“Are you kidding me?! You’re in a coma for three months, I composed songs about you, I put a ring on it, and all you’ve got to say to me is that I picked the wrong vase for those type of flowers?!”
The rest of the night consisted of her giggling while he ranted and vented about wanting a refund and how he was going to choke her with the cords keeping her alive or smothering her with one of the pillows on the bed. But she just winked and blew him kisses in a cheeky fashion.
Life wasn’t all bad. In fact…..it was kind of like……living in……
Utopia.
“Yah. What are you doing out of bed?”
Sungmin had went down to the kitchen located on the ground floor of the elegant French Chateau to collect lunch from the cooks; insisting that he give the butler and maid a break so that they could eat lunch as well. It wasn’t that BoA made them work themselves into the ground, but he just felt awkward having people wait on him hand and foot.
However, once he was back on the upper floor and balancing the shiny silver tray with one hand and opening the huge wooden doors with the other, he could see the tiny woman standing in front of her windows that would lead out to the balcony. All the cords now detached from her body with the heart monitor obviously flat lining. Even though he could clearly see she was okay, that eerie flat line still made his blood run cold.
A soft whine of defiance tore him from his unpleasant thoughts and he soon found himself face to face with a pouting queen. Well she wasn’t literally a queen but from what he had read on the internet, she might as well have been royalty. Paving the way for today’s Korean pop artists. She had truly been through a lot in her lifetime. Starting her journey to fame at the ripe age of 13. It was incredible to think about. He was standing in front of a legend.
“Yah. Don’t give me that look. Hop back in bed so we can have lunch. We’ll deal with the cords later.”
“But Sungminnie, I’m tired of being in that bed. Can’t we eat on the balcony or something?”
“BoA noona, you just woke up from a three month coma. You need rest.”
“That was three weeks ago, Minnie. You can’t keep using that line forever.”
A sigh of defeat filled the room and a girly giggle soon followed.
“Fine. Where do you want to have lunch?”
“The patio out back!”
“Yah. Are you trying to get me in trouble? What if the butler and maid find out I’ve snuck you out of your room, huh?”
“I’m already going to be in trouble when they have to hook everything back up. So it can’t get any worse. Speaking of hooking things back up, let’s get out of here. The heart monitor is driving me nuts.”
Instead of granting her the wish of getting out of the room, Sungmin set the tray on the nearby dresser before walking over to the bed and swiftly turning the equipment off. A soft sigh of relief escaped them both once the annoying beep stopped. With that done, he walked back over and instead of picking the tray back up, he did something that was extremely surprising.
He took his hoodie off. The hoodie that he never takes off. Well maybe to shower but that didn’t count. BoA watched with confusion and amazement as he carefully slipped the warm garment over her head and helped guide her arms through the sleeves. It smelled like him too. Feeling the heat rising in her face, she stuttered out a response,
“Wh-What? Huh? Sungminnie? Why did you do that? You never take this off.”
“All you’re wearing are your pajamas and they’re thin and short sleeved. The last thing you need is to catch a cold. The weather is still pretty chilly despite the sun being out. You need to keep warm. Here---Hold onto me while you slide into your slippers.”
Still feeling the blush on her face, she simply nodded and gently gripped his upper arm for support while she carefully slid her feet into her house slippers that were warm and full of memory foam. She blushed deeper when she felt his muscles moving and flexing under her fingers. Had he been working out? Nah. That didn’t seem like something he’d do. But it wouldn’t be the first time he surprised her.
She was almost surprised to see he was wearing a long sleeved shirt. There was always that constant wonder of what he’d look like if she ever saw him wearing a t-shirt instead. Not wanting to cause him any pain, she didn’t lean on him for very long. However, he gently tugged her close once more and explained softly with a shy smile,
“They’re all scabbing over. So it doesn’t hurt and you can lean on me if you can’t walk on your own.”
The tiny kpop queen felt her eyebrows rising as her eyes widened in surprise as she asked just as much,
“No new ones?”
“No new ones. So that means you have to try and eat all your lunch for me, okay?”
“Deal! Now let’s sneak out of here.”
“Why is it that I’m always sneaking you out of places and into places you don’t belong, hmm?”
“Because you love me, of course.”
While BoA carefully opened the doors and slowly peaked out into the hallway to make sure the coast was clear, Sungmin stood there feeling his own face warm up in a blush. Of course he knew the woman was just teasing him......or was she? Her one hand was gripping the door and he could see the shiny promise ring he had put on her hand.
Sure it wasn’t a romantic gesture at the time. In fact, he had kind of threatened her; telling her that she wasn’t allowed to die. They were a package deal. Partners in crime. Speaking of, he felt like they were about to commit their latest crime and he couldn’t help but feel the corners of his lips turn upward. Quickly grabbing the silver tray with their lunch, he asked timidly,
“All clear?”
“All clear. Let’s move.”
“Do we get code names yet?”
“Oh my god, did you seriously just ask me that, Minnie?”
“Are we seriously sneaking around your own home?”
“Good point. We’ll discuss code names over lunch. But personally I think Stupid Face would work just fine for you.”
The male had went from grinning in victory, to pouting in defiance. He was never going to escape that nickname. However, he wasn’t going to let her have the last jab.
“Oh yeah? Well I think High Maintenance would be a great one for you. Or maybe Short Stuff.”
“I will not hesitate to flip that tray right into your stupid face.”
“And just what do you two think you’re doing?”
Both the tiny woman and young male let out a yell of surprise and Sungmin nearly dropped the tray from the shock of their sudden visitor. There stood with his arms folded and eyebrow raised in amusement was the butler. His smile reflected said amusement while he eyed the two up and down. If there was ever a guilty expression, it was all over their faces.
“Uuuhhh.....We uuuhhhh.......Hi?”
“I want to eat outside at the back patio. I made Sungmin take me. It’s not his fault we’re out here. It’s mine.”
“Child, child. Relax. I’m not here to scold you. Although you might get an earful from the wife later.”
He chuckled softly as he watched the two visibly relax only to tense back up again. Everyone knew about the sweet old maid and her motherly temper. However, the butler held out his arm and said smoothly,
“I’ll escort you both to the back patio. Hold onto me, your majesty. The poor boy has his hands full with the tray.”
Soon enough, the butler had safely guided the two to the backyard where they could have their afternoon lunch. The sun was shining and warming things up, but the light breeze caused things to still be a bit chilly. The queen was grateful for the hoodie as she watched the young man slicing the fresh loaf of bread and even buttering the slices for her.
“I’m not handicapped, Sungminnie.”
“I know. But can’t I just take care of you?”
They both weren’t sure where that question came from but they looked up at each other with nearly identical blushes. Their eyes just as nearly identical. Both showing a dark and broken past full of pain and sorrow. The vulnerability was almost suffocating. Swallowing hard, the young male cleared his throat and added,
“Let’s eat before the food gets too cold, yeah?”
“Ye-Yeah. Good idea.”
They ate mostly in silence but that was mostly because they were too busy eating. BoA had to take her time and she couldn’t help but notice Sungmin going just as slow; probably to make her feel less guilty. It was hard battling anorexia. But there was something about this time around that made it a lot easier. Her eyes caught the shine of her ring and she smiled while suddenly saying,
“You really did do a good job picking out the ring......It’s really pretty. And I’ll do my best to keep my end of the promise.”
“Same here. I’ll do my best to keep moving forward.”
They shared a small smile before going back to eating. The tiny queen had managed to eat all of her lunch so long as she had went slow. They remained out back as they watched the birds fly around the gardens and taking breaks to bath in the elegant bird bath near the rose bushes. Sungmin had to admit, the gardens were beautiful and he was shocked to see so many flowers blooming already.
After lunch, the butler had came back to retrieve them but the queen wasn’t done with her freedom from the bed yet. Even news of the sheets having been changed wasn’t enough to convince her. No. She wanted one more thing before she would crawl back into the annoying bed.
“Play your songs for me.”
“What?”
“The songs you composed while I was in the coma, I want to hear them.”
