Warnings: kinda ooc Idia, Idia becomes possessive in the end, I'm sorry Trey stans
“Such pretty blue flowers, just like her..” Idia picks up a beautiful blue flower by the side of the road, smiling at it before continuing on with his journey. He follows the gravel path toward a small house in the middle of the field.
Reaching the wooden door of the house, he knocks three times on the door. “(y/n) dear? Are you home,” he calls out from behind the door. “Give me a second!” a voice answered from inside, scurrying around the house and cleaning up clothes and trash left around the house. She ran to the door looking back at her house before opening the door for the man.
“Hi, Idia!” Looking up to face the man with a smile on her face. Idia smiled at her form, noticing the light blue sundress he gifted her. “Y-you look pretty in that dress.” a harmless compliment yet both of them started to have red tints on their cheeks, and Idia’s once blue hair turned to a slight pink hue. “What brings you here today Idia?” She shyly asked him before things could go worse.
“I was wondering if you’d like to visit the underworld today… My brother Ortho misses you.” Idia grinned at her showing his sharp razor-like teeth. (y/n chuckled at him and nodded.
“Your smile is so cute Idia you should do it more” Idia.exe stopped working.
*. * ·*. * ·*. * ·*. * ·*. * ·*. * ·*. * ·
Her eyes opened followed by the smell of fresh flowers. Looking around her surrounding she lies on a patch of flowers, she noticed a long blue hair next to him and smiles. “Idia! I didn’t know you had a greenhouse here!” (y/n) giggles excitedly and observed her surroundings more. Lush green vines creep up the once concrete walls, flowerbeds of flowers in different varieties, glass partitions for the different seasonal plants and a waterfall in the middle with koi's in the pond. “Idia since when was this here?” (y/n) looked toward the pale-skinned boy and saw his nervous face. “Oh dear, you weren’t supposed to see this yet, I told Ortho to lock up this area first till it’s done why did we land here it wasn’t supposed to be open till next week-” Idia panicked as he ranted out the words faster than a lightning bolt from Zeus.
“No no Idia it’s fine really don’t worry I like it.” She pushed herself off the flowerbed and walked toward Idia, grabbing ahold of his shoulder to calm him down. “Really?” he looked up from the floor to face her. “Yes, Idia it’s beautiful. Now tell me love where are we.” (y/n) asked, a smile on her face as she stares at him. “B-basement of the castle..” He answered slowly, close to almost crying.
“Let’s go upstairs, We’ll ask Ortho about this later okay?” Idia nodded and pulled her towards the elevator. The elevator pinged and opened to the main floor, A young robot with blue flaming hair greeted them. “Brother! There are new residents from above. Would you like to greet them?” Ortho noticed the girl next to him and smiled widely. “(y/n) ! You finally visited! Did you see the greenhouse-” But Ortho was interrupted by the older brother. “Speaking of the greenhouse I told you to lock it till next week, why did we land there?” He scolded his brother but Ortho only grinned at them before running away. Idia sighed at his brother before pulling (y/n) with him to his throne.
Large tall dark doors open as lost souls make their way toward the throne. Idia sat the girl on the throne before standing up and facing the souls in front of him. As his grand speech continues his voice drowns out as she admires his form from behind.
*. * ·*. * ·*. * ·*. * ·*. * ·*. * ·*. * ·
As they both watch a movie in the comfort of Idia’s room, Loud knocks suddenly startled them both. Idia groaned in displeasure, “What is it Ortho!?” He shouted at the door.
“IDIA COME OUT! TREY IS HERE!” Ortho’s panicked voice shouted out from behind the door. Fear struck Idia’s body before getting up from his seat. “Love you’ll have to stay here for a while and do NOT go outside or open the door.” He quickly said before leaving the room. “Idia what is going on? Who’s Trey?” But Idia has already closed the door behind him. “Ortho shut down all possible exits in my room.” He said coldly before running to the main floor.
"Trey Clover, messenger, and knight of the Goddess of flowers, what brings you here today?” Idia’s once calm blue fiery hair turned into a raging orange. A tall young man with green hair greets Idia on the main floor, a golden bow in hand and a smirk on his face. “I know you have her, God of the Underworld Idia. Return (y/n to her creator or I will be forced to kill you.” Trey answers with a cold tone. Idia's voice turned cold and looked at the green head darkly. “Why would I dare to just give away the love of my life to some Goddess who only abandoned her? Only those who are foolish enough would do that.” A spear-like weapon with two sharp ends resembling a pitchfork materializes in Idia’s hand.
“So that’s your answer then.” Trey shoots a fast arrow toward Idia. The blue hair man dodges quickly. He presses the device in his ear before whispering: “Ortho, you know what to do.” Idia charges and manages to make a cut on Trey’s arm before he could dodge the long spear. Trey quickly charges another arrow at Idia, The pale-skinned man tried to deflect the arrow with his spear but Trey’s arrows are faster and managed to land a hit on Idia’s leg.
Idia groaned in pain and stumbled back, landing on the floor.
Trey charges another arrow on his bow. “Any last words God of the Underworld?” He smirked at Idia and pointed his bow at him.
“Don’t get too cocky now, Trey Clover.”
A large heavy net shot to Trey from his left. Trey struggled against the trap made of special material. Idia limped toward Trey, a cocky smile evident on his face as his hand gripped his spear intensely. “Any last words Trey?”
“You can’t have her forever Idia-”
But a spear already struck down Trey’s heart, killing him.
*. * ·*. * ·*. * ·*. * ·*. * ·*. * ·*. * ·
The large heavy electronic door suddenly opened, startling the girl inside the room. She looked at the tired face of her lover but he immediately hugged her before she could utter a word, whispering words that she couldn’t understand. “Idia are you okay? What happened?”
Idia roughly pushed (y/n) to his bed, lying on top of her and kissed her forehead before pulling away to look at her face. “Were you worried dear?” He gave her a small smile. “Idia your leg is bleeding what happened-” a long pale finger shushed her and gave her a kiss before hugging her again, his face nuzzling on her neck giving her small kisses and bites. He chuckled close to her ear and said:
“It’s too dangerous for you out there. I’ll keep you here in this castle forever. Welcome to your new home love.”
~~~~~~~~
A/n: I used this for a Greek mythology assignment, so short because I had like 4 hours till deadline (then they extended it when I already submitted it) cries
Well, would you look at that……I wrote smth for Dottore. To think that @diodellet was right when she read his scene in my Pantalone fic and joked that it was “totally not a reference to what [my] next fatui fique will be” ;-;
For Dottore’s twisted love story, I took a darker different approach for the yandere’s methods and Darling’s personality!! This was quite fun to write, so I hope you all enjoy reading this. And thank you again to Diodellet for your excellent feedback ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝
Tw:: YANDERE, unhealthy relationships, kidnapping, stalking, blood, violence, death, medical malpractice, drugging, needles, Dottore being himself, spice, mention of nsfw, MINORS DNI
Note:: Female reader, characterization is based on both Webttore and Primettore
♡ 13.5k words under the cut ♡
i. endorphins
The Nilotpala lotuses are in full glow.
You examine their shadows. It won’t take long for the flowers to close.
Over the past hour, the world has gradually responded to the sun’s arrival. The stars disappeared. The night sky was repainted with pastel colors. The Nilotpala lotuses ceased to be your only source of light.
Concentrate. You can’t miss this.
You hold up your pocketwatch and continue staring at the flowers.
The sunlight reaches the swamp. The Nilotpala lotuses react immediately, gold centers dimming and blue petals closing. One by one, each flower is put to sleep by the sun’s kiss.
You wade past the lilypads and return to dry ground. Your first course of action is to document the observation in your journal.
-
Time: 5:20:11.
Location: Devantaka Mountain, western swamp.
Notes: Photonasty triggered two seconds after direct exposure to sunlight. No variations in individual speed, light intensity, and overall process.
-
About time. Picking up your lantern, you leave the swamp and return to the mountain trail. Halfway down, a strange noise alerts you.
Metal. Sparks. Has a Ruin Machine been activated?
The mechanical sounds are followed by excited murmurs.
Pairing: Nurse!Qian Kun x GN!Reader, Best Friend!Ten x GN!Reader
Genre: Hospital!AU, Yandere, Angst.
