard every choke, sniffle and cry he tried to press into the pillow. You assure Jimin and the others you are okay and laugh, obviously it didn’t feel good and you had a splitting headache from the impact, but you weren’t a trembling flower.
Letting Jungkook get all his emotions out, you formulated what you should do and how to proceed from here. It shouldn’t have gotten this far, fights shouldn’t have broken out. The sound of a zip didn’t seem particularly alarming, nor did the sound of the cupboard doors, until you thought about it a moment longer.
Jungkook was packing a bag. Scrambling to his door you earnestly knocked, receiving only a sorrowful whine. Yoongi looked at you from a little way up the hallway, “He is a grown man with all the strength and mental maturity for making decisions but his emotional growth had been stunted, remember his hormones had been blocked for years, he is experiencing mood swings. He will act without thinking but it will ease up with time, just don’t give up on him yet.”
“I would never give up on him.” I huffed, saying the words firmly at the door hoping he would hear it. “Jungkook, please let me talk to you for a little bit.”
The door was unlocked, it was enough of an invitation. Stepping inside I saw him sitting on the bed, his head hanging low. The scent in the room was thick and you immediately understood the problem. Taking his bag you placed it on the floor and sat on his computer chair rolling it forward until you could place your hand on his knee for comfort.
“Look at me jungkook,” He looked up before averting his eyes back down and you chuckled softly. “I know it is pretty scary right now cause you are feeling a lot of different things, but I want to let you know that it is not safe for you to leave today okay.”
He looked up, his watery eyes confused at your words. “I mean I don’t want you to leave ever, but if you don’t want to be here I won’t force you to go kookie, it’s just that you are releasing some strong pheromones and I think you have started your rut. It would be best if you really do want to leave to stay here until it passes.” you patted his head letting him nuzzle his cheek and nose into your hand. Agreeing to wait until after his heat to make a decision.
As you stepped out, Jimin caught the door, moving slowly inside, appearing kind of small as he made to sit beside Jungkook. He began talking to Jungkook quietly and asking him if there was anything that could help him through his rut. The younger male shrugged not knowing what he would need or want, being his first time experiencing something like this.
You left the two alone hoping they would be able to talk about what they were both feeling in the moment before they started fighting. You made a mental note to talk to Jimin and ask him to perhaps back off from being too physical in front of everyone. Heading over to the calendar wanting to document Jungkook’s rut for the purpose of monitoring his health. Plus it would be easy for him to plan his life around his body’s schedule.
As you wrote ‘Jungkook’s Rut’ on the calendar you looked to see the next two days filled already. ‘Yoongi’s Rut’ and ‘Namjoon’s Rut’. Pausing you took a shaky breath. This wasn’t going to be easy but you knew they wouldn’t hurt you, they were respectful boys, but with so many hormonal men, it would probably induce the others and you would be dealing with no doubt seven hybrids in their Rut cycle.
Or you can ‘Like’ this post (but good luck trying to find it a week later, we both know how many things you like a day, perhaps we will meet again in the future.)
Beta: n/a (at the moment) Rating:All(Marked Chapters 18+) Pairing: Hybrid!BTS x FailedHybrid!Reader Genre: Hybrid au, fluff, action, adventure, angst, drama, slice of life. Some marked chapters will contain mature/smut scenes, BUT they will not have plot in those scenes and are 100% skippable without losing your place in the story.
Summary:Human’s strive to be better, faster and stronger looking to animal DNA. Thus Hybrids are born. As the rise for designer and Pedigree Hybrids increase, so do the failed attempts. There is one species scientists are unsuccessful in creating, but, folklore says they have been here all along, hiding and blending in with the humans for many millennia. How clever they are.
You knew the exact moment each hybrid figured out what you had done. Stepping through the door you were bombarded by the two youngest, it had almost become a ritual to be engulfed in hugs and nuzzles but upon impact, you saw their faces contort into a mix of horror and disgust. Both young men blanch and throw themselves back in order to avoid being contaminated by this new addition to your scent.
Taehyung’s small whine was subtle compared to the sound of despair and anger that left Jungkooks’s throat, the two backed away retreating quietly to their rooms. It hurt, the two most affectionate ones in the house treating you with hostility and almost ignoring you. Could you blame them, they had all but confessed their feelings to you and you brought home another scent.
Your heart hurt, like being rejected. Was this a rejection? Did you ruin your relationship? You knew that you had grown too close to each of them. Getting to know each of them one by one, find out their fears, goals, and passions. Never in your life had you ever thought about cheating, and only recently had the concept of multiple partners been brought to your attention.
Was it considered cheating that you had shared an intimate moment with Jimin without the others? Was it selfish that you in fact were coming to terms that you might want to love and receive love from all of the males in the shared house? This was beyond your mental capacity but was it really fair on Yoongi to hear all your secrets. Beginning to feel insecure about how one-sided the relationship had become.
Stalking to the bathroom feeling dirty, guilt like acid in your chest corroding its way up your throat. Scrubbing your skin red with soap and scalding water, the tears falling until they began to sting your eyes. Did you regret what you had done? Never. Then why did you feel ashamed?
A faint knock came from the bathroom door, and you choked back a silent sob, “Yes, I’m hoping out, sorry”
Dressing quickly and rushing outside without a moment of hesitation. Needing to remove yourself from the house, for some fresh air in hopes that it might clear your head. Everything was becoming tight like the walls were closing in. Gripping the railing with tight fists. Breath in for five, hold it for five, release for five, hold for five and repeat.
Twelve rounds in and you had relieved the feeling of suffocation but the bitter feelings stayed anchored heavy in your chest. It was a familiar scent that had calmed you, coming back to the present with warm arms wrapped around your waist.
“Hey, are you okay?” Hoseok asked, rotating you in his arms until you were face too well, chest with the hybrid male. He took your cheeks in his hands and brought his nose to yours brushing the two together with a cute little sound effect. “Boing”
“Come to my secret hideout,” Hoseok led you through some overgrown hedges to where you found a secret little stone bench tucked away. It seemed Hoseok had found and claimed the area. He ducked under a small branch and held it up for you to pass under. “It is a little messy but I like it.”
“I can help you clean it up, we could prune and make it pretty” you mumbled, wanting to spend time with the young man. You wanted to know more of what was under the surface when it came to Hoseok.
“Pretty is nice, but this is real, untouched, this is how it has grown on its own and I think that’s special don’t you. Why should I try to shape something to fit what I want, will it make the plants happy? They grow in their own special ways however the wind and the rain guide them and they do it with every fiber of their being.” He giggled, “It’s like you, you never try to shape us differently or make us do anything we don’t want to, you let us grow in our own special way.”
“Hoseok…” You looked up at him close to tears, this is what you wanted. You wanted Hybrids to gain some self-worth.
“I think seeing something so natural and full of raw emotion and effort is way more beautiful than pretending to fit in.” Hoseok’s eyes were on you and you understood he had slyly moved the conversation to your insecurities about fitting in somewhere in the world. “Just be yourself and the right people will step into your garden and they will think you are beautiful.”
“Can I ask you something?” You whispered, picking lint off your pants, “Is it wrong to want multiple partners?”
“Can I tell you something, Red deer hybrids are polyamorous, I see it as a natural beautiful thing, I told you when it was brought up that I love the family we created because well, a part of me thought we were already all in a relationship. It hurt to think it was all in my head, but the way we were acting was the same as the herd back home on the farm.” Hoseok rubbed the back of his neck.
Hoseok dove into his past telling you about growing up being teased by the other young bucks and the two of you laughed about Hoseok’s mischievous adolescence getting back at his bullies. He made you open up, it was different compared to talking with Yoongi, Yoongi helped you work on yourself but Hoseok was just a friendly unbiased ear.
“That’s great that you and Jimin finally established a relationship, there was always some strange tension there, and I can see how the boys would take it hard. Don’t hold it against them, they aren’t mad at you. If anything they are upset, you see they are so young and everything seems so dramatic at that age. You smelling like another hybrid to them is like you saying “I hate you and I never want to be with you. Just a little time and some assurance and they will see they aren’t getting kicked out nor is the world ending.”
“I should probably talk to them both,” You hummed, processing Hoseok’s words and understanding a little more why the boys behaved so reserved earlier that afternoon.
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Your father had invested in BigHit when it was proposed as a new music company. He wasn’t always the type to try to get rich quick but he thought why not invest, maybe you could grow a fortune.
You could see his point of view but really your entire university fund wasn’t his to gamble. You took ownership of those shares immediately and nothing ever seemed to change the problem was your father bought them for higher than they were worth.
You were half way through your University degree, working at a small restaurant waiting tables. It wasn’t easy when you didn’t have some money behind you.
You were humming a song, something catchy on the radio. Nothing catchy, you had calculated how much of this BigHit entertainment you owned and it was something close to 30% of the business.
Returning to your apartment ready for your day of tomorrow you checked your email. You saw your stocks had grown but not as much as you paid for them still.
Curious, you called the company via the number on your email; it wasn’t the regular company number. You asked for a meeting and they gave you a spot before lunch tomorrow.
Dressing up for the meeting you wanted to look respectable. You arrived and stepped up only to be stopped by security.
“I am here to see Bang Sihyuk. I have an appointment before lunch” I said and they eyed me, I called the reception.
“Good morning, It’s y/n, I am here for my 11:30 meeting but I cannot get past security”
“We will bring someone down shortly” she said and I nodded and waited.
Bang Si hyuk in a suit appeared, “y/n please follow me?” I followed behind him feeling rather important. “So you own 30% of BigHit and are one of our shareholders, are you a fan of our company?”
“Actually I know very little about your company, my father bought the shares when they were so cheap and well I have left them hoping I didn’t lose all my savings”
“Let me show you around and talk about our company a little” he smiled. He was a funny guy explaining the company’s virtues and goals. You had to admit he spoke well about everything, the facility was a little drab but you weren’t too worried.
“This is where the trainees eat and discuss, this is our recording studio and the dance studios are down the hall.” His phone rang, as he opened the door. “Oh I have a call, please give me a moment”
There was a group inside you blushed, bowing to them, each as handsome as you would expect of an idol group and yet so much more.
They practiced seriously and looked awfully sweaty. I ordered some vitamin water and sports drinks hoping they would stay hydrated. They were looking particularly tired from their dancing.
Stepping down stairs you grabbed the drinks by security and headed back upstairs. The elevator was kind of small but not the worst.
Bang Pd was still on the phone in the corner and you headed inside once more, uh good afternoon, I brought you some drinks to cool off.
They bowed respectively and took the bag, each getting a cold drink and rehydrating.
“Who are you?” One asked and you blinked
“I am a family friend of Bang pd’s he is showing me around his company today”
It felt worth it, in the short time you saw the company and the boys you didn’t feel cheated out of money, the boys you met were nice and very good looking.
You were invited to a shareholder meeting a few times a year and each year the company seemed to slowly be improving and dressed nicely when you entered the building.
You flashed a tag they had sent you, stashing it in your pocket. Taking the elevator.
“Hold the elevator!” You caught the elevator and the doors rebounded open. It was the boys, you hadn’t forgotten their handsome features since the day you met one year ago.
You had finished your degree this year and as an accountant major you were able to work with numbers a lot better. Providing some knowledge at the meetings you were privy to.
“What are you doing back again, we don’t see you often around?” One broke the ice with some small talk which quickly fell into light banter and jokes. It was the start of a good friendship. Or at least you thought it was a friendship unbeknownst to you. One of the idols had feelings for you, they thought you were a firecracker.
Maybe the way you were so confident like you owned the place, resonated with their personality. They all exchanged their WeChat with you. Leaving you surprised when your phone chimed as the elevator door closed with a greeting message and a few emoji’s.
~Time skip to present~
The shareholders meeting at the new building was exciting, you had actually started working in BigHit within the accounts department. You were actually the assistant to the head of the accounts department who when he retired would leave you his position.
You discussed the changes of the company together agreeing on the new name Hybe and all the new parts to come within the growing company.
You were glad for your decision over the last five years you had bought more shares. Not a moment too soon as the boy’s fame lifted the shared value immensely.
You now owned forty five percent of the company and you weren’t quiet, giving your opinions and more during the meetings.
You were the only person in the room under thirty and they seemed to agree with your views. But you also had accounting experience to know what was plausible or not.
The door opened and in trickled idols, BTS, TXT, Enhyphen and more each looking nervous. Well most looking nervous nothing seemed to shake the TXT boys all off in their own world thinking bubblegum thoughts and the lunch menu.
“I would like to announce our new CEO,” Bang Si Hyuk announced. Your head snapped up, you all didn’t discuss anything about electing a new CEO.
“We have all been discussing and each member of the board has agreed to offer the new CEO position to Y/n” your eyes widened.
Not only that, a set of eyes landed on yours, surprised to see you in the room. Your mouth opened and closed, “give me a little time to think about it and I will let you know.” They nodded concluding the meeting.
Jin:
“Hey y/n, what are you doing in the shareholders meeting?” Jin asked as you left the room.
“Uh it’s a long story, do you have time?”
“I always have time,” he led me to a small room where we sat on a couch. “You look good by the way”
“Thank you,” you said slumping against the sofa, “a few years ago my father took my University savings and bought stocks at BigHit. I never knew anything about BigHit until the day we met. I got to know you and your dreams and I wanted to support you so I made sure to protect the shares and even bought a few more.”
“I own 45% of the company” you breathed, I started working as an accountant when I finished my degree and we have been dating for almost five years” you said “I am sorry I didn’t tell you”
“You don’t need to be sorry,” he laughed “but if I kiss you do I get a pay raise?”
Yoongi:
Yoongi wasn’t outside when you left the meeting, he wasn’t answering his phone and you started to panic. Racing around the building until you arrived at his studio ringing the doorbell.
The door opened and as always he stepped aside without a word, “Yoongi, I am sorry I never told you a few years ago before we met my father stole my uni tuition and bought stocks in BigHit everything else is true. I met you the day we met. I really knew nothing about BTS. I do work as an accountant in the business and today they offered me the position of CEO” you rambled and he looked at you with a small smile.
He checked his phone and saw the array of missed calls and messages and he let out a soft laugh. “I know.”
“Please don’t be mad at me, Yoongi” you begged “I love you and will never keep anything from you again?”
“You are saying this like I hate it, honestly I think it’s kind of sexy that you’re my boss,” he grinned flashing the pink of his gums, “I am writing a song for D-3 would you like to hear it?”
“Sure what is it called?”
“Women in charge” he slipped the headphones over your ears.
Hoseok:
Hoseok sent you a text once he left the room. You waited the whole meeting before checking your phone.
“When were you going to tell me?” His text seemed ominous, was he asking playfully or seriously, you couldn’t tell.
You called Hoseok and he answered, “hey Hobi, where are you?”
“I’m out at the moment.” He said his tone was guarded but still gentle.
“I want to talk about how this all happened. If you will listen”
“I’m nervous” he said “what if it’s better off not knowing?”
“Listen I didn’t get here by choice I can tell you that” I spoke honestly, “I can also promise you, on the day we met it was the first time I had ever even heard of BTS”
“Well that does feel a little better, I didn’t like the idea of a stalker fan buying shares and dwindling her way into my heart” he said in a cute voice.
Namjoon:
Once the meeting was concluded Namjoon walked back into the room and was by your side. “How did you get an offer from the CEO, have you been buying shares, I hope you haven’t done anything illegal. “ He poked your sides playfully.
“No, years ago before we even met my dad he took my uni fund and bought shares in what he thought was a promising entertainment company. I thought he was an idiot and I couldn’t sell them and get my money back so I kept them hoping one day I could sell them and get the money I had lost. But well I met you and I saw how bad you wanted to be an idol and I thought maybe I would keep them and support you when I could even buying more when I could”
“How much do you own?”
“45% of 3.2 billion is about 1.4 billion” you whispered, something you were proud of was your math brain developed from studying accounting at university.
“You are worth more than I am?” He giggled, “we might have to get you a bodyguard”
Jimin:
“Hey love,” Jimin said when you came home, you were busy all day with reading over paperwork and being led through the CEO’s position, job requirements and entitlements. It was gruelling.
“I love you and your opinion matters so much to me Jimin,” you buried your face in his chest and felt him soften a little his body wrapping around you protectively.
“This position seems like a lot of work and I don’t know if I can handle it, but if I did take it, I can make sure you and the boys and all the trainees are being treated right. I want to help you guys but I also don’t want to take over. Not to mention if our relationship gets out. I want your opinion. I won’t do it if you don’t want me to.”
“Hey I think you would make an awesome CEO, you are young and know what people want, you have some great ideas…”
“But?”
“But, I don’t want to break up. I want to see you everyday and not in secret”
“What do you mean, as the CEO I can personally hang around you and the boys and it not be weird.” You smirked “and why would we break up, as the boss I can leave and go home when I want to. I don’t have to stay behind and crunch numbers until my brain is fried we can be like a real couple now”
He beamed “really!”
“Really.”
Taehyung:
“Are you going to be the new CEO?” Soobin asked you, smiling brightly, “how did you get asked to take that position?”
“Technically y/n owns almost half the company anyway?” Yeonjun added “she has since about 2012”
“How did you afford that?” Hyuening kai asked
“Well, back then the shares were only a dollar each, the company wasn’t famous, I had money saved up for university and my father, being a wannabe entrepreneur, took my money and bought a large chunk of the shares. Of course, once you buy them you wait for the shares to go up and sell them for a higher price but the never did”
I had to put myself through university while working part time and it was hell, why did I save so much just to struggle. I got a letter one day telling me I was welcome at the shareholders meeting.
