#skz imagine

chan drabble…

You couldn’t stop staring at them. No matter how hard you tried to avert your attention, you were just too mesmerized by the way his lips moved as he sung softly to himself. You felt your cheeks heat at the embarrassment of being caught staring at him but you couldn’t find yourself caring. 

His lips were just so damnperfect. 

Without thinking, you leaned forward, capturing them in a kiss that pulled Chan’s attention from his laptop, quickly sliding the headphones off of his head. 

“W-What was that for,” he sputtered as when you pulled back, blushing furiously at the sudden affection.

You didn’t say anything as you leaned back in. You pressed soft kisses so his cupids bow, giggling softly as he pulled you closer to him. You continued to trail your lips across his as he happily welcomed your little kisses. When you pulled back to look at him you you couldn’t help but to let out a sigh at how pretty he was, bare faced, cheeks a light shade of pink and those beautiful lips even more plush than before from your consistent attack on his lips.

You gently ran your thumb against the skin of his cheek, taking in every inch of his beauty. 

“You’re so pretty,” you whispered, leaning in to press a kiss against his nose. 

Chan knew better than to argue with you, instead opting to pull you closer to him as he uttered those three words you never got tired of hearing against your lips. Let’s just say that the two of you didn’t do anything productive the rest of the night, favoring instead to stay in each others embrace as got lost in the feeling of one another’s lips. 

hyunjin drabble pt.2

part 1 here//suggestive themes

You don’t remember how you ended up here but you weren’t going to complain. The breeze caressed your bare legs, eyes falling closed as you listened to the rustling of the leaves and the distant chirps of the birds that had occupied the small park in search for food.

The tears had stopped awhile ago, however the sharp sting of them was still ever so present. You pulled your knees to your chest, hugging them close to you in search of some form of comfort as your wrapped your arms around your shoulders. 

The events from today hadn’t stopped plaguing your mind. You were hurt, lost and confused to say the least. Hyunjin’s actions in the pool had contrasted with the concerned look your were met with before running away.

Maybe you had looked into it a little too much.

Your insecurities always did seem to get the better of you. But right now, all you could picture was the way his smile had dropped when he looked at you. You shook your head, willing the tears away as you didn’t want to cry anymore, head still thumping from your previous outburst. 

“Y/n!”

The sudden shout of your name had you startling out of your thoughts, eyes widening as you turned to the source. 

Hyunjin practically collapsed next to you on the bench, heaving as he hunched over to catch his breath. You stared wide eyed at his form, confused as to why he was even looking for you in the first place. 

“Do—Do you have any idea how worried I’ve been,” he forced out in-between breaths.

You just looked at him. The words had caught in your throat, unknowing of what to say to him. You watched as he closed his eyes, taking a deep final breath before turning to you. 

“You were looking for me?”

He looked taken back as he scooted his body towards you, “Of course I was looking for you! You’ve had me worried sick. Why wouldn’t I look for you?”

“You seemed like you didn’t want me around before—” you trailed off, cursing as you felt the tears cloud your vision once more. 

“Why would you think that? Of course I wanted you around. I always want you to be with me.”

“Hyun you couldn’t even l-look at me.”

His eyes widened as your voice broke, watching silently as the tears began to fall from your eyes. 

“I-I know I embarrassed you and I’m sorry—.”

“Embarrassed? What—Y/n you’ve never embarrassed me.”

“Please don’t lie to me.”

Hyunjin looked just as heartbroken as he met your gaze, his own eyes filling with tears as he released a shaky breath. 

“I know I-I’m not attractive but Hyunjin the minute I got in the pool—I don’t know I just felt like your were disgusted seeing me like that.”

His eyes widened as he watched you wipe your tears before trying to move yourself away from him. However, he caught your arm before you could. 

“God no that’s not it at all! I’m sorry I just— this is going to be embarrassing for me to admit,” he blinked the tears out of his eyes before turning his gaze back towards you. 

“I’m sorry that I made you feel less about yourself. That was never my intention and I want you to know that I’ve never been, nor will I ever be embarrassed of you.”

You noticed that he hesitated, eyes flickering around the two of you before turning his attention back on you. 

“This is going to sound like such a perve thing to say but Y/n you have no idea the power you hold over me with your clothes on and seeing you in that swimsuit it took everything in me not to take you right then and there in front of everyone.”

Your eyes widened at the sudden confession. 

“W-What,” you sputtered, earning a small groan from Hyunjin. 

“I know and I’m sorry but you have no idea how good you looked and it took everything in me not to touch you. That’s why I couldn’t look at you because I knew if I did I would embarrass myself,” he whined as his face fell into his hands. 

You let out a soft laugh at his muffled ‘but admitting that is embarrassing too idiot,’ before reaching up to run your fingers gently through his hair. 

Hyunjin dropped his hands from his face at your touch, gently grasping your wrist as he pulled you closer to him, smiling at you before leaning forward to rest his forehead against yours. 

“I’m sorry I was such an ass. I never wanted to hurt you or make you feel insecure. God you have no idea what you do to me angel. I love every part of you.”

You hummed, eyes fluttering open as you pulled back to fix him with a playful glare. 

“But you haven’t seen all of me yet though,” you teased.

Hyunjin smirked, biting his lip as he pulled you closer to him by your waist, “We can fix that.”

sleepy chan

drabble #1

growing up

drabble #2

drabble #3

pouting at you

whipped

chiddies (chan’s t*ddies)

his lips

Your head shook as you glanced out of the window of your apartment, spotting the boys walking down the pavement and towards the apartment block. You shouted through to Minho straight away as he walked through with your son.

“How come the one time we want them to be late, they’re on time,” Minho sighed across at you, “I’ve not even managed to change my own clothes yet, I’ve been busy changing him.”

You walked across and took your son out of Minho’s arms, “the boys aren’t going to care what you’re dressed like, they know that you’re a new dad. However, I definitely think they’ll be watching Y/S/N, this is one of the baby grows that they bought for him, isn’t it?”

Minho nodded back at you, having searched through most of your son’s wardrobe to make sure that he had an outfit prepared for him that would impress the boys, finding one of the many baby grows they bought you before your son arrived.

You had left the boys waiting for long enough, after a week of your son, they couldn’t wait any longer to stop by and visit you all. Even as you watched them all walk, you could see how excited they were heading towards your apartment.

“I hope you know that you’re about to meet your crazy uncles,” you smiled down to your son, “you’re in trouble.”

“Hey, I’m friends with those uncles, are you calling me crazy too?”

Your head nodded straight back at Minho, luckily interrupted by a knock at your door before Minho could protest back to you, ushering him across to go and answer the door to the boys.

The noise picked up as soon as the door opened, with the seven of them rushing across to you. “Hi,” you laughed, stepping back to give you and your son some space as the boys all leant forwards to take a look at him.

Whilst their eyes were on your son, your eyes were looking at the many bags of presents that they held in their hands. Every single time you saw them, they had new treats for the three of you, and today was no exception.

“Look at how adorable he is,” Hyunjin smiled to start with, “he’s so lucky that he’s managed to get Y/N’s genes and not Minho’s.”

A chuckle came from you as Minho looked with an offended stare back across to Hyunjin, folding his arms over his chest.

“How do you know he’s not got my genes?” Minho challenged.

“He’s cute, there’s no way that your genes could do that,” Hyunjin teased.

Minho’s head shook back at him, “that’s you at the bottom of the order for getting to hold Y/S/N in that case.”

Whilst Hyunjin went to the bottom of the pack, Chan had already decided that as the eldest he was first, placing his present bags down on the floor before holding his hands out as soon as you offered your son to him.

“How are you guys doing too?” Felix enquired as everyone started to sit down on the sofas and chairs that you had set out.

“How much sleep have you had?” Changbin asked too.

Your head shook back across to Changbin first, “I don’t think I can even remember what sleep actually is, it’s been so long since I slept properly.”

“Y/S/N likes to wake up in the night,” Minho explained to all of them. “I swear he has something that knows when we’re just about to fall asleep. It’s as if someone presses a switch on him as soon as we try and close our eyes.”

“It’ll get easier,” Seungmin smiled across at the two of you, “the first couple of weeks whilst you adjust are always the hardest, but Y/S/N will get used to things too.”

You smiled appreciatively back across to Seungmin, as did Minho too. “We’ve been by ourselves which hasn’t helped,” Minho noted, “I wish we had someone around to babysit for a little while so that we could go and sleep for an hour without worrying about him.”

Several of the boys looked across at the two of you with wide eyes, almost as if the answer to your lack of sleep was staring you right in the face. You and Minho both exchanged a glance, knowing exactly what they were implying.

“What could possibly go wrong if the seven of us watch over Y/S/N for an hour or so?” Jisung asked the two of you, “we know where you are if you need help.”

“Between the seven of us, surely we can figure this out,” Jeongin told you both, full of confidence that the boys would be able to get things under control. “I mean we’ve got to start practicing somewhere, and isn’t Y/S/N perfect?”

As apprehensive as you were, the thought of being able to sleep was very appealing to you both. “Can we really trust you guys? We’re not going to sleep, wake up, and come back out to our apartment turned upside down, are we?”

“Of course, not,” Changbin assured the two of you too. “There’s plenty of baby books around, and we all have phones to search up any questions that we might have if we get into a bit of trouble at some point too.”

You glanced across to Minho yet again, who was already shuffling towards the edge of the sofa. He was exhausted to say the least, even just an hour to be able to close his eyes felt like a dream for him with how tired he was.

Reluctantly, you began to stand from the sofa too. “If you guys get stuck, you promise that you’ll come and knock on our bedroom door and wake one of us up, won’t you?”

“Y/N, you’ve got nothing to worry about,” Chan assured you.

Your head nodded as Minho intertwined his hand in with yours, “let’s just trust them,” Minho told you, leading you towards the bedroom. “If anything happens, we know early on that we can never trust them to babysit again.”

You looked around at all of the boys who all nodded their heads at you. Minho continued to pull you across to the bedroom, reminding you of how nice sleep would be for the two of you for a little while.

“Come on,” Minho laughed, managing to get you towards the bedroom, opening up the door and leading you in. “Y/S/N’s fast asleep, even those idiots can look after a sleeping baby for a bit of time.”

“What if something does happen?” You continued to fret.

“Don’t worry,” Minho assured you, sitting you down on the bed. “they’ll shout if they need us, and like Changbin said, they’ll search for help if they need it. Let’s just sleep for an hour, and then we can go and check on them.”

Your head nodded as you laid yourself down, “if they manage to look after Y/S/N, does this mean we can use the boys for babysitters more often?”

“Absolutely,” Minho chuckled back across to you, “I’m pretty sure that the boys would love to volunteer as babysitters as much as they possibly can too. If anything, they’ll want to prove to us that they can do it today.”

“I hope you’re right,” you whispered, cuddling into Minho’s side, “I dread to think slightly what we might go back out there too once we’ve had a nap.”

Yet another laugh came out of Minho, “they might be crazy, but I’m sure that they are going to dote over our little boy out there.”

“Me too, they already adore him,” you smiled.

“How can you not? He’s the sweetest.”

—

Masterlist

It was instinct in you to start humming as you listened to the song playing on the radio, tapping your hand against the side of the coffee machine as you waited for it to clean. The store was empty, which was lucky for you after another long night of studying, making life easy.

There was a bitterness in your heart as you enjoyed the song, recognising each one of the voices that sung it. Each one of them had a connection to you, but one in particular meant more to you than most, even after several years apart.

Once the coffee machine was clean, you turned back to the counter to see it was still clear, sighing in relief. Unlike the till, the tables were busy, watching as some people studied, others chattered, and some just enjoyed the peace and quiet of the café after taking a walk in the fresh spring air that was outside.

Deciding not to stand around, you spun back and began to wipe down one of the counters that you were yet to clean after your lunch service, humming along to yourself again as you made sure that things were spotless.

“Y/N, is that you?”

Your humming soon stopped as a voice called out your name, slowly turning around. Your eyes widened as you watched a familiar blonde figure walking towards the till, chuckling when they realised that it was you.

“I didn’t know you worked here.”

“For two years now Felix.”

You couldn’t remember the last time you saw Felix, or any of the boys for that matter. Your heart raced as he smiled across at you, despite the rise to fame that he had been on, he still seemed like the same humble Felix you knew.

“How have none of us seen you?” Felix chuckled.

Your shoulders shrugged as you moved towards the till too, “I guess I must just be working different shifts to your schedules.”

“Chan will be so happy to hear that I’ve seen you,” Felix told you as he ordered a few coffees to take back to work, watching as your expression dropped quickly.

Just the mention of Chan’s name made you smile, still never quite able to move on. Your breakup had been sudden, right at the start of his debut when things started to get too much for him, thinking it was for the best.

Little did you know that he still talked about you, still wondered about you too. Felix knew as soon as he saw you that he needed to tell Chan, even if he didn’t want to see you, it would be peace of mind for him that you were alright.

“You don’t mind if I tell you him, do you Y/N?” Felix asked you, noticing you getting distant behind the counter, only for your head to shake in reply.

You feared what would happen next for the following few days. Each time the door to the café opened, you jumped, staring across at the door only to see one of your regulars popping in, or a face you hadn’t seen before.

After a couple of days you began to settle a little more, assuming that Chan wasn’t going to stop by. You weren’t too sure what Felix had said, or if he had said anything at all, but you hoped that perhaps Chan would make the effort to see you if he knew where you were.

Part of you couldn’t help but wonder that maybe he still felt guilty, unable to bring himself to see you after how he’d left things. You could hardly blame him if he was, you still remembered the way your heart hurt the day he called it quits.

Through the week, your eyes stopped looking and your heart stopped racing, forgetting all about Felix, and Chan too. Things slotted back into normal for you, still hearing their songs on the radio and trying your best not to seem bothered by them.

The same day the following week, you were lucky to work the quiet shift again. With no one around you started tidying once again, throwing away the empty sandwich wrappers that you had nervously tossed aside whilst serving customers.

“So he was right, it is you.”

It felt like déjà vu for you as straight away you recognised the familiar voice from behind the counter. It was similar to Felix’s, but different at the same time, and as you turned around, your guesses were absolutely right.

You didn’t quite know where to look or what to say as Chan smiled across at you. He had waited all week to see you, opting to show up at the same time that Felix did in the hope that your shifts were consistent every single week.

“You look well,” Chan spoke up as you took a couple of steps towards the counter. “I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to see you.”

Your head nodded back at Chan, fiddling with the leftover material on the tie of your apron to try and distract yourself from looking across at Chan and engaging too much.

“Can I get you something?”

His head shook as you pointed to the menu hung up on the wall. “It’s not a drink or food that I’ve come here for Y/N, it’s you,” Chan responded, “I wanted to come and see you after so long, I never really got the chance to say sorry for how things ended between us.”

Remembering the moment still sent a shiver down your spine, how he called you to come over only to leave you there stunned, never quite getting a true explanation either.

“You hurt me so much Chan.”

“I know that.”

He never stopped feeling guilty for splitting up with you, it hurt him too not being with you anymore. He thought it was for the best, he was debuting after all and the pressure was already too much for him, thinking wrongly that you only added to it.

“I hate how things turned out, I tried to find you for so long, but in the end, I just gave up,” Chan told you. “I used to sit for so long and try and find any way possible to be able to make things better, but I never quite found the way.”

Your head nodded as Chan spoke, mainly not wanting to cause a scene amongst the other customers in the café. Your heart both wanted to scream and reach out and give him a hug to remind yourself of just how good the old days were.

“The last thing I thought before you dumped me was I think I love you, do you know how much that hurt to suddenly have the person who you love decide they don’t want you anymore?” You asked him, “nothing has ever hurt me that much.”

“I’m sorry, for everything,” Chan repeated once again, “I know it’s been a long time, but I thought at least coming here and seeing you would show you that I still care.”

“What is it that you’re here for Chan?” You asked him, with a long list of things to do.

His head nodded understandingly, knowing that he needed to cut the chase whilst you earnt your living, noticing a customer walking through the door.

“What about a fresh start?” He enquired.

Your eyes widened as he asked, slightly taken aback. “I think maybe we need to talk more before we even consider that.”

“What time does your shift finish tonight? I’ll take you somewhere.”

“I finish at six,” you told him.

“I’ll be back outside at six on the dot.”

