caverned

The city will move out of frame

[cavernned]

⊹ ࣪ ˖ ꒰ঌ ˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗ ໒꒱ ⊹ ࣪ ˖

The brightly lit night, twilit I can stay here for the night . ݁₊ ⊹

⋆⭒˚.⋆ The wonderful scenery I saw with you.

Out the window until dawn little STARS ⊹ ࣪ ˖͙͘͡★

⋆｡Quеstions left through the cracks in the window.

Thе stars that don't say anything . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.

⋆｡°✩ ⋆⁺｡˚⋆˙‧₊✩₊‧˙⋆˚｡⁺⋆✩°｡.・゜゜・゜゜・．｡･･･ﾟﾟ･

[ravioliet]

"why can't they just be friends?" not in the homophobic sense, but in the "in your need to center romance in everything you are missing the whole point of the media in question" sense

[smallpwbbles]

Happy pride month my peeps!! (Why the fuck are we half way thru the year already?)

[ozempicofficial]

[tall]

[tetitasdelimon]

top 5 horror movies

-having a job

-not having a job

-applying for jobs

-the job market

-the concept of working my whole life

[cavernned]

everybody falling for anton i knew this day would come 🥀 (it literally happens every other month)

QUICK NAME RIIZES DISCOGRAPHY

[cavernned]

im sorry but that weverse letter is giving me deja vu

[cavernned]

also, literally there was no hint towards this happening whatsoever??? he just had a fancall event and fanmeet literally in the past week. the thought of the company forcing him to choose between the two actually hurts me!!! 😹

[cavernned]

well shit no wonder they’ve been so quiet

[cavernned]

literally how does this keep happening to the groups i stan!!! 😹😹😹😹😹😹😹😹😹😹😹😹😹😹😹😹😹😹

[cavernned]

WTF

[bratzdollsasha]

Reblog if you’re black tumblr

and yes you have to be black, this isn’t an all access typa club

[cavernned]

★ ENHYPEN AS…

Tracks from a Man’s Best Friend by Sabrina Carpenter

☆ ݁⋆ ⚝ . ݁ 𝄞 ݁ . ⚝ ⋆ ݁ ☆

warnings : swearing, the slightest bit of suggestive content

masterlist ⋆˙⟡

NOTES ☆ this album has gone triple double platinum in my headphones. i’ve been a sabrina fan since i was a child so i’m always happy when she drops something new!!! now where the idea came from to make this i don’t know but i do know that it was a good one. now i know the connotation of some of these songs are actually REALLY upsetting but my heart couldn’t take the scenarios my brain was making so we’ll have to save the heavy duty angst for another day :((( nonetheless i hope you enjoy reading!!

Heeseung as Manchild

- Last time you checked you were both adults

- Adults with jobs and responsibilities

- So why with each passing day did he seem to be acting more and more like the Heeseung you knew when you were seventeen years old?

- When you first moved in together it was amazing!

- He did chores, sometimes even your own without asking, cooked dinner every now and then, you know everything a partner should be doing!

- And all of a sudden it—stopped.

- In place of the responsible Heeseung was one that reverted ten years back

- He couldn’t make his own coffee in the morning, he couldn’t wash clothes or barely pick them out in the morning without your help

- Couldn’t get the car fixed, build a bookshelf, or make the bed

- Only thing that he was capable of doing nowadays was lounging on the couch or playing video games late into the night

- You even had to move his setup into the living room because he was so LOUD

- It was getting unbearable!

- You honestly couldn’t tell how he survived the earth for so long?

- And you loved his mom to death but how could she let his son get so goddamn lazy

- and how did he fool you for so damn long?

- He’s simply too attractive, yeah that was the only logical explanation.

- Nevertheless, it was about time you said something to his handsome face.

The sight of him playing on his PC pisses you off.

His hot and sexy girlfriend was standing right here and he wouldn’t even look your way? At least if he was blind he’d have a semi-valid excuse but this is just plain sorcery.

How he became so lazy over the course of your relationship was beyond you, but one thing you did know was that it was time for some change.

Not being able to stand his lack of acknowledgement any longer, you quickly make your way towards the desk placed in the bedroom. There still being no reaction to you looming over his shoulder angrily peering at his face, further measures were required.

Even if it risked some foul spoken lashings from a gamer full of rage.

Before he can even get a word out you crouch down and unplug his monitor.

“Are you serious (Name)?” Heeseung snarled as he flung the headphones off his ears, staring at the bright red DEFEAT screen in pure disbelief.

“Oh you’re surprised are you?” sarcasm dripping from your tone. “I wonder what that feels like, hm?” Looking away from the man, irritation now present in the way you avoid his stare.

And oh did your words anger him. You hadn’t seen him get up from his gaming chair that quickly in weeks, and it was all just to get in your space. Maybe this would be a moment of celebration if there wasn’t smoke pouring out of his ears. Baby steps.

“What the fuck if your problem?” he snapped, his finger pointed at you in accusation.

Perhaps if you were some other girl you’d handle this differently. There would be a chance that you’d apologize, cowering in fear at the thought of angering your oh-so precious boyfriend. Possibly make his favorite meal and bake a cake as an apology.

Unfortunately for him you weren’t!

Truly there wasn’t enough patience in the world for you to be dealing with his temper tantrum.

Rather than responding to his question, you decided to show him. You disappear into the living room leaving him temporarily stunned. Just as he’s about to follow, you return with hands full of stuff.

One by one you start chucking the items at his face.

He barely gets to dodge before you start spewing all that’s been building up over the past month, “My problem is all the shit you leave around EVERYWHERE,” he ducks to avoid three pairs of stained chopsticks, “how I have to sleep on the couch from how fucking loud you get on that stupid game, just to get three hours of sleep!”

Cups and dishes graze his shoulders and legs, your speed quickening. “And how my seemingly loving sweet boyfriend turned into a manchild, and treats me like I’m his goddamn mom?!” finally a pile of dirty clothes lands directly in his face, causing him to lose balance, knocking him off his feet.

With the hysterics coming to a close, the only thing that could be heard was the sound of ragged breaths and the AC spurring quietly in the background.

Your face was flushed from throwing things and constantly aiming for something to at least do a little bit of damage (he dodged just about all of it, that fucker.) but there was no reason for his face to be red.

There’s no way, is he blushing right now?

Despite you trying to kill him just a minute prior, underneath his sorry expression was…bashfulness.

This was exactly why you couldn’t confront the man for so long. He was just too much.

Heart no longer being able to handle it, your knees buckle.

Dropping on the floor right in front of the man you swore at seconds ago. Your body no longer being able to handle holding itself up, the exhaustion that had been festering within you taking you down once and for all.

At this point what could you do? If this desperate plea didn’t work, then there wasn’t a single way to get through to him. To salvage this relationship.

You felt help but compare what you were feeling to the defeat screen on the screen next to you, how ironic.

Right as you’re about to force yourself back on your feet, a pair of arms wraps around your form.

“I’m sorry.”

Awesome, the waterworks were coming. So much for asserting authority, way to go (Name)!

The arms wrapped around you move to cup your cheeks, fingers wiping away the steady flow of tears that dripped from your eyelids.

Slowly he lifts you from the floor, carrying you to your shared bed. How did he still have this strength if he’s been twiddling his fingers all month?

The whole thing left you a little embarrassed but more-so confused.

“Get some rest.” he instructed while pushing you back down from the poor attempt of rising up from your position.

Finally gaining some sense, rather than exclaiming how he’d change through words and affection he gets up, and starts to clean.

Beginning with the mess that was made in the room, then moving onto the living room, the kitchen.

Even the bathroom which you knew he detested.

And you just sit and watch, surprised at the sight before you.

Thinking to yourself, you confirm that this was enough for today, but don’t get it twisted!

He’d have to do a lot more sweeping for your full forgiveness. Making things too easy would result in a cycle you really didn’t want to risk repeating.

He’d simply have to kiss the freshly mopped floor you walked on for at least another few weeks!

Jay as Tears

- Your boyfriend was hot. (duh)

- Not in a wow he’s handsome or he’s got so much money

- (even though he is both of those things)

- More-so in a way where he is just your type.

- A man that is respectful!!!!!

- You met through mutual friends

- and you honestly didn’t think much of him, he just seemed like a regular guy

- Until he started bringing coffee to your lectures

- and that’s when you fell in love.

- Quick right?

- You weren’t ashamed though, in fact you reveled in the fact!

- He does anything that you ask him to and the stuff that you don’t

- Your friends called it the barest of minimums but all you heard were complaints about their boyfriends,

- so you can’t help but brag?

- Years worth of shitty boyfriends had finally led up to Jay

- Like yes my boyfriend holds the door open for me every single time praise god!!!

- To others this doesn’t seem like anything but it leaves you ecstatic every time.

- You don’t how you ended up so lucky to have him but you weren’t complaining!

God, you wish Jay were here.

It now being your junior year in college, you decided to move out of the dingy dorms and into an even dingier apartment.

The place was cheap and had had a significant lack of roommates, so in your mind it was damn near perfect.

Other than the mold or course.

Though now that you were here alone, you started to think that another pair of hands wouldn’t hurt so bad.

At least you’d have a bit of guidance, or at the very least some moral support on how to build this stupid shelf.

But you were alone.

Alone with another buttload of boxes to unpack, a soon-to-be unpackaged bed frame (if you even got past the first task), and an unbuilt bookshelf which you were currently tasked with constructing.

Your hands had to be cursed. I mean, how many youtube tutorials did you have to watch before shit started making a little bit of sense?

The main reason why you purchased this specific piece of furniture was because the estimated build-time had been fifteen minutes, but it’s been two hours and you still weren’t anywhere near close to finishing.

You swear it’s been like the fifth time that you’d have to break it down and restart because a screw or a whole piece of wood was missing from the final product.

…

Giving up was the only option.

It was getting far too hot in the room, and your stomach was clearly calling for the sushi spot down the street.

Right as you were about to get up and grab your keys, there’s a hard knock on your door.

“I don’t remember inviting anyone over…” you muttered to yourself.

Praying and hoping it wasn’t the creepy guy on the floor that your landlord warned you about, you peered through the peephole to be met with your boyfriend.

The door immediately swinging open, you greet the man excitedly, “Jay, what are you doing here?” the clear happiness displayed on your face, ultimately betraying your questioning tone of voice.

“I sensed that you needed some help.” he said, leaning in to kiss you on your cheek. As he steps around you to get inside, you finally notice the bright red tool box that he was sporting.

“Wait, what?”

Before you could question him further, he was already in the middle of the living room crouching down, now tinkering with the heap of wooden parts you previously had left.

“Weren’t you going out or something?” he questioned, laser focused on the project before him. “Don’t let me stop you.”

Well…

If he insisted!

You bid him adieu, leaving to get sushi you craved with a prominent pep in your step, probably looking like some sort of lunatic to passersby but you didn’t care.

By the time you returned the shelf had long since been built, along with your bed frame. Even your boxes were emptied, the contents now being put away.

Somehow the smell of mold had disappeared, was he working miracles in here?

He even folded the cardboard down making it easier to throw in the garbage.

You were honestly getting riled up.

Life couldn’t possibly get any better than this.

“You’re back!” he beaned looking up from the couch. Quickly you set the food on the counter, then make your way behind the couch, looming over the man. “I hope you didn’t mind me putting your things away, I thought-“

You cut him off by pressing your lips onto his. The position you were in was nothing short of uncomfortable, back bending to lean down just to reach his face. Needless to say you didn’t mind.

He smiled into it, not expecting such a reaction. Deciding that you weren’t finished with him yet you begin peppering his face with kisses, lipgloss littering across his skin, The gesture leaving the both of you breathless.

“Did you know that you’re the best person on planet earth?” you asked, a genuine question.

In response he twisted his torso, lifting you over the couch in record speed. You don’t know how you scored such an amazing boyfriend.

“Show me why?”

Jake as Goodbye

- Jake always seemed to speak before thinking

- One of his best and worst qualities really.

- It’s exactly how he confessed his love for you, but on the other hand it was also how he got on your nerves

- Which is why you avoided confrontation at just about all costs

- Even the smallest accusation about a dirty dish that was left out in the open or complaints about a lack of affection,

- seemed to result in him getting all pouty and upset, and you having to console him It was honestly-

- Annoying.

- Cute, but annoying.

- But still he loved you since it always ended with tearful apologies and promises to be better

- Now had it ever gotten better, definitely not.

- You persevered regardless

- So him asking to end things left you a little speechless.

- You couldn’t even process it all before he was back again

- If you could remember correctly, and you definitely had

- your boyfriend, or ex boyfriend had just broken up with you fifteen minutes prior

- So why the hell was he standing outside in your backyard, yelling for forgiveness as if he wasn’t the one to end things

- Unfortunately for him, this time you wouldn’t be giving him the benefit of the doubt!

You didn’t even get a chance to cry before he came crawling back.

Outside in your backyard was Jake, screaming his lungs out.

Anybody in a ten foot radius could hear the apologies and sobs of a heavy-hearted man.

The sight of him confessing his undying love in front of all of your neighbors really was sending you over edge.

Even more so, it was pissing you off.

What was the whole point then?

He had just messaged you, not even a call by the way, declaring to you that the relationship just wasn’t gonna work out.

And now he’s back immediately after to try and take back his word. If he was going to come crawling back to quickly he could’ve saved his breath

or his phone’s battery..?

Whatever your point still stands.

It’s not like you wanted to break up, things were completely fine between you two. An argument here and there sure, but nothing that was separation-worthy ever occurred. The average quarrel between couples.

“Leave Jake.” not even bothering to yell that loud, you knew he wasn’t leaving until your front door was open no matter what you said.

“TAKE ME BACK BABY,” he cried out, a mom walking past covered her baby’s stroller, giggling to herself. “IT WAS A MISTAKE!”

He just couldn’t get any louder, huh?

As much of a public shame ritual as this was, you would admit. It was nice for the roles to switch for a change. The sight of him grovelling at your front lawn begging for forgiveness wasn’t so bad, not one bit.

“You’re the one that broke up with me!”

Why not add fuel to the fire, you knew your neighbors had long since started listening in to the scene before them.

“Not the other way around.” you reminded.

Jake visibly deflates at your response. For once in the time that you knew him, he wanted to recognize what you were trying to get him to understand.

Oh the irony of it all.

“I WAS BLINDSIDED!” he shouted.

Hm, now that you were thinking about it, he did say that he was visiting his mom today, and she definitely hated your guts.

At every turn she was trying to make you out to be some terrible witch that didn’t belong with her son. All because you asked for her cookie recipe ONCE.

Okay that wasn’t the only reason but it’d be funny if it was!

“JUST LET ME IN, WE CAN TALK ABOUT THIS”

There you pieced it all together. He went to his parents house, his mom probably got through to him enough to either convince him that you weren’t what you said you were or that he wasn’t enough for you, then your impulse driven boyfriend sent a breakup text, regretted it immediately afterwards, and rushed over to your house.

You pinched the bridge of your nose and allowed a sight to leave your lips. This should’ve been a serious moment but the sound of Jake’s screams ruined that chance.

Would he just-

Your thoughts are quickly cut off by the sound of Mariah Carey’s voice in We Belong Together.

When the fuck did he get a speaker?

“I DIDN’T MEAN IT WHEN I SAID I DIDN’T LOVE YOU SO,“

Great, he was singing now. I WAS LYIN’ TO MYSELF Why not start selling front row tickets to this clown show.

People had even begun sitting on their front lawns, a lame excuse of watering the grass or mowing their lawns to see the commotion going on outside their houses.

Did he have no shame? Love couldn’t possibly be clouding his judgement that much.

Oh but it was, and the proof was him singing out the next lyrics while pointing directly at the window you were looking out of.

“‘CAUSE WE BELONG TOGETHER!”

Alright that was enough.

You disappear from the window. The sound of his singing fading into the background.

A few moments later you return.

He’s at the bridge now at the bridge of the song, his voice growing stronger. People had whipped their phones not bothering to hide their amusement.

“WHEN YOU LEFT I LOST A PART OF ME-“

The speaker cut off.

The man before you was now soaked head to tow.

You had poured a bucket of water on his head. Successfully shutting him up.

Which was too bad, because in Jake’s eyes this was recognition, a good thing.

He smiled up at you, got in his car, and left. Leaving you with your moth agape, bucket still in hand staring out your window. Eyes following his departing vehicle.

Was he coming back?

The question wasn’t left unanswered for long, the phone in your back pocket ringing with a notification.

It was a text.

I’ll be back tomorrow ;)))

You almost felt a little annoyed.

Of course, you knew that you’d eventually take him back, definitely not today but eventually. But he seemed to realize that as well, as soon as the water reached him.

Surprising yourself, you snort at the message.

A few more extravagant apologies wouldn’t hurt, right?

Sunghoon as Never Getting Laid

- You and your boyfriend (ex boyfriend but that term was a little too permanent for your taste!)

- had just broken up the day before!

- When he proposed the idea you were fine with it really,

- there were no swollen eyes or snotty noses,

- and you sure as hell didn’t get blackout drunk the same day, call all your friends crying about how heartbroken you were, that would just be insane!

- It could honestly be described as a mutual decision

- One that you definitely thought of, it’s not like you wanted to marry the guy or anything

- There just wasn’t that much of a connection!

- So why did you feel this way hmmmm…

- The thought of him moving on actually has you climbing up your walls

- I mean, wouldn’t it just be better for him to stay inside for like… the rest of his life?

- You weren’t mad, jealous or any of that

- Stalking his following to see if he found anyone new is just something normal that happens after a breakup

- and isn’t looking into his dorm window across from yours for an hour, or two, or maybe three to see if he would bring anybody back really just a part of the experience?

- It was simply a better idea for him to live a life alone for the rest of his life yearning for you and no other bitch

- There would be no harm in making sure that happens!

The phrase, “I’m too employed for this.” was finally starting to make a little sense to you.

Following the break up with your boyfriend Sunghoon, you took up a position as Greenhouse Assistant in the student-run garden at your college.

The lack of payment was definitely a downside, but you didn’t plan on staying here for long. Just a bit of volunteer work until you got over your ex!

Imagery of you as a granny working in this wretched garden for the rest of time haunted your mind.

For now it proved to be a great distraction and amazing company. Who knew how soothing it could be to release your stress by ripping out weeds from the ground and sharing your issues with plants that didn’t have annoying thinkpieces of advice that you didn’t ask for!

“You know, I think he might take me back if I beg enough.” you voice to the sunflowers you were currently watering. “Soon enough he’ll realize that it was all a mistake, right?”

Right when you were ready to move onto the bunches of daffodils, you could see a couple entering the garden, seemingly going on a walk as most people did.

Whether it was to take in the scenery, skip class, or makeout.

This was just what you needed, a pair of lovebirds rubbing how you got dumped right in your face.

“It’s rude to stare.” you whispered to yourself, averting your gaze back down to the flowers in front of you.

Until you recognized the man’s voice.

…

There’s no way that was Sunghoon.

Whipping your head back up to get a better view, you realize that it is in fact him.

The same man that was just spewing about how he needed you days ago, was now walking throughout this yard, participating in the same activity you used to do when you were together.

Did he really move on that quickly?

Initially he didn’t seem like the type to do so. You were only his second girlfriend and he always spoke about “dating to marry.”

So why was he sporting another bitch not even a full week after your parting?

Something inside you snaps. There’s no way that she didn’t know that the two of you had just broken up, hell it seemed to be the only thing that people were talking about nowadays.

Hopping on the immediate opportunity to get in his good graces. He probably fell for it too, being the bonehead that he was.

You weren’t even pretending to attend to the plants anymore, just glaring at the sight in front of you.

What should you do? Ducking out of the way would be useless as they were moving in your direction. Running would cause too much commotion, and Sunghoon could recognize you from a mile away anyways.

Staring at the hose in your grip, you came to one conclusion.

Switching the mode from shower to jet, you go from pointing the hose at the flowers to the two of them.

Immediately your ears were met with screams of terror and cries of curses, mostly from the woman he was with.

“Sorry!” you yelled, feigning innocence.

“My hand must’ve slipped, I apologize, truly!” mustering up the most sorrowful expression that you could.

It must’ve not been a good one because she was now threatening your entire bloodline!

Your attention wasn’t on her though.

No, it was on Sunghoon.

How could he still look good drenched in hose water? You didn’t even know if it was clean or not.

Wiping the liquid from his eyes, he slowly raises his head, meeting your eyes staring back at him.

Did he just…giggle to himself?

Immediately after you just soaked him with potentially dirty hose water?

Truthfully you expected him to flip you off or tell the woman beside you how crazy you were. He wouldn’t be wrong.

Then again that’s what he said he always liked about you. That fact that you were opposites.

It must’ve been April Fools day. Instead of continuing on with his walk, he simply left. Leaving you and the random girl stranded in the yard.

This was technically a win.

He noticed you, ditched the woman he was with, and was now returning to his dorm, right where he belonged.

The girl approaching you with a murderous glint in her stare didn’t even phase you, smiling to yourself at the small victory.

You’d definitely go back to stalking his page after you dealt with the livid being that was now a few steps away from you.

Today was definitely a win.

Sunoo as Sugar Talking

- At this point you were about 80% sure your boyfriend didn’t want to touch you

- or at the very least he was scared to

- Before you’d gotten together he expressed his meed for taking things slow because of his timidness

- And you were fine with it of course!

- but isn’t this a little excessive?

- It’d been months and the only thing you’d received from him was hugs and kiss on the cheek on the good day

- You got either of these in public if you were lucky

- It was conflicting…

- You knew he loved you

- In fact he couldn’t even be around you with his face heating up

- As embarrassing as it is to admit, he even slapped you in your face once in an attempt to cover his reddened cheeks

- Sunoo also showered you with gifts

- If it wasn’t flowers it was food, and if it wasn’t food it was jewelry

- so it was safe to say that he definitely wasn’t lying about the being shy part

- Still that shouldn’t forever stop him from making a move, you weee his girlfriend for fucksake

- He already got past the possibility of you not liking him so there’s nothing to be scared of

- So what the hell was his problem?

- You’d spent enough time crying thinking about this, thinking about what you’d done wrong

- He obviously needed some sort of courage,

- you know, a little push in the right direction!

- It was finally time you gave it to him.

This movie was honestly really shitty.

Okay, maybe it wasn’t that bad but you didn’t actually come over to watch some stupid romcom.

You loved your boyfriend but sometimes you really questioned if he was just…stupid.

You know, like a little off his rocker!

If you asked any other man to come over and watch a movie they’d immediately get the memo. There was a mutual understanding that there would be 20% of actually watching and 80% making out.

Except Netflix and Chill apparently wasn’t part of Sunoo’s vocabulary.

He’d been invested in the plot of the movie since the beginning, meanwhile you’d spent half of the film stealing glances at his face.

Could he really be this oblivious?

No he couldn’t be, his ears were bright red.

That’s the odd thing about Sunoo. It’s like he knew what you were thinking, maybe even thinking about it more than you. He just simply refuses to act on said thought.

Turning back to the screen you attempt to watch the movie as intently as the man beside you. But to no avail, you just couldn’t focus.

Your eyes found his profile again for the- you actually lost count.

During this one-sided staredown, an idea pops up in your head. If this were a cartoon, you’re sure that a bright lightbulb would be shining above your head.

Maybe he just needed a little push?

Slowly you inch a little closer. Not enough for him to notice, but enough for you to continue on.

Then you scoot even closer.

He turns his head towards you. Not bothering to offer any explanation, you simply smile at him.

Might as well keep him on his toes.

For the final time you move over, the two of you now being shoulder to shoulder.

“What’s up?” he questions, avoiding your gaze at all costs in fear of meeting you face to face.

“Nothing much,” anybody EXCEPT Sunoo could tell this was a lie.

“I just wanted some of your chips.”

This is apparently a feasible enough excuse because he sets the bowl between the two of you, allowing you to stay in your spot next to him.

Phase 1 was complete. Now it was time for your second move.

A few minutes later, you throw your legs over Sunoo’s.

The boy has a physical reaction to this, flinching so hard that he accidentally pauses the movie, the remote conveniently being exactly where his jolted hand landed.

“Sorry!” he apologized, quickly unpausing the movie in an attempt to ignore how you were closing in on him.

“It’s fine.” you whisper, moving to rest your head on his shoulder.

At this point you were pushing every boundary and crossing every line.

To be frank, it took him a while to get used to the weight of your head, shaking for the duration of an entire scene.

Eventually though he did relax, the tension releasing from the spot you were laying in.

It was time for your final act.

You move your head up and place a kiss right on his cheek.

Immediately he ends up on the furthest side of the couch, leaving you stranded.

“Oh, (Name)-“

Before he could get any words out, you burst into tears. The pent up feelings finally being let out by this one small action.

You didn’t think that you were ugly or anything, but damn you were starting to question whether or not you were.

Just how bad could you look to the point where your boyfriend won’t even let you kiss him on the cheek?

“God Sunoo, am I really that unappealing to you?” you sobbed, wiping the tears that cascaded down your face.

The lack of response only made you feel worse.

Oh god what if your breath stunk.

Not wanting to humiliate yourself further, you leap off the couch, sprinting to your bedroom. At least there his scrutinizing gaze couldn’t reach you.

Except it wasn’t scrutinizing at all, he only looked worried, maybe even a bit shocked. Which only left you even more bewildered.

He didn’t even give you a chance to collect yourself before he was knocking on the door.

“Go away.” you demanded.

Right then and there you decided that you just weren’t ready to confront whatever he was planning on asking once he opened that door. You have gone through enough for today.

The universe must’ve had other plans since the door to your room creaked open, revealing your boyfriend, standing like a kicked puppy.

You physically feel your resolve melting at rapid speed, damn him.

Actually not that you were looking closely, he seemed a bit different.

The bangs that usually covered his face were moved out of the way, revealing his forehead.

What you were mainly visioning was the weird look in his eyes.

The only way to describe it would be, sensual.

But that couldn’t be possible, he just flew away from you as soon as you initiated contact.

