Honeyy

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[seongseanholic]

CROCODILE TEARS - CORTIS X FEM!READER

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CHAPTER 6: FAMILIARITY BREEDS CONTEMPT - a proverb meaning that the better you know someone or something, the more likely you are to find faults, lose respect, or become bored.

SYNOPSIS: A new girl is plunged into the playground for the rich, meeting 5 boys whose intentions are stained with manipulation and lies. What if this new girl isn’t as innocent as she seems to be?

WARNINGS: profanity, multiple love interests at once, reader isn’t a good person but the boys are worse, no one is good in this school, manipulation,, murder, gaslighting, obsession, infidelity, overall wickedness, pure revenge, throwing up, James is a year older than the rest, drugs [this is NOT how I view CORTIS as individuals, this is purely for the story]

WORD COUNT: 4K (4,000 words)

A/N: We are nearing the end of the series! Things are about to get serious x

________________________________________________

You didn’t go to school the next day. Or the day after that. You needed time to think. Uninterrupted time. There are so many ways to ruin people’s lives. What you needed was a meticulous plan and process for each of them. A way so devastating that they will never recover from it. And so you wracked your brain. Who should go first? How should I do it? Flashy? Quiet? Explosive?

You had been sat in the hallway of your house, a glass of untouched water always beside you and a pen in your hand that you never used. Every two seconds, you would click. Click to find inspiration, click to replan, click to decide. You hadn’t slept and you hadn’t eaten. Some things become a little bit less important when you have more pressing matters.

You guessed it was getting late. Or that was what you guessed. There were no clocks in the hallway and your phone was in your room. The less distractions the better. You clicked your pen a couple more times. The doorbell rang twice. You ignored it. No distractions. No distractions. A voice on the other side of the door called your name. What was Na-bi doing here?

“Please, open the door!”

No distractions. No distractions.

So you sat it out.

You waited for her to leave.

The same thing happened over two days. She would call, ring the doorbell, knock on the front door but you sat there in the hallway, clicking. 

“I brought you some kimchi-jjigae. Homemade.”, she called.

Click. Click.

“You wanna know something?”

Click. Click.

“Ara used to love it when I made it for her. She would always eat loads.”

Click.

“I know you miss her. I miss her too. Whatever you are planning, do it well. I’ll leave the food on your doorstep…Good luck.”

Silence.

You heard her footsteps recede. Pulling yourself up, you slowly approached the door. Sliding the chain, turning the door knob, a little pot of kimchi-jjigae sat timidly. A yellow post-it note adorned the top. Inhaling the fresh air, you grabbed the pot, kicking the door shut. 

It smelt heavenly. You placed it down on the heat rack in your kitchen, grabbing the post-it. It read:

You can do all the planning you want, but you need to eat well. Enjoy! :)

~N

You decided. 

Decided everything.

You were going school tomorrow.

________________________________________________

People turned their heads as you walked through the hallway. You looked…well. They had speculated many things. Death. Hospitalised. Pressured. Pregnant. Their thoughts were the least of your problems. You had a goal. Whoever got in your way will suffer and perish. 

You were getting close to your form room, when you bumped into Ms Kim. 

“Good morning. I haven’t seen you in school since our last maths lesson. Are you feeling well?”, she asked. Her tone was full of concern.

“I’m better now, thank you. I was just a little bit…under the weather.”, your eyes were soulless as you spoke.

“I am a mother myself. If you need anything, please find me immediately. I would be more than willing to help you.”, she assured.

“Thank you, Ms Kim.”

“Keep healthy.”, she urged as she continued down the hallway to her form room. 

“Hey.”

You continued walking.

“I’m talking to you.”

You sharply turned. Juhoon. Fuck him. He wasn’t worth your time.

“Leave me alone.”

“Don’t walk away.”

“What are you going to do about it?”

He lunged for your wrist and dragged you. 

“Let go.”

He pulled you into an empty classroom and drew the blinds. 

“Whatever bullshit you are getting up to, you need to stop.”, he hissed.

“I don’t know what you are talking about.”, you made a move towards the door but he stopped you. 

“No. You will not run away.”

“I’m not running away. I’m giving you time. Time before things get a little bit worse for you.”

He froze.

“You are deeply mistaken,”, he whispered harshly. “This is my territory. You are in my corner!”

You had never heard him yell. There js a first time for everything.

“Corner, huh?”

You stepped closer, not breaking eye contact.

“Just like how you cornered Ara?”

He looked incredibly uncomfortable. He turned his head to the right in shame.

“Now you feel shame?”, you chuckled dryly.

He couldn’t look at you. Of course he couldn’t.

“Look at me. LOOK AT ME!”

His dark eyes darted to yours immediately.

“When you threatened Ara for getting too close to me and you sent her away with a load of cash, you didn’t feel shame then? You continue to harass me and I can tell you I have not seen an inkling of shame or regret!”

Your words shocked him to the core. 

“She loved you,”, you said, voice cracking slightly. “And that’s how you treat her? You don’t deserve happiness or love. You will die cold and alone and nobody, and I mean nobody will ever come to save you. You aren’t worth saving.”

Your shoulder slammed into his as you left the room. Let him stew. Let him suffer. It was time. 

________________________________________________

Juhoon was pissed. So, so pissed. 

He stormed into the hangout room. Keonho and Seonghyeon were both lying sprawled out on the couch, Martin had his headphones on, bopping to a new beat and James was in the corner of the room scrolling on his phone. 

No one looked up as he entered. He grabbed a glass, pouring himself a drink. In one gulp, he slammed the glass down on the drink cabinet. 

“Careful, bro. That’s glass.”, Keonho mumbled.

Juhoon said nothing. He walked up to Seonghyeon, dragging him upright by his collar. 

“Woah, hyung, what are you-”, Seonghyeon confusingly asked.

He was slammed into the nearest wall. The framed picture on the same wall dropped and shattered. Everyone was alert now. James had his head down still, but he had stopped scrolling. Martin had moved one side of his headphone off of his ear to hear better. Keonho sat up abruptly. 

“I warned you. I warned!”

Juhoon never yelled. 

Martin took off his headphones completely. Keonho stood up slowly. James was still as he was before. 

“I told you to stay away from that girl! When you begged and grovelled at my feet to save her from Katō, I told you, I told you that she wasn’t worth it!”

James and Martin never found out about Katō or how he was dealt with. Juhoon’s mouth was a bit leaky today it seemed. 

“What?”, Martin whispered.

“She is the devil. I don’t know how you guys can be so blind! She is wicked and cruel and-and just a fucking problem!”

Seonghyeon shoved Juhoon off of him. 

“Don’t talk about her like that.”

“What? You don’t want to hear the truth about her? She doesn’t even want you!”

“Neither did Ara.”, Keonho said from behind. 

“Paying your problems away doesn’t always work, Juhoon hyung. You should know that by now.”

James had now raised his head. 

“Don’t act so high and mighty when she would never bat an eyelid at you, even if it killed her.”, he hissed mercilessly.

“Stop.”

Silence fell immediately. All eyes went to James. 

“You seem to have outdone yourself here, Juhoon. We get it, you don’t like the girl. But coming in her and disrespecting her like that when you know that she is now a friend of ours is rude. I’m disappointed. Truly. Get out.”

“Nobody is listening to me!”. Juhoon felt like he might go mad. 

“I don’t like to repeat myself, Juhoon.”

Juhoon stormed out of the room, leaving a tornado behind him. 

Keonho immediately turned towards Martin and James.

“James hyu-”

“Save it. I’m not interested.”

The conversation was over. 

________________________________________________

He sat in the conservatory. Sun filtered in through the glass, birds chirping. He dragged his hands across his face, his brain flooded with one, certain memory.

“Yiseo.”

“Juhoon not now.”

“Yiseo.”

“No, Juhoon. No. Don’t talk to me.”

“Stop being dramatic.”

Slap.

“When I tell you to leave me alone, you listen. I am done with you, I am not interested.”

He scoffed lightly.

“You are jealous, aren’t you?”

“What is there to be jealous of? We were never a thing.”

That stung.

“Don’t lie. All those nights you came running to me, showing you the love and affection that you need, we weren’t a thing?”

“We were nothing. We are nothing.”

A thick silence filled the air. 

“Since we are nothing, how would James like to know that the love of his life is currently fooling around with his best friend? How slutty.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”, her voice was shaking.

“What’s the problem?”, he mockingly said. He stepped closer to her, nose brushing hers.

Pressing his lips to hers, he deepened the kiss, pulling her in by her waist. 

“We keep this up and it stays between us. No James. Just us. You know you want it.”, he mumbled against her lips.

“Juhoon, I can’t.”

“You can. You know you want me. I know that you want to be with me. Admit it.”

“This isn’t right.”

“Don’t disappoint me, Yiseo.”

“I’m not trying to-”

“Then choose me. What does he have that I don’t possess? Is it money? Popularity? What? I will give you anything, ANYTHING, you wish for. Just love me.”

He gazed into her eyes, searching for an answer that suited him. All he got back was regret.

“I’m sorry, Juhoon. What we had was convenience, not love.”, she whispered.

“You are so cruel, Yiseo.”, he said softly.

“It was never going to work out, you know that.”

“I would’ve tried for you.”

“You aren’t capable of love. Your eyes speak more than your actions.”

She turned on her heel, walking off. To her, that was the end of her and Juhoon’s arrangement. To him, this was just the beginning.

________________________________________________

“Hey!”

“Hi, Seonghyeon.”

“You okay?”

“Fine.”

“I called you…you didn’t pick up.”

“I wasn’t well.”

“You feeling better now?”

“Yes.”

“We’ve both got free periods. Do you want to grab something from the café?”

“Sure.”

In Seonghyeon’s mind, you were acting unusual. You weren’t as responsive.

As you entered the school café, he interlocked your hands together. He wanted to show you off. Funny. 

As if it would be that easy.

“What would you like?”

“You pick.”, you pulled out your phone, busying yourself with it. 

For now, you would give him his liberties. Allow him a little bit of…leeway. 

He ordered you a drink and a slice of cake. You couldn’t lie, it did look good. But you weren’t here to eat the forbidden fruit, you could play around with your food a little. 

He led you to a table in the corner of the café. His hand was still in yours. You were still looking at your phone. 

“Do you like it here?”

“It’s ok.”, you decided to spare him momentarily by putting down your phone. 

“That’s good.”

“But….”

He was actually hanging onto every word you said.

“But?”

“I don’t know. My personal life is a little…boring.”

“Oh, is there anything you’re into?”

“Nothing interesting. Can you find me a hobby?”

Your eyes were fixed on his. A faint flush brushed his cheeks. 

“Ummm, you take Music, right?”

“Yep.”

“I can teach you how to play something.”

“That would be nice. Any other suggestions?”

“I know some pretty good areas in town.”

“Are you asking me out?”

He was speechless. 

“Umm- yeah? Yes, yes- I am?”

“You sound a little unsure there. If you don’t want to, then-”

“No! I do. I want to go out. With you.”, his loud voice drew some attention.

Eom Seonghyeon was begging? You see all sorts of things nowadays. 

“Ok.”

“So when would you like to go?”

“Whenever.”, you were now interested in your nails.

“Ok, I’ll organise something for us.”

“Cool.”

“Wanna head back inside.”

“Sure.”

He spent the next 10 minutes entertaining you like a jester does for his queen. As you walked down the hallway, you spotted a familiar face. Na Hajoon. The blonde guy who gave you shit on your first day? Yeah, that’s him. Do you remember the time he offered to be the one for you rather than Seonghyeon? Now was the time to use it to your advantage.

“Na Hajoon!”, you yelled down the corridor. 

He looked up at you, sending you a smirk.

Seonghyeon paused mid sentence. He couldn’t get his attention, but Na Hajoon could? To describe him as hurt would be an understatement.

“What’s up?”, Hajoon asked.

“Have you chosen a presentation partner yet?”

“Nah.”

“Can we partner up?”

Hajoon looked surprised but more than happy to accept your offer.

“Stay after school to get it done?”

“Sure. Down by the lake? There are some nice benches there.”

“I’ll be there. Is your boyfriend going to tag along too or does he trust you?”

“Boyfriend? Which boyfriend?”

He nodded his head at Seonghyeon. 

“Seonghyeon.”

You turned to look at him. He looked aghast at the fact that you actually wanted to meet up with Hajoon after school. 

“He’s not my boyfriend. He won’t be tagging along. We cool?”

“I’ll see you tonight.”, he grinned as he walked past.

“What was that?”, Seonghyeon said to no one in particular.

“What was what?”, you asked. Your tone was sharp, clearly a warning for him to not tread any further.

“Nothing.”, he whispered.

How obedient.

________________________________________________

School eventually ended. Instead of heading down to the lake, you went home. 

Seonghyeon would definitely take care of Hajoon. It was so fun winding him up. If you pushed his buttons far enough, he would do anything to prove himself to you. Like now.

Winter time was fast approaching. Days were drawing closed faster. The night coming earlier each day.

The navy clouds blocked out the view of the sleepy sky. Hajoon was stood by the lake, phone in hand. You sure were taking your time. 

Behind him, Seonghyeon was fast approaching. In his hand was a bat. Metal. Solid. Deadly.

His footsteps were light and undetected. Even in Hajoon's last moments.

A solid crack from the bat connecting to Hajoon’s head was enough to kill him. One strike.

Without so much of a pause, Seonghyeon carried Hajoon’s slumped figure. All the way to his car, he laid him over the tarp covering the backseats. Then he drove. Drove and drove until he reached the cliff edge. Wrapping Hajoon in the tarp, he dragged him to the edge. Waves crashed against the rocks down below. Hajoon would never be found in such waters. With a kick, Hajoon’s body fell onto the rocks, the waves swallowing him immediately. As he disappeared, the guilt washed over Seonghyeon. He had just killed someone. Out of jealousy. He knew he liked you. A lot. But he had just committed murder because of one interaction that you weren’t focusing on him in. 

Without a second thought, he jumped into his car, driving to your house.

________________________________________________

Your doorbell rang. You were in the middle of warming up some kimchi-jjigae after boiling some rice. Walking up to the front door, you opened it. 

At your doorstep, there was a distraught Seonghyeon. Eyes wide. Shaking. 

Yep, he had just killed someone.

“I’m so sorry.”, he cried.

He fell onto his knees, hands finding your hips as he hid his face on your stomach. He sobbed. Hard. 

Your left hand sceptically reached down to caress his soft hair. He sobbed harder.

“I’m a monster.”, he choked.

“Yes, you are.”

You pulled his hair backwards, forcing him to look you in the eye.

“You are a monster. Did you think I would openly comfort a person like you?”

His eyes shone with fresh tears.

“Look at yourself, Seonghyeon. You are grovelling on your knees before me. How pathetic have you become?”

He tried to form words, but nothing sounded.

“You think so highly of yourself, yet you are here begging. Ridiculous. Did you think I would choose you?”

“I…love you.”, he whispered.

“You aren’t capable of love. Leave.”

You yanked his hands off of you, slamming the door in his face.

Two down, three to go.

________________________________________________

“Eom Seonghyeon!”

“What’s up, Yiseo?”

“Not much. You busy?”

“No, not right now.”

“You know what day it is today?”

“Keonho’s birthday…?”

“Valentine’s Day, silly!”

“…right.”

“Stop moping! It doesn’t suit you!”

“I’m not moping.”

“Where’s Keonho?”

“Getting chocolates, signing things, being the star of the day, per usual.”, he mumbled.

“Cheer up, Seonghyeon. I’ve got a surprise for you!”

“You didn’t need to get me anything, Yiseo.”

“Don’t tell Keonho, but you are my favourite.”, she winked, nudging him playfully.

He blushed softly. Yiseo was his favourite, he was so glad that she hung around them a lot of the time.

“Come with me!”

She dragged him into the locker room and pulled out a bouquet with a box of luxury chocolates.

“I travelled near and far to find these chocolates. I got the last ones. Here.”

She slotted them into Seonghyeon’s hands.

“Thank you, Yiseo. Really.”

“No problem. Just because it’s Valentine’s or Keonho’s birthday, doesn’t mean you don’t get any love today. I’ve got to look after you, you know. You’re James’ first child!”

They both laughed. 

All Seonghyeon really wanted was love and affection. 

________________________________________________

It rained the next day. When you woke up in the morning your mood was already dampened. Seonghyeon’s sobbing had left you irritable and the thought of seeing any of the others, itched you the wrong way. 

As soon as you walked in, people whispered and giggled. What did they know that you didn’t? You were lost in thought until a person jumped on your back. 

“I’ve missed you!”

“Hey, Na-bi!”, you laughed.

“How are you feeling?”, she fell in step with you. 

“Much better! That kimchi-jjigae was chef’s kiss.”

“You’re welcome. I made it just for you. Did you do what you needed to do?”

“The plan is in motion.”

“I’ve got your back. Whatever you need, just give me a shout, okay?”

“I’m glad to have you by my side.”, you gave her hand a squeeze.

“We only have each other now.”

“That’s true.”

“Word is going around about two key things.”

“Good or bad news?”

“Both?”

You sighed.

“Good news first.”, you said.

”Hwa-young and Martin aren’t together anymore. You know anything about that?”

“Maybe.”

“Well, I’m sure I don’t need to go into detail about the gossip.”

“Oh, please do. I need something to brighten up my mood before a killjoy arrives.”

“Hwa-young has been sleeping around. Not that anyone didn’t know, but there was hard evidence. Martin didn’t want that by his side so he jumped ship.”

“Crazy.”

“I know right. The bad news is…well depends on how you view it.”

She looked around, before leaning in to whisper.

“Hajoon is dead.”

“Dead from what?”

“We don’t know. He just never came home, didn’t answer his phone, people think he’s dead.

“Two deaths and the year has barely started.”, you sighed.

“What a crazy year so far. I hope it gets better.”

“Me too.”

“Well, I’ll see you at lunch? I’ve got a stupid presentation to rehearse for the school’s anniversary assembly.”

“Good luck with that, I’ve got double Art.”

“I would put myself in solitary confinement if I ever had to draw for two hours.”

”It’s fun! When you have a free you should come along sometime.”

“Yeah, no thanks. I’ll get going now, bye!”, she waved enthusiastically.

You grinned back at her before going up the stairs to the Art classrooms. ________________________________________________

When you got up the classroom, everyone had their headphones in, working away. There was never any chatter in here. People had their own things to be getting on with. Today you had to get your sketchbook done. You pulled it out of the drawer of your workstation, and began sketching the areas for your transcriptions.

“Hey.”

Your soul sighed.

“Hi, Keonho.”, you didn’t even have to look up to know who it is.

“Can we talk?”, he whispered softly.

“Here? Do you even get any work done in these lessons?”, you questioned, fiddling with your pencil.

“I do do my work. I just need to talk to you.”

“…ok.”

“Come with me.”

He took you to the hangout room. It looked messier than usual. Who has fought here?

“Sorry about the mess.”

”It’s ok. What happened here?”

“That’s actually what I wanted to talk you about.”

“Ok?”

“Yesterday, Juhoon came in here and he was really angry.”

“What does that have to do with me?”

“I’m getting there. He…called you all sorts of things. He got really worked up about you. Did something happen between you two?”

“No, nothing.”, you answered innocently.

“You don’t believe him, do you?”, you questioned.

“Of course not. Nobody did. We all stood up for you.”

“That’s sweet of you.”

“I’m just looking out for you, you know.”

“And I appreciate it, Keonho.”

He shoved his hands in his pockets, playing around with something in his right one. Nervousness decorated his face. You were curious to see where this would end.

“Are you staying after school today for the anniversary prep?”

“Yep. Are you?”

“Yeah, I kind of have to. We can do some work together if you would like.”

“I would like that.”

“Cool,”, he whispered.

You leaned back on the couch, eyes still trained on him. He was nervous to meet your eye. By the time you will be done with him, he will never want to look in them ever again.

“Are you nervous, Keonho?”, you giggled.

“Nervous? No, no, I’m…fine?”, he smiled nervously.

“Cute.”

He blushed deeply.

“Well, unlike someone that I know, I’ve actually got to get my artwork done, so I’m going to head back now.”

“Let’s walk together.”

As you walked, you laid your hand on his arm. You could play him for a little longer. Keonho would be the one to react the worst to his own destruction. ________________________________________________

You really wondered why it was your duty to engage in unpaid labour for the school, out of hours. The day after the next would be the anniversary of the school’s opening. A day of celebration and remembering the gift of the Ahn’s opening the school to scholarship students. Scholarship students owed them their gratitude. Or at least that’s what they want to believe.

“Hey! I bought you a cinnamon swirl from the café. Eat up before the work begins.”, Na-bi said. She was always trying to feed you one way or the other.

At lunch today, she made you eat two lunches because you were ‘still recovering from your illness’. She had even tried to feed you! You were her top priority now, it felt nice to be loved by her.

“Do you need me to feed it to you?”, she questioned.

“No! I can eat by myself Na-bi.”, you giggled.

“Good, good. I have to look after you, because you don’t eat well!”, she scolded whilst waving the cinnamon swirl in your face.

You had to give it to her. It was really good.

In fact, it was so good that you didn’t even notice the hushed chatter and whispers giggled behind you. A light tap on your shoulder spurred you to turn around. Keonho. You couldn’t even enjoy your damn meal.

“Hi.”, he said softly.

“Hi?”

“Can I have a minute of your time?”

“You have been asking for a lot lately, Keonho. Getting greedy, are we?”

He laughed lightly.

“I promise it won’t take long.”

“Ok.”

“I’m not sure if you knew this, but I really like you. I really do. So I wanted to ask you: will you be my girlfriend?”, he pulled out a small jewellery box.

Everyone was looking. You had to play this right.

“Keonho, you are really sweet, but I see as a friend. A really close friend.”

His signature smile faltered.

Three down over the span of two days.

World star.

________________________________________________

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[seongseanholic]

js so you know I MISS SEEING YOU IN MY NOTIFICATION

I’m just adding some finishing touches to the chapter due today!!!!! This week was almost my final week 🫩 the workload was insane but I want to finish this story and publish it as soon as possible x

[seongseanholic]

CROCODILE TEARS - CORTIS X FEM!READER

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CHAPTER 5: THE MAN IN THE MIRROR - the phrase generally refers to self-reflection, personal accountability, and the idea that positive change must begin with oneself.

I’m starting with the man in the mirror, I’m asking him to change his ways. - Michael Jackson

SYNOPSIS: A new girl is plunged into the playground for the rich, meeting 5 boys whose intentions are stained with manipulation and lies. What if this new girl isn’t as innocent as she seems to be?

WARNINGS: profanity, multiple love interests at once, reader isn’t a good person but the boys are worse, no one is good in this school, smoking, manipulation, hitting in relationship, gaslighting, bullying, weird teacher (teacher student relationships), kissing, obsession, infidelity, overall wickedness, pure revenge, throwing up, James is a year older than the rest, drugs [this is NOT how I view CORTIS as individuals, this is purely for the story]

WORD COUNT: 4.5K (4,453 words)

A/N: The meaning of the title is quite ironic when you think of the boys’ characters so far! I really wanted to use this as an opportunity to delve deeper into James as a character and James as a lover. It’s going to be a bit of a wild ride this chapter, so hang on tight! x

PLAYLIST: Man in the Mirror (Michael Jackson), BACK to YOU (Tyla), Deja Vu (TOMORROW X TOGETHER), Fatal Trouble (ENHYPEN), Latch (Disclosure, Sam Smith), Let Me Love You (DJ Snake, Justin Bieber), Kill Bill (SZA), Skyfall (Adele)

________________________________________________ ”Yufan.”, she called softly.

She knew what that name did to him. It melted him right down to the core, making him the perfect mouldable material just for her.

“We should get some sleep.”, she continued. Her tone was weighed down with sleep but concern.

“Baby, I need to revise for this exam. I’ll be right with you.”

She stood up from her spot on his bed, padding softly until her hands rested on his shoulders.

“You work so hard.”, she mumbled as she gently worked the tension out of his shoulders.

“I’m doing it for you. For us. For our future.”, he explained. He said it like it was a fact. Like it was fate for them to be together forever.

“You think too much.”, she whispered, pressing a gentle kiss on the top of his messy hair.

________________________________________________ The crowd was entertained that’s for sure. James wasn’t just a person from your Latin class. Oh, no. This man ran a whole business as easily as the Earth turned on its axis.

“You own all of this?”

A few men behind him chuckled lightly. Keonho’s grin widened and James lightly bit the temple tips of his glasses, eyebrow raised.

“Poor thing. You’ve never met a guy who has owned even a small amount of this, have ya?”

His accent followed a rhythm of its own. It didn’t align with everyone else’s. It was enchanting. Woefully hypnotising.

“This is a lot for a person still in school.”, you tried to reason.

“Why should education stop you from living your best life?”, the people around him cheered at his words. What a loyal entourage.

“Take it easy, James hyung. She’s new to all this.”, behind you, Seonghyeon, Juhoon and Martin appeared.

“She’s been adjusting well.”, Seonghyeon continued.

James merely blinked at their words. His attention was on something new now. Something a bit more…pressing.

“Is it done?”, his tone was weighted and serious. The rest of the boys looked like playground gangsters when next to James. They were little service boys.

“To perfection.”, Martin said.

“Glad to know you didn’t fuck it all up.”, James muttered before turning back to you.

“It’s getting late. Now’s not the time for you to be out and about. Keonho, make sure she gets home safe.”, James said, his tone final.

“Will do. Let’s go.”, Keonho grabbed your hand gently and began leading you away from the crowd. Seonghyeon’s eyes followed you as the distance grew between you. Before fully turning away, you mouthed a goodbye, hoping it reached him.

The air was cool and light as you resurfaced. Apartment lights were off, street lights flickered like they were trying to keep from dozing off and the occasional chatter sounded from alleyways. A car was waiting for you, as Keonho opened the door, letting you in. He reached over you, buckling your seatbelt. He began closing the door, when you stopped him.

“Keonho.”, his eyes immediately locked with yours.

“Are you not coming with?”

Your words seemed to give him courage as he rounded the car before getting in next to you.

It was silent in the car. Occasional glances and accidental knee brushes stirred the pot of tension. You tried to dismiss the feelings by busying yourself with the fast-moving landscape. Feeling something that wasn't hate or disgust to these guys was wrong. Just wrong.

The car arrived at your house, slowing to a stop. The driver began getting out of the car to open the door, when Keonho stopped him.

"Don't worry. I'll do it."