“I met everyone in the company for the first time, you were all trainees pre debut and I met all the BTS boys that year, they had just released Run which kept playing at the radio at work” you laughed “I didn’t know they sang the song or anything about them really but I saw their determination. I was actually going to sell the stocks but I thought maybe I could support all these young artists who wanted to be idols.”
“After Uni I applied for a job in the accounts department and it took four years and I am now the assistant to the head of department. I didn’t think I would be offered the position of CEO and more importantly I am nervous.”
“I would love to know what everyone thinks” You spoke around the table, each seat now occupied with idols and trainees from different groups.
“It would be nice to have someone young as a CEO, you understand the next generation better than some” Niki smiled
“I think it will be great, we have seen you around a lot, and feel comfortable with you already” Yeonjun nodded
“We feel like we can really talk to you,” Soobin smiled.
“I think you will make a great CEO” Taehyung leaned behind you kissing your temple. “I can walk into your office whenever I want and not have to worry about causing a scandal”
Jungkook:
“Hey over here?” Jungkook called you across the room, he was eating a subway sandwich with some of the other trainees and shareholders he smiled.
“Are you going to be the new CEO?”
“I mean I haven’t decided yet, I am not sure I have to read it over?” I said “I know I wanted a promotion to the head of accountants when he retired but to be the CEO that’s insane.”
“If you become the CEO, imma get my eyebrow pierced” He grinned childishly, “cause you can’t stop me!”
“And I don’t have to cover up my tattoos cause you love my tattoos!” He giggled, pulling up his sleeves to flex his muscles in his arms.
“Jungkook, are you trying to seduce your boss?” You said in mock offence.
Beta: n/a (at the moment) Rating:All(Marked Chapters 18+) Pairing: Hybrid!BTS x FailedHybrid!Reader Genre: Hybrid au, fluff, action, adventure, angst, drama, slice of life. Some marked chapters will contain mature/smut scenes, BUT they will not have plot in those scenes and are 100% skippable without losing your place in the story.
Summary:Human’s strive to be better, faster and stronger looking to animal DNA. Thus Hybrids are born. As the rise for designer and Pedigree Hybrids increase, so do the failed attempts. There is one species scientists are unsuccessful in creating, but, folklore says they have been here all along, hiding and blending in with the humans for many millennia. How clever they are.
It had been a while since you stepped into Jimin’s work, that didn’t stop you from entering the place with a flash of your government card. Time may have passed but the odd plant or new coat of paint wouldn’t slow you down, it was like muscle memory. Your feet always knew where to go, navigating you like a GPS, your location, Jimin.
There was a certain level of sureness you held when it came to Jimin. Like magnets, you knew you could always find him. He was your longest friend. Silently hoping that he still continued to be your longest friend. Being without Jimin was like living without a limb. He was just there all the time. You didn’t know how to cope if for some reason he just disappeared.
Knocking on the door to his office you heard a tired affirmation of entry and you pushed open the door. The room gave him away. He had slept in his office last night, allowing the air to fill with his comforting scent. “You didn’t come home?” You whispered sitting across from him.
Jimin’s office was on the third floor and had a small view of a park. The sunlight would warm the office in the afternoon and you had caught Jimin sleeping on multiple occasions at his desk. He however looked cold, the clouds preventing the office from feeling its usual warmth. “We have had fights but you always came back or called. This time you didn’t?”
“I thought I shouldn’t chase something that isn’t there,” Jimin tossed the small chicken salad into the waste paper basket under the desk. His eyes kissed red and swollen. He had been crying all night. Dejected was his form, and somehow it felt worse than if he was angry.
“Jimin, I care about you a lot,” You whispered, watching him scoff as he sorted his papers. Your hands clutching the bottom of your dress hoping to control your fear. Fighting over one secret wasn’t how you wanted any of this to go and you would fight through your anxiety to clear the air. “I am figuring out that I haven’t been very professional and I am working on that. I also think I can’t live without you. I dream of my future and you are there, all the boys are there and I am scared alright, there is so much insecurity and uncertainty. I want to be a family, all of us. I don’t want to lose you.”
“I don’t think I can stay. If I am honest it is because I love you, I am in love with you and have been madly in love with you. I can’t remember the moment I fell, but I fell. It’s hard to see you with the other hybrids, to smell their scent on you sometimes drives me mad and I want to remove it.” Jimin ran a frustrated hand through his hair and looked at his hands playing with his rings.
“I don’t know how to be around you without wanting to be with you. I saw a future with you and it was only recently that I realised you saw your future differently.” He walked around the desk taking your hand, squeezing it tightly. “I won’t leave you because I can’t live without you either, but I can’t stay. I need to pull away.”
You hadn’t felt the tears until Jimin brushed them away with his thumbs, “Don’t cry.”
“So, you are giving up before you even try?” Asking the calico hybrid, the bite in your tone was anger at your stupidity, “I am dumb. I have been focused on starting this hybrid program since I can remember and have never thought about a real relationship and before you even ask, before you even confess and try to court me. You are just going to give up?”
“What do you want me to do?” He asked sadly, “If you ask me to, I will stay. but please if it isn’t going to happen don’t. I can’t take this heartbreak again. Don’t play with my feelings.”
“I want you to decide, I can’t tell you if we will be together or not, but we can try,” You expressed your utter confusion. None of your feelings made sense. You wanted him but was it because you wanted him, or you wanted love. Was it because you wanted it or because you knew he wanted it. Was it because you loved him, or because you were in love with him?
“I think it’s best if you think about it and give me some time.” He walked back behind his desk.
“How much time, you leave and maybe I might fall in love with one of the boys, or all of them,” You threatened, “You want a chance I can give you one but running away Jimin isn’t going to have opportunities falling in your lap, you are giving away opportunities to others.”
Jimin growled, throwing his chair and gripping his desk. “You are going to be the death of me. Yes. I want a chance,” He walked huffed shoulders tense and eyes locked on yours. “I want as many chances as you will give me, I want to prove how much I love you, I want to show you.”
Similar to Yoongi’s love languages, Jimin also enjoyed physical touch but where the tiger was satisfied with simply being in your company, the calico preferred words of affirmation. He didn’t understand or accept anything unless it could be confirmed. Scared to get hurt until you could definitely confirm he would have a chance.
This was his chance, you stood up walking to the edge of his desk. “Jimin, I want you to kiss me,” he turned, sweeping his lean muscular arms around your waist pressing you against the cabinet. Lips crashing against yours with unbridled passion, aggressive yet not overbearing. Jimin knew you, he knew exactly what you wanted at that moment and he didn’t hold back. His hands clutched your waist bunching up the fabric of your dress, as yours gripped his hair. Some small portion of your heart knew about these feelings shared between you but they were always overlooked and the opportunities had been missed.
Or you can ‘Like’ this post (but good luck trying to find it a week later, we both know how many things you like a day, perhaps we will meet again in the future.)
Beta: n/a (at the moment) Rating:All(Marked Chapters 18+) Pairing: Hybrid!BTS x FailedHybrid!Reader Genre: Hybrid au, fluff, action, adventure, angst, drama, slice of life. Some marked chapters will contain mature/smut scenes, BUT they will not have plot in those scenes and are 100% skippable without losing your place in the story.
Summary:Human’s strive to be better, faster and stronger looking to animal DNA. Thus Hybrids are born. As the rise for designer and Pedigree Hybrids increase, so do the failed attempts. There is one species scientists are unsuccessful in creating, but, folklore says they have been here all along, hiding and blending in with the humans for many millennia. How clever they are.
Authors note: Something I wanted to explain in my story is that everyone is consenting and their decisions are not influenced by their heats/ruts. I also would like to explain that the reader has never considered herself a mother figure to these boys nor has she treated them like children. Everyone is an adult and the reader’s endearment towards the boys is one you could hold for literally anyone (best friend, colleague, neighbor), but leaning more towards romantic love. I just want to clear this up that in no way was the reader a caregiver in the sense that she owns them. They are all very smart adults that were all willing participants (given the option to be a part of the program) and they have been given human independence by the reader. This makes the dynamic more like room-mates/ colleagues.
I just want to stress that all smut chapters will be marked so those can be skipped and you won’t miss out on the storyline/progression. On top of that, as Hybrid based stories have elements of influenced minds by heats/ruts, this will not be like that. Everything is consensual and trust is built beforehand with each person. I want this to be as clear as possible in their intentions. I also discuss the dynamics of the animal aspects of their DNA and the idea of marking but I also make it a choice not a claim.
There was something wholesome about your dream. The way you all seemed so happy and comfortable. Dream analysis and psychology weren’t your majors, fortunately, there was someone in the house who had that covered. Feet padding softly against the floor, the crisp morning air pinched your skin. With each step, you listened for each hybrid moving about the house.
Only upon breathing in their mingling scents did the happenings of last night return afresh in your mind. Jimin was absent, the sweet saccharin missing from the symphonic aroma the boys created. Knocking on the door to Yoongi’s room, waiting patiently for his confirmation to enter. It was important to give the boys their privacy, hybrids safe spaces or nests were not to be entered on a whim. The wrong scent could have Yoongi feeling hostile, undoing all the progress you had built and all the trust you shared.
Staring at the door you felt a little odd, looking left and then right. Trying to catch the scent or sound of the white tiger. Eyes tracing the grain of the wooden door, you sharpened your senses.
“There’s a RI-bbon in the sky that I LoooOOoOoOoOve,” Namjoon was singing in the shower. It was hard to hear anything but his beautiful rendition of Stevie Wonder’s ‘Ribbon in the sky’. The door to the bathroom opened, his voice travelling stronger before the door closed muffling his vocals slightly.
“Is this the lineup for my room?” Yoongi asked, startled you almost leaped out of your skin, turning to see the playful swish of Yoongi’s tail and flicker of his ears. He was in a good mood. He dried his hands on his sweater, “I swear every time I need to go to the bathroom, Namjoon is in the shower singing something horrendous.”
“I like it, I read somewhere that when people sing to themselves it usually means they are comfortable in their surroundings,” Your soft smile grew when Yoongi reached around your waist to open the door he gently headbutted your shoulder, his tail sliding against you as he passed. Once in his room he turned and extended his arm in invitation. “I like the way Namjoon sings, it’s passionate and confident. It’s not bad, just kind of clumsy like him. When he doesn’t think too much about it, I think he sings the best.”
Yoongi sat on his computer chair crossing his legs, his arms stretched down so his fists rested against his legs in a very cat-like pose. You saw his ears twitch and the smooth flicker of his tail, he was content and curious. Yoongi, a man whose love languages included quality time and physical touch. Every interaction was important to him. That’s why you always gave him your undivided attention.
Licking your lips you picked a few non-existent pieces of lint from his charcoal bedspread. “I had a question to ask you about a dream, I know you don’t really do dreams but I thought you are the closest person I could speak to about it.” Looking up the long swish of his tail really showed off his curiosity, he unfolded his legs and brought each foot down softly on the carpet. Each step is slow and deliberate, Yoongi was never one to expel unnecessary energy.
He crawled onto the bed before flipping himself over onto his back, the black shirt he was wearing had lifted slightly exposing his tiny soft belly. You wanted to touch it. To pat the young hybrids’ belly. His smirk and the rapid swish of his tail on the bed gave away his trap. He was VERY playful today.
“Tell me about your dream?” He smiled, patting the bed beside him. This was a genuine offer -you hoped- so you didn’t hesitate -as much- to lay down beside him. When he didn’t pounce on top of you and playfully tickle, a sigh of relief left your lips. It was hard for hybrids to expose their vulnerable and vital organs; the throat, chest, and stomach were the most notable. So laying on your back side by side was a little unnerving.
“It feels a bit like wishful thinking, that maybe I am hoping we will still be together as a family in the future,” Premising your dream with a bit of a laugh as if trying to downplay the seriousness of that statement. Relaying the dream Yoongi hummed listening.
“I think you answered your own question before you told me the dream, you are dreaming about your future and what you desire it to be.” He smiled rolling into your side, his face pressed against your neck. In the time it took Yoongi’s nose to touch your skin, breathe stolen as your heart hammered in your chest. This was quite a position to be in, he was implying his dominance in such a gentle way.
Yoongi was non-confrontational and so it was cute to see him test the waters and your limits with such gentle gestures. He wasn’t asserting himself, not claiming to be superior or better. Often this action was mistaken by people as a claiming of ownership but it was clear between Yoongi and yourself that this was not the case.
Yoongi was implying subtly leaving room for denial of his request, he was asking if he could kill you, not that he would. He was asking whether you would fight back and challenge his authority, would you be in charge or would he. The animal kingdom was a hierarchy and the animal DNA running through both your veins demanded this hierarchy.
Flipping Yoongi underneath you. Sitting on his waist and pressing your lips softly to his throat, you breathed in his scent. The dynamic still wasn’t decided, as you weren’t ready to make that decision and he could see that. He didn’t growl or sneer, he just smiled wrapping his arms around you and pulling you against his chest.
“From the way you described you see some of us platonically and some of us romantically, there are a lot of dream interpretations and theories. Freud and Jung both had differing opinions. Freud thought that the adaptive advantage to dreams was to distract us and thereby keep us asleep. Whereas Jung thought we need to sleep in order to dream and dreaming serves multiple functions. I think what is most important to take away from this dream is how you felt, you said it was a nice sweet dream, and everyone felt comfortable and there was love in many forms between everyone. I can’t tell you what the dream means, but I can tell you, that how you feel towards the dream gives insight to what you want in life and how you feel about us.”
“Oh,” You felt kind of silly how obvious his statements were, you really had enjoyed the dream. It was only right that you desired to be together in the future. As for the relationship dynamic. He was right as well, there were some boys you felt stronger feelings for, a notion that you should try to connect a little more to the others.
Hoseok seemed to come to mind, his hybrid breed not one you were used to or had a lot of information on. That and his constant happy vibes meant even the shortest interactions left you believing he was in good spirits. You hadn’t been neglecting him but you could definitely pay him a little more attention.
“As long as whilst you’re awake the dream still seems sweet and beautiful then I can tell you that your unconscious mind is more honest with her feelings than your waking self.” Yoongi softly added his chest rumbling with the smallest of purrs, gently radiating into your chest.
Sitting up you saw his eyes slowly close for a moment, before slowly opening as if fighting sleep. An action Jimin did often, he always said it was because he was tired. You thought perhaps it was just a cat thing, maybe a little research on the hybrids would do you some good. “You get some sleep, I have a lot of thinking and I need to have a conversation with Jimin.” Sliding out of the bed you heard Yoongi laugh.
Or you can ‘Like’ this post (but good luck trying to find it a week later, we both know how many things you like a day, perhaps we will meet again in the future.)
Beta: n/a (at the moment) Rating:All(Marked Chapters 18+) Pairing: Hybrid!BTS x FailedHybrid!Reader Genre: Hybrid au, fluff, action, adventure, angst, drama, slice of life. Some marked chapters will contain mature/smut scenes, BUT they will not have plot in those scenes and are 100% skippable without losing your place in the story.
Summary:Human’s strive to be better, faster and stronger looking to animal DNA. Thus Hybrids are born. As the rise for designer and Pedigree Hybrids increase, so do the failed attempts. There is one species scientists are unsuccessful in creating, but, folklore says they have been here all along, hiding and blending in with the humans for many millennia. How clever they are.
Authors note: Sorry if the last chapter felt rushed. I was told it seemed a little rushed.
Seokjin catches your hand before you leave the garage pressing his lips softly to yours, his hands running through your hair. Fingers brushing against your ears, you felt your tail curl around to brush against his and he didn’t flinch. Massaging your ears softly makes you whine softly enjoying the feeling.
“What had I been scared of, you aren’t scary.” Seokjin said, brushing his lips against your jaw and breathing against your ear, “I never knew you would be this cute when you submit to me.”
He nibbled on your ear and pulled back with a brilliant smile, “Eyes blown and lips swollen, you are a vixen” he paused pulling your hand up to kiss the back of your hand. His eyes reserved closing over the emotion that had been their moments after breaking the kiss. “Unfortunately, I am not the only one who feels this way so I will fight fair and give you the choice.”
Confused about what he meant by, not the only one. You knew the boys were affectionate but none of them had expressed feelings as fervid as this. They were all soft and gentle like they enjoyed your company and your guidance as an owner. Right?
Never had you tried to influence their feelings or falsify your own. Always telling yourself you were being professional. Of course, now seeing how you had overstepped so many boundaries. If you had truly been professional in maintaining a business environment you wouldn’t have climbed into their beds.
Cuddling wasn’t on the recommended list of things one does to establish good work relationships, this was all your fault. Too many lines had been blurred.
Walking into the living room you saw Felix there with the boys, Taehyung and Jungkook engulfing you in a hug. “We don’t care, please don’t kick us out, we all love it here and you have done so much for us and we want to make your dream come true. We love you and can’t live without you.”
“Felix explained everything thoroughly, we are sorry you had to go through all that on your own.” Yoongi smiled softly from the couch, “I am happy to listen and talk more about it whenever you want, you have helped me so much and this is exactly what I want to do. I want to help, I never want people to feel alone. We all agreed that what you are doesn’t matter to us.”
Hoseok pulled you into a hug, “Even though my instincts say not to trust a Fox or any other predator, I trust you and everyone in this house with my life and I love the family we have created.”
“I think I have made a mistake.” You whispered, “I think I was trying to make you all feel at home and loved, safe, and build a relationship of trust. I hope you all feel that way but, I also realized that it isn’t very professional of me and I can’t have every hybrid I work with grow attached to me. Did I lead everyone on?”
“Not exactly, judging by your reaction you had no clue meaning your intentions weren’t negative. Your intentions weren’t to manipulate us. You are correct, you should in fact learn to detach somewhat, especially if you will be working with many more hybrids like ourselves in the future.” Namjoon explained shuffling his feet, “That being said, I believe we all respect you greatly, and whether our feelings are for you as a person or as a savior we are yet to find out.”