—

Masterlist

A sigh came from you as you lowered yourself down onto the sofa in the dorm, feeling Jisung hold onto you to help you down. The rest of the boys all watched on, as ever they were prepared to step in if they needed to and try their best to help you out.

“Can we get you anything Y/N?” Hyunjin asked you once you appeared to settle, resting your hand against your bump.

Your head shook back at him with an appreciative smile, “I’m alright. I don’t quite know what it was that you ordered for dinner, but whatever it was, it was absolutely amazing.”

“I remember the days when you used to be terrified of spice,” Jeongin smirked from across the room, “these days you eat it with every single meal.”

None of the boys could believe how much your pregnancy had changed your interests in food. These days you wanted spicy everything leaving everyone stunned, with everyone being used to ordering you plain spice on everything.

The food wrappers were still lying around the living room floor and table, everyone was far too full to tidy up just yet. You had reluctantly gotten up to use the toilet, with your baby pressing down and leaving you with no other choice but to dart across the room.

“How far along are you now Y/N?” Chan quizzed as he watched you with a wide smile.

“It’s nearly six months,” you grinned, looking around at each of the boys who were all listening to you. “I dread to think how everything will be in three months, my bump will be huge, I’ll be needing the toilet constantly too.

Every single one of the boys were excited, none of them could wait for your baby to arrive. They had all been pretty much glued to your side, helping you even when Jisung was there too.

“We’ll be able to help you with everything that you need,” Changbin quickly assured you, “I mean we already sorted out your baby shower, and we gave no clues on the gender too.”

Be quiet,” Jisung instantly called out as soon as the gender was mentioned.

It was the one thing that he wanted not to know, whether you were having a boy or a girl. Unlike Jisung, you decided that you did want to find out, agreeing that you would keep it a secret from him until your baby arrived with the two of you.

“Why can’t you just know?” Seungmin asked Jisung, “all we want to do is be able to buy you things with a bit of colour, but we can’t because you’ll guess the gender.”

Jisung’s shoulders shrugged in reply, deciding that it wasn’t his problem to worry about. He trusted the boys, you, and everyone else around him to be careful enough to not let it slip and ruin the surprise that he was looking forward to.

“It’s ridiculous,” Felix sighed back across at him.

“We’ve got three boxes hidden in your old room of things that we’re only going to be able to give you once the baby arrives because of you,” Minho added, shooting a glare across at Jisung. “Why wait another three months?”

Jisung returned the stare, moving it around at all of the boys, “I decided that I don’t want to know, you’re not going to be able to change my mind however much you try to.”

“You’re so boring,” Hyunjin teased, shaking his head at Jisung.

In response, Jisung picked up one of the cushions from the sofa and threw it across at him. “One day when you all settle down, you’ll understand.”

“But everyone else knows,” Jeongin tried his best to get Jisung to see, “you’re the one that’s making us have to tiptoe around and be careful. Your baby will definitely be dramatic like you.”

In the middle of their squabbles, you found yourself having to stand up from the sofa again. The call for the toilet was loud from your baby, barely giving you the chance to get comfortable before you had to move across the dorm.

“Y/N, are you alright?” Chan asked, noticing you slowly rising to your feet. He stood up to help, but your head nodded, assuring him that you were alright.

You were slower than usual, but the boys didn’t mind. Instead, they moved the furniture around a bit to make moving around the dorm a little bit easier for you.

Their eyes were all on you once again as you moved, making sure that if you needed them, that they were there. Jisung especially moved to sit on the edge of the sofa, knowing that you were far from stable on your feet anymore as you tried to carry your bump around.

“Is she making you go to the toilet again?” Changbin asked you, calling out to you. As his mouth closed though, all eyes were on him with no idea as to why. Changbin stared back at everyone cluelessly, trying to figure out what was going on.

“She’s making Y/N go to the toilet?” Jisung enquired, making sure that he hadn’t misheard.

When Changbin sunk down in the sofa and stayed quiet, Jisung looked across to you. The nervous smile that was on your face let him know that he had in fact heard right, with Changbin accidentally spilling, without even realising that he was doing it.

Jisung stood up from the sofa after a few moments, making his way across to you. As soon as he was close enough, his arms wrapped around you, twirling you around. “I’m so happy that we’re having a girl Y/N,” he whispered into your ear.

“You’re not mad that you know?”

“Honestly, I was hoping for a girl all along,” he replied as he placed you back down on his feet, “I wanted to have another you.”

“Another me?” You laughed back at him, “you constantly complain that it’s hard work having one of me, let alone two.”

Behind the two of you, Changbin was getting a scolding, but Jisung had forgotten all about that with his eyes focused on you instead, with a wide smile on his face too.

“I’m only ever joking when I tell you that,” he smiled, “I’d have thousands of you if I could.”

Your eyes rolled as Jisung squeezed against you, glancing down at your baby bump excitedly, relieved to know that he had a little girl growing inside there.

“I can’t wait to be a dad to a little girl,” Jisung whispered, leaning forward to press a kiss to the tip of your nose. “I can’t wait to be a family of three and to have all of the fun things that families get to do together.”

“Does this also mean that we can hand those stupid boxes that we’re keeping to you guys?” Minho called out, interrupting the two of you.

Your head nodded with a chuckle, “we can take any pink, red, orange, purple, or anything else, you guys don’t need to hide anything from him anymore.”

“What about all of the blue things that we bought as a decoy?” Felix asked you both with a smirk on his face.

Your head nodded once again at him too, relieved at least that you didn’t have to be careful around Jisung anymore. “You know that this now means that you can throw our baby shower with the gender involved, you don’t have to be careful anymore.”

“We’d just brought a load of black and white,” Hyunjin frowned.

“That sounds perfect to us guys.”

—

Masterlist

Word Count: 73.4k

Warning: angst, swearing, some fluffy tones, enemies to lovers, arranged marriage, slow burn, Knight!Bangchan, Princess!reader, royal au, mentions of supernatural powers, mentions of toxic family relationships, gunplay, mentions of poison, mentions of gouging out eyes, mentions of war, gore, blood mention, weapon mentions, russian roulette mention, mention of self harm, mentions of suicide, age gap mentioned, needles mentioned, power dynamics, classism, smut, oral (m. and f.receiving), handjob, hair pulling, choking, breathplay, hand kink, unprotected sex (wrap before you tap), voyuerism, dom!Chan, brat!reader

Synopsis: Bangchan believes that everything is going well. He believes that that the two of you are happy, especially after the night at The Amethyst. Oh, how wrong he is.

A/N: Please note that the last scene there is a rather violent gun scene. No member in Stray Kids is actually holding the gun but there are members involved. Triggering scenes bolded and in italics.

Remember the acts committed in this are not representative of Stray Kids and their character. This is purely friction.

Power is Power Masterlist

SKZ Masterlist

' , . , ' (). ' , ‘ ( ). ' . . ' , . , - (, -). . - ,

Bangchan liked to think that he knew your family quite well. After all, he had served them for most of his life, starting at the young age of 13. Whether it had been a soldier, a Knight in training, Knight of Seven and then finally Knight of One, Bangchan liked to think that he had a grasp of what the royal family was like. He knew you had four siblings, all of which had quite the polarizing personalities to make up from the years of His Majesty’s neglect. Not that he would ever say it out loud, but there were enough rumours to go around and his own experience with your father to conclude what was true about him and what was not. 

One thing he found out to be true was the cruelty he had towards Carine. Part of him felt bad for not knowing Carine as well, but she was much younger than him and he hadn’t even spent much time speaking with her. He couldn’t even remember a time seeing her in person, perhaps once or twice on television but never face to face. He remembered thinking that there could possibly be no way a father would treat their youngest like that. He hardly ever believed any of the gossip that floated around. He was more a see it to believe kind of man. However, after hearing about her marriage, the outburst you had at the council meeting and the accidental mistake of overhearing your conversation with Felix he was smart enough to deduce the blind torment that your younger sister had to endure. Part of him thought of intervening, possibly using his own status to take her back, but that would likely ruin your family’s relationship with Solis and during times of war it was necessary to keep allies. Especially rich, closest to the border of an enemy country, allies. Still, he would try his best to get to know her when the chance arose.

Chan had gotten to know the rest of your family though, having worked with your three older siblings quite often. Cordelia was someone extremely skilled on the battlefield, having only ever lost to himself. Her display of extremely cold-blooded exterior, dismissing anyone that she felt was opposed herself and her family was one of the faces she wore. One that Bangchan had always admired, however the true admiration he had was not for her on the battlefield but as an older sibling. Seeing her exterior change within private conversations and close one on one combat training, could make anyone question if she even had had a ruthless demeanor. The one that doted on her younger sisters in the absence of their mother, the one that had always put her soldiers, no matter what rank, before any other. That was something that Chan admired about your sister. The two of them often talked, mostly about family and caring for their family, having been older siblings and it seemed the Cordelia had taken a liking to him and he her. If he had to choose any sibling of yours to turn to, it would have been her.

Then there was Euliya, who he has known the longest since they were close in age, she was only a couple years older than him in fact. She was smart, true but despite the facade she wore, Bangchan could immediately detect when she was lying.There was no special trick to it really, it had just been obvious from the start. True, Euliya’s beauty equaled her cleverness, which she had an abundance of, but there was something about the way she held herself, the way she had never shown him one sincere expression, that he could read her easily. Euliya never liked him for that. He had only remembered once someone with her gifted manipulation skills tried to win over his mind and loyalty, as she had done with many men over. It never worked and after Chan had promptly rejected her, the sweet sarachine tone of her voice turned cold. Almost as if every word she had uttered to him was supposed to be a dagger in the heart. It never affected him though, not once. 

And lastly you and Schneizel. Possibly the most complex, the most polar opposite yet so very similar of the bunch of your family. Not only had the two of you been gifted with the power of Geas, but your personalities were quite similar, almost to the point that Chan had thought Schneizel had placed his own consciousness within you. Both charismatic and calculating with the way you both carried yourselves. Schneizel, despite appearing to have strong emotions to the public, seemed to have a stoic personality. You were quite the same way, the outbursts that you have against your brother, Bangchan noticed, was more of a form of trying to be heard, to be seen. After all, despite seeming to care for his siblings, Chan knew it was a ruse. 

At first he didn’t want to believe it. Only taking your words with a grain of salt because he knew that being engaged would lead to some false words said between the two of you. Chan had disagreed with your brother plenty of times, never truly voicing it, however he could hear the way that Schneizel’s tone would undermine him if he did decide to vocalize any displeasure. Even during the meeting they had about Carine and what her situation was to be, Chan has vocalized his displeasure to Schneizel told him to stay out of family affairs. He would have spoken up more but your father, gently, told him to cease. To which he followed, after all his loyalties were towards his King. And then the meeting was never to be mentioned and he was sure Cordelia must have told you differently, Chan had been there. He knew that Schneizel wasn’t afraid to sacrifice his own siblings back then, so it was no surprise he was doing it now. As the eldest, and an older brother himself, he knew that there was no way to act as an older sibling. Siblings weren’t pawns in a game you simply use for your lean game, siblings— family— were people that you had a connection with, one that was supposed to be filled with unconditional love no matter how much they annoyed you. The thought had disgusted him, even more than ever after seeing up close how your siblings had treated you. 

Having been so lost in his train of thought, he hardly noticed the person rounding the corner on the way to the Council Room and causing them to stumble. Thankfully, due to fast reflexes, he was able to catch whoever it was. Or so he wanted, because apparently the person had impeccable timing because they eased themself upward again before he even could. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t realize- Oh! Chan!” Bright, round, glittering eyes caught his attention.

He would have known that voice anywhere. After years of hard work, misbehaving as a Knight in training, sneaking away to get snacks back in the barracks of the training ground and nearly a decade of friendship, Chan would recognize Sana in a heartbeat. Even with the new almost silver-greyish hair she now was dawning. “Hey.” He said, immediately wrapping his arms around her, not caring much for the staff that was walking through the halls. It was probably improper of him to be such, especially because the two of them were both Knights of The around, but also because he was engaged. He didn’t care though, he hadn’t seen Sana since Cordelia had departed for negotiations in the North last Winter Season. “When did you get back?”

Her eyes and lips turned upward in the most cute way. Yes, Sana was his best friend who was a girl, but there was no denying she was cute. Bangchan could admit that in his younger years he had a crush on her but now he only saw her as an older sister and someone he had to protect. “I think Saturday night. We got back right as your photos hit all the tabloids.”

Right, the photos. The reason that Schniezel had called the two of you both into the Council Room in the first place. The image painted in his mind made the heat immediately go all the way up his neck to the tips of his ears. “Ah, about that…”

“No need to explain.” Sana said, as sweetly as ever, even giggling at his reaction. “Though it does explain why you haven’t been answering my messages.”

Chan gave her a rather dramatic scrunch of his brow, shaking his head and smiling down at her. “I’ve been busy.”

Sana scoffed at me. “Keep in your pants, you still have a wedding to wait for. Unless you didn’t wait.” His face immediately tinted pink as he avoided her gaze to which Sana smacked him. “You dirty nasty— I thought you were a cute innocent Koala Bear but you’re just a dirty dog.” She squealed, playfully smacking his arm. 

“You know hitting a Knight of The Round is punishable by death.” He teasingly threatened as he shook his head, clearly embarrassed. “Please, you know I’ve barely touched a woman since the battle of Liro.”

That didn’t stop the look on Sana’s face. The look that represented an older sister who was scolding her younger brother. “And Her Highness let you touch her?”

His face has gone serious, the smile leaving his face. “I didn’t do anything. I’m respectful of Her Highness.” If respectful meant taking her rather intimately against a nightclub wall and dreaming about doing it again, then yes he was. After he said that he huffed as he moved passed, already feeling late and not wanting to keep either you or Schneizel waiting. She called after him, boots clicking against the white marble floors as she caught up to him and blocked his steps. Chan moved to the left and Sana followed, then to the right and she followed his movements again. Their little dance continued for a moment before he lett out an exasperated sigh. “Sana please…”

“Chan.” She pouted, crossing her arms. 

Immediately, he eased up, instead of appearing annoyed he gave her a teasing look. “Yes, Sana?”

She returned his smile, eyes turning to crescents and eyes glittering as she saw that he relaxed. “So, do you like her?”

He nodded. “Of course I like her.”

“Are you happy with her?”

Again he nodded. “Yes.”

“Could you love her?” Sana pestered. That made him swallow, the heat returning to his face and even burning the nape of his neck. Immediately, she noticed his change of expression. Sana, having mercy on him, closed her eyes and nodded. “Is she nice at least?”

A flash of images of you, not only threatening Chan, but the past couple of weeks flashed through his mind. The trail, the threats, the concern he had for his younger sister, the conversations about power and war… Chan could hardly describe that as nice and trust Sana, he made sure to have her know that. “She’s far from nice.”

Sana frowned at his response, apparently now quite concerned with how he answered. “You’re not forcing or pushing yourself with her? If so then you know what I’d have to say to that.”

Though he was an older sibling, he can’t help but feel like a small younger brother when Sana, or Young K or even BamBam are reprimanding him. Even though they were lower ranks than he was now. “I know, I know.” Chan huffed, slumping his shoulders a bit. “I didn’t mean that she wasn’t nice.”

Still continuing to frown at him, The Knight of Twelve huffed out a sight. “What did you mean then?”

“I meant…” He paused, trying to find the best way to say what he was thinking without seeming rude. However, the only proper response was the truth. The cold blunt truth. “She is nice. Just not to me.”

“And why is that?” Sana questioned, which he easily had the answer to. There were a lot of reasons why you hated him. The main reason being the fact that you were forced into a marriage with him. He could understand why you had hated him initially, but there were a lot of questions he had himself as to why you persisted, continuing to hate him. 

His lips thinned, making sure that there was no staff around to hear or spread rumours though he felt a rather ominous presence over him, making sure that his guard was up in case someone was secretly hiding away. “She hates me and I know what you’re going to say, but I’m trying. I want her to like me, more than anything so please be nice to her.”

Sana gently patted his shoulder. “I trust your decisions, but I do have to wonder, why do you think she hates you?”

“Yes, I’m curious as well.” A voice sounded from beside. Making Sana blink, though Chan knew, somehow, that you had been looming over the both of them. “Though I suppose I’d much rather use the word ‘despise’ than hate.” 