He unbuckled your seat belt and his, before opening your car door for you. Shyly, he walked behind you right up to your doorstep. His eyes burned into the back of your head as you fumbled with your keys. Whatever decision you made at this point could change everything. You had to choose careful-

"Do you want to come in?", the words escaped you before you could think it over. Your bluntness seemed to shock Keonho too.

"Only if you want me to.", he replied softly.

Your hand in his, you led him into the entrance of your house. All lights were off, the only brightness coming from the glass windows of the front door. This was intimate. You had just let a boy into your house. Not to sit down and have a nice cuppa. If not that, then what?

"You did so well today. I know how overwhelming it can be to...step into our world."

Did he know you were weak for praise?

"Thank you for inviting me."

"We want you. To be a part of all this."

"But why? Why me?"

"Why not?"

That wasn't an answer.

His signature smile lay easy on his face. Your inner voice was yelling. Pleading. Begging. Don't do it. Don't do it.

Pulling him in by the collar, you gently placed your lips against his. His eyes fluttered shut at the connection, as he deepened the kiss. He walked forward, pushing you against the wall you stood in front of. His hands rested on your hips, as he continued to kiss you. The horrible thing was, you didn't want it to stop. His poison had settled into your veins. You were now his. Sired to him.

His hand slid under your shirt, the coldness of his touch shocking you back into reality. No matter how much you kissed him, he was still cold to the touch. The truth of it all woke you up from your childish daydream. How could you really think that he, of all people, is capable of changed. You pushed him back gently, lips an inch apart from each other. Both panting, you whispered:

"You should go."

If you didn't sever the growing bond, it would take a part of you down into the abyss along with him. He wasn't good for you. Not in this lifetime.

He hesitantly stepped back, lips plumped from the kisses.

"Goodnight.", he murmured.

You couldn't bring yourself to reply. He stepped out of the house, closing the door behind him. You stared at the door until the sound of the car faded down the street. It was all too much. Sliding down the wall. you crumpled into a sorry heap on the floor. You had a lot of self-reflection to do.

________________________________________________

Sleep didn't come easy to you. Guilt readily taunted and poked you as you tossed and turned. With a huff, you sat up. The diary of this morning lay on the desk in front of your bed. No. You had made enough bad decisions in a day. No more. The longer you stared at it, the weaker your argument became. Eventually, you turned on the lamp next to you and grabbed the diary. ________________________________________________

"You are a monster, James."

He didn't respond. He never did. Not when the two of them fought. He simply didn't trust himself to speak.

"JAMES!"

No sign of response.

"I feel like I am talking to a wall! You are never there when I need you. I am talking to you, goddammit, LOOK AT ME."

He raised his head slowly, eyes trained on the wall next her.

"Do you even love me?", her voice cracking.

His eyes instantly locked with hers. She had crossed the line.

"If you loved me-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence, Yiseo."

That was the first time he had spoken that evening. A command, still not a response.

"I will do whatever the fuck I want to. You do not own me!"

In three quick strides, he was now face-to-face with her. Yiseo instinctively backed up, her back colliding softly with the wall behind her.

"I dare you to repeat what you just said."

She was shaking now. From fear or adrenaline, it was hard to tell.

"I said, you do not ow-"

A sickening slap sent her head to the left. A broken sob leaving her like a consequence. Her hand rose to cradle the area. Instead, he grabbed her hand, moving it out of the way, before grabbing her chin.

"You are by my side. Not the other way round."

Tears were falling from her eyes. The shock of it all blurred her vision.

"Look at me when I am talking to you, Yiseo."

Her hair stuck to her lipgloss, her mascara smudging as she tried her best to look at him.

"Let this be the last act of disobedience I ever see from you. You are a woman of class, not a whore. Stop acting like one."

If you think this was the first time he had acted like this towards her, you are wrong. Any slightest upset would result in violence. Yiseo struggled to leave his. She tried, she did. Anytime she would run to Juhoon, he would convince her to stay with him. That he would be better. A changed man. At the end of it all, she would still go back to him. She couldn't bring herself to leave him. It was evident.

In fact, you remembered a time when you had confronted her about the way that she was being treated.

It was a lazy summer evening, the streets decently empty for a Sunday. All throughout your hangout, Yiseo had been...off. It wasn't often that the two of you got to hangout, especially with her workload from school (at least that was her excuse). You missed your best friend, but now she was closed-off and moody, especially after she started dating that guy, James.

You were trying to start a conversation with her, but it felt dead and one-sided. Where did your bubbly friend go? After managing to convince her to stay at yours for a couple of hours before she went home, you made it your mission to at least find something out. When she first joined Sehwa, she would tell you all about the students there. You would gossip and giggle over the kinds of people she met everyday, until she started to befriend those same people. Despite never meeting her new friends, they sounded shit. Yiseo was slowly moulding into one of them.

"Yiseo."

"Hmm?', she was engrossed with her phone.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Hmmm.", she replied.

You sighed angrily. She hadn't even bothered to look up at you.

"Seriously, what is your problem, Yiseo!"

Her eyes widened at your outburst.

"You are so interested with your stupid phone that you won't even look at me!"

"Sorry, its just that Yuan gets worried when I am out late."

"I DON'T CARE! I really don't! He is so controlling, Yiseo. Stop being so blind!"

"But he loves me.", she said, more like a question than a fact.

"That's not love. I really hope it isn't too late until you realise it."

________________________________________________

You were shocked to feel warm tears streaming down your face. The second entry made you relieve the moment. You missed Yiseo, you really did. The last days you spent together weren't happy. Regret was constantly eating at you from the inside. Choosing to forget it all, you closed the diary, tossing it on the desk. You had a couple hours before you had to get ready for school. Snuggling under the covers, sleep sealed your eyelids close.

________________________________________________

Your first lesson of the day was Maths. Ara used to be your seat partner, but it was looking like you would have to spend the rest of the school year alone. People trickled into the classroom in a steady stream. The weather was getting colder, day by day, and leaves had already started falling. As you continued to daydream, a person slid into the seat next to you. Juhoon.

”Just a reminder. Everything you saw last night stays between us.”

Of course he came here to do damage control.

“No ‘good morning’?”

“I didn’t come here to joke around with you.”

“I wasn’t joking.”

His eyebrow quirked at your statement.

“I’ll be your new seat mate from today.”

He really was obsessive.

“Ok.”

Ms Kim walked in, her presence commanding focus. The class settled as she set up the starter on the board. Her eyes had noted down Juhoon’s seat change but she hadn’t spoken up about it. A flicker of concern had crossed her face, but it was left as fast as it came.

Throughout the lesson. Juhoon made you suffer. It was little things, but irritating nonetheless. He would purposefully hog the textbook, jolt your hand as you wrote and cause a magnitude 7.4 earthquake whenever he rubbed something out in his book. He was testing you. Out of pure stubbornness, you refused to give him a reaction. That little shit.

By the time class had ended, frustration and confusion clouded your thoughts. You shoved your stuff into your bag, hoping to get out of the classroom quickly, when Ms Kim called your name.

“I noticed the seat change today. If it gives you peace of mind, I didn’t approve for him to sit there.”

“Thank you, Ms Kim. It’s fine. I’ll adjust to make sure my learning isn’t interrupted.”

She nodded once.

“I hope you are settling well, you are a bright student with a bright future. I hope you see your potential as well as I do.”

“I’ll continue to aim high. Thank you for the support.”, you smiled.

A timid smile made its way onto her face. People like Ms Kim made you believe that there was hope in the world. You truly hoped she never changed. 

________________________________________________

You had a free period, so you wanted to catch up on your homework. All of your late night escapades had created a backlog of work for you to do. The library was relatively empty at this time. Truthfully, you had never fully explored the room. You had occasionally come in here, when Ara was still around. You missed her. So so much. You had become attached but all for the right reasons.

Deep in the library, there was a section dedicated to classics. With your bag still on your shoulder, you walked in between the aisles scanning the different books. To your surprise, Jekyll and Hyde had been slid out of the bunch of books. It called you. As if in a trance, you walked up to the book, holding it in your hand. You wondered, had Yiseo held the same book you were holding now? This whole area felt like her, like her presence filled the area. 

“What are you doing here?”

The whispered voice snapped you out of your thoughts. Keonho stood a couple metres away from you. You had unfortunately put yourself in a closed area with the one person you had been avoiding. Well. One of many.

“Just…browsing. I’m going to go now.”

“Wait. Can we at least talk about last night?”

“Now is not the place or the time. What would we even talk about, Keonho.”

For the first time, you saw a flicker of something in his eyes. Hurt. That was what you wanted right? For him and the others to pay. So why did it hurt you to see him like that?

“Don’t say that.”, he whispered.

“But Keonho-”

“Is it Seonghyeon?”, his voice strained, irritation evident.

“What? No, no, it doesn’t concern him-”

“You wound me, Princess. Did I really mean that little to you?”, Seonghyeon chuckled coldly. 

Shit. When did he get here?

“What about all the kisses. Those meant nothing too?”

“Guys just stop!”, you whisper yelled. “Leave me alone.”

Peace was impossible with these guys. 

________________________________________________

You wanted to go home. Fuck school. Rushing out of the school gates, you decided to take the car park shortcut home. As you walked down the pavement, a sleek green sports car, pulled up next to you. So now you were going to get kidnapped. Great. The windows rolled down but you kept your eyes forward. You weren’t going to give your kidnapper satisfaction.

“Hey, newbie.”, the guy’s voice projected, not shouting. 

You turned your head at the nickname you seemed to adopt from this place. It was James.

“What are you doing out of school?”

“What are you doing out of school?”

“Important things. Where are you headed?”

“Home.”

“Damn, who crawled up your ass? What’s with the attitude?”

“Warn your little friends to stop bothering me.”

“Let me guess, The Twins?”

“And Juhoon.” , you huffed.

“Hmm. Hop in.”

“What?”

“You heard me. You look like a toddler throwing their fifth tantrum of the day, get in.”

I beg your finest pardon?

You pulled the car door open, slamming it shut out of protest. James simply grinned at your actions and sped away. 

________________________________________________

He pulled up to a building. It had no signs yet teenage boys dressed in gym clothing walked in and out of it. You guessed that it must be a gym. As you both got out, greetings flew from everyone in the vicinity. 

“Good morning, Mr Chao.”

What cult had you walked into?

James simply nodded at the greetings. He rounded the car, opening the boot and grabbing a duffel bag. 

“Let’s go, Miss Attitude.”

You followed him into the building, and the first thing you saw were people sparring like their lives depended on it. They probably did. You said a quick prayer, hoping to not be roped into such activities.

“Don’t worry, you won’t be doing any of that stuff.”, he said. It was like he read your mind. Thank God.

He led you to a more private area, as he opened the duffel bag pulling out boxing gloves. He tossed them behind him and threw the duffle bag to the ground. 

“You box?”, he questioned.

“…No.”

“Well, today you will learn.”

Sigh.

“Put the gloves on.”

You grabbed them off of the floor and put them on carefully. At this rate, the boxing gloves would beat you into a pulp themselves if you moved any slower. Once you had them on, he gestured for you to get closer to the punching bag. 

“Stand shoulder width apart.”

You did that.

“Angle your front foot at a 45° angle. Slightly bend your knees and distribute your weight evenly.”

You adjusted yourself.

“Now punch.”

Weakly, you threw a punch. James stood with his arms crossed, chin raised slightly and eyes narrowed. 

“Was that your punch?”, he asked, tone raising at the end of his sentence.

“Umm…”, you shifted awkwardly.

“You seemed pretty pissed off earlier. Punch it out.”

You threw a punch, harder than the last.

“Again.”

You kept on punching, and he kept on repeating ‘again’, until your anger surfaced and you hit the punching bag the hardest you had ever punched. 

“How do you feel?”

All of your irritation had drained away. You were empty. 

“Exhausted but…less angry.”

“Good. I’ve got one more spot to take you to. Come on.”

He took the gloves off of your hands, stuffing them into the bag. You followed him out the car, settling into the seat. Why was he helping you? 

________________________________________________

You arrived at a small area that overlooked the beach. The air was breezy and salty. Taking a deep breath, the flavour tickled your lungs. The waves sloshed from side to side, swaying you to sleep. 

“You ever smoked before?”

“Nope.”

“So I’m guessing you’ve never rolled a blunt either.”

“Never have.”

He whipped out a bag, and rolled the blunt in 2 seconds flat. What a talent to have. 

He handed it to you, along with a lighter. 

“Try it.”

You stared at it like it would give you answers to your problems. It gave you none. As you lit it, you took a deep inhale, holding it in, before puffing out the smoke. 

“You sure you never smoked before?”

“Very sure.”

You had caught Yiseo doing it many times. She said it helped her with stress. It seemed to help James too. 

“You feeling much better now?”

“Yes, thanks.”

“It’s no big deal.”

“Why did you help me though?”

“The Twins like you. A lot. Martin even respects you. Juhoon is a lost cause, but he is like that with everyone. I feel like I should treat you with some decency. If the boys like someone, they become my priority by extension. See it as a peace offering.”

“That’s kind of you.”

He smirked, continuing to smoke and look into the distance. The cigarette was making you feel floaty and relaxed. That was what you needed. 

“Ready to go home?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s go.”

________________________________________________

You thanked James as you got out the car. He slid you the bag he had used before. 

“How am I supposed to use it?”

“Google.”

What a helpful, young lad. 

You stumbled into the house, kicking off your shoes with a promise to organise them later. After a long, warm shower, you settled into your bed. Your phone pinged softly; a message had come through. 

It was Hwa-young. A wicked grin spread across your face. So she was panicking. 

How much do you want?

You couldn’t place a money value on a picture like that. This was something you were going to torment her with for the rest of her life. 

________________________________________________

Whilst you lay in bed, Hwa-young was under the watchful eye of Martin. A lot of things had unfolded in the last couple of minutes. 

“You have a lot of nerve showing up here.”

“Baby-”

“No! Don’t ‘baby’ me, Martin! I needed you and you weren’t there.”

“You know how busy I can get. You know that.”

“Go be busy somewhere else.”

She turned away from him, hoping he would follow. He did.

“Come on, Youngie. Don’t be mad at me.”

He followed her all the way up the spiralled staircase, down the hallway, up another flight of stairs just to get to her bedroom. Unfortunately for her, she had left her phone open on the messages she had been sent. The photo was clear to see too. 

“Choi Hwa-young. What is this?”

Martin had never said her name like that. 

“Huh?”, she said shakily, before turning to face him. 

“This is fake, right? This photo.”

She didn’t answer.

“HWA-YOUNG, ANSWER ME!”, his voice shook her to the core. She was so fucked. 

“So this is what you do in your spare time? Whoring around, huh!”, he yelled.

“Martin…”

“What? What? Are you sorry? Do you want me to forgive you, Youngie?”, he mocked. “I’m sure you would like that. Me forgiving your sins like a fucking saint, as you continue sleeping around like you get paid.”

She was sobbing now. She hadn’t meant for him to find out. Not at all. 

“Text them back.”, he said quietly.

“What?”, she whispered.

“You heard me, Hwa-young. Text them back. Now.”

She shakily picked up the phone, tapping the message box furiously. 

“What should I say?”

“Ask them how much they want. You are already selling yourself, we might as well see how much you are worth.”

Tears dripped onto the screen, making it harder to type out the message. 

“I’ve sent it.”

He didn’t respond. He stood leaning against the wall, eyes closed and eyebrows furrowed. 

“Martin.”

“Don’t call or text me again. I refuse to be seen with a person like you. You know the rules. You fucked up and now you’ve got a lengthly sentence to serve.”

And with that, he left the Choi estate without looking back. 

________________________________________________

You decided to leave Hwa-young’s message for now. You had plenty of time to torment her later. Weirdly, you felt tired but fully awake. You grabbed the diary, and flicked to a random page. It was like a roulette, which entry would wreck you the most?

Yiseo was crying. She was sat on a little bench in a park, the sun already setting. Her phone was in her hands, untouched. She had thought of calling you, but she had decided against it. You were always busy on Thursdays, cram school always left you sleepy and hungry, a bad combination. 

The sound of gravel crunching halted her tears. The tall figure slid into the seat next to her. 

“Yiseo. What are you doing alone out here, it’s late. James is worried sick.”

“James doesn’t love me.”, she chocked out.

“Don’t be silly, Yiseo. He’s always loved you. Before he himself even realised it was love.”

“He was so mad earlier. So, so mad. I got angry and so did he and-”

“Shhhh. Calm down. Whatever disagreement you guys had, is in the past now. He is worried that you haven’t texted or called. You can’t tell me he doesn’t love you.”

Yiseo sniffled in contemplation. Yufan did love her, right? He was doing all of this to protect her. 

“We are so complicated, though.”

“All couples are.”

He wrapped his long arm around her, his voice dropping into a soft timber. 

“Just go talk to him. He misses you and I’m sure you miss him just as much.”

“I do.”

“So call him. Let him know you are ok, alright?”

“Thank you, Martin. You truly are my best friend.”

That line felt like a slow, painful death. Yiseo died not knowing how much you missed her, how much you cared for her. You were her best friend first. You were supposed to be friends forever. Angry tears blurred your vision as you threw the diary across the room. Screw the diary. 

You stood up to get a glass of water, when an envelope slipped out of the letterbox. Picking it up, you scanned the outside. It was a navy envelope with no seal on it. Tearing it open, a small card with a number and a small message appeared to you:

Call me

~L

You couldn’t give one. Dialling the number, it rang three times before it connected. 

“Hello?”, you said.

“Hi. It’s me Ara.”

“Ara? How did you-”

“Not now. I don’t have much time to call you, so I will make it brief. I don’t care how you do it, those five boys need to be taken down. Anyone who stands in your way will have to go down with them. Do not have mercy on them, make them suffer and make them burn. Do you understand?”

“Yes… but Ara-”

“I missed you too. I wish I had more time to spend with you and got to know you better but this is all we can have. Take care of yourself, okay?”

“You take care of yourself. Thanks for calling.”

“No problem. Bye now.”

“Bye,”, you whispered.

As soon as the call disconnected, you slumped onto the floor, cradling yourself. Life was unfair. So unfair. Now it was going to go your way. You are going to be the judge and the executioner. 

It is your court now.

________________________________________________

A/N: I’m so sorry for the delays guys! I’ve had the busiest couple of weeks ever. This chapter, I actually put in a line that Hwa-young said in chapter 2 and used it against her when Martin told her she had messed up. Ara’s call is now the catalyst for the destruction and chaos that is to come. So sit tight!

taglist: @wouldntyuliketoknowweatherboy, @faayzeswords, @nanamyberry, @mitsubal0ver, @eunjjx, @kienhawon, @inadazeee, @inlirium, @meeoowchi, @hyeonverse, @ireaiiyiikecats, @lunaryoongie, @udontknowmee2, @kyeonhoelii, @loserloveremployee, @berryred, @stxrripure, @f4l13n4ng3l1, @whmzyvic, @kurosagislvr, @belleameslust, @kiememories, @amethyystlvr, @scalsstereo, @seonghwaswifeuuuu, @hajimeumemiya06, @dreamyevilcomet, @hrrystylesss12345 @taeyongsfriedhair

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CROCODILE TEARS - CORTIS X FEM!READER

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CHAPTER 4: CHAMELEON - refers to a person's ability to seamlessly adapt their behaviour, communication style, and even emotional energy to match different people or social situations. Much like the reptile, they blend into their surroundings to fit in or navigate social environments effectively.

SYNOPSIS: A new girl is plunged into the playground for the rich, meeting 5 boys whose intentions are stained with manipulation and lies. What if this new girl isn’t as innocent as she seems to be?

WARNINGS: profanity, multiple love interests at once, reader isn’t a good person but the boys are worse, no one is good in this school, smoking, manipulation, gaslighting, murder and lies, weird teacher (teacher student relationships), kissing, obsession, infidelity, use of pet names, overall wickedness, pure revenge, James is a year older than the rest, drugs (hinted at) [this is NOT how I view CORTIS as individuals, this is purely for the story]

WORD COUNT: 5.8K (5,751 words)

A/N: Sorry for the delay guys! I had the busiest week of existence. This chapter was really fun to write. At first I experienced a bit of a mental block but I managed to get over it! Enjoy x

PLAYLIST: TNT (CORTIS), Hold my hand (HAN of STRAY KIDS), BANG BANG (IVE), Am I Dreaming (Metro Boomin, A$AP Rocky, Roisee), ETA (NewJeans), FaceTime (LNGSHOT), Low (SZA)

________________________________________________ A solid blow landed against his stomach. He groaned in pain, trying to escape his restraints. His arms were tied up to chains hanging from the ceiling. He was shirtless as he received countless beatings.

“You just gotta tell me the truth, man,”, Martin said. “You should know better than to take photos of Hwa-young. Let alone look at her. So why did you do it? Tell me and this will be made much easier for ya.”

The guy let out a muffled sound. The ironic thing was that his mouth had been sealed shut with tape. He couldn’t speak even if he wanted to. Martin knew this, of course. He was using this as a chance to beat and punish him. He got a kick out of it. A high. He would continue doing it for as long as he liked. He had the liberty. He sure as hell was going to abuse it.

________________________________________________

You had woken up in a cold sweat, yesterday's events still fresh in your mind.

“Hey. I’m talking to you.”, his voice sharpened at your ignorance.

Turning on your heel slowly, you looked up to see a guy around your age, with some of the best clothes you had ever seen.

God, was he tall. He had a sense of grandeur, royalty, someone of high status. In this moment, you were convinced he could harm you. You needed to worm out of this situation. Fast.

"Sorry, I'm looking for Juhoon."

His eyebrow raised in a disproving way.

"All girls say that. Tell me, what are you actually here for?"

His voice dropped an octave, the shadows sharpening his features. Beautifully murderous.

"I'm not lying to you,", your voice unwavering. "I was just downstairs with Keonho. I hang out with them at lunch. Juhoon literally invited me here."

His eyes were still locked on your smaller frame. His chest puffing out with a deep exhale.

"This is the last time I'm asking ya. What are you doing here?"

A feeling close to fear roused in your stomach. Goosebumps spread across your arms, your palms sweaty and your hearing muffled. You opened your mouth in the hopes of retaliation, when a voice carried out from the hallway:

"Martin. What are you doing out there?", it was Juhoon.

You exhaled a sigh of relief. For the second time since joining Sehwa, Juhoon had saved you.

"This girl is saying she asked to see you.", Martin said, eyes zeroed in on you.

"Oh, you haven't met her yet. This is the new girl."

Martin's eyes widened a fraction, before he shifted his weight onto his heel. His face transformed into a decently friendly one.

"Apologies for starting off on the wrong footing. I'm Martin. Martin Edwards Park.", he extended his large hand for you to shake. You stared down at it before grabbing it firmly.

"Nice to meet you too."

Juhoon walked down the hallway to where you were standing. He gently grabbed your wrist and turned you towards him.

"What do you need me for?", he whispered gently.

That's when it hit you. You had been in a state of impulse that you realised your hard work will be unravelled if you even so questioned Juhoon on Ara. Now was not the time to screw up. Not when you were so close.

"I'm looking for Seonghyeon. I thought you might know where he is."

"He is up here too. Let's go."

Juhoon led you to the room at the end of the hallway, Martin not that far behind. In the room, drinks lay across the table, orderly scattered. Seonghyeon peered up and locked eyes with you. His eyes reminded you of Keonho's. Keonho. You had just kissed him.

"Hey, newbie. Watchu doing wandering around?"

"I was looking for you actually."

"And how can I be of your assistance?"

You became aware of the other two beside you. This didn't involve Juhoon and you were quite sure Martin was unaware of the situation at hand.

"Can we talk outside?"

"Of course."

He walked you down to the other end of the hallway and opened up a double door. A shimmering, silver view of the coast illuminated your face, the teasing scent of salt tickling your nose. Seonghyeon shifted to stand beside you. He leaned against the concrete railing of the balcony, his dark eyes trained on you.

"So how can I help you?"

"Those photos. What did you do with them?", you got straight to the point. You remembered giving them the envelope in a fit of rage and your curiosity was now getting the better of you.

"Burnt them."

"You did?"

"Yup. We don't have anything to do with them so we burnt them."

You sighed deeply. Turning your head, the late night tide lazily waved in greeting.

"A penny for them?"

"Hmm?"

"Your thoughts,", he chuckled. "What's on your mind?"

"Just thinking about all those poor girls. It hurts me and I haven't even been here long."

He shuffled closer to you, eyes softening slightly. “It’s all over now, hmm? You don’t have to stress over it.”, his hand met your arm, stroking it comfortingly. You looked up at him. There was still no sign of love or affection in them. Constantly, you reminded yourself that these people weren’t capable of love. Seonghyeon wasn’t an exception.

“But still-”, you started.

He suddenly pressed a fleeting kiss on your lips.

“No buts, forget about it.”

The contact had startled you. You hated yourself. You had actually enjoyed it. The disgust you felt mixed with the craving of him. You weren’t any better than you prided yourself to be. He leaned in closer, his nose brushing against yours. His hand crept to your waist, not gripping but placed. The air between was charged as his lips pressed gently against yours. Gasping at the contact, you parted your lips, allowing him to kiss you deeper. The kiss deepened as he became the only thing you were inhaling. Seonghyeon. Seonghyeon. Seonghyeon.

“Seonghyeon.”, the two of you jumped apart. Juhoon was standing at the door, his expression unreadable. Seonghyeon looked unfazed at the interruption whilst you hung your head low in embarrassment.

“You guys done talking?”

You were both doing something more than talking. “Yep.”, Seonghyeon answered plainly. Both boys turned to look at you, awaiting an answer.

“I…would like some air…please.”, you phrased awkwardly.

They both nodded, leaving you on the balcony. The breeze felt mockingly cold and the waves crashed teasingly loud. What was happening to you?

________________________________________________

It was safe to say that the events of last night will be forever engrained in your mind. You peeled off your covers and stretched, you had school to get ready for.

Fixing your tie in the mirror, the doorbell rang. Who would be here at this time? You shuffled to the door, eyes still heavy. Without bothering to check the peephole, you opened the door. There was no one there. Shrugging it off, you began to close the door. When you caught sight of a small, navy package sitting on your doorstep. Grabbing it, you closed the door with your foot as you examined the package. No return address, no labelling, nothing. You continued examining the package as you absentmindedly grabbed a box cutter to dissect it.