“Please don’t leave us,” Jungkook said softly, “We won’t bother you, just let us stay.”
“I don’t want you to be conditioned to think I am perfect, I don’t want you to think you have to like me because I took you in. I just want to help. You become independent so you can grow and work and have your own families.”
“But I don’t want another family.” Jungkook huffed, “I want this family, it’s all I know.”
“Jungkook, I-” Taking a deep breath you hummed, “I think we have gotten very close and I think we need to take some time to really think about things. It feels like Stockholm syndrome, and I am not just talking about you, I am talking about myself.”
“I am attached to all of you, I am growing too attached that I don’t see myself in the future without you. I was thinking about the future of the program and I just assumed you would all be working alongside me and we could come home together.” You rubbed your forehead, a tension headache blooming across your skull.
“I can’t tie you down because I want you to stay with me, not when you don’t know me properly, my bad habits and pet peeves. We are in an ideal situation where money is no issue and we are practically living a never-ending vacation. It can’t all be good things. There has to be trials and tribulations, we have to see each other fall apart and learn to mend one another to know if we should be in it for the long run.”
“I think that is really wise, and some really great points,” Yoongi said, placing his hand on Jungkook’s head pulling it onto his shoulder, “From what I gathered it isn’t a rejection, it is the foundations of a plan for the future.”
“It still hurts,” Jungkook’s lip was jutted out as he sniffled into Yoongi’s collar, “It hurts so much Hyung, my chest is tight.”
“It will hurt,” Yoongi said, “Let me pour you your first drink. It will help you let it out.”
“I will take a drink.” Seokjin smiled, “Something to ease the tension.”
Hoseok looked at you and gave you a hug, “they will be okay, you have been doing an amazing job, of course, it’s an uncomfy feeling but you have given us more than just your friendship and respect, you have given us each other, never forget that without all this and your passion we seven would never have met, successfully cohabitated or become friends.”
“You gave me friends,” Taehyung smiled, his tail hanging eyes shaded by his fringe “a purpose, even though grandpa was supportive of my decisions I have more freedom, a goal, a future beyond the limited time I had with grandpa, You gave me brothers, I didn’t know I wanted or needed. Most importantly you made me feel like I was worth something, that I was special and I could reach my dreams. You made me feel loved. Even if you don’t feel that way truly towards me, it was still nice to experience that feeling for the first time.”
“You gave us a safe environment to explore feelings we never expected to feel. I thought love was stupid and debilitating. I thought everyone was stupid and all that mattered was my books, and studies, I was searching for something, learning and absorbing everything I could to fill the void. But no matter how smart I was, I never realized that what I was looking for was a simple feeling I had looked down on. I have filled some of the voids, because not only did I find romantic love, I found platonic love. Even the slight tension of heartbreak is a feeling I had never felt.”
Namjoon was deep in thought before adding, “I don’t know when I shut off my emotions but, I had become a mannequin, a shell of a person with no objective. Now I have grown branches, flourishing relationships, and strong bonds deep in this earth. I have a function, a value in life.”
“You are all getting really deep,” Felix said, “It is strange but I admire your courage to talk about these things with one another. I want to know as your dad, that I approve of these boys and any of them would make a good son-in-law. If you were to ever wish for a relationship with any or every one of them I approve.”
Felix’s eyes sparkled mischievously, “I mean, maybe it’s because your dad has been through a lot, seen a lot in life, maybe you can call me hip, or open-minded but why limit yourself to one person. Something I have learned through my many hundreds of years is that we can love many people at once and as long as everyone is on the same page honest, trusting and comfortable. Of course, respecting people’s boundaries and capacity to love others is important.”
“Maybe it is my experience talking but I can see these foundations amongst you all, the bonds you all share are strong and everyone is caring and respectful towards one another. I think definitely letting yourselves grow is important. This house is your safe place and the open communication really allows for everyone to explore?”
Felix left after his small speech, kissing your cheek and whispering how you looked like you didn’t want to choose. All stunned at his proposition, Yoongi agreed, “He has a point having more partners means more people to share your troubles with, more personalities to mesh with, if you don’t like someone’s hobby, there is someone else in the group who might like the same thing saving you from something you dislike.”
“Of course, there are always pros and cons to everything.” Namjoon reiterated, “We could discuss it one day if things seemed to go that way but again for now we should all focus on the program, just long enough to allow everyone to think seriously about their feelings as unbiased as possible.
~
You apologized to Seokjin that you couldn’t sleep in his bed tonight and he smiled, “That’s okay, I feel like I have received enough comfort and attention.”
Assuming he was talking about the kisses the two of you had exchanged in the car and garage away from prying eyes. Mind reeling, did you truly have these feelings for them, or was it manifested from the program? Did you truly like them or did you like the attention? Did you love them or was it the idea of love that you loved more?
Laying on Jimin’s bed, his things packed ready to move into Hoseok’s room, your things in the corner ready for you to take the room for yourself. Thoughts of your best friend, you hadn’t seen it but you wondered if he loved you like the other hybrids. He had been jealous of the other’s affection but you had felt that before when he would talk about his hybrid friends growing up. Never wanting to be left behind or replaced. Never wanting to lose him. Pressing your face in his pillow the subtle scent of his hair products eased you like he was there beside you.
~
Carrying groceries into the house together. The seven bustling to help put things away in the kitchen. They seemed more confident, more mature and you couldn’t help but blush as they grazed past you, pheromones mingling in the space naturally, letting each other feel safe and loved. There was no need to control their pheromones as they had become comfortable with one another. It was more natural for hybrids to communicate in such a way, you even found yourself letting your feelings show this way.
“We have work tomorrow,” Namjoon smiled, almost dropping the eggs as he carried them to the fridge, “The new intake of hybrids is coming in, which means we have a lot of paperwork and emotions to deal with.”
“I can’t wait to see them, they are always so small?” Jimin giggled “Reminds me of when Jungkook started university.”
“He was still big back then, too muscly.” Hoseok joked poking Jungkook’s abs making the younger man giggle.
“They grow up quickly though, last year’s graduates are out in the workforce now.” Seokjin smiled softly, taking the eggs from Namjoon before they were broken. “I saw Soobin, the bunny hybrid who graduated last year, is doing really well. He opened a bakery.”
You went to your room and Taehyung poked his head in. He saw you working and borrowed a moment of your time for a kiss before heading out once more. He was always so physically affectionate and it was nice. There was playful banter in the kitchen between Jungkook and Seokjin, the latter arguing that ‘Ramen will spoil dinner.’
Or you can ‘Like’ this post (but good luck trying to find it a week later, we both know how many things you like a day, perhaps we will meet again in the future.)
Beta: n/a (at the moment) Rating:All(Marked Chapters 18+) Pairing: Hybrid!BTS x FailedHybrid!Reader Genre: Hybrid au, fluff, action, adventure, angst, drama, slice of life. Some marked chapters will contain mature/smut scenes, BUT they will not have plot in those scenes and are 100% skippable without losing your place in the story.
Summary:Human’s strive to be better, faster and stronger looking to animal DNA. Thus Hybrids are born. As the rise for designer and Pedigree Hybrids increase, so do the failed attempts. There is one species scientists are unsuccessful in creating, but, folklore says they have been here all along, hiding and blending in with the humans for many millennia. How clever they are.
“What do I do?” You whimpered, “Jin ran off after he saw my ears and tail, I don’t know how to fix this, I don’t know how to get rid of them.”
“Okay breath,” He comforted you gently, “I will talk you through it.”
“It’s not working,” Protesting, as you felt your body begin to change its appearance. The boys watching horrified “It’s getting worse.”
The phone fell with a loud clatter as you shrunk sitting on the floor shaking. The boys were stunned and you hid under the bed. Jimin picked up the phone demanding an explanation, Felix said he was still in the area and would come help.
You wanted to explain but couldn’t speak. Frustration growing and filling you. Pressure building until an inhuman cry escapes your body. You heard Jimin storm out leaving as well your best friend of over twenty years. Jungkook pheromones alluding to his current state of stress.
Everything you had worked hard for was crumbling down around you. Wanting to give up on everything you had been working on a wallow in self-pity away from judgemental eyes. Felix arrived he coaxed you out from under the bed and helped you turn back into a human and he held you for a moment in a hug.
“I have to find him, Seokjin ran off and I need to find him, and Jimin and,” clutching at your hair as your words were broken from your irregular breathing. Standing, you wiped your eyes and headed out in the van trying to find Seokjin. Driving through the night until almost morning.
When you circled around spotting Seokjin struggling, getting pushed into a van the men driving off you followed parking and racing inside. “Hello, my hybrid was spooked at home and ran off. I went out to find him and saw him picked up by two men in a van they brought him in here.” You were panting from running across the parking lot, grabbing at the counter, “Kim Seokjin a raccoon hybrid.”
“He was brought in, we thought he was a return, he is in the back room.” The woman spoke somberly, you knew what she was implying and didn’t hesitate to run down the hall and push open the door.
“He is mine, don’t you dare touch him.” Ripping the restraints of Seokjin who was sobbing eyes wide in fear, “I have his paperwork, my name is on his file, you cannot do this.”
They stopped and you dragged him out to the front paying the pound retrieval fee and dragged Seokjin back to the car. Driving quickly away from the pound as if it would explode. Pulling over by a small park, it was dark and you let your tears fall.
“If you don’t want to stay in the house, I can find you somewhere. You don’t have to have anything to do with me, I won’t force you but I care about you so much and the thought of you being hurt is too much for me to bear. I almost lost you tonight Jin.” You sniffed shoulders shaking as your grip tightened on the steering wheel.
The sound of the two of you sobbing shaking together in the dark. “Jin-”
His hands cupping your cheeks, as he devoured your words. You wondered if he could taste the fear in your mouth. Molding together searching for a feeling as soft as each other’s lips. Hands gripping at one another to ground you, fighting away thoughts of what could have been. Seokjin’s lips pulled back, his eyes opening looking up at you.
He was making sure you were okay, always a gentleman. Pulling him forward again, kissing him until the only reason your chest hurt was due to lack of oxygen. Whimpering when he pulled back once more, your body falling limply against the driver’s seat as you gasped for air. Eyes pressed closed.
“I am sorry for running off. I am sorry for being a burden,” He looked out into the darkness, his hand finding yours and giving it a squeeze. “If you are still happy to have me in the house I am happy to stay. I am sorry I got scared, our kind doesn’t have a good history together.”
“Of course I want you to stay, as long as you are comfortable.” You breathed pulling out your phone and sniffing trying to clear your throat making Seokjin laugh.
Dialing Jimin’s phone number went straight to his message bank and you left a message, the words soft and full of uncertainty. “Hey Jimin, I um… I want to talk about what happened because you are my best friend. I don’t know if you are mad or upset, or why you left but I hope you call me back because I need you.”
Was it delusional to think that he hadn’t left because he found out you were a fox person and had kept it a secret from him? You weren’t scared because you trusted him. The two of you knew everything about one another and he would understand. He would understand why you didn’t tell him. He would have gone to find Seokjin, that’s why he would have left. Driving home you parked in the garage, taking a deep breath today hadn’t gone the way you anticipated.
Phone chiming from the center console you answered, “Hello?” You waited, hearing a sniff and looking once more at the caller ID, “Jimin, are you okay?”
“Talk.”
“Excuse me?”
“You wanted to talk about what happened, so talk,” the passive-aggressive tone in his voice was enough to make you freeze, biting your lip, “I want to hear what you have to say.”
“Why are you mad?”
“Why am I mad?” His laugh is as bitter as Yoongi’s coffee order, making you feel like dirt. “Maybe because my best friend, the person I thought I knew, had been lying to me, all this time. How long did you know? How long did you keep this from me?”
“Okay, I will talk but you are going to listen. You have the right to feel hurt and betrayed. I am not telling you that this isn’t shocking. Yes, I kept it a secret, but it wasn’t just my secret to tell. Everything you are feeling is valid, but if you are making this about you Jimin. You are playing the victim and disregarding my feelings before hearing the whole story.” You took a deep calming breath allowing Jin to gently rub circles on your back.
“I have known for like a week what I am and even then, I still don’t know. I was and am scared, I had no idea what was happening to my body. I was a failed hybrid, neither human nor hybrid, I felt lost and then to here I was a gumiho/kitsune person but also not one either because I was lab-made.” Jimin listened, not saying anything as you had asked, you hoped this was getting through to him. “I was told by Felix that this wasn’t just my secret, that there was a whole race hiding from the humans. He said if the wrong people found out, their lives would be jeopardized.”
“I wasn’t trying to hide it from you, I was waiting to tell everyone together and I thought you would be the one person who would back me up so the others wouldn’t hate me. I never once thought that you would be the one who would be hurt. I thought it would be another thing to strengthen our friendship some more.”
“I don’t want to argue, I found Seokjin in the back room at the pound and I am upset from everything that has happened. Take your time to think things over and if you want to talk you know where I will be.” Jimin’s breathing hitched at the mention of Seokjin in the back room. The idea of hanging up and ending the call felt heavy with the weight of your friendship and all the years you had spent together. Was this the end? A small sob escaped your lips, “I love you, stay safe tonight, I can’t forgive myself if something happens to you.”
Or you can ‘Like’ this post (but good luck trying to find it a week later, we both know how many things you like a day, perhaps we will meet again in the future.)
Beta: n/a (at the moment) Rating:All(Marked Chapters 18+) Pairing: Hybrid!BTS x FailedHybrid!Reader Genre: Hybrid au, fluff, action, adventure, angst, drama, slice of life. Some marked chapters will contain mature/smut scenes, BUT they will not have plot in those scenes and are 100% skippable without losing your place in the story.
Summary:Human’s strive to be better, faster and stronger looking to animal DNA. Thus Hybrids are born. As the rise for designer and Pedigree Hybrids increase, so do the failed attempts. There is one species scientists are unsuccessful in creating, but, folklore says they have been here all along, hiding and blending in with the humans for many millennia. How clever they are.
It was hot. Skin damp and head pounding from dehydration. Taehyung clung to you like he was scared to let you go. He had his face pressed to your neck, his warm breath caressing your clavicle. His arms flexing occasionally as he mumbled in his sleep. It was amusing hearing the Hybrid talk nonsense about his dreams, most of it was about the meat he seemed to be giggling and ordering japchae while talking to someone.
Your heat was almost over. Thinking it best to take a precautionary suppressant in case. Swallowing the tablet noticing the blister pack was empty. Writing a note on your phone to purchase some more. Things felt like they had plateaued again. Not in a bad way as if you were stuck in one place unable to move or grow. In a more peaceful and serene way. Where you didn’t want to move, too busy enjoying the scenery. The scenery being the seven Hybrids staggering around the house with tired eyes.
Late night conversations had drained them all emotionally and physically. A slow start but by lunchtime, the house was bustling again. Taking it upon yourself to make lunch, you had enough take-out that the thought was not appetizing. Yoongi took his food back to his room with a polite thank you. He was the most drained from the evening’s discussions.
Hoseok quietly gardened, enjoying the sun and breeze, letting himself recharge with his hands in the dirt, repotting and weeding. Jungkook, Taehyung, and Seokjin were playing Minecraft the soft tranquil music filling the lounge room. Namjoon was on the back porch reading where it was quiet. Leaving Jimin and yourself to work on schedules.
Having to schedule Jimin’s work and your reports around the other boy’s schoolwork. They had completed the necessary tertiary requirements and were eligible during the next semester’s intake. You were processing all the necessary requirements including textbooks and any uniform or equipment fees.
It was after a few emails that you had been notified that you were preapproved for a grant for the program, it was a portion offered to find an appropriate space. Excitedly you began searching for small commercial buildings hoping to find something big enough to accommodate hybrids, classrooms, kitchens and dining halls, and other offices for staff.
Dressing up, Jimin accompanied you to a few realtors and land and property managers. It was a lot of discussion and a few hundred sheets of paper. Your options included buying land and building which was more expensive but allowed you to build exactly what you needed. Or, you could buy a building and make the necessary renovations.
Cheaper but risking building integrity and safety, the cheaper and older the building required more work and therefore would still cost the same if not more to get it to what you want or need. This was a huge step in the program securing a place was the first step on the way to a full approval of the program.
Reports of the hybrid’s progress were enough for them to see how this program would benefit hybrids and humans alike. Hopefully, you could continue to report the boy’s success and receive another grant to secure hybrid support workers that would be willing to work. Having people like Yoongi on board with the program to help hybrids would shape the perfect program image.
Destroying the harmful stereotypes attached to hybrids and their behaviors and giving them independence. Giving them jobs and homes and getting them off the streets, allowing them access to healthcare and medicine especially suppressants. Creating a safe place. It was all you ever wanted and you could almost touch it.
There was a knock at the door. Seokjin sat up from where he was laying across the rug, he watched you with narrow eyes as you opened the door. The afternoon sun had turned the sky pink and orange making the red in your hair glow softly. Felix stood there, his silver hair brightened as well by the angle of the sun’s rays.
Offering him a seat at the table and some tea he began asking how you had been, you kept things vague. He noticed nodding respectively. “I just wanted to give you this book, I think it will help you learn what we discussed last time”
“Oh thank you, that is super helpful,” you breathed clutching the book in your hands, you were quick to tell Felix about your preapproval for a grant and he hummed. “I think I might have a place you would like. It is big and in good condition, it will need a little bit of renovation, give me some time to get some details and pictures and I will email them to you.”