Right as you open your mouth to question the suggestive atmosphere, he strides over to your bed right where you’re sitting.

“What are you-“

You don’t even get to finish your sentence when his mouth is on yours, successfully shutting you up.

Jungwon as When did You Get Hot?

- Jungwon had always been… around

- Growing up in the same area meant same schools, run ins at the mall, you know the usual childhood friend getup

- and you had a very well developed image of the boy in your mind

- Short, nerdy, cute

- Not an attractive kind of a cute per-say but something more akin to calling a little sibling cute when they were younger (even though he was technically older than you)

- Which was too bad because he so obviously had a crush on you

- One that hadn’t gone away in the time that you knew him at least

- So how the hell did he become this greek god all in one summer?

- No longer sporting the glasses, flat hair, and the same red basketball shirts he always used to wear

- But contacts, styled hair, and a keen sense of style

- Well, no time like the present right?

“Do you know him?”

Boy oh boy did you know Yang Jungwon, and last time you checked he definitely didn’t look like…that.

The last time you saw the boy was when he was 14. Back when he was sporting glasses that made his eyes ten times smaller, and a uniform that completely drowned him out.

He was even a bit shorter than you, but that didn’t halt his attempts at getting your attention. At every corner he seemed to conveniently be there asking about your day or gifting you snacks.

He was uh, cute.

That was about it.

So when the hell did he get so big? The man across the dance floor before you now was muscular, his toned chest peeking through his fitted black shirt.

Was it Christmas day or what?

You couldn’t help but feel like your prayers were answered. Years waiting for a man worthy enough to swing your way weren’t in vain, it was all leading up to this moment.

Confidence now flowing through your system, you shuffle through the crowd ignoring the me trying to cop a feel and the girls that sent dirty looks your way. They must’ve also known exactly who you were approaching.

The determination didn’t last long though because just as your eyes met, he smirked. Not a “wow who’s this babe making her way towards me” kind of smirk but a “I’ve got you exactly where I want you” type of smirk.

Then he disappeared into the crowd, not even giving you a chance to see which direction he ended up going in.

No way was he playing hard to get after all these years.

Except that would make a lot of sense, he always was a bit petty when it came to you.

Luckily or maybe not for him, you weren’t one to back down easily. Such a prize couldn’t go unnoticed by you.

Over the span of the next thirty minutes you search for the man. Scouring the dance floor, asking around to see if anybody knew where he was located in this maze of a house, following every lead that you were given.

Your efforts were proven to be in vain since you don’t end up finding the man, your final destination being at the kitchen counter chugging down the fruit punch that was surprisingly left un-spiked.

Okay, maybe he just left the party? That’s a reasonable excuse. Ignoring you for this long out of spite was also one, but you chose not to think about such an outcome.

Right as you were about to make your way back over to your friends to tell them about your travels throughout the house, your gaze finds a couple dancing in the crowd.

It was Jungwon and some random girl from your calc class you recognized.

Making a fool out of yourself willingly was one thing, but him knowing and purposely making you feel bad was a completely different issue.

Which is why you immediately grabbed your stuff and left the party, texting your friends letting them know that you left and needed to debrief with them later on.

How could he do this?

Yeah sure you ignored his blatant crush on you when you were kids and maybe even used him for food a few times too many-

Okay now that you were thinking about it, this whole situation might’ve been a little deserved.

But did you really have to reciprocate feelings with every man you came across? If that were a rule you’d have at least 12 different STD’s.

At the very least you thought the two of you were still friends, a kind rejection would’ve been good enough for you.

Having spent enough time pondering about whether or not he was right ir wrong to treat you that way, you pull out your phone to call an uber, but someone grabs your device.

“Listen dipshit,” you swing around turning to face the person who just stole from you, “my day has been bad-“

Rather than coming face to face with some random drunk like you expected to, it’s Jungwon who stands in your way.

“If you’ve come to rub your little game in my face, go ahead.” you tell him, averting your gaze from his eyes to the concrete sidewalk, deciding that it was a much better sight. “You deserve that much at least.”

In response he sighs, which admittedly irritates you.

“Alright what’s your deal?” you angrily question, “Ya’ some sort of psychopath that likes mentally edging women or what?”

The vulgar language left him stunned for a half-second, until he started laughing. There’s one thing about him that stayed the same.

He nearly looked more confused than you. As if his reaction made more sense than yours did.

“Do you really think that I wanted that girl?” he questioned, no malice or sarcasm in his voice.

This made you ponder a little bit. Did he want the girl, were they even dancing all that close. God, this man had you questioning everything.

“I mean, maybe..?” you said, with no confidence whatsoever.

Again, he chuckled. What was funny?

“Do you want me to let you in on a little secret?” his word’s sinister and inviting. You don’t bother replying as this was clearly a rhetorical question, you were getting an answer whether you liked it or not.

Suddenly his arm wrapped around your shoulder’s, the stolen phone still in his hand flashing with notifications. God, how were you going to explain this to your friends?

The man then leaned down right by your ear, you entire being tensing at the action.

You prepare yourself to hear…just whatever the fuck he needed to say so incredibly close to your face.

You honestly didn’t even know why he was still following you at this point.

“I just wanted to see how you’d react.”

Immediately you push him away, snatching your phone back in the process. The lunatic doubling-over cackling at your reaction, no remorse for your poor aching heart!

If he weren’t ten times bigger than you now, you would’ve started a fight. Unfortunately that was a battle that couldn’t be won anymore. If only.

You quicken your pace in an attempt to get away from the boy. Yes, you finally remembered that even with his newly acquired looks, he was still the little boy that chased you around with bugs when you were kids.

“Are you happy, freak?” you yelled into the streets, directing your anger to not only him but the universe that was meant to be doing you a favor for once .

“Got the reaction you wanted I bet, seeing me grovel like that.”

“I did.” he moved in front of you, blocking the path to the bus stop. Genuinely what was this man’s issue?

“Look-“ you opened your mouth to say something along the lines of him wasting your time or cussing him out, except he cut you off.

“I finally got the confirmation that the girl I’ve been in love with finally finds me attractive.” he tilts his head to the left, beaming at you.

Thank goodness for the dark atmosphere, because the redness to your face was definitely betraying your dignity.

This man was trying to kill you.

First he pulls up to a party looking like a completely different person, drags you around the entire place knowing damn well you were trying to get his attention.

Dances with some random girl right in front of you, and was now confessing how you were his first love and was still very much in love with you.

You could only form one snarky response.

“Whatever.” you utter, getting ready to leave once again. Except this time you decided to finally give him what he wanted.

Instead of leaving him hanging, as you move past his frame, you take his hand in yours and drag him along with you to the bus stop.

You didn’t even need to look back to know how wide his smile was.

Ni-ki as We Almost Broke Up Again

- Your relationship had always been a bit… rocky

- Even before you started dating it seemed like you guys were always quarreling as friends,

- which is why you were equally surprised when he asked you out

- The logical explanation would be that he argued with you because he liked you,

- but it never stopped.

- In fact, it only got worse.

- Now months into your relationship it seemed like every night was something new to argue about,

-but you never actually took a break or have some distance, and you sure as hell didn’t break up

- They always ended with sorry’s from both sides, and heated affection

- Then the gifts, and the compliments

- Bragging to your friends the week after you just called them crying for the umpteenth time

- and the cycle always repeated

- It was unhealthy and you knew

- But honestly, you didn’t care enough to do anything about it

- You, Ni-ki, and everyone around you could survive another near break up or two again!

- It’s better argue and make up than lose him forever anyways.

This was your third argument of the week.

It started like they always had. Something minor would be mentioned, someone would get defensive without reasoning, and then everything would blow up. Always ending with the two of you pointing out every possible flaw in the other.

Just the other day it was about how he kept spending money on unnecessary things leaving you to deal with both of your living expenses.

Then it was about how you were never home, opting to hangout out with your friends and family rather than spending time at home.

This time, it was about a party, one that you both attended. You were currently being accused of getting far too drunk:

Despite your desperate pleas of false conviction, Ni-ki continued to scold you, listing every possible danger and outcome.

“Imagine what could’ve happened!” he seethed.

In spite of his words, there wasn’t a single ounce of worry in his gaze.

Possibly if you’d actually gotten blackout drunk, you’d agree, submitting to his claims and apologize. But you weren’t, only sipping on one drink and speaking to two people before you were dragged out by your enraged boyfriend.

“How could you be so careless.”

The accusation felt like fire against your body, burning through layers of skin.

After that you honestly couldn’t recall what words were said. Probably ones that you’d regret, like they always were.

Eventually tears began to flow from your eyes, the intensity of the argument becoming too much to bear.

Maybe if he’d just throw a glass cup, or punch a hole through the wall you’d feel better than this. It’d give you a reason to hate him, a justification for the insults you throw at him.

But he only needed to use his words to cut you down to your core, and you’d love him all the same.

And later when you’re alone you’ll come to the realization.

That probably thought the same thing about you.

-

The argument is over now.

You ended up retreating to your bedroom, locking yourself away from prying eyes.

Ni-ki stormed out the house a while ago, in claims of needing a break from ‘all this’.

Why do you keep putting up with this?

There is a clear exit always in sight. Just break up with him.

You don’t get along, can’t ever seem to agree on things, the good parts of your relationship are only ones that are temporary.

What exactly is stopping you from leaving?

Okay.

You were finally going to pull the trigger.

You grab your phone from the nightstand, immediately you pull up Ni-ki’s contact. There wasn’t much time spent on the message, you knew what you wanted to say since after all, you’ve been here before.

Countless of times.

Before you can even begin typing you hear the click of the door being unlocked.

Recognizing the familiar sound of footsteps, slowy making their way towards your bedroom.

Finally the sound stops right outside your door, then you hear the same three knocks. It was always exactly three. As if he’s giving you a chance to decide.

And like you always did, as he knew you would.

You let him in.

Opening the door, you’re greeted with the man’s sorrowful expression, one you’d seen plenty of times before.

In his hands were flowers, your favorite.

Moving out of the way, you make your way back to the bed with Ni-ki in tow. The weight of his body dipping into the spot next to you.

For a while it was quiet.

What could you even say in a situation that you’ve been in a countless times before.

There was always a clear solution. One thag you’d just considered moments before, but it all depended on whether or not either one of you would finally act on it.

Tear the thread that has been thinning from the start.

Would he do it, would you?

Eventually you received your answer as he began apologizing, you knew you couldn’t do it, he couldn’t either.

This wouldn’t be the end.

And it wouldn’t be for a while.

Soon his lips were on your hands, slim fingers slipping up your shirt. You don’t stop him, pushing his hands up further.

You don’t stop him.

If it meant you got to keep him, to be together for even a little while longer, you’d keep arguing.

You’d keep calling your friends crying, and telling them that it was just another ‘false alarm’

You’d keep spending countless nights crying in your bed wondering just where things went wrong.

As long as you got to have him.

taglist ★彡 @ninistranaut @ashirp

[cavernned]

NEW BRUNO MARS ALBUM you know what that means… 😼

(enhypen as tracks from The Romantic coming soon!!!)

[star-sim]

crawling back to you ☆ jungwon yang

☆ spiderman! jungwon x fem! reader ☆ summary: spider-man was the city's strongest hero: a crime-fighter, a man of the people, and... a loverboy? it's been months since jungwon, the identity behind the powerful spider-man persona, broke up with you. somehow, even with the entire city's fate resting on his shoulders, his biggest concern still remains whether or not he will ever get to see you again. ☆ genre: spider-man! au, exes to lovers, JUNGWON YEARNINGGG, slooooow burn, college! au, jealousy, angst, pining, SEXUAL TENSION & YEARNING ☆ word count: 24.4k words ☆ my long awaited... im sorry guys i was genuinely going through hell and back when i was writing this but its okay papa vanya pulled through, for my dearest @ashtxrie

Jungwon's chest heaved up and down, bated breaths tearing from his lips.

Not again, he thought to himself, running a hand through his sweaty hair. He could feel his loose t-shirt sticking to his skin, the heat from under his blanket too sweltering to endure that he had to throw it off of him. His cat-like eyes flickered to the window beside his bed. The moon gleamed so charmingly, streaming bright slivers of light through his window. And yet, all Jungwon could do is shiver into his hot skin.

It’s been almost 6 months since Jungwon broke up with you. 6 months since he’s been genuinely happy.

And for the past 6 months, Jungwon has been having the same nightmare every night. The nightmare that ended the same way no matter what Jungwon’s brain wired itself to conjure up: with you dying in his arms.

Jungwon shuddered. It was the middle of summer. Even when it was late in the depths of night, beads of cold sweat managed to find their way back onto Jungwon’s neck. Sitting up on his bed, his knees pressed against his chest, Jungwon’s heart pounded in his ribcage, so loud that he could hear it in his ears, yet his fear was so quiet in his heart.

His eyes flickered around his dark bedroom. He needed to call you, he thought. Images of your dying face, choked sobs, and teary voice flooded his memory. It made Jungwon’s eyes line with hot tears, as they always did whenever this nightmare returned to him. He needed to call you, to make sure that you were okay, that his greatest fears hadn’t come true.

Jungwon's hand, still trembling, reached out for his bedside table. If he ignored the empty coffee cups cluttered on it, or the way he had hundreds of ignored messages and call notifications, he would have slowed down. And just as he searched up your name in his contacts, his shaking fingers about to call you, he stopped.

Oh right. He’s not with you anymore.

6 months is a long time.  Apparently not long enough for Jungwon to forget his feelings for you.

If his chest wasn’t already aching, it was now. It was him that broke up with you.  It was him that chose to break your heart. It was him that chose to leave you crumbling to your knees, tears spilling from your eyes as you silently begged him to stay.

And maybe that was his biggest regret.

Jungwon stared at his hands. He gazed each callous on his palm, every single scar and scratch still evident on his skin. His eyes glazed over the black spider-like veins on his wrists.

No, there was no time to mull over you. Not when there was an imminent threat in this city. Slapping his cheeks awake, Jungwon huffed before climbing out of bed. There was no way he would be able to fall asleep anyway. He might as well distract himself with something productive. Start early.

His eyes fluttered back to his moonlit window. Ah, fuck it.

Jungwon had a secret.

A secret that he kept guarded day in and day out, like his life depended on it. And the truth was, his life did depend on it.

Ignoring the way the red and blue spandex felt particularly uncomfortable as it stuck to his still-sweaty skin, Jungwon shot a sticky white web at a building. He gazed at the web that had ejected from his wrist, before peering over the ledge. In this busy city, it seemed like no road was ever going to be completely empty, not even in the depths of night. There were still people roaming the streets, noisy cars honking at one another with their tires screeching.

You hated heights, was the resounding thought that clouded his head as he looked down to the city below him. Once again, Jungwon's heart tightened in his chest, and he shook his head.

He needed to stop thinking about you. You probably already stopped caring about him anyway. You're a pretty girl, even before you and him broke up there was already a line of guys waiting for you to be single. Jungwon wouldn't be surprised if a girl like you already found someone else.

Someone better. Someone that wasn't a damn coward like Jungwon was.

Jungwon let his eyes fall shut, relishing in the way that the cool summer night air brushed against him. It's hard. To let you go, to accept that what once was his could be someone else's.

He looked back down to his gloved hands, the same hands that have been fighting crime for the past 6 months, the same hands that were responsible for the safety of this city, the same hands that touched your pretty face, the same hands that have brought criminals to justice.

It was all blurring together. Jungwon dug his teeth into his bottom lip. He needed to let you go, before his mind devoured him. He needed to let you go, before his identity as Spider-Man, the number one crime-fighter in this city, gets inevitably revealed, and he has to witness you die for the hundredth time. But for real this time.

"Damn, you look like shit."

Jungwon rolled his eyes at his friend's comment, sighing loudly as he flipped through the pages of his textbook. "Didn't get much sleep last night."

Look, Jungwon is a college student. Although his Spider-Man gig was pretty good at paying him, he wanted to contribute to his community in another way. Like through tutoring the local kids.

"Why are you even studying basic elementary algebra?— you're a film major!" Jungwon's good friend Sunghoon Park was a great guy. A little rambunctious, but still a good friend. But not right now.

Jungwon had agreed to have a quote un-quote "study date" with Sunghoon at the coffee shop below Jungwon's apartment complex. Jungwon was a little proud that his friend suddenly wanted to study with him (such intellectual vitality!), but seeing as all Sunghoon has been doing for the past 30 minutes is scrolling on his phone and looking around conspicuously tells Jungwon otherwise. Sunghoon didn't even order a coffee or soak in the scent of warm coffee beans in the coffee shop. He just sat there.

Jungwon shot a look at Sunghoon. "This kid that I'm tutoring, apparently he's not very good at math."

Sunghoon nodded slowly, his eyes narrowing as his thick brows quivered.

"Okay..." he said slowly, his vowels drawing out. "But why do you need to study for it? Don't you like—" the man made a face— "Already know how to do basic math?"

Jungwon opened his mouth to explain that he's not necessarily trying to review elementary math, but moreso trying to figure how to teach it, but he was cut off by Sunghoon's continued rambling.

"—Like shouldn't you know how to add apples? Like if Sally has 2 apples and she gets 3 more, how many does she..." Sunghoon trailed off when he saw Jungwon's completely vacant, unamused expression. Jungwon clicked his tongue, going back to his very informative reading. However, he could practically feel Sunghoon staring at him, to the point that it felt like he was burning holes into Jungwon's person.

Jungwon let out another annoyed sigh. When he looked up to Sunghoon very obviously staring at him, his friend comically looked away. As if Sunghoon was fooling anyone.

"Do I have three heads?" Jungwon asked bluntly.

"What?"

Jungwon huffed, leaning back in his seat. "You keep looking at me. What is it?"

Sunghoon blinked. Jungwon watched as his older friend's Adam's apple bobbed. The once relaxed, though awkward, expression on Sunghoon's face wiped almost immediately, being replaced with a deeply uncomfortable and uneasy one. He squirmed in his seat, his dark eyes darting around the coffee shop in silence.

"Are you okay?"

But instead of answering, Sunghoon just shoved his face into his hands, muttering something under his breath that Jungwon couldn't make out.

Finally, Sunghoon finished his mini-mental breakdown and looked at Jungwon. Somehow, in the span of a few minutes Sunghoon went from looking perfectly fine to looking like he just went through hell.

"Jungwon." Sunghoon finally said, his voice solemn. Which was weird, because when is Sunghoon ever serious? To add to Jungwon's bewilderment, Sunghoon reached across the table, taking hold of Jungwon's hands. His expression was so comically somber that Jungwon thought he was joking. "I have something to tell you."

Jungwon rolled his eyes, the corners of his lips lifting. "Yeah, yeah, get on with your little bit—"

"I"m serious." Sunghoon looked around again, as if he was making sure that no one was listening. He leaned in closer to Jungwon, his voice dropping to as low as a whisper. "It's serious."

Jungwon's brows knitted together, his expression pinching in pure confusion. "What are you talking abou—"

Sunghoon squeezed Jungwon's hand from across the table. His friend took a deep breath, before earnestly facing Jungwon. "What I'm about to tell you, you didn't hear it from me."

"Just—" Jungwon's scowl deepened. "Just tell me already, dude!"

Usually Sunghoon would react, but he just shook his head solemnly. Sunghoon took another deep breath, before he opened his mouth and let words tumble out: "She has a blind date. This weekend."

Jungwon blinked slowly. "Um. Who?"

Sunghoon looked like he was going to shit himself. "You know...."

Jungwon didn't know. Jungwon literally does not talk to anyone except a select few of his friends. And none of them are girls. "I don't, though...?"

Sunghoon sucked in another sharp breath, his tongue darting out to swipe over his bottom lip. "Your... Your girl."

Oh. Jungwon's heart sank to his stomach. That's not... what he expected. Not in the slightest. And the way that Sunghoon physically flinched as he revealed such information didn't make Jungwon feel any better.

"Who... told you that?"

Sunghoon pressed his lips together, forming a line as thin as paper. "You know my coworker? Wonyoung? She's [Name]'s good friend and she's been boasting how she hooked her up to this guy."

But Jungwon tuned Sunghoon out after that. Maybe if Jungwon had a better grip he would have calmly explained that you were not his anymore. It’s not like your breakup was a secret, and if there was anyone who had to bear witness to Jungwon's abject gloominess, it would be Sunghoon. Jungwon couldn't understand why his friends still referred to you as his, even when they were well-aware of the fact that you two were separated.

"C'mon, man, we all know you still want her," was a sentiment echoed by all of his friends.

And they were right. As if they could see through Jungwon's quiet exterior, his robotic composure so keen on hiding his true feelings.

Sunghoon's words fell upon deaf ears. If he did listen, he would hear Sunghoon pleading Jungwon to let go of this act, to stop putting up walls, to finally admit that he was wrecking himself from the inside out by continuing to act like he no longer cared for you.

Jungwon stared blankly at the coffee shop table. The pain in his chest no longer felt new. It felt more like a constant.

In his pencil case he still had the expensive mechanical pencil that you gifted him. Its silver ridges were practically molded to the curves of his fingers. The capsule of lead that came with the pencil only had a few pieces left. When he studied he still listened to the same songs that you introduced to him, the same songs that you and him kissed to as the two of you laid in his bed, and—

Jungwon thought he was okay. And for the first few weeks, he really was just fine. After all, he'd convinced himself that it was all for the better. But Jungwon knew that he'd break sooner or later. And it would be now.

It seemed like in every waking moment, you still managed to consume his thoughts.

All roads led back to you.

As Jungwon swung from building to building, he tried his best to clear his mind. As he always did.

After his little coffee chat (disaster?) with Sunghoon, Jungwon had excused himself to go to some "work." When really, he was just reporting for duty as Spider-Man. Feeling the wind against him as he swung around the city, the thrill of nearly flying through the air, was always useful whenever Jungwon had a lot on his mind. Like always, Jungwon checked his usual stops: banks, daycares, financial and business centers, just to make sure that no one was rumpling with civilians' safety.

Lately, it hasn't really been working. But what did he expect?

The bright summer sun, blaring its orange-yellow light, was now dipping into the horizon. The air smelled like gasoline and peaches, and yet, Jungwon couldn't even relish in the tranquility. Jungwon didn't know why he kept thinking about you. The thought of you going on a date at all with someone else made him feel sick to his stomach. His gut twisted as images of you laughing and smiling flashed through his mind. It hurt so bad, so damn bad.

A few more times of helping kids cross the road, or giving an elderly person some directions, and Jungwon felt like his legs were going to give out. Which was strange.

As Spider-Man, Jungwon was cursed with enhanced senses and incredible regeneration abilities. Ever since he got bitten by that spider, Jungwon never had to experience feeling physically worn out.

Not until right now. Jungwon slumped against the wall in the back alley, the cool stone pressing against his cheek. He looked down at his hands— was he sick? Losing his abilities? Seriously, what was wrong with him? His body was feeling uncharacteristically warm, like he was burning up from the inside. His eyelids felt heavy, while his legs felt like jelly.

And maybe Jungwon would have passed out in that alleyway if it weren't for the god-awful sound of his cellphone ringing.

Kriiiing! Kriiiing! Mindlessly, he picked up the call. "Hello?" Jungwon breathed, pushing nearly all of his body weight against the cold wall for support. He laid his head back, exhausted in ways that he couldn't explain.

A familiar voice greeted his ears. "Hey, it's Sunghoon."

Jungwon gritted his teeth. Not again. "I'm not interested—"

"Listen." Sunghoon said, his voice earnest. "I'm sorry about what I said today, but—"

Jungwon's lips pressed together. How shameful. It must be so shameful, the fact that everyone knew that Jungwon was suffering so much, that it was so obvious.

"—Me and the guys are going out this weekend," Sunghoon's gravelly voice said over the phone. "And we thought that you should really come with us."

Without even realizing it, Jungwon's breath got caught in his throat. He swallowed the lump, his voice coming out so much weaker than he wanted it to, "Like I said, I'm not interested—"

"Jungwon," Sunghoon pleaded. "You... You haven't been yourself lately. We know that you're struggling right now—we're worried about you. Please, just let us be there for you."

Jungwon felt so humiliated. Ashamed even, at the way Sunghoon's voice was filled with so much sympathy. So much pity.

Jungwon wanted to scream. He wanted to shout at Sunghoon and all of his friends for not minding their damn business, for treating him like he was some charity case.

But as Jungwon's eyes traced his shadow on the road, his phone to his ear, Jungwon wanted to shout at himself, for being so weak, for being a coward, for pushing people away, for having an ego so fragile that he felt threatened by his own friend caring about him.

How pathetic. And Jungwon has the gall to call himself a hero?

Jungwon clicked his tongue. "Okay, I'll be. there."

Jungwon wasn't stupid.

He knew exactly why his friends called him out tonight. It was to distract him from the fact that on this same night, you'd be going on your date.

The plan was to all meet up at Jake's apartment, and then go to the club from there. The moment that he arrived at Jake's apartment, he scurried to the bathroom.

Jungwon stared into Jake's bathroom mirror. The entire cramped bathroom smelled like strong fumes of manly cologne and hair spray. From inside, he could hear the muffled bantering of his friends, probably arguing about who would be driving.

His eyes glazed over the tight black compression shirt that clung to his chest, the dark-washed ripped jeans hanging from his hips. It's been a while since Jungwon utilized his pierced ears, and he figured that he'd put in some simple flat black studs before the piercings inevitably closed up. On his wrist, Jungwon had mindlessly slipped on the braided tassel bracelet that you made him; it was still hanging around his room, and he had forgotten that it was from you. Despite that, he didn't have the heart to take it off and shove into his pocket.

Jungwon couldn't recognize himself. It wasn't just the breakup that ruined him.

Sure, losing you was probably one of the greatest losses in his entire life, he was sure of that. But since then, Jungwon has also purposely distanced himself from his friends. He stopped responding to their messages and going to big group outings.

He could hear Jay's howling laughter and Jake's shouting, all sounds that should be completely familiar to him. And yet, there he was, feeling awkward.

He felt like staying in this bathroom until someone noticed that he was absent.

