#2billion

[999999999999999999999999999]

gazillion,,, 9 times

and 2 billion

i am working on requests sorry frowning face emoji

[remrse]

before his parents left, they made sure to remind him to stay out of trouble. said something along the lines of “not embarrassing them this year”, and “he should know better now that he’s 26”, and they’re right—he should.

but he’s friends with won. that alone is the perfect recipe for disaster.

he knows his parents hate it when he hangs around him, but they say nothing in consideration of his late aunt. (mom was not the biggest fan of the family she was marrying into but no one could tell that woman what to do with her life. it’s why she was jaerim’s favourite aunt.)

to be fair, even jaerim was not the biggest fan of her marriage. didn’t like the guy’s son (read: won), didn’t think his family was good for her. but he has said marriage to thank for the development of his friendship with won. he wouldn’t be caught dead telling the fella he loves him but he would (and has) cleaned up after him several times now. this means puke, blood, piss—whatever you can think of, he’s done it.

and he’s getting the inkling that he might have to do it again soon, if he doesn’t get to that bottle of wine before won does.

...he doesn’t. (he never does. it’s quite a feat how fast won is, even in a state of stupor.) he sighs, willing himself to look away, as if it wasn’t happening if he didn’t see it for himself. his attention gets stolen right away, by the fireworks blasting into the sky, lighting the dark canvas up each time it pierces through the clouds.

jaerim lets himself get distracted by the fireworks, mindlessly watching them burst into the sky like fountains of glitter, each sparkle dissipating into the midnight sky like cotton candy in water. odd, how something that had commanded so much attention could just fade away like that. he detaches himself from his environment, drowning out every bang and crackle of the fireworks; every chatter and laughter from the crowd of people near them.

in some ways, it felt therapeutic; to be at peace amidst the noise, to disappear into the crowd and be part of the audience watching something bigger, shinier. to even for a mere second, not have to worry about people watching his every move and defining him for it.

the temporary distraction did not last. a commotion begins not too far from him and that was when he realised his mistake—taking his eyes off won. he peels them away from the sky and searches his vicinity, only to find his friend standing atop a table, dangerously swaying with the bottle he never should've let him get a hold of.

jaerim rushes to the crime scene and climbs onto the table, using all his might to safely bring his friend down. he offers apologetic smiles to the people standing around the table, whose wine glasses had gotten knocked over by won's fancy shoes, muttering quick apologies to every scowling face. it didn't take long for them to get back on safe ground (he likes to believe he's an expert at dealing with intoxicated won now), but it felt long enough, with everyone shooting death stares their way.

he tugs his friend by the collar of his jacket, whispering sternly in his ear, "i thought we said we'll act like adults this year." he turns to offer someone yet another apologetic smile before turning back to his staggering friend, whispering through gritted teeth, "how much did you do?"

HABITUAL ft. @2billion

[newslink7com]

Trump Freezes $2.2 Billion in Harvard Funding After DEI Showdown: “No Government Can Dictate Us,” University Fires Back

Harvard rejected demands to eliminate DEI programs, screen foreign students, and enforce political diversity. Hours later, the Trump administration halted billions in federal grants and contracts.

👉 Read the full story at NewsLink7.com

[acridcandy]

* only love ( will make us ache ) ⏤ featuring @2billion

"so i promise i'm not doing this on purpose. or maybe i am? subconsciously, or whatever? anyway, i'm not ready," the woman announces when won arrives at her doorstep, pulling him through the threshold with both hands on his forearm and and somewhat of an apologetic grin. "i couldn't finish my makeup because i ran out of foundation so i had someone get some more for me because like, i'm not going out with a half-done face? ew?" a grimace displays on her expression before releasing him to do as he pleases, aera then making her way over to her vanity to continue, "and it took a while because it's la prairie so it's not easy to find down here, but like ... they didn't have a choice. i'm not leaving without it. duh. but yeah, i shouldn't be too much longer though."

because it seems that aera's life happens within a series of patterns, she should have taken more caution to make sure this didn't happen again ⏤ this being the situation of showing absent at another party as they were fully consumed by their conversation. it was hard to resist at the benefit when her intuition picked up on won's tormented state; it was hidden from others underneath boyish smiles and natural charm, but as someone that's been by his side since playground days, she knew better. to say that she enjoyed hearing about her friend's pain would have been far too cruel even for her ⏤ but it causes her to wonder if the sense of warmth that fills her chest throughout is wrong; the gratefulness that someone else is going through a rough patch and the kinship of understanding, to tend to each other's wounds.

their relationship has always been truer than most, but she still doesn't take moments like those for granted. now more than ever.

hands use her makeup brush to contour her face with expertise, so much so that her gaze is upon won within the mirror's view, studying his body language, nature. "i ⏤ shit, didn't you say that you wanted to pregame or something? was that you?" lips purse in half-baked thought, but there isn't a increase in pace of her hands. it's not much longer before she's pops one brush back in its place and swoops out another for blush, preparing it, "but are you okay though? like seriously. i know we essentially had a therapy session at the benefit and probably owe each other money for the emotional labor and stuff, but ... you still don't look one hundred percent, you know." and there's a pause to show that aera means what she says ( as if she ever hasn't with him ), "you're not running on low battery mode anymore at least, so ... say seventy percent now? maybe?"