“Uh… Felix” You grabbed his coat sleeve as he slipped on his shoes by the door, “I um… was talking last night and well I was wondering. I guess it is kind of silly and it doesn’t matter or mean anything but I just feel like I need to say something.”
“Breathe,” He smiled, placing his hand atop your head gently smoothing down your hair, “Tell me anything.”
“I think of you as my father,” You said, “I don’t have any parents and you are the only person who has stuck by me like a parent and you practically raised me.”
“I tell you all the time I see you like my daughter?” He asked, unable to comprehend the meaning behind your words.
“It doesn’t mean I want you to do anything in particular, I don’t need financial support or anything like that I just wanted to know if maybe I could call you my dad?” You looked down at his shoes trying to calm your racing heart. This took so much to speak the words out loud, preparing for a playful rejection.
“You can call me dad and rely on me like a father for anything, you need money, a place to stay, advice, someone to walk you down the aisle. I will take that role, raising you was the best thing I have ever done in all my years.” He was serious, as he pressed a kiss to your forehead, “But if you ever think about getting married I have to meet them first to make sure they are going to treat you right.”
You were laughing through the tears swatting the droplets away with the backs of your hands. “Come visit whenever you want… dad”
Softly spoken, you knew his ears would have easily picked up the last word, and judging by his smile he was happy to hear it. “I can never tell you enough how proud of you I am, I will stop by again soon.”
Everyone made dinner and set the table together, the food was abundant. Meats and vegetables and so many side dishes and a soup. Everyone was in good spirits, Jungkook breaking out a monopoly board and the eight of you competed. Curses flying when landing on another’s property and shameless begging and acting cute from sore losses to get out of their debts.
Declaring yourself a monopoly bankrupt, you took the first shower, sitting on Seokjin’s bed with the book you were given. You were reading peacefully feeling like the more you read the more you felt like you were discovering parts of yourself you never knew. Filling out the missing parts.
Namjoon explained hybrid aspects and details. Whilst the boy’s assured that your feelings were valid and that you weren’t alone. Now this book was explaining the other side of you that wasn’t human or hybrid. Everything was coming together and you felt like you.
The door opened and Seokjin froze his tail fluffing as he let out a high growl before running from the room, standing and heading after him. You saw your ears and tail in the mirror and willed them to disappear. The front door slammed and you knew he was gone. Desperate to go after him you took out your phone calling Felix hands shaking.
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Beta: n/a (at the moment) Rating:All(Marked Chapters 18+) Pairing: Hybrid!BTS x FailedHybrid!Reader Genre: Hybrid au, fluff, action, adventure, angst, drama, slice of life. Some marked chapters will contain mature/smut scenes, BUT they will not have plot in those scenes and are 100% skippable without losing your place in the story.
Summary:Human’s strive to be better, faster and stronger looking to animal DNA. Thus Hybrids are born. As the rise for designer and Pedigree Hybrids increase, so do the failed attempts. There is one species scientists are unsuccessful in creating, but, folklore says they have been here all along, hiding and blending in with the humans for many millennia. How clever they are.
Sobbing and shaking in the laundry wasn’t how you wanted to be found by the sweet hybrids. You never wanted to be seen like this. Never once in your adult life had you ever cried in front of anyone. Hiding under the blanket some more suppressing whimpers with your glove soft hands.
“Y/n?” Jungkook’s voice broke. The first to move as the two of you were the longest friends but because he was always good at cheering others up when they were upset. Jimin knelt beside your form, his hands running across your back softly. Their scent in the small room warming the space and lulling you more into peace.
Your tears stopped. The long-awaited breakdown coming to an end with their presence. Namjoon sat atop a small pile of washing, Yoongi joined but sitting on the bench by the laundry sink. Seokjin shut the door behind him and the group sat wherever they could around each other and the small mountain of washing.
The blanket was pried from over your head. Seven pairs of eyes reflecting back at you, some blue some green, and others a bright amber. They were all nocturnal animals meaning they had tapetum lucidum, a layer of specially adapted cells behind the retina that reflect light.
Taehyung had circled behind you and sat against the wall pulling you to a seated position into his lap. Fingers sliding across your palms until he was able to lace his fingers with yours. They all watched as you sniffed trying to calm your breathing from the unexpected emotional exploit.
Jungkook stretched his leg out until his ankle was pressed against yours, like coming out from underwater you registered Namjoon was talking. “It is called nesting and it is what Hybrids do to feel safe. For some hybrids that means going to a small quiet place that smells only like them because their scent is safe and they can relax in that space knowing it is only theirs. Some hybrids calm when they are around their owner’s scent knowing their owner can protect them. In this case, Y/n has decided she feels safe with us. That our scent is calming and grounding for her most likely she has accepted us into a pack mentality.”
“Allowing herself to break down because she knows we will keep her safe,” Yoongi breathed, his hands pulling at his sweater, “I have been studying hybrid behavior lately in class.”
“Exactly,” Namjoon continued explaining techniques to help calm a distressed hybrid. His voice was all you needed. The deep vibrations from his chest as he spoke were doing wonders. Taehyung continued to hug you. Hoseok fixed the blanket over your lap making sure you were still warm.
A little more withdrawn among the other hybrids Jimin watched, paying attention to everyone’s body language. It was like he was looking for a threat. Alongside him Seokjin was tense, shoulders stiff and raised as his eyes bore into the ground; he wasn’t looking at anything in particular but battling with a fusillade of thoughts.
After half an hour you spoke softly, voice hoarse and dry from crying, “we can go now, I am feeling better.”
Shuffling of feet the group stood wrapping their arms around you in a hug, purs, soft growls rumbling and a small yet deep bellow from Hoseok had you giggling a squee escaping making the boys laugh.
“You are cute when you act more hybrid,” Hoseok giggled, making your cheeks flush in the dark. Seokjin opened the door and stepped out, gesturing to the others to follow with a tight smile. Making a mental note to ask him if everything was okay, he seemed to be very quiet and distant, you didn’t want him to be affected by your erratic emotions. Perhaps you would be sure to tell him he didn’t have to carry your burdens as his own.
Everyone has a limit. Some people can take care of their problems while helping others, some people can only take care of theirs and some need help to conquer their own obstacles. A person’s capacity fluctuates just because you need help today doesn’t mean you will need it tomorrow, just because you could support someone ten minutes ago doesn’t mean you can assist multiple people with all their difficulties.
The best thing is knowing your limits and not beating yourself up about respecting them. Not beating yourself up about asking for some strength. One of the many factors that kept you from asking was the dreaded feeling of being perceived as bothersome, tiresome, or repetitive. That people would pull away because you needed so much help.
So bottling up your emotions about being lost in the world, never truly fitting in or knowing where you belong amongst hybrids or humans. It was nice to unpack these emotions even to yourself on the laundry floor allowing yourself to analyze your thoughts and categorize each aspect.
You were placed on the couch pulled quickly against Jungkook’s legs draped over Namjoon’s lap, the two bigger hybrids encasing you. It was time to let out some of these thoughts plaguing your mind.
“Can I talk?” You whispered, “I don’t expect you to solve all my problems or really care but, I wouldn’t mind to just let it out. If you have any points feel free to speak. I just don’t want you all to feel that any of this is your problem. I know you all have so much adversity and things that you really don’t need any of my troubles piling on top.”
“We will listen,” Yoongi said, “If it isn’t too stressful do you mind if I write notes? It makes it easier to make feedback and remember all the aspects? I am studying psychology so I think it will help me put my study and skills into practice.”
It was like a group therapy session bringing up elements of things. Yoongi prompted things and got you thinking about each aspect deeper, pulling closer to the source of your problems. It was nice to hear Jimin’s confirmation, that he too never felt like he had a place. The idea that he was labeled a failure. That he never truly felt whole.
Some other boys agreed that not having a stable home with a mother or father left them in the dark about issues growing up and in a sense lost their safe haven. Jimin brought up his crisis on gender, sexuality, and stereotypes.
“Being labeled as a failure because I wasn’t manly made me feel like I had to push to be more to do manlier things like martial arts. Then finding out I enjoyed dancing and the crisis of doing ballet, a feminine activity, I was then questioned some more. They said I was gay, they said I was transgender they just wanted to label me. But, I think I am just me.”
“You are perfect to me Jimin, I don’t see you as any of those labels, when I look at you I don’t see you as only a man or only as feminine or only as a hybrid.” You ran your hand through his hair, “I don’t even see you as a failure. You are Jimin and Jimin doesn’t have any labels attached except my longest friend and part of my family.”
“I see sexy Jimin, cute Jimin, playful Jimin, sweet Jimin, loving Jimin, strong Jimin.” Added as an afterthought you asked, “Whether you want labels or not they are your labels to pick, because nobody knows you better than you, they can’t hear what you are thinking or feel what you feel.”
“I like being me,” He smiled “And I like what I like.”
“Perfect.”
After the deep and meaningful conversation that ran well into the night, dinner was ordered and snacks were shared among the hybrids along with their deepest insecurities. Yoongi made some notes and smiled asking if we would be interested in having another group discussion in the future. Everyone agreed and as you all stretched ready to retire for bed, hands wrapped around you another group hug shared this one felt different. Like finally everyone had blended together with a common understanding.
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❦ word count. 17.7k ❦ genre. parent fic, fluff, angst, a bit of boob action ❦ warnings. illness, mention of hospitalisation, mention of minor character death, yoongi is kind of a dick sometimes, accidental(?) flashing ❦ summary. it’s not that you don’t like your job. on the contrary, reading bedtime stories to a certified little princess is something you still can’t believe you get paid to do. it’s just that between all the school runs, snow days and secret second hot chocolates before bed, you may fallen a little too hard for those dimpled cheeks and gummy smiles…. worse still, you’ve fallen for her father too. ❦a/n.merry christmas everyone!! this fic is a collaboration with the wonderful @underthejoon@kpopfanfictrash@suga-kookiemonster@junghelioseok@bendthekneetobangtan @lamourche and @hobidreams. it’s late, lame and cheesy (and probably under-edited) but I like it that way. I hope you’re all having a fantastic holiday, wherever you may be <3
Summary: In the land of Aster, a powerful queendom, all female daughters of the queen are blessed by the Goddess and are immune to poison. Your mother, the Queen, is ready to step down and offer her place to you but according to tradition, the heir of Aster has to be married to ascend to the throne. You despise the fact that you have to be married to rule. As an act of rebellion, you announce that you will marry the prince of the one kingdom your mother had warned you not to.
“It’s ridiculous,” you said, walking underneath an archway covered in vines. “She decided all on her own like it isn’t my life she’s talking about. And now everyone knows and they are expecting me to be engaged by summertime.”
Abigail tightened her cloak around her petite form. It was a chilly morning and while you were mostly indifferent to the cold bite of late winter, your cousin was much more affected. “She thinks that what she’s doing is for the best. There has been talk about it. You know they have been wondering why you have never accepted any courting offers.”
“Because I don’t want any courting offers.” A strong gust of wind blew your hair back. You had let it cascade freely around your shoulders devoid of any intricate braids and jewelled pins. “Why do I have to get married? This must be the most pointless tradition to have ever existed. I don’t need to get married to have heirs and I certainly don’t need a man to rule.”
Abigail had to rush her steps to keep up with you. It had been her idea to go on a walk in the gardens but it seemed like she might be regretting it soon. “You don’t but it is what it is. It is what everyone expects. But it doesn’t have to be a big deal. You said it yourself that being married doesn’t matter in the way you rule the land. Don’t give the marriage any more significance than you have to.”
“That’s easier said than done,” you said. “He will be sitting on the throne next to mine and everyone will expect to see us together at the balls and ceremonies. I can’t ignore the fact that he will be my husband.”
He would be always there, nobles would ask after him, the servants would gossip about how much or how little time you spent together, people would wonder how soon you would get pregnant with the next heir. Your mother had complicated pregnancies and, despite her many attempts, you had no siblings. You were the only daughter of the reigning queen, the only one who had The Gift.
The Gift manifested only in the daughters of the Queen. There hadn’t ever been a Queen sitting on Aster’s throne who wasn’t blessed with it. Legend said that the long line of Queens was descended from Amaranthe, one of the three daughters of the Sky. She fell in love with a mortal and had a daughter with him but when her daughter grew older and she married a noble from one of the first kingdoms, he poisoned her after she gave birth to a little girl. The Sky cried for three days and three nights at the sorrow and despair of his daughter. Amaranthe whisked her granddaughter away and whispered to her the Gift she was giving her, witnessed by her sisters and her father. No poison would make her sick, no poison would taint her beauty, no poison would ever dim the life in hers or her daughters’ eyes.
And so it came true. The goddess granted her granddaughter a second gift, taking her to a land that was prosperous and its people were kind. The people loved her so much for she was kind and clever that they made her their queen. Her daughters, just like her, were immune to poison and the Gift lived in the next Queen’s daughters as well. It was passed down from generation to generation, down the centuries. Traditions developed around the immunity like breeding venomous snakes and each of the Queen’s daughters choosing one to accompany them in life.
Lilith was curled around your shoulders, her head resting on your collarbone. When you had turned eight and it was your time to choose your companion, your mother had taken you to the Royal Snake Den. A large building in the southern part of the castle, covered by a glass dome. It was fashioned like their natural environment: part forest, part desert, and part grassland. The snakes coexisted peacefully, in harmony with each other and their caretakers. They were tamed and provided with everything they would need. As far as you were aware, there hadn’t been any accidents of the royal snakes attacking anyone.
You had been visiting the Royal Snake Den since you were a toddler and it was your favourite place on the castle grounds. No one other than the royal family and the caretakers visited it and you could sit in silence and spend some time on your own. Most of the snakes didn’t pay any attention to you but some of them would wrap themselves around your arms and they were content to remain there until you left.
Choosing a snake was one of the most important parts of the life of the Queen’s daughters. Your chosen snake would accompany you until the end of your days, stay by your side and if your bond was strong, it would try to protect you if you ever were threatened. The royal snakes had a longer lifespan than the snakes living in the wild and the Queens’ companions would die shortly after their Queen did. Your lives were intertwined.
You had chosen Lilith before you turned eight. She would slither to you every time you went to the Den and drape herself over your arms, legs, or shoulders. You were in awe of how beautiful and elegant she was, her shiny scales were so dark they looked black and they shined purple when the light hit them right. You had no doubt she was the one you wanted to spend your life with. You had never regretted that decision.
“Mother has started asking me about courtships as well,” Abigail said.
“Have you not told her about your letter correspondence beloved?” you asked, knowing she hadn’t.
She rolled her eyes at your question. “She knows I’m exchanging letters with someone but she thinks they’re just a friend. If she learns of it, she will insist he rides here this instant and we start a proper courtship.”
“Is that not what you want? Didn’t you use to look forward to the day someone would start courting you?”
Her cloak billowed around her as the wind blew with more force. You would have to go inside soon if it kept getting stronger. “I did and I still do but it isn’t time yet. Neither of us is ready for that and he has responsibilities in his country before he can come here to court me.”
Abigail had been sending letters to her mysterious lover for more than a year. She had met him in one of the countries she had visited with her parents on behalf of the crown. Her mother, as the Queen’s sister, attended the matters in other countries that the Queen herself couldn’t. As a result, Abigail had been travelling her whole life to distant lands and had even crossed the sea once while you had only crossed the borders two times in all of your 26 years.
Your duty was here in Aster but it would have been beneficial to your reign if you had travelled more before taking the throne. There were things that lessons couldn’t teach you about the other nations.
“What are you going to do about courting then? Are you going to accept any proposals?”
“I don’t want to,” she said, her sharp chin raised in determination. “A courtship is a promise to open your heart to someone but my heart is already taken. It will feel like I’m betraying him if I am to accept."
You passed by a marble statue of a woman, snakes draped over her shoulders and arms and wrapped around her torso. There was a challenge in her face so intense like she was ready to fight the world and win. The statue didn’t depict a specific queen, it represented all of them.
"A courtship is just a courtship,” you said thinking of your own impending doom. “You’ll get some gifts, go on a few walks, drink tea together and that’s it. It will please your mother for now and later you can call off the courtship because you think you are incompatible and your mysterious man can come in and sweep you off your feet.”
Abigail made a face that warped the perfect features that had many suitors running after her. “You might not think much of it because you don’t care but courtship is the beginning of a bond. I can’t do it with anyone else other than the one I love. It wouldn’t feel right. My time and my hand belong only to him."
You clicked your tongue fondly at your cousin. Abigail had only shared about her beloved with you and not much. He wasn’t what her mother had been planning for her. According to her, he was a noble but not of the highest status. Hearing her talk about him for months and hiding the letters from her mother, you had realised that your cousin had fallen in love.
After your walk with Abigail, you returned to your room and flopped down on the bed in a very unfitting way for a future queen. Venting your frustrations to your cousin hadn’t lessened them as you had hoped. You were still stewing like the beef in wine the cooks made.
There wasn’t much time left until your birthday. Until you had to choose a prince to play pretend with. There was no way to get out of this. No pleas or complaints would work on your mother. When she decided on something, it was final. There would be no changing her mind.
Although you despised the idea of getting married, of having to drag behind you a prince you could hardly tolerate, you wanted the throne. Your entire life, you had been preparing for the day you would rule. You had taken lessons on history, geography, strategy, politics, maths, and science, you had been taught by the greatest teachers of the continent, you had studied and worked hard so you could one day become the queen your people deserved.
A prince had nothing to do with that. A prince would offer you nothing but problems.
The days that followed, you ignored the inevitability of your upcoming birthday like you ignored your mother. You attended meetings, met up with your cousins, and mingled with the nobles. Your mother didn’t call you to her chambers again and during meals, you took your place at her side but didn’t speak to her unless she addressed you directly. She was getting tired of your behaviour, you could tell by the tightness of her lips and her narrowed eyes, but she didn’t confront you and you remained locked in a losing battle of wills.
