Strangers (Chapter One)

The Return of an Empress Masterlist

Title: The Return of an Empress

Status: Completed

Pairing: OT7 x Reader

Genre: Isekai, Angst, Romance, Fluff, Smut 

Characters: Empress!Reader, Advisor!Jin, Advisor!Yoongi, General!Hoseok, Advisor!Namjoon, Assassin!Jimin, Knight!Taehyung, Knight!Jungkook

Summary: After one fateful night, you find yourself transmigrated into your favorite novel as the Empress that shares the same name as you. As a bookworm, most would think you’d be happy, but how could you be happy when the Empress you’ve become is expected to be killed in three months. The only thing on your mind now is to learn how to survive.

Warning: May contain depictions of violence and mentions of abuse throughout the story.

Total Word Count:  280,808

Smut - | ☼ |  Fluff - | ♡ |  Angst - | ☆ |

Keep reading

Happy(early) Birthday, Malleus!

heavily based on chainsaw man 

A little preview of my Gwi nam's fic

Maybe it will be posted on this weekend.

___________________

"There you are." Gwi nam looked so scary and you knew at that exact moment how fucked up you were. He was no longer just a human, but a monster too. "It was pretty cool playing hide and seek, but that's enough now, don't you think?"

"Fuck you, I'll kill you if you come near me!" you raised the pocketknife in your hand threateningly, although you were trembling a little. Gui Nam's lips curved slightly in a mischievous smile.

"Silly girl, you can't kill me," his voice contained an explicit malicious tone, full of promises of the things he could and would do to you from now on. "Behave yourself and I won't hurt you. Otherwise, it will be much worse."

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾ YOU HAVE RECEIVED A LETTER, LET’S SEE WHAT’S INSIDE! ☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙

salutations: INFERNO (villain!darling in sagau)

content: spoilers of mondstadt - inazuma archon quest, violence, angst/no-comfort, reader is def becoming a villain here, ooc!genshin characters, yandere genshin cult au

note: this is inspired by @nicebonescomrade who is one of my fav genshin writers so far (im obsessed with the disney princess trope with this au) <<3

part one (you’re here!) | part two

…

how did it end this way?

“how dare you impersonate our divine one!” huffman yelled, pointing his sword at you as you stared at him with a terrified look on your face. throughout the months of playing this game, you couldn’t recall seeing the familiar npc being as angry as he is now.

what did you do?

you look around your surroundings, panicking at the sight of most of the npcs in the city of freedom surrounding you with an intent of something despicable. what did you do to make them, the people who you thought were friendly, look at you as if you’ve done a crime?

“i don’t understand..” you spoke up, slowly backing away as they come closer and closer. “what did i do wrong?”

“don’t you dare act innocent!” donna yelled out. “you are aware of what you have done, you leech! what were you thinking when you decided to step foot here and act as if you’re our creator?!”

you continued to look around again, hoping to see a familiar face that isn’t among the hateful crowd.

your eyes then lands on venti.

oh thank the heavens.

without another thought, you immediately tried to run pass the crowd, surprising everyone in the process as your hand reaches out towards the bard, who seems to start noticing your figure running towards him with an angry mob behind you.

“venti!” you cried out, hiding yourself behind him (despite his small stature). “please help me, i don’t know why they’re after me, i didn’t do an—”

“get your filthy hands off me!”

you let out a surprised gasp when venti pushes you off, causing you to stumble backwards and fall on the floor.

he glares down at you as everyone else makes fun at your pathetic state. “you dare think i’d fall for your tricks?” what tricks? what is he talking about?

“please.. i didn’t do.. i didn’t do anything wrong.” you said, trying to stand up from the cold ground — only for venti to push you down again.

“who knew there would be a person who has the audacity to come here and mock our creator, pretending they’ve done nothing wrong with their life.” he said with a venomous tone, paying no mind to how you shivered from the sudden harsh winds.

“leave us alone before i give in to temptation and give you something worse than death.”

…

just what creator are they talking about? are they talking about celestia?

tears started forming in your eyes as people started throwing things at you — both big and small, trying to mute out those who have been saying foul words towards you.

of course liyue wouldn’t be different. what were you thinking?

you whimpered in pain when you felt what seemed to be a hot bowl of soup on the left side of your body, it will surely leave a couple of burns on your skin underneath.

“get out of here, you disrespectful idiot!” chef mao, the person who threw the bowl of soup, yelled out.

you just want to end this pain.

as you head towards the pathway of feiyun slope where the other exit of the harbor is, your eyes wanders around the area until you spotted another familiar face.

“zh-zhongli?” you called out softly with your eyes brightened, feeling your shoulders beginning to relax from the sight of the consultant that you grew to love back in your world — who turns around to see you.

perhaps… perhaps he could hel—

your breath hitched when he summons his polearm.

“you wench,” he spat out, causing your eyes to widen from his foul language. “you dare to try and fool us with your insolent disguise as our creator?”

“i-i didn’t do anything, i swear!” you cried out, alarmed from people suddenly coming out to the streets to see the commotion. “i don’t know who you’re talking about, i-i’m just a normal—”

you yelped when someone pushed you to the ground, causing your heart to beat faster in fear. what have you done to deserve this? when will you wake up from a seemingly ever-lasting nightmare?!

“pick an archon and start praying,” zhongli says, pointing the tip of his polearm at your neck as you cried.

“because what i’m going to do next will surely make you regret disrespecting our divine creator like this.”

…

who knew this world could be so cruel than your real one?

“you…” you shakily stood still as the raiden shogun slowly walk towards you with her blade in hand, you wanted nothing more than to put up your hood again and hide your face from the world, the cruel and cold world.

after getting a harsh beating from everyone in liyue, you managed to get a trip to inazuma, who started opening its doors with welcoming arms after the infamous traveler (who you still have not encountered for reasons unknown) helped their electro archon.

unlike your visits to mondstadt and liyue, you then decided to hide your face with a hoodie that you manage to steal from the boat you were riding in, hoping that you won’t have to go through the same thing as you did with the first nations.

much to your relief, no one seemed to notice your face, giving you another hope that maybe.. this was the right place for you to stay until you wake up from this dream.

you even made friends with the characters, who seemed to like you so well and never questioned the fact that you’re covering your face.

things were going well with your life in inazuma.. so how did they find out?

“you are a disgrace to teyvat for impersonating our divine creator,” she explains, not failing to notice the sight of your quivering form on the floor. “i’ll make sure this won’t slide easily.”

you look amongst the audience nearby to find who you thought were your dear friends watching you. surely they’d save you from the raiden shogun’s wrath right? didn’t they say they’re willing to help you?

when you finally spotted thoma, ayaka, yoimiya, and other people that you got along with, your heart drops at the sight of them looking away from your hopeful gaze.

they’re just like everyone else.

you felt yourself slumped, staring down at the cold ground as every hope within your eyes vanishes slowly, paying no mind to the electro archon coming closer and closer to where you are.

what is the point of living, if you have no chance to live peacefully here at all?

you thought this was a chance for you to start anew and tried things you had never experienced in your real world, only to find out in a hardest way possible that there’s no hope for you here, whereas everyone considers you as an enemy to them for simply looking like their so-called creator.

“any last words?” the archon asks, slowly raising her sword as you close your eyes in relief.

if this is the way to come back to your real home, then perhaps death isn’t too bad.

suddenly though, a lightning suddenly blasted between you and raiden — who immediately backs away in surprise.

you opened your eyes as people started screaming, confused as to what’s happening.

you then realized a large shadow looming over you and the electro archon, who seems to be distracted from the culprit who interrupted your supposedly execution ceremony.

you slowly look up and saw the familiar form of a thunder manifestation.

“your grace!”

…

after being saved by the infamous thunderbird of inazuma, you had officially decided that enough is enough.

you were beyond outrageous for the things everyone has done to you. you simply snapped the moment your so-called inazuma friends turned their backs on you when you needed them the most.

you wish to see the very thing you created burn.

even though your life has been given another chance to live, your hope has been long gone. what’s the point of hoping when you’ll end up being trampled on by people who thought they knew their creator so well?

you could never forget the disgusted looks on the archons faces as you cried and begged for their help from those who had hurt you in worst ways imaginable, only for them to join in and make you feel nothing more but pain and suffering.

there’s nothing more you desire than to see everyone regret their actions.

“your grace,” you turn around to see one of your precious thunder manifestations, the one who had saved you from the wrath of the raiden shogun. “the abyss has completed the sigils needed for the overlord of the vortex, we’re all waiting for your permission to use them.”

you smile sinisterly, feeling sadistic for being excited of what’s about to happen to the precious city of contracts. once liyue harbor has been flooded to cease it’s existence, you can move on to the next two nations that brought you hell and give them the punishment they deserved.

“release osial.”

The Taste of Deceit: Hyungline Part 2 (Finale- Hoseok)

Masterlist

Taste of Deceit Masterlist

Hyungline- Part 1, Part 2(Jin and Yoongi, Namjoon)

Warnings- Gore, Violence, Grey Characters, Dead Dove Do Not Eat

Word Count: No idea.

Tumblr was having problems uploading the whole 37k post. So, here it is, divided.

Unedited. Kindly excuse my errors. if you find anything significantly wrong, please let me know.

“What do you do?”

The question had been bouncing in her mind for a while. Jung Hoseok was perhaps the sweetest, kindest man she had ever met. She had some professions in mind already.

A vet?

Animal behaviourist?

A pet shop owner?

A chocolatier?

A florist?

He was no layman, so whatever he was doing, he ought to be the best of the best. But he was graceful, humble and funny– the definition of a bright, beaming spring day!

Hoseok smiled at her before sipping his wine. He insisted that he needed someone to accompany him to the newly inaugurated restaurant and pub so that he could taste and check on everything.

Had he been the sole owner of it, Hoseok would have no problem managing things. However, since he had a business partner here, he had no other option but to wait for post-inauguration improvements. But he wanted an objective opinion on the place– the food, the ambience, the drinks and according to him, her name was the first one that popped into his mind.

“Any guesses?”

He was playful like that.

She had not planned or even expected a new addition to her friend circle, but Jung Hoseok somehow found her. Ever since that evening, when he swooped in and pulled her out of the odd situation with ease, they had exchanged numbers. He was charming, to simplify it.

“You…” She trailed off, thinking of an appropriate guess, but ended up with anything random that came up in her mind “You are a chocolatier!”

She knew it was an incorrect guess, even before Hoseok burst out laughing, she knew that she was wrong. The amused glint in his eyes said it all. He laughed with his whole form– head thrown back, body quivering, hand running through his hair. The terrace allowed them to bask in the pleasant sunlight, and the rays seemed to make him gleam and dance with him as he moved.

“No, I’m not. Not yet at least.” His laughter sobered up to a smile “But I can be, for you.”

Such words would not have made her blush– they were cliché. But if Jung Hoseok would look at someone like they were the only person in the whole world and finish it off with a wink, nobody stood a chance– she was just a simple girl.

Letting out a playful scoff, she began to cut through her steak.

“Let me, please.”

Within a moment, Hoseok was leaning in, her cutlery now in his grasp as he expertly cut the meat into perfect pieces.

“Thank you.” (Y/N) would be lying if she said that she was not caught off guard at his speed and precision, he was already cutting the steak even before she could respond.

“A hotelier.”

“Huh?”

Hoseok smiled at her before glancing at his plate and putting a piece of steak in his mouth.

“I own chains of hotels, even clubs, some of them are co-owned but most of them, they are all my own.”

(Y/N) stopped chewing. She had friends who could be considered ‘elites’ but Jung Hoseok seemed completely out of her league. 

No, she was not looking for a partner in him, he was a fun person to hang around– a friend who made her blush. If that made sense?

She liked his company, she liked his friendship, but obviously, she did not know much about him. But the new discovery only made her realise that they were worlds apart.

If he noticed the shift in her demeanour, he did not comment on it, instead, he breezed through his talks and actions. 

“Rate the place, (Y/N), and be honest, because it is an expensive investment I have made.” He asked once they were finished with the food, now waiting for some more wine.

She smiled with warmed cheeks, blaming the wine, but under his scrutiny, it was hard to not melt  “The staff behaviour is pleasant.”

“Of course, they will be on their toes, I am the co-owner of this place, the food. What do you think?” He breezed past her reply, pushing for more

“I loved the steak, it was tender and delicious.” 

Hoseok smiled, but his eyes remained the same “You are stiff (Y/N), anything bothering you?”

She felt her cheeks heating further, this time with her ears and neck.

“No, everything is fine!”

He hummed before refilling her glass “That was an awfully fast denial, but I would buy it, for now.” He finished with a wink “Relax,”

On second thought, she knew that his status did not affect the person that he was, she still enjoyed his company and he was clearly a kind and humble man, at least, she could try to shove her doubts at the back of her mind for the moment.

“Well, Hoseok, I believe that if this place is charging a little more than a Michelin star place, they ought to provide something more. At least until this place earns a name in the market.”

Hoseok nodded “And that’s why you are now my professional restaurant reviewer. You are right, I was considering the same, you see.”

“Unfortunately, good Sir, I would have to decline, I already have a job.”

And amused chuckles filled the air.

It was an idyllic place. Stretch of mountains and cliffs in view and a clear beach at arm’s length. The resort, as it had turned out, was owned by Hoseok himself. 

In retrospect, (Y/N) wondered what would have happened had she kept her distance from Hoseok. Declined his friendship, kept him at an arm’s length— never bumped into him at all?

