⧻

[runawaykai]

mini yakuza || kozue & kai

[runawaykozue]

She missed the warmth of his fingers as soon as they had left her cheek. She shivered a bit as the last bit of warmth left her and crossed her arms tighter around herself. “How do you forget about something like that, your head is completely different color.” She said, quirking an eyebrow and giving a smile behind her scarf. She knew if her hair ever changed color she’d never forget. She’d always wondered what it would be like to have blonde hair, hell, even brown hair. Her hair had been jet black her entire life.

When he told her about what he ate, she was a little surprised. “That sounds really shitty… Well, everything’s on me tonight since you’re coming with me.” She said, looking ahead through the trees, seeing the city lights not far off. “Either way, Japanese food sets the bar pretty high for food in general I have to say. Though it might just be bias on my part… Probably not, it’s pretty fuckin great.” She said with a laugh. 

Soon enough they were on the vibrant streets of Kawaguchi, heading down the streets to her favorite ramen shop. It was a trip down memory lane for her, vibrant pictures of fights and parties coming back with every alley they walked past. “Oh! Remember when I told you about that fight where I ended up pretty much black and blue everywhere? That was right down there, near that overpass.” She said, pointing off down a dark corner. She sounded a little excited and happy over the memory, a smile playing at her lips as she pulled down the scarf. “Which means we’re close the ramen place.” She said, looking around, trying to regain her bearings and remember which way to turn next.

[runawaykai]

"It's not like I look at it every day," he replied, shrugging his shoulders slightly. "I've probably spent more time melting mirrors than I have looking in them." After a short pause he grinned and added, "Plus I was drunk when I went out and got it dyed, so the first time I realized it was dyed was a week later when someone said something about it." It had been strange really. They'd complimented his hair and he'd been confused for about 10 minutes before he'd bothered to look. He wasn't quite sure he liked it, but he was 100% sure he didn't care enough to change it.

The man's stomach began to make itself known; it was full of popcorn, sure, but one can only ingest so much shit before real food needed to be added to their diet. "Sounds good to me," he said in return, flashing a small smile at the woman's laugh. She had a nice laugh, he kind of wished she did it more. Maybe it was just around him though, he'd never really given her a reason to be anything but pissed off.

Her memories, which quite frankly sounded traumatizing as hell, sounded like fantastic adventures when she described them. "Damn, well, that souds..." he sought for the right word mere seconds before giving up. "Fun." Nodding his head, he glanced around at the streets, sniffing slightly to see if he could smell anything. "What makes this place different from other ramen shops?" he asked, filling the silence. "Is the food better or is it more like a memory thing."

[oneking-onecrown]

Kim Jongin being perfect 

[runawaykai]

mini yakuza || kozue & kai

[runawaykozue]

After the awkwardness of their last few interactions she was glad he’d said yes. She just wanted some good food. Good Japanese food. Tonkotsu ramen, katsudon, gyoka, takoyaki, korokke, kare pan, castella cake, anmitsu- she had the main restaurant and then a bunch of little bakeries and shops she knew she wanted to visit to get food. She’d read somewhere in a magazine that guys didn’t find girls who ate a lot attractive, but she didn’t really care. As far as she was concerned, he only really tolerated her. She wasn’t expecting much more from him, at least that’s what she convinced herself, but she at the very least appreciated his company… 

She stood a little nervous as he reached out to her, but it melted away the second hid warm fingers touched her face. “Oh my god-” She grabbed his hand and pressed it to her cold cheek letting out a sigh of relief as she closed her eyes. “You are a godsend.” She said happily as he heated up her face. She hadn’t felt real proper warmth in weeks- the fabric of the tent did little to shield you from the cold temperature and she found herself trying to gain from warmth buried under blankets, wearing layers of sweaters and not moving for hours on end until she had to perform. Sometimes she didn’t bother to get food in order to maintain her cocoon of warmth.

Her eyes opened up again and she blinked, letting go of his hand. “Your hair.” She said blinking, feeling a twinge of jealousy run through her. She’d always wanted to be able to dye her hair but never could. “It um… It looks good.” She said and pulled her scarf back up over her mouth and cheeks, starting to walk along, crossing her arms.

