A chaotic brainstorming session with a handful of chaotic gods, trying to prepare for Sicheng’s birthday party.
DONGHYUCK/HAECHAN
✒ Paradox → 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 🌪
idol!Haechan x idol!OC
They were so young, so talented yet so desperate.
HENDERY
✒ falling over, falling into ☀ ♥
uni student!Hendery x uni student!reader/you
In which Hendery falls over with his bike in front of you, and you realise that you are in the same major because you head to the same lecture hall afterwards.
✒ the heart that wants to see you 🌪
prince!Hendery x female!reader/you
You used to genuinely believe that once you would make it to the Four Kingdoms’ United School of Applied Elemental Magic after four absolutely insane weeks of learning how to tame all four elemental magic - water, air and earth apart from your fire powers - and passing all the rounds, you would be happy. On the other hand, it couldn’t have been further from the truth.
JAEMIN
✒ a summer to remember ☀
high school student!Jaemin x OC
Maybe sometimes friends were actually good for setting someone up, not just for teasing them about their long-time crush, turning even the last summer camp of theirs into an unforgettable memory.
JUNGWOO
✒ ERROR 🌪
Jungwoo x reader
You were an error in the system because you loved someone but not the one you were supposed to love.
KUN
✒ I just want some chocolate ☀ ♥
boyfriend!Kun x reader
When it’s that time of the month and you’re supposed to have a movie date with Kun, yet you don’t even feel like leaving the house. Luckily, your boyfriend is literally the sweetest person on Earth.
✒ of picnics & downpours ☀ ♥
boyfriend!Kun x s/o!you/reader
There was nothing that could go wrong when it came to cooking and Kun.
✒ wait, it’s a fanfic! ☀ ♥
movie producer!Kun x fanfic writer!OC
Kun, a movie producer, just can’t seem to hit it big with his latest movies. Being on the verge of redundancy, he listens to his little brother’s - Yangyang’s - idea, and chooses a fanfiction to bring to the big screen.
LUCAS/YUKHEI
✒ when petals fall, we move on → 1 / 2 / 3 🌪 ♥
Yukhei x female!OC
A story about childhood best friends growing up and battling their own demons. A story about forgiveness, guilt and self-love. A story about mistakes, endings and new beginnings.
✒ knock on my door ☀
Yukhei x OC (Lee Boram)
When suddenly there’s no water in her student accommodation, Boram finds herself running from one flat to another with a towel on her head because she’s in the middle of washing her hair, and she has an oral exam to attend. The only one who can help her is the victim of her previous drunk mistake; Wong Yukhei.
✒ struck by lightning ☀ ♥
Yukhei x OC (Lara)
When Wong Yukhei - a supposed-to be-duke from the 1840s - shows up in Kim Lara’s life, she has no idea what to do about him and about her growing feelings as time goes by.
MARK
✒ 4 AM ♥ 🌪
idol!Mark (non-romantic)
When an idol’s only wish is to find himself as Lee Mark from NCT and as Lee Minhyung, an ordinary young adult.
✒ playing on (my heart)strings ☀
Mark Lee x OC (Nahee)
Two shy university students, only a wall apart. One big misunderstanding. Second chances. First loves.
✒ enchanted ☀ ♦
prince!Mark x female reader/you
You have one goal when you apply for the yearly contest to get into the most prestigious wizardry school: to win just like your parents did 25 years ago. However, bumping into prince Minhyung who seems to remember you from your yearly visits to the palace seems to shake up your plan a little bit.
✒ sugar & spice ☀
neighbour!Mark x female reader/you
You’ve never had a positive male figure in your life, so when Mark Lee shows up with his unexpected silliness, curiosity and care, you’re suspicious that it’s all an act and it’s just a matter of time he’ll finally show his true colours.
Until he shows you that he is genuinely a good guy.
TAEYONG
✒ golden heart ☀
boyfriend!Taeyong x s/o!reader/you
Taeyong was one of the loveliest, most kind-hearted boys you had ever met. Calling him your boyfriend was a blessing, and you felt like you were getting luckier and luckier each and every day.
TEN
✒ Khanom chin with you ☀
waiter!Ten x OC
On a rainy day, no one feels like having a meal at Ten’s parents’ restaurant, except a drenched girl with a suitcase in her hand and a flight back to Yokohama.
✒ one shot or game over ♦
uni student+dancer!Ten x uni student+dancer!reader/you
You definitely didn’t think that you would end up in a video game with your enemy when you go over to your next neighbour’s/Mark’s best friend’s house to fetch him up, but it happened nevertheless.
Rebel Rhapsody’s lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist is the definition of duality, but you find yourself being drawn to his unpredictability.
✒ it ends in blood & betrayal ♦
rich!Ten x chaebol daughter!reader/you
When your father’s birthday party turns into a murder scene, everyone is suspected including you and your secret love - Ten.
✒ shot through the heart ☀
son of Aphrodite!Ten x daughter of Ares!reader/you
After saving the world together, the son of Aphrodite takes it upon himself to get your attention by visiting your archery classes unannounced - much to your annoyance and much to everyone else’s amusement.
XIAOJUN
✒ no barriers ☀
uni student!Xiaojun x uni student!reader/you
Xiao Dejun decides to study abroad for a semester in Seoul, and even though he initially sucks at Korean, there’s no (language) barrier between you two.
YANGYANG
✒ oh, so oblivious! ☀
best friend’s little brother!Yangyang x reader/you
In which you and Yangyang are ever so oblivious about your feelings towards each other, but worry not, the Liu family comes to your rescue!
Warnings : (mentions of/ and possible) death (no main character dies), murder, guns, knives, weapons, shooting, some scenes are kinda graphic (in the killing or fighting sense but not that much), poison, etc, etc.
This fic is inspired by two edits I've found on youtube. Found here and here. I am in no way trying to plagiarize their works, rather, I've taken inspiration from them. This fic involves scenes mentioned in the edits. Check them out, and give the creators some support if you want to !!!
a/n : this is something I've been wanting to write for a very very veRY long time. It's kind of different than what I usually go for, so it's more of an experiment. Do tell me if you like this one.
I'm planning to have a taglist so let me know if you wanna be in it !!!
Summary : With her two best friends by her side, saving the world from any sort of danger that arises, Y/n feels like her life is complete. Until...she is forced to leave her one and only job, that not only her, but also the world, depends on. And for the cherry on top, she's got, not only, possible death ahead of her, but also, a red cheeked, soft spoken yet tough hearted, black haired wonder, who's heart beats fast only for her.
Before reading, please check and read this post. Thank you :>
[5:55PM] Underground boxer!Hendery has been training for weeks when he found out he had to fight against a mysterious boxer. No one knew anything about that person except for you because it was you.
You've been training in secret when you heard that your enemy is going to be Hendery. You heard a lot about him so you really looked forward to this match.
When it finally was the day of your fight, you got more and more excited and the surprising expression on Hendery's face made it even more entertaining to you.
"You?!" He shouted out loud the moment when he saw you. "Surprise surprise are you ready?"
He scoffed and made himself ready. "Just so you know, I won't go easy on you," he said and it was your turn to scoff. "Same here"
The audience went quiet and concentrated on the match until the bell rang. Hendery was first to charge at you but you dodged his attacks very quickly and surprised him with a stealth attack.
After awhile, it was hard to tell who would win but you ended up being the winner. "Not gonna lie, I underestimated you," Hendery talked as he tried to stand up.
"Everyone does," you simply answered and grabbed his hand to help him up.
"Would you train with me?" He asked you and you smiled at him.
Genre: Action, Angst, Fluff, boss!jaehyun
Pairing: Jaehyun x Reader
Word Count: 10,297
Requested by @xrstnee24 :)
A/N: Every thing related to the crime and criminals is heavily-inspired by Midnight Runners. A Korean action-comedy movie with Park Seo-jun and Kang Ha-neul! It's a great movie, watch it!
It's been a month since a group of syndicates started kidnapping college girls in your city at night for unknown reasons. The police force and investigators have been working day and night to arrest the culprit and find out the reason why they target college girls specifically.
Your parents are working overseas and are extremely worried. They always video call you to see how you are doing and make sure that you are safe. On your part, you have no choice but to be very cautious. Wake up in the morning, go to university, go home. All the college girls in your city are doing the same thing. None of you would dare to risk your lives just to go out and party. Some businesses have started to suffer because of this. The clubs, the malls, some coffee shops. That is another reason why the police are doing their best, your city is losing lives and the economy is suffering.
You've been religiously going home from school before the sun even sets, until one evening. It was around 5:30PM, you were at home and about to start doing your homework when you realized that you left the booklet to be answered in your locker. "Shit!" You shouted. The submission is tomorrow morning during your first subject, which which gives you no time to do it tomorrow. You sat still on your chair for minutes contemplating whether to go back to school to retrieve it from your locker or just explain to the teacher what happened and ask if you could submit it tomorrow afternoon. However, knowing that teacher, you were certain that he wouldn't agree.
The sun is still up and you decided that if you leave right this moment you might still be able to go home safely.
You ran to the bus station and luckily, the bus was already there as if waiting for you. After ten minutes, you dropped off in front of your school gate and you felt some chills when you saw that no one was there except for the janitor sweeping the area right in front of the building entrance. Your school wasn't like this. At this hour, plenty of students would still be here chatting or studying together. You would usually hear the different varsity teams practicing in their respective areas but since the kidnapping began, the practice hours were cut shorter.
You quickly approached your locker to get the booklet and ran back out. Your heart was thumping but you were relieved to see that the sun is still up. The relief convinced you that you didn't need to run anymore especially now that you got what you needed, and so you took your time walking to the nearest bus station. You were so focused on reading the booklet that you failed to see nor feel that a guy snuck up behind you and hit your head, knocking you unconscious.
A few hours into the night, you slowly woke up while rubbing your head to ease the pain. You opened your eyes but it was almost pitch dark, the only light coming from the small barred window all the way up on one of the walls, mainly to serve as ventilation.
You were trembling when you realized what happened to you.
"I am.. one of their victims.. now." You whispered to yourself.
"That's right." A girl a few meters away from you replied. You looked at her in shock and you noticed that she was around the same age as you. Another high school girl.
"H-hi. Where are we?"
"I don't know. I've been here for two weeks and I still don't fucking know." She replied with tears falling.
"What do they want from us?"
"They-" The girl was cut off when two bulky men around in their thirties barged into the room and you swore to God you never felt that scared in your life. They violently pulled the girl up and dragged her out of the room. All she could do was scream and all you could do was watch.
One of the guys stayed behind and looked at you with a smirk. "You're next." He said before leaving.
You couldn't help but cry and hug yourself in an attempt to stop yourself from trembling. "Is this how I'm gonna die? I'm gonna die at such a young age in those motherfuckers' hands?" You asked yourself and that's when you felt a slight yet strong feeling of determination. You had to at least fight back.
You looked around the room to see if there's anything you could use as a weapon. You were already hopeless when you noticed that there were some medium-sized shards of glass glistening under the moonlight that entered through the window.
You wrapped your right hand with your handkerchief to protect it from the glass and when you were ready, you knocked on the door to see if someone was there. After your second knock, a guy responded.
"The fuck you want?"
"Can I go to the bathroom please? I.. I need to go. Please? I won't do anything I just need to go. Please? Please-"
"Alright, alright. Just shut up and stop whining." The guy said as he unlocked the door.
The moment he opened it, you stabbed his eyes with the glass and then his neck right after to keep him from shouting. You left him bleeding and unconscious before examining the place to see where you could exit. You peeked around the corner and saw a couple of other guys guarding their own doors. You looked outside the window and saw that no one was there. That's when you realized that the windows lining the corridor were your best option if you wanted to save your life. You were at the second floor but you didn't hesitate to jump. You had to.
