Word Count: 5,885 // angst (toxic relationship, friends to lovers, yandere behavior, possessiveness, jealousy, mention of physical harm, mention of neglect), smut (rough sex/slight dub-con, fingering, omorashi, asphyxiation, forced creampie), no fluff
Childhood friend!Taehyung X Childhood friend!Reader
Summary: You and Taehyung were inseparable once. When you come back to your hometown after three years, fate pulls you back to him. And this time, Taehyung won’t ever keep his eyes off of you.
“I don’t remember falling in love with you, I just remember holding your hand realizing how much it was going to hurt when I would have to let it go” - Unknown
***
“Taz!” Jungkook exclaimed frantically.
“Jungkook? What’s wrong?”
The three men all turned their attention her way.
“Put it on speaker,” Hoseok demanded, grabbing her phone and doing it for her.
“-what happened! I just-I left to use the bathroom for like 2 seconds! That’s it!” Jungkook trailed off, Korean tumbling out of his mouth in what she knew was panicked curses.
“Hey, it’s okay, just tell me what happened. You’re okay,” She consoled, doing her best to bring his attention back to her.
“I won’t be after I tell you what happened,” He mumbled.
She paused. “…What the hell did you do, Kook?”
“I maybe, sorta, kinda…lit…your kitchen on fire?”
“You did what?”
“It was an accident, I swear!” He exclaimed and Anastasia could hear Jimin and Hoseok snickering behind her.
“Sh!” She snapped, making them flinch.
Turning back to her phone she asked, “are you fucking with me right now?”
“No”
She pinched the bridge of her nose, “Okay, so, how did you manage…that?”
“I was making food and I didn’t see the kitchen towel by the stove and I just left for a second to use the bathroom and when I came back….there were a lot of flames”
She hung up, rushing to the bathrooms, making it all the way into the hallway before slumping into the wall. She slid to the floor, clutching her mouth as she fought off the rising urge to puke.
She was going to be evicted, she was going to have to pay for repairs, she wouldn’t have a place to stay.
She flinched violently when a hand landed softly on her shoulder. “Don’t touch me.”
“Maybe it’s not that bad,” Jimin murmured, crouching beside her.
She could feel the tears welling but nodded nonetheless. They stayed there for a while, Jimin affectionately brushing her hair back behind her ear and rubbing her back.
“Come on, let’s go,” He hummed a minute or two later, encouraging her to stand up. “Hoseok, take-” Jimin hesitated, not remembering Beatrice’s name, “-Anastasia’s friend back, we’re gonna get a car.”
Anastasia didn’t have it in her to argue, so she just weakly said goodbye to her new friend and followed Jimin out.
It was a pretty busy area so there was a plethora of transportation available, Jimin quickly flagging someone down. He helped her in, sliding in right after, and told the driver her address.
***
The hoards of policemen and firefighters outside when the cab pulled up threatened to send Anastasia over the edge again, but Jimin was quick to comfortingly wrap his arms around her. She couldn’t fathom why she felt so safe when not even a half-hour ago she wanted the ground to swallow her whole every time he so much as glanced her way.
“Taz!” She was tackled the second she stepped out.
“Get off.” She wasn’t stable enough to put any emotion into her voice.
Jungkook flinched back, not expecting her cold demeanour.
“Taz?” He murmured cupping her cheeks but she shrugged him off.
If she paid him attention, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to stop herself from doing something she might later regret.
Nervously, she approached her apartment, her heart clenching uncomfortably at her roastedkitchen.
“Excuse me, Miss Lloyd?” She turned at the sound of her last name, coming face to face with the landlord.
***
Breach of contract. Evicted.
Anastasia sat on the corner of her mattress with her head in her hands. What was she going to do? Where would she go? So many thoughts swirled around until she couldn’t understand them anymore.
With a heavy sigh, she got up to take a shower. There was no way she would be able to sleep, so after the shower, she zoned out to a crappy tv show.
The next time she looked at the clock it was 4 am. She had class at 8 am.
Shutting her laptop and tossing it to the other side of the bed, she scooted down and rolled onto her side. She was so frustrated, too frustrated to sleep, so she tossed and turned until the sun began to rise.
The day continued in a blur and luckily no one came over to try and talk. She thought she might combust if Jungkook or one of his friends came over and hounded her for attention.
She had been left alone the whole day, so she was startled when a familiar hooded figure was leaning against her door when she came home from her evening class.
“Yoongi?”
He imperceptibly titled his head as his one visible eye met hers.
“What are you doing here?”
“Do you wanna get out of here?”
“Excuse me?”
“Jungkook, Hoseok, and Jimin are all in your apartment right now,” He said in his lazy drawl.
Anastasia glanced at the door, hesitating. “Okay”
She wanted to get away if only just for a little while, she didn’t want to be responsible and in charge of her future. She wanted to be free to run away.
The two made it all the way back down the stairs and around the corner before Anastasia started hyperventilating and had to sit down with her head between her knees.
Breach of contract. Evicted. The words repeated over and over until her head spun. Relaxing her head back against the wall, she closed her eyes.
Time passed unacknowledged until she eventually calmed down, and when she opened her eyes again, Yoongi stood beside her. His dark hair was almost completely covering his eyes and he had a black mask covering the rest of his face, but his silhouette was somehow comforting.
Holding her hand out, she silently asked for him to help her up.
There was a beat of silence before he cautiously pulled his hand from his jean pocket and gripped hers, pulling her up with more force than expected. Unprepared, she stumbled into his chest.
“Payback?” She snickered, deranged, into his chest.
What had gotten into her? Was she really that desperate that she’d run off with someone she’d just met? Someone that didn’t even like her?
Maybe so, but running off with him felt more favorable than facing her anger towards Jungkook and the weight of homelessness and responsibility.
And so they ran, hand in hand, away.Neither of them seemed to have a destination in mind, only away. When she looked back, his eyes were as blank as ever, but there was humor in them.
Taking a chance, they sprinted across the too-busy-to-be-jaywalking street and kept running until they could no longer see the dreaded apartment building. Multiple times they saved each other from hitting people until they eventually slowed to a stop, clutching their sides, laughter bubbling up inside.
Somewhere along the way, Yoongi had removed his mask and suddenly Anastasia was struck by his beauty. The sun was setting, complementing his expression with a beautiful pinkish-orange hue. He wasn’t quite laughing, but there was a grin on his lips that she’d never seen before.
Slowly, their smiles faded as they stared at each other, not saying anything. Anastasia furrowed her brow, what was this feeling?
“Come on,” She nudged, motioning to the taxi that rolled to a stop a little ways away.
There was an elderly woman inside the cab and Yoongi gingerly helped her out as Anastasia slipped in through the other side.
They drove in silence for around thirty minutes before they got to the more tightly populated part of the city, filled with little boutiques and tourist attractions.
“Here’s fine!” She called, startling the driver a little. Yoongi had his mask up again, but Anastasia thought she saw his cheeks lift and so she grinned back at him.
She felt good, happy.Nothing mattered at that moment.
Yoongi slipped the driver some cash and they both tumbled out of the vehicle, small giggles leaving her lips.
The foot traffic was considerably heavier there and, not wanting to lose Yoongi in the crowd, she laced her fingers with his. Or maybe she just wanted to hold someone’s hand.
Spotting what had prompted her to tell the driver to stop, she tugged gently on Yoongi’s hand and began making her way to the entrance. It was a small bar that she’d never been to but had always intended to visit
A little bell chimed the moment they stepped in and Yoongi pulled his mask down to rest under his chin, looking around. The place was beginning to fill up, but there was space by the bar for them to sit.
Grinning, she turned to Yoongi, “Let’s drink.”
That was how the night continued on, filled with alcohol and reckless decisions. As the hours passed, they ended up at a club, Anastasia dancing freely while Yoongi watched from the bar. She was still in the cropped t-shirt and jeans she wore to class, not nearly club-appropriate attire, but she didn’t care. For once she didn’t care.
“Yoongi! Yoongi!” She stumbled over, almost too drunk to stand.
“Yes, jagi?” He hadn’t drunk nearly as much as her and if she was a little soberer, she would have noticed the mirth in his expression.
“I had a th—I had a thought,” she giggled, leaning heavily into his side.
“Oh? What was your thought?” He humored.
She cupped her hand over her mouth like it was a secret, then proceeded to say loud enough for everyone around them to hear, “What if we got a hotel room? I don’t want to go home~” she whined.
Yoongi quirked an eyebrow but didn’t argue, the intoxicated woman reminding him of Jungkook and Jimin when they drank.
“Whatever you want,” He agreed easily, standing up and placing a hand on her back to guide her to the exit, making sure he grabbed her bag that he’d been watching.
Anastasia bounced to the music as they moved, her head bobbing offbeat.
…..
Let’s drink. Anastasia should’ve known that nothing good ever followed those words.
Where was she? Minimal light was shining through the cracks in the closed drapes, but she could still clearly see the room she was in. It was clean and empty of anything personal, just a dresser, a mirror, a small bench, and the bed. A very large bed at that.
She winced at the taste in her mouth, her tongue feeling like it was glued to the roof of her mouth. The pounding in her head was irritating, but not intolerable.
Rolling over deeper into the covers, she contemplated her life choices. She couldn’t remember most of what had happened the night before, the last thing she remembered was bar-hopping with Yoongi.
I’m never drinking again. She thought, her breath catching when the bedroom door suddenly clicked open. Please be Yoongi, please be Yoongi.
She held her breath as they clumsily plopped onto the bed, rolled closer, and wrapped an arm around her waist. She risked a glance down, closing her eyes in relief when she recognized the ring and bracelets adorning the hand.
Why was he hugging her? What happened last night?
“You scared the shit out of me,” She sighed, pulling away.
Yoongi didn’t fight her, letting out a muffled hum, his face pressed into the bed.
“Where are we?” She grimaced at the taste in her mouth, somewhat regretting opening it.
He let out an annoyed sigh and shifted to lay on his back.
“A hotel room.” He deadpanned.
“Did…did we do something?” She sat up, biting her lip nervously, her eyes not missing the opportunity to appreciate his good looks.
His hair was messily strewn over his closed eyes, his face a little pink from having just woken up.
He cracked one eye open, unexpectedly sitting up too, the proximity making their noses brush. “Why? Do you want something to have happened?” There was a mischievous glint in his eye, his minty fresh breath fanning across her lips.
She pulled back, self-conscious about her own breath and her heart beating too fast at their proximity.
“I have to use the bathroom!” She blurted, stumbling out of the bed.
The pressure in her head got exponentially worse at the sudden movement and she had to wait a second for the pain to ebb away.
“You good, jagi?”
“I’m —what did you just call me? ” She’d heard Jungkook call her that a few times before, but he’d always made it seem like it was a slip of the tongue. Yoongi had definitely just said it with intention.
“Ja-gi-ya.” He enunciated, slow and mocking.
She huffed, “What does that mean?”
“It means your breath stinks. Go brush your teeth, I’ll order breakfast.” He smirked, rolling off the bed and leaving the room.
Anastasia narrowed her gaze, glaring at the door he’d just exited out of before scoffing and stalking off to the bathroom.
She might’ve felt more comfortable with him, but he was now proving to be an ass.
Sitting on the marble countertop was an unopened toothbrush and some toothpaste placed next to a second, used toothbrush. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she wondered when he got toothbrushes and toothpaste, but she was more concerned with her missing memories of the previous night to give it much attention.
With her mouth full of sudsy paste, Yoongi walked in.
“What do you want?” He asked. He was the one that walked in, why was he asking her what shewanted?
She realized he meant breakfast.
Thinking about it, she spit and rinsed, almost choking when Yoongi carefully tucked a stray hair behind her ear before she spits on it.
“Thanks,” She muttered shyly, wiping her mouth.
He nodded in dismissal, “So?”
“Oh, um, anything is fine.”
He frowned but didn’t argue, closing the door in her face.
“Eggs and bacon!” She called out the first thing that came to mind, suddenly concerned that he was upset with her. Her shoulders drooped when there was no response.
Shaking it off, she turned back to the mirror and cringed at her reflection. Her hair was an actual rat’s nest and her complexion was worse for wear with mascara smudged around her eyes.
She tried to finger comb her hair as she slipped out of the bathroom, but quickly gave up and put it in a bun. Now that she was awake, it was clear they were in a hotel suite. She didn’t even want to think about the money Yoongi had spent just because she hadn’t wanted to go home. She had money on her but she couldn’t recall paying for anything.
How much did a room like this even cost? She wondered fleetingly. Oh no, and all the drinks!
She groaned into her hands, how was she supposed to pay him back?
Following the sound of Yoongi’s low voice, she found him on a couch with the phone the hotel provided pressed to his ear.
Noticing her in the doorway, he hung up and beckoned her over.
“They said it will be 15 minutes. How’s the head?” He asked, mocking her alcohol consumption the night before. As if she needed the reminder.
“It’s fine.” She snapped, cheeks red, “What time is it? And where are my shoes?”
He vaguely motioned to the end of the couch, his eyes not leaving her as she stalked around to find them lined up beside his own with her socks neatly tucked inside.
“Are you usually this grumpy in the morning, or is it just the hangover?” She glanced up in time to catch him brushing his hair out of his eyes and the arrogance in that simple action was infuriating.
“Are you flirting or just trying to piss me off?” She accused, hoping for somekind of reaction, be it irritation or, better yet, embarrassment.
He shrugged, noncommittal.
Scoffing, she plopped down onto the couch, as far from him as humanly possible.
Anastasia knew she didn’t have the right to be annoyed with him, he hadtaken care of her the whole night but she still was. A lot of it stemmed from her own embarrassment and she begrudgingly had to be thankful that he seemed to realize this as well.
A comfortable silence ensued, him scrolling through his phone and her staring absently out the window. The view was incredible, an oceanfront. There were tourist families already on the beach, their children running around delightedly.
When the table of food was wheeled in, Yoongi unpacked everything and handed her a plate full of food. Sitting down beside him on the couch in front of the trolley, she unraveled the napkin-wrapped utensils and prepared to eat.
“Do you want my bacon?” She offered.
He shook his head, “You eat.”
She winced, “I-I don’t actually like bacon…”
He squinted at her for a moment, probably trying to decide if she was mentally challenged or something. She avoided his glare, nibbling on a slice of apple.
The food was consumed pretty quickly, not much conversation made, and after they were done, Anastasia slipped away to take a shower, washing off the night before.
When she stepped out of the bathroom, half an hour later, she found Yoongi sitting in the bed, arms crossed and eyes closed. Perfectly poised yet still relaxed, how’d he do it?
Was he asleep? She couldn’t tell.
Deciding not to risk it, she tiptoed out of the room.
“Stay in here.”
Jumping at the sound of his voice, she squeaked, “Huh? Okay”
Walking over to the other side of the bed, she crawled in, careful not to jostle him too much. She squeaked again when he suddenly leaned over to rest his head in her lap. “What are you doing?”
He shifted his body so it was better aligned, “Getting comfortable”
***
Anastasia grit her teeth as Yoongi’s phone vibrated for what felt like the hundredth time and he still hadn’t shown anysign of getting up and checking who it was.
Noticing her glare, he rolled his eyes and sat up to check. Nodding, he turned to her, “It’s Jungkook. He’s worried about you.”
Her face dropped and she brought her knees to her chest. Inside her head was a mess of anger, guilt, and embarrassment. She had an audience for her life falling apart! How did one handle that? And then she’d just run off? What had she been thinking?!
She groaned and dragged her hands down her face.
If she was being honest, she was ready to forgive Jungkook, but she was notready to face the embarrassment. The walk of shame had a whole new meaning to her.
With Yoongi it was becoming comfortable, everything else could be forgotten. She just wanted to stay with him and perfect the feeling.
Sniffling, she mumbled, “I guess we should head back and face reality, huh?”
His lips twitched, “I’m not in a hurry.”
“I think he’s been stewing in guilt long enough,” She disagreed.
Yoongi stretched his arms over his head and nodded, “Whatever you want, jagiya”
She huffed at the nickname and got up to gather all her things, which wasn’t much, just her shoes and socks.
He’s so annoying, she thought.
After checking out, they decided to walk somewhere less popular to try and get a ride. Yoongi was prepared this time and had called an uber.
Walking out of the hotel, Anastasia was suddenly plowed into, sending her and the other person straight to the ground.
Yoongi immediately helped her up, glaring at the perpetrator. It was a man, around their age. His face was hidden by the blue hoodie he wore, but Anastasia instantly got a sick feeling in her gut.
“My bad,” The man mumbled, jogging off.
“Asshole,” she huffed, nudging Yoongi to continue walking.
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
“Isn’t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?” - L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables
When she’d gone back into the living room, she found that there was still a free spot on the 3 seater couch, Namjoon, Seokjin, and Jimin all sitting on the floor with Taehyung on the armrest, leaning into Jungkook’s side. But the free seat was between Jungkook and Yoongi and if Yoongi wasupset, she didn’t want to make it worse by sitting next to him. So she opted to sit on the floor and lean back against Jungkook’s legs and made a mental note to apologize to Yoongi the next day.
She didn’t even get the chance to settle all the way down before Hoseok called out to everyone to come and eat. Since when was he the host? She felt a little embarrassed about slacking. She didn’t have to like them to be polite, her parents raised her better, she should’ve been the one handing out the food.
Taehyung was the first up, practically vaulting off Jungkook as he darted to the table and Jimin wasn’t far behind, followed closely by the others. Only Seokjin and her didn’t immediately move, taking their time to get up. He offered her a hand to help her up and she gave a shy ‘thanks’ in return.
The rest of dinner passed with low energy and minimal talking, and what was said was in Korean, bringing an odd sense of relief to her as she was left to her own thoughts. The peace continued until they eventually migrated back to the couch to watch movies, somehow fitting five people on the couch, leaving Taehyung, Namjoon, and her to sit on the floor. Jungkook had offered her his seat, but she’d declined in favor of having more space on the floor.
Although the earlier tension with Taehyung had been somewhat relieved, she was still cautious as she lowered herself to the floor next to him, using Jungkook’s knee as an aid. After cozying up against Jungkook’s legs again, she was pleased to find that there was still a happy 30 centimeters of space between her shoulder and Taehyung’s.
He must have noticed the hesitance and all her nervous glances, because he smirked flirtatiously, the same smirk she’d noticed on Jimin’s lips a few times — like they had a secret that no one else was in on. Her face burned at the thought.
“You don’t have any classes tomorrow, right?” Junkook asked randomly when Yoongi got up to pick out a movie, pulling her from her thoughts.
“Uh, no, I don’t, but I have a lot of homework to get done so I’m gonna spend my day doing that,” She answered, shooting down any plans he might’ve wanted to make, proud that she hadn’t stuttered with the attention now on her.
He hummed, pouting a bit, “Are you still having trouble with your thesis?”
Her face dropped and her jaw clenched because partially, yes,shewas still having trouble, but mostly because Jungkook had no filter and had just blabbed to everyone that she was struggling with her schoolwork.
“You know, Namjoon is really smart, he could help you,” Hoseok offered, butting in.
Nammjoon looked up from his phone at the sound of his name. “Huh?” There were some snickers at the irony.
‘Really smart’, how smart could the guy be? He was like her age and college wasn’t a know-all situation, there were so many different majors and so much more to learn.
“Nothing, really, it’s—”
“Tasia was wondering if you could help her with her thesis,” Taehyung cut her off.
“Wha—” She whipped around to stare at him in disbelief. He just grinned innocently.
“Okay,” came Namjoon’s reply and she turned back, not really expecting him to have agreed, not really wantinghim to have agreed. On top of him being intimidating and unapproachable, she was worried she’d just be humoring him the whole time because he wouldn’t actuallybe of any help.
“No, honestly, you’d have to have taken the class to be able to help. I mean, I’min the class and I barely understand how to do it,” she waved off.
“Which class is it for?”
“Psychological Statistics”
He was quiet for a second before nodding, “I can help.”
“I just said—”
“I’ve taken the class,” he interrupted, sparking some irritation in her for being cut off again, but it was overshadowed by her surprise.
“You’ve taken the class?”
He nodded, “I got my Master’s in Psychology two years ago”
The nonchalant way he had said it made that tidbit of information seem like it wasn’t a big deal, but it most definitely was.
“I’m sorry, what?” Was he actually a lot older than he looked? She wondered.
“Yeah! Joonie has a bunch of degrees. Business, Finance, Psychology, Mathematics,” Hoseok bragged proudly.
Anastasia felt like her brain was going to explode. How?Who could have that many degrees when they didn’t look anywhere nearold enough to have gone to school for the amount of time it would require?
“He…what?” She could barely get the words out.
“He’s got a sexy brain,” Seokjin threw in with a chuckle and she got the feeling she’d missed some inside joke.
“So, if you want, I can help,” Namjoon offered, recentering the topic and ducking his head so their eyes could meet.
Her face flushed at the eye contact, but she nodded nonetheless.
Damn, he’s really attractive. She couldn’t help but think as her eyes scanned over his face. His blemish-free skin had a healthy golden glow, his lips were full and pink, and his eyes.She felt a confusing combination of trapped and at home while looking into his eyes.
“If you wouldn’t mind…” She trailed, almost scared that if she accepted his help, he’d be annoyed and grow to dislike her as well. He’d been fairly unproblematic, she didn’t want to push the boundaries of what he would put up with.
She wasn’t stupid, she’d noticed the change in behavior they all had towards her, but she’d be willing to bet money that it had more to do with Jungkook’s earlier ‘if you want to be in my life, you need to accept that she’s a part of it’ comment than it had to do with the kindness of their hearts. People just weren’t like that.
