The words roll off of his tongue immediately, without a second thought given to what exactly he is apologizing for; if it’s directed at what Jia asked or to himself. The truth lies somewhere in between. In front of her, he is small; there is no need for much to be said, not when her mere presence sufficed to dominate and reduce him to this pitiful state. The fact that she was older, even if by a few months, didn’t help the situation – he was meant to be respectful towards her, the gentleman that he was brought up to be, yet he was nothing more than a frightened child, all curled up into himself.
Hesitantly, his gaze lifts and comes to meet hers. There it is: that look of superiority, that nose turned up high and a pair of sharp teeth concealed by lips, behind which rested a silver tongue – disgust was hard to hide. Lu Han’s stomach churned, his gaze averted to the side and he coughed into the palm of his hand; it’s her, all her. She makes him sick in ways indescribable, savors swallowing him whole only to spit him out, delivers invisible punches that are always swift – they etch invisible markings into his skin. “I’m sorry—“ the apology is repeated, muffled by the hand which covered over his mouth.
“I fear you caught me off guard,” this is an admittance, but also an attempt at diverting the attention elsewhere; he doesn’t want to dwell on how he feels. Lingering around Jia was no less something that he wanted, but he had little to comment on in that aspect; perhaps he would be able to slip away from this scene a little quicker if he put up an act. A successful one, that is – he hopes. “How are you faring?” the gloved hand is lowered from his mouth, revealing a small smile – it’s fake. A look is given to their surroundings before his eyes settle back onto Jia, “Pardon me for asking, but I am not keeping you from anything, am I?”
This would be one of the cases in which he would not be upset to receive a positive answer.
If anybody passes by and caught an earful of this boy apologizing not once but twice, they might assume that she is mugging him. Even if they don’t think she’s mugging him, they’ll think that she has to be doing something malicious and intimidating to him. The situation is an echo of every single other interactions between them. Her hands remain bare of dirt and blood. He’s the one who fails to get his emotions under control. He’s beating himself up and she looks like the aggressor for being around.
And that is exactly why she cannot stand him.When it comes down to it, people will be more prone to believe Luhan who speaks properly, and wears fucking gloves to protect his dainty hands that have never been torn up by hard labor. There’s an old Confucian principle that goes, “Those who work with their heads rule while those who work with their hands are ruled,” but Confucian was an old fart and the person keeping her company now probably has the same stick up his ass.
“Tch,” she scoffs. A single corner of her mouth curls up sarcastically, and her gaze shoots off into the horizon instead of resting on the eyesore in front of her. “I ain’t got anywhere to be.” The Mandarin that flows through her mouth gains turbulence. She drops most of the standard capitol conventions of pronunciation and picks up those from her hometown instead. She wants to distance herself from him in every single aspect. There is an entire universe of differences between them that even annual magpies can’t bridge.
“But I bet you got somewhere to be, am I right, friend?” The epithet she gives him is as transparent as the question he posed for her. In her gut she knows he didn’t ask for her sake. He asked for his own benefit.
JR: jonghyun got a basketball she picked up from an empty driveway she walked past. in addition to that she gave him a thermos (the one suji gave everyone) filled with hot chocolate that she made for herself but took a sip of it and didn’t like it. The hot chocolate was also from suji’s gift box.
YIXING: yixing got a basket filled with fresh produce and seasonings. MJ is hoping that he will recognize that these ingredients go well with chicken and cook something for her.
MINHO: MJ gave him sweaters and heat packs for helping her that one night (plot will be in an upcoming para). These items were also from Suji’s box.
HONGBIN: he will probably get a merry christmas text over kkt
It started with one mask with fangs, blood, and soulless eyes hidden around a corner and one unsuspecting victim. A startling scream and a chase scene later, Meng Jia ended up with a ripped shirt that got caught on something and full knowledge of the history of Jonghyun’s ( now broken ) glass cup. This was the story of how she forced him to compensate by taking her to a department store and buying her a new shirt.