With a sharp intake of breath, Chan offered you a rather weak smile. “Your Highness.”

You, in turn, offered him the fakest of smiles. “Puppy.” 

From the other side of him, he could hear Sana stifle her laughter. “ ‘Puppy’?” She repeated, still trying not to fully laugh at him.

“Don’t.” He told her through gritted teeth.

“I think it suits you actually.” She told him.

You smiled at her, this time actually smiling politely towards the other woman. “At least someone agrees with me.” The two of you shared another laugh, much to the dismay of Chan’s ego, though he was quite happy to see you at least getting along with one of his friends other than Felix. Before he could say anything though, you nudged him with your elbow. “Well, aren’t you going to introduce us? I thought you were supposed to be a gentleman.” 

Internally, he wanted to snap back at you but knowing Sana she would have definitely scolded him for acting in such a way, especially towards you. “Your Highness, this is Sana Minatozaki, The Knight of Twelve. She’s been my friend since the first year of my training…so for 10 years or so?”

She nodded, eyes bright before bowing respectful towards you. “It’s a pleasure.”

You waved a hand at her. “Oh, there’s no need for that. I’m sure we will be seeing a lot of each, so you may drop the formalities.”

“Do I get to do the same?” Bangchan asked, chiming into the conversation.

He swore he had seen red in your eyes when you turned to him. “Was I speaking with you?”

He shrugged. “I am going to be spending the most time with you after all. I would think the formalities between us have already been a thing of the past.” Leaning down towards your ear level he made sure that his close friend wouldn’t be able to hear this part. “After all, I’ve seen all of you.”

“Would you like me to cut your tongue out?” You hissed back at him, baring your teeth and ready to make due with your threat.

Before either of you could answer, The Knight of Twelve stepped between the two of you. “You are bickering like an old married couple.” 

“We are not.” You both replied in unison. 

The response shocked the both of you, violet eyes meeting brown ones in confusion that the two of could actually come into agreement with something so mundane. Even despite all that though, Sana still disagreed with the two of you. “I mean the two of you are so picture perfect but behind all that you both are arguing with each other.” 

Yes, if being at each other’s throats and basically fucking the frustration out of his system could ever be considered arguing, then yes the both of you argued quite often. “Sana, drop it.” He told her, not wanting to continue the conversation further. 

She frowned. “But you’re both so cute.”

“Sana.” His strict tone came, pinching the bridge of his nose. 

You, unlike Chan’s reaction, offered her a soft smile once again. “Well, thank you. You are as well. But Chan is right, we both have a meeting to get to.” That was the first time, and likely the last time, he would ever hear you say that he was right about something. It made him grin internally, or perhaps he was grinning outwardly because you gave him a rather disgusted look, not bothering to acknowledge him as you said your goodbyes to Sana. “It was a pleasure meeting you.” 

She nodded, extending her hand out to yours. “You as well. I would love to chat more, if you’d like. I’m sure I have some embarrassing stories of Chan that you’d love to hear.”

Letting out a breathless chuckle you nodded. “Seeing as you’ll be here until the engagement party, I’m sure we could have lunch or something.”

“I’m free tomorrow, if you’d like.” She offered.

That immediately made Chan panic. There was still a fear that lingered within him that someday you might Geas Hannah, even though you hadn’t when the two of you had met and even as the two of you continuously spoke with each other there was no signs of you ever threatening her or controlling her. Chan, despite everything, had all the reason to be cautious about having one of his close friends alone with you. “Sana, could I speak with you for a second? Your Highness, tell His Highness my apologies for being late but I will be there soon.” Before the two of you could protest his request, Chan was pulling Sana around the corner to make sure you couldn’t see either of them. He was sure you knew what he was doing, having seen you narrow your eyes at him, before both Knights disappeared. “What do you think you’re doing?” His stern tone questioned, all the caution and concern in his tone. 

She completely ignored his tone of voice, jutting out her hip and crossing her arms. “I am trying to be nice to Her Highness. I’m sure she’d enjoy having someone who is close to you in her close circle that isn’t Felix.”

He gave her a pointed look. “You realize how dangerous she is. I’ve known her for two weeks and I know she wouldn’t be afraid to use you as a tool for her purposes.”

She frowned at him. “You barely know her, two weeks is nothing. She’s your wife, maybe you should learn to trust her.” Sana huffed, clearly not impressed with how he was acting. “In fact, maybe you should take her on a date.”

A trickle of heat appeared on his cheeks at the thought of going on a date with you. “That’s-”

“Bangchan.” The Knight of Twelve sighed out, matching his tone from earlier. “Think about it. If you get closer to her, maybe the two of you would get along better. Knowing you could probably get her to like you, maybe even trust you.”

He couldn’t argue with that. Having you like him, having you even trust him, would have definitely been a dream. Bangchan wanted nothing more than a happy marriage between the two of you. He had seen you go through enough, the most he could was actually try to get along with you. Even if it had proven to be quite difficult, maybe with the help of Sana, it could actually work. “Fine. Just be careful.” He exhaled giving into his close friend.

Clapping her hands together, Sana cheered at her victory over him. “I promise I’ll get you all the information to get the perfect date.”

“Whatever you say.” As he said that he rolled his eyes, though it was playfully.

She nudged him slightly as they both walked around the corner to see that you were still there. That was not a good sign, knowing that if you heard what Sana and himself were saying it might anger you further, thus whatever plan both Sana would come up with would be ruined. Chan’s lips thinned. “I thought I told you to go ahead to the meeting.”

You clicked your tongue at him, brows knitting together, the lines of agitation clear on your expression. “Does it look like I take orders from you?”

“By the laws of your father-”

“Does it look like I care about what my father thinks?” Chan would have answered yes, but he was sure that you would deny. Besides, you never gave him time to answer the question anyway as you tilted your chin up at him, voice almost shunning away his remark as he gestured for him to follow. “Come on now, I’m sure you know how to follow seeing as you follow orders so well.” You turned to Sana, easily offering her a pleasant smile. “It was lovely to meet you. I’m excited to meet you for lunch.”

She, in turn, took your hands, eyes glimmering as she nodded her head. “As am I.”

As The Knight of Twelve disappeared in the opposite direction, you and Chan started your walk towards Schneizel’s study. Clearly, not in the mood for silence, or perhaps more in the mood to get under his skin, you turned your attention towards your husband-to-be. “You’re smart to warn her about me.”

He tensed, almost stopping in his steps hearing you say that. “You heard that?”

“Well, no, not until you admitted it, but I was sure you meant to say something.” You said, walking alongside him, not even bothering to look him in the eye. Of course, you knew that he would have said something. As you said before, he was predictable, easy to read and that he was someone that wore his heart on his sleeve. It was commendable, or that was what most people said, but in a social game such as the one of your family’s and other nobles it was sure to get him into trouble. “So, I thank you for admitting it. Though, I understand why you would feel that way. I had willingly admitted to you that I would have Geassed your sister, had I not come to like her.”

His eyes focused on you, as the two of you stopped in front of the golden doors of your brother’s study. The guards greeting the two of you and one of his personal servants knocking on the door waiting for your brother’s response. “Are you saying I shouldn’t rule out the possibility of you Geassing Sana?”

“Do you think I would?” You asked, violet eyes finally meeting him, looking intently to see what his response would be.

A response never came though, as the servants opened the door for the both of you. Schneizel, whose eyes trained to the holographic screen of Baratum, smiled the same smug smile that he always wore, at the two of you. You scowled, but Bangchan made sure to bow respectfully to the King Regent. He gestured for the two of you to sit, and you proceeded to do so before he slammed new articles down in front of you both and then pulled up headline after headline on his screen as well. You nearly choked on your own spite seeing the image in front of you, Chan looking rather wide eyed and flushed completely to the tips of his ears when the images continuously changed on the screen. There, on said screen, were multiple pictures of the two of you touching each other rather intimately within the purple and white hued lights of The Amethyst. One practically photo, the one of you two dancing, your head laid on Chan’s shoulder as one hand was on your waist and the other was so closed to the expanse of exposed skin between your breast and neck, had been titled with, “Fourth Princess Gets Intimate With Knight of One, The True Lovers of Caelum” and an apparent story about if the people wanted a happy wedding they would have to support the war so that Chan could come home to you.

Your brother’s violet gaze burned holes in both you and Chan, part of you thinking he was going to yell with the way his lips pulled back. “I have a lot to say about these photos.”

A scoff came from you. “You were the one that wanted them in the first place.”

Schneizel looked rather disapprovingly at you. “Perhaps you would like to let me finish.”

“I heard no words coming out of your mouth so I decided to answer you back.” You snipped back at him. 

A huff of a laugh came from your brother. “Truly you are tactless sister.”

You narrowed your eyes at him, purposely slouching in your seat because you knew your brother hated that because whenever you so much as slouched, or yawned, or even bent your neck too far too the right, he would comment about how unlady like you were, that you would never be suited to be a Princess. You could even see it in his eyes, his snide remark ready to come from his mouth but you were the first to speak out of the two of you. “Are you here just to insult me or is there a point to such a meeting?”

“I believe, Her Highness means to say, if you aren’t angry with the pictures then what was the purpose of calling us here?” Chan interjected, trying to create peace between the two of you.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, you saw your brother’s jaw set, clearly annoyed with how straight forward you were being. “I did want to congratulate you for putting on a show for the press but it seems my sister would rather be punished.”

Again you scoffed, crossing your arms. “And when did I say that?”

“Every time you speak back to me, I will make it known that you have no power here.” Your brother threatened. “Just like our sweet little sister. I am sure you are wondering how she is.”

“If you do anything to her-”

“I won’t, unless you decide to speak out of turn again. We had an agreement and you are running your mouth, breaking such a kind promise I offered you. Maybe I need to teach you to respect me more.” The First Prince sharply objected, making sure to stare you down as he said so.

A scowl appeared on your face, Chan hearing you mutter something about Schneizel being a coward but other than that you remained silent. Chan did have to agree with him though. Anyone that threatened their sister, could be seen as a coward. Especially, with an agreement? What exactly was that about? He was sure it was none of his business, so he wouldn’t pry, but there was a small feeling in him that he knew it had to do with Carine and your love for your younger sister. Part of him wanted to reach out to you, and he did, though he reacted as soon as he saw your eyes on his hand and then came back up to look at him. Clearing his throat, Chan began to inquire again about the meeting. “I believe we should stay focused.”

A rather grateful look appeared on your brother’s face, though you remained agitated, not bothering to face forward with your arms crossed and staring off in the distance. “A good suggestion. I called you both here because the people of Caelum want more. Every news outline is dying to get an interview with the two of you or even catch the two of you doing something together. So, I’ve decided that for the next few months whenever Chan is relieved of his duties, the both of you will go out on dates together to be photographed.”

That had shocked the both of you. For Chan, it was clear that he didn’t seem to mind the idea of spending time with you, but for you, your attention had immediately been drawn back into the conversation. “I am not a PR stunt.”

“Your whole marriage is a PR stunt, not only to fix your tarnished reputation but there are bigger reasons for this. I am sure you understand that.” Your brother told rather nonchalantly, handing you both a detailed schedule of when and where the dates would be held. “You would have to be crazy to think this way. This is ridiculous, I am not doing this.”

“What is ridiculous is the fact you think you have a choice in the matter.” The cool tone in your brother’s voice was laced with the hint of a threat and you swore you had seen the brilliance of red in his eyes. 

You glared at him, as if staring at him in such a way would make him drop dead. “If you were a good brother you would have given me a choice.”

The First Prince simply shrugged off the comment as if it was nothing. “Then I suppose I am the worst brother then.” He said, placing the fountain pen that had been between his fingers onto his desk. “Though I would have to say you are a much worse fiancé. Have you even considered how the Knight of One feels?”

“As if I care.”

Chan, not knowing what else to do, pretended to be wounded in his heart. “Oh, how you wound me so.”

You feigned a sincere smile at him. “I hope that it kills you.

Chuckling, Chan only shrugged off the comment. “And who would be here to take care of you?” He questioned, leaning a little closer to you. 

“Myself.” You hissed back at him, though it didn’t have much sting as when you spoke to Schneizel.

Your brother, seeming to catch the slight change in tone, made his presence known again by clearing his throat and leaning back in his chair, eyes glancing between the two of you. It was as if he was assessing the situation he just saw, making sure to choose his next words carefully. Instead, he pointed towards the schedule and continued on. “My father has requested I push your engagement to a closer date as well. With all this talk of war, what better way to celebrate than a happy couple getting engaged.” Your brother made sure to emphasize the word happy, mostly straining it towards you. 

As if that wasn’t enough your brother was also glaring at you from across his desk. Part of you wanted to reach over the wooden barrier that was his desk and tell him off, but true to life there was a barrier between the two of you. Your brother and yourself were on completely different plains, that you hardly even recognized the man he became and you were sure he would say the same about you. The only thing you had in common was your Geass. Even if some would say your personality was the same, that you were two sides of the same coin, you knew you could never be as brutal, as tyrannical, as smart or cunning, or sinister as your older brother. And like the walls in his heart, or the wall that was his desk, he made sure you knew that. That you would be separated among all your siblings because despite being so similar, you would never compare to him. “Is that really all you have to tell us? This is a waste of time.”

Clasping his hands together and placing them on the desk, your brother only continued to glare at you. “You should be thankful I’m even giving you a chance to speak, considering how raunchy and unappealing these photos are. If it weren’t for people being so silly in love with the thought of you two, I would have…” Schneizel silenced himself, remembering that Chan was still there with the two of you. As always he had to appear level headed, calm and collected. 

“Go on, Your Highness.” The Knight of One finally spoke, testing to him as to what he would say.

Clearing his throat, Schneizel thanked Chan for the small suggestion, though you could see in your brother’s eyes that his facade was faltering. He clearly wasn’t as thankful for your fiancé’s suggestion as he led on because for a split second, you saw your brother’s jaw set. He relaxed as he spoke though, keeping face. “I would have figured out a better way for the public to happily support your marriage.” He told, recovering from the slight outburst that he had. “Now, I scheduled you both for a dance lesson after this meeting.”

Both you and Chan had the same look of bewilderment on your faces as you questioned your brother. “ ‘Dance lesson’? It might be boring, but I can assure you there are no balls, or galas, or events that require us to dance.”

Schneizel tutted. “But there is, did you just forget I said that your engagement is at the end of this month? Or do you only listen to what you want to hear?”

If you could reach over the desk and smack your brother you would, though you were sure that Chan and any of his other servants would restrain you for doing so. Last time, you had even attempted a move on Schneizel, he had thrown you into a cell in the secrets underground dungeon that held all the terrorists, anyone that opposed your family, certain former nobles that were now disgraced, rapists, truly anyone that your family deemed a quick death to easy to be felt there to be tortured for the rest of their days. Of course, you had been left there alone, not near anyone and spent the night there, because Schneizel had deemed it fit to show you how you would end up if you continued to speak the way you had done. You were around 18 when that happened, a memory you were not quite fond of. So, you never truly attacked Schneizel, only with words after that day. “If it comes from your mouth then I’d rather not listen at all. Perhaps, you should talk about something more interesting.”

“Perhaps, you should watch your mouth and go to that dance. I specifically chose these teachers for the both of you because I wanted you both to learn from the best.” Your brother turned his attention back to the papers, not wanting to continue, in his words, such petty arguments to you that weren’t a breath. As you both got up, your brother gestured a hand towards Chan, telling him to remain where he was. “You’re free to leave, dear sister.”

You didn’t bother, only scoffing at the sight of the two of them. Other than your father, you were these two who were the most power hungry men that you hadn’t seen. Even if you knew that Chan was doing it to look after his family, you still thought that marrying you was another step towards power and truly it was. You left without a word though, but Chan was sure he heard you snarl at them. He turned his attention back to Schneizel who was currently massaging his temples. “Is something wrong, Your Highness?” Chan questioned, trying to seem sympathetic though he hardly was. Sure, younger siblings often annoyed their older siblings, but it was not like how you and Schneizel were. Chan was sure that your threats to him were often a joke, but the threats between you and your brother he was sure held nothing but truth. Threats that were, for the lack of better wording, deadly.