Rating: M
Synopsis: When your body succumbs to fatigue, you're forced to stay at the hospital until your doctors are sure you're fit to get discharged. Missing exams, having to catch up with school, and being perpetually tired isn't exactly what you wanted, but a cute nurse who gets assigned to your room makes the experience so much better.
Warnings: Yandere themes; Stalking; Cussing; Mentions of guns, poisoning, blood, and death; Gore. (Please read at your own discretion.) ((i didn't proofread this properly)).
Word count: 9.07k
Masterlist
A/N: This is for my first ever collab: What Lurks in the Dark hosted by @127-mile! Happy spoopy season, besties 🔪🎃
Bright white numbers shined from your wall, harshly illuminating your dark room with its light. 02:51, it read, but despite the obvious sign that it was way past the hours when you’re supposed to be settled in your bed and snuggled between your warm covers, your form continued to hunch over the mess on the study desk. Looking up, the large red circles scribbled on your calendar stared back at you - a subtle reminder of what awaited you by the end of the week.
Finals.
A silent cry slips past your lips, eyes clenching in exhaustion. It seemed as if every professor you had decided to band together and release last-minute requirements before your exams. It would’ve helped if they lessened the load for the actual tests, but the world was so kind and decided that every class was going to have cover-to-cover tests.
The pounding ache in your head does little to calm down your already jittery nerves. With only caffeine and lo-fi music as your companions these past few days, the state of your health is surely something that can be questioned. The semester could not come to an end any sooner.
Was it too late to drop out? In your final year, perhaps it was. But it was never too late to cry. Crying will always alleviate the stress, if only for a few moments.
---
“You look like shit,” you hear a voice say just as you step out of your room. Your roommate Ten stands from the bathroom door, a towel wrapped loosely around his waist, his tattoos - and nearly everything else - out for your eyes to see.
“Ten,” you groan, leaning your forehead against the wall as you clench your eyes shut. “Can you talk to me when you have clothes on?”
“You’re acting as if you haven’t seen me like this before,” his smug tone catches you off guard. Far too tired to protest, your feet take you to the kitchen but your friend trails behind you either way. “Come on, I was joking around. Let loose a little bit,” he lightly says.
Turning around to face his bare torso again, you let out a sigh. Pinching the bridge of your nose, you maneuver around the kitchen, gathering whatever snacks you could find before heading to the library. The headache persists against your temples - just as it has been for the past week. “Glad to know I’m the only one stressing over finals.”
“Don’t say I didn’t tell you not to take Mr. Kim’s class. What were you thinking about taking up a mechanical engineering elective?”
“I thought it was cool, okay,” you reply tiredly. “I wasn’t expecting it to be so - advanced!” Ten simply watches you wave your hands around as you attempted to justify your past self’s decision, body slightly inclined against the refrigerator. “Besides, you’ve seen him. He’s pretty young and cute and I just thought - you know, that it’d be fun to listen to a cute teacher for once -”
“Darling,” he starts smoothly, “It’s fun to fool around with a teacher after class hours, not watch him from afar while you struggle quietly in the back of his classroom.” Your eyes flicker up at him and he’s already smirking down at you when your tired eyes meet his mischievous ones. “I personally think it’s too late for you to get an A in his class, but to engage in other activities -”
“Ten! We’re not having this conversation,” you interrupt, already covering your ears. He simply laughs, coming closer to wrap his lithe fingers around your wrists, bringing your arms back to your side. Opening up one eye, you’re met with his soft gaze and your fatigued mind can barely handle the way he stares down at you.
It had been four years since you spotted his flyer on one of the university announcement boards. Desperate for a place to stay that preferably wasn’t a commute away from campus, you took the chance to dorm in with a complete stranger. Luckily for you, that stranger became a close friend rather quickly. Nowadays, it seemed as if he was much more than just a friend.
Ever since a year ago, the two of you had been tip-toeing along a very fine line between friendship and something much more. But while Ten was quite open in his interest towards you, for some odd reason, the signs would just zip over your head or you’d find some nonsensical excuse for his antics.
Knowing and living with him for years, the two of you had basically become accustomed to each other’s company. He wasn’t flirting with you, why would he? You two were just friends. Just friends.
“Babes?”
Just friends who also exchange pet names, apparently.
You hum at him, tilting your chin ever so slightly to match his stare. “I was serious when I said you looked like shit.”
All of the sudden, any tiredness or questioning over his motives disappear. You push him off of you, his skin still damp from his shower. “Thank you. You make me feel so special,” you jokingly sneer at him.
“What time did you sleep?” he continued, “I could've sworn I went to the bathroom in the middle of the night and your lights were still on.”
“Don't worry about that, I'm fine,” you insist, still searching for food in the cabinets. “After this week, I'm gonna get so much rest you'll barely see me out of bed.”
“That's not exactly the answer I'm looking for, but okay.” Grabbing the rest of your things, you quickly make your way to your door, wanting to find a spot in the library before more students fill in the seats.
On the table by the door sits an array of bowls for anything you or Ten need to remember just as you exit your shared apartment. Keys, wallets, IDs, even mail or bills. But a familiar pink shade sticks out against the white envelopes around it. Your name is written in plain print.
“Ten?” you call out. “Do you know who left this?”
He looks at you with furrowed eyebrows, taking in the image of the brightly colored paper between your fingers. “No, I didn't even notice that it was in our mailbox.”
Without even flipping it open, you already knew the contents of the mysterious letter. This was the ninth letter you'd received in the past month, all other eight hidden deep in your drawer with love poems written neatly onto the page (sometimes pages) of the letter.
Strange was a little too light of a term to describe the series of letters that had found their way to you whether it was left between your textbook pages or inside your bag.
Now, it was your apartment mailbox. You weren't sure if you wanted to commend this person for being so adamant about getting your attention or creeped out. Ten stood silently, watching you closely as you finally opened and read through its contents.
Little one,
A shiver passes over you.
Not a day goes by that I don't wish to bask in the sweetness of your smile,
I wonder what it feels like to be loved by your warm eyes.
To feel you against my skin, chest to chest, heart to heart is my biggest wish,
To lose you to anyone else - my biggest fear.
You don't know how it pains me to see you day by day, oblivious to my love.
Maybe my blind optimism is to blame,
For I can only but hide in the shadows, never to be seen or loved by you.
One day, I hope that to change.
Cold are the nights I wish you to be by my side,
Warm are the days I dream that you are finally mine.
I only hope those days are no longer dreams,
But a reality that I will strive to remain our reality.
Like always, the mysterious author signs the letter with their usual signature.
Longingly,
Your heart’s caretaker.
“You never told me you had an admirer,” Ten’s voice breaks the silence. His tone is tight, lips pressed in a thin line. Quickly, you tuck the poem into your bag.
“I don't,” you let out a sigh, grabbing at your keys and wallet. “I think someone's just messing with me.”
“Come on,” he says, almost successfully hiding the bitterness in his voice. You catch on but brush it aside, not wanting to assume. “Someone like you has got to have a random person pining over them.”
All you can do is let out a short, awkward laugh. “It's nothing, I bet whoever is playing with me will stop once they realize I'm not falling for this.”
But Ten isn't too convinced, only offering you a dubious nod. Your friend’s sudden change in demeanor does little to calm the nerves that have already built up in you with the letters and finals, but you decide not to press him any further.
“I'll see you for lunch later?” Ten asks, waiting patiently for your answer. His eyes are casted downwards and for a moment you want to reassure him that the letters don't mean anything but you stop yourself. It's not like you and him were anything to begin with.
“Sure,” you quip, haphazardly slipping your shoes on. “Do you want me to buy you anything?”
He looks around momentarily, sneaking a look over at your bag with the thought of the letter still in his head. “No,” he decides to say quietly. “I'm good.”
Before you could even reply, he already has his back towards you, walking into his room. The sigh you let out rings into the empty room, the ache in your head just getting worse now that you have to deal with Ten’s attitude.
“Thanks a lot, Mr. Caretaker.”
---
Nine hours, four large cups of coffee, and enough highlighter ink fumes to get anyone high later, you find yourself back in your apartment. Your feet are heavy, practically stomping harshly onto the thin wooden panels below you.
Minutes ago you awoke to a small puddle of drool pooled on your notebook having suddenly fallen asleep while studying. You're half sure stars spin behind your eyes, the other half of you feels like you were in a dream.
