1811: the 166th day of your voyage in space with your sole flight companion, astronaut!haechan, starts like any other.
the mission had been running smoothly, with nothing remarkable on the schedule. analyse some samples, go through any new messages from earth, double-check supplies.
on paper, it was meant to be one of the least eventful days of the week ahead.
you had both been spending time in the gym in your rare overlapping break time, getting your daily exercise; running on the treadmill with him on the one adjacent, in the middle of a contest of endurance to see who could hold out the longest.
the ship spins around to grant you a once-in-a-lifetime view of earth through the windows, just a tiny blue speck against the vast void of space. your gaze locks onto your home, and you let yourself get lost in thoughts of your life. right there, on that pinprick of colour smaller than your fingernail, was everything you knew and loved.
“missing home?” haechan calls out, seeming to have noticed what your attention was on.
you glance over at him with a sheepish laugh. reaching out to slow the treadmill down, you catch your breath before you make to reply as he does the same.
“it’s been so long since i’ve seen my niece,” you tell him what you’ve been dwelling over for a few nights in a row, chest still heaving from effort.
he snorts, wiping sweat from his forehead with a towel. “she sent you a video message just yesterday. what was it about? her new elephant plushie she named after you?”
you can’t force the smile off your lips as you recall the very file he was referring to. “yeah, well… you know it’s different.”
he sucks his teeth and nods slowly. “fair.”
“just the thought of her naming a doll after me because i’m not there in person, you know?” you don’t need to verbally add that it breaks your heart for him to understand.
“yeah.” his eyes fall to the treadmill control pad in front of him. “hey, i’m sure she’s super proud of you. she’s probably bragging to all her friends that she has an actual astronaut in her family, and they’re ‘up in space at this very moment’.” he holds up air quotes and speaks in a proud, matter-of-fact voice in an attempt to imitate your niece.
your smile breaks wider at the image of her, beaming baby teeth and all. “hey, what about you? who’s boasting about you back home?”
haechan opens his mouth to speak, but is cut off by your yelp of surprise as your weight vanishes with warning, your stomach lurching with horror as the floor disappears underneath your feet. you register him cursing loudly as his body floats—floats—up, without the comfort of gravity.
you swear the ship has abandoned you.
you were, of course, familiar with the sensation of weightlessness in space—but only when it was meant to be so, and the very implications makes your brain go haywire.
“shit, shit, shit—” momentary panic forces your arms to flail out to grab onto something, anything—and a hand catches your wrist as haechan pulls you into his chest.
“i got you,” though comforting, haechan fails to hide his own shock and confusion, “i got you.”
he unwraps one arm from around you to gently push off the approaching ceiling, sending the two of you drifting slowly back towards the floor again.
grabbing onto the handlebar of a treadmill (you felt tremendously thankful for the fact that they were fixed to the gym floor), he pulls both of you as close to the floor as possible in case the gravity machine decides to function properly again without warning.
your heart jumps to your throat again as his back thuds on the floor and pulls you down with him, falling onto his chest. neither of you having let go of one another the entire time you spent in unplanned non-gravity. “are you okay?”
your stray hair falls on your face as you push your head off his chest and nod blankly in reply.
“well,that wasn’t supposed to happen,” he says, though his face shows no sign of joking like usual.
“no shit,” you breathe out.
you both flinch when an alarm blares through the speakers, screaming of certain impending doom in the form of a system malfunction.
genre: brother’s best friend au, neighbors au, one-sided enemies to lovers, fluff
warnings: gentleman haechan, best brother jaemin, swearing, some flirting/teasing, mentions of renjun, one mention of mark and jeno, there’s probably more but idk
wc:5.5k
a/n: for my favorite kylie replica and yy stalker @yyx2 *insert pleading eyes emoji* ily lots u evil little monster that u are <3
synopsis: hyuck is your brother’s best friend since your family moved next to his house when you were little kids. however, as much as your brother wants you to get along with his friends, you just can’t seem to stand his closest friend, the oh so confident and popular haechan. but when you get stood up on a date with no money left and rain pouring from the sky, haechan seems to be the only option left.
your brother has always been very protective of you. his big-brother act started in middle school when one of his classmates pushed you to the floor as you were watching jaemin score. he immediately let go of the soccer ball and ran towards you, his victory long forgotten. you still remember clearly how the mean boy fell to the ground after your brother landed his first ever punch. you had never been prouder of having him as your older brother, even if he looked ridiculous washing the dishes as punishment.
over the years, jaemin grew even more protective, only trusting his friends around you and scaring all the boys away. most of the time, it would end with you scolding him for doing so, your brother trying to defend himself and your mother calling you for dinner to stop your guys’ bickering. when you look back at it, you know you can never stay mad at jaemin for too long.
when he first introduced you to his friend group, you were nervous. obviously, meeting a bunch of tall teens is intimidating. but as they made lots of efforts to include you and be as nice as possible to you, you soon felt at ease around them.
well, not around allof them.
hyuck, also known around school as haechan, has been your brother’s best friend since your family moved in next to his when you were little kids. the two of them immediately bonded and soon became the little troublemakers of the neighborhood, with haechan leading the way.
it’s been more than ten years but the two are still as inseparable as before. only difference is that your brother has given you a permanent spot, turning the duo into a trio to accommodate you.
you wished that you and haechan could get along, you really did. but it’s just impossible, and you have given up on trying to explain as to why to your brother. how can you ever appreciate someone, that in your eyes, is someone so self-indulgent and self-centered that you could throw up from the thought only?
you know that it upsets jaemin, knowing that his little sister, the most important person in his life, and his best friend, the second most important person, don’t get along. you feel bad, that’s for sure, but faking liking haechan is not going to work.
you wonder how other people do it. do they see haechan in a different light? in a different way than you do?
even if you have explained numerous times to jaemin why you aren’t fond of haechan at all, he just doesn’t seem to want to accept it. you understand him, you would be confused too if you were him. because haechan is actually loved by many, may it be classmates or neighbors.
people seem to love haechan and it infuriates you. not because he doesn’t deserve it but because you wished you liked him too.
maybe that’s why you’ve decided to make some effort, to try and get to know him better in an attempt to befriend him. you really wished life was simpler.
hating haechan hasn’t always been easy. you yourself hated it.
the hatred you hold for him started a few years back after middle school. high school arrived and haechan grew a lot. the latter changed his hair and even his style. you never knew why he did it but suddenly your brother followed, buying the same brand of shoes as his best friend. in less than a few weeks after the summer holidays, jaemin and his friend group were named the cool kids. lucky you for being the little sister of one of the members.
it felt weird. the sudden change made you feel uneasy. that was probably why you never bothered to even think nicely of haechan, because in your eyes, he had changed your brother.
it wasn’t even long before you realized that even though jaemin had physically changed, he was still your brother, the one who teased you for hours on about a bad grade but comforted you when he went a little too far and made you tear up. you realize now how stupid it is to hate someone for something that wasn’t even their fault.
but you were a stubborn child and thus, continued to hate haechan.
highschool was difficult for you. you had a hard time making friends and when you did, many of them let you go when they realized you wouldn’t be helpful in getting closer to your brother. what’s more, people didn’t like you for not liking haechan.
they never really tried to understand you or hear you out. you’ve lost many friends because of this.
but surprisingly, haechan never let you go or walked away. he always stayed, even if your death stares made him uncomfortable. you know you should thank him for that but your pride never lets you do so.
if you were really honest, you had hoped haechan had given up. because not only is the boy nice to you despite knowing of your hatred towards him, he also tries to make you like him.
he was the one who held your hand minutes before you had to take a huge exam, he was the one who rushed to your side when you broke your leg at volleyball practice and your brother was in class but most importantly, he’s the one your brother trusts the most in taking care of you when he’s not around.
upon entering university, you had asked your brother for a bit more space and freedom. you loved him to death but you knew that if he continued treating you like a child, you would never be able to become more independent.
so, even if he didn’t like it, he agreed with a forced smile.
jaemin had kept his promise and for the first time since you were born, you were able to accept someone’s date request. you shared a few classes with the boy in question and were pretty excited that he had asked you out.
jaemin was pretty relieved to see you walking around the house with a smile and sparkly eyes, giggling in excitement.
when the day of your rendez-vous finally arrived, jaemin dropped you off at the diner your date had requested to meet before speeding off to an important class of his. the diner, which had a lovely atmosphere to it, was almost empty. it was in the middle of the day so most people were busy with school or work, unlike you who had a free afternoon that day.
nervously, you glanced at your phone. you had agreed to meet at three pm and you were exactly two minutes early.
the first ten minutes, you kept looking at your phone in hopes to find a message of your date stating that he would be late but nothing. after another ten minutes, you decided to wait inside and order something to drink, looking around for a few seconds before sitting at one of the booths next to the window and close to the door.
fifteen minutes passed and you finished your drink, the empty glass now sitting sadly on the table. it was a great drink by the way, worth the price.
when the clock hits four pm, you had finally convinced yourself that your date wouldn’t show up. it hurt but it was the harsh truth.
without losing another second, you called jaemin.
and when he did finally pick up after the third ring, your shaky voice surprised him.
“nana, can you please pick me up?”
you almost never call jaemin by the nickname haechan gave him, but when you do, it’s either because you want something from him or there’s something wrong and he’s pretty sure that right now, it’s not the first option.
you can hear him sigh through the phone and you imagine him rubbing his head and closing his eyes in frustration, already preparing yourself for what he has to say.
“i am so sorry yn, but i can’t leave right now.” jaemin sounds so apologetic and guilt starts to creep up as you can make out a voice in the background that ushers jaemin to hurry up. before you can hang up, he speaks up again, “listen, don’t worry okay? i will call someone to pick you up, trust me.”
you nod before realizing that he can’t see you, clearing your throat “thank you nana.”
with a quick hum and goodbye, he hangs up and you slowly lower your phone, stuffing your hands in your pocket while you wait patiently in the cold.
when you see a couple enter the dinner behind you, the two of them giggling and holding onto each other, you understand why you longed for love all these years. but as your eyes catches sight of the kids running out of the nearby school and your ears ring due to the bell, indicating that it’s four thirty pm, you also understand why your brother wasn’t fond of letting you go on a date with your classmate.
you should have probably listened to his friend renjun’s warnings. renjun used to be part of the newspaper club in highschool and was known around multiple schools because of his connections. when your brother had invited his friends over not even two weeks ago, the younger man had mentioned your date’s habit of fooling girls when he was in highschool. you didn’t think it was still a habit of his.
you groan in frustration, you should have really taken all his warnings seriously.
deep down, you know that not even your brother could have changed your mind. you’re known to be stubborn and you wanted to prove him wrong, which inevitably didn’t work out now.
looking at your feet tiredly, you let out a deep sigh, clearly done with today. you had preferred the guy being a total asshole during the date over being stood up, but it’s not like you can do anything against it.
maybe you should have accepted jaemin’s proposal in setting you up with one of his friends. no, he would have tried to set you up with haechan. haechan this and haechan that –over the years, that’s the only thing you’ve heard jaemin say. like you said earlier, haechan is the person your brother trusts the most regarding you.
which is exactly why haechan’s car is the one entering the restaurant’s parking lot and not any of jaemin’s other friends’.
you could recognize his car from miles away. it was his mom’s but when haechan graduated from highschool and finally got his driver’s license, she had proudly gifted him the keys to his now old but impeccable vehicule. if you said that haechan loved his car, that would be an understatement.
it used to be an old crappy gray-colored thing but haechan restored it with all the money he got from his summer job during his first year of college.
when he finally parked his precious baby in front of you, you wrapped your jacket tightly around your body. when you were about to open the door to the passenger’s seat, it inched open and haechan’s body was hunched over the console, arm stretched out to hold the door open for you. you hesitated upon seeing him this close and when he realized, he backed away, clearing his throat while one of his hands found the steering wheel.
‘step in.”
you opened the car door wider, holding onto it as to not slip due to the wet sidewalk. the warmth of haechan’s car finally hit you when you landed in your seat, the door falling close next to you. you sighed in delight, rubbing the palm of your hands against your bare thighs in an attempt to warm them up a bit.
haechan looked at you, observing your wet hair and the way your lips trembled, body shivering. he turned around, stretching his arm out towards the backseat to retrieve a zip-up hoodie.
he throws the clothing gently in your lap, pulling at one of its sleeves to cover the side of your left thigh more. he doesn’t spare you a glance and starts the car, the engine roaring. you look down at the hoodie in your lap, hands fiddling with the strings when you recognize the zip-up hoodie as the one you had gifted him for his 18th birthday on your mom’s request.
it’s all worn out now. the colors have faded and you can barely make out the designs on the back and sleeves. hundred twenty bucks went into that hoodie but you faintly smile when you realize that haechan probably wore it a lot for it to be so beaten up.
when you finally lift your head for the first time since haechan picked you up, your brows furrow at the sight of the dashboard. it used to be grey-colored, just like the outside of his car but now, it’s a black matte color, contradicting the beige leather seats in a fashionable way. you lean forward a bit, brushing your hand over the dashboard in front of you when haechan speaks up.