Even now as The First Prince was staring at the door as you left, he was sure if there was a way to get you to obe, or even be rid of you to ensure that he would be the only with Geas, then he was sure that your brother would do it. With an exasperated sigh, Schneizel brushed back his hair, annoyance lining his expression. “That girl is everything I hate.”

Which was something that was quite ironic considering everyone said that you and Schneizel were often compared with each other. People, including himself, found plenty of similarities between the two of you. At one point, when you first made your debut to the public at a mere six years old, everyone called you Schneizel’s prodigy, having been once taught by him up until the unfortunate events of your mothers death. “You shouldn’t speak ill of your sister. You put her in the situation that she is in, you have to sympathize with her a little.”

Your brother let out a sarcastic chuckle. “She was asking for her, the little devil.” He huffed out. “Don’t even pretend you are not at fault either. You are the one that wanted to marry her.”

Chan felt his anger spike. Though it might be true that there were some faults to your marriage because he was offered the choice and willingly volunteered to be your husband, there was no way that the pain you felt from Schneizel equated to that of what Chan did. He wouldn’t say that though, as tempted as he was. “Your Highness, I will say it once over again, do not speak ill of your sister like that. She is my wife.” 

“And that is why I had to call this small meeting with you.” He said, gesturing to one of the servants to bring the decanter from the small table over towards the two of them. Schneizel poured the woody liquid into the crystal glasses and offered one to Chan, who quickly shook his head and watched as the First Prince down the whiskey so easily. With a satisfied “aaah” he continued. “This marriage, I do not want it to affect the way you think.”

“And how would that happen?” He inquired.

Again Schneizel let out a grunt. “She will dig her claws into you, ruin you. You’ll be as pathetic as the Knight of Seven that chases her around like a stray cat.” Without thinking Chan slammed his hands against the wooden desk. The sound echoed through the room, shocking everyone in the room, even Schneizel. Though Chan often had back and forth with your brother, it had never led to violence, until now. Even if he hadn’t hit him, Chan had raised his fists in a threatening way to The King Regent. Almost manically, Schneizel laughed, head tilting back. Once he finished, he took the tips of his fingers, wiping away the tears that had formed in his eyes. “Did I touch a nerve, Knight of One?”

Chan remained, firm to sticking his ground as his jaw set. “Prince Schneizel-”

“Relax, yourself Knight of One. I am merely kidding.” Your brother objected, objecting to whatever threat that would have come from him. “I am here to help you. I would hate to see such a mighty, trustworthy, loyal Knight such as yourself fall simply because of someone like my sister.”

Sweet words, something your brother and Euylia often used to manipulate those who they thought were so easy to control. He was not one of those people, and Schneizel should have known that. In fact, The Knight of One, could still taste the bile that rose from his throat, ready to spit it back at your brother. After all, the only person that had more power than him was your father, The King, what would Schneizel do? Threatening him? Chan would simply do it back. For this occasion though, Chan bit his tongue, not finding much of a good reason to continue such a conversation. “Thank you for the advice, Your Highness.” He managed, sounding as sweet and sincere as possibly. “I suppose that is all?”

He waved a hand at him. “Yes, go and heed my warning to you Knight of One. I truly would hate to see you disgrace the name you built yourself if you were to fall for any of my sister’s…antics.” Came the last venom like words before Chan excused himself, bowing and leaving for where the schedule told him to be. That truly was not a conversation that he would ever want to repeat, and if it did happen again, he would make sure that The First Prince knew his place.The thought of it happening caused a smile to appear on his face, only to disappear a few seconds later because he realized what came next, something that he often dreaded and never did at the fancy events your family hosted… dancing.

When The Knight of One entered the room, he was happy to see both Minho and Hyunjin, though he expected Felix to be there as well. However, he had a hunch as to why Felix refused to be around the two of you. Nevertheless, he definitely knew that Schneizel had chosen that best. Who better to teach him to properly dance than two Knights of The Round that happened to be nobles. Hyunjin, who had come from Horotus, was the first cousin to the women who ruled over Horotus and if they were all to die, Hyunjin would have to return to Horotus to become a Prince. Though it never shocked anyone that Hyunjin was from Horotus, the country had been called, “The Goddess’ Garden” and the people in it flawlessly beautiful, as if they were flowers in the garden of The Almighty. Lee Know, or Minho, was a distant, though he wasn’t sure how distant, relative to Felix’s family, making him part of the nobility in Caelum. Lost completely in his thoughts, Chan stumbled slightly, though he was able to recover only making the room swirl slightly around the two of you in one big blur as your bodies entwined in and out of each other’s movements in time with the music. Chan felt like he was finally getting the hang of the steps, after having a hour pass already, finding himself able to let go of any worries, only looking into your eyes before hearing a loud yelp coming from your part. “I thought you said that you knew how to dance. How is that you mess up every step we take?”

He frowned at your rather harsh remark, immediately parting from him and rubbing your foot. “I do know how to dance. This is a little more complicated.”

“Well, considering how much you talk about yourself and with that ego of yours, I would have expected more from the oh, so perfect Knight of One.” You huffed, grabbing the water on the bench.

Hyunjin getured over towards him, tossing the water bottle his way before Chan caught it with ease. A comment coming from your wend that if he had such fast reflexes you had hoped that he could at least get the steps of a basic waltz down. Though you knew that he never danced at the events that your family held, you still expected more from someone who had been so cocksure earlier. Chan, scrunched his face up in disgust after downing the last sips of his water. “Maybe if my partner was willing to negotiate some control, I could lead properly.”

You sneered at him. “And give you more control than you already do? Are you really that power hungry?” You questioned, resting on your hip raising an eyebrow at him. “Or are you just preachy?”

Both Hyunjin and Minho nearly choked on their water hearing those words from your mouth. The exact words that they had used when Chan had been given the title of Knight of One. They would have laughed more had it not been for the glare that their leader was sending them, and even though Minho did have a slight fear for his elder, he usually resorted to teasing him and joking with him. He wouldn’t push it for today, instead he gave Chan a rather knowing look. “Alright. You two are supposed to be pretending to be in love and you’re not going to convince anyone if you keep fighting.”

“He’s right. People are gonna be watching you two when you dance. If you mess it up then, you’re going to be embarrassing yourselves.” Hyunjin chimed in. “Why don’t we try something more intimate to get you both in the mood?”

You scoffed, but Chan turned to the other two Knights and nodded. Instructing you to stand in front of the mirror, Hyunjin and Minho both made sure that the two of you were close to each other, so close that the tingle of his breath danced against the edge of your lips. If you had gotten any closer he would be kissing you. The thought made you scowl, to which Minho made a joke that even though Chan was quite old, preachy and that he would make that face too if he were that close, he still managed to strictly instruct you both how to move. Minho then called for Chan to be less stiff and instructed you to allow Chan to lead. You attempted to do as you were told, as your legs swept in a small semi-circle to the side before you both turned and Chan was supposed to dip you.

Apparently, attempting was not enough as you felt yourself fumble, clinging to Chan’s arm and the two of you falling at the failed attempt. Both Hyunjin and Minho looked rather disappointed by how the two of you had failed such a simple move so easily. With a glare, sighing quite heavily, Minho shook his head. “How about we take a break?”

The two of you could at least agree with that. Hyunjin went to go to the cooler, announcing these were the last two water bottles. To which Minho suggested that the two of them get it, even as you questioned that they could simply get servants to do it for them, apparently the both of them needed to leave the two of you alone and that could possibly work out the problem. “Don’t kill each other while we are gone.”

“I can’t promise anything.” Bangchan joked, though by the look on his face you were sure that he knew that there was an actual possibility of it happening. He watched as the two other Knights got more water, falling against the seats there and groaning loudly, just as he did during training.

That sound annoyed you the most. He was always so noisy, and why did he have to make such an obscene noise? The memory of you slipping from the shower came to mind and you quickly felt your anger spike at the thought of what you had been caught doing. “Can’t you do anything right?” You hissed out in frustration.

It was as if Chan had been expecting such a reaction from you, because he merely reached for the towel that was to the otherside of him and swiped the droplets that started to form his forehead. “It’s not my fault you refuse to let anyone lead other than yourself.”

“Or maybe you’re just incompetent.” You snapped at him. “I am tired and I have other things to do.”

“You don’t think I feel the same way? Dancing isn’t easy and it’s not just my fault that you can’t compromise even a little.” He huffed out, blowing out a stream of air. “I’d danced with plenty of women, when I had to and you by far are the most difficult.”

Rolling your eyes, you slumped against the seats, crossing your arms over your chest. “What? Like with the Knight of Twelve, Sana was her name right?”

That seemed to grab his attention at the sudden mention of not only one of his longest friends but his close companion as well. “And what about Sana?” Though by the tone of your voice and the fact you would mention other women, it seemed that he already knew the reason you could have questioned him.

You shrugged, as if not to seem to care. “You are quite chummy with her. Is she your lover or something?”

Chan had to hold his stomach from trying to stifle the laughter that came from but it was to no avail to keep it in. Tears formed at the brims of his eyes, laughter continuing to flow through him at the thought of your assumption. “Her? My lover?” Again he laughed. It wasn’t like Sana wasn’t attractive, or that she had a lovely personality, because she did. For Chan though, he had only seen her as a figure to protect, to care for, almost like an older sister. “I can see why it would seem that way, but there is no need to be jealous, Princess, we are merely friends.” he assured, reaching over to pinch your cheeks in a rather playful manner,

Your hand came up to smack his away, disgust written on your face. “You think I would be jealous?”

“Isn’t that why you asked? Or assumed that she was my lover?” He questioned, tongue poking at his cheek as he grinned at you.

“If you don’t stop smiling like a fool, I will Geas you.” You threatened back at him.

Chan couldn’t help but feel the urge to tease you a little. After all, there was so much tension and frustration in the air, he had to dispel it and what better way then to be just a little playful with you? Leaning in closer to you, he extended his neck towards you, widening his eyes fully at you. “My eyes are right here. Go ahead.” The two of you were in such close proximity that he could practically taste your lips, even as they thinned, not wanting to come in close contact with him. You opened your mouth to say something, but the boisterous sound of Minho kicking the door open and yelling the two of you either should not be dead or fucking made you withdraw from Chan instantly. Your head turned away upon hearing Hyunjin laugh, saying something to Chan that you didn’t bother to hear. You were fully prepared to leave, if need be, but instead you felt a coldness touch your arm. You jerked, head swiveling to see who had done it. Chan held the water bottle out to you. “Shall we?”

Without hesitation you snatched the water bottle, taking a few gulps before springing up. You didn’t say a word to him, only got into position and waited for the music to start again as both Minho and Hyunjin started to instruct you again.

Then the dates happened. You seemed more frustrated than ever, more irritated and quite more irritable than usual. Week after week of these dates Chan had assumed that there would have been more of a chance to get to know you. Even after confiding in Sana about all the apparent things you liked, such as gifting you flowers, perhaps even opening the door for you, even bothering to fill the empty air with the efforts of trying to make conversation. There was nothing. It seemed that you hated every bit of spending time with him, whether it be dance lessons, dates, or anything else your brother found to make the public continue to speak about your relationship. It seemed that no matter what you would continue to hate anything your brother had arranged, and an extension to that you continued to hate Chan. That was on your part though.

Chan however was not on the same page and he knew it. Schneizel had warned him about this. Warned that getting involved with you was very much true to your nickname. You were poisonous. You were addictive. Sweet and deadly. Intoxicating, was the best word to describe it. Maybe even guilty pleasure. Chan couldn’t even conjure any excuse to come up with during his late night sessions of jerking himself off in the most disgusting manner to the thought of being between your legs, or having you take him, or even just hearing you moan. Maybe you were right to call him a filthy animal, because of the way he was thinking about you. It was most certainly not dignified, especially with his status. 

Everything was just too captivating. Like a sweet drug he couldn’t get out of his system. Truly poisonous to his own health on every level. He replays the night almost like a mantra, like a prayer, a vision that would be his saving grace. Every ridge, and curve already committed to the vivid memory he has while his hand was wrapped around his cock. The purple neon lights, the way you moan just for him, and the harmony of your bodies meeting. It truly was the most heavenly nightmare that could be granted to him. Even as he laid down for the night. 

Part of him was excited to be called back to the Palace. Despite his responsibilities and the work he had to ensure that on the battlefield, there was truly nothing that excited him more than getting to spend time with you. In his ears Chan could hear you calling him a masochist and maybe he was but that didn’t stop him. He quite enjoyed the way the two of you worked. Your snippy comments, the facial expressions you make depending on the situation you’re placed in, there were so many things. So many little bits of you he could dissect and analyze. The best thing was that he truly knew you didn’t hate him.

Nor does he truly hate you. In fact, that was why it was so easy to volunteer himself to marry you. Sure, he hasn’t spoken to you prior to a couple weeks go but from afar Chan had always heard of you. So much so that it piqued his interest and eventually he knew he had to marry, so why not the Fourth Princess of Caelum? True, the royal court had many appealing ladies, ladies he considered attractive, but there was always something…lacking? Perhaps that was the right word. Maybe it was that most nobility reminded him of your sister Euliya, who, by the swallow and empty way she talked, was something he never found appealing at all. Maybe it was because he wasn’t of noble birth, but he knew his position as Knight of One would lead to many thinking he could possibly make a good husband.

And he would try to be, at least for the right one. At least for you. He reminded himself. Even as his hand palmed his already hardened cock through his pants, hissing quietly and cursing himself as his mind succumbed to thoughts of you. Having not known you and only seeing you in pictures, hearing rumours about you, or stories from Felix had only made his interest in you peak. You were such a mystery to him at first, thinking you to be the quiet one of your family. He loved to be proven wrong of course, especially after seeing the way you talked, the way you held yourself, the way your mind worked. It was all alluring. 

“Fuck…” He groaned. It was already night time now and he was supposed to be sleeping to get ready for a pre-approved date planned by Schneizel and a dancing lesson tomorrow. 

He should feel shameful, thinking about you in this way when you were nothing but cruel to him. And yet when you complied…when your sweet voice called out his name, he couldn’t help but think about you. Be consumed by you. That was why he was pulling down his more, allowing the constraints of his sweatpants to disappear to reveal his hard and throbbing cock through his boxers, half lidded eyes glazed over and imagining you were there. 

In truth, he had been thinking about the night at The Amethyst and the tryst the two of you shared. He had known what he was asking from the beginning, and was under no illusion about what marrying you meant. He knew that finding you attractive wouldn’t be a hard feat, but even as you were cruel to him, torturing him, changing the way he saw things, especially when it came to the view he had of the Royal Court, he still found himself so attracted to you. Even just thinking about kissing you, your lips touching his…it made a fierce hunger over him and he hadn’t been able to stop himself from getting riled up and taking control of the situation.

You had been on his mind more and more as the weeks passed, but he never thought that the effects you had on him would leave him with such little composure. So, when you played your little teasing game with him, he seized the opportunity all too eagerly. Schneizel’s words echoed in his mind. That you would dig your claws in him in more ways than one and that he should be careful. Though he couldn’t bring himself to care much for what The First Prince had to say. Instead, he found himself licking his lips, remembering your taste. Despite how sour you appeared, you tasted sweet, like any dessert that he wouldn’t be able to get enough of. He wanted to do it again, as many times as you would let him, even though he had no good reason as to why you would allow him anymore near you. Especially, since after that night you made sure to avoid him. 

He shifted uncomfortably beneath his blanket, his underwear were now feeling a bit tighter than they had a moment ago and he knew that his thoughts were leading him down a path. Really, he should be looking at the new ledgers that Schneizel set before him, maybe even the battle plans that Cordelia wanted him to look at earlier for the weak, or even call The King, because your father often liked to check up on The Knight of One. He should be occupying himself with something else, especially if sleep was not one of the options that was offered to him. He had too much to do and the only thing he could think of was wanting to be inside of you again. You were plaguing him, distracting him from his work. Though, this might be a good sign for his workaholic tendencies, he knew that he shouldn’t let something so much as lust try to sway him away from his duties. 

Carefully, he sat up against his bed frame, grabbing his circle rimmed glasses and grabbed one of the ledgers your brother had given him. After all he was the Secretary to the Head Minister and the Special Duty General Inspector and they were only a couple of weeks away from attack Baratum, which meant The King was going to be coming over to Caelum to see how the progress of not only the Royal Family, but The Knights of Round as well, which he was in charge of. As soon as he grabbed the piece of paper, Chan shook his head and tossed it to the side. He was under a lot of stress and if he was unfocused then he would be of no use. Besides, there was no sin in thinking of his future wife in the ways he had already seen before. That was at least he rationalized through his mind as his traitorous body beckoned his attention.