Click! But that wasn't what Spider-Man's do.

Jungwon cracked the bathroom door open, and the moment that he stepped into the hallway, revealing his blank expression, all of his friends whipped their heads. Jungwon could feel their eyes on him, staring at him like he was some anomaly, and for a second, he regretted even agreeing to hang out with them.

He hadn't seen these guys all together in so long. In fact, Jungwon hadn't been in a personal group setting for months now. He wasn't going to lie and say that showing his face to the friends that he strayed away from made him feel uneasy.

But almost immediately, his friends' faces cracked with large grins, whooping his name.

"Jungwon!" Jake delighted as Heeseung threw an arm around Jungwon's shoulder, pulling him snugly to the side of him.

Jay's sharp features morphed into a big, boyish smile, his lips forming a curve. Jay brought up a hand to dap Jungwon up, and Jungwon received it. "Hey, man."

Sunghoon followed behind him, his sharp canine teeth revealing as he chuckled. "Glad you could make it, Jungwon."

Jungwon felt unnatural. Out of place, like a fish out of water. When was the last time he was around people that enjoyed his presence? Other than the group of middle schoolers that cheered him on when he dashed through the air, or the middle aged women at the local library club that doted on him, Jungwon couldn't remember clearly.

For all the months that Jungwon tore himself away from his friends, he didn't know what was more surprising, that his friends still wanted something to do with him, or that nothing had changed while he was gone.

Sunoo's eyes still pressed into thin crescents as he threw his head back, laughing at something stupid Riki said. Heeseung still pulled Jungwon into a headlock, aggressively scruffling his head and ruining his hair despite Jungwon's complaints. Jake, Jay, and Sunghoon still liked to argue loudly, their voices reaching volumes so high that Jungwon was sure they'd get a noise complaint before even leaving.

And as Jay and Sunghoon wrestled, falling onto Jake's couch, the room erupted with the same familiar howling laughter and quips that Jungwon had forgotten how much he loved.

As Riki jumped in to join in the pseudo-wrestling match, Sunoo chanting "fight, fight, fight!," and Heeseung and Jake acting as refs, Jungwon gaped at the scene.

The boys that he's grown up with, the boys that had seen him grow from a wimpy little middle schooler into a strong adult, the boys that never failed to make him laugh— have stayed the exact same.

And for the first time in a while, Jungwon felt his lips lift up, soft giggles erupting from his chest as his eyes squeezed shut. It was such a foreign feeling, and an even more foreign sound.

His friends seemed to think the same. In an instant, the room fell silent. Once again, Jungwon felt all eyes on him.

But before Jungwon's mind could play tricks on him, Riki dashed over to him, throwing the older boy over his shoulder and throwing him on the couch.

"You son of bitch, Jungwon!" Riki laughed affectionately, beginning a tickling assault on him.

Once again, Jake's apartment was engulfed in chaos and laughter.

Well, after being tickled so hard that he almost started crying, as well as a well-deserved noise complaint from Jake's neighbors, Jungwon and his friends finally decided to go to the club. Which was their plan all along, but it wasn't any of their faults that messing around in Jake's home was more fun. And plus, Jungwon accidentally used too much of his spider abilities and body slammed Riki so hard that they all needed a momentary time-out to get Riki an ice pack for his head ("How the hell did you get so strong?!" was what Riki was more concerned about than the giant red mark on his forehead).

Bright strobing lights, the smell of sweaty bodies and alcohol, and the sound of techno music filled all of Jungwon's senses.

And with the encouragement of his rowdy, unruly friends, Jungwon sucked in sharp breath.

Fuck it.

Whatever worries he had now, or whoever was breaking his heart, he was going to forget it. He was going to pretend that it never existed, that it never hurt him, that he was okay.

Just for tonight, just for his friends.

"C'mon!" Jake pulled Jungwon by his arm to the bar. The older boy ordered the two of them a few shots. As they waited for the bartender to prepare their drinks, Jake and Jungwon sat on the barstools. In the corner of Jungwon's eyes, he could see his other friends fucking around like they always did.

"Would it hurt them to have some class?" Jungwon muttered playfully, unable to hide his amusement when Heeseung slipped and fell on the dance floor.

"Nah, class is a foreign concept to them." Jake let a bashful smile spread on his face, his gelled hair falling over his eyes. The older man tapped his fingers on the bar counter to the electric music loudly blasting.

Jungwon grinned, and the two sat in a comfortable silence, before Jake opened his mouth again.

"We missed having you around, you know."

Jungwon whipped his head over to his friend. He quirked a brow. "Really?"

Jake put a hand on the back of his neck, a soft chuckle falling from his lips. "Yup." Jungwon followed his eyes, back to their friends that were now teasing Jay for his wild dance moves. "I think you're the smartest out of all of us."

"That's not true."

Jake shook his head. "Nah, you should have seen us. Me and Sunoo were trying to figure out how to do taxes. Never again."

As the bartender served up their drinks, Jungwon turned back to Jake, who continued, "I know you're having a hard time, but just know that we're here for you."

Jake raised the shot glass filled with a golden brown liquid— "Cheers."

Jungwon smiled.

Clink! Their shot glasses collided.

"Cheers." And with that, Jungwon threw the shot back, the bitter taste on his tastebuds burning so hard that it reached his nose. Almost immediately, Jungwon's expression turned sour, his nose scrunching at the taste. "Blegh— How do you drink this?!"

Jake shrugged. "You'll get used to it if you drink enough."

Jungwon hunched over the bar counter, his elbows on the counter as he held his hands in his head. He shook his head. "Never again. That's nasty."

A few moments of silence pass. Jungwon slid his empty shot glass over. "Give me another shot."

Despite being an adult, Jungwon had forgotten what it felt like to party.

The thrumming of the techno music that filled the club felt like it was stringing directly through Jungwon, droning through his head. After a few shots and buzzed laughs with Jake, Jungwon was tipsy enough that his body felt weightless. Weightless enough to find himself on the dance floor.

As his strong body moved to the music, Jungwon felt the rhythm of the music. His mind was hazy, nebulous as the alcohol in his system began to take over. Jungwon's head felt warm, and his vision despite his spider senses was more blurry than usual. But that didn't matter.

Blood was rushing all over Jungwon's body. His cheeks felt warm, and he couldn't tell if it was his enhanced spidey-senses or if the music was just that loud that he could physically feel the hum in his chest.

Then, the music switched from an upbeat electronic sound, to a slower, more melodic one. Jungwon swore he recognized the song, but he couldn't name it. Jungwon felt the multiple bodies of the room brush against him, before he felt one directly press up against him.

It was clearly a woman. Jungwon let his eyes shut as he let his body take reign.

Swaying to the gradual beat, Jungwon found his hands on this new woman's body. As his chest pulsed to the song, he took in her scent, he could smell sweet, floral nodes. He could barely feel his feet below him, and for a few moments, he felt like he was going to float off of the ground. And just as Jungwon thought he was going to ascend, he felt two manicured hands on his chest. His hands slid down to her hips, squeezing them, which earned him a sultry giggle.

If Jungwon weren't drunk, he may have jumped away the moment he realized that a woman was practically grinding on him. But the alcohol was too deep in his system, and he was too far gone. Even with his eyes closed, Jungwon could feel everything so intensely. He felt fingers reach for his belt loops, pulling him along.

As the music slowed to a stop, momentarily invading the usually bumping club in a hushed silence, Jungwon felt the woman lean into his ear.

"So handsome," she rasped, her warm breath brushing against his skin.

And as the chills trickled down his spine, the music finally came back on. And strangely enough, even though they were, in fact, inside a partying club, the music that blasted from the speakers was the complete opposite.

A slow piano, rich and deep vocals, and a romantic cadence.

Even in his drunken state, Jungwon immediately recognized this song at the first lyrics. Can't Help Falling in Love by Elvis Preseley. Without a doubt, it was this song.

How did Jungwon know? Because this was the song that you and him loved to slow dance to on your kitchen floor. And just like that, Jungwon's mind drifted into the deepest pits of his mind, the parts that he'd locked away.

In his mind, he saw you and him swaying to this song. You and him both wearing matching aprons, giggling as you attempted to slow dance. He saw the way you'd look at him, with those beautiful eyes that he could never refuse. He saw the way you said his name with a smile that he could never forget, not even in a million lifetimes.

Then, he saw flickering images of you and him: you and him holding each other in the winter to keep each other warm, you and him crying into each other's arms, you and him arguing over something so silly that you just ended up bursting out laughing.

And for a moment, it felt like you were there. Another body up against his, dancing so rhythmically that for a split second, Jungwon could pretend that it was you.

And in the depths of his heart, he prayed that it was you.

He hoped that when he opened his eyes, this nightmare would end, and he would get to see you. He hoped that when he opened his eyes, he would see you, staring up at him with those same beautiful, glossy eyes. He hoped that when he opened his eyes, this song would end, and he could scoop you up and bring you home, to show you all the love that he desperately wanted to give you.

But as Elvis Preseley's resonant voice sang earnestly, Jungwon's eyes slowly peeled open to not see you, but another woman.

A woman that was not you.

"N-Not her," Jungwon's lips quivered, his body instantly pulling away. His feet stumbled, in an attempt to tear away from her grasp. Jungwon ignored the way the woman attempted to pull him back, calling out to him.

In his intoxicated state, Jungwon felt hot tears line his eyes as he staggered away.

Not you. She wasn't you. It didn't matter, in fact. No one was you.

It didn't matter what Jungwon tried to do, his heart kept going back to you.

His head was spinning. Jungwon could barely control his body as he bursted out of the doors of the club, and even less, he couldn't control the tears that were now staining his cheeks. The expensive bottle of water that the club had at the entrance was completely chugged down in a single swish, minus Jungwon's struggles to manage his soft sobbing.

Even with water in his system, Jungwon's head was still spinning. His vision was swirling. Finally, after faltering for a few moments, Jungwon found himself sitting on the stairs at the entrance of the club.

As his vision cleared up, the alcohol in his system slowly washing away, Jungwon brought his hand to his mouth, to muffle the sounds of his crying.

Maybe he was just drunk, but the tears were just not stopping. Jungwon's chest heaved up and down, labored and stammering breaths rising from his chest. His hot tears were beginning to burn his eyes.

Even from outside, he could still hear Elvis Preseley's vocalization.

Damn it, did he have to ruin tonight? Jungwon pulled his knees to his chest, burying his face into his knees. His jeans were getting wet with his tears, and the late-night breeze was getting chilly.

In fact, everything was hurting.

Why couldn't he just forget you? Why couldn't he just let you go? Why did he still yearn for you?

Jungwon lifted his head. He could see his hunched figure in his shadow on the ground. How pathetic of him. He hasn't cried in a long time. It felt weird. It didn't feel like him.

Jungwon looked at the spider-like black veins on his wrist. Why was he cursed? Why did it have to be him? He wasn't worthy, he would never be worthy of being Spider-Man. Jungwon didn't ask to be bitten. He didn't ask for that stupidly rich and ignorant scientist to come to him and urge him to use his powers for good. He didn't ask for this responsibility. He didn't ask for anything, except you.

"With great power comes great responsibility," was what he was told the moment the scientists found him. And Jungwon really believed in it. He used his strength to help the weak, he gave others the power that they couldn't have, he protected the love that others cherished.

But couldn't keep any for himself.

After Jungwon's initial honeymoon phase with his newfound spider abilities, he realized something that changed his entire life forever. That he was no longer safe, and even more, everyone that he loved was no longer safe. And Jungwon thought he was strong enough; he thought that he could let you and all of his friends go slowly to protect you all. But he simply wasn't.

And Jungwon felt so damn selfish. He felt like a greedy bastard, someone who couldn't sacrifice himself for the good of others. Why was he even crying? There were people in danger right now, and here he was crying because he missed the girl of his dreams? How pathetic.

But he wanted you so bad.

Jungwon never wanted anything in life. All his life, he was obedient like a dog. He did everything that others asked of him. He always tried his best, always valued his righteousness, always did what was right.

But now, all he wanted was you.

He's never wanted anything, but the moment that he wants you, he couldn't have you.

Here he was, crying like some idiot all alone while you were probably still on that date. God, he wished Sunghoon never told him. He tried his best for the past few days to just not think about it, but now Jungwon had to truly face the fact that you've already moved on. His chest felt like it was going to burst.

Jungwon sunk his teeth into his fist to muffle his sobs even more. Maybe he should just go home. It's cold, it's uncomfortable, it's unsanitary, and most of all, Jungwon felt like shit.

As Jungwon stumbled to his feet, he sucked in one more breath. It still smelled like alcohol, with a scent of cigarettes. Then, he looked at the bustling road across the street. Somewhere out there, you were laughing with another man. Probably kissing him, calling him the same names that you'd call Jungwon.

God, it made him physically ill. Jungwon brought the back of his hand to wipe his nose one more time. He was going to go home. He'll leave a call for Heeseung or something later.

But before he could even take another step—

Boom!

Jungwon looked up at the sky. Even when it was dark, he could see a large cloud of black smoke. And now, he heard police sirens in the distance and the screaming of civilians.

Shit.

You fiddled with your fingers, bouncing your knee in anticipation to the beat of the 2010's pop song that your taxi driver chose.

Damn it, Wonyoung, you thought. You glanced down at the dress that your best friend chose for you. In the reflection of the backseat car window you caught your made up face. The blush on your cheeks, your curled lashes, the lip gloss. You thought you looked pretty.

Your eyes fluttered to your phone resting in your lap. The latest notification was from Wonyoung, telling you good luck and that you looked pretty. You couldn't help but smile.

It's been 6 months since your boyfriend Jungwon broke up with you. And frankly, it's probably been the worst 6 months of your life.

Words could not describe the types of pain and downright suffering that you went through. You cried for weeks straight, and up until recently, you hadn't had the motivation to really do anything.

The breakup was so unexpected, too. One day you and Jungwon were laughing, the next he left you. You couldn't understand why, and it wasn't like Jungwon gave you a succinct reason either. All he had said was that he was sorry, and that he had no other choice.

And the worst part was, you still weren't over your ex.

All that pain for nothing, you thought as your eyes followed the cars that passed your taxi. Your best friend, Wonyoung, on the other hand, had had enough.

"I don't like seeing you like this," Wonyoung had told you one night, as you cried into her shoulder. Despite what she showed others with her bubbly personality, her voice was stern. "It's not fair to you."

And you knew she was right. Which was why you let her set you up on a date with one of her colleagues. You figured that it was time that you stopped mulling over a man that couldn't stay anyway.

It's been so long in general since you even considered looking at someone else that wasn't Jungwon. And for a reason that you couldn't explain, it didn't feel right. And yet, you pushed it to the back of your head as you stepped out of the taxi.

The restaurant that your date, a guy named Haruto Watanabe, chose was a semi-formal one, called Bisco's Palace. You thought that name was a little bit corny, but you brushed it off. Thick stone walls, yellow-orange moody lighting, and an elegant grassy hedge at the entrance. It looked like a fairytale, and because of the beautiful dress that Wonyoung made you wear, you felt like you were in a fairytale.

When you arrived, you were met with a tall man with sharp features.

"Haruto?" you asked. He turned to look at you. You watched as his eyes widened, before he gave you a once-over.

"[N-Name]?" he spluttered. You recognized the look on his face. It was the look on a man's face whenever he found a woman attractive, and unfortunately, you were no stranger to it. "You look— You look beautiful."

If you were someone else, maybe you'd feel flattered. It's not every day that a good-looking man calls you beautiful. But all you felt was a sense of unease. Not that it was his fault; there was nothing intrinsically wrong with him. You just didn't know why you felt so uncomfortable.

You fought back the urge to make a face, and you instead forced a tight-lipped smile.

"Thank you." Now it was your turn to look him over. He was wearing a crisp button-up with slacks. He looked well put-together. "You look great too."

Haruto visibly turned pink, and he muttered something under his breath as he averted his gaze. Finally, he cleared his throat, extending his hand out to you. "Shall we go in?"

You narrowed your eyes at him, before you took his hand curtly. "Of course."

The two of you were quickly seated, and after being greeted by a cheery waitress that was clearly still in high school, your food was ordered and served in a timely manner. If you were to be honest, you weren't exactly too invested in tonight's date. Even if you agreed to it to get over Jungwon, you knew that your heart wasn't there yet.

Not to say that Haruto wasn't a sweetheart. He was polite, had very good manners, and was very respectful toward you. He tried his best to keep a flowing conversation with you, and in recognizing his efforts, you simply just went along with him. He was handsome and a well-natured guy. And, the food was great. Everything was to your taste, from the appetizers to the drinks to the dessert. The wait staff were also on top of it. As a whole, the restaurant was just perfect. The lights, the music, even how cushioned the chairs were.

Like a fairy tale. Everything was perfect. Perfect man, perfect food, perfect night. But it just wasn't good enough.

You felt nothing for Haruto, not even an ounce of interest. And as much as you didn't want to admit it, you knew why you were like this: Because he wasn't Jungwon.

There was nothing "Jungwon" about this date. Haruto certainly wasn't Jungwon, but everything about this date was nothing like how you liked to be treated. You liked to laugh and to get into dynamic discussions about silly topics, ones that didn't even matter. Haruto was so sweet, but he couldn't match your level of wit. While the food was tasty, you didn't want something so stringent and formal. You'd rather do something together with your date, to get to know each other better rather than sitting at a candle-lit restaurant.

Who would have known all of this? Who would have allowed you to do all of these things regardless of the environment? Who did your heart still stubbornly belong to?

Jungwon.

You let out a forced laugh at one of Haruto's jokes before excusing yourself to the washroom.

Shhhhh! As the sink water ran, you stared at your reflection. Even your makeup was done in a way that you knew Jungwon liked. The lipgloss in your purse was the same one that he bought you all those months ago. You didn't even know if you had the heart to use it up.

You thought that you were doing better. But it seemed like time and space only made your heart grow fonder.

It was getting later into the night now. And against your better judgment, you wondered what Jungwon was doing. Maybe he's playing video games. Or reading all of the superhero comics that he loved to collect.

Then, your mind wandered. What if he was with another girl? Your chest overwhelmed itself with unimaginable hurt. He never gave you a real explanation as to why he wanted to end things, and seemingly, his closest friends couldn't either. You'd be lying if you said that your mind didn't betray you, wandering to all of the darkest places.

Your eyes traced your own face in the mirror. Would Jungwon do that to you? Was he really the type to be unfaithful?

You knew the answer: no. Never. Jungwon was many things, and a cold-hearted unscrupulous cheater was not one of them. But then again, you thought you knew him to be the type to never spring a breakup on you. But he did. Maybe you didn't know him as well as you thought he did.

You took a deep breath. Not right now, you thought. You were on a date with another guy. It would be disrespectful to think about your ex, wouldn't it? Even if Haruto was most definitely not the one for you, you should have some courtesy.

You quickly rinsed your hands, dried them, and reapplied your lipgloss. And as you were ready to step back out, prepared to brave your tight-lipped smile and kind words, a large crashing sound pierced your ears.

Boom!

In the blink of an eye, the tiled bathroom floor below you rumbled, low growls rolling from under your feet. You froze. Your hand jerked out to grab the counter, the wall, the bathroom door handle— anything— to keep you stable.

"W-What the—"

Another deafening roar thundered through the air, enough to make your ears ring. At that instance, the floor below you ripped open.

What the hell was going on? Was it an earthquake? That would explain why the ground tore open. And yet, in the distance, you could hear booming thumping sounds.

Almost like the footsteps of a humongous being. Almost like the footsteps of a supervillain. Shit.

You're well aware of the state of your city. In the past few years, there has been a strange phenomenon of evildoers and mutants alike, appearing throughout your city to wreak havoc and torment civilians. And with that came the rise of even more bold crimes. Bank robberies, arson, kidnappings, pretty much everything.

Luckily, in the past 6 months, a new hero has appeared. The red and blue masked hero; the friendly neighborhood superhero himself; Spider-Man.

Your apartment, located near the center of the city, was awfully close to all of the commotion, nearly all the time. Which was why you couldn't help but admit that Spider-Man was quite the gem, for taking out all of these ne'er-do-wells and eccentric supervillains. And yet, here you were, probably in the middle of a supervillain attack.

All of the past villains have been eccentric but petty. But as the tiles below your feet literally cracked with each booming thrum, you were sure that this new villain, whoever it was, was worse.

Much worse. Probably worse than you could ever imagine.

And before you could react to the way that you tumbled to the ground, the cold floor hitting your knees so achingly, you heard a shriek from outside the bathroom.

"It's Baron von Fizzlebang!"

.... Who?

Baron von Fizzlebang?

What kind of shitty villain name is that—

Boom!

The smell of smoke filled your nostrils. You didn't know where it came from, but from the way that civilians screeched and screamed outside, you figured that it couldn't be far from you.

Boom!

Okay, this is urgent, you needed to get out!

Your heart rate picking up, you breathed slowly to keep yourself calm. You pushed yourself to your feet, ignoring the way your soon-to-be bruised knees ached. As you reached for the bathroom door handle, the lights flickered, followed by the sound of explosions. Even though you were definitively inside the bathroom, with all sides of the room still intact, the dust seeped through the cracks, filling your lungs. With a strained gasp for air, you clamped a hand over your nose, squinting.

You pressed your ear against the bathroom door. Now the entire restaurant blared with fire alarms and smoke detectors. Police sirens also sounded. The large footstep-like thudding in the distance came closer and closer. You had no choice but get out of this damn bathroom and book it.

Your heart was now pounding so quickly that it felt like it would fall out. Your legs felt so weak, your head feeling too heavy. Who the hell is Baron von Fizzlebang? And more importantly, why did it have to be tonight? Without even realizing it, your palms had become sweaty, and with all the blood rushing to your head, you were mere seconds away from sweating.

You shook your head. Focus! You squeezed your eyes shut, your hand wrapped tightly on that bathroom door handle. On a count of three, you were going to open that door and run for your life.

One. Why did some good-for-nothing supervillain have to ruin your already-mediocre night?

Two. You needed to relax. There's no time to sit around and think and languish. Just do it!

Three. You pushed the heavy bathroom door open, and you bursted through the doorway.

And much to your relief, the dark hallway that led to the restaurant's bathroom was hidden away in a little nook; at the end of the hallway was the entrance to the main room of the restaurant.

Slowly creeping down the hallway, you could see the destruction that was wreaked on Bisco's poor, fancy restaurant. Chairs and tables were knocked over, with broken glass and porcelain scattering the red-carpeted floor. From the looks of it, it seemed like all of the restaurant's patrons were either huddled up in another section of the restaurant, or they had escaped.

Great. Now, all you had to do was get out. Thankfully, at the other end of this hallway, there was a backdoor exit. So all you had to do was turn around and—

There standing at the end of the hallway, in front of your exit, was a tall and slender man.

He wore a fitted tailored suit, yet it was bright purple, with a giant bow tie. He had a monocle over his eye.

Like some type of costumed noble. Like a baron.

"That's right," he said, a devious grin spreading across his face, in a way that almost made him look like a carnival clown. Your pulse froze, mid-beat. Theatrically, he gave you a bow, before he reached a hand out to you. " 'Tis I, Baron von Fizzlebang."

Your gut twisted. And when you stared at him with shaky eyes, your entire body frozen in time, the supervillain let out a cackle.

"Oh dear," Baron von Fizzlebang put his hand to his chest, feigning offense. He slyly eyed you, and at once, you could see a lightbulb seemingly pop from his head. "You don't mind being a hostage, right?"

Before you could even open your mouth, Baron von Fizzlebang shot you with finger-guns. And before you knew it, you fell to your knees, your vision became hazy. The last thing that you heard as you lost consciousness was the supervillain's laughter, police sirens, and shouting for a particular red and blue masked superhero.

Jungwon swore that he had a special sense for you.

Jungwon arrived at the scene barely even 5 minutes after he heard the initial explosion. The big fancy restaurant at the end of Mainstreet was the scene.

Really? Jungwon thought. Bisco's Palace? That pretentious place?

The thing was, Jungwon wasn't really nervous. One time, he had to fight an entire group of 20 thugs with guns barely 5 minutes after he was rudely awoken. Jungwon could probably fight people in his sleep. His body and physicality, although he resented it half the time, was perfectly attuned to everything that he needed.

Even now, as he was barely sober and emotionally wrecked, he could see clearly. When he arrived at the scene, half of Bisco's Palace was completely destroyed. Mini fires spotted the scene, with pods of smoke bursting in the night air. Terrified civilians cried that they heard earsplitting thumping in the distance, like footsteps. Others claimed that an eccentric villain called "Baron von something-something" was the cause of this all.

Jungwon huffed. Another crazy supervillain? Seemingly there was another crazy supervillain appearing everyday! What, was there some kind of factory pumping them out? From the looks of it, it seemed like most of the civilians had escaped relatively unscathed.

Good. Jungwon readied himself to launch into that burning restaurant. He had a simple action plan: Rescue the remaining civilians, beat that Baron von something-something's ass, and go home.

The moment that Jungwon's striking red and blue figure launched across the sky, Jungwon could hear the gasps of civilians, police officers, and on-site journalists alike. Jungwon landed easily into what was left of that restaurant building.

And when he entered, it was quiet. Eerily quiet.

Jungwon had to be careful.

Jungwon creeped slowly, closer to the main dining room. He kept his breathing as quiet as a whisper. And when he peeked his head through the grand, arched door-frame that led into the dining room, there, he saw a group of civilians, huddled among the flickering fires Men, women, children— there they were, shaking in fear, and coughing as the. Fire smoke filled their lungs. With his enhanced senses, he could hear mothers hushing their wailing babies and children asking their fathers if they were going to die tonight.

Not on my watch, Jungwon mentally answered their questions.

Jungwon shot a web at the ceiling, and in one fell swoop, he gathered enough momentum to swing across the restaurant, landing where the civilians were.

"Spider-Man!" they cried.

Jungwon crouched down toward them, putting his hands on his knees.

"Listen," he began, his voice stern. "I am going to help you guys escape." Jungwon grimaced at their amazed gazes. "But I need you guys to listen to me carefully."