Your vision is blurred, shoulders heavy, and an overwhelming wave of fatigue casts over your entire being as you finally push your way into your apartment. Ten stands in the kitchen, a sympathetic look in his eyes as he stirs at the pot below him.
“You didn't make it back for lunch,” he comments upon seeing you.
Your keys clang harshly against the ceramic bowl, feet barely lifting up as you take off your shoes. Sleep. You needed sleep.
“Are you okay?” you hear Ten say. Was it Ten? You weren't sure, it was all becoming hazy.
But your roommate notices the glazed look over your eyes and makes his way towards you, grabbing onto your shoulders. His eyes widen as you slump against him, the unusual warmth of your forehead sending him into a panic. Ten places a hand against your skin, taken aback by the heat bouncing off your body before he quickly takes off your jacket. “Jesus! You're burning up.”
You barely let out a hum, still leaning against his chest. “Hey, hey. Stay awake.” His voice echoes into your ears, just faint enough for you to register before you go completely limp in his arms as your roommate immediately hoists you into his arms, grabs his car keys, and exits your apartment.
---
“We’re gonna have to keep you in for a week, maximum.”
‘What? No.” Your protests are met with a stern gaze from the doctor across from you, unrelenting as she insists without even uttering a word. “I have exams coming up -”
“And you can tell your professors about it, but right now you’re fatigued, dehydrated and we need to monitor you for the next few days to make sure you’re okay because you’ve got a case of fatigue far too bad for us to just let you go.” She barely lets you start talking before exiting the room, leaving you to stare off at her disappearing figure.
Slumping against your pillow, you let out a pathetic sigh. This couldn't possibly get any worse. Wallowing in your predicament, you barely sense the pair of eyes looking over at you with a mixture of amusement and pity. “I don’t want to hear anything from you.”
“Hey!” Ten protests, arms lifted up in mock defeat. “I didn’t even talk.”
“You don’t need to say anything,” you murmur, lifting your head to look at him through squinted eyes. “I can feel it.”
“This isn’t exactly the ‘you’re welcome’ I was expecting for bringing you here, but I’ll take it,” he counters with a small smile that makes an equally minute one appear on your lips.
Ten suddenly makes his way towards you, taking your limp hand in his. His warm hand contrasts starkly with your shivering one covered in tubes and medical tape. “All jokes aside, you should really think twice about the electives you take before signing up for classes. No cute professor is worth a hospital bill.”
“God, I really hate you sometimes.” You retract your hand from his in mock disgust, curling away from him. In classic Ten fashion, all he does is smirk as he makes his way out your room.
“I’ll grab some of your clothes and come back as soon as I can,” he sing-songs. Just as he’s about to leave, he looks pointedly at you, raising a finger to your direction. “Don’t go anywhere!”
“Don’t steal from my underwear drawer, you perv!” you joke back.
“If I find anything other than garments in your closet, I’ll never let you live it down,” a mischievous glint sparkles in his eyes as he says this.
“Too bad that’s not happening,” you retort, poking your tongue out at him, his face disappearing just as he matches your childish response.
---
For the first time in a long time, you’re succumbing to a deep slumber well before the clock struck 1 A.M. and with the quiet pitter patters of footsteps outside of your dimly lit room it was easy to let your eyes drift closed.
Sleep. Sweet sleep. Glorious sleep. Only a few more moments before -
“Good evening. I’m here to check on you.”
The voice pierces through the quiet, light from outside seeping into your room and casting a harsh glow against your face. It takes everything in you not to cry out in frustration. What’s a person gotta do to just get some sleep?
“Can this be quick? I really just want to sleep,” you try your best to hide the annoyance in your tone, but the masked healthcare worker seems unfazed, going about his business as if he hadn’t just interrupted you.
“Sorry to spoil the fun for you, but this is gonna be a daily thing,” he replies sympathetically. Flicking the lights on, the man barely looks your way as he checks your vitals. Eyebrows furrowed, you tiredly looked up at him, waiting for him to start up a conversation amidst the silence.
When the silence becomes too awkward, your sleep-deprived brain decides to do the one thing you’d usually never do on a normal day. Small talk.
“So,” you start, “lovely evening we have.” He simply glances at you with an eyebrow raised and you swear you can make out an outline of a smirk from underneath his mask.
“Maybe you’re much more fatigued than we thought because I’m sure no person would call a night at the hospital lovely.” His deep voice takes you aback.
“It isn’t lovely, I was just hoping you’d join me in my sorry excuse of a conversation.”
A low laugh bubbles from his chest at that, eyes now fully on you. As if a thin hospital dress wasn’t making you feel vulnerable enough, you’re sure if he stared at you for another second longer you’d cower into yourself.
But when he lifts a hand to take a mask off, giving you a pretty well lit view of his face, you’re positive you could just cower into yourself.
“If you wanted to talk to me, you could’ve just said so,” he says with the faintest hint of a smirk on his lips. “I’m Kun and I’ll be your attending nurse until you get discharged.”
It wasn’t the sleepiness. Definitely not the morphine. Definitely not the lingering buzz from the coffee you’d consumed hours ago. But it was the fact that Kun was the most attractive nurse you’d ever laid eyes on that made your jaw hinge open and close as you struggled to form a sentence coherent enough to understand.
“I’m...my head and sleep...and then I just...so, I’m here - Gosh,” you giggle, barely understanding what you were saying. “I’m rambling,” you finally say, shutting your mouth lest you want to embarrass yourself any further.
“You are,” he confirms, coming closer to your bed. Lifting an arm up, he throws his limb across your chest, reaching out for the entangled tubes by your side. His chest is so close to your face that you hold your breath, afraid that the gasps of air would tickle his neck.
“You’re allowed to breathe, you know that right?” he smugly comments as he straightens himself back up.
“I was breathing,” you whisper, heat already starting to travel up your neck and ears.
Kun isn’t sure whether to laugh at you or reassure you, either way he found the effort to cover up your flustered state endearing. “Can you lift your hand up for me?”
Without even thinking about it, your arm raises and Kun catches your cold hand in his. He grabs an oximeter from his pocket, clamping it down on your finger. But he doesn’t let go, even smoothing his thumb over the skin of your hand as he waits for your vitals to appear on the screen of the tiny machine.
As his finger continues to glide across the back of your hand, you feel the warmth from your stomach travel across your body, to the tips of your fingers and toes. The thumping of your heart against your chest rings in your ears and maybe if Kun were only a few inches closer, he’d hear the rapid rhythm instead of the beeping from the oximeter.
“You good?” he asks, bringing you down from the clouds.
Blinking up at him, you open your mouth but no words escape as you rack your mind for a comeback witty enough to leave him at a loss for words just as he did with you. “I am,” you finally let out.
“Are you nervous around me?” He was so blatant, so unapologetic. It only made your cheeks heat up even more.
“No -”
“Huh,” he lets out smugly, looking intently at the beeping oximeter on your hand. “Your heart rate’s at 112 - a bit unusual for someone just laying in bed.” The implication behind his words don't fly over your head. Smirking, he looks back down at you, a glint in his eyes. “The numbers don’t lie.”
Just as you're about to open your mouth and save whatever sense of dignity you had left, another figure enters your room, a large bag placed over their shoulders. “You're lucky I couldn't find your secret stash of special toys in your closet -”
Ten shuts his mouth at the realization that you had company. He looks over at you, then at Kun, then at your hands. “Hello.”
“Hi,” Kun says nonchalantly, his playful behavior now masked by an air of professionalism. “You must be the patient’s boyfriend?”
“He’s not my boyfriend,” you cut in awkwardly. “This is my roommate.” Ten flashes him a tight-lipped smile. His eyes flitter to you before looking back down at the hand Kun was still holding. Quickly, you pull back.
“Ten, you can just place my stuff over there,” you instruct, gesturing towards the bench in front of you. Your friend maneuvers around the room, eyes never leaving Kun regardless of the nurse’s reassuring smile.
The nurse looks between the two of you, sensing the shift in the air and deciding it was time to leave the room. “Thank you for your time, I’ll be back in the morning for the same thing.”
He briefly spares your friend another glance before making it out of the room, leaving you alone with Ten, who hasn’t spoken since taking his place on a chair by your bed.
“Thank you,” you say cautiously, eyeing the man who sits motionless by your side. A nod is all he offers you, fingers placed gently by his chin. “I’m glad you didn’t find anything else in my closet,” you add, trying to lighten the mood. If the comment did anything, he doesn’t show it.