How many times had he blushed today? He honestly lost count. But there Sungmin stood staring down at a pouting and puppy eyed BoA as she tried to sway him into giving her what she wanted. However......was there ever a time when he had truly denied her? Was there any denying her? Probably not. Sighing in defeat for the second time that day, he finally agreed.
Soon after, the young male found himself in one of the cozier rooms of the house and sat perched in front of the grand white piano; his fingers swiftly gliding across the pearly white keys as he played song after song for her. The songs that were about her.
He would occasionally glance over and he couldn’t help but smile in amusement as every time he did, the queen was slipping further and further into dreamland as her eyelids slowly became too heavy for her to keep up. She looked twice as small as she laid there half sitting up and half laying down in the large, oversized armchair.
He could get used to days like this. Never before had he expected to be living such a wonderful and pleasing life. Compared to the live he was living before.....
Because @grxnadxs deserves all things good and euphoric~
BoA & Haneul
“Red, I’m home. You’re officially off babysitting duty.”
“Good blazes. It’s about time you showed up. Small Fry is ten times the handful now that he’s walking and talking.”
BoA laughed softly while being handed the twin girls as the pirate had made them corny paper pirate hats for them to wear. She had no doubt that once all her little ones were old enough, the pirate lord would take them all a ride on her ‘special’ ship.
After setting the girls down in their cribs for their afternoon nap, she decided to try and find her son. It was normal for Red to lose the little boy who was becoming more and more like his mother every day. Energetic and mischievous. Wondering if maybe he wanted some cuddle time with his mama, the tiny queen ventured into her and her husband’s bedroom only to find something very interesting.
“Hi, mommy!”
“Taekwoonie----What are you wearing?”
BoA had walked in on her son rummaging around her husband’s dresser drawer that held all of his ties. Having picked out a flashy red one, the little boy had tried to wear it like a lady’s scarf. He was wearing his Iron Man t-shirt and dark dress jeans to go along with the tie.
“I’m gonna go to work with daddy tomorrow, mommy!”
“You are? Does daddy know about this?”
“Nope! I’m gonna surprise him!”
The tiny mother was now crouched down in front of her son smiling in amusement. She had no idea what caused her son to come up with such a plan but it was hilarious all the same. If it wasn’t for possibly embarrassing her son, she’d take a picture right here and now to show her husband. Deciding to figure out what was going on here, she asked casually,
“So why do you want to go to work with daddy tomorrow? Is Auntie Red no fun anymore?”
“Nope. Auntie Red is funny. I like her. But I heard daddy talking and I think he’s sad. And when daddy is sad, mommy is sad. And I don’t want mommy to be sad.”
Even though her son’s logic was a little winded, she had a pretty good idea what he was trying to say. The other night, her husband had confided in her once more how he feared he would have no heirs to his company. She had done her best to comfort him and reassure him but of course in the end, they would allow their children to do whatever they wish with their futures.
“Okay. Then let’s both surprise daddy in the morning, okay?”
“Okay! Roger that, mommy!”
The next morning, the two had cooked up a plan and when it was time for the businessman to come down and join his family for a quick breakfast, he nearly fell backwards out of the doorway to the kitchen when he saw the sight in front of him.
Standing side by side with each a lunch box in hand, were his son and his wife. His son donning that same red tie as yesterday which Haneul had briefly noticed went missing this morning. That same Iron Man t-shirt, but instead of the dressy jeans he had on yesterday, BoA opted for him to wear a pair of black dress pants she often had him wear for red carpet events. Oh, and the tie was tied correctly this time by BoA herself. He really did look like quite the proud son as he stood there with his matching Iron Man lunch box.
Meanwhile, the queen had resisted the urge to dress more.....risque and settled for a long pencil skirt and tucked in, conservative blouse. She was holding a Wonder Woman lunch box that their son had got her for Christmas last year. He had told her that he and his father both thought she was the real Wonder Woman and it nearly had her in tears that Christmas morning.
While the little boy was racing towards the car his dad would have normally been taking by himself, said father leaned over to his wife and asked in an utterly confused tone,
“Is he feeling okay?”
“Yep. As far as I know.”
Taekwoonie’s first day at ‘work’ was an amazing one. For everyone involved. The staff loved him. Some commenting about how they hadn’t seen him since he was a baby while the female staff cooed and swooned over him. Telling him that his Iron Man t-shirt was super handsome. Of course they were all old enough to be his mother but in his young mind, he was the real ladies man.
Back in his office, Haneul was trying to focus but his wife had other ideas. “Bo---I need to get this document filled out and you’re distracting me.”
“Babe I can’t help it. You’re so sexy when you’re concentrating.”
“Yah stop touching-----”
“Mommy! Daddy! Christine showed me how to use the copier!”
Haneul was thanking his lucky stars. One more move from his wife and he was going to lose all self restraint and that only spelled trouble. Smiling warmly at his son, he said happily, “That’s great, Tae! You’ll make a great business man someday!”
“Like you, daddy?”
It had him stopping in his thoughts. The words were lost on him as he sat there in his seat; staring in awe at his son. Did he really think of his father that way? A great business man? Clearing his throat and composing himself, he nodded and said happily,
“Here. Sit in the big seat. Check out the view from here.”
“Whoa! I can see everything! I can see our house!”
“Yep. I see the city every day. It’s really cool.”
“Can I come to work with you tomorrow too, daddy?”
And that was the queen’s cue to get another playfully naughty jab in there as she leaned on her husband’s shoulder and asked sweetly,
“Yes, daddy, can we come back again tomorrow?”
Good lord. These two were going to be the death of him.
Tiffany & Jin
“Babe, I’m home.”
“I’m in the kitchen.”
Jin slipped his shoes off as well as his coat and yes----It was now very plain to see, or rather smell, that the fairest doe was definitely in the kitchen. Curiosity getting the better of him, the male padded into the kitchen to see what was up.
This house. It was abandoned. Had been for years, perhaps even decades. So naturally it needed a lot of work. Tiffany took what money she had saved up and used it to buy supplies. It was then that the two of them went to work on fixing up the inside of the house but left the outside a mess. Why? So that no one would know they were squatters. Yes. They were squatters. But they were living the best lives of their lifetime.
“How’s my blogger babe?”
“Good. How’s my handsome private investigator? Crack that case you’ve been working on?”
It was perfect, really. Tiffany had taken the advice of her boyfriend and started up a blog where she shared her baking recipes and makeup tips. Of course she couldn’t give video tutorials for fear of being recognized but people still flocked to her blog. If only they knew they were fangirling over a girl they normally knew to hate and despise. It was bittersweet and yet felt like sweet revenge all at the same time.
Meanwhile, Jin wasn’t exactly on the police force anymore, but he was still getting to somewhat live the dream. After convincing his girlfriend that he could physically handle a gun again, he went and got a concealed carry and got his license to carry under his fake ID. The great thing about being in the police force, he knew all the tricks and knew how to avoid getting caught.
It wasn’t the white picket fence type of dream, but for them it felt just as fulfilling. They had jobs they loved, a roof over their head that had long paid for itself and its repairs, decent cars that they parked in the rundown attached garage. But now that things were falling into place, Jin had more.......domestic things on his mind lately.
“Dinner smells great but.......I want dessert first.”
“Jin. I have to watch the over. You don’t want the chicken to burn, do you?”
“No. But I’m more interested in this oven.”
She had been typing up an article for her blog when suddenly her fingers slipped on the keys and she nearly lost the whole page worth of work. Blushing heavily to where she could feel it on her neck and tips of her ears, she swallowed dryly and felt her boyfriend’s hands lovingly caressing her stomach.
“J---Jin---What are you talking about?”
“Oh come on, Tiff. You know what I’m saying. Let’s make a baby. I think it’s time.”
“But----”
She wiggled around in his hold so that he was no loner giving her a back hug. Instead they were now facing each other with the fairest doe’s eyes wide and full of worry and concern.
“But this is no life for a child. We’re still hiding from the world.”
“True. But we’re making it work. Think about it. People would have even lesser of a chance recognizing us if we had a child with us. And I’ve already thought about schooling. We can home school them. And we wouldn’t even need a babysitter because you already work from home. Think about it, babe. You know this can work. All you have to do is say yes. You’d look so adorable waddling around the house with our baby growing inside you.”