Jungwon's eyes glazed over the group of civilians. There were up to 15 of them. He didn't have time to carry each and every one of them out. The entrance was burning, and there weren't any other ways to get out. Jungwon wanted to conserve his time as much as possible. To prevent that bastard of a villain Baron von something-something from doing any more damage.

And now that he took a better look at these civilians, they looked tired and worn out. Their cheeks were covered in soot, sweaty faces from the fire that was surrounding them.

Jungwon's eyes darted around the restaurant. There had to be another exit. Then, his eyes fell upon the tall window that stretched from the ceiling down to the floor.

Bingo.

"Mama, it's too hot," Jungwon could hear a toddler babble. Other people seemed to join in on agreement, and yet, they could barely speak coherently. With sweat-stained shirts and cheeks, Jungwon cursed under his breath.

Damn it, the fire was physically weakening these people. Jungwon's plan was nothing short of easy: he was going to break the hell out that window and get these people to escape that way. Yet, the problem was, the windows were bound to shatter and create dangerous shards. Jungwon was going to instruct them to be careful, but judging from the way that these civilians flinched at even the slightest flutter of fire while barely even having the strength to stand up, there was no way that they could have the alertness and mental precision to actually avoid the shards.

Think, think! Jungwon squeezed his eyes shut. What should he do? In the palace that was his mind, Jungwon ran through every possibility. These fires were big. They looked much smaller outside, but now that he was in the restaurant itself, these tongues of fires were massive. Not only were these fires scalding, but the smoke was painful for these civilians.

Come to think of it, shouldn't every building in this city have a robust mechanism for when fire breaks out? And yet, the walls, floor, and remaining civilians in this restaurant were dry. Which means that the sprinklers haven't gone off yet.

This was why public establishments needed health inspections... Jungwon shook his head. He didn't have time to criticize the efficacy of his government.

At once, Jungwon shot webs at whatever hard object he could find— fallen plates, bundles of metal utensils, even pieces of debris— before slinging them into the ceiling, directly toward all of the sprinkler bulbs that dotted the tall ceiling.

I'm sorry about your ceiling, but you'll thank me later, Jungwon thought, before slinging thick wads of webs toward every vent.

As each sprinkler bulb shattered, flared streams of water bursted from the ceiling. And as each vent of this flaming restaurant were webbed over, Jungwon prayed to whichever god he could think of that his physics professor was right about buoyancy. Hopefully, if he was right, by webbing over the vents, new smoke would not be able to enter the room, and thus reduce the amount of smoke that the civilians were breathing in.

As cold water droplets pittered and pattered over Jungwon's suit, he watched as the remaining civilians cheered and cooled off under the sprinkler. And with his physics-accurate ventilation blockage, they'd now be much more compliant.

Jungwon latched onto a larger piece of debris and slung it at the closest and safest window.

"Okay," he began instructing, creating a temporary web to shield the civilians from the fractured pieces of the window. "

You—" he pointed at a man—"Take that kid. And you two—" he pointed at two teenagers—"Stick together."

Jungwon organized the people. "Be careful, and step around the shards!"

The civilians were already on it. Jungwon watched as they carried their young and old, fleeing as fast as they came, all of them murmuring a "thank you, Spider-Man," as they pushed out through the window.

And with that, Jungwon was left all alone. The fire had died down just a little bit, by virtue of the sprinklers. For safe measure, Jungwon configured a few webs to create a few fire barriers to slow those damned flames down.

Now where was that Baron von something-something?

Jungwon scanned the restaurant. He looked everywhere. In the foyer, at the entrance, in the kitchen, even under the tables.

But he couldn't find anyone.

Except, there was one place that he didn't check: the dark hallway in the corner of the restaurant.

Jungwon inched toward it, slowly. He took small, spider-like steps.

"Oh, would you just hurry it up already?!" a loud voice boomed through the air.

Emerging from the hallway was a tall man.

Baron von something-something.

"Look at you, Spider-Man!" he cried, mockingly batting his eyelashes and clasping his hands together. "So brave! So strong! You helped those poor, poor civilians escape!"

Jungwon narrowed his eyes. Who the hell was this maniac? Jungwon's fingers twitched.

"But it looks like you forgot one." A sinister smile spread across his face. "Oh come out, dear!"

There was nothing that could have possibly prepared Jungwon for what he saw next. His heart plummeted to his stomach, because from the dark hallway emerged you.

Your face was dazed, your eyes cloudy, and your movements so sluggish. As if you were unconscious, and your mind was being controlled.

"Dontcha think she's pretty?" the villain continued, eccentrically throwing his arms around you. He laughed. "They don't call me Baron von Fizzlebang for no reason! With a single gunshot from my fingers, I can take anyone under my control!"

Jungwon tuned everything out.

He felt a flood of emotions.

Fear.

You, the person that's been haunting him. You, who has been consuming his thoughts and life. There you were, in front of him, after all of this time. Even when you weren't really there, Jungwon couldn't bear to look you in the eyes.

And yet, it meant nothing. His fear meant absolutely nothing. Not when there was another emotion taking hold: anger.

So much anger, that his blood felt hot. Jungwon dug his fingernails into his gloved palms, enough that his knuckles were beginning to ache. How dare this villain take advantage of you? Your safety was in jeopardy. It made Jungwon's stomach boil with a rage that he couldn't comprehend, the way that you were quite literally not in control of your body. That in the time that Jungwon wasn't there, unspeakable things could have been done to you. To think that your own autonomy was torn from your hands, to think that your own dignity was desecrated in the name of some supervillain's sick power game— that conjured a feeling that Jungwon couldn't even describe. Disgust, horror, wrath; he felt it all.

Jungwon now looked upon the villain with eyes full of wrath.

Baron von Fizzlebang continued to rave on and on about how great he was, and how this was just all part of his master plan to subjugate this city. But it didn't mean anything.

To the entire world, Spider-Man was a hero. And in most ways, he was one. Jungwon saved people daily, he prevented the city around him from crumbling to the ground like it was easy. He was a man of the people, the beacon of hope for all city residents.

The symbol of law and order, the righteous hero of the city, Spider-Man.

And yet, as Jungwon's eyes couldn't bear to tear away from your dazed face, he felt his resolve slip away.

The obligation to protect others, defend freedom, and uphold justice, like a vessel from a dock, sailed away into the horizon, into the unknown. Right now, Jungwon was not Spider-Man protecting a civilian. He was not the Spider-Man that had no other duty than to ensure the safety of his fellow citizens. He was not the Spider-Man whose every action reflected his moral purity.

No, Jungwon was a man that was so ashamed of his own fears, that he never even dared to speak of them. He was the man that pushed everyone away, frightened by what would happen if he continued to associate with them. And worst of all, Jungwon was the man that still continued to yearn you, longing for your touch one last time before he would consign his love to oblivion.

Which was why all Jungwon saw was red.

Maybe if he was actually listening to Baron von Fizzlebang's monologue he would have heard how his abilities worked, but Jungwon didn't care. He'll probably figure it out later when this lunatic gets thrown into jail.

Jungwon couldn't control his body, or his mind at that matter. All Jungwon could remember doing was shooting a web at the ceiling to gain a higher vantage point, before (with all of the maximum, inhuman speed that his body was capable of) swinging down to land a kick flat onto Baron von Fizzlebang's cheek, effectively knocking the man down to the floor.

Before the villain could even react, Jungwon couldn't stop himself; he pinned the villain down to the floor using all of his body weight, before he let nothing but his sheer anger reign. All of his pent up emotions— anger, fear, shame, guilt— spilled out. No longer was Jungwon the pure hero.

With his bare hands, he landed punches to Baron von Fizzlebang's abdomen. Over and over and over.

Spider-Man used spider webs and crafty tricks to defeat his enemies. But Jungwon? He used his bare hands. With gritted teeth, and blood boiling hotter than lava, Jungwon punched, and punched, and punched. Even when he could feel his knuckles beginning to bruise, he punched. He ignored every cry and groan of pain coming from the villain, for there was only one thing on his mind: your dignity.

Jungwon wouldn't have stopped, not even if his arm gave out (because he would just switch to his other arm), not even if this maniacal supervillain was out for good.

The only thing that pulled Jungwon into his blind rage was the sound of you collapsing to the ground, with a thump!

Instantly, Jungwon snapped out of his fury, his head whipping over to you. Seemingly, with Baron von Fizzlebang knocked out, you were released from his control.

Immediately, Jungwon rushed over to you, leaving Baron von Fizzlebang's unconscious body.

"[Name]!" he cried, scooping your limp body up into his arms. You no longer looked dazed, so at least Baron von Fizzlebang's control of you wore off for good. And yet, your expression looked exhausted. Your eyes were half-lidded, labored breaths and soft whimpering pushing from your lips. "[Name], can you hear me? Are you okay?—"

Overhead, Jungwon could hear helicopters and the shouting of police officers and firemen from outside. They must have figured that Jungwon defeated Baron von Fizzlebang, and now they were sending re-enforcements. But all of Jungwon's focus was still on you.

"Spider-Man...?" you mumbled weakly, your voice hoarse and quivering. Now that he got a better look, your eyes were bloodshot, and your cheeks were tear-stained. Jungwon's heart clenched in his chest. He couldn't understand why he felt such an overwhelming urge to pull you into his embrace, to hold you close as if you would disappear. "Spider-Man, I—"

"Don't speak," Jungwon's voice came out as a whisper. And maybe it was now that Jungwon realized that his eyes were welled up with tears. It's been so long since he's been able to see you, and yet ironically, the only reason that he could was because your life was in danger. Jungwon let out a choked sob. "Don't say anything, [Name]."

"But I—I wanted to thank you—"

"Shhhh."

You looked so tired. He couldn't imagine how you felt, being under the control of a supervillain that has malicious intentions. But here you were, still taking it upon yourself to thank him. He couldn't even fathom what type of pain (emotional? physical? mental? you definitely weren't going to be okay after this, he knew you that well) you were going through.

Hug her, was the resounding thought that filled Jungwon's head. He almost cursed himself for thinking such a thing. After all, he wasn't yours anymore. But as he watched your worn face, he thought again. When you were still his, you always felt soothed when you were under intense stress if he hugged you tightly, the way that you always liked it.

Holding his breath, Jungwon gently lifted your head and chest, before pulling you into his arms. Almost instantly, you relaxed into his body, pushing your face into the crook of his neck. Like how you used to. You murmured something under your breath, but Jungwon was too distracted by the tears that were now definitely streaming down his face. He hadn't felt your touch in so long. He's been dreaming of getting to hold you one last time for months now.

Your eyelids began to fall, your head yielding to his shoulder, which was a tell-tale sign that you've fallen unconscious.

In the restaurant of ruin and rubble, Jungwon sat there on the debris-ridden floor, with you in his arms. Before he finally decided to get back up and take the two of you out of this place, he gave you one more tight squeeze.

"I love you," he whispered into your ear. And maybe it was wishful thinking, but he hoped that somewhere in dreamland, you heard him.

Jungwon stared out of his apartment window. It's been a few days since the Baron von Fizzlebang-Bisco's Palace incident. Baron von Fizzlebang was taken into police custody and his trial awaited him. Meanwhile, the city was still cleaning up the aftermath, with an entire block of the city being taped off.

But the city wasn't the only thing that had to be repaired.

Namely, Jungwon hadn't recovered yet. His fists still had red-purple marks on them. Even with his superhuman regenerative abilities, he had pushed himself to the extreme when he was beating up Baron von Fizzlebang the other day. But that wasn't the issue.

Ever since that day, Jungwon hadn't stopped thinking about you. Well, to be sure, he never stopped thinking about you, but he was thinking about you extra now.

He wondered how you were doing. You were a strong girl. You could withstand pretty much everything, because it was in your nature. But after an incident like this one, he was sure that you were going through a lot.

Jungwon felt selfish. He wanted to check up on you. He wanted to ask one of his friends to ask your friends how you were doing, or maybe go to your apartment as Spider-Man to check up on you himself.

But that's a purely selfish desire.

Jungwon couldn't do that to you. He broke up with you for a reason: to protect you. He'd never want to do anything to put you in danger, and by even opening an avenue of communication between him (in both his hero and civilian form) and you was dangerous in and of itself.

It scared him so deeply, the thought of losing you. But still, Jungwon wanted to be selfish. He wanted to love you greedily, to have you all to himself.

He looked out his window again, then he looked down at his wrists: the black spider-like veins looked darker today. Maybe in another lifetime, because in this lifetime, he had a duty as Spider-Man.

Speaking of which, there were few actual benefits of being Spider-Man. One of them was that Jungwon got to directly impact other people's lives. Which was why every week, the municipal government would send him all of the fan-mail that civilians had for him.

Jungwon shook the thought of you away, pushing it to the back of his mind as he. grabbed his keys, slipped on some slippers, and ventured down to his apartment complex's mailroom.

As always, his mailbox was filled to the brim with mail. From letters to postcards to care packages, Jungwon looked like a madman as he struggled to carry all of his fan=mail back up to his apartment. It sucked that he couldn't use his spider abilities to help him in broad daylight.

In fact, there was so much mail that as Jungwon traversed the hallway back to his apartment, stumbling over himself, one stray letter fell from the stack of letters that he had atop all of the packages.

He cursed under his breath, rolling his eyes. He watched as that one stray letter seemingly flew off of the stack, gracefully floating in the air for a few seconds before landing before his feet.

Jungwon huffed again. He quickly made his way back to his apartment, set down all of his fan-mail, before running back out into the hallway to pick up that pesky envelope that decided to fly away.

But as Jungwon marched down that hallway, crouching down to pick up the letter that had fallen out of his grasp, his eyes fell upon that name on that envelope.

It was your name. Jungwon snatched it up.

You wrote him fan-mail. Jungwon couldn't help but smile.

It has been about two weeks since the incident, and frankly, you're only halfway over it. You could tell that you were getting better compared to how you were in the immediate aftermath. But you still couldn't sleep at night, and you needed lots of mental preparation to go anywhere outside.

But today, you decided that you were going to put on a brave face, and stand up against your fears.

Pushing what fears you had to the back of your mind, you stared at the ceiling of your bedroom. It was late into the morning, and yet, you were wearing makeup.

Wonyoung (that smart girl, always with tricks up her sleeve), feeling apologetic about what had happened at that disaster of a date last week, begged to take you out on a girl's date today. After being cooped up in your room everyday for the past few days, you couldn't say no to her offer.

You felt a little nervous, though. The last time you went out, you got taken control of by that supervillain. But Wonyoung had been there for you the entire way, talking you through it every night. You trusted her, and you appreciated how she didn't treat you like a victim; Wonyoung wasn't babying your every step, but instead just treating you like a normal person.

And plus, it was summer. You wanted to have fun and to live your young adult life. Your eyes fluttered over to your window. Streams of yellow sunlight peeked through. Today was too beautiful. You could remember Wonyoung's excited voice over the phone a few nights ago.

"We should go take pictures!" she has squealed over the phone. "You just look toooooo pretty and we need to post something on your Instagram— to show all the guys what they're missing out on!"

You giggled. You still couldn't get used to being treated like you were single. There were indeed a few cool freedoms that came with being single. But in your mind, you still belonged to someone.

You looked at your phone. Wonyoung talked about posting pictures to make guys feel like bums for not getting on their knees and worshipping you (her words, not yours!). But when you thought about posting pictures, all you thought about was whether or not Jungwon would see them.

You squeezed your eyes shut. You needed to stop thinking about him. It wasn't healthy. But you still wondered if he thought about you, the same way you thought about him. You sat up from your bed, before you glanced into the mirror near the foot of your bed.

You hoped that he thought about you, too.

Ding dong! Oh! A ring from the front door! It must be Wonyoung! You happily promenaded to your apartment door, excited to greet your best friend with a big hug, and—

"J-Jungwon?!"

Instead of seeing your pink-wearing scheming best friend, you're greeted with your ex-boyfriend. However, for some reason, he looked more surprised than you!

"[N-Name]?!" he spluttered, his cat-like eyes as wide as saucers with his jaw falling open.

The two of you stare at each other like that for what felt like an eternity.

Your eyes fell over his features. His hair had grown a little bit longer since the last time you saw him (granted, that was half a year ago). His face looked slimmer, like he had lost weight. As you glazed over his figure, he had a backpack on his shoulders as always, but you eyed the way his biceps looked. He looked like he had put on more muscle, and before you could start ogling at him, you stopped yourself.

This was the guy that broke your heart. This was the guy that left you with no words. And now he was at your door?

"What the fuck do you want?" you spat at him, crossing your arms over your chest. Your brows crashed together, your expression turning sour. When he didn't respond, because you could tell by his expression that he was too busy checking you out, you began to close the door in his face.

"W-Wait!" he put his hands in front of him, flailing them panicked. You shot him a questioning look. "I think— I think I'm at the wrong apartment..."

You scoffed. "Oh, bullshit. What do you actually want?"

"I-I promise that I'm serious," Jungwon breathed out, and for a second you felt the walls you built for yourself threatening to crash down. He looked like a sad cat. Frantically, he shoved his hands into his pockets, searching for his phone that was squashed somewhere in them. When he finally found his phone, he fumbled with it, before showing you his screen. "I'm tutoring... a kid on your floor, I think."

You took a good look at his phone screen, and he was telling the truth.

You sighed, pinching your nose-bridge.

"Do you..." he began, his eyes refusing to look at yours. "Do you know how to get to room 1214?"

You let out another sigh, this time louder. Jungwon stumbled, stammering to explain himself again, but you put a hand up, effectively silencing him.

"Keep going down the hallway, make a left turn, and you'll find room 1214 on your right," you said simply.

"Thank you," Jungwon said, as he nodded slowly, and you hummed.

Another long moment of silence engulfed the two of you. The tension in the air was so thick that you swore you could cut it with a butter knife. You watched the way Jungwon's fingers fidgeted, a habit that he's never lost. He did this whenever he felt nervous or shy. It was a habit that you had grown to be fond of. You thought it was sweet that he was so fidgety. You tore your eyes away from him.

Was this the guy that wordlessly broke your heart?

"I'm gonna—" Jungwon started, breaking the silence. "I'm gonna go now."

He locked eyes with you, but just as he tried to break eye contact, you sent him a warning look. He didn't look away.

"Okay," you said simply. "Me too."

"Yeah."

And yet, the two of you still stood there, staring at each other. You've spent so many nights crying over him. You've never felt so much pain in your life before. There was so much anger and resentment that you had built up for him. There were a million words that you wanted to say to him, to tell him how much he hurt you.

But right now, you couldn't think of anything.

"Take care," you said.

"You too."

And with that, you slowly closed your door on him, while he slowly walked away from your door. But you swore that he kept looking back at you.

The moment that your front door clicked shut, you pressed your back up against it, before sliding down and holding your knees to your chest. You couldn't get over him when he clearly still wasn't over you. Why was he playing with you like this? Why did it have to be you, and more importantly, why did it have to be him?

Surely in time, Wonyoung showed up, and the two of you went on your little girl's day.

You huffed as you stumbled through your apartment doorway, struggling to take off your shoes amidst all of the shopping bags hanging on your arm. That Wonyoung, so eager to treat you to a nice day out. She bought you everything that you remotely showed interest in.

The moment that you arrived home, you shed all of your outdoor clothes, retreating to the comfort that was your bedroom. By now, it was dark out, and despite having a long and fun day with Wonyoung, you didn't feel tired. Unlike most days like this one that would follow a logical sequence, you still felt restless, as if your day had not been complete.

You were plagued with a weird gnawing feeling inside you. This happened a lot lately, probably just your anxiety from the past few weeks' incident.

And when you finally realized that laying in bed for hours scrolling on your phone was barely productive for an adult like you, you sighed, before sitting up from your bed.

Maybe you should write to him.

Ever since the incident at Bisco's Palace, you've found yourself especially restless. It's hard to tell if you're just paranoid, but on nights like this, you found yourself doing the same thing: writing to Spider-Man.

You used to be indifferent to the buzz around the masked hero, but now you understood it. You didn't know the reason why, but you found yourself finding comfort in simply writing to Spider-Man. It's simple things like thanking him for his service, and telling him about your day.

You glanced at the disorderly pile on your desk, of folded letters and envelopes. You never sent your letters. You've only ever sent him one letter.

The rest of your letters, which were structured more like long streams of consciousness vomited on a piece of paper, were left unsent.

You sighed. It wasn't like Spider-Man was really going to read your letters. You were just writing your thoughts out. You sat at your desk, scrolling through your Spotify Playlists to first choose the perfect moody music to get you writing. Your finger scrolled around your screen, glazing over the icons for each of your playlists.

You stopped when you saw a familiar, yet long-forgotten one.

It was a playlist that was created an entire year ago, with a simple title: love. Its icon was none other than a picture of you and Jungwon, with your cheeks smooshed up against each other. Smiling. In love.

Your finger hovered over its icon for a few moments. You haven't listened to this playlist in months. It's practically been collecting cobwebs in your Spotify account. If you listened to it now, you'd probably lose your mind. And yet you felt drawn to it.

You closed your eyes, rubbing your temples. In times in stress, we as humans seek familiarity. It's not crazy for you, who just experienced something traumatizing, to seek the solace of an old playlist reminiscent of a happier time. Right?

Play, you clicked.

Immediately, songs that you haven't heard in a long time filled your ears, the familiar tunes and melodies that you've grown to love hanging in the air.

You grabbed a pen, and began jotting down your thoughts.

'Dear Spider-Man,' you started off your letter. Below your desk, your knees bounced to the rhythm of each song— each song chosen by Jungwon, reminding you of all of his laughs and soft kisses as you and him shared earbuds on the city's underground subway.

As the black ink of your pen smudged against the side of your palm, you hummed along to the music that emitted from your phone. For a second, you could pretend that it was last summer, when you still had a boy to call yours.

You bit your lip, staring at the words scribbled on the paper.

It wasn't like Spider-Man would ever read these letters. He was a hypothetical addressee in your letters, so to speak. You took a deep breath.

'I miss him,' you wrote next, wincing as you gazed at your handwriting. How embarrassing, that you're confiding in the hypothetical version of a superhero in your head about your boy troubles. Whatever. You continued, 'I don't think I'll be able to move on from him, not any time soon.'

You stared at your words again. Oh, isn't this just pathetic?

You groaned, exasperated. You seriously just needed to get a life, or something. Just as you were about to throw yourself into your bed and scream into your pillows, leaving an unfinished letter open on your desk—

Crash!

You whipped your head toward the source of the sound: your bedroom balcony.

For a moment, your shoulders tensed. The last time a loud sound filled your ears, you got your mind controlled. And plus, it wasn't safe being a woman that lived alone, especially in a city notorious for its crime.

With trembling eyes, you stared out your glass balcony doors. It was completely dark out, save for the streams of light staining your balcony from your room. There's loud sounds all the time, but this time, you were 100% certain that the sound was on your balcony.

Should you go check it out? Or should you just turn off all your lights and jump into bed?

But before you could scare yourself even more, a strong figure slowly rose from the darkness. Hunched over, as if he was in pain, emerged a familiar red and blue hero.

"S-Spider-Man?!" you gaped to yourself. Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.

And despite the darkness, you and him seem to lock eyes. Spider-Man, although it was him that was intruding on your property, seemed even more surprised by your presence, physically jolting away as if he was really that taken aback by you. And unfortunately for him, just as he was about to scurry away, you bursted through your balcony doors.

"Spider-Man!" you called out, as the cool night air kissed your face. You could feel goosebumps rise on your skin, as your thin pajamas did you no justice against the night coolness.

Although he was masked, you swore that Spider-Man was looking at you like you were some kind of freak of nature. But you ignored his gaze, noticing the way his clothed thigh had a massive dark-red splotch on it.

"I-Is that blood?" you peeped, pointing to his thigh. That would explain why Spider-Man had such an unceremonious crash landing into your apartment balcony; he was injured. You looked back up at the hero's masked face. "Spider-Man, are you okay—"

"I-I'm fine!" Spider-Man blurted, his voice shaky and almost uncertain. The hero staggered, stumbling to his feet. You could tell that he was in pain, but was trying to hide it. "I'm okay."

You watched as Spider-Man limped, quietly wincing in pain to the railing of your balcony, gripping it tightly to support himself.

He looked over his shoulder. Even when his face wasn't visible, it was like he was sheepish. Timid, even.

"I'm...." Spider-Man began. You could see his toned back tense. "I'm sorry."

You blinked. "For what?"

The hero hesitated. Why was Spider-Man being so... shy? And unassuming? Wasn't he this grand and powerful hero?

"For...." he drew out his syllables, as if he was grasping for thoughts in his head. "For abruptly— um— crashing. Into... your apartment."

A curve formed on your lips. "No, no. no!" you waved your hands in front of yourself. "Don't worry at all!"

You glanced at the wound on his thigh. Blood ran down his thigh, seeping through his costume. "Are you sure you're—"

Spider-Man interrupted you with a loud groan of pain, as he attempted to take a step forward. He crumbled to his knees, choked cries of pain falling from his lips.

The hero cursed under his breath, muttering about some "bastard" stabbing him.

You rushed to his side, your arms wrapping around his torso to pull him back to his feet. Despite being in pain from his injury, he seemed even more baffled by your touch, flinching away.

"S-Sorry," he apologized again.

"It's okay," you shot him a small smile. "Why don't you come inside?"

Jungwon wanted the ground to open up and swallow him whole.

After his tutoring session with one of your neighbors, Jungwon went home and decided to take a long nap. After all, running into you, his ex, was definitely not something that he intended to do. He needed a nap to clear his mind.

Except, that was not what Jungwon got. Instead, he got another dream of you dying. Combined with seeing you getting controlled by that supervillain, Jungwon was not in the right headspace when he awoke.

Once again, with goosebumps littering his arms, cold sweat rolling down his temples, Jungwon's first instinct, as always, was to jump out of that damn window and take a lap around the city. By the time he finished a lap, it was already dark, and yet neither his mind nor body had the sharp precision that he needed to fight criminals.