As your birthday crept closer, the talk about the grand ball your mother was organising and about the future prince consort of Aster grew louder. You heard servants whispering about their guesses on who you would choose in the corridors. The guards gossiped about it when they thought no one could hear them. Whoever was your future husband would be for sure a lucky man, they said.
The royal professors didn’t ask you about the upcoming ball and the choice you would have to make. It was evident to anyone who knew you that the idea of getting married was as appealing to you as eating dirt. You were supposed to stop taking lessons when you became of age but you believed there was so much left to learn so you insisted on continuing the lessons you were the most interested in. They weren’t as frequent as when you were a kid, taking the shape of long conversations instead of the professor rambling. More like you had your own advisors. You enjoyed yourself immensely. Knowledge was a powerful weapon in your arsenal and it would be invaluable when you were crowned queen.
The weeks before the ball you were whisked in a hurricane of preparations. Tailoring your dress that the seamstress swore would be beautiful enough to rival the shine of the stars, tasting dishes to decide on the menu, and approving each option for the decoration. Usually, you enjoyed the bustle before a celebration and you liked being involved in the planning. But this wasn’t any other celebration. This only reminded you that you were getting closer to a choice you didn’t want to make.
Invitations were sent out and letters arrived back stating which royals would make the journey to Aster for your birthday. Kings, Queens and their families from the most distant lands would attend the ball. You hadn’t read the invitations but Abigail told you that it was strongly implied that you would be choosing the future prince consort. No kingdom would miss the chance to offer their princes.
A few days before your birthday, you were in the Den sitting underneath a large tree, snakes hanging from its branches like vines. You had gone out in the city, walked in the market, and spoken to your people. You had heard their joys and their complaints. On a piece of parchment, you wrote them down and made notes on solutions and ideas that would improve their daily lives.
The queens of Aster were never distant names to their people. They communicated and worked with them for the advancement of the country. They didn’t dismiss them and their worries and that’s why the people trusted and loved them. That’s the queen you were going to be, you were going to give back to the country that raised you and loved you.
As you were writing, not caring if the ink of your pen stained your dress, a servant stepped into the Den and bowed low.
“Your highness. Her Majesty, the Queen, is requesting your presence in her office.”
You forced yourself not to groan. There was only one thing this meeting could be about.
“Thank you for letting me know. I will be there shortly,” you said, dismissing her. She seemed relieved to leave the Royal Den. “Let’s go deal with this, Lilith.”
Her tongue flickered out once before she curled around your arm. You dropped by your room to leave the parchment, pen, and ink and if it pleased you to keep your mother waiting, no one had to know.
The guards in front of her office bowed to you before opening the intricately carved double doors. Your mother’s office was a relic of all the queens that had come before her. The towering bookshelves against the walls with books spanning centuries into the past. The blue flowers immortalised in glass on a low table. The silver knitting needles with rubies at the ends laying on the bookshelves. A statue of the first Queen. The large stained window depicting a purple flower blooming through a rock. The scratches on the desk.
Your mother was standing by one of the two windows framing the stained glass.
“You asked for me,” you said.
She nodded. “I did.” She glanced outside the window once more before going to her desk. “Are you going to stand there?”
“Aren’t you going to ask me to take a seat?”
She sighed, gesturing to the chairs in front of her desk. “Please take a seat.” You did, crossing your legs. “You’re angry.”
“I’m not angry,” you said curtly.
Your mother raised an eyebrow at the obvious lie. “Angry or not, there are merely a few short days before your birthday, we should discuss your options. You have been informed of all the guests that have accepted our invitation and all the courting offers you have received. Do you have anyone specific in mind?”
“I don’t.” You had avoided thinking about the ball for as long as possible, you didn’t even want to glance at the names of the princes.
Her expression didn’t change, she had expected this. “Then, both as the Queen and as your mother, I have some suggestions.”
You repressed another groan building up in your throat. You weren’t interested in her suggestions. At the moment, you weren’t interested in anything she had to say. If you were going to enter a courtship you didn’t want with someone you didn’t care about because of a stupid tradition she insisted on upholding then you wouldn’t let her control you any more than she already did.
You schooled your face into a slightly bored expression that was guaranteed to irritate her as she listed off the princes from the countries that Aster would benefit from forming alliances.
Esna had the most fertile ground in the continent and produced a wide range of fruits and vegetables that didn’t grow anywhere else. They would be willing to ship supplies across the Great River if you married one of their two unmarried princes. Tivaria had a strong military and mined precious gems they styled into stunning jewellery that would make great wedding gifts and additions to the royal collection. The lands across the sea would offer new opportunities for trade of materials and hard-to-find items.
The young prince of Jeseon was your mother’s most favoured option. Jeseon and Aster had been strong allies in the past and the royal families remained friends. When Gwangsu had attacked Jeseon in the past aiming to take over the land, your grandmother had been quick to send reinforcements despite the fact that the two countries didn’t share a border. Jeseon had emerged victorious and they had never forgotten Aster’s support.
“The youngest prince of Gwangsu will also be attending the ball accompanied by the heir to Gwangsu’s throne.” Your mother’s lips were set in a thin line showing the disdain. Gwangsu was considered a backward and brutal land of sand and rocks. The king, some whispered, was more of a tyrant than a leader. “I trust you not to make any decisions that will reflect badly on Aster’s crown. And speaking as a mother to her daughter, not as the Queen to her heir, if the prince is anything like his father, I don’t want you anywhere near him.”
You scoffed, this one you couldn’t suppress. “I can take care of myself.”
Your mother looked at you like she very much doubted that and the rage you had been harbouring for months knocked against your ribs. You were a few steps away from becoming Queen and your mother didn’t trust you around a prince. Ridiculous.
You rushed to excuse yourself before this could evolve into another argument. You had had enough of those.
The day of your birthday arrived wrapped in silks and with the sound of silver bells. Aster was celebrating. Your lady-in-waiting woke you up cheerfully, singing about the joyous day. She was out of tune at best but it made you laugh while she helped you into your morning dress. It was the colour of the blush she applied on your cheeks with a low neckline and lace sleeves. She brushed and braided your hair before situating on your head the golden tiara that marked you as the heir of Aster.
The dining room was alive as everyone wished you a happy birthday. Both of your mother’s siblings were here along with all of your cousins. The breakfast was a family affair. Abigail sat next to you, doing her best to take your mind off. It was a fruitless endeavour when everyone else was talking about the ball.
You had come to terms with it in a way. You had thought about it and although you hated the idea as much as you did that day on your mother’s balcony, you had realised that you couldn’t get out of this. If your mother wanted you to get married to a prince before letting you take the throne, you would do it. But you would do it on your terms.
The foreign royal families had arrived throughout the past few days. The previous evening, you had taken your tea in the western pavilion with some of your guests as was proper. Your mother had suggested a walk with the second-youngest prince of Esna and, gritting your teeth so hard they could break, you accepted. You played the role. You would become Queen soon, you could play a role. The prince was polite if a little arrogant under the surface. He talked about hunting and whatever else princes enjoyed and you hid a yawn behind your hand.
You couldn’t listen to that for the rest of your life. You would much rather choke on your tea.
Before the ball, before your ladies came to your room to dress you and do your hair and makeup, you slipped away to the Temple. It was built on the steep side of the hill the castle was on and you had to climb down tens of wide stairs built into the rock to get there. Upon recognizing you, the priestesses were quick to whisk you away to the prayer room.
The sound of falling water calmed you more than any words could. The waterfall in the centre of the room was illuminated by a blue light coming from inside the rock. No one had found the source, the light was just there. The water cascaded around three statues like a veil. The three Goddesses gazed at you composed and regal. Amaranthe, the one who blessed you with your gift, stood in the middle with her hands extended in front of her like she was holding an invisible flame.
You knelt by the edge of the pool and bowed your head to them. Your heartbeat was loud in your ears and your hands gripped the beautiful fabric of your dress so hard your long nails could have ripped it apart.
You whispered a prayer to them, asking for wisdom and strength, and got up. You had dreaded this night for a long time. It was about time you took your fate into your hands. Your mother had made enough decisions for you.
The seamstress had outdone herself with your dress. The deep purple velvet was embroidered with golden thread and precious gems lined the plunging off-shoulder neckline. The dress was cinched at your waist by a golden belt carved into Aster flowers, the symbol of your country, with gems placed at the centre of each flower.
Asters grew all over the country, the greatest number of them blooming around Enya, the capital. They cracked rocks to grow and clusters of them could often be found emerging from large boulders. They symbolised strength and resilience and your nation had been named after them in hopes of fostering those values.
Your hair was pinned at the back of your head with jewelled pins, your morning makeup washed away and replaced with deeper colours for the night. Powder, dark lips, a touch of blush high on your cheeks, and black lining your eyes. Lilith slithered up your arm and settled at her place around your shoulders. When you looked up at the mirror you could see the queen you would be one day, not the girl who was ruled by her mother’s will and nonsensical traditions.
You were deliberately late enough for a grand entrance. The lively music coming from the ballroom trailed off and you heard your title and name being called. Chin high and back straight, you descended the grand staircase. All eyes were on you and you were delighted at the attention. This was your night.
The ballroom was decorated in gold and purple like your gown. Long tables lined the walls covered with white tablecloths and decorative long strips of purple in the middle. The light from the chandeliers bounced off the gold on the walls. The ceiling was painted like the night sky in black and deep blue, littered with stars and a waning moon. If one were to quickly glance at it, they would think there was no roof but only the expanse of sky above.
A path to the table at the other end of the room was cleared for you. Your mother raised from her place in the centre of the table underneath the sculpture on the wall of two snakes intertwined and an Aster flower blooming between them. You greeted her with a kiss on the cheek as was suitable and took your place on her right.
"Let the music begin again,” your mother called. “Let us rejoice and celebrate the princess’ life!"
The guests cheered and the musicians resumed the joyous melody. You surveyed the room. More royals had arrived since yesterday and nobles from your court were ogling at them. High-born ladies and lords alike eyed the foreign princesses and princes. They were more excited for the night than you were.
Your mother placed the best cut of meat on your plate and gave you a smile that could have been reassuring but to you, it only looked condescending. You ate in silence while she talked to her advisors and her brother and sister that were sitting at the table with you. They knew you well enough to sense you weren’t in the mood for talking so they didn’t bother you. You used dinnertime to observe your guests.
You had met most of the Kings and Queens in the past as well as a few princes and princesses. Some you were indifferent towards, some you tolerated and there were a few you genuinely enjoyed the company of. And there were also the ones you’d never seen before but you could tell their titles by the way they held themselves. Your eyes jumped from one person to the next, calculating. Until they stopped at a faraway table.
A boy was sitting there, his eyes on his plate as he cut the meat with measured movements. His black curls were brushing his shoulders free from any binds. They looked silky and smooth like the furs you liked to run your fingers through in winter. Unlike the other people at the table, he seemed almost meek and he didn’t open his mouth to speak. By his beautiful features and the absence of a king close to him, you guessed he was the prince from Gwangsu. The king hadn’t graced you with his presence sending three of his sons, including his heir, in his stead.
Abigail must have followed your gaze and she was watching them too.
"What are you looking at so intensely?” your mother asked.
You snapped your gaze away from the prince as if you had been caught doing something forbidden. “Nothing. I was thinking."
Your mother hummed, bringing the gold goblet filled with red wine to her lips. "I trust that you have a few favoured options in mind. If you haven’t chosen already.”
You took a bite of your food, not gracing her with an answer. You had nothing to tell her.
Dinner was soon over and the dancing and mingling began. Lilith didn’t enjoy dancing—too much turning and moving for her—so you left her at the table. Also, having a poison snake around you didn’t attract many dancing partners, which usually you would use to your advantage. And how did they expect someone to become your prince consort if they were afraid of your life companion?
You found Abigail and had a short conversation with her before she was swept away by a noble for a dance. You hadn’t been asked to dance yet, the princes were probably intimidated and were waiting for someone else to go first.
“Your Highness, may I have this dance?"
You turned around and came face to face with the king of Jeseon. His blond hair was swept off his forehead and his dark eyes twinkled with mirth.
A grin took over your face. "But of course, Your Majesty, how could I refuse?"
You passed your drink to a servant and took the King’s extended hand. You bowed to each other and he placed a hand on your waist as a new song started.
"They are looking at us,” you whispered as the dance brought you close to his ear.
Others were dancing, but there was a greater space around the two of you than the other couples. The ones dancing would sneak glances at you over their shoulders and the rest of the guests openly watched you.
“They were probably expecting you to give the first dance to one of the numerous princes hoping to court you,” Namjoon said as your palms connected and you moved in a circle. “You have to excuse me but I wanted to take the chance before you are flooded with dance requests."
"I would have found some time for you,” you said.
You had known Namjoon since you were children, the strong ties between your countries meant that your families often visited each other and exchanged letters. Namjoon was only a couple of years older than you and other than Abigail he used to be the only person you felt close to. You shared the future of a throne and through letters, as you got older you would discuss your struggles and reassure each other.
But the throne had called for Namjoon much earlier than any of you could have anticipated. His father got sick before Namjoon came of age and he died only a few months after. He had written to you, you remember reading the letter by the fireplace in your room shivering despite the heat. In his kingdom, succession didn’t work like it did in yours. Only when the king died would the new king be crowned while in Aster it was tradition for the Queen mother to bless her heir and place the crown on her head. Namjoon had thought he had many years before being crowned.
There was a spark of jealousy that he had ascended before you without a need to get married or follow any other stupid traditions but it was smothered quickly. He hadn’t wanted his coronation to happen like that. You knew he would have rather had his father by his side than be king.
“Have you decided what you’re going to do?” he asked, twirling you around.
Along with your mother’s invitation, you had sent a sealed letter to him.
“You know that my mother has her eye on Jungkook, right?” you asked to avoid answering his question.
Namjoon chuckled. “I can’t think of anything worse."
"Exactly,” you said, gliding around him. You made a face briefly so no one else would catch it. “It would be like marrying my annoying little brother."
You both looked at Jungkook who was laughing boisterously at something Seokjin, Namjoon’s advisor, had said. His large eyes and bunny teeth made him look much younger than he was. He was still a kid in your eyes even though he had grown tall and his muscles bulged through his shirt.
"Why did you send a courting offer in the first place?” you asked. “I hadn’t expected that.”
“My advisors were insisting. They wouldn’t give in until I sent one. You would never accept so I didn’t worry,” Namjoon said. “He has plenty of time until marriage. He’s still too young in many ways. He doesn’t have to rush, he can take his time and find someone his heart truly desires. He doesn’t have our responsibilities.“
"I don’t see you getting married either,” you said.
His smile tightened. “They are waiting for me to get married too. I have been stalling and they are beginning to notice. I need an heir. My council has been presenting me with options of princesses and girls of noble birth. You are not the only one in a difficult position."
"At least you don’t have to choose tonight,” you countered.
He glanced at his brother and his advisor. “It might not be tonight but it will be soon. At least your heart is free."
You would have asked what he meant but the song was finished. You bowed to each other again and the second–youngest prince of Esna got brave and walked over to ask you for a dance. Later, you saw Namjoon dancing with a princess from the northern counties across the sea. He was smiling but you wondered if he was overthinking his predicament and what each dance could mean now.
Namjoon didn’t have an aversion to marriage like you did. On a late summer night in your mother’s private garden during one of his visits, he had confessed to you that the throne was lonely and he wished he could share it with someone. And yet he didn’t sound pleased about his future marriage now. You had sensed that he harboured affections for someone and now you understood that whoever it was, he couldn’t have them. His heart wasn’t free.
Your problems couldn’t be more different.
You were taking a break from dancing, sipping on more red wine. It was like you could feel time moving, hear the grains of sand falling in an hourglass.
“Your highness,” Sanghoon, the crown prince of Gwangsu said, bowing slightly in respect. He addressed you with your full title and full name. It was the common way of greeting between royals of the same status from different countries.
You tilted your head in acknowledgment. You had never met him before but you knew the names of all the members of the royal families. You had also been given descriptions of the guests you were unfamiliar with so you could recognize them at the ball.
“It is a great pleasure to make your acquaintance. My father, the King of Gwangsu, is sending his regards and his regrets at not being able to be in attendance tonight due to matters he had to take care of in our country.”
“No offence has been taken at his absence.”
Your eyes strayed to the boy who you guessed was the youngest prince. Taehyung was his name if your memory served you well. He was smiling, it wasn’t as big as his brother’s but it was far more genuine. You were intrigued by him, his beauty, and how soft he looked. Nothing like his brother.
“This is my youngest brother, Taehyung,” Sanghoon said and Taehyung bowed to you, not just his head like his brother but bending his whole upper body forward.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness.” His deep voice startled you and you wished to hear more of it.
“Likewise.”
Sanghoon puffed his chest—any more and he would combust—and sent a stern look at his brother. Taehyung quickly looked away and you found yourself irritated at his brother for making him fumble.
“Would you do me the honour of dancing with me?” he asked almost shyly, his curls framing his face like the night sky hugged the moon.
Your mother had warned you to stay away from the prince of Gwangsu. If there was one prince she wanted no ties with, it was him.
"Of course,” you said, offering your hand.
The prince smiled wide, reminding you of a puppy. You led him to the dance floor and adjusted your steps to the song that was playing.
He was a good dancer, a little self-conscious of his steps but one of the best you had danced with. His touch was feather-light on your waist. He didn’t brag about what his kingdom could offer or shower you in honey-sticky compliments.
Your kingdoms had been enemies not a long time ago yet you didn’t think of that while you danced. You floated around the dancefloor in silence and it was enough. Relaxing.
