Title: Da Deus Fortunae (god, give fortune)
Pairing: Jaeyoon x Reader
Word Count: 4.7k
Genre: Fantasy; Super Fluffy i swear; Hurt/comfort; A Smidge of Thriller
Warnings: Violence; blood; knives; assault; harassment; strong language
The shoreline was calm and gentle that winter morning. The weather was slightly overcast, and seagulls were cawing while cutting through the air. A soft, refreshing breeze flew through your hair as you made your way along. These walks had always felt like they were missing something, although you never knew what and you’d never been curious enough to search for answers. Little did you know however, that the answers would find you.
A particularly loud and squawking seagull jarred you from your thoughts. You could vaguely see a lone washed-up figure in the distance, this figure seemed to have a luminescent crown over his head that slowly dissipated as you drew nearer. With vigor, you ran, avoiding lone rocks and pools as you went. The sand was compacting beneath your feet but you managed to stay upright regardless. As you reached the man it became apparent his torso was bare, leaving nothing to the imagination. You fell to your knees, making imprints in the sand, and checked his vitals.
A flicker of a pulse could be felt at his neck and you gasped in surprise. You brought your hands to hold his paler face. He definitely was unconscious, however there were no sign of cuts or bruises. Nothing about him seemed generic; he was amazingly handsome, with plush lips and a serene aura. You felt strangely safe which confused you.
The man opened his eyes and you screamed. He coughed and sputtered as he sat up, “What? What’s wrong?”
You looked at him in abject terror, wondering if someone who had washed up could suddenly wake up without intervention before he interrupted that train of thought.
“Oh no… Don’t tell me, do I look… ugly?” He brought his hands up to his face in panic, but felt nothing different and frowned.
You licked your lips in confusion, “What? No! You look very handsome, but are you okay?”
He chuckled, “Hm, I think that’s what I should be asking you.”
“Um, I just found a guy washed up on the strand who seems to have no recollection or worries about being washed up, so no.” You slowly shook your head at him. “I’m not okay.”
He cocked his head and you huffed at his nonchalance. “Are you talking about me? Because if you are, you are completely oblivious to your radiance. I’ve never seen a person so beautiful.”
You stared at him for several moments. How does someone even respond to this? Should you take him to a hospital? You would, but he just seems inclined to flirt.
“Are you drunk? I seriously can’t tell.”
He looked crestfallen with a pout and sad eyes that you didn’t react to his flirting, but it prompted him to give a real answer.
“I don’t remember anything.” He sighed and glanced around. “I also don’t recognise this beach.”
“Right. Okay. Do you have any injuries? Does your head hurt?” You let your eyes scan his body again to check for any injuries, but miraculously there were none.
He scratched the back of his head and grinned, “No, I’m actually feeling pretty good!”
You really wanted to call an ambulance but the man truly seemed fine now, even in his unkempt state with seaweed in his pink hair, torn trousers and bare chest.
He noticed your gaze had shifted to his chest and waggled his eyebrows.
“See something you like?”
You barked out a laugh, quickly looked away while denying it.
He smiled in small triumph before you cleared your throat.
“Okay. So here’s the plan - we’re going to go back to mine to get you a dry set of clothes and then I’ll take you to the hospital.”
The stranger nodded absentmindedly as you stood up and wiped the sand off you. You helped him up and couldn’t help but notice how cold his hand felt. The quicker you could warm him up, the better.
As you both reached the steps to the road, you stopped, remembering something.
“What’s your name? My name is Y/n.”
He looked slightly taken aback.
“It’s Jaeyoon.”
You reached home in record time and quickly rushed through the closed cafe to pull your father’s clothes from the closet in the back.
Jaeyoon curiously looked around the cafe. The back area was poorly lit, as the light entering the two large front windows failed to make it that far. There were worn, comfy seats with scratched wooden tables. Old newspaper clippings hung on the walls along with family photos.
“Is this your place?”