Which was why when fighting a group of bandits, Jungwon dishonorably got stabbed in the thigh (though, of course, he kicked their asses to the moon).

And after he tried to swing away via his webs, his painful wound in the thigh made him miscalculate and web, and he tumbled down from the sky.

And that's how Jungwon found himself sitting on your bed.

This time, instead of breaking up with you, he was clad in his spandex suit, waiting for you as you rummaged through your bathroom cabinet.

Jungwon looked around your room. Everything was the same.

You had the same plushies on your bed, with the scent of your perfume still strong in the air. Your desk is still cluttered with the same papers and pens.

Everything, and really everything, was the same. Like one of those unfortunate true-crime cases, where someone dies under mysterious circumstances, and yet their home is completely untouched, with no signs of disturbance. As if nothing had changed at all, save for the absence of life.

It was a strange stillness, and yet, Jungwon shook his head. He was in no position to judge. Though, Jungwon's eyes did catch something interesting.On your desk lay a messy stack of envelopes and papers, some crumpled up and others pristinely folded. Like letters.

And maybe Jungwon was paranoid, or heartbroken, but his mind wandered to the worst places. Were you seeing another guy? Maybe the guy that you went on that date with. Was that why you were probably writing love notes?

Have you moved on that quickly? Was it that easy to forget him? Jungwon's heart ached, and against his better judgement, he rose to his feet, ignoring the throbbing pain in his thigh. He creeped up to your desk, limping with each step. With each inch closer, he could feel the world shattering around him.

And when he realized that there was an unfinished letter already in the works, freely laying on your desk, his heart dropped.

Jungwon gazed at the stack of letters, then back at the half-written letter played on your desk. But his eyes caught the heading of the letter: 'Dear Spider-Man.'

And it was now that Jungwon realized another crucial detail: your phone, also laying on your desk, was playing music. Playing music from the playlist that you and him made together.

"Spider-Man?"

Jungwon whipped his head around as your voice pulled him out of thought. And before he could even question why you would be writing to him of all people, you were already throwing all of your bandages onto your bed, rushing profusely to him as you cried, "Don't look at those!"

You tugged on Jungwon's arm, pulling him and gently pushing him onto your bed. Your bottom lip jutted out into a small pout, your face painted with an embarrassed expression.

"You were not supposed to see that," you murmured with your brows knitted together, standing in front of the now sitting hero. When Jungwon didn't respond, you continued, your voice breathy. "Just— Just forget you saw anything."

Jungwon nodded slowly. Under the mask, he glanced back to your desk. Were all of those letters addressed to him? As in, Spider-Man? And why were you still listening to that playlist?

"It's okay," he said reassuringly, even though he was extremely uncertain himself. "I didn't see anything."

You visibly relaxed, letting out a sigh. "I-It's just embarrassing."

Your eyes fluttered up to Jungwon's masked face. You opened your mouth to speak, but Jungwon could tell by the way your lips trembled ever-so-slightly and your brows crashed together that you felt uncomfortable.

You made that face when you felt like you needed to talk. Jungwon swiped his tongue over his bottom lip, his arms opening up and his palms opening. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"But—"

Jungwon hoped that you could see his earnest smile from behind his mask. "I mean it. Don't worry about it."

Your eyes narrowed, as if you were studying his face. You sighed again. "Okay, sorry."

A silence engulfed the two of you, as you reached for the bandages and first-aid supplies that you had so abruptly thrown onto your bed earlier, completely unaware of the way Jungwon watched you so intently. He hadn't been so close to you in so long. With every flicker of your eyes and twitch of your face, Jungwon admired you closely.

What he would do to reach out and cup your cheek again, to feel your living and breathing self against his hands. To verify that you hadn't died. To confirm that you were safe and sound, alive and well.

"Can I—" you started, breaking the silence— "Can I help with your wound?"

Jungwon blinked. He had high levels of regeneration, so in a few hours, the wound on his thigh would be completely gone. It would be better to not waste both of your time.

But how you looked at him with wide, innocuous eyes, filled with worry and your characteristic kindness, Jungwon's greed clouded his mind.

"I would love that," Jungwon replied, his voice a near whisper.

How shameful of him, to sit here and selfishly bask in your presence as if he hadn't broken your heart.

You smiled, taking your rubbing alcohol and coming to Jungwon's side. Quickly, you started at your ministrations. Jungwon hissed at the burning sensation of the rubbing alcohol on his open wound (he had forgotten what it felt like), whispering apologies with each squeak of pain that fell from his lips. You hummed to yourself, your delicate face so focused.

"You know, Spider-Man," you began as you continued treating his wound, your voice soft, "I always wonder if you remember me."

Jungwon scoffed, his lips moving faster than his brain. Breathy, but eager, words came out, in a tone that Jungwon had always reserved for you. "How could I ever forget you, [Name]?"

You let out a peep, your face slowly morphing into a flustered expression. "W-What are you talking about?"

Shit. "I-I mean—"

Jungwon's ears burned, the apples of his cheeks prickling with warmth. This is not what he meant to do! Jungwon cleared his throat, sucking in a sharp breath to recompose himself.

"W-What I meant was that I—" Jungwon narrowed his eyes, thinking of an explanation— "I could never forget what happened at Bisco's."

You blinked at him a few times, your face breaking out into a frown. "Oh."

Jungwon sunk his teeth into his bottom lip. Did that make you upset?

"I always remember the people that I save," he continued, observing your facial expressions carefully. "I could never forget the impact I made on others, and that includes you, [Name]."

You shook your head understanding, but Jungwon could still see the frown on your face. "You're right," you said. Your eyes met with his. "You really have made an impact on me, Spider-Man."

You reached for the bandages, beginning to slowly wrap them around his wounded thigh.

"You know..." you started slowly. A bashful curve formed on your lips, nearly forming one of those cute grins that you always did whenever you felt particularly happy or appreciative. "I think about you quite a bit."

Jungwon cocked a brow.

"The truth is," you continued, the bashful expression on your face growing, "I write letters to you whenever I feel like shit."

"Why?" Jungwon blurted. He knew he probably shouldn't ask. It would make him spiral even harder, but his curiosity got the better of him.

You let out a chuckle, closing your eyes and shaking your head in embarrassment. "Because you saved me. And because you're a pretty universal symbol of strength and reliability."

You looked up at him again, flexing your arms with a goofy grin. "You're this city's number one defender. I write to you because I feel like even if I can't send you anything, I could rely on you, y'know?"

"Yeah," Jungwon breathed. He hadn't seen you smile like that in a while, and your reasoning was un-surprisingly sweet. Because you were that type of person. He couldn't help the way his lips pulled up into a small smile. "That makes sense."

"How about you, Spider-Man?" you asked.

"What about me?"

"What do you do when you feel like shit?" you cocked your head, blinking owlishly. "You must go through a lot as a hero. What makes you feel like you should keep going?"

You, he thought. You were what made him want to keep being a good person. All his deep fears of failure and imperfection were intrinsically rooted in his desires to make himself worthy for you. It was all you.

"You," Jungwon said. But he couldn't have you. "... And other people that I've saved. Knowing that I have helped others is enough to keep me going."

You nodded your head, understanding, your lips forming an 'oh' shape. You continued wrapping his thigh with bandages. "Do you ever check up on the people that you save?"

"I wish I could," Jungwon responded. "I would love to check up on everyone."

"So why don't you?"

You were always so curious. Jungwon pursed his lips. "Because there's too many people that I've saved. I don't know all of them by name. I don't know how to find them."

You hummed. You finished wrapping Jungwon's leg with bandages, using scissors to cut the cloth bandages and securing them. You patted your hands off, sending the hero another smile. "Aaaand you're all done."

"Thank you," Jungwon held a fixed gaze on you again. It took all of his self-control to not throw his arms around you and embrace you. "I don't know how I can repay you—"

You waved your hands in front of you profusely. "No, no! I'm repaying you for saving me—"

Jungwon shook his head. "If it wasn't for your balcony, I would have probably died."

You chewed on your bottom lip, contemplating, before a lightbulb seemingly popped above your head. You swiftly took Jungwon's hands, squeezing them tightly.

"Come visit me."

Jungwon spluttered. "W-What?"

"You said that you didn't know how to repay me, and that you didn't check up on people you saved because you didn't know how to find them," you gushed eagerly. "You found me. You can repay me by visiting me ever so often."

"But— But why?"

You shrugged. "It gets lonely sometimes," was all you said, but your wide and glassy eyes staring up at him so pleadingly made it hard to say no. "Please?"

"I'll try."

You didn't catch it at first. "What?"

"I'll try," Jungwon murmured. "To come back. If I can."

You chuckled. "Good enough for me."

Jungwon wasn't sure if he made a promise that he could keep.

"Good morning! Welcome to Maeum's Coffee Shop, what can I get you— Damn it, [Name], did you have a rough night again?"

You winced at Wonyoung's words. Wonyoung worked at a local coffee shop, and as a good friend, you always came in to support her.

It's been a few days since you found Spider-Man on your balcony, and you would be lying if you said that you weren't excited. You stayed up a few nights waiting for Spider-Man to crash-land on you again. It wasn't anything romantic for sure, you were just interested in talking to him. The truth was, you stayed up most nights anyway. You stayed up most nights thinking about everything, unable to truly rest. If you were going to be restless, you might as well think about your new friend Spider-Man.

"The usual," you murmured to your friend, who hummed understandingly, despite you completely ignoring her question. You rubbed your eyes. "I'm so tired, Wonyoung."

Wonyoung's bright eyes ran over your figure: you were wearing sweats with a hoodie draped over your shoulders, as if you just woke up. She chuckled at you, before ringing you up. "We could go to the beach after my shift, if you want."

You groaned as you swiped your card. You didn't feel like doing anything, but when it was Wonyoung, it was hard to say no. "Fine."

You grinned lazily as she cheered, before you took a seat in the coffee shop, slumping over yourself as you waited for your coffee. You could hear some light jazz playing, but especially the laughter of Wonyoung as she charmed customers, and most importantly, the flagrant whispers of her coworkers.

There was always one downside of visiting Wonyoung while she worked: her coworkers, Sunghoon, Sunoo, and Jake, who just so happened to be your ex-boyfriend's best friends. And now as you tried to fight your tiredness, all you could hear now was their whispers. Their frantic whispers.

If you weren't literally about to fall asleep, pulling your hood over your head, you would have shot them a glare, maybe even text Wonyoung to tell them to shut up.

"....that's definitely his..." you could hear Jake whisper-yell.

"...ngwon's gonna blow his shit..... Hurry, call him!"

"—Shit, he's on his way already!"

Ding! The doorbell of the coffee shop rang, making everyone in the shop (including yourself) turn their heads. And lo and behold, standing at the doorway was none other than your ex-boyfriend.

You couldn't even bring yourself to care. You could hear his friends practically shouting in the back while your phone pinged a billion messages from Wonyoung, but you just continued to push your face into your arms, taking comfort in the hoodie that you had thrown on this morning.

You hoped that Jungwon didn't notice that you were here. Maybe that would be better for your mental stability.

"[N-Name]?" Sunoo's shaky voice called out from the counter, where Sunoo, Sunghoon, and Jake liked to hang around. Your drink was ready. Finally.

Lifting yourself off of the cafe table, you trudged over to the counter, only a few feet away from the cash register. Where Jungwon was standing, getting ready to order. Which meant that he 100% saw you, and now he 100% knows that you're here.

Damn it. You really couldn't take seeing his face today. You fiddled with your hood, pulling it closer to you to hide your face.

"Here's your.... drink," Sunoo said, slowly and awkwardly, as if you were some alien. You rolled your eyes, fighting the horrible feeling of Jungwon's eyes boring into the back of your head, as you took your coffee from the counter.

As you read over the labeling and Sharpie'd name on your cup, you verified that this drink was indeed yours. And just as you were about to turn on your heel and get the fuck out of there (away from Jungwon, who was now 100000% staring at you), Jake just had to open his mouth.

"I-Isn't that Jungwon's hoodie?" Jake blurted, throwing an accusatory finger at the hoodie draped over your shoulders.

You didn't know what came first: Wonyoung's gasp from the cash register, you choking on your spit, or Jungwon spluttering from where he was. Sunoo and Sunghoon whacked Jake in the head, but the damage was already done.

Once again, for no apparent reason, you and Jungwon found each other. You couldn't fight the urge to turn over your shoulder and spot Jungwon, who was staring at you with big, shivering eyes, his ears red and his lips agape. Your heart skipped a beat in your chest. Your emotions were so erratic. Sometimes when you saw pictures of Jungwon you felt nothing, but now that he was in front of you, face to face, you wanted to scream and cry.

You looked down at the hoodie that enveloped you. Now that Jake mentioned it, yes, this hoodie was Jungwon's. In fact, you could remember how you acquired such a thing. One time, it was raining so Jungwon let you wear his hoodie, and you never gave it back. What once belonged to Jungwon was now yours, and you've made it such a normal part of your life that you forgot that it had ever been his.

This hoodie, having lived in your closet for months and months, smelled like your own laundry detergent. And as you brusquely walked past Jungwon, blinking back the tears that you hadn't even noticed were collecting in your eyes, you wished for something abnormal: you wished that this hoodie still smelled like Jungwon, even after all this time.

So that you could have something to remember him by.

Jungwon sucked in a sharp breath. Temptation was a work of sin, and unfortunately, it was not his fault that the devil was stronger than a man.

There were many reasons that Jungwon was so committed to keeping a distance from you. He wanted to respect your space, and he was dedicated to protecting you. But even more, there was an intimacy that was never speaking to you again. In his last act of love for you, Jungwon would grant you the peace that his presence could never give you. He hoped that his absence spoke of the words that he could never have said. And yet, as Jungwon sat on the ledge of some building, he watched the cars pass wistfully a few hundred meters below his feet.

In the daytime, he felt like he could deal with the guilt and loneliness. But at night, it was nearly impossible. It's been another week since Jungwon had uneventfully landed on your balcony, and you had requested that he, as Spider-Man, visit you.

And frankly, Jungwon wasn't going to visit you. Even if he promised you, he was so sure that he couldn't keep it. After all, he had a commitment. But when the summer air is so warm yet so unforgiving, sending hot beads of sweat running down Jungwon's face, the frustration and guilt festered, devouring Jungwon from the inside out. That was how Jungwon found himself only a few buildings away from your apartment. He teetered on the ledge. Half of him wanted so desperately to just swing onto your balcony again, to just see you again. But the other half of him couldn't stand putting you in harm's way any longer.

So imagine Jungwon's shame as he picked up his feet and swung by your apartment. All he wanted to do was check on you. He had good eyes, so hopefully he'd be able to catch a glimpse of you through your windows as he briefly came by. And yet, instead of finding you safe and sound through your bedroom window, what Jungwon saw from a distance was you, on your balcony, looking sad. Wistful, even. You had your arms over the railings, and even when he was afar, Jungwon could recognize any of your expressions, and this one, he could tell that you were crying.

His body moved faster than his mind, with zero hesitation, zooming right onto your balcony. Jungwon's mind was still racing, questions blurring through his mind, hesitating about what he should do. Why were you crying? Was it someone that made you feel this way? But his body knew his intentions better. His body knew the sorts of yearning that he had no chance of resisting. And just as swift as he came, Jungwon found himself breathing heavily as he landed back on the railing of your balcony.

"S-Spider-man?!" you sniffled. Under the dark sky, he could see the way your eyes lined with tears, your tearful eyes puffy and bloodshot. You quickly hid your face in your sleeve, turning your face away from him. "Wh—What are you doing here?"

"I..." Jungwon's mouth ran dry. He didn't have an answer for you. Seeing you like this made him feel on-edge, nervous even. He didn't know why he was here with you. He didn't know why his body forced him to keep crawling back to you. He didn't want to be here, it went against all instinct. He stared at the back of your head. "I'm— Um—"

You let out a loud, high-pitched sob, before you threw your arms around Jungwon's shoulders, burying yourself into his chest. Jungwon stiffened under your touch. It felt weird. He hadn't been close to really anyone at all, at least not physically. If it wasn't you that he was physically intimate with, he'd rather not have it at all. But even when it was you, intimacy felt so foreign, so lost. But as your choked sobs rung through the air, your arms holding onto him like he'd save you, Jungwon relaxed. Mixed in with the smell of the night air, you smelled like your usual peachy perfume. Your touch, just like he had remembered it, was soft. Kind.

Jungwon brought a hesitant hand up to the small of your back, in an attempt to quell your distress. Yet, he felt such a weird warmth as you clung onto him.

"I h—hate him, Spider-Man!" you cried, your hand gripping his forearm. "I hate him— so much."

And maybe if Jungwon was stronger than he was now, he would have just listened to you silently without any questions, patting your back and lending you a shoulder to cry on. But he wasn't.

"Who?" he breathed into your ear, his brows knitted together. That horrible gnawing feeling filled his stomach once again. He didn't want to know what your answer was, but that sickening curiosity was burning from the inside out. "Who do you hate?—Did you— Did you get hurt?"

You shook your head, looking up at the hero. The moonlight reflected off your eyes. You looked so pretty, even when you were crying. Jungwon's heart ached at the sight of your pained face. My baby, he thought. After all this time, you could commit all the grievances in the world, and if you just looked at him with your big, teary eyes, he would acquit you of all your crimes.

You tugged on his arm, your glossy eyes staring at him like he was some god, pulling him back into your room. And against all resolutions that Jungwon tried to make to himself, he followed you in anyway.

As your balcony door clicked shut, Jungwon watched as you pulled him onto your bed with you, pulling him as close as you could as you continued to cry, murmuring about how much you hated "him."

This time, Jungwon just let his eyes fall shut. He hadn't laid down in your bed in a while, and frankly, he thought your bed was more comfortable than his. With you so close to him, and his arms wrapped around you, for a split second, it felt like he was back together with you. It felt like another one of those nights where you'd cry into his arms about how stressed you were, and all he could offer up was his presence to console you.

"I know, I know," he gently whispered into your ears. You always loved it when he reassured you like that. He rubbed slow circles on your back, continuing to whisper soft reassurances into your ear, even if he knew that you couldn't hear him. "I know, love."

"I c-cant get over him," you lamented. At this point, Jungwon's chest was wet. "I don't know why I c-can't. I h-hate him so much."

Jungwon gulped as his gut twisted.

"Tell me," he rasped. He knew what your words meant. He knew better than anyone that you were talking about him, that it was him that you hated. But he needed to hear it from your lips first, to get real confirmation. Despite the weak feeling in his knees and the pang in his chest, he wanted to listen to you.

After all, he'd do anything to make you feel better, even if you didn't know it was him. And he knew how to do that exactly.

You lifted your head to look at him in the eyes, shaking your head profusely. "But i-it's pa—pathetic," you stammered, but when you could feel Jungwon's unwavering gaze on you, you gave in. Resting your cheek on the hero's shoulder, you spoke in a low, shaky voice. You told him everything— every thought and emotion that's been swirling your mind. You told him of how you still constantly thought about Jungwon, how you felt like in every crevice of your life he was there, how you've done everything you could to get over him with fruitless results. You cried and cried and cried. You detailed to him what types of restless nights you had, what kinds of thoughts swirled through your head whenever you thought about your ex.

"I miss him," you ended your tear-filled rant with. "I mi-miss him s-so much and I feel so—so d-dumb."

And if you weren't so caught up in your feelings, you would have noticed how the hero's body tensed with each word that fell from your lips.

A silence fell over you and Spider-Man, as you rested your cheek on his shoulder, letting your bated breaths calm down with each hiccup. You let your heart rate slow down, as your eyes— sore from crying— rested. Against you, the hero was so... still. He was definitely breathing, but it was slow and tranquil. If you listened hard enough, you could hear his heart beat; weirdly enough, it was erratic and loud.

That's what Jungwon's heartbeat sounds like when he's excited, you thought, before shaking your head and pushing that thought into the back of your mind. The mere thought of Jungwon made your stomach churn. You didn't want to even entertain that thought.

"Spider-Man...." you began in a soft voice, your finger coming up to poke his masked face. No response. "Spider-Man, are you asleep—"

Suddenly, Jungwon jolted up from the bed, his voice ripping through the air: "Boo!"

You let out a loud shriek, jumping away from him, surprised. You stared at him for a few moments, before Jungwon bursted out into giggles. On your bed, you watched as the red-and-blue masked hero who had just tried to startle you attempted to conceal his giggles, clamping a hand over his mouth.

"S-Sorry—" his voice was shaky, trying so goddamn hard not to laugh. Airy laughs escaped his lips, filling the air with something that felt all too familiar.

Despite having just cried for what seemed like forever, you slapped his chest, your lips pulling up into a wobbly smile. Spider-Man's laughter was contagious, and even as you continued to lightly punch him, you couldn't help but let giggles fall from your own mouth.

"Sh-Shut up!" you said between laughs. Having enough, you reached for a stray pillow and threw it at him. "You're so annoying!"

You couldn't remember the last time you laughed like this with someone. In fact, perhaps if you weren't so busy beating Spider-Man up like your life depended on it, you would have noticed the way your beloved hero was watching you closely. Jungwon knew exactly how to get you to loosen up; and in this case, it was to do something so stupid and dorky that you had no choice but to laugh.

"Ow! Ow!" Jungwon squirmed like a spider that had just gotten hit by bug spray. He let you win, as now he was pinned down on the bed, with you smothering him with your pillows. "White flag—Ack!"

Your laughter rang through the room. You weren't even that strong, but Jungwon did not dare to use his own strength on you. That wouldn't be fair.

That's right, he thought. Forget about me. Forget about the pain, forget about everything that I've done to you. Your eyes crinkled and your nose scrunched and your lips parted when you threw your head back and laughed. If he could preserve that laughter for the rest of his life, he would. Forget about me, baby.

"Jesus Christ, Spider-Man!" you snickered, as you held him down with a hand on his hard chest. "I thought you were stronger than this."

Jungwon's strong hand slid to wrap around your wrist. "You really wanna see strength?"

A weak yet sly grin spread across your face. You leaned down to him, so close that your noses touched. Almost purring,"Try me— Eek!"

That was all the confirmation he needed. In an instant, Jungwon flipped the two of you over, crashing into the soft plushness of your bed. This time, he was the one pinning you down. And while airy laughter fell from your lips, the surprise of Jungwon's outburst reducing you to giggles, Jungwon was distracted. You're just so pretty, so strikingly beautiful that he had no choice but to admire you.

And if Jungwon wasn't so distracted, he would have noticed the way that you stared at him owlishly, with a type of hunger and curiosity that was all too familiar. As if a lightbulb had switched on, your arms slithered up from under him to wrap around his neck. With glassy eyes and a girlish giggle, you gently pulled him toward your face.

Jungwon's body froze up as you plant a soft, tender kiss on his masked cheek, a spluttering sound coming from his mouth.

"Relax, silly," you rasped into his ear with a chuckle. Even with the mask, your fingers found their way to the crook between Jungwon's ear and jaw, delicately running your fingers over that spot and mindlessly caressing it— something that always made shivers roll down Jungwon's back. "You can save lives but you can't handle a girl kissing you?"

Jungwon's face felt hot. "Shut— Shut up!" That night, you eventually laughed yourself to sleep, and after tucking you in, Jungwon left with a bittersweet feeling in his chest. He hoped that he'd given you any type of emotional refuge, so that you would eventually forget the hurt and pain that he had caused you. 

To be a girl, after a long week of stress, unloading your worries and the like in a nice steamy bath— Oh, that is the best thing any person could experience.

You relished in the warm solitude of your bathtub. You hummed along to the quiet music you liked to play when you bathed, the peachy bubbles and scent of your soap filling your senses. You relaxed with an "ahh" into the water. Tonight was going to be perfect. After this bath, you were going to do your skincare routine and lather yourself with your new yummy lotion. Then you'd go make yourself a late night snack. Then maybe you'd spend the night reading some manga, or watching some shows, or anything you wanted frankly.

You had worries: finding an internship, employment, boy troubles. But this was no time to care about them. You let your eyelids gently fall shut... and maybe if you weren't careful, you might... just... drift... off...

"Eep!" You're startled back into reality by the sound of a distant crash! You glance around your bathroom, clutching yourself. It didn't sound nearby, so you had nothing to worry about. You sunk into the water again, letting your tense muscles relax into the warmth. Your tired eyes fell closed again. And maybe this time.... you'd be permitted the peace... to just... drift... off...

Crash! You jolted up, your eyes shooting open. This time, this crashing sound was much louder, and appeared to be much closer. Following that outburst was the sound of rustling and scrambling, which (in your already paranoid state) confirmed your fears that whatever the cause was, it was too close to you.

Emboldened, you stepped out of your bathtub, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around your body tightly, before slipping your shower slippers on.

And maybe you're dumb. Really dumb. But you peaked your head out your bathroom door, eyes glazing over the hallway between your bathroom and kitchen. Everything seemed fine. You crept out of the bathroom. Your entire apartment was quiet, maybe a little too quiet. Slowly, you made your way into your bedroom. It looked normal, not a single hair out of place. Nothing was wrong then.

Since you were already out of the bathroom, you should probably start dressing anyway. You loosened your grip around the towel, and just as the fabric fell from your chest—

"[N-Name]?!"

There had to be something psychological about the way bright red and blue were incredible at camouflaging, because you had not noticed the red and blue superhero perched at your window. And it seemed like he didn't notice you either, until now.

"Spider-Man?!" you cried. But it was too late. There you were, naked in all your glory and exposed entirely to the spider hero himself. You didn't know what was worse. The feeling of the cool air hitting your skin, sending goosebumps on your arms, or the feeling of Spider-Man practically ogling at you. It didn't seem to matter because the two of you stood like that: in silence, in complete and utter horror.

"I-I'm..." You've never seen Spider-Man more flustered, but if you weren't too busy trying to cover yourself up, scrambling for your fallen towel, you would have noticed the way the hero's hand shot up to clutch his face in embarrassment. A habit that you loved to see in your ex-boyfriend. "S... Sorr—"

"Get out!" you cried, clutching your towel so tightly as you began reaching for all of the pillows and plushes on your bed, hurling at the hero at full-force. Your face burned with embarrassment as you heaved. "Out! N-Now!"

