no. 7

[presaege]

"one thing i know for sure: don’t do it like me. do it like you." (( for benji from heeyoung... i'll write her bio up one of these days i promise

sunlight filtered in from the window on the far side of the room and illuminated the boy hunched over his desk in the faculty room, papers strewn across his desk haphazardly and a box of crayons perched dangerously on the corner, one table shake away from toppling to the ground. a pair of glasses sat on the tip of his nose, his tongue peeking out of the corner of his mouth in concentration as his hand flew across the page in jumbled korean. english spattered his notes here and there when he couldn’t quite think of the word he wanted to use in korean, his language skills somewhat rusty from never having to rely on his use of it at home. sure, his mother spoke it, but even there they tended to converse in english, more so because his mother wanted to adapt to the world around her rather than sit in a comfortable bubble with her only son. he admired her for it, and tried to do his best to do the same. it’s then that his pencil snaps and an overdramatic sigh breaks past from between his lips, but he takes that moment to take a break and eye what he’d written down so far. he thinks of that episode of spongebob, the one where he had to write an essay and spent hours on just perfecting the word the, and for a moment, he felt as though he’d done the same in a sense. staring back at him was a mess of ideas with no real description and his nose crinkled in distaste. a glance at the clock lets him know he’d been sat at his desk for a little over an hour and the younger children (the ones he was in charge of) were certainly back at home by now.

there’s a few other teachers in the room with him, an elderly woman and man were discussing ideas of how to best teach basics of biology in the corner of the room and benjamin was thankful that was not a subject he had to touch. it wasn’t as though science didn’t interest him, it was just that math and science with their tricky formulas and absolute answers were a bit out of his realm of thinking and he couldn’t even imagine trying to teach children about it. he nearly shudders at the thought, but holds himself back, remembering he needed to get his own plans in order. a few desks down sat heeyoung, benjamin’s self appointed work best friend (though, he hadn’t quite gotten around to mentioning that title to her yet-- but he will someday, he swears it!) working on what he could only assume was her own lesson plan for her own group of children. despite being work friends, benji hadn’t been able to breach the step of breaking down the wall of occupational necessity to please be my friend i think you’re really nice and wasn’t sure how he could invite her out to get coffee without it seeming as though he was making a pass at her. his fingers curl into the fabric of his pants for a moment as he eyes her, his gaze flittering back to his mess of notes for a moment before he rises, his chair making a grisly screech when it scrapes across the floor. 

“how’s it coming along?” he questions, not quite to her desk yet when he speaks. he settles in, gently resting a hip against the tabletop, his arms crossing over his chest as he slightly leans in to get a better look at her paper. benjamin was always jealous of how easily work seemed to be for her, to him she was a master of ideas and brilliant at bringing to fruition as well. at times, he felt as though he were simply a fish floundering about on land while she had been able to evolve and adapt to the chaos of the classroom. he’d seen her with the kids too, and the way the kids faces lit up around her had definitely led him to run into a wall or another teacher more than once in the hall. luckily, he had the natural talent of getting out of embarrassing situations with an awkward laugh, a small bow, and a bright smile. his coworkers just ate it up. mocha eyes catch her own and he smiles bright, his eyes crinkling at the corners. 

“i was wondering, how do you put your lesson plans together so well? it’s like magic. mine are horrible compared to yours.” he chuckles softly, throwing his hands up as though in defeat before crossing them over his chest again. “i really can’t seem to get my thoughts onto paper this time. the plan was crayon art, but of what? dinosaurs? animals? volcanos? volcanos are definitely cool and the kids would love that, but i think i should leave any explanation of them to mr. kim.” the teacher in question was the one in the corner laughing loudly at something the other woman had said. they got along quite well. he wondered if they hung around each other outside of school too. 

her voice brings his attention back to her and he quirks a brow ever so slightly before he lets out a small sigh. “i guess you’re right, even if i did imitate your work, it wouldn’t be the same, would it? maybe i’ll have them draw dinosaurs and we can turn it into a whole activity. i still have to figure out the specifics.” his notes certainly didn’t have any written down. somewhere on the page, in green crayon, dinosaurs was written down in all caps, circled three times with red. he really wanted to do a dinosaur activity.

“so, anyway...” he hesitates, his voice trailing off, eyes gazing towards the window instead. his fingers tap mindlessly against the top of her table. “do you like coffee?”