She had to admit, she wanted a family with him. But they weren’t even married yet. Sure she wasn’t a stickler for tradition but still. If she couldn’t have her original dream life, then she could at least have some of it. And being married was part of that. So like any couple would, she decided to compromise.
“Fine. I’ll give you a child if you give me a wedding ring.”
“Deal. I’ll fly us out tomorrow and BoA noona and Haneul can officiate our wedding.”
“You’ve been thinking about this.........I can tell.”
“Yep.”
Ivory & Taeyong
“I can’t believe we’re really here. In Paris. On our honeymoon.”
“I am just as surprised as you are, my love. Twas very generous of BoA to lend us her whole chateau for our honeymoon.”
The two pale immortals were sitting at the patio out on the balcony while sipping on some blood wine. Of course it paled in comparison to each other’s blood but it was nice for a change as well. Ivory would never forget that fateful night where her lover asked her to marry him right before she sunk her fangs and venom along with them into her lover’s bloodstream; successfully turning him into what she was. A vampire. A child of the night.
Of course she would marry him. She wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of her eternal life with him. And now she could. The wedding had been beautiful and perfect despite it being such a secret. Neither one of them had blood family so the only family that attended was the rest of the sisterhood along with their lovers. It was still a beautiful day all the same. Well......beautiful night.
“I had no idea Paris was so beautiful at night. I mean I had seen pictures in magazines that customers brought in but they aren’t anything like the real thing.”
“Indeed. BoA spoke of how breathtaking the sights are at night time.”
“I can’t wait to live the night life with you every night, Ivory. I really don’t think I’ll ever get tired of it.”
The pale royal smiled over at her husband and felt herself glow with happiness. Something told her she wouldn’t get tired of it either. This eternal adventure with her husband. Her soulmate. Her everything.
BoA & Sungmin
“Yah. Stop laughing, noona! It wasn’t that funny.”
“Aigoo. I can’t help it! I told you to be careful when getting out of the gondola.”
Soaked. They were absolutely soaked and smelled like fish but the tiny queen couldn’t help but laugh her royal butt off. Especially when a small fish had flapped and flopped his way out of the male’s hoodie. Well the hood of his hoodie. Giggling, she said in great amusement,
“Your hood makes a great fishing net.”
“Noonaaaaaa. Shush it!”
It had been her first ever gondola ride. Ever. And it was one she would never forget. And there was no one she would have rather spent it with. This boy----This young man......he......he had changed her life forever. But did he even realize it? Probably not. But still, she was grateful. So very grateful. There he stood in all his embarrassed glory trying to ring out the water from his precious hoodie that he refused to toss for a new one.
They had taken the ride and it was perfect. They got to see all kinds of cool things about Venice since she had stated that Paris was getting boring again. Not to mention she wanted to lend her sisterhood sister Ivory and her new husband Taeyong her vacation home for their honeymoon. It all worked out great.
Until it was time to get out of the boat to let a new customer take a ride. Of course she was pretty sure the young male was the only one who saw it as a bad thing but she had a blast splashing around in the water. She had told him to be careful but the male had lost his footing when the boat rocked a bit and down they went. Or rather over they went. Even the gondolier had a good attitude about it; offering them help to get out of the water despite the fact that he too had fallen in.
“Come on, fish boy, let’s get back to the hotel and get dried off.”
“Yah. I like stupid face better. Go back to that one. It’s less embarrassing.”
“How about fish face?”
“Noona!!”
“Okay okay.” She laughed so hard she had to wipe a tear from her eyes while she lead the way back to their hotel. They had the perfect view. But of course the queen had insisted only the best for them and she wasn’t going to settle for anything less.
Life was getting better. Easier. Progress was slow but progress was progress no matter how small. She was slowly but surely gaining proper weight and getting good reports from her doctor in Paris. It felt like it was getting easier to breathe with every nod of approval her doctor gave her.
Not to mention she felt herself getting closer and closer with the male walking next to her. She wasn’t sure if he was doing better himself but if his change in attitude was anything to go by, she could only hope he too was improving. Since when had he become ten times more handsome than when they first met? She had no idea but it made her heart flutter.
Hatshepsut & Aedon
“Look. Are you sure this is a good idea? What if those god guys find out you’re doing this?”
“Those fools are stuck acting like musical nerds traveling from city to city. There’s no way they can weasel their way out of performing their musical duties and tracking us down.”
In other words, the Egyptian gods masquerading around as VIXX were currently stuck on tour in Japan. Little did they know that their punishment for the spoiled brat of a pharaoh may soon be coming to an end.
Egypt. She was going back home. Or at least what was a modern version of her home. And boy did it look different. This was definitely not what she was expecting. Buildings that were similar to ones back in Seoul only not as grand as Korea’s. But she wasn’t interested in that part of Egypt. No. She was after a different building.
A pyramid.
Her pyramid.
Her tomb.
After her private jet landed at the airport, she rented a car for them to take before having to make the rest of the travel by camel. Of course this didn’t bother her any, but it was quite amusing to see the male struggle a bit. She had to admit, when Aedon insisted on coming with her, she couldn’t quite understand why and he wasn’t up for sharing. Just shrugging and claiming he was bored and needed something to do.
It had taken a lot of sleepless nights but she had finally managed to track down what she believed to be her tomb. Her final resting place. It was odd thinking of it that way. Being alive and all and planning on visiting what was essentially her grave. But she had to do this. She had to know who she was. She was tired of living under another pharaoh’s name. She wanted her real name back.
There it stood. The structure she knew to possibly be her tomb. It wasn’t as large as she had hoped it to be but beggars couldn’t be choosers, right? Stepping closer to the huge stone doors, she felt the male walking close behind her. He had remained oddly silent during this time. But soon enough, they were traveling deep into the tomb.
“Shi-----”
The male never got to finish his curse as torches suddenly came to life; lighting the latest room they walked into. There it stood.
Her sarcophagus.
During their adventure through the tomb, she had yet to find anything that might indicate what her name truly was. As part of their plan to try and make sure the queen couldn’t track down her origins, they had wiped any knowledge of her reading hieroglyphics. So in the quiet hours of the night, the woman had secretly been re-teaching herself her own alphabet. Now it was time to put it to use. Finally.
Rushing up to the casket, she started to shove at the lid when the male came rushing up behind her shouting in nervousness, “Hey! Wait wait! What are you doing?!”
“What does it look like??? I’m finding out who I am!”
“But----What if-----What if you’re in there?”
“That’s ridiculous. I can’t be in there because I’m standing right here in front of you. But there might be clues in here that tell me who I am.”
“Listen......Hatshepsut......I know you want to believe this is your tomb, but what if it’s not? And besides, who cares what your real name is? You’re a great amazing woman just the way you are. It doesn’t matter who you were back then. What matters is who you are now.”
For @grxnadxs
Mun’s Notes: I needed tissues before I could even continue finishing this freaking thing.
TRIGGER WARNINGS!!: Brief mention of self harm.
Sungmin knew better than anyone how unfair life could be. But this.....this was just.....well.....not fair.
He stood outside in the elegantly decorated hallway of the French Chateau. It had been three days and things weren’t looking up. In fact.....they were getting worse. His ‘partner in crime’ had fallen seriously ill upon arriving at her home away from home. Paris. At first it appeared she’d be okay. Just extremely weak and in need of some good food and rest. But three days later and Sungmin now found himself standing outside in the hallway listening to a maid sobbing her eyes out while her husband, the butler, tried to comfort his wife.
Life support. BoA Kwon was now on life support; fighting for her life.
Or was she?
After everyone had left the queen’s room, the doctor pulled the younger male to the side and gave him some words of advice.
“Even though she’s in a coma, they say the patient can still hear what’s going on around them. Talk to her. Have conversations with her. No one likes to be alone, even when they’re in a coma.”
Sungmin wasn’t sure what world the doctor lived in, but the younger male had no issues being alone. That’s for sure. However, the hoodie clad male had every intention of talking to the comatose female. He had a bone to pick with her.
