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jae-bummer · 5 days
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I just stumbled upon your work, and I am positive it filled me with so much ...I dunno...goodness ? It was a genuinely healing experience, so I just wanted to say thank you for what you have put out into the world. BIG HUGS (yes I'm a Chan Stan lol)
oh, so you're trying to make me CRY today.
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seriously though, thank you! this made my heart do a little flip. i appreciate you <3
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jae-bummer · 5 days
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The Intervention
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Prompt: Hi ✨ I just found your blog and I'm reading through My Idol s2 after finishing s1. It's so much fun! Can I request prompt #16 with Monsta X?
16) Going out to dinner with your bias group and it is growing increasingly obvious that someone at the table has a crush.
Pairing: Monsta X SURPRISE x Reader
Genre: Fluff
Song rec as you read: Got My Number - Monsta X
.
"Y/N," Hyungwon said solemnly, guiding you toward a seat. "I didn't want to be the one to say this, but-"
"I'll say it," Changkyun gasped. "We hate your boyfriend. This is an intervention."
"I-" you paused, your mouth falling open as you actually took in Changkyun's words. "You what?"
Hyungwon pushed you into the chair and patted you lightly on the shoulder. "Let's get you a drink."
"Hold on," you said furrowing your brows. "What do you mean you hate Jun? You said you liked Jun!"
"We lied," Kihyun said shortly, shoving a complimentary chip covered in salsa into his mouth. "Next question."
"So...you brought me...to a restaurant...to tell me you hate my boyfriend?" you hissed, trying to tap down your annoyance.
"We thought it was best to pick a public place," Jooheon nodded. "So there wouldn't be a scene."
"This isn't real," you grumbled. "You ambushed me."
"They'll have a strawberry margarita," Minhyuk confirmed from your left as the waiter reappeared. "Sugar instead of salt, probably best if you make it a double."
"And a water," Kihyun piped in. "You should stay hydrated."
"Thanks," you managed, teeth barred. "So considerate of you."
"I thought so," Kihyun hummed with an award winning smile. "Salsa?"
Shaking your head, you heaved a sigh. "What exactly do you not like?"
"Oh, ripping the band-aid right off then, okay," Changkyun said, straightening. "Well, first off, he's fucking weird."
"Oh, if that's not the pot calling the kettle black," you muttered.
"No, I'm weird in a quirky, artistic way," Changkyun insisted. "He's weird in a, I wonder if there's a woman being held captive in his basement, type of way."
Your eyes widened. "What is that even supposed to mean?"
"I thought it was fairly clear," Changkyun huffed.
"Shownu," Minhyuk said, poking the leader of their small gang of bullies. "Are you going to contribute anything?"
Shownu looked up from the menu, a bit lost. "Have you noticed that he smells mildly like kimchi? But like...not in a good way?"
"Okay, I'm leaving," you snapped, slowly sliding your chair away from the table, only for Hyungwon to catch the back and hold you in place.
"Nope," he said, shaking his head. "You're not allowed to leave until you hear our solution."
"Before there is any type of solution," you hissed. "I'm going to need some valid reasons for why I should not be dating him."
The silence around you grew heavy. It seemed like none of them wanted to break the news to you.
Taking a deep breath, Minhyuk took your hands into his. "Y/N, love, you don't even like him."
You opened your mouth only to close it again. He wasn't entirely wrong. Jun was not the easiest person to be with and he was a bit odd. In general, you had fun with him, but there wasn't a whole lot past that surface level.
"I'm happy!" you found yourself arguing nonetheless. "I'm totally happy!"
Minhyuk quirked a brow.
"It's fine," you grimaced. "Totally could get better in time."
"I know you've only been dating for like five minutes," Kihyun sighed, crossing his arms. "But it may be best to cut your losses."
"Why do you guys care?" you groaned. "You haven't interfered before!"
"That you know of," Hyungwon muttered. Spinning around in the opposite direction, you eyed him.
"Don't look at me!" he gasped, shooting a look toward Changkyun.
You directed your gaze toward the youngest man.
Making a point to look away, he cleared his throat. "There may have been that one time."
"Changkyun," you whispered, using his name as a warning.
"It was for the greater good!" he gasped. "I promise."
"And what exactly is this greater good? And who was it?!"
"Well, if you insist on getting the truth today," he muttered, crossing his arms. "One of us-"
"We just want to see you happy," Jooheon cut in, giving his fellow rapper an elbow to the side.
You furrowed your brows. "But-"
"Which brings us to our solution!" Hyungwon chirped happily. "Minhyuk, if you will?"
"So our solution," Minhyuk said, radiating excitement about their master plan.
"You date one of us," Changkyun interrupted, nodded proudly.
"What?" you croaked.
Looking to each boy in turn, they all wore proud expressions, as if this was the best possible idea you could be presented with.
"I'm sorry," you groaned. "I think I just hallucinated."
"Kihyun was the first to volunteer," Minhyuk nodded. "But honestly, a few of us are willing to step up."
Your focus switched over to the boy in question, the tips of his ears a bright red.
"Not in any kind of permanent sense," Jooheon rushed out. "Just enough to create the ruse of a love triangle and give you reason to break up with the guy."
"I dunno," Shownu managed around a mouth full of food. "I think Kihyun thought it was in a permanent sense."
"No," Kihyun chirped. "I mean - If it were - I mean - I"
"I also volunteered," Changkyun nodded. "But so did Hyungwon and if you want to really make a guy feel bad about himself, you should leave him for Hyungwon."
"He is the ideal physical specimen," Minhyuk nodded solemnly.
"And I'm not?!" Kihyun gasped, a hand on his chest. "I think I'm incredibly easy on the eyes."
"Obviously you're good looking and approachable enough to become an idol, but -"
"End the sentence there please," Kihyun snapped.
You sat in stunned silence.
"Y/N?" Kihyun asked, unfurrowing his brows as he looked to you. His eyes softened. "Are you okay?"
"I'm not fake dating one of you," you snapped. "That's-"
"Then real date one of us," Jooheon said simply.
Maybe you were slow on the uptake. "Huh?"
"Real date one of us," Minhyuk repeated. His eyes swept from Hyungwon to Kihyun and then finally landed on Changkyun.
"You say that like it's the easiest thing in the world," you exhaled.
"Isn't it?" Changkyun said quietly, avoiding eye contact. "I know...one of us..."
The room suddenly felt much too small and the air much too thick. You could tell that the guys were speaking to you, but you couldn't hear a word.
Okay, so maybe you were on board with breaking up with Jun. You recognized that if it took this small of an argument for you to consider it, it likely wasn't meant to be in the first place, but...
Date one of them? One of your best friends? Changkyun alluded to someone in the group having a crush on you for some time, so how did you not see it? Did you just ignore the signs all of these years?
How could you date one of the monstas without the fear of something going wrong and messing up the whole group dynamic? No, it was much safer being totally platonic.
"I can't," you broke through your thoughts. "I'm...I'm sorry guys."
Before anyone could stop you, you pushed away from the table and slid around Hyungwon. His narrow frame attempted to block your exit, but you managed to sidestep away. While heading toward the door, you couldn't ignore the sound of breaking glass behind you.
The waiter had finally returned with your drink...just when the boys had surged forward to follow you.
Well, shit.
Unsure if you were going to laugh or cry, you made the safe choice to continue outside in case it was the latter. Turning the corner, you nestled yourself in an alley between the restaurant and the shop next door. Heaving in deep breaths as if you had been drowning, you leaned against the cool brick building. The cold cut through the thin fabric of your top, causing you to shiver.
"Y/N!" you heard several voices call. "Y/N?"
Closing your eyes, you tried to focus on your breathing. They would find you and then what?
"Y/N," a familiar voice huffed, relief evident in its tone.
Peeking out of one eye, then the other, you slowly tilted your face up to address a margarita-red and dripping Kihyun.
"Hey," you said softly, feeling a smirk tug at the corner of your lips. He looked ridiculous.
"You can laugh," he grinned. "Our waiter has exquisite timing."
"Apparently," you chuckled, shaking your head. This whole thing was insanity.
"Y/N," he sighed, the grin on his face replaced with a stern expression. "None of us wanted to pressure you. Usually when we bring up an idea you don't like, you shut us down, tell us we're idiots, and we all go about our day. Why was this any different?"
"Because this wasn't a plan to skydive in our underwear," you muttered. "This was me DATING one of you."
Kihyun winced. "Well, when you put it like that."
"Yeah," you grumbled. "See where I'm coming from?"
After a few moments of silence, Kihyun pursed his lips. "You could've said you don't have feelings for me. It would have sucked, but I would've been able to take it."
Your attention shot back to his face. "I'm sorry, did I miss a chapter?"
"I...I thought," he trailed, tilting his head as his brow furrowed. "I thought Changkyun and Shownu's comments made it pretty obvious-"
"No!" you gasped. "At no time during that lunch did I assume it was you, Ki."
"Oh," he chirped, his face turning a nice shade of pink. "Well...uh...in that case...um...disregard all of that?"
It was Kihyun. Kihyun had a crush on you, and you had never seen it...
You tried to go into your brain's way back machine and think back to any intimate moments the two of you had shared. Sure, you had cuddled a time or two on a movie night, but which of them hadn't you cuddled at this point? He teased you, he made sure you were taken care of, and he cooked for you constantly. You thought he was just being nice.
Glancing toward Kihyun, you considered him - like, really, considered him. He was absolutely adorable, you had always known that. It was the way the tips of his ears turned red when he was embarrassed. Or the way when he smiled, his cheeks dented a little bit with unique laugh lines you had never seen before. Or maybe it was his smile itself that was so refreshing. Earning a smile from him was better than any compliment you could receive.
It was more than possible to fall in love with him and the fact that it had snuck up on you like this...was terrifying.
"Okay," you said quietly, nodding more to yourself than to him.
"Okay?" he asked. "We're good?"
"Yes," you hummed, still trying to parse out your thoughts. "I mean no, I mean...yes we are good, but no, not in that way."
He crossed his arms. "Explain."
"Okay," you said simply. "Let's do this."
"Do what...exactly?"
"Date," you nodded. "But if you mess this up Yoo Kihyun, you do not get our friends in the breakup."
"Guess we just won't break up then." he said, a smile now fighting to overtake his lips. "But Y/N...just one thing?"
"Hm?"
"You should probably break up with your boyfriend first."
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jae-bummer · 13 days
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Jae-Bummer's Ateez Scenarios
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Seonghwa:
The Stranger in 43B
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jae-bummer · 14 days
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Whenever I think about your fics I think about how you're taking time off for yourself so this is just a little note of encouragment for you to do what's best for you, always 🫂
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I’m still not sure if my break is all the way over, but messages like this have really made me feel comfortable enough to start dipping my toes into writing again. Thank you sweet, annonie 💕
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jae-bummer · 14 days
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The Stranger in 43B
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Prompt: You move in next door and he tries his hardest to be a good neighbor while you try your hardest to be left alone.
Pairing: Ateez Park Seonghwa x Reader
Genre: Fluff
Song rec while you're reading: Close - Han
.
Putting your hands on your hips, you let out a sigh as you assessed the sight in front of you. Boxes upon boxes in leaning and teetering stacks were balanced haphazardly around the living area, all of them threatening to come down in an expensive game of dominoes at any moment.
You never realized just how much crap you owned until you moved.
"Hello?" a gentle voice called from your entryway.
Nearly tumbling into the stack of boxes closest to you, you spun in surprise. With your hands full as you came in, you forgot to kick the door closed behind you as you had done most of the morning.
"Uh..." you trailed, looking down the hall and into the face of someone you had never met.
Admittedly, he was handsome...but still, stranger danger.
"Neighbor," he smiled in explanation. Moving to take a step in, he stopped himself. His cheeks instantly began to blush pink. "May I?"
Anywhere you had lived, you had made a point to make yourself as small and insignificant as possible. You didn't want to rely on any of your neighbors for anything, and more importantly, you didn't want to be relied on. It was easier to be a lone wolf. Having to care for yourself and yourself alone was difficult enough in this modern hellscape.
You stared at him, unblinking. "Sure?"
So much for your survival instincts.
Smiling to himself, he gave a short nod before stepping just inside of your entryway. He lifted a plate into the air. "I heard we had a new neighbor moving in down the hall, so I made muffins."
"I'm allergic to blueberries," you blurted, trying not to wince at how loud the declaration came out.
He narrowed his eyes. "Good thing they're chocolate chip."
"Right," you laughed nervously, still making no move to come closer. "You really didn't have to go to the trouble."
"It was no trouble at all," he insisted. Was it just your imagination or did you see his smile become tighter? "I have housemates, so they're always eager for me to bake something and-"
"Oh, if you have roommates, you don't have to waste any food on me," you nodded. "Thank you though!"
"I'm Seonghwa," the stranger said, you assumed trying a different tactic for conversation. Honestly, you never really understood people who insisted on being friendly.
"Y/N," you nodded shortly, letting the conversation lapse into something awkward. Maybe if he felt uncomfortable he would leave.
No such luck.
"Do you need any help with boxes?" he asked, looking around the room with wide eyes. "No one should have to move by themselves."
"I work best alone," you said cheerfully, hoping he'd pick up on the hint.
"Oh," he hummed, pursing his lips. Sweeping one last gaze across your apartment, he let out a sigh. "I'll just set these on the counter then?"
"Really, you don't-"
"Please," he snapped before catching himself and letting his face fall into a serene smile again. "I insist."
"Counter is fine," you chirped, trying not to feel as if you were just chastised by a parent. "Thank you."
"No thanks needed," he affirmed, stepping gingerly between boxes and packing materials to get to the kitchen. Placing the plate on the counter, he turned back to face you. "Just return the plate whenever you have the chance."
As you were opening your mouth to tell him he could take the plate before he left, he was already giving a small wave and backtracking out of your apartment. "It was nice meeting you, Y/N. If you need anything, I'm just down the hall! Apartment 43B."
"Right," you croaked, watching him disappear around the corner into the hallway.
And that was how your relationship with Park Seonghwa of Apartment 43B began; awkwardly and against your will.
The day after he had broken into your apartment (been invited in) to poison you (give you muffins that were admittedly delicious), you waited until it was 2 AM the following day to covertly stalk down the hall and abandon the plate. You placed it in a shopping bag (you weren't going to leave someone else's dinnerware on the ground) and tiptoed toward his door.
Looking down at his welcome mat, you hissed out a laugh. Decorated in floral patterns, it noted in sprawling script "Bless Our Nest." You didn't even know him and somehow that was so on brand.
Depositing the bag in front of his door, you must have looked like a fool as you attempted to run quietly back toward your apartment. No one looked cool when they were trying to be sneaky, no matter how the spy movies made it seem.
"Y/N?"
Your shoulders scrunched up to your ears as you spun slowly toward the sound of Seonghwa's voice. "Why are you awake?"
He lifted his brows in amusement at your curt response. Waving his hand in the air, you saw he was holding a Nintendo Switch. "New Animal Crossing expansion dropped at midnight."
"How did you hear me?"
Crossing his arms, he leaned against the door frame. He eyed you up and down carefully. "I have a camera doorbell."
Glancing directly to the left of his elbow, you tried not to swear. He sure as shit did. You crossed your arms as well, trying to hide yourself from his appraising gaze.
"Why'd you come to the door then?" you managed, unsure of where to take this conversation.
"And miss this exciting game of twenty questions?" he grinned. "I'm not going to leave a Williams Sonoma plate for someone to steal."
You sighed, of course he owned expensive flatware.
"I didn't kno-"
"Of course you didn't," he grinned, lifting the bag from the ground. "I'm teasing you, Y/N."
You opened your mouth, unsure of what to say. It had been quite awhile since someone had bothered to banter with you.
"Why are you awake?" he countered, cocking a brow.
"Unpacking," you said quietly. You weren't going to admit that you had also been waiting for the Animal Crossing expansion.
"Thanks for bringing back my plate," he managed, biting his lip as he held your gaze a little too long. "I'm going to get back to it though."
"Right," you nodded. "Sorry for-"
"Goodnight, Y/N," he smiled genuinely, cutting off any apology.
Shutting the door softly between the two of you, you shook your head.
"Goodnight."
.
Of course that wouldn't be the last time you saw him. Against your best efforts, he became one of the constants in your routine. Whether it was fate or organized by his own design, you were constantly bumping into each other around your apartment building. Trash drop off? Seonghwa. Going to grab your mail? Seonghwa. Hopping in the elevator? Seonghwa.
Needless to say, you shouldn't have been surprised when a few weeks later, you heard a light knock on your door.
"Do you need any candles?" he asked, appearing in the doorway.
You furrowed your brows as you took him in. Already wearing pajamas at 8 PM (albeit a very expensive looking silk set) his arms were full to the brim with what appeared to be Yankee Candles. By all accounts, he was adorable, and you hated it.
"They're all the same scent," he attested. "So if you have more than one going at once, you won't get a headache."
"Seonghwa-" you began, completely confused by his appearance until another roll of thunder shook the complex and the lights above you began to flicker.
"I probably should have led with this," he chuckled. "But the power likes to go out at the smallest weather event."
Looking toward the ceiling, you grimaced. While you didn't mind bad weather, you did mind the power going out. Sure, you were an independent adult who could navigate the world alone, but as soon as the lights went out, you were on edge. It wasn't necessarily the dark that scared you, but the things in it that you couldn't see.
"I have lanterns somewhere..." you muttered, walking further into your apartment. You racked your brain, trying to remember which box you had packed them in. While you had most of your day to day items unpacked, there were still quite a few boxes waiting to be opened.
"I brought my lighter too in case you didn't have one," Seonghwa insisted, following you into the living area. He began to set the candles down on the makeshift coffee table you had created out of cardboard. "Let's get these lit before the-"
As if summoning it with his words, all noise halted around you as the power shuttered off.
"Lights go out."
"Shit," you whispered, standing as still as possible in the blackness that threatened to suffocate you.
With a light pop, the space was illuminated in a dull glow as Seonghwa's lighter flared to life.
"Thank god," you nearly cried as you watched him lean down to light the candles. For once, you could confidently say that you were thankful for your overly helpful neighbor.
"Hwa to the rescue!" he chimed, attempting to light the first candle, but the wick refused to catch. "Now why..."