[memetaped]

spider-man: into the spider-verse taken from the 2018 movie.

you on your way. just keep going. 

i love you. you don’t have to say it back, though.

look, sometimes people drift apart. and i don’t want that to happen to us, okay?

this is my fault.

our family doesn’t run from things.

i don’t think you have a choice, kiddo.

look, call me when you can. okay? i love you.

we all have powers.

you’ve got to say “i love you” back.

got a lot going through your head, i’m sure. you’re gonna be fine.

hey, bud. you okay?

please open the door. (name), i can see your shadow moving around.

i’ll always have my family.

i’m sorry. i can’t do this without you.

hey, it’s okay. we’re gonna figure it out.

they’re counting on me.

you can’t think about saving the world. you have to think about saving one person.

of course you can stay.

i see this spark in you. it’s amazing. it’s why i push you, but… it’s yours. whatever you choose to do with it, you’ll be great.

i let you down, man, i let you down.

mom, i’ve gotta go.

yeah, i’m okay. you’re probably busy, so…

how am i supposed to save the whole world?

(name), you’re gonna get yourself killed.

can i sleep here tonight?

that’s all it is, (name). a leap of faith.

look, i know i don’t always do what you need me to do. or say what you need me to say, but i’m… i see this spark in you. it’s amazing. it’s why i push you, but… it’s yours. whatever you choose to do with it, you’ll be great.

one thing i know for sure: don’t do it like me. do it like you. 

i wanna do what you asked. i really do. i’m sorry.

(name), the hardest thing about this job is… you can’t always save everybody.

[presaege]

the flash from his small polaroid camera shocks him and he lowers the arm holding it as his dog, sir finnegan (finn or finny for shirt), skitters away. benjamin laughs to himself and waits a moment for the film to come out before he sets both the camera and the small black rectangle down on the table to allow it to develop. as the picture begins to come into focus, the boy turns his attention back to the breakfast he had started to make before his focus had been captured by the idea of taking a snapshot of the morning. across the room on the far wall, the light blue plaster was dotted with various polaroid pictures containing the smiling faces of friends, family, and nature. when he could, he loved to go out and go for hikes and see what he could find, though the foliage in his new home certainly paled in comparison to his home back in vermont.

benjamin was a bit homesick. not in the sense he was going to pack his bags and fly back over in a heartbeat, but he missed the ability to go right over and spend time with his mom or call his friends up for a boy’s night where they’d probably watch harry potter for the fifteenth time or play cards against humanity until tears trickled from their eyes. most of all, he missed the world outside his home. the mesmerizing greens of the trees often drew him in, and he longed to sit by the small pond that used to be near his house in his youth and watch the frogs swim around in the water. it wasn’t as if he hated his new life, no, in reality he was quite happy. he had found himself a nice home in the countryside and decorated it to fit his tastes with an eclectic jumbling of furniture and decor topped off with an acoustic guitar resting in the corner he had yet to learn (he keeps telling himself he’ll figure it out one day, but more often that not, he picks up a book rather than strumming the strings). most of all, here in korea, he adored his new job.

he smiles to himself as he whisks two eggs together, remembering specifically the smile of one of the smallest kids in his class, a young boy who still couldn’t quite jumble a string of words together yet but he sure did try his best. his coworker would say he was just extremely fond of the small boy and that’s why he found him so cute, as the kid in question was a terror in the classroom. he was the human version of a tornado, where he went, toys hit the floor soon after, and the child either hadn’t grasped the concept of cleaning up after himself or simply didn’t care. still, despite the fact his classroom was a constant disaster zone, benjamin couldn’t picture himself in any other line of work. the chaos of the classroom beckoned him, and while he went home tired and a bit stressed, he was refreshed rather quickly once he was off his feet for a bit. soon, his eggs are done, and he plates them and settles into the chair at his small dining room table. he scarfs them down without much thought, drinking his coffee (with a generous helping of milk) on the side as he scrolls through his phone with one hand, a pair of round glasses perched on his nose. 

when he’s finished, he takes the plate and mug to his sink and tidies up. it doesn’t take long, and this is part of his routine. he never did enjoy letting dishes pile up, and he was happy he could avoid having roommates as he saw the way his friends lived and he cringed at the thought. finally, it’s time to view the polaroid, and when his eyes settle on it his lips curl into a large smile a small chuckle slipping past his lips. sir finnegan looks like an absolute beast, his eyes flashed red and his mouth open. for a corgi, he sure did look like a monster in that shot, and he supposed he didn’t look much better. because of this, he loved it. the picture was a keeper, and he was quick to go tack it up with the rest of them, making sure to write the date on the bottom of it with a small smiley face. benjamin liked putting the dates down to track the way things changed over time, but it also reminded him of the scrapbooks his mother would make. he was the only child and his single mother had raised him with enough love for four kids. he’d had a brother, but there were complications and he had passed before ever being born. at five, benjamin could not process the grief his mother had went through, but it was enough for his parents to split. his father, while not really in his life from that point on, did write him letters from time to time. bejamin never replied. it just never felt right. they sat in a drawer somewhere in his bedroom, always opened and read, but never responded to. he sort of regretted giving his father his address, but some small part of him wished he’d get to see him again one day. 