When the song ended, you bowed to each other and Taehyung thanked you for the dance. You watched him as he got lost in the crowd and you moved towards where Abigail was standing.
A hand gripped your forearm and you were about to say some strong words to whoever it was when you turned and saw your mother.
She was glaring at you with poorly concealed anger. You could peel back her composure like the skin of an onion. “What were you doing with him?"
"Dancing,” you said, feigning ignorance.
“What did I tell you about Gwangsu? You don’t want to get involved with them. They are bad news. Terrible news."
You shook your arm free from her grip. She didn’t stop you, she didn’t want to make a scene. ”You don’t want me to get involved with them. There’s a difference.“
"This might not have been what you wanted but it’s unbecoming of you to try to spite me like this,” she said. “You gain nothing from this. Do you not remember what Gwangsu did? What I told you about the king? They aren’t like us. They don’t share our values and our beliefs."
"You’re talking about a war whose initiator has long died. I was dancing with a prince, not the king and not a dead man,” you countered.
Your mother’s jaw clenched. If you were in the privacy of your chambers, she would have raised her voice but here surrounded by people she wouldn’t dare. “You will not dance with him again. We’re looking for an ally, not an enemy."
"I’m not looking for anything,” you said through your teeth. “This is all you."
Before she could reply, you stormed away. Lilith pressed her head against your neck as if trying to comfort you.
Your mother hadn’t listened to you when you’d told her you didn’t want to get married, she hadn’t even tried to challenge the tradition that had no reason to exist. How could she expect you to listen to her when she had been the one to force you into this?
She wanted you to get married, then so be it.
Determined, you walked to Taehyung who was standing with his brothers, looking small between them. A small smile appeared on his face when he spotted you and a small flicker of warmth licked your insides.
"I have decided to accept the Prince of Gwangsu Taehyung’s courting offer,” you said loudly so everyone around you could hear.
Please comment and reblog it motivates me to keep writing
❦ word count. 17.7k ❦ genre. parent fic, fluff, angst, a bit of boob action ❦ warnings. illness, mention of hospitalisation, mention of minor character death, yoongi is kind of a dick sometimes, accidental(?) flashing ❦ summary. it’s not that you don’t like your job. on the contrary, reading bedtime stories to a certified little princess is something you still can’t believe you get paid to do. it’s just that between all the school runs, snow days and secret second hot chocolates before bed, you may fallen a little too hard for those dimpled cheeks and gummy smiles…. worse still, you’ve fallen for her father too. ❦a/n.merry christmas everyone!! this fic is a collaboration with the wonderful @underthejoon@kpopfanfictrash@suga-kookiemonster@junghelioseok@bendthekneetobangtan @lamourche and @hobidreams. it’s late, lame and cheesy (and probably under-edited) but I like it that way. I hope you’re all having a fantastic holiday, wherever you may be <3
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Now
“…Can we talk?”
For the first time since blustering in through the front door, Yoongi actually stops to spare you a glance.
You’re standing in the entryway in a pair of high waisted jeans and a peach coloured blouse, hands clasped behind your back and a nervous expression on your face. If he notices your outfit is new, he doesn’t pass comment on it. He doesn’t mention the fact that you’re wearing makeup today either, nor that you seem to have taken a little more time with your hair than usual. Not that you’d expected him to. Your employer isn’t well known for giving compliments, much less understanding when a woman is trying to impress him. Yoongi probably wouldn’t recognise flirting if it hit him in the face with a brick.
His face is impassive as ever when he drops his keys into the bowl with a shrug. “Sure. There’s actually something I wanted to discuss with you too.”
You nod, fiddling anxiously with his hands as he slips off the snow-smattered trench coat to reveal the suit jacket beneath. He looks tired this evening; more so than usual if the dark bags under his eyes are anything to go by. Even on his days off Yoongi works like a tank, often letting himself get so wrapped up in getting everything done he forgets to eat meals. It’s a coping strategy, of course - one that always tends to get a little out of hand when this time of year rolls around.
Yoongi turns back to you, loosening the knot of his tie with a ringed finger. He raises his eyebrows.
“Kitchen?”
You follow him through into the heart of the penthouse: a masterpiece of white granite and gold strip lights. The room is utterly spotless save for the mug of freshly-brewed tea that sits waiting on the island, steam spiralling upwards towards the vaulted ceiling.
“Here,” you say, nudging it towards him. It’s a comfortable ritual between you at this point. Yoongineedsa hit of caffeine if he’s going to make it to dinner without taking his work stress out on whoever’s unfortunate enough to be in the room with him, but following a series of chest pains a few months ago, his doctor put a strict ban on drinking coffee past 7pm. Replacing the habit with a cup of white tea in the evening was your compromise.
Yoongi takes it with a small nod of gratitude, lowering himself onto the bar stool. His eyes flutter closed for a moment when he takes a sip, and your chest feels warm inside when the tension visibly starts to drain from his shoulders. The man is always so tightly wound. It’s really no wonder he suffers from back pain, what with all the stress he carries around with him. You’ve been trying to convince him to see an osteopath, but Yoongi insists there’s only so much ‘voodoo medicine’ he can bring himself to splash out on per month, and the December quota was already filled by the VapoRub you made him buy for his blocked sinuses.
He places the mug down with a quiet sigh.
“How was she today?”
You snap out of your reverie, meeting his expectant gaze.
“She was wonderful,” you say honestly. “Coach said he’s really proud of how hard she’s been practicing. Her toe double toe loop has come on leaps and bounds these past few weeks.”
Yoongi raises his eyebrows questioningly.
“The jumpy spinny thing,” you clarify.
“Ahh. So that’s what it’s called.”
A fond smile tugs at your lips. Though Yoongi never misses an opportunity to support his daughter on the ice, the ins-and-outs of the sport are often lost on him. Surprisingly, he’s far more adept at the hair and costume side of things than he is at giving his little girl feedback on her actual performances. Ever since the day her first ever coach had pulled him aside to tell him Dee had ‘a god given gift’ that needed to be nurtured, he’s much preferred to leave such things to the professionals.
“So.” Yoongi laces his fingers atop the table. Though you remain standing, you can’t help but feel that you’ve entered in on one of his business meetings. He looks you up and down. “Do you want to go first or shall I?”
“Oh -” All at once the nerves return full-force, fluttering away in your stomach like a flock of migrating birds. You instinctively drop your gaze to the floor when you feel your neck heating up. “Y-you can start.”
Unsurprisingly, Yoongi doesn’t so much as bat an eyelid at your odd behaviour, and you wonder how on earth Mina thought you could do this. You wonder how you -believed- her. Holding a conversation with your employer without taking offense to his social tactlessness was hard enough, especially before you understood Yoongi’s deadpan honesty is something he genuinely doesn’t know how to reign in. But admitting you have feelings for him?
That was a whole other kettle of fish.
“I got a call from Dee’s grandmother today,” he says, drawing your attention back to him once again.
You raise your eyebrows. “Oh?”
“Her grandpa’s been taken into hospital with a shattered hip.”
Your eyes go wide. “Oh my god, is he alright?!”
Yoongi waves off your concern, cringing slightly at the shrillness of your tone. “He’s totally fine. He underwent surgery last night and he’s stable,” he eyes you across the island. “…It does mean they won’t be able to have Dee for the run-up to Christmas though.”
As your panic ebbs, you think you catch a glimpse of something softer beneath Yoongi’s default unmoved expression. He’s not only tired, you realise, but exhausted, worn thin by the constant pressure he keeps himself under. It takes everything in you not to close the space between you and wrap your arms around him. You know he’ll only burn himself out if he carries on like this, and the thought makes your heart ache.
“I know it’s a big ask,” he continues with a weary exhale, scrubbing a hand down his face, “but it’s too late to cancel on this work trip. Flights to Berlin are fully booked up until late January, and the company we’re doing business with has made it abundantly clear they plan to proceed with or without our input. I’d pay you overtime of course. Whatever works best for you. I just need someone to sit here for a few days and make sure my daughter doesn’t burn the apartment down while I’m gone.”
“Yoongi,” you say quietly, shushing him with a gentle hand atop his wrist. He stares down at the point of contact, and you hope to god he can’t hear the way your pulse is going crazy. “You know I’d be happy to do it.”
Tentatively, he meets your eyes. “Are you sure? Your family -”
“Can manage a few more days without me. Looking after Dee is never a burden. She’s…” you cut yourself off, unable to hold his gaze. “She’s the best thing in my life.”
It’s not a lie. But perhaps it’s only a half-truth. The other best thing is sitting right opposite you, after all.
Yoongi has never been the type to smile much. He’s stoic and blunt, and doesn’t know when to loosen up when the time calls for it - but he never says anything he doesn’t mean. That’s why it makes your heart feel so full when he says a soft, “Thank you, Y/N. You’re really helping me out here.”
You extract your fingers from his wrist, suddenly too shy to maintain the proximity between you.
“Don’t mention it,” you cough.
Completely oblivious, Yoongi picks up his mug again. “You wanted to talk to me about something too?”
“Oh, uh… well. I was just -” You scramble for the right words, your mind drawing a complete blank beneath the weight of his gaze.
It wasn’t like you’d come unprepared. You’d planned this whole thing out with Mina over the weekend, even going so far as to roleplay the possible outcomes of your confession (a necessity when it comes to Yoongi, because the man has absolutely zero concept of letting someone down gently). You’d practiced exactly what you wanted to say several times over in the car before heading over to pick up Dee, and all the whole way back to the penthouse you were convinced you had it down pat.
Right up until Yoongi walked through the door, that is.
With the air stolen from your lungs just looking at him, your confidence crumbles, and the fact that he’s clearly had a shit day doesn’t help any. The harder you will yourself to form a coherent sentence, the more your tongue refuses to do so.
“I-It’s not important,” you manage eventually.
Yoongi quirks a sceptical eyebrow at you. “Are you sure?”
You pause, then jerk your chin in a nod.
“I’m sure.”
Yoongi doesn’t push it.
“Okay then.” He finishes off the last dregs of his tea and rises to a stand. “I’ll walk you to your car.”
“Oh, you really don’t have to -”
“I know I don’t.” He crosses over to the clothing hooks and grabs your jacket, holding it out to you. “Put this on. I need to check in on Dee first.”
Dazedly, there’s little else you can do but follow his instructions. It’s not an uncommon occurrence for Yoongi to see you through the parking lot outside his place, especially during the winter months when it’s dark out, but the gesture still never fails to make you giddy.
Next time, you say to yourself firmly when he returns, holding open the front door for you to slip out first. Next time, I’ll tell him.
.
Last Year
You slide your feet into your heeled boots, wincing at the way your toes pinch together inside.
It’s a Saturday evening - one you’d normally spend watching curled up on the couch with a takeaway in your lap or running yourself a nice hot bath, had Mina not spent the better half of the week trying to convince you to go on a date with the IT guy from her office - and between running slightly late and the shot of Dutch courage you definitely shouldn’t have taken ten minutes ago, your stomach feels like it’s tying itself up in knots.
“You need to get out more,” your friend insists. “It’s been literal years since you last had fun.”
You open your mouth to correct her but she fixes you with a warning glare before you can say anything.
“Fun in the form of Hula Fit and pottery class don’t count, Y/N. And you should probably save the conversation about your weird hobbies until at least the third date. Preferably after sex too, or your chances of getting any will be slim to none.”
You sink down in your chair, scowling at her over the top of your ice cream cup.
“I still have fun,” you mutter. “I just have a lot on my plate right now. This new job is taking up a lot of my time, and I’m really not interested in getting fired before the trial period is up.”
“Y/N, you pick a rich couple’s kid up from skate club five times a week, make her pasta and watch cartoons until bedtime,” Mina snorts. “What the hell could go wrong?”
“First of all Mr Min is a single father,” you say, pointing your plastic spoon at her accusingly, “and second of all, you haven’t met the guy. If you had, you’d understand why I’m so on edge.”
“Why? What’s wrong with him?”
“He’s freaking terrifying, Mi!” You throw your hands up in the air to emphasise your point. “He barely spoke in my interview, just sat there giving me the dead eyes while his assistant asked all the questions! And he did exactly the same thing the first time I met his daughter. Just stood in the corner of the living room and watched, like he was assessing my ability to play with her or something.”
“Well he must have liked what he saw, right? You got the job.”
“Barely. Apparently when he called the agency to let them know I was hired, he made a point of saying it was only because the other girl he’d been speaking with came down with pneumonia and he needed someone ASAP.” You pout sullenly, stabbing at your ice cream. “And since then he’s taken every opportunity to point out when I’m doing something wrong.”
“Maybe you’re just taking it too personally? That’s his little girl after all. He probably just wants to make sure she’s in safe hands.”
“I guess… I just wish he wasn’t so blunt about it,” you sigh. “Mostly I just feel sorry for Dee. I don’t get the chance to see them interact often because he usually gets home after her bedtime, but he doesn’t strike me like the type of dad who’s particularly involved, you know? She must only see him a couple of days a week.” You take another spoonful of ice cream, your gaze turning contemplative. “She must have one hell of a mother, wherever she is. I can’t think of any other way she could’ve turned out to be such a good egg, given that her father’s so emotionally constipated.”
“Okay, that’s it.” Mina lifts a hand to stop you from going on. “You think way too much about other people’s problems, you know that? It’s depressing. You need to stop getting stressed about the things you can’t change, and start focussing on the stuff you can.”
“Such as?”
“Such as your non-existent dating life.” She pulls her phone out and starts typing. “I’m sending you Jungkook’s number, and you willtext him this week. Understood?”
Your phone vibrates in your back pocket.
“Mina -”
“Nope.” She holds up a finger. “I’m not backing down this time. Not until you agree to put yourself first for once.”
“…Fine,” you sigh eventually, pulling your phone from your back pocket. “I’ll text him. But I’m not promising anything more, okay?”
Though it physically pains you to admit it, Mina was right to an extent. You haven’t so much as given a guy your number in the past year, let alone one as hot as in the picture she’d showed you. Zipping up the tiny black skirt you’d borrowed from her closet, you realise with a sense of looming dread that the odds of making a fool of yourself tonight are decidedly not in your favour.
“Jungkook is a gentleman,” you recall her telling you, sipping daintily at her bubble tea. “He definitely doesn’t put out on the first date. Buuut -” she’d lifted a finger before you could chime in. “that does not mean you get the green light to wear your granny panties.”
“I don’t see why not. They’re comfortable and non-restrictive.”
“A girl should always wear her best lingerie when it counts, Y/N.”
“Says who?”
“Oscar de La Renta.”
“Ha, right. And what would he know about women’s underwear?”
She fixes you with a deadpan look. “Are you literally kidding me right now.”
“Mina, if Jungkook’s not going to see it then what’s even the point?” you mumble through a mouthful of ice cream, pointing the spoon at her to emphasise your point. “I’m not just gonna slice myself in half for nothing.”
If it were possible, you’re fairly certain Mina’s eyes roll all the way back into the back of her skull.
“It’s not for him, you loser, it’s foryou. Sexy underwear is a confidence booster!”
“It’s also expensive and a pain in the ass to move around in. Quite literally.” You tilt your plastic cup in an effort to dig out the last of the chocolate chips, but Mina reaches across to pluck the spoon from your fingers. “Wha-? Hey!”
“If you think I’m letting you pull a Bridget Jones on your first date in twelve months, you are sorely mistaken,” she says resolutely, ignoring your sullen expression. She raises a hand to flag down the server, muttering under her breath, “Clearly we have more work to do than I anticipated.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m taking you to Silky Fit, and we’re not leaving until you’ve picked something out,” she clarifies, pulling her purse out when the waiter came over with the bill.
After sparing you a second glance, her expression softens somewhat. She tilts her head and sighs fondly at you, the same way someone might sigh at a helpless child, or a puppy covered from head to toe in mud after playing in the garden.
“You have ice cream on your chin, babe,” she says, tossing a balled up napkin your way.
And thus, here you are a week later, teetering around your apartment in an outfit that’s two sizes smaller than anything you’d usually opt to wear, the string of your new thong pulling uncomfortably tight between your ass cheeks.
Admittedly, glancing at yourself in the mirror before slipping your blouse on had left you feeling pleasantly flushed. Even despite the minor physical discomfort, Mina hadn’t been lying about the confidence boost. Your body looked good. The colour of the set you’d picked out provided a pretty contrast against your skin, and the bra had just the right amount of upward push to make your breasts look full and perky in their cups. Though ‘sexy’ was never typically a word you’d thought to associate with yourself, turning from side to side in the mirror almost had you reconsidering.
Makeup done and hair styled into a loose updo, you snap a quick picture of yourself in the bathroom mirror, feeling surprisingly content with the end result.
Y/N:[image.png]
Y/N:all good ???
Despite being at a formal dinner with her boss and some company associates, it takes less than a minute for your friend to respond. You snort when an image of her disgruntled face comes through, clearly shot from beneath the restaurant table.
Mina:stop trying to sext me ?? I don’t have time for this right now
Y/N:desperate times. need validation :(
Mina:you look so good I could eat you
Mina:…are you wearing them?
You smile at your phone. Feeling emboldened by her praise, you pull up your camera again, this time shooting a quick video in which you turn slowly so she could see the full effect of your outfit. At the very end you tug your blouse to the side a little, flashing just the top of your lace bra with a comically over-exaggerated wink.
Y/N:video.mp4
Y/N: enjoy your night baby x
Your taxi calls shortly afterwards to let you know they’re downstairs.
.
Despite how busy the restaurant is tonight, it isn’t hard to spot your date.