“I don’t mind”
“While you’re at it, Namjoon-hyung, help her with the rest of her homework. The faster she gets it done, the sooner we can hang out” Jungkook said, leaning down to wrap his arms around her shoulder. It felt more like an insincere chokehold than a hug, but she welcomed his touch nonetheless.
“Since when did you need me around to hang out with your friends? Besides, what about yourhomework, Kook? Have you done it?” She turned her head up, glaring at him suspiciously.
“I always do my homework, Taz,” Jungkook smirked, flicking her nose with his finger.
She couldn’t help the fierce blush that appeared on her face and once again she was reminded how truly and utterly whippedshe was for the man.
“Whatever,” She grumbled, pulling his arms away and shifting her weight so she was facing completely towards the TV.
“And we don’t needyou there to have fun, it’s just morefun when you’re there” he finished. She hadn’t missed the ‘we’, but she did ignore it.
And so it was settled, Namjoon would be over, bright and early the next morning to help her with her homework.
Why did it feel like these men were trying to get comfortable in her life? Anastasia had a lot of questions, but no idea how to voice them. She wasn’t even sure she wanted to.
Time passed and she soon found herself becoming fully engrossed in the movie that played on the telly. It was an old Chinese one that she’d never seen before and it had deeply captured her attention, which was probably the reason she didn’t notice when Taehyung fell asleep, his head slowly coming to rest on her shoulder. When she did realize, her stomach dropped as she panicked. She knew he likely wasn’t snuggled into her of his own volition, but that thought was of little consolation.
Looking around for some help, she came to find that most of them were asleep too. She couldn’t see Jungkook directly behind her, but Hoseok, Yoongi, Namjoon, and Jin all had their eyes closed and Jimin, who’d gotten up earlier to get water and opted for the floor when he’d returned, was now laying down, also passed out.
In a moment of weakness, her eyes trailed down to where his shirt had ridden up ever so slightly, highlighting his slim, fit waist.
Her attention came hurtling back to Taehyung when he looped his arm around hers and snuggled closer, her heart beginning to thump loudly in her ears. She felt faint, unsure what to do.
It didn’t help that he smelled so good, the perfect mix of shower gel and fresh cotton. Panicking, she nudged him awake and the second she did, she regretted it. But it was too late and his eyes slowly blinked open to stare up at her.
It took him a moment to become coherent and pull away, but his movements were still sluggish and he didn’t fall back asleep like Jungkook usually did. Instead, he watched her as she got up to turn off the TV and quietly gather up all the dishes on the coffee table before heading off to the kitchen.
With the way he was staring, she half expected him to get up and follow her, but he didn’t, leaving her to clean up in peace.
“I’ll help”
Maybe she’d spoken too soon, because, ten minutes later, she almost dropped a plate into the soapy water when he appeared out of thin air beside her.
“Taehyung?”
“Anastasia.” She bit back a shiver at the way her name sounded with his deep baritone.
“You scared me.” She accused with a scowl.
“I’m sorry,” he looked anything but sorry. In fact, he was most definitely amused. “I’m really good at washing dishes,” He continued, coming closer and submerging his hands into the soapy water as well.
“O-okay” She squeaked because honestly what else could she say? He already had his hands on a sponge.
She was pleased to find, as they continued washing in silence, that he wasn’t there to bother her and he didn’t break the silence until the kitchen was completely clean.
“I really am sorry”
“Huh?”
“For my behavior,” he continued, “I was angry, but it was wrong of me to take it out on you”
She was having a hard time processing. Why another apology? She’d already said that she forgave him, had he noticed her reluctance?
“So,” he paused, taking her hands in his, “I’m sorry for being intentionally rude to you”
Was this even the same person? Why all of a sudden did his apology seem genuine?
Don’t fall for it , that little voice of common sense whispered. She kept having to remind herself that he was a con artist and his sweet, innocent smile was nothing but a play to get something out of her.
But what, though? The million-dollar question.
“I forgive you,” She croaked out, the oxygen leaving her lungs as the most beautiful smile appeared on his face. How could someone be that beautiful?
All these mixed signals, but they could still make her heart race. If only it would get the memo that these men were off-limits.
There was no recovering from Taehyung’s disarming good looks, but she could pretend. And she did, patting his shoulder awkwardly and leaving to the living room.
Now what to do with them.She was honestly surprised that none of them had woken up, but when she’d mentioned it, Taehyung had assured that they could sleep through a tornado. That begged the question of what they’d had to sleep through before for them to be such solid sleepers.
Regardless, there was still the problem of the six men asleep in her apartment. She couldn’t just let them stay,she was a woman living alone!
She bit her lip, should she wake them? Well, she’d haveto wake them if she really had a problem with them sleeping over. The real question was wouldshe wake them?
Taehyung must have noticed the distress on her face because he offered to wake them.
Before she could think it through, her hand shot out and gripped his wrist, “No, don’t”
He looked back questioningly, but she didn’t have an explanation. It was just one night…
“They look so tired, is it okay to wake them?” She finally whispered out, suddenly feeling the need to be quiet even though they’d just been banging around in the kitchen minutes prior.
An odd look passed over Taehyung’s face but it was gone before she could place it.
“Where do you all sleep at Jungkook’s, anyway? He only has one guest room?” This question had been gnawing at her for a while.
He didn’t hesitate, “Three in Jungkook-ah’s, two in the guest and two on the couch”
“Threein Kook’s?” She couldn’t imagine. He only had a queen bed (he’d wanted to buy a bigger one but it wouldn’t fit in the room), how had they been able to fit three grown men comfortably?
Although looking at them all curled awkwardly around each other, maybe comfort wasn’t a necessity for them to sleep.
“Yeah, Jin-hyung, Hoseok-hyung, and Yoongi-hyung. Jimin and I took the guest bed and Namjoon-hyung and Jungkookie took the couches”
“Jungkook took the couch?” She was becoming more and more convinced that the Jungkook she knew and the Jungkook they knew were two different people. The Jungkook she knew wouldn’t even sharehis bed with any of his friends, much less give it up entirely. In fact, if he could avoid it, he wouldn’t have his friends over at his place at all. The Jungkook she knew was territorial and a bit selfish, always wanting to be the best at everything he did. And he was.
She didn’t notice Taehyung’s gaze, too caught up in her own mind.
“Anastasia?”
“Mm?” She hummed, tearing her eyes away from Jungkook’s form on the couch.
“Where should I sleep?”
She was confused, “Take advantage of the empty apartment next door and get a good night’s sleep”
He slouched into a pout, “But it’s lonely, don’t you have a guest room too?”
“A guest room will be less lonely?” She asked skeptically. She supposed she could understand how sleeping alone in an apartment when you were used to having people around you would be lonely, but he was a grown man. He couldn’t tough it out for one night?
Don’t find him cute, don’t find him cute, don’t find him cute. She repeated to herself as he nodded at her with wide, hopeful eyes.
“Can’t promise it’s very fresh, I haven’t aired it out in a hot minute” She warned, caving in. It was just one night.
“That’s okay, I’ll sleep with the window open” He shrugged and she rolled her eyes, showing him to the guest room.
She flinched back into the wall when Yoongi slipped into the room after him. He was so quiet, she hadn’t even noticed him following them. How long had he been awake for? Was he ever asleep?
When the door shut, her shoulders slumped. This was exhausting.
Doing one last sweep of the apartment, routinely checking the locks, and turning off the lights, she made her way to her own room and changed into a pair of pajamas. After a quick trip to the bathroom to wash up, she climbed into bed and forced herself to relax. She had a full day of studying with Namjoon tomorrow and it would do her well to get a good, restful sleep or at least the illusion of it.
***
“Turn that shit off,” A deep voice growled in her ear the next morning, effectively pulling her from unconsciousness. Patting blindly around her bedside table, she did as told and shut off the blaring alarm coming from her phone.
“Kook, get off,” She grunted, slapping Jungkook’s arm impatiently after she’d attempted to roll onto her back but the arm firmly wrapped around her waist restricted the movement.
He groaned and rolled away, falling right back to sleep. When had he even come into her room?
She usually didn’t let him sleep in her bed, having set that boundary a long time ago for the safety of her heart, but she couldn’t exactly blame him for choosing her bed over sharing a couch with multiple people and she was grateful that he didn’t go back to his own apartment and leave her alone with a bunch of strange men.
Still, she feigned annoyance at his presence with a huff and climbed out of bed, stumbling over to her closet to pick out a change of clothes.
Tip-toeing to her door, clothes in hand, she carefully opened it and peeked her head out, taking a second to listen for any sign of life. She grinned, pleased when everyone appeared to still be sleeping before stepping out and darting to the bathroom.
After closing and locking the door as quietly as possible, she turned towards the shower and winced, turning it on and praying that the noise wouldn’t disturb anyone.
She was in and out of the shower in record time, speedily drying off and throwing on the change of clothes. Being naked, even with a locked door between them, when there were 7 gorgeous men in her apartment was nerve-wracking.
This time when she opened the door, she was positive that someone would be awake, but when she peeked into the living room, everyone was still asleep.
The night before they’d looked peaceful and even somewhat cute, but with the light shining through the window, now illuminating the room in a gentle golden glow, the sleeping figures held a darker edge to them. Like a knife catching the sunlight.
Namjoon shifted and she flinched back, scared he would wake up and catch her staring. Would they still be personable when they woke? It was hard to imagine when they looked threatening even in their sleep.
A shiver went down her spine, but it wasn’t entirely from fear and in a moment of horror, she realized she likedthe thrill. They felt dangerous but in a controlled way. They were confident and subtle, strong but lean, and she was such a fucking cliche.
Knowing she’d been standing there watching them sleep for far too long, she spun around and headed back to her room, intending to confront Jungkook. He’d know how to handle the situation.
“Psst! Kook!” She hissed, jabbing his shoulder none too kindly, “Wake up!”
His eyes didn’t want to open, but slowly they did as he licked his dry lips. When his gaze eventually focused on her, his mouth stretched into her favorite smile. Why’d he have to look at her like that? How could he not know what that did to her?
“Hey, baby,” She jerked back at his morning voice, despite having heard it a thousand times before.
“Get up, you have to wake everyone,” It took everything in her not to melt when he addressed her like that, but when he frowned and pulled away, curling into the blankets, she wished she’d never opened her mouth.
“You do it,” he grumbled.
“Jungkook, I can’t, they’re your friends, not mine!” She insisted, shaking him again.
He barely turned to look back, “I don’t wanna. It’s okay to wake them, they won’t mind if you wake them” his words were becoming progressively more garbled.
“Jungkook!” She resisted stomping her feet lest she anger the downstairs neighbors.
He didn’t respond, tempting her to act on violent impulses. But she wouldn’t, she would never try to hurt him.
So she ended up where she started, standing before a group of sleeping men, not sure if she was anxious or excited. She didn’t even like them, so why was her stomach in knots and her heart beating as if she’d just brushed hands with her crush for the first time?
Forcing herself to relax her shoulders and take a deep breath, she eyed the possible candidates. There was absolutely no way she was going to wake up Hoseok or Jimin, and Namjoon was far too intimidating, which left…Seokjin.
He wasn’t particularly inviting, (none of them were), but he also hadn’t done anything to offend her. She wasn’t feeling particularly enthusiastic about undoubtedly ruining any good feelings he had for her by waking him up, but her only other option was Taehyung and he was with Yoongi who she was still terrified of and if she accidentally woke him up too, it would only make everything that much worse.
Biting her lip, she accepted her fate and carefully stepped over a sleeping Jimin on the floor and crouched in front of Seokjin, not wanting him to find her looming over him when he woke. From that position, however, she wasn’t able to reach his broad shoulders without running the risk of falling into his lap, so she very, verygently patted his thigh and called his name.
The man woke up as if he’d never been asleep, his head raising as his eyes opened easily. The only tell-tale sign that he’d actually been sleeping was the slight puffiness around his eyes and the blank stare he gave like his brain was still catching up.
“Hi,” she whispered with a small wave, still crouched.
“Hi,” he responded, his voice low and raspy as he turned his head to take in Hoseok next to him and Namjoon on the floor. His gaze came back her way but didn’t stay long as he focused on Jimin’s figure behind her.
“I was hoping you might help me wake them up?” Initially, she had planned on making him wake them up on his own, it wasn’t that big of a task, but she already felt bad for waking him up.
He nodded, taking her in for real now that he was a little more awake.
“Your hair is wet,” he murmured so quietly that she almost missed it, reaching out to feel it between his fingers.
“I just took a shower,” she explained, tensing at the closeness.
“You look pretty,” he concluded, not giving her a chance to reply before he slapped Hoseok’s shoulder, who jumped.
The action startled her and she lost her already precarious balance, which would have been fine except Seokjin tried to grab her hand in an attempt to catch her but only managed to make her lose her footing entirely and go sprawling back…on top of a sleeping Jimin.
The said victim cried out, curling into a ball with his hands over his crotch that had just been elbowed.
She couldn’t get off him fast enough.
“Oh no! I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to! Are you okay?” Her hands fluttered uselessly over him, not sure what to do to make things better. She’d never stuck around after nailing a guy in the jewels, so she wasn’t exactly sure what the proper protocol was or if there even wasa protocol. Was there a way to lessen the pain or did he just have to wait it out?
A little voice in the back of her mind made the comment that that was his karma for kissing her without permission.
“Fuck off!” He growled and she quickly pulled back, not expecting his tone even though she should’ve. She could hear Seokjin and Hoseok snickering behind her and her humiliation grew.
“I’m so sorry” She murmured one last time before standing up and dashing to her room, fully prepared to never leave it again.
“Accept it without arrogance, let it go with indifference” — Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
Anastasia felt a heavy sense of deja vu as she lay on the couch, staring at the ceiling while trying to figure out what was going on. She didn’t have terribly high expectations of the outcome this time, though.
She knew her relationship with Jungkook was worth a lot, enough that he wouldn’t drop her like a hot potato. Probably.But she was no longer sure if that was the best choice for him. She didn’t want to jump to conclusions and become some self-sacrificing burden, but she remembered the last time Jungkook chose to stay with her. For a while, she’d wondered if he’d ever make it out of the dark haze that overcame him. Whatever happened, she never wanted to see him like that again.
But this was all worst-case scenario, situations conjured up out of anxiety and a bit of ‘leave him before he leaves you’. If she looked at it realistically, the men all clearly loved each other and would likely work things out. After all, there was no way seven men were that close without having learned to put away their pride in favor of staying close.
Andbest-case scenario, the six were gone in a week and things could go back to their regularly scheduled program. Though she didn’t have high hopes of that coming true, nothing was ever that easy when it came to relationships, especially one as unique as theirs.
Because their relationship wasunique. She’d hardly spent any time with them, but it had already been enough for her to notice. They maneuvered through and around each other like the perfectly designed machine and she was the wrench that just got thrown in — derailing everyone.
She didn’t know what to think about that, honestly. Cleary Jungkook had had quite the life before her and he’d told no one. What was she supposed to think? A relationship too personal to share, but now he was forced to.
On one hand, these people were bound to come up eventually, if she and Jungkook were really to stay together as they’d always planned, but on the other hand, she found herself wishing it’d all been revealed in a better way. She imagined Jungkook felt the same because as much as he seemed delighted to have the six others with him, there was a hesitance to how he acted now. A fear of something — probably her reaction to howthey were so close and whothey were to him.
The curiosity burned inside her, but she would be patient. For Jungkook, she would be patient.
Her mind wandered back to what they were doing right then. How were they reconciling? When Taehyung had lunged at Jungkook earlier, the action, although filled with outrage, hadn’t seemed malicious.He hadn’t wanted to do any actual harm to the younger, only express the emotions inside of him. But the concern was…would that rage escalate?
Jimin had been ready to stop Taehyung, but would the others lend a hand? Or would they turn against Jungkook? She couldn’t predict the outcome.
An hour passed with these thoughts, then two. At the start of the third hour, there was a knock at her door.
Anastasia wasn’t sure she was ready to face what was on the other side, yet. She hadn’t decided what she wanted, what she was okay with, or how she should act.
Slowly and nervously she approached the door, peeping through the peephole just to be sure that it actually was Jungkook. What she found felt worse than if it hadn’tbeen Jungkook.
It was Jungkook and company.
Steeling herself, she took a deep breath and opened the door. Jungkook’s presence, as always, made her heart beat too fast and her stomach do flips.
“Hey, Taz,” he greeted sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck, a somewhat expected reaction from him.
“Hey, Kook,” she returned. “Taehyung, Yoongi,” she nodded stoically as they filed in after Jungkook.
They gave small bows in return. She probably should have been surprised at their polite demeanors, but as she hadn’t had any expectations of the turnout, she just…wasn’t. She did feel some relief that no one was trying to bite her head off anymore, though.
Cautiously, she eyed Jungkook’s body language, and, once again, shewas who he seemed most concerned about. But why?
Many possible scenarios crossed her mind, but she couldn’t confidently settle on one. What was he thinking? What was the secret?
They all stood in silence for a moment until Jungkook explained their presence.
“I, uh, mentioned that I was gonna bring some food over to you and Taehyung asked to come. He wanted to apologize,” He explained, the most confident he’d been the entire encounter.
Anastasia looked Taehyung up and down skeptically. She also wanted to ask why Yoongi was there, but she didn’t think it was important enough to.
If she was being honest, Taehyung wasn’t even the one she cared for an apology from. He hadn’t been particularly likable, sure, but that just seemed like a personality trait at this point. Jimin kissing her without permission was the thing most weighing on her mind, Taehyung not liking her felt pale in comparison. She appreciated the sentiment either way, though, however suspicious of his motives she may have been.
“Alright,” she didn’t know what else to say. In the back of her mind, she wondered if being so short would offset Taehyung, but there wasn’t much change in his expression.
“I’m very sorry for the way I’ve been behaving,” he began, his dark eyes meeting her’s straight on, “I hadn’t seen Jungkook in so long and it felt like you were trying to steal him away”
She had a hard time meeting his gaze, his body language and expression becoming submissive like a child’s. She had to keep in mind all the things she’d noticed about him up to that point, the biggest one being how manipulative he was. Jimin too. There hadn’t been a time since she met them that they hadn’t been playing the room to their advantage, even if it was for something as simple as a bite of food.
Knowing this, she wondered if she should still forgive him. If his apology was an implication that he would behave better (even if only on the surface for Jungkook’s sake), then it would be beneficial for her as well. Likely, after this, he would just avoid her entirely.
“I forgive you,” she decided, still keeping a somewhat straight face. She was aiming for civil, not friendly, after all. “That food?”
Jungkook grinned knowingly at the quick subject change and held up the bag of food, “Yup!”
**
Time passed quicker than she would have imagined and it wasn’t even an entirely unpleasant experience, what with everyone behaving themselves. It hadn’t taken very long for the other four to find their way over, probably following the food. Or Jungkook, she wasn’t sure what was more likely.
Things quickly became chaotic with the slowly growing company in one room, but she still managed to catch Seokjin quietly coming, placing her backpack silently by the door. Before she could comment on it or thank him, Jimin waltzed in with more elegance than any human had a right to possess.
She couldn’t help how she tensed up, the memory of his lips on hers feeling all too real. She was annoyed with him, she was, but she also found herself staring at him throughout the evening. For someone who insisted they didn’t like him, she was way too interested in the way the muscles in his legs flexed as he slowly lowered himself to the floor a few minutes later, distracted by whatever Namjoon was asking him.
She jumped when she felt a light hand on her waist, quickly diverting her gaze. Had she been caught staring?
“May we use your dishes for the food?” Seokjin asked politely, motioning to where Hoseok was already helping himself to her cabinets.
Her eyes widened and she rushed over, “Here, lemme help!”
“Thank you~” He sing-songed as she showed him where the plates were kept. She tried to ignore how endearing that was.
Pulling away to let him grab what he wanted, she noticed Yoongi fishing through her drawers for, presumably, utensils.
He was inches away from opening her junk drawer, where she shoved every miscellaneous screw, lightbulb, pen, paper, coughdrop, and even sometimes mail that she didn’t have a home for. Lunging for his hand, she yanked hard — too hard — causing him to lose his balance and stumble into her, sending them both to the floor.
It took her a second to catch her breath and a second longer to realize that he was on top of her with their legs entangled. Their eyes met and the world faded out for a moment until he unexpectedly dropped his forehead to her chest and muttered a low ‘fuck’.
The warmth of his breath danced across her clavicle, making her shiver as a thousand little bumps appeared on her skin.
She could feel the power in his arms as he pushed himself off her, a whoosh of cold air running between them. Hoseok, who had been laughing hardily at their expense, bent down to help them up.
It took Yoongi all of one second after they were both upright to leave the room and Anastasia had the nagging feeling that she should go after him and apologize, but she ignored it and turned to face Hoseok, who was still grinning ear to ear. At least his snickering had subsided.
“You okay?” he asked, unable to help the giggle that bubbled up as he brushed the hair that had fallen in her face back behind her ear.
“I’m great, thanks,” She rolled her eyes and swatted his hand away, far too embarrassed to be cordial.
“Don’t be upset,” He coaxed.
“I’m not, I just…I think Yoongi is,” She sighed, glancing in the direction he’d escaped.
Hoseok looked delighted by her confession, “He’s not.”
She huffed, not believing him for a second, and turned around to gather utensils from their respective drawer.
Yoongi was the only one that had seemed to remotely like her, or at the very least find her funny. She doubted he thought so anymore. She knew the whole situation with them not liking her wasn’t her fault, but did she really have to go and give them a reason?
Her eyes went wide, snapped from her thoughts when Hoseok threw an arm over her shoulder, resting it across her chest and pulling her into him.
