OMG ITS FINALLY STARTING YEAHHHHHHH
i hope yall enjoy this as much as i do! thank you for all of your nice comments!!! :D let’s get this show on the road!!!
CHAPTER ONE - The Arrival
You’d been waiting forever.
As the stablehand personally assigned to the legendary equestrian team ATEEZ, you were expected to be punctual and efficient, which meant being the first person they see when arriving at your father’s stable complex.
Any minute now, you thought, for the ninth time.
Where you stood, you could see sunlight cast rays down over the rafters of the stable, turning dust particles to glitter. The nickering of awakening horses filled the stable’s ambiance, and a hen clucked idly out in the yard. It was peaceful, and the morning sun on your cheeks was making you regret leaving your bed.
Thankfully, the crackling of gravel under tires shook you from your morning daze. Two large trucks, both hauling impressive steel trailers, came toiling up the stable’s driveway.
You waved to signal the drivers where to park, walking over as the engines rumbled to a stop. There was a faint sound of hooves on metal, and a stray whinny or two pierced the air. It must have been a long ride for them. You wanted to see them, but there were more pressing matters. The first driver was already climbing out of his pickup, and you raised your hand to shake his.
“Hello, I’m y/n l/n. I’ll be your main stablehand during your stay here at Royals’ Elite Equestrian Center,” you introduced yourself with a smile. Admittedly, you’d spent more than a couple minutes rehearsing that line.
The man who’d driven smiled back at you, his eyes crinkling under his coffee-brown fringe. You tried not to mentally question the mullet.
“Oh, thank you,” he replied. “My name is Kim Hongjoong, but you can call me Hongjoong. We’re ready to unload if you are.” He gestured to the heavy steel trailers.
Kim Hongjoong? THE Kim Hongjoong? You felt a little bit of your soul leave your body.
“Of course. Nice to meet you, Hongjoong.” You smiled, pointing back at the barn. “The stalls are ready as well. Eight horses, right?”
“And a box stall for the Clydesdale?”
“Yep. You guys really followed all of our requests, huh?”
“Of course!” you said, a little too enthusiastically. “Royals’ Elite prides itself on its hospitality.”
“We’re glad to be working with you,” Hongjoong said genuinely. He tapped on the window of the pickup, signaling that the rest of the riders could exit. Soon, the trucks were empty of passengers. The trailers’ steel doors were lowered, and the unloading process began.
“Seonghwa, take Dauntless first,” you heard Hongjoong say.
Park Seonghwa, triple gold dressage champion, the fangirl inside you sang. You tried to hide your starstruck-ness as a taller man with styled blond hair entered the first trailer. You heard the shuffling of footsteps and the click of a lead getting clipped to a halter. Not moments later, a large black stallion came stepping into the sunlight, head raised high. His coat shone like jet, and you couldn’t help but let a small ‘wow’ leave your mouth.
“Pretty, isn’t he?” a new voice piped up right next to you. You bit back a cry of surprise and turned to look at the speaker. “Hwanggeum’s prettier, in my opinion.”
If you hadn’t recognized his face by now, you definitely recognized the name of Jung Wooyoung’s prized Lusitano. He smiled brightly at you. “I’m Jung Wooyoung. You’re y/n?”
“That’s me,” you replied quickly, after getting over your inherent shock.
“Nice to meet you,” he said with a grin, before entering the trailer. Moments later, out stepped Hwanggeum, led by Wooyoung. The stallion’s name was no mistake–the buckskin really did gleam like gold, and from the high-stepping strides, he knew how stunning he was. Wooyoung gave you one last smile before walking after Dauntless and Seonghwa into the stable.
Next, a tall boy with black hair went inside, and you heard heavy hoofsteps echo from inside. From the sound, you knew this had to be Jeong Yunho’s retired Clydesdale. She was the largest by far, you noticed, when she walked down the trailer’s ramp at Yunho’s side. Yunho gave you a friendly greeting, but didn’t say much more than a ‘hello.’
“The box stall is at the end of the barn,” you offered helpfully as they passed. He waved at you, grateful.
Only after they had passed, did you notice that Yunho wasn’t carrying any sort of lead.
The last horse to exit the first trailer was unmistakable: Song Mingi’s Knabstrupper showjumper, Domino. Domino’s spotted coat only accentuated his strong legs and neck, which was arched in a stretch as he followed Mingi. You watched in awe as Domino kicked up his heels as he felt the gravel under his hooves, to which Mingi chuckled and walked Domino in a few small circles before entering the barn.
It was now time to unload the second trailer. The final four horses remained, and were getting impatient.
