The bed bounced violently when Anastasia dove face-first onto it, letting out a guttural groan into her pillow.
“What happened?”
Whipping around, she seethed quietly, “I told you to fucking wake them up!”
Jungkook stared at her glassy-eyed, his face puffy from sleep, and the creases of the pillowcase imprinted on his cheek.
“…What?”
She shoved her face back into her pillow and let out a drawn-out whine. All she wanted was to curl up and die so she would never have to face Jungkook’s too-attractive friends ever again.
“Taz,” He prompted clumsily in his still drowsy state.
“No~” She cried, refusing to lift her head.
“Anastasia.”
“I elbowed Jimin in the dick, okay?” She snapped, knowing he would find out anyway. It was probably better that he heard her side of the story first.
“You-…what?” If he wasn’t confused before, he sure as hell was now.
“I’m never leaving this room again.” She realized, ignoring the baffled man beside her.
“Taz”
“He hates me”
“Taz.”
“Everyone closest to you hates me, Ihate me”
“Anastasia!”
“Jungkook, I’m gonna move away and I’m never coming back, okay?” She ended, looking at him with teary eyes.
He rolled his. “You’re such a drama queen, no one hates you”
She guffawed, “Says you! I’m positive the six men on the other side of that door have opposing opinions”
He furrowed his brow, “Why would you think that?”
“Because! How could I not think that?! I’m pretty sure they all blame me for you not going back to Korea and I mean, are they even wrong? Am I the reason you didn’t go back to your family?”
“Stop, woah. Taz, no one hates you or blames you. I’m my own person, I make my own choices and they know that. They also know you’re not the only reason I stayed.”
Made his own choices? Not the only reason he stayed? Things in his story weren’t lining up — he was saying one thing but she’d livedanother. The Jungkook she grew up with wasn’t the Jungkook he was around the others. He was unrecognizable, easier to rile up, but more secure in the way he spoke. He never had much interest in other people, but now it was like he had no interest in anything.He’d stopped making choices, letting everyone else do what they wanted.
She’d never seen that in him before, he’d always been stubborn and fiercely possessive, but with his hyungs, he was softer. He shared without a second thought, let them into his space without flinching, and gave up his authority like he never cared in the first place. He acted like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders with their presence and she couldn’t help but think…was this the real Jungkook? He sure seemedhappier and more at ease, but…she couldn’t understand the change.
He made his own choices? She couldn’t trust that, anymore. The seven of them operated like a couple with 50 years of marriage under their belt. It was without effort, efficient, and most definitely notindependent. They were a match.
She knew she had no right to feel so heartbroken, but the past couple of days had been like slowly losing a lover.
Two days and she could already see the cracks in the painting of her future. She was never going to make it with Jungkook because he already belonged to someone else.
“Yoongi still hates me. And Jimin, there’s no way he doesn’t hate me, I just….” She couldn’t get the words out because it didn’t really matter.
But…she still wanted to fight. Because Jungkook loved her, he did.
“Yoongi-hyung doesn’t hate you and Jimin can be petty, but he doesn’t hate you either,” Jungkook assured.
“You can’t know that,” She argued.
“I know them.”
There was no room left for argument so she decided to agree to disagree. Fine, it was fine, she would just have to work harder at getting everyone to like her. Once they liked her, they wouldn’t try to steal Jungkook away.
“Come on, you have a study date with Namjoonie-hyung today, get up,” Jungkook reminded, snuggling back into the covers.
Right.
**
Since she didn’t plan on going anywhere, she dressed comfy in a lavender tracksuit Jungkook had bought her once so they could match. She rarely wore it, deeming it a bit matchy-matchy, but today she wanted to look put together. Deciding to forego any makeup she’d later have the displeasure of taking off, she exited her room, still a little unsure of what to expect.
“I searched online and it looks like there’s a nice park not too far, let’s go there”
Public? He wanted to go out in public? Where people would see them together? Normally she wouldn’t have given it a second thought, because really, who cares? But the fact that it was Namjoon, tall, sexy, unrealistically attractive Namjoonwho was accompanying her, changed everything.
The memory of what those girls thought of her last time she was seen with them flashed through her mind and she grimaced. She didn’t need a part two. Was this an inferiority complex she was developing?
“You sure you don’t want to just stay here?” She asked, hoping he would see the desperation in her eyes and have pity.
“No, we should go somewhere the others won’t feel tempted to follow and interrupt” She slouched at his blunt words.
“Kay…” She sniffed, staring longingly at her kitchen table.
He rolled his eyes at her antics, “Go eat something, I’ll be back in a bit”
In the time it took for her to make herself something to eat, Namjoon had gotten changed into a matching yellow tracksuit.
Anastasia almost choked on her omelet and she could feel her ears turn pink. What was he thinking? They were going to look like a couple!
Deciding not to comment on it, she instead offered him some food before cleaning up.
Up until then, she’d successfully dodged Jimin, though she had a feeling he wasn’t trying all that hard to interact with her, either. He, Seokjin, and Hoseok had all gone back to Jungkook’s before Jungkook and her had even finished their conversation and although she hadn’t checked, she suspected that along with Jungkook, Taehyung and Yoongi were still asleep.
Under any other circumstances, she would never have left strange men alone in her home, but with Jungkook being there and them being the people he trusted most…she felt that it was somewhat safe to leave them unattended for a while. That saying, she was also piss poor so it wasn’t like she owned anything those aristocrats would bother stealing.
“You know where the park is, yes?” Namjoon broke through her thoughts as they trotted down the stairs to the ground floor.
She rolled her eyes, huffing, “of course”
If she had been looking, she would’ve seen the smirk on his face. “Lead the way”
It was a good long walk to the park, most of it spent in silence, leaving Anastasia enough opportunity to study him. Something seemed to be agitating him, she noticed, his gaze flickering around nonstop like he was on the run. Did he not want people to see them together?
She could understand if that was the case, so far her presence has only caused drama.
When they got to the park, a nice wide open space, the calm atmosphere rapidly relieved her of anxiety as they settled at a table and bench that overlooked the beach. It wasn’t until he sat next to her and leaned in to read what she was setting out before them that she realized just how good he smelled.
She inwardly groaned. How was she supposed to not think of this man as more than Jungkook’s best friend when he 1. Looked like a Greek god 2. Smelled divine, and 3. Had the biggest brain of anyone she’d ever met.
Still, she sent him a shy smile in hopes of hiding her internal battle.
The day following carried on quickly and she was astonished by how much more things made sense when he explained them. He was unexpectedly patient, even at the times her brain just wouldn’t comprehend what he was trying to explain.
“Want to take a break?” He asked after her third brain fart in a row.
She bit my lip, unsure. “Can we?” Truth be told, she really needed one after four hours of non-stop studying.
“Yes. Pack up, I’ll get a ride and then we’ll go eat,” He stated, grabbing his phone off the table and stepping away.
She wasn’t exactly sure what he had in mind. Her thoughts were that they would just walk around and stretch their legs, but it was clear he had different expectations. Not that she was going to argue, though, not when he’d been kind enough to help her.
“He said he’d pick us up,” He announced, again coming to sit next to me.
“Who?”
“Hoseok,” he elaborated, not looking up from his phone. He was sitting close enough and in such a way that she could easily see what was on the screen, but out of respect and slight disinterest, she turned her attention elsewhere.
“Ah”
Silence ensued and as the time passed, her gaze slowly drifted down to his phone, the youtube video he was watching catching her attention. It wasn’t until her name was called that she noticed she’d been leaning into him for a better view or that he had angled his phone so she could see.
“Tasia!” She jerked back, searching for who had called her.
Anastasia instantly recognized the woman walking towards them, a friendly acquaintance from high school.
“Bea! Hey!” She greeted, returning the somewhat awkward hug she’s been pulled into.
Standing back upright, the woman helped herself to the seat across from them and her gaze understandably wandered over to the man sitting beside Anastasia, who was much more interested in his phone than her. He’d actually angled himself away, looking the most unapproachable she’d seen him.
That didn’t deter the woman. “Who’s this?” she wiggled her eyebrows at Anastasia, who had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. The woman was acting like they were in grade school and Anastasia was sitting next to her crush.
She wasn’t too far off on the “crush” part though.
“This is my friend Namjoon,” at the sound of his name, his eyes trailed up to meet her’s, “Namjoon, this is Beatrice”
For the first time, Namjoon looked at her. He didn’t say anything, just stared. It was like he was waiting for her to do something worthwhile to pay him back for the attention he was giving her. Anastasia squirmed in her seat. Why was he being so rude?
“Anyway, how are you? Do you live around here?” She changed the subject in an attempt to make Beatrice more comfortable. She already knew the answer, she’d seen her around campus before, but for the sake of breaking the ice, she pretended she didn’t.
“I do! I go to school here. What about you?”
“I’m going to school here too, we actually came here to study,” Anastasia explained, trying to bring Namjoon into the conversation.
Beatrice grinned, “A study date? What’s your major?”
“I’m a psychology major,” She answered, opting to ignore the first part.
“Oh, so you’re learning to read minds?” Beatrice laughed with a nudge.
Anastasia didn’t know whether or not she was being serious, so she took the safe bet and just laughed.
“Nothing that cool. Though if they ever give telepathy classes, I’ll be the first in line,” she assured, the strained interaction already taking its toll on her energy reserves. Jungkook usually took care of most interactions with people she didn’t know well, so she was out of practice.
“So what’s your-” she was cut off by Namjoon.
“Yeah?” They both turned to see his phone pressed to his ear.
“At the tables…okay…yeah,” With that he hung up, shoving his phone into his pocket.
Returning her attention to Beatrice, she smiled apologetically.
“Hoseok is waiting,” Namjoon announced before she could get a word out, flicking at her ponytail to keep her attention.
“Oh, okay”
“I’ll walk you guys to the parking lot! I need to get some food anyway, I’m starving” Beatrice groaned, rubbing her belly.
A part of Anastasia admired her confidence. Even after being stared down, she was still making the effort to interact with them.
On a whim, Anastasia offered, “We’re headed out to eat right now, too, wanna come?”
Beatrice visibly brightened up at the offer, “Yeah! Where are we going?”
“Um…” Anastasia glanced at Namjoon for guidance, but he ignored her, grabbed her bag, and walked away.
“Oh! Guess we’re going then!” Beatrice laughed and they both got up quickly to catch up with him.
Anastasia wanted to call him out, tell him that his legs were almost twice as long as theirs, but she knew he wouldn’t appreciate being told off in public. She didn’t even know him well enough to tell him off in private.
At the pace he set, they got to the front parking lot in record time, and leaning against the hood of a grey Charger was Hoseok accompanied by the very last person Anastasia wanted to see — Jimin.
Out of reflex, she grabbed the back of Namjoon’s hoodie, who looked back curiously, “What?”
“Uh, n-nothing,” she shook her head, letting go.
Jimin spotted them first, coming to meet them halfway, then in a very lazy fashion bumped into Namjoon in what vaguely resembled a hug.
“Anastasia~” Hoseok singsonged in a way that felt somewhat mocking, “you brought a friend”
“I-uh-yeah. This is my friend Beatrice,” She introduced, stiffening when Hoseok threw his arm around her shoulders the same way he had the night before. Goosebumps traveled across her skin as she recalled his hot breath fanning across her neck.
“Hello, Beatrice”
Anastasia couldn’t see his face anymore, but from the saccharine tone he used, she knew he was smirking at the other woman.
“Hello!” Beatrice squeaked, clearly not immune to his charm either.