Tentatively, as if someone could walk in, which knowing that he hadn’t locked the door and often had someone bugging him could likely happen, he took hold of himself, hissing as he touched the heated flesh. Gently, he stroked the skin, and before long, he was completely hard and practically panting. His eyes closed as he ran his fingers over the tip, collecting the precume that had appeared and smearing it down his cock.

His mind had wondered and it wasn’t difficult to find the flash of scenes that played when the two of you had been intimate. Tightly you had gripped his hair, you tensed up, head thrown back and eyes tearing up as you released a cry for him. Your hips had moved involuntarily grinding against his face in a ditch effort to prolong the waves of pleasure for as long as you could. He remembered holding his tongue out flat, allowing to do as you please. After all, he lived to serve you. Then he was kissing you again, hot mouth pressed hard against yours to get you to taste yourself on his lips. He never held back when he kissed you, he never wanted to, wanting to engage you in a searing kiss that would send shock waves straight into your body. So that you remember, just like he was now, that he was the only one that could do this to you. 

The vision of your teasing followed after, only for him to remember the way you took him against the way of the club. He let out a soft moan as he envisioned the way you held onto him, nails digging into his shoulder to express your pleasure. He had a goal. To please you, to prove something to you. He had been driving himself into you with merciless abandon, focusing on your sweet moans, angling himself so that his pelvis rock against your sensitive bundle of nerves above your entrance, nudging you closer to release. One hard thrust, angled to touch the velvety patch of skin within you, had you crying out. You had clung to him, so tightly that he was moaning out his own release. The memory of his hips jerking against you, fucking you through both of your orgasms as he painted you walls white.

Another groan, this time sounding more frustrated, tore from the back of his throat at the image playing in his mind. His hips were moving in time with his hand, bucking forward instinctively beneath the blankets as he lost himself in the pleasure of thinking about you. He thought so many times about taking you, of ripping away the cloth barrier that stopped him every time the two of you were alone together. The tension had been so heavy around the two of you and he just wanted it to break. He was insatiable, greedy and it was all for you. He needed to taste your most intimate flavours again. A soft cry escaped from his lips, your name falling from his lips, firm grip on his cock faltering.

He was about to call for you again, only to be startled by a knock on the door. Chan, coughed, attempting to disguise the sound of him relishing in his own private affairs to answer whomever was knocking. He wanted to curse out whoever thought it would be a good idea to interrupt him, however he knew that it would come sooner or later. If only he had cum before whoever was at his door had. Grabbing the ledger and shifting slightly, he made sure to appear presentable as he could despite the fact he was both shirtless and slightly flushed. He cleared his throat. “Enter.” He commanded.

A maid entered, smiling up at him as pleasantly as possible. Her eyes went to his shirtless form and he immediately saw embarrassment wash over her. “Good evening S-Sir Bang.” She said as composed as possible, though her voice slightly cracked at the end of her sentence. 

He dismissed it though. Though he knew that she likely didn’t hear him, he knew that having a servant stare at him shirtless was already embarrassing enough. Even The Knights of The Round often complained of his distaste for wearing clothes during the nightly hours or training. “Good evening.” He said, pausing to allow her to speak, though by the expression on her face he could tell she was still rather flustered. “Did you need something?” Unlike you or your family, the question didn’t come out in the same cruel manner, it was more gentle, trying to mask any frustration he had earlier.

It was her turn to clear her throat, shaking her head as she composed herself once again. “A private call from Line 97 is calling you.” Line 97 was the private line he allowed his parents to call on. “Though, I see that you are busy. Would you like me to send it to your voicemail or have them call back another time?”

He shook his head. Normally, he would have tossed the sheets away and answered the call, leaving the servant to see their way out but he is naked, not hard anymore, thankfully, but still naked nonetheless. “I’ll get it in a second thank you.” 

As expected she respectfully bows at him, what wasn’t expected was the servant pausing halfway opening his door to look back at him. Though her cheeks were still flushed, she managed a shy smile. “I’m happy you and Her Highness are together.” She uttered to him rather abruptly, surprising even herself that she said such a thing. “That is to say… I’ve known Her Highness, (Y/N), for a while now and I’ve never seen her happier.”

Clearly the little facade the two of you were playing had even been tricking the staff here. He was sure any of the main staff that was in the main palace and not the Knights of The Round Villa would have said the opposite. Either that, or they were all meant to keep quiet to make sure no bad press about your marriage would spread through anyone’s ears. “Thank you.” Chan said in earnest. “Have you known Her Highness for a long time?”

“Yes. We actually went to school together when we were younger.” She admitted. “I was in a scholar program like yourself to train to be a Knight but I failed miserably.” 

He chuckled, recalling the days of his training and remembering the frustration and tears that came along with it. Being a Deliah Knight or Knight of The Round was never easy, much less training to be one. The Knight of One felt a wave of sympathy for her. “So, why choose to be apart of the Royal family’s staff?”

“Her Late Majesty. She had vi

Synopsis: All is fair in love, war, and business. When the bakery and café across from Candy Pop starts selling custom candy heart cakes two weeks before Valentine’s Day, you are livid. Bakery/Café AU, Candy Shop AU.

Warning: offhanded mention/jokes about alcohol and drugs, romanticization of how small businesses actually function

Word Count:15k

Pairing: fem!reader x Hyunjin; enemies-to-lovers

Happy (Early) Valentine’s Day!

“Have you seen this?” you ask, dangling the bright pink flyer in front of your boss’s face. After seeing them taped to just about every surface at the outdoor mall for the past couple days, you finally decided to take a look at one. A big mistake on your part because it’s only 6 AM and you are pissed. “‘Candy Heart Cakes, for your Valentine’s Day sweetheart who doesn’t like chalk. Custom messages available.’ Are they serious?”

Jihyo merely glances at it before turning back to the first batch of candy for the day, salted caramel lollipops. “Yeah. One of their employees asked if I would be alright with it a few weeks back. And I said yes.”

“But custom candy hearts are Candy Pop’s thing! Why?”

“Cakes and candy are different,” she says, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. Well, it sort of is, but you are still perplexed by how nonchalant she is about the bakery across the way possibly undercutting her business. “Most of our Valentine’s Day profits are from chocolates and strawberry bouquets anyway. Why are you so worked up about this? I’m the owner.”

She makes a good point. However, as the person who came up with the plan of selling custom candy hearts at the shop, you can’t help but feel miffed. This was originally your idea, for goodness’ sakes! You spent weeks devising a recipe of candy hearts that would not taste like chalk and spent days wheedling Jihyo about selling them. After promising that you would take responsibility for all the orders did she finally agree.

Granted, this endeavor is not particularly profitable, but still!

“‘Cause it was my idea to begin with!” you tell her in disbelief.

There’s a moment of silence before Jihyo whispers, “Oh, goodness. I forgot about that.” When she looks up at you, there is guilt written plainly across her face. “I’m so sorry. Alright, I’m gonna talk to them later and see if I can change their minds. I should have checked with you first. Y/N, I’m so sorry. I don’t know how it slipped my mind.”

You scrunch up the flyer into a neat little ball and toss it into the trash can. “No, I’ll do it. I’ve been meaning to give them a piece of my mind anyway. Leaving this stupid flyers everywhere and taking up wall space.”

“It’s my fault, so I’ll take care of it.” Jihyo pours the last bits of salted caramel onto a paper stick and softly swears when she notices that the lollipop is smaller than the others. “Are you mad at me?” she quietly asks.

To be truthful, you are a little bit. However, you can’t completely blame her for forgetting about the candy hearts since she’s always swamped with paperwork and other custom orders during the holidays.

“I’m mad at them,” you reply, mostly dodging the question. “I’m gonna go now and stop it before they start receiving orders.”

“I think it might be too late for that considering Valentine’s Day is in two weeks. And Y/N, I swear I’ll talk to them later. By the end of today at the latest.”

“This is important! We have to do it now.” When she doesn’t budge, you sigh. You really don’t want to play the ‘you owe me this at least’ card, but you say the line anyway. “And what if I buy breakfast while I’m there?”

After a few seconds of deliberation — you can see her visibly weighing the pros and cons of your bargain — she finally waves you off. “Please don’t cause any trouble.”

“No promises.”

You leave Candy Pop and walk straight across to Yellow Wood Bakery & Café, your current bane of existence. As much as you wish you could say that it is a substandard establishment with overbaked desserts and horrible staff, it is the complete opposite. You have been there a few times when you were too busy to eat a proper dinner, and everything there is impeccable and deserving of their five-star rating, you begrudgingly admit.

“Welcome! You’re our first customer of the day, so you get a free scone!”

You smile politely at the employee who greeted you, and he returns it with nearly twice the energy. His early morning chipperness makes you more irritated.

You stalk towards the counter, Jihyo’s warning to not make trouble forgotten. You gesticulate wildly at the giant glossy poster advertising their candy heart cakes. “Is this real? Are you serious?” is all you can get out amidst your rage.

The employee, whose name tag reads Felix, stares at you like a scared deer. His eyes dart back and forth between the kitchen doors and you. “Yes? Did you… did you want to order one?”

“No! I work at Candy Pop. You know, the store across from here that sells custom candy hearts every year? The original place? Who even decided upon this?”

He gives you a terse smile. “Just a moment, please.” Then he dashes into the kitchen, frantically calling for someone named Hyunjin.

While waiting for this ‘Hyunjin’ character to show up, you scan their display cases and their menu. You did promise to get breakfast after all. Your stomach grumbles as you take in all the flaky pastries and the meticulously decorated slices of cake. Yellow Wood might be an idea thief, but everything they make looks delicious.

Felix returns back behind the counter with a fellow who is presumably Hyunjin. He has flour all over his apron and some on his black shirt.

“You’re from Candy Pop?” he says. “And you’re here because of… something with our candy heart cakes?”

The audacity of him pretending not to know! “You guys stole my idea! Custom candy hearts is something Candy Pop has done for a few years now, so imagine my surprise when I learned that the bakery across from us suddenly has a custom candy heart promotion! On Valentine’s Day nonetheless! The same time of the year we do ours!”

“Are you even listening to yourself? Do you know how insane you sound right now?” he says, the contempt clear in his voice. His earlier facade of calm is completely gone. “Your so-called idea isn’t original! Custom candy hearts have been around for ages. It’s a Valentine’s Day staple. Are you even sober right now?”

“I could ask you the same question! You don’t think this looks suspicious?” you retort. “You guys have never done anything for Valentine’s Day.”

Hyunjin glares right back at you. “Is it a crime to cater the holidays now? What do you have to say about all the other shops that do this? Are you—”

You are momentarily confused as to why he stopped in the middle of the sentence, but when you hear the door of the bakery swing open, you understand. Hyunjin plasters on a brittle smile and asks you to repeat your order.

You can’t risk destroying Candy Pop’s reputation, so you tamp down all your anger and with an overly peppy voice, you say, “Sure. Two Americanos and two breakfast croissant sandwiches, to go.”

Hyunjin, in the same tone as you, reads aloud the price and asks Felix to get you your food. When you insert your credit card into the chip reader, he asks, “Are you interested in our latest promotion? We’ve turned the signature Valentine’s Day candy into something more palatable.”

You grit your teeth. You would bet your life that he was one who came up with that snide tagline. “No, thank you. I hear the candy shop across from here has custom candy, so I’m probably gonna go there instead. But I’ll think about your suggestion.”

Before another argument can begin, Felix intervenes. “Here are your croissants and your free scone,” he announces stiffly, placing a brown paper bag on the counter. “Fresh out of the oven. And your coffee should be ready soon.”

“Thank you.”

You take the bag and sit at a nearby table as you wait. Hyunjin helps the next customer with noticeably less venom, but he still injects subtle digs at you while making conversation. You simmer and stew in your seat, unable to do anything but glare. Once Felix sets down your coffee, you snatch them up and storm back to Candy Pop.

Jihyo is refilling the baskets by the cash register with heart-shaped lollipops and mini bags of gumdrops when you enter the shop. She looks at you and sighs.

“I thought I said not to cause trouble. I take it that it didn’t go well with them?”

“That’s putting it mildly,” you scowl. “He pretty much called me a lunatic, and we kind of got into a fight. Anyway, I got breakfast.”

Jihyo pauses and studies you carefully. “What did you exactly say? And who did you talk to because Felix doesn’t seem like the type to say that.”

“It was some guy named Hyunjin,” you answer as you unwrap your croissant. Ham, cheddar cheese, and scrambled eggs never smelled so good. “He’s a real piece of work.”

“What did you say to him?”

“Nothing bad, I swear! I just let him know that he stole my idea, and then he got all huffy and defensive. Honestly, can you believe him?”

Jihyo lets out the most exasperated sigh you have ever heard. “Tell me everything from start to finish please.”

As you recount the story, not leaving out a single detail from the pretty desserts in the case to Hyunjin’s biting snark, it slowly dawns upon you that you did kind of sound like a lunatic from Yellow Wood’s perspective. By the time you have finished your croissant, Jihyo is giving you a “I told you so” sort of look, and you are mortified.

She dusts off any excess crumbs into her paper wrapper. “You were just supposed to ask them if they would be open to changing their minds about their cakes. You need to apologize.”

“I can’t go back there after the stunt I pulled! That’s humiliating!” you splutter. “Also, that guy was a real jerk, so he doesn’t deserve one.”

“You still need to apologize. And soon as well. You don’t exactly have any moral high ground either after the way you yelled at him.”

You nurse your coffee, hoping that Jihyo will magically change her mind in the meantime. She clasps her hands together on the countertop and stares back at you as more guilt starts building inside you. You bite the lip of your cup lid in anguish.

After a solid minute, you groan. “Fine, I’ll apologize by the end of today, okay? But I get to eat the scone.”

“Good girl.”

However, Jihyo did not specify how you were to apologize. As such, you decide to return back to Yellow Wood in the mid-afternoon with a small bag of candy hearts in your coat pocket.

“Out to lunch?” Jihyo remarks as she spots you on your way out.

“Yeah. Do you want anything?”

“Anything salty. I’ve spent all morning working on a new batch of strawberry milk candy, and I’m so sick of it.”

“Got it. See you later.”

Felix is still working the cash register, and you can see the panic flickering across his face as you walk in. No one else is in the bakery, which would give you and Hyunjin the perfect opportunity to continue your earlier argument.

“Welcome,” he says with significantly less enthusiasm compared to this morning.

“Is Hyunjin here?” you ask. At his apprehension, you reassure him, “I’m not here to pick a fight. I’m here to apologize.”

He visibly relaxes and motions at the double kitchen doors. “I’ll get him for you. Give me a minute.”

Felix comes back with Hyunjin, who has a self-satisfied smirk on his face. Any sense of humiliation you feel is immediately replaced with annoyance, and it takes more effort than you would like to admit to not roll your eyes at his haughty attitude.

“Well, guess who’s back?” he greets. “How can I help you?”

“I’m sorry for yelling at you this morning,” you say. “I shouldn’t have been that… inflammatory towards you, and I was wrong to accuse you of stealing my idea when my idea wasn’t really mine to begin with. So, are we good now?”

He drums his fingers across the countertop, glancing upwards at the ceiling. He’s enjoying this moment far too much. “I’ll think about it,” he replies with a saccharine smile.

“Maybe this will help.” You pull out the bag of candy you spent a large portion of the morning making. Inside are dozens of pastel candy hearts that have ‘SORRY’ written across the top. “I promise they don’t taste like chalk.”

While Felix and Hyunjin gape at the gift — Hyunjin looks particularly irked — you say goodbye and head to the sandwich shop five doors down. You better splurge on a beef sandwich for Jihyo since you can only imagine how exasperated she will be once she learns of what you did.

She says nothing about your bribe hidden in plain sight, and you don’t mention anything about visiting Yellow Wood. While you help customers place Valentine’s Day orders and keep an eye out for kids who treat any unsupervised candy as free samples, Jihyo is preoccupied with her latest recipe. The day soon draws to a close. As you clean the kitchen, Jihyo finally mentions your promise to apologize.