“Well, it was my dad’s, but I’ve taken it over.”
You came back from the back of the cafe and found Jaeyoon glancing around, looking a little miserable and lost.
You ushered him through the side door and into your kitchen. You showed him around before bringing him into the bathroom to have a shower, setting the clothes down and leaving to give him privacy. He caught your hand and thanked you as you left.
Deciding to distract yourself, you get started on making food, although it doesn’t stop your mind from wandering to the stranger currently in your shower. This turns out to be a good thing as you hear a sudden thump from the bathroom just after the shower turned off.
You run up the stairs with panic in your heart and knock rapidly on the door.
“Jaeyoon? Is everything alright in there?” You tried to sound calm but ultimately failed.
There was nothing but silence and so you knocked again.
“Jaeyoon.”
The door opened to reveal a clothed Jaeyoon with tousled hair and rough breathing.
“I-I need to lie down.”
“Ah, of course.” You quickly took his arm and rested it over your shoulders to lead him to the spare room. The room was was bit cramped due to the low ceiling, but with Jaeyoon leaning on you slightly slumped over, it didn’t make a difference.
He settled onto the bed with a slight groan. You rushed away to get him some water and when you came back he had passed out; it seemed the exhaustion had set in. Letting out a worried sigh, you set the glass of water onto the bedside table and gently placed a hand on his forehead. He felt slightly warm, but it wasn’t a concerning temperature.
For the rest of the day you drifted back into the room every-so-often to check up on him, but he still hadn’t woken up when you went to sleep.
That night you dreamt of turbulent seas and thundery clouds. The feeling of being pulled under waves woke you with a jolt. The dream confused you even more so because of the sleep inertia you suffered from. Regardless, you had to open the cafe, so in your dazed state you dragged yourself up from the bed and got ready for the day. You were just finished and leaving the bathroom when a delicious smell wafted from downstairs.
Still feeling dazed as if you were trapped in your dream, you followed the smell.
Reaching the bottom of the stairs, the smell became 10 times stronger but the trance quickly ended as you were greeted with passing dimples and a cheery “Good morning darling!”.
You stood there and gaped at his retreating back. How could you possibly have forgotten the invalid in the spare bedroom?
He went to pass again, but this time stopped right in front of you and frowned.
“I’m sorry, I hope you don’t mind, I made food - to thank you for your hospitality, and for the amazing views.” He winked at your dumbfounded state and then pulled you in the direction of the dining room.
“T-that’s okay.” The overwhelming gratitude rendered you speechless as you stared at the wide range of side dishes Jaeyoon had prepared. Slowly, you lowered yourself down onto the chair.
Jaeyoon made small noises of pleasure as he ate, until he noticed you staring down at the food in wonder. He hummed with a mouthful of food to catch your attention.
“Have you remembered anything?” You gently asked, putting down your spoon.
“No, I haven’t. I didn’t even dream last night.” He pouted down at his food for a moment before suddenly looking back up at you. “Do you know anywhere that would put me up while I work? A work for bed and board type of deal? I’m really grateful for you letting me stay the night, and I know making breakfast would never be enough to repay you.” He continued to thank you while explaining he’d fully pay you back, especially if you could help him find somewhere else to stay.
You don’t know what possessed you to say it. Maybe it was his sad brown eyes, or maybe it was the memory of his pitiful state yesterday. Or perhaps it was the fact that you felt so alone without your father’s company that you were about to crack under the pressure and close the cafe. It was the last thing you wanted to do and so maybe this was the glimmer of hope you’d dreamt for, you’d hoped for.
“Work for me.”
“Huh?” Jaeyoon said around a mouthful of egg and rice. He looked adorably lost, but you carried on.
“You should work for me. In the cafe. I need some extra help and you can have the spare room.”
You both stared at each other before he suddenly swooped across the table to throw his arms around you.
“Yes! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!”
You laughed at his exuberance, and his tinkling laughter.