“I’ll prove it if you want,” his breath was hot in her ear.
For a split, irrational second, she was tempted. But then she remembered they all hated her and this was probably just a follow-up game to Jimin’s pash sesh.
“No thanks,” Her tone came out harsher than she’d meant it to as she shrugged him off and walked away.
He didn’t stop her.
_____________
1/3 new chapter I’m about to post, lemme know what you think! :) So happy to be back haha
“Better never means better for everyone. It always means worse for some.” - Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale
***
Jimin pushed past, darting towards the noise, Anastasia not far behind. Jimin seemed to have a much better grasp on the situation than she did, as the argument was in Korean, but Jungkook sounded distressed. His tone was unlike other fights he’d gotten into, the usual malice absent. Instead, he sounded exasperated and desperate.
Rounding the corner, he and Taehyung came into view, both standing in the center of the room, face to face. Things were getting more heated, she could tell by their body language. Jungkook was losing his patience, flexing his fists like he was itching to punch something and Taehyung didn’t look like he was faring any better.
Jimin came around to Taehyung’s side but stayed far enough back that his presence wouldn’t be taken as a challenge to Jungkook.
Anastasia couldn’t understand why the other three men in the room didn’t seem concerned. Yoongi was on the couch looking like he’d rather be anywhere else, Namjoon had his nose in a book while he snacked on something crispy, and Hoseok was in the recliner, carefully watching the two arguing. She’d seen Jungkook get angry enough times to know this wouldescalate into something physical if Taehyung didn’t back down, and Taehyung didn’t seem like the type to let things go easily. Did no one care?
Whatever Jungkook sneered next was the catalyst and Taehyung surged forward, losing his cool completely.
“No! Stop!” She screeched, wrapping her arms around Jungkook as Jimin pulled Taehyung back. She didn’t actually have the strength to hold Jungkook back if he decided to attack, but she hugged him tight nonetheless.
Looking down at her, he met her gaze, but his expression didn’t soften like she’d hoped it would, in fact, the sight of her seemed to make him angrier.
Turning back to Taehyung, he hissed, “If you want to be in my life, you need to accept that she’s a part of it!”
Anastasia squeezed her eyes shut at the information, guilt curling uncomfortably in her chest. They’d been arguing over her.
She heard Taehyung growl angrily and storm off and when she opened her eyes again, Jimin was missing too.
Seokjin, who’d been silently watching from the hall sighed, shooting Jungkook a disappointed frown.
In response, Jungkook scoffed and pulled Anastasia closer, like a security blanket. The notion wasn’t lost on anyone in the room as their eyes narrowed in on them.
“Let me go,” she murmured, not wanting to cause any more problems. Everything was so confusing and she just wanted some time alone to sort through her thoughts.
At her words, Jungkook clenched his jaw and did as she asked.
“The same goes for the rest of you,” He grumbled, leading Anastasia out of the apartment.
***
*Jungkook*
Jungkook walked Anastasia back to her place, apologizing for everyone’s behavior, and eventually leaving her with the promise of bringing her food after he talked with his brothers.
“Don’t get into a fight, okay? You’re all too good looking to risk a black eye over something so stupid,” she huffed.
He frowned, “You’re not something stupid.”
She rolled her eyes, “Just promise me”
“I promise.” He laughed quietly, kissing her cheek in farewell.
His smile dropped the moment he was out of her apartment, dreading the conversation to come. He was used to people taking care of things for him, being the middle man was never his strong suit.
Running a hand nervously through his hair, he bit at his lips as he came to a stop in front of his hyungs. “We need to talk.”
“Jungkook-ah, we know,” Namjoon murmured in Korean, uncharacteristically submissive.
A wave of guilt rolled through Jungkook at Namjoon’s tone. No, they didn’t know. Jungkook hadn’t meant his words earlier, he’d said them out of anger. Anger that one of the most important people to him had hurt someone that he loved. Anger that he was put in a position where he had to defend her againstthem.
“We’ll be nice, make her like us,” Hoseok assured, almost desperately.
“Yeah! Just now at her school, Jimin defended her,” Jungkook’s eyebrows rose at Seokjin’s words.
Jimindefended her? It was unlike Jimin to start a fight over someone, generally opting to quietly get even than risk his reputation.
“How?”
“Someone was saying something about her not being worth your attention, so Jimin went up and kissed her,” Seokjin explained.
“Hekissedher?!”Jungkook could feel his heart rate spiking.
Jimin kissed her?! Anastasia wasn’t like that! She wouldn’t want to be Jimin’s andhis. Jimin shared everything, they allshared everything. ‘What’s mine is yours’ was a given between them all, includingsignificant others.
Jungkook clutched his hair in panic and began to pace back and forth.
Jimin was going to ruin everything! He’d held himself back from coming on to her for years because he knew she wouldn’t be okay with being with all of them. But she was still someone he needed in his life and so shecouldnot find out this way because if she did, she would leave.
“You can’t do this! Not with her.” Jungkook begged.
“You’rewith her and we’re one. How can she be yours and not ours too?” Yoongi hid the pain in his voice well. The others nodded in agreement.
“No!”
They shrunk back.
“No?”Hoseok repeated, doing a much worse job at hiding his hurt than Yoongi.
“No. She’d never accept us like that and I can’t risk losing her,” Jungkook finalized.
“So it’s her? Again?” Jungkook turned to see Jimin, Taehyung standing behind him with a clenched jaw and fists.
Jungkook’s shoulders dropped at the sight of tears welling in Jimin’s eyes.
“No, I don’t have her. Wedon’t have her. I never wanted her just for me, so I never tried to make her mine” He admitted, looking everyone over before returning to Jimin and Taehyung.
“…I love her though,” Jungkook stepped forward, wiping Jimin’s cheek with his thumb, “just like I love you”
“Then we’ll convince her,” Yoongi said with conviction.
“Call me friend but keep me closer” — Billie Eilish
Anastasia stumbled over herself the next morning, the 2 hours of sleep, thanks to the boys, taking its toll. The hour was 6 in the morning and she had a class in an hour that she couldn’t afford to miss. Luckily, she’d woken up to an empty bed, no snoring Jungkook beside her. As much as she’d love to wake up to him, she knew it would only break her heart harder in the long run if she gave in to the fantasy.
When she’d walked out of her room to head to the bathroom, Jimin was spread out on her couch, phone in hand.
“You’re still up?” She croaked, afraid to look at herself in the mirror.
He hummed in confirmation, not looking up. Furrowing her brow, a thought occurred. How did none of them get jet lag? Unless delayed onset jet lag was a thing.
“Seokjin-hyung, Namjoon-hyung, Yoongi-hyung, and Hoseok-hyung all had schedules before coming to see me, so they’ve been here for like 3 weeks already,” Jungkook explained later, when they met up on campus for lunch, “Taehyungie-hyung wasjet-lagged and Jiminie-hyung always has a fucked sleep schedule”
She nodded, eyes following a group of people walking by.
“And Taz…” She turned back to Jungkook, who looked nervous as he fiddled with his lip ring.
“Hey, what’s up?” She leaned forward to let him know she was listening.
“The landlady was pretty adamant about you leaving,” He explained.
She nodded in understanding, “I figured”
“But! Hobi-hyung talked her down from pressing for repair money,” He looked more excited about this news. Anastasia was too, of course, but something was bothering her.
“Is she dumb?” She laughed, pulling back.
“Hobi-hyung is just veryconvincing,” Jungkook snickered with a wink.
Her eyes widened comically, “He slept with her?!”
Jungkook’s locks swished as he shook his head, “No, but he probably flirted enough that she thought he would”
Anastasia rolled her eyes, “He knows he didn’t have to do that, right?”
Jungkook’s smile fell as he stared intently at her, “And you know that if you’re special to me, you’re special to him, right? Whatever I’d do for you, they would too”
She pulled back, stunned, “Kook, I get that you guys have a unique bond, but that doesn’t mean you all feel the same things”
It was his turn to roll his eyes, “When you care about someone that much, when you lovethem, when you’d do anything for them…the people they love, you love”
“What are you talking about? Jungkook that’s… no,” She shook her head. “That’s not how it works”
He scowled, crossing his arms, “So you’re telling me you didn’t make the effort to get along because they were important to me?”
She paused. He had a point… Still, what he was talking about was beyond anything she’d ever thought about doing.
“You’re dumb,” she huffed, giving in. A genuine smile brightened his face and she reminded herself not to stare like a lovestruck fool.
“Oh, also,” He moved seats so he was closer and grabbed both of her hands. “Move in with me”
A startled laugh left her lips, “What?”
“Yeah,” He scooted closer so her legs were fully trapped between his. “You have to move anyway and I don’t want to be where you’re not, so it makes sense?”
“I can’t live in the building anymore, Kook” she pointed out obviously, forgoing mentioning all the other reasons why living together was a bad idea. Although it wasn’t completely unfathomable (they basically lived together already), there was something so intimate about officiallysharing a space. It was crossing lines they’d blurred for years and she wasn’t sure if she was ready to break her heart like that.
“Well, I was thinking we’d look at someplace new,” He blushed, playing with her hands. It never took much from him to make her cave, and she did just that. “Okay, let’s do that when we get home”
He beamed. “Great! Okay, I have to go, my class started like 15 minutes ago,” he informed, kissing her on the cheek before jogging off.
The two weeks following passed slowly, ritually. Anastasia got up, got ready, went to classes, did some homework, and then came home to search for a new place and pack.
She hadn’t interacted much with Yoongi beyond the occasional passing sly touch and she was pleased to find that there was no awkwardness between them. He more or less kept to himself, though, and she was much too concerned with finding a place to live to seek him out.
Hoseok and Seokjin had come over every day to help pack everything up and occasionally, Taehyung would show up too, although she’d quickly understood that he had no particular interest in actually helping. He played DJ and went throughher stuff, but didn’t do any work. She was thankful nonetheless.
“Where was this?” Taehyung asked from where he sat in her closet.
Anastasia finished placing the books she was holding in a box before walking over to see what he was talking about.
“Taehyung!” She gasped, “I justfinished packing that!”
There he was, sat in front of the box filled with all her photos. Well, it usedto be filled with photos, nowthey were scattered on the floor around him.
“His hair was so long…” He mumbled, brushing a finger delicately across the photo in his hand. The longing in his voice made her curious, which photo was he looking at?
Stepping over a few boxes to get to him, she peered over his shoulder.
Her expression immediately softened, “That was a few years ago, Christmas break. We visited my family’s farm, he really liked the animals,” she laughed at the memory behind the photo of Jungkook holding a lamb.
Noticing Taehyung’s frown, she thoughtlessly combed her hand through his hair.
“I’ll take you to meet the animals too if you want,” She offered, snapping her hand back when he leaned into the touch. She hadn’t meant to be so affectionate, it just came so easy with the pouty man.
He tilted his head back to look up at her with a smile but she was too lost in my thoughts to notice. She also didn’t notice when Taehyung grabbed another photo and grinned knowingly. It wasn’t until he started softly rapping “Baby Got Back” that she realized which photo he was holding.
“Okay! And that’s the end of that,” she quipped, snatching the photo from his hands. “Clean this all up, I’m going to go check on Seokjin and Hoseok”
“Neh~” He hummed grin never faltering, much to her embarrassment. And so with her face burning bright, she stalked off.
Expecting to find them in the kitchen, where she’d last seen them, she was confused when Hoseok was nowhere to be found. The box he’d been filling with appliances sat neatly on the counter, labeled and taped shut, the tape roller placed next to it. His keys and sunglasses, that he’d left on the table were gone along, with his shoes.
Why had he left without saying anything? She felt like an absolute idiot for being offended, it wasn’t like he was obligatedto report his whereabouts to her.
“What’s wrong?” Seokjin murmured in her ear, scaring her so bad she tripped over her own feet. He caught her easily, pulling her to his chest. “Hobi just went to get food, no need to make such a sad face”
“I wasn’t sad,” She denied petulantly, her back pressed to his front.
“No? Bummer, I wanted to make you feel better,” He sighed and she could feel his hot breath against her neck. And then he was suddenly pulling away, leaving her feeling cold and flushed at the same time. “Maybe next time,” he winked.
***
Jungkook hadn’t stopped pushing for them to move in together, which had initially made her heart beat fast, but then he’d implied that his entire entourage would be following as well and she didn’t know what to think. She couldn’t live with seven men. She couldn’t.
Throughout, all seven of the men kept approaching her with places to move to, which would have been great if they weren’t all in Korea.
“For the last time, I can’tjust get up and move to another country! Would you let it go, already?!” She expressed exasperatedly, dragging her hands down her face. She’d just come over to relax as most of her furniture was covered with boxes, but so far, things had been everything but relaxing.
“Whynot?You’ve exhausted all your resources, there are no other places here that you can afford! You have to move away anyway!” Jungkook hissed, losing his patience. The two had been arguing for the past 15 minutes.
Her jaw clenched with an audible noise as she took a deep breath, “Cause I don’t wantto!”
“Why.Not?!” He fumed, clenching his fists. He looked genuinely angry, something she couldn’t recall him ever directing at her (aside from one time, years ago, that she was caught snooping through his phone).
Letting out a shaky breath, she tried to convince herself not to do something rash like kick the glass coffee table or chuck his PS4 controller at the wall. “I do not speak Korean, how am I supposed to go to school there? I don’t know the culture, or what’s socially accepted! I don’t want to relearn how to live, Jungkook!”
An angry growl left his lips, “Then just stay inside! You have us, you don’t need anything else”
“Jungkook!” How could he say that? “Why are you so dead set on me moving to Korea? Did you really hate living here with me that much?!” It was a somewhat baseless accusation, but it’d been weighing her down.
“Why would I be trying so damn hard to convince you to come with me if I hated living with you? Don’t put words in my mouth,” He growled and she felt like a bucket of ice water had just been dumped over her head.
“Comewithyou?” She repeated, “You’re leaving?”
He rolled his eyes, “Of course, I’m leaving. My life is in Korea, there’s nothing for me here. I only stayed this long because of you and now you won’t even…” He cut himself off.
“Of course, I’m leaving”, His words echoed in her head, but what did she expect? Him to choose her over them?
“Do you know how that feels? Knowing I gave up so much time to stay beside you and now you won’t even considerme? Even though you have to transfer anyway, and your reason? You don’t want to .” He gripped at his hair. “And if you won’t move, what the hell am I supposed to do?!”
“It’s not —it’s not about you, I—”
“Itshouldbe about me. I shouldbe your priority. A little discomfort is all it takes for you to ditch me, huh? So every time you said you wanted to stay with me forever, that we’d grow old together, what you really meant was we could be together as long as it’s convenient for you”
“You like it here, you enjoyed being here,” she tried to rationalize, ignoring the guilt churning in her belly.
“I liked you,” he clarified. “Why would I like being away from my family?”
She shook her head, “Let’s talk about this later.” Seokjin and Yoongi had just walked in and she took the opportunity to escape. Jungkook didn’t try to stop her.
Pulling out her phone, she decided to call Beatrice for a shoulder to lean on.
“Hello?” She answered.
“Hey Bee, you got a moment?” Anastasia asked as she stepped into her living room.
Beatrice hesitated, “Actually, can I call you back in a bit? I’m right in the middle of something”
Anastasia agreed easily, ending the call. What now?
“Taz?” Hoseok’s voice met her ear moments before his head popped out from the hallway, his eyes meeting hers.
“Hoseok? What are you doing here?” She’d thought he’d left hours ago.
A mischievous smirk crept onto his lips, “Oh, nothing” he singsonged, disappearing back down the hall. She followed immediately, not trusting him, and walked into her room just in time to see him disappear into her closet.
On her bed lounged a comfortable Jimin, staring beguilingly at her. All thoughts stuttered to a stop for a moment.
“I was thinking,” Hoseok began, returning from her closet with something behind his back, “that we deserve to celebrate”
“Celebrate?”
He nodded innocently with closed eyes, “Our hard work. And look!” He pulled out what he’d been hiding. It was a calf-length fitted velvet dress, one she’d only worn once to her cousin’s wedding. The color was a deep purple and it had thin straps with a low back. “I found the perfect dress for you”
“That’s—” she laughed, taking it from his outstretched hand and holding it up to herself, “I don’t think I’ll even fit into this anymore. Besides, I’m not exactly in a spot financially where I should be out celebrating”
“I’ll pay, now go try it on,” Jimin shooed, rolling off the bed and pushing her from the room.
“Ah—wait—but!”
An hour later, she was out of the shower and successfully zipped into the dress. Although she was not at all in the mood to go out, she felt she owed Hoseok for all his help. If what he wanted as repayment was a fun night out with her and Jimin, she would do it.
Uncapping her lipgloss, her thoughts drifted back to Jungkook. Finding out that for all the years he stayed by her side, he’d wanted to be somewhere else, hurt. Why hadn’t he just been honest from the start?
He didn’t want to give you up. She knew it was the truth but that just made everything so much harder! Jungkook was always intense and overbearing, he liked to be in control, or at the very least in the loop, when anything had something to do with her. His attention to detail when it came to her was part of what had made it so easy to fall in love with him, but was she ready to move to a different country for him? He would meet someone and get married someday, then where would she be? Still, it was selfish to ask him to stay and suffer the same things that made her not want to go.
Saying goodbye though…that wasn’t something she ever wanted to do. Even the other six had unnoticingly grown on her.
Pulled from her thoughts by the doorbell ringing, she quickly finished applying her lipgloss and went to check.
Behind the door stood Jimin and Hoseok looking like a pair of gods and she felt herself stop functioning for a moment, her brain having trouble processing what she was seeing.
Jimin was in a flowy black satin top with a sinfully deep neckline and a matching scarf tied around his neck. He’d traded in his usual hooped earrings for long, thin, dangly ones and his hair was brushed back on one side, his makeup flawless.
Hoseok was the epitome of fashionable in his oversized blazer with a unique white trim and pearls adorning his neck. Tinted sunglasses, that held no real purpose in the dark night, rested low on his nose and his hair was curled to nicely fit the formal grunge style.
Feeling underdressed around them wasn’t an unfamiliar feeling to her, but at that moment she felt severelyunderdressed. They looked expensive, next to them she felt like river rock compared to diamonds and rubies.
Trying not to show her insecurity, she gave them a smile.
“You look beautiful,” Jimin complimented, his ever-present flirtatious smirk playing on his lips. Hoseok made a loud noise in agreement, making her laugh and suddenly she felt comfortable again. Well, as comfortable as she could while being overwhelmingly attracted to them. Who was she becoming?
“Let me just grab my bag and put on some shoes, hold on,” She said, dashing to her room to grab her things and buckle on some heels she’d dug out of a box.
When she returned, Yoongi and Namjoon had joined, talking in hushed tones to the other two. Noticing her presence, they quieted, sending her bright smiles as Hoseok held out his hand.
“Ready?” He asked, tilting his head.
“Uh, yeah,” She replied, taking his hand. What was that about? Had something happened?
Shaking it off, she let Hoseok and Jimin lead her out the door. It only took her the time it took to get to Hoseok’s rented car to realize she was not going out on some friendly outing, but instead on a date with two of the most beautiful humans on Earth. With the warmth of Jimin’s palm on her waist, seeping through the material of her dress, and Hoseok’s hand in hers, there really was no question. Butterflies erupted in her stomach.
“Where are we going?” She murmured, feeling like the atmosphere required a softer tone.
“It’s a surprise,” Hoseok winked, opening the passenger door for her. She ducked her head to try and hide the blood that was rushing to her face.
Why was she being so shy? She’d spent every day with him for weeks!
Settling into her seat, she let out a small squeak when Jimin bent down to buckle her up. No one else had ever buckled her up before, past the age of like 5, and yet he’d done it twice now. His smell surrounded her, making it hard to focus, his face just a hair’s breadth from hers. Even that close, the man did not have a single flaw.
He was probably in her space longer than necessary, but she couldn’t find it in her to complain, and when he pulled back, he turned his head ever so slightly so his lips brushed lightly over hers. She sucked in a sharp breath.
“Sorry,” he breathed, pulling away entirely.
It felt like intense deja vu, why did they all think it was okay to just do things like that? Mind and heart racing, she tried to make sense of her life. So caught up in her thoughts, she didn’t even notice Hoseok slide into the driver’s seat.
Jimin’s lips against hers brought back when he’d had kissed her in her classroom what felt like months ago. So much had happened between then and now, she’d forgotten all about it. Suddenly, she could recall, with perfect clarity, what kissing him felt like.
Soft music drifted from the speakers as the car pulled out onto the road and she might’ve actually enjoyed the drive and beautiful city lights if it weren’t for the confusion and over-thinking clogging up her brain. Jimin, Jimin, Jimin. Jimin…andHoseok. Did this mean they bothliked her? There was no doubt in her mind that she was on a date with them, but… how?How were they okay going on a date with the same person? Where did they see this leading? Did they think she would sleep with them?
Eventually, the car rolled to a stop in front of a beautiful restaurant by the coast. She had never eaten there before, only occasionally driven past, but it was exactly the kind of place Hoseok and Jimin seemed to thrive in.
Cool air rushed in when Jimin opened his door,
“I’m not sleeping with you,” She blurted before he could step out, gripping her seatbelt tightly, not quite confident enough to look up and meet anyone’s gaze.
There was silence until the rear door clicked shut again.
“You’re not… what?” She raised her head and took in Hoseok’s obvious bewilderment.
“I won’t sleep with you, so if this is all just some strategy to get me in bed with you before you leave for Korea, it won’t work,” She bit her lip hard, trying her darndest to keep her composure. At that moment, she needed to stay strong, despite Hoseok’s heavy gaze making her want to submit.