Her life would be different. Totally different. With a wistful glance at the mountain peaks, (Y/N) turned to arrange their luggage. The tiny phone peaking out from the folded clothes reminded her of her harsh reality.

 She was thankful that Hoseok was in the shower. Quickly sending their location through the phone, she tucked it safely in one of the many eyewear cases she had brought on the trip. 

Keeping the box away, she resumed unpacking, when the shrill ring of the doorbell pierced through the momentary relief. (Y/N) jumped but regained her composure. Fanning herself, she licked her lips and walked towards the door.

She was only a few feet away from the door when she stumbled, before registering the firm grip around her waist and the breathing wall she was pulled against— no it was not a wall, it was her husband behind her.

“How many times have I told you not to answer the door in my absence?” 

She looked up, to find his hardened gaze through his dripping strands. He was still in his bathing robe.

“You were in the bathroom so—”

“There are a few rules you must abide, Honey.” Despite the pet name, there was no tenderness in his tone.

“I’m sorry Hoseok.” She looked down. 

The doorbell rang in the background again, but her thoughts muffled away her environment. She did not even hear him coming. What if he found out what sat in her luggage?

“Go back to the bedroom.” 

She did not need to be told twice.

Life had been hectic, to say the least. Added to it were her bedroom’s air conditioner breaking down, the fridge making noises and her boss highlighting her underperformance for the month. In short, it was not a great month for her. 

With the oncoming of October, the city had burst with tourists and trees, with bright foliage. The weather, at least, was pleasant. Her phone came alive with multiple notifications but she had no time to look, one minute late and she would miss the bus.

She could use her car, but it needed regular maintenance and what she needed was—

She had not paid attention to the speeding car, and she would not have, had it not been for a slick four-wheeler stopping right beside her with an ear-piercing screech. She was startled, to put it lightly.

The all-too-familiar black car made her frown, but her suspicions were only confirmed after Hoseok emerged from it, eyes shaded with sunglasses, hair perfectly done, complementing his white shirt and black trousers. He was a treat for the eyes.

“There you are,” 

She subconsciously stepped back as he approached, more like marched towards her– even with the smile he had, his voice had an unfamiliar edge.

But she smiled anyway.

“Hi…” Whatever greeting she had thought of faded away when he took off his sunglasses.

“You have not been answering my texts, is everything alright?”

“Yes, yes, I mean just—It has been a crazy month so far and–I’m sorry I have not even been able to reply to my best friend and parents.”

She felt the rush of guilt replacing the initial nerves.

“Oh, honey, you don’t need to be sorry, I was just so worried. Let me drop you off to my workplace at least.”

She was shaking her head even before he finished the sentence, but Jung Hoseok seemed to be determined, 

“There is no room for a no, it's a rush in the public transports anyway, at least grant yourself some relief, come on.” He took away her laptop bag and began to walk back into the car, leaving her with no option but to follow him into his car.

Muffled voices, one of which she recognised as that of her husband, seeped into the bedroom as she waited with wringing fingers for Hoseok to return. She had clearly upset him, and that was the last thing she wanted at the moment.

Hoseok entered the bedroom after a few prolonged, painful minutes. She noticed the stark difference in his expression and the air surrounding him first before taking notice of the breakfast trolley that he was pushing into the room with him.

“Look, all your favourites! Now, that is how a vacation should look like, don’t you think?”

She blinked in silence– he never failed to give her a whiplash.

Hoseok’s smile dimmed at the silence “Oh, I’m so sorry, Jagiya. You know how worried I get about your safety. I can never guess when my enemies attack. If they get to know about you…You understand my point, don’t you?”

He was already on his knees, emphasising each word like he was explaining to a child, cupping her cheeks to hold her attention. She nodded, despite not believing a word that came out of his mouth.

“Let’s get you to eat something, hmm?”

“Yes, here’s my office.”

“This one?” Hoseok ducked his head to assess the looming building in front of them, 

“Yes. I work here.”  Picking up her bag, (Y/N) turned to thank him, but his firm hold on her bag kept her from moving out.

“Let me drop you.”

“Huh? I mean, my office is just—”

“I insist. Come on, we are getting late.” Her bag slipped from her grip once again as Hoseok stepped out of the car, quickly sprinting around the front to make sure he opened the door for her.

“T-Thanks.”

“Let's go. Why don’t you show me your office today?” He smiled—the same charming smile that made a ‘No’ impossible to pronounce.

“Would you like to take a nap before we go? It's a hot morning., and you barely slept through the flight.”

“It would be far worse in the afternoon.” (Y/N) picked out a one-piece for the beach.

He hummed absent-mindedly as he strolled towards her. The soft material was perfect for a beach vacation. His fingers ran through her slightly tangled hair.

 “Let me do your hair.”

“I intend to leave it be.” She tried to step away, but he did not let go of her hair..

“I insist.” He asserted as he led her towards the dressing table.

His hand was gentle as he untangled the tresses before beginning to comb them properly. “You have been distant, love.” She stilled, suddenly feeling parched.

“W-what?”

Hoseok only chuckled at that. “I guess I tend to think too much.” 

He sprayed some water and hair serum on her hair, but his gaze remained locked with hers.

 “Are you upset that I left for so long? I know it must have been suffocating to not be able to step out of the mansion. But it is the safest option (Y/N), trust me. One day, you will understand, and there will be no emotional distance between us.”

Suppressing a scoff, she forced out a small smile and nodded as he put on a hairpin matching the colour of her dress.

“Here you go. You want a lip tint?”

Hoseok had a bounce in his strides as he walked into the office as if he owned it. (Y/N) immediately knew how stupid and ignorant she had been when people began to murmur, and some even stood up in his presence.

She was probably the only idiot in the room who had not even made a close guess regarding his affluence. She thought that she needed to guide him, but he was perfectly fine, manoeuvring all over the place on his own.

“Which floor?” He finally turned to her

 “Second.” 

“And your boss’s floor?” 

"The top. Why?”

Hoseok only smiled and shrugged. “Nothing, just curious.”

“Hi, have you completed the report for last week?” One of her colleagues approached her once she was settled at her desk, shortly after Hoseok left.

“Uh, about the ongoing project? I completed and submitted it yesterday. You did not receive an email?" Being on the same team meant that they shared one network. “I even messaged the team.”

“Oh, right. Sorry, I forgot.” With a small smile, she turned around to leave but paused, only to turn back again “Also, I wanted to ask about the changes I was supposed to make to my report?”

(Y/N) smiled with uncertainty. "That will be handled by the project head, I guess?”

The woman nodded. “Right, my bad, so I should get going.” With that, she turned around to leave.

"Wait! Um, I might be overthinking, but is there something you want to tell me or ask me?”

The woman was no more than her colleague; they did not share friendship with anyone outside the office. They were polite with each other and knew how to work together, and that was it. So random chit-chats were not common in their case.

“Um…I don’t mean to intrude, but... Who was the man who came with you? Who just left?”

(Y/N) smiled, confused. “You mean Hoseok?”

“Yeah, Jung Hoseok.” 

It was not in her interest, but looking at her colleague, (Y/N) had more questions springing up in her mind.

“You know him?” 

At her question, the woman blinked, and her eyes widened for a flash before she made a scrambling attempt to mask it with something more subtle. (Y/N) frowned, growing intensely curious.

“You don’t know who Jung Hoseok is?”

"Yeah, he is a hotelier; there are a few articles here and there.” 

The woman bit her lip at her answer, and her ears turned a bright shade of pink as she nodded. (Y/N) thought that she heard her sigh, “Y-yeah, right. I will see you at lunch; I have a lot to do.”

Something was wrong. It felt so wrong that (Y/N) refused to sit in suspicion for another extra moment.

“Ms. Lee,” she called out, walking to her. “Ms. Lee, if there is something that I am missing, then please tell me. Is...Is something wrong?”

“No, nothing is amiss, Ms. (L/N).” She shook her head. “I will not keep you from your work anymore; the project head has sent us deadlines already. Have a good day.” 

With that, the woman rushed off, leaving her with itching questions.

“You don’t like the food?”

“Huh?” (Y/N) tore her gaze away from the tranquil ocean visible from the restaurants they were currently sitting in; they chose the side with an unrestricted view of the sea.

Hoseok’s gaze, however, had been on her, as always “You haven’t taken a single bite since it was served.”

“I was waiting for it to cool down.”

“Its a cold dish, Jagi.” He pointed out, his eyes narrowing as he assessed her.

“Oh, right. Sorry.” (Y/N) gulped down some wine before diving in to eat.

It had been a day of sightseeing, and as the sun began to dip behind the golden sea, they both decided to have an early dinner before returning to the resort.

“We can order something else if you want." Hoseok offered, but she shook her head, digging into her plate.

“I like these.”

He smiled at her reply, “I know; that's why I ordered these for you.” However, it died down as soon as it came, “Then what is the matter, love?”

“Nothing, why?” She could hear the muffled beats of her heart, and she could feel the increased thrum as she fought the urge to gulp. He would notice. 

The silence stretched between them; it was almost like waiting for a ticking bomb to explode 

“Can I..." she finally gulped and took a deep breath “Can I see my mother?”

Silence.

Hoseok’s gaze held the edge of sharp scrutiny before he moved, and she lauded herself mentally for not flinching. 

Taking a sip of his wine, Hoseok shifted his focus back to his plate. This time, though, everything light disappeared from the air around him.

“The doctor keeps me updated. She is doing well.” He broke the silence, only to fuel the tension.

“But when can I see her?”

He looked up again and smiled.

“I know you are worried, Jagi, but now is not the time. We will meet her soon, okay?”

She knew better than to push it.

“What are you doing? Its lunch.”

Her friend’s voice startled her. “Tch, you go; I will join you later.” (Y/N) turned around to face Yumi briefly before resuming her research.

“Why are you searching for the Amethyst Era?”

“This hotel belongs to the Amethyst Era too." This time, (Y/N) turned her chair around completely to look at her friend.

Yumi shrugged. “Weren’t you doing the research? And this hotel is one of the most coveted in the country; people who keep up with such news know.”

 She dragged a nearby empty chair and made herself comfortable beside (Y/N).

“How many hotels does Amethyst Era own?”

“Pfft, hotels? Pubs, nightclubs, office buildings, and resorts—and not just luxury Some three to four star places as well.”

“Oh, you know quite well; you are into these?" 

“People are gossiping, (Y/N). Did Jung Hoseok really come to drop you off at work this morning?”

(Y/N) was surprised by her question, "Yeah, he did, but it was just a friendly gesture. Is he that famous?”

Yumi stared at her for a good, long moment before licking her lips and focusing on the screen. 

“You know he owns Amethyst Era, right?” 

She nodded at the screen showing pictures of a grand hotel.

"Yeah, I just looked it up this morning. What’s with that? Even Ms. Lee was being weird about me knowing Hoseok.”

“He’s a big name, (Y/N), a big, shady name.” Yumi replied grimly.

“Shady name? Why?”

“You remember my cousin Eun?”

Eun was Yumi’s cousin, who had mysteriously disappeared a year ago. Though Yumi did not share much about it, (Y/N) knew that her family and she were still disturbed and that his disappearance was a cold case.

(Y/N) nodded, now more interested in the conversation than ever before. “Well, the last place he was seen was completely different from what we have been told.”

“What? What do you mean?”

Yumi sighed and nodded. “I am so sure because I have been researching this myself; my friend is a private detective, and over the years, we have found many oddities with the case.” 

Her voice lowered as she leaned closer. “We were told that he was last seen near the Han River, implying that he jumped to end his life. But I never believed that, you know? I knew Eun; he was not too close with his parents, but we grew up together.” Her voice cracked in the end.

(Y/N) held her friend’s hand to comfort her; she could see Yumi’s eyes turning glassy. It must have been a storm for her and her family.

“He could not have done this, (Y/N), he possessed a zeal for life. He wanted to live more than himself for anyone.” 

She steadied herself with another deep breath before continuing, 

“I tried to push the police to look into the matter. I even tried to convince his parents that something was wrong. But they were adamant about believing what was being served to them. So I took matters into my own hands.”

(Y/N) nodded. “I can only imagine what you were going through.”

"I found out that he was last seen at a motel on the outskirts of Seoul. It was a fairly isolated place. There were a few witnesses. Plus, the investigator checked the CCTV near the river and found no sign of Eun. He was not there; he never went there. The police lied to us.”

“They were covering this up?” Yumi nodded confidently.

“Our trail took us to a remote motel.” Turning to the PC, she typed a name.

A few specifics later, a motel name and address showed up, with only one picture.

“This is the one.” She pointed at a rather blurry picture of a motel that seemed to be situated in the middle of nowhere.

“What was he doing here?” (Y/N) asked the obvious.

“That’s what we are trying to get into. But I think it is something not right, like we would come under radar. Jung Hoseok’s radar.”

Yumi’s words made her turn away from the screen 

“Jung Hoseok? What do you mean?”

“This motel is owned by Flare, a company that renovates and fixes places like old houses and hotels—you know, the one you would call if you were moving into an old house? Something like that. Now, this is a fairly small company. Nothing fishy, right?”

(Y/N) hummed and nodded her head in agreement.

“This is where it turns fishy. Turns out that Amethyst Era is the parent company of Flare.”

“What?”