"Basically we’re going on kind of a food tour of the city. But mainly I want ramen, yes." She said, casting him a look, her voice muffled by the scarf. "You’ve never really had japanese food before, have you?" She asked as they made their way towards the city.

[runawaykai]

Kai stiffened slightly as the woman grabbed his hand, wondering what on earth had caused the reaction. Then again he wasn't entirely sure why he'd reached out to touch her in the first place, it wasn't as if he could instill upon her the warmth he had been born with. The power was more of a curse anyway, even if the benefit meant he was never cold. He flashed a smile anyway, the words that flew out of his mouth unfiltered, "But of course". 

"My hair.....?" he responded, looking up and pulling at his locks. "Oh yeah, I'd forgotten about that," he continued, dropping his hand and flashing a smile. "Thanks."  Short, simple, as his replies usually were; but he felt a different kind of warmth at the compliment, something that had never occurred before. He didn't know what it was exactly, it was like getting his ego stroked while simultaneously being humbled. Whatever it was, it felt good, but it left him with little to say.

The human torch shook his head, "I haven't had a lot of foods. I ate a lot of microwaveable things as a kid and when I got older I just... ate basic things. Like meat, mainly meat actually. vegetables so I didn't get scurvy." He shrugged his shoulders, "Spending half a paycheck on food just seemed like a waste." 

[runawaykai]

twenty embers

What is a birthday? A birth date?

Well, at its simplest it's a date on which someone was born. But it's so much more than that. Yet, so much less.

It's a date that is memorized by each individual before they know what they'll need to do with the information. They don't know that when they go to a doctor's office they'll need that date in order to be stabbed with a needle and injected with a dead virus. They don't know that in order to obtain a driving permit for a large metal box they'll need to know that date. They don't know why it's important or who told them to memorize it - or if someone told them to memorize it - yet if you survey the streets a child that can speak is a child that knows their birth date. 

But it's just a day. One insignificant day in a year filled with similarly insignificant days. 365 days with which people do the same thing they did with the previous 365. Maybe the vacations are different, maybe the people are, but at the core nothing has really changed. Some people can truthfully state that each week was different for them, but those people are few, and far outnumbered by the mundane. Even if the mundane was a walking lighter. 

Jongin woke with these thoughts, the reminder on his phone reading: 'It's your birthday again jackass, have you done anything worthwhile yet?' Sometimes his past self amused him, sometimes it needed to shut the fuck up.

He rolled off the hammock and went about his daily routine. When he was done eating he worked out, when he was done working out he took a 'flame shower', when he was done with his flame shower he sat on the floor and played with his phone. 

So..... twenty.

Well, he wasn't a teenager anymore. 

[runawaykai]

mini yakuza || kozue & kai

[runawaykozue]

Kozue was bundled up to fight against the cold January air, warm in layers of a black sweater with eyes all over it, a trench coat with chunky knit sleeves, and a simple black dress underneath it all that ended well above her knees. She’d be damned if the weather was going to stop her from wearing short skirts. It was practically all she wore. Her exposed legs were protected by a pair of bright blue tights, a rare splash of color in her monochromatic wardrobe, her well worn boots adorning her feet. On top of it all she had a furry bomber hat, grey fur on black, mittens and a matching scarf. All those layers and yet it felt like the cold wind blew straight through her.

Now the reason she was retreating from the relative warmth of her bed was that they were near her homestead, and so close to her favorite restaurant in all of Japan. The best ramen was just a brief walk away and she was willing to push all the awkwardness that had transpired aside and ask Kai for yet another favor…. He has said he didn’t mind, after all.

She found him perched on a crate eating popcorn that he was popping kernel by kernel in his hand. “Hey… Would you mind going into town with me?” She asked him again, arms hugged close around her as she hopped from foot to foot, trying to keep moving and keep her body temperature up. Her face was nearly entirely hidden from the oversized scarf and hat. “There’s a place I want to go and I don’t know who else to ask.” She said, rubbing her hands along her sides. God damn it why did it have to be fucking winter. She figured her cheeks and nose were probably red from the cold and she was right. She was going to question why she was sitting out in the freezing cold, but his power probably made it more than bearable. 