Spider-Man simply stood there, stunned, which was weird considering that he should have a fast enough reaction time to stop you. Frustrated, you threw yourself on your bed, throwing the blanket over your naked body and pushing your face into the mattress, humiliated and flustered beyond belief.

"Get out!" you cried again, your eyes almost welling up with tears with how embarrassed you were. You felt so hot all over that you could probably melt. You hadn't felt this way— this flustered and embarrassed— in so long. You murmured, "What are you even doing here?!"

Finally breaking from his stupor, Spider-Man spluttered, "I-I just wanted to check up... on you."

You groaned from under the blanket, muffled, and that seemed to egg the hero on with a squeak. Words tumbling from his mouth like water, he squeals, "It seems like you're doing well! Youlookgoodasever—I mean— In all the years I've known you, you always look amazing— Like— Uhm— I— You're always—" he sucked in a deep breath, and you could hear how red his face was under the mask— "Beautiful."

There's a long silence, before Spider-Man nearly shouts, "Okay bye!"

And with that, he climbed out your balcony, and swung away. You stay where you are under the blanket all huddled up for a few moments, before you let out a giddy little chuckle. You flipped over to lay on your back, staring at the ceiling, before it hit you.

"Years?" you said aloud. Spider-Man said that you've been beautiful in all the "years" that he's known you.

You sat up. But you swore you only knew him for a few months.

Hm. Interesting.

Jungwon cursed under his breath. Fuck. He was in a pickle. After a few weeks in hiding, archvillain Baron von Fizzlebang was back for more, this time with more to show. It seemed like every time, he was getting progressively worse and worse. New gadgets, new costumes, new methods of entrancing people. First, Baron von Fizzlebang entranced a mob to rob a bank. Then, he controlled some elementary schoolers and tried to get them to walk into oncoming traffic (really evil of him). Most recently, the supervillain tried to possess the entire fire department and make them commit arson in an ironic turn of events. If it weren't for Jungwon's restless fighting, the entire city might have gone up in flames already.

Simultaneously, against his own better judgement, yet in alignment with his heart, Jungwon found himself intentionally coming to see you more. It's shameful that despite cutting you out of his life he still tried to keep you at an arm's reach. But oh, Jungwon was so greedy. Each time your face lit up when he appeared on your balcony left him eager for more. Every smile and little touch had him hungry. Hungry for more of you, hungry to keep you for himself, hungry to hide you from the world and selfishly have you all to himself. And the worst part was, your grief and sadness over civilian-Jungwon was slowly dissipating with time: you were reverting back to the you that he knew, not the sad, crestfallen version of you.

But, he had no time to think of that. Right now, Jungwon was beaten up pretty badly, resting atop the roof of a building and leaning against some structure there.

It's not easy to fight one Baron von Fizzlebang, when he's able to manipulate up to a hundred people to do his own bidding. Jungwon doesn't want to hurt the civilians under Baron von Fizzlebang's control, but how is he supposed to win at all if these civilians are being used to attack him?

One eye was incapacitated, with blood dripping down Jungwon's forehead and his lip bleeding. Even in the darkening night sky, Jungwon could tell that there were a few tears here and there on his hero costume, but the worst part was that Jungwon's right shoulder was most definitely out of commission.

Luckily, Jungwon got the victimized civilians to safety. Unluckily, Baron von Fizzlebang was still on the loose, pretty much unscathed. Jungwon could work under severe pressure, with great injuries too. But for some reason, he absolutely couldn't think straight as he stumbled to his feet, clutching his injured shoulder. He blinked his one working eye slowly, trying to see clearly, but there was too much blood coming from his head after getting slammed against a brick wall for him to get a clear view.

At the very least, Jungwon needed to locate where the villain went—

"Yoo-hoo!" a sing-songy voice boomed, and Jungwon whipped his pounding head around. "Spidey-Spidey!~"

Lo and behold, Baron von Fizzlebang was (for some reason) suspended in the air, completely uninjured, a stark difference from Jungwon's hunched-over, painful form. With his extravagant costume, he waved mockingly at Jungwon, a cackle spilling from him. "I'm back for more, Spidey. Are you?"

Jungwon's eyes narrowed, a pained grunt escaping his lips before he limped toward the villain. He sucked in a sharp breath. The blood from his bleeding lip tasted metallic on his tongue, but his physical pain mattered not— not when the livelihood and safety of the city was on the line because of this maniac.

"Yeah," Jungwon responded breathily, stumbling. "Come get me."

Much to Jungwon's chagrin, from Baron von Fizzlebang came some strange metal contraption. With big and long metal tentacle arms with grabby hands at the ends, Baron von Fizzlebang laughed maniacally as his new gargantuan device conjured a physical reaction out of Jungwon. Faster than Jungwon could move, the villain's metal arms snatched him up.

"Let me go—Ack!" Jungwon squirmed in the contraption's grasp.

"No," Baron von Fizzlebang said simply. "All you do is ruin my plans to take over this city!"

Jungwon cried in pain as the metal hands squeezed him tighter. The villain laughed again. "Have you ever had to experience someone try to ruin something you care about, Spider-Man?" Jungwon opened his mouth to choke a retort, but the Baron continued. "Or in your case, someone that you care about?"

Jungwon continued to squirm in the metal hands' grasp, the villain taking it as a sign to continue his villainous monologue.

"You don't think that I don't know you have a secret little girlfriend, right? She's the same one I claimed that one night at Bisco's." At the sound of that, Jungwon tensed up even more. No.... Don't tell me.."Maybe I should let this little spider go. To make you really feel my pain, why don't I go pay your little girlfriend a visit again."

"No!—" tore from Jungwon's throat, but it was too late. With panic filling his body, Baron von Fizzlebang's metal tentacles hurled him through the sky before the villain took off. Presumably to find you. And even though Jungwon was falling through the sky with an incapacitated eye and shoulder, all he could think about was you.

Every single fear and made-up scenario of you getting hurt or even worse, dying, as a result of Jungwon ran through his head in the milliseconds that he was in the air.

Just as Jungwon was about to slam against a sky-scraper, he shot a web to catch himself. His hands shook as he stabilized himself against another wall.

Dammit, dammit, dammit— I'm so fucking stupid— She's in danger now— Everything that he had feared was coming true, and it was all a result of Jungwon's selfishness and negligence and— Jungwon took a deep breath, not noticing that he had neglected to breathe as he spiraled. He shoved his face in his hands. Think, think, think. He had to do something.

He looked at his hands. He had to go find you, and warn you. Move you to safety, make sure you're somewhere safe where that maniac couldn't find you.

Even with all his injuries, nothing stopped Jungwon as he shot webs across the sky. With all the remaining strength in his body, and with all the power he could muster up, Jungwon flew across the sky to where he knew you'd be: in your apartment.

And just as he expected, you were in your room, peacefully listening to music and painting your nails. Usually, he'd be courteous and wait for you to welcome him in. But Jungwon had no time to waste: he crashed onto your balcony, practically busting into your room through the doors.

"Spider-Man?!" you cried, startled by his sudden entrance.

"You have to leave," Jungwon breathed with labored huffs. He clamored toward you, grabbing you by your shoulders. "I-I don't have time to explain—"

"What— What are you talking about?—"

Jungwon gripped your shoulders, the vehemence in his voice resounding as he desperately repeated, "You have to leave. It-It's not safe for you— I need you to leave and go somewhere sa—"

"Spider-Man," you said firmly. Jungwon breathed shakily, swallowing down hard. He shook his head. It felt like the world had fallen into his shoulders.

"Please, [Name]," he pleaded. Even with a mask, you can hear his sheer desperation. "Please listen to me this time."

You stared at him, with a curious yet concerned look, like you were studying him. “Please,” Jungwon said again, his voice high-pitched and cracking. His grip on you loosened, but his head hung low.“Please.”

You kept your eyes stuck on him, but Jungwon couldn’t focus. All he could think about was how you could die. Everything hurt, and yet nothing did at the same time. The mere thought of something even worse happening to you made Jungwon’s gut twist, the oncoming fear so great that it effectively numbed everything in him.

“I can’t— I can’t lose you—“

There was something unsettling about you that Jungwon never figured out. You’re sensitive and soft, but strong-willed and stern. But you’re also a level of smart that Jungwon couldn’t understand.

Which was why he couldn’t possibly understand why you grabbed him by his shoulders, pulled him into you, and slammed your lips against his. You let your lips stay on his for a little bit, but before you could pull away, all the hunger and fear consumed Jungwon whole. His large hands grabbed you by the waist, pulling you flush against him. Greedily, like a starved man, Jungwon hungrily kissed you back, holding you tightly as his breathing picked up.

Maybe it was all the adrenaline, or the pain and delirium, or just Jungwon’s fear, but he didn’t even think about what he was doing. Your lips against his, your body pressed against him, and your scent overtaking his mind— it all made it impossible for him to stop.

He muttered your name against your lips, grasping you like you’d disappear any minute. Your soft body on him felt heavenly, as he drank you in. Everything felt hot and everything ached, but even with his mask on, it felt so delicious. He heaved as your lips moved against his. A choked breath and whimper escaped his lips as you slid tongue into his mouth, your hands slithering up his chest and wrapping around his neck, the way that he always liked it. Almost like you knew how to make him feel good.

The kiss halted to a slow stop, with the two of you gently pulling away. And Jungwon, too dazed, didn’t know what to expect next— and he definitely didn’t expect the next words that came out of your mouth.

"Jungwon," you hummed against his lips, looking at him with an expression that he couldn't read. Jungwon's heart plummeted to his stomach, shaky eyes widening.

"Wh-What—" he began, but you brought a finger up to his lip, hushing him. No way. There's no way that you knew it was him all along—

"You need to calm down, Jungwon," you said as you pulled away from him, eyes glued to his masked face. You took his hand, rubbing circles on the back of his hand slowly, the way that always helped calm him down. "I know you. You're spiraling. We can't do anything if you're panicking. Deep breaths."

"I don't— I don't understand," Jungwon whispered, his strong body still. Had you known it was him all along? And if you did, why didn't you say or do anything? Did you find him pathetic? "How did you know?"

You blinked at him slowly, before a bashful grin pulled onto your face. You reached your hand out to him, your palm finding itself on his cheek. In a moment of instinct, Jungwon leaned into your touch.

"That's how I knew," you breathed. Your lithe fingertips then prodded at the crook between his jaw and his ear, the sensitive spot, and just as you expected, Jungwon shuddered. Your fingers traced down his jaw to his neck, pressing on the tender spot in the middle of his neck. Much to Jungwon's personal mortification, he let out a gasp, and when you leaned closer to his neck— so close that he could feel your breath on him— Jungwon let out a soft sound and shivered. Your lip grazed against the covered skin of his neck, watching him intently as you earn a sensitive whimper from him.

"What— What are you doing—" Jungwon was cut off again by your lip pressing against his jugular, at the spot that never failed to make him cry out in pleasure. Jungwon's ears burned, but the blood rushing through his body made him feel hot all over. He leaned his head back, eyes falling shut.

"I know you, Jungwon." Your voice was low, almost like a purr. Your hands continued to run over his jaw and neck, hooking onto the edge of his mask and uncovering the honey tan skin of his neck. You pressed your lips against his exposed skin, another gasp falling from his lips. "You're not good at hiding anything. And you're not a convincing liar."

You pulled his mask up, exposing his lower jaw and lips. When he muttered your name startled, you pulled the entire mask off.

Lo and behold, just as you had expected, it was Jungwon Yang. You had your suspicions, and when you made them known to him you were certain that you were right. And yet, you're still taken aback when it's really Jungwon behind the mask. His overgrown blonde hair falling over his eyes, his cat-like eyes staring at you with a mix of fear, shame, and desire, his jaw that had gotten stronger— you drank in every last bit of it.

"Son of a bitch," you murmured under your breath.

Jungwon hadn't noticed the way his chest pounded and how his breathing became erratic, nor did he notice that he was now blinking back tears, his chest heaving. "I—I'm sorry—" he struggled to get out, his voice getting caught in his throat. "Oh— I'm so— I"m sorry—"

He couldn't tell if you were angry, or disgusted, or both... because despite the unreadable look on your face, you still grabbed his face, slamming your lips against his once more.

Your fingers brusquely grab at his hair, tangling themselves in his grown-out blonde locks. This time, you're the hungry one. Your hands slid down his chest again, grasping onto his strong, toned arms, and running your hands all over him. Your lips moved surly against his, as if you hadn't been fed in days.

"You're a jackass," you rasped against him, and yet you kept kissing him like he'd disappear. "Fucking jackass." Jungwon tried to murmur apologies, but you kept kissing him, shutting him up. You pushed him against your bed slowly as your lips moved, so that he had no choice but to fall back onto it.

With Jungwon's back now pressed up against your bed, you were on top of him. Your hands roamed his body, and Jungwon couldn't help but let his eyes fall shut.

"I-I'm sorry," he rumbled, but with you on top of him, lips all over him, he couldn't do much but gasp and squirm under your touch. "I-I didn't mean to—"

Boom! In the distance, a massive explosion sound careened through the air. You and Jungwon, both alarmed, froze in your position. Even with you filling his senses, Jungwon's immediate thought is simple: he is Spider-Man.

Jungwon felt your body tense against his, with fear painted on your face. His body felt hot all over, the excitement still pulsing through his veins and desperate need for you still clouding his mind. But a trembling, paralyzed you was enough to pull him away from himself, and force him to focus.

In one fell swoop, Jungwon pulls the two of you to your feet, his arms wrapping around your waist firmly, yet gently. Ignoring your questions, he felt around for his discarded mask, before shooting a web from his fingers and pulling it to him.

"You have to go," he said to you, his hands tightening around your waist. Jungwon watched as your brows crashed together, your expression morphing from bewilderment to hurt, and then anger.

"What are you— Jungwon—" Jungwon ignored you, quickly searching around your room. He took a jacket from your closet (which was definitely his), before draping it around your shoulders.

"I'm serious," he said, his voice cracking with earnestness. "I mean it, [Name]. You have to go."

It was your turn to splutter, scoffing in disbelief. "Where would I even go? I don't know why you're saying this—"

Jungwon chewed on his bottom lip for a few moments, before he huffed. "Go to Jake's."

You're about to scoff again, but Jungwon— the most tender person you've ever met— sent you a stern look that shuts you up.

"Tell him that I sent you," Jungwon instructed. "Tell him to keep you safe. And text me when you're there...." the boy trails off, awkwardly scratching his head, "If I'm not blocked, y'know.... Or just have Jake text me."

You stared at him in silence, blinking slowly, in an attempt to assess his face. Finally, you sigh, your face looking sad. "Okay."

Jungwon helped you collect your things, the two of you engulfed in a silence, with nothing filling your apartment but the ambient sound of your footsteps and breaths. That is, until it was time for you to go.

"I-I think I should go now," you said shakily, your back turned to Jungwon as you reached for your front door. Jungwon solemnly nodded, wistfully staring at you as he fiddled with his mask; his face was still uncovered, making it difficult to hide his concern, yet he didn't have the courage to put his mask back on. Not when you were here. And Jungwon would have let you go like that, alone into the night, if it weren't for the sound of your sniffles.

"Hey, hey," he called out to you, reaching out to you and taking hold of your shoulder. His brows furrowed. "[Name], what is it?"

You sniffled, your breath getting caught in your throat, and it was clear now that you were crying. However, you just shook your head, your back still turned to him.

"Baby," Jungwon said again. "Baby, please tell me. What is it? Why are you crying?"

The sound of Jungwon's voice made you tense up again. You let out a choked sob, before you sucked in a sharp breath. "Th-That."

Jungwon reached for your face, tilting your chin so that you would face him, but you wouldn't budge. "Talk to me. Please."

"That!" you cried. You sucked in another sharp breath as you threw your face into your palms. "You— You l-left me the first time... and— and now you're leaving a-again."

Jungwon's chest ached, and in a moment of remorse and desire, he slid his hands around your waist, pulling you into an embrace with you pressed against his chest. The way you always liked it. He pressed his cheek against your head, his own tears welling up in his eyes as you sniffled and cried.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, his eyes squeezing shut. He knew he hurt you, it was nothing new to him. But just knowing that never made the regret feel any better. He kissed your head. "I'm so sorry."

There's another explosion in the distance, and Jungwon's hold on you tightened. "Please. I'll make it up to you. Please just go this time."

You shook your head. "I—I don't get it. J-Jungwon, I don't g-get it—"

In your state, there was no way you'd make it to safety in time. And Jungwon was a fool for thinking that you could, not after opening up the wounds you were trying to heal from. Jungwon pressed one more kiss on your head. He hauled you into his arms, ignoring your protests, only saying, "Wrap your arms around me."

Jungwon wished he had more time. He wished he could sit you down and explain everything. But there was no time, and he had to make sure you were safe first: he'd like to do it himself. All the injuries from earlier had been healed for the most part, just enough that he had strength.

"Hold on tight, baby," he said in your ear before putting his mask on, and shooting a web out your window. Jungwon figured it was your first time soaring with Spider-Man, because you let out a squeal, hiding your face in his neck.

"Jungwon!" you cried, your eyes still lined with tears. "P-Please, I'm scared—"

Jungwon chuckled, but complied with your request, taking less risky swings. And when he arrived at Jake's apartment, he simply forced his friend's window open. Much to his luck, Jake was already there.

"S-Spider-Man?!" Jake gawked. It wasn't every day that the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man showed up at your window. Then, his eyes fell on you. "[N-Name]?!"

Gently, Jungwon set you down. "Jungwon's request: Keep her safe."

Jake, utterly baffled, opened his mouth to speak. But like a little boy (quite literally) seeing his favorite super-hero for the first time, Jake nodded dutifully, his eyes comically filling with stars. "Yes sir!"

Jungwon nodded satisfied. He knew he could count on Jake. As Jungwon readied himself to jump out the window, he's stopped by your soft voice.

"G-Good luck..." you murmured, fiddling with your fingers. "Don't die... please."

Jungwon couldn't help but grin. "Of course."

And with that, he swung away, ready to kick ass.

You're already asleep when Jungwon finds you back at Jake's house. He felt a little bad about placing the burden of you on Jake, but Jungwon couldn't care more about that when your life was on the line. Jungwon, in his hero form of course, left a note for Jake on the kitchen counter, as he slowly wrapped his arms around your sleeping figure.

You're left sleeping on Jake's couch, with a throw blanket awkwardly draped over you. He appreciated Jake's efforts, grinning softly as the way you stirred in your sleep. It's near dawn, and Jungwon couldn't ignore the ache in his body. But even so, the way your eyes were puffy, your cheeks stained lightly with tears made his chest ache more than his body did.

As quietly as he could, Jungwon took you in his arms, and took you back to his apartment (he didn't have the keys to your apartment, and he didn't want to make you angrier by breaking in). Helicopters were still flying overhead, the sound of police sirens below filling the air. Jungwon's eyes twitched with tiredness, his straining muscles nearly giving out. The city was asleep, and yet it was still functionally cleaning up the mess from earlier.

Speaking of, that son of a bitch Baron von Fizzle-dick or whatever was now in police custody. Jungwon was too exhausted to remember the details, but it was a long and tiring fight. One that was painful.

As he swung through the sky, Jungwon couldn't forget the fight. He was hit pretty badly, almost nearly stabbed in the chest. His entire body was in pain, and if it weren't for the precious you in his arms, Jungwon thought he would collapse mid-air. The feeling of the insurmountable physical agony that that villain inflicted on him was definitely one for the books. Jungwon could still feel the blood dripping down his back. But what was even worse were the things Baron von Fizzlebang had said. The threats he made, the words he said: the villain, and apparently, all the villains in the city, via their underground network, seemed to know you by name. They knew you because you were a soft spot for Spider-Man. It terrified him that now you had a target on your back. He cursed himself for letting himself get comfortable, for endangering you in the process. Even if he won the fight now, Jungwon couldn't forget the fear.

As he landed on his window, Jungwon slowly cracked it open, supporting both you and himself as he brought the two of you into his apartment. He placed you down on his bed, pulling his comforter over you. He watched as you snuggled into his bed, a satisfied murmur falling from your lips. You looked so peaceful, and for a moment, Jungwon could forget all the pain he felt.

Jungwon looked down at his hands. Ripped gloves, blood-stained palms... will it ever go away?

He pulled away from you, about to make his way to his bathroom. He ought to wash the blood off his hands. The night was at its peak, the dreariest that it had ever been. He didn't know what time it was— he lost track of that a long time ago— but all he knew was that it was dark outside. He better get some sleep too. But as he pulled away from you, he felt a few fingers weakly grip his arm. He froze.

"Jung... won..." you murmured. Your eyes were shut, and your voice sounded dreamy.

"I'm here," Jungwon breathed. He hadn't realized it, but his voice broke. Really, all he felt like doing was crying.

"Don't leave," you mumbled. Your fingers tightened around his arm. "I'll do.... do anything..." you drew on. "Just... don't go."

"Oh, baby—" And with that Jungwon broke, the hot tears he hadn't even realized he were holding in spilling. He pulled on his mask. He dropped to his knees, resting his head on the bed beside you. "I... I never meant to. I never wanted to leave you—"

You hummed, murmuring something incoherent. "Stay."

Jungwon let out a shaky breath. "I will— I really want to— Please, let me—"

"Jungwon," you said, rather firmly. You still had your eyes shut.

"I'm here, baby." Jungwon sniffled, swiping the back of his ragged hand to wipe his nose. "I'm not gonna go— I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so—"

"In the... morning," you whispered. Before Jungwon could ask, you continued. "Talk in the morning."

Jungwon's voice broke again. "W-What?"

Your hand reached out for him again, this time falling onto his disheveled head. Jungwon nearly flinched at the feeling of your hand running through his hair, but instinctively he leaned into your touch. For a few moments, your fingers ran through his blonde locks, such a foreign feeling and yet a welcome one. Jungwon let his eyes shut, and they burned as his lids fell shut.

Your voice is quiet, and Jungwon is almost certain you're awake now. "Jake told me some things. I put two and two together."

"Really?" Jungwon, too tired to be mad. "Was it bad?"

You only hummed, giving him a classic nonresponse. Your fingers continued through his hair. "Go to sleep now."

"But—"

You hushed him, petting his head slowly and affectionately. "I love you."

Jungwon was stunned, but it felt so natural as, "I love you, too," tumbled from his lips.

There's a warmth that spreads across his chest, reassuring and comforting. But yet, so deeply harrowing, and so deeply frightening. He's a man of a thousand words and complex ideas, and you knew it, so you hushed Jungwon before he could continue, petting his head slowly and affectionately. "We'll talk in the morning."

Jungwon opened his mouth to protest. But as your fingers ran through his hair, he couldn't help the satisfying chills that ran down his spine. And everything hurt, and it hurt so bad that it was unbearable and Jungwon felt like he couldn't take it.

But your touch was so soft and familiar, Jungwon felt like.... for a second... he could maybe... fall into your touch... and just... take... it... easy...

"Pro...tect you..." Jungwon murmured. "I'll protect... you."

You chuckled softly. "You're not alone. I'll carry your burden with you."

It's his turn to hum, nearly satisfied. As he drifted off into a deep slumber, his troubles melting away into the palms of your hands, there's only one last thought in Jungwon's head.

Maybe there will be a new day tomorrow, and hopefully, he won't be alone when the day breaks.

[seoulfulbliss]

Hyung Line (Part Two)

Author's Note: Hi Seoulmates! I’m finally back with the long awaited second part of this series. Sorry it took so long. Life happens. Hope everyone had a Happy Valentine’s Day pookies 🫶🏾. I have to say, I looooved writing Changbin’s and Hyunjin’s (for different reasons. Read at your own discretion 🤣.) Now that this is off my plate, I’m probably going to take a mini hiatus to focus on some personal time. I would like to grow and learn in other areas to come back a better writer. I also need to consider my mental health. It’ll only be a few weeks. I’ll definitely be back with more exciting stories. I’m already eyeing two drafts rn. Thank you for waiting patiently and sticking with this. MWUAH 💋

(Friendly reminder, YOU DON'T HAVE PERMISSION TO COPY MY WORKS ANYWHERE.)

Boyfriend! Hyung Line × Girlfriend! Reader

Synopsis: The aftermath of your boyfriend insulting you and calling you weird.

Content: angst, hurt reader, tension, resolved conflict, alienation, the guys are apologetic at being mean, break ups, getting back together, ambiguous endings, one of these is NOT like the others 🫣

Word Count: 11.7k

Pt. 1

CHAN— “JOKES WRITE THEMSELVES”

Chan was not happy by any means. In fact, he was more livid than anything. His demeanor definitely showed it, with several staff members and three of his band members creating a wide berth between themselves and the brooding leader. One might ask what the issue was. And that’s the damn thing. You were the problem, his lovely girlfriend who is currently getting waaaay too chummy with some random guy.

Only one thought ran through Chan’s head, ‘Just who was he anyway? And why was he talking to you?’ Okay, no. That was definitely two questions. But the point still stands. Why are you in JYP’s cafeteria chatting up some young guy like you’re all buddy buddy, giggling about who knows what? 

Schooling his features to neutral indifference, Chan makes his way over to where you sit. A shadow falls over the table just as he makes his presence known. “Hey sweetie,” he leans down and kisses your temple possessively, all while staring the guy down with a barely concealed threat. The guy in question blanches as you sigh. “What’s up?” 

Instantly irate, you get the sense that Chan is about to blow this out of proportion. Glancing up at your boyfriend, you find that you are correct in that assumption. Because Chan’s face may appear cool, calm and collected. But his demeanor is anything but, jaw clenched with tension. It doesn’t help that he already has an intimidating aura that precedes his reputation within the halls of the company. 