Yumi nodded and tuned to type again in the search engine, “Look, Flare is no elite. In fact, it is not even in the top five companies that Amethyst Era owns.”

“Amethyst Era has more than five companies under it?”

 (Y/N) realised that she had indeed been living under a rock!

How come she had never heard of Amethyst Era if it is such a big name in the market?”

“Apparently, twelve.”

Yumi’s estimate raised (Y/N)’s eyebrows. “Twelve companies? What is he?”

“An immensely powerful hand in Eun’s disappearance, apparently. At least, that is what the investigator concludes. I have done some research on him and his Amethyst Era. Despite being such a giant in the market, most of the companies under its name stay lowkey. Pandora’s Box is usually the one in the spotlight. Closet Call is another glittery name in the market.”

“Pandora’s Box? I think I’ve heard of it.”

“Best in accessories and jewellery. It is not an exclusively luxurious brand–it has a few luxurious collections, and since most people can afford it, it is more profitable.”

“How did you manage to dig up so much?”

“Thanks to my friend.”

“Closet Calls has a showroom in every mall I have been to.” (Y/N) commented.

“That’s why people are talking. Jung Hoseok was seen with you. Just pray that they have not taken any pictures of you together.”

“Yumi, whatever you have revealed to me...  This makes him sound dangerous.”

“Every powerful company is dangerous (Y/N), but we still have no confirmation if he was directly involved in the disappearance of Eun or if he had anything to do with his disappearance. Everything is based on suspicion and probability (Y/N). In reality, we have no evidence, no real lead.”

Deleting the pages and the search history, Yumi turned to (Y/N).

“I cannot say anything with assurance right now, but you now know that he is no ordinary man. And in this world, power and money define everything. I cannot dictate your life, but I can advise you. My advice to you is not to get involved with anything that you cannot assess.”

(Y/N) nodded, her mind wandering off to all those times when Hoseok took her to restaurants, pubs, and banquet halls for ‘neutral and honest reviews’, which ranged from grand to sleek. She had suspicions that he was the one hosting the party where she had met him for the first time, but he had never confirmed anything, and the question had slipped out of her mind eventually.

Now every little conversation, every passing piece of information, and every quirk seemed to ring a bell—she knew that she was perhaps overthinking, mildly panicking even, but Yumi was right. People of Jung Hoseok’s strata were no saints, and people like her were nothing more than numbers for such people.

“Aren’t we going back to our suite?” (Y/N) was confused when Hoseok drove to the beach instead

“We are within walking distance from our resort. Besides, its peaceful here, don’t you like it?” 

Hoseok smiled as he continued to walk, his eyes staring at the gentle waves in the distance.

She would admit that it was pleasant to be the only two people roaming around the beach. The sun had set and left behind traces of rapidly darkening blues. Everything in the atmosphere was perfect to lull anyone into a sense of peace. 

But with Hoseok, she could feel anything but peaceful. Under the darkening sky, her senses turned more alert in his presence. The silence did not help either. It was like a waiting game, at least on her part, because Hoseok seemed completely relaxed. In fact, it was the most relaxed she had seen him ever since.

They stood where the waves chased their feet, shoes left behind, and the wet sand initially felt odd under her skin, but soon she grew used to it.  Just like how she had begun to grow used to being Jung Hoseok’s little wife—or his little pet, she could say. Had it not been that woman—

Fingers wrapping around the back of her neck broke her from her spiralling thoughts. (Y/N) gasped, startled back into reality, but before she could respond, her face was gently but firmly turned to her side, and his lips greeted her. It was gentle for only a moment before it turned passionate, almost frenzied with lust. Her knees turned boneless. The air was charged between them. She shut her eyes, trying not to look into the very eyes that would haunt her for a lifetime.

“There was not a single day when I had not wished to have you by my side, ever since I met you.” He confessed between the heated kisses.

It would have been a sweet expression of love, had it not taken her back to the moment when everything went downhill for her.

As if the conversation with Yumi had not been enough, the very next day, her boss had invited her into his cabin and apologised for his ‘rude and unacceptable behaviour towards a company asset such as her’. 

Company Asset?

(Y/N) was self-aware enough to know that she was easily replaceable. That man would rather fire his best employee than apologise. The jittery body language did not help either. That was not him apologising to her; he was being compelled to do so.

All she could think of was how Hoseok had casually asked her about her boss’ cabin. She had no other spot for the needles of suspicion to point at.

Everything was pointing towards Hoseok. But what she could not fathom was the reason behind a man such as him being invested in an ordinary woman such as her.

After that day, she began to evade him. Excuses, silence, diversion—whatever she could, she did to keep him at an arm’s length.

But such ways could only sustain her for so long. 

It had been a relatively enjoyable evening for an office party. She met a new employee who was funny, friendly, and flirtatious. No, she was not looking for any serious relationships, but some casual flirting would not hurt, right?

It had been a while since she felt her cheeks hurt from laughter; the last time she laughed so hard was when she had lunch with Hoseok. She had the ghost of her previously full-blown smile as she entered the elevator. Pressing on the number of her floor, she yawned, feeling the day’s toil catching up. 

But before the doors could close completely, they opened another ding.  Her previously slumped shoulders jerked up, alert, as the doors opened wide once more, and Jung Hoseok walked in, and she sucked in a breath.

He smiled—the usual friendly smile he would reserve for her—but under the light, his smile failed to brighten up the space this time.

In silence, he stepped inside the elevator and waited for the doors to close. This time, they did, but she wished that they did not. 

The silence was oppressive.

That was the only way she could describe it since she had not yet realised that she felt cornered.

“How was the party?”

She blinked. Despite it being just the two of them, the space felt crowded. The doors opened once more with the usual ‘ding’ before Hoseok walked out and turned to her, expecting her to follow him.

She yielded.

“You did not answer. That’s alright, let's talk over coffee.” He stood by her flat’s entrance, smiling.

Realising that she had no way out of the situation, she hurriedly unblocked her apartment door and invited him in.

“Sorry, its a bit messy right now, I did not know you were coming.”

By the time she finished, he was already making himself comfortable on her sofa. 

“That’s alright, (Y/N), makes you all too likeable." He smiled. But there was something cold and steely about that. “Why are you standing there? Have a seat. Its your home, after all.”

She managed to put up a smile and sit a good distance away from him. He did not comment on it but it would be foolish to assume that he did not notice, especially when his eyes remained on her—a cynical amusement playing in those orbs that made her sit still and taut.

“You have been quite busy these days, love. I hope your boss is not giving you a hard time.”

“No, he already apologised.” This time, she stared right back at him, trying to gauge out a reaction, desperately hoping that he had nothing to do with this.

Hoseok smiled and tilted his head. “Glad to hear that.”

And she needed no more confirmation. Taking a deep breath, she arranged the words in her head before beginning to speak.

“Hoseok, y-you are a kind and beautiful friend, and I really enjoy your company. Anyone would be glad to have you as a friend…”

“Really? I feel special.” 

Ignoring his comment, she continued—

“But unfortunately, I do not think that we should see each other anymore, as often. I do not fit into your world. It’s too vast, too glitzy, and over all—I mean–yeah you get it. I just feel that maybe we can tone down the meetings. My office colleagues took it the wrong way. Everybody knows you.”

That was not exactly what she wanted to say, but that would do. If he was not offended,

He chuckled and looked away for a moment, observing the wall on his side as if contemplating something. He mumbled.

“Sorry?”

“I guess you are tired. I will pick you up tomorrow, hmm?” His gaze found hers again.

“I just—”

I planned a whole weekend getaway. Be ready by eight in the morning tomorrow.” 

To say that she was stunned was a grave understatement. She blinked, dumbfounded by his blatant ignorance of her previous words. But here was where she would draw the line.

“Hoseok.” 

Her voice was firm. He was on his way out of her apartment, but he paused and turned around.

“I think you did not hear me earlier. I don’t want to see you so often. I am not going anywhere with you. Not tomorrow, not the day after tomorrow.” 

She paused before finally making up her mind 

“Not ever.”

Yumi was right. The more she minded her own business, the better. She did not want to be embroiled in anything dangerous or even scandalous. She needed herself. Not Jung Hoseok or any other storm.

The silence that followed was deafening.

Hoseok put his hands inside his pockets and titled his head—his stance relaxed and his eyes amused.

“What was your friend’s name again? Right, Lee Yumi, and her private detective friend, Kanyun. I will do them a favour.” 

He took a step closer to her while she remained frozen in fear.

“Since he has been running around with half-assed clues and crack-head witnesses for over a year now, I will give her one– the motel owner runs an illegal drug business. And now she and her little detective run to the police and find out how many of them work for me.”

He raised his hand, and she flinched and closed her eyes, almost certain that a hit was coming. 

Some scars took time to heal after all.

When nothing happened for a long moment, she opened her eyes, only to find his hand frozen in mid-air and all the air of amusement gone.

He clenched his jaws before gently brushing away the strands of hair from her face. 

“Never even in my dreams, love. Not even in my dreams.”  

His voice had no sharpness or amusement this time.

But she could not understand why.

She knew of his reality; he knew that she knew. Then why was she so soft with her? Like he was just playing. Maybe it was all a game for him after all.

“Its okay if you don’t want to come. You need to save your energy for the future anyway. Goodnight, love, sleep well.” 

Planting a quick, soft kiss on her forehead, he left.

He walked away as if he had had the most casual conversation with someone. Then perhaps she was that irrelevant. 

What harm could people like her or Yumi do to a person as powerful as Jung Hoseok?

The night went by with her warning Yumi about the fact that Hoseok knew what she was up to, checking all doors, windows, and locks, and keeping an eye on the street to see if there was someone watching over her.

Hoseok had known that Yumi had been trying to find out about her cousin all the while, and he also somehow knew that she was coming back from an office party. If that was not chilling enough, the very fact that he had confidently given away such important information hit the nail.

Jung Hoseok was a man she ought to avoid at all costs.

The sand sticking to her had felt odd a while before. But at the moment, she was overwhelmed with the feeling of his finger entering her. The pace was slow but calculated, leaving her gasping for breath. The dress he had chosen for her allowed the ease of his hands finding their way between her legs.

At the back of her mind, she knew that they would both need a shower once they were back in their suite. At the back of her mind, she was scared. But all she could express was how good his fingers felt—one curved inside her, rubbing on all the sweet, hard spots that made her gasp and shudder, the other playing with her pearl to make her senses fill with ecstasy.

“There you go, Baby~” he cooed at her, his fiery gaze meeting her hazy one as she was finally pushed over the edge.

She felt the second finger entering the very next moment, dragging her orgasm before she felt the delightful tiredness seeping in. But he knew that it was not over. He waited for a moment to let her catch her breath before his fingers inside her parted, stretching her walls. His lips attached themselves to her neck as his fingers continued to move in a steady, almost hypnotic motion, making her hips rise and her back arch.

“I love you so much…you have no fucking idea.”

His words made her eyes flutter open. Although still dazed, she managed to voice out her concern “Aren’t p-people here? Someone–oh–”

“Shh, no one will see us; we are the only ones here, love. I cleared it out all for us.”

 There was nothing surprising about it, though. The last time he caught someone staring at her chest, it ended with blood sprinkling all over the wall and the ceiling. Of course, he would not allow another soul to step inside the premises; he had planned to take her to the beach all along.

Her thoughts, though, were not steady, not with his fingers stretching her out like that while his lips assaulted her sweet spot, making her perfectly pedicured toes curl.

She came once more with a short but sharp scream, feeling her whole form buzz with pleasure. 

But the feeling did not last long enough to be relished, as she felt his hand between her warm legs. The bottom of her dress was already flung up carelessly, exposing her to him. 

Under the gentle moonlight and the distant lit-up torches, she could see his eyes gleam. He smirked before crashing his lips on hers. The kiss was passionate but gentle, pushing her towards another edge. 

But he pulled away abruptly, leaving her hanging. He smiled as he unzipped himself before nestling between her legs. Her inner thighs already felt damp with anticipation and arousal, but feeling his length rubbing against them, along with the texture of his pants, she felt her womanhood clench. Pulling her into a sitting position, he let out a quiet groan.

She blinked, slightly disoriented, but did not question him. She could feel hands around her waist even though the material of the dress.

 It was a surreal feeling.

 No matter how many times she slept with him, she would oscillate between being somewhere else mentally and having all her senses overwhelmed with pleasure.

Finally, she felt his length entering her before he pulled her over his lap. The movement of his manhood inside her made her gasp loudly and hold on to him for her dear life. Hoseok growled into her ear while she felt him unzipping her dress, loosening the sleeves so that he could pull them down in a quick, rough movement, along with her bra, leaving her breasts exposed.

His lips found hers again, and she squeaked into his mouth as he began to move. It was something she had never felt before. He truly never failed to surprise her.

Her eyes opened to find his fiery gaze on her before he moved her roughly once, eliciting a scream from her lips as her eyes rolled back again. His tongue devoured her mouth, and hers lolled, surrendering to the intense pleasure.

Her screams were met with his quickening breath and curses following a deep, sensual laughter. For a moment, it was easier to forget everything—the scars of the past, the uncertainty of the future—and just let the pleasure consume her. 

And she did just that. She gripped him tighter and moved with him, taking in all he gave her and in turn surrendering to him, just for the moment, and even in that moment, she felt how he claimed her. Like he always wanted to.