“I already did during lunch.” You hope she won’t put the two and two together. “He said he would think about it, which I guess is fair.”

“Are you still upset?”

You spray down the giant metal countertop with disinfectant and wipe the surface. “A little bit. I mean, he wasn’t wrong about the whole candy heart thing, and I shouldn’t have acted like that, but I was just so angry. Though I didn’t have caffeine then, so maybe that’s why I was so irrationally pissed off.”

“I’m really sorry about not checking with you first,” she softly says. “I really am.”

You drop the rag and reach over to hug her. Sure, she’s technically your boss and what you’re doing is probably not work-appropriate, but Jihyo is your friend first. “Forget about it. I forgive you as long as you promise not to fire me over what I did today.”

“Deal.”

After the kitchen is sparkling clean, the two of you sit in the front room of the shop and indulge in some of the rejected strawberry milk candy batches.

“Hey, we should give some to Yellow Wood,” she suddenly suggests. “It’ll be like an apology gift and maybe that will convince what’s-his-name to forgive you.”

Nonono. You pretend to sort through the candies as you try to hide your panic. “Is anyone even still there? Don’t they close kind of early on the weekdays? It’s after 10 now. I doubt they’re open.”

Fortunately, Jihyo mistakes your evasion as shame and not that you want to avoid her finding out how you exactly apologized. “C’mon. You did the hard part already. Besides, they have to clean up for the night as well.”

“I don’t know. They probably don’t want me to come back. I’m sure they banned me already.”

“Don’t be so dramatic. Let’s go.”

In that time of conversation, she filled a small bag with the milk candies and another one with leftover salted caramel lollipops. She starts heading for the door, but you stay put where you are.

Jihyo waves her keys in the air. “I’m gonna lock up for the night, so you have to leave anyway.”

You sigh and reluctantly follow her to Yellow Wood because maybe, just maybe, you might be able to do some damage control. Jihyo cheerfully knocks on the door and waves to the employee sweeping the floor. You don’t recognize him, but he seems to know Jihyo. He unlocks the door for her.

“Hey. Did you need something? Is everything alright?”

“Hey, Changbin. Everything’s fine. Is” — she turns to you — “what’s his name again?”

Quietly, you say, “Hyunjin.” What you would give to have the ground swallow you up right now.

“Yeah, is Hyunjin here? My friend wants to give him something. Right, Y/N?”

You don’t dignify it with a response, choosing to glower at Jihyo instead. She shoots one back akin to “I’m doing this for your own good.”

Changbin’s gaze switches between you and the candy Jihyo holds. It’s not like that, you want to tell him. It’s far from what you’re thinking. “Come in,” he says with a grin.

Jihyo enters the bakery, and you trail behind her like a meek shadow. Meanwhile, Changbin props his broom against the wall and shouts, “Hyunjin! Someone’s here for you.”

Jihyo pushes the bags into your hands as the kitchen door swings open. Hyunjin’s eyes land on you first and then the candy you hold. You grip the bags tighter and feel one of the lollipops cracking apart in your grasp.

He saunters in front of you, and you can’t tell if he’s amused or annoyed. “It’s you again.”

“This is for you,” you say in a monotonous voice. “Again, I’m sorry about what happened this morning.”

He takes them from you and seeing the fractured bits of candy, flashes you that same saccharine smile from before. “Thanks. You know, I have something for you too. Give me a minute, and I’ll bring it out.”

You had a feeling he was going to retaliate; he seems to be just as petty as you are. A small part of you wants to see what he did. However, considering that Jihyo is here and that you are not keen on being exposed, you step back and grab Jihyo’s arm.

“It’s fine. It’s getting late, so we should really get going.”

“No, it will be quick. Jihyo, I think you’ll especially like it. Just stay here.” He disappears into the kitchen, and dread settles into your stomach.

He knows what you’re trying to hide, and soon everyone will know. At least you had Jihyo promise that she wouldn’t fire you for what you did today. Thank goodness you said ‘today’ and not ‘this morning.’ Good word choice might save you here.

Unfortunately for you, Jihyo is starting to catch on. “What did you do?”

You elect to pretend to not hear it and redirect your gaze to the menu above the cash register. “So, what kind of breakfast do you want tomorrow? I’ll buy something for you.”

“Oh, goodness.”

At that moment, Hyunjin reappears, this time with a white pastry box. He presents it to you with a flourish. “For you. I was planning to give it to you tomorrow, but since you’re here, I thought this would be perfect. Open it.”

“What is it?”

You don’t miss the smirk that briefly flashes across his face before he recomposes himself. “Open it and see.”

Jihyo hovers behind you, and even Changbin has stepped closer to see what Hyunjin has given you. You shake your head, and Hyunjin raises an eyebrow.

“I don’t think I could accept a gift from you after what I did this morning,” you say. You slowly tiptoe backwards, trying to take a firmly-stood Jihyo with you. “It wouldn’t feel right.”

“Oh, so now you have a moral compass?” he scoffs, clearly tired of your sidestepping. You can’t blame him; you would be too if you were in his position. “C’mon. Just admit that you’re scared of the consequences.”

Over your shoulder, Jihyo mutters, “That better not be a head in there, Y/N.”

Changbin is also providing useless commentary on the situation, your personal favorite being “Oh, so she’s not actually into you” because anyone with common sense could see that you and Hyunjin clearly do not like each other. Everyone’s expectant stares combined with Hyunjin’s challenging grin finally set you off.

“Fine,” you bite out.

The golden logo of Yellow Wood shines underneath the lights as you lift up the lid to reveal a pastel pink heart-shaped cake with the words ‘APOLOGY ACCEPTED’ piped on in white frosting. It wouldn’t be all that horrific if it were not for the border made of candy hearts that all read ‘SORRY.’ Worst of all, the cake actually looks quite good.

While you fume, Jihyo and Changbin take this opportunity to see Hyunjin’s creation, and he proudly shows it off. Changbin laughs and asks if you made the candy hearts, to which you nod. Jihyo, who you suppose expected something of this nature, only sighs and halfheartedly scolds you for doing such a thing. She does seem impressed that you managed to make that many without her knowing, so she’s not too upset.

“At least it’s not a head, right?” you try to joke. When she looks back at you blankly, you announce, “Alright, I’m going home. Good night.”

Before you can turn around though, Hyunjin says, “Take the cake at least. I spent a lot of time and energy on it.”

“Then take back the candy hearts. I also spent a lot of time and energy on them.”

To your surprise, he actually begins picking them off. The cake now has little divots where the candy hearts used to be, and while it doesn’t look as pretty as before, it sure makes you feel a lot less angry.

“You better eat it,” he says as he shuts the lid. “You’re not allergic to the taste of defeat, are you?”

“You’re a real piece of work, Hyunjin,” you growl as you snatch the box from him. It has a bit of a weight to it. “Well, thank you for such a delightful gift. I hope you enjoy mine as well. Good. Night.”

You storm out the bakery with your brand new cake, the Yellow Wood logo of the pastry box taunting you the entire time. When you arrive home, somehow managing to not road rage when some idiot cuts you off, your phone has several messages from your boss, one of them asking you to not incite Yellow Wood anymore because business, and two of them agreeing that Hyunjin is a bit of a jerk and yeah, she understands why you did it.

You wish you could say you slept a little easier that night, but you didn’t have a shred of remorse inside you anyway.

You really don’t want to admit it, but the cake is really good, like “one small slice before actual breakfast turns into three, and oh no, now I’m late for work now because I spent too much time savoring this cake” good. It’s infuriating.

When you arrive at Candy Pop just a few minutes later after your shift begins — you may have rolled a few stop signs on your way — you tell Jihyo that you overslept.

“It’s fine,” she says distractedly. She downs her coffee and pushes a piece of paper towards you while you tie on your apron. “Did you eat yet? Please tell me you did. A customer called and changed their pickup time, so we’ve got to make two strawberry bouquets before 10 today.”

Strawberry bouquets are the most popular order by far, so you and Jihyo have plenty of experience with it. The two of you fall into the usual rhythm, you washing and drying the fruit while she begins tempering the chocolate. You notice that both you and Jihyo are eating the smaller, less likely to be used strawberries.

Once the chocolate-covered strawberries are left in the fridge to harden, there is nothing to do but wait. As such, you offer to buy breakfast since that is what you said you would do last night.

“Coffee, and get those croissants from yesterday! Those were good.”

Because you feel bad for being late, you don’t put up a fight. Jihyo reminds you not to cause trouble, and you respond with the same answer as yesterday: “No promises.”

“I’m serious. I love you and all, but business is business. I really don’t wanna fire you, so please don’t do anything rash.”

She won’t fire you because that’s what friendship is for, but you also don’t want to test her limits when the most stressful holiday of the year is approaching. “Okay, okay. I’ll be good,” you sigh. You hold up your pinky finger as a promise and shrug on your coat. “See you.”

Most of the morning rush has subsided, so there are only a few stragglers inside Yellow Wood. You politely smile as strangers give you curious looks and then realize that you are still wearing your red and white apron. You quickly wrap your coat around yourself, suddenly self-conscious. When you approach the counter, Felix greets you with some forced cheer.

“Good morning. Two iced Americanos and two breakfast croissants, please.”

“We’re out of croissants right now. Do you mind waiting a few minutes? We should have a fresh batch soon.”

You have all the time until 10 AM. “I don’t mind.”

While he prepares your coffee, you wait by the drop-off counter. You didn’t mean to scare him with your outburst yesterday, but it’s only reasonable that he is apprehensive towards you. With a coworker as acerbic as Hyunjin though, it’s a bit of a surprise. Maybe you should make Felix some candy hearts. Your apology to him will be a lot more genuine though.

When he sets down your Americanos on the counter, you stop him before he can scurry back to the register even though there are no more waiting customers.

“Hey,” you start, “I want to apologize to you about yesterday. I was really upset about the candy hearts and then Hyunjin, and I’m sorry that some of that anger spilled onto you. I shouldn’t have yelled at you, and I’m sorry if I scared you.”

He slowly nods. “Thanks. And it’s alright. Hyunjin and Jisung used to fight a lot.”

You have no idea who this Jisung guy is, but he sounds like he’s just as fiery as you. Serves Hyunjin right.

“Felix, croissants are ready.” Hyunjin, coming out of the kitchen with a tray of said croissants, glances around to find his coworker. He addresses you first. “Back so soon? Did you enjoy defeat that much?”

You hold your tongue. “Good morning, Hyunjin. Nice to see that my breakfast is going to be nice and hot.”

“Felix, I’ll handle her order,” he says as he sets the tray down. “Two croissants again? Should I prepare another cake for you and your candy hearts?”

Felix looks back and forth between the two of you, wondering if he should intervene before the situation turns hostile. You assure him that it’s fine and tell Hyunjin that yes, you want two croissants. Felix tentatively takes the rest of the tray to the display case while Hyunjin hovers around.

“No passive aggressive messages today?” he asks, a sickly sweet grin intact.

You roll your eyes, which is definitely not passive aggressive at all. “Look, can we call a truce? I’m not too keen on getting fired over this, especially since I don’t have any other marketable job skills.”

“There’s no way she’s going to fire you two weeks before Valentine’s Day.”

“We have other employees, and I don’t want to waste more time and blood pressure on you either. So, truce?” You hold out your hand for him to shake. When he just stares at it, you sigh heavily. “Are you serious? C’mon. Do you actually like fighting this much?”

“I’ll shake if you apologize again. Really apologize.”

You repeat your apology from yesterday, putting extra emphasis on how not right your actions were and how sorry you are. When you are done, you extend your hand again. After a few seconds of deliberation, he shakes it.

“Are you actually allergic to anything?” he asks. Astonishingly, he does appear mildly concerned. “That cake wasn’t gluten-free or egg-free or anything else.”

“Well, I’m still alive, aren’t I? Thank you so much for your consideration after I could have died. Anyway, I should go before Jihyo thinks I killed you.” After a second, you add a curt “Bye.”

He replies with one of his own.

You take your food and head back to Candy Pop. You’re not entirely sure if your boss is being overdramatic or not when she sees that the red you wear is merely your apron and not blood. She whisks the paper bag and coffee out of your hands. Since the shop doesn’t open for another hour, the two of you eat around the shop counter.

“What took you so long? I was about to go over.”

You sip on your coffee, the cold chilling your teeth. “I had to wait for the croissants, and you’ll be happy to hear that Hyunjin and I called a truce. We’re good now.”

“Thank goodness. Now that that’s out of the way, we need to start decorating this place soon. We keep putting it off.”

The conversation turns into Jihyo’s plans for sprucing up Candy Pop for Valentine’s Day, and you listen as you polish off your breakfast. Yellow Wood has some great food, both to your delight and dismay.

At 9, the shop officially opens, and Jihyo cleans off the counter while you flip around the sign in the window. The store doesn’t get much traffic in the morning, but there’s bound to be a few people who work at the mall who want a snack on their break. In the time that no one is around though, you set to work on another batch of candy hearts for Felix. It’s the same design as Hyunjin’s, but they look decidedly better since you are not making them in a spite-induced frenzy.

During lunch, you head back to Yellow Wood to give them to Felix, who seems to be pleased to receive it.

“Thanks! I had been actually thinking of buying some from you guys,” he says as he turns the bag over and over in his hands. He chuckles when he reads the ‘SORRY’ printed on each one.

“You don’t have to pity-buy them, but thanks anyway.”

“No, it’s not. You know, Hyunjin said they were kind of good, and since he was mad at you, then they really had to be.”

“You really don’t have to try to convince me. It’s fine.” As much as you appreciate the offer, you don’t want or need pity-buys. Well, maybe your ego does, but it cheapens the thrill for you. You hear the door open as a customer walks in, so you step away from the counter since you aren’t planning to buy anything for lunch. “I should go. Sorry again. Bye.”

“It’s true though, and I am going to buy some soon. Have a nice day.”

You wander through the rest of the outdoor mall, not feeling hungry at all. There were still strawberry milk candies from yesterday, and you swiped some from the free sample bowl when no one was watching. Jihyo is still making some minor adjustments to her recipe, and you don’t want to head back early and be forced to taste test. The strawberry from the candy and the bouquets would be permanently stuck to your taste buds if you had any more strawberry flavors.

As you walk along the wide path between storefronts, you note that Yellow Wood’s tacky pink flyers are still plastered everywhere. It’s a near miracle how no one has gone blind from the assault of color. When a breeze sends a hastily taped paper flying in your direction, you snatch from midair and stick it into a nearby recycling bin. The stupid tagline — “for your Valentine’s Day sweetheart who doesn’t like chalk” —  irks you. It’s just a cheeky jab at candy hearts in general, but it feels like a personal attack after the hell you went through in developing the recipe.

A truce is a truce, but what you would give to tear down all those inflammatory papers.

You end up circling back to Candy Pop, right across the way from Yellow Wood with its Valentine’s Day specials poster in the display window. The graphic of candy hearts is small but definitely visible from the bakery. You suck in a shaky breath.

It means nothing.

Yet it does not stop you from avoiding Yellow Wood and all of its employees. You told Jihyo you and Hyunjin were good now, but that apparently is a lie. Seeing the pink flyers everywhere makes your blood boil, and the lack of orders of candy hearts makes it worse. There are less than last year. Yes, you painstakingly looked through last year’s orders and tallied them to make sure.

You are still bothered by this days later as you rehang the fairy lights behind the counter. You strung them up and all the other decorations in the shop with Chaeyoung yesterday, and the two of you did a less-than-stellar job judging by the rate of falling decor. To be fair, as Valentine’s Day approaches, the candy shop grows busier with the influx of business. Just not the specific business you wish for.

“How are we out of chocolate roses already?” Chaeyoung, the other employee, mumbles. The glass jar where they are normally held is completely empty. “It’s only 5 PM. The evening crowd hasn’t even come yet.”

Once the lights are back on the wall, you turn back to the gumdrop bags. “A bunch of high schoolers came by earlier. I think they cleared out all of our chocolate.” Contrary to popular belief, they were actually quite nice and polite. Two of them even ordered candy hearts, so high school boys are officially your favorite customers. “Aren’t you supposed to be helping Jihyo?”

“She’s doing paperwork right now, so my current job is to ‘fix the shabby decorations.’”