He settled back down to eat and for the rest of your meal you described the seaside town with a population of 4,000. You also began to explain the ins and outs of the cafe.
He was an attentive learner and picked up everything with ease. He began straight away, much to your dismay, even though you thought he should see a doctor or he should at least rest more - but he pushed away every concern with his excitement, and flirtation.
This man had a duality that you’d never seen before. Your ex had been burly, closed-off, and never confided in you. Jaeyoon on the other hand acted like a puppy one minute and then a stripper the next. You liked that he kept you on your toes, but his flirting was beginning to affect you and you were honestly afraid of your feelings. Regardless you pushed through each day, opting to ignore the heart-stopping smiles, and the knee-weakening whispers, although it was proving difficult.
Jaeyoon brightened up the cafe considerably, from day one. His sweet smile had captured the hearts of the locals; even your friend Inseong was enchanted by it on the odd time he’d pop in.
“Who is this fine gentleman? Y/n, have you been hiding him from me?”
To Inseong’s delight, Jaeyoon responded with “Finders keepers” and a sensuous wink before promptly slinking away to clear a table.
Although Inseong’s teasing might have been getting old, the cafe was doing better than ever with Jaeyoon being eye candy for the customers, especially among teenage girls who swooned at his charm. You found yourself strangely jealous at his habitual flirting and occasionally reminded yourself that it was for the good of the cafe.
You found yourself being continuously blown out of the water by Jaeyoon. He was just brilliant at everything, and you had become attached to him and his many skills, so much so that things felt almost homely and domestic.
Every morning you woke up to a cooked breakfast, before you opened the cafe together, greeted the first customers together. For the whole day you both ran the cafe, and you closed it together. Very often you found yourself staring at the ceiling in the quiet hours of the night, feeling scared at the prospect of being so dependent on Jaeyoon, afraid that something would rip him from your life like the sea had done to your father. However, you’d eventually fall asleep and the day would begin anew.
The fear had to be pushed back, and so you did just that by asking Jaeyoon if he’d like to watch tv with you, or maybe a movie. You’d sit together on the couch, cosy and warm. Sometimes he’d fall asleep and sometimes you would. Either way, it was more common that you’d fall asleep, and he’d rest your head on his shoulder while smiling at your peaceful face and your quiet snores. Completely unbeknownst to you, he’d brush your hair from your face, and wipe the drool from your chin while huffing fondly. And when the movie was over, he would gracefully lift you into his arms and carry you to bed. He’d tuck you in, pet your hair, whisper a “sweet dreams”, and then would retreat to his own bedroom with a sweet smile on his lips.
You found yourself growing fonder by the day, but the day he brought a stray dog home was the day you realised you’d fallen - for the man you’d known for only 5 months. He named the Boston terrier Phantasia and begged that the two of you keep her. How could you say no to such a gorgeous girl anyway, nevermind the man you loved? The evening was spent bathing her out the back which ended with both you and Jaeyoon soaked, shivering but also laughing from the joy of Phantasia’s playful licks to each of your faces.
Phantasia took turns sleeping with the both of you. This meant Jaeyoon trying to wiggle his way into your bed, claiming he wanted extra time with Phantasia.
Phantasia also proved to be a big hit in the cafe. The customers adored her, and even though she technically wasn’t allowed in the cafe, it didn’t stop Jaeyoon from bringing her in every once in a while to say hello.
Once Phantasia settled in, life composed itself once again. It was a pattern which lulled you into a false sense of security.
You laughed at your phone screen as Jaeyoon texted you the wacky story Miss Lee told him earlier. You were walking back from the takeaway after retrieving your dinner; Jaeyoon had offered to do all the cleaning while you went out to grab it.
The night air was chilly and had you shivering in your thin coat. You could hear the distant waves and traffic as you walked through an alleyway that would quicken the journey.
