pairing: jaebum x (reader)
description: soft fluff and an ode to jaebum's bucket hats. submission for prompt #9 of challenging words. @challengingwords
word count: 260+
“Are you really wearing that?” You ask as Jaebum exits his apartment. You had thought that you had found all of his bucket hats and disposed of them. Somehow you managed to miss the construction cone orange one.
“It’s the only one I could find.” He shrugs, his hands tucked into his baggy gray pants.
“For good reason.” You huff. His face shrinks as he blinks at you. With a shake of your head, you push him aside and punch the code into his lock. “We are not going out with you wearing that. Don’t you have a cap or beanie? Even a fascinator with peacock feathers would be better.” The lock beeps, but Jaebum grabs your hand before you can open the door.
He pulls it close to his chest, trapping it between his palms. “We’re only going to the convenience store for snacks. Does my bucket hat really bother you that much?”
Yes? No? Concentrating while Jaebum is staring into your eyes and holding your hand so close to his chest that you can feel his heartbeat is really difficult. “What?”
He smiles, releasing a sigh of laughter. “Can we go? I’m hungry.”
With your thought and speech abilities still malfunctioning, you nod. He lowers your hand to his side but continues to hold it as the two of you head down the hall.
When you reach the street, you can think again. The orange bucket hat is atrocious, but you can handle it for now. However, once he takes it off, it will be finding a new home in the trash.
Hey, hello! There we have @challengingwords‘ prompts motivating me to write once again <3
Lately I’ve been feeling like I don’t have time for anything... the time just flies so fast, I can’t believe it’s february in like an hour;;
Also... NO DIGGITY SOTY
I can’t believe I have been listening to onewe for a few months now but only listened to some titles from oneus TT they’re so good, I’m afraid I might be obsessed. Are there any tomoons??
Anyways, I hope everyone has a great day/night wherever you are. Stay safe!
Pairing: Ravn x reader
Genre: established relationship, fluff (+ a tiny bit of angst I guess)
Words: 650
Warnings: none
You knocked twice on the wooden door of Youngjo's studio, holding a bag with a bottle of water and some snacks in your other hand. You had informed your boyfriend earlier that you'd come by, so when you didn't hear any response from the inside, you just walked in thinking that he probably just went to the bathroom.
Closing the door behind you, the first thing that your eyes landed on was the monitor right opposite the entry, showing a colorful screensaver. It was the only source of light in the room, so you switched on the lights before going further in.
It was your first time there, previously being only as close as waiting for Ravn by the building's entrance - you wouldn't probably even find the right door if it wasn't for the kind lady who showed you the way, so you studied the studio with curiosity.
It was rectangle-shaped and small but kept in neatness; you wondered if it would be the same if you hadn't preannounced your visit.
You took in the walls full of posters and photos as you ambled deeper, slowly making your way towards the desk on the very end. The table wasn't as tidy as the rest of the room, pens and scrunched pieces of paper sprawled around.
And an opened notebook.
The two visible pages were covered in sloppy writing and had many of the words crossed out. Even the margins had almost no clean space.
Before you could think twice about it, you started reading the messy notes. You'd never had an opportunity to partake of Youngjo's process of making music and was always put with the finished product like everyone else, so the temptation was too strong to resist.
From the first line, you were doubtless that it was a love song. You couldn't recognize the lyrics, so you thought it must have been something he was still working on and was yet to be released. The lines consisted mostly of beautifully written, poetical almost, descriptions of a person. Ravn included their every trait - from the top to the bottom, even digging deeper into their character.
But what struck you the most was that all those descriptions, although in your opinion were a bit magnified, matched you.
Before you got to the middle of the right page, your eyes filled with tears, blurring your sigh and making it impossible to read further.
When you covered your mouth with one palm and put the other one on the back of the chair to steady, a quiet squeak came from behind you.
"Y/n? What are you doing hereㅡ are you crying?" Youngjo made a bee-line to where you stood, automatically placing a hand on your shoulder as he worriedly scanned your figure.
He followed your gaze to the notebook he hadn't thought of closing before heading out, and his eyes widened as he realized.
"Iㅡ" uncovering your mouth, you swallowed to steady your tone. "I wasn't meant to find this, was I?"