“And where, may I ask, did you get that idea?” He spoke low, clearly displeased with her accusation.
“J-Jimin…” She trailed off, losing her nerve for a second when she turned and saw the said man staring intently at her from the backseat.
“Jimin can’t help himself,” Hoseok interrupted, stealing back her attention, “He doesn’t mean to flirt, he just is.”
“But he kissed me,” She argued, not about to believe that that was an accident,“and you and Seokjin are helping me with my apartment even though you barely know me”
“Jagiya, I kissed you to make a point, not to come onto you,” Jimin rebuffed, coming forward to lean on the center console.
“What point?”
He frowned, “Jungkook thought we didn’t like you, that we weren’t trying to make you like us”
“…So you kissed me?” He wasn’t making sense.
He shook his head, “No, I kissed you because those girls were insulting Jungkookie’s intelligence. As if Jungkook would associate himself with someone that wasn’t worth our time,” he scoffed.
She wanted to tell him that that wasn’t sufficient reason to kiss someone without their consent, but she held back. She was afraid if she told him, he’d never kiss her again. Why thatmattered most, she didn’t know, but something in her thought; better safe than sorry.
“Jagi, we asked you to dinner because we enjoy your company,” Hoseok assured, interrupting her thoughts.
Studying his expression, she tried to discern whether or not he was being genuine. This was dangerous territory, she shouldn’t be making connections with them. They were Jungkook’s family and there was a chance she wouldn’t see them again when they left.
Despite knowing what she shoulddo (run and never look back) she let them lead her into the restaurant, wondering if she’d make it out of this with her heart in one piece.
As they made their way to the front podium, the hostess didn’t spare her much of a glance, but Anastasia couldn’t find it in her to take offense. She understood, she’d much rather look at Hoseok and Jimin, too.
Straightening her posture, the hostess gave them a warm smile, “Hello! Welcome, do you have a reservation?” She spoke directly to Hoseok, who’d waltzed in like he owned the joint.
“Hoseok Jung.” He announced loud and clear. It was obvious by his brief, dismissive tone that he had about as much interest in her as he had in Beatrice. Anastasia pursed her lips at his behavior, but as it wasn’t a familiar environment to her, so she kept her mouth shut.
The woman through the building and out onto the back deck where fairy lights lent their gentle glow and a live band played a soft, calming melody. Almost every table was filled, but they were spaced far enough apart that the quiet chatter wasn’t a disturbance.
Anastasia felt a rush of excitement, never having eaten by the water like this before. Hoseok was still handling any and all interactions, so she turned to Jimin with wide eyes. He returned her look of awe with a wink before motioning for her to sit in the chair he’d pulled out as Hoseok took a seat across the table.
They’d barely settled in and picked up their menus before a cute, doe-eyed boy appeared beside Jimin, introducing himself.
“Good evening, my name is Miloh, I will be your server tonight. May I start you off with something to drink?”
“Do you have a wine menu?” Jimin smiled politely in that enchanting way of his and Miloh just blinked owlishly at him for a moment. Jimin’s smile faded slowly as his eyebrows raised in question, snapping the poor boy out of his staring.
“Yes, of course, I’ll be right back with that.” Anastasia felt bad as the boy almost tripped over someone’s chair in his haste to retreat.
Neither Jimin nor Hoseok seemed phased, though, turning their attention back to their menus.
“See anything you like?” Jimin asked, looking up at her and nodding to the menu in her hands.
“O-oh. Right.” Jeez, she was no better than Miloh. Tearing her gaze away from him to scan the options, she bit her lip in contemplation. She’d never tried lobster before…
Glancing down at the price, her eyes bugged out. “Jimin, you’re paying, right?”
Both the men erupted in giggles. “Yes, we’re paying”
She smiled charmingly, “In that case, can I try the lobster?”
Jimin’s giggle broke out into a full laugh (that was somehow neither loud nor obnoxious). Hoseok looked thoroughly amused as well, but unlike his usual happy-go-lucky self, he was holding it together.
Her smile turned sheepish, but she was relieved to see that they hadn’t taken any offense at her cheekiness.
The night carried on smoothly after that. Miloh had collected himself and returned the epitome of professionalism, serving them their food and wine with practiced ease. Hoseok kept her attention most of the night, flirting and making her laugh with his effortless charm. Jimin stayed fairly silent, casually leaning back into his chair, sipping wine. He looked at ease.
By the end of the night, they were all tipsy, giggling their way down the beach, Hoseok with an arm over her shoulder, as usual.
“Awe~,” she whined, coming to a stop.
“What’s wrong, Jagi?” He hummed contentedly as he rested his head against hers.
“My shoes! They’ll be — oh!” She cut off, almost losing her balance when she lifted a leg up to take them off. Maybe she was more intoxicated than she realized.
“I’ll do it!” Jimin pranced over from where he’d been toeing the waves. He’d drank more than either Hoseok or her and was teetering on the edge of fucking drunk. Evidence of it showed in the way all his movements swayed.
Dropping into a crouch at her feet, he began unbuckling her shoes, biting his plump lower lip in concentration. She couldn’t help inhaling a sharp breath when he looked up at her with a dark grin after successfully removing the first shoe. When he finished, he tossed both of them carelessly to the side, letting himself tip backward onto the sand — landing like a starfish. She watched with a stupid grin as Hoseok took it as an invitation to jump on top of him and pinch his cheeks.
The two busied themselves rolling around in the sand, roughhousing, as she turned her attention to the waves, feeling the cool sea breeze envelop her. The air had just the perfect amount of chill in it.
A startled shriek left her when she was abruptly — and quite literally — pulledfrom her thoughts and down to the sandy ground. There was a moment of laughter between the two men and she couldn’t help but join in in their contagious sounds of joy.
The three ended up laying there for a while, just staring up at the black, starless sky. Anastasia didn’t know how long the comfortable silence went on before it was broken. It was a treasured moment of peace that felt like forever. Her thoughts hadn’t been that quiet in…she couldn’t remember how long.
“You look lovely in this dress,” Jimin murmured out of nowhere, brushing a strand of hair back behind her ear. She turned to look at him, wondering absently how long he’d been watching her.
Smiling, she returned the compliment, “You look ‘cutie, sexy, lovey’ ,” she teased, repeating what she’d heard him say a couple of times, but the amusement faded when she looked him up and down, “Maybe just ‘sexy, lovely’. ” she amended.
“Jagiya, why do you have to live so far away?” Hoseok suddenly huffed, leaning in to rest his head on her lap. The atmosphere instantly became more somber at his reminder.
“Hey, I’m not the one moving to an entirely different country.” She evaded, sitting up to boop his nose.
He scowled and pushed her hand away, sitting up to face Jimin.
“Jiminie, you’re so lucky, you got to kiss her!” He whined.
“I know.” Jimin sighed, a little too dreamily for her piece of mind.
“I —he—what?” she stuttered. What was happening? She was too drunk for this.
Hoseok cupped her blushing cheeks, staring intently into her eyes. “Can I kiss you, Jagi?”
Anastasia froze, unable to process the request. Her blood rushed in her ears, making it hard to think. Did she just nod her consent?
Eyes fluttering shut, she felt his lips gently land on hers. With his hands still cupping her cheeks, the kiss had to be one of the sweetest kisses she’d ever received.
Anastasia blamed the wine in her veins for her next move.
Surging forward as he began to pull back, she latched her lips onto his in a deeper kiss, stunning him for a moment. It didn’t take long for him to recover, his grip becoming firmer. They made out like that, awkwardly sprawled in the sand until an impatient whine beside them caught her attention.
Springing back from Hoseok, she covered her mouth. Shit. Shit. Shit!What was she doing?!
Jimin just stared seductively, his head tilted to the side almost erotically —like an invitation to mark up his neck.
She quickly shook the thought away. “No, no, no, I didn’t mean to do that.”
“Tasia, wait.” Hoseok rushed when she stood up to walk away.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have kissed you like that.” Shame enveloped her.
She was in love with her best friend, yet she went around kissing the people most important to him? What kind of person did that make her? Did Jungkook know she’d kissed Jimin? What would he think if he knew she’d now kissed Yoongi and Hoseok, too?
He would think she was a horrible, three-timing, bitch.And he wouldn’t be wrong, because allthe kisses were equally amazing and as much as she hated herself for it, she couldn’t bring herself to wish they’d never happened.
They were so different. Jimin was passionate and needy, lighting a fire inside her, Yoongi was cheeky, daring her to challenge him, Hoseok was sweet, but firm, gentlemanly but in charge. When they’d kissed her, it felt like she’d never been kissed before, like anything before them didn’t exist.
Stop thinking about it!
“Anastasia.” Something in Jimin’s voice made her stop, but she resisted turning around to face him. Slowly, he approached her, wrapping his arms around her waist and planting a gentle kiss on her exposed neck.
She didn’t dare react, but her body refused to pull away.
“I liked it.” His smooth, angelic voice murmured in her ear, “I like watching. You looked so good together, I just wanted to watch.” His arms wrapped tighter, a hand trailing up to rest just under her breast. “I wanted to see what you looked like, all flushed and stretched around him. Would you let me watch? Would you let me watch him fuck you dumb? I’d be good, I wouldn’t touch.”
She felt her eyes become lidded, “Ji-Jimin.” her voice trembled and it was all she could do not to moan as his warm hand palmed her chest, contradicting the promise he’d just made.
“Yes, Jagi?” He answered between gentle kisses and suckles on her neck.
“I…” she licked her lips, trying to force a coherent thought that wasn’t just Jimin.
“Jimin.”
They both startled at the commanding tone, Jimin sighing and pulling away. Anastasia instantly missed his touch.
“Next time,” Jimin promised when she turned to face him, his thumb wiping across her bottom lip.
They ended up taking a lift home, as none of them were in any state to drive and she was once again squished in the middle seat, Hoseok’s fingers drumming absentmindedly on her thigh as he stared out the window. But of course, jumping his bones would notbe a good idea. It wouldn’t.
Fuck, she was so pathetic.
When they arrived, she all but shoved Jimin out of the car in her rush to get out and he let out a grunt of surprise at the force with which she blew past him. Her whole body was flushed and she knew if she didn’t get away from them now, she would make a mistake she couldn’t come back from.
“Jagiya,” Hoseok hummed in a way that made her pause, against her better judgment, long enough for him to reach her and pull her into his arms. “We won’t fuck you tonight,” They both ignored Jimin’s noise of complaint, “so let us walk you in, yeah?”
Looking into his warm eyes, she couldn’t deny him. She knew—she knewhe was being manipulative. She didn’t miss his ‘tonight’, implying it wouldhappen another night, she wasn’t so naive to believe they had pure intentions for her, but she was dumb.So, so dumb that she nodded her head and let them lead her up the stairs and into her home.
“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?
“She denies it, but the truth is, she’s falling in love” - idk
“Actually Taz…” Jungkook grimaced, rubbing the back of his neck.
Anastasia’s shoulders dropped, “You’re not coming?”
“Don’t pout,” He complained, cupping her cheeks, “I just have to run some errands. Hobi-hyung and Namjoon-hyung will drop me off, they got called into work”
Despite Jungkook’s request, she couldn’t help the pout on her lips, “Okay”
“Let’s go,” Seokjin whispered in her ear, gently tugging her away.
Yoongi, Jimin, and Taehyung followed wordlessly to Seokjin’s car—just as sleek and expensive as she remembered.
Taehyung opened the passenger door, bowing dramatically and motioning for her to get in. Biting her lip, she held back a laugh and slid into the seat.
“Where to?” Seokjin interrupted her thoughts after the other three buckled in.
***
Stepping into the chain restaurant, one in walking distance of the movie theater, felt like a scene out of a movie. As expected at 1 pm on a weekday, there weren’t a lot of people there, but everyone present hushed and stared. Anastasia almost tripped over herself at the sudden attention, Seokjin holding her waist steady.
“They have wings,” Yoongi announced, reading off the menu, seemingly unbothered by the stares.
“Oh? Really?” Taehyung asked, pulling away from Jimin—who’d been hanging off his shoulders—to get a better look.
“I’ll get us a seat,” Anastasia muttered, eager to not be the center of attention anymore. Most everyone had gone back to their meals, but there was still a fair amount of people that repeatedly glanced their way. Slipping back out the entrance, she looked for a place to sit, noticing on the way in that no one had made use of the outdoor seating.
Getting comfy at a table with a large umbrella that was too tall to be of much use, she waited for them to find her.
“Anastasia, love,” She could hear the amusement in Seokjin’s voice as he bent over to talk to her, running a hand up and down her back, “You have to tell us what you want to order before you run off”
Face flaming she ducked her head, “R-right. I’ll have whatever you’re having”
He nodded and disappeared back inside, only to return a minute later. Looking up questioningly, she watched him sit down.
“They’ll order,” he answered her unspoken question.
Nodding, they fell into a comfortable silence, watching people go about their lives. Well, shewatched, he glared.
Taking the opportunity to admire him in perfect daylight, she felt her face heat up. He was so attractivein an impossibly beautiful kind of way. Lean, with wide shoulders and a slim neck that lead up to a soft and pleasant face, and a jawline that could cut diamonds. And his eyes, his eyes were the darkest shade of brown, even in the sunlight, almost black.
Gradually, his expression morphed from cold and unapproachable to something akin to arrogance. It took her a second to realize it was because of her staring.
“Excuse me?” A petite girl with big blue eyes interrupted, saving Anastasia from coming up with something to excuse her staring.
Seokjin didn’t even turn to acknowledge the girl and Anastasia was tempted let her squirm until she left, but second-hand embarrassment won out and she gently kicked Seokjin under the table.
Languidly, as if it was the biggest inconvenience, he turned to face the girl, “Yes?”
Batting her lashes innocently, she fidgeted with her hands, “I-I was just wondering…could I have your number?”
It was clear that her question came as no surprise to him, his response already in progress before she’d finished speaking, “Ask her,” he nodded in Anastasia’s direction.
Looking about as embarrassed as Anastasia felt, the girl spluttered out an apology, “Sorry, I-I didn’t realize you two were together”
Anastasia felt a little offended by that but didn’t comment. It was kind of hard to believe that anyone wouldn’tassume two people sitting alone together at a restaurant were together. The more likely alternative was that the girl suspected they were together, but still thought it was worth the shot to get Seokjin’s attention. Just in case they weren’t together. Which they weren’t, not really.
“Who are you?” Came Taehyung’s familiar deep timber, breaking the awkward silence before it could really begin.
The girl’s eyes blew wide at the sight of him and for a moment, Anastasia felt understood, “I’m Belle”
“Hello, Belle,” Jimin smiled enchantingly, slipping in beside Tae.
“Hi,” she breathed, completely captivated. People gravitated towards Jimin by nature, without much effort on his part, but when he didtry, he had everyone and anything under a spell. Belle was no exception.
“Do you need something?” He asked, tilting his head, earrings catching the light at just the right angle and making it look like he sparkled.
Still in awe, Belle shook her head, dazed.
Yoongi grabbed Anastasia’s attention, sliding in beside her and wrapping an arm around her waist.
“Food?” She asked.
“They’ll bring it out,” he assured, kissing her temple.
Turning back to a smirking Jimin, she noticed Belle’s retreating figure. He took care of that fast.
By the time they finished lunch and made it to the movie theater, they’d been approached by 2 more people trying to ask one of the boys out. Anastasia was thoroughly irritated.
Leaning over the armrest in the dark theater, Yoongi whispered, “You look hot when you’re jealous”
“I am notjealous,” she hissed, unconvincingly. Yoongi snorted, sitting back.
The lights dimmed as the movie began, Anastasia pulling her legs up to cuddle into herself. For the next 30 minutes of the movie, she was hyper-aware of Yoongi and Jimin on either side of her. Neither of them reached out to touch her or get closer in any way like she had half expected, but still, in the darkness of the theater, everything felt so much more intimate.
Shifting, she leaned over to Jimin, who sat closest to the exit, “I’m gonna use the restroom”.
He nodded in acknowledgment and she stood up, ducking her way out. Hearing someone’s footsteps following her down the hallway, she glanced back to see Yoongi with his hands in his pockets.
Letting her curious expression do the talking, she tilted her head.
“I have to pee,” he shrugged, breezing past her. Rolling her eyes, she skipped up to his side and shoved him lightly. A smile broke on his face as he teetered to the side, glancing down at her.
“I don’t need a chaperone to use the bathroom,” she accused.
Eyes widening in faux surprise, he stared back and a giggle bubbled out of her.
“You’re so lame,” she snickered, just as he grabbed at her and pulled her into a kiss.
It was now her eyes that were wide with surprise, though herexpression was sincere, “What was that for?”
He shrugged, nudging her towards the bathroom, “no reason”
Glaring suspiciously, she decided to let it go.
“Go back, you’ll miss the movie,” She nudged back. With a deep, airy laugh, he took a step towards their theater, but before he got far, she cupped his cheeks and pulled him into a deep kiss.
Keeping his hands to himself, understanding that she wanted to be in control, he kissed back gently. Smiling, a giddy feeling in her chest, she pulled away and darted into the bathroom. She really did have to pee.
Looking at herself in the mirror after washing her hands, she realized how silly she looked. Jimin’s shirt was unflattering on her frame, conflicting with her styled hair and makeup. She looked like she’d spilled something on her shirt and this was the only thing that fit in the lost and found bin.
Huffing, she pulled off the shirt and draped it over her arm. She wasn’t sure she could pull off the outfit, it was very bold, but she wanted to feel pretty so she ignored her nerves and straightened her shoulders.
Just then, someone walked into the bathroom, a woman with pin-straight black hair and a build that looked like she did MMA.
Nodding cordially, Anastasia waited for her to move by so she could exit.
The woman hesitated by the stalls, “Who are the guys you’re with?”
Anastasia’s brows flew up, who was this woman? Had she noticed them when they’d entered the theater together? How was Anastasia supposed to answer? They weren’t her friends, but they weren’t her boyfriends either.
“Just some…people I know,” There, that was vague enough.
“Are you dating any of them?” The woman persisted.
Anastasia understood that the woman was probably asking because she was interested in them, but the questions still made her uncomfortable.
“Um, excuse me,” She nodded in parting, escaping, almost jogging back to her seat.
Noticing her expression, Yoongi leaned over, “What happened?”
“You all attracted too much damn attention is what happened,” She huffed back, crossing her arms. Was this what her life would be around them? Constant attention from strangers? She felt Yoongi’s stare but refused to turn back.
When the lights came back on, after the movie ended, she was abruptly pulled into someone’s arms.
“You’re so fucking annoying,” Jimin hissed in her ear, his arm around her waist. It took her a second to realize he was annoyed that she’d removed his shirt.
Turning around in his arms, she wrapped her’s around his neck, leaning in to whisper in his ear, “You’re not my boyfriend”
She felt his jaw flex against her cheek, “Exactly”
Pulling away, eyes wide, she watched him walk away.
The afternoon passed quickly after that, their time together bleeding into the evening. It was easy to have fun with them, everything came naturally like it did with Jungkook, a feeling she thought she would never feel with anyone butJungkook.
They ended up at the beach, Anastasia and Yoongi watching the sunset while Seokjin, Jimin, and Taehyung chased each other around, throwing sand and kicking water at each other.
“You missed your class,” Yoongi pointed out casually, sitting next to her in the sand.
Pouting, she nodded.
“Jagiya,” He coaxed, patting his lap and she wiggled around so she was laying with her head on his lap. Soothingly, he rubbed her arm.
“What does it mean?” She asked after a while, playing with his necklace, nervous to know the answer.
He paused, “What does what mean?”
“Jagiya”
Leaning back, he propped himself up with his arms, “It’s…a term of endearment,” he explained.
Anastasia frowned, “How come you only use it with me, then?”
He smirked and looked down, “It’s just for you, jagiya”
Shivers raced down her spine, his voice was so deep. Raspy. Sexy.
“Oh,” she breathed.
They stared at each other a while longer until she heard her name being called out. Sitting up, she had just enough time to brace herself before she was yanked to her feet by Taehyung.
“Come play!” He ordered, pulling her against his soaking wet frame.
“Tae! You’re wet!”
He smirked devilishly, “The goal is to get youwet”
That was all the warning she got before Seokjin hauled her over his shoulder and he and Taehyung took off towards the water.
“Put me down!” She screeched, her laugh too prominent to be taken seriously.
It was completely dark by the time they settled, all four of them dripping wet. She was sure that her makeup was running down her cheeks by now.
“I’m hungry,” She whined, head resting on Taehyung’s arm (he was spread out like starfish in the sand).
“Me too,” He agreed.
Sitting up, she nudged his thigh, “Go get us food, then”
He’d been about to say something to Jimin, but did a double-take at her, “Why me?”
Shrugging, she shifted her weight so that Jimin, who’d scooted closer, could slot himself behind her. “Yeah, Tae, go get food,” Jimin chimed, perching his chin on her shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her.
“I’ll go,” Yoongi offered, stumbling to his feet, Seokjin ambling after him, shaking sand and salt out of his drying hair.
Huffing a laugh when Taehyung smirked in satisfaction, she rested her head back on Jimin’s shoulder.
“Where do you think they’re gonna go?” He asked after a while. Jimin and she shrugged simultaneously.
The sound of waves lulled her into a relaxed state, everything feeling so surreal. But it wasreal, Jimin really had his arms around her, Taehyung was really lounging next to them, it was real. She was having a hard time understanding how they’d gotten to that point.
Their perfect moment was broken when Taehyung opened his mouth, “Are you still talking to Beatrice?”