“finny, come here, boy!” benjamin calls out, grabbing his keys and his corgi’s leash near the door. the jingling paired with his voice draws the beast out of hiding, and the small dog gallops over until he’s barreling into benjamin’s legs with an excited yip. “i know, i know. let’s go for a long walk today, how does that sound? maybe we’ll see some ducks again.” he imagines the bark he gets in response is a yes and with a laugh, makes his way out the front door with his over excited dog in tow.

[presaege]

Do they like to read?

yep! he reads whenever he can find the time, even if he can only fit in thirty minutes at the end of the night he’ll sit down and do it.

What is their favorite genre to read?

definitely fantasy, he just loves the worlds that can be built and the sort of whimsical creatures he doesn’t fully believe exist in the world. plus, he just finds them the easiest to get into and likes to incorporate the stories into his job as well.

Do they prefer fiction or non-fiction?

fiction, for sure. he doesn’t entirely stay away from self help books, though.

Who is their favorite author?

he doesn’t have one in particular, but he did like the harry potter books a lot (a self proclaimed ravenclaw) so he’d probably say her.

Are they a fast reader or a slow reader?

fast, sometimes so quick he doesn’t absorb the information and has to read the page over and over again.

Are they good at reading out loud?

yes, and his kids absolutely adore when they read to him. he gets really into the stories.

Do they prefer paperback or hardcover books?

hardcover, he just thinks they look and feel nicer.

Are they the type to mark in or dog-ear their books? Or would they consider that a sin?

oh, absolutely. he’s kind of lazy and sort of likes the look of the bent pages too, it makes them look used.

Do they prefer to read physical books, digital books, or audiobooks?

physical. he prefers holding it in his hands and can’t focus on audiobooks.

Would they ever join a book club?

maybe, he hasn’t really thought about it, but he’s definitely not against the idea either.

Do they ever re-read books?

harry potter? yes. one hundred percent? a good manga? yep.

[presaege]

it was cold, that much was clear. each breath of hers was a small puff of white, her own personal cloud that lasted but a moment. she sat with her legs hanging off the edge of the wall of the deck of her room, her palms set flat against the cool stone, head slightly leaned back as she eyed the kingdom. red, like the most beautiful rose. she loved red, cherished it, found happiness in it when she found herself in the dull grey of another world. to her, red was life, joy, family. home.

“hey, idiot, can you hear me?”

she’s startled by the sound of another voice, nearly jumping before she turns her head, a small frown tugging at her lips once her eyes settle on the boy standing before her. parker is quick to throw her legs back over to stand on her deck, crossing her arms over her chest as she eyes the other with a quirked brow.

“i wish i couldn’t.” she responds, flipping her hair over her shoulder and out of her face. “henry, what could you possibly want? after all, you ditched me to hang out with that other girl-- ah, what was her name again? eleanor? the princess?” 

henry only smiles in response. she loathed that shit eating grin of his, yet loved it all the same.

“awww, park, you jealous? we hang out all the time, you know. i’d like to have other friends too, if you don’t mind.”

“i do.”

“you do what?”

“do mind. it’s terribly boring here, and the king and queen don’t want me traveling to other worlds anymore! they say it’s too dangerous.” she huffs. “the only things that’s dangerous is succumbing to my own boredom and perishing within these walls. could you imagine? what a scandal that’d be.”

“it’d be equally a scandal to hear a member of the royal family not only used so-called ‘cursed’ magic, but while doing so managed to get herself killed. honestly, you need to be careful, you know what people would say.”

she sighs, then, knowing he’s right, but at sixteen years old she’d barely had a chance to leave the palace walls, let alone stick her nose into anything that’d cause her any real trouble. she’d only managed to visit a few worlds thus far and none of them screamed stay away, but he was right that the people of the kingdom wouldn’t take too kindly to the magic she possessed. 

it would be sixth months later her penchant for gambling would come about, and a year later the secret of her sorcery would be exposed.

“i suppose you’re right.” she mumbles in response, casting her eyes towards the ground. around henry she didn’t have to wear an annoyingly uncomfortable contact that hid the color of her black eye, instead coloring it a nice brown color. he raised her chin with two of his fingers and winked. there was that shit eating grin again.

“hey, for now, we can spend some time together. let’s play a game. poker? hey-- don’t give me that look! you’ll get better at it, i swear.”

she would, but not until henry was gone. that event would not happen for another three years. the color red a stark contrast against the crisp white of his shirt. red, the color of home, now the color of despair.