You laughed again at Jaeyoon’s messages before typing back a message about the lovey-dovey teenage couple that frequent the cafe. Of their goo-goo eyes, and how they always fed each other cake-
You heard a can skid across the ground behind you. Your footsteps faltered slightly and you quickly glanced behind you to spot a lone cat. Regardless of finding the cause of the noise, your heart still felt as if it would burst from your chest, and you forced yourself to keep moving.
You would have kept briskly walking, but the sudden and delicate sounds of breathing behind you made you break out into a run.
Your feet slammed against the tarmac, and the plastic takeout bag rustled in your grip from being swung every which way. Your lungs began to burn at the exertion.
The door slammed shut behind you as your chest rose with every breath.
“I hope you got me my jjajangmyeon-!” Jaeyoon poked his smiley head into the hallway from the living room, and Phantasia followed suit. “Y/n? Why are you out of breath?”
You stood up straight and laughed nervously, “Oh, you know! Just have to get my exercise somehow.”
He sent you a strange look, but told you to sit down while he took the food into the kitchen to place it in dishes.
Phantasia whined at your feet and you patted her head in consolation. The uneasiness couldn’t be shaken from its grip around your heart all night. Not even Jaeyoon’s flirting could snap you out of it.
By the morning, Jaeyoon easily cleared it anyway with extra smiles and pancakes, which you were grateful for.
Days past since the alley incident and today was quite a busy day for the cafe, with incoming tourists and beach goers.
Mid-afternoon, a handsome man enters the cafe and takes a seat in one of the deep blue booths.
“Hi! What can I get you?” You greeted the man with enthusiasm, sliding up beside the booth.
He slyly smiled up at you, his eyes lingering on your name tag before flitting to your face. “Is your number available, Y/n?”
You laughed awkwardly. “Unfortunately, we just ran out of it, but there’s plenty more on the menu to choose from.”
He stared deep into your eyes for a few seconds. It almost felt invasive.
“But you’re all I want, nothing else seems appetizing enough.”
You felt disgusted at what the man was saying, but you swapped your shocked expression for your customer service smile.
“All right. I’ll give you another few minutes to decide then.” You smiled and went to leave the table, but a hand grabbed your wrist before you could.
Looking back, you saw the man with a thundery expression.
“I didn’t say I was done ordering.”
You tried to pull your wrist free from his grasp, but it only made him tighten his grip.
“What seems to be the matter here?” Jaeyoon appeared behind you, sending a stony glare to the man, who looked unbothered but let go of your wrist.
“I was trying to order some food, but I see the customer service skills are severely lacking.” He gave you a displeased look before Jaeyoon stepped in front of you.
“Oh, I see. Maybe next time you shouldn’t go grabbing people just because they don’t give you what you want, hm?” He leaned down to whisper in the man’s ear. “I heard every word you spoke. Try that again and I’ll have a murder on my hands.”
The man finally left, furious of course, and the weather turned soon after. The people began to complain at the raindrops hitting the windows, and within an hour the cafe was cleared.
After putting the closed sign up, Jaeyoon took your hand and lead you behind the counter.
“Why didn’t you call me over? He could have hurt you.” He crossed his arms over his chest, and gave you a displeased look.
“I mean, I could have handled it by myself.” You refuted. “He was harmless-”
“Harmless?” He barked out a laugh. “Are you always this carefree? He could have hurt you. He could have killed you, his words were enough to lead to that.”
Jaeyoon huffed and looked away from your tearful eyes.
“I’m thinking of leaving soon. You need to wake up because the real world isn’t kind and there’ll come a day where no one will be here to protect you.”
Your blood froze as soon as the words left his mouth. First, he berates your actions and then he drops this bomb on you? You wanted to be so angry but all you could feel was fear at the thought of abandonment. It wasn’t a feeling you’d ever thought you’d have to feel again, but now here you were, right at the other side of the pistol.
You meekly replied, “I hoped you would stay by my side.”