Placing it onto the table, you made a small incision on the left side of the package. You slowly peeled away the outside packaging to reveal a book. A book that you knew very well. The cover was forest green either gold trimmings around the edges. This was Yiseo’s diary. You stepped back slowly, tears blurring your vision. This was cruel. Very cruel. You hadn’t seen this book in a while. Truthfully, you didn’t want to see it ever again. Like it burnt, you speedily turned it over. A sticky note was attached to it. It read:

I thought you might need this. Take care of it and use it wisely. No information in this diary came for free. Souls and hearts have been sold to even get an inkling of what this book holds. Tread carefully.

~L

Whoever had given you this diary knew the gravity of it. Good. You were going to heed their warnings. Seconds passed as curiosity began prodding at you impatiently, like a toddler. An internal war between whether you should open it or burn it all together waged within you. Open it. Burn it. Open it. Burn it. Open it. You were going to hate yourself for the decision you made.

Picking up the boom with the tips of your fingers, you inspected the outside. You flicked open to the first page. This was going to be a long ride.

________________________________________________

“Hello?”, who was calling Yiseo at this ungodly hour?

“Yiseo!”, Hwa-young cried, her voice cracking at the edges.

The wrecked sound of Hwa-young’s voice sat Yiseo straight.

“Hwa-young? What happened? Talk to me.”

“It’s Martin?”, she sobbed.

Yiseo sighed. It was always Martin. Martin this. Martin that.

“What did he do now?”, fatigue wriggled back into Yiseo’s voice. “He’s been cheating!”

Everyone knew this.

“But he said he is sorry! He’s apologising to me, Yiseo!”

“He’s not apologising to you, he is manipulating you.”, venom seeping in at the word ‘manipulating’. Yiseo was getting annoyed.

“Choi Hwa-young. We all know that the both of you have been unfaithful to each other. It’s no secret. We’ll talk more at school. Get some sleep, okay?”

“Okay, Yiseo. Thank you. What would I do without you?”

“You would stress over Martin constantly. Do yourself a favour and sleep. I don’t wanna hear you complain about the eyebags you get.”

“Okay, okay! Goodnight, love you.”

“Night. Love you too.”

Yiseo sat for a couple minutes after hanging up the phone. What would Hwa-young do if she found out that the girl Martin had been cheating on her with was her?

________________________________________________

Your first lesson of the day was Music. You hadn’t had a Music lesson so far, so you were quite excited to see what it would be like. The Music block was stunning. Instruments of every kind could be found there and facilities for the extremely passionate were at every corner.

Stepping into your classroom, you realised that everyone was already working on some kind of music. You clutched your violin case closer to you as you scanned the faces. Shuffling in further to the centre of the classroom, you tried to locate your class teacher. Stood by the fire exit, was Martin and your teacher, Mr Reed. What an ironic name. They were engaged in a passionate conversation as you watched other students work on their compositions on their laptops. “Hey newbie!”, Martin called.

Your head moved before your better judgement. Both Mr Reed and Martin walked towards you. Mr Reed was a jolly guy, passionate for what he does and always willing to help. In this lighting, Martin looked…harmless. Nothing similar to what you met last night. Nothing of the such. “Welcome to Music! Let me guess, violinist?”, Mr Reed beamed.

“Oh, yes, I play the violin.”, you responded shyly.

“It seems like you have become familiarised with our musical genius, Martin. I hope you don’t mind him showing you the ropes. If you really want to, you can work on this terms composition assignment together! Everyone who works with Martin is transformed. It’s truly wonderful to see.”, Mr Reed rambled.

Transformed was definitely the right word to use.

“I don’t mind at all.”

“Well let me show you around then.”

________________________________________________

”Our first stop is storage. We keep a load of instruments here just in case people want to use them for something short and quick.”

“So can you just go and grab one as you please?”

“Exactly!”

“That’s nice.”

“You play the violin. Anything else you play?”

“Piano. Cello. Bass. Oh, and the Triangle.”

A cackle escaped Martin. “The Triangle?!”, he was wheezing now. Honestly, when he smiled, he looked like the happiest person known to man. His personality never stayed the same it seemed. “Yeah,”, you replied weakly. “I learnt it when I was little.”

“We’ll definitely need you in the future.”, he joked.

“Glad to know I’m wanted.”

He showed you other rooms. Recording studios, manuscript paper storage, extra strings and personal studios that some people had. Leading you to a door with frosted glass, he pushed it open.

“This is my personal studio.”

The colour contrasted that of the rest of the building. The burgundy curtains at the back stole the show. Vinyls and guitars all stood tall, proud to be owned and stored in a studio like this.

“You compose?”

“I do a little bit of it all. Producing, songwriting, composing and all that. It’s not easy but it’s fun, for me at least.”

“You must be so talented.”

His ears burned red at your words. The Martin Edwards was shy? His daytime personality just wasn’t adding up. What a chameleon.

“I just do it for fun, to be honest. We have one last place to go. Shall we?”

“Yep. Let’s go.”

Martin led you outside the building and into a neighbouring one. This building was much larger. Pulling open the door, he led you to a large room. An auditorium.

“This is where we practise for performances. It’s quite small, no?”, he looked at you at the end of his words.

This room was not small. A light panic filled your chest. This seemed evident to Martin as he giggled childishly.

“I’m only kidding. This room is really big. You should see it when we have a Symphony Orchestra concert. It’s crazy full.”

“I can imagine. This school is very passionate about music.”

”Yeah. My parents donate a lot to the department. We are quite the musical family.”

“That’s sweet of them. At least we get to experience all of these things from a young age.”

“Hmm.”, he hummed in reply.

“So what is this about a termly assignment?”

“Ah, every term we get an assignment and it can scale from an individual performance to an orchestral one. You can choose. Many people tend to keep it low-level though.”

“That makes more sense. I saw that people had already started on them. Did you guys get told last year?”

“Everyone makes music when they feel like it. They then choose what they want to submit for the assignment. I’ve composed about 120 songs in a term and only submitted one.”

120? This guy is a beast.

“That’s crazy.”

“I know right. I’m sure you’ll slot right in with the rest of us. You don’t seem so bad, would you like to work on the assignment together? You know as a pair.”

This was scaring you. No one had offered to get closed to you so blatantly in this place. “Uhh-”

“Great! Let’s go get started! I wanna hear you play the violin. Maybe we should add that into the piece.”, he said excitedly. Right now he looked like a little kid who loved music. Not a person capable of Class A manipulation.

You followed him out of the auditorium. Thoughts of confusion still plagued you. Figuring him out was going to be harder than you expected. ________________________________________________

“Yo, newbie!”, it was Na Hajoon. Remember that disruptive blonde who’s in your form? Yeah, it’s him.

You raised your eyebrows in acknowledgment. It was the beginning of your free period and you hoped to catch up on your artwork.

“Park is looking for you. What’ve you done now?”, he sniggered. At the mention of Mrs Park’s name, your eyebrows furrowed.

“Where is she?”

“In her office.”

Turning your back to him, you began walking away. “Wait,”, he grabbed your wrist. “You still fooling around with Seonghyeon?”

“What’s it to you? Mind your business.”

“He’s not worth it. I don’t think he sees what you are truly worth.”

“You are wasting my time.”

“Come on, newbie. You know you don’t mind me.”

“I mind you very much.”

“What a nasty sense of humour you got. I like that.”

He was annoying you now. Leaning in, you twisted your arm out of his grip, now holding his wrist. You began rotating it painfully slow.

“You won’t like it when you are buried alive. Last warning. Leave me alone.”

With that you sped down the hallway, irritation brewing strongly. Now you had that bitch to deal with. ________________________________________________

“Come in!”

You pushed open the door to Ms Park’s office. She sat at her desk, glasses perched on the bridge of her nose.

“Take a seat.”

Slowly, you placed yourself in the chair in front of her. The room was cold. From the colour to the temperature.

“I called you in here to give you a warning.”

“I haven’t done anything.”

“I haven’t even begun and you are getting defensive.”

You leaned back in your seat, eyes darkening.

“I see you have been hanging around with an exceptional crowd.”

“Are there rules about who I can and can’t hang out with?”, you questioned sharply.

“Hush while I am speaking.”

The audacity of the bitch.

”Please remember your place in this school. Scholarship kids like you should not be around other children who actually have a bright future. A chance at making a name out of themselves. You are privileged to be here. You owe them everything. Don’t, not even for a second, think that you are more than who they say you are. You can leave my office now.”

This woman as ridiculous. Pushing on the armrests, you got up out of the seat and left the room. You were going to deal with this woman one way or another. It was only a matter of time before she slipped up. ________________________________________________

You needed some air. The campus was quiet except for the occasion toot of a trumpet coming from the music block. Today hadn’t gone the way you wanted. You really needed to blow off some steam. Your eyes shut, eyelids heavy.

“You okay?”, you lazily opened your eyes. Na-bi was peering over curiously.

“I’m so fucking done with this place.”, you mumbled.

She laughed dryly. “Welcome to my world.”

She slumped down next to you, a comfortable silence filling the air.

“Hwa-Young’s being a bitch again.”, she groaned.

“What did she do now?”

“Ranting about Martin. When I told her I don’t wanna hear it she got pressed. It’s the same old story with them. They’re so toxic.”, Na-bi explained whilst rubbing the back of her neck.

Your mind cast you back to this morning’s diary read. Now was the time to ask questions.

“What’s with them? I met Martin today, he doesn’t seem that bad.”, you prodded innocently.

Na-bi’s eyes widened.

“Oh no. He is bad. He is awfully good at masking his behaviour. It’s crazy.”

“What does he do to Hwa-young?”

“They are both cheaters. The aim is to make the other jealous. They are horrible to the people the cheat with. Martin deals with anyone who even looks at Hwa-young, whilst Hwa-young destroys the girl’s life.”

“They are a crazy couple.”

“Hmmm.”

“I don’t understand the appeal of these guys.”

“You are one to talk. You are the same girl who ate Seonghyeon’s face out on your first day and might I add, I caught you passionately making out with Keonho yesterday. So tell me, what’s the appeal?”

“It was a spur of the moment thing.”, you weakly defended.

“Spur of the moment, my ass.”

You both giggled lightly. ”I miss her.”

“Who?”, you questioned lightly. “Ara. I hate what happened to her. Hwa-young made her life a living hell when she used to hang out with her. Sometimes I wish someone dealt with Hwa-young.”

You were up to the task.

“These people need to be dealt with.”

“They do.”

The cheery bell rang, signaling lunchtime. “Shall we go eat?”

“Yep, let’s go.”

At least you had someone by your side here. ________________________________________________

Lunch was lazy. Martin had joined, occasionally lightening up the mood, but morning classes had drained everyone. Many people sat outside as the sun was welcoming and warm. You sat in between Na-bi and Hwa-young with Keonho and Seonghyeon opposite. Every now and then, you would catch the boys staring at you. You had made a little bit of a mess. Oops.

Unnoticed to you, Ms Park had entered the cafeteria. She strode towards your table, people moving around her as she went through the crowd. “Get up.”, her voice startled you.

You turned your head towards her but your body stayed sat. She was not going to win this one. “I gave you a warning. I expect you to listen.”, she grabbed your arm and yanked you upright.

Angrily, you pulled your arm, bringing her closer to you.

“Well let me give you a warning of my own. I know what you and Katō did. That lovely picture I have explains it all. Do you really want to go there?”, you mumbled menacingly.

That made her freeze. She jerked away from you, clearly jostled. She looked you up and down in disgust. “Next time I won’t be as so kind to be quiet about your acts. Don’t push me any further, Ms Park.”

Her eyes were filled with fear. Good. Let her fear you.

After she left, you sat back down. “What was that about?”, Keonho asked.

“Nothing incredibly important. She was picking on me so I dealt with her.”

Everyone seemed satisfied by your cryptic response. They knew better than to push. Martin, though, looked incredibly pleased. Looks like you were winning his favour.

________________________________________________

You were leaving school after a day that dragged on for ages. Fatigue wracked your bones. Your brain felt overloaded and your back took this as a chance to start aching. Suddenly, your phone buzzed dramatically. What now? Without taking a glance at the screen, you answered the call.

“Hello?”

Sniffling sounded through your phone speaker. You took this as a chance to look at the caller ID. It was Na-bi.

“Na-bi? What happened? Talk to me?”

“It’s Hwa-young!”, frustration lacing her voice.

You sighed. It was always Hwa-young. Hwa-young this. Hwa-young that.

“What did she do now?”, fatigue wriggling back into your voice.

“She’s been spreading rumours about me. She’s being an evil bitch again!”

Everyone knew this.

“But she said she is sorry! She's apologising to me.”

“She’s not apologising to you, she is manipulating you.”, venom seeping in at the word ‘manipulating’. You were getting annoyed.

“Na-bi. We all know that the both of you have done horrible things to each other. It’s no secret. We’ll talk more at school. Get some rest , okay?”

“Okay. Thank you. What would I do without you?”

“You would stress over Hwa-young and go bald. Do yourself a favour and rest. I don’t wanna hear you complain about how you look dead.”

“Okay, okay! Bye, love you.”

Her words swelled you with pride.

“Bye, love you too.”

You stood in the same spot for a couple minutes after hanging up the phone. Na-bi is upset. What kind of friend would you be if you didn’t comfort her?

________________________________________________

A sleek, black car pulled up near the fountain. Servants and assistants lined up in two neat rows, each looking pristine. Choi Hwa-young was home. The lady at the front of the line pulled open the car door for her. Hwa-young couldn’t remember the last time she had touched the handle of a car. She stepped out of the car without acknowledging anyone. Phone in hand, she typed furiously. The two lines collapsed inwards as she passed them.

“Good afternoon, Miss Choi. I hope today was a fine day of learning?”. The lady speaking was her personal assistant. Mrs Voss. A pretty, Norwegian lady who only knew order.

“Hmm.”, Hwa-young replied absentmindedly. Her phone was more interesting at the moment. No one ever told off or correct Hwa-young. The last person to do so is currently in Haiti trying to scrape together their first meal of the day during a nationwide famine.

“Your parents will be home for dinner. 8pm. Italian cuisine. I hope it is to your liking?”

“Hmmm.”

And with that, she went off to her room. It wasn’t really fitting to call her room a ‘room’. It was the size of a studio apartment, with a second floor and everything. She slumped down on a bean bag that was lazily perched in the corner of her room. The business she had been so busy with was revolved around Na-bi. During Hwa-Young’s free period, she had the brilliant idea to stir up a pretty rumour about Na-bi. After Na-bi’s little act of defiance this morning (she refused to listen to her ranting about Martin), she had to be beaten into submission. Hwa-young would never give a donkey carrots. Brute force was always necessary. The only problem was, the rumour wasn’t doing so well. She was scrolling through the trenches of social media in the hopes of the rumour gaining momentum. As she continued to do so, a call came in. Martin 🙄 (DNI!!!)

She picked up the call, pressing the phone to her ear. “What do you want, Martin?”

“Baby, I just wanted to apologise-”

“Go apologise to someone else. I’m hanging up.”

“No, baby, wait!”

Tears were now clouding her vision.

“No! You are just trying to manipulate me!”

The call was silent for a bit.

“No. No, Hwa-young. Who’s been telling you all these things? Tell me, baby.”

“No one, Martin! I have a mind of my own, you know!”

“I know you do, sweetheart.”

She was now lightly sobbing. Martin was whispering sweet nothings over the phone when a notification came in. The number was unknown. Curiously, she clicked it. She was greeted with the sight of her picture. Not just any picture. It was the one that Katō had definitely taken of her. Panic shot through her veins. She started sobbing even harder, coughing and shaking. “Martin!”

“Yes, my love?”

“Can you come over tonight? I need your company.”

“I’ll be there. Just for you okay?”

“Okay.”

“Wipe your tears, baby. I hate when you cry, especially when I’m the reason. I’ll see you soon, alright? Love you.”

“I love you too.”

As soon as the call ended, another message popped through. It doesn’t feel nice when you are on the receiving end, does it? xx

________________________________________________

You were currently laying face down on your bed. This was nice. Being lazy and not moving an inch. Your phone buzzed next to you. Groaning, you picked it up to see who was calling. It was Seonghyeon.

“Hey.”, he said.

“Hi. What’s up?”

“Just checking on you. Didn’t see you much today.”

“You saw me at lunch, Seonghyeon.”, a small smile making its way onto your face.

“Wasn’t long enough. Do you want to come over to mine?”

“Your house?”

“Yeah, my house.”

You convinced yourself that you were doing this in the hopes of getting more information.

“I would love to, but I don’t have your address.”

“Oh, right. I’ll send that right away. See you in a few.”

“See you.”

Pushing yourself up with a groan, you shuffled to your closet, hoping to find something presentable.

Sigh, the things we do. ________________________________________________

A kind man has led you to the door. You wondered how many girls he had smiled at whilst leading them in and out of the estate. Inside the house, you heard many voices. Inspecting the walls, you were greeted with different art pieces. They were so beautiful. You took your time, lingering in the hallway as you expected them. “They are quite nice, no?”. a voice snapped you out of your daze. Keonho. Wait, Keonho?

“What are you doing here, Keonho?”

“I basically live here.”

“And I am this close to evicting you. You need to stop eating my açai, bro.”

Seonghyeon appeared in the hallway. A small side smile adorning his stupidly handsome face. “Glad you could make it.”

“I’m grateful for the invite. Nice artwork by the way.”

“The artwork? That’s all done by Keonho. Aren’t you guys in the same art class?”

“Yeah, we are. That’s impressive.”

“I am quite good if I say so myself.”, Keonho grinned. When did he ever stop smiling?

“Enough about Keonho and his bragging, come on in.”

You were led further into the house. People actually lived in these? It must be nice to be wealthy. “This is the hangout room. Everyone always came over to mine, so I had this room created for us. Don’t be shy, go in.”

You opened the door, and there sat Martin. He had his phone pressed to his ear, one leg crossed over the other. How much swag did this guy possess? “He’s on the phone with a client. Just give him a sec.”, Keonho whispered. His hand ghosted your waist making you shiver. You really hoped that Seonghyeon didn’t notice.

Once Martin put down the phone, he sent you a friendly wave. “Welcome. Glad to see you.”

“Glad to see you too.”, you replied shyly. He sniggered at your meekness. “I didn’t know you were so shy.”

“I’m not shy.”

“If you say so.”

Keonho and Seonghyeon were holding in their laughs, the prior finding the ceiling suddenly interesting whilst the latter rubbed his nose.

“Yo, Keonho, Sean, we’ve got a delivery at James’. We can’t be late.”

“Sean?”, the question escaped you faster than you expected.

“Yeah, that’s my English name.”, Seonghyeon replied simply.

“We’ve got the goods, we can roll out in the next couple of minutes.”, Keonho replied to Martin. You felt horribly out of the loop. Looking around, no one’s face gave away any answers. Martin seemed to sense your confusion and pointed it out.

“You don’t know anything about what we do, do you?”

You shook your head as you sat down on the sofa opposite Martin. The Twins sat on the opposite sides of you.

“We deal all sorts of things. Just know that. You promise to keep your mouth shut, right?”

”She’s clean.”, Keonho said for you, lightly rubbing your cheek with the pad of his thumb. “Aren’t you?”

He leaned in closer before pressing his lips against yours. Seonghyeon did not look bothered. In fact, he had a genuine smile on his face. “Yeah…I am.”, you sluggishly replied. Keonho’s kisses must be laced with something.

”Good, let’s get ready to leave.”

Seonghyeon clasped your hand as he led you out of the room. “Where are we going?”

“It is going to be a bit cold, where we are going. I’m getting you something to keep you warm.”

Through the maze of hallways and stairs, you reached Seonghyeon’s room. It represented him perfectly. Taekwondo medals strewn across the room, several academic achievements hung up on the wall and musical equipment filled in all the empty space. He walked through another door, before reappearing with a large zip-up jacket.

“Here, take it.”

“Thank you.”

It was big on you, but warm. It smelt just like him, intoxicatingly sweet. Stepping towards you, he grabbed the two sides of the zip-up and leaned in. The kiss was deep and soft. Your hands travelled up his chest before settling comfortably on his shoulders. He kissed you like you were his air.

But how many girls had he made feel like this?

The piercing thought spurred you to pull away from him.

“We should get going. Don’t wanna be late before Martin gets all pouty.”

He chuckled lightly, before giving you a quick peck on your lips.

“Let’s go.”

________________________________________________

Cool air and illuminated signs lay on your face as you leaned out of the car window. Seonghyeon was right, it was cold here. The driver announced that you had reached your destination. He walked round to both doors and opened them.

Keonho grabbed your hand and began walking you towards a shop.

"I'm gonna take her inside. We'll see you in a bit."

There was no protest you were taken into a shop. An old lady stood at the counter of what seemed like a hole-in-the-wall pork belly restaurant.

"안녕하세요, 아주머니. 모두 안에 계신가요?", Keonho asked.

(Good evening auntie. Is everyone inside already?)

"응.", her answer was short and clipped.

(Yes.)

"고마워요!", Keonho beamed.

(Thank you!)

You followed him into a room that had a beaded door curtain for a door. In the room, there was a spiral staircase leading underground. Without missing a beat, Keonho walked down, expecting you to follow.

As you reached the next floor down, you realised you were in a bar. The bass thumped deep into the walls, as people clinked drinks and smoked. Keonho tightened his grip on your hand as he walked down a long hallway. Turning a corner, he approached a simple, silver door, guarded by two buff men. The man on the left opened the door for him. Keonho must be a regular.

You followed him into the room and you found yourself in an arena. Not just any good old arena, it was a boxing underground arena. You were on a balcony and down below, you could see a bloody match going on in the centre ring. People filled every crevice of the room.

"Welcome. I'm sure you might know a thing or two about illegal underground boxing. James hyung runs the whole thing. Cool, right?"

Your eyes scanned the room, exploring the details. Near the ring, sat a guy in a suit. Black sunglasses framed his face whilst blonde spiky hair sprouted from his head. A toothpick was in his mouth, as people whispered into his ear from time to time. His eyes stayed trained on the match in front of him until a certain whisper moved his gaze to where you were standing on the balcony. Keonho gave him a wave and nudged you to follow him down the stairs.

It was like a mosh pit on the ground floor. You had to hold onto Keonho's sleeve in the hopes of not getting swept away by the human tide. You arrived in front of the man and he took off his sunglasses in acknowledgment.

"James hyung,", Keonho said. So this was James. "Meet the new girl."

"I know her. She's in my Latin class. Smart little thing.", his eyes scanned you from your shoes upwards.

"Nice to meet you. I'm sure you remember me but I'll introduce myself anyways. Chao James. Owner of this place."

His eyes were piercingly sharp. What a stare. ________________________________________________

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I just had to include blond James in this story!!! I added a parallel between Yiseo and the reader which might hint at the reader’s future behaviour 😶‍🌫️ the next chapter is going to focus on James!! I am so excited to write his character and I hope you guys have been picking up on some clues x thanks for reading 😘

taglist: @wouldntyuliketoknowweatherboy, @faayzeswords, @nanamyberry, @mitsubal0ver, @eunjjx, @kienhawon, @inadazeee, @inlirium, @meeoowchi, @hyeonverse, @ireaiiyiikecats, @lunaryoongie, @udontknowmee2, @kyeonhoelii, @loserloveremployee, @berryred, @stxrripure, @f4l13n4ng3l1, @whmzyvic, @kurosagislvr, @belleameslust, @kiememories, @amethyystlvr, @scalsstereo, @seonghwaswifeuuuu, @hajimeumemiya06, @dreamyevilcomet, @hrrystylesss12345

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CHAPTER 3: MR SPEAKER - In parliament, "Mr Speaker" is the title given to the presiding officer and highest authority of the House of Commons. The Speaker acts as an impartial referee during debates, maintains order, and represents the House in its dealings with the monarch, the House of Lords, and outside authorities.

SYNOPSIS: A new girl is plunged into the playground for the rich, meeting 5 boys whose intentions are stained with manipulation and lies. What if this new girl isn’t as innocent as she seems to be?

WARNINGS: profanity, multiple love interests at once, reader isn’t a good person but the boys are worse, no one is good in this school, vaping, someone gets drugged, manipulation, gaslighting, murder and lies, underaged drinking, weird teacher (teacher student relationships), kissing, obsession, infidelity, teen pregnancy (not in detail), overall wickedness, James is a year older than the rest, drugs [this is NOT how I view CORTIS as individuals, this is purely for the story]

WORD COUNT: 5.2K (5.197 words)

A/N: This chapter does contain the mentions of teen pregnancy but it is not detailed. It does however discuss the murder of a pregnant girl. If this makes you uncomfortable I have marked the section that contains it so you are aware. This chapter is full of pure evil. Everybody is moving mad in this chapter. This chapter will highlight Juhoon’s evil nature and how he acted in the past. Using ‘Mr Speaker’ to describe him, shows how he maintains control over things and is impartial (or he is meant to be). Keep your eyes peeled for a special someone later on in the chapter.

PLAYLIST: ANYTHING BUT LOVE (Tate Mcrae), IS IT (Tyla), IFHY (Tyler, The Creator, Pharrell Williams), Kiss Me More (Doja Cat, SZA), HYPNOTIZE (XG), I Like It (Stray Kids), FaSHioN (CORTIS)

________________________________________________

“I hate you! I hate you!”

“Yiseo, calm down, my love.”

“You?! You are telling me to calm down?! You got a girl pregnant and killed her and you expect me to be calm?!”

“I didn’t kill her.”

“But you got her pregnant, right? You got another girl pregnant when you swore your loyalty to me and me only.”

“Yiseo. Get yourself together.”

“I hate you and I hope you burn in hell.”

She stormed away, furious.

“Didn’t I tell you, hyung? She wouldn’t understand you. Understand us.”

“I didn’t even kill the girl.”

“You still did the right thing by getting rid of her. You’ve got a whole life ahead of you. One mistake shouldn’t ruin that.”

________________________________________________ You were so excited to go to school. You never thought you would be thinking of such a thing, but today was Professor Katō’s funeral. You were curious to see how this was covered up. Not that it was any of your concern. You would happily bulldoze over all of these people without a care. They destroyed lives without as much of a glance. Why couldn’t you enjoy yourself a little?

Everyone had been sent an email to collect an oriental lily. Katō’s favourite. Each year group would place their flowers down by the funeral wreath. The funeral service was first thing in the morning so you made sure to get your own flower. You reached for a particularly pink-looking one, when another hand grabbed the flower before you. Looking up, you saw Kim Juhoon. Oh, right. His message from last night sat unread on your phone. You didn’t have time to be lectured about how or why you got rid of Katō. “Good morning.”, he said.