-----

She excused herself to the bathroom the moment they returned to their suits. The dress she wore did next to nothing to cover the blooms of red, pink and purple over her neck and beyond, at least those on her thighs were not visible.

Her legs were still wobbly, and the feeling of dampness between her legs did not help, it felt weird to walk normally. Under the sense of privacy provided by a shut bathroom door, she assessed her reflection in the mirror. 

There was no way of denying that she enjoyed it– she was glowing, but her eyes. They fell like they were foreign. 

Did she always have those empty eyes?

She knew she did not. But it was hard to remember the times she felt truly happy.

But there was hope now. Finally, she could see the glimmering end of the tunnel in the form of the opportunity thrown at her(literally). Remembering the phone tucked safely between her cloths, she composed herself as she began to wash away the remains of dubious passion from between her legs. She knew that scrubbing would not fade the marks all over her, but she scrubbed them anyway, resentful of herself for falling weak at the moment.

After a rather long bath, she felt slightly lighter, wanting nothing more than to crash on the bed and sleep the night away. With a sigh, she opened the bathroom door and stepped in the bedroom. 

Hoseok was not in the room when she stepped in. It was an eerie silence that impregnated the place. Sighing, she turned to get into the bed, only to be startled by Hoseok’ still form leaning against the closed closet. 

How come she had not noticed him before?

But that soon became least of her concerns when she saw the gleaming device h was playing with.

The phone.

She paled at the realisation.

He had found that fucking phone.

“So that’s why you were so lost? I wonder where you got this toy of yours, Love?”

She felt her stomach twisting as her eyes watered. But there was no time to think. With her reflexes kicking in, she turned and ran towards the bathroom, knowing that he had probably already locked the door.

She registered his grip a moment later than the feeling of vanished gravity. His grip was rough around her waist as he heaved her up in the air, eliciting a broken scream from her lips. 

He was everywhere.

Outside her work, he would be waiting for her with his car.

He would there outside her house on weekends.

He would be there whenever she would be somewhere out.

Jung Hoseok was everywhere. He was creeping into her life like a disease.

“How was work?”

That was the first thing he heard when she stepped in her dark apartment. All the tiredness hanging her shoulder down dissipated and pure adrenaline pumped in while she stumbled to switch on the lights.

Her hands were still shaking and her heart kept thumping against her ribs as light flooded the apartment, revealing the man she swore she would never meet again. 

“I had a cup of coffee due.” 

Her gaze dropped at he still-steaming cup of coffee in his hold, fingers with rings curled around the handle. His eyes were focused on the brown liquid though.

“Wh–what are you doing in my house?” 

At that, Hoseok looked up. It was like she was looking at a stranger– there was nothing airy, or light about him. Everything in her wanted her to back away slowly while maintaining an eye contact. But she stood her ground.

 It was her fucking house. 

He had already planted himself everywhere she went– regularly or not. She would not lose the sense of security in her house as well.

 She stood stiff and alert, ready to run if she needed to. 

“Come in, I prepared a cup for you too.” He patted the cushioned seat beside him lightly.

“Why can’t you just leave me alone?”

At that, he tilted his head.

“I thought we were friends (Y/N), very good friends…” The words felt corrupted from his lips. 

He knew that she was scared, he knew that she was tired, he knew exactly what he was doing.

She shut her eyes tightly and took in a breath, bracing herself.

“But I don’t want to be your friend anymore!”

“Aww, that hurt. But that’s okay…” 

He paused for a few moments, doubling the tension 

“You can be my lover.”

“Wh-hat?”

Hoseok smirked– slow and sinuous 

“I simply happen to be unusually fond of you…love.”

—-

He left after that and for a good whole week. But he did leave her spooked. 

Yumi was worried and unsurprisingly paranoid. If Jung Hoseok could give away clues without fear, and casually guess Yumi’s next move, it was better to just abandon the investigation, (Y/N) had suggested.

“I think you should rewind a bit, you look pale.” Yumi commented, observing her friend while she took a sip of her coffee. 

The days were turning colder and shorter, and a good, piping hot cup of beverage was always appreciated between breaks at work.

“I’m okay. Haven’t seen him for a week though.” (Y/N) shrugged. 

Hoseok was like a spider– it was scary when she could see him, but even scarier when she could not.

“Tch, you have to take a stand (Y.N), this can’t go on like that. You need to make a statement. People like him jump from one woman to another like they are clothes.”

Yumi did have a point. If she made a clear, good statement, maybe then he would leave her alone? She had, unlike Yumi, nothing to do with him at all. Nothing persona. Nothing profession. No connection at all.

But his words still rang like a warning bell in her mind.

“By the way…” Yumi began, clearing her throat “The new guy was asking about you.”

“The one at the party? What was his name again?”

“Hyunjae.”

Hyungjae was a decent man in every sense. He would help the old clerks, would buy coffee for his co-workers and even help them complete their pending tasks. Men like Hyunjae were rare to find, but they did exist.

“What about him?”

“I think he has a crush on you.”

“Yumi, men like Hyunjae don’t have crush on women like me– who does not even remember the meeting schedules.”

Yumi rolled her eyes at that comment “I think one friendly date would not hurt?”

“Yumi, no. “

“Why?”

(Y/N) sighed, “Just no.”

—-

The very next week, she was starring back at the menu card at a cafe Yumi had suggested for a date. While (Y/N) did not believe in stereotypes, but it had already been half an hour with no sign of Hyunjae and with a rumbling stomach, she was bound to get a tad bit annoyed.

Maybe if she could order one quick snack and—

“I’m sorry for being late.”

(Y/N) froze– her movements, her breathing, her thoughts– everything stood still.

This was….

She looked up from the menu, only to find Hoseok starring back at her with a sharp smile. 

“Quite a date.”

She looked around, only to catch a few faces quickly turning away. She needed to leave.

The sound of his chuckle broke her rushing train of thoughts.

“I have been so patient with you, thought you would get the point. Tch, but you are a sorry, naïve, lonely little lady…”

Somehow, the fake sympathy stung, because everything he said, was somewhere true. Everything she did, boiled down to two core purposes– her dedication to her ailing mother and to just survive. 

Maybe that’s why it had been so easy for a man like Hoseok to lure her in. She had dragged on a corpse of a relationship for years only because she was afraid to be left alone, she had accepted Hoseok’s friendship because with him, she did not feel alone. 

She did have friends. Good, helpful, understanding friends.

But they had their own lives and their own circles. She never had a best friend after school.

It was only her diary she confided in, freely expressed herself. Other than that, there was only a sense of loneliness. Even if she did want to reach out, it did not feel as easy or simple as it seemed to be. 

She did not want to be bother. 

But maybe, she was not a bother. Maybe she should have chosen her old friends over Jung Hoseok.

Because as she watched him light up a cigarette with his knuckles turning white. She knew that she was not getting out of this mess anytime soon. She should have been firm. But she did not want to be rude, or upset her only office friend- Yumi.

He checked his phone and smiled. 

“Oh, I have a very good news for you by the way…” He began.

His smile stretched into a malicious grin. A happy face had never been so terrifying to her before. 

“Your mother is being shifted to hospital owned by me. Poor lady, at her condition, she needs the best care. But now she would not have to worry, I shall provide that to her.”

How could she underestimate his reach?

She was stupid. Absolutely the dumbest idiot in the whole world.

And Hoseok was cruel. His snigger told it all.

Why did he even bother to try to stifle his laugh? 

“Aww, honey, there is no need to cry. Your mother is safe. She is having the best care provided to her…But the rest…” he paused, to smile– and (Y/N) understood what it was like to hate someone smile “...the rest depends on you.”

Now she understood what that creep had scurried away quietly the night she met Hoseok for the first time.

She flinched when he leaned in to wipe away her incessant tears. With her lips quivering, breathing shortened and vision blurring. She felt cold all over.

“Breath, its alright. Here, try to take some deep breaths.” 

He was by her side at once, his hand rubbing her back. There was an unending ringing in her ears.

“What have I ver–ever done to you?” 

She was tired. Tired, angry, afraid.

“Nothing, love. You have done nothing.”

“And yet you—why are you doing this?”

He simply smiled. 

“You can do a lot too, love…like marry me.”

The next thing she knew, she was slammed on the bed. It did not hurt, but it did leave her breathless. Her heart thundered against her chest as her vision blurred with unshed tears. Under the lighting, Hoseok seemed far more sinister than he had been a few hours ago under the night sky.

“What’s the hurry, (Y/N)?” He sounded like a python coaxing its prey right before crushing it.

He was the python.

He realised it when she felt his fingers wrapped around her neck, holding her in place. She gasped for air, mouth wide opened and tears freely running down from the corner of her eyes.

“Tch, tch, tch. And I thought you had some fucking brains left in that empty head of yours!.” He snarled. 

His words hurt because deep down, they were true– she was dumb, she was too stupid. She wouldn’t be where she was had she not been an utter idiot. 

She attempted to gasp, turning desperate when his hold around her neck tightened. She grasped his wrist with shaking hands, clawing with futility.

“It's a pity…she goes whoring around for government agencies while I plan a holiday for her.” He grinned, squeezing her neck tighter for a long moment before loosening his hold.

(Y/N) gasped and wheezed, taking all the air into her lungs even when it hurt. She rolled over and fell on the floor, feeling her knees turn boneless and her vision partially darkening. Holding her neck, she turned to look at him with wide eyes and quivering lips, the only reflex left was to escape. To run far away, but she was frozen.

Hoseok ran his fingers through his hair, storm ranging in now glassy eyes. His jaws ticked and with every breath he took, it looked like he was committing homicide in his mind.

“I have been too lenient, haven’t I?”

She had been terrified of him before, but this time, she was petrified. Hoseok had never physically hurt her before, but her throbbing neck lit a new fear in her, while her hatred for him reached a new height. She was still wheezing when he grabbed her hair, forcing her to look up.

“You think they are here to help you? You think they will treat you like a fucking victim? Oh no honey, they are going to treat you like a fucking mob wife that you are. Once they have everything they need against me, they will throw you away to the wolves. You are just as tainted in everyone’s eyes to them!”

“You are a l-liar!” Despite her struggle, she managed to cry out loud, expressing her anguish.

“A fucking liar! You made them drug me every day!” She screamed, not bothering about her highly disadvantageous position. The worst was already starring down at her.

Surprise laced Hoseok’s face for the first time in the night the cruel glint returned soon after.

“I see…Is this their fucking game plan? You are such an easy target.” He let out a callous chuckle and let go of her hair, 

“I don’t tolerate betrayal, love.” There was a glint in his eyes as he reached out for something on his back.

She saw the gleam first before realizing what it was. But it was too late. The muzzle of the gun was already pressed against her forehead. She froze with pure fear. 

She wanted freedom, not death!

“I don’t forgive them, I don’t forget them…You know what I do to them, don’t you?” The cold metal trailed south, booping her nose “I make them scream, and writhe and cry until their soul trembles.”

With sinious half smile, he lowered the gun further, probing it against her quivering lips. The fear in her eyes made him shiver– it was both thrilling and satisfying. She had betrayed him. No one dared to betray Jung Hoseok and live to tell the tale.

“But you…” 

He began, purposefully dragging his words as he watched her frightful eyes widening as he pushed the gun further, the metal tapped heavily against her teeth, making her gasp. But that was enough a slip-up for Hoseok. 

“I can forgive you darling.”

With that, he pushed the barrel of his gun into her mouth. The metal scrapped agaisnt her teeth as it slid in. Her eyes closed before flashing with utter terror.

Good.

He thought to himself, keeping his emotions and tears at bay. He would never admit it to anyone, not even her. But her betrayal hurt. It burned and cut through him. But he would admit, it was not surprising. 

Hoseok was no fool. He knew that she was not in love with him, but he believed that with time, she would settle– she was settling.

Until some fucking dogs came sniffling behind.

He did everything for her, for them. But she betrayed him.

“What do you think they would do? Give you a crown?” 

He could not help but chuckle at her naivety. Her eyes did not help it either. Large, fearful orbs starring back at him–he lived for that. He liked to say to himself that he did not like the fear in her eyes. But that would be a lie. 

“They would use you for defaming me, trying to destroy me, using you as a key and then, throw you away like a used ragdoll.”

He pushed the barrel further in with venegenance, making her choke into it and gasp.

“You are nothing but a pawn to them– a useless, stupid pawn. You think they can save your mother? You dead mother?”

He watched as more tears escaped her eyes, his words denting her confidence. No, breaking it completely. 

Her mother had passed away month ago a in peace. He made sure that everything was taken care of, she was given a simple but dignified funeral, and buried in the graveyard only people close to him were to be buried. He had been a good son-in-law. 

He was being a good fucking husband, keeping the news from (Y/N) because he knew that it could break her.

The words just slipped out, but it slipped out just at the right moment 

“Had it been anyone else, I would have just fired” He hissed, pulling the barrel a little before pushing it again, watching her shaking form.

Finally, he pulled away the gun, the thin string of saliva connecting the barrel and her lips made him smirk. He would teach her a lesson she would never forget. They would have plenty of time for that.

“Stay put.” 

He warned, dropping his mocking smile. He motioned with his gun, not letting his eyes flicker off her form as he dialled his most trusted man.

“Is the helicopter ready? Hmm, keep low.”

Hanging up, he grabbed her arm and pulled her up. She whimpered pathetically, but not an ounce of regret flashed in her eyes.

But she soon will. She would regret even considering betraying him.

He would make sure of it.