You slightly injured your right shoulder upon landing but you successfully didn't make any noise. So far, none of the guys knew you were out of the building already. You were extremely thankful and stood up to run out of the open gate. The street was full of abandoned buildings. You started to hear music and pick up a faint smell of food the farther you ran. At a distance, you saw neon signs and a few people having drinks at the different restaurants and food stalls. You looked at the signs again and realized that you were in your city's Chinatown. It was your first time there but you didn't want to stay any longer. You just wanted to go home. Also, you were not even sure if the people there could be trusted.
You slowly walked a few more meters away from Chinatown's entrance until you felt lethargy finally hitting you. You were very thirsty and tired and the pain from your right shoulder was starting to take its toll. Your legs eventually gave up and you collapsed on the side of the road. It was already 1 o'clock in the morning and you were pretty sure that no one was on the street, until you saw a tall figure of a guy with brown hair wearing a hoodie standing a few meters from you, holding a plastic bag that looks like a food take-out. Your vision was blurry and eventually blacked out. That guy was the last you saw before falling completely into unconsciousness.
You felt sun rays hitting your closed eyes. You slowly opened them and the first thing you saw was a white ceiling with a few damaged parts. You tried to move but your whole body ached, which triggered you to remember everything that happened last night. You began to panic thinking that the criminals might have caught you again after you collapsed on the street so despite the pain, you shot your body up in an attempt to escape.
"Ouch!" You cried in agony, sniffling and holding back the tears.
The door suddenly opened and you instantly flinched back and covered yourself with the blanket, a poor attempt to protect yourself. You were expecting to see a bulky ugly guy in his thirties just like the ones you saw last night in the building, but what you saw was the exact opposite.
His face had a hint of worry, eyes in shock and brows furrowed, chocolate brown hair beautifully disheveled, skin was white and glowing, lean yet muscular built. He was wearing a simple white shirt and a pair of jeans. He was attractive.
"Did you suddenly move?" He asked.
"What?"
"I said did you suddenly move? That's why you cried in pain, am I right?" He continued with a blank face, worry no longer apparent.
"Y-yes. I thought I was still..."
"In that place. Where the kidnappers brought you."
"How did you know?" You asked, surprised.
He slowly walked towards you and took your left wrist to show you a code comprised of numbers and letters.
"Oh my god what's this?! I didn't know I had this on my wrist!"
"It's a code they put on the girls they kidnap. I saw you on the side of the road last night, unconscious, dirty, messy, and had some blood in your hands. Then I saw that code and I knew you escaped from them. Good job." He smirked at you.
"Why.. why do you know about them and this code? The police never announced anything about this."
"The police don't know shit. I can't tell you too much but, I'll just let you know that this is not the first city they victimized. After they reach the target amount here, they'll leave and move on to another."
"How do you know all of these? Who.. who are you?"
"Doesn't matter. I'll let you stay here up until lunch time. Then you'd have to leave." He said before walking out of the room, but you stopped him.
"Wait! Will I be safe on my way home? Will I just act like nothing happened? I need to go to the poli-"
"Don't tell the police anything." He replied but with a firmer tone that scared you. "They'll just mess things up. Don't worry, those kidnappers will get what they deserve soon." He continued before leaving.
You were thankful that you successfully escaped. But meeting this guy who saved you and hearing everything he just said just confused you even more. However, you just shrugged it off. All that matters is you're safe now.
You continued to rest until the guy woke you up gently.
"Hey. Wake up. It's already noon."
"Alright." You replied tiredly as you carefully sat up.
"I cooked some lunch. Eat up and then leave right after."
"Okay. Thank you." You said as you put your shoes on, watching him leave the room.
You got out of the room to see a huge dining room with an equally huge living room. At first you thought he might be living alone, but you were wrong. Looking around the space, you noticed that there were other pairs of shoes in different sizes, all for boys. You guessed that he might be living with his friends.
You sat down right across from him and watched him eat.
"Eat as much as you can."
"Thanks. And thank you for saving me. If not for you.. those guys might have found me again." You said with an embarrassed smile.
"It's nothing. Just don't tell anyone about your experience. A group of people are already taking care of this problem. But they're not the police." He replied, focused on getting more rice and not looking at you even once.
"Okay-"
"Jaehyuns! I'm home!" Another boy yelled before opening the door.
"Shit!" You heard the guy across from you whisper.
"What's for lun-" The boy who just entered said but he stopped himself the moment he saw you.
He looked younger than you and the guy you're having lunch with. You waited for him to greet you but he just stood there frozen with wide eyes.
"H-hi." You said with a small wave.
"Hey. I'm Mark. And you're?"
"Y/N."
"Oh, okay." Mark said as he exchanged glances with the guy across from you. You felt that there was some weird tension, a tension that's practically saying that you shouldn't be there.
"Uhm.. I'll leave now. I can just have lunch at home. Thank you." You said as you stood up.
"No, wait. It's okay. Have lunch here and then I'll give you some money to commute. The bastards got your wallet."
"Shit, you're right."
"Wait what? The bastards? She.." Mark said.
"Yes, she was kidnapped last night but miraculously escaped."
"Oh my god that's amazing!" Mark exclaimed. "I'll just change clothes then I'll eat with you guys!"
"Okay."
There was silence between the two of you as you both tried continue eating, until you decided to break it.
"I just realized.. we haven't introduced ourselves yet. I'm Y/N."
"Yeah I heard."
"Your name is Jaehyuns?"
"Without the S. Mark likes adding S to my name and I don't even know why." Jaehyun replied, which earned him a laugh from you. He was pleasantly surprised by the sound and looked at you with adoration. With his environment and nature of work, he rarely gets to hear a beautiful girl laugh, especially because of something he said.
After fifteen minutes, you and Jaehyun finished eating, leaving Mark alone on the table.
"Just wait outside by the door." Jaehyun instructed you.
"Okay." You replied with a smile which made Jaehyun do a double take.
Once you were outside, Mark started teasing Jaehyun.
"Ooh you like her!"
"I don't. Shut up. Listen, don't tell the others about this, about her."
"Huh? But why?"
"I.. I don't want her to get involved with what we're doing. She already went through a lot."
"Oh.. alright. I understand."
"Thanks." Jaehyun said as he playfully ruffled Mark's hair before going out to meet you.
Jaehyun went down the apartment building with you and hailed a cab.
"Here, this would be more than enough." He said as he gave you cash.
"Thank you so much and I'm sorry. How will I pay you back?"
"No need to be sorry and to pay me back. It's fine." He said with a genuine smile that you saw for the first time, introducing his dimples to you.
"Okay. Thanks again. Goodbye!" You replied before riding the cab.
"Bye." Jaehyun replied. He watched your cab drive away for a few seconds before riding his motorbike, intending to follow you to ensure your safety and see where you live.
After half an hour, your cab stopped right in front of your home and Jaehyun parked his bike somewhere you don't see him.
He was happy to save you and was even more.glad that you are now home safely. But he has an inexplicable bad feeling that makes him uneasy. A feeling that makes him want to protect you.
You went back to school and moved on with your life acting like you didn't almost die in the hands of the notorious syndicates. It was difficult at first, you wanted to share your experience to your friends and especially to the police. But you didn't want to disobey the guy who saved you. Jaehyun saved your life but all he asked in return was for you to keep the whole thing a secret.
It's been five days since you got home safely and you were now exiting the school grounds. Little did you know that a black van was waiting for the right time to kidnap you, yet again. But before the van could make a move, you heard a familiar voice from across the street. You found Jaehyun riding his motorbike with a helmet on, signaling for you to come over immediately.
"Jaehyun? What are you doing here?"
"Wear this and get on. We have to leave right now." He said quickly as he handed you a helmet.
You didn't say or ask anything and just did what you were told. After twenty minutes, you were back to his apartment.
"What just happened? Why were you across my university waiting for me?" You asked upon entering his unit.
"They're back. They're planning to kidnap you again to make sure you won't inform anyone everything you know about them." Jaehyun replied with slight panic in his voice.
"Oh my god. I thought I could live normally again." You replied, distraught and trembling.
"Don't worry. You'd be safer here."
You looked at him immediately as you were taken aback by his offer.
"Y-you don't have to stay here. I'm just saying.. you'll be safer if you stay here." Jaehyun stuttered as he avoided looking in your eyes.
"It's okay. I understand. Thank you very much. If not for you..." Your voice got weaker as you realized that what you were about to say was a bit cheesy. "But, will Mark be alright with this?" You asked in an attempt to change the topic.
"Don't worry about him. He's fine with this. I just need to inform the others."
"Others?"
"Yeah. There are seven of us living here." Jaehyun replied before looking at you with slightly raised brows.
"S-seven?" You asked, surprised because all along you thought he only lived with Mark.
"Yeah."
"What if they don't agree?"
"They will. I already told them about you, about me saving you last week. They know you're a victim."
You just looked at him with a puzzled look as you didn't know what to say.
Jaehyun took a deep breath before continuing, "They're my friends and they help me catch the syndicates. We've been planning to catch them for months now and the big day will come soon."
"What? But isn't that dangerous? Why are you and your friends doing this? The police exists for a reason."
"Because I'm more determined than them. I'm more focused. I don't waste any day and night because I want those fucking criminals caught as soon as possible." Jaehyun firmly said as he raised his voice with each word, causing you to stay still as you began to get scared of him.
Jaehyun noticed how you're feeling and instantly went back to his usual calm self.
"I.. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you." He said as he slowly took steps forward.
"It's nothing. Maybe I shouldn't be asking you too many questions."
"Are you hungry? We have food here." Jaehyun quickly said as he approached the well-stocked refrigerator.
You were about to get a bottle of chocolate milk when a red-haired guy entered the room.
"Taeyong." Jaehyun said as greeted the other boy with a high-five.
"That's her?" Taeyong asked with a little smile as he pointed at you.
"Yep." Jaehyun replied, showing his dimples to you and it took all your self-control not to squeal on the spot.
Three tall boys entered, one with blonde hair while the other two had navy blue and black. You began to feel overwhelmed by their intimidating presence until two more boys arrived, one of them looked Chinese and had blonde pinkish hair while the other one was Mark. Finally, another familiar face and a breath of fresh air.
"Oh, hey! Nice to see you again!" He exclaimed as he ran forward to give you a hug.
"Hi. Same here." You said with an embarrassed chuckle as you hugged him back.
"Y/N, they're the friends I was telling you about. Taeyong, Doyoung, Yukhei, Jungwoo, Winwin, and the one you know already, Mark."
"Hi." You said, waving shyly.
They all returned your greeting in unison and you were amazed by the sound of their deep voices.
"We're gonna have dinner soon. Wanna join?" Taeyong asked you as he approached the table.
"Uhm.. no, thank you. I'm not hungry yet."
"You're good with that?" Doyoung asked you as he gestured at your chocolate milk.
"Y-yes. I'm fine."
"I'll show you your room." Jaehyun told you before you followed him.
He opened a door in the far corner and you saw a small but clean room.
"Sorry, it's so small." Jaehyun apologized as he lightly scratched his head.
"It's fine! It looks cozy and comfortable. Thank you." You replied, smoothing out the bed before taking a seat.
"We have unused clothes here. Don't worry, they're all clean. Taeyong is a clean freak." He said, opening the tall brown closet right across the foot of your bed.
"Alright."
Jaehyun sat beside you hesitantly before talking again.
"I'm really sorry about earlier." He said, fiddling with his fingers as he looked at them.
"I already said, it's nothing. Don't worry about it, I'm not mad." You chuckled.
Despite the amicable tone in your voice, Jaehyun still looked down on his hands with a conflicted expression, as if contemplating about something.
"I think you deserve to know what's really going on in here." He finally spoke.
"Hmm? Haven't you.. explained it to me earlier?"
"No. What I mean is, I want to tell you what those criminals actually do and why I want to catch them with my own hands." He said, finally looking at you with such glint in his eyes.
You nodded to let him continue.