You suppress a laugh as you cut another piece of ribbon to tie off the gumdrop bags with. “Get a stepstool, shorty.”

“I’m not that short!” she calls as she walks to the maintenance closet to get the ladder.

You hum something in acknowledgement and watch as she precariously balances on the fourth step to retape one of the paper heart garlands. More customers stop by for sweets, pointedly avoiding Chaeyoung on the ladder. You ring up the customers and enter their Valentine’s Day orders in the system. Unsurprisingly, strawberry bouquets are the most requested item. Following them are not custom candy hearts but chocolate boxes. Your disappointment is palpable.

However, you can only politely smile at the gentleman who orders a chocolate box: all dark chocolate, no nuts, no caramel, no cream fillings. He heads on his merry way after, and you swipe a licorice stick from the free sample bowl to cheer yourself up. Chaeyoung, who is now sitting hunched over on the fourth step because her arms are tired, sends you a sympathetic smile.

“You’ve got another week,” she reminds.

“Yellow Wood and their stupid candy heart cakes stealing our customers,” you bite out. You tear the licorice with more force than necessary and chew the candy like it’s day-old gum. “I knew this would happen.”

As if on cue, two employees from Yellow Wood walk in, wide grins on their face like they came by to gloat. Well, maybe not Felix but definitely Hyunjin. He glances around at the shop, almost appraising everything out on display.

“Welcome,” Chaeyoung calls from her perch.

“Speak of the devil,” you mutter. At a more audible level, you say, “Welcome to Candy Pop.”

While Felix wanders around and badgers Chaeyoung about something or the other, Hyunjin saunters over to you.

“Have you come to tell me how successful your cakes are? Because I’m really not interested.”

“Someone sounds bitter.”

“Definitely more bitter than sweet right now. I think I’m allowed to be upset.” You snap the scissors shut and push away the spool of ribbon. “So, why are you guys here then if not to brag?”

“Felix wanted some of your candy hearts.” Hyunjin leans against the counter and conspiratorially leans towards you. “I think he’s gone a little crazy. Or did you put drugs in them?”

“If I did, there would be a line out the door,” you snort. Maybe Yellow Wood has some illegal affairs happening in their kitchen. They’re even busier than usual, and you saw how many people walked out of there with a cake box. “Is that what you guys do?”

“Our cakes are actually good. No one likes chalk, you know.”

“Funny you say that because Felix said you liked my candy hearts. So they’re definitely not chalk.”

You expect him to deny it, to say that Felix was lying, to ask if you are even sober but instead he turns a shade of pink that matches perfectly with strawberry milk candy. You don’t even bother trying to conceal the smirk on your face.

“Ah, so it is true!” you crow. “Aww, Hyunjin. How sweet of you to tell me.”

He brushes off the embarrassment easily and smiles innocently at you. “Then what did you think of my cake? And be honest.”

That beautiful cake and its delicious layers. You wolfed it down on the second day, and if it weren’t for your pride, you might have ordered one. When you hesitate a bit, his smirk starts to mirror yours from five seconds ago. You huff to yourself, and as you duck under the counter to put away your supplies, say, “It was up to standard. What I expected from Yellow Wood, five star cooking and all.”

“Aww, Y/N. You did like it.”

You think he means to sound derisive, but it comes off as genuine. You start placing the gumdrop bags into the baskets. When you glance at him from the corner of your eye, there’s a hint of a smile on his face. “We can’t fault each other for having good taste,” you concede.

“So why haven’t you been back to Yellow Wood then? Jisung doesn’t believe that you actually exist, and I need you to prove me right.”

“No thanks. The world is much better when you’re wrong,” you say, tactfully avoiding his question. Fortunately, Felix has made his way to the counter with some other treats in hand. You spot some salted caramel lollipops and a bag of gummy bears. “Are you ready to check out?”

“Yeah. Do I order custom candy hearts here?”

You brightly nod and rattle off the list of colors and flavors available. He selects the option with all of them and informs you that he wants his name on them. He shoots a look at Hyunjin, who pretends not to see it.

“Sure,” you say, confused because no one has ever asked for their own name before. “They’ll be ready in a few hours, so do you want to pick them up then or tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow morning.”

While Felix pays, you say, “Why do you want your name on them, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“So Hyunjin doesn’t eat them all.”

You smile along with him and happily watch Hyunjin blush again. He does nothing to defend himself, but he does elbow Felix in the arm. Knowing that Hyunjin has admitted defeat only makes the grin on you and Felix’s faces grow. You push the free sample bowl outward, motioning for your new favorite Yellow Wood employee to take some.

“See you tomorrow,” Felix says as he gathers his purchases. He takes one from the bowl and heads out the door.

Hyunjin, licorice stick dangling from his mouth, nods goodbye and makes a sour face at you. You are unsure if it’s a diss at you or the candy.

You can’t ponder over it though since the evening crowd begins swarming soon after. You hope he meant you though. Goodness knows what you will do if another one of your recipes gets insulted by Hyunjin, especially since the two of you are just starting to be a little less abrasive to each other.

Like he said, Felix swings by in the morning to pick up his candy hearts. You make sure to put a bright pink sticky note on the top that reads, “None for Hyunjin,” in big letters. There’s a little extra bounce in his steps as he leaves, and you cheerfully begin on a new batch of candy hearts. Chaeyoung has taken over cash register duty, so you spend most of the day tackling orders.

Somewhere during your seventh batch of dark chocolate, Chaeyoung pokes her head into the kitchen and says that someone is here to see you.

“Who is it?” you ask, peeling off your gloves and throwing them on top of the work surface. “Is it delivery stuff? I think only Jihyo can sign off on it.”

You follow her out, fully expecting a delivery man with a clipboard and a pen, only to find Hyunjin with a familiar white pastry box. Chaeyoung makes an excuse about needing to organize the toffee bars.

“Good morning,” you say, trying not to look at the box. Please, please, please let it be a free cake for you. You have done nothing to deserve such a thing, but maybe Hyunjin wants to apologize for nearly breaking the truce yesterday. “How may I help you?”

“I just wanted to drop off something for you,” he says as he sets it down. He slides it towards you with ease. “Open it.”

You eagerly reach out to do so, but when your fingers reach to lift up the lid, you can already tell something is off. Whatever is inside is too light to be a thick, layered cake. You glance at Hyunjin who has an all too innocent expression on his face.

When you finally see the contents inside, you understand why. There is no cake or any sort of food for that matter, just a highlighter yellow sticky note with the words “None for Y/N.”

“How original,” you say as you rip off the note. You crumple it and stick it inside your apron pocket before shoving the now empty box at Hyunjin. “Keep the box. No point in wasting it.”

He ignores it and leans against the counter, propping one arm on top. “That was clearly a response to your attack on me. Don’t you have anything else to do other than bother me?”

“That was a joke! If anything, you’re the one with too much free time, specifically coming over here to hand-deliver your extremely witty reply.”

Halfway through your last sentence, Jihyo comes out of the kitchen with a tray of lollipops. “No fighting, remember? What happened to the truce? And good morning, by the way, Hyunjin.”

“We’re not fighting,” you say. “This is… gentle ribbing.”

Both of your coworkers look skeptical, but Hyunjin nods in agreement. “Yeah. She’s disappointed that I didn’t give her a cake, so I’m teasing her about it.”

“And he’s just disappointed that he wasn’t allowed to eat the candy hearts I made especially not for him, so I’m teasing him about it. It’s really nothing.”

Jihyo shakes her head and starts setting out the lollipops into a basket. “Alright then. Just don’t start another war.”

Hyunjin flashes her an easy smile. “No problem. And for the record” — he turns back to you — “I didn’t come here just to bother you.”

“Oh, so you admit that you were trying to antagonize me?” You rest your chin on the palm of your hand and tilt your head at Jihyo, who is massaging her temples like she has a brewing headache. “Way to break the truce right in front of my boss.”

“Since you very clearly don’t want me here,” he says, lowering himself to meet you at eye level, “how about I go buy candy from somewhere else?”

“We’re the only candy store in this entire mall. You don’t really have any other options.”

“I don’t know. Those vending machines look pretty good.”

“Yeah, if you like cheap, sugary chocolate and stale gummy bears. C’mon, Hyunjin. I think your taste is a little better than that.” When he sighs and concedes after a couple seconds, you clap your hands together and grin. “Well, go on. Pick out something.”

He rolls his eyes at you before walking around the shop. He scans all the displays, occasionally making astonished faces at whatever item he has discovered. Over the years, you and Jihyo have created some strange pieces of candy. Chaeyoung answers some of his questions, and you rearrange the lollipops in the basket after Jihyo leaves to finish up your neglected batch of chocolate.

Hyunjin soon returns with a bag of sweet and sour watermelon gummies. He hands it to you for weighing, and you read the price aloud to him.

“You have to buy something from the bakery now,” he says as he pushes his credit card into the chip reader. “It’s only fair that you do.”

“Do all my croissants and coffee not count? Because I’ve spent more than you already.”

“Nah, doesn’t count. Those were before our truce.”

“Yeah, and financial records really care about our verbal agreement. I think they should count.” You nudge the pastry box towards him. “Don’t forget about this. Thanks for stopping by Candy Pop. Have a good day.”

He tucks his gummies into his hoodie pocket and takes the box. “Please? Jisung still doesn’t think you exist, and he’s offered to help with cleaning the kitchen if you show up by tomorrow.”

“Bye, Hyunjin.”

“What if I make you a cake?”

Over by the toffee bars, Chaeyoung is doing her best to stifle her laughter at your amazement. Your mouth has dropped open into a little ‘o’ and your eyes are wide with disbelief. Animosity forgotten, you delightfully ask, “When should I come over?”

Hyunjin looks just as thrilled as you. “Whenever you want. Just make sure it’s before closing time.”

Your dinner break can’t come soon enough.

Around dinner time and after the evening rush, you head to Yellow Wood. While you are mostly over the candy heart copycat incident, it still feels like betraying yourself. But that cake was really good, and you’re not paying for it, so there’s less guilt there.

The bakery and café is packed with customers, some who are there for a quick pick-me-up after work and some who are there for a meal. Hyunjin is nowhere in sight, and it would be rude to walk up to the unknown employee at the register to ask. Is he the mysterious Jisung? Or is the busboy wiping down a window seat him? Either way, it would be strange to introduce yourself without Hyunjin around. With no other plan in mind, you wait in line with everyone else and try to not be disappointed when you hear the two people in front of you order a candy heart cake.

The line shuffles forward. Your stomach growls as you take in the display cases filled with food: cheesecake slices with stripes of raspberry drizzle, shiny fruit tarts glazed with jam, golden brown cream horns topped with powdered sugar. You may have to buy something for dinner after all. A cup of water isn’t going to cut it. Who knows if Hyunjin has even finished your cake yet with this much business.

“Welcome to Yellow Wood Bakery & Café! How can I help you?”

His name tag reads “Jeongin,” so not the guy needed for your cake. “Hi. Can I get a fruit tart and a ham and cheese sandwich? To-go?”

He taps at the screen for a few seconds before smiling at you. “Anything else I can get you? A drink maybe?”

“Is Hyunjin around? I’m a… friend of his, and he asked me to meet him here.”

“Ah, everyone’s favorite tall glass of water,” interjects a stranger. The busboy, now finished with his table and off to exchange his rag, walks behind Jeongin. You try to read his name tag to see if he’s the mystery man who will earn you a cake, but he’s already heading into the kitchen.

Jeongin looks embarrassed by his coworker’s sudden exchange. “Sorry about him. I think Hyunjin’s busy right now, but I’ll tell him you stopped by. Is there anything else I can help you with?”

“No, that’s all. Thank you.”

While he reads you the final cost, you fumble around your pockets for your wallet. This cursed bakery is going to bleed you dry of money at this rate. Who knew fruit tarts were so expensive? Well, you did since you saw the price written on the placard, but your hunger won out in the end.

You take your receipt from Jeongin, fold it into a neat rectangle, and wait by the pick-up counter with the other customers. An employee dashes back and forth between the coffee maker and the counter, calling out orders and setting down paper bags of food. You aren’t able to read his name tag though. Hyunjin has still not made his appearance even though this was his idea to begin with. He better hurry.

Your wishes are answered when Hyunjin comes out of the kitchen with a dusting of flour on his apron and the busboy at his heels. He motions for you to meet him at the side, and you oblige. The busboy scrutinizes you up and down. You finally see his name and realize this is the Jisung Hyunjin talked about.

“So you’re the crazy candy heart lady,” he says like he doesn’t believe that you are real despite standing in front of him. “Wow. I thought he was lying.”

“Nope, that’s me, Candy Pop’s resident troublemaker.” Now that you’re here, you’re not sure if you want to relive the memory. You did some awful things that day. To Hyunjin, you ask, “How’s the cake going?”

Jisung glances at the two of you with suspicion. “Wait, is this really her, or did you just bribe someone to be her?”

“I had to bribe her to come back,” Hyunjin explains. “We can talk about the pots I’m making you scrub later. There’s a table waiting for you.”

Jisung makes a vague complaint about Hyunjin telling him what to do, but nonetheless, he heads back into the main section of the café. He waves goodbye with his new rag, and you wave back with your free hand.

“The cake?” you remind him. You are salivating just thinking of the rich chocolate sponge and the thick layers of vanilla buttercream between the layers. “Is it done yet?”

He looks a little apologetic. “Do you want to wait until tomorrow or after closing? We’ve been busy.”

You expected this, but the disappointment doesn’t sting less. What’s a few more hours though, right? “After closing. You guys close at 10, right?”

“Yeah. Do you want the same flavor, or should I make something different?”

The question makes you pause, and you scan the menu overhead to see if their cake flavors are listed there. They are not. The giant poster advertising their candy heart cakes is on the other side of the room, and you can’t make out the words from where you are.

“Surprise me,” you finally decide. “Just don’t poison me or anything like that. Jihyo will come for your head if she finds out I’m dead before Valentine’s Day.”

“So I’m free to poison you after Valentine’s Day?”

“Like you could manage that without getting caught.”

Surprisingly, the words aren’t barbed, and you are a bit shocked when you see that Hyunjin has an amused smile on his face, even more so when you realize that you, too, are not completely irritated by this exchange. You brush it off as lingering cake happiness.

“I’ll see you then. I think there’s some bread waiting to be baked,” you say, parroting his words to Jisung. You see the other employee picking out a fruit tart from the display case, so your order must be next.

“Brownies, but nice try. See you.”

When he turns around, you notice that he has a splotch of flour on the back of his shirt. You laugh to yourself at the sight before heading back to the pick-up counter. Like you predicted, there is a sandwich and a tart waiting for you. You take your spoils back to Candy Pop to eat. Jisung thanks you for coming to Yellow Wood as you pass him by, and you politely smile in return.

After scarfing down your dinner — five star food as per usual, so not a difficult task — you help Jihyo with some Valentine’s Day boxes until closing time. Cleanup today consists of many dirty trays and cooling racks, and you hope that whatever Hyunjin makes doesn’t have chocolate. The smell of chocolate, hot water, and soap is not appealing to say the least.

A quick snack of cherry licorice later, you slip on your coat and make your way back to Yellow Wood. You press your nose against the glass door, looking inside for someone. The Changbin fellow from last week is sweeping the floor again, and he opens the door for you when you knock.

“Hey,” he greets, stepping aside for you. “Hyunjin said he’s still working on it and to wait a little. Come in.”

“Thanks.”

You pull out a chair near the register and slouch against the back. You’ve been hunched over a work surface most of the day, so this feels nice. It’s not even a particularly comfortable chair.

Jisung comes out of a maintenance closet with a broom in hand and does a double-take when he sees you’re here during closing hours. You mention the cake you were promised, and his eyes light in understanding. While you catch up on your messages on your phone, Changbin and Jisung continue sweeping and on occasion, sword fight with their brooms. They don’t talk much, most likely because you are here.

Around twenty minutes later, Hyunjin comes out with a pastry box. You immediately hop out of your seat and head over to him.

“Sorry I took so long,” he says, forgoing a greeting. “The buttercream was being uncooperative.”

“No poison, right?” you ask as you take the box from his hands. It has a heft to it, so there’s definitely a cake in there unlike this morning. “I was not kidding about Jihyo, and Chaeyoung might come after you too.”