“i changed it a few months ago. the grey just wasn’t doing it anymore.”
you nod, sitting back in your seat comfortably. the last time you had seen haechan’s car was when he dropped your brother off after a party last summer. the only thing you had told him when he helped you drag jaemin up to his room was that he should change the dashboard color, as it didn’t match with the new red exterior of his car. you could think he took your suggestion seriously.
it was silent for most of the ride, the music from his spotify playlist making it slightly less awkward. you could see by the way his fingers tapped against the steering wheel that he wanted to say something but he kept his mouth shut, tongue wetting his dry lips.
the rain only started pouring more and more, aggressively hitting the windshield.
when one of your favorite songs came on, you hesitated a few seconds before reaching your hand out to increase the volume. you didn’t expect haechan to have the same idea as you.
his hand bumped against yours and he quickly backed away as if the feeling of your skin against his had burned him. it stung a bit, that’s for sure, but you found it even sadder that he had to act like that because of your past behavior and actions.
he opened his mouth to apologize but you interrupted him, “it’s okay. i’m sorry, i should have asked first.”
he looked at you when you spoke before concentrating on the road in front of him, clearing his throat and nodding slowly.
it was dead silent once again. why did the diner have to be so goddam far away.
haechan clears his throat again and you remember he does that often when he’s nervous. he wipes his hand on his thigh, rubbing his palm on the soft material of his sweatpants. with a deep breath, you divert your eyes and focus on the road. haechan is wearing grey sweatpants for god’s sake.
he takes a turn left and suddenly lowers the volume of the radio, “so, is everything okay?”. you look him in the eyes quickly, surprised at his question. he can sense your confusion and continues, “i heard that you got stood up.”
well, that surely was very direct.
you don’t know why but your eyes fill with tears. you got stood up, that’s nothing new but someone else saying it hurts you much more than when you did. maybe it’s the fact that you had to wait alone for more than an hour, maybe it’s the fact that you were really excited for today or maybe it’s the way haechan says it, but it finally dawns on you.
you got stood up. on your first ever date too!
you let out a loud whimper at the realization, covering your mouth with your hand as you burst into tears. you cry in front of someone who isn’t your mom or jaemin and the thought makes you feel even more pathetic as you sob louder than the rain.
haechan is terrified. it’s not the first time a girl cried in front of him, he has a younger sister and he was and still is quite popular in school. but it is the first time he’s ever seen you cry. the saddest he’s ever seen you was when you had to stop playing volleyball due to your leg injury but even then you didn’t cry.
he has absolutely no idea what he needs to do. he can’t call jaemin because the latter is busy with school and he doesn’t know how to comfort you without making you uncomfortable. his mom had always told him to be nice to you and do his best to take care of you with jaemin but never in a million years had she told him what he should do when your best friend’s little sister is crying her eyes out in your car.
with wide eyes and hurried movements he drives to the nearest parking lot. he turns his body towards you once he’s parked and he swears under his breath. his mom –and jaemin– would never forgive him if he just let you like this. he closes his eyes for a maximum of two seconds and he can already hear his mom –accompanied by his dear best friend– yell obscenities at him for leaving you like this.
no way he can drop you off at home with teary and puffy eyes and a red nose from crying.
without thinking, haechan unbuckles his seatbelt and throws the door open, getting a free shower the moment he steps outside of his car. he rushes to your side of the car, almost slipping due to the slippery ground, before grabbing the door handle and throwing it open too.
haechan wastes no time in taking your wrists in his hands, pulling you up and out of your seat. everything goes too fast for you to acknowledge what’s happening but you whine when the rain hits your uncovered arms.
before you can even protest, haechan wraps his arms around you, shielding you the best he can from the cold rain.
he holds you close to his chest, one hand on the back of your head so that your face is hidden in his sweater, cheek squished against his collarbone. his other hand is gripped on your top by your side, his arm wrapped tightly around your body.
he shushes your cries and pats your head softly, his tight embrace calming you down slowly. you close your eyes and let yourself be comforted by haechan. he sways your bodies from side to side a bit, still holding you close to his body.
he doesn’t say anything but the comfort he provides you shocks you. he doesn’t let go of you, even when your clothes get soaked and your hair is stuck to your forehead.
you don’t know how long you two stand there in the rain but in the end you barely even register the raindrops hitting your skin.
it’s haechan’s shivering body that pulls you out of your reverie, teeth clattering. after letting out a deep sigh, he lets go of you but his hands find their way on your shoulders. he squeezes them softly before hugging you one more time.
when he pulls away, he leans down to be at your height, faces inches away from each other. his hand, however, doesn’t leave your arm, thumb rubbing circles on your skin, “i’m sorry. i should have been more considerate.”
you put your hands up quickly, trying to wipe away the leftover tears, “no, no, it’s okay! i overreacted.” you try to smile a bit but it doesn’t look sincere so you opt for looking at the ground again, hands together behind your back.
haechan’s eyebrows furrow, “what do you mean you overreacted? you have every right to be upset. he gave you hope and then stood you up like some typical american movie’s douchebag.”
you snort at his comment, hand covering your mouth when you see haechan’s face.
placing his hands on his hips, he suddenly asks, once again leaning forward. “what? why are you laughing?”
you giggle once more, “it’s just–” you can’t help but let out a laugh, head tilting forward and hitting his chest softly. haechan’s eyes soften at this. “it’s just that you look really angry right now. that’s all.”
you can sense haechan freezing up beneath you and you quickly lift your head off his chest, taking a step back to get out of his personal space. you don’t see it but haechan’s cheeks turn a bright red, the tip of his ears joining too. he rubs the back of his neck with his hand, the silence suddenly very awkward.
haechan doesn’t really know why he got so pissed but he convinces himself that it’s because you’re his best friend’s little sister. and nobody can mess with jaemin’s loved ones.
“hey, uhm should we, you know–” haechan points at the car and you eagerly nod. in an instant, he holds the car door open and you look at him. has he always been this pretty?
you shake your head to get rid of the thought and jump in your seat. haechan closes behind you and dashes to the other side before getting inside. he hurriedly increases the heater, fiddling with all the little buttons and controls on the dashboard. before you know it, warmth spreads through the car and you let your head fall back on the headrest.
you can hear haechan shuffling next to you but don’t bother opening your eyes until he calls you name, handing you a small white towel. you take hold of it and dry your hair the best you can with it, glancing at haechan from time to time. he’s aggressively drying his hair, rubbing his towel over his whole head and swiping it across his neck. when he’s done, he puts the towel around his neck and turns to you.
“you okay?”
you nod, mindlessly drying your hair when he suddenly leans forward. you try to protest but haechan is faster, grabbing the zip-up hoodie that is laying on the ground and at your feet, his face almost touching your knee. he again turns to you with the clothing in hand and drapes it over your thighs, covering your lap with it like before.
he mutters a small “here you go” and settles back in his seat, leaving you dumbfounded. when you think you have finally gotten over his recent action and the shock that came along, you can see haechan removing his soaked hoodie from the corner of your eye.
your eyes widen and you look away, closing your eyes shut and facing the window. when you open them slowly, you can see his half-shirtless reflection in the window as he’s putting his t-shirt back on correctly.
when jaemin said he and haechan often went to the gym, he certainly didn’t lie.
one hand on the steering and the other one laid out on the console in between you two, haechan begins to drive, getting closer to your home with each second that passes.
when you finally arrive at your neighborhood and you can see your house from afar, you clap your hands together in exhilaration. haechan lets out a chuckle at that before he slows down, driving towards your two houses.
“hey,” he taps the steering wheel with his fingers, biting his lip, “why didn’t you just go on a date with any of us?”
you keep looking in front of you as you see your two houses getting bigger and bigger the closer you get. you don’t have to think about his question a lot, he rapidly figured that the main reason why you had accepted to go on a date today was to annoy jaemin.
“because then nana would just continue treating me like a child.” haechan smiles at the nickname, content to hear you using something he invented.”plus, i don’t think any of you would have accepted going on a date with me.”
haechan looks offended and you stare at him as he gasps in disbelief, “you really think that?”. you don’t answer him and he continues, “you really think nobody would accept to go on a date with you?”
you cross your arms at his tone, “well, nobody has ever shown interest in me. i would have known if someone did.” you side-eye him, huffing in annoyance.
now, haechan looks even more offended and he begins to stutter, stumbling over his words.”that is not true.” he manages to say, insisting on the ‘not’, clearly showing his disapproval. “i know someone– this guy, who, uhm who would have liked to– to go on a date with you.”
you tilt your head to ask him who but he lifts his hands in the air, “i can’t– i can’t say. that would be like breaking the, uhm, the bro code, you know?”
you huff, holding his zip-up hoodie in your hands, “if none of you can tell me, then how could i have gone on a date with him?”. you get out of the car when you realize you have been parked in front of his house for the past five minutes.
he gets out just after you, contourning the car and walking you to your house. “well, i’m– i’m sure the guy has shown– or tried to show his, uhm, interest in you.” his answer sounds more like a question and you can’t help but let out a little chuckle.
with the way haechan is behaving –and looking at you–, you hope he’s the guy in question.
when you step onto the driveaway of your house, you turn to him, his hoodie now hanging on your shoulders. “who do you think would suit me huh? mark? maybe renjun or jeno?” you can see the way haechan tries to divert his eyes from you, cheeks flushing a light red when the post lamp flickers above you.
you look up at him, smiling softly, “perhaps, you?”
that quickly catches his attention, “what?”
you grab his t-shirt, holding onto the fabric tightly, “hyuck,” you never used that nickname before and it greatly shocks haechan. “are you interested in me?”
haechan is speechless. he never thought those words would come out of your mouth, ever. he can barely register what is happening, uttering a small “what?”. it’s like he lost the majority of his vocabulary.
you repeat the question and this time haechan manages to answer. “i think– i think you’re interesting, yeah?”
you pat his chest, ”you know that is not what i meant, but it’s okay.”
you don’t know how you still manage to keep your knees stable because you are literally trembling from the nerves. you’re fiddling with your fingers, looking at your shoes multiple times during the conversation. you glance at your house, making sure that he doesn’t see it. you’re around ten feet away from the door so you take a few steps back, haechan following you close behind.
you’re suddenly shy when you notice how he is leaning over you, pretty eyes looking at you and waiting for you to speak up.
you bring a thumb up and point at the door behind you, “i should get in.”
“yeah, you should.” his answer is simple and doesn’t add anything important to the conversation but his voice is so smooth that your mind goes blank. you probably look like a fool right now.
when haechan notices your nervous stance, his confidence comes back and he smirks, hands stuffed in his pockets. you’re about to head in, fumbling with the keys a bit before you manage to find the right one and unlock the door, but haechan has another idea. he slowly and gently grabs your wrist when you’re in the doorway and pulls you back on the doorstep.
he’s leaning against the wall next to you, arm pressed against the door and he’s unnecessarily close to you, not that you mind. he grins down at you, “didn’t you forget something?” he arches an eyebrow and his tongue comes out to wet his lower lip. “is that how you treat someone who helped you?”
you blush, eyes widening in embarrassment. you quickly apologize and start thanking him for the ride but he stops you again. “is that all? we both know you can do better.”
you gulp as his eyes bore into yours. with a sharp inhale, you nod. you don’t want to let him win, he’s never going to let that down if you do.
so with all the courage left in you, you stand on your tip-toes and kiss his cheek, taking him by surprise. your lips hover over his skin for a moment before you pull away, not without whispering a last “thank you” right next to his ear.
he certainly didn’t expect that.
in less than ten seconds, you’ve waved him goodbye and entered your house, shutting the door behind you with a loud thud.
you’re bold, haechan thinks. and that definitely doesn’t help his crush on you to fade away.
with one last look at the door, he stuffs his hands in his pockets and leaves your doorstep with a smile, walking back to the comfort of his own home.
it’s around eight pm when jaemin finally comes back home, the older boy discarding his jacket and shoes in the entry hall, pushing his sneakers in between two pairs of yours carelessly.
you sit up from the couch the moment you hear his footsteps, turning towards him and immediately forgetting about the show playing on the screen behind you.
jaemin can sense you looking at him as he puts his bag down on the counter. he had been worried all day and hadn’t been able to concentrate on his class at all but when he turns to you, he’s confused. leaning back against the kitchen counter, he crosses his arms and inspects your face. you’re looking at him with puppy eyes and he doesn’t understand why, it annoys him a bit if he has to be honest.
pointing his chin at you, he breaks the silence. “why are you looking at me like that? you want something?”
he knows that your date didn’t show up, that was made clear by how distressed you were over call. but he doesn’t understand why you’re not surrounded by tissues and sitting on the couch with blankets and ice-cream.
when he sees you shuffling on the couch and hesitating, he grows even more curious and suspicious. gone is the annoyance as he makes his way over to you. this time, his voice is much more gentle, “did something happen with hyuck?”
you quickly shake your head and he lets out a relieved sigh. he wouldn’t want to beat up his best friend.