"Those criminals kidnap young women to get their egg cells."
"Wait, what? That's fucking disgusting!"
"Exactly. They roam around the country one city at a time instead of going around kidnapping girls all at once to avoid getting noticed by the national police."
"But why are they doing this? I thought they were gonna sell me as a prostitute or something. What's with the interest in egg cells?"
"They forcibly get egg cells and sell them to a huge and well-known hospital."
"You've got to be kidding me."
"I hope I was. The hospital offers legal IVF services and infertile couples approach them to choose the egg cells of the best woman among those who willingly donated. These couples are victims as well. They have no idea that those egg cells were retrieved illegally instead of donated willingly."
"You know so much about them. But how did you get all these info?"
"Early last year, my older sister became one of their victims. But unlike you, she didn't make it out alive." Jaehyun declared as he looked down on the floor.
"W-what.. Oh my god, I'm so sorry."
"Our parents died when we were young so she took it upon herself to provide for the two of us. But one night, she didn't go home. I waited the next morning to go to her workplace and asked them where she was. But none of them knew. I posted on my social media about her and one of my friends said that he saw her the night she went missing. He said she was unconscious while being carried to a van. He thought she was just drunk and her friends were just assisting her. He gave me the plate number of the van they used and I immediately went to the police. Here comes the annoying part.” Jaehyun said with a scoff before continuing.
“I had to beg again and again for them to prioritize my case. I went there in the morning, they only agreed to help me in the evening. I waited the whole fucking day. They were able to trace the van via CCTV and by the time we got there it was too late. No single human, dead or alive. But there was blood in some parts of the rooms. There were a few medical equipment too such as scalpels and dextrose IV, but they all looked cheap and worn out. Scalpels were obviously used to open the body and retrieve the eggs while the dextrose IV was for keeping them alive, at least for as long as they were needed. I recall the police finding some pieces of paper scattered. Written on them was the hospital name and a specific brand of medicine used for egg cell retrieval. That's when the police found out who the culprits were and the crime they committed. I remember how weak I was at that moment. I couldn't move.
The police brought me back to their station. The head told me who kidnapped my sister and for what purpose. He said they've tried to catch the criminals but all their efforts to catch them ended up as a failure. This is why I know a lot about those bastards. But another thing I couldn't forget was how quickly they dismissed the case. They said they were sorry and shit. I didn't need that. What I needed was for them to actually do something to find my sister. But since they always failed, they just gave up and stopped trying. And that, that was the moment I knew I couldn't trust the police. My sister is most likely dead already but that doesn't stop me from getting revenge and putting an end to their crime.
From then on, I've been keeping a close eye on the news to find out which city they're staying. When a huge amount of women gets kidnapped in a city, that's where they are.
Those six guys you just met out there? They didn't have to go with me. But they wanted justice served as well. And if the ones in authority can't do that, then we will. " Jaehyun had his jaw clenched and his hands in tight fists. You didn't know what to say.
"That's why I was so happy to see you that night, to see you get out of there alive. It's like I've seen hope in a physical form. You were the last confirmation we needed to prove that they're staying in Chinatown. We had a hunch but we weren't 100% sure, until I saw you right outside." He said with a slight smile which you were very thankful to see. He's been so emotional so seeing his smile and dimples showed you that he was better now.
"You told me the big day is coming soon. What do you mean-"
"We will finally catch them red-handed. Ever since we suspected that they're in Chinatown, Winwin started working as a waiter for a restaurant there to get info. He's Chinese so they won't even suspect about him."
"He's a spy? That's so cool!"
"Yeah, you can say that. However, we're not gonna attack them there. It's their turf and going there to catch them would be less advantageous for us."
"So where will you do it?"
"Once they arrive at their partner hospital. With that, it's like hitting two birds with one stone. According to the intel Winwin gathered, the criminals make their delivery to the hospital every Monday at 10 in the morning. Yukhei and Doyoung have been working as janitors in the hospital for three weeks now. Same with Winwin, to gather info particularly about the IVF department and their head doctor. The rest of us will enter the hospital under the pretense of getting a check-up. There will be two groups: one will wait for them at the hospital parking lot and get hold of the egg cells and the second group consisting of Yukhei, Doyoung, and I, will catch the head doctor and leader of the criminals in the act of exchanging money."
"My heart is racing." You whispered as you held your chest.
"Why?"
"I'm excited for you guys! Can I come with you?" You squealed.
"Of course not. It's dangerous."
"Thought so. I support you and your friends. But as I mentioned before, the police exist for a reason. This is actually their job. What are you planning after catching them?"
Jaehyun just pursed his lips in response.
"You have to surrender them to the police. I'm sorry, Jaehyun. I understand your anger towards them but even if you successfully pull off this entire plan, you have no right to arrest them. You can catch them, yes. But in the end, the police are the only ones who can put them in jail."
"I agree. I grudgingly agree, Y/N. But yes, you're right." Jaehyun before letting out a sigh.
"I wanna help in this operation. I can go to the police station on the day itself, just give me the go-signal." You said excitingly.
"What? Are you sure you wanna get involved in this?"
"Jaehyun, I've been involved in this the moment they kidnapped me. And I want them arrested so I want to help in any way I can. Please let me?"
Jaehyun found you cute with your little pout and wide pleading eyes that he couldn't help but agree.
"F-fine. But that's all you have to do. Nothing more. Got it?"
"Yes, boss!" You exclaimed while clasping your hands together in excitement.
"Boss?"
"Yup! That's what you are. You're the boss of this whole operation. You have something that pulls people to you and your cause. Your friends and now even me who you just met last week." You said with an embarrassed laugh. You felt blush forming in your cheeks and you instantly looked away from Jaehyun.
"You're unbelievably energetic about this. I thought you would be more afraid after I tell you everything." Now it was Jaehyun's turn to laugh.
"Well, I won't deny that I was very afraid. But listening to your plan, I think we have a good chance of catching them."
"Of course." Jaehyun smirked. "Well, we need some more planning to do as the big day is three days from now."
"This Monday already?"
"Yep. You can sleep now."
"Okay. Good night and good luck. Get some rest."
"Good night and..." Jaehyun's voice got weaker as he approached the door, looking at you.
"Hmm?" You asked him to continue.
"Just.. thank you. Thank you for listening and for the support. It means a lot."
He was incredibly cute with his shy smile, dimples, and the way he scratches the back of his head.
"Don't worry about it. Thank you too."
"Good night." He said before closing the door.
You changed into new clothes and washed your face before going to bed. You could feel your adrenaline increasing just by visualizing Jaehyun's plan. You wanted nothing more than his success.
Monday.
You failed to get a good night's rest the night before due to the thrill and nervousness. Finally, the big and long-awaited day has arrived. You stayed in the gang's apartment for the whole weekend and decided not to attend school today in order to accomplish what you promised to do: inform the police and bring them to the hospital once given the go-signal.
You became good friends with the other boys during the past few days. It was unbelievable to you that they were around the same age as you yet they have dedicated their life to catching a notorious group of criminals. Risking their youth, their lives.
It was seven o' clock in the morning and everyone, including you, were having breakfast while Jaehyun was reviewing the entire plan detail by detail. He was very serious and meticulous about the whole thing.
After a few minutes, Yukhei and Doyoung left before everybody else to go to the hospital. They're still under the guise of working as janitors.
You and the other boys had two more hours until you had to leave as well. In those two hours, the apartment was quiet and filled with tension brought about by extreme focus. Every one was in his own room prepping up.
After you washed the dishes, you decided to peek inside Jaehyun's room. He was practicing his punches and releasing tension with the use of a punching bag. He caught you looking and you instantly walked away.
"Wait!"
"S-sorry. I didn't mean to watch."
"It's okay, it's okay." He waved his hand as he smiled. You still couldn't absorb the fact that a vigilante who has been through so much can have a bright smile that can match that of a normal college student or a boy-next-door kind of guy.
Jaehyun gestured for you to take a seat on the sofa and you obliged.
"So, are you nervous?" He asked.
"Yeah, of course." You chuckled. "You?"
"Same. I won't deny that I'm nervous. I'm scared, even. But this is what I've been waiting and working hard for. So I'm gonna go there with all I've got."
"And this is for her, for your sister." You flashed him an encouraging smile.
"Yes, thanks for the reminder." He nodded. "We need to get dressed up now."
"Okay."
After half an hour, all of you gathered in the living room.
"We're gonna drop Y/N off at the cafe across the police station first before heading to the hospital. She'll go there to inform them once Jungwoo gives the go-signal later."
"Finally! You finally agreed to what we've been saying since last year!" Mark yelled dramatically as Winwin slowly clapped.
"What?" You asked, confused what they were talking about and what they're so dramatic for.
"We've been convincing Jaehyun since last year to let the police help after we successfully catch the criminals, but he's been so stubborn until now." Jungwoo calmly told you.
"Oh.."
"Yeah. All of us have been persuading him but he never listened to us, not even once. Until you're the one who talked to him. All it took was one girl, I see." Mark teased Jaehyun with a smirk.
"Whatever, Mark. Just go downstairs and start the damn engine." Jaehyun said as his ears noticeably got redder and redder, trying to avoid your gaze.
"Aye, aye, captain." Mark replied before leaving.
After grabbing a few drinks, Taeyong, Jungwoo, and Winwin followed right after, leaving you and Jaehyun alone.
"You remember last Friday night? When I told you everything?" Jaehyun asked as he shyly scratched his right ear.
"Yes. Why?"
"I realized.. I talked for such a long time. I was the only one talking that night."
"That's nothing. Don't worry about it. I loved listening to you." You giggled.
"No. I mean, I'd really want to know more about you. If there's a chance, no, when I get the chance, I'd love to... listen to you talk about yourself or about anything you want."
The fierce and serious Jaehyun was nowhere to be found, all you could see right in front of you was a cute and shy boy who was trying so hard not to stutter.
"Sure! Once this operation is done we can meet again but in less dangerous circumstances. Then we can continue talking." You replied as you felt your heartbeat getting louder by the second.
"Deal. Thanks, Y/N." He said as he stuck out his hand for a handshake.
After fifteen minutes, you arrived right across the designated coffee shop according to the plan.
"I hope everything goes smoothly. I'll just stay here and wait for Jungwoo's call." You said as you unfastened your seat belt.
"Y/N, just text any of us in case you don't want to do this anymore, okay? It's fine." Jaehyun said with a worried expression as he gently held your left arm.
"Don't worry about me, Jaehyun. I have the most minor part in this job." You scoffed. "See you all later."
"She's headstrong." Jungwoo said as they all watched you enter the cafe.
"How else do you think she made it out of there alive." Jaehyun said proudly before driving again.
"So, have you told her?" Taeyong asked while they were stopped at the intersection.
"Huh? Told her what?" Jaehyun asked as he looked at Taeyong through the rear view mirror.
"That you like her, duh." Winwin sassed.
"I'm.. what are you talking about? I don't."
"For fuck's sake, Jae. Just admit it!" Taeyong exasperatedly said as he rubbed his hands on his face.
"But seriously, dude. You do like her. We're not asking you, we're telling you." Jungwoo innocently insisted.
"Fine. I admit it. Happy now?" Jaehyun said before rolling his eyes, causing Mark to holler loudly and the rest to laugh.
"Okay, but wait. Why didn't you confess to her before this? She's been living with us since Friday. What if something happens to us? To you? You know there's a chance you might not get out alive after this, right?" Taeyong asked and silence ensued.
"That's why I need to get out alive after this. That's why I need to live. I didn't confess to her, yes. But I told her..."
"What? What did you tell her?" Mark asked excitedly.
"Nothing. I just.. I told her that I want to know more about her? Yeah, stuff like that. We made a deal that after we successfully pull off this mission, we'll meet again and then I can listen to her talk all day about anything."
"Woah, that's so sweet, man!" Mark exclaimed and Jaehyun instantly got embarrassed.