“None this time.”

“So, I should never come back here after this then? Fine with me.” It rings false to your own ears, but maybe your bravado will cover it up.

Unfortunately, while Hyunjin may not be smart enough to get away with a poisoning attempt, he sees through your facade easily. “Liar. You’re gonna come crawling back after a taste of the cake.”

“What, did you put drugs in here? Is that the secret ingredient?”

“Does love count as a drug?”

“It’s got the same effects,” you hum, “but no.”

On the other side of the room, Jisung shouts, “Can you guys stop flirting, so we can lock up and go home?”

Simultaneously, you and Hyunjin shout back, “We’re not flirting!”

You feel yourself grow hot, whether it’s from embarrassment or indignation, possibly both. You remember Felix’s words that Jisung and Hyunjin used to fight a lot, and you find yourself understanding why. Combined with his interruption earlier today, it seems that Jisung is a constant instigator.

Not unlike yourself, Jihyo would say, but that is besides the point.

“I’m leaving now,” you announce, more for show than purpose. You nestle the box safely into your arms and start for the door. “Good night.”

Changbin and Jisung share a glance, a sly, knowing one complete with identical smirks, when you pass by them. You keep your eyes ahead and ignore them.

You are partially outside, the cold night air settling on your face and the inviting heat of the bakery on your back, when Hyunjin calls, “Good night.”

You wave through the window and don’t miss the strawberry milk candy blush on his face. He smiles apologetically, nodding at his coworkers. You shrug and return with a half-smile as a response before wandering through the mall to the parking lot. Your fingers itch to open the box to see what sort of delicious cake Hyunjin has made for you, but you decide that it is probably better to do so at home where you have forks. Goodness knows how eager you will be once you see it.

After a drive that feels longer than usual, you set it on the kitchen table and carefully peel back the lid.

It’s the same pastel pink as the first one, but instead of ‘APOLOGY ACCEPTED,’ it has ‘THANK YOU’ piped across the top. There’s no candy heart border this time, just one made of simple buttercream dots. No passive aggressive messages, and you find yourself feeling a little disappointed. The whole cake is strangely less charming.

Nevertheless, you cut yourself a small slice and laugh when you see what the flavor and filling Hyunjin has chosen: a dense double chocolate cake, right after you hoped for no chocolate.

You have to applaud him; he still manages to get under your skin no matter what. However, that doesn’t stop you from eating your slice and scraping your plate clean of leftover frosting and crumbs.

The days leading up to Valentine’s Day are always hectic with the amount of customers flocking to Candy Pop. Yellow Wood is just as busy, and whenever you stop by to grab a meal, the poor employee at the register, whether it’s Felix or Jeongin, looks frazzled. Despite the chaos, Hyunjin always seems to know when you’re around and comes out to trade biting remarks with you.

“I knew you would come back!” “Jihyo wanted croissants today, so don’t flatter yourself.”

“You look like a disaster.” “You’re not one to talk. You’ve got flour all over yourself.”

“Leftover salted caramel lollipops for the saltiest person I know.” “Leftover black coffee for the bitterest person I know.”

The fact that these interactions are becoming the highlight of your day only shows how draining work has gotten. You can’t say you hate more work because more business is hardly ever a bad thing. However, despite the numerous varieties of candy available at the store, people only seem to want chocolate. That is what you detest. You are sick of the taste, the smell, the feel, but no, chocolates are the only acceptable form of sweets. Never mind that candy hearts are the quintessential Valentine’s Day candy.

Hyunjin is not wrong about you being bitter.

When you lament about this to Chaeyoung and Dahyun, who is solely hired during the holidays, they only shrug. Well, they sympathize with the little candy heart orders you have received. They watched you turn the kitchen upside down while working on the recipe. As for their chocolate complaints though, dealing with insentient food is probably a lot more enjoyable than the high-strung customer who does not understand that strawberries are liable to spoiling even when dipped in chocolate.

And Valentine’s Day is still only two days away.

After being forced to handle that particular customer and getting “fired” for being rude, Jihyo lets you go on dinner break early. Of course, you head to Yellow Wood where it is also swamped. At least you have lots of time to decide what you want to eat.

Felix is still on shift, and he greets you with a little more cheer. While he taps at his screen, he says, “I’ll let you Hyunjin know you’re here. Here’s your receipt.”

You’re halfway through telling him not to bother with Hyunjin, but Felix is already calling out, “Next!” to the person behind you. As such, you stop and wriggle through the crowd towards the side counter where you and Hyunjin usually chat. Or banter. Or argue. It depends on what kind of day it is. It might be an arguing day; you’re still riled up after that encounter, and goodness knows how temperamental you are.

As anticipated, Hyunjin comes out to meet you a few short minutes later, no flour on himself this time. No apron either, for that matter.

“Missed me so much that you came early today,” he remarks.

“Not even close.” You recount today’s incident, your annoyance spiking as you’re reminded of the customer’s complete lunacy and idiocy. “How stupid do you have to be not to know that fruit goes bad? Like a millimeter of chocolate is going to help. These customers are insane.”

“You’re one to talk,” Hyunjin mumbles so quietly that you barely make it over the din.

You slap your hand on top of the counter, sending a tingling shock up your arm, but that hardly affects you. Even if it hurts and makes you regret striking a hard slab of granite, it punctuates your anger. “If this is about my candy hearts, I was being reasonable!”

“Please,” he scoffs as he crosses his arms. The golden logo of Yellow Wood Bakery & Café on his shirt folds in on itself. “Crazy customers are crazy. Don’t exclude yourself from this universal rule.”

“Those two things are different! I had reasonable doubt to believe that you were plagiarizing my idea.” You forcefully point to your shop where a colorful advertisement hangs. From across the walkway and through two windows, the graphic of pastel pink candy hearts winks in the sun. “How can you expect me to not believe that Candy Pop didn’t at least inspire your decision to start your cakes?”

“We’ve been over this, but since you have the memory of goldfish, I’ll say it again: We didn’t copy you. Get over yourself.” While you grip the edge of the countertop with a shaking hand, Hyunjin glances back at the register and sighs. “Do you seriously want to fight about something so trivial?”

“Yes!”

“Well, we can’t since your order’s done.”

Your head snaps to the pick-up area where an employee you don’t know, has just started calling out your name. He sets down a tall paper bag with the others and scurries off to fulfill the rest of the incoming orders.

“How’d you know?” you ask, now more amazed about Hyunjin’s foresight rather than his lack of combativeness. Maybe Jihyo was right about your rage always being derived from your hunger.

He smirks. “You’re buying Candy Pop dinner, right? Jihyo’s the only one who wants that much black pepper on her pasta, and you always get spaghetti when you’re pissed about work, which has been every single day now.”

“You’re lucky I’m starving,” you tell him. Hyunjin being right is infuriating; you’ve been overly upset by all of the recent customer demands and the dearth of custom candy heart orders.

“I hear an ‘or else’ in there.”

“Telling you would violate the rules of our truce, but do know that it’s really homicidal. There’s a reason why I chose the red pasta. Anyway, Jihyo’s supposed to rehire me for the evening shift, so I should get going before she changes her mind. Thanks for…” You don’t know why you’re trying to thank him. Instead of finishing your sentence, you mutter something incoherent, grab your dinner, and leave.

You finally figure out the reason while helping close Candy Pop. Jihyo and Chaeyoung have been tasked with cleanup, so you’re fixing the displays of the store, idly looking around for anything you could give to the staff of Yellow Wood. How does one say “Thanks for making me less mad with your delicious food” with gifts? What does one even give to a business rival other than business cards?

Free candy, of course, but what kind?

You’re half-tempted to bring them candy hearts, but th

Description: Y/N and Jisung finally grew to love each other after their arranged marriage. However, not every marriage gets a happily ever after. Sequel to Even If Things Were Different.

Warning:miscarriage

Word Count: 1.9k

Pairing:fem!reader x Han Jisung

“THAT’S MY WIFE! THAT’S MY WIFE! PLEASE, I— THAT’S MY WIFE!” 

Jisung thrashes and thrashes, but the police firmly hold him back. People are talking over radios and cars are honking in traffic on the other lanes, but he can still hear every rock your gurney rolls over and every puff of air they squeeze into your lungs. He can barely see you through the swarms of first responders and reporters though. All he can see is your limp arm hanging off the stretcher, your wedding ring staining with blood.

“Please. Please! That’s my wife,” he wails. “That’s my wife. Y/N! Please. Y/N!”

Jisung walks down the hall, looking at the cup of tea in his hands. Out of the corner of his eye, he spots some flashing lights that make him jump and all the hairs on his back stand up.

“Y/N.”

His heart is still pounding in his ears from the scare, but he soon realizes the lights are just from a Christmas tree twinkling in the corner. He sighs and shakes his head before continuing on his way, his shoes clicking against the white tiles with every step.

He slides the door to your room open. The humidifier hums softly. The sheets are spread smoothly over your body. A select stack of books sit neatly on the coffee table. 

It’s quiet. 

He walks over and places the cup on your nightstand. You are turned away from him, and he can’t tell if you are actually sleeping.

“It’s chamomile.”

No response.

He sighs and crawls under the sheets. He wraps his arm around your waist and gently rubs circles on your belly. The skin still resembles an orange peel with all its bumps and crevices. 

“I love you,” he whispers.

He feels you curl up ever so slightly at his words. So you are awake.

“This doesn’t change anything.” He uncurls you so you lay a bit more flush against his chest. You haven’t washed your hair in days, but he still closes his eyes and snuggles his nose into it. He hopes you can feel a second heartbeat in your body again if he holds himself close enough to you.

How did this happen? It’s Christmas Eve. It’s supposed to be merry and bright, so how. How did this happen? 

It was supposed to be a short errand. You were just going to pick up some extra ribbons to wrap up the pacifiers you were going to give your and his parents. Now, there is no more use for those gifts.

He would wish for a Christmas miracle, but there is no point. It’s not as if what has been taken out can go back in. Now, he just wishes you’d talk to him and eat something. He’s never seen you stop for anything—not when you had to get married or even when you threw up every morning—but now you’ve come to a complete halt. It’s so hard to see you like this, and it scares Jisung so much, he hasn’t even had time to cry yet.

“It’s not your fault.” He knows his words are futile, but he has to say them anyway. 

You, of course, remain motionless. He sighs again and lets his mind wander. If anything, it’s his fault. He should have been there. Who would let a woman in your condition drive at night? Sure, it was just a five minute commute, but anything could happen in five minutes, and something did. It’s his fault the hope you’ve been holding onto for five months is now gone. It’s his fault you are now like this. He’s killed your and his dreams. He’s killed the what-if’s. All that’s left now are memories.

He remembers the day you told him the news. You were a little nervous; you weren’t sure how he’d react. He remembers you were happy though. No, that’s an understatement. You were overflowing with so much joy, you could barely contain yourself. Usually, you were calm and composed. That day though, he could tell something was special the moment he stepped through the door.

You greeted him with a smile that made his stomach flutter away. 

“I made lemonade,” you told him. You said it like you made Forbes’ front cover. “Would you like some?”

“Sure,” he replied. 

“Great. Meet me in the kitchen.”

He did as told, sliding into one of the chairs by the counter as you pulled out two tall glasses from the cupboard. You set them down on the marble and turned back around to bring out a smaller glass which you set between the first two.

Jisung looked at you curiously. You began filling the two taller glasses with lemonade, eyes flicking up every other second to read his expression. Finally, when you were done, you took his hand and guided it to pour some of the juice from his glass into the smaller one. You then took your glass and poured some of that into the smaller cup. After that, you sat down with your fingers laced in front of you, watching as his brows knit together as he tried to figure out what just happened.

You giggled the second you saw the realization hitting him. First, his eyes grew impossibly big and his jaw dropped to the ground. Then he looked at you to confirm his suspicions. 

“Is it— Are you— Is there a—!” He couldn’t finish a sentence, and you couldn’t control your giggles.

“Yes, I am.”

He leapt across the table and screamed of joy as he swung you around. He put you down quickly though and took a step back. “No wait. I can’t do that anymore. You’re carrying precious cargo now.”

You laughed and pulled him into a hug. “Are you happy?”

“So much so. So incredibly much so,” he hummed. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

You turned your head to rest your ear against his racing heart. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” His emotions rolled into a tear that trickled down his face.

He wonders if it was all a dream. He wonders if happiness only exists inside dreams. He didn’t even realize he had fallen asleep until the lights from the window made him grimmance.

“—ung! Jisung!” 

His eyelids fly open at the sound of your panicked voice. He looks and sees you sitting up, your hand reaching out for him and your face etched with worry.

“Y-Y/N, you’re sitting—”

“Are you okay?” you ask.

He nods, too stunned to make a noise.

You sigh in relief and collapse back down, facing him this time. “You were shaking and crying. I thought something was wrong. I thought I was going to lose you too. I thought… I thought…” 

“Shh, shh, shh.” He draws you close again. 

“You’re alright, right?” Your voice is muffled against him. “You promise? You aren’t going to leave me behind too, right?”

“I’ll always be by your side. I promise,” he assures you. “I just had a dream.”

You nod against his chest and sniffle. 

“How are you feeling?” 

“Dizzy.” Of course, you went on full flight-or-fight mode after being on an IV drip for almost a week. Still, you replied, and Jisung feels a huge wave of relief wash through him.

“You really love me, don’t you?” he chuckles.

“Of course,” you mumble.

“And I really love you.”

You pause for a minute, and he panics, thinking he’s pushed you too far. Finally though, in a small voice, you say, “But I lost her.”

He shakes his head. “It’s not—”

“No, but it is!” He can hear the panic rising again in your voice. “I was driving! I should have seen the headlights. I should have swerved lanes. On impact, I should have protected her more. I should have done something. Don’t you see? I lost her. Me.”

He grabs your hands and forces you to look into his eyes to slow you down. He has on a scowl, and he speaks firmly and pointedly. “Welost her. There’s things you could have done differently. There’s things I could have done differently. There’s things that no one could have possibly done differently. But the fact of the matter is, this is our reality, and we’re going to face it together. I won’t let you go through this alone, so Y/N, don’t make me go through it alone either, okay?”

You pause for another minute. This time, he knows you are thinking about his words. When you seem to have come to a conclusion, you drop your head back onto him. He then feels you drawing something on his back. Your signature, he realizes, to this agreement. Perhaps there is still room for a little Christmas miracle after all.

Christmas eve. It’s been just over a year now since the accident. Jisung raises a brow when you walk into the living room in a red sweater. Red. It’s a sign of life and a sign of celebration. The last time you were seen with that color was when you were in the back of an ambulance. In fact, that was the last time you were seen wearing any color.

You sit up straight with your knees pressed together and your hands folded in your lap. In other words, you are sitting much too properly for a couch in your own home. 

“Y/N?” Jisung calls carefully. “What’s the matter, love?”

“I’m… I’m scared.”

He uncrosses his legs and sits up too. “Why? What’s wrong?”

You look down at your lap then at him. “I’m scared to hope. I’m scared something will go wrong again. I’m scared to hurt you.”

He scoots next to you and wraps his arm around your shaking torso. You look so small under his arm. He wraps his other hand around the front and shields you with his body. Gently, he rubs his thumbs over your skin, letting his actions speak the words his lips cannot.

You take a long moment to absorb his strength before you’re able to hand him a rectangular gift box about the length of his hand. 

“Merry Christmas,” you barely squeak.

He takes it while still keeping an arm around you. He looks at the box, then at you, then at the box. Finally, he lifts off the top cover.

He doesn’t react as he stares at what’s inside. After an eternity, he sets the present aside and turns so that he is completely facing you. He takes your hands and looks you square in the eyes.

“The doctor said there’s an increased risk after what happened,” you ramble, nervous under his sudden gaze. “What if—”

He cuts you off. “Hope. Please, hope. Hope, and be happy. Be happy knowing you can hope, and hope because you know there is love supporting that hope. No matter what—”

“—I love you,” you finish for him.

He smiles and nods. You smile too and wrap your arms behind his waist. 

“Do you like your present?” you ask.

The fireplace crackles. “I love it. Thank you.”

You hum and close your eyes, falling asleep. Jisung brushes the hair from your face and plants a kiss on your temple. Outside, a bright star twinkles over the house. 

“Merry Christmas, my love.”