“Morning to you too.”, you replied monotonously.

“It’s a real shame, isn’t it?”

“What is?”

“The way he died.”

His comment didn’t shock you. You would happily repeat your actions over and over again. You didn’t have the heart to have a guilty conscience.

“What do you want to talk about?”

“We will talk after the service.”

“Where should I meet you?”

“By the lake. On your own. I assume you have a free period?”

Everyone knew your timetable better than you did.

“I will see you there.”

And with that you turned and walked towards your form room. Unusually, it was quiet. Whispers filled the air and gossip leaked out of everyone’s mouths like leaky pipes. You caught a couple words of the whispers:

“I heard he took photos of us when we went to meet him.”

“My life is over.”

“Where are the photos now?”

“Are we going to get in trouble?”

“My dad is going to kill me.”

“I can say goodbye to my inheritance. I’m so getting written out of the will.”

Katō had terrorised more people than you thought. You wondered why these people worried more about their reputation when they should be celebrating their liberty. You weren’t sure where the photos were except for three of them. For all you cared, they could be shared on a blog or traded for other photos. You couldn’t share in their shame and you weren’t particularly interested in doing so either.

Ms Park strode in, her hair a mess and her face flushed. Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy. Damn, she looked rough. Her mask hadn’t just slipped. It had fallen and shattered into jagged edges that were impossible to put back together. Thinking back to the photo you had of her, you decided you would put it to use today. The less people there were, the easier it was to get your work done. “Ok, everyone. We are going to head down to the auditorium now. Does everybody have a flower?”

The class murmured back a half-hearted ‘yes’, enough to satisfy Ms Park today. “Alright. Let’s go.”

________________________________________________ The auditorium was silent. Not a whisper, a breath or a shift. Just pure silence. Mrs Ahn stood at the lectern, her face dark. The funeral wreath stood off to the side of the stage, a portrait of him accompanying it. At the sight of his picture, you grinned. The air was liberating when you didn’t have a disgusting person breathing down your neck. You sat down in the first row. What a view. Once everyone was settled, Mrs Ahn began to speak.

“We gather here to mourn the loss of a member of our esteemed community. Professor Katō.”

Bullshit.

“Today we will have readings from both students and staff as we come together to remember him.”

In a neat row, sat Juhoon, Mei and Ms Park. What a lineup. Juhoon rose, smoothing down his blazer. He stepped onto the stage, his dark eyes commanding attention.

“Today is a day of mourning. But also of celebration. Many of us knew Professor Katō. Some more than others. He led us in our English studies, always encouraging us to delve deeper into literature. He will be missed.”

At Juhoon’s last words, his eyes drifted to you. He knew what he was doing. Oh, he knew very well.

There was no applause. Nothing. Just acknowledging silence. When Mei took the stage, she already looked like a wreck. Although, that was becoming a trend for her now. Through her words, sobs wracked her chest, her face becoming a blotchy red. What was she even crying for? That was the least of your current concerns. It was simply food for thought. Something for your brain to chew on when you had daydreaming time.

Ms Park was even worse. She didn’t even bother to hide that she had some kind of relations with Katō. It just kept on getting worse and worse. What a shithouse.

After the morning theatrics, you began heading to the lake. As you passed through crowds you stopped at the sound of the national morning news.

“Good morning. We are reporting the death of an English teacher at Sehwa Academy. He unfortunately passed after feeling fatigued at the wheel. His car burnt down near the beach. Sehwa are currently in mourning and the rest of the country send their condolences to the family of the victim.”

You hoped those condolences went out the window and into the fire that perished him whilst finally arriving in the pits of hell where he lays. You squared your shoulders and continued on your way. To hear what nonsense Juhoon was going to spew. ________________________________________________

A beautifully poised mother duck graced over the lake water. Her five little babies followed in an orderly queue. By the side of the lake, Juhoon stood, his eyes on the ducks. His posture was relaxed. As always.

“Glad to see you.”

“I’m going to make this clear for you, Juhoon. Stay out of my way. Don’t think that you have leverage over me because you helped me once. You are not a good person. So I will repeat myself. Stay out of my way.”

“Wait.”

“Wait for what? You to blackmail me? I don’t have time for you or your bullshit. Goodbye.”

________________________________________________

You stormed away, Mary Jane Heeled Shoes clicking rhythmically on the outdoor tiles. You outstretched your hand to open the door back into the mins building, when a hand grabbed your wrist. It was Seonghyeon.

“Who you running from?”

“I don’t run from anything or anyone.”

“We need to talk. Keonho too.”

“I don’t feel like talking to anyone right now.”

“Wait-”

“And also, tell Juhoon to stay the fuck away from me.”

________________________________________________

Seonghyeon stormed into the hangout room, Keonho not far behind with a confused look on his face. Juhoon sat on the couch, nursing a now-lukewarm cup of tea. Seonghyeon grabbed him by the collar and shook him.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”

Juhoon lazily turned his head to meet Seonghyeon’s eyes. He scoffed lightly.

“Did I not tell you? I told you not to get involved now look at yourself, Seonghyeon. You are obsessed. What could that girl possibly do for us that would benefit us?”

“She’s what we need!”

“Last time we said that, look where it got us. She is dangerous. Open your goddamn eyes.”

“She killed Katō, purposefully. She wanted him gone and she did it.”

“So what?”

“She can be tamed. She’s just another person we can have on our side and use. Nothing more.”

“And when she turns on us?”

“She won’t,”, Keonho finally said. “She seems loyal enough. If anything goes wrong, we get rid of her. Simple.”

A pause of silence passed. Juhoon huffed.

“If anything goes wrong. You’ll have James and Martin to answer to. And I will not, I repeat, I will not back you up if and when shit goes down because I have warned you enough.”

Seonghyeon lowered his hands. His eyes still narrowed.

“What did you even say to her this morning?”

“I didn’t get to say anything. She told me to stay away from her.”

“That was all?”

“Yes.”

“I think you need to apologise to her.”

“Like hell I will.”

“Juhoon hyung,”, Keonho said sharply. “I don’t think you want her as your enemy. Apologise and move on from it.”

"Fine."

________________________________________________

You were in the art department's fabric store, currently battling between a choice of silk or velvet. The door opened behind you but you didn't bother to turn. You didn't feel like entertaining any conversation with the person.

"I hope I am not disturbing you."

Ugh, Juhoon.

"I'm in the middle of something important."

"Can I borrow just a couple minutes of your time?"

"Are you going to give them back?", sarcasm dripping off of your words. "Just a couple minutes. Your time starts now."

"I feel like we got off to the wrong footing. I am wary about people getting close to my circle of people. Especially people I struggle to read. I came to apologise for...harassing you. I should've approached you with more respect."

"How kind of you."

He didn't say anything else. You clearly weren't ready to forgive him yet, so he would just have to win your favour. The last thing he wanted was The Twins hassling for not following through. Unknowing to him, you had just made him grovel at your feet. Soon he would be begging for mercy.

"Are you settling in alright?"

"Perfectly fine."

"Found any people worthy of being your friend?"

"Ara. Lee Ara."

His demeanour changed. His shoulders tensing in discomfort.

"What? Do you know her?", you questioned, tilting your head in mock innocence.

"Same maths class since we enrolled into this place. I know her quite well."

"Good to know."

A beat of silence passed before you spoke again.

"I feel like I misjudged you. Especially after you helped me yesterday. I apologise too."

"I'm at fault here."

Yes, you are.

"We both share a part in the blame. Quick question: velvet or silk?"

"Silk."

"I see you have good taste. Thank you."

"The pleasure's all mine. Will you be joining us for lunch?"

"I hope to, if that's ok."

"We will be glad to see you there."

"Ok, see you soon."

________________________________________________

You were moving to your next lesson, when someone called your name. Behind you, Ara was walking quickly. She grabbed your arm with a tight grip, dragging you behind a large oak tree.

"Ara!"

"Shh!", she whispered. "What were you doing with Juhoon at the lake?"

"He asked to talk to me."

"What did he ask you? Did he mention me at all?", she rambled.

"He didn't mention you at all. Why? You got a crush on him or something?"

"No!", her face morphing into a look of disgust. "Answer my question.", she hissed.

"I didn't let him talk. I just told him to stay away from me. You warned me about those guys."

"Good. Continue to stay away from him. For your own sake."

"Why are you so frantic?"

Her stance became defensive. Her shoulders closed in, her eyes narrowing.

"It's none of your business. Just... be careful who you talk to.", her head turned left and right before she walked off.

You considered running after her to poke more answers out of her but you decided against it. All throughout your next lesson, you pondered on what Ara's problem was. She had lit a fire under you. You were going to get to the bottom of the situation. She was a potential asset to you but you needed her to be loyal and honest to you. You hated to admit it but she was a tough shell to crack.

You hadn't absorbed anything your teacher had said in the lesson. Packing up your bag, you merged into the busy hallway. On your way to the cafeteria, you bumped into Na-bi.

"Na-bi!", you shouted.

Her head whirled her head around, eyes scanning furiously to locate who had yelled. Her eyes landed on yours so you waved. She didn't wave but she didn't walk on either. You jogged lightly towards her and she continued on her way to the cafeteria. Falling in step with her, you made light conversation, although you mainly talked. You remembered Ara's weird behaviour from earlier, hoping that Na-bi might have some answers.

"Na-bi.", you said quietly.

Your change in tone prompted her to look at you.

"Yeah?"

"Did Juhoon and Ara have a thing?"

Na-bi's eyes widened. She led you to an empty hallway. What was it with students in this school leading others into deserted areas? She looked left and right before looking into your soul.

"I'm only telling you this because I feel like we have a common enemy here. Before we went on summer break, Juhoon took an odd interest in Ara. Especially right before the scholarship girl passed away. They talked through the holidays but I think Juhoon dumped her. We never got a proper explanation. Some people speculate they actually liked each other but Juhoon was the problem."

"Wow."

"Why do you ask?"

"Ara was acting a bit odd when she found out Juhoon asked to see me at the lake this morning."

"Maybe she is jealous. She used to be where you were. In the midst of Mei and Hwa-young. Now they act like she doesn't exist."

"And you?"

"What about me?"

"What do you think of her?"

Na-bi's face flushed a dusty pink. What an odd reaction.

"Well...she was nice...when I was close... decently close, I mean, with her.", she stammered.

"Nice to know you had a friendly relationship.", you said, a teasing look on your eyes.

"Hey! Don't tease me.", Na-bi sulked.

"Okay, okay, sorry! Let's go to lunch. The others must be waiting."

"Yeah, let's go. Just one more thing. I know I wasn't the kindest person to you when we first met but you aren't as bad as I thought. If you need information on anyone, I might know something. Just saying.", she mumbled shyly.

It made you feel good for a second that you had one less person to kill. Too many people made themselves a target here. In the end, you might have to get rid of them all.

You smiled lightly at Na-bi's words.

"Thanks. Now let's go eat! I'm actually starving."

________________________________________________

(WHILST YOU WERE TALKING TO NA-BI)

"Lee Ara.", he called. He didn't have to yell, his voice projected itself.

Ara kept on walking. His footsteps got quicker, finally matching her pace as he walked side-by-side with her. He moved to stand in front of her, blocking her path.

"Move, Juhoon."

"We need to talk."

With that, he dragged her to the hangout room. It was empty, none of the boys were there.

"It's been a while since you came here."

"What do you want from me, Juhoon?"

"That's not how you talk to someone you once loved, Ara."

"I was blind. I never loved you."

"You wound me."

"Good."

He stepped closer, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"Why were you talking to the new girl?", he whispered gently, stroking her cheek with the pad of his thumb. Ara knew. She knew that he was getting angry, and if she answered wrong, he would snap at her.

"She needed directions to her new class.", Ara whispered. Her eyes were trained on the floor.

"Directions?", Ara nodded. "Look at me when I'm talking to you, baby. Haven't I told you that I hate when you lie?"

Her eyes were wide, screaming for help.

"I'm not lying! I swear!", she rambled.

"Shhhh. You keep on lying. You are hurting me, Ara. I love you and yet you continue to lie to me. I made you who you are. Built you up from nothing. You are existing because I commanded it to be so. And you have the audacity to lie? The guys were right about you."

"Jju!", she cried, warm tears streaming down her face.

"You can't be here anymore, Ara."

"What?"

Juhoon stepped back, walking over to a drawer. He pulled out a black envelope with a silver seal. His family envelopes.

"This is 2 billion Won. Move somewhere far. Far away. Thailand, China, Japan. Anywhere but Korea. I've sent a man of mine to tell your parents. Today is your last day here. Tell your parents I said 'hi'."

He stepped out of the room, letting the door shut softly. Ara sobbed. Her whole body ached from the pain of his deception. He had told her that he loved her. This wasn't love. This was entertainment. He had had his fill and was ready to move onto something far more interesting. Something that didn't concern her. She would have to change her name, number and whole identity. She wasn't Lee Ara anymore. She never could be.

________________________________________________

(FLASHBACK)

His hand was resting on her thigh as he kissed her deeply. Her hands lay on his broad shoulders. He was the only thing on her mind. Yiseo felt guilty making out with her current boyfriend's best friend but he was irresistible. Maybe. Slightly. Oh, who was she kidding? He seemed to like her more than James ever did, and he even hated her at first.

"Jju,", she said breathlessly, as she forced herself to pull away from his lips. "This isn't right."

"You aren't telling me to stop."

He was right. She was enjoying this more than she would've liked to admit.

"I'm with James."

"If you were with him, would he allow you to go around kissing other guys?"

That shut her up. This wasn't the first time. It wasn't going to be the last.

"He can be so frustrating sometimes. He's always closed off and is never there when I need him.", she sulked.

Juhoon pressed a lingering kiss on her lips.

"No one is forcing you to stay with him. It doesn't have to be like that."

"I know but I can't get myself to leave him."

This irritated Juhoon. He was opening himself up to her, splitting his chest for her to see that his heart belonged to her. It was in her possession but she only seemed to love toying with it. He wasn't sure who to get rid of here. James or Yiseo.

"I'm here for as long as you need."

"I know, Jju. Thanks.", she murmured before kissing him again.

Yiseo wasn't an angel, contrary to popular belief. Although she suffered a great injustice and a terrible end, she wasn't loyal. Maybe that was what led her to her end.

In fact, deep down in her heart, she didn't feel sorrow for the pregnant girl's death. She was too close to what was hers. She hated how she had lost herself after becoming a part of the inner circle. Whenever you would confront her about it, she would block you for 3 days, before apologising and promising to change for the better.

You lost Yiseo way before she died.

Now you may be thinking, who was this pregnant girl and what was her story?

She wasn't anyone special. A careless mistake made her a target.

"James, what am I going to do?", she cried.

James stood and watched the girl in front of her break down.

"You should've been more careful."

"I'm sorry!"

James pinched his nose bridge.

"You were trying to ruin my life, right? Are you actually pregnant?"

"I would never try and ruin you James! I am truly pregnant."

James stood up from his couch and walked over to the safe in his room. He grabbed a pouch and stuffed it with as much money it allowed itself to hold.

"Take this. Do whatever you want with the baby. It isn't mine. I will never see you again once you work out of this door, do you understand?"

"James, please!"

"No tears. No begging. Just take the money and leave."

The girl got up from where she sat, her hands shaking as she grabbed the bag. She sobbed as she left the Chao estate, regretting even looking in his direction. Once she had left, The Twins smugly walked into the room.

"Who knew that you, Chao James,-", Seonghyeon started.

"-were so cold-hearted?", Keonho finished mockingly. He held his hand to his heart in a way to tease.

"If you guys aren't going to be of any use you can get out."

"Calm down, hyung,", Keonho said, his signature smile adorning his face.

"You paid her to keep quiet. That should be enough , no?", Seonghyeon said.

James paced around the room, when a sickening thought hit him.

"She's going to tell Yiseo."

That caused The Twins to stop smiling.

"Fuck."

"She’s going to kill me.", James groaned.

"Leave it to us,", Keonho piped up. "We will sort it out. Right, Seonghyeon?”

“Right.”

Later that evening, the girl walked down the pavement leading up to a cliff edge residential area. She wasn’t going anywhere in particular, in fact she coincidentally took the route to Yiseo’s house. That’s when she remembered. Yiseo. She couldn’t keep it from her friend. The guilt was already gnawing at her insides. So she carried on, ready to tell Yiseo the truth. As she walked up the pavement, her phone rang. It was Keonho.

“Hello?”, her voice carried out weakly.

“Hey. Where are you?”

“Walking up to Yiseo’s house.”

“How far away are you?”

“25 minutes give or take.”

“I have a driver in the area. Let him take you up there.”

“There’s no need, Keonho.”

“It’s late at night. Plus, I sent him to get some hot choco for me. I know you love hot chocolate. Have it.”

“Keonho this is too much.”

“We are friends after all, let me take care of you.“

“I’ll pay you back.”

“Don’t worry about that for now. All you need to do is just get home safely, ok?”

“Ok.”

And so she waited. Her feet were feeling sore from all the walking, and the early pregnancy fatigue was weighing down on her. A black car pulled up beside her. It was the driver. He opened the door for her and handed her a steaming cup of hot chocolate. She thanked him, taking a long sip. She leaned back against the headrest and dozed off.

(The next part includes mentions of her death, skip if uncomfy) ________________________________________________

That same car she sat in ended up at the bottom of the cliff edge. The driver had left her in it and laid a brick on the accelerator. She slept and didn’t wake. Her phone perished in the wreckage and Keonho deleted his call history.

________________________________________________

(PART ENDED)

The whole town mourned her death. To the boys it was another job well done. James may have stirred up anger within Yiseo after the accident but The Twins had fulfilled their promise and Juhoon enjoyed Yiseo’s presence when she came running to him. Wickedness coursed through their veins. Murder was an instinct. And money fueled them.

________________________________________________

The lunch table buzzed with excitement. Juhoon, or rather The Twins, were throwing a party at Juhoon’s family estate. According to everyone on the table, Juhoon’s parties were the best and highly anticipated.

“You have to come.”, Keonho persuaded.

“I have a life outside school, Keonho.”, you chuckled.

“This can lighten it up then!”

“We don’t even have your number.”, Na-bi mentioned.

“That’s true.”, Hwa-young piped up.

Everyone whipped out their phones and pushed them towards you. You stared blankly at them before they urged you to put your number in. “We will see you at the party, deal?”, Seonghyeon asked.

The whole table anticipated your answer.

“Fine. I’ll be there.”

Keonho cheered loudly. Na-bin and Hwa-young shared a look of excitement.

“Come get dressed at mine. I’ll do your makeup and everything.”, Hwa-young said. It wasn’t an offer, it was a command from her.

“That’s so sweet of you. I’ll be there. Should I bring anything?”

Everyone snorted.

“Juhoon has everything we need, don’t stress.”

“I’ve got it sorted.”, Juhoon said. A smile faint on his lips.

________________________________________________

Dressing up at Hwa-Young’s was wild. You were brought to the world of pre-gaming with pure vodka. Were they trying to kill you before the party? After the girls helped you with your makeup and outfit, you couldn’t recognise yourself. You looked stunning. You were sure something had to go down tonight. It’s who with that remained a mystery to even you.

Arriving at the Kim residence, you were met with the sight of cars. Loads of them. Lasers scanned the clear, night sky as people screamed and yelled to the thumping bass. You headed inside. It was even crazier here. All sorts of drinks were lined up on every surface. People were vaping all sorts of different flavours whilst others made out on countertops and couches. This was wild. Hwa-young quickly detached from you, something about ‘finding her boyfriend’. Na-bin was eyeing up a girl in to corner and made the weak excuse of ‘getting a drink’. So you were left to your own devices.

You walked into the kitchen, hoping to find something you could actually drink without packing up your liver. Fingers grazing the bottlenecks, you read the labels to yourself. This liquor was expensive. How rich was this guy?

“You look lost. You want me to help?”. Ahn Keonho stood leaning against the door frame. Arms crossed, his eyes trained on your outfit. Oh, he liked it.

“I’m looking for something that won’t kill me after a sip. Any recommendations?”

“There are some other nice bottles in another room. Can I show you?”

“Sure.”

He gently took your hand and led you through the mini mosh pit. The room he took you to was pure oak and mahogany. Aged wine sat behind frosted glass. “This is where the extra good stuff is at.”

He picked a bottle of wine and poured it for you. You sat down on the couch and watched his fluid movements. After he finished pouring it to you, he sat down and handed you the wine glass. ”This wine fits your taste.”

“And you know this because?”

“It’s sharp, warm and different from other bottles. Fits your description quite well, no?”

Keeping your eyes locked on his, you tipped back the glass. The wine warmed your stomach, filling you with a deadly poison. Courage.

You set the glass down on the centre table.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”, you whispered.

“Has anyone told you that you are beautiful?”, the words seemed to escape him.

“A couple times here and there.”

He leaned in closer. The scent of whiskey and his cologne mixing to wind around your throat. Your noses were grazing, you filled each others space, invading it all. His lips softly met yours, testing the waters. You really wanted to let loose this evening. Even if you were going to get rid off him later, there was no issue in toying with him now. You deepened the kiss, tugging at his hair. His hands lay possessively on your hips, stroking them. You must admit, he was a good kisser. You were getting lost in the feeling, sinking further and further, when you were interrupted by a cough.

You separated yourself from him immediately. He struggled to do the same, as his eyes were still scanning your face. He was intoxicated by your touch and he was so ready to die of your sweet poison. Na-bi awkwardly stood at the door frame. “Should I come back later?”

“No. It’s fine. What’s up?”

“We need to talk, like, right now.”

You stood up, smoothing your outfit down. Moving to leave the room, Keonho gently grabbed your hand.

“Don’t just leave. Before you go home, find me.”, he whispered.

You nodded at his words before focussing your attention on Na-bi. She led the way out of the room and into a small conservatory.

“I found out something that I couldn’t keep from you.”

“What is it?”

“Ara is gone. Juhoon paid her to leave the school and never come back. I think it’s because he you were getting close to her. He’s dealt with her now.”

The world stilled for a minute. You knew Juhoon could stoop low. But this was disgusting. An ugly beast reared its head, fully awakened. You felt warm. Everything made you feel uncomfortable. Na-bi’s voice sounded muffled to you. You needed to talk to him.

Pulling out your phone, you dialled his number. You called five times. He didn’t pick up. Not once. Not even a text. “I need some air.”, your voice came out hoarse and angry.

“Ok. Call me if you need anything.”, Na-bi said. Her voice suddenly small. You stormed back into the main house, now on a hunt for Juhoon. You asked several people if they had seen him, but they were too drunk, too high for simply too clueless to answer your question. You realised that everyone was on one huge floor. Nobody had gone up a level.

Maybe that’s were he was. You spent the next couple of minutes trying to locate the stairs to the next floor in the maze of a house. You had walked around in circles twice. Seen the same painting several times and ended up back in a coat closet more than you liked.

You sighed and huffed in anger. It was dissolving into something along the lines of irritation. Slumped against a wall, everything felt warm. You forced yourself to keep your chin up, when you saw a flight of stairs. And coming up from it was the sound of voices. You were the only person in this area. Was this it?

You slowly crept towards the flight of stairs. There was no one on there. Tiptoeing up, you were met with a long hallway. You looked left hoping to find some form of life there. A door was cracked open, the light leaking out temptingly. Hypnotised, you move towards it.

“You looking for something?”

You froze. If you stayed still enough, the person would go away eventually, right? “Hey. I’m talking to you.”, his voice sharpened at your ignorance.

Turning on your heel slowly, you looked up to see a guy around your age, with some of the best clothes you had ever seen.

God, was he tall.

________________________________________________

a/n: that was a crazy one! We are finally introducing my king Martin!!!! I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. The next one will be out on Friday!

taglist: @wouldntyuliketoknowweatherboy, @faayzeswords, @nanamyberry, @mitsubal0ver, @eunjjx, @kienhawon, @inadazeee, @inlirium, @meeoowchi, @hyeonverse, @ireaiiyiikecats, @lunaryoongie, @udontknowmee2, @kyeonhoelii, @loserloveremployee, @berryred, @stxrripure, @f4l13n4ng3l1, @whmzyvic, @kurosagislvr, @belleameslust, @kiememories, @amethyystlvr, @scalsstereo

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CROCODILE TEARS - CORTIS X FEM!READER

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CHAPTER 2: JEKYLL AND HYDE - a phrase or metaphor, being a "Jekyll and Hyde" (or exhibiting Jekyll and Hyde behaviour) describes someone with two wildly different sides to their personality.

SYNOPSIS: A new girl is plunged into the playground for the rich, meeting 5 boys whose intentions are stained with manipulation and lies. What if this new girl isn’t as innocent as she seems to be?

WARNINGS: profanity, reader isn’t a good person but the boys are worse, no one is good in this school, bullying, murder and lies, mention of someone getting a STD, underaged drinking, weird teacher (teacher student relationships), indecent images taken, kissing, obsession, overall wickedness, pure revenge, throwing up, James is a year older than the rest, drugs [this is NOT how I view CORTIS as individuals, this is purely for the story]

WORD COUNT: 6.4K (6,460 words)

A/N: This chapter introduces a character that is incredibly important, but will be revealed in increments. This chapter also focuses on the twins and their nature and the reader and their duality. I wanted to compare them to the behaviour of Jekyll and Hyde, playing on the duality of humans and how that is displayed through the twins' actions. I also had to study how brakes in a car, work 😶‍🌫️ Enjoy!

PLAYLIST: Attention (Doja Cat), Streets (Doja Cat), Toxic (Britney Spears), Smooth Criminal (Michael Jackson), Obsessed (Mariah Carey), 28 Reasons (SEULGI)

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She sat on the swing, her feet lightly grazing the ground and she rocked back and forth. In her hands she held a book. She was always reading.

Yiseo was your best friend. A scholarship student at Sehwa Academy. She would always try and make time to meet you. She always said it was her responsibility to always look after you. But now she’s gone. And there’s no one now. No one worthy of filling the void she left.

The book she always went back to read was Jekyll and Hyde. You were always curious about what drew her to that book in particular. Wasn’t it about two mad men? Yiseo would always say it shows how all of us have a duality. Two sides that can be overcome by one. She saw the book as a warning. You saw it as a way of life.

“Yiseo! Are you really reading that book again?”

“You know it’s interesting, right? Give it a read and tell me if you like it.”

“Fine. But what is so good about it anyways?”