“You are going to be fucking sorry, love.”

He dropped all pretentious, sugarcoating and veils altogether. If she saw him as a monster. Fine, he would show her what a monster he was and how a monster loved.

She remembered that they had promised to brig her mother to safety. But she had no real time update. Her mother was her only family left. 

And she was dead now. 

The only hope, the only string that Hoseok would pull now and then was gone.

He kept the news from her.

A month.

Her mother had been dead for a month.

And he kept it from her.

(Y/N) forced down a whimper. Her legs were almost numb, her whole body felt stiff and frozen. But her heart won’t stop thundering.

Was this all a mistake? Where were they?

Why had they not ambushed Hoseok yet? She had blindly jumped into the dark after hearing a hopeful voice and—

Hoseok froze before she registered the distant gunshots. Hope flared within her at that. But it was short-lived as Hoseok began to drag her towards the closet.

“No! I will not go with you! I had ENOUGH!”

Her throat was raw with screaming. She did not care that she as hysterical. She finally had the chance to be free, she would take it, no matter what!

“Don’t be foolish, they can never win against me. You are just making things difficult for yourself. Don’t make it worse for you!” He hissed, the veins on his side popping to indicate that despite his low tone, he was boiling inside.

(Y/N) shook her head, attempting to pull away from him. But she was of no match against a trained killer.

“NO! YOU ARE A MONSTER!”

Hoseok’s eyes burned into hers when he glanced back briefly. But he was silent for now, focusing on dragging her with him, not even paying attention to her nails digging into and stretching against his skin. He did not even bat an eye at the blood flowing out. 

She looked at the entrance of the suite expectantly.

Please hurry up!

“No one is going to come here and make it out alive, darling.” 

His voice dripped with venom as he continued to drag her further away from the door. Uncaring if she bumped into things in order to resist.

Despite the fog of fear and uncertainty, she managed to grasp a bottle of wine put in the ‘gift basket’-- one Hoseok was supposed to open at night. Grasping the bottle, she swung it right at the back of his head.

“ARGH! Fuck!” 

His hold loosened immediately, but she did not wait, she jerked away from him, not even turning to look at his staggering form, she made a run for it.

The door as open, thankfully. But she knew that she needed to be careful. She stumbled, realising that she had left the phone in Hoseok’s grasp. Cursing, she kept running forward.

It was now or never. 

The gun shots echoed after slight pauses. 

“Madam! Madam! Why are you outside?”

The fucking dog of his!

Hoseok’s men were loyal to him, and their loyalty was tested by their respect for his wife and the only woman whom he had allowed the reign of his estate– under his watch, of course. 

The man grasped her body, eyes searching for potential injury. 

“Madam we are under attack! A rival group.”

A rival group! Wasn’t the police there?

“I was on my way to warn—”

The shattering of a window beside them had them both ducking for cover.

“Madame! Where is Sir?”

His question did not register for a few moments. The police were supposed to reach here. Who were those people?

“Madame?” The urgency of his voice made her spill out the necessary part.

“He-he’s in the room.”

He frowned, gaze flickering between the wide-open door and the her. But with some twisted miracle, he did not get much of the time to think, the gunshots grew louder and another windows shattered.

“Madame! Listen carefully. Please, run straight and turn right. 3368 is the code to the staircase exclusively used by staff. It’s also an emergency route. When you turn right, you will find a room on the left, beside the elevator. Get into the room, then the closet. Push the shoe rack away and you will find the emergency staircase. Just don't forget to shut it down. Keep running and at the end, you will find a way to the helipad. Our men will reach there with Master Jung.”

He handed her a mastercard to the room before ushering her out, telling her to be fast.

He did not need to tell her. She needed to be quick. She needed to reach there before he found Hoseok. She rushed out of the hallway.

“GET HER!” Her heart leapt to her throat when she heard Hoseok’s yell. 

At least now she knew that she was not a murderer. 

Glancing back, caught a brief glance of her deranged husband rushing towards her with his trusted bodyguard, his one hand clutching his bleeding head. But before they could close the distance, a series of gunshots filled the room, compelling them to duck and take cover while she got the chance to slip out. 

His rivals were there. 

With wobbly feet, she reached the suite room and opened it, not even daring to turn back, only hoping that she had not caught their eye. Locking the door, she quickly rushed to the dimly lit closet. The shoe rack stood with the pretence of being heavy and unmovable, but she could slide it with some effort. 

A short breath of relief escaped her lips at the sight of the locked door to the staircase. Not wasting another moment, she put on the code and opened the heavy door. The sound of nearing gunshots quickened her movement. It would be a matter of minutes before she would be discovered if she delayed any further.

Sliding the shoerack back into place, she shut the door, and it locked immediately.

The staircase reminded her of the escape games she would play in her freetime. It was spiralling, long, lit but void of another soul. She suspected it would be soundproof too– there was no disturbance of gunshots or attacks. Just silence and the echo of her quick steps.

As promised by Hoseok’s bodyguard, the route did take her into an opening that had a helipad near a cliff, overlooking the vast and ranging ocean. 

It was dark, but the helipad was lit.

And yet, there was not a soul in the place. Only the sould of the crashing waves underneath reminded her that she was outside the radar of Hoseok’s rivals.

Her only hope was to find an escape from there. Nearing the cliff, she looked around. There was a ferry station beyond the resort premises. She could see the light clearly. She just had to—

“(Y/N)!”  

Hoseok’s voice thundered as he burst out of another opening, expertly hidden behind a small watertank.

Perhaps it was a quicker escape route.

She watched as he rushed towards her, his gun in his hold and the collar of his shirt bloodied, likely from his own blood. But looking at the blood on his torso, she doubted the theory.

(Y/N)! Come back here now!”

She glanced at the ferry station wistfully.

Even if she tried, she would never reach there. Her way to freedom was so close yet so far. She did not know if the girl was a part of the State Authorities, or had been a spy for the rival all along?

Why would life be so cruel to her? Dangling freedom before her, only to snatch it up just as she touched it?

Looking at a an enraged Hoseok, she knew that she could never go back. He would make her life a living hell. He was not one to forgive easily. And she betrayed him. Hit him when his back was turned, quite literally.

(Y/N).Stop.Now.!” He warned, waving his gun at her, as she continued to back into the edge of the cliff.

He stopped a few feet away from her, cautiously glancing at the her feet. One step back and she would fall. 

“(Y/N), come back. I will forget this night, I promise you.” Hoseok offered, composing himself and tucking his gun away, motioning the guard with him to step back.

But she would not fall for his lies anymore. She had enough.

“NO! I know you never would. You already made my life a living hell!” She cried, letting tears flow freely.

“I gave you everything anyone would ever want!”

“Everything anyone would ever want? What do you know of it? All you have ever known, all you ever did was to snatch, seize and possess! This is not love Jung Hoseok! This is not lo–ve. Its a vile thing!” She burst out

“But I love you, I have always loved you!”

“THEN YOUR LOVE IS VILE! VILE AND ROTTEN LIKE YOU. YOU MADE ME INTO YOUR FUCKING TOY, A PET, BLOODY PET!”

She spat out, with anguish and venom rousing in her blood. Everything was deloslate and hopeless for her now. There was no sign of the police, there was no hope of an escape.

“But it is true. I am vile, (Y/N), the vilest thing from hell but I love you! I will forget about this transgression and—”

Her cold laughter caught him off guard. It was a rare and always cherished sight for him, yet this time, the sound and view of it made him break into cold sweat.

“T–ransg–transgression you say?” 

Her shoulders shook almost vilotently as her neck was thrown back. Her laughter grew louder, but her tears never ceased. 

“Transgression? This?” She hissed and pointed wher forefinger towards herself. 

Her face reflected pure range and anguish. Everything he had ever done, he had snatched away from her flashed before her eyes. And after all that, seeing him in pain, she realised that a part of her was delighted. 

“Do you know what truly transgression is? It is uprooting someone from their life, invading someone’s life and privacy. It is every.Fucking.Thing you did to me!” She snarled, all her suppressed emotions and resentment came flooding in with vengeance.

Hoseok raised his hand and took a slow step forward. One step back and she would be falling into the unforgiving ocean.

“We can start afresh, Love. I will try, we can be better. I am willing to forget everything. But please…” He begged. 

No, he could not afford to lose her. Even if it was wicked and twisted, he did love her. He knew that it was something far beyond ‘love’, something raised from the depths of hell. He would forget her betrayal, he understood where it came from. 

But he was not ready to lose her.

“Please come back to me!”

Come back to my arms, I will be better. 

He would giver more freedom, take her to vacations every other month, maybe even allow her to work– he had many companies under his name, after all. Yes, that would suit both of them.

Hope flared in his eyes as he watched the range on her face soften. But it broke him to watch her expression turn painful. He knew he was the cause of it. A good man would have let her go at this point.

But Hoseok was not a good amn, he had not a single good bone in him, no, he was selfish, wicked, obsessive, smothering. He was everything a woman would run away from. 

She would not fall for his lies.

Jung Hoseok would forget nothing, he would not forgive this betrayal.

He was the python who crushed her soul slowly and painfully. She let out a shuddering breath.

She had almost tasted freedom, she could never go back into her cage without strangling a part of her. She looked back at the ferry station, the lights seemed to mock her. The wind, the ocean, those mountains, the sleeping birds, the chirping crickets and the happy people who might not be able to afford a suite at a luxury resort like Hoseok— they all had one thing she could never have.

And her mother? She wished her mother could forgive her. She wished things were different, she wished she were better.

Oh, she could only do that…wish

She took a shuddering breath and felt cold breath washing over her. There was nothing comforting left. She looked at him through her tears. He took one tentative step forwards.

“(Y/N), come back?”

And she turned around and jumped into the the darkness of the ocean, responding to the crashing waves’ siren calls.

“NO!NO!”

Hoseok’s legs were moving even before he screamed. He could hear the muffled voice of his bodyguard but his eyes were following her.

And he jumped right after.

***

Here is Hoseok's part. Only Namjoon's remain. The last and the longest.

wounded

gyeong-su x gn!reader | 1.1k words

genre: slight angst, comfort, established relationship

warnings: swearing, canon-divergence, mentions of murder, kissing, blood, and aouad stuff.

synopsis: you were quietly looking around the room as everyone rushed to check on why gyeongsu wouldn't leave the recording room. you watched, keeping a close eye on nayeon. and right on time, you caught her red-handed.

author's note: you're welcome y'all /hj i need more gyeongsu gifs also

“Why won’t he come out of here? This stubborn idiot.”

You slowly stood up as everyone rushed over the glass window of the recording room while Mrs. Park walked in. They were all talking about why he wouldn’t leave and such things. Namra stayed on her seat, a bit further away from the others, and Nayeon unexpectedly walked over to the glass window with them. You took slow steps to follow behind her.

After everything the girl had put Gyeongsu through, you thought it’d be best to keep an eye on her. You didn’t know what she was capable of doing, how far she was willing to go, but you knew if anyone was more stubborn than Gyeongsu, it was her. And that scared you. If she was so stubborn and stuck on the idea of your boyfriend being infected, who knew what she would do to prove she was right?

Your hand grabbed onto her wrist harshly, holding it in place. She stilled in her movement completely and slowly looked up to meet your gaze. You looked calm, despite how hard your grasp on her arm was. You stared at her silently and lowered her arm. Down and away from the broken broom. “What are you doing?”

“Just… Just cleaning… the…”

Your gaze must’ve been too hard for her to hold, from how frantically she averted her eyes from your face. She paused to swallow thickly, as if searching for a credible answer to your question. She’d been caught off guard. Dare you say, caught red-handed.

“Cleaning what?” you asked quietly, purposefully getting closer to her face so only she would hear, “A zombie’s blood off a wooden stick? Are you planning to kill someone?”

Her eyes widened and she pushed you off, but your hand was still too tight on her wrist for her to shake it off. She desperately tried to move her arm, in vain. You heard the door of the recording room open and understood why she was so distressed at the idea of not being able to move away. She yelled out in frustration with a last, harsh attempt at getting her wrist out of your hand.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing? Let me go.” she said loudly; loudly enough to attract everyone’s attention. Even from the recording room, Gyeongsu seemed to have noticed the commotion. You scoffed with a smirk as Mrs. Park hurried over.

“[name], what are you doing? Let go of her wrist!” she exclaimed, hand moving to grab your hand before you spoke up.

“Maybe if she admits to attempted murder on her classmate.” you said steadily, eyes never leaving hers. She looked furious, irritated at being caught doing whatever it was she was attempting to do while everyone had their backs turned. But you didn’t relent. “So? Do you mind talking or should I do it for you?”

“That’s– You can’t accuse someone of attempted murder, [name], that’s far from being something to take lightly! I know things are very stressful for you and everyone else but it would be unfair to–”

“To let her try and kill Gyeongsu just because she can’t stand being wrong.” you cut her off, turning to look at her over your shoulder. “Right, teach’?”

She seemingly stumbled over her own words, before shaking her head. “Nayeon-ah. What does this mean?”

“Nothing! I wasn’t doing anything and this fucker just grabbed my fucking wrist!”

“They didn’t do it for no reason. Use your heads, for once.” Cheongsan chimed in, stepping closer. He furrowed his eyebrows and pointed to the girl’s hand. “She’s holding something.”

“My handkerchief.” Nayeon said, before scoffing and holding her head high, “What? I can’t have a handkerchief anymore? The fuck is wrong with all of you?”