"Way to go, dude. Way to go." Taeyong said as he patted his friend's shoulder.
They enjoyed their conversation too well that they didn't realize the hospital was already in sight. They were able to smoothly pass the security guard, telling him that they're here to get an x-ray. They went straight to the lowest floor of the parking building. According to Yukhei and Doyoung, the criminals always park their van there whenever they make deliveries.
"There are only a few cars here. Won't we get caught? It'll be harder to hide." Winwin asked after they parked their own van a few meters from the entrance.
"No. Don't worry. Yukhei said the bastards do their transactions so quickly it doesn't even take twenty minutes. They're focused on doing it so quickly that they don't even check to see if anyone's after them." Jaehyun replied.
After a few more minutes of waiting, the van they've been waiting for finally arrived. Jaehyun's grip on the steering wheel got tighter and tighter the more he looked at the vehicle.
"Jae, calm down." Taeyong commanded.
"No need to worry about me. I'm fine." He replied before he carefully got out of his seat, which signaled to the others to do the same.
It's finally time.
They hid in the dark spot of the basement behind a car until the leader of the criminals got on the elevator on his way to the IVF department.
Once he was out of sight, Winwin ran to the remaining men who were busy taking out boxes of egg cells from the van. He struck the first blow using his baton and swift moves, taking down two of the men. He was quickly followed by Jungwoo and Taeyong who took down four others with their tasers and nunchucks. They had the upper hand but the enemies were resilient and had to be attacked again and again, taking their time and energy.
They handcuffed all the six criminals as quickly as possible to make sure that they won't escape. While all of this occurred, Jaehyun inspected the ten boxes to check if the contents were really egg cells, and they were. He felt weak and disgusted but at the same time more determined. They caught the minions, only the leader and the head doctor are left now.
He was waiting for the elevator when he called Doyoung.
"Hey. Jungwoo, Winwin, and Taeyong have successfully caught the guys down here. How about you? What's the status there?"
"The leader just arrived and is waiting for the head doctor now as he sits in the reception area. I've successfully placed the audio recorder under the doctor's desk. Both Yukhei and I can hear their conversation real time as well. I've also installed a mini CCTV."
"Great. I'm just waiting for the elevator. How many people are there?"
"Only him, the doctor who's yet to arrive, me, and Yukhei. The doctor always makes sure there are no other people when the leader is here. No patients, not even nurses. We're just here at the restroom pretending to clean up that's why he's doesn't know we're here."
"Okay. I'll go up now. See you." Jaehyun said before hanging up.
He was alone in the lift. A short moment of solidarity before the climax begins. He thought of his sister, his friends, and you. Jaehyun was not afraid of dying, his friends might be, but he never was. The moment he decided to chase the criminals who killed his sister, he knew he was playing with danger, with death. But you came into his life that night and for some reason, he always ended up thinking about you. He wanted to protect you all the time. And he did. He watched you go to university in the morning, leave it in the afternoon, and made sure that you always got home safely by evening. He wasn't exactly sure why he did all those or why he felt that way about you. But he just did what his heart told him to do.
For the first time, he felt excited about living. Not because of his goal of revenge, but because he wanted to spend time with you again. Jaehyun was never the type to be bothered by "what ifs". But you changed that about him. "What if I succeed? What do I do after that? What if I don't succeed? What if I die?" All those thoughts started to pop up in his mind. He didn't know the exact answers to each but the one thing he was certain about was that he will meet you again, for sure. But this time, it will be without fear of danger or anything. Just pure happiness and curiosity because of his desire to know you more. That thought made him smile to himself right before the elevator opened.
The floor was pristine yet very quiet. No human presence, at least at that moment. He went straight to the restroom to meet with his accomplices.
"Are you ready?" Jaehyun asked the two.
"Are you?" Yukhei asked back to which Jaehyun replied with a smirk.
"We have to hurry. The doctor came out to meet him just now." Doyoung slightly panicked as he listened to his earpiece.
The three of them peeked through the corner of the glass wall surrounding the reception area where the doctor and the leader were talking. They waited until they saw the doctor hand over a white thick envelope containing the cash payment. While waiting, Jaehyun texted Jungwoo their current status and instructed him to tell you that it's already okay to inform the police. Jungwoo replied with a thumb up emoji.
Right after that, the three of them barged in. Doyoung quickly handcuffed the doctor while Jaehyun and Yukhei stood closely against the leader, with their nightsticks on hand and ready for combat. Doyoung locked the doctor up in his office and eventually joined his two friends.
"Who the fuck are you? You're all too young to be part of the police." The leader asked as he removed his jacket, preparing for battle as well.
"It's because we're not part of the police." Yukhei said.
"We're better than them." Jaehyun hissed and took the opportunity to strike the first attack the moment he saw a glimpse of confusion from the leader.
He hit him hard in the face with the end of his nightstick. Or so he thought. The leader's nose was bleeding but he was still standing firmly. He hit Jaehyun in the stomach and it was Yukhei and Doyoung's turn to attack him. Those two were good fighters, all of Jaehyun's friends are. But the leader who was in his mid-30s was a better fighter. Jaehyun. Yukhei, and Doyoung was able to put up with him for a good five minutes until the leader injured Doyoung's arm, causing it to be immobile and for Doyoung to let out a loud yet short scream.
Yukhei and Jaehyun exerted all their efforts and combat knowledge to heavily injure the man but to no avail. He was able to hold Yukhei by the neck, suffocate him, and throw him against the glass reception table.
Jaehyun looked at his two injured friends lying on the ground, almost unconscious and trying to move but couldn't. Fear was starting to envelope his heart as he realized that he was now left alone to stand against the criminal across him. But he reminded himself that if he lets fear consume him, he will surely die right there and then.
"I'm gonna ask again. Who the fuck are you? If you're not the police, then why are you here risking your life to stop me?"
"Because of her." Jaehyun hissed as he quickly took out a picture of her older sister. "Do you remember her? You kidnapped her April of last year. You kidnapped my sister and I'm here to serve justice to her death."
"Hmm, no. I don't remember her. I've seen too many women that I can't remember any of them." The leader scoffed as he wiped blood dripping from his nose.
This caused Jaehyun to shut down everything surrounding him and focus on one goal: kill this guy. He had no intention of killing him but the fact that this criminal had no remorse regarding what he's doing caused Jaehyun to snap.
His mind and body worked quickly together to help him remember all the martial arts and self-defense lessons he's been taking this past year. He moved with such ease and strength, too fast for the leader to see which resulted to him getting punched and kicked repeatedly without being able to fight back.
Jaehyun's nightsticks were now covered in blood but clearly, he had no intention of stopping.
"J-jaehyun.. stop that.." Doyoung said weakly but Jaehyun paid no attention.
The leader was now lying on the ground, his face was almost distorted and full of blood. Jaehyun was about to give him the last hit until he heard your cries.
"No! Jaehyun, stop! Put that down!" You pleaded as you cautiously approached.
Jaehyun slowly turned his head to look at you and he saw tears on the verge of falling from your eyes while your hands were clasped together as if you were praying. He put down his arm and nightstick and stood up to go to the side so the police can finally handcuff the leader. The other police officers unlocked the doctor's office and arrested him as well. Medics arrived on the scene and quickly placed Yukhei and Doyoung on stretchers.
You watched Jaehyun closely the entire time, your eyes never leaving him. He stood still and just looked at his bloody hands. You're not the only one who found what he did unbelievable, he himself felt the same way.
It’s been a week since Jaehyun and his friends caught the criminals. The police interrogated all seven of them one by one but ultimately decided to let the damages slide because at the end of the day, nothing could change the fact that they stopped the criminals from victimizing more women and married couples.
You were worried about them and started to consider them as friends, and so you’ve been visiting them after school this past week, bringing food and drinks. They were all there except Yukhei who was still confined in the hospital, he’s the one who had the most number of injuries. Doyoung was confined for a day and now had a cast around his arm.
It was Saturday morning when you asked Mark about their individual plans now that they’ve already succeeded with their goal as a group.
“I’m looking into entering college.” Mark said as he chewed on the sandwich you brought. “Winwin is gonna go back to China but will still visit here a few times a year. Jungwoo and Doyoung will continue studying while Taeyong is already looking for work. He doesn’t wanna study.”
“Oh. It's good that you all have plans..." You said as you hesitated whether to ask the next question or not. But you still did. "H-how about Jaehyun?”
“To be honest? I don’t know. He’s been so fixated on catching those criminals and getting revenge that he never talked about what his plan would be after this. He’s not really talking to us either. He just stays in his room and just goes out if he needs to.”
“He’s like that to you guys, too? I thought I’m the only he’s giving the silent treatment. But why? Is he mad or something?”
“No, not really. He just... he’s just confused about something.” Mark said with a pitiful smile.
“Confused? About what?”
“It would be for the best if you hear it from him. It’s not for me to tell you.” He flashed you a knowing smile before standing up, leaving you alone and confused. You heard Winwin and Jungwoo holding back their laughter as they sat on the couch.
“Well, I guess I just have to wait until he actually wants to talk to me. I gotta go. Give... give him his sandwich, okay?”
“Of course. We give him all the food you make for him, don’t worry.” Mark replied.
“I know I can trust you.” You told him as you fist bumped each other. “Bye guys!”
“Bye! See you and take care!” The other boys said as they waved at you.
Yes. Jaehyun hasn’t talked to you since that day. After the hospital checked him for any injury and later on going to the station for the interview with the police, he drove you home and asked again and again whether you were hurt in any way. He was so worried about you. You saw it on his face and heard it in his voice and it made you feel fuzzy and warm all over. He texted you messages of good night, thank you, and sorry right before you slept but since then, you haven’t heard directly from him. Even when you visited their apartment every day, he never got out of his room and showed himself to you.
As you walked to the bus station on your way home, you kept asking yourself again and again if you did something that caused him to act this way, if you were the one to blame.
“Open up.” Mark said as he knocked on Jaehyun’s room after you left. “She left already.”
Jaehyun slowly opened the door to find his sandwich on a plate that Mark held up to his face.
“No need to put it so close to my face, dummy.” Jaehyun said grumpily, taking the plate and putting it down on the table to eat.
“How long are you gonna do this? We can handle this and we know how you are. But her? She has no idea why you’re giving her the cold shoulder.”
“I don’t know what to do. I can’t just act like nothing happened. She... she saw how violent I was. I almost killed that bastard in front of her.” Jaehyun confessed, rubbing his right hand on his face frustratingly.
“Do you think she still thinks about that? She’s worried about you and actually makes an effort to take care of you and to see you. If she’s afraid of what she saw back there in that hospital, you think she’ll still come here? Bring us food? Ask how you are?” Taeyong joined in the conversation.
“I’m telling you. I don’t know what to do! It’s like I’m pushed against the wall here-“
“Listen. Another girl like her might not come your way again. With the lifestyle and background we have? It’s almost impossible to find someone who would accept us. So take your chance now or regret it forever.” Taeyong advised to his friend as he held Jaehyun’s shoulder firmly, showing his sincerity.
The whole house was listening and suddenly the atmosphere was filled with silence and seriousness.
“Fine. I’ll do it. I’ll talk to her, okay? Just stop nagging.” Jaehyun said as he scratched his head embarrassingly before heading back to his room with his unfinished sandwich.
He spent the next half an hour practicing the words he wanted to tell you. In the end, he just gave up and believed that practicing wouldn't help him anyway. He just decided to tell you whatever was in his mind and heart. He retrieved his phone to send you a text, fingers shaking a little as he typed.
"Hi Y/N. How are you? I'm so sorry for not replying lately. Are you available to meet me at the park in around half an hour? If not, it's alright. We can schedule it for another time :)"
Jaehyun let out a loud sigh as he laid down on his bed after he saw the text was delivered. Nervously waiting for your answer.