“Will you be joining us?” Now it was Jimin, who’d come to rest against Hoseok. Again, Anastasia couldn’t really see his face, but by the way Beatrice was fidgeting and blushing, she knew she was getting his bedroom eyes full force.
“I mean, Tasia?” She looked at Anastasia desperately, as if she would be any help.
“Anastasia invited her” Namjoon didn’t even try to hide his displeasure.
“How exciting,” Hoseok didn’t exactly sound as thrilled by the news as his words implied, but he didn’t lose his friendly tone.
“Let’s go eat!” Anastasia blurted, lurching away from Hoseok and grabbing Beatrice by the wrist, marching off towards the car.
She knew there were only five seats in the car, but it wasn’t until she actually climbed in and scooched to the middle seat that she understood just how tight a fit it was going to be. Beatrice was on the curvier side, which just meant that she took up as much space as the boys did, leaving a little more than a foot of room in the middle for Anastasia to sit.
And of course, of course, Jimin was the one that climbed in next to her. She should have expected it, he was the smallest of the three men, but she was afraid. He didn’t lookangry, but being pressed flush against her probably wasn’t what he wanted either. The last thing she needed was to give him another reason to dislike her.
“You’re on my seatbelt,” Beatrice whispered, nudging her thigh.
“Oh, sorry” Anastasia murmured, scooting over and consequently bumping into Jimin. She was too scared to see his reaction so she just waited patiently before moving away again.
I have to buckle myself. She realized, awkwardly twisting back to reach for her own seatbelt, freezing when a hand came to rest over hers.
“Lemme help” he murmured and she probably wouldn’t have heard him if he wasn’t leaning in so close.
“Okay!” She squeaked, wrenching her hand back. He didn’t exactly laugh, but the huff of air he let out and the smug grin on his lips told her enough.
The back of his hand glided across her abdomen as he pulled the seatbelt out and around. She bit her lip and averted her eyes to the roof of the car. Was this man bipolar? Suddenly Taehyung’s face popped up in her brain and she grimaced. Those two were eerily similar.
Glancing over at Beatrice, she wondered what she thought of the whole situation. Was Anastasia the only one that thought this wasn’t ordinary? However, Beatrice wasn’t paying attention, too busy watching Namjoon out the window.
Hoseok could be heard through the open passenger door as Namjoon climbed in, the two discussing something in Korean. If she had to guess, she’d say it was lunch plans.
She almost laughed when in the middle of Hoseok’s sentence, Namjoon whipped out his phone and started typing, hoping that Beatrice would see that and not feel bad about being ignored earlier.
“Where are we going?” She spoke up, relaxing slightly when Jimin leaned into the window and away from her, closing his eyes.
Hoseok ducked down so she could see his face and gave her a smile, “Namjoon is getting the directions”
Anastasia nodded and smiled back. It was hard not to get caught up in him, his smile was so contagious and…bright.
When he moved away and his figure walked around the hood of the car, Beatrice whispered in her ear.
“I can’t decide if he’s hot or cute,” Anastasia couldn’t help the giggle that bubbled up because she’d had the same thought.
The drive was pretty funny, with Namjoon not paying as close attention to the directions as he should have been, leading to them making more than one U-turn. Throughout, Anastasia did her best to get to know Beatrice more. She didn’t really have any friends in the city and if they were going to the same school, it would be easy to catch up.
She discovered the two of them actually had a lot in common, from their music tastes to their food preferences. She could see herself becoming close with the other.
Half an hour passed before Hoseok finally pulled into an open space on the street, a little ways down from where Anastasia knew there to be an upscale restaurant.
She was feeling a bit nervous for her bank account, but she had a feeling Beatrice felt the same way so at least she wasn’t alone. She was confused though, didn’t they need a reservation to eat there? There was no way they got one on such short notice on a busy Saturday afternoon.
Maybe that was better because then they’d be forced to eat somewhere else. Somewhere cheaper.
Turning to unbuckle herself, she let out a hiss when her skull came in contact with Jimin’s, who’d leaned in to do the same.
“Sorry,” She winced, rubbing her head.
“It’s okay,” he murmured, putting a ring-clad hand to his own head.
Biting her lip anxiously, she ungracefully shuffled out of the car after Beatrice, who caught her after almost tripping on the curb.
“Falling for me already?” She winked, to which Anastasia rolled her eyes and grinned.
With the five of them now gathered, they made their way towards the restaurant’s front doors. There was a lot of hustle and bustle on the streets, people enjoying their Saturday to the fullest and although she probably shouldn’t have even been surprised by that point, Anastasia’s eyes still went wide when Hoseok put a protective arm around her shoulders, pulling her close.
The cool air that surrounded them the moment they walked through the doors was a welcomed change. The standard of interior design, though, had her chewing on the inside of her cheek. It was reallyfancy. The moment you stepped into the well-lit entrance there was beautiful gold latticing on the walls and a warm brown podium about ten feet deep into the room. Anastasia immediately felt sorely underdressed.
Namjoon took the lead, strolling up to the podium where an employee stood, ready to check customers in. Although he looked misplaced in his casual attire, he somehow still held his own against the beautiful decor. He fit right in.
The man behind the podium, whose name tag read Jeremy, had short, quaffed bleach-blonde hair that stood out nicely against his elegant black uniform. He looked Namjoon up and down, no doubt judging his clothing, but the suspicion and judgment quickly left his eyes when he took in Jimin and Hoseok. The two were clearly wearing designer clothing and expensive jewelry — Hoseok’s big gold watch was hard to miss. He barely spared Beatrice and her a glance before he refocused on Namjoon.
“Hello! Do you have a reservation?” Zach’s tone was considerably brighter than expected.
Anastasia winced at the question. She was right, they needed a reservation to get in.
“Hoseok Jung” Namjoon’s voice commanded.
Anastasia’s brows shot up and she pulled away to look at Hoseok.
“I know people,” He hummed with a smirk.
Her curiosity wasn’t exactly sated, but she would wait until we were at least seated before she started asking more questions.
Zach looked more shocked than Anastasia did at the sound of Hoseok’s name and she could see the panic in his eyes as he sputtered a little bit with his response, “You’re-of course! Your table is right over here,” He bowed, ushering them around the beautiful island wall leading to the rest of the restaurant.
Anastasia didn’t know why she was expecting a low-lit, sultry vibe, but they were greeted with a bright, spacious room filled with soft chatter and laughter. There were modern chandeliers hanging over the bigger tables and the decor about the room was impeccable. It felt strangely welcoming.
Zach led their small group to one of the tables in the center. It was a bigger table that could seat twice as many people than they had but she wasn’t going to ask.
Hoseok absentmindedly pulled out her chair before taking the seat next to her and engaging Namjoon in conversation, both of them ignoring Zach completely. Beside her, she noticed Jimin pull Beatrice’s seat out for her too and watched as she flushed pink. Jimin gave Anastasia a knowing smirk and went to sit beside Namjoon who was across from them.
They were all sitting fairly centered at the table, empty seats on both sides of and for some reason that made the table seem not as big as it had before.
“Your waiter will be right with you,” Zach notified, looking a little miffed but bowed in departure nonetheless.
Anastasia made sure to give him a kind smile, “Thanks, Zach.”
At her words, both Namjoon and Hoseok cut off whatever they were saying, turning their attention to her.
Her eyes widened. What?
“You look good today,” Hoseok commented after a moment and she scoffed lightly. They both knew she looked like a hot mess.
The questioning stare she got in return had her questioning his sanity, though.
Not long after, a beautiful woman approached and it took Anastasia a moment to realize she was their waitress.
“Good afternoon,” The woman smiled and even Anastasia couldn’t help but be enchanted. “I’m Terrance, I’ll be your waitress today,” the gentle smile never left her face as she carefully passed out the menus.
“Thanks” Anastasia murmured, her mouth making a small ‘o’ at the way Terrance eyed Beatrice.
“Of course! May we start you off with something to drink?” She grinned, her eyes continuously flickering back to an oblivious Beatrice as she waited for our responses. Anastasia couldn’t help the smirk that grew on her lips as she looked down and fiddled with the utensils that were beautifully wrapped in a cloth napkin.
“Just water,” Namjoon answered dismissively, probably more oblivious than even Beatrice.
“Water for me too, what about you Bee?” Anastasia prompted. She knew from high school that Beatrice played both sides.
She looked so flustered when agreeing that just water was fine that Anastasia had to reconsider, maybe Beatrice wasn’t as clueless as she’d pegged.
Suddenly Anastasia got a rush of excitement at the thought of the two but squashed it down, catching Jimin’s gaze. He was relaxed back into his chair, legs crossed with an arm slung lazily over the back of Namjoon’s chair. He raised an eyebrow at her, a smirk playing on his lips.
Her breath hitched at the sight, trying desperately not to get caught up in him. Luckily Hoseok saved her when he lightly nudged her arm.
“Hey, I don’t have your number,” he huffed, as if for some reason that was herfault.
“My number?”
“Yeah,” he nodded, waving up his expensive phone that was displaying his contact list.
“Twenty-eight hundred contacts?! Would you be able to find it even if you did?” She guffawed, tearing her eyes away from his screen to look at him.
He just grinned, pressed on the screen a few times, and held it back out for her. The recognizable “ Create new contact” page was now open.
She bit her lip, contemplating. Did she really want to give her number to him? Her nerves were shot enough as it were, morecontact with them didn’t really seem like the best idea for her health.
Her decision not to give in was steadfast, but the moment he smiled at her, her brain forgot all logic and she found herself entering her number on autopilot.
His smile grew and from that alone she couldn’t even find it in herself to regret it.
“So how did you guys all meet?” Beatrice asked suddenly, probably feeling like the odd man out and Anastasia suddenly realized she hadn’t introduced anyone after Namjoon.
“Oh! Um, do you remember Jungkook? From high school?” She started.
“Of course!” Beatrice’s eyes lit up, “are you guys still friends? I remember that by graduation you two were basically connected at the hip.”
Anastasia laughed at the memories. Looking back, she could see how funny their relationship might’ve seemed to the other kids. After all, it was usually afterhigh school that people made those close connections.
“They moved in together” Jimin spoke up with a smugness before Anastasia had a chance to confirm Jungkook’s and her’s ongoing friendship status. Beatrice’s eyes grew comically and she whipped her head around to look at Anastasia for confirmation.
“No! No. We did not” She quickly corrected, holding her hands up as if to stop the other’s thoughts. “And that’s not even the point. Point is, Hoseok, Jimin, and Namjoon all grew up with him” she continued, pointing at each man respectively.
“Oh really? What was he like growing up?” Beatrice asked what Anastasia had been wanting to know for a while.
The three stopped to think about it for a moment.
“Irreplaceable.” Jimin eventually surmised to which the other two nodded.
Anastasia was about to coo at the statement, but Namjoon butt in.
“Woah, hey, careful! What are you trying to do, eyeball it from the ceiling?”
Everyone turned to see what he was talking about and Anastasia had to roll her lips together to stop from laughing at the sight that greeted them. A young boy had been pouring water into glasses and Namjoon had a point, the kid was pouring from pretty high up.
The boy looked a little confused but apologized anyway and all was forgotten, the afternoon carrying on seamlessly after that.
That is until Anastasia got a phone call. Pulling out her phone, she glanced noncommittal at the caller ID, a smile unknowingly stretching across her face at Jungkook’s name.
“Excuse me, I have to take this,” she mumbled, turning away, “Hello?”
“Taz!”