“Nayeon-ah. Please hand it over.” the teacher said, extending her hand. Nayeon hesitated, and then looked at you coldly. You raised your eyebrows and moved her hand up for her.

“Do be careful with it, teach.” you said calmly, chuckling, “There’s zombie blood on this. Don’t touch it if your hands are injured.”

She made a confused face but grabbed the handkerchief. Her eyes widened as she inspected it, and glanced over the broken wooden stick they’d used to kill a zombie just earlier. The gears seemingly turned inside her head along your other classmates’ until they understood.

“This is a murder weapon, practically.” you said, nodding towards the piece of fabric. You tightened your hold on Nayeon’s arm and held it up as a harsh reminder of the predicament she put herself in and smiled. “And this is a murderer.”

You loosened your grasp on her wrist and she easily shook your hand off. You folded your hands behind your back and stepped aside, before turning around to face the rest of the group. You wore a calm smile on your face as you waited.

“What do we do?”

The teacher sighed and stepped forward. “Lee Nayeon. Were you really going to use this on Gyeongsu’s wound?”

“No! What do you think?!”

“Nayeon. Be honest. Please.”

“No, I… I just… I was just…”

“There’s no reason for you to be cleaning a fucking zombie-blood-stained wooden stick we used to kill a zombie, you fucking stuck-up bitch.” Jimin scoffed.

“Jimin, languag– Ah, nevermind, Just… Just quiet down. Nayeon, please just tell us the truth.”

“I… I just wanted to… Fuck, I just... I wanted... To make you all think that I was right when I said he was infected, I just–”

You walked past her, purposefully shoving her shoulder as you headed to the recording room. You opened the door and stepped in quietly, before closing it behind you. Gyeongsu was leaning against the table, staring at the room as he seemingly tried to understand what was going on. He turned to you the moment you stepped in and lightened up. “Hey. What’s going on out there? This girl being annoying again?”

You walked over to the chair he’d previously been sitting on and intertwined both your hands over the table. There was an odd silence for a few seconds before you slapped your hands on your face and screamed a muffled yell of frustration. You then put your hands back on the table and breathed calmly, acting as if nothing happened. Gyeongsu stared at you with wide eyes, obviously concerned.

“Are you okay…?”

To be honest, you were the one who wanted to murder someone. It took everything in you not to completely lash out, grab that bitch by her hair and hang her head over the edge of the window. It was so hard to keep your hand from twisting her arm until it ached. It was so hard not to punch her so she’d shut the fuck up. But you had to keep calm, because if you were too hysterical, they wouldn’t listen to you. Nevertheless it was unfair. She deserved to at least be punched. She tried to kill someone.

She tried to kill the person you’re dating, at that.

“Yes. Now that I’ve managed to stop her, I’m quite fine.” you said, smiling as you looked at him. “Now, you owe me one. Nayeon was trying to kill you.”

His eyes widened even more and he ran over to where you were sitting. “What?! What do you mean?”

You nodded towards the glass window of the recording room and Gyeongsu followed your gaze. Nayeon was crying and Namra was talking to her, seemingly annoyed while the other girl stammered over what she tried to say. Cheongsan rushed towards her before anyone could stop him and pushed her so harshly she almost fell. Suhyeok held him back, and you chuckled a bit. It looked like she was still trying to explain herself, before the teacher pulled her aside to another corner of the room and sat her down with her. You scoffed. “She was wiping blood from zombies on a handkerchief. She was planning to put it on your scratch.”

The boy instinctively looked down at the wound at the mention of it and frowned, scoffing. He wrapped his hand around it as if the blood was actually about to touch his wound, and you put your hand on his as an attempt at comforting him.

“Honestly I talked to her and everyone like I was certain that’s what she planned, but part of me was scared I was actually completely wrong. Then everyone would hate me, or something. But there was no reason for her to be wiping that blood that seemed as… Terribly logical as the one I came up with. Turns out I was right.”

Gyeongsu fell down on what he expected to be the chair but ended up falling on the floor. You laughed despite everything and held out your hand. He scoffed a chuckle and grabbed it as you got up to give him the chair back. You sat on the table instead and exhaled.

“So I almost just got killed.” he said, nodding to himself like he couldn’t realize it. You pursed your lips and sighed, looking down.

“Yup.” you said, “You did.”

He ran his hands over his face before holding them up on the top of his head. From the looks of it, it looked like he wanted to punch her very much, too. Understandably so. But he only gulped and nodded, before taking a deep breath.

He looked up at you and grabbed your hand. “Thanks.”

You smiled. “Why, of course. Now I’m counting on you to save me if I need it at some point, okay?” you said with a grin, trying to lighten the atmosphere. He waved his hand in dismissal, pulling off that overly-confident smile of his.

“Obviously!” he scoffed, before grabbing your chin to bring you down to his level. He had a small smile on his lips when he kissed the corner of your lips.

“Who do you take me for?” then he smiled fondly and kissed you properly.

And you grinned. You knew both of you were dead scared, despite your attitudes. It was frightening to think that if you hadn’t noticed, Gyeongsu might’ve just turned into a zombie as well. So when you pulled away you immediately wrapped your arms around him as tightly as you could, and he exhaled and reciprocated the hug just as tightly. You both needed it. You could feel it.

This was nice-- Better. You felt relieved. Finally.

thank you, darling

scaramouche x gender!neutral reader

synopsis: scaramouche hates the fact your friend kaeya gives you stupid nicknames you enjoy, so he tries to muster up the courage to call you by one too

you pocket your phone afterwards and continue on with your work, speaking of Kaeya, you were currently in Monstadt due to having a meeting with the acting grand master, one of the reasons you tried to spend every free second texting scara

your boyfriend had been in Mondstadt for a while with you, which is probably where he saw kaeya chatting with you, but it’s been a while since then so it was odd he brought it up

on the other side of the map, scara was working. and by working he was trying to come up with pet names to call you

the thought of your mere friends calling you pet names pissed him off to no end

he’d rather chop his head off then let some other lowlife call you a pet name you enjoyed, but he couldn’t come up with something without internally cringing

babe? no, you sometimes called him that and he didn’t mind but he couldn’t see himself saying it

my love? that sounded too romantic for a common pet name

sweetheart? no then it would look like he was copying that incompetent lowlife

he took his hat off and rammed his head into his desk, groaning at the stupid shit he was doing for you

after a couple seconds of questioning his life choices he came up with something

scaramouche was ecstatic to see you finally come back home to him, though you probably couldn’t tell with the way he stood rigid by the entrance to liyue which you were supposed to arrive at in the afternoon

he would rather die then admit he tried out the pet name on his tongue in his mirror, cringing everytime he did so since he felt stupid

he even tried texting it, but deleted it every time. he’d rather call you that in person

he soon saw your silhouette, walking beside another harbinger, tartaglia

he unconsciously glared at the stupid ginger male after seeing he made you laugh, and right after sending his glare your eyes met his and lit up, jogging the rest of the way down

he wasn’t one to run halfway and meet you, he had a reputation, but once you got closer he did uncross his arms knowing you would jump into them

which you did

scara let his arms wrap around your waist as you immediately started rambling about something that happened that morning as you took his hand and dragged him along

he was usually embarrassed to hold hands in public, but after not seeing you for days he let himself clutch onto your fingers, shooting anyone a glare who as so much glanced at them

“i missed you,” you smiled, knocking shoulders with him, “it wasn’t the same not being bullied by my boyfriend every other second.”

“i missed you too—,” he stopped himself before calling you that, he didn’t want everyone else in the fatui to hear him

god he was bad at this boyfriend stuff, he had to give credit to kaeya for having the confidence for that

he was literal a harbinger for god’s sake, why was he nervous around you

“soft scara has made an appearance,” you cheered, pinching his cheek before letting go of his hand “i gotta go check in for a another meeting, i’ll stop by your office later.” before pecking his cheek and catching up with tartaglia again

he shoved his now cold hand into a pocket before noticing a couple fatui members giving him stares,

“and what the hell are you peasants looking at? take your eyes off me before i MAKE you,” he yelled, creating sparks ticking off from his fingertips until they turned away frightened

he was in his office doing useless paperwork when he heard his door he open, he assumed it was some fatui member coming to bother him so he immediately groaned and flipped them off, while simultaneously signing shitty contracts with his other hand god he really hated paperwork

“wow you’re so sweet,” he heard you laugh, peeking his head up to see you pull up in the chair in front of his desk, resting your face in your hands as you laughed at his antics

“sorry i didn’t know it was you,” he grumbled, going back to work

“do you wanna take a walk later?” you asked, playing with a trinket on his desk,,, if anyone else dared to touch his things he’d chop their fingers off

“alright,” he agreed, keeping his eyes trained on his paper to fight the blush rising in his cheek, he missed going on dates with you but he would never admit that

“great! i have to go now,” you stood up to leave before turning back around, “almost forgot, i had to give these to you, more paperwork!” you pulled out a file and handed it to him

“thank you, darling,” he said absentmindedly, grabbing it from you and going through it, before noticing how you froze my the door

he quirked an eyebrow at you, “need something?”

you shook your head as your cheeks flushed red and left

it took him a couple more stacks of paper before he realized what he’d done

he let his head fall against his desk once again, but perked back up after remembering your cute reaction

a/n: me falling in love with him though we barely got to meet him, scaramouche banner when?! sorry for any typos i’ll fix them later. requests are closed at this time but i’ll open them when i can :)

all of us are dead — incorrect quotes (spoiler)

nam-ra after pushing gwi nam off the building : victory!

y/n : oh my, love is in the air

nam-ra : what?

y/n, pointing at gwi-nam : love is in the air

joon-yeong : yoU LIKE HIM?!

F.R.I.E.N.D.S. ★°*ﾟ

Su-Hyeok x Fem!Reader | 5.2k words

Warning/Rating: Fainting/Language/T

Premise: Five times you and Su-Hyeok correct people about your relationship status and one time you both just accept it.

Author’s Note: This is an AU fic set outside of the zombie world where you and Su-Hyeok are childhood friends (also neighbors!) but everyone mistakes you for a couple. I personally love the 5 + 1 prompts, so I wanted to challenge it myself. I don’t think I’ll get over AOUAD any time soon, or Su-Hyeok for that matter, so I’m pouring my love into writing for this franchise. Requests for other Su-Hyeok prompts are also welcomed! ♡

˚ ༘✶ ⋆｡˚ ⁀➷1. Ms. Park

“Su-Hyeok, what do you think of Nam-Ra’s interpretation?”

Class 2-5 all turn their heads to the back, trying—but failing—to suppress their laughter, awaiting what kind of nonsense would spew from Su-Hyeok’s mouth this time around.

“I agree. She’s 100% correct.”

Some giggles slip through before Ms. Park silences them by holding her hand up.

“Great,” Ms. Park says sarcastically, with an air of teasing. “Now…just what do you agree with again?”

Su-Hyeok doesn’t even falter, replying with, “If she could be kind enough to repeat her response so that I can gather my thoughts more coherently….”

The whole class loses it right then and there.

His seat-mate further rubs salt into the wound by whispering between bouts of laughter, “Yah, did you even have any thoughts to begin with?” This earns him a glare, but he was too far gone to care.

Su-Hyeok grimaces, seeing the disappointment on Ms. Park’s face mixed with amusement as she gestures for Nam-Ra to recite her previous statement again. With the amount of times he acts up in the same manner on a regular basis, he’s surprised and grateful that she still allows him to step foot into class for lessons.

Nam-Ra rises once again, her chair creaking slightly, though that doesn’t wake you up from your nap next to her. Currently, you were turned away from the window, left elbow flat on the desk surface as a makeshift pillow.

“All of us have some sort of prejudice. We all have preconceptions about other people.”

“Precisely,” Ms. Park compliments. “Thank you, Nam-Ra, for saying that twice.” With her emphasis on the word, she fixes her stern gaze on Su-Hyeok, but her next words are the exact opposite. “Bare-Su, please pay more attention to my lesson during class time and less on staring at your girlfriend, Y/N.” She raises her eyebrows teasingly.

Su-Hyeok is quick to correct her, trying to suppress the heat he feels slowly making its way up to his face. “Ms. Park,” he says incredulously. “We’re not together.”

“Eyyy,” Dae-Su’s booming voice reverberates in the classroom. “Now you’re just making up lies.”

You stir at the loud sound, but it’s still not enough to make you open your eyes.

“I’m serious, Dae-Su,” Su-Hyeok splutters.

“Yet you’re not denying having stared at Y/N~,” Woo-Jin drawls, giving Dae-Su’s awaiting hand a high-five with a resounding smack.

“Dumbass duo!” Su-Hyeok says exasperatedly to deaf ears. “Ms. Park, how come Y/N is taking a sound nap in class, but I’m the one being ganged up on?”

“This is the first time it has happened, and she’s still ranked 3rd in the class. I’ll let it slide,” Ms. Park crosses her arms and smiles, entertained by Su-Hyeok’s excuses.

“Isn’t this blatant favoritism?” Su-Hyeok mumbles under his breath.

“You also favor Y/N, so you can’t be one to talk,” his seat-mate once again teases.

“You’re not even on the baseball team so why are you so hell-bent on hitting home runs with your sassy remarks today, huh?” Su-Hyeok slaps him upside the head.

“Alright, alright, settle down class. I think that’s enough punishment for our Bare-Su today.”