Ravn sighed, yet his expression wasn't angry nor annoyed as you expected. He did seem a little taken down, but his face still had the usual softness to it.
"No, you weren't." He confirmed, moving his hand from your shoulder to place it gently on your cheek. "To be honest, I wanted to record it after I finished the lyrics and give it to you for your birthday."
Your sinus stung, and you felt another wave of tears coming up to your eyes, so you quickly wrapped your arms around him and pressed your face to the crook of his neck.
"I'm sorry..." you breathed. "I shouldn't have read it."
Youngjo returned the hold, patting the back of your head delicately.
"Don't be," he responded, placing a soft kiss on your hairline before lifting your head by your chin to look into your eyes. "Happy early birthday, love."
First off, Admin Sem and I had to go on sudden hiatus for a family emergency. I was certain I had posted here to mark this, however, it seems the post is missing.
All the same, whilst we’re both back now, we’re trying to consider what the best future is for Challenging Words (and for our own writing journey). We have prompts waiting, and monthly challenges to complete, but we have to address the elephant in the room - there hasn’t been a whole lot of interest in Challenging Words this year.
We are so grateful for all the support we’ve received and getting the pleasure of reading all your stories. Given Tumblr really messed us around with the tags visibility, and continues to do so, we’re unsure how many people want to keep writing for our prompts. We’re all too happy to continue them, but it does feel a little empty at times when I’m (Admin Chelle) the only one completing them. We started this blog in hopes to create a safe, non-judging community to showcase everyone’s stories, and we want to continue to keep that alive if we can.
Admin Sem and I have decided to take November off and come back in December with hopefully a new format to this blog or our decision on how to go forward. But before we can do that, we need YOUR HELP.
Prompt: “One day, I shall have you.” - Challenging words #33
Pairing: Lim Sejun x Reader
Genre: Fluff / Baking Torture
Words: 721
It was early in the morning, although you should have really been up and about already, when you were woken up by a lot of loud banging and voices coming from your kitchen.
You reluctantly pushed back the blankets and slipped your feet into your uggs before making your way towards the noise.
To say you were not prepared for what you walked in on was an understatement. Sejun had completely redecorated the kitchen with what looked like baking ingredients. You couldn’t believe that one person could make such a mess in such a short amount of time, especially since the cake was still not in the oven.
“Sejun, what are you up to?”
You cautiously made your way towards the dishevelled man, who turned to face you, flour in his hair and eggs covered his apron. You couldn’t help but giggle at the sight. He looked completely lost at what to do, which only made your heart swoon.
“I’m trying to bake a cake. Emphasis on trying.” He smiled weakly, embracing you in his arms as you closed the space between you.
“Well, if you’re wanting to bake the cake, shouldn’t it be in the oven and not all over the kitchen?”
“Very funny Y/N. Is this the treatment I get for being a domestic partner? Should I stop and not feed you?” He pulled you away from him dramatically, a playful glint in his eyes.
“Feeding yourself more like it.”
He feigned shock as his mouth opened widely with a gasp, his hand touching his chest for extra effect.
“How about we put this in the oven, and I will help you clean up?”
Sejun all but leaped at the offer, quickly placing the cake in the oven and setting the timer before collecting all the dishes and piling them in the sink.
“You wash and I’ll dry?” You suggested, he nodded before you both got to work.
“Why does it take so long to cook?” Sejun asked twenty minutes later as he stared into the oven forlornly, his head in his hands as he waited for the cake to be ready.
“It’s taking the exact amount of time it should. It’s not the cakes fault you’re impatient.” You teased lightly, prodding his side playfully as his attention left the cake momentarily.
“I am not impatient. I just really want cake.”
“It does smell pretty good.” You admitted, a smile playing on his lips at your words.
Just then the oven timer went off.
Sejun flinched, startled by the noise as he quickly grabbed the oven mitts and went to retrieve his cake from the oven.
“Cake time! Cake time!” he mumbled excitedly to himself as he pulled the cake out of the oven, closing the door with his knee before turning around to make his way to the kitchen counter.
“Be careful, it’s hot.” You warned, noting the steam coming from it in his hands.
“I know, Y/N.”
Sejun didn’t take his eyes off the cake as he took the steps towards the counter, although at the last second he tripped on the edge of the mat on the floor, the cake falling out of his grasp and landing on the floor with a splat.