“actually, i was wondering something.” your voice is small, as if you are anxious or embarrassed to tell him. he replies with a quick nod and you continue. “do you still want to set me up with one of your friends?”
he grows quiet at your question before a large smile makes its way on his face. wow, did he hear that right?
he hops over the couch, landing next to you and grinning from ear to ear. “why do you ask?”
you groan at his teasing, falling back onto the pile of cushions and blankets. “just answer the damn question jaemin.”
he lifts his hands up and you smile when you realize that both he and haechan have the same gestures, probably due to all the years of being glued to each other like some blood suckers.
jaemin pushes his head into the comfortable cushion of the couch, his words coming out muffled. “one specific and very close –in every sense of the word– friend. yeah.”
your cheeks turn bright red and you hide your face in the blanket next to you, too embarrassed to look your brother in the eyes. “does the offer still stand?” you meekly ask him.
you swear you have never seen jaemin so happy in his life before. he claps his hands loudly, pumping his fist in the air and standing up from the couch with a jump. he points at you and beams, almost jumping up and down in excitement. “oh, this is my time to shine!”
you can only whine in protest when he launches towards the hallway, leaping the stairs and giggling all the way to his room.
[11:47PM]“Hyuck, you told me to come over just so we could spend time together.” You sulked as you watched your dear boyfriend busy giving his full attention to the screen in front of him.
“Just one more round, baby. I promise!” The male shouted, fingers furiously clicking on the mouse.
You looked down at your textbook before letting out a huff, “But that’s what you said 20 minutes ago.”
….
Donghyuck sighed, finally putting his headphones down as he shuts off his pc. Turning around in his gaming chair he spotted you on his bed, already fallen asleep with your face stuffed in between the open textbook.
The boy let out a laugh at your current state before getting up from his seat and walked towards you.
You felt a hand on your shoulder softly shaking your body. Letting out a whine, you finally lift your head up to face him.
“Sweetheart, let’s get you into a more comfortable position, yeah?” The male spoke up, taking the textbook away.
Nodding your head, you quickly shifted into an even more comfortable position, “Are you finally done with your games now?”
Donghyuck let out a chuckle, swiftly looking at the clock as he sat down next to you on the bed. The audacity of this man to laugh at you.
He pulled you closer, hands wrapped around your waist. You snuggled up with him, taking a wiff of his cologne.
“I’m sorry for not giving you attention earlier on, baby.” Hyuck spoke up, the hand that was around your waist now traveling up under your sweater to rub your back.
Giggling softly, you gave him a quick peck on his plump lips as way to say that you accept his apology.
a/n: WOW ive been gone for a hot min ㅠㅠ sorry guys university is just very crazy and im going to korea this september so ive been working my ass off which means i haven’t had to time to sit down and write!! but im here now after a burst of inspiration at 11pm…. this aint proofread but i hope you like it <33
wc: 506
warnings: like. one mention of s*x but none is actually involved pls its just very hot n heavy but all they do is kith
the study is a serious room for serious business, haechan’s father says.
haechan thinks having this rendezvous with you, the daughter of his father’s mortal enemy, in his study, is quite serious business indeed.
“my lady,” haechan breathes, words dripping with want, “you are quiteinconsiderate.”
his lips are a hair’s breadth from yours. you know that in this moment, if you simply leaned a little closer, you could end the constant yearning between you.
“i think,” you reply, just as silent and softly as him, “youarequite greedy.” you lean away from him, just barely hearing his slight whine of disappointment.
you take his hand, play with his fingers. he lets you. eagerly anticipating your next move. “what you need,” you begin, tracing your hand up his sleeve, “is to learn,” you sit him down at the desk, stand up, walk behind him, and grasp his shoulders, massaging them slightly, “some patience.” you whisper in his ear, while your hands move to his neck.
haechan takes a deep breath, waiting. for what, he doesn’t know.
careful to avoid his windpipe, your hands squeeze.
he makes an obscene noise, loud and wanton - for a second, before he regains himself.
you bite his earlobe. lightly, of course.
he shudders.
you coax him up again, eyes locked onto his like a predator and its willing prey.
this time, you curl your fingers in his hair, bring him in close. you expect him to complain again, but he remains silent. only the dilation of his eyes, visible in the firelight, and the glisten of his freshly licked lips against the firelight betray his desire. you stare at his lips for an achingly long time, bringing yours ever, painstakingly, closer. you brush your lips against his, and haechan’s breath hitches. you move away, and he whines once more.
“must you tease me so?” he says, almost spent.
“no.” you reply, coy. “but it’s fun,” you add, and draw him in for a real kiss this time. he almost melts in your arms, but you clutch his hair ever tighter, and he wakes up enough to inject his fervor into your veins. he leads you back towards the desk, prompting you to sit on it, and as he stands between your legs and grinds into you, haechan thinks it’d be so nice, so easy, if you so desired - so easy for him to just push aside your skirts and have his way with you.
pulling away for air is like hell on earth, and as he comes back for more, his own hands, once caressing your face, now steadily traveling south - a knock sounds on the door. you reluctantly pull apart, a string of saliva still connecting the two of you, and hurry to hide.
as you listen to haechan try and explain away the person at the door, you think to yourself on how this really was supposed to be a serious meeting. you also don’t think you can find it in yourself to really care that it wasn’t, though.
you had just finished getting ready for bed. tomorrow was an exciting day. you and your boyfriend haechan were going on your first date in weeks. your boss had recently put you on a full-time schedule. despite haechan’s protests and his light-hearted threats of showing up to your workplace and giving your boss a good sock in the face, you decided to pull through and take the schedule. of course, you were ready to pull out your hair halfway through the week, but haechan was there to help you calm your nerves. he didn’t pull out his teasing remarks the whole time. you were fairly surprised, as he’d usually take every chance he could to rile you up a bit.
when you came home, haechan was prepared to tease you. but the minute he saw you walk in with eyebags and calloused hands, he knew it was time to give you a well deserved break. he was worried about you, as you almost immediately fell asleep the minute you sat on the couch with him every time you came home.
as you plopped down on the bed, you looked up to see your boyfriend glancing at you, with a light smile. you watched as his eyes followed his hands, as you felt his fingertips slowly graze your arm, making their way to your back, rubbing your back comfortingly.
“i’m proud of you, baby.” he looks back up at you, knowing very well that you had a hard time. yet you still pushed through, and that deserves to be recognized and appreciated.
you smile at him, as you grab his hand to intertwine with yours.
moments like this were the best with donghyuck. he always knew how to comfort you after a hard week, but he also knew how to give you a well-needed laugh.
“god, you look so pretty like this… but your shampoo smells horrible!!” you watch as his signature playful smile forms into a fake disgusted face. pinching his nose for dramatics.
“you are so annoying lee.. i’m sleeping in tomorrow!” you turn over as you pretend to be hurt by his words.
“wait what? no! baby~ i was just kidding! i promise!” he whines in his high pitched voice, resulting in the night to be filled with laughter and snarky remarks.
a/n: i’m back! this is a draft from a while ago. i will be very busy on the weekdays for school.. but i do have a jaehyun fic coming up soon! T_T see u soooon ♡
; incubus haechan, slight religious talk, suggestive, dubcon, demonic aphrodisiac
; 2.4k wc
; The entire room is painted black. The only thing you can see is your friend’s phone screen and the flickering orange light illuminating the elevator itself. It’s old fashion; dark-stain wood plank walls with a vintage scissor gate. The metal looks rusty and you’re afraid to touch it. You step into the small box alone, waving off your friend and nervously reading the attraction brochure for the fifteenth time. It’s creepily vague with way too bold of a font and too many colours.
Welcome to Elevator 127!
Come make an appearance at a spooky Halloween attraction unlike any haunted house you’ve ever seen. Pick a floor for an eerie hour with any of our paranormal members. Free of charge too! Pass the elevator doors and enter their realm far from any experience you’ve ever had.
Select your floor…
The very first listing in the brochure is for an incubus named Haechan; 606 years old, male (in human form), and Korean. There’s nothing but his information printed with what looks like a stamp of a sigil; two circles, one big and small, with three crosses meeting at their ends in the middle , laid 90 degrees separate from one another, with a flicked tail coming from the center. Lilith spells itself out between the edges of the circles in all capitals.
You scan the rest of the options but end up back at Haechan’s section. It’s best to go in order, he’s only a floor up and all the rest are placed in a drastic range from one another. You fold up the brochure and shove it into your back pocket, crumpling up the paper slightly, and scan the button selection for his floor. The pad is a painted rectangle with ten black, circular buttons, arranged in five rows with his placed alone at the very top. It’s damp when you press and you go to check your hands in the case it was your own sweat, grimacing when you find that there’s now a clear sheen on your right pointer.
With a final close of the door, you wipe your finger onto the thin brochure paper that peeks out and stand patiently as the elevator leisurely makes its way up. The floors were either built far apart or this old lift was taking its time on the way there. You check your phone for the time, feeling as if five minutes had already passed just for a single floor, and raise a brow when the device doesn’t turn on. How cliche, you think.
The elevator gently comes to a stop, so naturally that you wouldn’t have noticed if it wasn’t for the slight squeak that sounds when it halts. You press the door button and watch it squeak open, revealing a dim, red room with candles placed all over its wooden black furniture.
A second later, the view is obstructed by a large puff of smoke, a black cloud appearing out of nowhere to drift away in skinny tendrils from the body standing in the middle of it. You guess that this is Haechan. He’s a younger-looking man, an innocent face with a teasing smile and soft but prominent jawline. He’s got caramel skin with the reddest of lips, colour resembling the dark shade of horns that peek through his curled, light brown hair. He’s dressed in all black, head to toe varying from sheer mesh to worn leather in the dark shade.
“Hi,” he giggles as an introduction, a glittering in his black eyes and pearly whites. The man tilts his head like a curious puppy, eyes opening even wider with wonder, and he eyes you up and down before carrying on, “I’m Haechan, demon name is Donghyuck.”
You stand in shock, still taking in the sudden appearance of the incubus and his simple introduction. The first thing you do is give him your own name in a small mumble, biting your lip nervously. His eyes focus on the action with fervor, gaze so strong you swear you can feel a slight burn begin to bubble your skin on the exact spot.
He chuckles when you turn away, blinking in a lethargic manner before taking a step back and directing you into his room with a wave of two fingers. You walk in with a deep breath and the moment your body enters the room, the gate slams shut with a crash and plunges down so fast you can hear gusts of air follow behind it. How lucky that you didn’t have to experience that speed.
The first thing you notice is how warm it is here compared to the elevator, air stuffy, and dense. Your cheeks take in the warmth as you steady for proper breathing, adjusting to the thicker air as you take in the room properly. There’s a king-sized bed against the center of the left wall, covered in red satin and black lace lined sheets. With a proper inspection, the room is actually furnished like any other, only standing out due to its intimate and monotone colour palette. Besides the giant sigil that’s painted onto the center of the floor, identical to the brochure.
“Thanks for choosing my floor, doll. I was getting bored,” he smiles, still not moving an inch. His posture is like that of a statue, the only sense of life is the smile on his lips. With his hands crossed in front of his hips, he continues speaking with a charming lilt in a honey-coated voice, “the only rule on my floor is absolutely no religious or silver jewellery. Go put them in the box behind you.”
You spin around and make your way to the small glass box, open and waiting, before discarding any accessories that seem to be against his rule. The moment your necklace is off your skin and onto the box, you feel Haechan’s body stood a centimetre from your own. Leaning over your shoulder, he watches you drop the last of your rings into the box before whispering, “can I touch you?”
You barely get halfway through a nod before Haechan eagerly wraps his arms around your waist, pressing you against his own body. His skin is searing hot, only slightly hidden by the heat absorption of his clothing. The part that stands out the most is his bare fingers, ungloved, and laid on your sides. There’s a gradual sweltering feeling that forms like a branding print and your body begins to panic at the feeling, needing to run from the danger of burns this very moment. Except you lean into it, the slight numbing feeling worryingly satisfying the more you hold out. Sustaining the touch makes it more intense, more terrifying, yet when his hand drifts up to clutch at a different spot, the fresh searing feel has shivers flying down your spine.
“Close your eyes, doll,” he mutters into your nape. Your eyelids shut without any added thought of his order, lips parting in a slight gasp at the touch of his breath against your exposed skin. It’s overwhelming and you feel your brain go fuzzy, zeroing in on that singular spot and the throb that comes with every exhale .
His hand finds your jaw next, the touch burning just as much as the last, and with a firm hold, Haechan physically gets you to look over your shoulder. With a drowsy blink, you open your eyes to the dizzying sight of his face leaning in to capture your lips in a kiss. Your mind blanks immediately; senses working in overdrive so that all you can make out is static, you’ve forgotten how to breathe and there’s no way to feel if you’re kissing Haechan back properly.
The demon pulls back with a lewd pop, licking away the spit all over his lips with a swipe of his forked tongue before murmuring for you to open your eyes again. “You can relax now, baby.”
The action of blinking open is painfully difficult, eyelids insanely sluggish and head so heavy that even the low luminescence of candle-light is enough to have you wince. You open your mouth to speak but can only manage a smile, tongue lazy after the haze. He doesn’t look nearly as worn out as you, the exact opposite actually. His breathing is slow and controlled, expression alert and attuned to each and every one of your actions.
“I’ll let you relax,” he huffs with a simper, “I’ll have to calm down on how much I take, you’re more sensitive than I thought.” As if to check that truth, Haechan runs his pointer down your neck and follows the movement to the middle of your chest with a light scratch, digging into the midway point of your pelvis before letting go with an amused hum. You visibly shudder.