After everyone had moved downstairs for tea and to discuss the affairs of the kpop queen, the young man walked into her bedroom and closed the door behind him. Honestly, he didn’t really understand why they were getting her affairs in order because she wasn’t dying.
Not if he had anything to say about it.
Huffing and puffing, he took the elegant chair that was perched in front of her humongous vanity mirror and dragged it over to her bedside where he flopped down and folded not only his arms, but he swung one leg over the other as well. Glaring at her frail form with the tube stuck between her lips...... She looked so small. Almost like a child rather than a young woman. But that didn’t make him any less miffed with her.
“Hypocrite.”
He had spat out the single word before continuing. Now that he was started, there was no stopping him.
“You’re a real hypocrite. You know that? Telling me on that stupid bus that I’m not allowed to die. So what the hell is this then, huh? I’m not allowed to die but you are? Leaving me here with all these strangers and not knowing how to speak a single drop of French. How do you say ‘screw you’ in French? Because those would be my first French words to your stupid face.”
Taking a deep breath to try and collect himself, he realized that he had kept all of that bottled up for the last three days. While it felt good to get it off his chest, he realized he was talking to a woman who was truly inching towards death.....what if her ghost came back to haunt him? Clearing his throat and thinking better about things, he added with another huff and puff of his chest,
“We’re a package deal. This whole not dying thing goes both ways. If I’m not allowed to die then you aren’t either. Got it? So you just need to open your eyes. Besides, you’re scaring the hell out of your folks downstairs. And this whole tube down your throat thing is really freaking me out.”
He wasn’t sure why, but half of him expected her to really, actually wake up. To start choking on the tube so that he could rip it from her mouth and allow her to breathe on her own. But.....that image never came true. The tiny queen of kpop just continued to lay there motionless; relying on a tube to keep her alive.
That night, Sungmin locked himself up in his bathroom in the room just next to the queen’s and went to town on his body with the razor blade.
Nothing changes, but it gets easier as the days go by. After the night in the bathroom, the only time Sungmin uses a razor blade is to shave in the mornings. He feels pretty much like a moocher with how he’s just making himself at home in the queen’s Chateau.
But then again.....she really had kept her promise. It was bittersweet to think about. Once upon a time, not all that long ago, the young man had nearly accused her of bamboozling him into helping her with nothing in return. But here he was; living in what was basically a French castle.
Two weeks have passed since BoA was put on life support. While some of her numbers were improving, she still wasn’t strong enough. Her brain activity was still sketchy but the staff in the Chateau were staying hopeful despite having funeral arrangements already made. Which kind of ticked Sungmin off. She wasn’t dying.
He refused. He forbid it.
“Here. I got you these.”
It was one beautiful afternoon, honestly. The sun was shining. Some of the staff had suggested that perhaps by opening the curtains, the sun might shine through the queen’s room and the sun might revive her. It was foolish but the maids and butlers of the Chateau were desperate. So there the curtains were pulled back and sunlight flooded the huge bedroom.
Walking to the foot of her bed where there was a table full of get well soon items, Sungmin scooted over a box of the most expensive chocolates money could buy and set down a large vase full of flowers along with some water to give them some continuous life. Sitting back down in that same cursed chair as before, he was a lot more relaxed this time but he still didn’t look all that happy with her.
“Still not gonna wake up, huh? Tsh. Typical woman. You females are all so stubborn. I swear, if you die, I’m gonna die too just so I can freaking kick your ghostly butt. I ain’t gonna give you time to haunt me. I’ll haunt you first.”
Just like a child, he stuck his tongue out at her while huffing and folding his arms. While it was nice not having her talk back to him, there was a small sliver of him that wished she would. That her eyes would just open and glare daggers at him. And her mouth. That stupid tube would be pulled from her mouth so she could cuss him out. But alas, none of that happened. She just laid there. Lifeless as she was before two weeks ago.
That night, Sungmin fussed over the flowers in the vase trying to make them look perfect before heading to bed.
Things are really starting to change and the poor boy doesn’t know how to feel about it.
One morning, Sungmin was groggily padding into the tiny queen’s bedroom to check on her. It was something he had started doing every morning. Not sure why but he just felt the need to. Before even using the bathroom, he’d first climb out of bed and immediately walk down to the next room to check on her. Sounded ridiculous but he never claimed to be a genius.
He’d never forget how scary the sounds were. Opening the door, he was hit with sounds of her choking. Choking on the tube! Which meant she was finally breathing on her own! A mixture of different feelings washed over him as adrenaline rushed through his body, helping him to spring into action. His hands had shook so much when he was ripping the medical tape from her cheeks so that he could get the tube as far away from her mouth as possible.
“BoA! You’re awake! Boy are you in trouble, girl. I don’t----”
But his rush of.....happiness? Whatever he was feeling was short lived. She may have been breathing on her own now, but she was still in a coma. It was like he had won the battle but lost the war all at the same time. His bunny-like smile instantly faded and he couldn’t......he couldn’t understand what this feeling was that settled heavy on his chest. Was that......disappointment he felt? He just stared at her as she laid there; her tiny chest now rising and falling on it’s own.
That same night, Sungmin had grabbed his favorite blade but instead of locking himself in his bathroom, he threw the thing in the trash. Instead, he walked down to the first floor of the Chateau where there laid a grand piano. Black as the ace of spades. He wondered if the queen even knew how to play. Probably. From what he had gathered from the chatty staff, she was truly a jack of all trades. She could do anything because she was BoA Kwon.
The days that followed, he began to compose. Song after song. The staff would even sometimes stop what they were doing so that they could listen. The melodies were so strong that they could be heard throughout the whole place. Whenever he wasn’t spending time with the woman upstairs, he’d be downstairs fabricating song upon song. His muse?
The woman upstairs.
And now a month and a half later, he’s made it a religious habit to swap out the old flowers with fresh ones. Whenever one bouquet would start to wilt, he’d go out, have the driver send him into town, and he’d pick up a fresh bouquet of the same flowers. No other bouquet would do. It had to be the same one each time.
The queen’s health was improving slowly but surely. The IV was still providing her with nutrients needed to survive, but she still wasn’t truly living. Not yet. But Sungmin still wasn’t giving up. She still wasn’t allowed to die. Just because it wouldn’t be fair. At least that’s what he kept telling himself.
“I’m hurt. Here I am making all these songs and you haven’t commented on a single one. Don’t come crawling to me begging to use one on an album cause I’ll say no.”
He was sitting there pouting like a child. Typical for him these days when speaking to her. It was odd.....Even though she wasn’t awake and able to talk back, it still seemed like all they did was bicker. But.....it was nice. Talking to her even though she couldn’t respond was.....Oddly comforting? It made no sense to him but he just went with it.
Sungmin had never been one for touching. Skin-to-skin contact and skinship were not in his vocabulary after everything that had happened to him in his short lifetime. However, over the span of a month and a half, the boy has been.....itching? Was that the right word? There’s been this urge to hold her hand. Which was stupid because tsh, why would he want to hold her hand? That was stupid.......Right?
Before he knew what was happening, he was reaching out and carefully----as if she might break into a million pieces if he wasn’t careful enough----took her hand in his. A small frown fell on his face when he felt how cold her fingers were. But he knew she wasn’t dead because the heart monitor said so.
That night, the boy fell asleep with his head resting on the side of the queen’s bed; her hand still safely tucked into his own warm one. The sound of the beeping heart monitor telling him she was still alive being his lullaby.
The boy was growing into a routine. A routine that he was surprisingly okay with. One that he could, dare he say, live with.
Every morning he’d go check on her like usual. Once he saw the rising and falling of her chest and the strong beeping of the heart monitor, he’d use that as his cue to get ready for the day. His day would then proceed with more composing; asking the staff for opinions from time to time whenever he wasn’t feeling one hundred percent confident in a string of lyrics or a score of musical notes.
Then he’d check on her before lunch. Talk to her a little. Bickering of course. Always bickering. Telling her she needed to bath because she was starting to smell ripe or she needed to do something with her hair. Something like that. Still in a coma, but it was getting easier to talk to her. To tease her. To.....hold her hand. One night, he even got the guts to press his lips to the back of her hand before wishing her a good night. But not before teasingly wishing her bad dreams of him twerking in her face.