[runawaykai]

An all too familiar voice pulled him back to reality, making him blink a few times as his eyes focused. The first thing he noticed was the bright blue covering the woman's legs; Well that's new he thought to himself, folding down the top of the kernel bag and hopping off the wooden crate. Brushing non-existent crumbs off his shorts, he nodded his head, a little surprised she'd asked him. He always seemed to fuck it up but then she'd come back with a new proposition and they'd be right back where they started before he messed up, again. It was like a cycle he didn't know how to break.

Tossing the bag back onto the crate, he then noticed the flushed tones on Koz's face. Glancing around the campsite he suddenly realized it was probably cold. Never having experienced the feeling, he wondered if it was truly as uncomfortable at everyone made it seem. "You look freezing," he said, reaching out and pressing the backs of his fingers to her cheek for a moment. The difference of temperature was there but it meant nothing to him - it wasn't uncomfortable as he stayed warm but.... he could tell she wasn't very warm.

"Anyway," he continued suddenly, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Where are we headed? Ramen? Those are the noodles right?"

[blondejongin]

[runawaykai]

kai — growl teasers

[runawaykai]

Cruel Angel's Thesis || Kozue & Kai

[runawaykozue]

She cast him a look as he spoke. Did that mean he actually remembered what she wore? She really didn’t wear a whole lot of white, he was right… Her head was a little foggy around the edges from the couple of beers she’d drunk. It had turned off her filter for a brief moment. “Hey… Sorry if I made things weird by kissing you the other night…” Kozue spoke softly, fixing her bangs with her hands nervously. She wasn’t quite sure how to handle a situation about this… Usually if she made a move she wasn’t rejected. This was all new territory for her.

"I was drunk and I do stupid things when I’m drunk… Though usually I end up in the hospital, with something broken, not necessarily a bruised ego." She kept her feet moving, walking through the forest, keeping her eyes trained on the ground below her. "It was just a silly mistake. I don’t know what I was expecting really." She knew she’d at least been expecting to get lucky… But maybe even more than that. Part of her kind of wanted someone who could love her, but that didn’t seem like it was in the hand she was dealt. She sure as hell didn’t expect it from some stupid kid.

[runawaykai]

Kai's shoulders stiffened slightly, his entire being screaming with unhappiness at the new topic of conversation. He really didn't want to talk about that kiss, he didn't even want to think about it. He was never good at dealing with his emotions and although he didn't regret the decision he'd made (mostly because he vowed to himself never to regret any decision since it'd seemed right at the time) he still realized he'd royally fucked up whatever chance he'd had with her.

"I don't really know what to say to that so I guess I'll just go with: I didn't mind, I'd never mind. You were just... plastered, which didn't really feel like consent." He shrugged his shoulders then, still uncomfortable and still at a loss for words. Whether or not he'd said the right thing for once remained to be seen.

[runawaykai]

mini yakuza || kozue & kai

Beanie pulled down over his newly blonde hair, Kai sat cross-legged on top of a wooden crate near the main performance tent with a bag full of popcorn kernels in his lap. One by one he pulled them out, popped them with a flash of fire, and then ate. The pattern had lulled him into some sort of trans state, rendering him completely 'spaced out'. It was like the popcorn version of highway hypnosis. That or he'd transformed into Walter Mitty.

The past month had gone by without much to entertain him; and with all the extra time he often contemplated why he even stayed around. The answer should have been obvious with all the stolen glances and times she popped into his head, but his stubborn desire not to notice won in the end. Lately he'd been receding back into his shell, ignoring the invitations to go out and opting to drink himself into oblivion instead. On the bright side he hadn't lit his bed on fire in nearly two weeks, a new record.  

Now he spends his days working out, performing, eating and getting drunk. And not just any sort of drunk, he drank enough of the cirque's shitty beer to get plastered on a nightly basis. It was just about the only kind of fun he could have; so he made a point to do it over and over. 