Jungkook isbig. Far bigger than you’d imagined the stereotypical nerdy tech guy to be. He practically dwarfs you when he stands up to shake your hand, and you feel positively giddy when he rounds the table to pull your chair out for you. He even has the presence of mind to catch you when you inevitably stumbled over your heels on the way down, a gentle hand on your elbow stopping you from face planting in front of the entire establishment.
“Careful there,” he murmurs, the amused smile on his face causing your neck to prickle with welcome heat. “You almost fell for me.”
When you let out a loud snort in response, clapping a hand over your mouth as a second too late to catch the unattractive sound, Jungkook doesn’t even bat an eyelid - just proceeds to tuck your chair in behind you and call the waiter over to take your drinks orders. You can’t help but wonder if Mina warned him about you beforehand.
All in all, the date gets off to a good start. You’re relieved to learn that Jungkook is smooth enough for the both of you, seamlessly filling any lulls in the conversation before things have a chance to turn awkward. What’s more, he seems genuinely interested in learning more about you, listening attentively when you explain how you’re currently studying part time for your masters in education whilst nannying on the side. You flush with warmth when he praises your ambition.
“It must be hard, juggling work with your studies,” he remarks. “It’s awesome that you’re so committed.”
“It’s not that impressive really,” you say, though your whole body is practically aglow from all the compliments. “Truth be known, the agency I work with deals primarily with parents from wealthy areas of the city, so most of us get paid a bit more than your average sitter would. It almost feels like cheating, really.”
“Oh?” Jungkook quirks an eyebrow, raising his wine glass to his lips. “Any celebrities on your contact list so far?”
“Sadly not. I’m only two weeks into my first job so far, and my current employer flies a little lower under the radar than most rich people.”
“A businessman then,” Jungkook nods.
“Precisely. He used to run a tech company, which I think is how he made the majority of his wealth. Nowadays he just does marketing stuff though.”
“A tech company, huh?” Jungkook presses. “Would I have heard of him?”
To your alarm, he almost spits out his wine when the name Min Yoongi comes out your mouth.
“Min? As in Min Enterprises?!” he sputters.
You’re quick to fill him a glass of water, which he accepts gratefully. “That’s the one. You know him?”
“Sure I do,” he says between gulps. “We use literally allof his anti-virus software at work. The guy’s a genius.”
You raise your eyebrows curiously. “Really? The woman from my agency told me his tech company closed years ago. I don’t know much about this stuff, but I would have thought any software they produced would be a little outdated by now…”
Jungkook snorts in amusement. “Closed down is one way of putting it.”
“What do you mean?”
“His programme was good. So good that none of the other tech giants compete with it,” Jungkook explains once his eyes have stopped watering. “Come 2010, Microsoft bit the bullet and bought him out for around fifteen million. They’ve been developing and expanding on his work ever since.”
“Fifteenmillion?” Your eyebrows shot up towards your hairline. “Christ! No wonder his apartment looks like the Louvre.”
“I bet it does,” Jungkook laughs. “I’d kill to see what your Christmas bonus looks like.”
It certainly explains a lot, you think to yourself. Particularly Yoongi’s attitude. You’ve seen The Social Network, after all, as painstakingly boring as it may have been. Those matrix-minded, Zuckerberg type kids always grow up to be emotionally stunted. It’s like a trade-off they make with God for getting to be smarter than ninety-nine per cent of the human population.
When the waiter comes back to whisk away your starter plates, you momentarily excuse yourself to go to the bathroom to check your teeth for wayward broccoli. After giving yourself the all clear, you fix your lipstick and pull your phone out to let Mina know everything’s going well.
You’re surprised to discover you already have three new messages from her.
Mina: helloooooo ??
Mina: man. she goes on ONE date and already I’ve been dropped
Mina:after all I’ve done for you
You furrow your brows in confusion, scrolling up in the chat. Your bewilderment only increases when you discover Mina’s previous texts have, indeed, gone unanswered. Your video clip is nowhere to be found, and you wonder absently if the Wi-Fi back at your apartment is screwing you over again.
No sooner have you exited the chat that another text comes through, this time from a different number.
We need to talk.
Your heart abruptly flatlines.
Several things click at once after that, the first being that clearly, it was not Mina’sname you had clicked on to send that video to.
With shaking hands you open up the chat with your employer, utterly horrified when all your worst nightmares are confirmed at once.
There, staring back up at you from beneath a message asking if Dee is allergic to band aids, is your cleavage.
Enjoy your night baby, is what you’d said to Mr Min afterwards.
Mr Min, who could slice a grown man’s confidence to ribbons with little more than a look.
Mr Min, your boss of merely two weeks.
“Fuck!” you hiss, pressing the call button and bringing the phone to your ear. “Oh fucking, fucking fuck…”
Your employer picks up on the second ring. You suck in a shaky breath before speaking.
“Sir, I -”
“Miss L/N.”
His voice is ice cold. So cold that the sound alone sound has your apology catching in your throat.
Not for the first time since you met him, you’re reminded of exactly why Yoongi is so revered and respected among those in the business world. You can’t imagine what it would be like to have him speak your name like that in a boardroom full of men in suits, but you’re pretty sure any shred of self-confidence you had would be all but crushed beneath the toe of his designer oxfords if he so desired. In all honesty, you’d probably prefer it if he were yelling at you. At least if he raised his voice, you wouldn’t be gripping the faucet right now for fear your knees might buckle beneath you.
Somewhere on the other end of the line, a door slams shut like Yoongi is just getting in after a long day. Or perhaps he’s taking this conversation somewhere more private. Either possibility has your stomach churning with anxiety.
“What is wrong with you?” he hisses under his breath.
You swear you’ve never wanted the floor to swallow you up so badly as you do in this moment.
Screwing your eyes shut, you force yourself to respond.
“Sir, I can’t tell you how completely sorry I am… th-the video was meant for someone else. I would never be so bold as to -”
“You do realise I’m entrusting my childto you?”
Immediately, your mouth snaps shut. The sensation that you’ve just been slapped across the face takes you by complete surprise.
It takes a few seconds for your brain to play catch up with what Yoongi just said, but when the words finally compute, you feel -hurt-. The suggestion that your personal life might impact on your ability to take care of Yoongi’s daughter stings like hell, and for all his lacking interpersonal skills, your employer didn’t strike you as the type to draw such conclusions until now. The notion doesn’t sit well with you at all.
Swallowing tightly, you place a hand over your abdomen to ground yourself.
“I really am sorry, Mr Min,” you repeat quietly. “It was an accident. I never intended to put you in an uncomfortable position, and I promise it won’t happen again.”
On the other end of the line, Yoongi is quiet for a moment.
You wonder if he could hear the slight tremble in your voice. If he can sense the fact that he just squashed your self-confidence beneath his thumb like it was nothing.
“Make sure it doesn’t,” he mutters eventually. Then, after another short pause, “I’ll see you on Monday.”
Before you can so much as thank him for not threatening to report you to the agency, you’re met with the tell-tale click of your employer placing the phone down on you, leaving you with an embarrassed lump in your throat and bottom lip wobbling with the threat of tears.
As could probably be predicted, your date with Jungkook goes rapidly downhill from there. Apparently unable to enjoy a good thing without utterly humiliating yourself along the way, you feel sick to your stomach with anxiety for the remainder of the evening. You barely even touch your dessert, and when Jungkook walks you to your cab half an hour later, you brush him off with a forced smile and a handshake, already having accepted the fact that he wouldn’t want to see you again.
Only when you’re in the back of the cab and heading home do you allow the first quiet tears to fall.
.
Showing up to work the following Monday is one of the toughest things you’ve ever done.
Even Dee seems to notice something is off when you pick her up from practice. Shrewd as she is, she eventually settles for humming along to the radio when she realises you’re in no mood to talk. Try as you might, you can’t stop replaying her father’s words to you on the phone, and despite Mina’s insistence that he’s an unforgiving prick, a small part of you still wonders if he’s right… Are you even fit to look after a kid? Are you fit to do -anything- besides making a fool of yourself?
To make things worse, Yoongi arrives home early that evening.
As nervous as you are to see him again, you can’t help but be momentarily distracted by the way he hoists Dee up onto his hip to greet her. It’s not that he’s smiling or anything - such an expression would probably look wrong on him, anyway - but the way he cradles the back of her head seems strangely affectionate for a man like him.
“You’re getting heavy,” he murmurs, pausing to sniff her damp curls. His eyebrows furrow slightly. “And you smell different.”
“Y/N put lime jelly in my bath,” his daughter responds in a sleepy voice, her voice muffled against his lapel. “The water turned green like a skeptic tank.”
“Septic tank,” Yoongi corrects quietly. Though his face remains as expressionless as ever, you don’t miss the way his aura grows soft around her - a detail he himself probably doesn’t even recognise. “Sounds like you two had fun.”
His eyes lock with yours across the living room and you drop your gaze immediately, your body flushing with heat like you’ve been caught out doing something you shouldn’t.
“S-sorry,” you blurt reflexively, already moving to grab your satchel. “I didn’t realise you were coming home early. Let me just pack up my stuff -”
“Y/N.” Yoongi’s voice stops you in your tracks. “Can I speak with you for a second?”
Standing stock still like a deer in the headlights, a sense of impending doom floods through you. This is it. Clearly Yoongi’s thought it over and decided to fire you after all. And the worst thing is you couldn’t even blame him! How could he possibly see you as a professional again after witnessing you running your tongue over your top teeth like a hungry carnivore? You haven’t even had the chance to explain it was -ironic.-
“Sure,” you squeak, torn between accepting your fate and grovelling on your knees for forgiveness. Who the hell was going to hire the babysitter who got fired from her first job during the trial period? For sending -provocative images- no less!
Carefully, Yoongi sets Dee down on the floor again, nodding in the direction of her room.
“Why don’t you go pick out a bedtime story?” he says.
His daughter peers up at him like he’s just sprouted a second head.
“You’re going to read to me?”
“No, I’m going to hit you over the head with it.” Yoongi rolls his eyes. “Obviously I’m going to read to you.”
Dee doesn’t look convinced. She folds her arms over her chest.
“Alice in Wonderland?”
“That book is long as hell, Dee. I’ll read two chapters.”
“Five.”
“Three.”
“With the voices?”
“What am I, a performing monkey? Get out of here before I change my mind, kid.”
Dee huffs, clearly dissatisfied. Nonetheless, she trudges off to her room, her ringlets bouncing as she goes.
The living room falls uncomfortably quiet again once it’s just you and Yoongi.
You fiddle idly with your hands, unsure of where to look. The embarrassment of the situation hits you all over again when you accidentally replay the video in your mind, and despite the fact that you’re wearing two layers already, you can’t help but cross your arms protectively over your chest.
As if sensing your discomfort, Yoongi clears his throat.
“May I offer you a drink?”
You pause. It’s not quite what you’d expected, but then again, rich people are weird. Maybe it’s customary to send your incompetent employees on their way with a glass of Chateau Petrus. Having skipped out on the whole making-millions-of-dollars-in-your-early-twenties thing, you probably wouldn’t know.
“I’m fine,” you manage weakly, shaking your head. “Thank you, sir.”
Yoongi gestures towards the couches. “Shall we sit then?”
You gnaw at your lip anxiously. “… I think that depends.”
“On?”
“Whether you’re going to fire me.” You force yourself to look up. “With all due respect, Mr Min, I’d rather just shake hands and go. I’m finding it hard enough to look you in the eye right now as it is.”
Yoongi blinks. Your words hang heavy in the air between you.
“Miss L/N,” he says slowly, clearly taken aback by your forwardness. “If I wanted to fire you, I would have done so already.”
You open your mouth, then abruptly close it again. Your eyebrows tug together in confusion.
“So you… aren’t?”
“Of course I’m not.” Yoongi shakes his head as if the notion alone is utterly ridiculous to him. “I only held you back tonight because I wanted to -”
He cuts himself off suddenly, like there’s a physical barrier stopping the words from coming out. Then with a tired sigh, he leans back against the sideboard, carding his ringed fingers back through his hair.
“Because I wanted to apologise,” he finishes.
If possible, your eyes grow even wider than before.
“…Huh?” is all you can manage.
“I shouldn’t have been so hard on you,” Yoongi clarifies simply. “I was out of line. I had no business speaking to you how I did.”
“Oh, n-no Mr Min,” you scramble for words, already raising your hands to stop him from going on. “Please don’t say that. What happened on Saturday was totally my fault. That message was -”
“A harmless accident,” he cuts in gently, and you pause at the unfamiliarity in his tone. “Please rest assured thatI was the asshole in that situation, Y/N, not you.”
Lips parted softly, you gape at him from across the dimly lit living room. It’s beyond strange hearing such a formidable man issue such a humble apology, and you had absolutely no idea how to respond.
Seeming to mistake your silence as a prompt for further explanation, Yoongi exhales heavily through his nose, his gaze momentarily dropping to his feet.
“I tend to get a little… short-fused around this time of year,” he says. “I lost Dee’s mother in early December. Yesterday was the four-year anniversary of her death.”
Your heart stutters in your chest.
Of course, you knew there was a woman involved at some point. And in more than just an oven-for-the-bun kind of way, if the drawings on the fridge were anything to go by. But up until now, you’d assumed the two of them had simply parted ways - that she lived a few neighbourhoods away, and Dee visited her every other weekend. To learn that her absence is something far more permanent than that - to witness that purple stick-woman transform into a real, vibrant image in your mind’s eye - is something else entirely, and a thousand possibilities flash through your imagination at shutter speed. You see someone who took care of Dee when she was sick. Someone who encouraged her husband to pursue his goals and start up his own company. A mother and a wife, with hobbies and dreams and a presence that probably bled itself into every cranny of the apartment before Yoongi had stripped it bare in her wake.
Someone who probably would have been utterly furious at you for all the bold assumptions you’ve made about him so far.
You wonder who the man standing before you might have been, had he not had the person he loved most in the world torn from him just as they were starting a life together. All at once, your gut burns with shame.
“Mr Min…” you say, your voice barely loud enough to make the distance between you. “I’m so sorry.”
Yoongi is quick to shake his head. “Don’t be,” he says, his tone kind but firm. “I’m a grown man. My grief is no excuse to treat people poorly. If I could take back what I said that night I would, but when your message came through it -” He abruptly stops talking.
If you didn’t know better, you’d think there was a hint of a blush on his cheeks.
“It caught me off guard,” he finishes eventually, inclining his head in a small bow. “Please accept my apologies.”
Feeling a little winded by the whole ordeal, there’s little else you can do but return his gesture, stooping low with your hands on your thighs. “Of course,” you manage. “Please, consider it forgotten, sir.”
Yoongi straightens up with a nod. His dark eyes skim over you with an unreadable expression.
“Just for the record,” he adds tentatively, “I never would have fired you for something like that. I’m afraid my daughter is already far too attached to you.”
You flushed at the sentiment, embarrassed for reasons you couldn’t quite place. “I highly doubt that’s true,” you mumble, glancing downward. “I’ve only been here two weeks.”
“On the contrary, there’s a bag of Christmas peppermint creams in the fridge that she made you at after school club,” says Yoongi. “I asked where mine were and she pulled my wallet out of my pocket, handed it back to me and told me to stop sponging off other people’s hard work.”
For the first time during a conversation with your employer, you let out a genuine laugh.
Yoongi doesn’t laugh along, of course. He doesn’t even smile. You’re starting to figure at this point that his blank expression might actually be his happy one.
“Hey - will Dee be okay?” you ask a few moments later, when the room lapses back into a comfortable quiet. “I wasn’t aware that she might be going through a tough time…”
“I think she’s normalised it now,” Yoongi explains, sliding his hands into the pockets of his slacks. “She was too young back then. Her memories of her mother are abstract at best. The drawings she brings home from school, they’re just copies of photographs really. The stuff she knows from home videos or stories I’ve told her.” He pauses. “I think she can sense it though. How I get a bit funny around Christmastime. I think it upsets her.”
“You can’t help it,” you insist gently, the guilt of judging Yoongi too harshly causing your stomach to clench up once again. “Dee’s a smart girl. I’m sure she’ll come to understand it one day.”
Yoongi watches you from across the room, his head slightly tilted like he was trying to figure something out.
“Thank you,” he says eventually. “For taking care of Dee. Things before… they were hard on her. I wish I could be there for her more.” He glances away momentarily. “I think you being here has made things easier.”
Something warm and fuzzy unfurls in your chest at his words.
“I’m happy I could help,” you say honestly. “She really is a great kid.”
“She is.” Yoongi nods.
“And she thinks the world of you,” you can’t help but add, because despite your previous assumptions about Yoongi’s parenting, it hadn’t taken long to cotton on to the fact that Dee never shuts up about him.
“Right,” Yoongi snorts. He pushes away from the sideboard. “Tell me that again when the teenage years roll around.”
You grin, and he hesitates a moment for gesturing towards your raincoat.
“It’s dark out, and the light in the parking lot keeps flickering out,” he says. “I’ll walk you to your car.”
The offer takes you by surprise. You’re not used to seeing the kind side of your employer. Hell, you’re not used to much more than thinly-veiled criticism and blunt remarks.
Nonetheless, after saying a final goodnight to Dee, you let Min Yoongi walk you downstairs that day.
(You let him do it every day after that, too).
.
Now.
You’re sweating buckets by the time you reach the front door, your hair a wild mess from the unexpected bout of snow that had caught you on the way over. Panting like an animal, you raise your elbow to press the doorbell, taking about three tries before you actually manage to accomplish such a feat.
It’s barely even finished ringing before Yoongi is standing before you, a disgruntled look on his face and cheeks pink from exertion.
He’s dressed down - or as dressed down as one can be in a Ralph Lauren sweatshirt and comfy slacks, which in reality is about as close to loungewear as he’s likely to get. Up until now you were convinced the man slept in a full suit.