You watched in horror as the lighter flickered out. As Seonghwa pressed the button again, it only clicked. "Oh, come on."
"Shit," you whispered into the darkness again. "Shit, shit, shit."
"No worry," he said confidently. "I'm sure it won't be out for long."
Feeling as if you were a piece of ice that had begun to melt, you slid toward the floor with a plop. "Shit."
You closed your eyes tightly, convinced that the blackness that hid behind your lids was safer than anything this apartment could provide.
"Y/N?" Seonghwa's gentle voice filled the silence, noting the obvious shift in atmosphere.
"Yep," you hissed. Your eyes were screwed shut, only cognizant of his movements by the noise of him shuffling around you. "I'm good."
"Are you sure?" he asked, this time much closer. You couldn't confirm, but it felt like he was crouched down in front of you. "You don't sound okay."
"I'm fine," you gritted out. "You can head back over to your place."
Even though the idea of being alone right now was terrifying, you didn't know if you were prepared for the level of vulnerability it took to show Seonghwa this part of you. That's why it was easier to push people away.
The pace of your breathing sped up, your body completely ignoring every therapist you had ever worked with. How could the room spin when your eyes weren't open?
"Hey, hey, hey, hey," Seonghwa cooed, pulling you into his arms without a second thought. "It's going to be okay."
Panicked breaths shuttered out of you as you allowed him to tuck you tightly into his chest.
"Crap, is this alright? I didn't ask permission to touch you, but also-"
You quickly nodded your head. "F-f-fine."
"Okay," he said, voice still calm. He began to run his hands over your hair, his fingers smoothing through the strands methodically. "Just breathe, Y/N. You're safe. I won't let anything happen to you."
You knew he wouldn't. While you had forced yourself to be annoyed at his mere presence, Seonghwa had done nothing but be there for you from the beginning.
"Let's breathe together, okay? Can you do that with me?"
You remained silent, already trying to focus on his breathing cadence.
"Good, you're doing so good," he hummed. "Are your eyes open, Y/N?"
"No," you choked out.
"Open your eyes," he whispered. "I've got you. Let them adjust to the dark. It's not so scary once you can kind of see what's going on."
You thought about arguing, but he hadn't steered you wrong yet. Your eyes fluttered open and you instantly began to breath easier. He was right. There was a slight glow coming from under the door, no doubt the apartment's emergency lights flared to life in the hallway. The windows also provided a bit of light on their own, the moon bright despite the clouds passing by.
"See," he cooed. "This isn't so bad."
You hadn't realized that you were white knuckling the fabric of his top and slowly released the smooth material. Setting your palm against his chest instead, it was more obvious when his own heartbeat sped up.
You thought back to every time you had bumped into your neighbor, every kindness he showed you just for you to push him away. What were you afraid of?
Leaning slightly away from Seonghwa, you tried to make out the outline of his face. it was easy to see his features this close, even cloaked in night.
It might have been the oxygen you had been depriving your brain, but it seemed like a great idea to kiss him.
"Hwa," you managed, your voice barely above a whisper.
His tongue skirted across his bottom lip, almost like an invitation.
Before you could talk yourself out of it, you pressed your lips lightly against his, barely a ghost of a kiss. Just as you began to pull away, you felt his mouth chase after yours. Another kiss, this one soft and sweet before he broke contact.
Maybe your fear was confusing itself for sexy feelings, but either way, mortification flooded in where butterflies had once been.
"Y/N?" he said quietly, his eyes searching your face. Even in the dark, they were so big and bright. His own expression was one of wonder.
"Sorry...was that...I didn't-" you stumbled over your words. He had been so conscious of asking for your permission to touch you earlier, and here you were, just thrusting your lips into his.
A small smile fought it's way onto his mouth. "I just wanted to make sure it was something you wanted...I don't want to take advantage-"
"No, I thought I was the one taking advantage-"
"No!" he laughed. "I'm not the one coming down from a panic attack."
"I thought...maybe I mistook your kindness and..."
"I think we're both fine then," he hummed, snuggling you in closer. "You know...you...you could do that again...maybe."
"Oh...I could?" you whispered, letting the amusement take place of the fear.
"Mhm," he hummed, his face coming even closer to yours. "It'll keep your mind busy until the power comes back on."
"You're such a thoughtful neighbor," you whispered.
"Dare you say...your favorite neighbor?"
"I dunno," you hummed. "Mrs. Huang in 41B is pretty high on my list."
"I bake waaaay better than Mrs. Huang," he grumbled, his lips still painfully close but still not on yours.
You pretended to think. "I suppose you're my favorite neighbor, but only by a little bit."
Lifting his hand to cup your cheek, he grinned. "Let me close the gap then."
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jae-bummer · 7 months
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Hey guys - My lil sick break really made me realize just how burnt out I am. Between working, life-ing, and writing, I would be doing a disservice to myself if I didn’t take a much needed break.
I’m sorry to say this in the middle of a My Idol season, as well as a dozen requests sitting in my inbox. I just need to prioritize the mental health right now.
Also PSA: I’m not sure what’s in the water lately, but I have been getting some negativity on some of my posts, as well as in my inbox. When creators on Tumblr see stuff like that, it really makes the idea of taking a break that much more appealing. I know my followers who are reading this are likely not the ones who have written these types of things, so it’s probably a lost cause to mention, but 🤷🏻‍♀️ maybe it’ll make even one person reconsider before they forget fanfic authors are putting in their time for free.
All that being saaaid, I may still be posting occasionally the next few weeks/couple of months, but it’ll be on my terms and when I’m inspired.
I really hope you all understand. 💜 I know I need to prioritize myself, but the guilt is real sometimes.
Thank you for following and see you soon. 💜
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jae-bummer · 7 months
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hello friends! i hate saying this, but this will likely be a no post week for both one-shots and My Idol. i've caught some sort of cold or have a sinus infection and my thoughts are way too fuzzy to be writing anything worth reading.
my idol will reconvene next week, and i'm so sorry for those who are excited to see what happens next!
thanks always for your patience and love. <3
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jae-bummer · 7 months
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My Idol 3: Part Twenty
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My Idol from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
My Idol is a South Korean competitive reality dating game show. It currently airs on Saturday nights on Jae-bummer’s blog. First broadcast in 2016, the show offers the opportunity for a lucky fan to go on seven blind dates with seven idols. The idol plans the date with the show throwing in a specific mission to complete during the day. At the end of the initial dates, the show opens up an audience vote to decide what four idols will move on to the second date.
My Idol 3: The Series
.
You imagined from Jinyoung's perspective; you looked a bit like a fish gasping for air. Opening your mouth only to close it again when no words came, you grappled with what to do.
Pulling himself up into a much less seductive position, (albeit still hot - it was THE Park Jinyoung after all) he patted the bed lightly beside him and smiled. "Sit."
Your brain instantly obeyed, dropping your body like dead weight beside his.
"I bet you're wondering why you're here with me," Jinyoung smiled easily. "And not Jack-"
"Y/N!" a familiar, gravelly voice called as it came hurtling into the room.
Belly-flopping into both you and Jinyoung's laps, Jackson splayed across your thighs, a wide smile on his face.
"Yah," Jinyoung groaned, immediately pushing the older man's legs away, causing Jackson to roll toward the ground. "You didn't even let me get to the buildup."
Plopping unceremoniously onto the hard wood floor, Jackson winced. "I was excited."
"Evidently," Jinyoung grumbled, shaking his head.
Trying to hide your amusement, you watched as Jackson crawled back toward the bed. Pulling himself to his knees, he set his arms gently across your legs and smiled up at you. "Hello, gorgeous."
"And it begins!" Jinyoung groaned. "I couldn't even flirt for five minutes without you ruining it."
"It's my date," Jackson bickered back. "Why should I let you flirt with them?"
"Because," Jinyoung said softly. Turning toward you, he reached up to tuck a piece of hair behind your ear. Biting his lip slowly, he let it pop out from his teeth before smiling. "I'm good at it."
His methods were much more efficient than you had anticipated, causing your soul to leave your body before slamming back into it again. What in the Wattpad was that?
"So am I!" Jackson whined. "Y/N, tell him how much I romanced you on our first date."
"Oh yeah," you nodded, still struggling to get your bearings. "So much romance. Very...wow."
Jackson rolled his eyes as Jinyoung cackled.
"Jinyoung's obvious jealousy aside," Jackson sighed. "Are you ready for the best slumber party ever?"
"I'm going to own Season 4 when they draft me for this show," Jinyoung pouted. "Mark my words."
"Who came up with the idea for a slumber party?" you asked, noting how very themed it was. You hadn't noticed it when you walked in, but there were three sleeping bags rolled up and set at the head of the bed, each with their own signature 90's cartoon character. The fairy lights you had thought came default in the room were actually haphazardly strung Christmas lights. There were also even more snacks spread out on the bedside tables.
"Me," Jinyoung and Jackson said in unison, only to turn on each other. "You?!"
"I've always wanted to have a good, old-fashioned y2k slumber party," Jackson challenged. "I trained a lot as a kid and didn't have time to do fun stuff like this."
"You may have always wanted to do it," Jinyoung countered. "But I was the one who suggested it."
Narrowing his eyes and tilting his head to the side, Jackson gave a small nod in acknowledgement. "Okay, maybe I remember that."
Watching the two of them bicker back and forth was one of the purest forms of entertainment you had had in a while.
"Why don't we get started on some snacks?" Jackson continued cheerfully, springing from his spot on the floor. Grabbing you by the wrist, he dragged you through the camera men and back into the seating area. "Pick your poison."
Your eyes weren't sure where to land first. Every Korean chip and candy that you were familiar with was clustered on the tabletop. There were even snacks from your home country, which was a special surprise.
You glanced up to Jackson who was busy watching you. "Pick for me?"
A slow smile spread across his lips as he began to nod. "How about this," he hummed, putting a bag of shrimp chips in one hand. "And this to balance it out." He placed Lotte chocolate in the opposite hand. "Go sit and I'll grab us all some drinks."
Doing as you were told, you waddled with your snacks (you had admittedly grabbed one or two more) and cuddled up on the sofa.
Jinyoung followed behind, a bag of seaweed snacks in his hand as he dropped heavily in one of the accent chairs. "I have to ask, Y/N. What are your intentions with my friend?"
A shit eating grin spread across his face as you heard Jackson bark laugh from the kitchenette.
You snorted softly with amusement. It was incredibly clear how important Jackson and Jinyoung were to each other, so even though Jinyoung was phrasing it in a joking manner, there was a hint of seriousness behind the question.
"I have only good intentions," you said carefully. "While not every choice has been my own, I'm really valuing the time that I've spent with Jackson, and I look forward to getting to know him better."
"What a diplomatic answer," Jinyoung hummed. "Do you think you have a handle on his personality from what you've seen so far?"
"Maybe a certain side of it," you nodded. "He's very caring, especially when it comes to his family, both found and biological."
You watched Jinyoung's lips twitch at that. The way you saw it, Got7 was the family that Jackson got to choose, and he was all the better for it.
"He's got a fiery side to him," you continued. "But in different ways. He's fiery in his passion for what he's doing and, in his communication, to get his point across. He's also fiery in a simmering sense."
"Do tell."
You felt your cheeks grow warm. "Well, he has no issue conveying what he wants emotionally...or physically."
"Physically?" Jinyoung coughed, wide-eyed.
"Calm down," Jackson chuckled, placing a kiss on the top of your head before handing a drink to his member. "I tried to kiss them. No big deal."
"But I'm guessing he was very clear while trying to do that," Jinyoung finished, gladly accepting the bottle he was offered.
"It's important to be clear," Jackson nodded, taking a seat beside you. "I never want to pressure someone into something they don't want."
"Which brings me to my next point," you smiled. "He's both nice and kind. He's nice while other people are around, and very respectful. But in private, he's extremely kind. It's in his words and actions that not everyone gets to see. He doesn't need to prove that side of himself to anyone. He just gives it freely."
"Well said," Jinyoung agreed.
Jackson let out a chirp of approval, a cheesy smile on his face. "I could listen to you two talk about me all day."
"Which means we should stop immediately," Jinyoung laughed.
"No, no," you interrupted. "I want you to tell me about him. From a friend's perspective."
Jinyoung took a deep breath before leaning all the way back in his seat. He eyed his friend wearily.
"I met Jackson on his very first day in Korea," Jinyoung started. "I asked one of the managers if he was an actor from Hong Kong because he was so handsome."
Jackson beamed as he slapped the air. "You are a good flirt."
Jinyoung smiled before shaking his head. "We went out to a restaurant and started to get to know each other. I liked him from the very beginning. He was just so free. I know we all see this side of him that's so bright and clever, but really, he's one of the calmest people in private. He's a grounding force."
"Someone has to be," Jackson chuckled. "Half of you have the worst tempers."
Ignoring that barb, Jinyoung continued. "I like to say that he's my teacher of life. He tells me all the time that I can do anything. You'll find with this career that a lot of people will say that, but with him, you actually believe it. He has so much faith in you that you start having faith in yourself."
"Needless to say," Jackson said, emotion clear in his voice. "We're friends for life."
"We are," Jinyoung agreed.
"He's a true-hearted friend," Jackson nodded. "I know this wasn't a question about him, but in fifty or sixty years, I think we'll still be spending time together."
"Little old men," Jinyoung laughed. "Pop, locking, and dropping it."
"I hope I'm there to see it," you smiled.
"Me too," Jackson hummed, wiggling his brows. "Cause that'll mean I won."
"Not necessarily," Jinyoung said, waving a finger. "You could just be friends."
"Okay, that's fair," Jackson agreed. "If I didn't get another option, I think I'd be happy with that too."
"Thanks," you grinned. "Hopefully you'll have a high opinion of me someday as well. Hearing you two talk about each other is adorable."
"Adorable," Jinyoung scoffed. "Please don't tell another living soul."
"I hate to break it to you," Jackson whispered. "But there's been cameras recording this whole time."
Jinyoung sprung forward, clutching his chest as he gasped. "How was I supposed to know?! I should have charged a higher price to say all of that."
Jackson giggled. "Before my friend here makes me pay a compliment tax, why don't we play a game?"
"Sure," you agreed easily. "What did you have in mind?"
"Weeeell," he sang. "It wouldn't be a real slumber party without a game of truth or dare, would it?"
You shuttered internally. While you hadn't been to an abundance of sleepovers in your day, you had been forced into truth or dare more than once. The game could go one of two ways; one, incredibly boring because everyone chooses truth, or two, grow out of control as people try to out-dare each other. Judging your company, you were leaning toward the latter.
"Alright Y/N," Jinyoung said, mischievousness dancing across his features. "Truth or dare?"
You sighed, knowing that picking truth would be a cop out, but didn't want to commit to whatever twisted dare these two could come up with. "Truth."
"What's your worst fear?" Jinyoung asked. "Specifically, about this show?"
You weren't sure what kind of question you had been expecting, but it definitely wasn't that. Jinyoung had pin-pointed the exact thing that could instantly turn your brain to mush. You tried to tread water in the sea of problems that My Idol presented. Due to recent events, one of your newest fears was that you or one of the guys would get injured. Some of them already had and that was pain enough. The thought that it could get worse wasn't a line that you wanted to cross right now. No, you'd choose to ignore the chaos of the security issues and go with something that had been one of your fears when the show started.
"I'm afraid that I'll fall in love with more than one person," you admitted. "And that I'll have to break their heart and my own to make a decision."
Jackson's hand quickly found yours and gave it a soft squeeze. "You're not in an enviable position."
"Everyone thinks dating idols is all fun and games until you actually like them," Jinyoung smirked. "I think that's an easy fear to understand. Do you think it's possible to fall in love with more than one person at a time?"
"Hey, hey," Jackson said. "Only one question per truth."
"It's okay," you chuckled. "I didn't think so before I started this show, but now that I'm in it... It's starting to become a worry."
Jinyoung nodded. "I'm sure it'll all turn out fine. You just have to love Jackson best."
You let out a surprised laugh. "I'll see what I can do."
"Jinyoungie," Jackson cooed. "Truth or dare?"
"Dare," the man across from you said confidently.
"I dare you to go to our neighbors across the hall," Jackson grinned. "And ask them to have a dance party with you."
"In the hall?" Jinyoung winced.
"In the hall," Jackson confirmed.
"Isn't that a little much?" Jinyoung whined. "They're just people minding their own business. What if-"
"You could choose truth," Jackson teased. "If you're a... chicken."
Jinyoung's expression smoothed before quirking a brow. "I'm not a chicken."
"I dunno," you said, joining in on the fun. "Sounds suspiciously like something a chicken would say."
"God, you two are made for each other," Jinyoung grumbled, pushing out of his seat. "Where's the speaker?"
And that was how you and Jackson stood behind Jinyoung as he spun what had to have been an 80-year-old woman to the sweet sounds of JJ Project's Bounce (Jackson's request).
"That was cruel and unusual punishment," Jinyoung whined, plopping back into his chair.
You and Jackson dissolved into a fit of giggles as you both fell onto the couch.
"This has to be the best day of my life," Jackson cackled. "Why did she try to give you money after?"
"Did she think it was a service?" you gasped between peals of laughter. "That she was tipping you?"
"Oh god," Jinyoung groaned. "She kept trying to tuck it into my sweater pocket. And when I refused, she put a finger up to my lips to shush me."
The visual was enough to cause you and Jackson to laugh even harder.
'Okay, enough!" Jinyoung pleaded. "Jackson, please, truth or dare?"
"This isn't about me!" Jackson screeched. "This about you and your Host business!"
"Truth or dare," Jinyoung repeated through his fingers now covering his face.
"Dare, obviously," Jackson said, finally letting his laughter wind down.
"I dare you to jump into the pool," Jinyoung said, lifting his hands to shoot a pointed look at his member. "With all your clothes on."
"Now where's the fun in that," Jackson said, giving you a quick wink. "Let's do it."
Following your two dates dutifully outside, you stood beside Jinyoung and waited. The night air had gotten a bit chilly, but the pool seemed to be heated. Getting in didn't sound like a totally bad idea.
Crossing your arms, you watched as Jackson made sure the sliding door leading to the deck was as open as possible. Picking the seating area as his starting point, he began a full sprint out of the door and toward the pool. Just as he shouted something you couldn't make out, you were scooped into the air as well, quickly plummeting toward the water.