You just arrived home when you got his text, heart skipping a beat when you saw his name on your screen. You read the text again and again and jumped for joy. It took around three minutes before you composed yourself to send a proper reply.
"Hey Jaehyun. Long time no talk! Sure. See you at the park :)"
You quickly left the house again after sending your text. As you walked briskly, you realized how much you missed Jaehyun despite not talking for only a week. It wasn't a long time but for some reason, you felt like it was. Your heart was beating so fast because of happiness, excitement, and overwhelming adoration for the boy.
After ten minutes, you got to the huge park and bought a cold drink from the vending machine to refresh yourself before taking a seat at one of the benches. There were only a few people at the same place, a pair of mother and daughter and some friends and couples. You took some sips, did a few inhale-exhale exercises, and simply observed your surroundings to calm yourself.
You checked your phone to see if Jaehyun replied. You read his message, "I know.. I'm so sorry about that T__T Okay, see you!" You couldn't help but laugh at his cuteness and wonder how someone as fierce as him was also an actual cutie.
Another ten minutes later, Jaehyun arrived at the park as well, panting and gasping for air. When he got your text, he immediately dressed up and brushed his teeth. He didn't even have a chance to look at his friends' faces to say goodbye properly. But they were happy for him, very happy and wishing him all the luck in the world.
Upon entering the park, he walked slowly as he looked around trying to find you. He instantly stopped in his tracks when he saw your back facing him, sitting at one of the benches right across. His heart beat got louder and louder to the point that it was almost the only thing he could hear. He just looked at you for a good half a minute and that's when he realized that it was now or never.
"Another girl like her might not come your way again.. take your chance now or regret it forever.”
He could hear Taeyong's words again and he eventually started taking steps to reach you. With every step, he started to smile more and more, feeling his heart calm down.
He carefully took the spot on the bench next to you, not announcing his arrival at all and just sat there with a bright smile showing his dimples.
"Oh, I'm sorry but I'm waiting for som-" You quickly said until you realized that he was that someone you were waiting for.
Your lips were slightly apart in shock. You were pretty unsure what you were being shocked for as you were very well aware that Jaehyun was on his way to meet you. But you just sat there looking at him without making any single movement.
"Hey, Y/N. Are you okay?" He asked as he moved an inch closer to you, snapping you back to reality in an instant.
"Oh, yes. Yes, I am. Sorry about that. I just.. Maybe I'm just so surprised to see you this up close again since that day last week?" You said with an embarrassed laugh as you fanned yourself, looking away from him and feeling your cheeks become red by the second.
"Yeah, about that." It was Jaehyun's turn to get flustered. "I'm really sorry for not returning any of your calls and texts... and for not showing myself even when you're the one who makes the extra effort to visit us." Jaehyun said as he fiddled with his fingers.
"Is that why you asked to meet me here? To say.. sorry?" You asked gently, making sure that you didn't sound mean.
"Y-yes. But not only for that. But also for..." Jaehyun took a deep breath and clasped his hands tightly. "For what you saw in the hospital.. that day." It took everything in him to bring it up again while looking you directly in your eyes.
"What I saw?" You asked before letting out a sigh once you realized what he was referring to.
"I never wanted you to see that side of me. The violent-"
"Stop right there, Jaehyun. You don't have to apologize for anything. That bastard deserved that. It was your pure rage and desire for revenge that pushed you to do what you did, to be that violent. But you don't have to feel sorry. I understand why you did that and how you felt that time." You assured him.
"You do?" Jaehyun was so pleasantly surprised and happy to hear that from you. It's always his friends who understand him so hearing it from you made him smile brightly again.
"I do! I never had a hard time understanding you, Jaehyun. But I don't want you beating yourself up because of what happened. I.. I want to help you move on. But only if you will let me." You could feel your heart beat race again, anxiously waiting for what he might say in response and fearful that you were starting to sound a bit intrusive.
Jaehyun looked at you in awe before laughing heartily. It was your first time to see and hear him laugh this much and it was a lovely sight and probably the best thing you've ever heard. His eyes forming crescent moons and his dimples deeper than ever. However, as much as you loved looking at him and listening to his laughter, you were very confused. What was so funny?
"God, I like you. I really like you. I like you so much." He said as he recovered from his laughing fit, wiping some tears forming in his eyes, voice a bit weaker than before.
"S-sorry, what?" You wanted to make sure you heard him correctly.
Jaehyun looked at you and gave you a genuine smile before answering, "I said I like you so much."
"Oh, thanks.. I guess?" You said as you looked away, unsure if he meant it romantically or he likes you so much but just as a friend.
"As more than a friend." Jaehyun suddenly said like he was reading your mind.
You slowly turned to look at him again before he went on, "I like you, Y/N. So much. But I don't know what to do with these feelings. It's the first time I've felt this way and honestly?I'm totally clueless. I'm so sorry about that. Who would want a boy so clueless about romance and love anyway-"
"I like you too." You said with a smile.
"What? Say that again. Please?" Jaehyun excitedly asked, stopping himself from hugging you on the spot.
"I said I like you too!" You chuckled as you playfully hit his shoulder. "Ever since you saved my life." You took his hands and gently massaged his bruised knuckles.
"You really have no issue with my past?"
"Hmm? I don't. None at all. If not for your plan of revenge and me becoming one of their victims, we wouldn't have met." You said with a laugh, doing your best to assure him that you're here to stay.
"Can..." He began as he scratched his neck, a habit of his when he's nervous or shy.
"Hmm?"
"Can.. can I hug you?" He asked with a cute smile and a lip bite, making you fall even more with the charm of his dimples. You found it so endearing that he was asking permission for a hug.
Instead of giving a verbal answer, you're the one who initiated the hug which surprised him.
"You smell so good." He purred into your shoulder after he hugged you back very tightly.
"You too." You chuckled.
"Remember when I said that I want to know more about you?" He asked, still not letting go of you.
"Mhm."
"Well then, where do you wanna go for our first date?"
"Today?"
"Yup!" He said cutely.
"Well, there's a newly-opened cake shop around that block."
"Let's go?" He asked as he finally let go of you, giving you a good view of his sparkling eyes full of excitement and happiness. So different from before when they were full of anger, revenge, and pain.
You squished his face with both of your hands, "Let's go, Mr. Breadface."
"Mr. What?"
"Breadface. That's my nickname for you, you squishy dimpled loaf of fluffy bread!" You exclaimed as you squished his face even more.
"Okay, if that's what you want to call me." He said with an exaggerated sigh as if giving up a fight, earning him a laughter from you. He caressed your face while watching you laugh.
As you were walking out of the park, he slowly held your hand and thought to himself that you were the one he's been waiting for. The person who has brought peace to his complicated and dangerous life.
You definitely didn’t think that you would end up in a video game with your enemy when you go over to your next neighbour’s/Mark’s best friend’s house to fetch him up, but it happened nevertheless.
♦ Characters: uni student+dancer!Ten x uni student+dancer!reader/you
♦ Genre: enemies to lovers, action, Jumanji-ish game AU, comedy, fluff
♦ Words: 10k
♦ Warning: minor descriptions of the game characters losing some of their lives but no one actually dies and it’s not bloody, so rest assured, it’s all PG *-*
♦ A/N: Dedicated to the best person in the whole universe aka the loveliest @dat-town! Let it be about us/me fangirling about groups, brainstorming for stories or couples or merely just having a meal together, it’s always fun and comfortable with you. Having you is the best thing in my life! Love you lots, wishing you the happiest birthday! 💖💖💖
You definitely didn’t think that you would end up in a video game when you go over to your next neighbour’s slash Mark’s best friend’s house to fetch him up because it was way past midnight and you wouldn’t want to encounter your mother’s rage in the morning when they come back from their wellness weekend with your father and your little brother isn’t yet at home, but it happened nevertheless.
It was Johnny’s birthday and after celebrating it with his uni friends, he invited your little brother - Mark - over to have some guy time to themselves. What you didn’t know was that Mark would stay there later than previously agreed upon and that Ten would also be there. It was understandable though, Ten and Johnny were good friends, and the three of you had been in the same year at the local high school. However, you and Ten also went to the same dance academy, and it would have been fine just seeing him perform at the same festivals and competitions, but once he had dared to tell you in front of both his and your team that you had the perfect butt for twerking, and you couldn’t look at him the same way ever since.
Ten and Mark had also been on good terms due to the fact that they had known each other through Johnny, but you tried to avoid that guy ever since. Not that you would think that he was a pervert based on just one of his comments since you two were dancers and dancing required a certain amount of self-confidence and lessened shyness when it came to body image, but you sure didn’t have a good opinion of him ever since that day.
So it didn’t help either that you needed to bear his gaze while you tried to persuade your little brother to come home as soon as possible.
“I swear if you join this game that can only be played with four players, I’ll go home after we finish!” Mark pleaded with his puppy eyes that always worked on you, and upon seeing them, you needed to let out a frustrated huff.
“Fine, but just one round! One! And then you come with me without complaint. Deal?”
You suggested with a slight raise of your eyebrows, and your little brother nodded fervently while his friends grinned to themselves, knowing that they could make the guy stay for at least half an hour, and that you could have been more persistent if you had wanted to, but you didn’t want to be an evil big sister.
So you joined the three of them with the video consol they had given you, and you started wondering how good you could play despite only playing when Mark was bored playing alone, but then, you felt the air being sucked out of your lungs, your stomach taking turns and your body landing on something cold and hard, something that was definitely not the carpet of the Seo house’s living room.
You felt as if you had been on a plane that had gotten into turbulence, your head aching from the sudden happenings and your body sore from the abrupt crush. You blinked rapidly, hands reaching for something around you to get a better hold of your surroundings when someone let out an ouch sound. Apparently, you slapped Johnny in the face.
“What the heck is this?” You stood up as you looked around, a totally dark room around of you without seemingly no exit or whatsoever. It felt like you were on stage with that light being shone upon the four of you, everything else in total darkness.
As you examined the others, you realized that they wore the clothes their characters in the game wore, and that’s when you frantically looked down on yourself, only to realize that you had randomly chosen someone who was said to be a badass female character - the only downside to it was that she wore little to no clothing with only a tight crop top, a very short short and black leather boots. Ten was wearing a black low-cut shirt with leather jeans and Converse trainers, he looked like he was about to go to a dance competition rather than anything that was happening around you all. Mark was wearing a school uniform with a loosely tucked shirt and a black tie, cotton pants and training shoes, he even had a backpack to match his school boy image while Johnny looked like a scientist with his doctor’s gown and black jeans, shoes as shiny as newly made teeth. It seemed that whatever had happened, you were all wearing the clothes of your chosen characters.
“I think we are in the actual game,” Johnny mused out loud as he took a turn to look around, no sign of panic in his voice.
“Dude, I think you’re right!” Mark hollered excitedly, clapping his hands as if he had been waiting for this to happen.
“I don’t think this is something to celebrate, Mark,” you reprimanded your little brother with a pointed glare and before he could even open his mouth, the one who really shouldn’t have actually butted in.
“Don’t be so hard on him. We don’t know what it means for us that we ended up here,” Ten remarked, and as you turned to him, your deadly glare was on him this time. He merely shrugged his shoulders, clearly not being able to detect the frustration boiling up inside of you. You would have been fine with Johnny telling you such things, but when it came to Ten, you were more than angry. How dared he?
“Probably nothing good,” you spitted, furiously. You had just wanted to get your little brother home, and now? You were dressed in your character’s clothes in the middle of a totally dark room except that light, and you had no idea what to do.
“Well, if it’s really a video game, this is going to be the part where we’re going to get to know what our mission is,” Johnny mentioned before chaos could erupt between you and Ten, and he casually pushed his glasses further up on his nose bridge. Even though you really didn’t know a lot about video games, he was probably right, it was just the uncertainty that was killing you from the inside.