“Give it a read and then you can tell me about it.”

You huffed slightly, seeing as Yiseo had a small grin on her face. You never felt envious towards her, never. You admired her. Looked up to her. The day she left you made you angry. Angry at those who took her away. As the book mentioned, “All human beings, as we meet them, are commingled out of good and evil.”

You had been good enough. You had every right to be evil now.

________________________________________________

You slowly pulled from the kiss, blinking to clear the haze in your eyes. Seonghyeon’s hand still laid on your waist, his eyes locked on yours. You turned and saw looks of shock but admiration. People liked a little mess. Mei looked distraught. Her face pale, eyes wide, you really had done a number on her. Hwa-young looked proud. You seemed to have won Hwa-Young’s favour with your move. You got up from Seonghyeon’s lap and went back to your seat. As soon as your back relaxed into the couch, Mei stood up. People gathered round to see what was going on. Mei strode over to you as she drew her hand back, ready to slap you. Before her hand could make contact, you gripped her wrist. She yelped in pain and tried to tug her arm out of your iron grip.

“Let go, you slut!”

You gripped harder and began to twist.

“I’m the slut? Nobody’s going to forget how you seem to be the community pussy. Don’t be shameless. Feel a little humiliated because you are now a disgrace.”

You pushed her backwards, releasing your grip on her wrist. She turned to Hwa-young, her eyes pleading.

“Don’t even start. I can’t be seen with a person like you, Mei. You know the rules. You fucked up and now you’ve got a lengthly sentence to serve.”

At Hwa-young’s cold words, Mei stormed off. One down, many more to destroy. Opposite you, The Twins looked at you with hungry curiosity. You couldn’t bear to be under their gaze for any longer so you stood up and announced you were getting a drink. As you walked away, you heard the voices of everyone behind you as the game stared back up again.

At the outdoor bar, you sat in one of the chairs, taking in the party scene. You tensed up at the sound of footsteps behind you.

“Hey, new girl.”

A voice carrying a rich baritone laced with icy heat called for your attention. You spun in your chair, only to be met with the sight of Eom Seonghyeon.

“Hi.”, you greeted casually.

In the moments that you spent in his lap, you thought about what his type could be. He seemed to dislike rowdiness but accepted challengers. Clingy behaviour wasn’t for him but he revelled in attention. He wanted a side piece, not a star. You could play that role very well.

“I’m not sure if you realised but you did me a huge favour getting her off my back.”

Your analysis was correct. As expected.

“It’s no big deal.”

“I appreciate it though. Since you’ve been a great help, how about I do something for you in return. Anything you want.”

This was a deal with the devil. He was asking you to sell your soul to him so you could be trapped in an endless cycle of devotion and worship. This was a calling.

“Really, it’s ok! You don’t need to do anything for me.”

“Please. Just accept my offer.”

You already knew you were going to use him for something but you were debating whether to use him now or later. You were truly spoilt for choice.

“If I need anything I’ll know who to ask.”

That answer seemed to satisfy him. His shoulders relaxed slightly and his face looked victorious. Let him savour it for now. This is the beginning of his end.

“Alright. Get home safe.”

And with that he turned and walked away. For a person who seemed unreadable, he had opened himself up to you too much. He wanted you to follow him. Follow the trail of hints he has left. He might just want you.

________________________________________________

(EARLIER THAT DAY)

The blinds were closed. The warm, artificial bulbs strained to fill the verdant room with light. Sat around a marble table, were five boys. Vintage china mugs sat with their backs straightened on the table.

“It’s only the first day and I feel like bunking.”, Keonho moaned.

“At least show up to one of your classes.”, Juhoon murmured. A teacup pressed to his lips.

“I’ve got my composition to work on today, so I’m headed to class.”, Martin announced.

“I’ve got my first Latin class of the year.”, James said. That seemed to explain everything.

“Seonghyeon at least bunk with me.”, Keonho begged.

“Keonho, come on, just go to one lesson and if you don’t wanna stay for the rest of the day, then you can bunk.”, Seonghyeon pleaded.

“Just say you hate me and want me dead.”. Keonho was so dramatic. The others didn’t pay him any heed and continue drinking their tea and taking keen interest in the foliage around them. Seonghyeon sighed loudly.

“Fine. I’ll come with.”

Keonho’s iconic smile instantly found its way onto his face.

“YEAHHHHH you guys should be more like Sean.”

The others shook their head at his antics. Could you tell he is the youngest?

“Oh, yeah. Word around the school was that there is a scholarship student joining us.”

At that, everyone froze. Last time they got involved with a scholarship student-

“That’s none of our concern.”, Juhoon said. His tone final. “I wonder if the person’s a boy or girl.”, Martin wondered out loud.

“It doesn’t matter. We won’t be going near them or getting involved with them.”, James finished.

They finished their drinks, preparing to go to the auditorium. The boys may be fearless now, but a devil is now on the hunt for their souls, or what is left of them.

________________________________________________

(THE NEXT DAY)

People thought you were bold to show your face at school the next day. As you walked down the hallway, people’s eyes followed your every move. You were their latest piece of entertainment and you were so ready to be the star of the show.

Before you could enter your form room, a voice called out to you. Hwa-young. “Morning. Get home safe?”

“Good morning to you too. Yes, I did, thanks!”

“There’s a free spot at our lunch table today. Wanna join?”

Again, a command not an option. These people loved to dictate how things worked around them. How performative.

“Also, Seonghyeon will be there.”, Hwa-young whispered, grinning slightly. Were people that willing to see you and him together?

“Since you invited me, I can’t turn down your offer, can I? I’ll be there.”

“Cool, see ya.”, she said, before turning and walking in the opposite direction. If Seonghyeon was going to be there, then Keonho was most likely going to be present. Those two are never really seen separately. You could really kill two birds with one stone today. Walking through the form room door, you made a beeline for the back of the classroom. You dropped your bag, ready to daydream in piece, when someone tapped your shoulder. It was the blond boy from yesterday. If he became a problem, you were more than happy to get rid of him.

“Is it true you kissed Seonghyeon at the party last night?”

“Yes, I did. Got a problem with it?”

“A slight one. If you ever get bored I’m more than willing to fill in his spot.”

“I don’t think he will like the idea of that. I don’t even know your name.”

“Na Hajoon. Remember that.”

You most definitely will. It will make it easier to find his funeral wreath.

Before he could open his mouth to spout any more nonsense that would bring forward his death day, Ms Park walked in.

“Everyone, settle down!”

Her eyes scanned over the class, settling on yours for an unnecessary amount of time. You seemed to have grabbed everyone’s attention. Perfect.

After she had taken the register, everyone turned to talk to their seat partners. Ms Park walked towards you, her heels clacking obnoxiously on the floor.

“May I have a word with you outside?”, she whispered.

Plastering your practiced smile, you responded:

“Of course!”

Outside of the classroom, her eyes seemed more piercing than further away. Her eyes kept ok travelling to your tie.

“I have heard from your English teacher, Professor Katō, that you haven’t been settling in particular well.”

That was it. You were going to kill him.

“I feel like I’ve been settling in just fine.”

“He thinks otherwise. He would like to meet you in his office after lunch. You have a free period for the rest of the afternoon, correct?”

“Yes, I do.”

“See to it that you go see him. It’s only your second day here. Don’t stir up more trouble.”

“Yes, Ms Park.”

That offer that Seonghyeon had given you was looking very tempting.

________________________________________________

Your first lesson of the day was Art. It was the perfect subject to get lost in. It was thankfully a double period, so you were ready to spend time focusing on your pieces.

As you dropped everything at your workstation, you turned around to grab some more fabrics. Behind you, with a now infamous smile, was Keonho.

“Fancy seeing you in this class.”

“Good morning to you too, Keonho.”

You moved around him to continue with what you were doing, but he took that as a sign to follow you around.

“Seonghyeon doesn’t usually do stuff like that.”

“Oh, really?”

Keonho seemed to like a little bit of push and pull. Not a girl who is compliant and meek, but not too headstrong. “I heard you are joining our table for lunch.”

“Yep. I got invited.”

“I think you’ll become a regular at ours. There’s something about you, you know?”

“What’s that something?”

“I don’t know,”, he mumbled, stepping closer. “I don’t mind doing a little studying to find out.”

Looks like somebody’s interested.

“Seonghyeon doesn’t seem like the sharing type.”

“You’re right. He isn’t. But that hasn’t stopped me before.”

Oh, he wants you.

You chuckled lightly, “Go and get started on your work. You can’t be behind on the first week.”

A larger smile made its way onto his face. He groaned playfully, before childishly walking back to his workstation. For people who had done horrible things, it felt uncanny to see them feel any emotions like happiness. They had killed, been ruthless and done whatever they had liked. Did people like that really deserve to be happy? They’ve taken things away from people. Things that can never be returned and yet they are allowed to feel joy? It will be soon be time for them to experience suffering.

________________________________________________

The lesson you were dreading the most was English. You hadn’t seen Ara the whole day. You would rather you didn’t. Not that you felt guilty for not helping her , yesterday. Far from that. She could prove herself to be a liability. You didn’t have time for such people. Especially when you were inching ever so close to getting into the closed-off circle of students. You didn’t have time for people like her. People who can’t keep up. People who don’t do things without a second thought. The morally good.

Walking into your English classroom, everyone was already near their seats. Seonghyeon too. Almost like a sixth sense, he looked up at you. What a piercing gaze. Fox-like. Sly. Rebellious. You slid into your seat next to him, taking out your resources.

“Good to see you again.”

“Hi, Seonghyeon.”

His smile wavered at your off-handed response. Right. He loved attention. Turning your body towards him, you flashed him a kind smile. “Had a good day so far?”

His mood brightened instantly. You really needed to keep up this act. Seonghyeon could possibly be the best pawn to use in this game. You couldn’t afford to make a mistake with him.

“It’s been okay. I’m glad to have you as my English partner, though.”

“I’m glad to be yours too. You like English.”

“Yeah, I do. I love to read. Literature is one of my favourite things.”

“I love people who read classics. Their understanding of things are more in depth, don’t you think?”

“That is a stellar point you’ve made.”, the voice of the speaker made you tense up. Professor Katō. Seonghyeon didn’t particularly like him either. He wanted to open his mouth to say something, when your eyes met him in a silent warning. Not here.

“Good morning, Professor.”, you muttered.

“Good morning to you too. I hope you remember you have to come to my office today.”

“Yes, I’ve been told.”

Seonghyeon watched the scene unfold before him. His eyes trained on every minute movement of your face and body. Katō was spending too much time on something that didn’t belong to him. This irritated him. More than he was willing to display to others. He was steadily becoming obsessed with you. He was so ready to let the obsession take over him. It was a high. It kept him sane. He craved for it. Starving and yearning.

“I hope to see you then.”

“Yes, Professor.”

Katō walked up to the front of the class, setting his stuff down. “Already getting in trouble, newbie?”

“No, it’s nothing important.”

“If you say so.”

As the class settled down and the register was taken, Katō’s eyes kept on drifting to your legs. Disgusting. You shifted uncomfortably in your seat, alerting Seonghyeon. He followed your line of sight. Katō.

“Hey. Swap seats with me.”

“What?”

“This doesn’t count as the favour I’m going to do for you, by the way. Come on, swap.”

He grabbed your things off of you desk, sliding it to replace his own. You sat down in your new seat, your legs now covered by the person in front of you. Letting out a small exhale of relief, you turned and thanked Seonghyeon.

“Thank you.”, you whispered.

“It’s nothing.”, he replied calmly.

“Seonghyeon, I see you have moved seats. Why’s that?”, Katō announced. Everyone turned to see what was going on at your desk.

“She couldn’t see the board well from where she was sitting and neither could I. So we swapped. Everything is fine here.”

Katō seemed to be angered by the switch. But he couldn’t expose himself to the whole class, despite everyone knowing. Class continued as per usual. Seonghyeon and you worked well together, surprisingly. He also had a decent sense of humour. But you weren’t here to befriend him. You came to destroy him. Although, it wouldn’t hurt you to have a little fun whilst doing so.

Class soon ended, students dismissed. You and Seonghyeon walked side by side. You suddenly remembered that you needed to offload Ara somehow. “Oh, Seonghyeon. I quickly need to go get something done. I’ll come find you later.”

“You don’t need to me to come with?”

“No it’s ok! I’ll see you later.”

You made your way to the library, Ara had to be there. As you opened the double doors, you climbed the stairs up to the second floor, where you saw Ara at a round table by herself. She was hunched over, her forehead close to the pages of the book she was reading. Occasionally, she would run her hand over her arm. Ghosting it, not touching. “Ara!”, you whispered.

Her head shot up. Eyes widening like she had been caught doing something she shouldn’t have. You slid into the seat next to her. You needed to keep her far away from you. How you were going to do that, you were unsure. You might just have to fake it till you make it.

“Are you okay? I didn’t see you after school yesterday.”

“I’m fine,”, she mumbled. “I heard you went to the party yesterday.”

So she knows. You had to play this carefully.

Before you could formulate a response, she carried on:

“You have to be careful. They are going to drag you into their mess and you won’t be able to get out of it.”

“I’ll be careful, I promise. They invited me to sit with them at lunch, though.”

“It’s better you go.”

“Really?”

“You don’t need to stay and babysit me. You can go.”

Perfect. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. Now go.”

“I’ll see you whenever, Ara.”

“Hmm.”

You had successfully got Ara off of you for now. You had bigger plans to get through, more important things. And you were currently heading to the next stage of it.

________________________________________________

Hwa-young’s lunch table is in the corner of the cafeteria. You have to be invited to sit there. Whether you pay fees or don’t, nobody in their right mind would place themselves at that table without permission. Mei didn’t seem to understand that the rules had changed for her.

You grabbed your food on your way to the table. As not to disturb, you walked up to the table silently. There, was Keonho and Seonghyeon sat next to each other, Hwa-young and Na-bi together and the loud guy from yesterday’s party. “Hey! Look who it is!”, the party guy yelled.

Everyone stopped their conversations, their eyes on you. “Hi guys!”, you greeted.

Everyone’s replies filtered in. Keonho and Seonghyeon moved away from each other, leaving a seat in the middle of the pair. They wanted you to sit there. So you took their offer. You needed to warm up to them this lunchtime anyways.

Light conversation ensued. You got to know the party guys name: Ninomae Masaki. Keonho and Seonghyeon surrounded you with playful banter, finishing each other’s sentences. They really were like twins. Everything seemed to be going your way, when Mei walked up to the table.

Meekly, she approached. Her shoulders, slumped. Eyes, bloodshot. Her head, cast down. You hadn't been here long (not at all) but Mei didn't look like her usual outspoken self. This was your first experiment for your future demolitions. The results didn't look too shabby. It put a little smirk on your face.

"Hwa-young. Can we talk?", she mumbled.

Hwa-young didn't look bothered. Nor did she look interested. Nobody did. Hwa-young did not reply. She continued her conversation with Na-bi, prompting everyone around your table to do the same. Hwa-young didn't associate with outcasts. Mei surely wasn't an exception.

"Hwa-young.", Mei pleaded. Her ego cracking deeper around the edges. She was being ruined. You couldn't wait to put the final nail in the coffin.

Na-bi huffed and rolled her eyes.

"Mei, can you shut the fuck up. Some of us are trying to eat our lunch here. You standing in front of us, isn't going to help to keep our food down."

Mei's apologetic masked slipped rapidly. A person so proud could never be so remorseful. It simply wasn't in their nature.

"Na-bi, you know for a fact that you can't spend an hour sitting still without snorting ecstasy. You are the number one druggie here, so don't gas yourself."

"And Hwa-young. We all know that you have been fucking Na Hajoon since the beginning of summer WHILST being in a relationship. Who's the whore now."

"You are.", you piped up.

"Saying all of this doesn't change the fact that you got around with pretty much the whole school. You are the disgusting one. Be a little less proud of your actions. Nobody will ever want to be seen around you."

Hwa-young raised an eyebrow at your defence. Na-bi exhaling in agreement. The boys remained silent, simply watching. They knew better than to get involved in girl drama.

By now, people had turned around to get a better look of your table. Mei was the laughing stock of the week and she couldn't help but embarrass herself again.

"You bitch!", Mei yelled. Tears blurred her vision, her tone getting angrier and angrier.

"You can go now. Enjoy your lunch!", you greeted kindly.

Not only had Mei destroyed herself, she had given you more material to work with. Having something to hang over Na-bi and Hwa-young's heads is truly a blessing. You really did choose the right person to ridicule. Well done, you.

After Mei stormed away, whispers following in her stead, the table fell silent again. Everyone shared knowing glances, excluding you out of some kind of shared knowledge. That was when Keonho muttered:

"Everything that you heard Mei accuse the girls of, stays on this table, okay?"

"Of course. I don't know anyone else that well anyways."

Everyone nodded and resumed their past conversations. You looked up at the black clock on the wall. Right. You still had 10 to 15 minutes before you had to see Professor Katō. You sighed at the thought of being alone in a room with the pervert. You were so lost in thought that you couldn't hear Seonghyeon calling your name.

"Hey, you good?"

"Hmm? Oh, I'm fine. Just keeping an eye on the time."

"Got somewhere else you would rather be?", Keonho grinned.

Quite the opposite, you thought.

"I have a meeting with Katō.", you sulked. Holding your forehead with the tips of your fingers.

"Katō?", Keonho frownsd.

"Yep. He went and told Mrs Park that I wasn't settling in well."

The Twins exchanged a look. Then Seonghyeon said:

"Let's go for a walk."

Before you could protest, Keonho pulled you up from your seat by the hand, whilst Seonghyeon placed your tray onto his, putting it in a pile of other used ones. They led you through the school, taking you to a place you were yet to explore. The area was far away from the main part of the school, tucked away in the shadows' shadows.

Rounding a corner, the hallway led and ended at a forest green door. Seonghyeon pressed in a code on the lock, the door making no noise as it opened. The whole area seemed soundproofed. Sounds were absorbed and silenced, not to be heard from again.

The room was even darker inside. Keonho moved towards a glass cabinet. Drinks of different colours and sizes stood proudly, each bouncing in the excitement of being chosen.

"You want a drink?", Keonho called out to you, without turning to you. His fingers grazed the necks of the bottles.

"No, I'm good. Why did you bring me here, though?"

Seonghyeon intertwined your fingers together, leading you to a couch. He sat down, eyes never leaving yours. His filled with knowledge, whilst yours laced with curiosity and confusion.

"You need to be careful around that man."

"Yeah, I figured. But you guys aren't telling me much."

"He has slept with a lot of students in this school. He is forceful and manipulative. He takes advantage of others and threatens to reveal what he has done to them."

"Disgusting."

"A friend of ours suspects that he has photos of his victims. They'll be in his office."

"I can get them."

"No.", they said in unison.

"It's not worth the risk.", Seonghyeon said.

"I know I can do it."

"That's not the point here.", Keonho said, frustration making itself evident in his tone.

"Seonghyeon."

His eyes met yours, softening at your pleading gaze.

"You know how you said you would do anything for me?"

"Not this."

"You promised me anything. Do this for me, please."

He began to turn his head towards Keonho when you placed your palm on his jaw, turning his head so his eyes could meet yours.

"For me. I promise I'll be safe."

A thickness filled the air. Keonho sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation.

"If anything feels off, get out of there. Immediately. Do you understand?"

"Yes. Yes, I do."

Seonghyeon gazed into your eyes for longer. You leaned in, pressing a soft kiss on his cheek. Standing up, you smoothened your skirt.

"I won't be long, ok?"

Before you could turn the door knob, Keonho grabbed your wrist. You turned your body towards him:

"Keep safe. For me. For us."

"Promise."

You made your way out of the room, the door softly shutting behind you. In the room, Keonho let out a pained sigh. Seonghyeon was glued to his seat. They both knew what the other was thinking: You were going to be the death of them.

________________________________________________

The door was marked with a gold plated sign. Even the door was obnoxious. You scoffed at the sight of his name before rapping your knuckles against the oak.

"Come in!", he answered.

You pushed the door open, greeted with the sight of Professor Katō at his desk. He seemed to have been waiting for you. No work was in front of him. No papers to grade, essays to read or lessons to plan. He had simply waited.

"Ah, I'm glad you found your way here."

"It wasn't too hard to find."

His eye twitched at your bluntness. He was used to getting what he wanted. Now you would give him what he deserved.

He stood up from his desk, his fingers grazing the edge of the desk hungrily. He scanned you from head to toe shamelessly. His eyes lingering on certain places. You wanted to grab a pen off of his desk and stab him. Stab him multiple times for the things he had done. He didn't deserve to live. That was your judgement.

"You seem to be struggling to adjust to this new environment."

"I feel fine."

"Don't talk back to me."

"I was correcting your misconception. Is that a crime here?"

His smile was becoming strained. He stepped closer and closer. Closing the gap between you and him. Your feet carried you back towards the wall next to the door.

"Stop.", you said, voice quivering but strong.

He didn't listen. He advanced towards you with the laziness of a predator cornering its prey. It was disrespectful.

He was entering a space where you could smell his cologne. It was like a poison to you. It filled your lungs in small particles, puncturing the walls, suffocating you. Hot tears scalded your eyes, fear was settling in. You opened your mouth to yell, when a sharp knock sounded against the door. At the urgency of a snake retreating after a snapping bite, he moved back reaching to open the door. You stumbled to the door, hoping for your saviour to catch a glimpse of you and rescue you.

Katō opened the door and on the other side was Kim Juhoon.

“Kim Juhoon.”, Professor Katō’s tone was full of surprise.

“Good afternoon, Professor. I just bumped into Mei, she asked to see you. Urgently.”

Juhoon’s tone was calm and levelled. Full of unlimited patience until someone rubbed him the wrong way.

Katō’s eyes widened at Mei’s name. You scoffed internally. He had slept with her too?! That wasn’t a total shock to you. Mei really did get around. He turned to you and mumbled:

“We will continue our conversation later.”

You prayed otherwise. Katō stepped out of the office, his footsteps resonating obnoxiously in the hallway. Juhoon’s eyes followed Katō till he turned a corner. That’s when he turned his attention to you. His eyes were black. Very black. His pupils filled majority of his eyes, bringing a docile air to him. His voice contrasted that. His frame too. “Try the first drawer. Hurry.”

His deep timber of a voice shocked you. The words took their time registering in your ears. You straightened up and made your way to the desk. In it was a red envelope. Not exactly slick from Katō. You grabbed it, before you realised that you had just listened to a person’s command. He had ordered and you had obeyed. What was wrong with you?

Looking up at Juhoon, you opened your mouth to prod some answers out of him. Instead, he simply raised a hand, silencing you before you spoke.

“Just take it. Don’t tell anyone you saw me here, okay? You can go now.”

And by his words, you walked out of the door, slipping the envelope into the inside pocket of your blazer. You had made it halfway down the hallway, when you turned to thank him. But he was already gone. What an odd person.

As you walked, your thoughts drifted you back to the previous moment. Anger rose deep inside of you, settling into something and gruesome. He hadn’t touched you, but you felt the shadow of his hands on you. You felt sick. Painfully so.

Bursting into the nearest bathroom, you threw up. The overwhelming poison leaving you. Tears sloshed onto your eye line, as you blinked furiously to get rid of them. Now was not the time to be weak. You had a person to kill tonight.

________________________________________________

(AS YOU WERE IN THE OFFICE)

“Why did we let her go?”, Seonghyeon sighed, rubbing his palms harshly across his face. “We don’t know what he will do to her.”

“I was stupid.” The both of them mumbled at the same time. The door slowly opened, forcefully dragging them out of their sorrow. They hoped you had turned back and decided to come back to them. It was Juhoon. Their faces fell. “Not happy to see me?”

“Sorry, we thought you were someone else.”, Keonho muttered, nursing a cup of whisky in his hands. Juhoon stepped towards him and took the cup out of his hands.

“It’s too early to be drinking. What is up with you guys?”

Keonho and Seonghyeon looked at each other. Seonghyeon barely shook his head at him. Juhoon looked back and forth between them.

“Now’s not the time for your twin shit. Tell me what’s up.”

“Hyung don’t get mad but we basically befriended the new girl and now she has gone to Professor Katō’s office to get the photos and we are so so worried.”, Keonho rambled. “You never know when to keep your mouth shut.”, Seonghyeon hissed angrily.

“Did I not tell you to not get involved with the new kid. You guys never listen to me.”

“Can you at least do us a favour.”, Keonho pleaded.

“I told you not to get involved. This is your own problem now.”

“Hyung, please.”

Juhoon shifted from his left foot to his right.

“What do you want me to do?”

“Just make sure she’s ok. If she’s in any danger just-,”, Keonho huffed. “Just make sure nothing happens to her.”

“Is that all?”

“Yes,”, Keonho mumbled.

“I’ll think about it.”

“But-”

“I don’t have to do anything for you. Remember that.”

He angled his body towards the door, before saying:

“Also, James is going to lecture the fuck out of you. Just a heads up.”

And with that he left the room.

Seonghyeon titled his head back in frustration. “Seonghyeon, I’m sorr-”

“Now you are sorry?! You know what Juhoon is like. He’s going to hold it against us for God knows how long. Just like he did with-“

“Don’t. Don’t go there, please.”

The room filled with silence. All they could think about was you.

________________________________________________

You dragged your feet towards the green door, knocking lightly. The door opened presenting two worried faces. Keonho dragged you in, his eyes scanning your arms and face for any signs of harms. Seonghyeon stood behind you, not touching, just present. “Did he do anything to you?”, Seonghyeon said quietly.

“I’m going to kill him.” , you whispered, too quiet for them to hear. Your eyes were wild and hungry for bloodshed.

“Hmm?”, Keonho hummed. He looked at Seonghyeon in confusion, the latter mirroring the same expression. “I said I’m going to kill him.”

Keonho stilled. Seonghyeon’s breath hitched.

“I don’t care if you help me or not. I’m going to get rid of him tonight. Do what you will with that information.”

You dug into your blazer pocket, whipping out the envelope. You pushed it into Keonho’s chest before turning towards the door. “Was anyone there with you?”, Seonghyeon said softly. You remebered Juhoon’s words. The Twins were his friends but he clearly wanted to keep it a secret. Could this benefit you? You were unsure. But you had a feeling you should keep your mouth shut for now.

“No one.”

You turned and headed out the door. Today was going to be Katō’s death day.