And he, in his anger, replied “I can’t protect you if you’re not honest with me,” and stormed out. In his departure, he accidentally brought several plates crashing down from the counter.
You slowly dropped to the floor, wondering what just happened, not caring about the plate shards digging into your legs and cutting you slightly.
You begin to cry and stayed crying for what felt like years. You cried until your throat was dry and until your face was salty with tears.
You wiped the tears away when you heard the bell of the cafe door ring, thinking it was Jaeyoon.
However, when you came out from the kitchen you saw the horrible man from earlier. It had gotten darker outside, the moonlight casting shadows on his face, which was pulled into a grotesque smirk.
“Long time no see.” He looked at your bloody legs and chuckled, “Those pants didn’t suit you anyway.”
“What are you doing here? We’re closed.” You stood a few feet away from him, trembling and hating that fact.
“Exactly. Now I can have you all to myself. Oh, and that guy? The one that threatened me? He’s never coming back. They all end up leaving you, don’t they Y/n? Why do you think that is?”
You swore for a split second the man’s appearance had changed to Jaeyoon’s pink hair, full lips, puffy cheeks - but that was impossible.
“S-stop.” You said, snapping back to reality and wincing at the pain in your legs.
“Stop? Why would I when I’m having so much fun?” A twisted smile adorned his lips.
“Besides, that dick doesn’t deserve to have such a good life, never did. He drowned as a teen, you know? But some pompous ass made him into the god of the ocean. Instead of ME!” He kicked an uncleared table down, sending glass, cutlery and porcelain flying across the floor.
“We can’t always get what we want Y/n. He took my throne away, so I’m gonna break his little heart. Fun, isn’t it?” He drew a smug smile to his lips. He took a step towards you while removing a knife from where he had concealed it under his shirt, and you tripped trying to take a step back, landing roughly on the floor.
“Don’t hurt me! Don’t you dare fucking come near me!” You screamed at him, your voice coming out shrill.
“Shut up! I’ve waited so long to get back at him. I was standing at his side for years. It was degrading, to have a newcomer, a cast off suddenly usurp your position. But now, I can have my just desserts. Now I can have my revenge.” He held the knife up and it glinted in the moonlight.
He began to stalk towards you, and you scrambled back in panic. You reached for your phone in the back pocket of your pants but it slipped out of your fingers and slid across the floor.
“Hmph, you really aren’t lucky are you?” He had swiftly approached and now loomed overhead. He cocked his head to the side playfully as if you were his prey and he had easily caught you in his web. “My my, isn’t it a shame to hurt such a pretty thing? But this wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t resisted my advances earlier.”
He stooped down while maintaining eye contact with you and gently slid the edge of the knife up your calf.
You held your breath, too panicked and afraid to make any movement until he reached one of the cuts on your knee. You moved your knee back and swiftly brought the other leg swinging towards his head. Despite your quickness however, he caught your ankle in his hand and slammed it down into the ground.
You screamed in pain at the impact and the resolute crack that echoed throughout the cafe. He had broken your ankle with the strength in his hand and as seconds passed and the pain grew stronger you began to realise this.
“You fucker! How dare you!” He shouted in your face after letting your ankle go and pinning you to the ground.
He was seething. His breath was ragged, his face was red and veins were protruding from his forehead and neck.
You were still whimpering at the pain and fresh tears streamed from your eyes as you struggled to no avail. So this was it. You were about to be murdered by some lunatic in your cafe, one of the only things left behind by your father, and you’d possibly lost one of your best friends and the love of your life earlier, but as you choked through the tears you thought, ‘Well, maybe this isn’t a bad way to go, because at least Jaeyoon will be safe.’
The man held the knife poised above you. He took a deep breath before going to plunge it into your heart.
A sudden crash from behind made you both freeze, and soon there was a hand gripping the man’s wrist and yanking him away from you.
You spotted a flash of pink hair and sudden hope bloomed in your chest. However, as you looked over at the two men you noticed one Very Wrong Thing. They were both Jaeyoon.