When Ms. Park turns back to the blackboard, she says loud enough for the class to hear, “No worries. We can just ask Y/N for confirmation when she’s up.”

By how much the students were cracking up, it suddenly seems like a free period.

“Seonsaengnim!”

At Su-Hyeok’s outburst, you wake up, trying to settle back into reality.

Of course, Ms. Park notices your state of rousing. She’s not one to miss any little detail. “Ah, good morning to you, Y/N. So glad you can finally join us.” Her words hold no malice at all, but you’re still sheepish.

Shyly scratching you head, you voice out, “I apologize for dozing off. Did I miss anything?”

You finally notice all eyes on you. Well, save for Su-Hyeok’s. “Guys….? Why are you all looking at me like that?”

“Well—" Dae-Su begins but is cut off by Ms. Park.

“Please refrain from sleeping again in my class as it’s a distraction…to some more than others.”

Laughter rings loud and clear again as you turn to Nam-Ra for answers.

“Banjang, you’re the smartest one here. What’s going on?”

Nam-Ra turns to you with a slight smirk, an expression you’ve never seen on her before, despite how much she’s warmed up to you as her seat-mate and friend, though she’s hesitant to admit to the latter.

“Oh, it’s nothing,” Nam-Ra says dismissively, but lightly. “Ms. Park was just teaching Su-Hyeok about preconceptions.”

˚ ༘✶ ⋆｡˚ ⁀➷2. On-Jo

Linking your arm through Nam-Ra’s while balancing your tray with your other hand, you pull her in the direction of where On-Jo and I-Sak were already seated with their own lunches piled high with food.

“Save some for the rest of us, On-Jo,” you joke as you and Nam-Ra sit down on the opposite bench, pointing to your friend’s tray.

“Ha ha, very funny,” On-Jo pouts. “I don’t eat a lot; I just eat well.”

“A little too well,” Nam-Ra chimes in, causing you to choke on your banana milk in laughter and surprise. Since Nam-Ra started opening up to your friend group, you can already see the influence it’s had on her. Her conversations may still be minimal, but boy do they pack a punch.

While you all wait for the rowdy boys to join, I-Sak mimes pulling you, Nam-Ra, and On-Jo into a huddle and whispers, “So, have you guys thought about who’s asking who to the spring formal in a few months?” Here, she raises her eyebrows and adds, “Better yet, who are you hoping will ask you?”

“Aish,” you rebuke. “I thought you were about to spill your biggest secret or something!”

“Hey, I’m just curious! Not all of us are set and ready like you are, Y/N!” I-Sak winks at you as you’re in the middle of chewing.

You finish your bite before replying, “Huh?”

“Well, you and Su-Hyeok are already dating, so isn’t it obvious you’ll be attending together?” On-Jo answers.

Flabbergasted, you retort, “But we’re not in a relationship. I thought that was what’s obvious.” Your eyebrows scrunch together in confusion.

“Tsk, since when did you become so good at lying, our sweet and innocent Y/N?” I-Sak pokes you with the clean end of her chopstick.

“There’s nothing going on between us,” you emphasize. “I’ve known him since we were babies, and he definitely doesn’t like me in that way. I know that for a fact!” You point from Nam-Ra, to On-Jo, and finally to I-Sak. “Not one more word from you guys, alright?”

Nam-Ra slurps a spoonful of her seaweed soup loudly.

You turn to her and narrow your eyes. “Now, what’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, you said not one more word,” Nam-Ra says without missing a beat. “That was a sound.”

You could never win against Nam-Ra verbally. “Don’t tell me you agree with On-Jo and I-Sak,” you say while facepalming. “Look guys, he’s really sweet, kind, caring, brave…” Realizing you’re rambling when the girls give you a look, you blush and backpedal, “What I mean,” you say as you fix them all with a gaze of finality, “is that it’d be weird. We grew up together, and we fight all the time.”

“I like to call that lover’s quarrel,” On-Jo states.

You roll your eyes and throw a clean crumpled napkin at her, which she manages to dodge.

“I also forgot nice smile, athletic, handsome—" I-Sak mimics your voice. You know it’s bad how spot-on it is when even Nam-Ra laughs.

“Yah! Do you want to die?”

On-Jo protects I-Sak from your slaps to her arm.

“Just admit that you like—" On-Jo is interrupted by a voice you know all too well.

“Like what?” Su-Hyeok asks, oblivious, as he plops down next to you, nudging your shoulder with his out of habit as the boys fill in the rest of the bench, focused on their own conversations.

“Yeah, Y/N, what were you going to say?” I-Sak prods, smiling wider than you thought humanly possible.

You turn to Nam-Ra for help, but she’s just the same as the other two, fixing you with a mischievous grin.

Su-Hyeok looks at you, waiting for an answer.

“Uh…I was just saying that I like,” you stall as you look around for a way out. Your gaze lands on a drink everyone has on their tray. “The banana milk!” You cringe as the words leave your mouth.

“Oh, in that case,” Su-Hyeok hands over his bottle to you. “Here, you can have mine.”

As he turns to his right to talk to Cheong-San, I-Sak flashes you a heart with her fingers discreetly, Nam-Ra elbows you in the arm playfully, and On-Jo—You’re going to get her big time for this.

Before Su-Hyeok is finished with his conversation and turns back to you, she mouths, “I love oo yoo.”

˚ ༘✶ ⋆｡˚ ⁀➷3. Cheong-San

You have no idea why your friends decided to play soccer during lunch when it was scorching hot out, especially a day before exams, but followed nonetheless.

On-Jo and I-Sak opted out and were currently benched, acting as cheerleaders. You, however, got dragged into the game as Nam-Ra was the referee and she didn’t want to be alone on the field.

The sun was starting to make you sweat, and you chalked it up to the heat beating down on your head for the sudden dizziness you were feeling. You shook your head and tried to focus on the game that was about to start.

Cheong-San was right next to you, and on the far end of the field you could see Su-Hyeok playing goalie. As Dae-Su kicked off signaling the first half, you began to stagger as your vision becomes unfocused. Just when Cheong-San is about to sprint off in the direction of the ball Dae-Su had kicked, you grab onto his arm, stopping him.

“Cheong-San, I don’t feel too good,” you say.

He steadies you by the shoulder and peers at your face. “Y/N, you’re looking a little more than just pale. Do you think you’ll be okay? Want to sit down for a minute with On-Jo and I-Sak?”

You close your eyes as your head spins but manage to give a weak nod when he checks your forehead temperature with his hand.

“Hey! What’s going on over there?” Someone screams across the field, questioning.

As Cheong-San takes your wrist to lead you back to the girls, your vision goes black and the last thing you remember is someone catching you to break your fall.

***

On-Jo and I-Sak were the first ones to reach you as Cheong-San tries to sit you up. He gets you to somewhat lean on his chest, an arm around your shoulder as the girls crowd around to see what they could do to help.

“Is Y/N alright?” Not getting a response, Nam-Ra checks your pulse and breathing. “Her heartbeat is a little slow, but other than that maybe she got heat exhaustion?”

“I think we should take her to the nurse either way,” On-Jo says, I-Sak nodding in agreement.

“On-Jo, come with me,” Cheong-San directs, as he maneuvers you for a proper piggyback.

“Move,” Su-Hyeok says, seriously.

“It’s okay, I got her,” Cheong-San replies as On-Jo helps to stabilize you on his back.

“I wasn’t asking.” Su-Hyeok slightly pushes Cheong-San.

“Guys, this isn’t the time to fight,” Nam-Ra admonishes, pointing at your unconscious form.

Without another word, Su-Hyeok picks you up easily and carries you away, with Cheong-San and On-Jo in tow all the way to the infirmary.

Once there, On-Jo decided to go get some snacks since everyone skipped lunch, leaving the two boys behind with you after the nurse assessed your condition.

Cheong-San starts chuckling quietly as Su-Hyeok glares at him.

“Why are you laughing?”

“I don’t find the situation funny, if that’s what you’re asking. I’m worried for Y/N as well.”

Su-Hyeok narrows his eyes at Cheong-San. “Why?”

Dumbfounded, Cheong-San replies, “Why would you ask that? She’s a good friend. We grew up together too you know.”

When Su-Hyeok doesn’t respond, Cheong-San nudges him with his foot under the bed to which the former just makes an incoherent noise. “You’re jealous, aren’t you?”

“I’m not jealous at all that you caught Y/N before she fainted.”

“I never mentioned that,” Cheong-San says between laughs, dimple on full display. “Would you rather I had dropped her to the ground? I don’t know why you would be mad when I was just lending a hand, and considering that you guys are dating and all…” he trails off.

“We’re not dating,” Su-Hyeok says flatly.

“Stop messing around with me Bare-Su,” Cheong-San teases, tilting his head in the direction of your small hands that Su-Hyeok was currently enveloping in his large ones.

“You idiot, I’m not kidding. We’re just friends; that’s all.” He doesn’t let go of your hands. If anything, he cradles them even tighter.

Cheong-San pauses, thinking whether to believe him or not. “Okay, hypothetically let’s say you guys aren’t together—"

“—Because we’re not,” Su-Hyeok interrupts.

“Hypothetically,” Cheong-San stresses. “Then, do you like Y/N?”

“Then, do you like On-Jo?”

“I asked first!”

“I—"

When you open your eyes, you’re met with a white ceiling and curtains, the sound of the machine displaying your vitals beeping away.

Recognizing that you were in the school’s infirmary due to the IV drip and the strong smell of antiseptic, the only thing you remembered was fainting. Everything after is a blur.

You hear hushed whispers and realize it was Su-Hyeok and Cheong-San in the room with you.

“What are you two idiots arguing about now?” You rasp.

Their heads whip towards you, shocked and simultaneously relieved.

“How much of our conversation did you hear?”

“That’s the first thing you ask me? I don’t even get a ‘how are you’?” You fake mock hurt at Su-Hyeok’s question.

“Are you okay?” Cheong-San asks.

“I like Cheong-San better,” you joke and stick your tongue out at Su-Hyeok as Cheong-San does the same.

“We were worried sick but I guess you’re fine now that you’re back to bullying me,” Su-Hyeok complains. “So feisty for such a tiny human.”

“Easy for you to carry,” Cheong-San mutters, earning a kick from Su-Hyeok. “OUCH!” He exclaims as he begins to rub his shin from the impact.

You look between the two of them, more confused than ever but decide to let it go. “Why am I here again? I only know I passed out.”

Su-Hyeok flicks you on the forehead. “The nurse said you were dehydrated and it seemed like you didn’t eat or sleep well enough. Coupled with the heat exhaustion, your already tired body couldn’t handle it and you went down.”

“Oh.”

“Oh? Is that all you can say? You scared me to death. You stayed up late studying again huh?”

“Maybe…” You reply guiltily.

The boys shake their heads at your predictable nature. You always study like crazy but this has never happened before, so you were going to make sure to not accidentally neglect self-care for good grades again.

“How did I get here from the field?”

“Cheong-San caught you and—"

“Awww, you did?” You sit up and spread your arms for a hug, having to let go of Su-Hyeok’s hands to do so.

Cheong-San was going to return it until he turned to Su-Hyeok for permission.

“Why do you need to ask whether he’d allow it?” You roll your eyes. “My arms are getting tired.”

You pull Cheong-San in for a hug and he returns the friendly gesture.

Just then, the door opens and On-Jo comes in with a plastic bag full of goodies. “Y/N, you’re awake!” She rushes over to squeeze the life out of you.

“On-Jo…can’t breathe,” you say in between pauses.

She lets you go and elbows Cheong-San. When he doesn’t get the hint, she takes him by the hand and drags him out, leaving the bag behind on the table for you. Just before the door closes, Cheong-San pops his head in again. “Su-Hyeok carried you in his arms all the way here!”

“AISH!” Su-Hyeok throws his backpack at the door, but the two had already left.

You turn to Su-Hyeok who won’t meet your gaze. Poking his arm, you tease him. “So, you do care.”

If you had been awake at the time, surely you would be a living tomato with the stares you know for a fact you would be getting from being transported that way across school grounds.

Su-Hyeok just breathes out exasperatedly. “More than you know.” He said the line so quietly, you would’ve missed it if you weren’t paying attention.

Not knowing what came over you, you lean over and kiss him on the cheek. “Thank you,” you say.

Both of you were surprised with matching blushes as proof.

Too embarrassed now for having been so bold, you make the excuse of feeling tired and lay down, turning your head to the other side to hide your smile. Su-Hyeok grabs your hand again even as you close your eyes.

His phone dings with a text and you hear him curse under his breath. “That little—“

Which could only mean one thing: Cheong-San.

[ Text: Are you sure you’re not dating? I saw everything through the window ]

˚ ༘✶ ⋆｡˚ ⁀➷4. Gyeong-Su

You’re walking along the school’s skybridge when you hear someone calling.

“Y/N! Wait up!”

You stop and turn around, smiling when you see it’s Gyeong-Su. He’s such a sweetheart that your friend group always has a soft spot for him.

He pants as he comes to a stop next to you, falling into pace by your side. “Geez, for someone with such short legs, you walk incredibly fast.”

“Is that all you wanted to say to me?” You push him.

Gyeong-Su laughs. “No, no. I’m just kidding. I have a favor to ask.”

“Glad to know you start asking for favors by first insulting the person.”