“hello, earth to parker.”

she laughs and swats his hand away, shoving him back playfully.

“ah, not too busy chasing after eleanor’s skirt, are we?”

“oh, come on, i’m a perfect gentleman. plus, the only skirt i’d chase after is yours.” he waggles his eyebrows and at the look in her eyes darts away before she can hit him, laughing loudly all the while. “to hit me where it really hurts you’ll have to beat me in a game of poker! see you downstairs!”

she watches him go and smiles to herself as she follows behind him at a much slower pace, too tired to bother running after him. in any case, he’d have the game set up by the time she arrived if she took her time.

“idiot.” she mumbles to herself, taking the stairs one creaky step at a time.

[presaege]

urianius·:

in response to this. / @sorcelleire·.

you would not believe the day she’s had and it just started! to say she is seething is quite the understatement; yeonmi is quite literally about to burst at the seams. who in god’s name does he thinks he is, making fun of her like that with absolutely no shame?

[ ✉ ] — ㅠㅡㅠ ㅠㅡㅠ ㅠㅡㅠ [ ✉ ] — yah, hwiyoung!!! why are you so mean to me!!! shouldn’t you be glad i’m texting you so much!!! [ ✉ ] — i’ll never talk to you again -_-

if she hadn’t already ripped one of her beloved plushies to shreds, she’d march over and give hwiyoung a good beating just because he felt the need to rile her up like that and she wanted to return the favour accordingly. but her doctor said it wasn’t good for her blood pressure to rise and stay high so she relents for now.

there’s no way helping what goes on in her mind, though. and right now, her attention is fixated solely on her phone and the teasing messages the boy left for her. who’s prettier than her? nobody, that’s who. she’s the prettiest, ugh. how to calm down when she has to deal with what easily borders on insolence?

she wants to scream but her father is downstairs and having brunch with a business associate so that probably isn’t the smartest move. even someone as needy as yeonmi understands when to use a situation to her advantage and quite frankly, right now it’s looking bad for her. at least if she doesn’t want to be scolded after the associate leaves.

she heaves a sigh, plops down on the edge of her bed and wraps her hands around the cushy remnants of her stuffed teddy bear. unfortunately, he bore the brunt of her anger at hwiyoung — tears shoot into her eyes when she notices there’s no repairing him.

across the room the plushie flies, her hands balling into fists when her phone on the nightstand vibrates again, indicating the arrival of another text message. a ball of anxiety forms in her stomach at the thought of more degrading words but it’s not like she can’t help the constant desire for attention. some part of the brunette reasons he’s just messing for her because that’s his way of showcasing affection.

she really wants it to be affection. yeonmi doesn’t care for anything else.

his last message makes her frown and scoff all at once.

[ ✉ ] — yah. who’s this girl that’s supposedly prettier than me? and why are you buying her things? you don’t even have money!!!

she screams for five long minutes into her pillow to release the pent-up frustration before that thing is thrown off her king size bed too with her frame staying put on the mattress, her head dully knocking against the headbord. her fringe is annoying when it falls into her eyes but yeonmi likes how she looks so she’s not getting rid of this look just yet.

but what if hwiyoung doesn’t like it? is that why he’s spending the day with someone else?

yeonmi shudders at that. it’s difficult to decide whether she feels simply annoyed with the fact he had to rub it into her face like that or if she’s hurt. probably a mixture of both; she’s never been good at understanding her inner life and she’d rather not take up the big task of figuring out now that she’s in a bad mood.

another thought pops into her mind: if that’s what her mother felt with her dad, then she understands the reason behind their divorce. sometimes she misses her, specifically in moments such as this one. maybe she’d know what to do with this situation.

for the split of a moment, she contemplates calling her before she tosses the phone on the nightstand, knowing she won’t pick up. yeonmi doesn’t want another disappointment today, she decides, when she drapes one arm over her face to shut out the world.

yeonmi was fun. well, yeonmi herself was only marginally fun, a pawn in hwiyoung’s many games, but messing with her brought him great entertainment. in the pit of his stomach he always felt a bit guilty knowing he was making her upset, but after the many stunts she pulled he felt it was only fair. after all, they each held one another as pawns in their own game, and when moved the other was soon to follow. despite all her faults, he figured he’d never be bored.

when he finally reads yeonmi’s texts he can’t help but grow excited, his fingers itching to text immediately, but he knows it’ll be so much more satisfying to make her wait for it. plus, the perfect response curated to truly ruin her day would take time. 