"Jackson!" you squealed seconds before your head went under. You moved your legs frantically underneath you until your toes touched the tiles at the bottom. Giving a solid push off, you broke through the surface and gasped for air.
"I have you; I have you," Jackson cooed, wrapping his arms around your torso and pulling you toward him.
"You certainly do not have me!" you shouted, smacking at his chest. "What the hell, Jackson?"
"It seemed like a good idea at the time," he winced. "Maybe not?"
"Absolutely not!" you groaned. "I didn't bring a change of clothes, you absolute turd."
Despite the insult, Jackson grinned. "But I got us all matching pajamas."
"Of course, you did," you sighed, shaking your head. While your irritation was slowly starting to burn away, you tried to calm yourself even further. Jackson seemed to recognize that taking you with him may not have been the best decision, but you could live in the moment. Who could say that they ever got to experience something like this? "At least the pool is warm."
"I definitely wouldn't have taken you in if it wasn't," Jackson nodded. Sticking out his bottom lip, he said quietly, "I'm sorry if what I did made you upset though. Sometimes I just don't think."
Sighing, you ran your fingers over the plains of Jackson's face, wiping the water away as you went. "You were just trying to have fun."
"But I should have considered how you felt," Jackson nodded. "Just because I'm trying to have fun doesn't mean I have to pull you into it. Literally."
"Valid," you said, your heart melting as he offered up genuine apologies. "I forgive you."
"Good," he smiled. Turning away from you, he shouted at Jinyoung who was still hovering at the water's edge. "Jinyoung-ah! Get in here!"
"Are you kidding?" Jinyoung called back. "This sweater is cashmere!"
"Party pooper!"
"Nag!"
"I can tell you two really love each other," you chuckled, watching Jinyoung's retreating frame as it went back inside.
"Oh, I'm convinced he can't stand me sometimes," Jackson laughed. "But we're like brothers. We've been there for each other through some of the toughest moments of our lives... do you have friends like that?"
"I do," you nodded, letting Jackson glide around the pool with you in his arms. You tried to ignore the way the water had taken up residence in his collarbone, or how his shirt was now nearly see-through, clenching his chest as if it were painted on.
"What do they think about you doing the show?" he asked, finally stopping as he pressed your back against the side of the pool.
"Well, one of them also applied," you chuckled. "We both kind of did it as a joke. It's one of those things where you never think you would make it."
"But then you did," he smiled.
"Then I did," you sighed. "I haven't been able to talk to them as much as I usually do...and obviously I can't go out with them, but they're supportive when they can be. They send me a lot of food deliveries."
"if that's not the makings of a true friend, I don't know what is," Jackson mused. "What do you think they would say about you if they were here?"
"Curious about me?" you teased. His body was so close now, you couldn't help but have flashbacks of your first date. Just like it did in the hallway, having him only inches away made you feel slightly off balance. You hadn't had a single drop of liquor tonight, but you could have sworn you were intoxicated.
"Always," he said quietly. "I obviously don't know them...but what I've seen is someone brave. I see someone who willingly gives while the world takes. I see someone who can stand to be protected even though they think they need to protect everyone else."
"If only I could," you whispered. "But I think they would say something similar? Or at least I hope they would. I don't necessarily have the highest opinion of myself, but they seem to for whatever reason."
"Well, go on," he urged with another one of his flawless grins.
"They'd probably say I'm a nerd," you thought out loud. "That I read too much, eat too little, and stress about everything. I've been trying to do better with that by the way, but this competition makes it difficult."
"I think a healthy amount of stress is okay," Jackson nodded. "It drives you forward. It becomes a problem when it holds you back."
"Man, Jinyoung really got that spot on with the life teacher comment, didn't he?"
Jackson chuckled, shaking his head. "I think of him the same way though. I think we've both just lived so much life for our few years that it's natural for us to see things a different way."
"That makes sense," you hummed. "You had to grow up fast in a lot of ways."
"Maybe," he shrugged, adjusting his hold on you to circle around your waist. You couldn't help the small shiver that ran down your spine. "I think our generation sees a lot of that in general."
Allowing the conversation to lapse into a comfortable silence, you were hesitant to speak again. "Were you happy it was me?"
Jackson eyed you, amusement clear on his face. "Well, I didn't have much choice, now did I?"
You laughed, immediately feeling foolish. "I guess not."
"But to answer your question, I am so excited it was you. I don't know any different, but I wouldn't want to."
You nodded, trying to take both him and his words in. Before meeting Jackson, you had never really anticipated his introspective side. He was such a blast of energy and passion that it was easy for his quiet moments to get lost. The time you were sharing now felt incredibly special, despite having a boom mic hovering a few inches over your head.
Turning your eyes to Jackson's, you weren't surprised to see him watching you back. A layer of steam was starting to congregate just above the heated water, making the moment all the more dream-like.
"I think now would be a good time to say, I like you, Y/N," he said quietly, separating the space between you to rest his forehead against yours. He took a deep breath and blew it out of his nostrils.
"I like you too," you said easily. Probably too much considering it was only your second date.
"Am I...am I allowed to kiss you this time?" he asked, not bothering to look up. His forehead remained still against yours, his eyes closed.
"I dunno," you said, slowly turning it over in your mind. "What would you do if I said no?"
"Try again next time."
"What if there is no next time?" you whispered.
This caused his eyes to pop open. "Then I guess I'll have to get creative."
Smiling to yourself, you tried to really think it through. You were worried that kissing Chan had set a certain precedent, but you shouldn't even factor that in. Jackson was his own independent person that you were building a different relationship with. This one was just as amazing, just as much of a whirlwind. There was no denying your attraction to him, both physically and mentally. If you had met outside of the show, you were pretty certain you would have let him kiss you on the first date.
You licked your lips before deciding to make the first move. You wanted to catch him off guard just this once.
In a swift motion, you caught his mouth with yours, wrapping your arms tightly behind his neck in the process. You let your fingers rove through the back of his hair, tugging gently as he moved to get a better vantage. He let go of your waist, pressing you further into the wall, and moving his hands to rest on the lip of the pool. All boxed in, he leveraged the space by pressing his lips roughly against yours, breathing heavily through his nose as he captured your mouth again and again.
You could easily die in his arms, kissing him forever. He conveyed so much in one small motion, it was difficult to get all of your nerve endings working succinctly. He was such a shock to the system, you could feel the kiss all the way down to your toes and at the ends of your fingertips.
Dragging one hand from the back of his scalp to rest on his collarbone, you gradually reached up to grip his chin. Ever so slowly you began to push his face away from yours. His mouth continued to fight forward, causing you to giggle.
"Jackson," you said breathlessly.
"More," he groaned.
"We're going to get pruney," you protested. Really, you were scared of allowing things to go even further, especially with cameras lingering nearby. You knew he would never take things too far, but you also did not want to arm the My Idol crew with an hour's worth of footage of the two of you making out.
"I'll live my life happily as a raisin."
"While you would be the most handsome raisin in all the land," you continued. "We should get out."
Motioning to the cameras with your eyes, Jackson finally caught on. Groaning, he moved his body away from yours and started swimming toward the steps.
After you had both gotten out and toweled off to the best of your ability, you were given a colorful pair of pajamas to change into. The pants were a lime green plaid and the top had a small green bird on it, your name stitched underneath.
"The monograms were a nice touch," Jinyoung said lazily from his spot in the corner of the couch. He had a fluffy, bow headband on and several pimple patches covering what you thought was already flawless skin.
"Only the best for the best," Jackson grinned. Handing you a sheet mask, he moved to lay down on the sofa, resting his head on your lap. "Can you put this on for me?"
"How can I say no when you've already gotten so comfy?" you chuckled, pushing his hair back from his face. Your date hummed happily as you pulled the mask over his skin, flattening it out and smoothing in all of the serum. By the time you were finished, you looked up to find Jinyoung asleep, one of his under eye patches sliding slowly down his face. Judging by his fluttering eyes, Jackson wasn't far behind.
"Do you want to get in the bed?" you asked softly. Wedged between you and Jinyoung, he couldn't be comfortable.
"No," he grumbled. "Do you want to get in the bed?"
You looked longingly toward the main part of the suite. The option did seem incredibly nice after another long day.
"I'm fine here," you decided. If he didn't want to move, you didn't want to disturb him.
"Okay," Jackson whispered. "I'm okay with wherever you want to go...just as long as you stay."
You tried to combat the fuzzy feeling spreading warmly across your chest. He was so soft and beautiful in this moment. You didn't have the words to describe how it made you feel.
Just as his breathing finally began to even out, you heard a steady knock on the door.
"Y/N?" Insu called lightly through the barrier. "We've got a problem."
.
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jae-bummer · 7 months
Text
Wrong Number
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Request: Can I request n° 14 from your prompt list with shownu or woozi pls 🥺omg I love your works 💗💗
Prompt:
14) You accidentally send a text meant for your ex to the wrong number. Your bias replies.
Pairing: Seventeen Woozi x Reader
Genre: Fluff
Song rec as you read: Still Here (Acoustic Ver.) - ATEEZ
.
Chewing on your lip, you stared down at your phone screen, tapping it lightly whenever it began to dim. All you had to do was hit send.
You read the message over and over again, trying to determine if it sounded like you were trying too hard. After nearly ten different variations of the same message, you deleted it all again and settled for something a little more profound.
Hey :)
Was the smiley face too much? You didn't want to seem too eager. Maybe you should - shit, you brushed against the send button.
Flying into a bit of a panic, you decided it would be the best course of action to send another message.
It was really good seeing you yesterday! I hadn't expected us to bump into each other, but I'm glad we did.
You took a deep breath before tapping send again.
That was a little better. If he had deleted your number, at least now he could figure out who you were via context clues.
Leaning back into your couch, you wished the cushions would simply swallow you up. You were mortified with your increased heartbeat. How could you let yourself get so worked up over a guy who had broken up with you?
And it wasn't a delicate breakup. You had been seeing him for nearly a year when he decided to tell you (through text you might add) that it simply wasn't working out anymore. He was your first real boyfriend since coming to Seoul, so you could admit that part of you would always hold a soft spot for him.
That's why, when you bumped into him at a cafe yesterday, you couldn't stop your stomach from plunging to your toes. He was still just as beautiful as you had remembered. Asking for his contact information felt like a fever dream now. At some point in your post-breakup anger, you had deleted any of his information that still lived in your phone. To save face, you told him you lost all of your contacts after getting a new device.
You couldn't quite remember if he had mentioned meeting to catch up or if it was you, but you left the experience in a daze. It took you hours to talk yourself into taking the plunge and sending that text. Now all there was left to do was wait.
It had been only minutes before you heard the high-pitched ding.
Vulnerability was not your strong suit. Even something as simple as allowing yourself to hope was a dangerous route to go down, so you tried to squash the optimistic butterflies that sprang up in your stomach before they could take flight.
Steeling yourself, you finally looked at the screen.
wrong number
You jerked backward as if you had been slapped. Maybe he hadn't picked up on the context clues after all.
It's Y/N. You gave me your number, remember?
Surely you hadn't dreamed up the entire interaction. He must not have been expecting you to actually text. Well, that stung a bit.
You flinched as your phone dinged an instant later.
still wrong number
You double checked the contact you had texted and felt your face grow flush. Your stomach felt hollow. Did your ex seriously give you a fake number?
Just so we're clear...this isn't a joke...right? This really isn't Jae?
Typing bubbles immediately appeared.
nope. sorry.
You blinked dumbly at the screen. God, how could you have been so stupid?
..
Woozi tilted his head as he glanced at the screen. When he had read the first message, he automatically assumed his number had been leaked again. It wasn't a common occurrence, but it was known to happen on occasion. After the second message came through shortly after, he narrowed his eyes. He hadn't even left his studio yesterday.
"What's up?" Hoshi asked, shifting to sit up from his lounging position on the couch.
"Wrong number," Woozi muttered, placing his phone face down beside his keyboard.
"Weird," Hoshi hummed.
Woozi's phone vibrated again, causing him to sigh.
"I thought it was a wrong number," Hoshi chuckled.
"I did too," Woozi grumbled, typing back a quick response. He had no idea who Y/N was or how they got ahold of his number, so he was certainly not who they were looking for.
After his phone vibrated again, he let out a small huff.
"What is going on over there?" Hoshi laughed, now moving to hunch over the shorter member's shoulder.
"Nothing," Woozi said shortly, attempting to set his phone back down before Hoshi snatched it from his hand.
"Aw," he clucked, holding the device high enough into the air that Woozi knew he would look ridiculous trying to jump for it. "Well, that's sad."
"Yep," Woozi groaned. "Now give it back."
"Wait," Hoshi chuckled, now typing quickly on the screen. "I need the tea."
"You need the what?" Woozi asked, now increasingly annoyed. Choosing to make a fool of himself after all, he began to hop around Hoshi, tugging at his arms in a futile attempt to get the phone back.
"The tea," Hoshi clarified. "Let's live vicariously through someone else's misery."
"I have enough of my own," Woozi groaned. "Now give it back."
"Ooooh," Hoshi said, spinning so his back faced the other man. "Jae is the ex-boyfriend."
Woozi rolled his eyes. "Why do you care?"
"Oh my god, he gave them this number," Hoshi gasped. "He ghosted them and doxed you in the process."
"Doxing requires them knowing who I am," Woozi sighed, crossing his arms. "And it sounds like all of this was just a coincidence. Now, please give me my phone and leave me alone."
"Fine," Hoshi pouted, dropping it into Woozi's palm. "Party pooper."
Shaking his head, Woozi plopped back into his desk chair and went back to work. After a few minutes, he had completely forgotten all about the person who had texted him and brought their misfortune to his doorstep.
Or at least he thought he did.
After hitting a wall while creating a new song, he looked idly around the room in search of inspiration. This was the hardest part of his job, having to work around the writer's block.
Lifting a brow, his gaze settled on his cell.
Flipping it back over, he tapped through it aimlessly before finally settling on the chat that Hoshi had continued.
who's jae btw???
Hoshi and his need for unnecessary punctuation.
He's my ex-boyfriend. He said this number was his. Prepare yourself for any other jilted lovers that might be heading your way.
Woozi shook his head. Why couldn't people just be straightforward with each other?
ugh that's the worst. i'm so sorry.
It was the worst and Woozi was sorry. That didn't mean that he wanted Hoshi to continue the conversation.
Thanks :) I appreciate that. I'll stop bothering you and crawl back into my hole now.
Woozi set down his phone and turned back to his screen. He had been in his share of unsuccessful relationships and seen plenty amongst his members. In none of those situations had something like this happened before.
Clicking through various windows for a few moments, he heaved a deep sigh before grabbing his phone again. Before he could think better of it, he began to type.
you doing ok?
It was short and not too invasive. He wasn't looking for any new friends, but he could at least be a decent human being. Plus, this could be just the inspiration he needed to continue his song. Heartbreaks were always a hit.
...
You squinted blearily into the darkness of your bedroom.
you up?
Chuckling to yourself, you turned the brightness down on your phone before responding.
Lee Jihoon, you DID NOT just send me a "u up?" text.
The response came shortly after.
i used "you" not "u." give me some credit.
Rolling your eyes, you settled back into your pillows with a smile. It had been about a month since you had purposefully texted your ex, while accidentally texting Woozi. You hadn't expected for anything to come out of the situation and there was definitely no way that you would've seen this turn of events coming.
You liked him. Against your better judgement, you were crushing on a complete stranger that happened his way into your life. At this point, you had exchanged countless texts, hours on the phone, and photos of your day. Woozi worked a lot, so on occasion, you would even sit on FaceTime and work quietly together. Just having each other for company was comforting in a way that you hadn't found with another person in quite some time. It had all been a bit of a shock, but you complimented each other well.
On several occasions, you had attempted to meet up, but life was hard for both of you. With Woozi's schedules, it was difficult to stay on the same square in the calendar. Admittedly, you had been the one to cancel once or twice as well, but the time had finally come. You were supposed to meet today.
Which made Woozi's text all the more concerning.
Is this the part where you have to cancel on our plans today?
You glanced at the time, noting it was still the early morning hours. Either he hadn't gone to bed yet, or he was waking up much too soon.
ye of little faith.
i'm not cancelling. i'm just not sleeping well.
You lifted a brow. Normally, he wasn't one to be prejudice against a sleeping situation. Since he got so little of it, he often could fall asleep anytime, anywhere.
That is, unless his brain was working overtime.
What's got your brain going this time?
You waited only seconds.
you
You inhaled sharply. Woozi was generally a direct person. Getting him to talk about his emotions, and more specifically, his opinion of you, was a bit more difficult though. Sometimes he was able to speak in such a straight way that it caught you off guard. Other times, he relied on the soft, quiet moments in between to really convey how he felt.
Me?
This time, he typed for a while.
yes, you i'm probably only saying this bc i can be a coward behind a keyboard BUT i'm nervous about today in a good way but...another part of me is scared that we're putting each other on these pedestals that are much too tall. how can reality actually reflect the image of you that my mind has created?
You sniffed in amusement.
It would have been much easier to say you're scared that this is too good to be true.
The typing bubbles appeared and disappeared several times. You knew he was going to come back with something sassy.
i don't do "easy" well, y/n
He had that right.
Rolling over onto your side, you chewed your lip. You could easily admit that you probably had an idealized version of Woozi in your head. It was hard not to when you got to see the best parts of each other every day. That being said, it didn't mean that that image was wrong. It just wasn't factoring in the darker side of his personality. Everyone had one and you wouldn't fault him for being human.
It'll work out. We both know that there's still so much to learn about each other. We just need to be patient and have a little faith.
He hearted your response before his own appeared.
my y/n. so wise.
Your heart fluttered at the simple words. Seeing him acknowledge that you were his made you feel full. You knew you were right. Everything would work out fine.
....
Spinning your phone around on the tabletop, your brain warred against you. Maybe this was a bad idea.
Unlike most people your age, you had never met with someone from the internet before, let alone a stranger you had accidentally texted in a fit of love sickness. Woozi had insisted that he had never done anything like this before either, so that brought at least a small amount of solace.
Plus, everyone you had ever met had been a stranger at one point.
And Woozi really hadn't been what you would consider a "stranger" for some time now.
You looked up from the cafe table for the hundredth time as someone entered.