Narrowing her gaze, she pulled away from Jimin, who made a noise of protest, to face them both. “What’s your obsession with my relationship with Beatrice?”
Taehyung sat up, “She’s a psycho, why wouldn’tI want to know if you still talk to her?”
“You shouldn’t call people psycho, Tae. And she’s not.”
Taehyung rolled his eyes, “Then why is she so damn nosy about shit that has nothing to do with her?”
Frustrated, she challenged, “Maybe because you’re all so overbearing and controlling that she’s concerned about her friend?”
Taehyung’s face dropped, his expression becoming infinitely more intimidating, “Taking you out for food, helping you with your homework, helping you pack your shit, keeping you safe when you’re shit-faced drunk, taking you on dates, that’s all called caring about someone, Anastasia. Why the hell are you taking her side right now?”
Opening and closing her mouth, she struggled to find words, “I’m not taking anyone’s side!”
“Like hell you aren’t,” He snorted, “Shit, Anastasia, if you don’t like us, just say so, you don’t need to look for a fucking excuse to start a fight every other day”
She didn’t know what to say, they always made her feel like she was crazy, but maybe she wascrazy. This was the first relationship she’d ever been in that she actually wantedto be in, she didn’t know what she was doing. Where did she draw lines? What were her boundaries? Did she know the difference between a hard no and the discomfort of meeting someone halfway?
“I like you a lot less when you yell at me,” she pointed out, her pride wounded.
“And I like you a lot more when you aren’t pretending you’re better than everyone else,” He sneered.
“Taehyung…” Jimin warned lowly. They both ignored him.
“I’ve never thought I was better than anyone else, out of the two of us, you’rethe one with a god complex,” she refuted and Taehyung rolled his eyes.
“No one can do right by you, can they? If we spend time with you, we’re overbearing, if we try to protect you, we’re controlling, if we’re confident, it’s a god complex. What the hell do you even want?”
Scowling, she grunted, “I want Jungkook”
Out of everything that had been said, Anastasia could tell that those words hit hardest. Even Jimin tensed up.
“Well,” Taehyung muttered, getting to his feet, “I won’t waste my fucking time then”
And then he was stalking off across the beach.
They watched him leave, Jimin only turning to her when Taehyung was out of earshot, “We have a genuine interest in you, Anastasia, if you’re only with us for Jungkook’s sake…then you’re hurting him too,” Jimin’s voice was soft, almost like a lullaby. It was grounding, filling her with remorse.
“No, of course not. I really like all of you, even though I know that’s insane. I just…I think I took my frustration out on him,” She sulked, ready to chase after Taehyung and apologize. “Things are just a lot right now. Getting evicted from my apartment, trying to keep you all happy, finishing all my schoolwork early so I can keep my credits through a transfer, I’m so stressed!”
Sighing, he reached out and pulled her into his lap, “I’m sorry you’re having such a hard time, but you don’t need to do so much. We’ll do it for you, we’ll take care of you. Helping you pack, encouraging you to remember to take breaks, offering a place to live, it’s all because we care. Just trust us to take care of everything, you don’t have to fight so hard anymore, Taz, it’s okay”
His words soothed something deep inside her, tears overflowing. Nodding into his chest, she consented, “Okay”
Nodding too, he nudged her to get up, “Let’s go chase him down”
Brushing the sand off their clothes, they looked to the direction Taehyung had left in, eyes widening in horror. A hooded figure, five or so paces from him, aimed a sleek black gun at his head.
Jimin hastily covered Anastasia’s mouth before she could scream, “He’ll be fine,” he reassured.
Fine?How could he be fine? He was being held at gunpoint!
Faster than she could really follow, Taehyung lunged forward, grabbing the barrel of the gun and tackling the man. Jimin’s hand couldn’t completely muffle her terrified screech when Taehyung didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger.
And then arms were shooting out from behind them, ripping her and Jimin apart.
“No!” She shrieked, writhing and punching at the arms holding her hostage, “Jimin!”
New tears, fueled by terror, clouded her vision and she could barely make Jimin out as he struggled against the three men holding him down, gagging him.
Stop it! She thought desperately, a gag being shoved into her own mouth. You’re hurting him!
“We’ll kill him,” A tall man in a suit threatened, casually slipping between his two hostages. It wasn’t until he’d spoken that Anastasia noticed Taehyung, much closer than she’d last seen him, a sparse trail of bodies left in his wake.
Were they dead? She couldn’t handle the thought, but to her relief, she noticed some of them move, groaning into the sand. The ones that weren’tmoving, well…she had to tell herself that they were just unconscious.
“No, you won’t,” Taehyung’s voice was chilling — absolute.
The man’s expression morphed into a smirk and he shrugged, “Maybe not, but I’ll kill her”
With renewed vigor, she began to struggle, desperate to get away. She didn’t want to die!
That was the last thing she saw was a bullet searing through Taehyung’s abdomen, before she felt a pinch in her neck and everything faded away.
“I’d like to hang out with you for my whole life” - TS
***
Splashing cold water onto her freshly washed face, Anastasia let out a heavy sigh. How had she gotten herself into this mess? Hoseok and Jimin hadn’t stayed long, leaving her to gather her wits in peace, but it hadn’t been much help. She needed to talk to Jungkook. Staring at herself in the mirror — hair pushed back with a fluffy headband and her dress still clinging to her body —she looked ridiculous, just like the mess her life had become.
Exiting the bathroom, she didn’t see anyone on her way to her room, and perhaps that was a good thing, despite the loneliness that settled in her stomach. When it came to them, she had no self-control, always wanting more, wanting what she shouldn’t want. Worrying her bottom lip, she absentmindedly picked out one of Jungkook’s old white t-shirts and began to try and unzip her dress.
“Need help?” Squealing, she recoiled into a crouch, relaxing when she recognized Jungkook in the doorway.
“Dammit, Kook, you scared me,” Her voice was rough and he smiled sheepishly. The air between them felt a little forced, but Anastasia couldn’t imagine it lasting long. Everything about him made her want to give him everything.
“I’m sorry, I thought you’d heard me come in,” He explained, taking a step into her space. She knew his signs, he was moments from wrapping himself around her. Bracing herself, she let him wrap her in his arms and nuzzle his nose into her neck. Closing her eyes, she reluctantly hugged him back.
Why couldn’t she have met a nice averageboy and fallen head over heels for him? Why did her heart flutter every time Seokjin was a subtle gentleman? Why did she feel like she could trust Yoongi with her every secret, even when he was so obviously not to be trusted ? And Hoseok with his arrogant swagger sweeping her into his world, even when she knew she didn’t belong there? Why did Namjoon’s attention make her feel like she was the only relevant subject? What about Jimin’s hot and cold act made him so alluring? Taehyung,she just knew if she showed him even an ounceof weakness, he would take it and run, spinning spiderwebs in her head. And Jungkook, she felt like she no longer knew him. In the weeks passed, she’d realized, maybe she never really knew him at all. She didn’t know what was truly important to him, and maybe that was the worst part of it all — realizing nothing was real.
“Jungkook, do you love me?” She regretted asking immediately.
Pulling back, he tilted his curiously, his expression softening, “Anastasia, you’re more important to me than I will ever be able to put into words. I know the last few weeks have been overwhelming, but I don’t want to lose you.”
His fresh, minty breath fanned across her face and she closed her eyes, accepting that her next move might be a mistake. He let out a small grunt of surprise when she yanked him down to her level, silencing him with her lips. He reacted instantly, hands cupping her cheeks to deepen the kiss. There was no hesitation in his movements, spreading warmth throughout her body.
Shuffling backward, they made their way slowly to her bed until she was on her back with him above her.
“Wait, wait.” She gasped, pushing him back and taking a moment to catch her breath. His gaze impatiently flicked down to her lips, but she could tell he was making the effort to listen.
“I need to tell you something,” she confessed, but by then he’d finished waiting, moving closer to connect their lips again.
They made out for a couple more seconds before he pulled away, just far enough for their lips not to touch. “Yeah?”
Jungkook was the most jealous, possessive person she’d ever met, she knew confessing might ruin everything, but there was no taking the words back. “I-I kissed Jimin”
“I know, Seokjin-hyung told me,” He mumbled against her lips.
“Not just then, and Hoseok and Yoongi, too!” She blurted, disgusted with herself.
His whole body became still and she wished he would pull back so she could see his expression and hopefully read his emotions. She was afraid of his reaction, who would he be angry at? Her for kissing them or them for kissing her?
“When?” His tone wasn’t what she was expecting. Instead of angry, he sounded…confused? Curious? As if the whenmattered more than the act.
Pushing him away, she analyzed his expression. She was right, there was no anger in his doe-eyes, just curiosity. His reaction felt like a piece to a puzzle but she didn’t know what the end picture was supposed to be.
“Tonight…after dinner, and when I went out with Yoongi” She watched him take in the information, then nod and lean in to kiss her again.
“That—it doesn’t bother you?” A horrible realization came; what if this didn’t mean anything to Jungkook? Was that why he wasn’t bothered? He cared more about the others, so there was nothing to be jealous about?
He shook his head, leaning down to nuzzle the crook of her neck.
“Why?” She needed to know.
He sighed, rolling off her. “I love you, I want you to be loved by them too.”
“But…they don’t love me.” How could he be so…so nonchalant?
“Not yet,” Jungkook shifted onto his elbow, “but you can tell they’re trying, right?”
Her mind was spinning so much she felt dizzy.
“I—I don’t…” She couldn’t form a coherent sentence, a coherent thought.
“Does it bother you?” His voice was soft, the vulnerability grounding her somewhat.
Licking her lips, she asked, “Does what bother me?”
“Us. Being around you, taking you on dates. Do you not like it?” He was staring so intently at her, but she didn’t have an answer. Not even an hour ago she’d been certain that Jungkook would think she was a whore and now, knowing he’d known, knowing he supportedit, she didn’t know what to say.
They were moving to Koreaand she had been dead set on notmoving. What was she supposed to tell him?
“I think I need some space.”
He didn’t waste time getting off the bed and kneeling on the floor.
“No, no. I mean, I need some time alone. I need to think,” she explained. It was a request he was visibly less eager to obey. “Please.”
Before either of them could make a move, they heard someone burst through her front door, urgently calling for Jungkook, who was up in a flash.
“Namjoon-hyung?”
The man in question came into view, “Seokjin needs you,” Anastasia could tell he’d said it in English for her sake.
Jungkook did not share the same sentiment as he asked something in his first tongue. Namjoon jerked a nod and Jungkook’s gaze tightened. Turning to her, he assured, “I’ll come back”
Namjoon watched him leave with a furrowed brow, his chin jutting out ever so slightly. Turning to her, he chastised, “You need to lock your door”
Considering his intrusion, she agreed readily, “I really do”
Taking a seat on the corner of her bed, he stared into the hallway, getting lost in thought. The act suggested that he would be waiting with her for Junkook’s return.
Catching herself staring, she realized she was still laying in her dress and scooted to the edge of the bed, getting up, “I need to change…”
He barely glanced at her, nodding once, as if he was only responding so as not to hurt her feelings. Snorting, she grabbed Jungkook’s old t-shirt and made a move for the bathroom. Grabbing her wrist, he glared, “Where are you going?”
“I need to change,” she repeated. His eyes flit over the room in confusion, his grip sliding down to hold her hand.
“What’s wrong with this room?”
Her face fell flat as she stared at him pointedly. Catching on, he smirked, dimples popping, and guided her to stand between his legs. Her heart instantly began beating faster but her expression didn’t change. Why did she always feel so touch-starved when they were around?
Refusing to get distracted by him, she asked, “Why are you here?”
His brow furrowed, “Have you noticed anyone…out of place, around?”
“You mean, besides you?” She teased. He poked her stomach in retribution. “No, have you?”
He shook his head, “I just think you should be careful. A woman living alone? Couldn’t hurt to have extra protection”
Narrowing her gaze, she daringly reached out and laced her fingers together behind his neck, “That’s weak, Joonie, if you wanted to spend time with me, all you had to do was ask”
Dimples reappeared at his closed-lip smile, eyes becoming crescents. “I need to ask?” He challenged.
Jutting her lower lip out, she shrugged. They stayed there, staring into each other’s eyes, expressions slowly becoming serious.
“You look very beautiful in this dress,” He murmured, tracing her silhouette with his fingers. A fierce blush warmed her face.
“The zipper is stuck,” she admitted, shifting her weight.
Leaning in, he let his hand trail up her side where the zipper was sewn in. “Need help?”
Gulping, she shook her head and he nodded, retracting his touch. Grabbing his hands, not wanting him to pull away completely, she stammered, “Jungkook said—he said you all…you want to share?”
Namjoon took his time to think about his response, leaving plenty of room for Anastasia’s nerves to grow. “It’s more than that. Jungkook loves you, like he loves us”
“Are you all—” She left the question hanging.
He tilted his head back and forth as if weighing her question, “More than friends, less than lovers?” It came out as a question, like he wasn’t sure she’d understand. She didn’t, but she wasn’t sure anyone could. “And because he loves you so… encompassingly, just as we love him, loving him now includes you. It’s not sharing, you’re not a toy, you’re just ours” He shrugged.
Groaning, she dragged her hands down her face, “That’s a lot to take in”
It felt like she was finally getting some answers, a little sneak peek into their minds, but they were insane.Worse yet, she wasn’t completely repulsed. But their emotions for each other were so strong.Obsessive. She couldn’t just ignore that.
“You don’t get jealous?” She asked, incredulous, but before he could answer her phone rang. Going to grab it off her nightstand, she checked the caller ID. Beatrice! Anastasia had missed her call earlier, she must be calling back again to make sure Anastasia was okay.
“You’re still talking to her?” Namjoon sneered, peering over her shoulder. Ignoring him, she sat on the bed and answered, “Hello?”
“Taz! I’m sorry I couldn’t talk earlier, I needed to finish my paper,” Beatrice immediately apologized.
“Put it on speaker,” Namjoon interrupted, coming to sit beside her on the bed.
Side-eyeing him, she did as told. “It’s okay, you’re on speaker by the way”
Namjoon shook his head, indicating for Anastasia to deny his presence.
“No?”
There was a pause, “Why’d you call?”
Anastasia giggled, “Well, technically you called me, but earlier,” she glanced uncomfortably at the man leaning into her side, “Jungkook and I were arguing and I wanted some advice”
Namjoon’s expression tightened, returning to that irritated expression he’d first walked in with—chin jutted out and tense brows.
“What happened?” Beatrice sounded concerned.
“He wants me to move with him to Korea,” She conveniently left out the part where he wanted her to live with his entourage, too. She felt intensely uncomfortable with Namjoon listening so intently.
“Korea?”
“Um, yeah. I haven’t been able to find a place here, so he’s insisting”
“Wow, are you okay?”
“What do you mean?” Why wouldn’t she be okay?
“Well…I wasn’t going to say anything because I know it would be overstepping, but…it’s just—okay, so when you left with Jimin that day, the others seemed very…smug? And after them acting all weird the whole time, I just—this might be a long shot, but…was the fire actually an accident?”
Namjoon tensed beside her and Anastasia turned to him with a gasp, “Is that true?”
“I swear! Of course, I could be mistaken, but—”
“I’m sorry, I have to go” She interrupted, ending the call. “Is it true? Was the fire purposeful?”
Namjoon rolled his eyes, “Don’t overreact”
“Don’toverreact?!How am I supposedto react?” She felt like she was going crazy.
“Anastasia, do you honestly think Jungkook would do something that wasn’t in your best interest?”
That made her hesitate, but if it wasn’t true, why had Namjoon reacted like that? “Then why did you react like that?”
He scoffed, “Hoseok already told you she was a bitch, but you listen to her when she tells you about yourbest friend, like she knows us better than you do?”
Anastasia opened her mouth to refute, but he was right, Hoseok hadmentioned something about Beatrice before, but Anastasia had wanted to form her own opinion before deciding. That had obviously been a mistake, cause now she was making her doubt Jungkook.
Regret burned her insides as she felt the urge to apologize. “I’m sorry. A lot has been happening and I don’t know, I’m just really overwhelmed with it all”
Still irked, he turned away slightly, clearly not ready to forgive. Crouching before him, in an attempt to get him to meet her gaze, she tried again to make amends, “I’m really sorry for suspecting you and getting angry”
Brown eyes flashed down to meet hers with a sudden fire, “I don’t care what you think Jungkook did, but you’re so quick to doubt our intentions. He lovesyou, yet you doubt him all the time, I see it in the way you react when he’s around us”
Shaking her head vehemently, she said, “I know, I know, I’m sorry! Everything was suddenly all different, I just wasn’t thinking straight”
“Are you now?” His gaze was intense, reminding her of when she first met him, feeling like a cornered animal. Nodding in earnest, she hoped he would see her sincerity as he studied her expression suspiciously. After a few seconds, he rolled his eyes, “Get up”
Following the command immediately, she sat anxiously beside him, her body angled forward slightly to try and see his expression. Was he still upset? Would he tell Jungkook she didn’t trust them?
Meeting her pleading gaze, he sighed and moved back onto the bed, motioning her closer, “Come here”
Laying down beside him, she let him pull her in close, and against her better judgment, she felt herself relax.
“You don’t need to worry about Jungkook or anyone else, okay? We’ll take care of you,” He promised softly, his warmth seeping into her bones. She felt herself nod.
***
Anastasia’s limbs felt stiff the next morning, the same way they always did when she slept soundly enough not to move. Warmth showed through the open curtains, illuminating Jungkook’s face on the pillow next to her. Stretching, joints popping, she slowly became aware of the arm still wrapped around her middle and shifted so she was laying on her back. She was still in her dress, the straps now digging uncomfortably into her shoulders, but she didn’t want to get up yet to change.
Groaning lowly, she rolled onto her stomach and carefully wormed her way down off the bed. Forcing the zipper of the dress down, not caring if it broke, she wiggled out of the dress and slipped into a tank-top and shorts.
Staring at herself in the bathroom mirror minutes later, she contemplated what to do next. The attraction she possessed towards the seven men was undeniable and she found herself humoring the idea of them and her. She was already way more involved with them than she’d ever planned, so if she was going to break her heart, might as well do it thoroughly.
Deciding to test the waters, she quietly left her apartment and headed towards Jungkook’s. Pausing at his door, Namjoon’s words from the night before echoed in her mind; “Have you noticed anyone…out of place, around?”
Tensing up, she turned around slowly, scanning what she could see of the parking lot. There were a couple of people loitering around, but she had no way of knowing who they were or if they belonged. Everyone looked suspicious when you were paranoid.
Shaking off her nerves, she tiptoed through the door, forgoing knocking. Tentatively entering the living room, she smiled at Taehyung who stared wide-eyed at her from the floor in front of the TV. His hair was a mess, like he’d just woken up, and he wore a super oversized white t-shirt that engulfed his entire frame. Jimin lay passed on the couch across the room and she could hear someone else shuffling around in the kitchen.
“Good morning.” She greeted, hesitantly.
“Did you come alone?” Taehyung questioned, leaning over to try and see past her. His accent was much thicker with his rich morning voice.
Thrown off, she stuttered out a confirmation. Taehyung had a knack for keeping his expression stoic, she rarely could tell what he was thinking and it intimidated her.
Seokjin walked out, then, with a bowl of ramen, eyebrows raising at the sight of her. “Good morning,” he smirked.
Desperate to avoid Taehyung’s intense gaze, she grinned at Seokjin, coming closer to peek at his food, “Wow, that looks good!”
His unsure response sparked an idea.
“Can I have some?” She begged, staring up at him with wide eyes.
Glancing back and forth between his food and her, he hesitated. She tried to hide her disappointment.
“This has bacon in it.”
Her eyes went wide, bewildered. Had Yoongi told him that she didn’t like bacon?
Studying her expression, he offered, “I can make you some without bacon”
Shaking her head and waving her hands she said, “That’s okay, I’m not hungry enough to finish an entire bowl”
He didn’t argue, moving past her to sit on the open couch. Taehyung watched the exchange silently and Anastasia had to remind herself that they had no idea that Jungkook had proposed a poly relationship.
Taking a deep breath, she asked, “Are the others still sleeping?”
Two nods in response.
Biting her lip, she wondered if she should wake them. If a decision was to be made, she needed to know whether or not she was accepted. If they didn’t all like her, it didn’t matter what Namjoon said about their feelings, a relationship wouldn’t work. Finding out if they genuinely liked her or if they were just pretending for Jungkook was crucial.
“I’ll go wake them,” She announced, spinning and heading off towards Jungkook’s bedroom. She wasn’t sure where the other two were sleeping, but Jungkook’s bedroom was the closest.
Peeking into the room, she found Hoseok already awake, scrolling through his phone. Turning to look at her, he smiled brightly.
“Have I slept in too long?” He jested, his voice deep and scratchy. He must’ve justwoken up.
“It’s already two in the afternoon!” In truth, she hadn’t checked the time yet.
“Liar,” he snorted, rolling over to stretch.
Next, she headed to the guest room, finding Yoongi asleep on the far side of the bed.
“Yoongi?” She tried, coming around to see his face. Eyes fluttering open, he stared blankly at her for a moment.
“Anastasia?” He croaked, understandably confused.
“Hey, wake up, do you wanna do something with me today?”
There was a moment of silence as he comprehended her question, “What do you want to do?” He, like Taehyung, also had a stronger accent in his sleepy state.
“You’ll have to wake up and see,” She teased, leaving the room. When she entered the living room again, Hoseok was already out of bed and brushing his teeth.