“Just having lunch.” You mumble disinterestedly, picking at your food. Your body language is rigid compared to the lax stupor you had five minutes ago. Chan catalogs your strange behavior in the filing cabinet of his mind. You are dismissive and abrupt, just like you have been the past few weeks. It really pisses him off, waaaay more than he realized it would. Jaw ticking with suspicion, he sizes the guy up before blocking him out and turning to you. Your eyes squint briefly at the blatant disrespect he is exhibiting.

“Can I talk to you?” His voice drops an octave, indicating his frustration. Inside, you are delighted to know you excelled in getting under his skin.

“I’m currently in the middle of lunch. Rain check?” You go back to chewing on your burger. Chan clenches his fists before putting on a fake smile. 

“I’m sure this guy wouldn’t mind. Right?” He turns to the male in front of you, pleasantries dropping from his voice as he inquires to the male. The guy in question simply shakes his head, getting up to run away with his food. Poor guy, he expressly was a big fan of Stray Kids too. Talk about being traumatized by your idol. “There, he didn’t seem to mind. Let’s go.” 

Not wanting to cause a bigger scene, you finish the last bite of your burger, taking your sweet time to throw away your trash. Stepping around Chan, you make your way to the exit. He sucks his teeth before following close behind you. Once away from prying eyes, he lightly grabs your bicep before ushering you up several floors to the privacy of his studio. 

Once the door is sealed shut, he advances upon you. “What was that?” He questions gruffly.

Deciding to play coy, you fix him with a bored stare before falling lazily into the couch cushions. Detached, that was the image you were going for. It totally works, because Chan is biting his tongue sooo badly right now to keep from cussing. You decide to piss him off further. “What was what?”

He really has to fight to school his features then. You’re just so good at being annoying apparently, so, might as well use it to your advantage. “You know what I mean.” He grits out. “Who was that?”

“Ohhh,” You drag out dramatically. “Aaron, the intern. Do you not know the employees of your own entertainment company?”

His jaw ticks further. “I don’t make it a habit of familiarizing myself with temporary faces. Evidently though, my girlfriend does.”

You’re pretty sure there is an accusation there, laying carefully on the tip of his tongue. You raise a brow at the statement and let him know as much that you weren’t too fond of the smart remark. “Excuse you?”

“I’m just saying.” He shrugs. “Didn’t know the two of you were so close.”

“Aaron laughs at my jokes.” Is your immediate reply. There is a beat of silence before a sudden look crosses Chan’s face.

“Ohhh so it’s like that, huh?” He crosses his arms to his chest. Childish, so stupidly petulant and childish. That’s what he is.

“Don’t do that. Whatever your issue is, stop it. I can tell by the tone of your voice that you’re about to spew bullshit.”

“Bullshit?” He questions with exasperation. He is leading himself right into fire amping himself up. “Forgive me if it looks like my girlfriend is cheating on me.” And yep, there it is. Treading in fire, and about to get burned. 

Just as quickly as the words leave his mouth, you are standing in defense. “Watch your mouth when you address me! I would never do that to you, and you know it. So, stop spewing nonsense.”

This man, for the life of him, cannot catch a break with foot-in-mouth syndrome. Because here he is once again inserting said foot in mouth. “That’s not what it looked like.” He grumbles snappishly. 

Finally done with all the bullshit, you explode. “What is your fucking problem?! You’ve been picking fights for the last three weeks with your horrible, fussy attitude. I tried brushing the shit off, but it’s getting to be seriously annoying!”

“You don't talk to me!” He rebuts just as upset as you. 

“I wonder why! Why would anyone want to talk to you when you’re a raging asshole who’s impossible to deal with?!” As your chest heaves with emotion, Chan pauses and really looks at you. He is dejected and sad at what he sees. You look, fed up. Completely checked out from the relationship. It instills a sense of fear in him at the thought of losing you. 

“Is that… really what you think of me?” He mumbles quietly. You tiredly run a hand down your face at his despondent attitude.

“Don’t— do that.” You reprimand. “You do not get to stand there all pathetically, expecting me to baby you through your emotions when you’ve been off the rails for weeks. That’s emotional manipulation, Chan. You know this.”

Yes, he does know this. And he’s horrified to know he was unknowingly doing it to you. “I apologize.” He mumbles. 

Huffing in annoyance, you point a finger at him and indicate towards the couch. It was time you both had a heart to heart. “Sit.” He obeys immediately. “Do you think it’s fair of you to continually disrespect me in the space of this relationship?” His face scrunches up with confusion at the words.

“Baby, when have I disrespected you? I worked so hard to keep my temper just now in spite of the situation in front of me.” God, were all men arrogantly stupid? You roll your eyes at his commentary.

“For one, you were extremely rude to Aaron. He didn’t deserve that. Especially being a fan. Two, you accused me of cheating on you after showing your ass in the cantina. Three, you blatantly disrespected me in the very walls of this room several weeks ago. Does none of this ring a bell?”

Gears in his head start spinning at the list you rattle off. “Okay, one, I admit I was a tad rude intimidating him back there. But he was ogling you in a predatory way. Two, you’re right. It was insensitive and childish of me to accuse you of cheating when I know you operate with integrity. But for the last part, honey, I’m really at a loss for words here. What did I say a few weeks ago that was disrespectful to you?”

You nearly wring his neck at the daft idiotic words spilling from his lips. Almost though. You couldn’t be the sole reason for JYPE losing its main money-making talent. Instead, you take several deep breaths, trying to center yourself before addressing your boyfriend again. “Do you not remember the hurtful thing you said about me when you sat me down here the other day?” He stares in confusion once again. You smack your teeth with irritation. “The comment you made about my jokes being weird and making people uncomfortable.”

His eyes light up with recognition once you reveal it to him. “Oh, that?” He questions quietly.

“Yes, that.” You reply, volume of your voice matching his in the space of the recording studio. “Do you have any idea how insecure that conversation made me?”

“Baby—” he starts, reaching his hands out at the sight of tears in your eyes. 

“Sit. Down.” You command firmly.

“Yes ma’am.” He mumbles, hands resting back on his thighs nervously. You were pissed, but behind the rage, you were simply hurt, heartbroken at Chan’s harsh words and his lack of noticing. 

“How dare you speak to me as if I were an insignificant person in your life. How dare you talk down to me like I am a child. How dare you treat me like a nuisance, calling me embarrassing and weird when all I ever tried to do was be supportive and dispel the tension when things got too bad. Your attitude has been incorrigible. Everyone has been petrified by you, afraid to even so much as breathe in your direction, lest the dragon come out to bite their heads off. And you have the gall to treat me the same way, thinking there will be no repercussions.” Chan sulks at your words, upset seeing you cry. He can’t believe he was the one who made you feel like this. This weight of realization does not feel good resting upon his shoulders.

“And you had the nerve to be so wrapped up in your work, that you didn’t pay attention to the fact that you lost your girlfriend weeks ago.” He whimpers at this revelation, fearful at the news you sling at him.

“Baby please.” He pulls you in by the waist, caging you in with his thighs. He looks up at you anxiously, concerned with the words you preach. “Please don’t break up with me. Not like this.” He begs. 

You stare down at him devoid of any emotion for several seconds before whispering a reply. “I meant figuratively. But after today, I’m almost certain I mean it physically too.” 

Chan tears up immediately. “Baby please don’t. I made a mistake. I realize that. I was an asshole, a fool. I shouldn’t have been so hard on you. I shouldn’t have used those words against you. I was just so frustrated with the upcoming schedule. And then when Changbin and Minho had expressed their own frustration that your jokes just landed at inopportune times I just…” 

“Snapped.” You supply him with the answer.

“Yes,” he mutters, fingers flexing as they grip your hips. 

“I understand if I can be hard at reading the room sometimes. But that does not excuse you treating me like shit, Christopher. I have worked my ass off to be here beside you during tough times even when I’m in a bad mood or don’t feel like it. When your leadership capabilities reach the extent of their capacity, I silently step in to boost morale where you cannot. That is why I make jokes where I can. I can admit, they might not always be appropriate, but my intent is never to harm, nor cause more chaos. You know this. So, to fix your mouth to even address me that way—”

You pull yourself from his arms as a sob of frustration rips from your chest. He stands immediately to comfort you, but you hold a hand up to stop him. “Do not touch me.”

“Sorry.” He whispers, standing back painfully as he watches you work to soothe yourself. That’s supposed to be his job. Now you’re crying because of him. He hates that he fucked up royally. 

Finally, when you can breathe again, you give him an ultimatum. “Do you love me or not?”

“Yes, I do.” The rebuttal is immediate. It’s exactly what you expect. 

“Do you want this relationship to work?”

“Absolutely.”

“Then you have to help me make it work. This is not a one-person tango, Chan. You have to get in the trenches with me. That means owning up to our mistakes, apologizing sincerely, and working to improve the relationship. I adore you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. But I will not tolerate disrespect. My love is conditional. In order for this to work, we have to communicate effectively. You want to be heard? Then don’t be an asshole. That being said, I am giving you this chance to atone and show me the respect I am owed for carrying you and this relationship. You will not talk to me like that ever again. Understood?”

“Yes ma’am.” He nods with conviction.

“And you will apologize for terrorizing your members and the staff. Do I make myself clear?”

“Crystal.” At this point, he is biting his lip with restrained patience at wanting to physically patch things up with you. He knows he has to respect the boundary you put in place with the distance. But God, how he wants to scoop you up and hide you from the pain.

“Okay, and I will work on respecting the boundaries of your workplace in knowing the time to joke around and the time to be serious. I will also apologize to your members if something I say is out of line.” 

“Sounds good, babe.” He is fighting his patience to hold you, but he only has so much of it.

Deflating from your anger, you stare at his rigid frame as he taps his fingers nervously against his thigh. Sighing with resigned fondness, you beckon to him. “Come here big guy.” 

The reaction is quick, rushing to you with unconcealed neediness. His arms wrap you up in a bear hug as he pushes your face into the crook of his neck. Wrapping your arms around him, he rocks you back and forth. 

“I’m truly so sorry.” He whispers into your hair. “I swear I’ll work on not being a dick.”

“You better.” You mumble into his skin. And you know he will. Because Chan actually listens to you better than most people would think. if you told him to drop to his knees, then he most certainly would. You knew the true nature of your relationship, and the joke was on everyone else.

While he may be the primarily dominant one in the relationship, you definitely wore the pants to put him in his place.

MINHO— “SCAREDY CAT”

It was official. Lee Minho was concerned. And Lee Minho didn’t do concerned. Absolutely not. He didn’t build his cold exterior brick by brick just to have it dismantled in one day. Alas, here he was though, a day later, sitting in his apartment twiddling his thumbs concerned about lack of communication between he and his girlfriend, you. 

See, he truly didn’t think anything of it when he delivered the news to you that he would prefer you stop acting so weird in relation to his cats. He had simply voiced a grievance that he expected you to listen to accordingly and adhere to from then on out. Apparently, however, you didn’t take too kindly to his very constructive criticism which stemmed from, yes, his own embarrassment. Because you had waltzed right out of his establishment without so much as a word the previous day, silence stretching between you for nearly twenty-four hours. Which is why Minho was worried. 

When he had called out to you as you were leaving, you didn’t turn around. When he had called your cell phone, you didn’t turn around. When he texted you, you didn’t turn around. You simply continued on with your commute home and did not stop. But you and Minho do not share locations with one another. So, he has no way of knowing if you actually made it home or not. Once again, you weren't picking up a single call or answering a single text either. Sue him for being nervous.

He was extremely close to putting a missing person's hit out on you. But stupid Chan told him it probably wasn’t necessary and that Minho should just… go to your place and check on you. Like a normal person. Which, okay yes, he made a lot of sense. But Minho was somewhat… afraid to visit you, despite his worries. Because he knew confrontation was inevitable. Deep in the dark recesses of his non-existent (Hyunjin and Seungmin’s words, not his) heart, he realized that perhaps… he might have overreacted a tad at your very usual behavior with his cats. 

Which is why he sat twiddling his thumbs for most of the day as he wracked his brain for what to do. You are his girlfriend, and he loves you very very much (‘Shocker,’ a voice that admittedly did sound like Seungmin whispers in his mind). And he knows, deep down, he has to make this right. The only problem was the how. He wasn’t exactly good at apologizing. All his previous relationships had simply had to deal with it and move on after a slight cold spell. But you? God, you made him feel things no woman has. And he was perpetually walking on eggshells to make sure he never let you experience the cold war he had put other women through. Because you were the one for him. That much he knew. 

Groaning with the desperation of a man ready to fight for his woman, he peels himself off the couch. Laying there would not do him justice. Several minutes of pacing goes by before Dori serves him a distraction. The little furball brushes against his leg with a ‘meow’ that eerily almost sounds like, “Do something” in cat language. Suddenly, Minho gets a bright idea. That’s how he ends up on your doorstep thirty minutes later with his own pair of cat ears. Ringing the doorbell, he bounces on the balls of his feet in anticipation. When you open the door, you do not expect to see the cat lover at your door donning black cat ears. You certainly don’t expect him to bat his lashes at you saying, “Meow meow, it’s me, Soonie. Meow meow. Will Y/N let me in?”

“Minho? What’re you doing here, and with… cat ears?”

Your boyfriend, still very much debatable by the way, continues committing to the bit. “No, meow meow. It’s not Minho. Meow meow. It’s Soonie. Meow meow.” The man is so dedicated to the act that he even tilts his head like the orange cat does. 

Admittedly, a fond snort does escape your lips. The male perks up at that. But you aren’t about to make whatever this is he intended to do easy on him. “Meow meow. Can I come in?” The man asks softly. You lean against the frame of your doorway, crossing your arms with a hint of authority. Minho tracks the movement with the precision of a feline. He nearly gulps at the look on your face.

“Why though?” You question. “What business do you have here?” The diplomatic smile on his face slightly fades as his eye twitches. Oh, that mask was slipping quicker than expected. 

Tentatively, he steps closer to the door. “Do I need a reason for seeing my girlfriend?” His remark definitely pisses you off. The smug bastard had the nerve to come here and disturb your peace, yet couldn’t find the time to apologize? Did he think showing up with some flimsy cat ears would sweep his horrible behavior towards you under the bridge? Feeling petty, you hit him with your own smart remark. 

“Oh, does your girlfriend live at this address? That’s news to me seeing as I don’t have a roommate and I'm currently single. Are you dating a ghost or something?” 

Your phrasing raises an immediate reaction out of Minho as he presses closer to you, bordering on desperate and slightly threatening. “So, that’s how you’re going to play this?” He hisses in frustration.

“There’s no need to play where I've already won.” You smirk when you say it. And that does the trick. Minho’s face shutters at your smug demeanor. Tongue in cheek, he nods his head before making his move. With a yelp, he hauls you over his shoulder before closing the door to your establishment.

“Minho, put me down!” You shout, beating at his backside. He just huffs before casually throwing you onto the couch. “Hey!” But the complaint falls on deaf ears as Minho maneuvers on top of you. Caging you in, his eyes take on a primal look, analyzing every expression that crosses your face.

“You’re being ridiculous.” He mumbles finally.

“I’m being ridiculous?!” You emphasize in disbelief. 

“Yes.” He huffs quietly still hovering over your body.

“I don’t know Minho, I don't think there’s anything ridiculous about me wanting the strange man to leave my house.”

“I’m not strange; and I’m not just any man, I'm your boyfriend.” He mutters darkly. 

You blink rapidly at the audacity of the male species. He had you completely messed up if he thought you were going to let any of his previous behavior fly. “That’s not really up to you anymore, now is it? Especially not after your actions yesterday. You’ve got another thing coming if you thought I was gonna let you slip and slide all over my feelings without a care in the world.”

Your boyfriend, kind of not boyfriend, at least has the decency to look away at that, staring at a spot beside your head as he blinks to process your words. “You’re not breaking up with me.” He utters monotonously.

“You don’t tell a woman scorned what to do.” He groans as his face falls into your neck.

“Jagi, what more do you want me to do? I came here dressed as a stupid cat to apologize and you’re making the situation more difficult because you’re not cooperating with me.”

Your jaw drops at the petty statement slung into the argument. How dare he complain about you being difficult when this whole situation started because he wasn’t good at processing his emotions. Pushing at his chest forcefully, he backs off, giving you a chance to properly sit up. “You have some nerve thinking you are owed anything from me when you haven’t even so much as fixed your mouth in an apology.” The room is silent as your words settle in. “Did you forget the apology at the door? Because I damn sure didn’t hear it when you came in.”

The male fully removes himself from you as he takes your words in. you were right. He didn’t apologize, so worked up on your lack of understanding that he was trying. ‘You have ego issues, Lee Know.’ A voice that now suspiciously sounded like Chan hummed in the back of his mind. Damn, he really knew how to blow a good thing. Sighing angrily, he rips the cat ears off before tossing them on the coffee table. 

Silence encapsulates you before he finally speaks. “Damn it, I ruin everything. Don’t I?”

Oh brother. You nearly roll your eyes at the sob story. That was not going to move you to tears. You’d strengthened your resolve over the course of twenty-four hours. This was not going to make you break. A foot was being put down. “Minho, be serious.” 

He scrunches his brows in frustration as he looks at you. “I am—”

“No,” you interject, holding a hand up to signal him to stop. “Just listen. I don’t think you ruin everything you touch like you so broodingly suggested just now. But I think you ruin yourself. And I think you’re using this sob story as a cop out instead of acknowledging what’s really going on here. You are not good at allowing your emotions the space to be processed. And because your emotions are so backed up, you take it out on the nearest person. Which yesterday, just so happened to be me. Do you understand my perspective?” 

Your boyfriend swallows thickly as he dissects your words. “I’m sorry.” He finally says. “I’m sorry that I’ve given you a hard time. I… do have a hard time processing my emotions like you say.” His voice is tight with the feelings clogged up in his chest. He felt shame but also disgust at how he had treated you. All because of a few teasing remarks from Seungmin and his other band members. 

You nod your head in acknowledgement. “Yeah, and that lack of emotional awareness sometimes makes you mean. Like those hurtful things you said to me yesterday, for example. The way you criticized me, calling me weird and saying I wasn’t normal… that truly stung. Because the message you were sending is that your love is conditional if it means saving face. You chose to defend yourself against everyone, including me, instead of defending the team that is our relationship. That was a slap in the face.” Tears well up in the back of your eyes, but they do not fall. You spent your time crying last night. You were donning the tough cookie version of yourself today. 

“I didn’t think about it from that point of view. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for my words to come out harshly. I was just overwhelmed and reacted poorly.”

“It doesn’t matter what the intent was because regardless, the words themselves were rude. ‘Weird.’ ‘I just want you to be normal.’ Come on, Minho. The context in which the words were used were with intention. And they hit their target.” 

Minho picks at the flesh of his lips with his teeth before resigning himself to your assessment. “You’re right. I said what I said because I was feeling embarrassment and shame from what Seungmin did. And the fact that he broadcasted it to the members didn’t help the case. So, when I saw you with the cat ears and meowing back at them, something in me just snapped. And I let a cruel, vicious monster out. I truly apologize, Jagi. But you know this is not my character. I may have been reactive with others, but never with you. This was an isolated one-time incident. It will never happen again.”

Honestly, you doubt that to be true. While being in a relationship with Minho these past eight months, you had observed many things about him. While he never exploded on you like that until yesterday, his emotions still had frayed at the edges over time. Until it got to the point of yesterday. He was very secretive even to himself when it came to his emotions, brushing them under the rug. His deep affection and intense comfortability with you fired shots into the synapsis of his brain. Which then opened up a Pandora’s box of unrestrained emotions. Since then, they had been slowly leaking out, attaching themselves to whoever they could find. That’s why you were doubtful that this was a one-time event. Because your boyfriend hadn’t done any work to unpack and analyze the root cause of his issue. You tell him as much.

“I’m sure you believe that. But I don't think that’s true.”

“Jagi?” He questions dejectedly at your statement.

“You need to see someone professionally to work through whatever this is.” You were serious about the topic too. That’s what gets him up in arms again as he turns to fully face you with irritation set upon his face. 

“Y/N, do you really think some quack—”

You interrupt him before he can go off on that tangent. “Do you think it was appropriate to talk to me the way you did?”

He pauses in confusion, wondering where you’re going with this since he already apologized and acknowledged the mistake. “No, Kitten—”

“Exactly. That’s something we can agree on. But I don't want any parts of you that haven’t undergone the work to heal. I want all of you. But not if it means I only get half of a whole. I can’t be with you if you cannot learn to process your emotions. Because it is not a matter of if, it is a matter of when you will lash out at me again over something trivial. And you may not mean it, but it will still happen regardless. That’s why you need to see a professional about this.”

Minho plays with the faux fur of the kitten ears to distract himself from the raw pain gurgling in his throat. He was feeling... sad? Depressed? Melancholic? All of the above, because he could see where this was going.

“Are you… breaking up with me?”

“I’m giving you space to heal.”

Healing. Minho had heard that word from Jisung once when the younger had asked for his advice on how to let old wounds heal. “Just shove ‘em in a closet and lock ‘em away. Out of sight, out of mind. Nobody has time to bury skeletons anyway.” That had been his response. He regrets knowing that this is what he evolved into.

“What does that look like?” He asks tentatively. 

“It looks like setting boundaries, admitting mistakes, giving yourself grace, and taking it one day at a time.”

One day at a time. He isn’t sure how long that would be. But this was a condition you had set in place for him to win back your favor. It was sort of scary, facing this hurdle alone. But he had to get over this obstacle if he ever wanted to be with you again. Because missing out on forever with you was not an option for him or his cats. They’d no sooner disown him if that were to occur. 

Mulling it over in his head, Minho decides to be brave. “Okay. Know any good professionals?”

CHANGBIN— “FACE THE FACT”

Avoidance had become second nature to you in the weeks to follow your subsequent dismissal of Changbin. It wasn’t for lack of Changbin’s trying, by the way. While he did adhere to Chan’s command to give you time (the first few days), that had become increasingly harder for him the more time went on. So, he resorted to texts. He wasn’t sure you were reading them at first. Honestly, he was just glad you didn’t block him. Knowing good and well that he deserved it.

What keyed him in to the fact that you had seen the messages was indication from your read receipts. You hadn’t had them on before, not really interested in the little feature in your phone settings. But somewhere in the space of Changbin missing you, you had begun utilizing them. It was a bit relieving to him. Because in his eyes, this was a sign you were giving him some leeway back into your life. So, he played into it. He started sending you more messages and thoughtful pictures.

Hi bunny, did you sleep well? Are you eating good?

Had a rough day today, bun. But thinking of your smiling face got me through it

Read any good books lately? Saw an interesting one I think you would like [insert picture]

Hope you had a good day, bunny. Sleep tight

It was text after text. Picture after picture. With Changbin thinking of you, showing how intentional he was with his thoughts and actions. He wanted you to see, wanted you to know that he was trying and he would wait patiently. You read every single message too, never reaching back out or dignifying him with a response. And it was okay, because Changbin would accept whatever you were willing to give. Until it wasn’t enough. 

By the middle of the second week, Changbin was becoming increasingly more stressed. He was literally going stir crazy at the thought of not seeing you. He missed your face, your presence, your warm hugs, your voice. So, he escalated things. What started as texts quickly evolved into phone calls, which went straight to automated voice messages. Which led to the man leaving voicemails. A copious amount. 

“Bun, pick up the phone… please. I’m begging you. I’ll die if I don't see you soon. I know you’re upset. Just… let me make it up to you. Please.”

“Hi, I saw a cute little ladybug today, and it reminded me of you. Like when you told me that neat fact about ladybugs being named after Virgin Mary in some European cultures. Or how their lifecycle lasts for only one year… (he laughs). Yeah, bun. I miss you and your little facts. Let me come home soon, okay?”

“Bunny (he sounds a bit frustrated) It’s been weeks, my love. Weeks since you’ve shut me out. Don’t you think that’s unfair? Give me a chance to talk this out. I miss you, love you, want to hug and kiss you. I’m miserable here. I miss calling your space our home. Let me come back.”

“(Changbin is audibly crying in the receiver here) Y/N… I (sniffles) miss you so much. Not a day goes by where I don’t. I feel myself falling apart when you’re not here. I’m a mess. (Starts slurring his words) Ch— chan hyun' sent me home saying I look like a— (hiccups) a train wreck. I thought I looked fine. (sniffles again) You always say I look f— fine. I mmmmmmmiiiiiissssss youuuuuuuu. Wait for meeeeee. I’m coming to seee youuuuuu (line cuts abruptly).”

In hindsight, you should’ve heeded his words. Because when Seo Changbin sets his sights upon something, he absolutely acts on his impulses for it. That was how you both ended up dating after all. Listening to his last voice message, you really didn't have enough time to do anything other than text Chan, ‘Come get your member, he’s drunk’ as soon as a heavy thudded knock sounded off at your door. It was sluggish and irregular, signaling the man’s inebriated state. 

“Ba— by… bun— ny. Let me in…. We c’n talk ‘bout ‘dis…” He slurs.  

You don’t answer. Can’t. Afraid to see his face after so long. That was another thing about yourself you had discovered in your time of solitude. You were a coward, especially when it came to facing anyone after the Great Tragedy (that’s what you dub this traumatizing event). It had messed with your mind and your psyche knowing you had surrounded yourself with people who more than likely snickered behind your back like measly entertainment whenever a random fact crossed your mind. As if you were something to be ridiculed. It had shaken you deeply to your core that you had withdrawn within yourself at the place you spent your time the most. Work. 

Whenever you interacted with anyone now, you would do so shyly. Quietly, afraid to take up too much space. You didn’t want your mind to supply you with random facts to blurt out all day. So, you bit your tongue and kept your head down. Because everything made you more anxious. Policing yourself was hard, and your body often shook with exhaustion at the end of the day from practicing long hours of restraint. Your sister was disappointed, not at you, but everyone else. Because according to her, “ADHD is normal. It’s a common disorder millions of people have, whether they realize it or not. It just manifests differently for everyone else. I hate that you’re beating yourself up about your own biological neurology.” 