However, a few seconds later, a screen came up out of nowhere - hovering in front of the four of you, the game’s name written on it with big, burgundy letter. You gulped down a nervous lump in your throat, giving your little brother a side-glance, but instead of appearing scared, he was actually excited. Great...
Then, a moment later, a low, generated voice was heard from the screen and it felt like its words were coming from speakers, but there were no speakers in sight.
“Dear players! Thank you for joining the game! We’ll announce your mission now, so listen carefully! You’ll only hear it once,” the voice said slowly yet firmly, the authoritativeness lacing every single one of its words. It was frightening, the fact that it was not even a human being that was talking to you. Though at least the announcement was made in time, so Mark could get a notebook out of his backpack and start jotting down what was being told about the mission. “To reach the brightest jewel out of all, you need to fight through fire and water. The web of lies can't distract you either, you have this one shot or game over,” it continued and then the screen evaporated and instead of a dark room, the four of you found yourselves in front of a huge chess board, ‘Level 1’ hovering above it and then disappearing just as quickly as it had appeared. The only thing that was suspicious about the otherwise common-looking black and white chess board was the fact that there were no chess pieces on the board, only the board itself.
“Okaaaay, this seems quite interesting,” your little brother commented while holding onto his backpack as if his life depended on it. Maybe it did, you thought to yourself as you caught sight of a white square literally disappearing from the board. To be precise, burning into ashes as it seemed like the ground - or whatever it was beneath the chess board - had eaten it up, flames searing the edges of the neighbouring squares.
“This doesn’t seem promising.” You gulped upon seeing the sight in front of you and exchanged a glance with your little brother who didn’t seem as excited as before, his smile wavering a bit. Maybe he started to realize that no matter why you were in an actual game, you were supposed to play it for real, and games weren’t always as fun as they seemed.
“Well, if it’s really a game and we are characters in it, we must have some abilities that can help in situations like this,” Johnny concluded after giving it some thought, and you had to give it to him that his words did make sense. Or at least, they made more sense than the fact that you had gotten inside a video game, dressed up as the characters you had chosen for yourself and you were supposed to be carrying out a mission. “Does anyone remember theirs?” He averted his eyes from one of you to the other, but none of you really remembered. Truth to be told, you wanted to bring Mark home as soon as possible, so you didn’t even look through the characters, you just opted for a female one.
“Maybe mine is seducing?” Ten threw in his idea, pointing at his low-cut shirt, earning a scandalized look from you. He merely shrugged his shoulders with an all too smug smirk, and you really wished you weren’t reminded of his words regarding your butt every single time he displayed that trademark smirk of his.
“Well, it could be,” Johnny remarked instead, staying as neutral as possible, as he was searching through the pockets of his gown. Then, as he was hit by an idea, he stopped searching and looked up, his eyes wide. “You know how there’s always a ‘help’ button in games? Maybe we should find that first.”
“Or maybe if this game really monitors us, we can send Morse codes,” Mark suggested enthusiastically, his brain cells apparently working as he was jumping up and down in excitement. “Guys, I think I know how to do Morse codes! I don’t know how but I think I can,” he explained oddly giddily, and threw his backpack onto the ground, searching for something.
You would reprimand him under other circumstances for throwing his backpack onto the ground, but this was no ordinary day and no ordinary circumstances, so you let him be and watched curiously as he brought out a LED torch and started sending signals. You looked around, your eyes scanning the place that seemingly didn’t have any walls around the chess board, except that same old creepy darkness that you had already encountered when you had been thrown into this game. It was understandable though, since it was a game, the non-gaming parts might not have been designed, but you didn’t even dare to imagine what would happen to you if you accidentally walked into the darkness.
Suddenly, a loud noise was heard, the same screen from before appearing right above the chess boards, showcasing the character profiles of the four of you.
Player no. 1 - the high schooler (male)
good at solving riddles
knows Morse codes
is the team spirit
can’t swim
Player no. 2 - the doctor (male)
good at making plans
reasonable
is the team leader
has slow reflexes
Player no. 3 - the smoulder (male)
good at seducing
has quick reflexes
is the physically most competent player
can’t say no
Player no. 4 - the smoulder (female)
good at seducing
can hypnotise others
is the glue of the group
quick-tempered
“Well, I’m just saying that we are the same kind of characters, we might as well be a match made in heaven,” Ten couldn’t help but point out the evident, a smug grin painting his lips, making you roll your eyes.
“Well, and I’m just saying then that the same kind of characters might not come in handy in such a game. We share one strength, and I’m not sure that’s a good thing,” you counter-attacked him with a fake smile, hoping that it was enough to make him back off a bit, but he was grinning at you just as widely as before. Maybe it be because he was really a smoulder in general, but you definitely didn’t enjoy being stared at like that and him being that unbothered all this time.
The screen buzzed a bit and the pictures changed, showing you that all of you had three lives for the three levels that led up to you either winning the game or losing it all. You didn’t want to think about what would happen if you lost all three of your lives because you highly doubted that it would be that easy to go home yet. You had this eerie gut feeling that if it was game over here, it would be game over outside. A creepy, cold shiver ran down your spine at such a thought.
Then, the screen disappeared yet again, and instead of appearing again, similar to the panel hovering above the chess table, there were four maps hovering above the last row of squares on the chess board. You probably had to get there and snatch the maps to move onto Level 2.
“Okay, so combining what we have, I think Ten should go first because he is said to be the most physically competent player. I have slow reflexes, so I should probably stick with him, and since there’s no water around, Mark would probably be okay as well,” Johnny suggested as he looked at each of you, the last part of his sentence signalling that he wanted you to stick to your little brother that would probably not be a bad idea since Mark was quick to freak out, and you had learned how to calm him down. It may come in handy this time as well. “Remember, it’s about teamwork as well, so be sure to shout or scream when there’s something suspicious going on or you have an idea where to step,” Johnny continued with unwavering confidence.
“Dude, you really sound like a team leader,” Mark complimented him in awe, a genuine smile making its way onto his lips. Johnny looked at him with equal fondness and urged all of you to start going slowly and carefully.
As discussed, Ten went first, then Johnny and then the two of you with your little brother. However, you soon realized that it wouldn’t be that easy to follow the smoulder guy’s footsteps because sometimes the squares he had stepped on disappeared into thin air or burned down like you had seen for the first time. Panic was slowly creeping its way into your heart as a small bomb was thrown onto the chass table, exploding right between Ten and Johnny. It seemed like you couldn’t go the same way no matter how much it would have seemed like an efficient idea.
Ten and Johnny being separated meant that Johnny needed extra time to look around and not fall into his death right away, but it didn’t mean that he could escape his weakness of having slow reflexes.
“Johnny! Arrow from the left!” You screamed at the top of your lungs as you saw it sprung into your field of vision, but the guy was so surprised about the weight of your words that he didn’t crouch down or moved further, he only looked to his left and the arrow went straight through his body that immediately evaporated right then and there. You let out another scream at the sight of his body dissolving, your eyes wide in fear and heart beating crazily loudly.
“Dude…” Mark mumbled sadly, blinking frequently to avoid crying while even Ten’s features seemed to get solemn. Even though all of you were aware that you had three lives in the game, it wasn’t exactly a pleasant feeling to see someone being shot by an arrow in front of you and disappear into thin air.
“This is really no joke,” Ten commented as well, gulping down his nervousness.
“You realize it only now?” You raised your voice, frustration building up inside of you. You swore you had never been as angry as this time, and it didn’t help either when Johnny’s body came back to life right where he had been shot by the arrow. “This shouldn’t have happened if you had just had the party until we’ve discussed with Mark and if you had just come home when I told you to,” you looked from the two older guys to your little brother, angry at each and every one of them, angry at this stupid game with its stupid tricks.
“It’s okay. I still have two lives. We’ll get through this together,” Johnny tried to lift the mood with his positivity and a kind smile, but you were not having any of it. You kept going sulkily, looking ahead of yourself in case something happened to the squares under your feet, trying to concentrate on the task instead of the other three guys.
“Yeah, and you are the glue of the team, so you’ll help us stay together, I guess,” Ten remarked with a shrug of his shoulders, and that’s when you snapped your head back in the middle of a step, not looking where you stepped and immediately felt nothing under your feet and then darkness.
It was a weird experience to get back to life after losing a life. It was like you had had a pretty bad night of tossing and turning in bed without being able to sleep and your body immediately showed signs of exhaustion, limbs weak, vision blurry and eyelids heavy. You felt like throwing up, but nothing happened in the end.
“Oh my gosh! Never do this again, please! I thought that I would have a heart attack,” Mark pleaded as you came back to life, his hands holding onto your shoulders, steadying you in the middle of the chess board. You shook your head, unable to believe that you had just lost a life and came back to continue the game. Even Mark’s face seemed a bit distant in that moment. Everything happened so fast.
“I guess our strengths and weaknesses are really showing,” Johnny noted with a bitter smile, referring to your quick-tempered self. Well… you couldn’t say anything because he wasn’t wrong, so after making sure that Mark knew that you were okay and sending a deadly glare in Ten’s direction, you prompted the team to move forward and be extra careful.
You were halfway to the end of the chess board, and until you reached the last row, you had one more bomb, two more squares that burned down, one more that disappeared into thin air but Ten was quick enough to step onto another one and you had two more arrows, but you managed to grab Mark and push him down while Ten had quick reflexes, so he didn’t have a problem with avoiding it.
You definitely realized how keeping your emotions at bay, helping each other and working together as a team could help this mission, and since you weren’t willing to lose another life over such a stupid mistake, everything seemed more serious yet a lot smoother, thus you could reach the maps one by one and the moment you touched them, the scenery changed and the screen with Level 2 was hovering above you all.
You found yourself in front of a metal door, guarded by two muscled guys who looked like they didn’t even look at anything in particular, they merely stared ahead with lifeless eyes. You exchanged a glance with the guys by your side, and even if you wanted to deny, you had to realize that Ten was looking at you with nothing else but worry in his pitch-black orbs, and that one stare was enough to send shivers down your spine. You hadn’t been used to such an affectionate glance by him because he had always been so smooth and flirtatious, and him flirting in that low-cut shirt was exactly how you would imagine him at a club, seducing someone.
You shook your head, trying to clear your mind from such thoughts and averting your eyes back to the guards.
“They are probably non-player characters if they haven’t showed any sign of realizing that we are here,” Mark broke the silence that had fallen upon the four of you, eyes shining a bit more alarmed than before. “Usually, these are the characters who give out the tasks for each level,” he added as he caught sight of your perplexed expression. You shot a thankful smile in his direction because your video gaming knowledge was definitely lacking, and it was always Mark who explained such things during the games, you didn’t really remember any info afterwards, so he needed to tell you about such things each and every time he asked you to play with him.
“I guess we’ll just have to walk up to them and ask what’s up,” Ten suggested casually, his feet already taking him forward. Even though your initial reaction was to disagree, you couldn’t help but realize you had no other choice anyway, so you followed the guy who walked until the guards started talking in unison.
“To enter the room, you must solve the following riddle. You have 10 minutes or you all lose a life. Then, you have 10 more minutes, but if you still haven’t gotten the right answer, you lose a life yet again. You can guess until it’s game over. You can guess as many times as you want under the time limit,” the guards gave you the instructions, their voice as monotonous as if it had been a translator app’s voice. You gulped nervously before they gave you the riddle in the same manner. “What goes through a door but never goes in and never comes out?”
There was a moment of silence after their question, then you started exchanging glances with the others, eyebrows furrowed, jaws tensely clenched. You didn’t expect this level to be based on a riddle after the first level’s physically exhausting part, and this one seemed in a way a lot more difficult yet also less difficult than the first one. However, the time limit was definitely disturbing, to say the least, especially since a visual countdown was hovering above your head, its ticking dressing your skin in goosebumps.
9:31
“Mark’s character is said to be good at riddles,” Johnny pointed out with a click of his fingers.