________________________________________________

You had thought of many ways to kill Katō. Some more messy than others, but nonetheless successful. They will get the job done. You made sure of that when you made your little ranking table. You decided to go for something a little flashy. Katō’s number was so easy to find. He sleeps with anything that breathes at this point. He has left his disgusting trail in plain sight. How easy. The weather tonight wasn’t its best. Thunder rumbled hungrily whilst lighting flashed in warnings. Wind whipped the leaves in powerful lashes and rain gushed down from the droopy clouds. You pulled out your burner phone. Ready to send the message. All the other teachers had left around the time the students had. Katō was always the last one. You sent a warning:

“Before you leave, come to the sports hall. Unless you want the whole world to know about this dirty, little secret.”

Attached below, was a specific photo that gave you power. The world would come down to its knees if it was to be leaked. That’s why people like you are needed in this world. You only use things like this to punish the bad. You are a fair judge. The sports hall had photos of different girls scattered across the floor. All evidence of Katō’s unseen deeds. It was clear to anyone. You paced slowly, humming a tune when you heard footsteps coming through the double doors. So he did show. That made you happy. Happier than anyone else could imagine. A grin of some sort pasted itself crookedly on your face.

“Good evening, Professor Katō.”

Katō was pale by nature. But in this moment, he looked like a person who was no longer involved with the land of the living.

“How did you-”

“My methods don’t concern you, Professor. These photos would look awfully good on the newspaper, right? National news is best.”, you were having so much fun.

“I’m sorry. I am so so sorry. I beg of you-”

A shrill cackle left you. How ridiculous.

“You are begging?! YOU! When I begged you stop, you didn’t listen. When other girls begged and pleaded, you didn’t listen! You don’t deserve mercy. Not at all.”

Katō was trembling now.

“Please, is there anything I can do?”

“Drive down to the beach. A person will be waiting for you. Listen to their instructions. Don’t ask questions.”

“Thank you! Thank you!”

“Do NOT thank me. Go. Now.”

He scrambled out of the sports hall. Panting heavily, battling the suffocating rain, he ran to his car. He didn’t even bother to put on his seatbelt. He started his car, the tyres screeching in protest at the sudden reverse. He drove and drove and drove. Driving down the cliff route, he sped through the hammering rain and harsh winds. Approaching a bend, he stepped down on the break paddle, hoping to decrease his speed. Nothing happened. His foot stomped and stomped against the paddle but it was too late. The car flew off of the cliff, crashing into the rocks before settling in a burning wreck. You had damaged the wheel cylinder in the hydraulic reservoir for the brakes. He really went out with a bang.

________________________________________________

With the photos in his hands, Keonho stepped towards the burning wreck and poured all of them in. Seonghyeon stood behind him, keeping watch.

“I’m glad she followed through”, Seonghyeon said.

“She doesn’t seem to lie,”, Keonho responded. “It was high time that someone got rid of him.”

“Hmm,”, Seonghyeon agreed. “I wanted to get rid of him somehow but I couldn’t settle on a way to take him out gloriously. This one takes the cake though.”

“Oh absolutely.”

As the last photo burnt to a crisp, Keonho stared into the fire.

“Martin and Juhoon will take care of this.”

“And your mum?”

“I’ll fill her in later.”

“Ok. Let’s go. I’m starving.”

“Let’s go.”

________________________________________________

At your desk, you spread out three photos. You had slid them out of the envelope when you were in the bathroom. You held the keys, the leverage, all of it. The photo on the left was of Mei. That didn’t shock you. The photo on the right, however, did cause you to raise your eyebrow. You didn’t think Ms Park was one to sleep around with her coworker. But she was a bitch so it made sense.

The photo in the centre, however, was your favourite one. The one you had used to lure Katō to you. There were no digital traces of it. You had destroyed the burner phone and Katō’s phone was definitely destroyed from the crash. This one made you smile. You were definitely going to keep it for later. You kicked your feet in glee, your face not just gleaming from the face mask you just had on. A ping sounded from your phone. It was from an unknown number.

This is Juhoon

I know what you did

Let’s meet up tomorrow

Damage control meeting

Sleep well

Well, well, well. You had earned the attention of the man of the day, Kim Juhoon. You were excited for tomorrow. But tonight, you celebrated. Katō was dead and the girls had been freed. Although, you preferred to keep three of them on chains. Damage control, am I right?

________________________________________________

We are seeing more of the reader’s crazy side! And the Twins showed a little bit of their true colours towards the end. This chapter really highlights how anger consumes and drives people to do certain things. Next chapter will focus more on their evil acts along with Juhoon’s. Thanks for reading! Next chapter will be out on Monday x

taglist: @wouldntyuliketoknowweatherboy, @faayzeswords, @nanamyberry, @mitsubal0ver, @eunjjx, @kienhawon, @inadazeee, @inlirium, @meeoowchi, @hyeonverse, @ireaiiyiikecats, @lunaryoongie, @udontknowmee2, @kyeonhoelii, @loserloveremployee, @berryred, @stxrripure, @f4l13n4ng3l1, @whmzyvic, @kurosagislvr

Let me know if you want to be part of the taglist! If you want to request any stories just reach out x

[seongseanholic]

CROCODILE TEARS - CORTIS X FEM!READER

NEXT CHAPTER

Back to series masterlist

CHAPTER 1: A SNOWBALL'S CHANCE IN HELL - to have no chance in succeeding.

SYNOPSIS: A new girl is plunged into the playground for the rich, meeting 5 boys whose intentions are stained with manipulation and lies. What if this new girl isn’t as innocent as she seems to be?

WARNINGS: profanity, reader isn’t a good person but the boys are worse, no one is good in this school, vaping, someone gets burnt with a curling iron, spiked drinks, severe bullying, mention of someone getting a STD, underaged drinking, weird teacher (teacher-student relationships), kissing, obsession, overall wickedness, James is a year older than the rest [this is NOT how I view CORTIS as individuals, this is purely for the story]

WORD COUNT: 7.5K words (7,547 words)

A/N: This is the first chapter of the series! Chapters will be released on a Monday and Friday. This is my first story like this so I hope you enjoy! x

PLAYLIST: NAIL (Yves, Lolo Zouaï), you should see me in a crown (Billie Eilish), Boyfriend (Dove Cameron), Daisy (Ashnikko), Hello Bitches (CL), Look What You Made Me Do (Taylor Swift)

——————————————————————————

She ran. Her heart pounding in her ears. She needed to escape. Approaching the double doors, she burst through them. That’s when she heard him.

“Don’t try to run away.”

His voice carried down the hallway, he was advancing. “If you stay with us, you’ll be safe, I promise.”

His taunting tone filled her stomach with unease. He was going to kill her. There’s no way he would let her escape. Escape and expose them. Expose them for who they truly are. Expose them for what they did to-

BANG.

A gunshot rang through the air. Pain shattered across her body as she struggled to breath. No, she was so close. A second pair of footsteps advanced towards her.

The last thing she saw was their two faces. Two handsomely, evil faces.

——————————————————————————

First days are gruelling. Eye-opening. World-ending. You aren’t supposed to feel comfortable. You’ve been thrown into an ocean with your arms and legs tied. Nobody knows you and you know nobody. You are prey. Something fresh. A new plaything. And worst of all, you are expected to allow all of this to happen, and even enjoy it. After all they are doing you a favour. A favour from the bottom of their soulless, black hearts that only know envy and avarice.

A driver had been sent round to your house at 7:30am. He was a pale, stoic man whose eyes had seen everything and nothing at the same time. He had opened the door for you and driven you in silence. You were slowly gaining a new understanding of what this place was going to be like. A warm feeling of excitement swirled around your stomach: this was going to be fun.

The car’s tyres crunched against the gravel as the road led up to a sleek, black gate with the school emblem atop it. The car pulled round to the front of the school, where a man pulled open the door for you. Flashing him a toothy smile, his eyes narrowed in surprise before averting them. No one smiles at the lowly. Especially in this place. Turning around, you thanked the driver, who could only nod in return.

You straightened up, letting your bag rest comfortably on your shoulder. Students were flooding into the school with phones in hands, designer bags carried and their friends surrounding them. Exhaling quietly, you walked towards the large, mahogany door. Now you had to find the main office.

As you walked into the building, laughter and chatter filled the halls. The hallways were illuminated with a warm ambiance, the floors of the finest marble. Everything seemed measured and perfect in this place. You craned your neck to see if there were any signs leading to the main office. You couldn’t find any. You saw a group of girls in a corner, all hunched over a phone. The girl in the centre had reddish-brown curls, sharp eyes and a wicked laugh. Her uniform adorned with red stripes. She seemed nice. The other girls surrounding her had vapes and phones in their hands. Typical.

“Excuse me. Do you know where the main office happens to be?”

All the girls whipped their heads up. Their smiles left their faces in a similar way to how rain trickles down the drain. Their eyes all seemed to be focused on your tie. A girl on the end with a black, sleek bob piped up:

“Sorry, who do you think you are talking to? Who said you could look us in the eye?”

That set off a chorus of laughter not just within the group of girls, but in anyone in the vicinity. You kept your smile plastered on. You couldn’t slip up yet.

“Oh! I was talking to you girls! Did nobody teach you to look other people in the eye when you are talking?”

The laughter vanished as fast as it came. The girl in the centre had a curious expression in her face now. All the other girls stood up straighter. Ms. Black Bob stepped closer. Her heels clicked on the marble floor with the urgency of a ticking time bomb. She stood so close you could smell the cherry flavour from her vape blow across your face.

“Listen here, scholarship kid. Your eyes should never meet mine, understood? It seems you don’t know that you lower class people don’t deserve to look us in the eye.”

You blinked slowly. This was expected. Your smile was still as bright as before. It seemed to be annoying her now. You titled your head in mock confusion:

“So are you going to tell me where the main office is?”

Her hand stretched back far, ready to connect with the side of your face.

“Mei. Chill.”

Ms. Centre seemed to have a voice after all. She grabbed Mei’s hand, yanking her backwards but still staring intently at you. The whole world seemed to be watching. “What’s your name, scholarship kid?”

You giggled softly, before saying your name. Fearlessly you asked:

“And you, what’s yours?”

Her eyebrows rose in something along the lines of admiration and curiosity.

“Hwa-young. Choi Hwa-young.”

“Pretty name. Elegant flower…”

“Hmm?”

“The meaning of your name. It suits you.”

“…What a kind compliment.”

“Could you possibly guide me to the main office?”

She snapped her fingers once. A signal of some sort.

“Na-bi. Take her to the main office.”, she said this without breaking eye contact. A staring competition between the two of you. You were no loser.

A simple-looking girl stepped out from the bunch. She must be Na-bi. Her looks weren’t as extravagant as the other girls, but her tie still had red stripes. Her parents must have some sort of money but not the kind that the other girls possessed. Even the rich have their own hierarchy.

Na-bi began walking down the hallway without looking back, she seemed to expect you to follow, so you did. Falling in step you decided to strike up a conversation. You introduced yourself brightly, to which she responded:

“I know. I was there.”

An ugly scowl had settled on her face. Her features were beautiful and soft, but the heavy makeup was distorting and seemed more like a mask.

“Here’s the main office.”

“Thank you, Na-bi!”

Her eyes widened momentarily before darting left and right.

“A quick word of advice. You stay away from the wrong kind of people here. Do not, and I mean do NOT, try and interfere or get involved in their business. Unless you want to end up paralysed, forgotten or dead.”

She spun quickly on her heel, her steps resounding against the marble. What a weird thing to say. As you knocked on the glass window, a tired lady approached. “Yes…how can I help you?”

“Good morning! I recently transferred here. I came to collect my timetable, textbooks and map!”

She nodded once before reaching for a small pile of books that had your name on a sticky note pressed firmly on the top cover of the first book. Opening the sliding glass, she slid the books towards you. As you reached to grab them, she grabbed your hand:

“Be careful.”, she whispered. Her grey eyes, tired and wise, held all the meaning of her words. Stay out of harm’s way and you won’t die.

“Thank you! Have a nice day!”

——————————————————————————

Using the map, you approached your form room. As you stepped in, all chatter stopped. Your steps echoed on the concrete floor as you walked further into the room. Whispers began:

“A scholarship kid?”

“Another broke person to look after.”

“She’s pretty for a poor person.”

“Do you think she got plastic surgery?”

“There’s no way she could afford that.”

“I can’t stand sharing air with a person that poor.”

You smiled brightly at everyone, before greeting them.

“Good morning!”

A bunch of kids with the same tie as you were huddled in a corner. Their eyes wide with fear from your greeting. Their eyes seemed to say ‘you’ve made yourself a target now’.

A boy with blond hair walks up to you. He’s much taller and his eyes are laced with hunger.

“A new girl, huh?”, he mumbled. His eyes scanning you up and down. He opened his mouth to continue until a lady dressed in all black walks in. Ms Park, your form tutor.

“Everybody settle down, please.”

Her eyes scanned the classroom before settling on you. She seemed interested in the colour of your tie, her head shaking barely that it was easy for anyone to miss the movement.

“New student. Come to the front and introduce yourself.”

You strode confidently to the front and said your name with purpose.

“It’s lovely to meet you all and I feel privileged to have been given a spot in this school. Thank you!”

There was no applause. Not even a shift. Ms Park cleared her throat.

“We will now be going to assembly. Lead in quietly, please.”

Everyone rose with an eerie timing. They moved towards the right side of the wall and lined up in an orderly manner. You rushed to join the back of the queue as it started moving. You were about to witness your first assembly.

——————————————————————————

Everybody trailed into the large auditorium. The seats were a midnight black, whilst the steps were a clean oak shade. A pale lady with grey hair stood on the stage, a lectern in front of her. That was your headmistress: Mrs Ahn. As everyone settled in, a silent chill filled the room. There were five empty seats two rows in front of you. Strange. Mrs Ahn tapped the microphone and began to speak:

“I welcome you all to a new academic year, ready to be filled with excellence and enthusiasm from not just students but from our esteemed faculty. It also fills me with great pride to announce the arrival of a new scholarship student.”

All eyes in the room turned to you. Teachers and students alike beared looks of curiosity, disgust and boredom. She had really just thrown you in the deep end.

“As I’m sure you are all aware, our school is the top school in the country. 10,000 applicants applied for this single spot this year, so we congratulate and welcome you to our school.”

As soon as her sentence finished, the double doors opened. You whipped your head to look behind you, although no one else did. Mrs Ahn kept on talking whilst five boys walked in. A girl beside you whispered violently:

“Don’t look back!”

You forced your head to look at the front of the room despite curiosity nibbling at you. The five boys settled into the five seats. No one payed any mind for the fact that they had just walked in late. They must be at the top of the food chain.

“And now, I dismiss you all to continue with your day and excel for the rest of the school year. Might I also remind you of our school motto: Vestigia nulla retrorsum, continue to progress and look into the future, as it is very bright for all of you.”

At her words, you stood up from your seat. Suddenly, angry whispers and arms dragged you back down to your seat. That’s when you saw the five boys get up and walk out, led by the tallest. Once they had left the room, everyone rose and began to move to their first lesson of the day.

This is Sehwa Academy for Excellence.

——————————————————————————

Your first class was English. You loved poetry and reading. Excitement filled you as you couldn’t wait to discover new pieces of literature.

You stepped into the classroom and all eyes were drawn to you. You were getting used to the staring now. It was all they ever did. You moved towards a seat in the front row when:

“That’s my seat.”

A chorus of splutters and giggles filled the air. “Oh sorry!”

You moved towards the seat behind it when someone said:

“My friend sits there.”

“My bad!”

You decided to sit in the back row. You placed your bag down and got out your pencil case and a notebook. As soon as you did, your teacher finally walked in.

Professor Katō. He was a young, slim man with determination in his eyes. His strides were measured and his posture was confident. As he entered, everyone moved to their seats and pulled out their resources. He pulled out a black board pen from his pocket before scribbling in perfect cursive: Love and Relationships.

“Good morning, everyone.”

“Good morning, Professor Katō.”, everyone echoed.

“Today we are going to be continuing with our poetry work from last year. Our anthology will be focused on Love and Relationships. Before I begin the lesson, let me take the register.”

He read out the names out of a green page, ticking and crossing as he marked attendance. There was a quiet chatter in the room until he got to a certain name:

“Eom Seonghyeon?”

The room stilled. Stilled as if he was there. Someone mumbled:

“Taekwondo practice.”

And the register continued. Until your name was read out. Katō tested the sound of your name, his tone intrigued and his pitch lower.

“Here.”, you said. His eyes lingered on you for a couple seconds before moving to someone else.

“Kai, could you go drop this off at the main office, please. The poem we will be looking at today is called Porphyria’s Lover.”

You knew this poem. It was one of your favourite ones, actually.

“Since we have 15 poems to get through. You will be working in pairs. I will now announce the pairs.”

Everyone seemed to be paired up with people they liked. One thing in particular stood out to you: scholarship kids were paired with other scholarship kids. It almost felt like a way of saying stick with your own kind.

“And, lastly, Eom Seonghyeon and our new student.”

The air felt thick. Your tie too tight around your neck. A makeshift noose. You were convinced you wouldn’t make it out of this classroom. What was this teacher thinking? That you would be let off scot-free by all the kids who now seemed to have an agenda against you. What luck you had.

“Since, Mr Eom isn’t in class today, you will be working on the poem yourself. Is that alright?”, the corner of his lips twitched slightly.

You forced a bright smile onto your face, the corners of your eyes crinkling:

“That’s fine, thank you!”

You heard someone whisper:

“Why is she still smiling?”

You could only smile to yourself. If only they knew what was going to come down upon them.

You made notes as the lesson went along, highlighting and annotating. You let your mind drift to what Seonghyeon looked like. There was no way he could be nice, you ruled that out immediately. No one here was or played nice. That was a fact. Your mind continued to wander when the class was dismissed.

“Next lesson we will continue with the poem and do more partner work. You are dismissed.”

Everybody packed their bags up and left in an orderly fashion. The fee-payers left first, the scholarship students last. You were on your way out of the classroom when Professor Katō called your name. You turned around, shifting closer to the desk.

“Yes, Professor?”

His eyes wandered down your body, lingering on your chest and thighs. Disgusting.

“I hope you haven’t felt rushed to catch up with anything this lesson.”

“I’ve been perfectly fine, thank you.”, you responded curtly.

He stepped a little closer. His grin widening ever so slightly.

“If you ever need help or have any pressing questions to ask, please come and find me. I would be more than willing to help.”

“Thank you for the offer.”

You turned to move towards the door of the classroom when he said:

“Also, you might want to adjust your skirt length. You wouldn’t want to attract the wrong attention from the wrong sort.”

You briefly smiled before picking up the pace. You added Professor Katō to your list of things to get rid of.

——————————————————————————

As you moved down the hallway trying to find your next classroom, you bumped into Mei and a new group of girls. Great.

“Hey, scholarship kid. I heard you got paired with Seonghyeon.”

You blinked once.

“Yes, I did. Is there a problem?”

“I hope you know that he is off limits to someone like you. He doesn’t do charity cases, he has more of an expensive taste in things.”

“Ok.”

Her jaw tightened at your lack of response. She opened her mouth to retort or to scold (you would never know) when someone bumped into her side. The drink she was holding took flight, covering the ends of her hair and the right sleeve of her blazer.

“I’m so sorry!”, a quivering voice said. You looked at who it came from, it was a scholarship student from your form. She was small by nature, but her hung head and closed-in shoulders made her seem even smaller. She seemed to be avoiding taking up too much space or being noticed. Maybe both.

“Hey! Look what you did to my hair. Do you know how long it took to curl it? Can you even afford the curling iron I used?”

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!”

“I’ll deal with you later.”

This was the harsh reality of schools like these. There was a pecking order established by the money your parents and even your grandparents had. Nobody got treated well because of their personality. It was their wealth that spoke for them and represented who they were.

“Let this be the first and final time I say this. Seonghyeon is off limits to you. Okay?”

“Hmm…okay!”

You couldn’t care less about Mei’s obvious crush on Seonghyeon. If she crossed a line she wasn’t meant to, you would deal with her. Cruelly and mercilessly.

Using your map you located your maths classroom. Each class had a maximum of 12 students. Yet the rooms seemed massive. Unnecessary so. You joined the line standing outside the room. Scholarship kids at the back of course. As you began to daydream, a small force collided with your back. It was the girl from earlier. Before you could get a word out, she began to ramble:

“I’m so sorry! I should’ve looked where I was going!”

“It’s ok!”

Your calm tone seemed to calm her down. “If you don’t mind me asking, what’s your name?”

“Ara. Lee Ara.”

“Nice to meet you! I’m-”

“I know who you are. It’s nice to meet you too.”

The line began to trail into the classroom, a tall lady standing at the entrance. She must be your teacher, Ms Kim. She nodded in greeting, acknowledging your presence.

Ara tapped your shoulder lightly.

“Come sit with me.”

She led you to a seat in the second row. There were three rows, one desk for two students in each. As you looked around there seemed to be only 10 of you in total.

Ms Kim strode to the centre of the classroom.

“Welcome to a new year of learning and academic excellence. We will waste no time in getting started but I must take the register.”

She made her way down the list of students. She didn’t pause or make any unnecessary comments as she read out your name. The last name to be called was:

“Kim Juhoon?”

“Basketball practice.” Someone piped up.

“Thank you. We will now get started.”

Maths ran smoothly. You realised that Ms Kim was a person with no opinion. She came to teach, and teaching she did. You finished a whole topic and got halfway into another because of her efficiency. You had a feeling you would like her.

——————————————————————————

“So what do you have next?”, Ara asked.

“I’ve got Latin. And you?”

“Free period. I’ll be in the library. Would you…like to join me for lunch?”

“Sure! See you then!”

You made your way up the winding stairs of the languages building. At the top was your Latin classroom. You had been put in the year above’s class for some reason. Everybody in your year had at least one class in the year above. Yours just happened to be Latin.

You slid into an empty seat on the right side of the room in the third row. Pulling out your textbook you realised that all books given were written by the founder of the school. The teachings were rooted in the school’s history and they seemed to be extreme and ignorant. As you began investing yourself in the first page, a person with ash-coloured hair walked to the chair in the first row in your side of the room. Girls started to whisper and boys looked in envy and admiration. He was beautiful. His side profile sharp and his movements like that of a dancer.

Your teacher walked in. A short, man with a bald head. Seemingly overwhelmed with passion for the subject, he eagerly greeted the class. Professor Severin. This was Whipping out the green paper you were steadily beginning familiar with, he read out the list of names. Before he read out your name, he said:

“Aha! The new student. Welcome, welcome! I hope you have a burning passion for the study of Latin and its history?”

“Yes, sir. I do!”

“Excellent, excellent! Another bright student willing to learn!”

As you shrunk back into your seat, you briefly met the glance of the boy in the front row. His eyes were soulless and cold. You couldn’t bear to look into them for too long, so you tilted your head downwards.

“Zhao James?”

“Here.”

Zhao James. That’s his name.

“Today’s lesson is going to be focused on colonialism. We are all familiar with the Roman Empire. But how can we link it to our mentality of today and use it to benefit us in today’s society? Discuss.”

Everyone turned to their desk partner. You didn’t have one. You had purposely studied Latin in preparation for your arrival here. This school was designed to swallow up the small, to conquer. You had your own conquering to do.

“Our new student! Would you like to try your hand at answering this question?”

Everybody shifted slightly to get a better look at you. James continued to face the front, you clearly weren’t worth his time.

“Well my first thought was strategy. The Romans were meticulous planners especially regarding infrastructure. In today’s world we can take this as a lesson to anticipate risk in order to safeguard our success. But then I thought further. The phrase ‘Vae victis’ on an individual scale reminds us what the world doesn’t pause to accommodate our setbacks. Dwelling on unfairness, like how the Romans complained about rigged scales doesn’t change the outcome. That means that we must adopt a mindset of racial accountability. Focusing on personal strength, resilience and leverage.”

The room lay heavy with a weighted silence.

“Have you studied Latin before?”

“Just some light reading!”

“That was the perfect answer. Well done. Students, I hope you listened well to this spectacular answer. It’s worth noting down.”

To fulfill your plans you needed leverage and a platform. This was only the beginning.

——————————————————————————

The lesson soon ended and students filled the hallways to get to lunch. Using your map you navigated through the endless hoard of people, finally reaching the library.

You slid through the double doors instantly hit with the contrast in lighting. The library had saturated bulbs and floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. Round, oak tables filled the different floor levels of the library like the rings of an aged tree. You spotted Ara packing her stuff up on the second floor. She moved down the steps of the library, a small smile adorning her face.

“Hey.”, she whispered.

“Hi! Let’s go grab lunch.”

The pair of you weaved down the hallway, stopping to drop your bags in your form room before making your way to the cafeteria. You picked up your tray and cutlery, wisps of spice and sugar filling the air.

“I have so many questions about this place. You don’t mind me asking you some, right?”

“No not really.”

“Cool! So-”

Before you could finish your sentence, a group of rowdy boys pushed into the line, taking the spot in front of you. They had red striped ties. Of course they did. You opened your mouth to protest when a sharp nudge hit your ribs.

“Ow!”

“Don’t say anything. It’s not worth it.”

You sulked in silence until you got to a quiet spot in the cafeteria.

“You know those five boys who came into assembly late, who are they?”

Ara dropped her fork into her tray. Her face suddenly filled with fear.

“Come closer.”

“Huh?”

“Come closer!” she whisper-yelled.

You moved in curiously.

“These five boys are the richest students not just in the school but in the country. They all hang out with each other. Operate with each other and get up to all kinds of things. Zhao James is the eldest. He’s in the year above. He plays ice hockey and he is very good at languages. I heard he speaks five: English, Thai, Japanese, Korean and Mandarin. He is unpredictable and can act rashly sometimes.”

“Oh him! He’s in my Latin class.”

Ara’s jaw dropped.

“What? So that’s what class you got put in. Steer clear of him, okay?”

“Okay?”

“Anyways. The second oldest is Kim Juhoon. The one in our maths class. He is good at everything. He plays different kinds of instruments and is on the basketball team. The thing about him is that he holds grudges. He loves to keep your secrets as he can use it for leverage. Be careful.”

“The guy in the middle is kind of like their leader. Martin Edwards Park. He’s the tallest in this school and he loves to flirt. However, he is like a chameleon. You never know what version of Martin you are going to get. He switches up quickly. That could get you in trouble. Stay vigilant.”

“The other two are the youngest in the group. Eom Seonghyeon and Ahn Keonho.”

“Oh Eom Seonghyeon is my English partner!”