He pulls away and wanders to the other side of the room. The distance clears your head instantly, muscles gaining their strength back from the jello state they were in just a moment ago. Regaining the ability to breathe feels like a blocked nose finally clearing up after a week long fever and you take deep, desperate inhales, savouring the sensation of your lungs filling properly. Sitting up, you watch Haechan walk over to the glass box and examine the contents through the clear material curiously.
You startle realising you were no longer near the glass box, suddenly you were on a completely different side of the room watching it from a distance away. “What the fuck,” you whisper, gulping down the confusion and panting in fear. Your hands fly up and you look between them and the box so quickly your neck might snap if you do another two. The sleeves of your shirt fall down your forearm to reveal your skin, allowing access to cooling. You relish in the feeling of crisp air on your skin, exceptionally torrid, so much so you swear that you can feel the layer sizzling against one another.
“Don’t worry,” Haechan smirks, licking across his perfectly straight teeth with a calm gaze that only serves to panic you more. “I moved you to the bed while we were kissing.” There’s no shame in his voice, only a hint of pride when recalling the actions, but he’s so infuriatingly indifferent that you feel a whine crawl up your throat, feeling ignored.
Right, you think, inhaling once and twice to ground yourself after that blanking bliss. The satin is damp under your hands and it holds onto your legs surprisingly well, latching onto the sweat that has formed between before and now. “What happened to me?” you ask, breathless.
He stands up from where he was leaning over the box, strolling over the small distance with a slight smirk and watchful eyes. “You get weak when we touch,” he explains with a drag of his words, “having your essence isn’t the most powerful feeling after all.”
“My essence?” The saliva in your mouth is grossly thick, vicious, and somewhat salty. You’re dehydrated. There’s a bottle of water on the bedside table and you gulp half of it down in one go, forgoing the need to breathe in exchange for the cool liquid. The preparation is oddly excessive but you appreciate it nonetheless, necking the second half after less than ten seconds of being out of breath.
He watches you drink with a clouded gaze. The glaze in his eyes have disappeared, black irises dulling in emotion before expanding beyond their circumference, colouring part of his whites. You stare as they change and take a deep breath to control the fearful confusion of the sight. The night was strange enough, anymore questioning and your head would explode. Your lips, swollen and wet with more than just his spit is a delightful sight and Haechan feels himself grow impatient. “Are you ready to continue?” he hurries, trying his best to hide the hunger in his chest.
Continue with what, you don’t know, but there was absolutely no way you could take sitting around and doing nothing under his intense stare for any longer. You nod and he’s in front of you in half a second, on his knees and leaning forward with his hands on your thighs for support. “Okay,” he drawls, setting fire to your skin as he examines every line of your features, “I’m going to touch you. Are you okay with that?”
With the pressure of his hands on your body yet again, you feel your chest constrict once more before panting out a yes. He notices the effect and removes his hands, asking a second time to receive the same response, this time from a clear head. With your cue to go, Haechan’s pushing himself against you with haste and dives in to press your lips together. You chase after him when he pulls away, desperate and empty without his kiss.
“I could smell you the moment you got into the elevator,” he lulls, licking his tongue over the warm expanse of your neck. His saliva was cold, shockingly so, and you chase the chilling moisture desperately. The sharp gasp you let out is embarrassingly loud but Haechan, feverish, soaks the sound up, fingers tightening their grip on your shoulders as he noses at your neck.
“Smell what?” you shiver, afraid of moving even an inch away from his touch. It was dangerously enchanting and you find yourself losing your sense again, giving your all to the greedy demon. Haechan wasn’t taking nearly as much as before, you feel yourself becoming impatient, needing the overwhelming sensation for as long as you can take it. He pulls away with the widest grin on his face, the entirety of his eyes completely painted over in deep black. A misty cloud of smoke, like the one he introduced himself in, begins to surround you.
“Your arousal, of course,” he chuckles. He stuffs his nose into your clavicle, tracing up the line of your shoulder to inhale deeply. “It’s astoundingly suffocating.” The action would be weird if not for the warmth that gathers in your belly, one that dissipates into sparks that race down your limbs in a pleasant buzz.
“Do you like it?” you shudder, throwing your head back as he sucks at a pressure point in the junction of your neck and shoulders.
“Oh, my babydoll,” he growls, gripping your chin with his thumb to stare into your eyes, forcing you to gaze into his black. The rest of the room turns black in your peripheral, partially masking the wings that have grown from his back, but you can’t take notice with how potently demanding his stare is, not allowing you to look away for even a second.
His fingers, with nails that have become tough and black, wander up and push against your lips, fighting for entry before you feel his skin, now leathery and hot enough to bubble, lays flat against your tongue. It feels like your mouth is about to melt away yet you couldn’t want anything other than to be in this exact moment. Haechan’s grin stretches from ear to ear, wider than the length between his horns, and still, the harrowing image does nothing to deter your want. He leans forward and mumbles with the same honey, sweet voice as before, “I more than like it. Your arousal is a gift from God himself.”
its okay, you and haechan are just friends. the little smiles and random glances you share are nothing more than a friendly gesture. there’s not much room to do anything else at a house party so crowded anyway, not with his girlfriend on his arm the whole time especially. perhaps she has reason to be wary, maybe that youre too obvious about your undying feelings for your ex boyfriend. but haechan is just so friendly, so sweet and forgiving, and with how social he is it’s hard not to fall for the way he lights up a room.
the living room is crowded, obnoxious rap and smoke to fill up the four walls. someone’s yelling about the proper definition of shotgunning and a guy with a mullet is learning to do smoke rings.
haechan sits a little away from you, watching from a distance and mumbling along to the melodies he’s probably heard on tiktok a few times. he’s got a beer in his hand and you have to fight a sigh every time he throws his head back to take a sip.
the boy looks around, probably for his girlfriend, and lands on your gaze. perhaps if you weren’t so frozen, you’d have a mind to be embarrassed about being caught staring. yet he smiles, that stupidly cute half smile, and throws you a questioning thumbs up. perhaps he’s making fun of you, but you take a heavy gulp of your own drink and give him an eager nod, deciding your own hands were much more interesting now.
harchan rolls his eyes, playful, and turns back around, finding his girlfriend has made her way to his side in that time. she gives him cute giggles at the much too passionate singing he offers the room, and you cant help the small smile that paints itself on your own lips, jealous and fond.
donghyuck’s footsteps come down the hallway in that cheerful manner they always do, familiar. you try not to let the sound scare you away too much. “hey princess! what do you-” he practically hurls himself to your side upon noticing the tears marking the heat of your cheeks. “are you alright?”
“im tired, donghyuck.” you practically whimper, teeth pulled into an ugly bite as you gulp down every sob making it’s way up your throat. all scratchy and too heavy to be carried by just a breath.
“let’s go to sleep early th-”
“i love him,” you cut donghyuck off, rudely but too exhausted to care. feeling too pathetic to drag the day on. “i love mark, i do. i love mark so much.”
“mark…?” he whispers, the name like poison dripping from his lips. donghyuck’s fingers unconsciously pull themselves from your shoulders and he curls into himself, still by your side but inched away the slightest.
“im in love with him but he loves her and it-” a sob finally racks itself from your chest, all gross pain and no softness around the edges that usually has donghyuck’s ears melting, “it fucking hurts, hyuck. it hurts so much.”
the boy huffs, pulling you into his arms with closed eyes and his own tired sigh. with a tight smile, he whispers into your hair quietly, “wouldn’t you like to know, princess?”
your fingers twist the cotton of his shirt angrily.
Summary: When you decided to apply for a researcher post in an elusive institute, you already had the feeling that you’ll be getting yourself knee-deep into something out of the ordinary. But desperate needs require desperate measures, and so you embraced the invite, despite all the alarm signals urging you to run away. What you found out was nothing you’d ever expected.
Seven boys.
Seven human deviants granted with abilities tied to the legendary Arcana Cards.
Welcome to Project Dream.
Pairing: Various Dream Members x Reader
Trigger Warnings/Themes: violence, torture, trauma, very slight yandere themes, poly dynamics, suggestive themes, language, psychological, mystery, sci-fi. Romance will take a little bit of a backseat on this one since this is more of a suspense-driven plot, but it will still be threaded in the overall story. The concept of the tarot or Arcana cards will be loosely used throughout the series. Note that I am not a trained doctor so there may be some slips here and there about medical things. Again, this is a work of fiction and I am not implying any likeness between the characterization here of the boys to their real life counterparts. I also reserve the rights to all my work—I do not post anywhere else other than tumblr. Minors DNI.
The white noise in your head was disrupted by the sound of a gentle, hesitant voice. Blinking, you tore your eyes away from the window and turned to see the worried face of your best friend peering at you from around your bedroom door. You didn’t have any idea how long she’s been standing there, but she smiled at you understandingly as you finally gave her your attention. You returned the gesture as you ever so slightly shifted the angle of your bandaged shoulder so you could look at her better.
"Hi. Yes. What’s up?”
She finally let herself inside of your room and settled on the edge of your bed. She still looked a little bit hesitant, but you just know she’s been trying her hardest not to fuss over you too much. Mijeong glanced at you before unconsciously trying to fix the edges of the blanket that you had thrown over yourself.
“I got a call from one of our family doctors. I got you an appointment with one of our therapists. He can help you with your shoulder injury. He is one of the best in the country.”
That made you smile. In the past two weeks that Cypher has released you after your accident, the girl had never really left your side. You can still remember the look of worry in her face when you first got back, though you have to say… you’re even more thankful for her for giving you your space to recover. Mijeong is like your guardian angel and your soul sister in one… you knew she is aware that something’s been weighing you down, but she has also never asked questions to respect your privacy and silence. For you, that was more of what you needed at the moment to sort things out on your own.
“You didn’t have to. But thank you, Jeongie. My shoulder’s feeling better, but sure, I’ll come if that will make you worry less,” you replied lightheartedly as you gently bumped your good arm against her. Your teasing made her slightly frown before a pout tugged at her lower lip.
“Yah. Don’t try to lie to me. It must still hurt. And I’m really really worried.”
Well… she is not exactly wrong. While you have been recovering, you also noticed that you’ve been healing at a slower pace than normal. Your guess was because your injury was caused by something out of this world so your body was struggling harder to fix itself.
“Can’t you… just quit? You’ve paid all of your father’s debts, haven’t you?”
Mijeong’s soft voice broke through your thoughts again before you could even offer your comforting words to her. Glancing up, you can’t help the flash of guilt that made your heart clench as you saw the look in her face. She sounded so hesitant that you just know she’s been holding herself back in asking that question for so long. This time, the smile you’ve been trying so hard to keep dropped a little. You knew she was waiting for an answer, but you also couldn’t bring yourself to feed her an outright lie. She gave you one look before giving a soft sigh.
“You did. But you’re still not leaving, aren’t you? Something else is making you stay…”
You tried to swallow the lump in your throat and avoided her gaze. You can’t deny it. The past few quiet days that you’ve had have left you standing before a fork in the road. If there was any other time that you could decide to pursue or drop this, you knew in yourself that the best time would be now. You started to throw yourself headfirst into this rabbit hole not knowing any better, but everything that has been revealed to you so far has also given you the free pass to stop if you wanted to. You can choose to go on with your life and live with the bliss of ignorance if you so choose. After all, you didn’t need to save anyone. Not your father. Not the boys. Let alone the world.
But what if it wasn’t even the world that needed saving? What if it’s people like Mijeong who does?
Your eyes found your best friend’s face now as your fingers reached out for her hand. You don’t have any comforting words to say to her, but you knew deep in your heart that she is one of those you’ll be willing to fight fire if you needed to. If Cypher turns the world upside down, it is going to be people like her who would also suffer. Maybe you can’t turn the tables, but can you really live with the idea of not having tried at least?
“I’m sorry…” you managed to say now through the tightness of your throat. You couldn’t offer anything else other than that, something she knew even with just a look as she studied you.
“Are you hurting too much though? Can I help?”
You shook your head and tried to give her your most convincing look. “I’m okay… I can live with it. I’m sorry if I can't… share anything with you.”
“It kills me, but I understand. I just want to let you know though, if you need me for anything, I’m here. You are my dearest friend.”
Your heart clenched at her words. You probably looked pained and unsure because Mijeong intertwined your fingers together to give you comfort. You answered by giving her a brief smile and tapping her nose.
“I need you to be safe. That’s all you need to be right now.”
She gave a playful scoff. It’s obvious that she was still on edge about everything, but she was also trying her best to lighten up the mood for your sake.
“Says the one who is currently in bed rest right now. For your information, I have been doing a swimmingly good job chasing your suitors away. Well, except for today. This one’s really persistent.”
The smile you had froze on your lips at what she said.
“What do you mean?”
Mijeong shot you a slightly guilty look in reply before clearing her throat.
“Well… Some visitors have been trying to see you in the past few days. They said they’re from your work. I turned them all down because I knew you needed to be alone…”
Oh my god…
Kun and Ten.
“They… And they’re here now…?”
“Well, one of them. That’s why I came. I wanted to ask if you wanted to talk because he really doesn’t want to leave.”
You leaned over and gave your best friend a quick hug with your good arm.
“Thank you, Mijeong. But it’s fine. I think it’s about time for me to talk to them again. I kind of left them hanging.”
The girl gave a soft sigh before she drew back so she could stare at you at an arm’s length.