“No!”
It all happened in slow motion. The cake slipped from his hands before either of you could save it, Sejun instantly screaming and falling to the ground beside it. His eyes looking sadly at the fluffy mess on the floor.
“I’m sorry.” You said, stifling a laugh at your boyfriend’s dramatics. “Is there any way to salvage it?”
“There’s no way. It’s all-in pieces.” He shook his head dejectedly, picking up the remnants of the cake,
“One day, I shall have you.”
“Just not today.”
Sejun turned to glare at you, not finding your humour funny at all. You laughed softly, rubbing his back soothingly, trying to ease the pain he was feeling from the whole situation.
“How about I order us takeaway to make up for the lack of cake?”
“Now you’re talking!” His mood picked up at the suggestion of more food.
You knew the way to his heart was through his stomach, and even though he was upset about the cake, any mention of food could perk Sejun up, and your playful teasing would soon be all but forgotten.
(a/n: another challenge from @challengingwords to get me back into writing! I love writing angst and drama way more than I should!)
Paring: Shownu (Hyunwoo) x reader
Genre: angst? I think that’s what this would be
Word Count: 920
Warnings: mentions revenge porn and some serious misogyny from a character
Prompt: “not everyone is a saint, ya know?”
You sat at the large table across from three very well dressed lawyers, your boyfriend, Hyunwoo to your right and his manager next to him. You felt a little bit of comfort as he grabbed your hand, intertwining your fingers together. You glanced around the room for what felt like the millionth time, observing every corner of the room. You didn’t want to be here, hell no one in the room probably did but at this point there really wasn’t a choice.
A little less than forty eight hours prior a tabloid “news source” revealed that an ex of yours had leaked private pictures that you’d taken just for him at the time you were dating. Now that you were publicly dating a well known idol you had a lot more to lose than when you were simply an intern at your local news station. So, as an act of petty revenge, he put those pictures out for the world to see. While you had a massive amount of support from fans all over the world who condemned your ex as well as the news outlet who’d run the pictures, there was a small yet loud faction who wanted your head on a silver platter. They wanted you to apologize for “ruining” Hyunwoo’s image and wanted you to “do the right thing” and break up.
Hyunwoo made it abundantly clear that he was not upset with you.
“You’re an adult,” he said calmly, “what you did before we met doesn’t matter to me. You took those pictures in confidence and your ex betrayed that confidence. He’s less than a man and I hope he knows it.”
You were amazed at how well he had taken the news, not that you really expected a blow up because that simply wasn’t his style. But he and the group were so unbelievably supportive you could have cried. They defended you every chance they were allowed to and stuck by your side.
“Okay,” the lawyer in the middle started, jolting you out of your trance, “tell us how this happened.”
You looked at Hyunwoo and then at his manager. Both nodded to you as if to say “it’s okay, go ahead.”
“Well,” you gulped as you began, “the man who posted those photos is my ex. We were together for about two years and in that time I’d taken those pictures.”
“Why?” the lawyer to to left asked abruptly.
“Excuse me?” you asked incredulously, your brows furrowing.
“Why would you take those kinds of pictures?” he clarified, the tone of judgement evident in his voice.
“Because I was in a long term relationship with someone I trusted. We were apart for a few months and we missed each other, so I took those pictures.”
The second lawyer sighed in frustration and a little bit of disgust.
“I just don’t understand what self respecting woman would-”
“I’m gonna stop you right there,” you stood up, holding your finger up to stop him, dropping any sign of honorifics, “first of all, you will not disrespect me like that. I am a grown woman who made a decision based on the fact that I loved this person and didn’t believe that they would ever hurt me like this. Not everyone is a saint, you know?”
“But you’re dating an idol,” he tried to push on, “how could you not know-”
“Do you think I knew I would be dating Hyunwoo five years ago?” you laughed darkly, “if you would’ve told me back then that the man I was with would be a distant memory and that I would uproot my entire life, move to a completely new country, learn a completely new language and culture for the amazing man sitting next to me that just happens to be famous, I would have laughed in your face.”
The room was silent except for the clicking sounds of the third lawyer who was taking notes.