“He’s real handsome, isn’t he?” Ten finally says, but there’s no amusement in his tone.
“Yeah, I guess.”
It was strange how Ten was acting. He wasn’t the type to be sulking or silent; his sharp tongue always ready with a witty comeback or a hilarious joke. But now it seemed as if silence was the only thing he could offer you, save for the occasional side glance. Looking down at his phone to check the time, he gets to his feet and makes his way to your side.
“I should probably head home, I still have classes tomorrow.”
“Okay,” you say with a minute smile. “Did you at least bring my textbooks?”
“You and studying,” he says, smiling genuinely for the first time since arriving. “I did. Your laptop’s in the bag too in case you need it.”
“You’re such an angel,” you say jokingly, taking a hold of his arm and hugging it to your side.
“Need I remind you, your doctor clearly told you to rest for the next week?”
“I know, but a little reviewing won’t hurt right?” you reassure. “Plus, what else am I supposed to do when I’m bored and you’re not here to keep me company?”
“Be excited for when I’m free to come back here?” He grins as you playfully push him to the side.
“You’re so full of yourself!”
“Thank you,” he jokes back, leaning down to land a kiss on the crown of your head. “I’ll be back tomorrow so you don’t bore yourself to insanity.”
“Okay,” you whisper, your bottom lip tucked between your teeth. He looks at you one last time before moving towards the exit, waving goodbye and flicking the lights off.
---
You weren’t sure what else you were expecting from typical hospital food, but bland was definitely on the list of possibilities. You couldn’t really protest either, knowing damn well that if it weren’t for your poor food choices and sleeping schedules in the past few weeks, you wouldn’t even be in this situation.
“Can’t you guys add just a little more seasoning to your meals?”
Kun lifts an eyebrow, laughing at your obvious distaste for the food he’d just delivered to you. “I’m a nurse, not a chef. The least of my worries is if the food would have Gordon Ramsey fall to his knees.”
“Oh, I’m sure this would have Gordon on his knees,” you start, toying with the vegetables below you. “If only to pray you’ll be enlightened by the wonder that is salt and pepper.”
Kun lets out a loud laugh, far too amused to focus on checking on your vitals again. You join him as he eyes crinkle shut, nose scrunching, struggling to compose himself. You’ve clearly caught him off guard and the handsome nurse does very little to conceal that.
It had been a few days since you got admitted to the hospital and it would be a lie to say that the best part of being bedridden wasn’t the dashing and charming nurse standing in front of you. He’d kept you company in the few minutes he was afforded to check up on you or deliver your food; slowly, the two of you fell into smoother conversations about work, school, and each other.
Call it crazy, but you guess this was a silver lining to the otherwise depressing situation you had found yourself in.
But no matter how much the young nurse liked to sweep you off your feet and make your tummy tumble, the thought of missing out in school was still there to ignite a bubble of anxiety in you. You guess that’s why you hadn’t fully recovered, feeling the same level of tiredness and fatigue, if not stronger, despite the days of trying to recover.
“If you think any harder, your brain might spill out of your ears.” Kun’s voice cuts through your train of thought. He offers you a sympathetic smile.
“Sorry, I’m just really drained.”
“Which is why you should eat more,” he retorts, bringing a spoonful up to your lips. You look at him incredulously.
“Is this part of your job description?” you joke, leaning forward and allowing him to feed you.
“Not really, but you can’t blame me for wanting to take care of someone so adorable.”
That was definitely not part of the description.
Kun frowns at your silence, shaking his head. “I’m sorry, that was really unprofessional.”
“Just...caught me off guard, that’s all,” you reassure. He’s about to open his mouth when the faint sound of footsteps and voices come closer and closer to your room. Kun surprisingly straightens up, smiles at you before putting the mask back on his face.
“I’ll come back in a bit for your tray,” he says in a breath, not letting you reply before exiting the room. Moments later, your doctor comes in.
“Good afternoon,” your doctor greets, grabbing the clipboard from the foot of your bed. “How have you been?”
“Okay, I guess,” you reply, fumbling with your IV cord. “Still tired and all.”
She hums contemplatively at your answer, skimming through your charts. “Your blood pressure is still pretty low even if we’ve been medicating you for the past few days,” she comments, forehead furrowed. “You might need to stay for a little longer just so we can make sure.”
“But, I can’t...I’m already gonna miss a week -” you start to protest, sitting up.
“And we understand that,” she interrupts, looking at you with a tight smile. “But we need to make sure you’re doing well. We don't want any more complications arising from this, okay?”
You slump in defeat, looking over at the clock on your wall. What was supposed to be your first exam had just started.
“Fine.”
---
Playing the roles of student, best friend, and unofficial caretaker to you was something Ten didn’t imagine taking on, but if it meant a speedy recovery for you - and a speedy goodbye from a certain male nurse - he’s willing to put up with it with a smile on his face.
It was fairly late into the night, but Ten still wanted to check up on you. Making his way through the hallway to your room, another attending nurse spots him.
“Excuse me, Sir!” she calls out, a kind smile on her face. “I’m sorry, but visiting hours have already ended. You can come back tomorrow morning.”
He pauses in place, smiling awkwardly to himself before nodding and making his way back where he came when he spots a familiar mop of dark hair hidden in a corner.
Kun is too busy with whatever he’s dealing with to notice Ten make his way towards him. When the nurse senses company, he’s quick to put on his face mask and face Ten with wide eyes.
“Hey,” Kun says coolly, hands shoved in his pocket.
“Hello,” Ten replies just as flatly. The two stare off, not quite sure what to say to each other.
As much as Ten hated being that person, he couldn’t let go of the insistent feeling of doubt around Kun. He could admit that he hated being the type of person to judge someone based on mere intuition, but there was something in Kun’s aura that he couldn’t quite place.
“I was just headed to your friend’s room to bring their food,” the nurse says, breaking the silence.
“Oh,” Ten says without any emotion. “I was just wondering what you were doing here in this dark corner.”
“Nothing, nothing,” he reassures, fidgeting with his feet. Ten isn’t too convinced but he takes the excuse anyway.
“I was just headed to their room,” Ten starts, digging into his bag to grab some of your class notes, “but visiting hours are over, can you hand this to them?”
As Kun takes his hand out to grab the pieces of paper, a small bottle falls from inside his pocket. Distracted, Kun doesn’t notice Ten lean down to pick up the fallen object. Eyedrops.
“You dropped this,” Ten says, reaching out to Kun who offers him a small smile.
“Thanks,” Kun says, nodding subtly to Ten before making his way down the hall. Ten catches Kun’s form disappear into your room.
The rotten feeling in his stomach doesn’t go away.
---
“You weren’t kidding when you said that you’re really serious about your studies,” Kun laughs from the side, the usual green tray of hospital food in his hands.
“It’s not that my life revolves around my studies,” you defend, already falling into conversation with your newfound friend. “This class is just a pain in the ass.”
Kun shakes his head in amusement, laughing at the pout that had made its way to your lips.
Groaning in defeat, you set your pencil down, slamming your forehead against the pages of the textbook. A hand makes its way up your neck, weaving into your hair. Kun cooes at you in pity.
“It can’t be that bad,” he says sympathetically. You tilt your head up towards him, eyes tired and just about on the brink of giving up.
Turns out Kun isn’t just good at being a nurse, keeping you company, and making your stomach tumble around. He was also good at tutoring - if his prolonged visits to your room coupled with short study sessions meant anything.
You hoped the sorry excuse for puppy-dog eyes were enough to convince him to help you just one more time.
“It’s an engineering elective,” you admit. He crinkles his nose, showing off his gummy smile.
“You’re right, I can’t help you.”
“Come on, man!” you exclaim through a laugh. Kun settles on the chair beside your bed, a hand pressed against his chin as he leans in to look at you. Immediately, your laughter dies down, not knowing how to act when Kun is looking at you like that. “Are you just gonna stare at me or are you gonna try to help me?”
Gaze on your lap, he reaches over to take the engineering textbook out of your hands. Kun leans into you and lingers for just a moment longer than usual. The perfume emanating off his neck makes you go dizzy, the vanilla base note mixing with the citrus top note elegantly.
Damn you, Qian Kun and your perfume and perfect smile.