Ara looked like she was going to faint.

“You can’t be his partner. You need to find a way to switch.”

“Switch how? By asking Professor Katō? No thanks.”

Ara’s face turned even paler.

“You have Professor Katō? He has slept with majority of the girls in this school! Do not let him corner you. No matter what you have to do to get out of it, do not let him invite you to his office, okay?”. Ara’s voice was stern. She meant it.

“Okay, I hear you.”

“Back to the twins.”

“They are twins?”

“No not really. I’ll get into that in a sec.”

“So Eom Seonghyeon is kind of like the lesser of two evils. He’s manipulative and cunning but disguises that with his looks. He is known to start dating a girl on a Friday only to leave her crying by the curb on a Saturday. However, many girls would prefer to go through that with him than with Keonho.”

“Ahn Keonho is the youngest out of all of them. His mum is the headteacher. His family has owned this school for centuries. They are filthy rich. Keonho doesn’t hide his wickedness like the others do. He is open about it. Unfortunately, that’s what brings the girls in. Keonho loves to lie and humiliate people. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy to be on the end of his humiliation ritual. It’s more like torture. Now imagine Seonghyeon and Keonho together.”

“Why are they together?”

“Their families have been friends for decades. They are only a month apart and they grew up together. Some people say they look alike and they really have become more or less the same person over the last couple of years. If Seonghyeon is somewhere, Keonho will definitely be right next to him. Where Keonho is, Seonghyeon is lurking in the shadows.”

“The main problem with all of them and what concerns you is that there was a rumour last year that they killed the scholarship student whose place you got because she got too involved with them. People say they paid someone to do it and I wouldn’t be surprised. They do have money. What I’m telling you is be careful and stay out of trouble.”

“Sure, sure.”

“I need you to take me seriously, please.”

“I understand. Thanks for the advice. One more question though. What is Mei’s obsession with Seonghyeon?”

“Mei is another one of Seonghyeon’s curb girls. She was the record for the shortest time it took for him to dump a girl. She’s been trying to win him and her dignity back ever since.”

“What a crazy place this is.”

“Mmm. Anyways what do you have next?”

“I’ve got Art. Fashion Design. You?”

“I’ve got Social Studies then a free period 5th. You should have a free period 5th as well.”

“I do! I have at least one everyday.”

“Everyone does. People use that to catch up on the mounds of essays assigned or go catch a break in the sun. I might not see you till the end of the day. So it’s bye for now.”

You glanced at the clock. You had to get moving to your next lesson.

“I’ll see you whenever I do! Bye!”

Ara sent you a small wave before going off to get her bag. She had told you everything you already knew. You just had to walk into the lion’s den to get more answers.

——————————————————————————

Walking up a spiralled staircase, you reached a glass door with frosted windows rather than walls. You had chosen Fashion Design as your preferred sector of Art. According to the curriculum you will make three pieces for the three terms. Each piece must contain a minimum of eight outfits, containing a theme and research that will be put in your sketchbook. Art was going to be a lot of work, but it was truly the lightest of your problems.

Pushing against the glass door, you made your way into the workstation area where everybody’s names were plastered on the front of each workstation. You located your name that was on a plaque: navy background but white text. Just like your tie. An A3 sketchbook lay untouched on your desk with a black, empty portfolio. The work started there and then. Looking around, you stole glances at everyone. They all seemed to be working away already. There was an empty workstation though. Squinting your eyes, you managed to make out the name: Ahn Keonho. Perfect. You’ve got another one of the boys in your class.

This was going to be fun.

——————————————————————————

The hour needed faster than you expected. You had already made progress on your artwork, setting you up comfortably for the rest of the term. You now had a free period. You hadn’t been toured around yet so you wanted to spend the hour exploring. Maybe find something that could pique your interest.

You spent 45 minutes indoors, wandering through the corridors, climbing off stairs and discovering all kinds of achievements. You were eager to get a puff of fresh air when you bumped into a solid body rounding the corner.

“Oh sorry!”

To your disappointment, it was Professor Katō. You need to get out of there and fast. You moved to the left of him in an attempt to swerve past him, when he side-stepped to block your way. You exhales quietly. He was making himself a problem. When you deal with him, he will only have himself to blame.

“Fancy running into you! My guess is that you have a free period?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Your thumb is bleeding.”

You looked down to see a sphere of red laying carefully on the surface of your thumb. You had pricked it on a stray bulletin pin during your exploration time.

“Oh.”

“I have some plasters in my office. Please, come and take one.”

The first thing your brain signalled was No. Ara’s words served as a reminder of what to do in a situation like this:

Do not let him corner you. No matter what you have to do to get out of it, do not let him invite you to his office, okay?

“No, thank you. I’ll be fine.”

“I insist.”

“Really, I am fi-”

“She said she was okay.”

It was Ms Kim, your Maths teacher.

“I was just about to send her on a small errand. Could you possibly give these resources to the lady at the sports hall office?”

“Sure.”

“Thank you. Run along now, there’s not much left of the school day.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Ms Kim.”

You didn’t wait for a response before you turned the corner leading outside of the building. Katō was steadily becoming an issue. You weren’t afraid to get your hands dirty but you will let someone else handle it. All in due time.

Stepping out into the cool air, you walked down cobblestone pathway. It led you past professional sized tennis courts, the swimming pool building and the outdoor basketball courts. At the end of the path was the sports hall.

Walking into the building, trophies and accolades gleamed proudly from their shelves. The floors and walls were all a neutral-oaky shade, carrying the elegance from the main building. Knocking on the glass window, you slid the resources towards the lady in the office.

“Ms Kim asked me to deliver these to you.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome!”

Out of curiosity, you made your way further into the building. You heard voices. Ones you were steadily becoming familiar with. Hiding behind the double doors, you saw Mei, Hwa-young, Na-bi and Ara. There were some other girls you weren’t familiar with there as well.

“I told you I would deal with you, didn’t I?”

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to ruin your hair.”

“The damage is done, no?”, Hwa-young said, her voice laced with laziness or something a little stronger.

“Na-bi pass me that curling iron.”, Mei sharply said.

“I want to redo my curls for the party tonight. Can you tell me how hot it is?”, Mei tauntingly said. She waved the curling iron in front of Ara’s face.

“Na-bi grab her arms.”

Ara began to hyperventilate. She opened her mouth to cry for help but Mei moved the curling iron closer to her neck.

“Scream and I will fucking kill you.”

All sound drained out of her.

Mei pressed the curling iron on Ara’s arm. A harsh sizzling sound filled the hall. Ara thrashed in pain, tears streaming down her face.

“Didn’t I tell you to be quiet?”

This continued for another 5 minutes. 5 minutes of you standing and watching. You weren’t responsible for Ara. It wasn’t your job to rescue her. All actions have consequences, hers just happens to be this.

At some point, Na-bi piped up:

“Mei, isn’t this too much?”

Hwa-young turned to look at Na-bi. A harsh giggle leaving her.

“Oh, Na-bi. Na-bi, Na-bi, Na-bi. You know that if it wasn’t her, it would be you in the chair. You may be a fee-paying student but your parents can barely afford to do so. You are the last person who should be taking.”

One of the girls you didn’t know yelled:

“School’s finished!”

Everyone began chatting, ignoring Ara. “Who wants to get tteokbokki?”

“I’m on a diet, right now.”

“What are you wearing to the party?”

“Are you gonna invite the new girl?”

“She can be our entertainer for the night!”

At the mention of you, you turned and sped-walked out of the building. You couldn't afford to be caught here. Walking through the outdoor pathway, you decided to take a shortcut through the grass. As you were nearing the school entrance, a voice called your name. You turned slowly, hoping it wasn't anyone who had seen you down at the sports hall. It was Hwa-young.

"I'm throwing a party tonight. You should come along."

She wasn't giving you two choices here. It was a command. You almost wanted to deny out of stubbornness but you nodded.

"Sure! I'll be there. I don't have your address or number, though."

"Give me your phone."

You handed it to her as she put in her number and address or her newly-made contact.

"Here. Everyone is expecting you. I hope you show. I'll send a car round for you."

"I'll try my best."

"Get home safe.", the corner of her lips tilting up slightly.

——————————————————————————

Digging in your wardrobe, you attempted to pull together a presentable outfit. When you looked into the mirror, you hoped it wasn't too much. But then you thought to yourself, it's a party for you. You'll dress how you want to. The spotlight's yours anyways.

As you stepped out of your house, a car was waiting for you. You slid into the backseat, greeting the driver quietly. He simply nodded. The car drive wasn't that long. The sun had long set, leaving a navy cloak. The streetlights shone brightly, illuminating the side of your face. Tonight was going to be the first part of your plan. It was going to be a flawless attempt. You didn't do mistakes.

The car pulled up to a mansion. Lasers and screams filled the air surrounding it. This was going to be a long night.

You walked up the concrete steps, your purse by your side. A man in a suit stood slightly to the right of the staircase. He seemed to be the bouncer.

"Good evening. No phones allowed after this point."

You pulled out your phone and placed it in the basket.

"Thank you. It will be returned to you on your way out."

You continued up the stairs making your way to the outdoor area of the property. The bass shattered through the floor, as you were surrounded by vape smoke, people making out aggressively and loud chants for people to chug. At the centre of the chaos, was Hwa-young. She was a stunning red dress, a bold contrast to your all-black, sleek look. She was surrounded by a crowd of people, as she swayed to the music. She turned and made eye contact with you. A grin spread across her face.

"Look who made it here tonight!"

Everyone turned to get a good look at you.

"Her outfit isn't that bad."

"Damn, who knew she could look that good."

"I need to know where she got those heels from."

Hwa-young moved out of the centre, feeling the shift in attention.

"Since we threw this party for you, it's time to have some drinks."

Everyone migrated to a large centre table where a bartender brought a tray of what seemed to be, shots. Everyone cheered at the sight of this. You strode forward, eyes trained on the shot glasses.

"Just in case anyone is unfamiliar, one of these shots have a little special something mixed into it. Our new girl and I will drink these shots and see who the lucky individual is."

Hwa-young had made this too easy for you. All of these shots had been tampered with except one. Which one was clean, you might ask. Well, the dead giveaway was how Hwa-young kept her eyes on the one to her left. She reached to take the glass, when you stopped her.

"Hwa-young. Since I am the special guest of tonight, shouldn't I get first pick?"

If Hwa-young was as smart as she saw herself to be, she would let you. She couldn't possibly slip up in front of a big crowd. So she let you.

"Go ahead."

As you reached for the clean glass, you heard her gasp quietly. How satisfying. Lifting the glass to the crowd, you downed the shot in one go, your eyes never leaving Hwa-young's. You were right. This was good, old vodka. Giggling slightly, you announced:

"It's just vodka!"

The crowd cheered. Hwa-young looked nervous. You mentally swayed between embarrassing her right there and then, when you realised she could be of use to you. She reached down to grab a glass, hand shaking. She nervously tipped it back. As soon as she swallowed it, she hunched over. The crowd shifted back slightly. She suddenly dashed to a patch of grass and threw up. At the sight of that, you knew the game was over. You rushed over to Hwa-young and rubbed circles on her back before telling the crowd:

"She'll need a minute or two, guys. Give her some space, please."

At that the crowd moved to find something else to busy themselves with.

"I'll go find Mei."

"No. Stay."

So you did. You earned loyalty points the longer you stayed. The night was really going the way you planned! At some point she straightened up and mumbled something about freshening up. You took this as your cue to find a new source of entertainment. You saw a small crowd gathered, sitting, drinking and smoking. You moved to join them when they yelled your name.

"Come sit with us. We are playing Truth or Dare."

Classic.

You settled in between Na-bi and a boy you weren't familiar with, when two boys joined the crowd too. They were stunning and both kind of looked similar. They sat opposite you, moving at the same time. You immediately tried to begin separating their similarities to find the differences. One of them had a constant smile and the other a blank resting face. These couldn't possibly be them, right?

"Oh, yeah. The new girl hasn't met them, has she? These two guys are Ahn Keonho and Eom Seonghyeon. Captain of the swim and taekwondo team respectively."

You mumbled a small hello. Keonho's smile deepened ever so slightly as Seonghyeon's eyebrow raised by an inch. You had got them interested.

"OKAYYYYYY Let's start the game!"

Taking a good look around the crowd, you saw that Hwa-young had joined back again and Mei was next to her. The boy next to you poured shot glasses with an expensive-looking liquor.

"So, the rules are: if you pick Truth, you tell the truth. If someone suspects you are lying or knows you are, they can expose you. Your forfeit will be decided by them and you MUST do what they ask. If you choose Dare you cannot back out of it. Unless you want a forfeit. Ok, now that we all know what we are doing, let's play."

"Mei! Truth or Dare?"

"Truth."

"Be honest. When was the last time you hooked up with someone here?"

Everyone was fully invested now. Except from Seonghyeon and Keonho. Seonghyeon was staring off into space, his cup of drink untouched. Keonho, however, was shameless. You had made sure to direct your eyes towards Mei, but it was impossible to not feel Keonho's heated gaze on you.

"Yesterday.", Mei said shyly, her cheeks flushed pink.

Everyone whooped in celebration. But someone just had to rain on her parade.

"She's lying."

Everyone whipped their head. Na-bi had said that.

"Mei actually got an STD after fooling around with everyone. She hasn't been able to do anything for a while because her doctor put her on fucking antibiotics. Isn't that right, Mei?"

Na-bi was doing your dirty work for you. How useful.

Mei was at a loss for words. Hwa-young even looked disgusted. In fact, everyone was. An awkward silence stretched for a couple of seconds before someone spoke.

"Let's move on. Who's next?"

Someone who you didn't know the name of, yelled your name as a suggestion. That was exactly what you wanted. You quickly put on a shocked expression.

"Oh no, no! I'm good!"

Everyone began chanting your name. The Twins looked amused.

"Okay, okay! I choose Dare."

The crowd swooned at your choice.

Hwa-young piped up:

"I dare you to makeout with anyone here."

Your eyebrows raised slightly. This could be benefit you in the future if you played your cards right. You decided to go for it. Standing up, you looked at your options. What would cause the biggest reaction? You made your decision.

Stepping carefully, everyone's eyes followed you. Slowly, you placed yourself in Seonghyeon's lap. To your delight, he placed his drink down and leaned back, giving you space. You looked him deep into his eyes. You saw nothing. He was heartless. You placed your hand on his cheek, It was cold. He was like a walking corpse. You both tilted your heads before your lips met. The kiss was soft.

Nobody made a sound. He placed his hand gently against you waist. Keonho sat and watched like everyone else. Except that he found it amusing.

You really had made an entrance. And ruined Mei's life forever. However, it is important to understand that she is a mere pawn in this game. This game is way bigger than anyone would like to believe. Money is not the aim here. It is humiliation. Once you are done with them, it will be the largest humiliation ritual ever known to man. And God knows you were more than willing to orchestrate it.

——————————————————————————

note: How are we feeling? I hope you can see that the personality of the reader is wild and quite manipulative. The twins have made their first appearance along with Juhoon and James. We will dive deeper into the true nature of the twins in the next chapter! Thanks for reading :)

taglist: @wouldntyuliketoknowweatherboy, @faayzeswords, @nanamyberry, @mitsubal0ver, @eunjjx, @kienhawon, @inadazeee, @inlirium, @meeoowchi, @hyeonverse, @ireaiiyiikecats, @lunaryoongie, @udontknowmee2, @kyeonhoelii, @loserloveremployee, @berryred, @stxrripure, @f4l13n4ng3l1, @whmzyvic, @kurosagislvr, @okkotsuist

Let me know if you want to be part of the taglist! If you want to request any stories just reach out x

[seongseanholic]

CROCODILE TEARS - CORTIS X FEM!READER

SYNOPSIS: A new girl is plunged into the playground for the rich, meeting 5 boys whose intentions are stained with manipulation and lies. What if this new girl isn’t as innocent as she seems to be?

WARNINGS: profanity, multiple love interests at once, reader isn’t a good person but the boys are worse, no one is good in this school, vaping, someone gets burnt with a curling iron, someone gets drugged, manipulation, hitting in relationship, gaslighting, bullying, murder and lies, mention of someone getting a STD, underaged drinking, weird teacher (teacher student relationships), kissing, obsession, infidelity, teen pregnancy (not in detail), overall wickedness, pure revenge, throwing up, James is a year older than the rest, drugs [this is NOT how I view CORTIS as individuals, this is purely for the story]

A/N: I’m straying out of my usual fluffy writing to dive into more of a dark side of things. I was inspired by two k-dramas: The Glory and Hierarchy. Some of the systems and acts in this piece of writing are inspired from these k-dramas. Also, each chapter will be released on a schedule: two times a week on a Monday and Friday, and the finale on Saturday. If I have missed out any warnings please let me know x happy reading!

____________________________________

  CHAPTERS:

A SNOWBALL’S CHANCE IN HELL

JEKYLL AND HYDE

MR SPEAKER

CHAMELEON

THE MAN IN THE MIRROR

FAMILIARITY BREEDS CONTEMPT

YOU ARE NOT A REAL MAN 

THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS

SPILT MILK

____________________________________

taglist: @wouldntyuliketoknowweatherboy, @faayzeswords, @nanamyberry, @mitsubal0ver, @eunjjx, @kienhawon, @inadazeee, @inlirium, @meeoowchi, @hyeonverse, @sonyui, @haneurin

Let me know if you want to be part of the taglist! If you want to request any stories just reach out x

[seongseanholic]

My Girl - MARTIN EDWARDS X FEM!READER

pure fluff downbad behaviour keonho and seonghyeon mentioned martin being your biggest fan non-idol au use of word ‘baby’ 620 words

inspired by the song: My Girl - The Temptations

____________________________________

Everywhere your name was brought up, Martin was there. Everyone knew he was your boyfriend. He sang your praises, all day, every day, without fail. He always referred to you as ‘my girl’. His friends teased and poked fun at him over his affection for you. It was safe to say that Martin was madly in love with you.

Whenever you would get ready to go out, you would always turn to Martin for an opinion on your outfit. He would spend a good 10 minutes talking about how good you looked and how everything coordinated perfectly. It was a miracle that you even make it out of the house sometimes!

He does, however, like to hear praise about him from you. It fills him with pride and motivates him to do more and to get better at whatever it is. When you complimented the beat he had made, he was fizzing with joy for days. Keonho and Seonghyeon suffered:

A content sigh left Martin. Keonho and Seonghyeon shared a glance: they knew what was coming.

“What did she do now?”, Keonho asked absentmindedly, his focus still on the ongoing thumb war with Seonghyeon.

“Huh?”, Martin snapped out of his daze.

“You know who,” Seonghyeon filled in. “The love of your life.”, he said, wiggling his eyebrows.

Keonho made a gagging sound, clearly done with Martin’s antics.

Martin perked up at the hint given. They were talking about you. Like he was coded to do so, he began rambling.

“So she basically said that my beat was so so good, I mean not to brag or anything but I put in a lot of work and to hear a compliment from her seriously made my day, so my genius plan is to make some more of those fire beats, get her to listen and she will defo fall deeper in love with me, right?”

The twins sighed in exasperation. It’s like Martin forgot that you were equally crazy about him as he was to you. It’s just that he made sure the whole world knew!

That same evening, you laid on your bed, your laptop playing a film that you weren’t really watching. To tell the truth, you were missing your boyfriend. You badly wanted to listen to his music again. The beats had left such an impression that you were craving more and more of it, and as a bonus you would be able to spend time with Martin! If only you could see him right now.

Your prayers were answered as your phone buzzed with urgency. It was Keonho.

“Hello-”

“Come get your man!”, Keonho and Seonghyeon yelled simultaneously.

“He hasn’t stopped talking about you since,” Seonghyeon whined. “I even put in my headphones and he still kept on talking.”

“He needs to be tamed,” Keonho grumbled. “So come get him, we’ve suffered enough.”

“Ok, ok! I’ll be right over.”

As you knocked on the door to Seonghyeon’s apartment, the door flew open revealing a stressed-looking Seonghyeon. Before you could open your mouth to say anything, he dragged you in by the wrist.

And there you found your boyfriend, slumped against the wall in a daydreamy state. He was so downbad for you. You called out his name and you watched as his eyes widened.

He sprang to his feet, taking quick strides before engulfing you in a hug.

“Where have you been?”, he sulked.

“I was at home, baby. I missed you.”

“I missed you so much too.”

Behind you, Seonghyeon and Keonho jeered at the sight of you two.

“Go do this somewhere else!”, Keonho yelled.

“Yeah, no decorum whatsoever!”, Seonghyeon added.

They had seen enough of your downbad affection to last them a lifetime.

____________________________________ taglist: @wouldntyuliketoknowweatherboy, @faayzeswords, @nanamyberry, @mitsubal0ver, @eunjjx, @kienhawon, @inadazeee

Thank you for reading! Let me know if you want to be part of the taglist! If you want to request any stories just reach out x

[seongseanholic]

Mm, have you seen Smiley? AHN KEONHO X FEM!READER

pure fluff ahn keonho x fem!reader smiley keonho non!idol au use of word ‘baby’ kissing tip of nose 492 words

a/n: I tried out a new format, I’m not sure if I should stick with it. Let me know if you like it! Thanks for reading x

____________________________________

Keonho was known for his smile.

It was toothy, wide and contagious. Very contagious.

In class, when you were already cracking up at something ridiculous, you would make the mistake of looking to your right. Only to be met with the most diabolical grin on his face. It always landed you in trouble, as you would burst out laughing in the worst moments!

However, there were times when his smile wasn’t so taxing on you. People always said that he would always smile at you, even when you weren’t looking. Despite you being the quieter one out of you two, you weren’t exempt from letting out small airy laughs at his wide smile. It was beautiful. A ray of sun capable of fixing anything.

You could recall the several times that you had had a day that had been quite rough. Your mood would always be brightened with a tiny nudge to your arm and a smile with tiny crinkles around the edges of his eyes.

Today was your weekly date night. He showed up with a new, fresh bouquet of your favourite flowers, your favourite snacks and of course, his smile. “Hey baby.”, you mumbled into his shoulder, as you pulled him into a warm hug.

“Heyyyy,” he dragged out. The toll of the long school week showing itself. “I’ve missed you.”

“You just saw me a couple hours ago,”, you laughed softly.

Walking over to the couch, you both settled into the plush material. Your head resting on his shoulder, and his arm loosely wrapped around yours. You had persuaded him into watching Mean Girls for the evening, which took a lot of convincing:

“Wanna watch anything in particular?”

“Nah, you pick. Anything is good,”

Anything is good you say?

You scrolled down about to click on the film when-

“No.”

“But babyyy-”

“We are not watching Mean Girls.”

“But Keonho you said we could watch anything,” a small frown had settled between your eyebrows

“This is the third time in a row that we’ve watched this film. I know the script better than Lindsay Lohan herself.”

“This will be the last time, I promise.”

“…Fine.”

As the film progressed, you relaxed further into his embrace. His soft scent of cotton and something that smelt just like him clouded you. You loved hanging out with your boyfriend.

Unexpectedly, you felt his gaze on you. Turning your head slowly, you were met with his soft gaze and an even softer smile.

“What are you looking at? You know it’s not nice to stare,”

“You are beautiful.”, a warmth spread across your face. He couldn’t just say that!

His smile wasn’t his usual toothy one. It was the soft, endearing one, reserved for only you. He looked at you like you hung not just the stars, but the silky fabric of the night they lay on.

“You are beautiful.”, you whispered softly before kissing the tip of his nose.

What a smile.

____________________________________

taglist: @wouldntyuliketoknowweatherboy, @faayzeswords, @nanamyberry, @mitsubal0ver, @eunjjx, @kienhawon, @inadazeee

Thank you for reading! Let me know if you want to be part of the taglist! If you want to request any stories just reach out x

[seongseanholic]

I’MA SING FOR YOU - OT5!CORTIS X FEM!READER

PAIRING: OT5!CORTIS x fem!reader

SYNOPSIS: Stories inspired by the member’s favourite artists!

WORD COUNT: 1.7K (1,724 words)

WARNINGS: slight angst (martin), James speaking German, hands on waist (Seonghyeon), Keonho being mischievous (as always), use of the word ‘babe’ (Keonho)

(This is inspired by @wouldntyuliketoknowweatherboy’s comment idea, so all credit goes to this wonderful person! Love you loads xx)

CREDITS: @wouldntyuliketoknowweatherboy

________________________________________________

MARTIN EDWARDS (박우주) - Am I Dreaming [A$AP Rocky]

He was never home. Never when you were awake to be honest. He would tiptoe in at an hour that shadows snoozed at and would leave before the Sun stretched out its rays. You knew what came with this job but you couldn’t help but feel this way. So you had to address it.

The rain pattered on the window, the clouds a sulky grey. It was well past your bedtime but you were going to talk to Martin. Tonight.

A couple minutes later, he shuffled in quietly through the door, placing his shoes neatly before stepping into the living room. He lazily rubbed his eyes but the sight of you made him pause. “Hey. What are you doing up so late?”, he quietly said, his voice laced with sleep.

A sudden sense of guilt overcame you. You knew how hard he worked and how tired he was lately. Maybe you could leave it for another time. But something urged you to get your words out. “I was waiting for you. I wanted to talk.”, you whispered lightly.

His eyes widened at your words. He really didn’t want to lose you. You seemed to be the only person keeping him grounded, even if he wasn’t seeing you as often now. “You are barely here with me. You know I love you but this is getting really hard for me.”, you choked out.

Martin felt sick. You couldn’t possibly be breaking up with him. He needed you more than ever whether you knew it or not.

“I’m so so torn right now. For some reason I can’t find it in myself to just walk away.” tears were clouding your vision, your shoulders shaking as quiet sobs left you. Martin hated to see you cry, especially when he was the reason. He carefully walked over to you, before gently placing you in his warm embrace.

“I’m so sorry.”, he mumbled into your hair. “Sorry that I didn’t notice you were hurting.”

You were properly sobbing now. Burying your head into his chest.

“I promise, no matter how crazy my schedule is, there will always be you time. You keep me sane in times like these, I wouldn’t be living if I didn’t have you by my side.”

And so he held you, comforting you and making you feel loved.

 I can’t find it in myself to walk away

 _______________________________________________

 ZHAO YUFAN (자우 위판) - Girls and Boys [Blur]

It was your second anniversary. You were currently getting ready at your vanity as your boyfriend, James walked back on forth, stealing not-so-slick glances at you.