Of all places, he chose Nordstorm. She not only doubted his capability of dropping thousands of wons on one top, but also his intentions since she recalled namedropping this brand as one that she hated most. To expect anything else from him would’ve been foolish, but it was equally foolish for her to not see this type of thing coming. Barely a month in this institute of weenies and her edges were already softening. She could never afford to lower her guards completely, but there was no point to exhaust herself around most of them who were sensitive folks. Those who fell through the cracks were the ones she preferred to spend her time with. Namely, Jonghyun whose sharp wits kept her own mind sharpened. But in this moment she’d rather fall on the edge of the blade than continue to walk through this store with judgmental eyes sticking to her like leeches.
“That looks like you,” she pointed over to a mannequin in a questionable pose. She needed some way to vent her annoyance and this was the best she could come up with. Prior to this, her eyes glimpsed over a couple of price tags with too many digit places. It would’ve been funny to suggest them to Jonghyun and make him spend that type of money on something so ugly, but she already anticipated his potential retort.
‘Of course you’d chose something so ugly with your bad taste.’
She had no quip for that other than, ‘Fuck you. It’s a joke,’ and in a battle of wits there was no room for weak moves like that.
“I’m bored,” she sighed loudly, not giving a damn if any employees heard. “Let’s go to a different floor.”
this is the part where i try to come up with plots that might appeal to people, but may or may not miss the mark. everything can definitely be discussed and tweaked so don’t be afraid to let me know if something catches your eyes!
( 01┊ SHARING TIME )
if you don’t mind having MJ knowing some or all of your muse’s past, this is the plot for you. i want her power to activate, either intentionally or unintentionally. if she gets scared/shocked, there is a chance her ability will go off.
she will most likely retain parts of your muse’s personality or speech patterns after she comes out of her trance. i will ask you about these details so i don’t get anything wrong!
( 02┊ WHAT’S MINE IS YOURS )
Petty thievery is just what she DOES. you haven’t noticed that she’s pickpocketed you or taken something straight off your dresser when she came over. one day you notice her wear something that vaguely looks like yours.
spoiler alert: it is yours.
you keep eyeing it and even if you bring it up, watch her weave a story about how she got it.
( 03┊ GOOD FRIEND O’ MINE ) - connection
For whatever reason, she has won over your trust. Maybe you were in some dilemma and she accidentally helped you through it because she had nothing better to do with her time. Now you’re convinced that she’s a good person even if she’s rough around the edges (bc you’re not that gullible),
You invite her to plans and keep in touch with her because you want to be close friends. She plays along but she has no plans to truly return your sincerity.
( 04┊ CAN’T WIN THEM ALL )
As much as she tries to come off harmless to everybody, it’s impossible to fool everybody. You, in particular, don’t buy her act at all. She’s been getting close to one or some of your friends and this raises some red flags with you. You confront her and give her a warning.
( 05┊ UNDER THE RADAR PRIVATE EYE )
She thought she disappeared under the grid for good but her burner phone goes off and she can’t refuse a chance to make money. You have a case where you desperately need information dug up about whatever is concerning you, and you need her help.
( 06┊ WHY NOT ME ) - connection
She flashes her smile at everybody (mostly). She’ll do almost anything to maintain her cover and stay on everybody’s good sides. Mention the subject of romance though and she will avoid it with a ten feet pole. You’ve developed a crush on her and she’s been avoiding you because she can sense it.
She continues to be so nice to everybody else outside of you, and you wonder “why not me?”
MISC
there has to be a thread where she gets your muse into drinking and making poor life decisions.
she’s probably pretended she twisted her ankle in order to get someone to carry her up 6 flights of stairs since the elevators were out of service.
bar thread. you bought her a drink and she pays attention to you 0/10 times.
sparring match that goes a little too far when you push her buttons and she starts street fighting (and bites you, whoops)
you dialed the wrong number and she decides to mess around and pretend it’s a sex hotline
“Fear of a name only increases the fear of the thing itself.”
The quote which comes from the second installment of the Harry Potter franchise couldn’t hold much truth in the situation which Lu Han found himself. Occasionally he wonders what exactly happened for him to land in a position where he is disliked by another; never would he assume that all people would or could take a liking to him, yet neither could he ever consider reaching a point where he would border onto being bullied. The case he’s referring to in specific doesn’t compare to the usual behavior that he’s met with by one of his friends.
Color rises to his cheeks at the mention of the word ‘friends’ yet he is quick to dismiss the thoughts related to that matter.