Crouching before Jimin, the one she was probably most nervous about, she gently rubbed his arm. “Jimin?” There was no immediate response, so she tried again, “Jimin?” Stirring, he shifted his weight but otherwise didn’t respond, so she decided to just let him sleep. He was probably hungover.
Moments later, Yoongi stumbled into the room, looking far too good for someone who had just woken up. “What did you want to do?” He caught everyone’s attention with his question.
“Well, it’s been a pretty stressful month, I thought maybe we could relax, go out to eat, maybe see a movie?”
They all exchanged glances, Hoseok meeting her gaze with a smile. “Okay, let’s go”
Her shoulders relaxed, “Get ready, I’ll go wake up Joon and Jungkook”
Sitting in her closet half an hour later, she still couldn’t find something to wear. Irrationally nervous about spending time with them all together, she wanted to look good, but there was a bubble of excitement inside of her, too. Feeling bold, she reached for a top that her estranged cousin had gifted to her. It was something she thought she’d never wear, but suddenly the satin piece of material that only stayed on your body with two chains seemed like the perfect top.
Would they say anything about it? She couldn’t even predict Jungkook’s response because she never wore things like this.
An odd mix of giddy and dread filled her as she got dressed, pairing the top with a simple pair of jeans. After finishing getting ready, almost an hour and a half had passed, yet none of them had come to get her.
If they came to get her, that meant they actually wanted to spend time with her, right? What if they didn’t come? She decided to sit on the couch and wait.
Barely fifteen minutes passed before someone came bursting through the front door. She barely stopped herself from chucking her phone to the floor in a classic guilty fashion.
Scrambling to her feet, she faced Jimin.
“I —” Cutting off, he took in her appearance, before shaking his head and continuing, “So what, you were just going to invite everyone but me?”
Panicked, she reached out, “I tried to wake you, but I thought you had a hangover,” She spluttered.
“So? You were just going to go on one big group date and not even askif I wanted to come? Looking like that,no less?” He looked positively offended.
“It’s not a date!” She defended, though they both knew that wasn’t entirely true. It wasa date, to some degree, just….an experimental one.
He scoffed, “Nuh-uh, get back in there and get ugly.” He demanded, pointing down the hallway where her room was. A surprised giggle bubbled up without permission and she knew she probably should’ve gotten offended, but the petulant frown on his face was too cute.
“Get back in-in there and get u-ugly.” She repeated, barely getting the words out through her laughter. “I’m not changing!”
In one swift, startling movement, he tugged his black t-shirt over his head and threw it onto the couch. “Fine,” He shrugged, taking her hand and tugging her towards the front door, “We’ll match.”
Her eyes grew wide at the sight of his muscular, tattooed chest, unable to come up with a response fast enough before he tugged her out the door.
“Jimin!” She hissed, trying to cover him with her body as a mom and her child walked by. Jimin shamelessly wrapped his arms around her, her bare back pressed to his chest. She could feel his silent laughter.
“Hi, sorry Mrs. Reynold.” She waved apologetically as they shuffled like crabs to Jungkook’s door. They only got a disgusted scoff in reply.
Once safely behind closed doors, Anastasia elbowed him off and shoved him against the door. If she had been paying attention, maybe she would have noticed the dark look he gave her before neutralizing his expression.
“What the hell was that?!”
“You put on a shirt, I’ll put on a shirt.” He bargained with a shrug.
“Iamwearing a shirt!”
He scoffed, “Bikini’s cover more than that.”
“My entire front is covered!”
He didn’t say anything, glaring at her in silence.
“Stop trying to dictate what I wear.” She growled. She hadn’t expected herself to get so defensive over her outfit choice (maybe she was insulted that he didn’t want her to wear it in public), but she couldn’t deny that a part of her was enjoying the fight.
“Back at you, sweetheart.” He countered, “I won’t stop you from leaving, but if you go wearing that, I’m following wearing this.”
“You’re not wearing anything,” She growled.
“Jimin, go put on a shirt, we’re leaving.” Namjoon suddenly ordered, shuffling past to get his shoes.
Crossing her arms smugly, she silently dared Jimin to argue. Scoffing, he stomped off, still behaving like a child. Anastasia smiled to herself, it felt good to win.
More of the boys gathered to put on their shoes, but none of them made nearly as big of a deal as Jimin had. That is, until Jungkook came round the corner.
“Why are you wearing a bib? Go put on a shirt,” He huffed, slipping past to grab a pair of shoes. Yoongi almost snorted iced coffee out his nose and Taehyung put his hand up over his mouth to hide his silent laughter.
“Would you shut up?” She hissed and slapped Jungkook’s arm, face burning. That was not the reaction she’d been hoping for. There was a lot of effort put into her appearance this time.
Jungkook said something in reply, but she didn’t catch it because Jimin was suddenly trying to shove one of his shirts over her head.
“Hey!” She shrieked, wiggling around to try and avoid his ambush.
“I put on a shirt, you put on a shirt!” He giggled, not giving up.
Ducking under his arms, she made a dash for the couch, clumsily jumping over it. Jimin was quick to follow, wrapping an arm around her waist before she could land on the floor and they both toppled to the cushions. Their laughter could likely be heard from the downstairs apartment.
“Let me go!” She giggled. She was having fun. Jimin made it so easy, like it was all just in the moment and she didn’t have to worry about tomorrow.
As the laughter subsided and she let Jimin put the shirt on her, “You’re like an over-possessive boyfriend,” She grumble, getting up from the couch. Jimin smirked in reply.
“Taz?” Jungkook called as she made her way to the front door.
Not wanting to answer the questions she knew he had, she shook her head and grabbed the hand closest to her — Seokjin’s — and skipped out the door. “Let’s go!”
Sorry if this isn’t great, I just found it in my google docs and decided to hit post :)
Word count: 2.7k
Pairing: yandere! Jungkook x gn! Reader
(Y/N) had a happy tune playing on their record player and a bounce to their step as their hands danced around the chopping board, preparing their array of vegetables. Listening to the comforting drawl of the jazz artist brought a smile to their face, as they continued with the menial task.
However, this serenity was interrupted by a sudden knocking at the door. Unusual, considering they lived about ten miles out from the nearest city.
They opened up to see a young man, his lips blue with the cold and his hair damp with snow and their heart preceded any caution as they wordlessly let him into their cabin.
“Are you okay?” They asked, resting a hand on his damp sleeve and guiding him to their sofa.
“My car ran out of fuel and I don’t have any signal. Do you have a phone I can borrow?” The young man stuttered out, body still wracked with shivers.
“Of course. Just stay here, I’ll get you something warm to drink.”
They wrapped a blanket around him, and went into the kitchen to boil up some milk for cocoa.
(Y/N) switched the radio off, their visitor’s alarming arrival having ruined the previous cheer of the evening. It was unfortunate, but also they were semi-thankful to have some company on what was going to be a solitary evening.
They brought their attention back to the cocoa they were making, and took the mug back into the living room for their guest.
He wasn’t on the sofa however. He’d shrugged off his shirt, as it sat on the sofa making a small damp patch. He instead stood looking at the pictures on the wall, wrapped solely in the blanket.
“Hey, I made you some cocoa.” (Y/N) called to him, snapping him out of his stupor.
“Oh, thank you.” He smiled. “Sorry, my shirt was way too wet and it was making me cold. I hope you don’t mind.”
“It’s okay.” They smiled in response. “Drink your cocoa and then you can use my landline.”
He looked slightly cautious as he picked up the mug and blew on it to cool it down. They noticed his apprehension.
“I haven’t put anything funny in it, if that’s what you’re scared about. Not everyone living in cabins away from society is a serial killer.”
He let out a slight laugh of relief and mirth, bringing it to his lips and sighing in relief as the liquid warmed his hands and stomach.
“I’m (Y/N), by the way.”
“I’m Jungkook. Thank you for your help.”
There was silence as Jungkook gingerly sipped his cocoa and (Y/N) tried to find something to say.
“I’ll go get my phone.” They finally said, standing up to find the device charging in their office and bringing it back to him. With a nod of thanks, he started to dial the number and held it up to his ear, but after a few seconds he frowned.
“No signal.”
He tried again, many different numbers but all with no answer, as (Y/N) stood at the sidelines biting the inside of their cheek.
“It’s no good. I think the weather has wrecked the signal. Do you have WiFi?” Jungkook sighed.
“I’m in the process of switching companies, so unfortunately I’ve been going without.” (Y/N) replied, shifting slightly. “I’m really sorry, I wish I could be more helpful.”
He stood up, ready to grab his things and see if he could make his own way home only to catch sight of the snow flurry outside.
“There’s no way you could survive that.” (Y/N) joined his side, frowning. “It’s probably best that you bunker down here for the night.”
He thanked her and, following a bowl of warm stew for supper, fell asleep on the couch. (Y/N) draped a blanket over him before leaving for their own room.
◦◦,`°.✽✦✽.◦.✽✦✽.°`,◦◦
The snow did not let up. The next morning, it was practically still dark outside and the dangerous weather brought a heavy feeling upon Jungkook.
“Looks like a white christmas.” (Y/N) commented, offering him a lopsided grin.
“I hope you don’t mind if I stay here a bit longer…” Jungkook stuttered out. (Y/N) placed a warm hand on his shoulder.
“Of course not. I couldn’t throw you out on a day like this.” They turned on their heel. “Will you help me make lunch?”
With some festive tunes and a roaring fire, it was quite pleasant standing beside (Y/N) and helping them prepare the roast dinner. Jungkook struggled to keep his hands steady, not quite used to preparing meat when most of his meals were microwaved, but (Y/N) was there with their warm, soft hands to guide him.
And when they finally sat down to eat, his eyebrows shot up in surprise at the magnificent taste.
“It’s been so long since I’ve had a proper meal. Like this.” He confessed quietly, eyes focused on the plate rather than (Y/N)’s bemused gaze.
“Really? It’s worth the time.” They replied. “Try it, and who knows? You could be the next Gordon Ramsey.”
They shared a chuckle as they ate, but something else was eating at Jungkook. There was something here he’d never experienced before, a warmth that was previously foreign.
It was when (Y/N) brushed past him to get an extra bottle of wine from the cupboard and he felt a spark just from their touch that Jungkook diagnosed himself.
‘I’m in love.’
◦◦,`°.✽✦✽.◦.✽✦✽.°`,◦◦
The days shared together whilst the storm raged on were sweet. Reading books (Y/N) had collected over the years, doing puzzles and discussing their lives. Jungkook couldn’t think of a better use of the time in his life than spending every second with (Y/N). It haunted him every night as he lay on the couch, dreaming of their future together despite the stinging finity of it.
One night, as they sat together doing crosswords, there was a flick of the lights. They would be happy to just dismiss it, if not for the subsequent blackout.
“Shit.” (Y/N) muttered. “Where are the candles?”
Jungkook simply turned on his phone and used the light to shine around the room, granting (Y/N) a path to their new source of light.
“Thank you.” They called out as they lit a match and illuminated the room once again with a limited glow, letting Jungkook tuck his phone back into his pocket as they went to investigate their generator, only to groan aloud when they realised it was going to take ages to boot up again.
After a half hearted argument from Jungkook he’d earned a place in their bed, instead of his usual couch, to keep warm.
As they settled down to sleep, (Y/N) quite clearly put a fair bit of distance between them. Cute. But nevertheless (Y/N) slept facing inwards, meaning Jungkook could fall asleep seeing their beautiful face. And did he enjoy that. the fluttering of their eyelids, creasing of their brows, the sleepy murmurs. It was a surprise that he got any sleep at all, when every instinct wanted to savour the moment forever.
◦◦,`°.✽✦✽.◦.✽✦✽.°`,◦◦
Sunlight provided a natural alarm, calling for the two to wake up but Jungkook couldn’t bring himself to depart from the comfort of (Y/N)’s embrace. Subconsciously, or maybe even consciously, they’d wrapped their arms around him to keep warm. He revelled in hearing their heartbeat, their soft sleepy breaths.
When Jungkook finally drew away from the ethereal being beside him, his heart dropped when he looked out the window. The sun was shining brightly, the storm having evidently ended at some point in the night leaving behind heaps of snow but a clear sky. This was it. The day he’d been dreading.
How would (Y/N) feel to see him go? Would they be as torn as him, knowing that his life belongs in the city but his heart belongs with them?
Jungkook finally decided that he would go about life as “usual”. Maybe (Y/N) won’t bring it up, and they won’t ruin the domestic fantasy that had been so perfectly brewing. In fact, just to sweeten things he decided to make them breakfast in bed. As much as it chilled him to do so, he unwrapped (Y/N)’s arm from around him and stood up with a stretch.
They were running low on fresh food, with 4 days of being locked away from society. But luckily there was still eggs, and bread. Jungkook set to work, enjoying the little luxury he never enjoyed in the city to cook breakfast. Normally in the morning he could only have a coffee or protein shake before leaving the house, but in this perfect little world with (Y/N) such time restraints didn’t exist.
Just as he was plating up the food, he heard the sound of a car engine outside. Oh god, who was it? Had someone somehow gotten his SOS? How would he tell them to fuck off and leave him in peace.
Rather, he heard the person emerge from the car, stomp up the driveway and insert some keys into the door. The entrance swung open, and he was frozen to the spot as he saw another man enter and stomp his feet on the doormat to remove the snow.
This stranger looked up to lock eyes with Jungkook.
“Who are you?”
“Who are you?” Jungkook echoed back.
“The boyfriend of (Y/N), who owns this cabin.”
“My car broke down in the storm a few days ago, so (Y/N) offered me shelter until I could call someone for help.” Jungkook felt his grip around the knife tighten, his knuckles becoming pale with the pressure he was exerting.
“I see. Let me go and see my partner and then we’ll see if I can do something to help.” The stranger’s smile would be heartwarming, but Jungkook felt like his blood had been replaced with lava.
The vermin pushed his way past Jungkook into the bedroom, and Jungkook felt his stomach turn as he heard the sleepy mumbles from (Y/N) and then some not so quiet kissing sounds.
The eggs were starting to grow cold on the plates as Jungkook processed the situation. (Y/N) had never mentioned a boyfriend. All this time they’d ripened him up, made him fall for them only to tear his heart to shreds?
No, no. (Y/N) was far too kind to do such a thing. Clearly there were other forces at play making him hurt. Whatever the reason, this ‘boyfriend’ was bad news.
He looked down to see the knife still gripped tightly in his hand. At least he had one option.
He picked up the plates and poured a cup of fresh coffee before making his way into the bedroom. (Y/N) was sitting up in bed, but the new guy was at their side like a leech.
“I made breakfast.” Jungkook spoke up, placing the plate in front of them gingerly and holding out the mug for them to take.
“Thank you.” They blew on the coffee to cool it down before taking a sip. “Yoongi has agreed to take a lot at your car and see what he can do. If he can’t fix it, he’ll give you a lift back into the city and we can work from there.”
“Oh. Thank you.”
“I’ll go get my toolkit. Do you think you’d be able find your way back to the car?” Finally (Y/N)’s boyfriend detached himself from their side and stood up, meeting Jungkook’s eyes.
“Yeah, probably.” He stuttered.
As Yoongi went to find his tools, (Y/N) finally returned their attention back to Jungkook.
“I’m really going to miss your company. Maybe your car breaking down was a blessing in disguise?” They smiled, and Jungkook felt his cheeks grow red.
“Thank you.”
“And you’ve got my number, right? Anytime you feel like it, feel free to drop me a text message and you’d be welcome to stay for a night if you need some escape from the city.” Jungkook nodded dumbly, not able to form the words to say that he never wanted to return home, he wanted to stay with them forever and he’d give up anything for them.
“Alright buddy, you ready?” Yoongi had returned. Jungkook narrowed his eyes at the patronising language but nodded.
◦◦,`°.✽✦✽.◦.✽✦✽.°`,◦◦
The snow crunching with every step was the only sound as they traipsed through the woods to find Jungkook’s car. He wasn’t ready to give up his happiness, but how could he assert himself to (Y/N)’s boyfriend?
“I bet you’ll be glad to get home.” Yoongi spoke up. “I can’t imagine what it’s like living out here full time like (Y/N) does.”
Jungkook just gave a grunt of non-discretion.
“Is that your car?” He pointed to a large object in the distant road, covered in snow but vaguely car-shaped.
“I guess.” Jungkook replied simply.
Once they were at the car, Yoongi started wiping the snow from the bonnet and opening it up to look at the engine.
Jungkook just watched as Yoongi peeked around.
“Just looks like a fuse has gone. I have some backups in my kit.” (Y/N)’s boyfriend dug around in the toolbox until he found a small plastic container, before setting to work.
Jungkook felt a horrible feeling in his stomach. As soon as this was done, he’d be sent on his way. This vermin would be the one to hold (Y/N) close, to enjoy their meals and company, to admire their smile. Jungkook could not stand that thought.
He bent done, to observe what Yoongi was doing. But simultaneously, his fingers snagged a wrench from the toolkit.
“That should be all-” Yoongi was cut out by a harsh shove, pushing him over onto the ground. He caught himself with his hands, and turned to sit up and ask what had happened. He was met with the sight of Jungkoom standing above him, wielding the wrench before bringing it down onto his head.
The man let out a cry of pain as it collided, but Jungkook was not deterred. He brought it down, again and again until blood spattered everywhere and Yoongi’s face was an unrecognisable mess. He finally stopped, and dropped the wrench with shock of what he’d done. Seeing the gruesome sight was enough to make him puke, and when he was done doing so he still couldn’t help the streams of tears running down his face, mixing with the blood. What had driven him to such a drastic measure? How fucked up had he become, so isolated from society that he was capable of bashing someone’s brains in?
He managed to get to his feet, and his instincts were screaming at him to run. Back to the comfort of (Y/N)’s arms, if they would even accept someone as messed up as him.
As he trudged back through the woods, thoughts of what he could say rushed through his head. Would he tell them upfront that he killed their boyfriend? Would he blame some traffic, an attack from a wild animal, maybe even another person?
He hadn’t decided on a plan when he returned to the cabin, and rather than formulate one Jungkook just banged on the door in desperation. He needed to be with them, he needed (Y/N) to comfort him and tell him everything was going to be okay.
(Y/N) answered the door still dressed in their nightclothes, and when they saw Jungkook’s blood and puke splattered clothes they instantly ushered him in again.
“What happened, are you okay?”
Jungkook opened his mouth but no words could come out, just heavy breathes.
“Were you attacked? Where’s Yoongi?” (Y/N) continued, but Jungkook could only sob at their boyfriend’s name, leading (Y/N) to make some deductions.
“Oh Jungkook. Come on, we need to get you changed.” (Y/N) sighed, trying not to let their bad feeling regarding their boyfriend’s fate overcome them.
He let them take his hand, enjoying their skinship being reunited. Even if they were only together once more under tragic circumstances, Jungkook couldn’t help but to be thankful.
I think it’s funny that some people are so quick to judge others on this app.
Like first of all, just because you won’t write for that specific scenario doesn’t mean that others won’t. And insulting them, calling them gross because of what they wrote is half the reason most people leave.
Ok so you won’t write or read certain things, ok fine. But DO NOT insult the people that do. Because technically sweetheart where I’m from, pseudo incest means that they aren’t actually related by blood.
This could be said about so many different things so I just chose one to make an example of.
So shut up to you bitches putting other people down because of the tropes they use. It’s honestly sickening how nasty you can be to someone else.
(Like I’m not into pseudo-incest but I wouldn’t make someone feel bad if they were. Ffs at least if they have children together it wouldn’t be an abomination)
Please don’t make fun of people because of the stuff they like to read unless it is just yuck .
Plot: This wasn’t the way you expected the last day of your summer break to end. Two handsome men standing at your door demanding answers after finding out you’ve been dating the both of them online. There’s just one problem - You don’t have any social media accounts nor have you ever seen these two brothers before.
Admin note: Plot was Inspired by my friend @frizzlesizzler ! This is a Drabble that turned out longer than expected, I didn’t go deep into the plot cause it was meant to be a short Drabble. Beware I’m not good with smut lol
“Did you have fun messing around with our feelings like that, bitch?” One of the two curled his fingers into two fists.
“You thought you could get away with it, hm?” The other man who introduced himself as Taehyung earlier added.
“I, I really don’t know what the two of you are talking about, I’m saying, I’ve never seen the both of you, ever in my life!” Water stung in your eyes and you bursted into tears. “Please, don’t hurt me, I’ll do anything I can to prove it!”
——————————————————————————Summary: You don’t particularly care for anything, only indulging in pleasures of the flesh, until one day you meet them.
Chapter Summary: Soft Wrath.
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Chapter Warnings:
PornWithPlot, Yandere BTS, Incest, Reader is a bit of a slut be warned, cuckolding, implied death, explicit playlist
Disclaimer: Standards apply. Image creation uploaded by MochiLips on Pinterest. Image hair color edit and text edit mine.
A/N: For reference to what Y/N’s brother looks like: (credits to syrianpsycho’s TikTok)
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Red petals scatter to the ground, some floating in mid air before eventually joining the cool grass at your bare feet. Your mother’s rose garden utterly destroyed in the wake of what one would call a childish tantrum.
Although you weren’t a child anymore by any means.
As soon as you set foot in the harsh confines of your so-called home back from boarding school, and had learned of your mother’s untimely…departure from the cold, cold lips of a man you don’t even deign to call your father anymore, something in you just vanished.
Blood trickles down the dainty skin of your fingers as you blink lazily at the thorns now adorning your hand.
The sounds of rustling reach your ears and you whip around to the handsome face of your stepbrother—enthralling eyes staring at you, wary and distraught, as if he were debating with himself whether to engulf you in a hug or restrain himself. His eyes stray to your wounds and he grimaces.