____________
Okay guys/ladies/everyone! What do you think?! hehe
Also, are all the links lining up okay? Tumblr is a little confusing, but I think everything is in order haha
“Don’t let us forget that the causes of human action are usually immeasurably more complex and varied than our subsequent explanations of them” - Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Idiot
**
She was so whipped. Whipped!One little doe-eyed look from Jungkook and she was lapping at his fingertips like a neglected puppy. Even though she was now over the prior day’s incident, she still had pride, dammit!
She needed to grow a backbone because the man didn’t needto control every aspect of her life. She’d gone out to breakfast with them, suffering through the awkward tension, just for Jungkook. Could he seriously not feel how…strained their interactions were?
Huffing, she stepped into the steamy shower. And she just stood there, letting the water wash over her as she recalled the events that happened only thirty minutes before.
Jungkook had left to use the bathroom, leaving her alone with Jimin and Taehyung. All morning she’d kept noticing how the pair moved like one seamless mechanism. The way they’d addressed her was no different.
“Are you in love with him?” Taehyung had caught her off guard with the question.
“Huh?” She’d felt her cheeks begin to flush. “No, we’re just friends,” she’d argued defensively, well aware that she was not helping her case at all.
It still hurt to say the words, though. She didn’t want to be ‘just friends’ with Jungkook.
Taehyung had rolled his eyes as if to say; I know. She grimaced at the damage that did to her pride.
“You’re more than just friends,” he’d hissed the words venomously, leaning back into his chair with crossed his arms.
Flushing in embarrassment, she’d tried to figure out what he meant by that and why it warranted such a strong reaction.
“Yes,” Jimin had agreed quietly, somehow looking even less pleased than Taehyung had, “We wouldn’t be here if you were.”
Here? We? What had he meant? The restaurant? The country? She’d racked her brain for a response because really, what was she supposed to say to that? She’d wanted to save face, but she didn’t want to make a scene.
“Jungkook is…someone very special to me,” she’d said slowly, choosing her words carefully, “and I know he wants us to get along, and I’m trying, but I don’t…I don’t think I understand… where you’re coming from.”
Taehyung had scoffed, “What we’re saying is that Jungkook would be in Korea right now if you weren’t someone he was unwilling to lose.”
And suddenly, like an epiphany, things had begun to make sense. They thought Jungkook hadn’t gone home because of her.
But that wasn’t the reason. Right?
Now, by herself in the shower, she wasn’t so sure. She remembered all the times Jungkook used to talk about moving back to Korea, lightheartedly joking about how his probation was up. He’d tried for months to convince her to move with him, showing pictures of all his favorite places and activities. The pictures had been beautiful, but it was beyond her imagination. She didn’t belong.
After repeatedly arguing over the topic, Jungkook had eventually let it go. In her memories, she referred to the time after as ‘The Great Depression’. The weeks following, he’d been stressed and cranky, until she overheard an argument he had with someone in Korean over the phone, and his world after that seemed to just…fall apart. He’d stopped leaving his apartment altogether, she’d had to basically force him to eat, and his showering schedule was…few and far between.
He’d stopped going home to Korea after that and was honestly just never the same. He was quicker to anger, regularly getting into fights, and no matter how much she’d asked about it, he never gave her a straight answer. Eventually, she’d just stopped asking.
Sighing and wiping a wet hand down her face, she tried to identify the panic she felt. Thoughts tumbled around in her brain as she finished her shower and got ready for her Saturday lecture.
Stepping out into the living room, she was met unexpectedly with Yoongi and Namjoon’s presence.
She furrowed her brow, had they entered her home without permission?
Jungkook stepped out of the bathroom ten seconds later and answered that question.
“I didn’t give you a key so that you could let strangers into my apartment, Kook,” she grumbled, maneuvering to put her shoes on.
“We were all gonna hang out, but you have class, so we thought we’d take you first,” Jungkook explained, completely unbothered as he peaked over Namjoon’s shoulder to see what he was doing on his phone.
Anastasia rolled her eyes. He’dclearly gotten over his guilt for ambushing her the day before.
“Well, I’m leaving,” She announced, not waiting as she waltzed out the door.
As expected, footsteps soon followed.
The walk to the campus was nothing if not eventful. Jungkook on his own tended to attract a fair amount of attention from the youth, his beauty lost only on the blind, but the attention was then amplified by three. She’d thought that more would be swayed by Yoongi’s ever-present glare or Namjoon’s general presence, but that had not been the case. At least five people, all of whom she was certain she’d never met before, greeted Jungkook and her like old friends, asking who their company was. Although this sort of greeting had been common when they’d first moved to the city, Jungkook’s obvious disinterest in everyone had curbed the attention. The presence of Yoongi and Namjoon had seemingly revamped the people’s interest. The campus was small, but it wasn’t thatsmall, certainly not small enough for everyone to know who Jungkook was. No, they were all just nosy people that didn’t know how to mind their own business.
Attractive foreigners would always be a selling point, it seemed.
Namjoon, like Jungkook, spoke English fluently, without an accent, but Yoongi didn’t really speak. His body language didn’t once invite a conversation, expertly avoiding every individual that set their sights on him.
Eventually, they came to a stop before the doors of her first lecture, Jungkook’s arms wrapped around her shoulders and his chin resting on her head, apparently not ready to let her go yet.
“You’re heavy,” was all she said, adamant about ignoring the flutter of her heart.
“It’s boring when you have class,” he complained but backed away.
And Yoongi and Namjoon look utterly bored, so go entertain them. She thought, eyeing the way Namjoon scrolled through his phone with a blank face and Yoongi picked at the skin around his nails.
“I’m sure you’ll survive,” she insisted, slipping past the heavy door without another look back. It was all she could do before she started cooing over her best friend’s cute pout.
Of course, he wouldn’t let her have the last word because he poked his head in and called, much too loudly, “Love you! Have a good day at school, sweetie!”
Anastasia’s face burned in embarrassment when everyone already in their seats looked up. She ducked her head down and rushed to the closest desk, not looking up again until the lecture started.
She was going to kill Jungkook.
***
The three-hour lecture went by quicker than it ever had before, but of course it did on the one day she was dreading it ending. It felt like the clock on the wall was slowly counting down to her demise. Why? Because Jungkook had texted her an hour in that Seokjin and Jimin were going to pick her up.
She was okay with Seokjin, even though she didn’t need anyoneto walk her home, but Jimin? Of all people? He and Taehyung hated her!
She waited until everyone but a few stragglers and the professor had left before she slowly, very slowly, packed up her things. Maybe the two would think she’d left already, that they’d missed her. It was rude, yes, but she would make something up to Jungkook later, like she had to ask her professor some things or that some kid needed help.
Her fingers stilled when she overheard Jungkook’s name.
“I think they were his friends,” A girl giggled.
Looking over, Anastasia recognized one as a girl she’d gone to high school with but didn’t know by name. She was tall and most definitely a bottle blonde, but it complemented her face shape and skin tone well. Her friend, on the other hand, was without a doubt a natural redhead, her long gorgeous red locks reminding Anastasia of princess Merida.
“Of course they were Jungkook’s friends, there’s no way they’d be there for Ana,” they laughed and Anastasia had to admit that the words stung a little. Rationally, she knew it was the truth but that didn’t mean she wanted it thrown in her face, even if she was certain the girls had no idea she was sitting barely ten feet away.
“I still don’t understand how she’s managed to keep Jungkook around for so long, I mean he’s got the body of a god and the personality of every dream guy and she’sshort with a bad fashion sense,” they giggled, sending another arrow through her self-esteem.
Couldn’t they just shut up?
She shifted the old button-up she wore (the same one Jungkook had worn to their high school graduation) on her shoulders, trying to hold back the tears that welled up.
Staring out the window, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, she told herself that they would leave any second now and she would be free to escape.
“Jungkook’s just hung up on her because they dated in high school, guess he still doesn’t realize that he could do better”
What? Was that what people thought?
“Babe”
Anastasia jumped so hard at the unexpected voice next to her that she hit her knee on the underside of the desk.
“Ouch!” She hissed quietly, doing a double-take when she realized it was Jimin who’d spoken.
Doing her best to ignore how ethereal he looked in his deep white v-neck tee and skinny jeans, she spoke up, “You’re here!”
She held back a wince at how high and squeaky her voice sounded.
He furrowed his brow, eyes shifting to the knee she had cradled to her chest, “Are you okay?”
Doing a quick once over of the room, uncertain why he was acting so caring, she realized that they had the attention of everyone in the room. That’s why.
“Uh, yeah, sorry, I was just packing up my stuff,” She excused, shoving her notebook and pens carelessly into her bag.
She didn’t realize how close he was because she almost bumped her nose into his chest when she stood.
“Oh!” She gasped, taking a step back.
She didn’t get far, though, because, after a quick glance over her shoulder, he cupped her cheeks and connected their lips.
The world came to a slow stop the moment his pillow lips touched hers. She couldn’t push him away, couldn’t think. But she didn’t kiss him back either, her hands planted, unmoving on his shoulders. His lips were big and soft against hers, his tongue cheekily darting out to taste her lower lip. When he finally pulled back, she let out a shallow breath
“What was that?” She whispered, afraid to move.
“A lesson,” he murmured back, their lips a centimeter from touching
“For who?”
Jimin didn’t respond with anything more than a mischievous smile and grabbed her hand, walking her to the back exit of the room.
Anastasia caught the shocked gaze of the two women, just before the door closed behind her.
Turning her attention forward, Jimin brought her to a stop before Seokjin, who was leant against the wall outside the exit.
“Quite the show,” he commented, almost uncaringly.
Jimin grinned, “You saw?”
Seokjin nodded as he pushed himself off the wall, grabbed her bag from her free hand, and walked away.
Jimin giggled and dropped her hand in favor of catching up to the older.
Still in a daze, Anastasia followed, her mind racing with more thoughts than she could sort through on the walk home. Seokjin and Jimin conversed quietly in Korean the entire way, only falling into a comfortable silence a block from her apartment building.
She followed them numbly up the steps and into Jungkook’s home, only coming out of her stupor when she heard the yelling.
I decided to stop tagging people because it’s just a lot of stress for me to keep on top of and I have a lot on my plate. I write for fun, so I’m going to focus on having fun.
HEy guys….sorry it took so long. I was on some meds that had me super anxious and for a while, I was convinced anyone who read something I wrote would hate me.
“The ‘you’ I used to know is gone and the 'me’ you used to know is gone” - Agust D, Dear My Friend
**
After Jungkook left, slowly like a shunned puppy, Anastasia crashed onto the couch with a hiccuped sigh, emotionally drained. Time passed, unacknowledged, as she mapped out images in the paint on her ceiling until her lids began to droop. Before she knew it, she was asleep.
Hours must have passed, because when she opened her eyes next, her body now half off the couch with her feet in the air, it was dark. She checked the time on her phone with a groan, wincing at the brightness.
9:38 PM it read. Still groggy and uncoordinated, she rolled off the couch with a thump. She stayed face down in the rug for a moment before slowly raising herself up, blurry eyes searching the room. For what, she wasn’t sure.
Her stomach decided her next move as it gurgled angrily at not being fed.
She nodded in agreement with her stomach. Food.
Rising clumsily to her feet, she barely escaped face planting again after tripping over her own toes and stood still for a moment with her arms out and eyes wide, waiting for her brain to catch up. Nodding a second later, she took a careful step out from behind the coffee table and relaxed once she trusted she wouldn’t fall victim to her own clumsiness.
Focusing back on the task at hand, she turned her attention to what to eat. She didn’t feel like cooking and going to a restaurant seemed far too big a feat, so pizza it would have to be. Making a mental checklist of what she needed to bring, she began grabbing things.
Phone, wallet, keys, jacket…she checked off as she went about grabbing the items. And shoes, she ended, dropping all the collected items onto a heap on the floor as she bent down to slip on some shoes.