“We’d better go get them,” Hongjoong said at your side. “They won’t wait for long. I need to speak to the stable manager, would you please bring Gale to the stable for me?”
“Absolutely,” you said, completely calmly, definitely not losing your mind on the inside.
“He’s the last one,” Hongjoong said. “Thank you!” With that, he turned and walked towards the community building.
Steeling your nerves, you followed the four other ATEEZ riders around to the back of the second trailer. One of them, with red and brown hair–Choi San, your annoying fangirl mind chanted–reached up and lowered the ramp, going inside. San’s beautiful Haflinger gelding stepped out moments later, letting out a joyful whinny at seeing the sunlight. You tried and failed to hide your smile, which San returned with a sweet grin of his own.
“You like her?” he asked, to which you dumbfoundedly replied,
Suddenly, the shrill nicker of an Arabian rang out through the air as a shorter brown-haired rider walked in, a staple trait of Kang Yeosang’s award-winning mare. Sunny herself came trotting out of the trailer, leading Yeosang more than he was leading her. You laughed a little to yourself as he trotted her in a quick circle, similar to what Mingi had to do. She didn’t calm much, and you barely had time to tell Yeosang where to go by the time Sunny trotted into the stable, tail raised high.
Now it’s just you and Jongho left.
“Watch out,” he said to you as he walked inside the trailer. “Fuego doesn’t travel well.”
You nodded, worried about what the iconic brindle mustang might do.
Not seconds later, Jongho’s voice griped from the trailer, before Fuego suddenly came galloping out, a lead rope dangling freely from her halter. She let out a bellowing neigh as she went cantering into the front yards, her head held high and ears pinned back. “Quick! Catch her before she makes even more of a mess!” he demanded, hurriedly jumping out of the trailer’s side door.
Your foggy, starstruck mind cleared instantly at his words, jumping into the situation at hand.
The disgruntled mare was making a beeline for the road from whence they came, prompting you into a full sprint to catch up. She wasn’t travelling all that quickly, but she definitely wasn’t paying attention to where she was going, and would wind up in the main road within minutes.
“Fuego!” you shouted, an attempt at catching the mare’s attention. Her ear flicked back, indicating that she had heard you, but veered to the left, away from you. At least she’s not headed for the road anymore, you thought. You ran to the front gates and quickly shut them as Fuego left you in the dust, hopefully keeping her inside the compound.
Jongho, who was adjacent to Fuego, raised his fingers to his mouth and blew a sharp, high-pitched whistle. Fuego stopped in her tracks, skidding through the dirt like she’d learned to do in the arena. Her head swiveled to stare Jongho in the eyes, who was jogging in her direction.
He was barely a few meters away before she suddenly whirled on her heels and took off back the way she came, letting out a shrill whinny.
“Great, now she thinks this is a game!” Jongho groaned, breaking back into a sprint.
You laughed, although quickly shut up when you noticed Fuego barreling in your direction.
Suddenly, you had an idea.
You reached into your vest pocket and pulled out an apple you had saved to eat as a snack, waving the fruit through the air like a flag. It shone like a ruby in the morning light, and as if on cue, Fuego immediately became nothing more than a young thief eyeing jewelry on the street. Her big, brown eyes locked on target, and she slowed to a brisk trot, her hooves sending up clouds of dust. Moments later, you were face-to-face with Fuego herself.
She pressed her nose into your chest as you hid the apple behind your back, momentarily distracting her as you took a fierce hold on the mare’s (now dusty) lead rope.
“Good girl,” you soothed, letting her have the treat as soon as you got a grip. She munched happily, as if she’d been rewarded.
“Ugh, she’s going to think running away will get her treats now,” Jongho complained as he jogged over, slowing down to take Fuego’s lead from you. You were surprised to see that he wasn’t out of breath at all, and there was no malice in his voice. He gave you a grateful smile. “Thanks anyway. You’re, uh, y/n, right?”
“That’s me,” you said. “You’re Choi Jongho?”
“Sure am. Gale’s still in the trailer, by the way. I’ll take Fuego to her stall for you,” he said with a smile, giving the mare a pat or two. She snorted softly, closely watching your exchange with Jongho.
“Oh, okay,” you said. “I’ll get Gale.”
“Cool.” His grin was friendly, knowing. “You’ll like him.”
You laughed, unsure of what else to say. He smiled once more and turned to lead Fuego back to the stable, who clearly still had a little energy left. You let out a big sigh, relieved, and walked to retrieve Hongjoong’s horse from the trailer.
heyyyy here’s the first chapter. it seems a little boring now that i read it but i’m not changing that now lol. lemme know what yall think in the comments 💓💖💞💝💞