[ sms: yeonmi ] oh my darling yeonmi it’s actually been u this whole time~ >‿‿◕ [ sms: yeonmi ] how u hurt me thinking i’d actually think another woman is prettier than u, what do u take me for, a scoundrel???? [ sms: yeonmi ] also i have lots of money! i just pretend to be poor so u’ll buy me stuff, it’s sm fun being doted on by a pretty girl i just couldn’t help myself~

he nearly deletes the texts and starts all over, but figures it’d be enough to confuse her. maybe. hwiyoung still couldn’t quite fully read yeonmi, at times it was incredibly easy to press her buttons, but at others she was easily able to flip the tables on him. he both loved and hated that about her. 

he’s quick to start tapping out his other replies, attempting to get them out quicker than she has a chance to respond.

[ sms: yeonmi ] just kidding~ she’s waaaaay prettier than u [ sms: yeonmi ] i bet u’d love to know what she looks like right? well my type is the opposite of u, so actually cute? experienced!! yada yada it doesn’t matter~ [ sms: yeonmi ] she’s coming over tonight, actually, i went ahead and asked her out while u were busy taking forever to respond

he snorts to himself. he’d never invited anyone he wanted to impress over, he hadn’t even invited neither hyemi or yeonmi over. not that yeonmi needed to know about that.

[ sms: yeonmi ] isn’t that funny!?! even u haven’t been over before, she’s so special~ ヽ(゜∇゜)ノ

with that text, he sets his phone down beside him and finally gets out of bed. hwiyoung takes his sweet time showering and getting ready to really allow the messages he’s sent settle in, even going as far as messing with his pile of gathered items in the corner just to pass more time.

his fingers are itching to pick up his phone and see what she’ll respond with, but he relents. maybe he’d go out and pick up some food with the money he’d pocketed the day prior, but then he ran the risk of running into yeonmi in public. then again, he could make some excuse about meeting up with the girl mentioned in the messages and swing by to bother hyemi and really get under yeonmi’s skin.

maybe going out wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

[presaege]

life was supposed to sort itself out after twenty-five years, at least, that’s what she’d always assumed, but sitting here in the middle of a park by herself watching those much younger than herself seemingly enjoying their lives, she felt as though she’d missed something. she’d decided to study overseas, finding herself in the united states studying something she had no interest in but instead something her parents had pressured her into pursuing. she had gotten through three years before she dropped out, packed her bags, and returned home. life had only grown more confusing from there.

she now worked full time as a barista and lived with two other women close to her age to make ends meet. they weren’t exactly friends, but the three of them got along well enough, and they never ate her leftovers which she appreciated. jiwon hadn’t dated since her freshman year of college, and now at twenty-eight, she wondered if she was even interested in men. she’d cut her hair short two years ago and never bothered to grow it back out, finding it must more feasible to not have to fiddle with it for over an hour every morning. her fashion had also grown more casual over the years, and with time she’d just come to appreciate men’s fashion much more than women’s, but secretly it was because it was just so much more comfortable. skirts and heels be damned. never again.

the clouds part and suddenly the sun is in her eyes and she reaches a hand up to block it out, letting out a little sigh and finally rising from her spot on the bench. she had originally set out to read her book, but it’d sat next to her forgotten as she ended up people watching instead. sometimes, she’d pull out her notebook and sketch, but even that hadn’t really interested her. lately, her thoughts had been filled with regrets, maybe she should have gone through with her parents wishes. at least she’d have money, a nicer place to live, and maybe a husband and two kids (again, that was more something her parents wanted, not her). she frowns at the thought. 

jiwon tucks her book under her arm and slings her bag over her shoulder and begins to make her trek back to her apartment, humming a pop song she’d heard earlier to herself quietly. realistically, she knew she’d have to make a decision about her life soon, working as a barista wasn’t going to pay the bills forever, and sooner or later it’d grow boring. maybe she could open her own coffee shop. it wasn’t a bad though, but she wasn’t exactly sure if she was passionate enough about coffee. maybe not. as she thinks, her eyes scan the various advertisements that lined the streets of the city and she wished she had been blessed with a beautiful face so she could model for a living, but even that thought made her wrinkle her nose with distaste.

truthfully, she had no idea what she wanted to do with her life. she thought it was weird to be twenty-eight with no real plan, but maybe it wasn’t so wrong. she liked her job. she liked her small apartment. she liked the city. maybe she could coast by just for a few more years.

a nagging thought at the back of her mind told her that no, that wouldn’t be possible.

[presaege]

the knife clatters to the ground and aspen takes a shaky breath, her fingers covering her mouth as her eyes waver, tears beginning to gather at the end of her lid. red splatters across the ground, stains her fingers, coats patches of her hair, and the color is all she can focus on. it blossoms from their center, blooming big and spreading fast, and she doesn’t even think to grab a towel and scrub it up, her legs beginning to tremble.

she vaguely registers the steps rapidly approaching the room but she’s not quick enough to react, her eyes barely leaving the scene before her when he bursts into the room, his own eyes widening as he looks from the body to her.