You smile up at him, fluttering lashes, as if nothing hurts because you’ve stopped feeling a long time ago back when fairytales were still true and kings and queens were part of a naivete imagination. “Hello, brother. I’m home.”
Lips crash against yours in a flurry of passion and sin, your cheeks wet from tears that weren’t your own.
Because someone has to grieve for the both of you.
You spend the entire dawn encased in a tangle of limbs and intoxicating sweat in your brother’s bed, shallow breaths and pleasure filled haze, sullying your family in the name of lust and an all encompassing sadness.
That was the start of your descent to hell.
—
NAMJOON
He was always a hot-headed bastard and he knew it.
It was one of the reasons why on camera, it translated into pure clumsiness lest he obliterate something in his path which won’t do for them.
After all, they had endured centuries, ensconced in different skins, different lives, different names just to find her. You.
What better way to do so than be hidden in plain sight.
And now that they have you, anyone who dares to take you from his pack will be shown no mercy.
A cordial smile is automatically plastered on his face as you plop down onto his lap, discarding the book he had been reading. After all, he may love books but he, the demon of wrath was so in love with you bordering on pure, adulterated, obsession that he can’t help but lick his lips just smelling your faint perfume.
He raises a strict brow at your butler, the latter bowing out of the room in the blink of an eye but you don’t seem to care so the anger bubbling from inside of his soulless cavern is quelled, giving way to adoration.
Though he and the other demons despised your butler (and your brother—because you were very honest with them of your proclivities) having had first taste of you before any of them could much less touch you with your permission, you had expressed your displeasure at them upon seeing Yoongi nearly hitting Nox for some reason, so they deigned the latter a mere fly on the wall and someone that wasn’t a hindrance.
You were drawn to them and they you, after all.
He kisses you softly as you preen under his attention. “To what do I owe my pretty baby’s visit?”
He could scent the blood on your skin and on days like these, they usually found you curled up in one of their beds asleep, hence it was a happy surprise to have you out and about the mansion.
The others had gone to the company for their individual schedules and it was only him left at home to watch over you.
You tilt your head seeming to think for a moment. “I want to get pregnant.”
His jaw twitches, pushing forth as he stares at you wide-eyed in wonder. “Y-you…what?”
Not one to feel anything other than your attraction to the seven men, you repeat the statement as if you were merely talking about the weather. “I want a baby, Joonie. Fuck me right now.”
Namjoon, for all his being acclaimed the level headed leader of Bangtan, gulps in nervous anticipation, sweat forming in the palms of his hands as he grips your hips to steady you and stop his fast growing erection. “Are you certain about this, pretty baby?”
Damn him and his patience. If he were a lesser being—like one of those fallen angels – you’d be writhing under him without mercy.
You blink. “Why wouldn’t I be? I’m horny. And I want a child with you—”
Namjoon chuckles in disbelief, “You—” But then he’s carrying you up the stairs and as your back hits the bed, he commands you to undress which you obey.
You get a whiff of the white Arabian Jasmine you loved so much and you turn your head to the side to see a whole vase full of them.
The blue-haired man trails after your gaze and he smirks. “You like them? I had them ordered just for you. They’re all over the house.”
An ‘o’ forms on your lips. So that’s why you felt better. There’s something about the scent of those flowers you liked so much.
When the seven of them had learned you disliked roses, they had every single rose removed by the maids, replacing it with your flower of choice.
And one of them was the pretty white flower now adorning Namjoon’s luxurious night stand.
Perhaps because it reminded you of death and an otherworldly comfort at the same time that you felt the need to have it close.
Your arms raise to the man hovering huskily above you, already naked and raring to go as your legs trap his own hips close to you.
His cock presses against your entrance and you whimper, already wet without even meaning to because he was just that big and strong and hard.
Once he’s completely sheathed in to the hilt, his tongue opens your mouth with a hiss because Namjoon, for all his lewd remarks and previous sexual experiences, was reduced to a wavering mess when deep inside your throbbing core.
All of them were, but he was especially sensitive to you, perhaps because he was the tightest fit of them all having the largest of his brothers.
And once you’re moaning under him, gasping for more, he pumps into you faster, harder.
“A-ah, Namjoon!”
His abs glisten with sweat, jawline more intense as he sinks into you further, and you howl out a ‘deeper, deeper, deeper, fuck!’ until he’s breaking through your womb and you think your stomach is bulging with the way he’s spit roasting you like a pig in heat.
“Y/N, my pretty baby,” he croons as you cum for him, walls clenching around his cock and he joins you beneath the waves of sin as ropes of white cum streak your walls lavishly, creaming your insides deliciously that you cum once more, this time stronger.
Wet kisses are placed down your throat, to the collar of your shoulders and neck as you groan, “More.”
A growl rips from Namjoon’s throat as he flips you onto your side, one leg up in the air. He’s still hard. Erect. And willing to please you no matter how long he has to or how many times he has to place his seed—his spawn –into your waiting, empty womb.
He was going to fucking get you pregnant just as you wished.
He kisses your bare shoulder as you’re panting and thrusts back in.
You wail, arching your back, spiralling into an unceremonious third orgasm. “N-Namjoon, mmmph—”
His tongue fights for yours, one of his large hands caresses your breasts as he goes, and in your stupidly horny haze, you fail to notice the long black horns that had reared themselves out of your lover’s head, too consumed by the throes of your endless thirst for cock.
Your lover grinds his teeth, willing himself to stave off on finishing again so he could prolong this as much as possible because by the demons, he wasn’t a holy man but your pussy was divine.
To your protest, he pulls out of you and flips you on your stomach, face pressed against the sheets. He grips your hips and gives a mild slap as you cry out, clenching around nothing.
Namjoon rubs his dick against the folds of your labia, coating it with your combined arousal before he’s entering you once more. “Gonna cum, pretty baby?” He grits out as he feels your walls nearly choke his cock to its demise.
“Yes, please!” Tears of lust streak down your cheeks as your hips involuntarily meet his movements and then he’s slapping the skin of your ass again and your eyes roll to the back of your head because it hurts and you can feel unlike most days when you don’t.
Namjoon snarls, lips descending to breathe on your neck, an arm righting you up through your waist, one hand steadied on the bed of support before he’s biting your neck and you convulse around him. “Fuck! Shitshitshit!” You moan lewdly.
You are boneless as Namjoon lets go of your waist to flip you onto your back, legs spread open before him and he’s licking at his lips, looking at you wildly.
You had your eyes closed the entire time, whimpering and blubbering. Like damaged goods.
He shifts and presses your legs flat, blocking your view of him and the unholy slaps of skin on skin.
“Fucking take my spawn, baby,” he sneers and then he’s sending ropes of thick release into the deepest parts of your now fertile womb because demons fucked differently, not that you were aware, his whole large frame trembling that if you were to open your eyes at any moment, you’d witness his long horns receding, his eyes turning back to its murky brown color, and his handsome face crumpled in a euphoric state.
“Fuck, baby.” He moans, collapsing on top of you, face pressed against your bountiful breasts, a tongue snaking out to lick a nipple and you laugh, mildly tickled.
He rolls to the side, pulling you close to him, “I love you.” He murmurs, kissing your forehead.
You hum tiredly. You had told them that you couldn’t feel and they still accepted you. But then again as your heart jumps at those three words, you maybe are in love with them too. “Yeah…”
You drift off to sleep safe in the arms of the man who was your forever.
—
“Our congratulations for the successful merger, Y/N-nim.”
A bouquet of red roses (you hated them) was thrust into your arms haphazardly by the old man that had nothing but a dirty, unholy regard for you. His young girlfriend keeps her face impassive and polite but you could see the same disdain you saw in your sister-in-law’s hateful gazes.
Having married your seven lovers, you handled the business side of things and one of their sponsors was this pudgy old man, an undisclosed child sex predator according to the reports that Nox had compiled for you.
Of course the public was none the wiser that South Korea’s seven beloved idols were now tied down. Only a handful of people knew—people you trusted and you’d like to keep it that way.
You may not really care much about the affairs of the world, but you weren’t just going to let someone as evil and disgusting as this man walk around freely.
It was time to weed out the bad ones.
Your painted lips curl up with hidden amusement (one of the only few times you were amused) as you thank him for the gracious gift. Side-eyeing your husbands who were busy conversing with a few different investors, you ‘accidentally’ trip on your heels, a hand landing on the older man’s chest as he shrugs off his affronted companion to help steady you, a faint blush on his cheeks and his heart thunderously beating beneath your palm.
You giggle demurely and pat the old man on the shoulder with thanks. “Forgive me.” You murmur.
“N-no problem, Y/N-nim.” He stutters, easing his tight collar with heart eyes, zoning into your open cleavage.
Suddenly, a chill envelops the air and a glance around the room tells you your plan had worked as seven pairs of eyes discreetly gleam under the chandelier lights.
Namjoon’s blue hair stands out in the ambience and his sharp glare is an even accompaniment to his black suit.
Your heart beats faster, anticipating his wrath as the classical music plays all around you.
Although you weren’t completely in the dark about your husbands’…other activities, you weren’t completely oblivious either.
You may be the epitome of apathy but you weren’t stupid nor blind to see that any man who dared to show more amorous tendencies towards you in front of your husbands goes to sleep with the fishes.
“Would you and the lady like to have some refreshments? Perhaps meet a patron?” You keep your smile neutral.
They nod and from the corner of your eye, your tall husband makes his way towards you.
Sometimes you had the devil within you.
—
Your brother sighs. “Baby sis, you are a fucking naughty girl.”
You come down from the high of your euphoric endeavors, slipping out your fingers coated in release. You keep your legs open for your brother to prey on as he licks his lips and splurts the screen with white.
Your nipples harden at the sight.
Your husbands were on tour and you were lonely, and they had given you permission so…
“Do they know you’re still being a naughty girl?” He asks genuinely, wiping the spunk off with his bare hands.
You grin at his handsome face, “They’re actually watching us right now. “
Your step brother freezes knowing how ruthless and possessive your husbands could be. “They like cuckolding?”
You shrug, gesturing to the cam corder set up behind you. Putting a finger to your chin, you tilt your head, seeming to be in deep thought. “Hmm, not really but if it’s with you they’re kind of fine with it?” you stare at your brother’s lovely eyes. “Just occasionally though, they say. “
He sighs, running his veiny hands through his mussed up hair that had been dyed a darker blonde. It suited him. If you weren’t his sister, and if he weren’t married to a brainless bimbo, you would have trussed him up and brought him here for amusement in the blink of an eye.
Your sister-in-law’s screech could be heard bouncing off the walls. Your brother smiles at you apologetically. “Oop, wench is awake.”
You shrug and wave him away. He hesitates, opening his perfect mouth—the mouth that had given you a sense of real pleasure before you found your soulbonds for life, love swimming in his eyes and you frown.
You’ve always had an awareness of how your brother felt for you. It wasn’t love, may be infatuation but it was more of a camaraderie between two lost souls trapped in a plastic home once full of fake, plastic fatherly love.
“Brother…” You warn and his shoulders straighten, perfect face in a blank mask before disappearing.
And as you turn, your husbands’ faces pop on another screen, all flushed and sweaty and mildly furious (Namjoon’s more so) and possessive that you lick your lips in anticipation of what they would do to you when they come home.
Home.
Something you thought you’d never have again.
“You’re getting punished as soon as we get back, baby doll.” Namjoon sneers, a vein in his neck prominently displayed and your legs clench in anticipation.
You smile. You played up to Namjoon’s kinks to feed the anger in his soul, and a furious Namjoon was the wildest in bed out of your lovers.
You wouldn’t have them any other way.
—
A white Arabian Jasmine is thrown atop a fresh pile of dirt as water droplets pelt the ground.
Namjoon spits, “She hated roses, didn’t you know?”
Seven smirks and then they leave in a haze of rain.
Summary: You don’t particularly care for anything, only indulging in pleasures of the flesh, until one day you meet them.
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Chapter Warnings:
Moderate PornWithPlot, Yandere BTS, Incest,Reader is a bit of a slutbe warned, mild gore, minor character death
Disclaimer: Everything except for the plot and banner design. In no way do the personalities portrayed depict the characters irl.
A/N: This is a repost as the initial one disappeared for some reason. :/
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PROLOGUE
You hate it here.
It’s just all plastic smiles and plastic lies.
All to keep on rose-colored glasses of pristine aristocracy.
The perfect poster family.
And yet…
You inwardly frown as your step brother carelessly throws a thin, slim envelope, with the very same hands that had caressed your sides the night before, the thing hitting your cheek before dropping to the cold, marbled floor of your cold, marbled house.
His fiancé, and your soon to be sister-in-law smirks as she goes to your brother’s side, cleavage pushed up to her chin, the only compensation for how much of a personality she lacks but you don’t dare point that out. Her red painted nails tap her lips as she folds her arms, regarding you with unbidden hostility.
If she only knew how your step brother had cum twice under a minute just by your tongue alone, or how he had uttered your name as your walls milked him dry like a madman in heat, tongue laving all over your sweaty skin, your neck, your breasts, your nipples with so much ardour that one would think he didn’t give a fuck’s worth about the woman he was engaged to.
“Fuck, good girl,” he had grunted, desire consuming his morality, “I wish to get you pregnant, sister. Just let me live this fantasy for the moment.”
And you had acquiesced, opening up your legs to accommodate his fit with a lewd, inviting, moan, clinging to him tighter as your back arched with the pleasure he was giving you, until his warm spunk had filled your gaping, weeping hole.
You weren’t ashamed to admit to anyone that you were going to bed with a man society considered as taboo—he gave you everything you asked for, after all.
Including the fifty million you had deposited in a secret bank account the night after.
You slowly pick the fallen envelope with morbid curiosity—after all, your step brother, the next Lord of your father’s marquisate would not dare cause a scandal that would end him.
You merely raise a polite brow at your step brother as he gestures for you to open it. “Go on, little dove. It’s a present.”
You hide your smirk when his fiancé bristles, pushing her tits to his side which he merely ignores as his eyes were locked on your reaction.
With steady hands, you bring out two silver tickets, the same size as the ones you had gotten from a carnival with your mother a long, long time ago when things were much simpler and you weren’t feeling detached from the world.
Your pretty orbs widen, lashes fluttering under the mid-afternoon sun as dust motes danced along to the invisible notes that this salvation has brought forth, music in your burnt out soul. Your gaze springs up to your brother’s, and a smile graces your pretty pink lips, eyes swimming with a lust-filled promise reflected in his own stare, neck bobbing, and mouth suddenly dry as you mutter a quiet thank you before seeing yourself out, a spring in your step and round pert ass on display in the shortest of dresses –one of the only in an expensive collection he had bought for you one summer ago.
The doors close to his fiance’s nasally tone, “Well, what the hell did you give that brat?”
Out in the hallway, you hum a happy tune, the concert tickets burning in your hands and a long forgotten spark in your soul.
You must remember to reward your brother later.
—
Moonlight shone through the windows, bathing the cold room in flowing, ethereal light.
A stark contrast to the bodies molded as one against the cold, cold, glass, tongues and limbs entangled.
“Y/N,” your step brother grunts as he climaxes for the third time inside your sopping cunt. He pants as his head collapses against the junction of your neck and shoulder, catching his breath.
Somehow, this tryst was more passionate than the last. There was something wrong.
“Is it true that you’re moving permanently to Seoul?” Your hands pause from stroking his beautiful platinum blonde locks, icy blue irises piercing your soul.
Ah, so this was it.
You nod unapologetically. “I am, brother. My job requires my residency there.” Of course that wasn’t the entire truth but you wouldn’t tell him. “I apologize for missing your wedding though.” You add even though you’re not. Not really. You may have loved your brother but you weren’t in love with him like he was perhaps with you.
“When?” You feel his cock twitch inside you.
“…Tomorrow.”
“What—” He sighs, then looks up, a wicked grin playing on his luscious lips—a trait that made most women swoon, but not you. “In that case, I’ll have to make most out of this then, won’t I?” He leans in to whisper, cock hardening once more and you scoff, only to throw your head back as he slams into you with a renewed fervor you haven’t seen.
“Ah! B-brother, please, harder!”
He rasps, “That’s right. Scream your throat out, know that no man on this earth can make you feel the way I fuck you senseless. “
Your back meets his chest as he withdraws out of you and turns you to face the window panes, breasts pressed against the hard surface of the glass. It was a good thing the windows were overlooking the lake so no one could bear witness to the debauchery that only the devil could muster.
His cock penetrates your folds, and your hands fly out to steady yourself, one of your brother’s arms snaking out to coax your lips to his, tongues fighting for dominance, thighs trembling. Your fingers frantically find your little bundle of nerves, desperate for some release and your step brother lets you.
“Cum, little dove.”
You shout his name just as his cock finds your cervix, maximizing both of your needy whines and moans, and you feel him fill you to the brim until his cum leaks down your legs, onto the white rug.
“Fuck! Fuck, oh baby,” he groans in ecstasy, creaming you like there was no tomorrow.
He chuckles as you shake and tremble in his sultry hold, “We’re not done yet, Y/N.”
Your clit hardens. You were fucked.
—
One thing that was a perk to being the only daughter to a rich, aristocrat father, was having a private jet at your own beck and call.
None of your family had bothered to see your departure –except for your step brother (“I am going to dearly miss my cocksleeve,” he had conspiratorially teased you and you had merely rolled your eyes, “You’re getting a wife out of this, you know,” and he shrugs, though he seemed a bit forlorn for some odd reason you could only chalk up to his loss of entertainment) pouting as you stepped onto the ramp and the plane finally flew out of the airport, and as you landed on foreign soil, you couldn’t help the mild shiver from escaping you.
Winters in Seoul were dreary after all.
You didn’t bring much. Only your credit cards, some clothes and the two tickets your brother had gifted you.
The sound of wheels rolling on the rough pavement has you turning to the man in uniform – young, roughly about your age, and with the most intense green irises you have ever seen. His gloved hands pull on your light luggage with the care of someone who had been born into buttling. He was a handsome young man in his own right.
“M’lady, where to?”
His tan skin tone is prominent surrounded by white and you blink, surprised at even thinking anything pretty. Sure, you could appreciate pleasure but never in your life had you felt enamored enough to consider anything remotely interesting—other than your brother and seven other people.
You’ve only ever been Y/N, the perpetually bored daughter of the Marquess.
Your eyes flicker to his chest, and down down down until they land on his crotch. Subconsciously, you lick your lips and your butler freezes, before deflecting your gaze with a gesture of his hands. “I’ll hail us a cab for now.”
You shrug following him, heels clacking on the wet pavement. It was snowing and you were only in a thin dress coat, completely forgetting the change of seasons. “We’ll buy a car once we’re settled.” You state, causing your butler to nod at you with a brief, shocked glance as if he were also forgetting that you came from old money and you intended to fully utilize that money.
Hmm, it seems your little butler can be trained some more.
“What’s your name?” You ask, and he freezes. It was improper in your family to learn the names of servants after all, and for you to willingly ask for it was considered ill-mannered if not downright plebian.
Such wonderful family traditions.
You inwardly scoff at the stupidity of the rules you grew up with but then again, if it weren’t for them, you would be hard pressed to do whatever you pleased.
Like moving halfway across continents to attend a concert and look for the shattered parts of your soul because what else could be the reason for your listlessness, your lack of pleasure for most things other than sex, if your soul was complete.
“N-nox, m’lady.” He stutters out, nervous, as if someone would reprimand his fuck up.
You place a gentle pat on his shoulder and he shrinks from your touch, only to relax when you say, “Alright, Nox. Despite being my butler, you are to treat me differently from now on. You are my employee, not my servant and you may respectfully call me out for my mistakes as I am allowed to do so for yours, am I understood?”
You look to the darkening sky, arms folded. “And I shall take care of you as you care for me. It’s a give and take principle, got it?” You search his eyes and are surprised to find them glowing under the dim light.
As if he wanted nothing more than to devour you.
He smiles, genuine, and strangely affectionate. “Yes, m’lady.”
You nod, satisfied.
—
It is three days before the concert and a month since you uprooted your old, uninteresting life.
Your step brother occasionally calls you but then you hear his wife mewling in the background and you surmise he must be happy to even let that slag of a woman touch him.
Nox has also proven himself to be a loyal butler.
And an even better lover.
Or at least that was the term you would stick to because you weren’t necessarily in a relationship of sorts. Maybe a fuckbuddy? Whatever it is, the man was stupendously fantastic at eating you out.
“Fuck, m’lady,” he rasps underneath you, mouth glistening and you bite your lips, letting out a huff. You twist and pin him down onto the club’s nasty, grimy toilet, uncaring if you were fucking inside an unsanitary place. All you could think about was getting dicked down, too lost in a hazy lust-filled euphoria. But you knew something was missing. You just didn’t know what. “Let me.”
With a swift stroke of his cock, you sink down onto his throbbing, weeping member, the both of you moaning in unison. “Fuck.”
Nox grips your hips and slams into you at a wild pace, teeth biting your hardened buds and you shiver in delight.
You both freeze as footsteps enter the dirty bathroom. Well, at least your stall was farther down so they couldn’t have heard. Nox however teases you with his dick and you glare down at him at the intrusion, clamping a hand on your lips to muffle a squeak because it was just that good. You roughly tug at his hair and he suckles on a breast in retaliation, eyes closing as pre-cum spurts out of his tip.
“Have you fucking seen those hot dudes?” Someone speaks and you surmise she was talking to one of her friends.
“I mean come on, who wouldn’t want to climb them like a tree? And there’s seven of them, but they won’t let anyone come near, it’s frustrating!”
“You’d think they were gay or something.”