He still changed her flowers whenever they needed it. Having now thrown the stale boxes of expensive chocolates out and trading them for.....well......a book. A book full of all the songs he had been composing. Some of her balloons were falling flat too. It had been three months after all. So he decided today he’d make a trip into town with the butler and maid. The two had become like a mother and father to him and they treated him like their son in return. The rest of the staff felt like his aunts and uncles, honestly. And.....it felt really.......nice. Yeah. It felt nice.
“I’ll go pick out some fresh balloons for our little phoenix. You boys go find us a good spot of lunch, okay?”
“Okay, darling. Call if you need us.”
However, the moment the two males were alone, Sungmin swallowed the lump in his throat and turned to the butler who had practically become his father figure. Seeing the look on the younger’s face, the butler said in a questioning tone, “Yes, Sungmin?”
“Sir.......would you........help me with something? It’s for BoA noona.”
He didn’t usually call the woman noona but since he was speaking to the man who was practically a father figure to her as well, he felt the need to make himself look good by using the honorific. He was relieved to see the butler nod his head in agreement despite how curious and confused he looked. Smiling brightly, Sungmin nodded curtly and said happily, “Thanks, sir!”
It was an extremely awkward conversation at first, but it ended beautifully. And definitely in the boy’s favor. He had went into town that day a nervous wreck, but left it feeling relieved. In fact, he kind of felt like he was on top of the world. It was a high that he wasn’t familiar with but loved all the same. It was a healthy kind of high. One he could get addicted to.
Upon reaching the chateau, the young man nearly threw himself out of the car and was already running up the stone stairs to the front door two at a time. The maid who was carrying the fresh set of balloons looked from the boy in confusion, to her husband and asked,
“What’s gotten into him?”
The butler just smiled a knowing smile with a very puffed out chest full of pride.
“Oh you know young men these days, honey. Full of energy for no reason at all.”
Taking more stairs two at a time, Sungmin screeched to a halt just outside the queen’s door. It had been three months. Three long months of talking to someone who was and still is a complete stranger. And yet.....he felt so close to her now. Much closer than when he first met her the day she almost hit him with her car. And now? He could admit that he was glad she hadn’t hit him. As odd as that was to think about.
Opening the door, his heart was hammering. No change. But that was okay. He’d wait. He’s waited three months. He can keep waiting. However long it takes. Because again----
She’s not allowed to die.
“You’re mom’s got fresh balloons for you. But I um.......I wanted to see you first. So......here I am.”
Wiping his sweaty palms on his jeans, he closed the door behind him and locked it. Hopefully he could get this over with before the maid would come up with the balloons. This was something that he really didn’t want to get interrupted or disturbed. Not till he said what he had to say and do what he wanted to do.
Sitting down in the same chair he’d been sitting in for the past three months, he cleared his throat and placed his shaking, sweaty hands on his shaking knees. Eyeing her up and down, it calmed his frazzled mind a bit seeing how some color was coming back to her face. She was still breathing on her own too. No need for life support. The staff had been holding off on any further arrangements for her funeral and had called off the lawyers for her will to be completed. Hope was building within the house but they were still cautious.
“I see the maids trimmed your hair. Bout time. You were starting to look scraggly. And they cut your nails. Good. You don’t need claws either.”
He always had to get that jab in there. It wouldn’t be a typical conversation between the two of them if he didn’t. Looking down at her hands with her perfectly trimmed nails, he grew even more nervous; a lump forming in his throat. He could do this. He had to do this.
“I’ve been telling you this for days, weeks, even months. You’re not allowed to die. I keep telling you this. But since you don’t seem to be listening, I’m gonna have to use some drastic measures. You’re not the only one who can keep promises, little miss queenie businesswoman lady person.”
He’d never forget the day at the bus stop when she bout knocked his head off over being ‘accused’ of not keeping promises. She was certainly a woman of her word. But now it was his turn to make a promise. A promise that would hopefully keep his dignity intact without ruining his broody moody image.
“So I got you this ring, right? They call them promise rings. So the guy puts the ring on the girl’s hand and makes her a promise. It’s really cheesy and honestly it makes me gag but I’m making you a promise and you’re gonna help me keep it, got it?”
With a huff, he took out the little black box. Of course it was the classic crushed velvet box but it was nice all the same. Opening it up, he showed it to her and asked, “You like it?” Fully knowing he wouldn’t get a response, he let out a soft sputtering sound and added, “Of course not. You women are all the same. Can never be satisfied with anything you’re given.”
Taking her hand all the same, he took the ring in his other shaking and and gulped. He was really doing this. He was going to do this. He, the boy who had no heart and no will to live, was going to put a ring on a girl who had almost killed them both with her car. It was quite ironic. Life truly worked in strange and mysterious ways.
“I’m putting this ring on your finger and you’re gonna like it. I’ll super glue it to your finger so you can’t take it off. Now listen closely cause I’m only going to say this one more time. You’re not allowed to die. We’re a package deal. Partners in crime. If I’m not allowed to go, then you aren’t either. So you just need to stop being stubborn and open your eyes. Got it?”
There was a split second where he actually believed it would work. That all the talking and all the flowers and the songs composed....and the promise ring......he actually thought it might work. That he could believe the words of that stupid doctor all those months ago. But nothing changed. She still laid there motionless. The only difference now was that she wore a ring.
That night, Sungmin padded into the queen’s room and bout had a heart attack; shouting in surprise and nearly dropping the glass of water he had brought with him to water not only the flowers, but himself as well. Yes he liked water before bed.
Awake.
She was awake.
She was.........awake!
There she was, sitting up in bed like it was no big deal. Her one hand was carefully lifted as it still had the IV in her while her fingers carefully twisted and turned the shiny new ring on her finger of her other hand. A smile that was small but full of amusement. Looking up at him, she smiled wider and said casually,
“The ring’s nice. But you picked the wrong vase for those types of flowers.”
Silence.......
It was silent throughout the whole house. That was....till the boy snapped and flailed comically while complaining loud enough for the whole chateau to hear.
"Are you kidding me?! You're in a coma for three months, I composed songs about you, I put a ring on it, and all you've got to say to me is that I picked the wrong vase for those type of flowers?!"
The rest of the night consisted of her giggling while he ranted and vented about wanting a refund and how he was going to choke her with the cords keeping her alive or smothering her with one of the pillows on the bed. But she just winked and blew him kisses in a cheeky fashion.
Life wasn’t all bad. In fact.....it was kind of like......living in......
Out of all the possibilities that had played in the king’s mind, this was not one of them. He was pretty sure this was worse than when he fell from Heaven. Yeah. It had to be. His entire body ached. Even if it was a dull ache. But it was nothing compared to how much his heart hurt. This was why he wasn’t supposed to fall in love. Because love was weakness. And it was weakness that....well....no. That was a lie. It was a mess, honestly.
Flesh covered in both fresh and crusted over blood pressed against glass. Glass that was covered with his blood. Shards of that very same glass was embedded in his skin. His arms. His legs. Wherever there was exposed skin. And thanks to what she had done......no.......what they had done, there wasn’t much left of his clothing.
His wings. Dear god that was what hurt the most. Not the dull stinging of the glass in his skin, not even the ache in his chest where his heart was hurting. His wings. Feathers were gone. The look on her face when she had ordered them to pluck his wings. Granted not all the feathers were gone but he was surprised that there was as much left as there was.
His hair was a matted mess. From all the struggling. She......His weakness. His only weakness. Had trapped him in this glass prison. Honestly he had lost track of how many days it had been. Too long. Way too long. No matter how many days it had been. It was days too many. And with every passing day, he was focusing less and less on how to get out of here and more and more on how to get through to her.
But every time he tried, she’d pluck another feather. His punishment for being bad as she explained to him so sweetly. He hated seeing her like this. That smile that was once so beautiful was now becoming something he dreaded. Because whenever the princess....excuse him......whenever the queen would smile....it never spelled good news for him. But he never for a second stopped loving her. Because he knew better. He wasn’t fooled for a moment.
“Lucy. Have you been a good boy today?”