Finally walking out the front door, she awkwardly shuffled into the jacket. It wasn’t all that cold outside, in fact, there was a pleasant, warm breeze blowing through her hair, but something about a coat made her feel safer. A feeling akin to hiding from the monsters under a blanket as a child.
Jogging down the steps, she hurried towards her destination. The pizza parlour that she had in mind wasn’t too far from the apartment complex, maybe a fifteen-minute walk, but there were a lot of deep alleyways and daunting buildings along the way.
Not long after she crossed the street and headed down the road, she felt eyes on her. She could feel them raking over her skin — following her — and it had her skin prickling and her hair standing on end as she contemplated just turning back. Instead, she pulled her jacket closer and gripped her phone tight, picking up her pace to just short of a jog.
She kept up the pace for a couple of minutes, but the feeling of being watched never faded. Unsure if it was just paranoia, she paused and looked around, searching the streets for anything suspicious.
Coming up empty, she huffed, “You’re so paranoid, Taz.”
However, even after double and triple-checking her surroundings, the feeling didn’t go away. Every crime show she’d ever seen was coming to mind and horrifying possibilities manifested themselves in her head. She was going to end up cut up and dumped in the ocean!
A few more minutes passed before she swallowed her pride and unlocked her phone to dial the only person she knew would make her feel safe. Cautiously moving forward, she waited impatiently for him to answer.
“Hello?” Her shoulders involuntarily relaxed at the sound of his soft voice.
“Jungkook, I—" What was she supposed to say? That she got scared of her own shadow? Her own thoughts? She hadn’t thought this through.
She squinted and covered her eyes when a passing car’s headlights shone right into them.
"Are you outside?" He must’ve heard, she thought.
"I was just going to get some pizza,” She explained, lowering her hand as the car turned the corner, not sure why she felt like she’d done something wrong or that she needed to defend herself.
“Alone?”
“Jungkook, I’m not a child,” she scoffed, kicking a loose pebble.
“Then why are you calling me?”
Her face dropped — he had her there.
“That’s beside the point.”
He hummed, unconvinced.
“Nevermind, I’m fine. Thanks for picking up.” She ended the call, trying to convince herself that the butterflies in her stomach were just her body reminding her she was hungry.
“This is getting out of hand,” She mumbled, so pathetically in love with him.
“You're disappointed with him,” She uselessly reminded herself.
The minutes passed as she carried on, too lost in her thoughts to notice the vehicle creeping up beside her or the man climbing out.
When his hand landed stiffly on her shoulder, she screamed and almost dropped to the ground in fright. Whipping around to face him, she recognized him.
“Seokjin?” She squeaked, her heart beating too fast in her chest.
The man in question stood still, hand slowly lowering back to his side.
“What…you scared me,” she scrambled, straightening out the wrinkles in her shirt as if that would make her seem more presentable. She was doing her best not to look affected or embarrassed by her reaction.
But what was he doing there? Had he been following her?
When he still didn’t say anything, she cleared her throat and began nervously tapping her thigh.
“Are you…Did Jungkook ask you to find me?” It was the only reason she could come up with to explain his presence. Other than kidnapping her, of course, but she didn’t honestly feel like she was in any danger, now. He’d been so intimidating earlier, but now, in the dark of the night, he felt…normal. He was just like any other young adult and he’d given her no actual reason to fear him.
He shrugged, turning his back to her, and headed towards a parked car. Was she meant to follow?
When he looked at her and nodded towards the passenger seat, she took that as her answer and hopped into action.
Climbing into the car, her bum sliding easy on the fancy leather seats, she admired the interior. From the outside, the car looked…average. New, but nothing that would catch the eye. The interior, on the other hand, was beautiful and sleek with a large screen on the dash showing the time and temperature. Everything was lit up, too — the dash, the overhead lights, there was even a soft glow coming from under the seats that illuminated the floor space.
When Seokjin shifted into drive, everything dimmed and the headlights lit up what felt like miles of road. Anastasia felt like she was in a sci-fi movie.
She’d never really been into cars or kept up with the next up-and-coming models, but the car felt expensive. She knew Jungkook liked to drive, but that was the extent of her interest in cars — watching Jungkook drive.
Although she hated to admit it, Seokjin was handsome. One hand on the wheel, the other resting lazily on the center divider, there was a beautiful nonchalance about the way he held himself.
“Where to?” He finally spoke, jerking her out of her staring.
“Huh?”
***
Sitting across from possibly the most gorgeous man she’d ever met, in a crowded, run-down pizzeria, was not how Anastasia had pictured her night going. The fact that he was also her best friend’s family, a family she had no idea existed that same morning, made everything all the more surreal.
But there she was, eating pizza.
There hadn’t been much conversation up until that point, neither of them having much to say. Surprisingly, it was the staring from the other customers that made her the most uncomfortable, not the lack of communication.
“How long have you known Jungkook?” Seokjin eventually asked as they left, not much later. He hadn’t admitted to it, but she was willing to bet that the stares made him uncomfortable too.
Surprised by the question, or more so the cold and uninviting tone with which it was asked, she raised her eyebrows. It was a stark contrast to the warmth that was usually associated with the question.
“Uh, since senior year, high school,” she provided nonetheless.
He nodded, checking the street for cars before they both made their way across to where his vehicle was parked.
“How’d you meet?” He asked once they were both seated in the warm vehicle. Why did he have the temperature set so high? She fleetingly wondered.
Thinking back to Jungkook’s and her’s meeting, she grinned. He had been known as the reclusive new kid, but she’d never actually interacted with him until about one or two months into the new year. Their first interaction had been when he’d walked out into the parking lot, not paying attention enough to notice the oncoming vehicle. Anastasia had grabbed his waist and yanked him back before he got hit, sending them both toppling to the ground. She’d busted her elbow and his hands were pretty scraped up, but overall, they’d both walked away with minimal injuries.
She remembered the first time she’d ever heard his voice, soft and angelic. Looking back, she probably should have expected it, after all, his appearance had been just as soft and sweet, but she remembered being surprised nonetheless.
“I tackled him,” she replied, an unconscious smile playing on her lips.
“Tackled him?” Seokjin sounded bewildered, even if his face didn’t show it.
“Yeah, he was on the phone with someone and wasn’t watching where he was going. Walked right out in front of a car,” She explained, reminiscing old memories.
“You were watching him?”
Anastasia hesitated, unsure how to respond to that. Should she be embarrassed?
“Uh, I guess. Never really thought about it,” She admitted. He nodded.
The rest of the drive was in silence.
***
Anastasia woke up the next morning feeling anxious and it took her a second to remember why — she had to face Jungkook.
After a full night’s sleep and her night out with Seokjin, she felt a little embarrassed about how she’d reacted to everything. Yes, he hadn’t told her about his friends, but it also had nothing to do with her. It wasn’t news that he didn’t like her around his friends and she’d accepted that. Or at least she thought she had. He was possessive and protective, always shooing others away when they tried to approach her — and she’d let him. Why the sudden change on her part? It wasn’t his fault that she all of a sudden wasn’t okay with it.
He was flaky and a recluse, but he was loyal and she knew he loved her. Even if only as a friend. She shouldn’t have taken it so personally and acted like a shunned girlfriend. She wasn’t his girlfriend.
Sighing deeply, she rolled onto her back and stared blankly at the ceiling. How should she approach him? On second thought, he’d probably come to her when he was ready.
Dragging her feet, she headed to the bathroom, freshening up before thinking about breakfast. However, just as she made her way into the kitchen, her doorbell rang.
Glancing at the clock, she furrowed her brow. Jungkook wouldn’t be up for another four hours at least, so who was at the door?
Approaching it as quietly as possible, she peeked out the peephole.
It was Jungkook and he was accompanied by two others — Taehyung and…Jimin, if she remembered correctly.
Eyes wide, she dashed back to the bathroom, checking herself in the mirror. Her hair was a mess and she still had her pajamas on, but at least she’d brushed her teeth.
Throwing on a hoodie to hide the fact that she wasn’t wearing a bra ( she threw up the hood too, for good measure), she ran back to the door.
“Jungkook!” She greeted, probably a little too animatedly.
“Why did it take you so long to answer? Your alarm goes off at 7:00, it’s 7:30,” He started off as he invited himself inside, eyes scanning her apartment.
She rolled her eyes and stepped back, letting his entourage in as well.
“What, I’m not allowed to sleep in?” She argued. He tongued his cheek but didn’t argue.
When he didn’t immediately tell her why he was there, she raised her brows questioningly.
“Why are you up so early?” She countered.
“Oh, right, ” He seemed to jerk back to reality, “Jiminie-hyung and Taehyungie-hyung wanted to get food and I-I wanted—, I thought—, Do you want to come?” He stuttered, not meeting her gaze.
He was always so back and forth between bad-boy and innocent, she should’ve been used to it by now. Still, without fail, it made her heart race and her cheeks flush.
Hello! This is the rewritten version on MYKL! I’ve worked very hard and am eager to share! A few things have changed, like the POV, but I have also altered the events to better fit the flow of the story. Please enjoy!
“I don’t want to love you. I want to be free, I want to be me. But when I shut my eyes, all I see is you” - d.j.
***
Sweat dripped down the side of Anastasia’s face as she trudged up the stairs, her body feeling too heavy from the heat.
“Why is it so hot?!” She complained to herself, hitting the tip of her boot against the rusty steel step in an attempt to dislodge the tiny rock stuck under the ball of her foot.
The day up until that point had been exhaustingly long, filled with back-to-back classes and faceless people. When you’re younger, college is advertised as a new, free world with endless possibilities, when in reality it was just more homework, only now you paid for it. But at least she was almost inside where it was air-conditioned — things wouldn’t feel so bad after cooling down. Probably.
Reaching her front door, she fumbled with the keys to unlock it. The navy blue door was old with an even older lock which often stuck, needing a heavy hand and a specific angle to release. An annoying trait initially, but had since become muscle memory.
A gentle cool surrounded her as she stepped through the door and she let out a small breath of relief. Tossing her keys onto the small table next to the door and dropping her bag beside the shoe rack, she toed off her shoes. There was always a small pleasure in taking off the heavy boots that she never bothered to lace up all the way. She smiled, her feet finally getting a chance to breathe,but the smile quickly dissipated when she turned to face her living room. Dishes covered her coffee table, blankets and pillows were strewn across the floor, and — was that a shirt tossed across the back of the couch?
Jungkook.
It wasn’t unusual for her best friend and long-time crush to come over unannounced while she was gone; he was very introverted. Sharing a space without the other present was his way of feeling close without leaving his comfort zone. Normally, it wasn’t an issue, but every now and then he’d leave her place completely trashed. The two had gotten neighboring apartments straight out of high school four years ago — he had his own apartment to trash.
Initially, Anastasia was skeptical about more or less living together. Jungkook came from money, while Anastasia was barely middle class. Finding a place they both liked and could afford in the city just hadn’t sounded very realistic. However, contrary to what she’d assumed, he’d made the process very simple by agreeing to every place he was shown until they eventually landed in a humble apartment complex within walking distance of their college campus.
All the accumulated stress and annoyance from the week suddenly flared up as she stormed back out of her apartment barefoot and stomped her way over to her best friend’s door. Anastasia wasn’t in the mood to be patient with him today.
Pounding angrily, she waited for him to answer and the longer he took, the angrier she got. She knew he didn’t have a schedule today, he had no excuse for being a dick. As soon as she heard the door unlock, she burst through, stopping herself from spitefully knocking his things over and making a mess in hishome.