“I’m sorry okay!” He didn’t look sorry at all. “I need help with English. If I fail this next exam, I’d have to retake the class and the teacher and I already don’t get along,” he frowns.

“I’m not saying that I decline, but wouldn’t Nam-Ra be a better choice?”

“Sure, but she hasn’t studied abroad. You lived in New York for a year before high school.”

“Alright, but if your English has the accent of a New Yorker, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Better an accent than the Konglish I’m speaking with in class. Everyone always laughs when I have to read something.”

You giggle. “I can meet you in the library after our last class period. It’s a Friday anyway so we don’t have school tomorrow. We can stay a little later than usual. Does that work for you?”

“Yes! Thank you so much, Y/N.” Gyeong-Su looked so happy it was contagious. His smile suddenly falters as he leans in to tell you, “Although, I hope that you won’t let Su-Hyeok know.”

“What? What does he have to do anything?”

Gyeong-Su looks at you like you had two heads growing from your neck, gazing pointedly. “Well, I certainly wouldn’t want him to be mad that I’m spending time with you. He’d beat me up. It’s clear which of us would win in a fight, come on now.”

“Why would he be mad?” You inquire, baffled.

“You know, for ranking third place in class, you’re not as bright as I thought.”

“Watch it,” you warn, playfully angry.

“You’re supposed to be tutoring me for language skills but here I am, having to spell everything out for you.” Gyeong-Su gives you a moment to see if you would figure it out but when he sees the gears turning in your head, he sighs. “Su-Hyeok might get jealous and I don’t want that. You know, protective boyfriend and all. The what-have-you’s from all those dramas.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” you say as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, which to you it certainly was.

“Whatever you say. If you see me one day with a black eye and a broken leg, you’re going to be held responsible for my hospital bills.”

You roll your eyes as Gyeong-Su waves and goes on his way, promising to meet up later.

***

A few hours pass and you find a seat in the corner of the library where it’s more silent and there’s a window nook in between two bookshelves against the wall; it was your favorite study spot aside from your bedroom.

Gyeong-Su is more punctual than you imagined, showing up barely a few minutes after you with all his study materials. His backpack could be used as a weapon with everything he packed inside.

“Are you sure you’re here to study, or are you preparing for war?” You stare in amazement as he pulls endless amounts of materials from his bag.

“I wasn’t kidding about not wanting to repeat class.” An English textbook comes slamming onto the table and you shush him hurriedly. Thankfully, the other students are too busy studying with their headphones in to mind the noise.

“We can work on spelling first,” you direct as you flip through his workbook.

You’re surprised how fast Gyeong-Su is learning after just a few units, and even more proud at the effort he puts into grasping the subject. Perhaps you could finally understand why teachers always glow when their students succeed.

“Wow, would you look at that. I’m a great tutor,” you boast.

“Your ego is pretty great too.”

You hit him on the head with a pencil but he just laughs it off. Your phone keeps vibrating with messages, so not wanting to it be a distraction, you put it on ‘do not disturb’ mode without checking the notifications on screen and proceed to place it upside down on the table.

Both you and Gyeong-Su are too focused on your studies to notice Su-Hyeok coming into the library.

“Y/N, did you lose your phone?”

You look up, even more surprised than Gyeong-Su at his presence. “How did you know we were here?”

“You didn’t tell him? Wow, I’ll remember that the next time I have a secret I need you to keep,” Gyeong-Su says, fascinated.

“I waited an hour for you at the school gates to walk home together but you never showed up so I texted Cheong-San and he said you were tutoring Gyeong-Su in the library.”

“Oh my god, I totally forgot.” You put your hand on your head. Su-Hyeok would always walk you home as you two live in the same area, neighbors to be exact. “I’m so sorry you had to wait that long. It totally slipped my mind!”

He didn’t look mad, just tired.

“You can go home without me you know. I wouldn’t want you to wait even longer. I still have a few chapters left to help Gyeong-Su with.”

“Are you kidding? I’m not letting you go by yourself in the dark. A few more hours is nothing.”

Before you can refuse, he dumps his backpack on the floor and scoots the adjacent chair closer to yours, sits down, and leans his head on your shoulder. “Wake me up when you’re done.”

He’s out cold in a few minutes, and you can only blame it on sleep deprivation; the badge every high school student wears proudly.

“Now that the boyfriend is sleeping and won’t fight me—“

“How many times do I have to tell you, Gyeong-Su? We’re not dating.”

“Sure, because that’s totally what friends do,” he says sarcastically.

As he goes back to his notes, you look down at Su-Hyeok on your shoulder, moving his hair out of his eyes carefully so as not to wake him. Were his eyelashes always that long? His nose bridge so high? His skin so clear? His lips—

“Earth to Y/N,” Gyeong-Su waves his hand in your face. “You guys sure have a thing for staring at the other when they’re asleep. You know, it’s the same look on your faces too.”

“What? We don’t do that.”

“First, he gets caught by the whole class and now you get caught by me. You’re lucky it’s just one person who’s seeing this.”

You brush aside the first thing Gyeong-Su says, because Su-Hyeok having feelings for you? Impossible.

“I wasn’t staring!” That draws the attention of a few students nearby.

“Fine, admiring tastefully then.”

You look down at Su-Hyeok again. “You have to admit, it’s pretty endearing seeing someone sleep.”

Gyeong-Su snorts. “You’re just saying that because it’s Su-Hyeok. If it was me, you would’ve already sent me flying clear across the room with a kick.”

Not really being able to argue with that, you ignore it and turn back to give Gyeong-Su another exercise when Su-Hyeok stirs. “Next, can you describe us all with one word and spell it correctly?”

He ponders for a moment before pointing to himself: “Amazing.” A-M-A-Z-I-N-G is the first line on his notebook.

Next, he points to Su-Hyeok: “Barefoot.”

You laugh at the accuracy while Su-Hyeok curses Gyeong-Su. It’s even funnier seeing him write it down in all seriousness. B-A-R-E-F-O-O-T is the next line.

A pencil aims at your face as Gyeong-Su mocks: “Gnome.”

“You’re getting awfully comfortable with the short jokes there.” G-N-O-M-E goes down in the third line.

“She’s just petite,” Su-Hyeok tries to defend you, doing a horrible job at it.

“Great, she thinks you’re loveable and he thinks you’re cute.”

“You do?!” You and Su-Hyeok say to one another at the same time.

“The two of you aren’t fooling anyone with this ‘We’re not together’ thing. Here’s a word to describe both of you. Gyeong-Su scribbles something quickly down on the notepad in perfect English and holds up it up sideways for you as he reads it out loud, gesturing with his pointer finger between you and Su-Hyeok:

┌──────────┐

ᑕOᑌᑭᒪE ♡

└──────────┘

˚ ༘✶ ⋆｡˚ ⁀➷5. Nam-Ra

No one ever comes to class early like she does, and so Nam-Ra is more than surprised to see Su-Hyeok of all people stepping foot into the room, the slide of the wooden door announcing his entrance. He jumps when he sees her already there.

“What is it?” Nam-Ra cuts to the chase.

“Uh…nothing,” Su-Hyeok stammers.

“Whatever’s in your hands doesn’t seem like nothing.”

He quickly hides the note behind his back.

Nam-Ra raises an eyebrow at this and taps your still-empty desk. “Go ahead and put it here. I’ll let Y/N know.”

“It’s not for her.”

“Su-Hyeok, you’re talking to me, not Dae-Su. I don’t believe that statement in the slightest.”

Su-Hyeok sighs as he walks over to your seat and sits down. “Prez, I need advice.”

“Hmm, what did On-Jo call it? Lover’s quarrel, was it? I’m not that experienced to be a love guru.”

“We’re not—"

“Cut it out. No matter how many times you guys deny it, it won’t make it true.”

“But—"

“Nope.” Seeing as he wasn’t going to say anything else, Nam-Ra smiles to herself. If she can keep this up, maybe they’ll actually stop dancing around one another. “Now, why are you here and not with Y/N like you usually are?”

“She’s mad at me.”

“I find that hard to believe, but explain.”

“Y/N has been avoiding me and I don’t know why. We were fine still during the study session with Gyeong-Su, but after that day she’s been keeping her distance. She flinches when I so much as sit near her, when I talk to her, she can’t look me in the eyes, and when we walk home together, she’s always speeding ahead. I think I might’ve done something wrong, but I also don’t think I have? That’s why I was planning to put this apology letter on her desk.”

Nam-Ra brushes her hand down her face at the absurdity of the situation. “You guys are hopeless.”

“Excuse me?”

“Are you telling me or asking me about whether you messed up?”

“Uh…both?”

“Gosh, you’re clueless.”

“I didn’t know advice came with being bashed.”

“Just answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to my following questions.” Nam-Ra revives a nod in response.

“Look, you haven’t done anything wrong right?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Does Y/N turn red when you’re near?”

“Yes, now that you mention it.”

“Is she becoming more flustered now when she never was before?”

“Also a yes to that question.” Su-Hyeok’s eyes widen and when Nam-Ra finally thinks he’s pieced it together, he hits her with the entire force of collective obliviousness in the world. “Oh no! Do you think she’s come down with something? Is she sick?”

“Aigoo!” She smacks him on the head with her workbook.

“Hey! What was that for?”

“Focus!”

“I was until you gave me a concussion!”

“That’s not how that works—oh never mind! Just, think! I know it’s not something you usually tend to do, but try!”

“As long as you don’t hit me again.”

Nam-Ra ignores his previous words and continues. “Since you said you guys aren’t together I’ll believe it.”

“There’s nothing to believe or not, we really don’t have that kind of a relationship.”

“But do you want to?”

“I don’t think she likes me like that—"

“Yes or no only.”

“Fine, yes. I can’t believe I’m telling you before I tell Y/N.” Su-Hyeok slumps in his seat.

“So, you like her.” Nam-Ra states it as is, no longer questioning.

“I can’t say no now after what I said earlier, so yes. I really do.”

“Then just go tell her. It’s not that hard. You’re making a simple thing more difficult than quantum mechanics.”

“Does Y/N even like me back for me to confess?”

“Yes.” Now it was Nam-Ra’s turn. “You’re a fool for not noticing it: the avoidance, the distance, the shyness. Any of that ring a bell?”

She can physically see when the realization hits him.

“Everyone can see it except for the two of you. I’m shocked that it took me to smack some sense into you; literally and metaphorically.”

“I always thought that all friends were like that.”

“In what world? Friends don’t look at each other like that.”

Su-Hyeok springs up from his chair with his note, promising to think it through before confessing, and rushes off to who knows where.

When he leaves, Nam-Ra sits alone pondering whether she should just change her last name to Cupid.

Cheong-San and On-Jo clearly need some arrows as well.

˚ ༘✶ ⋆｡˚ ⁀➷ +1

When Cheong-San’s mom invites the friend group to their chicken restaurant for a free meal, no one could decline.

You and Su-Hyeok come in a bit later after everyone had already started eating, hand-in-hand.

“There’s the cute couple!” Cheong-San’s mom exclaims, handing over the largest platter of fried chicken you’ve seen in your life.

“Mrs. Lee, they’re not—” everyone at the table choruses in unison, except for Nam-Ra.

“We are!” You say, holding up your clasped hands.

Dae-Su drops his chicken on the floor in shock and everyone’s mouths hang open comically in silence.

“Mwoya? Have you been fooling us all this time?” Your friends talk over one another, but the sentence is somehow coherent.

“Just ourselves,” Su-Hyeok replies, looking down at you fondly, only to see you already gazing up at him.

Strangers (Chapter Five)

Strangers from Hell AU

Series Masterlist

pairing: ot7 x reader

genre: yandere, horror/thriller

warnings: murder, mature themes, obsessive/possessive behavior, emotional manipulation, stalking, violence, blood and injuries (will update as needed)

word count: 4.5k words

The next morning was a Saturday and your body could surely feel it. You blinked your groggy eyes open, wondering if you should sleep in a bit more. The bright sunlight cascading through the window told you it was probably getting a bit late, even if it was the weekend. Rolling over to check the time on your phone, your eyes widened when you saw it was almost noon.

“Shit,” you grumbled, mustering up the energy to sit up with your feet on the floor. Blinking hazily, you tried to make sense of your worn out body. Sure, you had a long week but was it normal to feel this tired? It was probably just the alcohol you drank the night before.

Figuring a shower should help you wake up a bit, you grabbed a towel and a change of clothes and made your way up to the upper floor. You couldn’t help your gaze drifting to the plastic curtain hiding the rest of the upstairs hallway as you passed by it. The memory of Yoongi catching you that night replayed in your mind, feeding into your curious nature even more. You knew you would eventually have to see what was behind that curtain, whether Jimin liked it or not.

The water cascading down your face and body seemed to do the trick, your senses coming more alert with each passing second. Your eyes closed as you rinsed the shampoo out of your hair, fingers working through the strands. The sound of the shower was loud in your ears but calming, distracting you from your surroundings. So much so that when you heard a muffled thump from behind you, your peaceful bubble burst.

“Hello?” You called out, peeking behind the curtain to look out at the empty communal bathroom. The one that was supposed to only be for you as you were currently the only female tenant in the building. Heart thrumming in your chest, you quickly finished your shower and turned the water off. Your mind felt frozen as you began drying off and dressing, trying to make sense of what you heard.

Peering out into the hallway, you felt a mix of relief and confusion wash over you to see it was empty. You knew you heard something, you were so certain it sounded like a person was in the room. 

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