“Fine. He’s downstairs. If you need anything, I’ll be in my room, okay?”
You shot your friend a smile and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before swinging your legs over to the side of the bed. You made sure to pull on the closest cardigan you could reach to cover your arms and quickly breezed out of your room to head into the living room.
You found him standing next to the window, his back on you as he stared at some random photos of you and Mijeong resting above the fireplace. He did turn at the sound of your approaching footsteps, but it was you who was soon stopping dead on your tracks when he finally fully faced you.
“…Winwin?”
******* “How are you doing?”
You carefully placed back the cup of tea you’ve been using as a distraction back to its coaster, your gaze looking at anything except for the boy in front of you. After the initial shock of finding out that it was him who was visiting, it didn’t take long for an undeniable and overwhelming sense of guilt to sink in to you. Honestly, you haven’t really thought much about reaching out to him in the past few messy weeks that you’ve had, which makes everything all the more worse now that he is personally here trying to check on you. Sure, you and Sicheng have never really gotten past a few dates, but it wasn’t like you weren’t interested in him—a message that, unfortunately, your flakiness must have sent him.
“I’m doing so much better. I had to take a few weeks off because of something that happened at work.”
“Were you… hurt?”
You hesitated before giving a slight nod.
“Yes. But I’m recovering now.”
“That's… that’s good to hear.”
None of you really said anything for a while after he trailed off. Winwin looked relieved, but now that he seemed to have gotten his agenda off his chest, he looked a little bit unsure of what else to say. Another flash of guilt went through you as you studied him silently. After a brief moment, you sighed and decided to finally address the elephant in the room.
“Winwin, I’m really sorry… I shouldn’t have flaked out on you like that. I know we only went out a few times, but I also left you hanging for a bit there. I really didn’t mean to.”
He gave you a slight smile as his shoulders slumped a little. He seemed to have already expected your words, but there was still a look of subtle disappointment in him as you addressed it.
“I mean, I wasn’t really in a position to actually expect anything… but I was also concerned when things just seemed to have stopped. And then I heard that you got into a work accident so I got worried even more.”
You held back the wince that almost took over you. It seemed like guilt was set on chewing your ass today. How can he be so kind… after what you haven’t done?
“Winwin…”
“It’s fine. I understand. Please don’t look so guilty. I really just wanted to check on you,” he said, managing a small laugh. You stared at him and finally reached out for his hand. He didn’t move away and simply let you rest your fingers on top of his.
“Don’t get me wrong. I really like you…” you started carefully.
“But… you can’t really focus on a relationship right now…” he added, finishing what you couldn’t say. You looked at him, pained, but he only smiled.
“I got it. I guess I just needed to hear it straight from you.”
“Can we… Can we still be friends, at least?”
Your question finally made him move his hand that you have been holding. His fingers intertwined with yours to give them a comforting squeeze.
“Of course.”
For the first time since he came, you were able to finally smile genuinely at him. You felt disappointed in yourself, but you also didn’t want to string him along. With how kind he has been to you, Sicheng deserves more than what you can offer at the moment.
“So, since we are friends… I can expect you to always be honest with me, right?”
His question made you frown a little but you nodded anyway.
“Yes. Always.”
“Good. So tell me, is your accident somehow connected to the experiments of Project Dream?”
In a split second, you found yourself freezing in his hold. You looked at him, shell-shocked and speechless, and he stared back at you unwaveringly. You didn’t need him to speak to realize what was happening.
He knows.
“I know you went around some of my files…”
Your heart fell to the pit of your stomach.
“I… Since when…?”
“Since after that date when you spent the night over. When we had dinner. I have a keystroke system that lets me see the action history in my computers,” he said with a soft amused smile.
“Winwin, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean t—”
“Don’t apologize. It’s not like you really snooped around without my permission. I did show you what I was doing willingly at first. To be honest, I didn’t really think too much about it, until I heard about your work accident.”
You held your breath, waiting for him to speak more.
“That’s when… I decided to take a look at the files myself and I sort of pieced things together.”
“What were you able to see exactly?”
“Just the same ones that you already probably know about too. Technically, I have access to all the files as long as they are housed within Cypher’s database—it’s just that I haven’t really had a reason to actually do that before this. I’ve read everything that was being fed into the information system of Project Dream, some of which were from you.”
You didn’t really know how to react to that. Before you could say anything, you felt a gentle tug at your hand again. You met Winwin’s concerned gaze.
“Are you in trouble?”
You kept silent. He didn’t push through that question, having gotten the answer he needs. However, he was soon asking a new one that you couldn’t entirely escape from.
“Is someone else in trouble then?”
You faltered. You shouldn’t be pulling anyone else in this mess—hell, you even owe Kun and Ten for looping them in on this. Now Winwin is here and you’re sure where the conversation is already headed if you don’t do something.
“Don’t worry about it—”
“I want to help.”
Your gaze snapped back to his. He had such a set look in him, one that told you he already had his mind set on this before he even asked. You slightly shook your head at him.
“Why? It will only get you in trouble.”
For a while Winwin looked like he was struggling to find the answer to that question himself. You knew that look in him. It was the same one you also have every time you’re about to make a life or death decision.
“I don’t know. Probably the same reason you are doing this. I’ve worked for Cypher long enough to know that the Institute is dealing with shady things, but I didn’t think they’d go this far. I’ve read enough to assume that a lot of people might get hurt if they get their way around this,” he stopped, throwing you a glance. “You already were.”
You didn’t give any reply to that. He took that silence to drive home his point by leaning towards you again.
“Look, I can’t force you to trust me. But if you need me, I just want you to know that I’m willing to help. I can… you know… do things. I can be valuable.”
You threw him a helpless glance.
“You might be disappointed, but it’s not like we’re pulling off anything James Bond-esque here.”
“Well, maybe now you can. With a hacker,” he answered confidently.
You paused. The implication of his words were moving slowly in your head, but then it clicked and you slightly widened his eyes at him. Winwin understood the look and slightly raised his brows at you.
"So? What’s my first assignment?”
******* “Let me see your shoulder. Now.”
You gaped at the boy in front of you before glancing at the one standing beside him with a look of help. Kun, for once, seemed to take Ten’s side and simply gave you a shrug. You groaned, a frown gathering at your forehead as you hesitantly started taking off your lab coat.
“What? You want me to take off my top?”
“You’ll do it or do you want me to undress you myself?”
“Kun, please stop him. He’s acting like a mom.”
“Maybe he should, since you’ve been acting like a child.”
Well that shut you up pretty fast. When you were dragged out of your will into the infirmary the moment you stepped into your office, you already knew something like this was going to happen. Swallowing back your words, you finally decided to undo the first few buttons of your top before pulling the sleeve covering your injured arm slightly. Ten immediately ducked over it and undid your bandages while Kun silently watched behind him. You sighed as you saw the former wince slightly at the sight of your wound. The harsh glare of ward lights made your injury look even worse than usual, but you would admit, it’s still not a pretty sight.
“It’s really not that bad…” you mumbled as you tried to pluck a loose thread from your skirt. Both Kun and Ten shot you a look that immediately made you shut up again.
“It’s healing, so that’s good. She’s lucky that it’s mostly a flesh wound. Her motor skills won’t be affected since there were no tendons or ligaments affected,” Ten said, mostly to himself. He started rummaging around his tray of tools to disinfect the wound again. “I’ll have you take another x-ray again just to be sure though that everything is healing as they should.”
"Can you still remember what happened with Haechan? What exactly was it that attacked you?” It was Kun who asked this time. You turned your head away slightly in an effort to hide your expression. This is the first time you three have been together again, and you know it’s about time you will be asked to answer the questions you’ve tried to ignore for weeks.
“Yes. I went to the Institute as soon as I saw your message and found Renjun and the rest. Haechan was… I think he simply lost control. We were sucked back into that bodiless dimension—almost the same as the one back at the arena, but he was controlling everything there like it was his own world. It wasn’t just illusions. He was manipulating everything there, from the temperature down to the very matter making up that place. I got injured when I tried to pull away the woman he wanted to hurt.”
Both boys silently listened to your words. After a while, you heard Kun sigh in disappointment.
"I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have sent you that message. I didn’t know things would turn out this way. I could have done something, but I felt like Cypher was already keeping a target on my back and I didn’t want to risk them kicking me out. I… wasn’t sure if you would come back so I had to fake it, or else the boys would be left with no one from the inside.”
The weight of his words made you wince. You looked at both men now, guilt evident in your expression.
“I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have left you two hanging. It’s just that, I was going through something, too. That was very selfish of me, I know.”
Kun and Ten exchanged glances. From the looks alone, you could tell that they’ve already gone through this conversation a couple of times between them. Ten was the one who answered as he finally finished changing your bandages.
“That’s fine. You don’t have to tell us what you don’t want. But don’t try to carry everything yourself too, okay? Well, at least for me, I’m the one who volunteered to help. So yeah, let’s all finish this together.”
That made you smile. Ten gave you a wink that lifted just a little bit of the weight from your chest.
“Do you have any news on the boys though? I tried logging into the report database while I was recovering, but I haven’t seen any updates.”
At that, it was like the air in the room suddenly shifted again. Ten shot Kun a glance before the latter shifted his eyes a bit. The silent exchange made you stop. The past few weeks went by in a blur that you’ve barely even had the energy to dig deeper for any updates. A chill crept into your spine now as you waited for the two to give you an answer.
“Kun…? Ten…?”
The former winced at the sound of his name. You tried to wait patiently for his answer despite your heart picking up in your chest.
“After what happened, all the boys were shipped into another place. Nobody knows where. I just came in one morning and was told that they will be gone for an indefinite amount of time. I wasn’t given any context on why they were moved but they’ve been gone until yesterday when I was finally given the heads-up that they will return to Cypher.”
You didn’t know which part of what he said you wanted to pick apart first. You voiced out the most pressing thing gnawing at you though.
“Have you checked if they are okay?”
“I was given the order to keep away from them until I’m given permission,” Ten answered the question. “I was given their medical records during the time they disappeared, but I’m not dumb to take whatever’s written on them as true until I see them myself. Renjun’s the only one I’m allowed to check later.”
“Oh my god…”
“Have you gotten any leads while you were gone?”
You gave Kun a quick look before shifting your eyes away. You did indeed. A couple of leads in fact. You pulled your blazer over you again as a feeble excuse to gather yourself before offering a reply.
“I did. I talked to Dr. Lee and she told me what she’s planning to do with the boys,” you paused for a second, and you could almost physically feel the tension that suddenly charged the air. You can’t stomach voicing out the next part of your story, but you braced yourself anyway.
“She’s going to weaponize them. Use their abilities for warfare. She’s been putting them under distressing tests so that she can finally see the extent of what they could do. She’s been using Renjun’s ability to erase the boys’ memories too so they wouldn’t psychologically break.”
“What the actual fuck…?”
You swallowed and pushed yourself to continue.
“The thing is, I know that’s just the tip of the iceberg. I think studying the boys’ powers was the main goal of Project Dream, but it was already the second phase. There was also Project Irregular which started it all. Right now, we really can’t know for sure what her actual plan is until we unlock what the pioneer study was about.”
“But how do we do that?”
You gave both a look before offering an answer. “I got some help.”
Kun and Ten looked utterly confused.
“I got someone to try and hack the locked files. Remember the boy I was going out with? It was a long story but he… kinda found out what was happening and said he wanted to help. He’s the head programmer of Cypher.”
“You—you’re saying you told your boyfriend? How can you even be sure that he’s really here to help?” Kun asked with a deep frown. You sighed as you tried to wave him off.
“There is no way I can be sure, but I trust him, okay? And he’s not my boyfriend.”
Ten looked on the fence of the reveal at first too, but he seems to be more open than the other boy at least.
“She’s right. We can’t know for sure. Besides, it’s not like we have any other way around our dead end other than him. Now that I think about it though, I can’t believe Dr. Lee even gave you a hint. Why would she even do that?”
Your jaw locked and tightened at his question. That’s one question that you have admittedly been turning again and again in your head, too. The woman is the personification of smart and cunning… There is no way she told you that on a whim, nor do you believe for a single minute that she fully trusts you. In fact, it is the opposite. She knows you are up to something, and she’s exactly using that fact for her own plans. She wanted you to play at the palm of her hand… Which is a shame for her.
…Because play, you will.
“She’s using me… to get to them,” you said now in a low voice. You felt Kun and Ten’s confused gazes rest on you. There was a determined look in your eyes now, one that’s the perfect opposite of the woman’s icy stare.
“She doesn’t trust me at all, that’s why she told me. She wants me to play her game.”
“And I’m going to give her exactly what she wants.”
******* “You know you’ll hurt your legs if you stand there for a minute longer, right?”
Your hands stilled in the middle of fiddling the hospital curtain in front of you. It was late at night at the infirmary and you deliberately tried to stay behind to catch up with work so you’ll have an excuse to stay longer than your shift. The room you are standing now is dark, but Ten made sure to leave you his keycard before he left. You didn’t know what’s gotten into you, but all of a sudden, you felt so hesitant to actually face the boy on the other side. Before you could even change your mind, you finally forced yourself to part the curtains and step inside the quarters.