“Let’s make a deal,” he mumbles, flipping carelessly through the pages. “Once you’re discharged, I’ll see if I can squeeze some extra time to help you study.”
“That sounds too good to be true.”
“For free.”
“That is definitely too good to be true.”
“On one condition,” he butts in, raising a lone index finger in the air.
“There’s always a catch.” You playfully roll your eyes at him, yet your ears remain attentive towards his next words.
“I get to bring you out on a date.”
You could’ve sworn you could hear fireworks going off in your head. Qian Kun, the insanely attractive and sweet nurse who can take care of patients, help with philosophy homework, and whip up a pretty decent meal (now that you ran his ear off enough to convince him to add more seasoning to your food).
Maybe it was time to get over Ten. Maybe, just maybe, if he really was interested in you, he would’ve let you know by now. Just like what Kun was doing.
“Deal.”
---
“Dude, I swear I didn’t study shit for that exam,” Ten exclaims, rubbing his hands over his face in frustration. “Mr. Jeong is gonna fail me, I can feel it.”
“What was that you said about choosing classes properly before signing up for them?” you mumble playfully through a mouthful of food. Kun had just stopped by - and casually charmed you as always - just as Ten arrived.
For some reason, your roommate still hadn’t warmed up to the kind nurse, but you figured it didn’t matter much anymore. Besides, you were going to get discharged soon.
But your health hasn't been faring well. If anything, it seemed as if you were perpetually stuck in the same state you were in coming into the hospital, if not worse. The headaches and body pain had gone away with the modest doses of painkillers constantly given to you, but it did nothing to restore your energy.
You were weak, physically and mentally. And Ten had begun to notice. Your doctors couldn’t figure out much either and your insistent pleas to just be released finally forced them to give in and just hand you some prescriptions and strict instructions for when you’re finally out.
In the midst of your casual chatter with Ten, your stomach started to churn. You felt the contents of your belly rise up and frantically signalled to Ten. “I’m gonna throw up.”
He quickly gets to his feet, gently hooking your arms in his and escorting you to the bathroom. You two barely make it through the room when you launch yourself towards the sink, spewing out the meal you had just eaten. Ten watches, a hand to your back and a scowl on his face.
“Are you sure you wanna go home so early? You don’t seem well,” he reasons, worry starting to crease his eyebrows.
With fingers clenched tightly around the rim of the ceramic sink, you bury your head into the crevice. Your body continues to push out bile and unprocessed food until your sides ached and your throat went sore.
“Fuck,” you exclaim, tears starting to drip down your cheeks.
“Do you want me to call anyone?” Ten moves just an inch away from you before you reach out and desperately cling onto his wrists.
“No, please.” You gulp a deep breath in. “Please stay.”
“Just...just let it all out. Shit, I don’t know what to do.”
Whatever remnants of energy you had left completely left your body as you struggled against the sink. It wasn’t until minutes later that your stomach no longer convulsed were you able to reach out into your bag for anything to wipe your face.
But as you dig into the contents of your bag, your fingers graze over a smooth material you could’ve sworn wasn’t there before. Looking up, you grab at the strange object, pulling it out to reveal another pink letter. A wave of nausea washes over you once more.
“Ten,” you gasp, looking over your shoulder. “What is this?”
He turns to you, staring at the piece of paper in your hand without an ounce of recognition. You set yourself down onto the toilet bowl, desperately prying open the envelope and meeting the familiar handwriting for what seemed to be the nth time.
Little one,
Soon, we will be together
You only have to wait but a moment more.
Sooner or later,
We’ll meet and live the rest of our lives as one.
I can’t wait to finally have you as mine,
Permanent would be my smile.
Longingly,
Your heart’s caretaker
Staring at the note, familiarity washes over you. The handwriting - you’ve seen it before. But you didn’t want it to be true.
You drag your body out of the bathroom, Ten confusedly following you around. Grabbing at your notebooks, you hurriedly flip through its pages. You just wanted to know. You just wanted to make sure your mind wasn’t playing games with you.
Spotting the foreign handwriting on the pages of your notebook, you pause, bringing the note side-by-side. You struggle to gulp in air, Ten looming over you.
The handwriting on the letter. Kun’s handwriting. They were the same.
Weakly crumpling the letter in your fist, you quickly shove it into the trash bin before looking up at Ten.
“I wanna go home.”
---
“We really advise you to stay just a few days longer for monitoring purposes -”
“I’m sorry, but I just really want to go home.”
Your doctor sighed out, looking down at the out-patient form laid down for you. Under the fluorescent lights, your skin glowed with a sickly tinge.
Ten stood by you, your belongings and bags clutched in one arm as the other was placed against your hip to keep you from toppling over from the fatigue. “Are you sure about this?” he asks quietly.
“If there are any complications in the next 24 hours, it’s strongly advised you come straight back to us.”
You nod your head, feet jittering below you. But before you leave, you just wanted to do one last thing. “Where’s Nurse Kun?”
The doctor lifts her eyes to you, quite puzzled by your question. “Who?”
“Nurse Kun,” you repeat, doubt lacing your voice. “The one who’s been watching me since I got here?”
Nothing.
“Listen, I just need to talk to him about something before I leave -”
“Sweetheart,” she says, continuing to look at you in confusion with her head tilted to the side, “we don’t have a Nurse Kun.”
---
The car ride home is tense with fear and anxiety. Every now and then, you would instinctively look back just to see if anyone was driving behind you. Each and every time, the road remained empty. It was much too late into the night and for some reason, the lights that lined the side of the drive were much dimmer than usual.
If this was some sick psychotic episode, you swore that you would do everything you could to prevent this from happening again once it’s over.
“Stop shaking your leg like that, you’re making me nervous,” Ten says tensely from the driver’s seat, hands wrapped tightly around the steering wheel. “I can’t believe some weirdo was acting like a nurse in that hospital. I told you he was creepy.”
“Just drive, Ten. I don’t want to have this conversation right now.”
“You and I both, but we really can’t ignore that giant fucking elephant in the room, can we now?”
“Jesus, we can talk about it when we get home.” He shuts up, eyes straight on the road. Just as the two of you were about to reach the open, well-lit highway, his car started to rumble.
“What the hell?” he exclaims, trying his luck as he moves the gearshift around. But as the vehicle came to a stop and the engine quieted down, it was safe to say the prospect of coming home wasn’t something happening soon. “Shit, stay here.”
“Not like I can go anywhere else,” you bite back, leaning your head against the headrest.
Ten makes his way to the hood of the car, lifting it up quickly with a flashlight held in his other hand. He was no expert at vehicles, but he was around 90% sure that his engine was completely fine. Just as he’s about to shut the hood, his nose catches a whiff of the infamous odor of gasoline.
He crouches down, shining the flashlight against the bottom side of his car. Someone had drilled holes in his gas tank.
Shooting up immediately, he closes the hood and makes his way back to the driver’s seat.
“What happened?”
“We need to call for help,” he says ambiguously. But you immediately search for your phone, fingers shaking as you dial for the emergency number but with only one bar flashing on your phone, you’re met with the annoying beeping of the line.
“Damn it,” you curse, lifting your phone to the air to no avail. In the quiet, you can only hear the crumbling of pebbles under Ten’s feet as he paces anxiously, waiting for someone to answer his call. You barely make out the low rumble of an engine until the presence of another car catches your attention.
Looking back, you can faintly see the outline of another, much larger vehicle. Its headlights are off and you swear you can feel the bile start to rise up your throat once more.
“Ten,” you whimper, trying to catch your breath. But your friend is too engrossed in panic to hear you or notice the new company.
“Ten,” you repeat, just a few decibels louder.
He still doesn’t hear you.
“Ten!” you call out and he whips his head towards you.
“What?” he says sharply.
Lifting a shaking finger, you point to the car behind you. The driver now outside and staring right at you.
“Keep calling for someone,” your friend commands, reaching into his glove compartment for a gun.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” you hiss, grabbing onto his wrist.
“Relax, it’s a pellet gun!” he reasons out impatiently, shoving your hand aside. “We just need to scare him off.” You gawk at your friend, watching him back away as he slowly approaches the stranger with the fake gun tucked behind him.
“Hello, Sir,” Ten says. “Or Ma’am...we’re in a bit of a rut with our car.” He gestures to your still vehicle. The person remains motionless.
There’s a bitter taste in your mouth as the stranger moves his gaze from you to Ten. You don’t see their eyes, but you were moments away from just grabbing Ten and running as fast as you can.