Their laughter grates on your nerves and you are only glad when you are once again left alone, the doors closing to drown out the booming jazz from outside.
“Cumming, m’lady!” Nox bursts into your core and you shake, spurned on by his hot release. His tongue chases your own, you spend another good minute kissing until he pulls out, the condom he used thrown into the bin (for some reason, your butler always insists on using a condom with you), and he fixes the both of you, wiping you down with a few wet tissues he carries around.
You laugh as he grazes your most sensitive part. “Keep that up and you’ll get me naked again in no time.”
Your butler could only blush—always so shy and adorable after fucking.
You take his hand and weave through the crowd, unaware of seven jealous gazes following you on your way out.
—
Ecstatic could not even begin to describe how you feel.
It was your first ever BTS concert after all.
Standing at the VIP section, a couple of curious fans were side-eyeing your choice of outfit and lack of an army bomb.
While they were wearing varying fancy attires, you were in a simple one-piece high neck dress and tennis shoes, hair tied up in a purple ribbon. At least your butler had insisted on setting you up with fancy make up and freshly painted nails.
Or maybe they were staring at your handsome butler. After all, he used to work as a runway model until he saw just exactly how much your family paid the staff.
“M’lady, twelve o’clock.” Your attention is diverted to the stage just in time as seven shadows emerge.
All earth bound creatures, piercing you with a gaze so deadly, so all-consuming that you could only gasp, core drenched, weak and wanting.
You would pant like a bitch if you could.
One of them stalks forward — a graceful black panther, bending down to whisper to one of the guards lining the edge of the podium and then points to you.
He lifts his feline gaze, trapping yours.
Your soul catches on fire.
—
A week later…
You collapse against a broad chest as you are thrown into the precipice of a never ending composition, sore from screaming and from the intensity of the love overflowing your soul.
It was as if you hadn’t lived a life not worth living.
It was as if all of your lack of selfcare, your detachment to all earthly things hit you at once with so much force you were going to pass out.
What were you doing before them? You were dead. You were existing but inexistent. Nothing made you truly feel the happiness you were experiencing now.
Not even with the money you had in your hands.
Nothing and no one could have opened your senses to this kind of insanity.
Lips crash against your own, hands groping and caressing from all sides, as nimble fingers strum your clit, the final one of your soul bonds, your twin flame slotting himself between your trembling thighs, cum running down your cunt in waves.
Yoongi smiles at you. Tender adoration in his eyes. “Can you take one more, my little Acedia?”
All of them have somehow taken to calling you Acedia and you can’t help but think the name fit you perfectly—you who had been the epitome of it for so, so long.
You nod, hissing as his thick ridged cock enters you while the rest of his brothers watch with a satisfied sort of demeanor, satisfied for having each taken their turns to fill you with their seeds.
To give you their spawn.
To bathe your insides in their cream.
Water spills over the edge of the of the large tub as your boyfriend rams into you, and you think you’re imagining seeing two horns peek out of his head when he cums.
He licks his lips, devouring your mouth as his veiny hands play with your tits. Jimin who had been holding onto you tightly throughout moans into your ear, cum splattering your back just as you orgasm.
“You okay, baby?” Hoseok pants from above you, his own shaft in his hand, thick ropes of spunk meeting the cold, cold tiles.
You smile sweetly up at him while Yoongi noses your neck, taking the time to compose himself for another round.
Namjoon kneels by you, asking for a kiss and you give it to him delicately, bones feeling like jelly so Jimin keeps his fingers splayed gently on your chin.
You mewl when your leg lands on a shoulder and it isn’t Yoongi but Taehyung who replaces him, kissing your breasts possessively. “You are so beautiful, our love.” He massages an ankle and you release a sigh.
Jungkook takes his place next to Namjoon and pouts at you, sticking his tongue out only for you to smirk and tug at it but then he’s jumping in the tub and you shriek when he snatches you from his hyungs, landing you on your bare feet, only to be caught by Jin and the others, the elder smacking your ass before pecking your lips and tugging you into the bedroom for round two.
—
“What the fuck are you—”
“Darling!”
Horrifying screams pierce the night as seven men stare boredly at the piece of shit laying on his own pool of blood, crotch mutilated into a disgusting mixture of semen and fats, his blonde naked wife cowering on the side.
“That’s what scum like you get for touching what is ours. “
“Yah, Namjoon did you really have to destroy his thing like that?” Yoongi lazily comments, eyeing the old man with a high sort of contempt, satisfaction gleaming, swirling around his dark pupils.
The leader shrugs, “I can’t help it. I amWrath afterall.”
“Yeah, and I’m Lust that’s why I wanted to fuck him so bad, hyung, “ Jimin rolls his eyes, huffing at the ruined state of his brand new Guccis.
Hoseok prods the little faux trinkets displayed on the vanity, careful not to step on any broken vases or blood. He frowns at the cheap jewelry and stands to his full height once more. “So how do we explain to our dear little wife where we’ve been because these blood stains aren’t washing themselves, you know?”
“We don’t. She doesn’t need to know anyway,” Jungkook murmurs, glancing at his phone. “Can we make it back by dinner time? She’s cooking steak and I am not missing that for anything because noona is the best cook!”
Seokjin huffs, “Of course she is. I taught her how to after all.”
Taehyung notices the woman slowly sneaking out and slams a foot to shut the door, alerting all others to her plight. “Oops. “ The blase vocalist drawls, his eyes flickering down to the diamond around her neck and he leans down, fingers lifting the silver chain. “Such a gorgeous necklace that you don’t deserve. You don’t mind if I take it, do you?”
Everyone had heard of the Dirty7s, even distantly. Nobody could put names or faces to the members, but the name was enough to strike fear in the hearts of civilians, criminals, and law enforcement alike. They’re known to be methodical, impenetrable, and most of all, merciless. Nobody wants to cross any of them. Lest of all you - a college student stripping to pay her debts.
What happens when you fall into their web of deceit and lies?
What happens when you find you don’t want to escape, even when you know you should?
Masterlist / i don’t have a tag list / find me on twitter / word count: 3.2k
Pre-heat hits you like a bag of bricks to the forehead.
You weren’t allowed on the club’s premises until your heat had completely passed, so it gives you one day before it starts and two days on the tail-end for scent regulation. According to legal regulations for both predators and prey working nightlife and entertainment. Even patrons existing on either side of the speciation spectrum had to abide by these rules as evidence of rut and heat was too obvious to hide.
Some used scent-blockers to try and wiggle around the rules but it never ended up well for anyone involved. Gang rapes, pheromone-induced premature rut or heat, neurotoxin-sickness brought on by rapid-exposure to uncontrolled semiochemicals. All of it, well-documented and heavily-regulated by employers and social-workers alike.
By purposefully triggering another person’s heat or rut, you could end up being imprisoned for up to two years or fined an exorbitant amount of money that would make you regret even bothering.
Technically, working at the library wasn’t dangerous despite your heat coming in tomorrow, so you tried to go in for a couple of hours to help re-arrange the new kid’s fiction section that you had created for the pre-schoolers that came in every other day for an hour in the mornings, but your cramps got so bad that your manager sent you some with some herbal tea and a gentle pat on the back.
Your manager, Areum, was a Beta owl-hybrid, with wide eyes and thick glasses that make her look far more innocent than she actually was. Her partner and wife, Mina, was an Omega owl-hybrid that liked to make sweet treats in her spare time. You had a number of her Tupperware containers in your cupboards that you were due to give back a long while ago.
You take the subway because you can’t afford another cab this month and it takes you about an hour before you can breach the safety of your own home, smelling your comfort scents.
A guy on the train makes a rude gesture at you, two fingers spread and his tongue working between the digits, and it makes you recoil in disgust. He doesn’t seem to like the fact that you aren’t into it, and he flips you off before he gets off at his station.
The whole ordeal makes you feel even more weary.
Blearily, you grab your blanket from the couch and undress yourself on the way to your bed, tripping a little over your pant leg and tossing your dirty clothes somewhere off to the side. Your sensitive nose can’t stand the scent of outsideon your clothes. It almost makes you want to burn them but you know how delusional that sounds.
You bang your hip on the bedside table and you curse, side throbbing and your head banging along with it.
Disorientated, you rifle through your drawers until you lay your hands on medicine for the headache and wrap yourself up in the sheets without a second’s thought.
It takes you a little while to drift off, the effects of the medication ebbing at the aches in your body slowly - it feels slower than usual - and seconds before you actually dissolve into the welcoming blanket of black that bleeds into your vision, you hear your phone ping from somewhere in your pile of clothes.
When you open your eyes, your room is pitch dark. The curtains are drawn open, but the only passing light you can see are the lights from the buildings across the way. You are too high up to be bothered by street lights, but you can hear the distant car driving across the highway your building was built near.
The reason you woke up wasn’t due to the arbitrary sounds of life outside of your window.
No, what woke you from your near-dead slumber was the incessant sound of your phone ringing that had bled into your dreams. In your dream-turned-nightmare, the talking beetle that had been your companion for your mythical journey spontaneously turned into a gigantic, human-eating cellphone and chased you down the street until you jolted out of bed, sweating.
Blinking away your bleariness, you roll out of bed and move to your feet, but, much to your shock, your legs turn to jelly. You have to drag yourself across the room to rifle through the pile of clothes, grimacing every time another smell hit your nose. Asphalt, grit, smog, cigarette smoke, human smell, other hybrids - it was all foul enough to make you feel distressed.
You grab the phone and push it to your ears. “Hello?”
“YN, are you okay?”
You pause for a moment, confusion taking over your features. “Jimin?”
He enquires, somewhat impatient, “Are you okay?”
You push your fingers into your eyes when a sudden burst of light makes your headache feel nauseous. “No, I feel shitty.”
“Why?”
You grumble, “Heat.”
A beat.
Then,“You’re in heat now?”
He sounds testy.
You clarify, “Not exactly.”
He grills, “Are you… Are you alone?”
Your frown deepens as you query, “Why?”
Jimin commands, amusement leaking into his tone, “Just answer the question, Pretty.”
You grumble, “Only Jungkook calls me that.”
He retorts, silkily, “Exactly why I’m doing the same.”
You decide to drop it. It didn’t matter what he called you, not right now. The blistering headache that had felt like it was burning through your body mere moments ago seems to be lessening gradually the longer you talk with the man. “I’m alone.”
Jimin replies, “Good. Keep it that way.”
“Why?”
He replies, simply, “You don’t need anybody. Not anymore.”
He’s lucky that pre-heat only gave you headaches and body shivers. You didn’t get horny until day two or three of your heat, especially considering you were without a heat-partner. But, something about his tone was testing that theory.
“I’ll bring whoever I want into my bed,” you respond, pressing the button for loud speaker. Your stomach pangs in hunger and now that your headache isn’t as over-bearing, you finally feel it. You move to your feet, kicking past the clothes you dropped on the way, and into your small kitchen. “That’s got nothing to do with you. Boss.”
You tack the end word on purpose, to remind him of his position in your life. “We might have shared a fun night of conversation, Jimin, but don’t get that confused with anything else.”
He lets out a gruff sounds, annoyed but not angry, before he answers, “And Jungkook? What about him? You think he’ll be happy with you spending your heat under somebody else?”
You barely hold back a sardonic laugh. “You were the one to remind me of my place in Jungkook’s life. Or did you suddenly forget that?”
He goes quiet on the phone, so silent that you have to look at the screen to check if he’s still on the line, before he grits out, “I’m sorry. For saying that.”
“No, you aren’t,” you return, cracking another egg into the bowl. A stuffed omelette sounds like just the right. Your heat was making your mouth loose, ignoring the risk to your job in that moment to get the truth off your chest. You continue, “Alphas like you never are. You just say whatever, do whatever and everyone else just listens. You’re never sorry because you don’t feel like you have to be.”
“I could be a different kind of Alpha,” he bargains, always the charmer. “You don’t know that.”
“Our first encounter says otherwise,” you answer. “Jungkook’s impression was much better.”
“He’s not as nice as you think,” Jimin grumbles like an admonished kid. “You wouldn’t like him more than you like me if you knew.”
“He’s already told me how bad of a guy he is,” you respond. “It’s kind of like a broken record at this point.”
He asks, noting your distracted tone of voice, “Are you doing something?”
You respond, shoveling the cooked mushrooms into the one half of the still-cooking omelette, “Cooking.”
Jimin remarks, “It’s eleven at night.”
You respond, absently, “I’ve been asleep all day.”
He asks, attentively, “Where does it hurt?”
You respond, honestly. You rummage through the refrigerator for some hot sauce to go over the top, “Headache, mostly. I feel better now though.”
Jimin prompts, “Since you slept?”
You shake your head, even though he can’t see you, and you return, honestly, “Since we started talking.”
He acknowledges, and you hear the pride in his voice so clearly, as if he were standing right next to you, “I’ve heard that just by hearing an Alpha’s voice, sometimes the effects of heat can relax.”
You riposte, almost amusedly, “Oh really?”
He hums. “How about we try something next time?”
You suggest, annoyance leaking into your tone, “A sex thing?”
Jimin laughs, the sound bright and buoyant, before he teases, “Your mind’s in the gutter.”
Unable to help yourself, you palliate, defensively, “I am in heat.”
Jimin tuts gently before he says, “I just meant we spend a little time together. See if we’re compatible.”
You respond, with an eye roll, “So this is about sex?”
He takes a moment to mull over your words before he clarifies, “That’s something we could work out later.”
You bite on your bottom lip, the suggestion of mind-numbing, deeply-satisfying sex making a coil of tension grow in your lower stomach.
You shove another mouthful of omelet into your mouth to stop yourself from letting out the breathy whine that threatens to escape your throat, and you grumble, “Talking about this with me is a little improper right now. I’m not in the right headspace to make these kinds of decisions.”
Jimin says, simply, “That’s why we’ll talk about it later.”
You clear your throat and reply,“Look, I’m eating and talking to you is making me jumpy.”
He counters, easily, and you can just imagine him, sprawling out on the couch, spreading his legs apart to just occupy space, “Okay. If Jungkook or I call you over the next couple of days, can I ask you to just pick up?”
“Why?”
“Not being able to see you is hard for him,” Jimin explains. He pauses for a moment before he carries on, “He’s scheduled for a couple fights over the next week or so and he gets into these funny head-spaces where he can’t talk in full sentences or empathize with anyone about anything. So, I told him I’d check on you.”
“Jungkook doesn’t care about me,” you grumble around a mouthful of cheese, egg and mushrooms. “He’s got a hard-on for me. There’s a difference.”
He makes a surprised sound in the back of his throat and he mutters, “If only you knew how wrong you were about that, Pretty.”
Something in his voice almost sounded regretful, but you ignore it, chalking it up to your heat making you crave things that you need to lock up tight in your heart.
“I have to go,” you say, suddenly.
He demands, hurt, “What? Why?”
“I’m tired again,” you respond, quietly, looking down at the half-full plate of steaming food, and the lack of appetite that washes over you frustrates you deeply. “I just want to sleep.”
“O-Okay, Pretty. I’ll call you tomorrow,” he promises. “Pick up when I do… Please.”
Quickly, you end the call and toss the phone into the sofa. You toss the food into the refrigerator, knowing your body well enough to know that the urge to eat has disappeared for at least another three hours and in that time you know you can catch a bit of sleep before your body was thrown into over-drive.
Jimin’s POV
Letting YN put the phone down was harder than he thought it would be. His instincts were growling at him to go and see you in person - just to make sure you were okay with his own two eyes. He’s almost confused as to why he cares so much, considering he isn’t the one who wants to claim you.
Or, at least, he doesn’t think he does.
Not like Jungkook does.
Jungkook’s been on your ass like white on rice since the day you ran into his chest at the club, all teary-eyed with a rabbiting heartbeat. The wolf excitedly came home to tell the rest of the boys about this pretty little gazelle that he couldn’t keep his eyes or hands off of, and that made him curious.
The others too.
Namjoon even had someone follow her at one point without Jungkook’s permission to make sure she wasn’t on the take or working with the cops. When he showed her picture to the rest of us, Hoseok almost jumped out of his skin with how fast he snatched it out of Joonie’s hand, eagerly explaining about how he knew about her.
The whole story about her friend working the blade and getting caught selling ass to a cop, then getting feisty with him and get popped in the mouth a couple times. YN came into a den of predators, an alpha-beta medley of pheromones that would have any prey skittish and crawling out of their skin, nervous but determined, and helped her friend home.
Hoseok found her unbearably cute, and brave, and he couldn’t stop himself from following her home. Hobi was a great tracker, his nose was better than any cop in his graduating class, and he found your apartment easily. He couldn’t enter, of course, with it being a prey-only complex.
But, he did sporadically park his car in the lot outside of your place or follow you home once he figured out you were working at the library, and then later at the strip club. He didn’t like it, thinking that it wasn’t a good place for you, thinking that it was dangerous, but he knows that it was only because he couldn’t go inside. He couldn’t risk you remembering his face, not when he hadn’t figured out how he wanted to approach you.
Hoseok surveilled voluntarily, never telling any of us about his pet project, but he did enjoy recounting all the times he got to see you in your element, much to Jungkook’s displeasure.
Hobi spent a whole lot of time gloating about how pretty you were, how kind you were even when eyes weren’t on you, how special you were, how brave you were, how sweet you smelled even on rainy days.
It was enough to bolster Jimin’s interest in you.
Jungkook was picky about things like this. It was his first time actually having someone catch his eye like this, so he wouldn’t let anyone come near you. Every time Jimin even mentioned coming into the club for a peek, Jungkook would start his posturing, tail swishing and a growl growing in his chest until Jimin eventually reneged.
Jungkook was technically higher up on their pack’s hierarchy than he was, although they never needed to enforce their dynamics at home. The only time they ever had to was during negotiations with other gangs to prove that there was a clear line of deference that ended with Namjoon, their leader.
Even though their home life wasn’t the same way, they needed to have the respect of the usually-traditional syndicates that they dealt with, otherwise they would be considered weak and would attract problems from other sadistic Alpha packs who thrived on violence and domination.
To do so, they had to show other people in their line of work that they had an unshakeable foundation built on deference and inflexible respect.
Although, they had mouth-pieces to work in their stead so they didn’t have to risk having their names and faces circulating. Men and women who, using their connections and endless streams of income, they had hoisted out of the dumpster and turned back into working, living human beings.
Men and women who they didn’t have to ask twice to do anything.
Men and women who owed them their lives, the very breath in their lungs.
Men and women who would die for them if they asked, falling on their sword without a moment’s hesitation.
As far as they knew, no law enforcement had their faces or real names, but a few members had a more public role.
Jimin, as the silent owner of a series of discotheques and strip clubs.
Jungkook, who was an under-ground fighter and wan involved with a couple of the big players pushing drugs out of his and some other gyms in the state. He didn’t just push drugs out of the gyms, obviously, but that was where he liked to prowl around the most.
Even Namjoon, whose official job was that of an international trader of foreign and exotic hybrids, meaning that he had to work closely with customs and even sometimes cops.
They knew our faces but have no idea just how deep the rabbit-hole goes. Never would they actually guess that the seven ‘menial players’ werethe cruel and vengeful organization that left fear in the hearts of criminals and cops alike across the country.
Yoongi, Hoseok, Taehyung and Jin all made the rest of their substantial income and their illicit connections being knee-deep in the illegal.
So, when Jungkook ended up falling into a rut after taking one too many sniffs of your underwear in bed, Jimin took that opportunity to go around his order.
The tabby-cat walked into the strip club, smelling the sex and sin in the air, and immediately spotted you on the top of the pole, dressed in ostentatiously bright zebra-print with a charming, seductive smile on your face that was equal parts siren as it was endearing. He could see it - the pretty in you, the softness in you, the sexy in you.
Jimin was techincally the boss’ boss’ boss so while Rocky knew him by name, the others staff didn’t.
Just the way he liked it.
He got his favorite drink sent up to their private VVIP lounge (somewhere that only he and the other six could even access) and spent the next hour silently lusting after you. He watched you, observed your behavior so closely that it was concerning, and he sent photos of you in all kinds of positions to Jungkook for spank-bank material.
Jimin felt the cravings before he started to notice the changes in his body. Alcohol stopped doing it for him a long time ago, which is when his habit started. He could control himself, most of the time, but when he got antsy and needed to ground himself in Joonie’s scent (and Namjoon had been out of the fucking country for half a month scouting for omega predators on behalf of some perverted oil tycoon in Dubai so he was already pissed off and uncomfortable), sometimes he had to rely on other means of calming himself down.
Jimin couldn’t help it. When he saw you walk in in the reflection of the glass, he let out some of that frustration on you - innocent and adorable you - and had you on your knees in seconds. He didn’t really expect you to be able to withstand how strong his compulsion was, but he was surprised by how queasy you looked.
It made him feel guilty.
Which is an emotion he wasn’t accustomed to feeling, not even towards omegas. He liked them, any alpha would, but he didn’t feel sorryfor the things he did to them, especially if it wasn’t his fault.
None of them felt feelings of guilt or regret. It had been long beaten out of them at the group home, or after many years of working knee-deep in murder, drugs and solicitation.
That should’ve been the first indication that you weren’t going to be a normal omega to him.
Jungkook was used to getting what he wanted. He was handsome, disgustingly so, and he knew how to flirt his way in (and out of) danger. He lived for and with his brothers. He didn’t know anything but his found family. Still, happening upon you was one of the best decisions he ever made.
Now… How to make you realize that your life was missing him as much as his had been missing you.
(angst/yandere/smut / gore / fluff)
Masterlist / i don’t have a tag list / find me on twitter / word count: 4.6k
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!