Standing in the doorway with one hand on the frame, he gives you an unimpressed once over.
“You’re late.”
You roll your eyes. “Hello to you too.”
“What’s with the bags?”
“Just a few things to get us through the week. Can I come in, or…?”
Begrudgingly, Yoongi moves out the way, though he’s still eyeing you warily.
“Exactly how much sugar are you planning to stuff my kid with while I’m gone?”
You place your shopping bags down in the entryway with a sigh. “It’s Christmas, for heaven’s sake, what else are we supposed to do if not overeat until we pass out in front of the TV?”
Yoongi hums, his lips pursed. “Right. Just remember no sweet treats after eight. And no milk either for that matter, we’re trying her on -”
“A lactose free diet to see if it helps with the stomach cramps,” you drone. “I’ve been here every weekday for a whole year, Yoongi. There’s no need to reiterate the rules every time I walk in.”
“You might know the rules, but I know my daughter. She despises oat milk with a passion, and she’ll try every which way to get you to cave when it comes to hot chocolate.” He pulls out his wallet with a sigh, and your expression morphs into one of confusion. “How much do I owe you?”
“O-oh! You don’t have to pay me back,” You hold your hands out in front of you, shaking your head. “These are a gift, and they barely cost anything anyway. It’s just gingerbread men and.. and colouring books and stuff.”
Yoongi quirks an eyebrow.
“Really,” he drawls. “So you’re telling me I won’t find the new Super Smash Bros game buried underneath all that junk food if I take a look?”
“Shh!” You clap a hand over his mouth, eyes darting towards the living room. “Don’t spoilit!”
Yoongi sighs, taking your wrist gently so he can speak again. “Snacks are fine, but that game is at least forty dollars. I can’t have you spending that much money on us.”
“But I want to,” you insist, giving him the puppy-dog eyes. “Dee’s wanted it for months, and she’s been working so hard recently. I want to show her I’m proud of her.” You stick your bottom lip out. “Please let me.”
Yoongi narrows his eyes at you. “Don’t look at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“You know what.”
You grin wickedly. You already know you’ve won.
With a reluctant grumble, Yoongi slides his wallet back into his pocket. “I’m only letting this slide because I’m running late,” he says, even though you’re both aware he’s not. He nods towards your grocery bags. “You need help getting those to the kitchen?”
“I’ll be fine,” you wave him off. “You finish packing, boss. I’ll go say hi to the little monster.”
Unsurprisingly, Dee is still in her pyjamas when you find her. She’s curled up on her side at the foot of the Christmas tree, Home Alone playing on the TV for the umpteenth time. You know it’s her favourite. She and Kevin have a lot in common when left to their own devices.
“Hey, bug,” you say in passing. “You getting into the Christmas spirit?”
Dee barely even lifts her head to look at you. “How can I?” she mumbles into the carpet. “I’m being abandoned. Again.”
You tut, opening the fridge so you can unload the goods into it. “Hey now, it’s not all bad. You have me, remember. AndI have gingerbread men.”
You hold up the box and shake it, but Dee merely blinks at your efforts to raise her spirits.
She sighs forlornly, her gaze sliding back to the TV.
Your eyes soften as you watch her. She looks so small like this, rolled over on one side with her knees tucked up against her chest. It’s hard to believe this is the same little girl whose performances explode like dynamite when she hits the ice, the energy she exudes reaching every corner of the rink.
In these smaller, quieter moments, you see more of her father in her than ever.
“Dee,” you say, your voice gentle but firm. “Look at me, bug.”
Reluctantly, she peels her eyes away from the TV screen to meet yours.
“You know your dad doesn’t want to go any more than you want him to, right?” you say. “If it were up to him, he’d be staying right here.”
“I know…” Dee mumbles, playing with her fingers. “I just don’t like it when he’s gone.”
“I know you don’t, bug.” You smile sadly. “And that’s totally okay. But we need to make sure we don’t make this any harder on him than it needs to be, right? That means no tears this time.”
Dee rolls her eyes, her cheeks flushing.
Yoongi had been called away on a weekend business trip in Paris a few months ago, and for whatever reason, the kid had had a meltdown like nothing you’d ever seen before when it came time for him to leave. It had taken all your strength to pry her arms from around his leg, and at the time it had been heart-breaking to witness.
Her separation anxiety always tends to show its face at some point when Yoongi goes overseas, but never before to that extent. You don’t think you’ve ever seen a man look quite so torn as Yoongi had in that moment. If you hadn’t been there, you’re convinced he would have cancelled the trip altogether.
Thankfully, the farewell goes a lot smoother this time. When Yoongi returns from his bedroom with suitcase in tow, Dee stands up and hugs him with little fanfare, burying her face in his stomach. He lifts a hand to smooth over her hair.
“Be good, okay?” he says. “I’ll be back before you know it.”
“Love you,” Dee mumbles when she pulls back, and you send her an encouraging nod Yoongi’s shoulder.
“Love you too, kid.” Yoongi bends to kiss the crown of her head, and you observe the exchange with the familiar ache of longing in your bones.
You see him to the door afterwards, the two of you loitering in the threshold as you go through the usual routine of checking he has everything.
“Boarding pass?” you say.
“In my bag.”
“Phone? Wallet?”
He pulls both out to show you. You smile fondly, leaning up against the doorframe with your arms crossed.
“Text us when you land, okay?” you say softly.
“Yeah.” Yoongi nods. “If you have an emergency while I’m gone -”
“Call Namjoon, his number’s on the fridge under the banana magnet.” You roll your eyes, absentmindedly reaching out to fix his collar. “Again, been here a whole year, Yoongi. I know the drill.”
Your brain catches up a few seconds too late, and by the time you’ve realised your error Yoongi is already blinking down at your fingers, frozen in the process of smoothing down the hem of his sweater.
Your eyes go wide in panic.
“Um-!” You retract your hands as if you’ve been burned. “H-have a safe flight, okay? I’ll see you soon!”
Yoongi merely hums, staring at you from beneath hooded lids with an unreadable expression.
You all but slam the door in his face, leaning your back up against it and pinching the bridge of your nose in frustration.
“...fuck!” Yoongi hears you curse on the other side.
.
Last year
The first time you realised you’re in love with your employer, it’s the evening of Dee’s first regional skate competition.
At the request of the little princess herself, you wander into the changing rooms fifteen minutes before the show to give her a good luck hug, finding her perched on a bench in a sparkly blue costume. Her skates are already done up, feet swinging back and forth and her entire body seeming to buzz with energy. Smiling, you begin to make your way over.
Then you spot him.
Perched on one knee, his hair swept back off his forehead and the sleeves of his work shirt rolled up to his elbows, Yoongi wields a makeup palette in his left hand and a brush in his right. When he murmurs something soft under his breath, Dee responds by closing her eyes. You watch on in quiet awe as Yoongi leans up to brush the glittery powder over her right lid with feather-light strokes.
When he’s satisfied with the blending, he swaps out the eyeshadow palette for a pack of rhinestones, even going so far as to use a pair of tweezers to apply them seamlessly to her lash line one by one. You can’t help but wonder how many times he’s done this before. He must be the only father in the room right now, and something about the way he owns that fact makes your chest swell with something warm and unidentifiable. You wonder if the braids on her head are his handiwork too. If it was his idea that she wear her mother’s necklace over her costume tonight.
In this moment, you know with certainty there was no one in the world Min Yoongi cared about more than his little girl.
When he just so happens to glance your way a moment later, Yoongi’s expression barely shifts from his default glower.
“Oh, good,” he remarks drily, tossing you a can of hairspray. You barely managed to catch it without fumbling. “She’s got some flyaways round the back. There’s a comb in the front pocket of her gym bag.”
He goes straight back to work without sparing you a second glance after that, firmly instructing Dee to stop wriggling lest he poke her eye out by accident.
You swore your heart has never felt so full.
Biting back a smile, you wordlessly locate the comb and start smoothing out her hair.
.
Now
“Hold it… hooold it…”
“Dee, babe. I really don’t think -”
“Hold it, Y/N!”
You exhale heavily through your nose, arms trembling as you struggle to maintain the downward dog position you’ve been forced into. Dee isn’t having nearly so much trouble, her forehead lightly touching her yoga mat when she arches her spine. She wiggles her bottom playfully in the air.
“That’s, guys. You look great!” chirps the annoyingly perky young woman on your iPad screen. “Now we take our right leg and extend upwards, pushing down hard into our heel so we can really feel that stretch in our hamstrings.”
“Trust me, I’m feeling it,” you grunt, barely managing to raise your right leg thirty centimetres off the ground.
Dee giggles, her leg already extended to its full height as if her body were made of elastic.
Your core contracts with the effort of keeping you upright, knees threatening to buckle beneath you.
“How is this fair? You’ve been skating since before you could walk and I haven’t moved this much since high school.”
“Tina says each new day is an opportunity to improve yourself.”
You roll your eyes. “Tina sounds like a hoot.”
“That’s the spirit, ladies! Other leg, let’s go!”
You groan, switching sides. It’s the third day in a row that Dee’s had you do stretches with her, and you’re starting to feel more like you’ve signed up for a week of boot camp than a week of babysitting.
Dee squints at you from beneath her armpit.
“Y/N,” she sighs.
“Mm?”
“You’re dropping your hips.”
“My apologies, Drill Sergeant Min. Won’t happen again.”
She returns to her position, shaking her head like a disappointed school teacher. “You’re worse than dad, you know.”
You do a double take. “I’m sorry -Yoongidoes this with you?”
“Sometimes.” Dee moves gracefully into a side plank, facing away from you. “When he doesn’t have work.”
“And you’re telling me I’m worse?”
“Consideradly.”
“It’s considera-bly,” you correct her with a huff, more out of indignation than anything else.
“Po-tay-to, po-tah-to,” Dee shrugs.
You let out an amused snort, though your mind is still reeling at the thought of Yoongi willingly assuming the lotus position and breathing out for eight counts. Scratch that, your mind is reeling at the thought of Yoongi wearing anything other than slacks. What kind of power does this kid wield that she can get the human robot himself to break a sweat?
You continue on with the routine until you can’t any longer, at which point you collapse onto your back with little ceremony.
“That’s it,” you pant, waving the metaphorical white flag in the air. “I’m done. No more.”
“But we haven’t even got to the headstand part yet!”
“Go on without me, bug. I’ll only hold you back at this point.” You manage to sit up despite the dull ache in your abs, glancing over at the wall clock. “Man, it’s getting late. I should get started on dinner.”
No sooner have you spoken it that Tina’s bouncing breasts disappear from your screen, replaced by Yoongi’s caller ID.
“Dad!” Dee gasps, already lunging forward to press accept before you can think to stop her.
When Yoongi’s expressionless face appears, he is confronted with the image of you kneeling on your yoga mat in a ratty pink sports bra and leggings, frozen like a deer in the headlights with your brow glistening with sweat and an eight-year-old’s halloween headband holding your hair back from your face.
You freeze. Yoongi blinks at the velvet cat ears sticking up from atop your head.
“Good morning,” he says in a low rumble.
In the next second you’re diving off-screen with a muttered curse, grappling for your T-shirt where it sits bundled up on the floor.
None the wiser to your panic, Dee scrunches her nose up.
“Morning?” she says, settling on her stomach with her chin in her hands. “It’s like five p.m.”
“Different time zones, kid. It’s almost lunchtime here.” Yoongi reclines in his fancy armchair, which is presumably in his hotel suite. “You two have been working hard I see.”
“No pain, no gain,” Dee tells him matter-of-factly, even going so far as to flex her bicep for the camera.
Yoongi hums. “Just don’t go pushing yourself too hard, hm? One of these days you’re going to twist yourself up into a pretzel position you can’t get yourself out of, and when that happens -I’m- the one who’s going to end up carrying you around.”
“Tell that to Y/N,” Dee snorts. “She looked like a drowning octopus when we got to the backbends.”
“I was not that bad,” you hiss, your face heating up with embarrassment despite being off-camera. Then, as an afterthought, “And how the hell does an octopus drown?”
Nobody is listening to you. It might just be a trick of the light, but you’re convinced you spot the corner of Yoongi’s mouth give a slight twitch of amusement.
“Be nice, Dee,” he says, though he doesn’t sound particularly worried for you. “The only bad workout is the one that didn’t happen, right?”
You pause, giving Dee the side-eye. “…Did he just quote Tina?”
She fixes you with a serious gaze. “Careful. Dad is abigTina fan.”
“Ugh, I bet he is,” you mutter under your breath, pulling a face as you recall the way Tina’s cute little glute muscles had contracted during the standing pigeon.
“Feel free to let me know when you’re done talking about me like I’m not here,” Yoongi drawls dispassionately, taking a sip of his coffee. “I need to speak with Y/N.”
You can’t help the way your stomach flutters at that. Hesitantly (and having disposed of Dee’s cat ears), you lean back into frame.
“What’s up?” you say with an awkward wave, already cringing at yourself internally.
Yoongi blinks languidly, passing no comment on your previous state of undress.
“I’m expecting a delivery to arrive at some point this week,” he says. “I need you to sign for me and put it somewhere safe. Preferably out of reach for anyone below four-foot-two, if you catch my drift.”
“Ohh,” you nod slowly, giving him the thumbs up. Clearly this delivery was Christmas-oriented. “Gotcha. Don’t worry, boss, I’ll make sure no prying eyes see anything they shouldn’t.”
You shoot him an exaggerated wink behind Dee’s head.
The smallest of smiles works its way onto Yoongi’s lips, and the sight is nothing short of stunning. Just like clockwork, the sight has your chest aching for him to be home. You open your mouth to speak again - perhaps to ask how Berlin is treating him, or some equally lame attempt to keep him on call for a little longer - but before the words can form there’s a sharp knock on the door of Yoongi’s hotel suite.
“Come in,” he calls gruffly.
Fortunately (or perhaps not so fortunately) the angle of the camera is just right that you can see the reflection of the door in the mirror behind, swinging open to reveal his guest.
“Aha! There he is,” a sultry female voice sounds through the screen. “I’ve been looking all over for you, mister.”
Your heart sinks right to the pit of your stomach. Lower, if it were possible.
There’s no doubt in your mind that the woman standing in Yoongi’s doorway is anything short of a goddess in a pinstriped skirt. You’d have to be blind not to see how gorgeous she is, all long limbs and softly curled red hair that falls in waves about her shoulders. She leans up against the doorframe with her hip cocked, a playful smirk on her face as she looks at your employer.
“Sofie,” Yoongi acknowledges with a polite nod. True to form, his expression betrays precisely nothing of what’s going on in his head. “Did you need something?”
“I just wanted to ask if you’re coming to lunch. We’ve made reservations at the restaurant downstairs if you’d like to join us.”
Your eyes skirt away, seeking out something better to look at. Anything really, so long as it’s not the obscenely beautiful woman who’s hitting on the man you love in a swanky hotel eight thousand kilometres away.
“That’s very kind of you,” says Yoongi, and you wish for oncethat his voice was anything other than a monotone drawl. There’s absolutely no way of deciphering whether he’s into this woman when he talks to her the same way he talks to you, and Dee, and noodles on the damn stove when he wants them to hurry up and boil. “I just need to finish up this call. I’ll be down in a minute.”
“Perfect.” Sofie pushes away from the door with a coy smile. “I’ll see you there.”
She turns on her heel, hips swaying like a pendulum as she slinks out of the room. When the door closes behind her, Yoongi returns his focus to the camera, totally nonchalant.
“Looks like I’m out of time,” he says.
Dee props her chin on her hand, pouting sullenly. “Are you gonna be home soon?”
“Four days, kid, then I’m all yours.” His gaze flickers over to you. “You two take care, okay?”
“You too,” you nod quickly, determined not to let the internal battle you’re having right now show up on your face.
“I’ll see you later.”
“Bye, Dad.” Dee waves.
“Enjoy your-”
The call ends abruptly, cutting you off.
“… Night,” you finish lamely.
The lovely Miss Tina returns to your screen, and Dee blows a gust of hair from between her lips. The sound startles you somewhat.
“Man,” she says, flopping down onto her stomach. “I hate that B-word.”
“Dee!” you shriek, your eyes almost bugging right out of your head.
She blinks up you innocently. “What? I didn’t curse.”
“I - God, who eventaughtyou that?”
“Family Guy,” she shrugs.
“Right, that’s it. I’m revoking your TV privileges for the rest of the week.” You stand up, waving your finger at her so she knows you’re serious. “Just because it’s a cartoon doesnot mean it’s suitable for kids.”
“Fine. I’m sorry,” she mutters. “But Sofie really -is- annoying. She’s a froo-trarian, so we had to eat this really weird meal with papaya and stuff when she came over. And she said figure skating is basically just a style of dance!”
You freeze halfway to the kitchen.
“…What?”
“A froo-trarian,” Dee repeated, with extra emphasis on the ‘froo’. “It’s this religion where you don’t eat anything with a face, or anything that came out of something with a face, or anything green unless it’s a kiwi.”
“No,” you shake your head jerkily. “No, I mean - Sofie camehere? To the apartment?”
“Yuh-huh.” Dee’s already distracted, rewinding the workout video to where you left off. “She was doing some work thing with Dad. They were in his office for hours.”
Immediately, your stomach tightens with anxiety. Something about that doesn’t sit right with you at all. Yoongi hardly ever has people from work around, much less for a meal. The man can barely even feed himself when the recipe calls for more than a microwave.
A selfish part of you wants to press the matter with Dee. To ask her more questions about Sofie, and what was said over this illusive dinner they had together. How Yoongi had acted with her. But you know it’s not your place to