“I haven’t been allowed to put out a statement for myself,” you said solemnly, “I am the only one in this situation who isn’t allowed to defend me yet. That’s why we are here. I’ve been sitting on the sidelines while the company, the guys, even fans who don’t know me defend my honor. I take full responsibility for taking those pictures, I can’t and won’t deny that. What I will not do is apologize for being the victim of revenge porn. What I will not do is sit here and let you disrespect me for choices that I made as an adult in a private relationship. Now, please tell me, what action does the company plan to take?”
The three lawyers looked between themselves and nodded.
“We will be taking legal action,” the first lawyer said calmly, “he’s a foreigner but we still have ways we are able to deal with it.”
“Okay,” you breathed, for what felt like the first time.
“You are also free to release a personal statement on your personal social media accounts, we just ask that you run it by the PR team first.” she continued.
“I can do that, thank you.” you nodded.
“You’re all free to go,” the second lawyer said, a little bitterly.
Hyunwoo, manager Joon Hyung and yourself stood up and bowed before exiting the room.
Once you were outside and far enough away from the door you allowed your knees to buckle a little bit, wobbling into Hyunwoo’s open arms. You felt safe there, your breath evening out.
“You did great in there,” Hyunwoo said, squeezing you a little tighter, “my girls a badass who doesn’t let anyone disrespect her.”
“You sure all of the trouble is worth keeping me around?” you chuckled.
“You better keep her around,” Manager Joon Hyung interrupted, “she’s a spitfire, you need that in your life.”
“I don’t plan on letting her go anywhere,” Hyunwoo grinned down at you, “Trust me.”
Another entry to challenging words..based on my infinite spendind on thing i don’t need in quarantine time. How are you all? Enjoy it :)
Endless thanks @prettywordsyouleft for beta-reading <3
“I hate myself,” you groaned and pushed your chair from the computer.
“What did you do?” asked Junmyeon.
“I shopped again,” you said sheepishly.
“Babe, we talked about this!”
“I know I know, but this is the citrus juice sprayer,” you mentioned excitedly.
“The citrus juice sprayer,” he repeated.
“Yes, you pierce lemon with it and spray the juice,” you explained.
He looked at you with baffled expression. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Junmyeon sighned and facepalmed.
“It’s really good invention!” you defended.
“Or you can...you know...squeeze the lemon with your hands,” he mumbled.
“That you could do, but with juice sprayer you will not get your hands dirty!” you sat next to him. His head still in his hands.
“Are you mad?” you asked and moved closer to him.
“No, it’s your money, you can spend it as you wish, but sometimes I wish you would think a little before you enter your credit card info,” he said and looked at you. You knew he was right. But it hurt a little so your eyes filled with tears.
”Why do you have to be so grown up, Myeon!” you whined and wiped your eyes.
“Someone has to,” he opened his arms and you gladly accepted the hug.
***
“Junmyeon? What is this?” you shouted and inspected the suspicious package on dining table. It had his name in the address.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t my little shopaholic,” he said entering the kitchen.
“Hello, to you too. Dare to explain?” you asked pointing at the package.
“Since you are the resident expert on kitchen and other gadgets, I ordered some more and you, my dear, without googling it, have to identify correctly all of it,” he announced. You narrowed your eyes.
“Watch and learn, young padawan, watch and learn,” you smiled and picked up the package.
After three hours of fruitless guessing and endless teasing on Junmyeon’s side, you declared failure.
“I love you, you know,” you said and picked another strange item, “but you should really consider the sites you put your credit card info in.”
Genre: Slice of Life, Soulmate AU, School, Student x Teacher ☁
Word Count: 967 ☁
Pairing: Teacher Reader, Daichi ☁
World: Haikyuu!! ☁
Prompt: #21, “You and I, we shouldn’t belong together.” ☁
This was written for @challengingwords writing challenge.
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In this world, soulmates are quite commonplace and accepted by most of the population. It made life easier, for the most part, because everyone knew that there truly was this one singular person out there just waiting for them. Others stressed over finding their other half, driving themselves crazy in the process. It didn’t really bother you because you weren’t looking for a relationship at this point in your life. If you found them, cool, but you weren’t going to stress over it.
“Are you ready, Y/N-sensei?” The principal questioned kindly.
“Yes, sir.” You held your head up high as he slid the classroom door open, stepping inside with you close behind. A whisper swept across the room.