[runawaykai]

Cruel Angel's Thesis || Kozue & Kai

[runawaykozue]

Kozue crossed her arms in front of her chest as the two of them, managing to find a way to stand that didn’t hurt her back much. At his little mutter, she cast him a short look. She wondered why he said that. Maybe he didn’t see anything with her beyond just the occasional favor. That kiss was a huge mistake and she knew it. He was taking it the wrong way and it was ruining everything. “I guess…” She said quietly to herself, looking down at the terrain in front of her as it switched from bar floor tile to pavement

She ruffled her hair, flustered at his comment. “God man I swear I’m going to burn that dress.” Her cheeks were a light shade of pink themselves. “Besides it wouldn’t match my act at all. I have some black dress laying around in there. Or a white one… I don’t know.” She sighed and pushed the blush from her cheeks as they walked down the road. She really needed to figure out a way to get him to stop making her blush. It was getting out of hand…

[runawaykai]

After loosening the straps of the backpack, Kai rolled his shoulders back and let them adjust to the weight. The bag was still heavy, which made sense given the amount of books within it, but it bit into his shoulders less now, making the transportation easier. "You don't wear white all that often, you should go with that," he responded, glancing at the women before continuing on, pretending he hadn't just admitted to watching her closely enough to know what colors she wore on a regular basis. Then again it wasn't hard to tell, if he had to guess he'd say that at least 90% of her wardrobe was made of different shades of black. He hadn't known black came in shades until he met her; he hadn't known a lot of things until he met her.

[taekai]

x

[runawaykai]

Cruel Angel's Thesis || Kozue & Kai

[runawaykozue]

"Eh… I guess so…" She murmured quietly, keeping her eyes off of his for the moment. "Though I don’t know. I think aside from the whole hair thing, I looked better in high school. I was skinnier…" She said and placed her hands on her waist, looking down, pulling a bit of a face. She may have been a fighter, but she was still a girl. She pretty much drank all her calories in the form of beer and worked out by beating the shit out of thugs back then and it kept her in shape. 

She let out a bit of a laugh, thinking of a little comment. “I left plenty of fist shaped impressions.” She said with a light smirk, before he caught her off guard with his comment. “… Look… if you’re saying that to try and make things less weird… It’s not working.” Kozue gave a bit of an awkward, shy smile. She wished he would stop complimenting her. It was making things a little strange for her. She felt a light wispy feeling in her stomach as she looked away from him, finishing off her second beer, placing the empty bottle down on the bar.  She was used to him being a snarky brat, she wasn’t expecting compliments and favors. 

She looked at him as he walked around her and picked up her bag. “Hey you don’t have to do that, you’ve done enough for me today.” She said, jumping down from the stool and standing in front of him. Just looking at hims he knew he wasn’t going to budge and she was in no mood to fight him. She sighed heavily. “Once we’re back at the cirque, I’m taking that bag back” Kozue narrowed her eyes so he knew she meant business. She resisted the urge to laugh when he said she would ice her back. Like that would happen. “I’ll just wear a dress or something this time instead of a kimono, I’ll be fine.” 

[runawaykai]

Kai looked at her, raising a brow but not saying anything. On the topic of weight he always stayed quiet, never truly understanding why girls thought it mattered so much. Sure, he usually found slimmer girls more attractive, but it wasn't like he looked at someone with a little extra and threw up. If anything having extra was better than being underweight, in his eyes the girls with the best figures were the ones that were fit; which Kozue was. 

He shrugged, he hadn't really thought about like that. Sure it was awkward but he didn't really see a need to edit himself because of it. To him it was less of a compliment and more of him stating a fact; at least, that was permanently how he could going to view the situation. "Things might never stop being weird," he muttered honestly with a small shrug. Mostly because I don't know why the fuck I can't think straight in front of her. If I knew why I could fix it.

"Yeah, sure," he said, a small scoff escaping. "You should wear the pink one," he replied offhandedly. It really had been a beautiful dress on her, although he had a strong suspicion she'd never be wearing it again. Sometimes he wished he'd held the blackmail over her head a little longer, simply because their interactions had gotten more and more amusing as time went on. Glancing at her and making sure she was walking fine, he held the door to the outside open, the backpack straps biting into his shoulder. He'd have to loosen the straps once they were outside. 