Still not him.
Taking a deep breath, you nodded to yourself. Everything would be alright. You had told Woozi as much this morning. Now it was time to believe it.
"Hey stranger," a familiar voice hummed from above you. Glancing up, you met the shining, dark eyes you had only ever seen on a phone screen. It felt surreal.
"Jihoon," you breathed, a smile stretching across your lips.
"Well, come on," he clucked, motioning for you to stand. You did as directed, nearly forgetting to breath as he wrapped you in a quick hug.
"Sorry," he said, pulling away almost instantly. "I should've asked if you were okay with physical affection. Are you?"
You nodded weakly, trying to find a coherent thought through the cloud of Woozi's scent. He didn't smell strongly of anything aside from clean laundry, but it was enough to catch you off guard. He was in front of you, looking gorgeous and smelling comforting. It almost felt impossible.
"You sure?" he asked, his mouth hitching up at the corner. He slid into the seat across from where you were sitting.
Plopping dumbly back into your own seat, you shook your head. Get ahold of yourself, Y/N.
"Sorry," you croaked. "I'm just trying to...uh...wrap my brain around...well, you."
Woozi smiled, his cheeks going slightly pink. "I know what you mean."
Glancing around the cafe, he set his hands in front of him. "Let's just wait a moment...to take everything in?"
You nodded, immediately allowing yourself to look at him directly. His cuteness definitely transferred to how he looked in person. He wore his hair as you usually saw it, dark, long, and slightly wavy. He had a solid jawline and a cute, button nose (the deadliest combination). His shoulders and arms were much wider and more muscular than you had expected, which was both attractive and terrifying.
Overall, he was breathtaking.
He seemingly refused to look at you though. Continuing his search around his surroundings, you noticed his fingers slowly begin to creep toward yours. Halting before they got to their destination, he deigned a glimpse your way.
"You were right," he said quietly.
"That's good to hear," you grinned. "But what about?"
Finally placing his hand on top of yours, he gave it a gentle squeeze. "I wanted this before, but now that I have you in front of me, I want to know everything. The pedestal was high, but you're still sitting on top of it."
You were positive you were about to short circuit. Who just walked around saying things like that?
"Who would have thought," you managed. "That I would have an ex-boyfriend to thank for giving me the wrong number."
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jae-bummer · 8 months
Text
My Idol 3: Part Nineteen
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My Idol from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
My Idol is a South Korean competitive reality dating game show. It currently airs on Saturday nights on Jae-bummer’s blog. First broadcast in 2016, the show offers the opportunity for a lucky fan to go on seven blind dates with seven idols. The idol plans the date with the show throwing in a specific mission to complete during the day. At the end of the initial dates, the show opens up an audience vote to decide what four idols will move on to the second date.
My Idol 3: The Series
.
You ran your hands lightly over Chan's scalp as he napped on your thighs. His hair wasn't styled, hidden underneath a beanie most of the day, so his natural curls were sticking out in all manner of odd directions. He snored lightly, his plush lips open just enough to let the sound escape.
You had kissed those lips.
Smiling to yourself, you looked out of the car window. When you had started out your day with Hyunjin (of all people), you hadn't expected that you would cross this line with Chan.
You tried not to think too hard about the implications of what this meant. While this was likely a step in the right direction for your relationship with him, what did it mean for the other relationships? If the other contestants tuned in, how would they feel to see you kissing another man? Would they feel pressured to kiss you? Or would you feel the pressure to kiss them?
More than that though, you were starting to worry over the fan reaction. If they were already volatile, would they step it up to new and creative levels? Would you have to worry even more about your safety and the safety of the people around you?
You glanced back down to the arm that Chan had nestled safely against his chest. It was wrapped in a soft cast, partially hidden by his sweater. Hyunjin had clued you in to Chan's hospital visit the night before, so you weren't surprised when he took you up on your offer to be a pillow while he napped. He had just as long of a night as you.
After pressing him a bit more, you discovered that he was originally meant to join you at the date's beginning, but instead, he was shuttled back to JYP. He wouldn't go into the details, but his managers wanted to pull him from the program.
You don't know what you would have done if he hadn't talked them into backing down. The show without Chan would have severely dampened your experience. You had to remind yourself, as much as you enjoyed his presence, you still had three other, just as wonderful men waiting for you. You had firework types of feelings for him, but he couldn't be the end all, be all. Not yet.
As the My Idol SUV pulled up to your hotel, you began to run your fingers lightly over Chan's arm. "Hey, sleepyhead."
Blinking up at you, it took him a moment to realize where he was. A slow smile spread across his face. "We're still on our date."
"I mean, technically," you laughed.
Slowly easing himself up, he assessed his surroundings before shoving his beanie back over his head. "Do you think...um...maybe could I come by and see Junior before I head back to my room?"
Your lips immediately began to say yes, but you paused as you remembered the answer wasn't entirely your own. You waited patiently for Hyuk to realize his answer weighed more than yours. Just because Insu allowed Chan to visit before, didn't mean Hyuk would do the same.
"If you're waiting for my response," Hyuk grumbled. "I don’t consider it an issue."
"Really?" you chuckled.
"Unless the young man smuggled a shiv onto the date, there is no concern for your safety," he continued. "And yes, Mr. Bang, I am familiar with your music, and am aware that you have shivs."
"I - um - that was a metaphor, sir," Chan stuttered. "I don't have any weapons on my person."
"Then perhaps you shouldn't reflect that in your lyrics," Hyuk sighed, glancing over his shoulder at the two of you. You had to bite the inside of your cheek to keep from laughing. Weapons, even wielded by your dates, were no laughing matter. "It gives you a reputation."
Hyuk was a bit of a weird guy, but you didn't mind him. He was like that one slightly off uncle who knew a little too much, but you'd trust with your life. Just like Insu, he was one of the few people on the My Idol team that you could rely on.
"I'll definitely consider that moving forward, sir," Chan nodded, his spine straight as he addressed Hyuk. As he glanced over to you, you tried to hide your amusement with the whole situation.
"Let's get going then," Hyuk hummed, opening the car door and hopping out. You and Chan exited as well, following Hyuk like baby ducks.
As soon as Chan had been sighted heading toward the lobby, you heard the fans across the street begin to scream. Immediately whipping your head around, your eyes darted in every direction. At this point, it was almost an instinctual reaction to feel anxious whenever fans were in a mile radius. You hated to admit it, but you were scared.
"Hey, we're okay," you heard Chan's voice in your ear. You hadn't realized that in the time it took to survey your surroundings, you had come to a complete stop. Navigating you by your shoulders, Chan gently led you to the hotel's revolving doors.
"Sorry," you croaked, shaking your head as soon as you entered the building. "I just got...kind of lost for a second there."
"Understandable," Chan acknowledged. "I won't stay long. You need your rest too."
A part of you wilted at that comment. It wouldn't be fair to either of you to hold him up, but you were going to miss his calming presence. After the mess that was the voting special, these guys had become one of your main sources of comfort (and you hoped that they felt the same about you.) It would be another few days before you would go on your next date, which meant you could recharge, but you hated being alone with your own thoughts.
Headed up to your floor, the elevator was quiet. You weren't sure if it was because Chan was trying to avoid any more of Hyuk's judgement or if you had made things awkward back down in the lobby. You really hoped it was the first option.
Stepping out and into your hallway, it remained quiet until Hyuk had finally unlocked your door. Much like Insu, he took up post with the door open, keeping an eye on any funny business that may be going on (inside of the room, and out).
"Junior!" Chan whisper shouted as he waddled across the room and dropped to his knees. "He's gotten so big!"
"Has he?" you hummed, leaning against the edge of the bed. Tilting your head, you squinted at the aquarium. "I guess he has gotten a little bigger?"
"You know," Chan said excitedly, his eyes never leaving Jinki for a second. "Goldfish will grow as big as the enclosure you keep them in. We could get him a whole pond and he would be a monster!"
You chuckled, shaking your head at how cute he was. "I think it'll be a while before we invest in a pond exclusively for Jinki."
"You're right," Chan nodded thoughtfully. "He'll need brothers and sisters by then too."
"Are we already discussing extending the family?" you gasped. "On the second date?"
Chan turned to face you, his grin wide on his face. "Too soon?"
"Okay," Hyuk sighed from the door, checking his watch. "We'll be switching guards soon, so it's a good time to get moving."
"Yes sir," Chan agreed, standing and straightening out his posture again. You supposed since he wasn't able to meet your real father yet, Hyuk would be the person he was trying to impress. "Thank you for letting me come by."
"Thanks, Hyuk," you echoed.
Hyuk nodded before waving the two of you off. Shifting toward the hallway, he began to exchange words with someone just out of sight.
Without any warning, Chan pulled you up toward him and wrapped his arms around you for a tight hug. "I'll see you soon."
Your response died in your throat as his lips were on yours again, this time the kiss soft and chaste. Pulling away with an instant smirk, Chan looked into your eyes. "Rest well, okay?"
You nodded dumbly, completely taken aback by all that was Chan. He gave your shoulder one last squeeze before heading toward the door.
"You too," you said weakly, not even sure if he could hear you.
Making his way around Hyuk, you were surprised when the older man grabbed him by the elbow, slowly walking him back into the room.
"And who hired you?" you heard Hyuk ask, his voice deadly serious.
"Choi Insu," the disembodied voice answered back. You shuffled your way over to get a better vantage of what was happening. It was pivotal to remain out of view so you could watch more openly.
The man standing before your door was at least a head, maybe two taller than Hyuk and Chan. His build was disturbingly wide, everything about him intimidating. He gazed into your room casually, as if he had been there before.
Well, that was unsettling.
You felt your heartbeat begin to ramp up as the anxiety took hold. Reaching forward, your fingertips grabbed at the back of Chan's shirt, urging him to take another step back.
"Choi Insu?" Hyuk said. "We don't work with a Choi Insu."
The stranger looked as if he was going to vomit.
"We work with a Kang Insu-" Hyuk corrected, but the stranger instantly cut him off.
"That's who I meant," he chuckled. "Sorry, I don't really have things quite locked in yet."
Insu had instructed you to stay vigilant. This whole encounter was raising red flag after red flag. You wanted to figure out the best way to slam the door in this dude's face and hide away forever.
"When did you start?" Hyuk continued.
Something about this question finally made your warning click in Chan's head as he finally took the few backward strides to stand at your side.
"What's going on?" you whispered, trying to keep the strange man in your line of sight.
"He says he's my new bodyguard," Chan said quietly. "I've never seen him before...and something just...doesn't feel right."
Phasing back into the conversation happening in front of you, you noticed the stranger had become increasingly twitchy.
"Surely you don't mind if I give him a quick call," Hyuk sighed, acting as if this was a normal Saturday evening for him. Pulling his cell phone from his pocket, he tapped at it before placing it to his ear.
"Insu, hi," Hyuk chimed. "Yeah, I have this young man here-"
Before he could even get the rest of the sentence out of his mouth, the man made a break for it. Moving with surprising speed for his size, he was out of sight before you could even blink.
"Stay here," Hyuk barked, yanking the door behind him.
You looked to Chan with wide eyes, your heart dropping to your toes. What had just happened?
.
After waiting about an hour, both of you too shocked to do anything except sit side by side on the edge of the bed, Chan's actual bodyguard appeared at the door.
"You're okay," he groaned, visibly relaxing as he put eyes on Chan. "Thank God."
"I could say the same," Chan said, voice gravelly.
"I think I speak for the both of us when I say, what the fuck?" you gasped, surging from the bed.
"We're going to have a debrief later-"
"You're going to have a debrief now!" you said, almost in hysterics. You felt Chan's arm wrap around your waist as he pulled you into his side.
"We've been in here with no updates after a strange man went bolting from the room," you continued. "After he initially tried to take Chan with him I might add."
"We caught the guy," Chan's bodyguard explained. "He's being questioned by our team, as well as the police. I legitimately thought he was a new bodyguard to relieve me from my shift. I take ownership of that being my mistake."
"Your mistake!" you shouted. "Do you realize what your mistake could have caused."
"Hey, hey," Chan cooed, stroking your shoulder. "I'm sure he's already been beaten up about-"
"I don't care!" you continued. "You just let anyone stroll in off the street and walk away with your idols? What if Hyuk hadn't stopped him? Where would Chan be right now?"
"That's why we have checks in place," the bodyguard croaked, his frame shrinking as you berated him. "He has to go through multiple people to get to this point."
"Urgh," you cried, clenching your fists. This was way too much.
"We'll have more answers for you soon, I promise," the bodyguard said, his eyes glassy. It looked as if he was nearly driven to tears.
Good, you hoped he felt the guilt down to his bones.
"Fine," you snapped, the fight slowly giving way to exhaustion. "I guess we don't have a choice."
'I'll send Insu your way," the bodyguard offered. "He'll know more, I promise."
.
Too bad that even Insu didn't have proper answers for you.
"Tell me again," you implored, refusing to even look at him. He was technically part of the bigger problem.
"He works for someone, but refused to tell us who," he said for what had to have been the fifth time. "He's being held until he decides he wants to thaw a bit to answer our questions."
"How did he get in?"
Insu was silent for a moment. "He walked in."
"He walked in," you repeated. "HE WALKED IN?!"
"He tossed his paper work as he ran, but it was all recovered," Insu said. "Everything looked correct unless you really dug into it."
"So why didn't you? Why didn't anyone?" you whined, keeping your focus on the city streets flying past your window.
"I wasn't here, Y/N," Insu said slowly. "If I was, I promise it wouldn't have gotten as far as it did."
"You need people you can trust," you implored. "You can't be everywhere, all the time."
"Until I found out exactly who is letting these things happen," Insu growled. "I'm going to have to be."
Just as you were about to pepper him with the next round of questions, the My Idol SUV slowed to a stop. Hopping out before he would have to say anything else, Insu held the door open wider for you.
"I'm sorry, but where are we?" you croaked, not getting out. "And who approved this?"
Insu outright laughed before motioning for you to step out of the vehicle.
"I really don't mean to seem high maintenance," you continued, not budging. "But there is literally a dead rat next to your Oxford."
This caused your bodyguard to look down with disinterest. Shaking his head, he glanced up at you again. "Y/N, get out of the car."
"I will when I don't hear police sirens," you hissed. "Which might be awhile."
"Look," he chuckled. "The security team sussed out this location before-"
"Oh, did they?" you cut in. "The same security team someone tried to infiltrate a few days ago?"
This caused Insu to fall quiet. The incident that had happened with Chan was another example of how things were going terribly wrong from a safety standpoint. The attacks also seemed to be getting closer and closer.
"Okay," Insu hummed, reigning in his irritation. "I deserved that."
You felt bad for a moment. He wasn't even on duty when everything had happened. As the scenario played back in your head, you knew that even if he wasn't actively working at the time, he was somewhat responsible for vetting and planning all things surrounding security. You were allowed to give him a little bit of grief.
"You did," you chirped, finally stepping out of the SUV and immediately clinging to his side. It was bad enough that you were now fearing for your life in even the best situations, but now? You were in an awful part of town, standing in front of a building that looked like it had seen much better days.
"What is this place?" you whispered. "A haunted house?"
You had consumed the slightest bit of Korean media in your day and thinking that San, Jackson, or Jungkook would be taking you to a haunted house was a stretch. Well, maybe not Jungkook, but surely, he wouldn't be doing that with you on a second date, right?
"It's a hotel," Insu clarified. "A very nice one in fact."
You blinked up at him, mouth slightly ajar. "I just watched a shutter actively fall off one of the windows."
"Just watch," Insu said, leading you toward the paint peeled front doors. "And trust."
"You're so lucky that I have so few people to trust around here," you muttered. "And if this leads to my death, I'm going to haunt the shit out of you."
.
This was absolutely one of the shadiest set ups for a date you had ever been on.
Leave it to My Idol.
Standing in front of the door marked with a large 7, the light above you flickered, maybe because this place was a shit hole or maybe for dramatic effect.
Inserting the key into the lock (no form of electronic access had you a bit concerned) you turned it until you heard an audible click. Taking a deep breath, you pushed gently against the handle.
Squinting as you walked in, you were taken aback by the interior of the room. If the outside of the hotel was a post-apocalyptic hellscape, the inside was easily four stars.
"What the fuck," you muttered, following a trail of flower petals into the larger part of the suite. A table with plush chairs greeted you first, snacks and drinks of every type lined across the surface. Looking further into the room, past the dining area, was a sitting area. Couches that looked entirely too comfortable faced each other, a small coffee table in between. That was stacked with board games, movies, and even more snacks. Just past the couches, you could see out and onto the balcony. This was not any normal balcony though, no, it came fully equipped with your own personal pool and hot tub.
Spinning on your heel, you stepped gingerly toward the bedroom. This wasn't a weekend date, so you were surprised by how luxurious it all was.
As soon as you crossed the threshold, you let out an embarrassingly loud scream.
A man you recognized as Jinyoung from Got7 lounged seductively across the impeccably white bed, surrounded by candles and fairy lights. You lifted your brows, unsure of what to do with him as he watched you.
This would be so much easier if you weren't jump scared by an aggressively handsome man.
The continued silence seemed to amuse him though, his smirk growing wider by the second. "Y/N?"
Sounded like your name, but in this fever dream, you weren't quite sure anymore.
With a lack of response, Jinyoung could only chuckle. "Ready for a sleepover?"
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jae-bummer · 8 months
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Un-Breaking Up
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Request: i’m not sure if your request are still open honestly it’s my first time requesting ever. do you think you could do one of 10, and 13 with changbin, they were exes and something happened either one could say 10 and then they get stuck together, idk this was a big brain fart
Prompt:
10) “Was it worth it?”
13) Oh no! There's only one bed!
Pairing: Stray Kids Changbin x Reader
Genre: Angst (with a happy ending)
Song rec as you read: Top or Cliff - KIM SEJEONG
.
"What do you mean there's only one room left?" you hissed into your cell phone.
"They overbooked for the weekend," Chan sighed on the other end of the line. "We reserved the rooms when you and Bin were still together."
"And I told you I would pay the extra to get my own room," you groaned. This could not be happening.
When you had agreed to go on this friend-cation, you had been blissfully wrapped in the throes of love.
Now, you were stranded at the airport with a headache and an ex-boyfriend hailing a cab.