“You look really pretty.”. He said it like a fact. A warm feeling settled within you. “It reminds me of the first day we met.”

Like a film reel, you cast back your memory to the day you met James. He had been a blurting mess the day he met you, and that’s what made you remember him and want to get to know him. You had just finished a tutorial with your professor, who seemed to find a personal distaste in all the points you included in your essay. Needing something to boost your mood, you headed to your favourite cafe.

As you walked in, you spotted your best friend at a table, so you walked over. You called your friend’s name and she turned her head at the sound.

“Oh, hey! How was your tutorial?”, she asked. That was the key to the floodgates. You started ranting about it, without truly noticing another person sat at the table.

As soon as you realised, you froze. Your best friend caught wind of it and opened her mouth to introduce you.

Who was this guy? If you had known that your best friend was meeting up with this guy, you wouldn’t have even bothered going to your tutorial today.

As you fully turned to look at him, he suddenly blurted-

“Du bist sehr schön.”

You tilted your head in confusion. What?

In a scramble to save himself, he awkwardly said, “I’m so sorry, that was really random.”

A small, airy chuckle left you. He was oddly refreshing and a little awkward. That energy was what drew you in to him and led you to where you are in your relationship.

  Du bist sehr schön, we haven’t been introduced——————————————————————————

 KIM JUHOON (김주혼) - Superpowers [Daniel Caesar]

You are his superpower.

In Juhoon’s eyes you always found a way to fix problems. Whether that be a failed recipe turned into something new and unique, your shirt tearing and you turning it into something off of Paris Fashion Week or even being a calming space for Juhoon when things got a little too loud.

Juhoon dragged his feet in through the door, shoulders slumped, eyes barely open and a soul begging for a break. He had just finished another gruelling practice and all he wanted was your embrace.

You got up from your spot on the couch, a smile already settling on your face. “Juhoon!”, you called softly.

The weight of the world that Juhoon always seemed to be carrying lifted off his shoulders. He stumbled into your warm embrace, tucking his head into your neck.

“Long day?”, you mumbled, fingers carding through his hair. A grumble left him in return, too tired to form a proper sentence.

You led him to the couch, where his head now rested on your shoulder, his hand intertwined with yours. You knew that in times like these all he needed was comfort. You were ready to give. Always ever-giving. That worried Juhoon sometimes. How readily you were to tend to something no matter how much you needed to be cared for.

“You know you are doing great, right? You just keep on improving and improving and I am so proud of you.”, you whispered.

You had to be a mind reader. All that had been bothering Juhoon were the evil, taunting thoughts of not being good enough. Your words relaxed him. You definitely have superpowers.

Oh you got power, superpower

 _____________________________________________

 EOM SEONGHYEON (엄성현) - butterflies [Brent Faiyaz]

Today you were set to go on a date with your boyfriend, Seonghyeon. He wanted to show you all of his spots in town, his favourite açai shop, thrift store and record shop. You dressed as the polar opposite of Seonghyeon, but he loved your style.

As you weaved through the busy town streets, you pushed open the door to the açai shop. There you saw your boyfriend with one earphone in, standing against the wall. As soon as he saw you, his eyes lit up. He pushed off of the wall and walked up to you. “Hey, I’ve missed you.”, he said gently, pulling you into a hug. You giggled from his affection.

“I’ve missed you so much too. Ready to show me around town?”

“So ready. By the time today is done, you will know all the best parts of this town. But first up, açai!”

Seonghyeon loved açai. You were so excited to see whether it was worth the hype or not. As he ordered for the both of you (he was a regular and ofc he knows best about açai), you took a good look at his side profile. His sharp nose contrasting the soft look in his eyes. He is so beautiful. As if he could sense your stare, he slightly turned to look at you. In shyness you quickly turned your head away.

As you ate your açai, you hooked your arm with his as you talked about everything.

“But what makes breakfast, breakfast?”

“I’m guessing it’s ‘cause of the type of food.”

“But Hyeonie, I think we’ve got it all wrong. Meals are a social construct.”

“Whatever you say babe.”

You browsed in a thrift store, buying clothes for each other. “Hyeonie, that’s enough clothes to last me a lifetime and an afterlife. I don’t need any more!”

“Let me spoil you, plus they all look good on you.”

Seonghyeon has never once made you feel bad about yourself. His caring nature always made you his priority. You made your last stop at a record shop. It was only you and him in there, the lights above casting a warm, saturated glow. As you browsed through the vinyl section, you felt Seonghyeon’s presence. You turned out of curiosity, surprised to see a tinge of red on his ears.

He carefully shifted towards you, interlocking your hands together. “What’s up, Hyeonie?”

That name. It sounded so smooth when it came from you. He felt like he had go say it now. He fully faced you and pulled you closer, his hands laying lightly on your waist. He whispered so light that you almost missed it:

“Maybe it’s a little bit rushed, but I’m falling in love with you. No, I am in love with you.”

His confession knocked the air out of you. You gently placed your hands on his broad shoulders and whispered back:

“I love you too.”

Maybe it’s a little bit rushed, but I’m falling in love 

________________________________________________

 AHN KEONHO (안건후) - Don’t Look Back In Anger [Oasis]

Your boyfriend, Keonho had an odd way of showing his affection for you: teasing.

Today you were baking your infamous cookies for James, who had been begging to try them. Keonho, becoming restless after not having your attention for more than 5 minutes got up to go irritate you. As you carefully weighed out the flour, you felt the mischievous presence of your boyfriend.

“Ahn Keonho. What do you want?”

“Nothing much. Missing you though.” He calmly said, hugging you from behind.

You relaxed into his touch, closing your eyes in comfort. He always gave the best hugs. You had been a bit tense lately, trying to balance all sorts of things, you really needed his comfort. But Keonho was ready to sprinkle a little chaos in that too.

Taking a small amount of flour, he tossed it up into the air, creating a small cloud of dust. “KEONHO!”

“Look, babe, it’s snowing!”

You couldn’t help but laugh at his antics. You couldn’t even be upset. He had brightened up your day and when you looked back at this day, it wouldn’t be in anger

Don’t look back in anger, I heard you say 

________________________________________________ taglist: @wouldntyuliketoknowweatherboy, @faayzeswords, @nanamyberry, @mitsubal0ver, @eunjjx, @kienhawon, @inadazeee

Let me know if you want to be part of the taglist! I also take requests for stories x

[loserloveremployee]

SECOND PLACE SYNDROME.

in which; for three years, Y/N L/N has lived with one unbearable truth: no matter how hard she works, Eom Seonghyeon is always one step ahead of her.

one point higher. one rank above.

at the university, the rivalry between the two top students is practically campus legend. everyone expects them to hate each other. but when they’re unexpectedly paired together for the university’s prestigious senior thesis symposium, Y/N is forced into close proximity with the one person she’s spent years trying to beat.

sometimes, the line between hatred and love is only one point apart.

genre; academic rivals to lovers, pining (ig?)

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

the first hypothesis.

the second hypothesis.

[seongseanholic]

I love this series so much that I just have to share it with you guys! Go take a look at @loserloveremployee’s works and show some love 💕

As a Seonghyeon biased coer I feel so happy reading this x

[seongseanholic]

1-800-HOT-N-FUN, THAT'S MY NUMBER, HIT MY LINE - KIM JUHOON X FEM!READER

PAIRING: non-idol!Kim Juhoon x non-idolfem!reader

SYNOPSIS: In which you, the reader, boldly confesses your feelings to your crush at the party of the year. 

WORD COUNT: 1.4K (1,426 words)

WARNINGS: Loud party, crazy behaviour, bold reader, chill Juhoon (but downbad), other CORTIS members mentioned, Keonho being a menace, Seonghyeon can’t keep his lips sealed (neither can his twin)

This story is inspired by the song ‘1-800-hot-n-fun’ by LE SSERAFIM. It draws inspiration from the vibes and fun chaos of the song!

NOW PLAYING: ’1-800-hot-n-fun’ by LE SSERAFIM

——————————————————

The bass shook the walls of the house, the floor electrified by those dancing on it, cheering from those watching the party games and unimaginable amounts of people scattered across all the floors of the house. This was the party of the year.

You had been looking forward to this day. You had been meaning to use the beautiful outfit that had never seen the light of day since you bought it, as you were waiting for the ‘right moment’. Well tonight was just that. You and your friend group were ready to stun, and you were ready to see a certain someone who goes by the name of Kim Juhoon.

In your eyes, Juhoon was just the guy for you. He was kind, smart, not overly boisterous and respectful. What more could you ask for? He was your current seat partner in your English class and you had never read and focused so much in the subject just in the hopes of holding a conversation about literature. Talk about coming out of your comfort zone.

Stepping into the house, arms linked with gone best friend you scanned the room, looking for the host of the party. The host was a girl you sat with in Biology for a term, and she threw the best parties.

As you wandered further into the house, all eyes seemed to lock onto you. People stopped their conversations, some stopping halfway through drinking and others shamelessly gawked.

Walking into the kitchen, you met two familiar faces. Seonghyeon and Martin. They are in the same friend group as Juhoon, each respectively calm and amusingly loud. You walked up to them in the hopes of entertaining yourself at the party.

“Wow.”, Martin gasped. “You look stunning.” His words, slow and light as he looked in awe.

Seonghyeon turned and paused at the sight of you.

“Damn. Juhoon might flip at the sight of this outfit.”, he mumbled. Unfortunately not quite enough. Your ears picked up on the sound of your crush’s name immediately, ready to interrogate Seonghyeon.

“What was that you said?”, you questioned. Voice light and slightly accusatory in the hopes of getting an answer.

“Nothing!”, both of them said at the same time, scrambling to cover up Seonghyeon’s blunder. This lit a fire under you to find Juhoon, you were so ready to confess.

You bid your goodbye to the two boys quickly, now with another mission on your hand. Turning into the hallway, you walked straight into someone. Hastily apologising, you realised you had bumped into Ahn Keonho. The person who always showed up at the right time to tease. You see, Keonho knew a little secret of yours, and he hadn’t stopped dangling it over your head since the day he found out. In true Keonho fashion.

____________________ Crickets chirped, golden rays streamed into the art room, the air laying thick and warm. A sigh left your lips, paintbrush in your hand, no strokes painted on your canvas since you sat down. Your mind was racing. Your best friend sat with a bored expression that read ‘I’ve heard it all before’. You were currently rambling about your interaction in English with Juhoon.

“Bro. I’ve never locked in so hard in poetry before. That anthology hates to see my annotations coming now. You know why? Becauseeeee I’ve been blessed with such a fabulous partner that I struggle to act normal around because he just so perfect.” You say, without taking a breath in between.

“I’m sure everyone knows you have a crush on Juhoon.”, your best friend replied, closing her eyes and tilting her head back.

“Wouldn’t life actually be sunshine and rainbows if we got together?”, now resting your chin in your paint-stained palm.

“I’m sure it would, wouldn’t it?”, a cutting, teasing voice filled the air. You recognised it immediately. Ahn Keonho. His presence always untimely, especially when spilling your heart out to your best friend.

Your eyes widened in fear. Scrambling to your feet and smoothing your skirt down, you quickly tried to save yourself.

“Oh, that was just a joke… yeah? Please, please do not tell Juhoon or any other soul, I beg.” You exclaimed.

“Your secret’s safe with me. There is a condition though. Nothing is free nowadays.” he replied, his Cheshire like grin plastered across his face.

You weren’t above begging in a situation like this.

“Name your price.”

“Whatever food I want, you pay, non-negotiable.”

And that’s how you’ve been funding Keonho’s feeding habits for a year now. His kimbap cravings in the summer and his bungeoppang feasts in the winter. You had to keep this up till you confessed to Juhoon. It is safe to say your pockets have been ran dry.

____________________

“Look who it is!”, Keonho said, smiling (he permanently had one on his face) “Didn’t expect to see you here tonight. Looking for a certain someone?”

Your brows furrowed in frustration.

“You’ve kept your end of the deal, right. I’ll tell Juhoon when I’m ready-,”

“Tell me what?”

This had to be a joke. Behind Keonho, Juhoon casually dragged his feet towards the pair of you. His eyes narrowed by an inch in suspicion. Keonho didn’t want to stick around to see this go down. “Tell me how it goes.”, he whispered low enough for only you to hear. You glared in return. Keonho owed you his life savings for this.

As Keonho slipped out of the hallway quietly, it remained you and Juhoon. “Is something up? You need to tell me something?”

“Um.. well.” This was your chance. Being a coward wouldn’t get you anywhere, so you had to show some some confidence.

“I think you are a really cool person and I wouldn’t love to get to know you better outside the classroom. You got your phone on you?”

Juhoon was stunned. He reached for his phone in his pocket, eyes never leaving yours until he unlocked it.

You gently grabbed it from him, adding your phone number and adding your name as a contact. You held the phone up to him before placing it in his palm.

“That’s my number. If you feel the same, call me.” You said gently before turning on your heel.

Juhoon’s mouth was agape. Truth is he’d been waiting for the perfect chance to get your number. Your boldness impossibly made him like you more. Oh he will definitely hit your line.

Turning the corner out of the hallway, you let out a shaky breath. Your hands were clammy and a blush had settled on your cheeks. As you blinked rapidly to register what had just happened, you heard your name being called.

There stood Martin, Seonghyeon and Keonho all with curiosity on their faces. You walked towards them and were hit by a ton of questions at once.

“What did he say?”

“Are you gonna go on a date? Let me pick the outfit.”

“He didn’t reject you, right?”

“Okay, okay one at a time.” you giggled. “I gave him my number and told him that if he feels the same way I do, he should hit me up.”

An impressed look adorned their faces, so you did have game! When you had grown sick and tired of their bickering and loud conversations you decided to go home and call it a night. As you settled in after washing up, your phone buzzed on your nightstand.

Confused, you picked up the phone.

“Hello?”, you said.

“Hey…hi. It’s me. Juhoon.”, he awkwardly replied.

As if he was in the room with you, you smoothed down your hair by instinct.

“Juhoon, hi.”, the words leaving you as a whisper.

“I know it’s late, like really late,” he chuckled. You glanced at the clock. Damn it was 2am.

“Buttt I was wondering if you are down to go out with me today.”

“Are you asking me out on a date?”, you teased.

“Yeah I am.” His boldness surprising you and him. “So will you go on a date with me?”

“Yes, I will.”, you were surprised by your composure. You really wanted to scream in joy at the top of your lungs! “I’ll see you later, then?”

“Yeah, see you. Send me your address and I’ll pick you up.”

Did you mention that Juhoon is a respectful gentleman?

“Oh and also, I really liked your outfit.”, he speedily said.

“Thank you, Juhoon.” You smiled. “I loved yours too.”

“Sleep well.”

“You too.”

As you snuggled into your bed, an irresistible smile spread across your face. You had won.

____________________ taglist: @wouldntyuliketoknowweatherboy, @faayzeswords, @nanamyberry, @mitsubal0ver, @eunjjx, @kienhawon, @inadazeee

Let me know if you would like to be part of the taglist!

[seongseanholic]

BANGER WITH THE RHYTHM, DANCE TO THE BEAT - EOM SEONGHYEON X FEM!READER

PAIRING: idol!Eom Seonghyeon x fem-idol!reader

SYNOPSIS: In which you, main dancer of a new 5th gen group take the breath of Eom Seonghyeon at a music show, and, surprisingly, he doesn't fumble his chances with you.

WORD COUNT: 0.9k (916 words)

WARNINGS: Seonghyeon not being shy for once, CORTIS cringing at his rizz, reader is an insane dancer, casual CORTIS chaos and dramatics

(This story was voted for from the poll! x)

This story is inspired by Seonghyeon in the latest Spotify interview and by the song, DYNAMITE by Tyla and Wizkid! Defo would recommend!

NOW PLAYING: DYNAMITE - Tyla, Wizkid

______________________________________

Today was the Inkigayo show day. A big stage, another REDRED performance, another sense of familiarity.

Seonghyeon was dressed in a tight white PT9 tee, black tracksuit bottoms, a blue tracksuit jacket, and hair styled to be casual and lazy. He'd performed this song countless of times in the past week, nothing to worry about, right? Surely nothing could disrupt his focus, not when he was actually feeling excited to be on stage.

Outside the CORTIS green room, stood Keonho, Martin and Seonghyeon. Keonho and Martin were currently fangirling on Juhoon's EOMFREAK challenge whilst Seonghyeon looked like he would rather be somewhere else.

"He got that tongue impression down, though." Keonho said, with a grin stretching across his face as he used this conversation as a platform to tease his twin.

"I think Twinski did it the best.", Martin said proudly, as if he was Juhoon himself.

Seonghyeon piped up lazily in the hopes to diffuse the teasing conversations about his facial expressions that were being brought up like whack-a-moles.

"I don't even do it like that. When was the last time I stuck out my tongue on stage?", Seonghyeon mumbled.

Keonho and Martin deadpanned.

"Bro. You literally did it yesterday.", Martin said flatly.

"Not even. I saw him five minutes ago practicing in the mirror!", Keonho yelled.

Seonghyeon's ears flamed a reddish-pink colour.

"Martin hyung, look! His ears are redred!"

Seonghyeon wanted to slap Keonho. The relentless teasing wasn't helping his ear situation and the colour had even spread to his cheeks.

"At least he's on theme for today!", Martin cackled.

Before Seonghyeon could weakly dish out a reply, their manager popped their head out from around the corner.

"Guys, you've got your first take in 15. Let's go get you mic'd up."

The three boys sighed loudly, but dragged their feet towards backstage.

_________________________

As they were getting their mics attached, a newly-debuted girl group was finishing their 2nd take. Seonghyeon knew this group! His little sister wouldn't stop going on about their main dancer's dance break or something.

Out of pure curiosity, Seonghyeon shuffled towards the screen that showed the current stage. He was just in time to see the dance break. That girl in the centre was killing it. Her body control, her moves sharp and smooth, a banger with the rhythm. Her soul was dancing to the beat.

"Wow." Seonghyeon whispered in awe.

The others turned their heads at this. They all made their way to the screen, curious to see what had left their member starstrucked.

"Her control is insane.", James piped up.

"She’s got a good sense of rhythm.", Juhoon agreed.

Keonho saw this as a chance to tease.

"You should go talk to her after." He suggested to Seonghyeon, wiggling his eyebrows in glee.

Seonghyeon still in his daze, nodded.

"Yeah...Yeah I should."

All the others were shocked. They all turned to meet each other's eyes, eager to see how this exchange would go down.

____________________________

You had just finished your stage. Your fans screaming, confetti floating about and your ending fairy causing more cheers to erupt. The fans had done the fanchant perfectly and the dance break was up to your standards. All you really wanted was to sit in a dark corner with some japchae. You made a mental note to nag your manager for food.

Coming down the steps of the stairs, you began removing your in-ears, thanking staff, receiving tissues for the sweat trickling down your neck and hyping up your members. It was your last week of promotions and it couldn't have gone better than this.

As you looked further, you met eyes with a person you had been seeing everywhere lately. Eom Seonghyeon. You had watched all of his fancams. All of them.

CORTIS were getting ready to shoot their first take, so out of politeness you and your group went up to greet them.

Before you could get any words of greeting, a whirlwind of sentences attacked you.

"YOU ARE NOW MY BIAS!", Keonho shrieked.

"How long have you been dancing for?", James questioned with genuine curiosity and awe.

"I really liked your dance style." Juhoon calmly said.

"You are so so COOL!!!!" , Martin yelled (plus some screaming on the side)

Seonghyeon stood frozen at the sight of you. You were even more beautiful up close.

You didn't know where to even start. You and your members laughed politely at their antics. Bowing in greeting, you introducing your group members behind you and yourself.

Light conversation followed but your eyes kept on straying to one person in particular. Seonghyeon.

As they were called up to the stage, your members wished them luck and began filing back to the green room. You really wanted to talk to Seonghyeon but maybe it would have to wait for another time.

As the other CORTIS members went up the stairs, Seonghyeon built up his courage. He called your name, which sounded so sweet to your ears, prompting you to turn around.

"During our break later," he paused. "Come out for a sec."

You almost folded right there and then. THE Eom Seonghyeon was asking to meet up after your stage??! You would be mad to say no. So you agreed and wished him luck for his stage, a mad blush settling on your cheeks and ears.

As he turned back around, he was met with the sight of his members bent in different ways, an artistic representation of agony from what they had just witnessed. Martin and Keonho immediately got to mocking him, whilst Juhoon and James wore sour expressions on their faces.

Their two takes went perfectly, and Seonghyeon couldn't for the life of him, stop smiling at the thought of you.

_______________________________________

Taglist:

@wouldntyuliketoknowweatherboy, @faayzeswords, @nanamyberry, @mitsubal0ver, @eunjjx, @loserloveremployee, @kienhawon

let me know if you would like to be a part of the taglist! x

[seongseanholic]

Who should I write for next?

Martin

James

Juhoon

Keonho

Seonghyeon

OT5 story

Voting ended onMay 10

[seongseanholic]

Pole Results:

Juhoon and Seonghyeon are tied for first place!

Over this week, I'll be writing for both of them x

The others will still get stories (do not fear) but Juhoon and Seonghyeon get priority :)

I have a Seonghyeon series lined up to be started soon but I want to start series for the others too.

Thank you all for voting, and thank you to my mutuals @wouldntyuliketoknowweatherboy and @faayzeswords

[seongseanholic]

Requests!

Hey guys!! Just as a reminder I do take requests AS LONG as they follow my blog rules and are within the guidelines I’ve set for myself and for the comfort and safety of others. That can be found as the first post on my blog.

If you want to request any stories, DM me or use the ‘ask me anything’ system, I’m cool with everything 💗

Tyyyyy x

[seongseanholic]

OOH, SIENNA - CORTIS X FEM!READER

OT5!cortis x fem!reader

SYNOPSIS: A line for each member of the song ‘Sienna by The Marías’ representing your relationship with them.

NOW PLAYING: Sienna - The Marías

WORD COUNT: 927 words

(All the other members are under the keep reading tab!)

MARTIN EDWARDS PARK - 빅우주

Be sensitive like you...

Your day couldn't get worse than this. A banging headache that no pain medication could fix. A soaked through outfit from the raging storm outside and a million assignments lined up cruelly by your teachers. You were having a bad day, a terrible one.

Drying your shoes on the welcome mat, you haphazardly kicked them off. You were too tired to place them properly. The living room lights were dimmed and the warm, welcoming smell of orange filled the air.

Stumbling into the living room, you were met with the sight of your boyfriend, Martin.

"Hey, you. Long day?", he asked.

You chose rather not to reply with words but by collapsing into his warm embrace with a huff. You needed this. A person who would sensitise with how you were feeling. There was no better person who got you except from him.

This was home. _____________________________

ZHAO YUFAN - 지우위판

Run around like you...

You had dropped by the CORTIS practice room in the evening after a gruelling university lecture that started at 9AM. All you wanted was warm hugs and reassuring words from your boyfriend.

Sliding into the room quietly, you dropped your bag in the corner of the room. Maybe you should've come round another time.

Keonho was currently whacking his twin, Seonghyeon, with a towel as Body by Don Toliver blast from the speakers. Martin was hopping around screaming, Juhoon laying on the floor rag dolled, and your boyfriend, sat in a chair in the middle of the room, staring into space.

You weren't sure he had noticed your presence so you walked up to him.

"Yuyu, everything ok?"

The sound of your voice prompted him to spin around, life filling his face again.

"Hey, baby, I missed you." he mumbled, burying hid face in your stomach, seemingly too lazy to get up.

You two stood there for a couple minutes, enjoying your peace. When the troublesome maknae decided you had had enough.

"Noona! You're IT!", he yelled before sprinting off. All the members scattered like seeds on a field, your boyfriend included.

Your first target was him. Sprinting towards him with your hands outstretched, everyone began to run. Laughter and screams filled the air but the best thing was seeing your boyfriend run around, having fun. Shedding the responsibility of being the eldest.

It made you happy. _____________________________

KIM JUHOON - 김주훈

Sing to all your pets...

The summer sun lazily settled, allowing golden rays to bleed through the blinds. You were in your boyfriend's house, arms and legs sprawled out like a starfish on a scorching beach.

You tilted your head to the right slowly. There he stood with his little turtle, Choco, in his hands. He had just fed the turtle and now seemed to be singing a lullaby.

His soft voice filled the air with warmth and comfort, causing your eyes to feel a little heavy. You were sure Choco would be retreating back into his shell at the soft bedtime song.

Who knew singing to pets could sound so beautiful. _____________________________

EOM SEONGHYEON - 엄성현

With a temper like you...

One of your favourite pass times is teasing your boyfriend, Seonghyeon. He easily becomes grumpy and sulky which, unlucky for him, was the cutest thing ever.

You both had your backs pressed against the sofa, pillows underneath you as you both stared straight into the TV screen. It was game night. Today's game was Mario Kart. A game both you and Seonghyeon took way too seriously.

"Yaa! Move out the way, Hyeon! You are blocking my view."

"Try better next time!"

It seemed that today, Seonghyeon was getting cocky. What other job did you have as a girlfriend than to keep him humble? So, using some of your dirtiest Mario Kart tricks, involving those pesky bananas, you managed to win the race.

To your joy, Seonghyeon already had a pout settling on his face. How cute!

"Again. I want a rematch.", he huffed.

All you could do was giggle at his behaviour.

"Don't laugh! You cheated!", he sulked.

"Alright, alright! We can have a rematch. But don't cry when I win again ok?"

Your princess had quite the temper! _____________________________

AHN KEONHO - 안건호

Jumping in the pool…

The LA sun beamed down intensely. Screams and laughter echoed in the backyard.

You step out to see the commotion: Martin yanking Seonghyeon’s arm in an attempt to push him into the pool whilst the later stood and did nothing to fight back, Juhoon’s legs wobbling at the sight of the water, James holding a small black camera and Keonho- wait where was he?

You walked closer to the edge of the pool in the hopes of finding him. Where on earth did he go? That bundle of explosive energy was quite hard to miss.

As you were about to open your mouth to yell for him, you felt two large hands on your back pushing you with force. Your face met the surface of the water with a cartoonish smack. You were going to kill him.

As you came up for air, you locked eyes with your grinning boyfriend who adorned an innocent look on his face. Before you could cuss him out, he cannonballed into the pool, splashing everyone nearby.

As his head popped out of the water, he shook it like a drenched puppy. He was grinning at you. And you couldn’t help but smile back at him. He really needed to stop jumping in the pool tho.