“Dude, I would answer it right away if I knew what’s the answer, but I don’t know. Maybe it’ll hit me just like the Morse codes,” he mused out loud, the weight of his character’s skills and the weight of this level definitely pressuring him. You could see how hard he was thinking, chewing on his lips out of uneasiness while the others were also throwing random words at the guards, but neither of them moved an inch, signalling that you didn’t get the answer right.
“It’s okay, Mark. Don’t panic! One way or another, our strengths have saved us last time as well, so I’m sure the answer will get to you soon,” you made an attempt to cheer up your little brother who seemed under the weather for the first time since the beginning of this real-life video game.
“She’s right. Don’t worry too much about it,” Johnny added with a supportive smile and even Ten joined the little heart-to-heart pep talk, patting the younger guy’s shoulder while smiling at him and cheering him on. No matter the tight feeling in your chest, the sight definitely eased your worries a bit. After all, you were all one team.
8:02
“Okay, okay… uhm… wind? Luck?” Mark guessed as he monitored the guards’ facial expressions, but they stayed as neutral as before, the ticking of the clock above your head moving forward as per usual.
Everyone was trying to guess the answer, throwing in random words by the end because riddles were sometimes very ridiculous, and sometimes the things that didn’t seem to make sense came out as the actual answers, so everyone tried with everything. However, the clock was ticking and Mark was getting more and more tensed, the chewing on his lips intensifying, and when the one minute countdown started, he crouched down, putting his hands onto his ears, cupping them as if he wanted to eliminate the ticking of the clock.
You crouched down beside him, drawing circles on his back, hoping that your presence could soothe his nerves a bit. You knew that if he didn’t get this right, Mark would forever feel guilty even if all of you had at least two more lives to spare.
“I get it!” He bolted upon suddenly, the clock reaching 10 seconds. “A keyhole!” He announced excitedly, drawing your attention to the door that was opening up and the clock that stopped at 8 seconds.
“Oh my gosh, I can’t believe a keyhole was the answer,” Ten said out loud what all of you had been thinking about, but instead of pondering over it, you hugged your little brother and ruffled his hair.
“Good job!” You complimented him with a genuine smile, and the one that you got in return was worth everything that you had felt in the last 10 minutes and all that emotional rollercoaster you had been experiencing ever since you had started the game.
However, your happiness couldn’t last long since the door may have opened up, but you saw absolutely nothing on the other side. That eerie darkness yet again, and if it was around, it never meant anything good. Knowing that, all of you tried to stick together, Mark holding onto your arm like a clingy koala, and the other two guys were also walking right by your side. You didn’t even realize that you were letting out a scream once you reached the darkness because then your voice was muffled, water filling up your mouth instead, making you gasp for air as you pushed yourself to the top.
You looked around, blinking the water out of your eyes as you took in your surroundings; it seemed as if you had been in a giant pole, but as always, there was a certain kind of darkness around the visible areas, making you question yet again what would happen if you went there.
However, you didn’t have more seconds to ponder over such a question because the realization that Mark’s character couldn’t swim hit you at the same time as the boy started drowning on the other side of the pole. It seemed like the four of you were scattered in four different parts of the water, and watching as your little brother was drowning while the three of you raced to get to him as soon as possible was physically and emotionally exhausting, not to mention when Ten reached him first, but he couldn’t grab onto anything anymore.
You didn’t need to be told what happened, your heart already skipped a beat and you already let out a yelp, your voice hoarse. You kept swimming in the direction Mark had disappeared at because you knew that he would appear at the same place, so you could welcome him when he came back to life. All three of you closed up on him when he did so, trying to hold him up while you were trying to hold yourself up as well. Words stuck in your throat at the sight of your little brother yet again. You didn’t really realize how painful it must have been to see you evaporate while losing a life last time until you actually experienced it for yourself. It was torture even though in the back of your mind, you knew that he still had two more lives. It was just the fact that he had indeed lost a life and the sight of seeing your brother drowning to death that pained you so much.
“Okay, okay, guys. I’m okay,” Mark reassured all of you while you were holding him up. “But what’s the mission?” he inquired quite understandably, yet ever since you had been basically thrown into this pole of water, none of you had actually cared about the mission. Yet, hearing his question, all of you looked around and found a hovering screen above the water just like every single time before this task.
Get the box from underwater and don’t let it open up, not until you reach the next level. Grab onto it altogether, and the new level will unravel.
The screen said, and you exchanged a worried glance with the others, discussing that none of you had seen a box underwater - though it hadn’t been the focus, to be honest. However, knowing the mission and the fact that Mark couldn’t swim, you needed to plan where to start the searching and who would start it.
“Well, Ten is said to be the physically most competent member, so I think he should go for it,” you spoke up first, remembering the details written on his character profile.
“You want me to go?” Ten inquired with a knowing smirk, mischievousness tinting his lips. It was unfair how handsome he looked even with his pitch-black hair totally drenched and that low-cut shirt hidden underwater. There was just something charming about his smirk, yet you knew that he knew his effect, that’s why you didn’t want to admit it yourself.
“It’s purely based on your character’s abilities, not my preferences,” you clarified alongside an eyeroll, making Johnny and Mark burst into laughter. “What?”
“Nothing. You two just sound like a bickering married couple,” your little brother dared to mention with a smile, and if it hadn’t been for the water weighing down on you and making this situation a hundred times more difficult, you would have kicked him in the shin.
“Then, I’ll go,” you offered without hesitation, wanting to move forward from this level as soon as possible. Even if you weren’t going to make the same mistake with Mark as before, you definitely didn’t want to stay here more than it was absolutely necessary.
“No, no, I’ll go. I feel like I can keep my breath for long,” Ten objected almost immediately, showing off his widest, most confident smile, and you didn’t even have time to question him, he was already helping Mark to lean onto Johnny’s shoulder and diving underwater.
It was nonetheless nerve-wracking to wait for him to come back up and to watch him try a couple of times, gasping for air when he reached the surface and then trying again until eventually he brought a metal box with him, pushing it to the center of your semicircle with Johnny and Mark.
“As stated, we should grab onto it together,” Johnny repeated what was given to you as the task, and you hoped that it would really work but just in case you sucked in a deep breath before putting your hands on the box, followed by Mark, Ten and Johnny.
And then darkness again.
When you got to the next level - Level 3 hovering above your head -, the first thing you noticed was the mass of noise around you. During the past two levels, you had encountered basically zero to no voices from around you, but this time was different. Now, you were in a buzzing city with people shoving past you, huge baskets under their armpits, pieces of silk being thrown onto their shoulders, outfits reminding you of one of your favourite childhood stories - the Aladdin’s. Then, came the sight of a tremendous, elegant, well-built palace in front of you, burgundy carpet leading the way to its enormous doors, men dressed up in fine Arabish clothing and women in dresses from the whole colour palette, being given the pass to go into the palace as they lined up on the carpet and waited for their turn.
“Oh man, what are these clothes on us?” Mark exclaimed a bit too loudly to your liking, but the others around you didn’t seem to care about his raised voice. Maybe they were non-player characters just like Mark had mentioned before.
Upon hearing his exclaim, you automatically looked down on yourself and your eyes immediately widened. It wasn’t that the dress was as revealing as the crop top and tight short combo because your legs were covered and your arms were covered too in baggy pants and sleeves, however your shoulders were totally bare and the blouse-like top had a low, V-shaped cut in the middle - a lower one than you would feel comfortable in -, tightly hugging your chest and your breasts. The main part of the outfit was coloured in deep-blue that seemed almost black while the baggy parts were somewhat lighter, closer to ocean-blue and a bit translucent.
“Now, that is a look!” Ten commented in awe, looking you up and down, an impressed expression painting his features. Of course, it wouldn’t have been him if he hadn’t felt the need to comment on your outfit, but before you could counter-attack him, your little brother pointed at Ten’s outfit.
“Yo, dude, you look like a prince!” Mark concluded as he examined the older boy’s all-white and thankfully decent outfit consisting of not only pants, a chest-covering top, a golden belt and golden, pointed shoes but also a turban. Compared to Mark and Johnny’s rather average merchant-like outfits, he did look like a royal. “And maybe you are his princess,” Mark continued as he averted his eyes to you, and Johnny had to hold his stomach while laughing when he saw your expression.
“Excuse me?”
“I didn’t mean it that way, you know. It’s just that maybe you two are some power couple on this level,” Mark tried to clarify himself, but he did a horrible job because Johnny couldn’t stop laughing and Ten was wiggling his eyebrows at you as if he had been stuck doing that for eternity.
“Okay, let’s just focus on the mission! What do we gotta do now? Where’s the box from level 2?” The questions fell from your lips, your confidence not wavering by the situation that was unfolding around you. Maybe that’s why you were the glue of the group; you always managed to keep the whole group together while being focused on the mission, though you didn’t really know if it was just you being you or your character’s skills. You felt like you couldn’t draw the line between the two anymore.
“I-” Ten started a bit hesitantly, looking around and searching through his pockets only to find a neatly wrapped letter in his left pocket. “I guess this must have been in there,” he explained as he told everyone to gather closer around the letter, so that everyone could read what was written inside of it once he opened it. “We are pleased to inform you that you have been invited to Midnight Land’s anniversary night with your lovely companion.” he read out loud, looking up from the letter when he finished.
“I guess your lovely companion isn’t us, bro,” Johnny confirmed what you had been expecting while listening to the content of the letter, and it seemed like it had been just what Mr. low-cut shirt had been waiting for because he held his arm out to you and flashed a bright smile.
“Well then, my lovely companion…” He raised an eyebrow expectantly, making you roll your eyes at his antics.
“Oh please!”
“What?” he asked back, a pout making its way onto his lips. “It can’t be harder than dancing. When you’re on stage, you’re also a different person, you are more fierce, more confident, more sassy. Pretending that you are my lovely companion can’t be more difficult than doing well-practiced moves,” he explained to you all too confidently, making the other two guys coo.
You had to admit that he did have a point because while dancing was based on the moves and transitions and team work, it was about so much more than that; it was about becoming one with the rhythm, using facial expressions that you wouldn’t normally use to showcase the emotions channelled into the choreography and appearing as someone else if needed. It was a bit like a choreographed play and if you were good, people actually tended to believe that who you were on stage was the exact same you were off-stage.
“Okay,” you mumbled under your nose, taking his arm and letting him intertwine it with yours as you saw around you with other couples. His touch felt unfamiliar, yet oddly reassuring at the same time, and you didn’t know what to do with that silly turn of your stomach. You liked to think of yourself as someone who wouldn’t want a guy like him break down your walls, but you were starting to do a bad job at hiding your feelings, so you tried to tell yourself that it was all for just the game. Just the game.
Thankfully, Mark didn’t let silence stretch for too long between the four of you as he asked a very understandable question given the situation you had gotten yourself into.
“But how do we get in there? You know, we are probably needed for back-up,” your little brother pointed out, and since the invitation was written for Ten and his lovely companion and neither of the other two guys looked like a bodyguard or some kind of the sort, you knew you couldn’t get them in as easily as you would (hopefully) get the two of you inside with Ten.
However, thinking back to your character profiles and the strengths of each character, a sudden idea popped into your head.
“I can hypnotise others according to my profile. Maybe we can try that out now,” you suggested with a shrug of your shoulders because the worst case scenario was that they wouldn’t let the boys in. It was always worth a try.
Needless to say, your abrupt idea made you uncharacteristically nervous because you couldn’t even imagine how you would hypnotise others, but you tried to remain calm and engage in the conversation with the guys who started wondering just how much time must have passed outside of the game. You hoped not too much because your parents would totally freak out if they didn’t find either of you at home by the time they get home from their wellness weekend, and you had uni the next morning and Mark had school, so no matter how trivial those activities seemed, you really wished you could go back to the world outside of the game and listen to another boring lecture instead of wearing such clothes, holding onto Ten’s arms and waiting for your turn in the queue.