“Jungkook! Are you seriously incapable of respecting other—oh!” She stumbled back into the wall, almost tripping over a pair of shoes because the person with his hand on the doorknob was most definitely not Jungkook. Instead, a tall man with dark, curly hair falling into his eyes stood in his place. It was unsettling how beautiful he was, standing like he owned the air she breathed.
“Don’t let me stop you,” He smirked, closing the door with a small flick of his wrist as he brushed past her.
She had to take a minute to gather her thoughts and convince herself what happened had happened. She narrowed her gaze at the wall, fighting down her irritation so as not to overreact and make a scene. Just who the hell did he think he was?
As she slowly stalked into the main room, she knew she’d made the right choice to stay calm when she came face to face with two more men that had the hair on the back of her neck standing on end. An instinct deep inside cautioned danger.
The one that had opened the door was thin and a bit lanky, but there was something so intimidating about the way he met her gaze from across the room. It felt like a dare for her to do something — Anastasia had to look away.
The second man, who had yet to look up from his phone, had the majority of his face concealed by his hood. The arrogance with which he’d positioned himself with an arm along the back of the couch and his legs spread wide, put her on edge.
The last one, dressed head to toe in black, was reclined back into the couch and appeared to be asleep. Still, there was a poised aspect to his posture, like he was ready if anything happened. He wasn’t doing anything special, but something about him…Anastasia wasn’t sure she wanted to get acquainted.
Swallowing the lump of fear from being alone with three strange men, she forced herself to ask, cautiously, “Where’s Jungkook?”
The beautiful one with fluffy hair sighed and plopped down onto the couch, resting his head back onto the arm of the one on his phone. “Jungkookie is getting food.”
Their blatant disinterest in her offered the tiniest bit of solace, leaving her feeling less like she was about to become a victim of a heinous crime at one wrong move. Deciding it was the safest option, she backed up into the hall and quietly left the apartment. She would wait for Jungkook outside, in the public eye.
Paranoia had her back inside the safety of the walls of her apartment.
She didn’t feel so angry about the mess, anymore, more worried and admittedly curious about the men she could now afford to admit were attractive. Even the one sleeping was attractive, who’s attractive when they sleep?
Jungkook is. Her brain unhelpfully supplied.
Shifting her attention to cleaning the mess Jungkook had left, she piled up the dishes on the table and took them to the kitchen. As she soaped up a sponge, her mind wandered back to the three men. What if Jungkook didn’t know them, or worse, was on bad terms with them? It was very unlike Jungkook to let people into his personal space, much less leave them unattended. Did this mean they were close or did it mean he was being threatened? They wouldn’t attack Jungkook in his own home, would they? No, they were Korean too, she could tell by the familiar accent Jungkook had long since lost. They must be friends, or maybe cousins visiting. But if so, why hadn’t Jungkook mentioned anything? Given her a heads up? Did he not know they were going to show up? That meant they weren’t close, right? So he was in danger?
She gnawed on her lower lip, going back and forth, contemplating what to do.
Once the dishes were dry and put away, she took out her phone and dialed her best friend. The longer it rang for, the more anxious she became until finally, he picked up.
“Hello?” The moment his gentle tone came through the speaker, her shoulders relaxed.
“Hey, you okay?” She ought to start there.
He laughed softly, “What? So suddenly? Are youokay?”
“There’s just…” She didn’t know how best to approach the subject, “There are people in your apartment,” she whispered.
He was quiet for a moment, “Oh yeah, did you…meet them?”
She frowned. That wasn’t the reaction she’d been expecting.
“Briefly,” she admitted, hearing someone call his name through the phone.
He stuttered, trying to split his attention between her and whoever had called him.
“Taz, I have to go, food is ready. I’m on my way back now,” He rushed and shuffling could be heard. She imagined him shoving his phone between his shoulder and ear, accepting bags of takeout.
Her frown deepened, “Is it safe?”
The phone let out a small beep, signaling the person on the other end had ended the call. Anastasia pulled the device away from her ear and stared at it questioningly. Jungkook was never so flippant, his insouciant attitude rarely ever directed towards her. What was going on?
She wasn’t exactly hurt by his actions, but there was admittedly a bit of irritation present.
Tapping a finger against her jean-clad thigh, she debated her next move. She didn’t often feel nosey or curious about other people’s business — even Jungkook’s — but this particular situation had her burning with curiosity. She’d never met any of Jungkook’s friends or family from Korea, and she wanted to.
Jungkook’s past had always been a bit of a mystery. When she first noticed him back in high school, he’d been an aloof kid, sitting quietly in the back of class while diligently taking notes. Of course, being the attractive, foreign new kid that seemed to have no interest in anyone around him, everyone vied for his attention. After somewhat serendipitously befriending him, she learned he lived with a sponsor family, so even after 5 years of friendship, she’d never met his family. He never even talked about his family, always growing visibly uncomfortable and fidgety when asked about his personal life. Eventually, years of new memories together caused the curiosity to fade into the background.
Now that long-dormant curiosity was rearing its ugly head again.
Decidedly, Anastasia slipped on her shoes and exited her home. She would wait for him on the stairs, after all.
She knew it might seem like an ambush, but the desire to know beat any guilt to the side. He knew everything about her, it was about time he gave a little back.
It didn’t take long, no more than ten minutes, before she heard his familiar bell-like laugh from the small parking area around the corner. It was followed by indistinct chatter, the teasing tone the only comprehensible sound.
Waiting in silence for Jungkook to come into view, she prepared herself to meet more of his friends. How many more were there? Two at least.
When he rounded the corner laughing, someone riding on his back with their face nuzzled into his neck, Anastasia’s eyes widened. Had she taken a wrong turn on the way home and ended up in the twilight zone? The day just kept getting weirder.
As far as she’d witnessed, Jungkook didn’t like people in his space and always kept a polite distance between himself and others. She’d thought herself special for being accepted into his personal space, but obviously not.
He hadn’t noticed her yet, still a little ways away from the stairs and too preoccupied conversing with a second stranger to notice her form through the metal railing. The one Jungkook spoke with was beautiful in a way that was difficult to describe. Every feature on him was sharp and defined, from his jawline to his broad shoulders, and even his knees. And yet there was something so soft about him, something so untouched and pristine.
She had to remind herself to breathe.
An adorable noise left Jungkook when he saw her on the steps, his mouth making a tiny ‘o’.
“Taz!” He greeted her warmly, her favorite smile on his lips and if she hadn’t known him for so long, she wouldn’t have noticed the nervous shift in his eyes.
“Hey Kook,” She returned with the same warmth, even though she wasn’t exactly in a warm mood. She never did have any control when it came to her best friend.
The man on his back dropped down, almost completely out of sight behind Jungkook.
Jungkook stepped away and grabbed both the men he was with, shoving them forward to the base of the steps. They stumbled, grabbing onto each other in an attempt not to trip and fall, and the taller of the two whipped around to glare at Jungkook, who giggled nervously.
“Who are you?”
Anastasia shifted her focus to the shortest of the three, but hesitated in answering, waiting for Jungkook. When he noticed her gaze, he promptly motioned for the taller man to turn back to her.
“This is Anastasia, Taz, these are some people I want you to meet,” Jungkook filled in, shifting anxiously, but she could tell from his body language that her reaction was the one he was afraid of.
“Hello,” She greeted them, doing her best to conceal the raging feelings inside behind a friendly facade.
They both bowed and voiced their greetings, an action she had half expected after knowing Jungkook for so long.
“I’m Jimin,” The shortest of the three introduced, keeping his heavily accessorized hands to himself, opting for a nod instead.
Following his lead, the second kept his hands in his pockets, also nodding. “Seokjin.”
Making an effort for Jungkook’s sake, though she really wasn’t any more comfortable around these two than she was around the three inside, she smiled, “Nice to meet you, I’m Anastasia.”
“Namjoon is still in the car, he had a phone call, and…you’ve met the others?” Jungkook added, coming forward to meet Anastasia halfway as she descended the stairs.
“Namjoon?” She repeated, “And not really.”
“Oh, okay, I’ll introduce you,” He grinned.
Taking a deep breath, she changed the subject, “Where’s the food?”
His eyes widened comically, “The food!”
He turned and dashed back to the parking lot.
Jimin watched him jog out of sight before slipping his hands into his pockets and casually slipping past her, up the stairs. She turned to follow him with her eyes, observing the way he freely entered Jungkook’s apartment.
Turning back, she found Seokjin leaning comfortably against the steel banister. Was he waiting for Jungkook?
“So, um, how long have you known Jungkook for?” She’d never been good at small talk.
His lips twitched as if to hold back a smirk, “A while.”
Anastasia pursed her lips and nodded, she’d figured as much.
Footsteps stole both their attention and the sight of the man that rounded the corner had her reeling. He was closely followed by an unbothered Jungkook, but Anastasia couldn’t help the urge of fight or flight. She hadn’t thought it possible, but this man’s intimidation blew the others out of the water. His walk, his expression, his confidence…he had the kind of aura one might associate with the Godfather or old money.
He didn’t even seem to notice her as he passed her on the stairs, taking them two at a time as Seokjin followed closely, his hands never having left his pockets.
Jungkook smiled, nodding for her to follow as well. She wasn’t sure she wanted answers anymore, after all, ignorance is bliss, right?
“How much did you buy?! Let me help,” It wasn’t up for debate, but Jungkook just laughed and spun around to dodge her hands, jogging up the steps with all four food bags.
“Careful! You’ll crush the food!” She scolded, making him hesitate and look down.
“They’re fine.” He concluded, continuing up the stairs. She quickly overtook him, determined to at least open the door.
He snickered, scrunching his nose up adorably and she wiggled her eyebrows in return, feeling a twinge of reassurance from the familiar dynamic.
Slipping through the doorway after him, she made sure the door was securely shut before cautiously following. When she rounded the corner, Jungkook had just barely set the bags onto the coffee table before multiple pairs of hands shot out towards the food.
“Sit down,” Jungkook motioned to the couch behind him, the same couch that only had one seat available between two of his friends.
Hesitating, a sudden, overwhelming urge to run enveloped her. She felt so out of place, like the awkward kid at a house party or the only friend without a significant other.
“Uh, actually Kook, I have a lot of homework I need to get done,” She excused, backing up.
“No,” Jungkook denied, wrapping an arm around her waist to stop her from leaving.
She scoffed, “What do you mean ‘no’?”
“I said what I said.” He concluded, pushing her onto the couch and turning back to the food.
She stared incredulously at his back for a moment before meeting the eyes of the sleeping man in all black. Uh oh, had she woken him?
“Hey, how you doin’?” She waved with an obviously forced smile. Much to her relief, he cracked one in return (albeit a more amused one) and rested his head back against the couch, leaving her to spend the next few seconds wondering how someone’s teeth could be cute.
Jumping slightly, a little startled when Jungkook squeezed himself between them, she accepted the plate of food he held out. When she shifted to the side to give him more room, she accidentally bumped into the man on her other side.
The irritated and somewhat disgusted glare she received was uncalled for, confirming what she’d suspected — her presence was unwanted. It was so obvious, why was Jungkook insisting she stay? Was the tension in the room all in her head?
For the first time, she wanted Jungkook’s possessive behavior. She wished he would stake a claim like he usually did and then send her on her merry way. She wanted to leave.
Looking about the room, she tried to come up with an actual reason to leave. A reason more acceptable than just feeling like it. Consequently, she accidentally met gazes with Seokin. He was studying her, that much she could tell, and suddenly she came to the realization that Jungkook might be more important to him than she’d initially assumed.