"It would have been nice for you to tell me he was on the same flight by the way," you scoffed.
"You literally booked the flights together-"
"You said he was going to change them to come in earlier! With you!"
"I thought he was!" Chan gasped. "Look, if you can't suck it up and be an adult for five minutes-"
"It's a twenty-minute drive," you pouted.
"And rooms are already sorted, so you guys are just going to have to figure it out," he sighed. You could almost hear him, miles away, shaking his head in disappointment.
"Can't he like...stay on your pull-out couch?" you hedged. "I'm sure your partner won't-"
"Oh, they will very much mind," Chan chuckled. "Plus, Changbin paid his portion just like everyone else. He's not getting downgraded to my loveseat."
"He's small enough to fit damn near anywhere," you muttered.
"Y/N," Chan said slowly, careful to keep his annoyance reigned in. "We'll see you soon, okay?"
"Just say you hate me," you complained. You knew you were being dramatic, but you were in too deep to turn back now. It really wasn't your intention to be a brat, but you and Changbin hadn't seen each other in weeks. Your friends had inadvertently become children of divorce, so you knew Chan didn't deserve the grief you were giving him.
"If by hate you mean love," he said cheerfully. "Now get your butt here. I'll see you in the morning."
Rolling your eyes, you hung up the call and shoved your phone in your pocket. Turning on your heel, you marched over to where Changbin was shoving suitcases into the back of a taxi.
"Everything okay?" he huffed, pushing the very last of the luggage into the trunk. "What did Chan say?"
"That you've been invited to sleep on his pullout couch," you smiled brightly.
"Y/N."
"They couldn't get us separate rooms," you muttered, crossing your arms. "And we have to make do."
Changbin's eyebrows shot up. "I'll pay the difference."
"Tried that," you sighed. "They literally have no more room."
"They always have more room," Changbin grumbled, yanking his phone out of his pocket. "Even if it's an executive suite."
"By all means," you hummed, sliding into the back of the waiting car. "If you think you can do something literally no one else could, go ahead."
Choosing not to acknowledge your comment, Changbin joined you in the backseat. Careful to keep a sufficient space barrier between the two of you, he informed the driver of your destination before getting on the phone with what you assumed to be the hotel concierge.
No matter how charming he could be, the fifteen minutes he spent on the phone yielded no results. As he hung up, you could see how ruffled he was. Leaning his head against the window of the taxi, he slowly exhaled.
"Let me guess?" you remarked. "No matter how much money you threw at the problem, it didn't work?"
Taking a deep breath, he swiveled toward you. "I was just trying to help-"
"No one asked," you said sharply. "I tried to fix the problem and couldn't. So did Chan. I don't know why you thought you could come in and save the day-"
"You used to like it when I saved the day," he bristled.
You knew you weren't being fair and simply picking at him just for the sake of picking. "I used to like you in general, but here we are."
Changbin closed his eyes and leaned back into the seat. Luckily, the hotel was already coming into sight. Unluckily, you would still be stuck together for the next few days.
.
"Shit," Changbin said, stepping into the hotel room.
Yanking your suitcase over the lip of the door, you made your way into the room, stopping just behind him. "What-"
The words were erased from your tongue as you took in your surroundings. The room was gorgeous, and admittedly, pretty romantic. You were greeted by a small seating area and a low table decorated with rose petals and snacks. Looking further into the room, you could see you had your own private pool outside, intimate and moody with low lighting. The thing you had avoided recognizing though was perhaps the most obvious.
There was only one bed.
"Perfect," you croaked, completely exhausted by this whole situation. "Absolutely perfect."
"I could try to-"
"My guess is," you said slowly. "That they are so fully booked, that they won't be able to move us to a room with two queens."
"But you don't know that for sure," he said with a small nod, trying to convince himself. "I'll go to the front desk."
"Knock yourself out," you sighed, leaning against the wall to begin sliding slowly down it. It was time to accept defeat. "Better yet actually knock yourself out."
Changbin shot you a dirty look as he yanked the door open and disappeared from sight.
Too bad he was back within ten minutes.
"Let me guess," you smirked. "They are fully booked and won't be able to move us to a room with two queens?"
"You don't have to gloat," he pouted, plopping on the edge of the bed. Looking helplessly around the room, his focus landed on the two armchairs in the seating area (very much not a normal, pull-out couch.) "I can just make a pallet on the floor."
You felt a small pang in your chest. As much as you didn't want to admit you had any threads of care left for the man in front of you, you did. And unfortunately, you didn't want to condemn him to sleeping on the floor. "That wouldn't be fair to you."
"It is what it is," he sighed. "And I'm not going to subject you to laying in a bed with me when you don't even want us to be in the same room."
"Stop being dramatic," you scoffed, totally projecting. "We can make a pillow barrier. Plus, I really don't want to hear you complain and make me into the bad guy."
"Y/N," he groaned. "It's not like that."
You chewed on your lip, knowing it wasn't. Changbin had honestly been much more charitable than you had even tried being since the two of you had broken up. You had pinned most of the reasons for separating on him, so maybe he had taken it to heart.
Choosing to ignore his protests, you began to unpack instead. Leaving the top two drawers in the dresser open for him (a habit from when you were dating) you silently moved your clothing and essentials to various parts of the room.
"Do you mind if I shower first?" he asked. His tone was careful, as if he was waiting for you to explode.
You hated it.
"Go for it," you answered.
He moved quietly toward the bathroom, leaving you with only your thoughts as you heard the click of the lock.
Moving toward the bed, you shoved your face into a pillow to let loose a mix between a groan and scream. Sometimes it just helped to make nonsensical sounds when you were feeling frustrated.
It was difficult being around Changbin again. Even though the two of you had broken up, there were feelings there. You had been so desperately in love with him at one point, you just assumed you would be a little bit in love forever. You thought the two of you had been bulletproof, but in one evening of anger, you managed to break both your heart and his (and still clung to the rationalization that it was all his fault).
You knew who he was when you had started dating. Seo Changbin, member of Stray Kids, producer in 3racha, gym rat, and lastly, boyfriend. All of those things came first, and you were so, so tired of being the last checkbox on the list. After being cancelled on for maybe the hundredth time because there was some sort of work emergency, you had had enough. His things were waiting in boxes when he had eventually shown up, and you had endless reasons for why you didn't want to continue forward.
When he begged, you had shut him down. Looking back now, you knew it was because you were afraid. It was easier to have a hard break than admit that you were both flawed people who weren't trying hard enough. It was easier than actually making the effort and being uncomfortable. You werent't ready for that advanced level of vulnerability.
Changbin was one of the softest and squishiest individuals you had ever met, which made it even harder. Any form of neglect he had stumbled into subjecting you to had never came with a hard edge. When he apologized, he was genuinely sorry. He was too good and pure to have to deal with you being upset over something he loved. He dreamt of being an idol before he even knew you existed. It would be the best for both of you if you just stopped interfering in his success.
Maybe the thing that hurt you the most though was seeing how it seemingly didn't affect him. He continued forward like nothing had happened, even treating you as a friend whenever you happened to run in the same circles. That was when you decided you couldn't like him, even if you loved him. It was easier to be annoyed than show how hurt it made you.
It was sick to say that you had wanted him to be just as miserable and lost as you were.
As you heard the water cut off, you pushed your face away from the pillow and took a deep breath. It was just a quick trip. You could be cordial for the sake of your friends.
You heard him before you saw him. With the phone glued to his ear, he was chuckling at someone on the other line. It was difficult not to ogle at the water droplets still decorating his shoulders and collar bone, even though he was technically fully dressed in a tank top and shorts.
"We need to redo the guide," he instructed. "I might be able to break away for a little bit and record something.
Yes, I know I'm on vacation, but we're already behind."
After a few more minutes of arguing, he hung up, and tossed his phone onto the bed.
You couldn't help yourself. "Was it worth it?"
"Hm?" he asked. You knew he had to pull himself out of his own thoughts before he could address yours.
"Was it worth it?" you repeated, crossing your arms.
"The shower?" he asked, lifting his brows and smiling his patented one-sided smirk. "Absolutely."
"No," you croaked. "Working. On vacations, in what's supposed to be your free time. Was it all worth it?"
He plopped on the edge of the bed, keeping his back to you. "We're talking past - past tense here...aren't we? Not the call I was just on."
Your silence was answer enough.
"I like to think it was," he said quietly, tilting his head to the side as he made a hissing noise to reprimand himself. "But as days go by, the more and more I wonder if I was wrong."
You chewed on your lip, not at all knowing what answer you had expected, but that wasn't it.
Looking over his shoulder, he slowly pivoted his body to face yours. His expression softened as he said quietly, "Is that why you hate me?"
Your jaw dropped open as you floundered for one of your knee-jerk, cutting responses. His face conveyed such helplessness.
"...I don't hate you, Changbin," you said quietly. Surely, he had to know that.
"I don't think I would blame you if you did," he chuckled sadly. "I put just about everything before you, didn't I?"
"It wasn't a matter of putting things before me," you said slowly. "It was a matter of putting things before us. We were supposed to be a team."
The old adage that time heals all wounds was at least proving itself to be slightly true. It was definitely easier to speak on how you were feeling now that you had put some space between yourself and the initial confrontation.
Changbin nodded slowly. "I wanted to be better."
You tried to take the ice out of your tone. "I did too."
"Then why didn't we try?" he asked, looking toward you with watery eyes.
You tried to focus on your breathing. If Changbin cried, you were absolutely going to cry.
"I thought...I thought that I had done so badly as a boyfriend," he continued. "And that's why you treated me like I was an inconvenience once we broke up."
"You were an inconvenience," you grumbled. "Only because I was still so upset...and you were acting like everything was okay between us."
"I don't know how to act otherwise!" he contended. "We broke up and I still loved you. Treating you any other way would have hurt my heart, and I'm too selfish to do that on top of what was already done."
"Huh," you hiccupped, feeling the tears come despite your best efforts. "I really goofed, didn't I?"
"What do you mean?" he asked, furrowing his brows.
"I was the one who did the breaking up, Bin," you said quietly. "I tried to tell myself I shouldn't feel bad because it was your fault. You were the one who was always gone, but I didn't try to talk to you about it. I let it become this completely...other thing inside of me. It was like every time you cancelled, I added it to this stack until it finally tumbled over."
"But I should have realized on my own," he asserted, standing up to move closer to you. Dropping to his knees in front of you, he gathered your hands in his. Looking up through his lashes, you could see the toll the last few months had taken on him.
You were foolish to think he wasn't suffering in the same way you were.
"We can blame ourselves all day," you sniffed, finally letting the tears run over your cheeks. "But it doesn't change the fact that we broke up...and now we're here."
"So we un-break up," he mused, saying it as if it was the simplest thing in the world.
"Un-break up?" you muttered.
"Mhm," he hummed, easing up from his knees to sit beside you. Wrapping an arm around your shoulders, he tucked you into his side.
"It's not that easy," you hiccupped, shaking your head but making no attempt to untangle your body from his.
"Who says it can't be?"
"We're different people now, Bin," you maintained. "Do we even know if we can be that safe space for each other? It ended so poorly last time, and-"
"Because we let it!" he argued. "But we know now-"
"Do we?" you interrupted. "We don't actually know how to fix what happened. We walked away."
"And here we are, walking back," he chuckled, shaking his head. "We can try, really try...if you think it's worth it."
You chewed on your lip, looking toward him. His eyes were still a little puffy from his brief crying episode, but it was definitely the same Bin you had fallen in love with months ago. His dark hair was beginning to dry in its signature messy curls, and his even darker eyes watched you carefully. There was a fire there that had been extinguished for so long, seeing it again caused your heart to skip a beat. Now that you had opened the door, he would push as hard as possible to make his way back in.
"Y/N?"
"I may not be worth it," you laughed grimly. "But I know you are."
"I didn't know we were throwing a pity party," he teased. "I should have bought streamers."
"I take it back," you grumbled. "You aren't worth it."
Changbin's grin was wide as he wrapped his other arm around you and squeezed you tightly. "Of course, you're worth it, silly."
"So we're doing this," you whispered into his bare shoulder. The smell of his shower gel was still heavy on his skin, encouraging you to inhale deeply. For the first time in weeks, you felt at home.
"Hell yeah we are," he chimed. "We're going to do the shit out of this."
You laughed as you pulled away from him. You wanted to look into his eyes. He needed to understand.
"Starting now, we both promise to do better," you nodded slowly. He nodded along, eyes wide. "Which means, do you really have to work while you're here?"
He smirked, letting out a small chuckle. "Starting now, I am going to be so present in this relationship, you're going to get sick of me. You'll be begging for me to go to the studio."
"Somehow I doubt that," you sighed, lifting a hand to cradle his jaw. He tilted his face, nuzzling your palm before dropping a soft kiss there. "But I'm excited to see you try."
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jae-bummer · 8 months
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My Idol 3: Part Eighteen
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My Idol from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
My Idol is a South Korean competitive reality dating game show. It currently airs on Saturday nights on Jae-bummer’s blog. First broadcast in 2016, the show offers the opportunity for a lucky fan to go on seven blind dates with seven idols. The idol plans the date with the show throwing in a specific mission to complete during the day. At the end of the initial dates, the show opens up an audience vote to decide what four idols will move on to the second date.
My Idol 3: The Series
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"Where's Chan?"
Hyunjin's brows lifted as he let out a startled laugh.
Shaking your head, you realized how rude that sounded. "What I mean to say is, yes, it's nice to meet you too."
"But where's Chan?" he grinned knowingly.
You grimaced. This was not at all how you expected your first interaction with any of Chan's members to go.
"I'm sorry," you sighed. "I know it's not an excuse, but last night was a lot, and-"
"Oh, I heard," Hyunjin nodded, eyes wide. "A few of us stayed up to watch the special...and then managed to stay awake until Chan got back from the hospital."
"The hospital?" you choked. "Is that why he's not here?"
"Hold on," he smirked, placing his hands in the air between the two of you. "He's fine. He'll be joining us in a little bit."
You exhaled heavily and began to nod. "I don't mean to continue to sound rude, but why are you here?"
You had gotten used to having attractive men practically thrown at you at this point, but you still didn't understand why they would have invited Hyunjin on a date (especially if Chan wasn't around).
The newest member to this adventure was surprisingly good at placating you. "To give you another window to look through at who Chan really is."
"You're here to dig up his deepest, darkest personality flaws then?" you chuckled. "And spill them all to me?"
"Something like that," Hyunjin grinned. "Or maybe I'm just the greatest wing man in all of history."
You felt your shoulders relax. The little voice in the back of your head you often tried to ignore had been screaming since your feet had hit the parking lot pavement. It wouldn't have surprised you even a little bit if the My Idol production crew thought to throw in more dates with members from the groups that you were already entangled with.
Apparently, artificial fan attacks were not where you drew the line, but this would have been.
You were really, very tired.
"I think I planned something pretty fun for us today," Hyunjin continued. "Or at least fun for me."
"So considerate," you chuckled.
"May I?" he asked, sticking his elbow out for you to grab. You nodded, wrapping your arm around his bicep and allowing him to lead you into the building.
As soon as you saw the setup of the strange shopping collective in front of you, you knew where you were. "Isn't this where Chan and I's first date was?"
"It is!" he nodded approvingly. "I watched the episode and was frankly scandalized when you didn't actually go shopping in some of these places. The clips I saw of clothing storefronts were so incredible."
"I forget that idols are so wrapped up in the fashion scene," you hummed. "I'm guessing you're one of those?"
"One of those?" Hyunjin outright laughed. "I try to stay humble, but your boy is an ambassador for Versace."
This caused your mouth to pop open in a small "o." Even if you weren't the most well versed on the fashion world, everyone knew what Versace was.
"So you're expensive," you smiled, glancing up at him.
A blush began to creep across his face as he let out a light giggle. "If you think so."
You didn't intend on flirting with one of Chan's best friends, but it was difficult. Hyunjin was visually mesmerizing, there was no contesting that, but he was just so easy to tease. Much like the man you had already come to know, he was open and giving with his attention. You needed to do better. If you were actually going to date Chan, you couldn't very well be drooling over the people he was closest to.
"Selfishly, I wanted to see it for myself," Hyunjin cut into your thoughts. "And I love dressing other people."
"Meaning me," you finished, unsure of how you felt about trying on clothes. In your day-to-day life, it wasn't one of your favorite activities, so you hardly thought that would change (even if your shopping partner was THE Hyunjin.)
"Yep," he confirmed. "Plus, what's more fun than walking the racks and gossiping?"
The two of you entered the first boutique you came upon. You glanced toward Hyunjin, watching in real time as his fashionista gears began to turn.
"Do you have any other hobbies?" you asked, already enjoying seeing him in his element.
"Mhm," he hummed, heading toward a display of very fluffy coats. "I read when I can. And I paint of course."
"Of course," you nodded, as if this were common knowledge. "Do any of the members have the same hobbies as you?"
Not even bothering to look your way, he began flipping through blouses with a smirk. "You mean Chan?"
"I mean your members...which happens to include him, yes."
"Well," he said thoughtfully, moving on to the next rack. "Not particularly? In our dorm especially, I'm sort of the odd one out."
"How do you mean?"
"I room with Chan, Changbin, and Han," he continued. "They're the idea factory for Stray Kids. They compose and write the bulk of our music...I mean, of course, we all work on it, but they literally breath it."
"That sounds like a lot," you said quietly, beginning to chew on your lip. You knew being an idol was a tough career, but you hadn't really considered all of the work that goes on behind the scenes. Your mind could wrap itself around the recording and choreography, but anything further than that seemed hugely intimidating.
"It is, but they all handle it well," Hyunjin mused. "Chan very rarely loses his temper even though he has so many plates to balance. He's a Libra after all."
"Does he have a temper?" you countered. You thought you knew the answer, but it wouldn't hurt to ask.
"He's the dad friend," he stated simply as if that explanation made all of the sense in the world.
He proceeded to pull a hanger from it's place and hold the piece of clothing in question in the air between the two of you. Glancing from your body, to the shirt, and back again, he began to nod slowly.
"You know how some dads just have a certain presence about them?" He finally began to articulate. "They just have to get a little bit stern and the kids fall into line? That's how he is. If he looks at you sideways, you know you've done something wrong."
You remained silent as you thought it over. From what you knew so far, that seemed pretty on brand.