“oh, shit, aspen. what the fuck?”

“i-i, god, i don’t know! he— it, i don’t know!” her voice breaks as she speaks, clasping her hands before her as though it’s a silent prayer, but she’d given up on god long ago. a cross hangs on the wall across the kitchen, mocking her. her mother would be so disappointed. “i came down here and he was here-”

“it doesn’t matter. shit. shit. aspen, we need to leave. now!”

“but—”

“there’s no time to argue, we gotta go.”

he reaches for her hand and then stops, his eyes focusing on the red coating them. for a moment, she thinks he’s going to puke, but instead he just runs a hand through his hair and looks away.

“wash your hands, aspen. and your hair.” he pauses, frowns, then leads her to the kitchen sink, taking careful steps to avoid the mess. “i’ll help.”

in the bottom of the sink, the red turns to pink then spirals away, but the blood on the floor remains. she feels as though she’s covered in it. hair damp, hands as clean as they can be, and dressed in one of his oversized jackets to protect against the cold they leave.

it’s the beginning of the end, but they weren’t aware of that yet.

[presaege]

“do you think i’m cute?”

he smiles. she doesn’t smile back. he’s still smiling. oh god, baekhyun stop smiling. stop smiling. he can’t stop smiling. crap.

he nervously fumbles with the bottom of his much too oversized sweater vest, the bright orange button up shirt peeking out from the top of the v, one collar upturned. he can’t quite catch her eye, and finally his smile falls, his cheeks still dusted a rosy pink. 

boy, was he ever hopeless. he’d never win over the cute barista at the coffee shop at this rate and he’d have to deal with sieun teasing him for the rest of his life. while his dashing good looks weren’t the only thing he had going for him, it wasn’t as if he could expose his super powers to the one girl he was interested in, that went against the hero code! superman would probably fly over just to kick his butt. he didn’t want that to happen. superman was his role model. so was spiderman, and iron man, and captain america and—

the woman across from him blinks. baekhyun looks away, his cheeks puffing up a bit as his lips settle into a straight line. his eyes travel around the room, up towards the ceiling, across the room to the window, and finally on her chest. wait, no not there! abort abort! he’s quick to meet her gaze, his cheeks now resembling the brightest of apples, his accidental gaze not unnoticed by the woman across from him.

she was going to kill him this time.

good thing she was well aware he’d never intentionally be a creep. she lets it slide. just once.

“baekhyun, as your self appointed voice of reason, i must say no, you don’t exactly fall into the cute category.” she grins and baekhyun deflates. “then again, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, maybe yerin thinks otherwise.”

he immediately perks up at the name that’s left his friend’s lips, his eyes widening a bit, and in the next moment he’s slammed his hands down on the table separating them, his body leaning over the top of it as he looks at her with excitement twinkling in his eyes.

“you really think so? tell me, yuna, do you really think i have a chance? i mean, she’s really cute, and nice, and she makes the best coffee ever. she’s perfect.” he settles back into his seat then, his lips curling into a smile as he slips back into his own imagination.

there, he’s the greatest hero around and yerin is his ass kicking sidekick. if only reality was the same. he’d get there one day, by superman’s blessing, of course.

“maybe. you won’t know unless you ask her out. i know your other friend tells you the same thing. just do it, baek. what do you have to lose?”

he blinks. what did he have to lose? hm. that was a good question. 

“huh.” baekhyun looks across the cafe towards the girl in question, his bottom lip jutting out into a slight pout. “maybe i should ask her.”

he gets up from his chair and yuna offers him an exaggerated thumbs up paired with a subtle nod, a smirk on her face. baekhyun grins back, takes two steps towards yerin, then turns and hightails it out of the cafe yelling to yuna on his way out across the building. 

“maybe next time! got bad guys butts to kick and all that. see ya later, bye!”

he doesn’t catch the way yerin watches him with a small smile, giggling softly behind her hand, but yuna does. she’d have to get into contact with baekhyun’s other friend some time and have her rough baekhyun up for her.