Renjun smiled at you from his hospital bed, the yellow glow of the lamp beside him giving his skin an unnatural glow. The rest of him was bathed with shadows though and you had to step closer for your view of him to properly focus. You have just settled on the seat closest to his bed when your eyes fully caught sight of his face. He seemed to have noticed the expression because he gave you a slightly cheekier smile before you could even find your words. He looked tired and his cheeks seemed more hollowed than usual, but what really grabbed your attention was his close-cropped hair. Gone were his blonde highlights that used to perfectly frame his face. Instead, his dark locks barely grazed his forehead and the sides of his face.
“Renjun… Your hair…”
“Do you like it?” he asked, his voice sounding thin than usual. It was as if he hadn’t used it for a long time. “I was kinda not into at first, too, but it has sort of grown on me by now.”
You wanted to give him a proper answer, but a malicious thought has started gnawing at you the moment that you saw it. You could tell that he was also following the same line of logic, though he tried to keep the air as light as he could in his state despite the meaningful look you gave him.
“Why did you cut it…?” was your simple question. Renjun’s face fell a little as his hand unconsciously reached out to feel for the back of his head. Your heart fell constricted in your chest. When you asked Ten to let you meet him tonight, you were expecting the worst. Your look of relief upon seeing him uninjured was short-lived as you waited for his answer. It took him a while, but he finally gave a sigh and tried to give you a small smile.
“It was getting on the way…”
He didn’t need to say anything more than that. You were speechless for a moment, and he was kind enough to pull you out of your emotions by reaching out for your hand. He gave it a comforting squeeze and you let it ground you.
“Hey… I’m fine. Don’t worry too much about it.”
There were a ton of things that wanted to spill out of you, but you tried your best to hold them back. Focusing your gaze on him, you tried to see again if he was hurt anywhere, though you knew that whatever it is that he might have gone through could not be seen by the naked eye. It was a hard pill to swallow, and it didn’t make you feel any better that it’s been a long time since you’ve actually been close enough to him to check if he was alright.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there,” was the first phrase that slipped out of you after the prolonged silence. Your fingers finally wove around his as well, and you silently took notice of how cold his palms felt. Unconsciously, you started running circles there with your thumb to lend him some of your warmth.
“Don’t apologize. It’s not not like anyone could have done anything anyway. Haechan barely snaps, but when he does, there is basically no one who can stop him.”
The mention of the boy’s name made you momentarily pause.
“How is he?”
Renjun’s gaze shifted a little. “He’s okay. He’s trying to recover after what he has accidentally done to you. He’ll bounce back, if that’s what you were worried about. I think he just needs some time.”
You wanted to ask more but you opted in giving a nod instead. You pretty much know Renjun by now. If he wants to tell you something, he’ll give it to you with good reason. The same thing applies when he wants to keep silent about other things.
“And the others? How are they? Ten and Kun said that you were moved somewhere else.”
“If you want to know where they took us, I can’t really answer because I have no idea myself. As far as I know, all of us are still alive. I haven’t really seen the others that much myself because I have been isolated, but I knew the others are just a little worse for wear. I don’t think I need to go into detail about what exactly happened…” he trailed off and glanced at you again. “You already know, don’t you?”
You felt nauseous but pushed the feeling back. At that moment, you didn’t really know what to say next, with so many questions and thoughts swirling in your head. Renjun once again tried to reign you in by tugging at your hand. When you finally glanced back at him, you almost flinched at the look of guilt in his face.
“I’m sorry… All of us are, for everything that has happened so far… We didn’t think it would go this far to be honest. If you want to ask me anything about your father, I’ll try my best to answer to the limits that I could. It’s the least we could do for you.”
His words were your undoing. You didn’t really have a set agenda when you came to him tonight, but you also know, deep inside of you the questions you needed answers to. For some odd reason though, the thousands of things you wanted to ask seemed to have gone out of the window now, all except for one thing. You met Renjun’s gaze, your voice barely heard when you finally spoke up.
“Do you think… he cared about me?”
For a few quick seconds, Renjun’s emotions faltered. He moved his hand slowly and gently tucked a lock of your hair behind your ear.
“He does. A lot. You might find it hard to believe, but he told us a lot of stories about you while we were growing up. Every little thing he found amazing about you, he made sure to share with us,” he smiled and you tried to blink the strange dryness in your eyes. “It made us feel like we really knew you, even from a distance.”
“Why did he leave me then, if he cared?”
Renjun seemed torn on how to answer that. His eyes bounced on your features for a moment before he finally found his voice again.
“Your father… was a very special man, noona. But he was also involved with a lot of things that could hurt the people he loves. I can’t speak for him, but believe me when I say that I knew he loved you so much that he was willing to do everything to keep you safe.”
You were speechless. Another question was on the verge of spilling out of you, but you took your time before finally voicing it out.
“My father also tried his best to protect all of you… So why are you sacrificing everything by giving yourself to Cypher? When will this stop, Renjun?”
That made him pause. Slowly, he pulled away from you, drawing his hand back to himself. It hurt you a little, but you knew it was him trying to draw back to himself for self-preservation.
“We need to find out about Cypher’s plans about Arcana users like us. Right now, we are the only ones who can do that… by staying here.”
“Did you decide on that, or did ‘she’ tell you?”
You saw the quick storm of emotions that passed through his delicate features at your question. He didn’t answer and you took the chance to lean forward to urge him to look at you.
“They’re going to use all of your abilities for evil, Renjun.”
“We know that. She knows that.”
“Then why?”
“Because we know that’s not just it that they want,” he answered, finally looking at you. “We’ve only ever had two choices. To run away and live a life with the Institute hunting us forever, or put a stop to it once and for all. Somebody had to do something and the best way around it is by infiltrating the very place that’s after our heads. You might not understand it, but if you’ve spent the rest of your life trying to being chased, you’re willing to sacrifice things to finally be free.”
“But what is her plan? Look at you. All of you are suffering. Do you even know what she is up to? Is she even doing something to help out?”
Renjun kept quiet at first and simply stared at you. You couldn’t entirely read the emotions shifting under his eyes, but you have a feeling he was contemplating over something. After a moment, he fumbled for something from the pocket of his cardigan. You didn’t exactly know what he pulled out, but you soon felt a cold metallic sensation against your palm as he pressed something against it. You looked down in surprise and opened your hand to see a small silver locket attached on a thin chain resting there. It was round and only slightly larger than a coin, but the warm glow of the night lamp caught the intricate patterns carved on its face.
“I don’t. But you might… She told me to give you this. She says it will give you all the answers that we need.”
You shot him a confused look before bringing your gaze back at the locket. You have no idea what he was talking about, but it also didn’t seem like he was giving anything more. You turned the pendant once in your palm now before finally picking it up to open its face. There was no picture inside of it, but when you angled it better against the light, your gaze finally caught the sentence inside of it, engraved in script.
“In memories there is love. In memories, there is power.”
******* You rushed to your bedroom and went straight to your dresser after turning on all the lights. Your drive from work was all but a blur as you tried to wrap your head about everything that has happened. So many questions and thoughts were fighting to swim to the surface and take over you, but you tried your best to focus on what only is necessary at the moment, because you have a hunch that you were at the precipice of uncovering something big.
You don’t have any idea why that unknown woman decided to give the locket to you, but you are sure she is trying to tell you something that even the boys probably don’t even know how to decipher. Why she chose you and what exactly her message was were two questions you didn’t have any answers yet, but you’re convinced that the clue you need is just hiding in plain sight. It was the locket, for sure… but the phrase engraved on it made zero sense to you no matter how hard you thought it over. It took you almost three passed red lights for something to finally click in your head.
It was not the phrase in the pendant that was the clue… but the pattern on its face.
You quickly pulled your backpack now from the corner of your closet. The last time you touched it was when you went to Rosewood, after which you stashed it away from your sight in an effort to forget about it. You desperately tried to rummage on it now, however, your breath held back until you finally found what you were looking for in its inside compartment. Quickly, you pulled out the picture frame and went over to the side of your bed where you opened your study lamp for extra illumination.
You took in a shallow intake of breath as you clutched the photo in your hands and held it out into the light. It was the framed image of you that you found in your father’s desk, the one of you as a child with half of the frame and the image of your face burnt off. The rest of the frame retained its original pattern though, the ornate bronze woven with a design that looked similar to the complex beauty of snowflakes under a microscope. Swirls and spikes spread out like a sunburst from its center…
Similar to the etched pattern on the locket.
You pulled the said jewelry now from your pocket and put the two close together just to be sure. There is no mistaking it… The gilded frame looked much more complex because of the interweaving designs, but there is no doubt that the separate patterns were the same as the one in the woman’s pendant. Your eyes moved all over the photo now, trying to decipher what it must be that you should look at.
In memories there is love. In memories, there is power.
What does that mean? Other than your childhood photo, there is nothing else out of place that gives away anything that you need. What was she trying to tell you? Randomly, you tried to turn the frame on its back, your gaze now going over the hardwood backing to quickly check it.
That was when you found yourself stopping again at the sight of something on the lower left of the frame. It was small and surrounded by a border that separated it from the otherwise spare backing of the photo, but it caused your eyes to go round soon enough when you brought it closer to the light.
Again, it was the same pattern that was engraved on the locket you received… the one that looked like a cross between a sunburst and a snowflake.
You tried your best to control your breathing now as you took it in. The logo was resting on the corner, right at the part you would lift if you wanted to open the back of the frame. You didn’t exactly know why, but something told you to do just that, your shaky fingers undoing the clasps sealing the photo inside. Carefully, you lifted the edges, opening the frame slowly so as not to cause any damage.
The photo of you didn’t budge as you did, but you noticed how the white of the back of its printed image has already yellowed. At its bottom, written in the same script you found in the locket was your name, birthday, and the same message engraved on the pendant. Your throat felt tight as you took those details in. What you found next, however, was something you’ve never expected. When you turned the back of the frame, your eyes zoned in on something else—a small black memory card taped against the wood.
You didn’t know where you got the sense to do your next sequence of steps but the next thing you know, you’ve plucked the card from its hiding place and grabbed your laptop. You felt lightheaded as you inserted it on the slot, but you forced yourself not to blink as you waited for something to happen. After a long pause, a small window finally opened on your screen with a slight ding.
You took in a shallow gasp of breath. It looked like a login portal, but there was only one entry space there asking for what seemed like a password. At this point, your heart had started picking up its pace in your chest too, but you tried your best to focus by keying in the first thing that popped to mind—your father’s name.
Entry Denied.
You tried again, now using his birthday. The same error message showed up in sickly green font on the screen once more.
You were at a loss for leads, so then you started trying other combinations with the hopes of finding the right passcode. Your name. Your mother’s. All your birthdays. From there, you moved on to random words. Winter. Snow. Sunburst. Pendant. Locket. Arcana. You even tried typing the phrase engraved on the pendant only to be met by the same error again and again.
You were on the verge of frustration when your gaze landed on the upturned childhood photo of yours still stuck on the frame. You took in every single detail there that wasn’t burned off. Your animal pajamas… your favorite book in your hands….
You stopped.
The book in your hands.
Your eyes slipped into the locket next to it. And then it clicked.
The snow pattern. And the book you were holding. With bated breath, you typed the only thing that is currently making sense for you on the screen.
The Snow Queen.
You watched with a mixture of numbness and surprise as the welcome portal finally dissolved in the screen. Instead, it was replaced with a new one, a window that has a single folder in it. You moved your cursor over it now, your heart drumming painfully against your chest as you double-clicked it.
A new panel opened up on the side at your command, a long document that, upon closer inspection, looked like a scanned version of a physical page from a book. You slightly squinted at it to try and make out the words there, but before you could even fully focus, some of the names there already caught your attention. It felt like all the wind was knocked out of you when you finally realized what you were looking at.
Typed in neat rows were the names of Mark, Jisung, and Renjun together with others that you weren’t familiar with. All had one similarity…
The Arcana labels tagged under their identification.
You felt cold. Your eyes moved upwards, right at the very top of the page, and silently read the bigger print there. The Italian words stared back at you, confirming your hunch.
La Famiglia Arcana.
The Arcana Family.
…Could you be staring at the database of all the Arcana users in existence?
You had to try your best to keep your attention from reeling then. Your eyes glazed over the rest of the page as you scrolled numbly until you caught one phrase that made you stop. The words echoed in your head as you started reading the random paragraph.
“…And the third classification of Arcana users—the most elusive ones—as their abilities go beyond physical manifestations or psychic control. Their gifts stand on the fence, for they are not soldiers, not are they defenders. What they have is so much more, for they have influence over assets only they can unlock.”
“Their fellow Arcana users.”
The words jumbled in your head, both making sense and drawing more questions at the same time. Your eyes moved downwards, and that’s when you really felt your mental walls start to close on you.
Written after the block of text you just read was something that fully rendered you numb. Your father’s name burned from the screen straight into your mind’s eye, the label underneath it echoing in your head like screams.
Arcana Master 20.
The Judgement.
******* Winwin paced across the length of darkened room as he tried to press the call button again for the dozenth time that evening. In front of him, his computer threw its harsh glare on what it could reach, panels after panels open on its screen. He had been working non-stop trying to crack something and he’d finally stumbled upon a significant piece of information. Now, if only she would pick up the phone. Hearing the line drop again, he cursed softly under his breath and finally decided to leave a message instead. He would have preferred to say this in a call, but it’s not like he really has much choice at the moment.