Looking forward, you try to estimate the distance to the highway and see if the two of you can make it to the end in time. But the stranger has a car with a tank full of gas - you two were fucked over before their conversation even started.
“We were just wondering if you could help us out?” Ten continues.
Silence.
“Hey,” your friend calls out once more to the estranged person. “Are you even listening to me?” Ten lifts his flashlight, casting it onto the stranger and finally giving a face to the figure in front of you.
Kun. With a metal pipe by his side.
You scream. With the fear coursing through every fiber of your being, you barely register the screech that rips from your throat.
“Ten, it’s him!”
You’re too late. Kun is already moving quickly towards Ten, who staggers and falls to his feet before whipping out the pellet gun. But Kun is unfazed, lifting the rod and slamming it against Ten’s ankle.
The sound of metal on bone reverberates in your ears. There’s a crunch that echoes into the empty street, followed by Ten’s wail of pain.
In a panic, you search for anything in his car to protect you. To save Ten. But under the pile of used up fast food wrappers and spare gym clothes, you find nothing.
Kun delivers a blow to his other ankle. Ten screams into the night.
“Shit, shit, shit, shit,” you whimper, hopping onto the driver’s seat and turning on the ignition but no matter what you do, you’re only met with the meek rumbling of the dead engine. In the last feeble attempt to save your life, you shut the door, quickly locking it and backing away.
Moments later, Kun arrives. A smile is etched onto his face, but unlike his kind ones in the hospital, this one is dark. It’s cruel. It’s manic. He lifts a hand up, tapping the window.
“Open the door,” he commands slowly. You fervently shake your head, chest tight as you blubber and cry for your life. Instantly, you regret defying him as you watch his smile mold into a menacing scowl. He reaches down, tugging onto the door but when it doesn’t open, he steps back and walks away.
Shakingly, you move forward and look out onto the road. Ten stays limp, the forgotten flashlight casting a shadow over his body. As you catch a sight of his mangled feet, you bring a hand up to your mouth. His bone sticks out abnormally, the pool of blood only widening with every second.
A sharp sound from behind you shakes you out of your reverie. Looking back, you notice the cracks on the window and the series of following events happen too fast for you to even comprehend.
Kun lifts the rod again. He brings it down against the window with so much force your eardrums ring. The glass breaks, sprinkling all over you. Kun opens the door. He grabs your feet and pulls you out. You scream.
“Let me go!”
Using his strength, he swiftly pulls you out. Your body slams against the pavement, the air knocks out of you. The bright stars in the sky spin above you. Only them in their flurry of heat and light serve as witnesses to the blood Kun has shed.
He didn’t even kill Ten. He didn’t even kill you. He’s probably waiting to finish you two somewhere more private. He probably wants to take his sweet time pulling out every possible scream and cry from the two of you before ending your lives.
Amidst the lightheadedness, the ache in your body, and the wicked smile on Kun’s face, you’ve accepted it. You’ve accepted that Kun was going to kill you.
“Oh, little one,” he whispers, grabbing your still body and bringing your head to his nostrils. You hear him take a whiff of your scent, moaning out in pleasure. “My little one.”
His little one.
Your weak arms come up to push him off, but it’s futile. He’s too strong, grip tight around your body. “It was you,” you whisper, a sob escaping your lips. “It was you.”
He chuckles darkly, smoothing a hand down your back. “It was, I’m so happy that I don’t have to watch you from afar anymore. I’m here to take care of you.”
Kun pulls back slightly, lips pressed against your cheek. Another chuckle ripples through his chest, making cry out. “Your personal caretaker.”
---
A scent tingles against your nostrils and tongue. The pungent odor of decay brings you out of your slumber, eyes opening slightly. As you try to move your fingers, your hand glides over something moist and slick below you, but you’re unfazed - too disoriented to understand what was happening.
The room is dark save for the sliver of moonlight the peaks through the single window adjacent to the wall you were laying against. For a moment, you think you were just in a dream but the events of the last day all come back to you and you sit up quickly.
“Ten?” you desperately call out, coming to your knees and feeling for another body beside you. “Ten?”
Your knees nudge against something that lets out a small whimper. In a dazed state, you bring your hands up to feel around cloth and cold skin until your fingers graze over a nose. “Ten?” you repeat.
The body below you lets out another pained noise, its hand coming to clasp around your wrist. “It’s me,” Ten says weakly. “It’s me.”
Relief washes over you as you let out a gasp, leaning your forehead against his chest. The comfort doesn’t last long as the sound of the door swinging open echoes into the room, the lights coming to life above you.
“Oh, good. You’re awake.”
Cold. Cold all over. You wanted to be anywhere but here and you look down to see Ten’s pained expression, his feet just as bloody as they were when the two of you were on the side of the road, you prayed to God this was all just a bad dream.
“It’s rude not to look at someone while they’re talking to you.”
“Fuck you,” you curse through gritted teeth.
“That’s not a nice way to greet the person who’s been taking care of you for the past week.” His voice sounds much closer and you feel him loom over you and Ten. “Step away from him, love.”
Kun brings hand down to clutch at your bicep, attempting to pull you away from. But you don’t budge, staying in place as you cling onto Ten’s pale body.
He crouches down, grabbing your face and bringing your ear close to his lips. “If you don’t let go of him, I’ll fuck up his arms just like what I did to his feet.”
Reluctantly, you ease your grip on Ten. Kun immediately drags you to your feet, moving your tired body to the other side of the room. He sits you onto a chair as Ten continues to fight for his life in front of you. Looking down, you’re covered in red.
Ten’s blood covers your lower half, droplets pooling by your feet. The cloth of your pants squelches with every subtle movement and it takes everything in you not to throw up. The rusty scent of the fluid overwhelms your nostrils, face contorting in disgust.
Sick. Sick. Sick.
“You weren’t supposed to find out so soon,” Kun says in disappointment as if you were the nuisance right now. “Then again, I should’ve been smarter about the letter, right?”
When Kun reaches Ten, he reaches down, grabbing your friend by the collar and lifting him up onto his broken feet. The sight of Ten struggling to stand straight as his torn muscle and broken bone peeks from underneath his pants makes you gag. You double over, bile pushing out of your throat.
Thankfully (you’d take any act of mercy at this point), Kun sets Ten down on a chair similar to yours. Your friend’s pained expression slowly disappears now that the weight of his body is no longer on his disfigured limbs.
The deranged man looks down at your friend, mock pity on his face. He grabs Ten’s chin, making him face him. “You were definitely not part of the plan.”
“Please leave him alone,” you pathetically beg, wanting nothing more than to keep Ten alive. “We won’t tell anyone, just please let us go.”
“You can’t possibly undermine my intelligence that much, can you?” Kun turns towards you and you cower into yourself.
The butterflies in your stomach all those days ago were wrong. The heat in your cheeks was wrong. Kun wasn’t someone to be adored. He was someone to be avoided, to be feared. To be put in prison, away from people.
“After all those days of tutoring you, you really think I’ll be fooled by those poor, little pleas?”
Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out a tiny bottle. He moves it slightly towards Ten, who squints his eyes to read the label. The eyedrops.
“Tetrahydrozoline,” Kun starts, playing with the eyedrops between his fingers. “In small doses it can be quite potent.” Looking towards you, he smiles cynically. “I guess now you know why you were so tired all the time?”
“What did you do to me?”
“Oh, nothing. A couple of drops in your coffee when you weren’t paying attention at the cafe. A little more in the food I’d give you. Sometimes, I would mix it in your IV fluid for extra measure.”
“You’ve been poisoning me -”
“No,” he interrupts, a scowl on your face. “If I wanted you dead, I would poison you. I just wanted you...easy to control, I guess is the right way to see it.”
“You fucking asshole,” Ten cuts in weakly. He’s fighting for his life, much paler than he was when you first saw his face. Time was running out and sooner or later, you would be left alone with Kun and Ten’s lifeless body.
“Why don’t I make a deal with you?” Kun comments, still smiling menacingly. He grabs a pair of pliers from behind him. Already knowing what he was gonna do, you try to grab his attention.
“Kun, no. Please, Kun,” you plead, but your cries go ignored.
“Every time you make a little pissy comment, I break a finger of yours. Sounds good?” Kun clamps the pliers onto Ten’s pinky finger, squeezing tighter onto the handles at an agonizingly sluggish rate, prolonging the pain.