[presaege]

What is their fashion sense like?

jisung tends to wear only black and white. he finds comfort in simplicity, and it reminds him of his old uniform. most often seen in black jackets, tends to keep most of his skin covered, doesn’t like short sleeves or shorts.

hwiyoung is very sporadic with his clothing, but likes hoodies the most. he mixes bright colors and monochromatic styles as well depending on his mood. he likes to be adventurous, but can’t really afford all the clothes he wants, so sticks to what he has even if it’s worn out.

jaehyun likes the color black. stereotypical, i know. that’s it. just basic black fits. next.

parker rocks her enchanted jacket and a comfortable pair of shoes pretty much every day. the rest of her clothes don’t matter much to her, but she does like dainty button up blouses even if they aren’t the most functional. she’s not a big fan of dresses, but doesn’t mind skirts too much.

sooyoung loves pink, white, and red which makes sense given her job. she’s really into super frilly, lacy items and is a big fan of super girly dresses. most of the time she wears a pretty blouse with jeans or shorts because they’re the easiest to throw on.

jisoo wears that typical korean college look. the current kind. y’know, with the jeans and the socks and the shoes. yeah, that’s the one. college boy.

chiaki likes to wear designer head to toe, especially chanel and louis vuitton. she goes for more classical looks rather than the streetwear items, but she just likes to look pretty and as though she’s dripping with money more or less. when doing her hobby, she wears athletic wear.

baekhyun looks like his closet threw up on him. unless he’s really trying, it truly looks like he picked out his clothes with his eyes shut. rarely do his outfits go together at all, and it’s a blessing if his socks match.

[presaege]

What time do they wake up in the morning? Is it the same time every day? And how many times do they press snooze?

jisung doesn’t really need to sleep and tends to pull all nighters or go days without sleeping. if he does sleep, it’s because he feels like acting human and will sleep a solid eight hours. he’ll go to sleep at ten and wake up at six o’clock sharp.

hwiyoung always wakes up late. he basically just falls asleep whenever he’s tired, but usually that’s at two or three in the morning. he’s never had a consistent sleep schedule and doesn’t set an alarm unless it’s for something important (aka hanging out with hyemi) but he’ll still hit snooze at least three times before rising.

jaehyun doesn’t have a consistent sleep schedule nor does he really need to sleep. he sleeps and wakes up whenever he feels like it. he’d rather go to heaven than set an alarm.

parker doesn’t go to sleep at the same time every night, but she always rises between six and eight in the morning. she can’t sleep past that time even if she’s exhausted. she never hits snooze if she sets an alarm.

sooyoung falls asleep promptly at nine every single night unless she’s out. whether or not she wakes up early depends on how much chocolate she had the night prior. if she sets an alarm, she’ll snooze it once but it’ll annoy her so much she’ll rise the next time.

jisoo stresses himself out so much he has trouble sleeping. he tends to wake up early and never snoozes his alarm. he believes in being an early riser and always sets his alarm for five in the morning. when he doesn’t set it, he still rises by seven.

chiaki believes sleep helps your beauty and has a very consistent sleep schedule unless she’s off doing her hobby. she sleeps at nine every night and wakes up by eight at the latest. she doesn’t press snooze on her alarm, but is an early riser anyway.

baekhyun’s sleep schedule is all over the place. he falls asleep at eight sometimes and two in the morning others. alarms are the bane of his existence, therefore he must hit snooze at least five times and has even thrown his alarm clock across the room in frustration only to feel really bad about it later. he sleeps in most of the time, hence his constant messy hair.

[presaege]

he awakens to the sound of his phone buzzing on his nightstand, the sun shining in through his blinds alerting him he’d slept in longer than he intended. not that it mattered. none of it really did in the end. he ignores the phone but the incessant buzzing leads him to groan and finally extend his hand out to grab it, his eyes squinting at the too bright screen. 

yeonmi. 

hwiyoung sighs, letting his phone flop onto the mattress beside his head, his hand falling over his eyes to block out the sun. he notes that hyemi hadn’t responded to him and he frowns. he’d just have to settle for yeonmi’s attention to steer him clear of boredom for the day.

[ sms: yeonmi ] i get that u miss me but don’t spam my phone like an obsessive girlfriend~! unless~ (¬‿¬) that’s what u’d like to be? [ sms: yeonmi ] kidding, i’m only interested in one woman, u know ( ́ ◕◞ε◟◕`)

hwiyoung knows his messages will set her off, but the thought excites him. it beat being ignored any day. negative attention was still attention. plus, messing with a spoiled rich girl never hurt anybody. part of him resented her, the other part longed for her attention in a weird, twisted way. he blamed it on his boredom.