“Hey. This is Winwin. I’ve been trying to call. I think I found something,” he said urgently as he bent over his monitor again. “I finally hacked the locked files of Project Irregular. It was on a different database so it took a while. Listen, I have no idea if this is important, but I think I got the names of the subjects of the research,” he said as he squinted at the screen. The codes he were running had only loaded half of the file he had managed to snitch for now, but he can already see a name there.
“I think these are aliases, but there seems to be only two of them. The first one is Patient 20, The Judgement. There is another one but I’m still waiting for it to load. Oh, there it is—”
"It says Patient 21. The World.”
*******
A/N: Chapter 10 is out! There’s a lot of dialogues going on here but please bear with me since the reveals are rolling out little by little. Thank you so much to those who have left sweet messages, replies, and reblogs for Arcane. <3
▶ Previously posted as “TTHE BRO” from the NCT FRAT series.
▶ best friends to lovers; kinda angsty bc hyuck is an idiot on this one. but a happy ending. also a little tw for kinda secsi time.
“And—maybe I’m talking nonsense now, I don’t want fucking now but Y/N… the only thing I know is that I need you in my life, I can’t… after all this time I can’t imagine myself continuing without because…” he fought to get the words out, tears falling down his face too, “…damn it Y/N! I love you! I can’t go on without you because I love you!”
A good read! I really enjoyed every part of it. The angst is just perfect for a person like me who doesn’t really like too much angst (coz it makes me sad for a day, especially if it doesn’t have happy ending) thanks for this piece of art!
Welcome to GLITCH MODE; an rpg starring none other than the nct dream members! In each mission, you will take on the role of a new character and play through the story quest to reach the end!
[MAIN MENU]: from controllers and professional gaming pc’s, to head sets and twitch subs— the boys have it all. competitive, smart and ever ready to win, they begin to realize that there’s another prize lying out in the real world for them, the prize of your heart.
[SETTINGS]: fluff, angst, gamer! au, streamer! au, various trope pairings, fluff, angst, comedy, romance, suggestive, food, profanity, etc. warnings and themes will be added with every individual fic.
[DURATION]: speedrun: 3k | playthrough: 9k
[NEW GAME]:START(latest release)
▸ | na jaemin
version:streamer! jaemin, gamer! jaemin, friends with benefits au, profanity, fluff, slight comedy, angst duration:tba closed beta test: Na Jaemin has always been player 1, the one at the top of the player chart with all the wins and everything he could possibly want. Being the best sometimes got to his head and unfortunately for you, you were the girl who was hopelessly in love with him, eager to please. It’s sad really, the fact he only ever saw you as player 2.
CLICK TO PLAY!
▸ | lee donghyuck
version: streamer! hyuck, gamer! hyuck, established relationship au, profanity, comedy, fluff, slight angst duration:tba closed beta test: Your boyfriend is sweet and considerate, always looking out for you and making sure to be there for you. You had met him in one of your college classes and although you had been with him for over two years, sometimes you wonder if he loved his PlayStation 5 more than he loved you.
CLICK TO PLAY!
▸ | lee jeno
version:gamer! jeno, streamer! jeno, enemies to lovers but also friends to lovers, profanity, fluff, comedy, angst duration:tba closed beta test: Lee Jeno is the epitome of everything you could ever hate, and the feeling is mutual. You’ve competed in almost everything against each other, determined to gain the upper hand. On a totally unrelated note, that fun streamer you’re pretty good friends with is thinking about doing a face reveal.
CLICK TO PLAY!
▸ | zhong chenle
version: gamer! chenle, streamer! chenle, friends to lovers, profanity, fluff, comedy, mutual pining, angst duration:tba closed beta test: Zhong Chenle wasn’t the type of guy to get nervous easily. He had known his worth ever since he was a little kid, so it wasn’t often that he found his palms sweating and words stumbling over each other. The only time that happened was when you were involved.
CLICK TO PLAY!
▸ | mark lee
version: gamer! mark, streamer! mark, strangers to lovers, profanity, fluff, comedy, angst duration:tba closed beta test: Mark Lee was popular, there was no doubt about that. Being one of the most relevant twitch streamers tended to do that to you in the online world as well as the offline one. That popularity led to a plethora of people falling for his sweet demeanor and pretty smile, so you knew that winning his heart would be a challenging game it itself.
CLICK TO PLAY!
▸ | huang renjun
version:gamer! renjun, streamer! renjun, exes to lovers, profanity, fluff, comedy, angst duration:tba closed beta test: You’re heard of crying in the club, now get ready for crying on your DS! There was only one person in the world who managed to get you doing that and it was none other than your darling ex-boyfriend; Huang Renjun. The world hates you though, because you end up having to compete against him in a gaming competition. Using a DS.
CLICK TO PLAY!
▸ , | park jisung
version:gamer! jisung, streamer! jisung, best friends to lovers, profanity, fluff, comedy, angst, duration:tba closed beta test: Jisung was the complete opposite of you, he liked peaceful games like animal crossing and you liked league. He liked story based games and you liked horror. Too bad that he was head over heels for you, because if there was one this both his viewers and you liked to do, it was to make him suffer.
Y/n and Haechan are settling in to watch Christmas movies. What is supposed to be a relaxing evening together though soon turns into a heated debate on if the move “The Nightmare Before Christmas” is a Christmas or Halloween movie.
Part of the long term couples series. Can be read as a stand alone.
Settling on the couch with a bowl of popcorn and a mug of hot chocolate you look back towards the kitchen where your boyfriend Haechan was grabbing more snacks for the two of you. It had started to snow earlier today and the two of you had decided the enjoy the snowy weather by snuggling up on the couch and watching Christmas movies with one another. Haechan came walking out of the kitchen with his own mug of hot chocolate and bags of chips.
Haechan sat down the snacks on the coffee table before he settled on the couch next to you and started to scroll through the list of movies that was available to the two of you. You watch as Haechan scrolls past movie after movie before he turns to you to see if any of the movies he has gone past has piqued your interest.
“Seen anything that you want to watch?”
“Not really but I was thinking that we could start with The Nightmare Before Christmas.” You tell Haechan. You feel his body start to shake and turn to look over at him to see what the cause of his movement could be. You cock your head to the side wondering why he would be laughing.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Y/n we can’t watch that movie. It’s not a Christmas movie it’s a Halloween movie.” Haechan points out to you like it is the most obvious thing in the world and he finds it’s hilarious that you would even have made this suggestion.
“What do you mean it’s not a Christmas movie? Of course, it is, it even has the word Christmas in the title!” You stand from the couch and place your hands on your hips and peer down at Haechan in complete disbelief.
“You’re wrong. Just because Christmas is in the title doesn’t make it a Christmas movie. It’s more about Halloween and how Jack is going through an identity crisis.” Haechan argues back. You throw your head back in frustration before setting your glare on him.
When Haechan had asked you what Christmas movie you wanted to watch tonight you did not think that your suggestion would lead to the two of you going over why or why not The Nightmare Before Christmas was or was not a Christmas movie. It shouldn’t have surprised you that you two were having this discussion though. Just last week you two had gotten into a heated conversation over which food was better to eat at a baseball game hamburgers or hot dogs. The answer is clearly hamburgers, Haechan had different thoughts on this those and argued his point for hot dogs.
“Santa is in the movie!” You almost scream. “How can you say that it’s not a Christmas movie when Santa Clause is in the movie?”
“He’s a side character he is not the main character making the movie a Halloween movie not a Christmas movie.” Is Haechan’s argument back.
“You can’t be serious? That would be saying that every Hallmark movie isn’t a Christmas movie because Santa isn’t the main character.” Waiting to see what Haechan will come up with next you start to smile thinking that you have won this argument because he hasn’t come up with a response and your about to do a victory dance when Haechan responds.
“But their main focus is all about Christmas while the Nightmare Before Christmas is all focused-on Jack and how he doesn’t know if he wants to be the pumpkin king anymore. It’s like any movie that talks about Santa’s child not knowing if they want to follow in their father’s footsteps.”
“The movie takes place during the Christmas season!” This time you do shout in exasperation. Haechan for his part continues to calmly look up at you from his spot on the couch. The only give away that you get from him is the slight twitch of his lip.
“Hey love birds what are you two up to?” Both of you turn to see Johnny standing at the entryway of the living room.
“Finally! Someone with good judgement is here,” you exclaim. Haechan just shakes his head at you, but you ignore him and focus on Johnny instead.
“Serious questions are The Nightmare Before Christmas a Halloween movie or a Christmas movie?” Johnny looks between the two of you before he burst out into laughter.
“You two have the weirdest arguments.” Normally you would make an argument back about Johnny’s comment but you’re more concerned with winning the argument you are having with Haechan. When Johnny realizes that you are not going to say anything until he answers your question he sighs.
“I think that it’s a Christmas movie.” You pump your arms up in the air and shout out in glee while Haechan whines and starts to protest claiming that Johnny was only saying that because he knew that was what you wanted.
“Stop whining just because Johnny agrees with me and is clearly choosing right!” You demand, Johnny just smirks at you as he makes his way out of the living room leaving the two of you alone. You move back onto the couch and snuggle into Haechan who continues to whine. While you start to pull up the movie.
“I can’t believe Hyung agreed with you over me! I have never felt so betrayed before.” Haechan goes on as you press play on the movie.
“Haechan you should just accept that you are wrong and enjoy the fact that you get to sit on the couch with me curled up next to you and watch a movie together.” You inform him.
“Fine but I get to choose the next Christmas movie.” Haechan wraps his arms around you and snuggles himself and you into the couch. You both turn towards the movie and start to watch it in silence. You turn your head towards Haechan and kiss the underside of his jaw before you settle yourself more onto him and turn your attention back to the movie.
“I still think it’s a Halloween movie,” Haechan whispers causing you to silently laugh as you both continue to watch the movie.
Haechan and Y/n can’t stop thinking about one another. They are both afraid though that the other isn’t intererested and seek out some advice from their friends.
Part of the long term couples series
Tossing the controller to the side Haechan let’s out a deep sigh and glares at the screen in front of him. He’s bored and is tired of not being able to move about easily. He misses performing and is used to being active. When he was first told that he would have to stay off his leg he thought it would be a fun an extended vacation that he didn’t plan. That quickly changed when he realized that he was going to be spending most of his healing time alone in the dorm. Everyone was busy and it wasn’t like they could sit around all day and entertain him.
Looking down at his cast Haechan wonders if you are working today or if it’s your day off. This isn’t the first time that you have crossed his mind. Ever since he met you at the hospital and you wrote on his cast, he hasn’t been able to get you out of his head. There was something about you that intrigued him. Maybe it was the fact that even though you knew who he was and were a fan you still treated him like a person. He didn’t get that a lot anymore. Sure, his members treated him like a normal person, but the staff were paid and while they were all nice to him, he wasn’t always sure if they meant it or were doing it because it was their job.
You were different though from the moment you met him you treated him just like everyone else expect at the end. When he found out that you had stayed past your working hours just to see him after he got his cast and sign it, he had this strange feeling in his chest. While he didn’t like what you wrote on his cast it made him smile. You were not afraid to tease him, and it wasn’t often that someone could make his manager laugh like he did when he had told Haechan about what you wrote.
“Hey Hyuck,” Looking up Haechan smiles over at Taeil’s girlfriend as she makes her way towards him and takes a seat next to him. Haechan doesn’t hesitate to move into Taeil’s girlfriend and rest his head against their shoulder. Their hand comes up and they start to run their fingers through his hair.
Haechan snuggles in closer to them, they were always good at taking care of him. He often thought that if he had an older sister, he hoped that it would have been someone like you. Who took care of him, didn’t mind his constant need for attention, and would lovingly tease him. Haechan often told Taeil that he couldn’t do better than you and if he wasn’t careful, he was going to steal you from him. Taeil never believed the threat and would just roll his eyes as he walked away from him.
“How are you holding up?”
“Alright, I’m bored and wish that I could join the others.” Haechan admitted.
“You’ll be back with them soon. Only a few more weeks to go.” They assure him.
“Can I ask you something and promise you won’t tell Taeil about it.” Haechan peeks up at them. Their hand stills in his hair and they look down at him studying his face for a moment before nodding their head.
“How did you know that you liked Hyung,” Haechan felt you shift but he ignores it and continued on staring at the wall opposite the two of you, “How did you know that he was the one you wanted to be with and that he liked you back and wasn’t just being nice?”
“Is there someone that you think you might like?” This time Haechan did look up at them and they were smiling down at him with gentle eyes. Pulling away from them Haechan sat up and turn to full face them as best he could without jolting his leg to much.
“There was an intern at the hospital when I went in to get my leg checked out. She was nice to be me, but it felt different from other people’s nice. It felt…” Haechan hesitated he wasn’t sure how to describe how it felt. “It felt like when you are nice to me but more than that. It didn’t feel like she was doing it because she had to but because she wanted to. And then she stayed after she was done with work just to see me after I got my cast and to sign it.”