Red colors Ten’s face as he fights off the urge to scream in pain, you weren’t so modest with your screams.
“Kun, no! Please! Don’t hurt him, please leave him alone.” Your throat is sore from the constant screaming, legs bruised and battered as you lift yourself up to your feet and stagger towards him.
Clinging onto his arm, you attempt to pull him away but your feeble tugs do little to get him off of Ten.
“I’ll do anything, please. Leave him alone, just leave him alone!”
At that, Kun stops. He looks down at you, thinking long and hard.
“Okay.” His grips loosens, the pliers falling to the ground. “Tell you what? I want to make another deal with you.” Kun grips the sides of your face, forcing you to look in his eyes.
At that moment, all memories of the kind nurse seemed like figments of your imagination. This wasn’t the Kun you had known. This was someone else.
Desperately, you nod. “Anything, just leave Ten alone,” you say through a sob. Your tears mix with the sweat and blood on your face. As it trails down your cheeks and slips onto your tongue, the saltiness jolts you awake.
“Don’t listen to him,” Ten protests waveringly. If you couldn’t save the both of you, you’ll save Ten. You’ll help Ten live.
“Stay with me. Forever,” Kun says gently, rubbing a thumb over your lip. “And I’ll let your little friend live. I’ll even help with the little accident I caused,” he adds, looking down at Ten’s legs with no remorse.
There’s no compassion in voice. No regret in his eyes. It’s an empty stare that digs deep into your soul, extinguishing any sense of hope.
“Okay,” you meekly agree. Kun smiles again. It makes your blood run cold. For a moment, you wonder if it was better off you and Ten die than end up with him.
Thank you so much for reading this fanfiction! I hope you enjoyed it just as much as I enjoyed writing it. Don't be afraid to send in critique or comments, it's my biggest motivation to keep writing these stories. 💖
The sun shines from Jaehyun's windows as it rises for another new day. His alarm blaring loud music when the time struck at 7 in the morning.
Jaehyun groans from the loud bass of the music when he tried to find his phone and shut off the alarm. Five minutes of rummaging around the bed and he still can't find the source nor his phone. He quickly gets up to try and find it around the room only to find it at the corner of the room, screen now full of cracks.
He winces when he saw the state of the screen but his face were now confused as to why it was in the corner of the room with the screen cracked.
Where is she?
Why isn't she answering?
It's been 5 days...
Johnny saw her the other day. Just fine...
His mind was filled with different thoughts and questions as the night continue on to pass by. His head suddenly getting a headache from the lack of water and food and most especially the the questions swirling around his head.
5 days since she last replied. 5 days since he last saw her. 2 days since he last visited her apartment only to find no one. Her friends not even answering and replying to him.
Tears wets again the once dried teared face as he waits on his phone, the massage application open and her contact opened.
Did she really give up on me?
2am and he gave up. Jaehyun threw his phone somewhere in his room and clutched on his pillow and cried himself to sleep.
'Oh yeah. That's what happened' Jaehyun throwed his phone on the bed after checking when he saw no notification and walked off outside his room to the kitchen and made himself breakfast. He felt no emotions while running around the house doing chores. No sadness or anger filled him when he only felt nothing and numb too evrything.
Walking down the sidewalk Jaehyun looked up at the sky and saw the fluffy clouds above him. He bumped in a small figure and dropped his bag while looking up. He picks up the contents of his bag but saw a familiar journal on the concrete floor. Jaehyun looks up and a sudden rush of emotions had filled him again.
-—3:07AM : "you know i love you right?" he whispers, tickling her ear in the dark. outside, it was rainy and loud, sudden flashes of lightning and low rumbles of thunder invading the night. but she is safe, in his arms. the blanket envelops the two of them warmly- her entire body on his chest, head burrowed deep in his neck. he strokes her head runs his hand along her spine, and she dozes of to sleep.
"goodnight bella" kun murmurs softly to her, as the drops of rain lulls him into his own slumber.
The sound of the inked brush can be heard in the room. Even her breathing can also be heard. The night was silent with occasional noises of the crickets.
Her head leaned back on the seat, reading carefully through the characters she had just written. Some of the nicely written characters are either bleeding from too much ink or she had accidentally touched it while it was still in the process of drying. Her eyebrows creased into a frown when she saw it but disregarded it.
She got used to always having them imperfectly written and the fact that she was the only one reading it. Her hands went back to its delicate grip on the brush and dipped them again on the ink.
Footsteps had suddenly alerted her and looked up from the leather-bound notebook to the door. The guards outside opened the doors and allowed him in.
Kun emerged from the door with a tray of tea in his hand. A smile on his face was plastered as he observed her startling form.
"It's midnight love. Are you still not going to bed?" Kun breaks the silence and places the tray at the corner of her table. She stared at him looking at how gently he placed it and his voice.
"You will get sick if you keep this up, darling. Let's go to bed after some tea hm?" Kun moved past her table to stand behind her. He placed his hands on her shoulder and added gentle pressure. Her mind slowly losing control that she can't think of anything.
"What have you been writing? You're always here every night." His hands were now on her arms and slowly wrapping her form around him. "Do you want to get sick hm? Want me to take care of you love?" Kun placed his chin on the back of her neck and his eyes slowly shifting to the notebook.
Her form could not move as she was trying to process what is currently happening. Kun moved and placed small pecks on her neck and under her chin. His affection made her malfunction more and stuttered. "K-Kun.."
"Keep this up darling and I'll have to keep you in our room all day. Understand?" Kun's stern tone sounded out in the room. Her legs felt like jelly, wondering if she made Kun mad.
"Y-yes m-master" a weak stutter came from her mouth. He hummed and kissed her neck once again before letting her go and returning back in front of the table.
"Drink up love, it'll help you relax." Kun handed the other teacup filled with tea to her and drank his own. She sniffed the tea first before looking up at him. "What's wrong?" He asked, his eyebrows raised up in question when he looked down at her.
"W-what tea is this." She meekly asked him while before looking down again at her tea in shyness. "It's chamomile love. It'll help you sleep better tonight." He replied softly before sipping on his own tea again.
"Let's go to sleep love, it's late already." Kun had already lifted her up the chair and carried her in his arms. The light silk of his night clothes pressing on her arm when she wrapped them around his neck. He smiled down at her before going out of her office and out into the heated floors of the palace.
Walking down the halls to their bedroom, she had suddenly asked, "Kun isn't tonight the shooting star going to appear?"
"Yes, love. But you need to sleep tonight. There's always next time my love." Kun looked down again on her and gave her a peck on the nose. "But I want to see it with you…" she mumbles quietly under her breath looking down onto the wooden floors.
"And you will see it with me next time. Don't stay up late the next day before it so we can see it next time okay?" He softly answered her and pecked her forehead this time.
Kun placed her down on the soft bed and took his place next to her. He looked at her right and saw her pouting at him. "Don't give me that look. I promise we'll see another one next time."
"But I really wanted to see it tonight." She tried saying cutely thinking that he might give in if she does. "Next time love. I'll give you more cuddles and kisses to make up for today how about that hm?" Kun asked and grinned at her. The cuddles and kisses she could never deny.
She nodded and wrapped her arms around him as fast as she could. Burying her head on his chest with a smile on her face. Kun chuckled lightly before wrapping her around him again and kissing the top of her head before placing his head on top of her, closing his eyes with a smile on his face.
[6:49 pm] every time you look up at the stars, you smile. you know one of them has to be astronaut!kun exploring the universe like he’s always dreamed. he is your personal star.
Birds chirp during the afternoon, the sun just about to set down. Y/n stood still in front of the unfamiliar palace doors, her curiosity getting the best of her that she pushed back the giant doors.
"Y/n? You're back!" A voice in the hallways suddenly resonated out. She looked to her right and saw a boy with black hair, a few inches taller than her. Her mind felt jumbled up but his name came out of her lips with ease.
"Mark? Where's Kun?" Y/n asked without even thinking. As if someone was controlling her. "In his room of course," Mark smiled at her before continuing back to his walk.
Her body felt a rush that she ran up the stairs without thinking, running through the maze of hallways and doors until she stopped in front of one. Pushing the doors back with the use of the knob, she saw a shadow at the balcony, his figure turned away from the door.