[ sms: yeonmi ] hey hey, ur a pretty girl and u probably get asked on a lot of dates riiiiight~? [ sms: yeonmi ] so, how should i ask this even prettier girl out~? flowers? a teddy bear? help ur bestest friend out i’m at a loss o(╥﹏╥)o

the boy places his phone back down on his nightstand face down after making sure he’s set it on silent before he rolls back onto his side on his bed, curling up under his covers with a small grin tugging at his lips. when he awoke he was sure he’d find a very interesting string of messages awaiting him.

he couldn’t wait, but if he opened the messages now it’d only spoil the fun. patience was a virtue, at least, that’s what he’d heard once. what an idiotic thing to think. life was too short to wait around. just this once he’d wait. it’d be worth the entertainment. 

when his eyes fall shut, he finds himself wondering why hyemi hadn't responded. the logical part of his brain tells him she's probably busy, but the irrational part states she hates him and doesn't want to speak to him again. his brows knit together at the though and his fingers clench tighter to his blanket. he wouldn't blame her if she did, he understood he was damaged goods. a freak, an unlovable disaster. even so, he hoped she thought different. some days he wished she would stop talking to him for her own sake, but he couldn't keep himself but wrapping his greedy fingers around her neck and never letting go.

he really was the worst.

he tosses and turns for a few hours but doesn't come out from under his covers even when a small sheen of sweat has collected on his skin. when he finally rises, he grabs his phone and eyes the screen with dread bubbling in his stomach.

hyemi.

the thought is replaced by the flutterings of anxiousness, though he can't pinpoint why. suddenly he feels nauseous and lightheaded all at the same time, but perhaps that is because of the amount of messages he's received from yeonmi. he puts them off for a moment, a bright smile on his face as he responds to his dearest friend.

[ sms: hyemi ] ah! hyemi!!! i thought u had died... hdu hypothetically leave me alone on this terrible planet (╥_╥) [ sms: hyemi ] to make up for it i demand a picnic!! i promise i won't throw sand this time and i'll even buy lunch of ur choice [ sms: hyemi ] pls remember i'm broke and if u ask for smth expensive i'll have to steal~! (σ≧▽≦)σ

suddenly the day was looking a little less boring. he'd have to apologize to yeonmi for terrorizing her but that could wait. he had much more important business to attend to.

[presaege]

drip. drip. drip.

storms were awful. humans were even worse for crafting inefficient roofs that leaked when it rained outside. god was the worst for creating rain and the baffling stupid humans. but satan was king of the most horrible things jaehyun could think of for sending him to this godforsaken (excuse his swearing) city in the first place.

earth was fine enough, humans were at least interesting enough to keep him from being bored, but lately there hadn’t been anything for him to do. he was stationed in seoul, a lively but much too safe city, and the demon had yet to figure out why. had the devil’s spawn been planted here? surely not, for he would have heard of it a long while ago, so why? 

at least he could nap. hell wasn’t a pleasant place for naps. you got used to the heat after a while, but there was always someone there bothering you about something or other. he supposed he earned it for sauntering out of heaven in the first place, his fists thrust into his jeans pocket as he made his way down, but he wished he’d be left alone every once in a while. that was the one good thing about earth. unless he was really needed, he could nap all he wanted. if he wanted to take a two hour nap, he could. eight hours, why not? he could spend days sleeping and no one would bat an eye as he hadn’t really made friends with any of his neighbors nor did he ever wish to. for all they knew, he was a simple man who loved spending time in his apartment.

that, or they thought he was creepy. probably that. he didn’t care.

he cared a little bit.

thunder rumbles in the distance and jaehyun rolls his eyes, his head thudding back against the wall as he lets his eyes flutter shut with a sigh. to all the fools who spent all their time worshipping a god who didn’t really care (his own interpretation of course, his one angel friend always corrected him and swore he loved all his children) believed that storms were a sign from him, but jaehyun didn’t buy it. if heaven and hell were throwing their weight around all the time and causing storms willy nilly they’d have caused armageddon ages ago. regardless of the cause or reason, he just hated storms. he hated rain, hated thunder, and most of all hated lightning. the destruction was too random, not calculated at all, and worst of all not something he caused.

he sighs again, this time rising to his feet, his knees popping loudly in the empty room. the dripping is the only other sound besides the light padding of his feet before he stops to peer out the window, his eyes narrowing at how heavy the rain is coming down. jaehyun had two options, leave and get soaked and even more irritated, or stay and mutter to himself about human’s faults and why the lord of hell was simply the worst boss of all time.

to think, all this had come of a simple trip to the local garden, his mind set on seeing sunflowers, of which there were none. that had put him in a bad mood in the first place, and though he’d wandered around searching for some other pretty petal to catch his eye, nothing had satiated his original desire. on his way out he made sure to wither quite a few of the plants, his way of saying thank you for a terrible time.

when the rain had begun, he’d found refuge in the closest place he could find as damp clothes and hair were on his list of his least favorite things. if only heaven wasn’t such a wimp and stopped crying all the time he wouldn’t even have to deal with the rain again. that was, of course, a joke. not that he didn’t think heaven was weak. 

he contemplates for a few more minutes by the window, his reflection now staring back at him instead of the rain. he frowns. then, he leaves. damn the rain. damn the thunder. damn the lightning. 

he just wanted to go home and go back to sleep.