She couldn’t help but wonder why that didn’t make her feel any better — shouldn’t him caring about who Jungkook kept in company warm her heart? Instead, she felt her blood run cold like she should be cautious of the consequences of being around.
Keeping her distance from Jungkook’s friends felt like the safest option for the time being, but of course, Jungkook had to make that more difficult.
“So you met Seokjin and Jimin, that’s Namjoon, and this is Yoongi, Hoseok, and Taehyung,” Jungkook introduced, pointing to each individual character.
Normally, the second a name left someone’s mouth it was forgotten, but there was no way she could forget them this time. The atmosphere was the closest she’d ever felt to a life or death situation, every moment was being ingrained. She also couldn’t stop her gaze from returning to Namjoon. She felt like a frightened bird keeping an eye on a predator, even when the predator seemed to have little to no interest in her.
“Hello, I’m Anastasia. You’re all Jungkook’s friends?” She was running on survival mode, trying to keep the peace by being as polite as she knew how.
Jungkook nodded, “They’re my brothers.”
Now that got her attention.
“One more time?”
“Not biologically, but we were raised together,” He continued, oblivious to the tension filling the room as he happily munched on his food.
Anastasia felt like she was spiraling. She was Alice and this was Wonderland because nothing made sense. The confusion and anxiety were only just overshadowed by the hurt she felt. She’d always assumed that Jungkook never spoke about his family because he wasn’t on good terms with them, but that was clearly not the case here.
He just hadn’t wanted to share with her and so for the first time since they’d become friends, Anastasia felt alienated. She didn’t belong in his world, or more accurately, she wasn’t welcome.
Following the hurt came thinly veiled anger. He didn’t have enough respect for her to even give her a heads up that his brothers were in town? Fine, she wouldn’t waste her energy playing along.
“I’m leaving.” She stood, stepping around Taehyung’s legs, and headed for the exit.
“What? Taz, wait,” Jungkook spoke through a mouth full of food and got up to follow her.
Not wanting to lose her cool in front of a room full of strangers, she ignored him and left.
She barely made it out the door before Jungkook reached her.
“Hey, whoa, what’s up? I know it’s a bit of a surprise, but—”
“You’re right, it was a surprise. You didn’t even have the decency to let me know you had family in town. That’s not even the bare minimum, though, no the least you could do was let me know they existed in the first place!” She snapped, roughly shoving her door open, having just enough self-control not to let it slam against the wall.
“Jagi, wait, I didn’t mean to, I didn’t know they were coming! Hey, hey, hey,” Jungkook gently grabbed her wrist, trying to dissuade her from storming off to her room where he wouldn’t follow.
“You even trashed my place, you know? I yelled at one of them thinking it was you, do you know how fucking mortified I am? Do you even care?”
Jungkook opened and closed his mouth, not knowing what to say.
She sighed, pinching her nose. As much as she wanted to solve things with him, understand what was going on in his head, she wasn’t calm enough and Jungkook had guests to get back to.
“Nevermind. Get out, we’ll talk about this later.”
“You can romanticize me all you wish, but the devil wrapped in silk is still the devil” - Unknown
***
Exhaling a shallow breath, Anastasia carefully opened her eyes, her head feeling like it would split open with every beat of her heart. It was dark and cold, and t he air felt so dry it was almost suffocating to breathe. Her knees were pressed uncomfortably tight against her chest and she struggled to form a coherent thought.
Disoriented, head foggy, she tried to remember where she was, but the loud whirring in her ears and the occasional jarring jolt made it hard to concentrate. The last thing she remembered, she was on the beach with Jimin and Taehyung, waiting for Seokjin and Yoongi to return.
Where was she? It was so cold.
She was in and out of consciousness after that, vague memories of indistinct voices, and moments of deafening silence the only thing she remembered. The ache in her bones, whether from the cold or something else, never left. In another moment of awareness, she felt her limp body being shoved into something, a car maybe? Fighting with what little strength she had to get out of the person’s arms, she didn’t win.
A car door slamming, voices, then nothing.
It must have been many hours before she roused again because her limbs were stiff and sore. Still groggy, though significantly less so than before, she struggled to sit up. The violent shivers, which no doubt also attributed to the soreness in her muscles, no longer wracked her frame. A small relief.
Disoriented, she flinched, not expecting his presence. He looked different from the last time she’d seen him, still angelic, but now he had deep purple bruising under his eyes and his clothes didn’t look as carefully picked as they usually did.
She could only imagine what she looked like.
“What happened, where are we?” The words came out in a raspy whisper, her mouth too dry for her vocal cords to vibrate properly.
Jimin smiled sweetly and handed her a glass of water, “Here”
Taking it, she greedily chugged it down, and when it was empty, she begged with her eyes for more.
He shook his head, “You’ll get sick. You need food first”
Clutching her stomach, she realized how hungry she was. Grinning, he said, “Thought so”
Taking in their surroundings — a plain room without a hint of personal touch, she repeated, “Where are we?”
Jimin hesitated, shrugging.
Cautiously, she pulled the covers up to her chin as if they would protect her, “Jimin,” she warned, “Where are we?”
“I don’t know”
A terrible thought occurred, “ Did you kidnap me? ” Where was Jungkook?
“Of course not,” He soothed, “ I didn’t kidnap you, I’m a prisoner here, too”
Somehow, knowing it wasn’t Jimin that had kidnapped her made everything so much worse, a cold sense of dread settling in.
“Who, then?” Worried for him, she leaned in, “Are you okay?”
Frowning, he stood from the bed, running a hand through his messy hair.
“It’s not me I’m worried about,” he admitted after a while.
Wide-eyed, she cupped herself, horrified at what he was insinuating. Catching her reaction, his hands jerked out, “Not you!”
Wracking her brain, she tried to follow him. Then it dawned on her that Taehyung was the only other person there with them on the beach. Frantic, she grabbed Jimin’s hand, “Where’s Taehyung?!”
Groaning, he gripped at the strands of his hair and fell back onto the bed, whining “They won’t tell me!”
“Who’s they?”
It took him a minute to respond, “I don’t know,” he mumbled, “probably some chaebols that want to stop Seokjin and Namjoon’s influence. We’re leverage”
Chaebols? Influence? What the hell was Jimin talking about? Anastasia felt the shock beginning to wear off and the hysteria set in.
“It’s a desperate move on their part, but I suppose I understand. After all, what other choices do they have? Shooting Taehyung, though —” It was harder to understand Jimin’s accent when he spoke so fast, but she picked out the most important part.
“Taehyung was shot?!”
Jimin jumped slightly at her outburst and the nervous shift returned like he was trying to hide how concerned he actually was, “He should be fine, it didn’t look fatal”
Should be. She didn’t like those odds.
“Don’t worry,” He cooed, brushing his fingertips against her cheek, “I’ll make sure you don’t get hurt”
“It’s not me I’m worried about!” That was a lie, but she was definitely worried more about Taehyung, “What if he bled out? Holy shit, what if he bled out?! ”
“Hey, hey, look at me,” Jimin gently commanded, cupping her cheeks and forcing her to meet his gaze, “He’s fine. The goal was to incapacitate him, not kill him”
Searching his deep brown eyes, she found sincerity. Licking her dry lips, she asked, “Why?”
Jimin tilted his head back and forth, weighing his answer, “To level the playing field?”
Level the playing field? What did he mean by that? There was a sinking feeling in her chest. Cautiously, not sure if she really wanted to know, she asked, “What does that mean?”
He deliberately avoided eye contact, a playful, knowing grin on his lips. Anastasia felt irritated with his behavior.
“You should take a shower, you’ve been out of it for a while,” He suggested, changing the subject.
“I don’t want to shower — why are you not taking this seriously? Jimin, we're captive , what is wrong with you?” She growled climbing to her feet, almost tipping over when the ground swayed beneath her feet.
Jimin hummed, gripping the tops of her arms firmly and guiding her back to the bed, “You’re right, showering might be too much right now. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of everything, okay? I promised, didn’t I?”
Anastasia didn’t really know what he was talking about, but she trusted him, letting him ease her back into the mattress and tuck her in.
“Just stay here until you’ve recovered, I’ll get us some food,” Jimin instructed, backing away and slipping out of the room.
Low voices greeted him, but she couldn’t understand what they said. Jimin’s brighter tone was easy to pick out, even through the closed door. It consoled her some that he didn’t sound distressed.
Greeting her with an easy smile when he returned, he informed her that the food was on its way. It was obvious now that Jimin had lied about not knowing the people holding them captive, he was way too comfortable. Why wasn’t she surprised?
“Jimin, you know who they are, don’t you?”
“I’ve made friends with the guards,” he smirked cheekily, plopping beside her on the bed.
Having spent enough time looking at his face, she could see through his near-perfec t façade. There was fatigue in the way he moved and she suddenly wondered when the last time he slept was. After they ate, she decided she’d insist that he got some sleep.
Taking some time to use the bathroom and wash her face, she tried to remember how she got into this situation. Leaning against the sink, bowing her head, she wracked her brain til a headache began to form. There was a blank spot in her memory, she could recall everything up to her frustration with Taehyung when he mentioned Beatrice, and then suddenly she was waking up here .
Giving up, she stepped back into the room to find Jimin sound asleep, having passed out with his legs still hanging off the edge.
Sighing, she went to the window on the far side of the room, pulling back the curtain to look outside. She hadn’t been expecting to recognize her surroundings, but to her surprise, she did. They were two cities west of where she lived.
Letting the curtain fall closed once more, she began to plan their escape. Jimin was chummy with the guards, he might be able to talk them into helping them, or at the very least distract them while she got help.
Her mind raced as she paced back and forth, biting her nails.
When the door to the exit of the room began to open, Anastasia jumped to stand in front of Jimin, prepared to protect him in his vulnerable state.
A tall man in a well-tailored suit entered, giving her a strange sense of deja vu stepped into the room. Just by the man’s expression, she could tell he meant business.
Tilting his head, he took in the sleeping figure behind her, smirking when she shifted her weight to block his view. “Follow me,” he ordered.
Shooting Jimin a concerned glance, she hesitated. If she left, would he be okay? Did she even have a choice?
Looking at the large bodyguards that stood there waiting for her, she knew she didn’t.
Stepping out of the room, cautiously taking in her surroundings, she realized they were in a suite. Why had they been brought to a hotel? An oddly luxurious setting to hold two victims. That brought her to her next question; why had she been taken in the first place? It wasn’t like she had anything to give.
The man in the suit sat on the couch, crossing his legs and resting an arm across the back. Silence ensued, Anastasia shifting awkwardly from foot to foot. What did he want? Was he going to hurt her? If she screamed would someone hear? What if he was super rich and owned the hotel and no one would help? He looked super rich.
Deciding to wait it out, the buff, muscley men standing at the exit incentivizing her to behave.
“Why am I here?” She asked lowly, making the effort to keep her tone non-confrontational.
The man smirked, “Sit down”
Hesitantly, she lowered herself onto the couch across from him, shooting the guards another cautious glance.
“Jeon Jungkook…” The man said her best friend’s name like he was reminiscing a memory, “He’s been missing for a long time, you know”
She furrowed her brow. Missing? Since when? Her mind began to race with so many possible explanations, but which one was correct?
“So imagine my surprise when I find him here, with you ,” He paused to pour himself a drink from the water jug on the coffee table between them. “At first I thought you were just a cover, someone to help him seem normal, but then the other six showed up and you’re still here”
She’s still here? What was that supposed to mean?
Nodding she agreed, “I was surprised by the other six, too” She was grasping at straws, trying to make it seem like she knew more than she did.