“Hyuck to be honest with you I don’t know if the first time I met Taeil I knew that I liked him and wanted to be with him. I was definitely interested in him. I liked his smile and how he was easy to talk to. He made me feel comfortable and he was honest with me. But at first, I didn’t know where it was going to go. Sometimes you just have to take a risk and see where it goes. I can tell you that I felt like Taeil was worth the risk. Sometimes there are people who come into your life, and they just fit into it so easily that it just seems right to let them in. To give them a chance and see where it goes maybe that is what this person is for you.”
“Maybe, but what if they don’t want to give me a chance?”
“Then that’s their loss not yours. If this person is smart at all they will see what a wonderful person you are and will give you a chance. Even if you can be slightly annoying.” Haechan grumbles at that but smiles nonetheless and leans back into them.
“I still don’t know exactly how I feel about them.” Haechan whispers to them. Their fingers return to his hair, and they give a soft hum in return.
“That’s okay. Tell them that when you see them next and be honest that you want to see them, but you don’t know where this will go.”
“Okay, thanks Noona.”
“Anytime Hyuck,” Haechan feels them lean down and place a soft kiss to the top of his head and he smiles and tells you that he’s going to tell Taeil that they’re going around kissing other men behind his back. They just laugh and tell him to go right ahead. The two of then settle into comfortable silence and Haechan starts to drift off to sleep with their fingers running through his hair.
Setting the drinks in your hand down on the table you settle into your seat with your friends and take a sip from your drink. You and your friends tried to get together once a week. It didn’t always happen what with all of you having crazy schedules and it had been almost a month since you saw each other meaning that you were all long overdue for a night out together. This was the downside to none of you living together anymore. While you liked having your own place you missed coming home to them and the place always being filled with laughter and someone to talk to.
“I can’t believe it’s been so long since we’ve all seen each other we have so much to catch up on!” One of your friends stated at you all settled into your seats.
“Let’s start with the boring and move into the exciting,” another friend chirped, “how work and school going?”
You all laughed as she asked the question that was boring. You all answer though talking about how school was either almost over and some of you were stressed out. You are being one of those stressed-out people. You had thought with school only being your internship you would be less stressed but that wasn’t the case. Then about your jobs some were good, others boring, and some of you wanted to kill your boss and you all came up with different ways to get rid of said bosses. The drinks kept flowing and you all settled into the ease that was your friendship.
“Now the important question!” exclaimed another friend, “How is everyone’s love life going.”
This conversation went much deeper than the school and work topic. Most of your friends were in relationships and all at various stages. Some had been dating their significant other for years and others were just starting a relationship, and some of you just had people that you were interested in, but nothing had happened yet. Then there was you, you who had no one. Well, maybe not no one but then again you weren’t sure if you could even count them as a person of interest.
“Y/n what about you? You’ve been awfully quiet on this topic,” You shake yourself out of your thoughts and look around the table at your friends who are all watching you closely. You pick up your drink and take a big sip.
“To be honest I’m not sure what I have going on with me.” You tell them. This of course peeks all of their interest and they all lean in closer. You almost laugh at this if your thoughts weren’t so filled with a certain someone who liked to whine and had an adorable smile that made you want to cover their face in kisses.
“Tell us everything! Don’t leave a single detail out.”
“We’re going to need more drinks.” You tell your friends and one of them disappears to buy the next round. Once you all have full glasses. You tell them everything about your encounter with Haechan. Well almost everything, you leave out the part about him being an idol and his name. Those are things that you can’t share for obvious reason.
“It’s not like I’m going to see him again anyway,” you tell them as you take another large gulp from your drink, “I might not be there when he comes back in to get his cast removed and he travels all the time for work. Making it impossible for us to date. And I talk to him that one time. He probably doesn’t even remember me or think about me.”
“You signed his cast. He’s thinking about you,” your friend assures you. You give her a skeptical look.
“I’m serious!” They exclaim as the rest all nod in agreement, “Listen talk to your supervisor see if you can there when he comes in for his next appointment. Say that you want to practice patient follow up or something like that. And if he tells you no. Then take a peek into his file and see what day he comes in next, and you then just happen to be in the area and bump into him.”
“I’m not looking into his file when I’m not supposed to be,” There was no way you were about to risk losing your internship just because Haechan was taking up more space in your head than any other person ever has. “But…I’ll talk to my supervisor.”
The table cheers and you duck down in embarrassment. You could not believe that you were seriously going to ask your supervisor if you could be in on Haechan’s next appointment. Part of you did want to make sure that he had healed up alright and could return to work but that wasn’t the main reason you wanted to be in on his appointment. You want to see him again, to see his boyish grin and to have him tease you once again. You weren’t sure if this was a good idea or not but there was something about Haechan that was pulling you in.
Haechan is back at the doctors. This time though is to have his cast removed and maybe to ask Y/n out on a date. If they are there.
Part of the long term couples series
Six weeks since he’s been able to walk around on his own, six weeks since he’s seen you, six weeks since he has heard your voice. Over this time Haechan often thought about you and would catch himself trying to look at what you wrote on his cast. He would find himself smiling as he thought about how you didn’t put up with any of his shit and handed it right back to him. It didn’t matter to you that he was an idol or that he was part of a group that you listened to. You treated him just like anyone else and he found it refreshing.
Bouncing his leg up and down he is hoping that you’ll be in the exam room today with him. He wasn’t sure what your job was exactly and he feared that your job did not require you to be in the room for when patients returned to have their cast removed. One of Haechan’s managers glances down at his bouncing leg and he notices that they are fighting back a smile. Rolling his eyes Haechan crosses his arms over his chest and slumps down in his chair with a loud huff. Everyone thought it was funny how smitten he’s become with you after just one meeting. He didn’t think it was the tiniest bit funny.
Finally Haechan is called back into an exam room and he hobbles his way to the room. This cast cannot get removed fast enough he thinks as he makes his way into the exam room. Looking around his mouth pulls down at the ends, disappointment evident on his face. Sitting in one of the chairs, Haechan ignores the conversation that his manager and the nurse are having. He doesn’t tune back into the conversation until he hears the nurse saying that Dr. Kim and you would be in a little bit to remove the cast and look his leg over.
Perking up at hearing that you are in fact here and will be examining him, Haechan can’t stop the smile that spreads across his face. His manager just rolls his eyes at him and doesn’t even bother trying to stop themselves from smiling. They just grab the chair next to him and wait for the doctor to arrive. In what feels like hours but it is probably only a few minutes, the door opens and in walks Dr. Kim followed closely by you. Haechan forgot just how cute you were and his heart rate picks up at seeing you. You’re looking over his chart and when you do look up your eyes lock. You give him a small smile and Haechan almost swears that he sees a small blush coming across your cheeks. But Dr.Kim steps in front of you blocking his view.
“Ready to get your cast removed?” Dr. Kim smiles down at Haechan.
“More than ready. I have been going crazy with this thing on,” Haechan admits.
“How have you been feeling? Any pain?” Haechan shakes his head no as Dr. Kim and you wash your hands, put gloves on, and ready the tools to remove his cast.
“Okay Haechan why don’t you lay back for us and if it’s alright with you I’m going to let my intern Ms. Y/L/N remove your cast.”
Looking over at you Haechan sees you holding a small saw in your hand you smile at him and Haechan doesn’t hesitate to return the smile.
“As long as she promises not to cut anything important I’m fine with it,” Haechan lays back down. You let out a breathy laugh and tell him not to worry before he hears the sound of the saw and you go to work at removing the cast.
In no time at all his cast is removed and Haechan is looking down at his leg. It looks a little less muscular but otherwise it looks like it’s fine. Dr.Kim is talking about how they are going to get some x-rays to make sure that it’s healed correctly and then they’ll bring him back here to talk about therapy and any restrictions that he might have. You roll a wheelchair in front and Haechan frowns down at the chair.
“Seriously I can’t walk to my x-ray?” Haechan whines.
“Nope, you know the rules. Once we know that you’re fully healed you can cartwheel out of here for all I care but until then you’re in the chair.” You smirk. Haechan glares at you but gets in the chair.
The two of you don’t speak as Haechan is pushed to his x-ray. He didn’t think that he’d be seeing you and didn’t think much past just being able to see you. But this is probably going to be one of the fews times that he is going to be alone with you and if he wants to make a move it is going to have to be made now. Parking the wheel chair next to the exam table Haechan watches as you lock the wheelchair in place and move to stand in front of you. Looking up at you Haechan takes a deep breath before he opens his mouth.
“I was hoping that I would get to see you today,” Haechan started off. You raise an eyebrow in question before reaching out to help Haechan stand and onto the exam table, “there is something that I wanted to ask you.”
“Still not going to tell you who my bias is.” Haechan chuckles at that.
“As much as I want to know the answer to that, I have a more important question to ask you.” You pause what you are doing and wait for Haechan to continue on. “I wanted to know if you would go out on a date with me sometime.”
Haechan rushes out. He watches as your eyes widen. You stare at him for a few beats before you recover and go back to preparing him for his x-ray. Haechan starts to panic as you go about your work and not answer him. Maybe he was reading what the two of you had the last time you saw each other wrong. He had thought there was a connection but maybe it was all just on his end and you were only being nice to him because he was injured.
“It’s cute watching you panic,” you tell him before taking a step back from the table, “and yes I loved to go out on a date with you.”
“Really?” Haechan questions, almost unable to remain calm.
“Really but first let’s get you out of that cast and then you can tell me more about this date.”
“Deal,” Haechan smiles at you and before you have a chance to walk away he reaches out for your wrist and grabs it. “And eventually you are going to tell me who your bias is. Believe it or not I can be a patient man.”
Smiling as you pull your wrist out of his hold, “You’ll have to be.” you tell him before walking out of the room and leaving Haechan smiling like a fool on the exam table.
Stars glow bewitchingly under the noxious night, enchanting anyone under its gleam. In the serenade of late night’s dim glimmer, the stars act as a choir; singing in infinite patterns.
The extravagant Chevrolet Corvette stays parked exquisite, allowing heads to steal glances as it appears deluxe; proving that luxury is a definite thief of scrutiny.
Graciously, Donghyuck grabs you by the hips; pulling your delicate body in as you fall breathlessly onto his figure. The Lee catches your plumped lips in his after brief departure, despising any loss of physical contact. He repeatedly leaves honeyed whispers into your ear, allowing your breath to get stuck up your throat in bewilderment.
Donghyuck holds your body tighter inside his arms, guiding your body towards the Chevrolet Corvette’s back seat as it is more spacious in comparison to the passenger seat.
Your hands find their way towards his soft locks, plunking them eagerly as your lips move together messily; not exactly in concurrence. Donghyuck’s hands continuously travel on your exquisitely breathtaking body, feeling every inch of it on top of his own.
“My phone-” You whisper breathily as the bothersome noise of your phone ringing agitates you both. Donghyuck lets out a groan in grievance, stretching out his arm in order to reach for your phone; acknowledging that it could be extensive.
“Who is it?” You ask as he stares at the caller id, letting out a chuckle afterwards.
“Na is calling, cute.” Donghyuck states as a smile out of mockery commences to play on his face.
“Did you have a date or something?” He questions gravelly, dropping your phone onto the passenger seat as his lips find their way back onto yours.
You throw your head back as his lips come in contact with your bare neck, one of his hands rests on your hip as the other fiddles with the hem of your top.
You hardly succeed in letting out a “Yeah” since Donghyuck’s lips sucking on your neck don’t exactly allow you to put together meaningful words.
“You’re bad.” Donghyuck whispers on top of your lips as he reaches towards your phone once again, switching it to silent mode.
“Tell me about it.” You roll your eyes, stating one last time before the phone is long forgotten.
The two of you focus all of your attention on each other for the night inside the Chevrolet Corvette, bodies pressed tightly onto each other. You feel exceedingly captivated by the burnette, much more than you would like to admit. From the way his body delicately dances on top of yours to the way your name easily slips between his lips. Everything about Lee Donghyuck is more than enchanting and you seem to lose yourself under his spell even more as time passes, melting into every touch.
Though, things don’t feel as euphoric for the Na. A bouquet of dazzling red roses sit loosely inside his grip, about to fall any moment. Jaemin stands still in front of a water fountain, the water fountain you had told him to meet up with you just hours prior.
His expression is dull, no emotion seems visible yet he feels as though tears can stream down his face any second if someone ever slightly touches his figure.
Na Jaemin is absolutely broken. He blames himself for falling in so deep to the point where he has no idea how to get up.
You were the one who reached out. You were the one who told him to wait for you by the water fountain, where you had first confessed your love for him.
Oh, Jaemin swears that he would give up anything and everything to go back to those times. To the times where you visibly held so much adoration for him. To the times when his love received some type of reaction, some type of response.
I guess this is the reality of life, he whispers the bitter truth to himself as the tears he had been holding in for so long finally escape his eyes, coming in contact with his cheeks.
By now, Na Jaemin drops the bouquet made of alluring red roses onto the ground. He is crying, he really is crying because of you. The Na feels pathetic, absolutely pathetic. Yet he can’t seem to help it. He can’t seem to put a stop to the tears falling from his eyes.
That day, his hope gets destroyed. His plans of confessing the amount of adoration he holds for you get crashed.
Na Jaemin couldn’t tell you he loved you by the water fountain, though his tears sure were an accompaniment to the water falling out of the fountain.
After all, water fountains are always crying. How could he have expected to live through a pleasant experience with you in front of a broken water fountain?