Returning back on track with the initial train of thought, he finds himself letting out a long, drawn out sigh. What was he supposed to do with a person that manifested their dislike for him not only verbally, but physically too? Often, he would feel helpless (weak is a word that he stubbornly tries to avoid) and yet the helplessness which he feels in this particular case is of a different kind. He cannot pinpoint what it is exactly, but it causes his shoulders to heave down under the pressure of an invisible force – guilt, dependency.
The only thing to make him snap back to the surrounding reality is the sound of steps approaching from the opposite direction, though with his gaze remaining cast towards the ground, there is little importance that he pays to them. That is until those steps draw to a halt and he’s addressed, greeted with nothing more than an overly casual “Yo.”
Were he to be made out of glass, then he would have shattered in that very moment.
The voice doesn’t belong to just anybody, rather to the very person that was the root of the problem, of the entire thought process which he was trying to stomach: Meng Jia, in person. Fingers curl into fists, feet root themselves into place as they often would when he feels frightened, the pitter-patter of his own heart rings in his ears and teeth sink themselves deep into the flesh of his lower lip – he doesn’t look at her, he can’t.
She thinks to herself, “Meng Jia, oh, Meng Jia. Let’s be nice to him for once.” Their current situation calls for a little warmness. It’s shit o’clock at night, and every time the breezes pass by it feels like a cold slap to the face. There’s something about a simple “Yo” that really required effort on her part to dig out of her throat, and she assumes it’s because Luhan is on the receiving end of it. the streetlights draw a thin outline around him. The pale yellow hues that framed each of his fingers collected together to form a seamless circumference around his fist.
If her emotional reservoirs aren’t already filled to the brim with annoyance, she might feel offended by his reaction. The boy has the fragility of glass. Had he really been born of glass, she would’ve picked up the pieces into her mouth just so she can chew him up, and spit him back out stained with her blood and all.
“Hey,” she raises her voice, purposely establishing an air of dominance. Heavy eyelids droop over her irises that are now mirroring the same shape as the waning moon above them. “Didn’t your mom back in mainland teach you to answer to your seniors when they talk to you?” A cloud of warm breath floats into the air as she huffs out a dry laugh. Northerners and their manners... She shouldn’t be surprised.
Her hands are picked out of her front jacket pockets so she can cross her arms comfortably. He isn’t even sparing her a single eye glance, and yet he wonders why she lacks the patience to be in his presence. The way he reacts to her throwing him a bone makes her out to be some soul-sucking fox demon. For a whole minute, she gives the thought of giving him a friendly punch to the gut some serious consideration. But that act of impatience will ruin everything for herself so she brushes it off.
ayyy it’s hari-mun. WE BACK AT IT AGAIN WITH A SECOND MUSE.
i’m sorry i haven’t been able to welcome new muses in a while because i’ve taken on quite a bit with hari. i figured since i’ll be taking on jia i might as well save some interactions for her BUT if you think that hari would be a better fit for interactions, feel free to plot with her as well!
all of MJ’s info can be found HERE but i’ll paste a more coherent, “condensed” form of her bio below the cut:
the household was just her mom, her older brother, and her. as a nurse her mom could make ends meet but she was rarely home, so her brother, jiahao, took care of her the most.
she told her family about her visions every time. her mom thought she was being an imaginative 3 year old because jiahao often got in trouble for lying, but he had a differing opinion. he believed that jia wasn’t lying like he was.
he made her use her visions to help him cheat, but her power was too underdeveloped. she either couldn’t see things at all or she saw too much, but he still encouraged her. his conartist ways started early in life tbh.
they had a deadbeat dad who got moved to shanghai for business. he promised to pay for the three’s flight out when he made enough, but he never did. when jia used her power on the letter he sent home, she saw that he’s already had another family there.
she and jiahao worked hard at not having to work as hard as the working class. they tried to find loopholes and backdoors to exploit. they took advantage of foreigners, old people, young people alike.
their business ventures took them to south korea where they continued to run scams, but realized it was more profitable to sell information. they often worked in conjunction with private detectives but worked independent as well.
jia wasn’t careful enough with her powers and got approached to join daybreak. the original plan was to join and scope the area out. she’s scared that something might happen to her but her brother promised to get her out if she needs him. but currently he’s back in china because their father is gravely ill and he wants to make sure he adds them onto the will.
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