Killian. He missed hearing that name fall from her lips. How she would speak it with such endearment. It was her appropriate nickname and he was really starting to miss it. Hell, he didn’t even like it when she called him Lucifer. Let alone that god awful nickname. He looked up at her and placed a bloodied hand against the glass. His one good eye pleading with her while the other was hidden behind his hair.
“Princess. Please......”
“Now, Lucy. We have had this conversation before. How are you to address me?”
Her smoky makeup was thick and her black painted nails were long and sharp as she lifted a hand. Oh dear lord it was never good when she lifted that hand. That pretty hand that used to be so gentle while running soft fingers through his hair. And her face was a lot more natural looking when she wasn’t wearing all that heavy black makeup. She looked like......as bittersweet as it was.......the devil’s wife.
“My apologies, my queen.”
“Tis better. We would not want you losing your wings completely, now would we?”
“My queen. Boa. I know you can hear me. Please. They are controlling you. Poisoning you. You must stop them before they kill y----”
“Silence. I have had enough of your nonsense. I thought you had learned your lesson. But it would seem you have not. Guards!”
Here we go again. He hated this part. But he refused to stop fighting. He’d fight till he had no feathers left. Because that’s what love did to a person. No matter how strong or weak. It made you stupid. But he accepted that stupidity. He embraced it the day he finally embraced the fact that he was madly and deeply in love with a beautiful girl who never had a chance to really live. All she wanted was to rule a kingdom some day. To be good to her people. Sadly she was convinced that she finally had everything she wanted.
“Boa. It’s the poison. They drugged you before. Please. Does this look like what you wanted? Ruling a kingdom where you torture people for a living? That’s not you. You want to help people. To love them like family. You love me. Please. Don’t let them do this to us. I know you can hear me!”
He had shouted the last part even though he was struggling against the ‘guards’ hold. Please. Guards his feathery behind. They were the ones pulling the strings. Controlling his beautiful princess into thinking she was the one in control. When really she was just another puppet. Just the way they planned. If they made it out of this mess alive, he would make sure every single demon paid with a slow and painful death.
“No. Please. Princess. Don’t do it. Don’t---”
“Bad birdie.”
And that was when she had gripped a fistful of his feathers and tugged as hard as she could. More feathers lost. At this point there was no hiding or biting back his cries of pain. Yes. He was in immense pain at this point. If he didn’t break through to her soon, he wasn’t going to have any wings left. Even if feathers did eventually grow back for him. But it was a slow and painful process.
“I shall be back in an hour’s time. To see if you have learned your lesson. If you are a good boy, I might reward you.”
“Boa......Boa!! I know you can hear me! Fight them!”
But his words fell on deaf ears as she walked out with the guards chuckling behind her. It made him sick. Disgusted even. They were making a fool out of her and him both. But he didn’t care so much about him. It was her that he was more concerned with. Who knows what they were feeding her. Literally. It had to be whatever it was they were putting in her food and drink. The last time they drugged her, she almost forgot about him. Almost didn’t recognize him. He honestly wasn’t sure which was worse. Being tortured by her, or being forgotten by her.
And so he settled for trying to make himself comfortable in the tiny glass box. There really wasn’t enough room for him and his wings both but he made due. Speaking of, he could smell fresh blood and it caused him to grit his teeth. Panic started to settle in. What if he would never get through to her? What if this was his new life? Trapped in a glass house while the demons go and slowly but surly poison the one person he was actually capable of loving?
He was pretty sure more than just an hour had passed as he sat there in his new....home? His cage? However you wanted to look at it. But then again, being trapped like this tended to distort a concept of time. So perhaps only minutes had passed. Either way, he had finally just started to try and rest his mind and body when he heard footsteps. Muscles tensed up and he was on high alert as he moved to face his latest guest.
“Killian.........are you awake?”
Okay. He was dreaming. Yes. That was it. Had to be it. There was no way.....Could there?
“Killian? Are you.....dead?”
Yeah. Okay. Not dreaming. That was definitely her.
“Define dead.”
“Oh god! You are alive! Thank heavens!”
Despite how much pain he was in, a smile still found its way on his face. A giddy smile full of relief. It might have even actually numbed some of the aching pain he was in. The relief overpowering the pain. He could hear her tiny rushed footsteps as she quickly lit some torches to light his room up. Okay so she still had the heavy makeup on but there was a light in her eyes. A light he missed so much.
Two sets of hands pressed on either side of blood stained glass. One set smaller than the other. But made to fit like puzzle pieces. Her eyes bored into his one exposed eye as she tried to speak through the windows to her soul. He knew what she was saying. Words that didn’t have to be spoken. He was just glad she was okay. But he had some questions as she frantically tried to unlock his glass house.
“When did you break free?”
“.......A.....Um......Couple days ago....”
“Couple days ago!?! You’ve plucked more feathers since then!”
She cringed as he----was that a pout? Was the devil himself actually pouting? Yeah. Sure was. If the situation hadn’t been so dire, she would have cooed and petted his cheek and even kissed his pout. But sadly they were running low on time. It would only be mere minutes before the demons caught on. Sneaking off into the night to break him free was already risky enough.
“Only a few!”
“A few?! How many feathers do I even have left?”
“Um......a small handful?”
“What!?!”
“On each wing!”
“Princess!?!”
“They will grow back! Ugh! I cannot get this lock----Here.”
“Whoa whoa whoa. Wait! Watch it!”
He knew she wasn’t really that strong-willed yet. Her skin was still soft and her backbone just as soft. She was his adorable soft squishy princess who was kind and gentle and incapable of hurting anyone. So he could only imagine how scary this actually was for her. And naturally he knew she wasn’t prepared for what she was about to do.
Blowing one of the torches out and therefore dimming the existing light in the room, he watched her fling the now blown out torch right at the glass. Yep. That was going to sound some alarms. But oh well. It did the trick. Being as careful as he could be with his wings, he climbed out of the box and immediately wrapped her up in a hug. Of course she was careful to touch his back.
“I am so sorry about your wings, Killian. I did not want to. But it was the only way I could prove the potions were still working.”
“I understand, love. I understand. After all, they grow back, right?”
“Yeah. I did......There’s something we need to talk about, Bo.”
Bo? He had been calling her that more and more often lately. Not that she really disapproved. It was just....different. It was odd compared to what he started out calling her. It was always just ‘genie’. Because that’s what she was. A genie. But then he started calling her by her actual name. BoA. But then a couple months ago, he started just shorting it to Bo. It was actually kind of cute, really. Her lips twitched upward every time the nickname fell from his own lips.
Speaking of him, he wasn’t really all smiles. Which made her nervous. Oh man. What was going on? Had she done something wrong? Or was something wrong with him? He just seemed so....tense. So there she stood; ready and waiting for whatever it was he wanted to talk about. But instead of speaking right away, he took out a small slip of paper. It looked like an index card of sorts. She watched him take a deep breath before he started speaking.....Her eyes widening.
“Genie genie of the bottle, as my last wish, I----”
“Haneul, no!”
“make you mortal.”
“No! Stop! Wait!”
But it was too late. She watched as her gold jewelry all melted off her skin and disappeared into thin air. Her clothing was moving and transforming into something completely different. There was a brief moment she was blinded by the moving fabrics and suddenly everything was different. Blinking, she looked down at herself to realize.....
“You’re so beautiful, Bo....Just as I wished you’d be.”
Instead of her usual genie outfit, she was wearing a dress. A black sundress with painted roses in a pale peach color. He knew how much she loved roses. Himself? Well.....he looked like the classic genie. Bare chested, gold bangles covering his toned arms. He didn’t look too bad in black leather pants either. It was odd being barefoot, though.
But then he saw her crying. That beautiful woman that he somehow managed to fall so hard for was crying and no. That wasn’t an option. Only happiness would come from this. He’d see to it. So speaking in a soft voice, he cautiously stepped up to her and gently reached out to wipe her tears away while softly shushing her and guiding her over to the couch. She was in shock. It was obvious from how she just let him do whatever he wanted. Or was that still the genie mindset she had been stuck with for centuries?
“Hey hey. It’s okay, Bo. It’s okay. Here. Sit. Drink some water. Your face is so red. If you weren’t crying, I’d say it’s cute.”