Y/n pushed herself into the room while taking in the room before her. The grand furnishings looked so familiar yet also unfamiliar to her. The door slammed shut and startled both people inside the room.
The figure on the balcony looked back and saw her, stars formed in his eyes as he looks at her, studying if she really the love of his life. Y/n’s body suddenly moved and screamed out. “Kun!” he was suddenly tackled on the ground when her small figure embraced him tightly, both her arms around him and her head at the crook of his neck. His cologne oozing through her nose brought a smile to her lips, she buried herself more in his warmth. Kun smiled at her actions and wrapped her around him too.
“I missed you” He whispered softly in her ear. Kun gave a peck on her cheek before looking straight at the scenery before then, with both of them embraced together in the middle of his balcony.
==
“Kun…” Y/n mumbled in her sleep, starling Ten who’s currently at the door just about to wake her up. He walked closer to her sleeping form to shake her awake, thinking she might be in another nightmare.
Y/n’s eyelids open at the sight of her roommate, a sigh left her and covers her eyes with another pillow. “Who’s this Kun I always hear when you sleep?” Ten’s sudden interrogation made her headache more from all the thinking. “I don’t know either Ten, I haven’t even met anyone named Kun in my whole life”
“Well I have work today, there’s breakfast on the table when you finally start becoming productive on your day off.” Ten waved off before leaving the apartment.
“Qian Kun, who are you?”
==
“Kun you need to stop haunting her dreams, she’s hurting because of you!” Ten’s hands suddenly slammed on Kun’s desk. Kun kept his composure as he already expected his assistant barging in first thing in the morning. “Mr. Lee I don’t know what you’re trying to say” Kun simply smirks at him before trying to wave him off.
“Qian Kun you know exactly what I’m trying to say! She’s my roommate.” Ten was now annoyed at his boss. He would have already punched him if his work was not on the line. “You would have done the same thing, Lee if your soulmate is reincarnated again. Now get out, I have work to do.”
“I’ll find you, my love, I’ve waited long enough for you.”
Moonlight barely trickled in through the grimy windows as you tiptoed barefoot down the carpeted hallway. You had sworn that you had heard the most beautiful male voice coming from the top floor of the mansion, singing a song that beckoned you to come find him. Now you were stealing away through the corridors, with only the the sound of the wind and rain against the window panes to keep you company.
The hem of your lace dress scraped across the top of your feet as you quickly turned around; raising the candelabra you held in your hand higher in the air, as if it would help push the light farther into the darkness of the dimly lit hallway. You thought you had seen something in the corner of your eye, the silhouette of a man watching you from the shadows. You hurried your pace towards an unknown destination.
You felt a tingle of nervousness drip down your spine and pool in your stomach as you stopped at juncture of hallways, unsure which way to go, the light from the candles reflecting in your wide and innocent eyes. For a moment the sound of footsteps could be heard coming from the right corridor and you leaned forward, trying to see the person the footsteps belonged to. You thought you could make out the vague silhouette of someone against the darkness, but then a brief tickle of wind, almost like a breath, brushed against your ear and neck causing you to turn your gaze behind you. There was nothing there but when you looked back down the corridor to the right the silhouette you thought you had seen was gone. You took a step forward down the hall, your heart beating heavy in your chest.
Continuing down the hall it didn’t take long before you reached the end of the hallway where a set of grand double doors stood waiting for you, the gold handles, while worn, almost achingly calling out to you for you to open them. You set the candelabra down on a decrepit table underneath a tall mirror to your right and slide your hands over the door handles feeling the cool metal against your palm. You push down on the handles to open the door. The door rattles against your effort. Locked. Your brow furrowed in confusion at this roadblock.
A soft chuckle came from behind you and as you turned from the handles, before you could even register the movement, you were pinned against the door. Your eyes focused on the black dress shirt and rich red velvet suit coat at eye level, your gaze moving slowly upward towards the face. He was handsome, inhumanly handsome. The moonlight coming from the floorlength window shine across his face covering half his face in moonlight and the other half in shadow. Even being only able to see half his face you could see that he was the most handsome man you had ever met. His eyes studied you intently as you studied him. You felt small under his gaze, like prey caught by a predator. He lifted a hand and pushed back your hair behind one of your ears before slowly, ever so slowly tracing down the side of your neck and over your shoulder.
“Tell me... what are you doing in my home?” He asked after a moment staring at the blank space he had just created. Your breath left your chest almost in a gasp, not even realizing you had been holding it, “I... I heard singing,” you explained. The corner of his mouth turned up in a devious looking smile, “Did you now?” The tip of his tongue traced across the bottom of his upper teeth, showing off his fangs. You supposed you should have been frightened by that, but his eyes had caught yours and it was as if you were locked in place, a warm, calming feeling trickling down your spine replacing all your fears. You couldn’t move, you didn’t want to move. The man moved in closer, ducking his head towards the side of yours.
“What’s your name?” You asked, the words slipping from your lips before you could even think about them.
Another chuckle rumbled in your ear and it spread down your chest and flared warm and low in your stomach like honey. “My name? I used to be known as Qian Kun” He muttered against your ear, his lips barely scraping against the skin. You shivered as his lips began t o ghost slowly down your ear and jaw and then down your neck.
“D-Don’t you want to know my name?” You asked barely holding on to yourself, trying not to lean your head to the side to give him more access. “Your name?” He said, kissing lightly at a spot on your neck. “It doesn’t matter anymore,” another kiss, you shuddered, breathing heavier. “Because,” another kiss, “you’re mine now.” Your eyes slipped shut as he opened his mouth, his fangs extending, biting down into your neck, sealing your fate forever.
"Everytime he looks at her, she falls even deeper, but also a step closer to death"
"No no put the flour fir-" the white powder fills the air and falls on both of them when Kun tripped on his feet, running back to the other side of the kitchen.
"Snow!" She screamed in happiness and jokingly looked up to the ceiling acting as if the show really fell from the sky. Kun laughs at her and gets up from his feet.
"Now you're a snowman!" He pointed out at her to make fun of her flour covered face.
"Now you're old!" she pointed back at his hair, covered with more flour.
Kun grabbed a wet towel from the other counter and walked closer in front of her. Their eyes met and her whole world felt like it stopped for a whole minute. Butterflies filled her stomach and a sudden rush went through her.
He stepped even closer to her when she tried to back away. "Wha-" she was cut off with the towel going over her mouth thanks to Kun. "Shush shush let me clean your face, you look ridiculous." He smiled at her and more butterflies filled her.
"Kun do you-" she coughed out suddenly and Kun got startled. She runs to the bathroom and locks the door before coughing out in the sink.
Orange petals were in the sink, soaked in bloody red. More coughs went out of her throat again and more blood and petals came out. She panicked and tried to wash out everything before going out.
"Are you okay?? It's been weeks since your coughs and they seem to be getting worse." Kun was worried. He notices everyday that she seems more sick and pale everyday.
"I'm fine Kun" she mumbles quietly and walks back to the kitchen. Kun followed behind with worry on his face.
==
4pm in the afternoon, y/n went out to buy groceries, silently deciding between the two chips on the shelf.
Laughter filled the aisle and y/n's heart suddenly beat fast. The familiar laugh filled her ears with a another female's laughter. She looks at her right and saw Kun, with another girl, laughing together before kissing her in the forehead.
Y/n rushed out of the aisle in the check out. Running through the streets back to her apartment before the coughs attack again.
She rushed into her bathroom and she felt even worse than ever. She feels suffocated and coughed out even more strongly and the bloody petals comes out again, but this time with thorns coming out with it.
The suffocating feeling rises even more and pain through her body. Her breathing slowly stopped as more Marigold flowers and thorns filled her lungs and creeped on her heart. A few seconds and her air cuts off, her heart feels even more pain that her body gives up and falls lifeless on the floor.
Kun knocks on her door an hour later when she hasn't been responding. After 10 minutes of waiting he got frustrated and looked for the extra keys on the plant next to the door and rushed inside the apartment. He looks around each room looking for his best friend. "Y/n?" He asked aloud from the apartment.
Kun stopped on the opened bathroom door and peeked inside. He saw blood and floor and quickly opened the door and found her lifeless on the floor, flower petal and blood surrounding her.
Kun's eyes had tears on them when he saw her till he saw the flower petals around her.
"Marigold flowers. My favorite...." He thinks till he realizes and cries out.