The man tilted his head to the side curiously, “And yet you managed to wiggle your way into their good graces”
Anastasia didn’t respond.
“That’s why you’re here,” he finally got to the point, “You’ve infiltrated a group of very dangerous people and I am very interested to know how”
“Dangerous people? They’re not dangerous, you’re dangerous! You shot Taehyung! Is he even alive?” She hissed, immediately composing herself when she caught a guard stepping closer out of the corner of her eye.
Leaning forward, the man studied her expression closely, “You have no idea who they are, do you?”
Licking her lips anxiously, she nodded, “I know who they are”
Shaking his head, he stood up, “I don’t think you do”
He walked over to the kitchenette, he grabbed a tablet that was on the counter, typing something in. “I’ll show you”
Sitting beside her on the couch, he pressed play on the video he’d pulled up, handing her the tablet.
The video began in her kitchen, before the fire, with Yoongi standing at her sink, filling a pot with water, and Jungkook leaning against her fridge, watching.
“You put cameras in my home?!” She exclaimed, standing up from the couch and backing away, her eyes never leaving the screen.
Yoongi turned off the tap and set the pot on the old gas stove, lighting it up. Stepping back, he stared at the pot for a moment, tilting his head to the side almost contemplatively before turning to Jungkook and saying something she couldn’t understand. Jungkook nodded and walked out of view.
Anastasia looked up at her captor, confused at what he wanted her to see. So far he was doing a very poor job at convincing her of any danger.
“Keep watching,” is all the man said, annoyingly cocky.
Returning her attention back to the screen, she was just in time to see Jungkook walk back into the frame, holding a folded towel that she knew he got from the cupboard at the end of the hall. Shaking it open he walked up to the stove and without hesitation, tossed it next to the fire.
Anastasia’s eyes blew wide in disbelief but she couldn’t look away.
It took a second before the towel erupted into flames and it didn’t take long after that for it to spread to the counter beside it. Throughout, Jungkook and Yoongi stood calmly, watching the flames eat up everything it touched.
It felt like hours before either pulled out their phones, Yoongi dialing 911 from what she heard and Jungkook calling… her.
“Taz!” Jungkook exclaimed frantically, his voice muffled through the sound of flames. “ I don’t know what happened! I just-I left to use the bathroom for like 2 seconds! That’s it! […]I won’t be after I tell you what happened […] I maybe, sorta, kinda…lit…your kitchen on fire? […] It was an accident, I swear!”
Anastasia felt sick to her stomach, tossing the tablet onto the couch, unable to watch anymore. It was all a lie, everything was a lie.
Beatrice had been right . She thought miserably.
“Do you understand now?” The man asked.
Clenching her jaw, she sat back down across from him, “You said Jungkook was missing, what do you mean?”
“I mean exactly that. Five years ago, after a certain altercation with a man that ended in the hospital, Jungkook disappeared”
Anastasia shifted, uncomfortable with the information, “The man ended up in the hospital or Jungkook?”
“The man. He was in a coma for two years before passing away”
Making a mad dash for the kitchen, she barely made it to the sink before retching, nothing but a bit of water and stomach acid coming up.
Spitting, she blindly turned on the tap, using the water to wash out her mouth. “You’re lying,” she rasped, suddenly unsure. This wasn’t the first time she’d run into Jungkook’s temper, there had been a few times throughout the years where he’d gotten into some serious fights. A few she’d been witness to, others she’d seen the aftermath. All of them ended in the hospital. But he’d given them concussions, broken noses, dislocated knees, he didn’t put people in comas, he wasn’t a killer .
Besides, it had been a long time since Jungkook got in a fight, even if the man was telling the truth, Jungkook wasn’t like that anymore, he was a good person who loved her.
Recalling the video she’d just seen, she wondered if maybe it was just that Jungkook had gotten better at lying. Lighting a kitchen on fire and taking someone’s life were two very different crimes, though, and she just couldn’t bring herself to think of Jungkook as a murderer .
Memories of Jungkook jogging up to her with a big smile, saying her name in that teasing lilt, she couldn’t believe that he was a bad person. Despite the evidence staring her in the face, she could only see his smile in her mind.
Her captor had made it out to seem like all seven of them were evil, but evil people didn’t care and if there was anything she’d learned about them in the time she’d known them was that they cared more for each other than she had ever seen anyone care. He was right about one thing, though, somehow, she’d managed to catch their attention, become someone they wanted to protect, and for as much as she felt betrayed, she would still rather be back in the room with Jimin than here with this man.
Stealing her resolve, she stood up straight, “Tell me who they are”
***
I have a question! I’ve tried not to project what I imagine Anastasia to look like into the book so you could imagine her in the way you wish, so I was wondering, what does she look like to you?
Hoseok, the banished recluse, has always loved and worshiped merprincess YN, despite knowing he could never have her. For the longest time, he’s been content, treasuring their secret meetings. But when she begins to slip through his tentacles, Hoseok decides he will make her love him back, no matter what.
༶•┈┈⛧┈♛┈⛧┈┈•༶
“How much longer are we going to stay out here, Your Highness?”
The ocean is nearly black with night, but that doesn’t hinder YN’s sight in the slightest. After all, merpeople are built to be successful hunters even in the deepest and darkest trenches.
“Just a little longer, Junghoonie,” the merprincess says, not even turning her head to look at her bodyguard.
She already knows the merman is rolling his eyes at her, disgruntled at the late shift. Junghoon has been guarding the youngest princess of Atlantica since she was barely able to swim and is well used to her antics by now.
One would think that being part of the royal family would mean YN was always poised and proper like her older sisters, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Since she was born much later than the rest of the King’s daughters, YN was spoiled and allowed to get away with things the others weren’t. It’s well known that she’s the favorite princess despite not being anywhere near the top of the line of succession for the throne.
If YN wasn’t so totally uninterested in palace life, her older sisters would have seen her as a threat and put a target on her back. Already a few of the princesses have lost their lives to assassinations, hunting trips “gone wrong”, and a variety of other methods that prove the merfolk can be just as cruel as the humans who live above.
Humans.
Junghoon’s lip curls back in disgust. A couple hundred years ago, back when Junghoon was just a baby, the humans had discovered how to sail the ocean and haven’t given up the task since. Life was good when humans stayed on land with their odd-looking limbs and their lack of fins, but ever since they’ve tried to claim the ocean, things have taken a turn for the worse.
Hardly a day goes by without some random human junk being tossed in the ocean and disturbing the delicate balance of life Mother Nature has so carefully cultivated. Their overfishing has made it difficult for the mer to have a consistent food source and has forced several small pods to the brink of extinction.
It’s for this reason that Junghoon does not feel any pity whenever he or his brigade come across a sunken ship and finds the corpses of humans tossed about in the wreckage. If anything, he’s glad to find extra food to bring back to the kingdom.
Most of the other mer hold the same disdain for humans, but that cannot be said of all of them. There are human sympathizers as well as mer who wish to capture and study them to learn more about the world above the waves.
No one is a bigger supporter of this movement than the little princess swimming a few feet in front of him. Princess YN is absolutely obsessed with the humans, something that has raised red flags among several of the nobility. Her father, King Triton, is convinced that YN’s addiction is just a childish hobby she’ll outgrow, but Junghoon knows better.
YN has long since shed the last of her childhood scales and blossomed into the most beautiful mermaid in the entire Kingdom. Despite the near impossibility that she will ever take the throne, not a week goes by without several suitors writing to the king in an attempt to have her hand in marriage.
The King has shown no interest in marrying his favorite daughter off yet, so YN is still free to roam around and collect all the human baubles that sink to the bottom of the ocean and hoard them in her underground cave she never allows anyone entrances to. Not even Junghoon has been inside, always forced to stand guard at the entrance. He can’t poke so much as a tailfin in with the princess scolding him.
“We really should be getting back to the castle, your highness,” Junghoon says as YN picks us a shiny thing from a tangle of seaweed.
She’s not listening to him, holding the object up. It doesn’t sparkle due to the darkness, but YN’s eyes shine like she’s holding the biggest pearl ever discovered.
“Your Highness,” Junghoon repeats.
YN finally pulls her eyes away from the thing, looking over her shoulder at him. Junghoon is struck by just how big she’s gotten. He’s always felt like a caretaker to her, so his affection is deeply rooted in his role as bodyguard.
“Alright, alright,” she says, blowing bubbles to display her displeasure.
Her finned hand curls around the object.
“Can we at least stop by my treasure room so I can deposit this?” she asks, widening her eyes to plead with him.
YN knows that her bodyguard can hardly ever deny her, but unfortunately for her, today happens to be one of those days.
“We’re already past your curfew, Your Highness,” Junghoon says, voice stern.
YN pouts but doesn’t argue further.
The swim back to the castle is silent but not uncomfortable. Junghoon knows the princess isn’t actually mad at him. He’s never seen her get angry in her entire life, always carefree and easy-going.
Junghoon nods at the sentries who guard the palace gates, recognizing them from his various patrols. He escorts YN all the way to her room, bidding her goodnight.
All alone in her chambers, YN swims to the ceiling, running her fingers through the bioluminescent algae that provides her some light.
She wonders absently if the humans use glowing plants to illuminate their homes. YN has found numerous human objects, but can never quite figure out what they’re used for. Instead, she’s stuck watching them rust and rot away, her collection turning into nothing more than a tarnished junk heap.
But still, she can’t bear to throw anything away. The princess wants nothing more than to walk among the humans and experience their culture and way of life, but she knows it’s impossible. She’s stuck down here in the gilded cage the castle forms, trapping her from living the free life she wants to. Life at the palace is so stifling that even a few minutes in her bedroom has her itching to leave.
Looking down at the new object she discovered, YN watches as it reflects the algae’s glow, light shining on the sharp. It looks somewhat similar to the spears the guards always keep with them, but this one is much too small to hunt or defend oneself with. She has no clue what to do with it.
As she thinks, YN remembers the many paintings she has collected and stored away in her cave. Even though most of them are half-ruined, the mermaid is still able to make out some of what they portray, something which has helped her identify a few of the objects she’s found in the past.
The curiosity is eating away at her, so even though she knows she’ll be in trouble if her father finds out she’s snuck out (once again), the princess slips through the secret exit in a decorative piece of coral, eyes scanning for any guards watching the escape tunnels.
She finds none, so she races through the catacombs, familiar enough with the labyrinth to exit the castle within minutes.
Her cavern lies just at the edges of the kingdom, far enough away that she doesn’t have to worry about anyone disturbing her.
Nothing much of substance is out here except for a boat wreck she’s long since picked through and a shiver of sharks which always skirt away from her, knowing that she’s the superior predator.
She quickly swims over to the collection of portraits she has, scanning over them to see if she can locate the object in any of them. After several minutes, she’s disappointed not to find what she’s looking for.
“That’s called a knife, my princess” a voice comes.
YN would have been startled if she wasn’t so used to him being here. He’s always here.
“Is it?” she asks, looking over her shoulder.
The entrance of the cave is nearly completely blocked by a large form. The first thing her eyes go to is the smiling face of her childhood best friend before her eyes dart down, quickly scanning over the man’s taut abs and going lower. Seven tentacles fan out along the sandy floor, wriggling ever so slightly as if they have a mind of their own. Hoseok stands nearly three heads taller than her because of them, something that always takes her by surprise since once upon a time, she was the bigger of the two.
“It is,” Hoseok repeats, slithering deeper into the cave.
He grabs her freehand and presses a kiss against her knuckles and whispers something she can’t understand before light bursts forward from nowhere, illuminating the cave much better than algae ever could.