He poured her a glass of water and handed it to her; watching her try to grip it with her shaking hands. He wanted to start explaining but she beat him to the punch.
“Why? Why did you do that? Now you’re stuck like this. I don’t understand. What about you? Your company? Your life?! You just threw it all away! For what?!”
“For you.”
The two softly spoken words caught her off guard and only confused her further. For her? Why would he do all of that for her? This made no sense at all. And it all showed in her expression and in her eyes. Especially her eyes. God she was so beautiful despite the puffy red eyes and the red blotches on her face. She was still just as beautiful to him. And it solidified his confidence in his decisions all the more.
“I did this for you. Because I love you.”
Oh man. This was a lot right now. This was a lot to take in and process. She woke up this morning a genie just going about her daily life with her master and now she.....She was a free woman being told that a man actually loved her? Someone loved her? Her master? This....was this some weird dream or something? She felt the rim of the glass touching her lips and she realized he was gently urging her to drink. There was a smile on his face but worry in his eyes. This was so foreign. To be.......Taken care of.
Instead of being the one taking care of everyone else.
After being convinced to take a few sips of the water, she set the glass down and stared at him. At a total loss for words. She had never been put in this position before in hall her years of being a genie. Sure there were several times where she had tried to trick her masters into saying those words but after a couple decades, she gave up. Her fate would to always be a genie and she had accepted it. But now.....she was free.....without any trickery. And an additional prize to boot.
“You.....You love me?”
“Yeah. I do. Or at least falling in love with you. You’re beautiful, funny, smart, and just......you’re perfect.”
He swallowed hard before pushing onward. He wasn’t done yet. There was a lot to be explained. Turning more towards her so that they were facing each other there on the couch, he took both of her hands in both of his and gave them a gentle loving squeeze before starting into his explanation.
“When I first met you, I was so selfish. The minute I truly believed your whole genie story, I immediately took advantage of you. I didn’t just use you, I feel like I abused you. I wouldn’t even man up enough to call you by your real name. I treated you like a credit card. Not a person. You’re this beautiful woman with so much knowledge and personality. You’ve been through so much. You’ve got to watch time pass as the world grows and develops. You’re the smartest most wisest woman I know. And that’s why......”
He paused before taking a deep breath and continuing.
“That’s why I’ve turned my company over to you. Everything is officially in your name now. The bank accounts, the shares, the staff, my car. This house. Everything is yours.”
“But Haneul----I don’t know the first thing about running---”
“I don’t expect you to run the business I was running.......I want to see you turn it into your own creation. Your passion. Bo.....”
It was his turn to start tearing up a bit as he fought to keep his voice strong and even. He hated how blurry she was getting because of his stupid tears. Rubbing them away in annoyance, he kept going.
“I want you to turn my company into something that’s just as beautiful as you are, Bo. I know you can do this. I’ve lived a good life. A fortunate one. You? You’ve been deprived of a real life for so long. You are so gorgeous and breathtaking and the world needs to see that. Not just me. But I’m warning you......I don’t share well.”
He chuckled and it put him more at ease to hear her soft giggles. Giggles were good. Much better than tears.
“So......what’s your first wish, beautiful? Your wish is my command.”
“In the name of the king and queen, you agree to sign your life away, mortal?”
“Yes, your majesties. I do.”
“Good. Because you have no choice.”
The pale royals chuckled and laughed to themselves while the peasant boy just stood there with his wrists shackled and an inked quill in one of his hands. About to sign a contract that would take away what little freedom he still had. Great. Well....it wasn’t like he had much left to lose at this point. He had no friends. No family. The king and queen had killed them all. Rumor had it, it was the work of their daughter. To help prepare her for war. Was he next? Was that what this was about? Great. Just great. He was about to die. With his signature on the parchment, it disappeared and he was suddenly being pushed in some direction.
“Surprise! Happy birthday, Ivory!”
What?
He was a---Wait what??? Blinking, the peasant named Taeyong stared back at ruby eyes which were filled with just as much confusion as his. Well at least he wasn’t the only one confused here. So this was the princess that all the villagers were scared to death of? She looked so small and innocent. He was so much taller than her. But he knew better than to think she was weak. No. This was the killing machine that the king and queen praised so much.
“We got you your very own slave. He will fulfill your every need. Sexual and otherwise. Do you like him?”
To Be Continued...
Tiffany & Jin
Enchanted
Steal from the rich and give to the poor. That’s what Jin did best. But not everyone knew him as Jin. To most, he was known as Robin Hood. Some say he got the title from always being so well hidden. Always wearing a hood whenever and wherever he decided to strike. He always had the element of surprise on his side. But this time, surprise would be turning the tables.
He was currently using a horse he had stolen, of course, as his means of a getaway. It was cloudy and pouring down rain. So it was pretty difficult to see. And out of nowhere, he was pretty sure the horse had collided with something. Whatever it was, it threw the thief off and flying onto the grassy off-the-beaten-path ground. Ouch. Major ouch. Groaning, he looked up to see that the royal guards had totally lost him. Ha! What luck!
Or so he thought.
There were noises. It sounded like an animal. Was it the horse? No. It didn’t sound like the horse. This was different. Pulling himself up off the ground, he looked at his hands and noticed....blood. Wiping his hands, he realized it wasn’t his. There was no fresh blood seeping from his skin. So that told him it wasn’t his. So then....who’s was it?
And that was when he noticed a trail. It was quickly being washed away but it was there. Hmm.....Should he follow? If it was an animal, it could be a free meal for dinner tonight. And who would he be to pass up a free meal. They say very few things are free in life. But not for a thief. For a thief, everything was free. And so he followed the trail. But what he found was the last thing he expected.
A woman. A fair maiden. Lying on the ground with quite the wound. The red stain on her dress growing.
Dear god. It was her. He hit her. That was it, wasn’t it?
But he could have sworn it looked like a doe when he hit.....
Whatever it was he hit.
To Be Continued...
BoA & Haneul
Bottled
“Are you serious? That’s your wish?”
“Hey hey. You’re job is to grant wishes. Not criticize me. Now give me a foot massage.”
The female rolled her eyes before biting the bullet and getting down on her knees. God this was so degrading. But she supposed she had granted worse wishes than this in her career as a genie. Making sure to glare at him the entire time, BoA began working her magic as she rubbed circles into the male’s foot. One foot at a time. Goodness. Well....at least his wishes had been fairly simple and easy. Just stupid, really.
Here she was, centuries old, now in the modern world in a luxurious apartment of some CEO named Haneul. How her bottle ended up in his possession was beyond her but she sure wish he’d put her back wherever he got her. This man was annoying as hell and honestly she had never carried out such pointless wishes. This guy probably had maids and butlers that could perform these wishes just as easily as she could.
“That’ll do for now, genie.”
“I have a name.”
“Yeah but I can’t remember it. So I’m gonna stick with genie. It’s easier for me.”
“You wouldn’t know what to do if life got difficult, would you?”
“Nope. Not when I have you to just wish all my troubles away.”
She narrowed her eyes and glared heavily at the male as he just sat there in his chair munching on a bowl of fruit. Oh how smug he looked. What she wouldn’t love to wipe that smirk off his face. But sadly she was stuck. Trapped. Shackled with invisible chains. Forever a prisoner. Always at the mercy of someone else. That was the Genie’s Curse. Forever trapped. Bottled up.
“There has to be a way. But......this is the only way I know how.....To be with Lucifer forever. So that I can remain as his queen.”
She stared down at the books on her bed. Well, their bed. It was the perfect opportunity to surprise him. He was out doing his devil business while he gave her specific orders to stay inside the castle. And thankfully she’d be able to keep her word to him. And hopefully a little more than that. Yes. This had to be it. This had to be the way to achieve their ultimate goal. To be king and queen forever. Not even death would keep them apart. If anything, death would be the key to their eternal life together.
Now to just spring the plan into action. She’d need her beakers and supplies. Not to mention she’d need some help from the.....staff. If that’s what she could call them. Honestly she was still getting used to them being around the place. Her automatic responses were to always defend herself ever since her first encounter with her king’s enemies.