[runawaykai]

Unnecessary evils || Hakyeon & Kai

[freak-hakyeon-deactivated201403]

"No way, I’m at fault too," Hakeyon says with a wave of his hand to push the whole thing awy. Although an apology would be appreciated, Hakyeon doesn’t see himself as deserving one since it was his fault to go around charging like this through tents and it wasn’t like the boy would know when he barraged past. It was all good timing. That aside, a part of him appreciated someone who would actually say this. It was a nice change.

"Oh, that so?" Hakyeon couldn’t actually care less about that, maybe even find amusement at the thought of the chaos forming, but he supposed the circus leaders wouldn’t be too happy.

"I just wander around. I don’t see how I can wow people just by going through everything," Hakyeon said with a shrug. His ability was more practical than anything, and he preferred it staying that way. Less people knew, the better for him.

[runawaykai]

Kai thought about it, quickly seeing the other's point. You could only entertain people with fazing tricks for so long. "You might be able to tag team with someone if you're actually interested in performing," he added as an idea came to him. "Find a knife thrower, my first stop would be Xia if you know who that is, pretend to be an audience member, get pulled up there, they 'miss' but you turn out fine. Could be interesting." He shrugged, for all he knew the other man might not even be interested in something like that. 

His head turned as more cirque members entered the tent. Muttering a quiet, "Fuck...." and picking up two ramps within arms reach he nodded at the other. "I need to put this shit away before the cirque opens for business; I guess I'll see you around?" Honestly Kai didn't know what to make of the other. He wasn't like the men at the club but he also wasn't like Sungjong. He was just.... weird.

[thecaptainbeagle]

[runawaykai]

6 // ∞ i see both jongin and kai

[apolloxjinki-deactivated2015020]

Fear The Fire {Kai and Key}

[apolloxjinki-deactivated2015020]

"Well, I did get to skydive, and swim with sharks. I also had plenty of time to master four languages and a few hobbies. So, technically, I did put my immortality to a good fun use," he said. As Kai asked him old he was, looking him up and down, key smirked. "Would you rather have my real age? Because I claim to be 21." he said, with a slight smirk, and crossing his arms a bit. "My real age is 436," he added. Key was proud of his age, because not only had he seen a lot, but he also did a lot of things.

As Kai confirmed that he did work in a strip club for three years, the immortal nodded. “The type of confidence is the cocky in your face confidence. It’s something like the god’s gift to women complex, you know what I mean?” he said, thinking. Key knew what he was talking about.

[runawaykai]

"Four languages?" Kai asked, raising a brow. "That's quite a few." He nodded at the age; his brain had immediately assumed thousands of years but hundreds seemed more plausible.... then again if you went by societal norms  "Twenty one physically, four hundred thirty six for real. We must all seem like children to you."

He nodded, it made sense. Part of him was disgusted that his attitude betrayed the kind of people he worked with. An even larger part of him was perpetually nauseated that the other might think him like the men he worked with. But the surface showed none of this turmoil, he simply nodded his head. "Yeah I guess. God's gift to women is little.... much but I understand what you're saying."  

[runawaykai]

Fire² || Ai & Kai

[xcirque-ai-deactivated20140129]

"Oh…well," Ai paused, hands placed daintly on her lap suddenly unsure what to do. At one point it was probably not a good idea to help at a first-time meeting when she didn’t know anything about his cottage, but at another point he had fed her. She decided it best to just accept what he said.

Except it leaves her with nothing to do and not much to say either. Maybe it’d be best to excuse herself for the time being. He needed to clean up and she had bothered his sleep so he might want to go back to it soon too. She stood up, pushing the chair properly back.

"I guess then I’ll get going," Ai announced as she began heading to the door, as if it was like a final way to say that if he had something to say, say now or forever hold his peace until their next meeting.

[runawaykai]

Kai waited a while, he let her walk a ways before he said something. "Hold up," he said, pushing off the table and striding towards the girl. "You forgot something," he finished, smiling as he turned her around. Cupping her face in his hand he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers gingerly. He lingered a few seconds before pulling away, putting his hands in his pockets with a smile that held traces of a smirk beneath it's surface.