The two of them can see just fine without the additional light, but illumination was one of the first spells Hoseok ever learned as a child. It thrilled YN so much the first time she watched him perform it that he’s made an effort to cast the spell wherever possible. It still brings a smile to her face.
“The humans use it to cut their meals into smaller pieces,” he clarifies.
“How particular,” YN says, looking at the fork in her hand with new understanding, “Why not simply use their teeth? I know they have them.”
Her eyes drift over to one of the numerous human skulls she’s collected over the years. Most of them were given to her by the man in front of her.
Before Hoseok can answer, Princess YN begins to pop the knife in her mouth, curious to experience it. The metal has barely touched her tongue before Hoseok pulls it away from her, holding her face in his hands.
Any other merman would be executed on the spot for such boorish behavior, but Hoseok isn’t just anyone. He’s her very best friend in the entire world, the only one to treat her like an individual.
YN looks up at him as he slips a thumb between her lips, opening her mouth and running his finger ever so gently over her teeth so as not to cut himself.
“You see how flat the humans’ teeth are?” he asks her, removing her finger from her mouth. He‘s focused entirely on her lips, “They’re not strong enough to cut through the many different types of food they eat.”
YN runs her tongue over the edge of her own teeth as if she never truly realized how sharp they actually are. Hoseok sighs out, expelling bubbles.
༶•┈┈⛧┈♛┈⛧┈┈•༶
Princess YN is the most desired mermaid in the entire kingdom and Hoseok is no exception. He’s been in love with her ever since they were small. She was the only noble child not to treat him differently for having tentacles instead of a tail.
Discrimination and elitism run rampant through the kingdom, so even though there are many different types of merpeople, only those with tails hold any sort of political or social power. Merpeople who have tentacles, legs, or anything other than a tail are lorded over by those who believe themselves to be superior.
It was a miracle that Hoseok was allowed to be educated with the noble children considering how hard his own father had to work to obtain a prestigious position. Even as a child, Hoseok knew the mockery his father faced in an attempt to give him and other merpeople like them a chance for a better life, so he never mentioned the bullying and sometimes downright cruel treatment he endured, knowing that this father dealt with enough trouble already.
Due to this, Hoseok always tried to keep to himself as much as possible. He didn’t attempt to play with the other children and held his tongue when the teachers would give him lower marks than he deserved. It remained that way for a few years, all the way until princess YN was old enough to begin attending lessons as well.
For some reason, she seemed to hate the other children just as much as Hoseok did and would avoid them whenever possible, even her older sisters.
He was still wary of her and would never speak to her, knowing that the punishment he would receive from speaking to a princess would far exceed his current level of curiosity. But YN didn’t care at all, deciding to sit with him only three days after starting classes. At first, he would only speak when spoken to, but YN’s contagious personality soon had him chatting to her constantly.
Just like he suspected, the other children were none too thrilled. On one of the days when the princess wasn’t able to attend class, the other children ganged up on him and beat him so badly he could barely make it home.
His father had been slight, but Hoseok could see the pain lurking behind his eyes.
Hoseok had only missed two lessons before a visitor from the royal palace came. The household was scrambling to prepare for the mystery guest, but all Hoseok could think was he was most likely going to be expelled from the academy. He fully expected the haughty schoolmaster to waltz into his room with some bullshit excuse about his grades being too poor or him being rude to the other children, but instead, he was met with the young princess.
The entire household was shocked to see someone of such high social status come to visit. Even her guards looked like they were surprised to be in such a lowly household.
At the sight of Hoseok all bruised and bandaged, the youngest princess immediately burst into tears, running over to him and holding his hand with a tenderness he had never experienced. When he had asked why she was so upset, YN had looked at him like he was crazy and said nine words that changed his life forever: “Because you’re my best friend, and I love you.”
Since that moment all those years ago, every beat Hoseok’s three hearts have taken has been for her.
“You’re so smart, Hoseok. You should be the lead historian in the kingdom and you know it,” YN says, snapping Hoseok out of his reverie, “I’m sure I could convince my father to lift your banishment if -”
“Princess,” Hoseok says, interrupting her, “It’s okay. You and I both know high society doesn’t suit me.”
Ah, banishment. Years ago, when Hoseok had finished his schooling and was shadowing the lead historian in the castle’s library, there had been a bit of an … incident.
Hoseok had overheard one of the noblemen criticizing Princess YN, belittling her carefree attitude and the way she treated the “unfavorable” merpeople. The very last straw had been when he then had the audacity to suggest asking King Triton for her hand in marriage because of her beauty and perceived lack of intelligence.
“Oh, she’ll be the best wife,” one of the slimy mermen said, “She’ll elevate my level in court and we’d make some beautiful pups.”
He threw his head back and laughed, but the sound was cut short when Hoseok’s fist slammed into his jaw with every ounce of pent up rage and frustration that had been building up in the last several years. Hoseok could handle the snide remarks and nasty pranks aimed towards himself, but he would not tolerate disrespect towards Y/n, the most perfect being to have ever blessed this wretched ocean.
The shock of the incident left the other mermen speechless for several moments, allowing Hoseok to get in more blows against the offender’s face. The merman below him begged and pleaded like the pathetic worm he was, but it was pure static to Hoseok. It was only when he was pulled off the other man by the royal guard and tossed against the coral and roughly beaten that Hoseok was brought out of her rage-fueled reverie.
He had been promptly thrown in jail without a second thought and had sulked in the cold darkness for hours, ruminating in his actions. He did not regret defending Princess Y/N, not even for one moment, but he did think about the effect this would have on his father.
His father had worked so hard to make progress for himself and his people, and there’s a good chance that Hoseok had just ruined it in a matter of minutes. He sighed as a light came into view, revealing the Princess with a concerned look on her face.
“Hoseok!” she shouted, hands wrapping around the rusty metal bars. Bioluminescent algae was wrapped around her wrists, allowing him to get a clever look at her face,
The room felt warmer instantly as his hearts wooshed faster as they always did when he was in her gracious presence.
“Princess,” he murmurs.
“You’re hurt,” YN says, looking anguished.
A conflicting mix of guilt and glee worms around Hoseok. Guilt from causing his Princess to worry, but glee from the fact that she was worried about him.
“I’m sorry,” he says despite not being sorry in the slightest, “I did something I shouldn’t have.”
“Nonsense,” his princess said, “I’m sure that you wouldn’t have done anything rash.”
Her blind faith in him makes him love her even more, something he didn’t think was possible. He smiles at her, but she doesn’t return it like she usually would.
“Hoseok …” she begins, her words clogged in her throat as if she’s struggling to get them out, “I have some bad news.”
His heart sinks. He’s never heard his Princess have such a desolate tone.
“Bad news?” he says, voice barely above a whisper.
“You’re being banished,” YN says, eyes welling with tears the ocean washes away immediately, “I tried to get my father to forget the incident, but Kai and his father wouldn’t have it. They wanted you executed. This was the best I could do to save you.”
Hoseok stays silent, unsure of what to say or how to react. Y/N, taking this as a sign that he’s upset with her rushes to continue.
“But! I’m close friends with Princess Tzuyu from the Second Kingdom. I’m sure that I can have you move there with no problem. The relations between all the merpeople is much better there than it is here, so there’s so much more opportunity there for you. I think you’ll actually be able to reach your potential -”
“Y/N,” Hoseok says, cutting her off, “Thank you, but I’d rather be banished.”
“Why?” the princess asks, her voice small.
“If I move to the Second Kingdom, I won’t be able to ever see you again, right? Even though you and Princess Tzuyu are close, our Kingdom and theirs aren’t. You wouldn’t be able to visit me.”
“I … correct,” Y/N says, “But if you’re banished, you will be banned from society. You’ll never get the chance to pursue your education or career.”
“I don’t care,” Hoseok says without hesitation, “I value you more than anything else in existence, YN.”
He reaches between the bars and cups her face, a liberty he has never obtained before. He never would have normally, but the fear this will be his last opportunity to override it.
YN places her hand over his, looking deeply into his eyes.
“What am I going to do without you, Hobi?” she asks, tears coming freely, “You’re my only friend. You’re the only person who sees me for me. I don’t want to be away from you.”
Hoseok wishes he had the strength to pull the bars apart and take her into his arms and whisk her away. The words “run away with me” are on the tip of his tongue, but they never get the chance to be spoken as the guards come and escort her away.
The two of them only meet once more, making plans for the abandoned shipwreck they found as young children, the place they’d still be able to meet.
For five years, the two of them meet at the shipwreck as they do tonight.
༶•┈┈⛧┈♛┈⛧┈┈•༶
“I have a confession to make,” Y/N says.
“What is it, Princess?” Hoseok murmurs.
For a moment, he feels like she’ll finally confess to him - to say that the feelings he’s had nearly his entire life are reciprocated.
“I feel so … suffocated, Hobi. Like I’m truly not made for this life. I really … I really want to know what it’s like to be human. I’m tired of scavenging for discarded items on the bottom of the seafloor. I want to actually experience it.”
Hoseok pauses. That’s not what he expected to hear.
“I know it’s stupid. Impossible, actually. But it just feels like …”
“It’s not stupid, Princess,” Hoseok says, always wanting to be there for her, “I’m sure it’s possible. Actually, I feel like I may have come across a potion that could turn a merperson into a human temporarily.”
He has not, but the way Y/N’s eyes light up make him determined to either find or create one.
“Really?” she asks, grasping his hands in hers, her excitement palpable.
“Yes,” he says, “It’ll need quite a bit more testing before it’s safe, but I can make that happen for you. I can make your dream come true.”
Y/N squeals with excitement and grasps her friend tightly.
༶•┈┈⛧┈♛┈⛧┈┈•༶
For the next several months, Hoseok works tirelessly to create a proper potion. The random merpeople he’s kidnapped and experimented on have suffered greatly, but a little bloodshed is nothing compared to YN’s joy. There are many, many failures, but at long last, after scouring every book he could sneak into the kingdom and get his hands on, he figures it out.
“Really?” YN asks once he finally presents the potion to her.
“Really,” Hoseok confirms, “Take it in shallow water so you won’t accidentally end up drowning. The change won’t be a pleasant experience, but you’ll be able to walk among the humans, at least for a while. Only a fortnight.”
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” YN says, grasping the potion and placing a chaste kiss on his cheek before racing off towards the coast.
Hoseok secretly follows her, watching her the best he can from his place in the ocean. When she returns two weeks later with news that she met someone and fell in love, Hoseok, for the second time in his life, is pushed over the edge.
Unlike when he beat Kai into a pulp and got banished from the kingdom, Hoseok doesn’t react instantly, doesn’t blow up at his Princess. He never could, would never hurt her.
But sometimes, when you love someone, you have to do what is best for them, whether or not they want you to.
So when YN asks Hoseok to make a long lasting potion so she can run away with the prince of the kingdom above the sea, he feels no guilt for swapping it out with one he had hoped to never have to use on her, one filled with his own blood and the desire for her he’s always had.
Y/N’s trust in him causes her to tip the bottle back and swallow every drop of the love potion in the shallow cove. Sure, the glaze in her eyes when she professes her love for him isn’t the way he would have liked it, but beggars can’t be choosers. At the end of the day, he has her, his Princess forevermore.
༶•┈┈⛧┈♛┈⛧┈┈•༶
A/N: OMG! It’s finally out! And on my 2000 day anniversary of being an ARMY no less. Thank you all for your patience and I hope you enjoyed this fic and the entire Forbidden Fables collab. Thank you to @chaoticpuff17 and @deepdarkdelights for being so patient, awesome, and talented. Go read their contributions to the collab if you haven’t already!