"Don't get me wrong," Hyunjin continued. "He's really passionate and a mildly concerning amount of protective over his friends and family. He can have a short fuse when it comes to whether we're all comfortable or not. I'll just say it this way...he gets angry for the right reasons."
"It sounds like you think very highly of him," you implied.
"You've met him," he chirped. "What's your opinion?"
"He's very considerate," you said quickly, your brain seeming to have already thought this over without realizing. "He got me a gift I didn't think anyone would have...and he was constantly putting my thoughts and opinions before his own."
"He does that," Hyunjin agreed. "It's like he has a toggle. Sometimes he can go into a situation and just handle it confidently, without question. Other times, he's so nervous about how others will react or if he will offend someone, it's almost crippling."
"But he puts his best face forward always," you clarified. "Even when he is nervous, he doesn't want you to know."
"It goes back to that comfort level," Hyunjin confirmed. "He'll throw himself into oncoming traffic if he means the people he cares for get what they need."
"Sounds very martyr-y," you concluded.
"He has higher standards for himself than he does anyone else," he replied, pulling even more clothing out and into your arms. "Have you ever been color analyzed?"
"Color what?" you coughed.
"You know," he said, gesturing wildly with his hands. "Where someone comes in and holds a bunch of different fabric swatches to you to see which color family looks best with your skin tone?"
"i mean...maybe?" you trailed. "The stylists do weird stuff all the time."
"Well, that's not entirely helpful, now is it?" Hyunjin clucked. "I'll just wing it, I suppose. Here."
Spinning you around, he began to push you toward what appeared to be a dressing room in the corner of the store.
"See," he hummed. "It sounds like you have a high opinion of him too."
"i guess so," you sighed. Up until now, you had been a bit worried that it was too high of an opinion for someone you only barely knew. "But it's kind of hard to be sure after only one date."
"If it helps, I've known him for an objectively long time," Hyunjin went on. "And i haven't found a red flag yet. Well, other than that he's an insomniac, so if you can encourage him to nap, please do so whenever possible."
"Noted." You figured most idols had turbulent sleep schedules, so it didn't come as a shock that Chan fell into that camp.
"Now, let me know if you need a different size," he instructed, shoving you through a curtain into a small fitting area. "I eyeballed you pretty well, but it's not an exact science."
"Great," you muttered. Being "eyeballed" by anyone was something you generally avoided, but with Hyunjin? You did not want your body, let alone it's measurements, to be perceived.
This was going to be a long day.
.
By the time you had hit your fourth dressing room, you were exhausted.
"I don't know about this one, Hyunjin," you groaned, pulling at the tight fabric of the top. "This is a lot of skin."
"Let me see!" he insisted. "Not that I want to see a lot of your skin. That sounded a lot more creepy than I intended it to."
Taking a deep breath, you turned away from the mirror and back toward the doorway. Pulling back the curtain, your breath caught when your eyes met Chan's. Finally deciding to materialize, his gaze was heated as he stared at your face before dipping his attention down your body and back up again. After a moment of locked intensity, you could distantly hear Hyunjin clearing his throat.
"Hey," Chan managed, his voice raspy.
"Hey," you said softly, instantly wrapping your arms around your torso.
"You look, uh," he swallowed. "Devastating."
"I was going to go with a different word," Hyunjin chuckled. "But if that is your vibe, go for it hyung."
Chan smirked before rolling his eyes Hyunjin's way. Taking slow steps toward you, he stopped just short of your personal space cushion and met your eyes again. "You have been gorgeous every time I have met you, but in this outfit, I'm concerned you could ruin me."
It was incredible how one sentence could dry every bit of saliva that was in your mouth. You had suddenly become very aware of how the term "thirsty" came into existence.
"I'll give you two a minute," you heard Hyunjin chirp before disappearing into the racks of clothing.
Chan furrowed his brow before reaching out, pausing just before his hand hit the fabric at your waist. "Can I?"
You weren't even sure what he was asking permission for but, "Yes." God, yes.
He nodded to himself before grabbing you by the hip and pulling you in. His arms wrapped around your waist, pushing you into his chest. You stumbled forward, barely able to bring your arms around his neck before he was crushing his body into yours.
"I missed you," he groaned, holding you in one of the tightest hugs you had ever taken part of.
"I missed you too," you hummed, trying and failing to lean away to get a better look at his face. "Are you okay?"
While you weren't complaining about the affection, you were surprised by how raw it was.
"I've just been worried," he said quietly. "Ever since the voting special. So much happened and I've been scared...for you."
"For me?" your voice cracked. "I wasn't the one who apparently needed to go to the hospital."
Chan smiled sheepishly as he unwound one of his arms from your body. Holding his wrist between you, it was the first time you noticed that it was dressed in what appeared to be a soft cast.
"Chris!" you gasped, stopping yourself from grabbing his injured arm.
"It's just a fracture-"
"Just a fracture!" you hissed. "What else?"
"A few scrapes and bruises," he chuckled, trying to hug you again. "Nothing serious."
"Nothing serious!" you repeated. "Just a fractured wrist and he says nothing serious."
"It could have been worse, Y/N," he said, his tone turning more stern. "You know that."
This shut you up immediately. After Insu had brought up his worries that something dangerous could happen, you had tried not to think of those types of scenarios. Even after your last conversation, you hadn't seriously considered it, as your bodyguard had thought that My Idol had been behind the attacks. Surely they didn't mean to actually cause you bodily harm.
Looking to Chan, you realized how silly you had been.
Bodily harm aside...they wouldn't put your life in danger...right?
Shaking your head you looked up to the man in front of you and sighed. "It's not going to get any worse than it has already."
"Says you," Chan muttered. "I know you don't want to-" Glancing over his shoulder he eyed the camera and sighed. "Never mind."
"What?"
"Nothing," he said, fully letting you go now.
It wasn't the thin clothing Hyunjin had picked out that caused you to shiver.
"What have you two gotten up to today?" he asked cheerfully, his smile not passing all the way to his eyes.
"Doing what Hyunjin does best," you sighed.
"Spend money?"
"Pick out clothing," you laughed.
"Now that you two are done making heart eyes at each other," Hyunjin said, once again making his presence known. "How do we feel about couples outfits?"
.
"This wasn't quite what I had in mind when you said couples outfits," Chan muttered, taking your hand in his unbroken one.
"I think it's adorable," you grinned, looking toward the two men. Hyunjin had dressed just the two of them in matching shorts and shirts.
"It would have been weird if Y/N got the same outfit as us," Hyunjin hummed, taking a long pull from his coffee. "Plus, I wasn't about to be the third wheel."
"But that was literally your function today," Chan pouted.
Rolling his eyes, Hyunjin stared at you. "Now do you really believe that?"
You giggled and began to shake your head. "Something tells me that Hyunjin does not have the capacity to be a third wheel."
"If I'm a third wheel," he nodded. "I'm the big one. Like the one at the front of the tricycle."
"Maybe I should have brought Changbin," Chan muttered. "Or Han."
"You know what," Hyunjin sighed. "I take back every nice thing I said about you while you weren't here. Forget everything, Y/N. He is a stinky boy who lives at the gym or the studio, there is no in between."
"Hey now," Chan interrupted. "There is no need to assassinate my character."
"What am I assassinating?" Hyunjin gasped. "All Y/N has to do is follow you around for a few days. You'll show them yourself."
"Get in the car," Chan ordered, pointing to the My Idol SUV.
"Not without saying goodbye," Hyunjin huffed. Cutting off the older member, he swiveled to face you. Extending his arms wide, his thin frame crashed into you, causing you to stumble until Chan was able to steady you both.
"Definitely should have brought Changbin," Chan clucked, shaking his head as he stepped away.
"It was so good to meet you," Hyunjin said quietly, resting his cheek on the top of your head. "I wouldn't mind it if you let our leader stick around just a bit longer."
"I'm not sure if that's up to me," you sighed, stepping out of his embrace. "But I'll try."
"I know you will," he nodded, tapping your nose.
"Alright," Chan said, motioning once again to the waiting car. "I'll see you back at the dorms."
"Don't miss me too much," Hyunjin called over his shoulder, giggling to himself even after he slid into the backseat.
"Hopefully he wasn't too much of menace," Chan grinned, stepping in front of you again.
You heard the car window slowly begin to roll down. "I resent that."
Chan closed his eyes as he took a deep breath. Instantly covering your mouth with your hand, it was difficult to hide the smile that the two boys caused.
"Bye, Y/N!"
The vehicle carrying Hyunjin finally meandered it's way out of the parking area, leaving you, Chan, and the camera crew alone.
"Now," Chan hummed. "I feel like I've hardly got any time with you today, but I don't know if any amount of time would be enough."
"You did get hardly any time with me today," you teased. "You gave it all to Hyunjin."
"And he took it without issue," he laughed. "What did you think of him?"
"He's hilarious," you nodded. "And he cares about you a lot."
"Some days," Chan chuckled. "I'm glad today is one of them."
"He definitely filled me in on some sides of you that I've yet to see," you said, slowly turning over the conversations you had had with Hyunjin in your head.
"Nothing too bad I hope?"
"No criminal record," you ticked off on your fingers. "No wives any of us know about."
"The bar is exceptionally low, isn't it?" Chan laughed.
"Modern dating really leaves little to be desired," you joked. "But you're doing exceptionally well."
"Is that so?" he hummed, pulling you toward him. Hardly a foot separated you from one another, causing the butterflies that had remained relatively dormant to begin their frenzied dance.
"Mhm," you managed, attempting to tame your wildly beating heart. You liked it when he held you close like this. It gave you every opportunity to really take him in.
Today he had on almost no makeup, which you found you actually preferred. His skin was naturally smooth, with only a few dimples and marks decorating it's surface. From this close, you could really see the dark circles under his eyes, but those were charming in their own way as well. For the amount of work he got completed in a day, those bags were a badge of honor.
Your eyes roved from his jaw line, to the nose you knew he was self conscious over, before finally settling on his plush mouth. Tracking your focus, Chan flicked his tongue over his bottom lip, causing your stomach to do a small flip.
"Would it...would it be disrespectful of me to ask for a kiss?" Chan asked, his expression carefully schooled.
His request caused you to pause. During the first round of dates, you followed the "I don't kiss someone I just met" rule explicitly, no matter how difficult it was. You were already getting enough of a fan reaction by simply existing in the same room as these men, you weren't trying to tempt fate.
Now though...the second round? There were four contestants left, all of them very arguably some of the most kissable people you had ever met.
Did that make it right though?
Was it ethical to consider kissing all of them?
Looking from his lips back up to his dark eyes, you felt lost as he watched you in return.
"You don't have to say it's okay, Y/N," he whispered, making sure to give you his best kind smile. "I really won't mind."
"But I will," you said slowly. You thought back to the first night the two of you had met, how close you felt to him, how easy it would have been to kiss him then.
"Does that mean...?" he trailed, his eyes already half lidded.
Placing your hands flat against his chest, you nodded to yourself. It was hard to look at anything but his lips. "Yes."
Fans already seemed to hate you, whether it was engineered or not. What could a kiss hurt?
"Perfect," Chan said quietly, his mouth seconds from meeting yours. "Absolutely perfect."
You weren't sure if he was talking about you, the moment, or the impending kiss.
It didn't matter.
As soon as his lips met yours, it was as if you had left behind all reality anyway. Reaching up to cradle your cheek in his palm, Chan pressed gently against your mouth with his. You kissed back just as softly, afraid of making the moment too intense and leaving yourself only wanting more. It was bad enough that you were already thinking ahead to the moment when this would end, unsure if or when it would ever happen again.
Seeming to sense the diversion of your thoughts, Chan nipped playfully at your lower lip, causing your smile to press against his. Your body filled with a honeyed warmth, straight from your head and all the way down to your toes. It was easy to forget the weight of the world when Chan made you feel lighter than a feather.
With one hand placed on your side and the other still tenderly resting at your jaw, you had never felt so cared for or so at ease. Kissing Chan was one of the most effortless things you had ever done.
As he began to pull away, it took everything in you to stifle the groan threatening to escape your throat.
"Patience," he hummed. "There will be other times. I promise that."
"But Chan-"
"I promise."
You knew he couldn't, but man, was it nice to pretend that he could.
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jae-bummer · 8 months
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Crimes Against Punctuality
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Request: Hi! I'm in loooooove with your writing and I saw that you have your request open soooooo can I ask for “Going out to dinner with your bias group and it is growing increasingly obvious that someone at the table has a crush. “ with Suga 😍💕 pls😭🫶
Prompt:
16) Going out to dinner with your bias group and it is growing increasingly obvious that someone at the table has a crush.
Pairing: BTS Suga x Reader
Genre: Fluff
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If there was one constant in your world, it was this: when it came to dinner with your friends, you were never late.
Had you often arrived after nearly everyone else? Yes. Did that include technically running at least thirty minutes late on more than one occasion? Also, yes.
But out of the eight of you, there was always someone who was later, therefore absolving you of your offenses.
Sprinting toward the restaurant, you quietly cursed to yourself. Even though they got more than enough crap for it normally, you hoped that tonight, Jimin or Jungkook were running late. If they were already there when you walked through the door, you wouldn't hear the end of it. You needed one of them (or both, you weren't picky) to be the martyr just this once.
Taking the steps two at a time toward the front door of the establishment, you groaned as you flopped against the glass. Pushing at what was an evident pull, you took a step backwards before advancing again.
"It'll be fine," you muttered to yourself. "They get so wrapped up in each other, they won't even notice I'm missing."
Coming to a halt in front of the hostess stand, you opened your mouth, only to be silenced by screams coming from the back of the room.
"I'm guessing you're with them?" the hostess asked, lifting a brow.
Looking over her shoulder, you could clearly see where all seven men had already been seated, and were now zeroing in on you.
"I guess," you agreed, slumping your posture as you walked slowly toward them.
"Y/N!" "You're late." "Did you know you're late?!" "Jimin got here fifteen minutes ago and you couldn't even-" "I took two showers today and still-"
"I ordered you a lemonade."
Looking up as you slid onto the bench seat next to Yoongi, you let out a short chuckle. "Wouldn't have been my first choice."
"I know," he smirked. " It's punishment for your crimes against punctuality."
"How mildly inconvenient," you sighed, picking up your menu. "How is everyone?"
"Starving." "Withering away to nothing." "I have this suspicious mole on my elbow, can anyone-"
"Not all at once," you laughed. Side eying the man next to you, you elbowed him in the side. "What about you?"
"What about me?" he asked calmly, looking to his menu as well.
"How are you?" you repeated.
"Peachy," he grumbled, now glancing your way. "How are you?"
"Tired," you nodded. "Things are just a lot, but you know that all too well."
"What had you late this time?" he questioned, looking away quickly again.
You narrowed your eyes. Sure, Yoongi was odd in a generic way, but something else was going on with him tonight. His vibe was heavier somehow, more guarded.
"Work was a disaster," you explained. "Have you had the bibimbap here before?"
"Namjoon said you had a date."
Choking on what could only be air, you whipped your attention back toward him. "What?"
"With that new guy at your office." He refused to look at you now, but you noticed the tips of his ears were burning a bright crimson.
"Min Yoongi," you gasped. "I never took you for a gossip."
"It's hardly gossip if you told Namjoon," he muttered, flipping the menu over.
Setting your glare on Namjoon, you cleared your throat. Like prey that had been spotted by its predator, he slowly turned toward you with wide eyes. "Can I help you?"
"Who told you I had a date with my coworker?" you asked innocently. "Because I surely did not."
Swallowing loudly, a timid smile crossed his face. "Hobi?"
"Hoseok?" you hummed, swiveling your head to the newest rumor mill.
"I just, when I-" he began to stutter, looking at the members around him for help. "We got lunch the other day and you took a really long time "finishing up" with him!"
Your draw dropped. "What did you think finishing up meant, Hobi?!"
"I mean...I know what it means to Tae-"
"Hey," Taehyung's deep voice hissed. "Leave me out of this."
"Why does it matter anyway!" Hoseok shouted in his Hoseok way. "It's not like you have to answer to any of us!"
Lifting a brow, you turned back to Yoongi. He blinked back at you, his expression remaining blank. "Is the sun in your eyes? I feel like the sun is in my eyes."
You tilted your head, completely at a loss. Out of the seven men sitting around you, Yoongi had always been a bit of enigma. You liked him just as well as you liked your other friends, but it seemed like he was always just slightly withdrawn with you. He was brilliant, sarcastic, and easily one of your favorite people to talk to, but just when you thought you had overcome a barrier with him, he retreated again.
Tonight was even worse than normal.
"Jin, switch seats with me," Yoongi croaked, backing out of the bench seating. Trapped between you and Tae, there was no other way to escape.
Jin looked up with lifted brows, his cheeks packed with what appeared to be kimchi. "Me?"
"Yes, you," Yoongi confirmed, lingering awkwardly behind you now. "The sun is in my eyes over here. You're taller so it won't bother you."
Furrowing your brows, you realized that Jin was in the furthest seat away from you. A sour feeling swept through your stomach as you looked toward the window across from your table instead. "I'm sure they'll close the blinds if we ask-"
"I'll switch with you," Jungkook said cheerfully, sliding off of the bench and circling the table. He had been seated directly across from you.
"No, no, no," Yoongi said quickly. "The sun will bother you just as much."
"Jin isn't that much taller-"
"Listen to your hyung!" Yoongi groaned. "Jin-"
"I'm not moving," the other boy said stiffly, crunching on his food.
Yoongi inhaled deeply before looking up to Jungkook. "Fine," he said quietly, trying to save face. "I hope you like not being able to see."
"It's really no problem," Jungkook giggled, making his way toward you again. Shouldering himself in, he plopped down onto the bench with a content sigh. "So tell me about this date, Y/N."
"There was no date!" you huffed. "Hobi is just dramatic."
"Shocker," you could hear Jimin chuckle from the opposite side of Taehyung.
Directing your attention back to Yoongi as he settled in across from you, you couldn't help but lean forward. "Are you feeling okay?"
"Why?" Yoongi countered, not bothering to give you a real answer.
"You're acting really weird," you said quietly, trying to keep the exchange to yourselves as the other members fell back into a normal cadence of conversation.