[runawaykai]

Cruel Angel's Thesis || Kozue & Kai

[runawaykozue]

"Yeah, I don’t know. When I was kinda kicking the shit out of the shorter one his buddy got up and managed to just-" She made a kicking gesture, her boot hitting the bar with a soft thud. "Right in my back. Punks didn’t know how to fight for shit if that was the only way he could a land a hit, but I’ve had worse." She said and lightly shrugged, wincing a bit from moving the muscles in her back. She figured that the lack of expression was just him being in his normal state of being.

When his fingers came to her hair, she leaned away a bit, startled from the contact, looking at him, her eyes widened slightly. Her lips parted, looking for words to say, but she couldn’t find them and closed them tightly, looking back to her new beer, taking a drink. However, she nearly choked at his comment. She coughed a bit, placing a hand over her mouth, glad she’d swallowed before he said it. Spit takes were the furthest thing from graceful. 

Cute. He called her cute. She went bright red almost instantaneously. “Th-that’s not what I meant!” She argued back quickly. “I just… Oh forget it!” She covered her face with her hands, avoiding his gaze as well as she could. She’d dreamed about being called cute. About blushing and being embarrassed. It had never really happened. She’d gotten pretty, sexy… Scary. Never cute. She figured she was too strange for cute, but here she was, twenty-six and some kid was making her most hidden dream come true. She almost wanted to hit him.

She tensed up at the feeling his fingers against her skin, even if she was battered. That little contact made her remember so much of the island. She bit her lip and just crooked her neck, trying to get a view of what he was describing. “I didn’t think it was that bad already… But I like the look of bruises so it’s not so bad.” She laughed a little bit and lowered her shirt to cover her stomach and back again. “It’s no big deal.” She said and turned back to face the bar, drinking some more of her beer. “I’ve been in much worse shape. I once was so beaten up I looked like a plum almost.” 

Laughing at the memory of the fight that had left her so black and blue, she reminisced. ”Some guy had brought brass knuckles to a fight. Another guy brought a baseball bat. ” She said and picked at the label of her beer. “Thought they could overtake the “Dangerous Monk”. I fucking taught them and their buddies otherwise. I did have a couple fractured ribs though.” She swung her feet, smiling to herself. She missed the nightly brawls and drinking. She missed her crew. “All I really have are memories… It seems like my reign was so long ago. The guys have probably all forgotten me by now.” If she was the crying type, she probably would be by now. It kind of hurt remembering their toothy (and occasionally partially toothless) grins. She abandoned them and everything else back home. Today just seemed like a day to remember old times. She smirked a little bit sadly, looking over at him. “Still think I’m cute when I’m being pathetic?” She asked him outright, rubbing the back of her neck.

[runawaykai]

Kai shoved his tongue into the side of his mouth and flicked it upwards in irritation; a long time habit he was hardly aware of. It was more of a tick really, but anyone who'd been around him before he started a few fights probably would've picked up on it. It was probably the only reoccurring 'expression' he had besides his trademark smirk.

He dropped his hand into his lap, smiling to himself as she covered her face with her hands. Taking another drink, he finished off the beer with a satisfied expression and left the bottle to be picked up by the bartender. When asked if he wanted another he waved them off, it was too early to get a buzz and he found Kozue's reactions more entertaining when he was sober. When he was drunk he could only think about kissing her. Again.

"I doubt that," Kai said, arching a brow. "If you made it out of a fight like that alive and well enough to look like this now I highly doubt those guys will forget about you anytime soon. If you came back they'd greet you, they might be shitheads about it but they'll remember your name. I'm sure you left an impression." He paused before letting out a short laugh, "There was nothing pathetic about that story, and you're always cute." 

He stood up, waking around her to pick up the backpack; slinging it on before she could protest. Like hell he'd let her carry it again. "You can walk right?" Ordinarily he'd have just picked her up and carried her back; but he wasn't a meat head. He could carry his fair share of weight but another person and a bag full of millions of books wasn't in his range. He also figured setting her bag down and simply carrying her back wouldn't be anything she would remotely consider. "We should get back before performances start so you can ice your back." The minute he said it he realized she probably wouldn't. 

[sonnaeuns]