You told her that it was okay. But it wasn’t. Lately, you were just unsure of everything. You often find yourself running through a mental web of questions. Were you too fidgety during meetings, biting your lips and nails, or bouncing your knee? Was your attention dwindling too much due to recent events? Were you productive enough? Were you still too chatty, impulsively interjecting in conversations you were never invited into? Those thoughts plagued your mind in areas where they didn’t used to. Now, you were feeling unwelcome even in your own skin. 

The banging doesn’t stop, but it does slow up a bit, Changbin starting to stagger at your door. “I-if you d’nt ‘et me in, i’ll break m’ shoulder beatin’ it d— down. Then y’ll ‘ave to take care o’ m— me.” 

You walk up to the entryway, resting your hand upon the door. You can almost feel the weight of his presence underneath it. A solitary muffled thud follows, before the sound of a sliding body reaches your ears. His knees must’ve given out now that he was laying up against your door. “Last ch’nce~” He sing songs drunkenly before a set of footsteps and a tired voice resonates through the door. 

“Bin, mate.” Chan finally arrived. “When I said go home, this is not what I meant. Camping outside of her door like this isn’t going to make it better. This is harassment. And also loitering. The police absolutely can fine you for this if she or any of her neighbors decide to call.”

“Bu’ ‘yung, I m— miss her. Why she no love me? She n— no want to to ‘ee ma face?” He whines dejectedly. 

Admittedly, it breaks your heart to hear such devastation within him. But you were doing what your sister recommended and learning to wean yourself off of dependency on a man. She felt like maybe losing some of your identity had to do with the fact that you relied on him to make you too comfortable within yourself, and now you should learn to support yourself without that validation. On days where you were strong enough for introspection, you found she was right. You really did need to understand yourself outside of him. 

“Hyung,” you pick up another voice in the corridor of your residence. This time Chan brought Hyunjin. “This isn’t helping.” He sighs. “You’re spiraling. And I’m sure it’s not doing anything for Y/N. You came here drunk like a crazy person. She must be terrified.” 

That statement seems to work to some degree, sinking deeper into Changbin’s head. “NO, I don’t wan’ buh— n to be scare’ o’ m— me!” He stumbles over his words in a drunk dramatic stupor. 

Chris’s voice cuts back in. “Then get your ass up and stop causing a scene. Hyunjin, help me grab him.” His voice is tight as they both heave the muscular man up onto his feet. 

You watch through your peephole at the commotion. Changbin looks worse for wear, face blotchy from crying and slightly swollen from intoxication. Hyunjin wears a grim expression on his face. Chan’s back is facing the door. But you can tell he is stressed by the tension in his shoulders and the way he runs his hand through his hair. 

“Help him to the elevator.” Is all he says before Hyunjin hauls the staggering, blubbering man in said direction. It is silent momentarily, Chan watching them go before turning to face your door. You nearly startle as he stares at it, almost as if he is staring at you. 

“Y/N, if you can hear me, I sincerely apologize on behalf of Changbin, the members… and our girlfriends. Since everything has gone down Changbin has been a wreck. He’s snapped at various people and even got into a physical altercation with Minho a few days prior. I understand that our actions have caused a significant impact on you. I am so sorry for our hand in that. I also understand that you mean no harm with your facts or interjections. Honestly, I actually enjoy them. It takes my mind off the stress of work sometimes. And I know for a fact Changbin agrees. He’d often come to the studio giggling about something new you told him either that day or the day prior. He loves you, and he misses you severely. I’m not saying any of this as an excuse. It’s just long overdue and I wanted to offer you perspective. I know that you’ve broken up with Changbin. While it is not my place, all I ask is that you give him that closure in person. When you’re ready, of course. I hope you’re healthy and doing well. Please continue to take care of yourself.” After his speech, he stands there with a tired smile before turning to shuffle off down the hallway.

Once he’s out of your line of sight, you release the sob you had been biting back and slide to the floor in tears. All you had wanted was to be appreciated, to have an apology. And the only person who offered you a sincere one was Chan. Albeit feeling guilt from the scene Changbin had caused. You do take note of what he said though and realize that it’s better to rip the bandaid off in one fell swoop than to prolong it. So, you do the hard thing and send Changbin a text of confirmation. 

Tomorrow. 2 PM. 

Changbin arrives promptly the next day. He looks melancholic, hoodie drawn over his head, paired with basketball shorts and slides. His hair is ruffled underneath the hood. Like he’d run his hand through it so many times in contemplation. Must’ve been a rough night recovering. You open the door a fraction for him to slip through. He stands in the center of your living room, hands in pockets as you careen to a stop a few feet away. You wring your hands nervously in anticipation for this conversation. He tracks the move. It clenches his heart. Impulsively, he moves towards you to ease the tension. 

“Bunny—”

“Please don’t touch me.” You mutter gently, yet so unsure. Like you either have reservations about him or yourself. And of course you do. Why wouldn’t you after the recent trainwreck dating him  had put you through. 

“Of course.” Changbin concedes to the demand. 

Why wouldn’t he? He would always cater to you, no matter the weight of the demand. And this one is pretty hefty. It is a tall fucking order. Because Changbin is so so so fucking devastated to know that you don’t trust him anymore, that you’ve built up walls high enough to keep him out too. And he knows he has no one else to blame but himself. Because he did that to you. He allowed himself, his members and their girlfriends to reduce you to this. And he does not know how to fix it, to make it better until you are whole again. You are sad, and so is he. Because when you are not happy, he is in pain. He’s got to sit with himself for being the cause of it. 

Inhaling an ounce of bravery, you finally meet his stare. He’s got this puppy dog pout on his lips as he takes you in. Yeah, you probably looked a mess too. “I brought you here today to tell you something. And I need you to listen.” Changbin nods his head eagerly, attentive to whatever it is you’re going to say. And praying that whatever it is isn’t going to make or break the relationship. 

“I’ve done some thinking… after everything. I’ve decided that I didn’t like the way you spoke to me when you brought attention to the fact that some of the other’s girlfriends were uncomfortable with my facts. You called my habits weird and made me feel like a stranger in my own body. It made me very insecure, especially with you knowing that I have ADHD. It felt dismissive and cruel because you know it’s just how I get when I'm nervous. I always strive to make a good impression when meeting your members or their girlfriends, and sometimes it’s challenging because I’m easily intimidated. But you exacerbated the situation when you didn’t even lift a finger to defend me in private or in public. It was humiliating sitting at a table being ridiculed by your peers over my quirks. And you didn’t so much as bat an eye when they were attacking me. You just… sat there eating your food like I didn’t matter. That was so messed up of you.” The last part is whispered, as the tears that have built up during your speech drip from your lash line. Across from you, Changbin cries too. Body shaking silently at your distress. 

You continue. “I was in distress and impulsively decided that I wanted to hurt you too. So, I texted asking to break up. Because I realized I didn't feel safe anymore. I felt like there was something wrong with me.” Your body heaves as you force back a sob over this realization you had weeks ago. “Because if my own boyfriend wouldn’t defend me, then who on earth would? I became so anxious after that. I couldn’t even hold conversations at work because I was afraid they’d point their fingers behind my back and talk shit too when I’m not looking. And my sister helped me realize that all this paranoia stemmed from my belief in you and your inability to defend me. Except then she helped me realize that I relied too much on you entirely for validation. Then I decided that breakup text shouldn’t be just to hurt you like you did me, but… should be closure for you.”

He sucks in a breath at the meaning of your words. “Y/N—”

You cut him off. “Breaking up in person after weeks of ghosting seemed like the better option.” 

“Please don’t do this.” He is full blown sobbing by now. “Please don’t let my idiocy ruin the best thing we have. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me. And I’m so fucking sorry and ashamed to know I’ve reduced you to this. I’m supposed to be your protector, and I ended up being the one you needed protecting from. Please.” Then he drops to his knees at your feet, holding onto the leg of your sweatpants. 

“Get up,” you urge, wiping the wetness from your cheek. “You’re going to make yourself sick like this.”

“I deserve it.” He mutters through tears, but following your command. “I hurt you, and I’m so sorry. You shouldn’t feel weird because of who you are. I love your facts and the way you focus thoroughly on what you want to say. It’s endearing, it’s the thing I love most about you. I don’t know why I called your habits weird. I was an asshole. Words can’t even describe.”

You interject, playing with the hem of your t-shirt. “It’s because you were embarrassed.”

“Nothing about you is embarrassing,” he rebuts immediately.

“That’s not what your members or their girlfriends think.” You mumble. 

He is silent for a second before a growl rips through him.”Fuck ‘em. What do they know anyway?” 

A sound of astonishment leaves your lips before bringing up what Chan told you yesterday. “I heard you got into an altercation with Minho.”

He huffs through his nostril at the name. “Yeah, the jerk mumbled under his breath about me getting over myself and I lost it. So, I swung on him.”

“That’s not nice, Changbin.”

He gazes at you softly yet sadly. “I’m not the same without you.”

Briefly, your eyes close with frustration and lingering sadness. “You’re going to have to learn how to be. There was a time before me, and there will be a time after that. Just remember who you were before I came along.”

“I don’t want to.” Is his response. “I don’t know who I am without you.”

“And I don’t know who I am with you.” The words you had been wanting to say finally flow past your lips. There is a pregnant pause, Changbin’s expression pained.

“Bunny, what does that mean?” He asks in desperation.

“I just think that maybe I need to find myself. To find ways to complete what's missing to understand why I'm wired differently than everyone else.” You swallow painfully. “And you made me realize that it was something I needed to do.”

“You don’t need to do anything, Y/N. You’re already perfect.”

“I want to grow up, Changbin. I want to discover myself and be comfortable with who I am. I thought I was before. But after everything, I realized I wasn’t. I want to learn what it’s like to rely on the validation I can give myself. So, I think it’s best that we part ways.”

Changbin looks away as a fresh wave of tears trail down his face. He supposes he understands it, although he hates this is the result of his own actions. But he realizes he can’t keep you caged the way you are insinuating. So, he nods his head. “I love you. You know that right?”

“Yeah,” you murmur. “I do.”

“No.” Then he is in front of you, gently grabbing your face and presses his lips to yours in a desperate kiss. After a few minutes, he pulls back before resting his forehead against yours. “I fucking love you. Forever. That won’t change.” 

Your heart constricts at the confession. You love him just as much as he loves you. But you have a journey to complete. And that requires evolving without him. Covering his hand with yours, you nod softly. “I know.” You don’t say it back. He knows you can’t, because if you do, then this breakup is real. And you don’t quite like finales, rewinding to the beginning and middle, always refusing to reach the end. Changbin thinks that’s what you’re trying to do now, rewind to find a new beginning with him. And he has to let you, because it is routine for you by now. 

So, he steps back and hands you the metaphoric remote that controls your relationship. “Goodbye, Y/N.”

“It’s not goodbye. Just see you later.” You whisper softly, staring up at him through watery eyes. Signaling that this parting of ways breaks you as much as it breaks him. He nods his head at you sweetly, wet chuckle on his lips. 

“Of course… see you later bunny.” Then he opens the door and walks away. You stand in the doorframe and watch as the back of his figure grows smaller, just like his presence in your life. Until you get back to the beginning. 

HYUNJIN—  “DUH, IT’S OBVIOUS”

Contrary to popular belief of what people think he would have done, Hwang Hyunjin did not chase after you that night. Instead, staying the rest of the event, exchanging pleasantries to keep up appearances. Because he was a celebrity after all and his job was far more important than catering to you. (Cue insufferable whiny voice here.) 

Most people didn’t even know about your existence since Hyunjin hadn’t gone public with you. Hence your reaction that night. Which is why this is a heavy load to internalize all on your own. And it is such a devastating blow to realize that your boyfriend— well, ex now, is actually a jackass in disguise, and your time together living in oblivious bliss was probably curated by design as long as you stayed tucked away inside the dollhouse Hyunjin built for you. 

It was miserable, exhausting to spiral all by yourself. And it made you bitter to know you held no significance in Hyunjin’s life. In your isolation, you toughen up and wallow in self pity for the night before blocking him on all platforms. You wanted nothing to do with the man anymore. Any proximity to him would set you off. His members also get blocked, just in case. But you do keep Chan and Changbin on speed dial for an emergency you’re sure won’t ever happen. At least… that was your logic at the time…

So yeah, that ship was sooooo far sailed, and you never wanted to see its mast on your horizon again. Your elaborate scheme works for the most part. While Hyunjin does know where you live, not once has he even made an appearance at your place. Either getting the hint when you blocked him, or simply not caring enough. Both actions speak volumes, because it truly means you were disposable in his life without so much as an effort being made to fight for you. It sucks, but you had promised to free yourself of your addiction for him. So, you continue to live your life. 

However, you come to realize much later that maybe your plan wasn’t entirely foolproof. Because standing directly beside you in the art supply store is Hyunjin. Which is a coincidence, right? You had made a quick stop there on an errand to pick up some specific ballpoint pens as a gift for a colleague’s birthday. That’s when you’d run into him the first time. While mulling over the red, blue, or black selection, a masculine voice interjects. 

“Black would be the better option. Blue indicates you’re trying too hard. And red expresses passion, which is too intimate as a gift for an acquaintance.”

You startle at the intrusion but also the person behind the voice. “Hyunjin? What’re you doing here?” You question, hand over your chest where your heart thrums with adrenaline from the scare.  He leans against the shelving, forearm supporting his weight as he towers over your form. His other hand is tucked in the pocket of his jeans. He looks too calm and collected, like he had been standing there for a while. 

“I needed to get more supplies.” He shrugs.

“You’ve never been to this supply store before.” You point out. That was true. You purposely chose a store that was out of the way from his general vicinity and not part of his usual routines. This was to decrease any chance encounters with him or his members. So much for that though. 

“I wanted to try something new.” He smiles smugly. You get the sense something unspoken lingers there.

Squinting your eyes, you remember what he said earlier. “How did you know this was a gift for a coworker?” 

He chuckles low. “Lucky guess.” Somehow, you doubt that. 

“Riiiiight.” You mutter under your breath before stepping around him. You had chosen the black ballpoint pens. Not per his suggestion or anything. It’s just… he was lowkey right with his analysis.

With the conversation cut short, you’d planned to skedaddle out of there quickly to get away from his presence. Evidently, Hyunjin doesn’t agree with that action. Because he follows right behind you, keeping the conversation going.

“You never returned my calls or texts.” He drawls lazily. But deep down there’s the sense he’s fishing for something. 

“I blocked you.” You reply as your item is being rung up at the cash register.

He hums knowingly. “It’s over? Just like that?”

You had to fight the urge to snatch the plastic bag from the shop keeper and conk Hyunjin upside the head with it. Just who did he think he was to expect a different outcome? He didn’t even care to apologize or put in effort to even come find you. How delusional can he get? Instead, you simply gather your items from the shopkeeper politely before turning to Hyunjin with a vexed expression.

“Just like that. I wasn’t a priority. You didn’t care. Simple.” Then you’re making your way out of the store hoping to never see him again. It doesn’t even strike you until after you left that he didn’t pick up a single item, contrary to his earlier statement. 

And what you don’t know is that Hyunjin is far from finished. Tongue in cheek, he smirks before exiting after you. That was several days ago. You hadn’t seen or spoken to the man since. Your life was back on track, leaving the past with Hyunjin behind. But luck just so happened to not be on your side when you see him at your colleague’s birthday dinner. 

You’d gone to a karaoke bar for the celebration. Your coworkers had rented out a larger room with food and drinks to celebrate the birthday guy. The excitement from the party was a thrill. So much so that you had begun sweating. Needing to step out, you excused yourself before exiting the room. You had not expected to run into your ex when you stepped outside to fan your face. 

“Fancy seeing you here.” You nearly jump out of your skin at his presence. 

“Jesus, Hyunjin. What the hell?” He leans against the brick wall in a leather suit jacket with a slightly unbuttoned collar shirt. Denim pants hugged his tight frame as he gazed at you with hooded eyes. Smoke permeated the air from the cigarette at his lips. 

“You look nice,” he mumbles, eyes raking over your frame. 

You hug your arms to your chest warily. “What the fuck are you doing here?” It was so weird to see him once again in the span of several days. Especially in such a random environment. What reason could he possibly have to be at the same bar as the one your coworker’s celebration was being held at? It was… odd, to say the least. 

He huffs with amusement as he takes another drag from his cigarette. “I was in the area and thought I’d stop by for some karaoke since I was in the mood.” 

Your brows furrowed at the response. It seemed plausible, but also not. “You stopped by this specific bar because you were in the mood for karaoke?” You repeat back at him. 

A languid smirk slides across his face. “I’m sensing an accusation here.”

“It just seems convenient. You don’t find that strange?”

He turns fully towards you now, leaning one shoulder against the side of the building so he can truly take you in. You shiver at the intensity of his gaze. Somehow, you feel naked, standing in front of him. He takes a final drag of his cigarette, blowing the smoke in your face before putting it out. You swat at the fumes in annoyance. This was not the Hyunjin you dated. In fact, it’s almost like the mask slipped off at that brand event and never quite found itself properly fixed since.

“No, it’s just a coincidence. What I do find strange though, is my girlfriend neglecting my texts and calls. Most people would call that rude.” He drones monotonously.

You bristle with unconcealed rage at his accusation. How dare he refer to your breakup as neglect. And how dare he force the blame on you like he wasn’t the one who orchestrated it. 

“Excuse you?” You exclaim in surprise.

“Muse,” he calls out, tilting his head to the side knowingly. “You’ve been throwing this temper tantrum for a week and a half and it’s making my fragile heart insecure. What would people say if they found out my girlfriend was like this?” 

Wow, what a manipulative son of a bitch. You actually start to wonder if his whole Romeo-Prince Charming act was simply that. A facade. Had he been love bombing you all along with you never picking up on the signs until that Cartier event, unmasking him for who he really is?

“What. The hell. Is wrong with you? Are you incapable of taking a hint? I broke up with you Hyunjin! We are over. Finished.”

A dark look shutters across his face. He licks his bottom lip contemplatingly before responding back to you. “According to who? Break ups should be a mutual decision, right?”

You nearly pull your hair in frustration at his manipulative words. What on earth was he talking about? “No, Hyunjin. If one person decides the relationship is over, then it is!”

He tilts his head again as though humored by the conversation. “Why though? All of this just because I scolded you at a brand event? Are you that insecure in yourself to not listen to constructive criticism?”

Ohhhh, he was itching for a fight. You would not give it to him, instead, choosing to dish out hard facts. “What you did was not constructive criticism. You allowed another woman to fawn all over you in front of me and then made a scene when dragging me away. You allowed me to be treated like a laughingstock because you couldn’t man up and claim me as your girlfriend in public. Which begs the question of why you even brought me to the event in the first place. Furthermore, you told me I was weird and embarrassing for wanting to stake my claim over my boyfriend. Then you have the nerve to whine and complain about being blocked when you never so much as lifted a finger to apologize. And I’m supposed to feel bad for making the personal decision to break up with you? Get over yourself.” You are practically huffing fire out of your nose at the anger he evoked within you. 

Evidently, your speech was hilarious to him. Because next thing you know, he’s doubled over laughing at you. “Muse,” he says, wiping fake tears from his cheek. “You’re so cute when you're angry.”

Your jaw drops at the blatant disregard for your feelings. Hyunjin was a disrespectful little git. How had he gotten away with hiding this version of himself for so long? “Go to hell.” You grit between your teeth, turning to stomp your way back into the establishment. The nerve of this guy. 

“Wait!” He calls out to you with slight panic. You stop against your will and turn your gaze back to him. What you see infuriates you more. Hyunjin’s chest still heaves with humor, despite stopping you in your tracks. He puts on his best puppy eyes as he regards you. “I’m sorry.” Silence encompasses you before he busts out laughing again. Horrified at the act he just put on, you rush back to the party, hoping to wash the bad taste in your mouth out with liquor.

Which is why things start to become unsettling even more after that when you encounter Hyunjin for the umpteenth time. It did not stop after the first few times. No, by now, you’d stumbled upon each other five times now. Well… you stumbled, but he… well, you weren’t too sure. But it was starting to feel like he was stalking you. And it didn’t help that random ghost accounts kept viewing your stories on Instagram. When you blocked the pages, they just kept popping up until you went private. And even then, new accounts with no face attached to them kept requesting to follow you. It was scary and started to make you feel insane. 

So, to get answers, you do a dumb thing. You reach out to Changbin. Obviously reaching out to him over Chan made more sense. The former lived with Hyunjin and saw him every day. He’d have more insight on your ex’s behavioral patterns than Chan, despite being a leader with great observational skills. The conversation between you and Changbin was… interesting to say the least. Supposedly, Hyunjin had dropped the ball on updating anyone on his personal life lately.

Changbin.

Oh. Y/N? Long time no see! How’s everything been?

His response was rather jovial for someone who was texting the woman that had blocked and broken up with his close friend. 

Everything is fine. How are you?

You hated to sound so professional, but you had more matters to be concerned with than pleasantries. 

I’m doing great!!! 👍🏻😁Glad you’re okay too. I’m surprised to hear from you. The guys and I haven’t seen you around lately. We thought something was wrong. But Hyunjin said you were extremely busy with a project at work lately. Hope that’s going well!

Wait. What the hell? Hyunjin hadn’t told them the two of you were broken up? Putting that aside for later, you steamroll into asking him your question. 

Work is fine. Actually, I texted you for another reason.

Oh…? What’s up?

Has Hyunjin been acting different lately?

It takes Changbin a moment to respond, the ellipses at the bottom of your screen coming and going before a message comes through. 

Uhhh not that I’m aware of? Is he acting odd to you?

Hm. Seo Changbin really had no idea Hyunjin was borderline turning into Joe from You? 

Yes actually. Changbin, Hyunjin and I broke up weeks ago after that Cartier brand event. I’m not sure why he failed to mention it. But I’d appreciate it if you could tell him to back off. I’m starting to see him everywhere, and it’s creeping me out a bit. 

Changbin doesn’t respond for another fifteen minutes, probably trying to digest what you’ve just shared with him. The ping of your phone notifies you when his message comes in. 

Copy. 

I had no idea at all. He never said. But I did think it was weird you stopped coming around. It was too abrupt. 

I spoke to Chan Hyung. You won’t have to worry about it again. Take care, Y/N.

That was supposed to be it. They were supposed to get Hyunjin in line so that he never bothered you again. However, you severely underestimated a man like him.

Coming home after a long, tiring day, you turn on the entryway lights in your house while shirking off your heels at the door. Walking further into your home, you turn on one of the living room lamps and scream at the figure resting in your upholstered chair. Shrouded in darkness sits Hyunjin. He stares at you with an intense but bored gaze. Almost as if detached from the real world. 

“Hyunjin, what the fuck! Why are you in my house?”

He tilts his head interestedly, tracking every single movement with his gaze. It was almost predatory. “Door was open.” He rebuts. 

“No it was not!” You know damn well he was lying. He knows it too.

He shrugs his shoulder. “Eh, semantics.”

At this point, you are increasingly becoming scared of his presence in your place of residence. “Hyunjin,” you almost start to cry at the level of insanity this has undergone. “How did you get in my house?” 

He smiles eerily before holding up an object. Dangling on the tip of his finger is a key. Your key. The spare one anyway. How in the world did he get his hands on that? Especially since the actual spare you were accustomed to sat in a decorative bowl by your front door.

“You left this lying around awhile back. So, I made a copy of it just in case. Turns out I made the right move. You really thought you could ice me out.” He grumbles. You try not to freak out at the prospect of knowing your ex had made a spare of your spare and had it the whole time. Without your consent or knowledge. 

“Hyunjin,” you tread carefully. “That’s illegal.” 

His response sends chills up your spine. “I’d do anything illegal if it was for you.” That does not help his case at all. If anything, it instills more fear in you. 

“Hyunjin, you should give that to me and leave.” You try to remain passive, hoping it’ll keep him from becoming reactive. You were afraid to see what that would look like.

He pouts in that fake manner you’ve become accustomed to. “But why? I want to talk to my girlfriend.”

You take a slow, methodical breath to keep him from seeing how terrified you are. You had to get him out of here ASAP. “Hyunjin, I told you already. We’re broken up. You need to leave. This is trespassing on top of breaking and entering.”

He disregards your warning instead, focusing on the question on his mind. “Muse, why did you run and snitch to Changbin and Chan Hyung?” Oh. Your heart nearly stops at the look of malice on his face. He was pissed to know you had done that. 

Finally letting the situation get underneath your skin, you tell him the truth. “Because you’re scaring me.” You whisper in the silent room. Somehow, the tension amplifies from that statement. You don’t know how, but you can feel it when Hyunjin shifts to predator mode.

“What’s there to be scared of baby?” His head does that weird tilt again like he’s analyzing something about you. In your head, you calculate the distance between you and the nearest knife. Unfortunately, it is in the kitchen. You’d have to distract him while shuffling to it. 

“This isn’t normal. None of this is okay.” You slowly meander to the entrance of your kitchen. A ghost of a smile crosses his lips as he continues to watch your nervous dance. 

“You abandoned me. What’s okay about that?”

You explode with anger at his audacity. “You abandoned me first! You did not care about my feelings or my well being that day. Why should I care about yours?!”

The tall male slowly rises from the spot he had claimed in your living room. He treks towards you in a calculated manner as you mirror him, continuing to create distance between you both. It is a dangerous tango that you are certain puts your life on the line. 

“I said I was sorry.”

“You didn't mean it!” You rebuke. “And it’s too little too late.”

He stops in his place, mulling over what you said before reaching his destination. “What does that mean?”

“Isn’t it obvious, Hwang Hyunjin? I’m so over you.” You mutter bitterly.

He doesn’t appear to like that statement, eyes shifting with something dangerous. A sinister smile tugs at the corner of his lips. “Isn’t it obvious that you’re stuck with me for life?” It doesn’t register quick enough before he is upon you.

“Hyunjin, what—”

You turn to flee into your kitchen for a weapon of defense, but you don’t make it far compared to his long legs. “We’re in this together for the long haul.” He croons ominously. Horror thrums through your veins at the wild nature of the statement before pain shoots across your temple and everything goes black. 

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[cavernned]

HELLO HYUNJINS ENDING?