The principal cleared his throat, hands clasped behind him. “As you know, Sawako-sensei had to take maternity leave, so Y/N-sensei is going to be replacing her until she’s ready to return. I expect you to treat them well.”
“Yes, sir!”
The principal patted your shoulder, wishing you good luck. You turned to face the students with a smile. “Hello, it’s nice to meet all of you.”
Hands shot into the air and you spent the next ten minutes answering a wide variety of questions before the room finally settled. Since this was your first day and you were going to be with them for a while, you decided to hand out short about me slips so you could learn more about your students. While they focused on this task, you quietly made rounds around the room, quietly laughing at some of the answers.
As your hands swept over the page of a brown-haired boy, you came to a dead stop, eyes widening as they landed on the boy’s wrist. Black numbers were inked into his creamy skin. They were familiar and you had memorized that same sequence of six because you had been staring at them for twenty-two years now.
Daichi paused his writing when he realized you weren’t moving. His eyes followed yours to his wrist and his brow furrowed. Why were you staring so intently at his soulnumbers? His eyes moved to your wrist, but the skin was covered by a thick watch.
“Sensei?” he questioned softly, brown eyes meeting yours.
“Huh?” You snapped out of your daze, rubbing the back of your neck with a sheepish smile. “Oh, sorry. Guess I zoned out!”
A couple students giggled at you and you quickly turned, making a beeline for your desk, trying to convince yourself that this was all just some bad dream induced by eating just before bed. How could your soulmate be a high school student? Granted, he wasn’t that much younger than you, but he was your student and it was wrong.
When class finally came to an end, you waited for the students to start filing out of the room before walking around to collect their bio sheets. Their next period was a free period, giving you time to collect your thoughts.
“Sensei?”
“Yes?” You turned around with a smile, which faltered when your eyes landed on the brown-haired boy that was causing you so much distress. You cleared your throat. “What can I do for you?”
Daichi shifted, rethinking his decision to confront you, but he just had to know if he was right. This was important to him. “Can I see your wrist?”
Your body tensed up. “Excuse me?”
His cheeks darkened, but he resolved to learn the answer. “You were staring at my soulnumbers… you have the same one, don’t you? You’re my soulmate.”
You chuckled nervously, waving him off. “That’s ridiculous -”
“Then prove it.” He demanded, his dark eyes shining with determination. “Show me your wrist… Y/N-sensei.”
Goosebumps rose across your skin when he spoke your name and you sighed in frustration, falling into the closest chair, taking your head between your hands. “This can not be happening…”
Daichi sat across from you, hesitantly reaching for your right arm. You didn’t pull away, allowing him to remove the thick band from your wrist, revealing the same six-digit sequence that was printed across his own skin. “My soulmate…” he breathed in disbelief, sliding his hand into your own.
You quickly jerked away, jumping up and approaching your desk as you declared, “This changes nothing.”
“But -”
“No,” you shook your head, meeting his eye with a hard stare. “You and I, we shouldn’t belong together. You’re my student, for christ’s sake.”
“Only temporarily.” He commented with a shrug. “But I understand.”
You released a breath you hadn’t realized you were holding. Well, that was easier than you had been expecting. “Good. Now, you should -”
“That doesn’t mean I’m giving up on you, Y/N.” A sly smile came to his lips, eyes shimmering. “The second I graduate, I’ll be coming to take you out on a date, so make sure you don’t start seeing anyone, okay?”
Your heart fluttered at the declaration, mouth opening and closing as you tried to form a response. All you could do was watch the male leave the room. Something told you that your life was about to get a lot more complicated.
A groaned passed your lips as you fell into your chair, muttering under your breath. “Become a teacher, they said. It’ll be fun, they said. High schoolers are easy to deal with, they said. What a joke.”
Daichi stood outside the room with a smile, chewing on the corner of his lip as his hand rested over his racing heart. He had known you for less than a few hours and yet, he felt as if he had known you his entire life. He felt completely at ease in your presence, he craved being close to you, talking to you.
He brought his finger to rub across the numbers on his skin. “My beautiful soulmate…”
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The term “Ichi-go, Ichi-e” literally means “one time, one moment”. As explained in [this] article, it is meant to act as a reminder that we should treasure every moment because it will never recur again. I thought that was beautiful, so I decided to use that as the title for this set.