"Surely I don't know what you mean," he sniffed, still refusing to look directly at you. It was hard not to notice that the blush that had previously painted his ears was now clouding across his face.
"Are you mad at me?" you tried again. "For making a big deal about the date comment?"
"I don't care who you date, Y/N."
"I didn't say you did, I just-"
Springing up from his chair, the table grew quiet as Yoongi hovered in place. "I, uh, I need to use the restroom."
Turning on his heel, instead of heading to where the actual bathrooms were, he exited onto the back patio of the restaurant.
"Did anyone ask?" Hobi marveled, glancing around the table.
"Joon," you sighed, setting your elbows on the table so you could drop your chin into your palm. "What is going on?"
"What do you mean?" Oh, so now it was his turn to be evasive.
"Don't act like you don't know everything," you muttered. "Now why is Yoongi acting like I have a disease?"
Glancing from one end of the table to the other to confirm that Yoongi was indeed not there, Namjoon whispered. "Have you considered that maybe, he brought up the "date" for a reason?"
"Yes," you nodded. "Because you all are worse than a group of middle aged women when it comes to circulating rumors."
"Well...yes," he said slowly. "But are there any other reasons you can think of?"
You hadn't really wanted to examine his question too closely because you knew what result it would yield. "You don't mean..."
Shrugging, he took a sip of his drink. "Just a thought."
Yoongi could not be jealous. You had assumed that he was just a peace with dying alone because there was never a partner to be seen. Of course, he could have been careful about his privacy, but you knew one of the guys would have found out and spilled the beans. He had no interest in dating, so why would that change for you? Could you have been that wrong?
You supposed it was time to find out.
"I guess I have to use the "bathroom" too," you grumbled, pulling yourself to your feet.
"Are we in an airport?" Jin complained. "We do not need to know about these departures."
Rolling your eyes, you slinked off to the door leading to the seating area in the back of the establishment. Peering out of the glass paned door, you saw Yoongi leaning on the edge of a picnic table, his back facing you and face tilted toward the sky.
Making sure you pulled instead of pushing the door this time, you shuffled out of the building. Uncertain of what to do, you decided to take a seat on the picnic tabletop next to him. After a few minutes of silence, he cleared his throat.
"I'm an idiot."
"Sure," you nodded. "But is there a specific reason?"
"Nope," he sighed. "Just a self-assessment."
"Yoongi," you said, exasperated. Simply saying his name was enough to have him finally look toward you.
"You figured it out, right?" he asked, lifting his brows.
"After talking to Namjoon, yeah," you admitted. "I think I may have known before that though."
The two of you lapsed into silence again. This was all new territory with Yoongi. You knew him better than a lot of people but were still missing out on so much. He kept impenetrable walls around himself, but did this mean that he was finally giving you a key?
Holding your breath, you looked down to find Yoongi's hand leaned on the table between the two of you. You began to move your own fingers slowly toward his, not stopping until they had become intertwined.
There was another moment of silence as you allowed yourself to decompress. You had done it, and he hadn't pulled away. Baby steps were still steps.
Yoongi let out a deep sigh. Closing his eyes, the corner of his lips hitched up ever so slightly. "It feels like a relief."
"What does?"
"You finding me," he said quietly.
The moment was so fragile, you were scared that breathing wrong would cause it to break. "You didn't get very far."
"No," he chuckled. "Not out here."
"Oh," you chirped, suddenly getting his meaning. "I - I don't know if I've found you yet, Yoongi. I need you to help me...if you want to."
"I want to," he said without missing a beat. "I'm not the most open person, Y/N. I can't be like Hobi or Tae. I can't just broadcast my emotions and every thought that crosses my mind."
"You can't?" you asked sarcastically. "And here I thought it was your heart stitched on your sleeve!"
This caused him to smile again. "I know I can be cold and closed off, but I don't want to be that way with you. Not anymore."
"What changed?"
Maybe it was the wrong thing to say. You fell into silence yet again but after a moment, realized that it just meant Yoongi was carefully choosing his words. "Me, I think."
"How so?"
"I never wanted to be with anyone," Yoongi said quietly, confirming your earlier thoughts. "It's just easier being alone...but then, you showed up with Jimin one night. I was hesitant to even make friends because it's a lot of upkeep, you know? Being social and caring about another person is such an investment and it can be so painful...but then I got to know you. It was almost as if I felt my heart change in real time."
"Because of our friendship?"
"Because of you," he corrected. "And against my better judgement, I dared to hope that we could be something if you decided to take a chance on me."
"Well, it sounds like you took one on me," you hummed. "It seems only fair that I do the same."
This time when Yoongi turned to look at you, he really looked at you. "Do you mean that?"
"Very much so," you grinned. "Be careful about letting me in, Yoongi. I may never want to leave."
"What if I don't want you to?"
His words were a whisper, and his eyes were looking so intently into yours. You felt like you would melt on the spot.
"Then I won't."
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jae-bummer · 8 months
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Heyy :)
Just finished reading the latest update of the My Idol series and I'm loving the storyline so far. You are a very talented writer . Thank you for sharing your work with us ❤️
and my heart has grown three sizes this day. thank you, sweet annonie :)
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jae-bummer · 8 months
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My Idol 3: Part Seventeen
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My Idol from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
My Idol is a South Korean competitive reality dating game show. It currently airs on Saturday nights on Jae-bummer’s blog. First broadcast in 2016, the show offers the opportunity for a lucky fan to go on seven blind dates with seven idols. The idol plans the date with the show throwing in a specific mission to complete during the day. At the end of the initial dates, the show opens up an audience vote to decide what four idols will move on to the second date.
My Idol 3: The Series
"Give it to me straight," Hoshi said, sipping loudly from his juice box. "I can take it."
You winced, tilting your head as you tried to gently break the news.
"We're out," Hyungwon grumbled from behind you. "Me, you, and Hongseok."
Furrowing his brows, Hoshi's face filled up with a frown as he lowered the juice box. "I got eliminated and I wasn't even there for the dramatic close up of my heart breaking?"
"If it's any consolation," Hyungwon muttered. "I'm pretty sure they panned in on the box."
"Perfect," Hoshi said, shaking his head. "Not to make this about me, but I have to say, I'm disappointed."
"Me too," you agreed, suddenly becoming much too interested in your shoes. Surely your shoes wouldn't make you cry. "I was really looking forward to getting to know you guys better."
"You win some, you lose some," Hoshi sighed. "I just wish this hadn't been the some I lost."
"Y/N," Insu said, clearing his throat as he appeared. "We need to get moving."
Giving a curt nod, you turned back to the two men who were now being ousted from your immediate future. You had attempted to find Hongseok at the end of filming as well, but weren't necessarily surprised to hear that he had already left the set.
Deep down, you knew it wasn't personal. He was relying on self preservation just as much as you were. It was already an upsetting situation, but it stung even more to know he had gone without a proper goodbye.
"Don't have too much fun without me," Hoshi pouted, spreading his arms wide to capture you in a hug. Letting yourself fall into his chest, the weight of the competition washed over you. You knew losing contestants would hurt, but not like this. At the base level, these guys had become your friends, your solace, and confidants. The emotions ripping through your chest were entirely selfish, but you didn't care.
"Hey," Hoshi cooed, rubbing your back as he heard you stifle a whimper. You knew the tears cascading down your face were now hitting his shirt, likely leaving splotches of makeup in their wake. "You're going to get your fairy tale ending, I promise."
"What about your fairy tale ending?"
"I've gotten so many," he said, leaning away from you to capture your eyes with his. A slow grin began to fill his lips. "I need to stop being so thoughtless and let others have a few."
"I mean, I would've like to have one," you heard Hyungwon admit from behind you. Spinning around, you almost shattered all over again as his expression softened. Pulling you into his side, he patted your shoulder. "I guess we'll see you on the other side."
"I guess so," you croaked. "I hope we don't become strangers."
"Never," he smiled sadly. "Plus, I think I owe you another motorcycle ride."
"You can take me," Hoshi blurted, fitting himself into Hyungwon's other side. "I promise I won't scream."
"Don't make promises you can't keep," Hyungwon laughed, shaking his head as he untangled from the both of you. "Plus Y/N looks much prettier on the back of my bike."
"Hey, don't make any assumptions," Hoshi argued. "Until you see me there, you don't know for sure!"
"I'll miss you guys," you chuckled, finally making the slow march toward where Insu was waiting. "See you later?"
"Bet on it," Hoshi beamed, hooking his arm around Hyungwon's shoulders.
"We'll be around," Hyungwon said noncommittally before breaking into a smile of his own.
Giving one last small wave, you allowed Insu to guide you off set.
"What a disaster," you muttered, shaking your head. Finally feeling secure enough to decompress, you looked toward Insu. Since the competition had began, he had been something of a safe space for you. He was one of the few people in this situation that you could read, but tonight he seemed closed off. You knew the security breach had to have left him shaken, but you weren't expecting him to put a wall up between the two of you. "You know it wasn't your fault, right?"
Leading you to your My Idol chauffeured vehicle, he let out a soft grunt of acknowledgement.
Chewing on the inside of your cheek, you pulled yourself into the car and instinctively slid over to make room for him. You watched in confusion as he pointed to another member of security you weren't quite familiar with and motioned them over. The words they shared were too quiet for you to hear, but you got the gist of the situation as the new guard plopped into the seat beside you.
"Insu?" you questioned, just as he was about to close the door.
Lifting his brows, he waited silently.
"Where are you going?" you asked, trying not to sound too desperate. You hadn't lied earlier when you said the night was a disaster. Even if the crowd hadn't surged on stage, you would've been shaken by the night's initial purpose alone. With the added chaos, you felt like your nerve endings were fried. You just wanted someone who was familiar to take care of you.
You wanted Insu.
Trying to quiet the implications of that thought, you focused on his frozen form instead. You watched as his jaw muscles clenched, a sign that his mind was working overtime to come up with a safe answer.
"I have to finish up a few things here," he said gruffly. "I'll meet you back at home."
Without saying another word, he shut the car door, plunging you into darkness with a stranger. Granted, it was likely a stranger that he trusted implicitly, especially if it came to your safety. Still, the action felt cold and instantly had tears prickling your eyes again.
Why was every emotion attached to your tear ducts?
"He's got some major cleanup to do after the incident," the unknown guard supplemented after a moment of silence. He continued to speak, but you had unintentionally tuned him out. Your thoughts were loud enough to crash against the confines of your head without his half-hearted excuses. You knew tonight had been bad and Insu was likely getting more than an earful on the situation. It made sense when a sick feeling overtook your stomach as the car finally began to pull away from the sound stage. What was going to happen to him?
And what would happen to you if he wasn't there anymore?
.
You didn't mean to stay up, but sleep had been evading you before you had even placed your head on the pillow. It wasn't that you were waiting to hear Insu's tired voice in the hallway all night, you just didn't have anything better to listen for. Just as you were on the precipice of cutting your losses and taking allergy medication to fall asleep, you caught a hushed exchange just outside of your hotel door.
Creeping off of your mattress, you crossed the room, and looked out of the small peep hole. The security officer who had escorted you home had disappeared, replaced by a face you had been waiting with baited breaths to see.
"Insu," you gasped, immediately yanking open the door.
Springing out of his chair in alarm, he faced you with a tense stance. It took him several moments to finally calm down enough and recognize there was no danger in the situation, just you in your pajamas.
"Y/N," he breathed, shaking his head. "I mean this in the kindest way, but what the fuck?"
You felt your cheeks grow hot with embarrassment. Perhaps you could have gone about that more calmly. "I was worried about you."
"Isn't it my job to be worried about you?" he chuckled, rubbing a hand down his face. While he was now at least attempting to act normal, you knew he was covering something else up.
"Do you want to come in?" you asked slowly. Pushing the door open so it was wider, you stepped to the side to make room for him to pass.
"You have an early day tomorrow," he sighed, shaking his head. "We can talk then."
"I want to talk now," you pressed.
"Y/N," he said sternly, leveling you with a look a scolding parent would be proud of.
"Insinuating I should go to sleep doesn't mean I actually will," you protested. "I can get back in bed and stare at the ceiling until the sun comes up or you can come in and tell me what's going on."
Chewing on his lip, it took him only a few seconds to think through your argument. His originally serious expression melted into something more sad as he strolled past you and into your hotel room.
"Now that we have that settled," you murmured, closing the door and leaning against it. "I'm happy to see you haven't lost your job."
"Is that what you were in here thinking about?" he teased, pressing his palm to his chest. "I'm touched."
"Insu," you hummed, shaking your head. Sliding slowly down the door, you plopped to the floor, and pulled your legs against your chest. "To be honest, I don't know if I could do this without you."
He smiled sadly at you before sitting gingerly at the end of your bed. "I appreciate the sentiment, but-"
"It's the reality," you cut in. "I hope you know that. No one can possibly protect me like you do. You genuinely care and-"
"Y/N," he said, now his turn to interrupt. "I'm not sure...how well I can protect you anymore."
The words you had been about to say dried up in your mouth. "I'm sorry, what?"
"There's a lot going on that you don't understand," he continued quietly. "Hell, I'm not even sure if I completely understand it."
"Then tell me," you said instantly. "Make me understand."
You could feel the panic begin to nip at the edges of your thoughts. You had lost Hyungwon, Hoshi, and Hongseok all in one night. You were not about to have Insu disappear too.
"I don't know if I should even try," he cringed. "I'm going to sound crazy if I say it out loud."
"Please," you insisted.
"The only other person I've talked to about this is Hyuk," he cautioned. "In no universe should I be sharing these concerns with you."
"If it's about my safety, I think I have the right to know."
After a beat of silence, Insu's voice was hardly louder than a breath. "Tonight shouldn't have happened."
"Tonight? You mean the angry mob?"
"That's exactly what I mean," he scowled. "Ever since the fan rushed you and one of the contestants on your park date, I've been pouring over security plans. Every possible danger has been taken into consideration. Nothing and no one should have gotten through."
"Okay..." you trailed, still a bit lost.
"We've caught several other fan disruptions on your other dates, barring the egg incident, I'm still not sure how that happened either," he shuddered. "But tonight, it should have gone off without a single incident. We did background checks, searches, everything you can think of."
"Then why did it?" you asked, tilting your head. "It seemed pretty well planned on the crowd's part."
"Exactly," he muttered. "Hyuk and I have interrogated guards, fans, and everyone in between. It doesn't make sense...it's almost...it's almost like we're being sabotaged."
"Sabotaged?"
"From the inside," he nodded. "Nothing should have happened unless the My Idol crew wanted it to."
"No way," you laughed bitterly. Thinking back to the aftermath of the situation, you shook your head. "The idols were physically injured."
"Makes great television, doesn't it?" he said quietly.
"The filming," you faltered. "As soon as the crowd surged, the cameras shut down. There wasn't any good television to be seen if they weren't actually recording."
"They didn't shut down, Y/N," Insu whispered. "They were filming the entire thing."
"But the host," you pointed out. "When we came back on air, she explained-"
"I'm not going to argue what she said," he sighed. "I'm just saying that we saw it. The film. We see the social media response. Viewers saw everything."
You sat dumbfounded. There was no way.
"My break in?" you croaked, trying to keep your calm.
"We think that was a legitimate incident," Insu nodded. "Unfortunately, that may have been the spark that started the idea for all of the other attacks."
"That's sick," you gasped.
"I don't disagree," he acknowledged. "But it's the only thing I keep going back to. These incidents are too targeted, too well planned. We should have seen SOMETHING, Y/N. From our point of view, tonight should have gone off without a hitch."
"So I shouldn't trust the people who are in control of my day to day activities?" you groaned. Pinching the bridge of your nose, you tried to swallow down anxiety threatening to overflow.
"I don't know," he admitted. "That's why I didn't want to tell you any of this. I just don't know."
Your conversation lapsed into silence as you both seemed to be lost in your own thoughts. He was right, verbalizing his theories sounded absolutely crazy. There was no way that a production crew would put their cast in the path of danger, right?
If the danger had rails around it...if there were actual writers coming up with these situations and putting them into play during your dates...
"I'll ask them," you said dumbly. "I'll ask them how all of this keeps happening and-"
"They'll blame me," Insu chuckled. "Just like everyone did tonight."
"If you're to blame, why aren't you fired?" you questioned.
"That's the funny thing," he sighed. "In any other circumstance, my contract would be terminated. This was too big of a mess up. I should have been cut."
"But if they knew they were the ones orchestrating everything," you finished his thought. "They wouldn't have reason to fire you..."
"They know it's a setup," he agreed. "My team was meant to fail."
"This is unhinged."
"Welcome to reality television."
"What do we do?" you said helplessly. Things had escalated to a level you weren't prepared for.
"Stay as aware in your dates as you can," Insu instructed. "I don't want you to think you're alone in this. My team is obviously covering as much as they can, but any illusion of being prepared has been shattered."
Great, another thing to send you into a thought spiral on these dates.
Pulling himself up from the bed, Insu took the few short steps toward you before squatting down. Now at eye level, he reached out to smooth the small wrinkle between your brows. "I don't know how to tell you to still have fun, but stay vigilant. It sounds like an oxymoron."
"Be carefree and enjoy your date," you chuckled. "But secretly keep an eye out to make sure you don't get knifed."
"I surely hope it does not come to that," he laughed.
Settling into silence again, you both really thought about it. How much worse could it get?
"I'm not going to let anything happen to you," Insu whispered. His attention was heavy as he stared at you. "I may not be able to see what's coming, but no harm will come to you under my watch. Okay?"
"Okay," you croaked.
"And for as much as some of these guys grate my nerves," he smirked. "I don't think they'd let anything happen to you either."
"Just say Jackson," you muttered with an eye roll.
This caused Insu to break into a wide smile. "Surely I don't know who you mean."
"Riiiight," you grumbled. "Have fun on your dates, but not too much fun. Especially not with that Jackson boy. Thanks, dad."
Insu lifted a brow. 'I could get used to some variation of that."
"Insu!" you gasped.
Rising to his feat, a shit-eating grin painted his lips. He reached down, pulling you to your feet as well. "You should rest."
You spluttered, still not completely recovered from his previous comment.
"Goodnight, Y/N," he hummed, sneaking around you to slide out of the door.
Shaking your head, you watched him leave. The conversation you had had before was really enough for one night, and that quip had put the cherry on top.