After calling upon one of the loyal servants, she let them guide her to a lab that she was sure she wasn’t supposed to be in but she had convinced the servant that they were taking part in a great gift to the king himself. And that she would make sure this servant was rewarded appropriately for his valiant efforts in helping her. Sure it was probably somewhat of a white lie since she knew Lucifer would be angry with her for what she was about to do, but she saw no other way. It must be done. So that he wouldn’t have to worry about it anymore. Before she could grow any older. It was important for a queen to look just as good as her king.
“Here we go. Let us hope this works.”
And then she began filling beakers with various colored liquids. Some bubbling and some steaming. It was kind of scary since she hadn’t had much training in potion making. But as long as she followed the books, she was confident she could do this. It was kind of scary though. The idea of what she was about to do. The reality of it was still slowly sinking in. It was pretty obvious it hadn’t quite hit her yet. As in truly settled with her. Her mind was still so focused on reading the lines of the book. And making sure that each ingredient was exact. One ounce too many or too little of something and it was game over.
“Finally. Tis done. I have completed the potion!”
Smiling brightly, she stared down at her accomplishment and hummed happily with pride. Yes. She had done it. The potion that would be the solution to all their issues. The one thing keeping them apart would finally be done away with. And it was all her doing. Finally something that she could do for her king for a change. It felt like he was always handling all the issues. Taking on all the burdens. But now it was her turn. She was going to make everything okay once and for all. Thank goodness for that book she stumbled upon. It was like a sign or something.
But what she hadn’t banked on, was Lucifer himself showing up. The vial was in her hand and she was ready to drink it, when she watched the man she knew and loved as her king was rushing through the door to the lab. He looked like he was seeing a ghost as his eyes flickered between her face and the vial in her hand. He reached out in thin air and called out softly in a begging tone,
“Please. Princess. Don’t do this. You don’t have to do this.”
“But tis the only way. And soon we will be together forever. Just like we planned. King and queen forever. I promise you. All will be well. No more aging and no more worrying. I was finally able to do something to help.”
She smiled before adding happily,
“See you soon, my king.”
“Princess, no! Wait---”
But he wasn’t able to reach for the vial in time. She had already knocked it back and naturally the effects were almost instant. All the muscles in her body. The glass object slipped out of her hand and shattered into pieces all over the floor as she started to fall. Naturally it was easy for him to catch her. But he didn’t want any of the glass cutting her so he rushed her over to the opposite corner of the room.
“Princess. Hey. Princess. Look at me. Look at me. Stay with me.”
The king of hell could be cruel. He could show no mercy and have a heart of ice and a stare to match. But when it came to this stupid girl. This stupid stupid stupid girl. He just.....melted. All the ice melted away and the walls crumbled. Leaving a desperate man just trying to keep his love by his side. Why? Why did she have to do this? He watched as the life slowly left her. From her last breath to the light fading in her eyes. But what hurt the most, was that there had still been a ghost of a smile on her face as her body grew still in his arms.
And that was it. She was gone. He could already sense her presence having left his realm. And that could only mean one thing......This wasn’t some miracle potion she had found in a book just laying around his kingdom.......this was the work of......
Him.
Angels.
“Time to let her go, Lucy.”
The angel who had visited them not too long ago was now standing at the doorway of the lab. And much to the king of hell’s disgust, there was quite a smug smile on the angel’s face. Oh what joy Lucifer would have wiping that smirk off his brother’s face.
“You! You did this! You tricked her! You toyed with her head and her heart! You call yourself an angel?!”
“Now brother, I’m insulted. You dare accuse me of making this happen? The poor girl knew very well where she would end up should she decide to take her own life.”
“No! You planted that bloody book in our room! I could sense your filthy stench of an aura the second you entered my realm. But I didn’t think you’d stoop to this. You are no angel. You are no better than I am! Now give me her soul back! It belongs to her! Not you!”
“What’s done is done, Lucy. She made her choice.”
“She thought she was doing the right thing! She thought she was-----”
And it was then that the angel watched as the devil himself began to softly sob all over the woman he held cradled in his arms. His eyes. The odd looking eye included, they were staring down at the woman’s now blank face. He and her both shook as the sobs grew more and more out of hand. With his voice wavering, he began to speak as if he were talking to the princess as if she were still alive.
“You were just trying to help. All you wanted was to help others. You wanted to be a queen. A righteous queen who did right by her people. All you wanted was to lift the weight off my shoulders. But my queen....it was my burden to bare. Not yours. You didn’t have to do this for me. And now you’re gone. Please. Come back. Don’t let them win. Don’t let them take you away.”
“She belongs to us.”
“Stop it! She’s not some prize or a piece of property! She belongs to no one but herself! Now give her back!”
“Give her back!”
And suddenly the king found himself sitting up in bed drenched in sweat. Breathing heavy as he tried to get a sense of what was reality. Wait....had it all been.....a dream? But it seemed so vivid. So real. Was it a dream or not? Quickly looking over beside him, he nearly jumped and had to bite back a small shout when he saw his queen looking......so beautiful. So perfect.
Even when she was sleepy and rubbing her eyes and the drool from the corner of her mouth. Every little detail made her just as perfect as she always had been. She was alive. She was alive! Not dead! Not in the hands of his hypocritical brother and their father. No. She was back with him. Where she belonged. Where he knew she was happiest. As crazy as he called her for it. For some reason, she enjoyed being down here with him.
“Killian? You okay?”
Ah. That nickname. He used to hate it. But now it was like music to his ears. He just.....couldn’t bring himself to allow her to call him Lucifer. Because that’s not what he was when it came to her. No. He’d always be her stubborn Killian and that’s how he wanted it to stay.
“Tis actually a good thing we are both awake. I have been thinking of ways that we can break the curse of my aging. To stop my aging body and we can be together forever.”
“Please. Princess. Let me worry about that. Please. I beg of you.”
She was a bit surprised when she saw how strongly he reacted. Perhaps it was still just the effects of the nightmare he obviously had only moments ago. It was plain to see that he was still pretty shook up from it. His eyes full of fear and sadness. Desperation. Wow. That must have been an intense nightmare.
“Whatever you do, do not listen to anything you might read and do not go snooping around the castle. Understood?”
“Yes, my king. Are you truly alright?”
“Yes......I’m fine......Now let us resume our slumber. I will be treating you to a surprise in the morning.”
“A surprise? What kind of surprise?”
“Well now if I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise anymore now would it?”
📞[Don’t even ask LMAO eue];
🔑 [Because they will have a new place in the Jung’s house sooner or later. Sounded nice to add xD];
🎮
[Hyosung to Leo]
👕;
✂ [Why not? ewe ];
❔
For @hyohyorp
🔑 - Finding your muse locked out of their home
M U S E
BoA ( Storybook )
The kpop queen had been relaxing in the bath tub with her son and two unborn princesses, when she heard her phone going off. Oh boy. Who could that be? Was it business related? Was it one of her employees? Was there a catastrophe? Was it her husband just calling to see how she’s doing because he’s a cutie like that?
Adjusting her son so that he doesn’t go under water, she carefully reached for a towel to dry her hand and quickly answered her phone before it could stop ringing. She didn’t even give herself time to see who it was.
“Hello?”
“BoA? Honey? It’s Mrs. Jeon. I’m where with papa. We have a.....situation.”
Oh god. Oh god oh god oh god. Were they at the hospital? She didn’t sound scared. So they must be in some other kind of situation. Swallowing hard and trying to remember how to breathe, she asked hesitantly,
“What kind of situation? What’s wrong?”
“Well....you see.......we locked ourselves out of Hyosung’s and Leo’s house.”
The relief spread through her and she sighed towards the ceiling. Okay. She could handle that. That wasn’t a big deal. Looking down at her son who was trying to splash in the water, she gave herself a moment before saying more confidently,
“No worries, mama. I have a spare key. I can let you guys in.”
“Thank you, honey! We will be more careful next time.”
The queen smiled as she could hear the precious giggles of the woman she looked at as a mother figure. Sometimes those two adults were too much like young teenagers for their own good. But she was happy if they were happy.