One of them had the other in a headlock, while the other was still brandishing a knife. You could only surmise that the one with the knife was not your Jaeyoon.
And you were proved correct as your Jaeyoon glanced over at you with a look of frantic concern. However, in the brief moment of distraction the other had dug his knife into Jaeyoon’s thigh, and his face quickly morphed into one of pain.
The other used it to his advantage and smacked him backwards to the ground, bringing his empty hand to wrap around his throat.
You felt helpless as you stared at Jaeyoon struggling against his doppelganger and glanced around for something to help.
Under the counter was a lone glass quiche dish, and so hoping that it would help, you grabbed it, while ignoring the severe pain in your ankle.
Quickly, using the counter, you crossed the distance and smacked it against the man’s head before crumpling back down onto the floor. This gave Jaeyoon enough time to flip them over, steal the knife from his grip and hold it to his throat.
“Sungjin, still feeling inferior I see, isn’t this getting a bit childish?” Jaeyoon looked down at him with a cold and callous glare. “You know what? I’m not even going to let you speak.”
Jaeyoon punched Sungjin and finished the job that you had tried to do.
As soon as he was sure Sungjin was knocked out, he came over to where you were leaned against the counter and wrapped his arms around you.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything I said earlier. And I’m so sorry I couldn’t protect you Y/n.”
You merely nodded against his shoulder before pushing him back suddenly and checking his leg. He let you pull away in confusion. His eyebrows shot up when he realised you wanted to check the stab wound.
You gently ripped the fabric apart to get a clearer look, but miraculously there was nothing there, just smooth baby-like skin. You gaped at the spot until Jaeyoon put a gentle finger under your chin to direct your attention back at him.
“How - where - I’m -” You stuttered, mind boggled.
He smiled gently at you, “I’ll explain later, but first we need to get you to a hospital.” He frowned looking at your legs. “You’re seriously hurt.”
You nodded at him and he lifted you up into his arms.
“I’m glad Phantasia came to get me, although I have no idea how she got out.”
You chuckled, feeling proud. “That’s my girl.”
Later, as you lay in a hospital bed feigning sleep, you heard Jaeyoon whispering blessings and thanking you for hanging on for him. And in that moment, you realised you hadn’t been abandoned and opened your eyes.
Something that you hadn’t heard in his voice were the tear drops slowly falling from his eyes.
“Jaeyoon.” You whispered.
He quickly began to wipe away tears at the sudden realisation that you’re awake.
“Y/n, I’m sorry if I woke you. How are you feeling?”
You took his hand in yours and he gripped yours back.
“Well, the morphine surely doesn’t go amiss, but I’d rather be curled up on the couch with you and Phantasia.” You gave him a wan smile.
He brought his other hand up to pet your hair. “Soon. Don’t worry sweetie, we’ll get our schedule back and up running again. And I’ll make up for being a dick also, you didn’t deserve all that from me. Getting some of my memory back isn’t a good enough reason for that behaviour.” He was about to go on before you held a finger to his lips.
“You should have told me Jaeyoon. I might not have said this before, but no matter the weight of your past, I couldn’t love you any less.”
His lips parted for a second before they split into a shining grin.
“I love you too, Y/n.”
A/N: Hi guys! Thank you for reading! I just wanted to give a shout out to Beth (@restlessmaknae) who organised the collaboration, because without you it wouldn’t have happened, and I wouldn’t have met such amazing writers. I also want to give a shout out to Nadia (@nadiepie), my dear friend, who designed the banner for me! Thank you for the time and effort you put into it, it looks amazing! Thank you to Laura, my trusted beta! Without you, my tenses surely would have stayed mixed. And lastly, Fantasy, thank you for supporting the boys for as long as you have. These 9 men will truly become something sensational (as if they already aren’t in our eyes lmao).
You can find the masterlist for the collaboration here: X