You fell backward onto your bed, looking up at the popcorned ceiling as if they were stars in the night sky. "What am I even doing?"
.
The next morning did not meet you easily. Your eyes felt as if they had been solely constructed out of sandpaper as you blinked them open. It only took a few minutes of being conscious before the previous night's events began to surface.
My Idol, the show you had already become relatively wary of, was setting you up for the purpose of more entertaining television. You can't say you were surprised. You had watched the first two seasons of the show. The production team was notorious for throwing in twists that were outright painful for the contestants. The mental and emotional whiplash you were somewhat prepared for, but the physical danger? That was not something you had expected.
You felt like you were a zombie as you shuffled from one station to the next, brushing your teeth, getting dressed, having your hair and makeup done. It wasn't until you were sat in the SUV with a coffee in hand that you finally felt something resembling to a human again.
"Insu let me know you two had a long conversation last night," Hyuk said quietly, maintaining his attention on his phone. "I want you to know, that's just a theory. We don't know for sure-"
You narrowed your eyes at the older man, causing him to turn your way. He let out a surprised laugh. "Not buying it, huh?"
"Are you?"
"Touche."
It wasn't long before the My Idol SUV whipped into a shopping center you felt vaguely familiar with.
"Haven't we been here before?" you muttered, focusing on the building just out of your window.
Hyuk looked at you with a lifted brow. Even if you had been here before, you were sure that he wouldn't confirm or deny. Each date was meant to be a surprise, even if the dates themselves were on your doorstep before the date had even started.
Sliding out of your seat and into the shopping center's parking lot, you were surprised to see the camera crew directed at someone you didn't recognize. A figure stood with their back to you, tall, thin, long hair bound in a topknot. What was going on?
Walking up slowly to the scene, you cleared your throat as you came to a halt.
Spinning on his heel, a man you hadn't been expecting faced you.
"Hi, Y/N!" he chirped, waving shyly in your direction. "I'm Stray Kids Hyunjin. It's so nice to finally meet you."
.
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jae-bummer · 8 months
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Hiii how are you doing love? I love reading your works, thank you for sharing them with us!! Cant wait for tonight’s My Idol, I’ve been thinking about it constantlyyyyyy 💕💕you are amazing!!
hello sweet, annonie :) i'm doing just fine and i hope you are as well. you're much too kind and i appreciate the love!!
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my idol will be taking a bit of a fun turn tonight, so i'm excited to see what everyone thinks!! i hope you enjoy!
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jae-bummer · 8 months
Text
My Idol 3: Part Sixteen
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My Idol from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
My Idol is a South Korean competitive reality dating game show. It currently airs on Saturday nights on Jae-bummer’s blog. First broadcast in 2016, the show offers the opportunity for a lucky fan to go on seven blind dates with seven idols. The idol plans the date with the show throwing in a specific mission to complete during the day. At the end of the initial dates, the show opens up an audience vote to decide what four idols will move on to the second date.
My Idol 3: The Series
.
"Shhh," Chan cooed into your hair, pulling you closer to him. Hongseok remained on your opposite side, his hand holding tightly to yours.
You let out another whimper, trying your best not to cry. You could feel San's fingers lightly grazing your shoulders from behind and Hyungwon sat crisscross at your feet, staring up sympathetically. You had been cocooned by the boys you had borrowed strength from for weeks, and now you were taking from them again.
Jungkook and Jackson stood side by side, arms crossed as they watched one of the small screens still connected to the various cameras rolling on stage. Speaking quietly amongst themselves, you all waited with bated breaths.
Where was Hoshi?
"Are you sure you're okay?" San directed toward Chan. During the skirmish, he had also ended up on the ground.
"I had a bad wrist anyway," Chan smiled sadly, flexing his hand that was now wrapped in a bandage. "Someone stepping on it didn't do much more harm than what was already there."
"You two match now," Hongseok joked, looking from San to Chan. He was now sporting a small band aid on his cheekbone, courtesy of a fan trying to grab for him. You knew they were making light of the situation, but it was hard to laugh when you were mostly the reason for both injuries.
Chewing on your lip, you looked up with watery eyes as Insu burst into the room. His expression was wild as he tried to assess what was going on, not calming until he finally set his attention on you.
"Hoshi?" you croaked. As you had all been ushered into a safe room backstage, he was nowhere to be found.
"We have him," Insu confirmed with a tight nod. "His security guard couldn't get to him, so he took matters into his own hands and hid."
Hyungwon let out a small huff of a laugh. "Hid where?"
"One of the equipment cases," Insu sighed, shaking his head. "He actually got stuck. We couldn't get the locking mechanism undone."
"So he's still in there?" Jungkook asked, whipping around with lifted brows.
"He's still in there," Insu confirmed grimly.
"How are you getting him out?" you squeaked, trying to wrap your head around the situation. Leave it to Hoshi to be so resourceful that it gets him in trouble.
"The camera guy who's responsible for the case is on the way with the keys," Insu explained. "He normally doesn't keep them with him because he rarely locks it up."
"Will he be okay in there until then?" you whispered, suddenly very worried about the amount of oxygen one of those things allowed to filter through.
"He'll be okay," Insu confirmed with a reassuring nod. "We have emergency staff on standby if anything goes sideways."
"This is just perfect," the host groaned, stomping into the room. "Kpop civil war erupting on live television. Production cannot be happy with you right now."
Insu hardened his jaw and narrowed his eyes at the host. "You don't know what you're talking about."
"How?" she gasped, flapping her hands in the air. "I saw it with my own eyes! Security let those people get through and that's your specialty."
This incited an eyeroll from Insu, which was shocking, considering he was usually so professional. You tried to swallow down the new worry of Insu losing his job on top of everything else. If you sat back and counted all of the things you had to be concerned with, your brain would explode.
"What's the plan?" San asked, looking hopefully toward the host. "Are they clearing the studio? What happens next?"
"They're escorting out the final audience members now," she sighed, pinching her nose between her fingers. "We'll do the rest of the show without them."
"We're going back out there?" Jackson gasped, now spinning away from the monitor he had been focused on. "Are you crazy?"
"I'm not, but production is," she muttered. "They aren't going to just cancel the show because of one little fan uprising."
"How do you expect us to go back out there?" Hyungwon chuckled bitterly. "Who says something else won't happen?"
"I think that's up to this guy," the host mocked, patting Insu heavily on the shoulder. "I'm sure we're all in very capable hands."
Turning on her heel, she vanished from the room again, leaving you all to stare blankly at the security guard.
Shaking his head, he followed after her, a light curse dropping from his lips.
.
"Are you sure you're alright?" you groaned, leaning your head against the box.
"I'm great," Hoshi's muffled voice came through the other side. "Just let me know if I made it to the second round."
"I think you have bigger things to worry about right now," you chuckled.
"I'm stuck in a box, Y/N," you could hear him giggle. "I don't have much else to think about."
"What even happened?" the question had been bothering you since you first heard of his circumstances.
"There were several, very enthusiastic fans grabbing my clothing," he explained. "None of the security guards were coming for me, so I had to get away or I would be half naked on public television."
"And to protect your virtue, you locked yourself in a camera tote?"
"Something like that," he laughed. You were glad that he could take this all in stride. "Don't you worry about me though! I'll be out of here and sweeping you off your feet in no time."
"Y/N," a PD interrupted. He tapped on his watch before motioning to the stage.
"I have to go now," you sighed, placing your hand lightly on the case that separated the two of you. "I'll be here whenever you get out, okay?"
"Sounds good!" he chimed. "Can you make sure someone has water on hand? I'm parched."
Shaking your head as you laughed, you pulled yourself to your feet. You felt like you were living in a poorly scripted sitcom. How could you even be upset when they were so bizarre?
Climbing the steps onto the stage, you settled back into your chair. You could admit you were a little shaken, but ready to try again. At this point, you had something to prove. What was essentially an angry mob came after you and a group of people you cared about. You weren't going to let them see that their bad behavior got them what they wanted.
"And you're comfortable with this?" Insu appeared, draping a blanket across your legs.
Giving a short nod, you glanced up to his face, searching his pinched expression. "What about you?"
"I'll be fine."
"But she said-"
"She didn't know what she was talking about," he said quickly, glancing over his shoulder to the host who was now fiddling with her dress. "I'll explain everything later."
Having to trust him on that, you offered a sad smile. "Later then."
As Insu disappeared from the stage, you watched as all of the contestants came out again and took their seats. Hoshi, of course, was still missing.
"Nothing like a little on-air disaster to really make you feel alive, huh kid?" the host grinned, straightening her posture. Not even sure what to respond with, you remained silent as the camera crew began counting her down.
"And we're back!" she gasped, perkiness written across her mannerisms. "You just can't keep My Idol down!"
Awkward chuckles echoed across the group of men, unsure of what to do with themselves now that things had gone so terribly awry.
"Now, to fill those fans in watching from home," the host continued. "Before we had to pause our programming, there was a bit of a disturbance in the studio. No matter, we've got everything sorted out and we're back to let you all know who will continue on in hopes of being Y/N's idol!"
You were starting to feel like the grin on your face had slipped into something more similar to a cringe. The trauma-ception happening in this moment made your skin crawl.
"As a note, due to our earlier interruption, Hoshi was not able to join us for the rest of the show this evening. This does not disqualify him from advancing though."
Exhaling a breath you had been holding, you nodded. Hoshi's smiling face was an obvious gap in the group of men before you. You hated having to continue on without him but realized that there was only so much time slotted to record the show.
"Y/N," the host cooed, turning to you. "How do you feel now that Jungkook has made it into the second round?"
"I'm happy of course," you smiled, trying to keep things as normal as possible. "I think I would be happy if any of these guys had gotten through, but I really look forward to getting to know Jungkook better."
"You can tell us, Y/N," the host said slyly. "Are you sure he wasn't one of your favorites to make it through?"
"Why do you keep trying to pin us up against each other?" Jackson burst, truth behind his laugh. "We still don't want to know!"
"Alright, alright," the host laughed as well. "We'll keep the playing field even. Why don't we announce another contestant then?"
If the live audience were here, you would've expected to hear clapping (or possibly booing). You were hoping they had some sort of reaction track playing to cover up for the uncomfortable silence flooding the stage.
"The next idol to advance to the second round of dates...is..."she trailed, making the tension even worse.
"Choi San!"
"Me?" San all but shouted as he sprung from his chair. His smile was contagious as he began to approach you, arms open to pull you into his torso. "Like me, Choi San? Or someone else, Choi San?"
"You!" you giggled, allowing your chest to fill with happiness for a brief moment. It was difficult to chase away the guilt that came with another date making it through. While you were happy that you would see San again, it did mean you wouldn't see one of the other guys.
"My dubu," San cooed, rocking you from side to side once you were in his arms. "We did it!"
"You did it!" you gasped, leaning away from him to catch another glimpse of his over-the-moon expression. It was difficult to be upset when you had caught a ray of sunshine in your hands.
"I told you it was a great date," he giggled, finally letting you go. "Maybe you'll believe me next time!"
"It was a great date," you agreed. "But only because of you."
"Pfft," he huffed, the tips of his ears turning bright red.
"San, how are we feeling?" the host asked.
"Like I'm in a dream," he smiled. "I'm a pretty confident guy, but I never expect to just win things. This may be one of the best things I've ever won."
"And just think, there's still more to win!" the host chimed, swinging her chair back around to the remaining men. "There are two rounds left after this one, the second round, followed by the weekend dates. Is there anyone in particular that you all think can win this whole thing?"
The men looked thoughtfully amongst each other. "Maybe Hyungwon?" Hongseok offered.
"Me?" Hyungwon scoffed. "Why me?"
"You own a mirror," Hongseok countered, a sly smile on his face.
"Just because he's good looking, doesn't mean the chemistry is there," Jackson blurted out. Turning toward Hyungwon, he put his hands in the air between them. "Not talking about you personally, but that goes for any of us. I think we're all pretty attractive."
"Any of us could have a chance at winning," Jungkook nodded, chewing on his lip ring. "It's really intimidating."
"All of you think so warmly of each other this season," the host said, furrowing her brow. "What's caused the comradery?"
"Eating dinner almost every night together," San grinned as he once again found his place amongst his competitors.
"A lot of us knew each other before," Chan offered. "But living in the same building and using the same common areas led us to become more familiar with each other."
"Now that's a point we haven't touched on," the host picked up. "How did it feel to be sequestered in a hotel room while you waited for the rest of the dates to play out?"
"Luckily for me, my date was a little late in the first round," Chan chuckled. "But it's given me time to really buckle down and work on music, so I don't mind."
"I've slept so much," Jungkook laughed. "It's almost like a vacation."
"I did some choreography for TikTok," San nodded. "I kind of have built in collab partners. Hoshi was always willing to dance with me."
Nodding sagely, you attempted to look toward the area off stage you knew held Hoshi's predicament. He hadn't appeared again, so you assumed they were still working on getting him out.
"How does the thought of possibly being held in the hotel for a few more weeks sound?" the host smiled.
"I'm sure it won't always be fun," Hongseok nodded. "But I'm willing to make it work."
"Why don't we find out if you'll have to make it work then, Hongseok?" the host hummed. "Let's take a dive into the opposite end of the poll and reveal two of the idols who didn't make it."
"What?" you muttered, moving quickly to face her. "That's brutal."
"Reality television often is," she sighed, shaking her head. "Jungkook or San, do you have any words of wisdom for those who will not be able to continue forward?"
Still reeling from this unexpected change, both men looked up in a panic. Glancing toward each other, they looked as if they had swallowed something they shouldn't have.
"There's plenty of fish in the sea?" Jungkook attempted with a nervous laugh.
"Better - better luck next time?" San chimed in with a wince.
"Better luck next time indeed," the host chuckled before flipping to a new cue card. "Unfortunately for three of you, your journey stops here. The first two men who will be eliminated are...
Kwon Hoshi..."
You let out a hiss of air. He wasn't even here to react. You looked down to your shoes, trying not to be bitter. Hoshi had been your last date, but it was worth the wait. You had never met someone who could make you laugh so easily or help you feel so unburdened. Now you couldn't even look him in the eyes as the news was announced.
"And Yang Hongseok."
Your heart fell to your toes. While you didn't want to pick favorites, you felt a bit shattered at the thought of Hongseok not moving forward. Zeroing in on his face, you almost began crying by how crestfallen he looked. He had been one of your fiercest protectors and carried you through what was one of the worst moments of your life.
"It's okay," he said quietly before struggling to his feet. Walking toward you in a bit of a daze, he took your hands in his. Pulling you toward him, he repeated the words, more to himself than you. "It's okay."
"It's not," you whispered, burying your face in his neck.
"We'll be friends," he assured you, running his fingertips down your back again and again. "What we went through together...that can't be taken away."
You began to sniff as you leaned away from him. "Promise?"
"Pinky promise," he smiled, reaching up to dab at your tears with the edge of his sweater sleeve. "Now don't mess up your makeup over me."
"You're worth messing up my makeup over," you pouted.
"You'll be happy with any of these guys," Hongseok nodded, motioning to the men who were still seated. "Take care of my Y/N, okay?"
All of the contestants agreed in their own ways, varying from nods to shouts of "Of course."
Giving you one last sad smile, he reached down to squeeze your hand. "Don't miss me too much, okay?"
You shook your head before plopping back down in your seat. Letting him simply walk away made your chest ache, but you knew it was a necessary evil. You signed up for this.
"Chan, Jackson, Hyungwon," the host sighed. "How are we feeling?"
"Nervous," Chan groaned. "So nervous."
" This is cruel and unusual punishment," Jackson chirped.
"I'll move this along then," the host smiled. You knew she was enjoying every minute of what was happening. "The third idol to move on to the second dates..."
"Wait, wait," Jackson gasped. "You're not just telling us who the third eliminated person is?"
"Now where's the fun in that?" the host chuckled, causing Jackson to begin chewing on the inside of his cheek. He looked less than amused.
"So this is it?" Chan gulped. "We're just getting right down to it?"
Ignoring the men's complaints, the host continued. "The third idol to move on to the second dates...is...
Jackson Wang."
"Well, shit," Jackson giggled. Striding toward you, he paused in front of where you were sitting and began to hop up and down. "Saved the best for last, ay?"
You let out a huff of a laugh that was both self-pitying and happy. The moment was sweet, but so heavily tinged with sadness. In true My Idol fashion, only three men got to continue forward to the next round. You would have to leave Hyungwon and Chan behind.
While Jackson was obviously excited to be moving on, he instantly picked up on your stress. "Hey."
Glancing up at him through your lashes, you allowed him to pull you to your feet. "You're allowed to be sad," he said, his tone huskier than it had been only a few seconds ago.
"But I'm happy," you hiccupped, unsure if that was true. "You made it through."
"You can be happy on our next date," he nodded, offering a small smile. "But right now, you can be upset or angry. You can feel whatever you need to."
You were so grateful to have such an understanding person on your side. Nodding, you stuck out your bottom lip.
"Hyungwon, tell me how you're feeling?" the host asked, interrupting the tender moment between you and Jackson.
"Disappointed," he mumbled, shaking his head. "I knew there was a chance I wouldn't get through, but it stings."
"A chance you wouldn't get through?" the host said, fake confusion now painting her features. "But you still have a chance."
"I-" Hyungwon said, startled. "I what?"
"While My Idol usually allows votes for three idols to move forward to the round of second dates," she smiled. "This season, we've graciously allowed four."
"Christ," Chan hissed, his face dropping into his hands. "Would've been nice to know before I almost started to tear up."
You lifted your brows as you looked from Jackson to the host, and back to Jackson again.
"Cheer up, buttercup," he grinned, rubbing his thumb across your cheek. "You can be happy for me after all."
Letting out a surprised giggle, you engulfed him in a hug. "We're going to have so much fun."
"Damn right we are!" he cheered before letting you go and taking his seat again.
"Why wait any longer?" the host oozed. "Let's move on.
"The final idol...to advance forward...is...
...
..."
You closed your eyes, silently praying to any god who would listen. You weren't sure if you were asking for strength, understanding, or just the ability to get through this without passing out.
"Bang Chan."
Snapping your head up, you weren't sure if you were going to laugh or cry.
It was all over.
One boy to comfort and one boy to congratulate.
All that was left was to figure out how to push forward.
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