Time passed by quickly, and sure, you tried to get the two guys into the palace without mentioning anything after handing the invitation to the guards, but they stopped them. So you made an attempt at staring at them very intensively, whispering convincing words and not breaking the eye-contact. That’s what you had seen in movies and that’s what you felt like would be the right thing to do, and luckily, it worked. You immediately let out a sigh in relief when you stepped into the huge ball-room like place with golden and bronze decoration, the smell of spices and freshly made food and lots of music and noise.
“Okay, what do we do now?” Mark inquired giddily as soon as you overcame the first obstacle of this level, and as the team leader as he was, it was Johnny who took it upon himself to start coming up with a plan.
“Well, our mission is: “To reach the brightest jewel out of all, you need to fight through fire and water. The web of lies can't distract you either, you have this one shot or game over. I guess we’ve done everything, except the brightest jewel part, so I guess we are looking for a bright jewel,” he explained as briefly yet informatively as possible, and all of you nodded to his words.
“Should we start searching here or-” Mark started excitedly, looking around like a little boy in a candy shop, but was cut off by the sound of trumpets that signalled the arrival of three magnificent-looking people.
“Please, welcome dearly our majestic Sultan, his lovely wife the Sultana and their bright daughter, the princess of Midnight Land,” an announcer said, silencing the crowd, all eyes on the elderly couple in elegant golden and white clothes - similar to Ten’s colours - and their daughter who wore a peacock-like dress with feathers and lots of bright jewels. Especially the one around her neck.
“I guess we found it,” Ten pointed out in awe, totally mesmerized by the beauty of the princess. You rolled your eyes yet again. Boys.
“I don’t want to be the person to point it out but we have a smoulder here whose specialty is seducing, and while I think he should have the most innocent intentions, somehow we need to get hold of that necklace and get it from her,” Johnny summed up the plan pretty quickly, and while Mark looked like a kid at a festival who was dumbfounded at the sight of not only the royal family but every single thing from the table of delicious-looking food to the huge flags hanging from the ceiling, Johnny seemed more composed than any of the boys.
Yet, hearing his plan, Ten averted his eyes back to the little group and let out a smug grin.
“How difficult it can be?” He shrugged his shoulders, not even questioning anything regarding the plan. His confidence that usually came in handy while dancing was now concerning you. “Now, if you excuse me…” He grabbed the opportunity to leave, but you fervently pulled him back by the arm and reprimanded him not to go alone.
“Is it jealousy that I smell?” He wiggled his eyebrows right immediately, and oh how much you wished you could punch him in the face or at least make that stupid grin go away. You definitely didn’t think that anything more than what was necessary could happen in an innocent game like this, but it was always better to have someone look over him in case he was asked to go somewhere else you wouldn’t be able to follow him.
“If anything happens to you, it’s better to have someone by your side and remember, I can hypnotise people,” you reasoned firmly, not letting his overconfidence mess up your plan. It took a bit more to convince him, but eventually, Ten gave in to Johnny’s reasoning, and they also said that they would be lurking around you two just in case something happens to either of you.
Making your way to the princess was seemingly easy as no one seemed to be wanting to talk to her or block you, and it actually made you worried. Would it be that easy? Or would you be shot with an arrow as abruptly as during the first level if you dared to even go close to her? Knowing how this game could turn the tables so quickly, you weren’t sure about anything anymore. You all seemed to have found ways to showcase your strengths and sometimes your weaknesses too, so you had no idea what this game still had in store for you all.
Such questions were going through your head while you were walking closer and closer to the pretty princess - who seemed too unnatural in your opinion, but you blamed it on her being a character and not being as real as you were -, her face lightening up when she caught sight of you two.
“Princess…” Ten bowed respectfully, you following his example and forcing a smile onto your face. It seemed like the boy beside you didn’t have to force that smile, it was as radiant as always.
“So lovely to have you two here. Did you have a safe journey?” The princess tilted her head as she averted her eyes from Ten to you and then back at the boy. You had no idea that such monologues could take place in a video game, but this level seemed to be totally different from the other two, so it shouldn’t have taken you aback.
“It was rather… exciting,” Ten replied with his widest smile, and you felt like a third wheel watching them smiling at each other. Not like he was forced to treat you any differently than he normally would and not like he should have paid more attention to you than the one who wore what you needed to escape this stupid game but still… It hurt a bit to feel this neglected and ignored.
“I’m glad you had a safe journey,” the princess mentioned after a bit of silence, and you started to doubt that she had actually understood the meaning of the boy’s words. Or she might have been one of those characters who had a limited amount of lines, and they used the same ones no matter the response.
“What a beautiful necklace you have there,” Ten continued on with the plan nevertheless, and his voice was indeed seducing, seemingly as sweet as honey. You almost believed that he was genuinely curious and not just doing what he was told to do so and what he was good at.
“I have gotten it from my father for my birthday. It is said to be the brightest jewel in the kingdom,” she responded brightly, her smile not wavering. Your hold on Ten’s arm tightened hearing the exact same words you wanted, and he immediately squeezed your hand back, the weight of her words making you two sure that it was the princess’ necklace you were looking after.
“Can we have a look?” Ten asked straightforwardly, and there was a moment of silence when your throat closed up and your heart skipped a whole beat, you were so expectant to see the princess’ reaction. You were afraid that she would get suspicious, but she merely let out an endeared laughter.
“Not yet,” she remarked, her lips curling upwards. Then, she clicked her fingers and a servant appeared with a trace of chocolate-coated sweets. She reached out for two chocolate-coated apples and handed them to you two. “Let’s have these first,” she suggested as she took one for herself as well and took a big bite. You had a bad feeling about anything that was meant to be taken into becoming a part of the game here, so you declined the offer kindly while the boy didn’t give it a second thought.
“Ten, I don’t think it’s-”
“Sure, why not?” Ten gave in immediately, and you didn’t even have time to stop him referring to your own worries, he was already taking a big bite from the apple. He gulped down the sweet with a wide grin. “It’s delicious, thank you so-” he started but then he literally disappeared.
Then, it hit you - his weakness on his character profile, the fact that he can’t say no.
“Men can’t even take a little bit of poison,” the princess said naturally before she walked away, becoming one with the crowd. You blinked a few times, looking around, and indeed, Ten re-appeared by your side, coming out of his transitional phase between that period when he was dead and now coming back to life. Once he steadied himself, you hit him in the shoulder.
“I’ve told you not to do this alone! And I’ve wanted to warn you but you didn’t even think twice!”
“Well, I can’t say no as you can see,” he reasoned as he put his hand over the shoulder you had hit, frowning as if you had hit him so hard. You let out a frustrated huff just in time the other two boys came up to you, asking if Ten was okay. He nodded, reassuring everyone that he was, but even if he was, you lost the princess and you needed another plan.
Johnny started coming up with one yet again, and listening to all of the others’ feedbacks and assumptions, plan B was to wait until the ceremony would end, until the princess would take the necklace off and probably put it somewhere safe. Then, you would hypnotise or seduce the guards if there were any around the place she kept the jewelry in while the guys would get it. If it was something like Level 2’s mission, then you would all probably need to grab onto it to finally escape the game, hopefully not losing any more lives while doing so.
So you waited until Mark actually realized that there was sometimes a fast forward button in the some games, so he tried to use his Morse codes to send signals to this forsaken game, and somehow it worked. You still couldn’t wrap your head around the fact how and why Morse codes and how the heck all these added up, but fast forwarding the events helped to be closer to the time the princess retreated to her room. The four of you were following her in the shadows, sometimes fighting and hypnotising guards who noticed you but other than that, the plan worked because the princess went into a room with her necklace on and came out of it without the jewelry, so you knew where you had to look for it.
However, just like the time you needed to hypnosite the guards by the entrance, you weren’t so sure about this whole thing working this time as well, and you seemed to fail at first, so that’s when you turned to seducing; whispering sweet words into the guards’ ears and complimenting their muscled arms, words that you would never use on someone else, but they really did come from your character more than you, so you couldn’t really control what was going on, and until you could make them back away from the doors and let the boys have their way into the room, you could keep it up.
You didn’t know how long you would need to keep acting all sweet and sexy in front of the guards, and truth to tell, you were already ready to murder the guys in your head for making you do this, but they came just in time your patience would wear thin, and gripping the necklace that they were holding in their hands, you felt like you were swept off your feet and then darkness.
You fell onto the couch with a loud thud, half of your body falling off the furniture anyway and the other half following it because your coordination wasn’t on point from the very beginning. You felt dizzy, nauseous and actually very hungry. Your stomach grumbled loudly at the realization of it.
You snapped your head back at the other noises, counting quickly that all of the other three guys were thankfully with you again, all seemingly hurting from the landing but very much alive and in one piece. You let out a long sigh in relief, falling back to the carpet, resting your head on its material, trying to pacify the crazy beating of your heart.
“Oh my gosh, we did it! We actually won the game!” Mark hollered as he pushed himself off the ground into a cross-legged seat, putting his arms on the ground behind him.
“What happened in the last room?” you inquired as you tried to pick yourself up, but the ground was so stable and comfortable, you didn’t feel like moving an inch for the next minutes. Or hours.
“We’ve fought with some more guards, Johnny lost another life while being injured with a sword, and Mark also needed to solve another riddle to open up the box where the necklace was,” Ten summoned as he held a hand out to you, worry flashing across his orbs. You gave a pointed look in his direction, but his intentions seemed genuine, so you let him help yourself into a sitting position with your back to the couch, him being in the same position as you. He kept looking at you as if he was hoping for some kind of a reaction, but you just let out an amazed wow and looked away. You were still not ready to face reality and your feelings after what had happened in the game.
It was all crazy. One minute, you were here, worried about not getting Mark home on time and agreeing to play with the three guys, so that your little brother would actually get his ass home. Then in the next minute, you were sucked into this game, your life on the line. Never have you ever had such a bizarre experience before. The way the flashbacks flooded you actually made your head hurt.
“Guys, I think we were in the game for almost 7 hours!” Johnny noted as he walked around the living room, putting away the game consoles into a box as if they had been infected and pointing at the clock on the wall.
6:45
Your eyes immediately widened at the sight. This was not good. Definitely not good, but at least you didn’t spend whole days or weeks there.
“Oh god, we gotta go home now! Mom and dad are going to come home by 7,” you remembered suddenly, facepalming yourself as the realization hit you. Though your little brother also knew just how much of a lecturing you two could get if you weren’t found home, so he also bolted up, quickly saying goodbye to the guys and walking back to your house with you by his side, him clinging onto you like he had done so when he had been younger.
“What?”
“I’ve just realized that I really do love you, and I don’t want to see you lose your life like in the game,” he explained as you gave him a glance, but your features immediately softened hearing his words. You ruffled his hair as you let yourself into the house, and your parents actually found you two sleeping on the couch, Mark clinging to you like a baby koala because neither of you could make your way to your separate room, that’s how exhausted you were.
This was one hell of a game for sure, and you even dreamt about it in that one hour you had before your parents arrived and woke you up, chattering about their wellness weekend, you two not even really listening.
Needless to say, you were like a zombie at uni that day, and you needed a couple more days to recharge your batteries and actually face Johnny and Ten when they wanted to see you two for a chill, casual chat about your shared experience.
You decided to meet at a smoothie and shake bar in the neighbourhood that was famous for its overly sweet treats yet cheap deals, so you knew the place because you had also been there with friends before and you knew it was Mark’s favourite place around.
However, when you arrived at the bar and looked around, no familiar face was in sight, so you decided to take a seat at an unoccupied table nearby the entrance door, hoping that whoever would arrive first would notice you immediately. You knew Mark had an after-school class until 5pm and you guessed that Ten and Johnny had uni classes that day, so 6pm seemed like a reasonable time to meet, but seemingly no one ran too early as you were there 15 minutes before the agreed time and no one was around. 5 minutes before and still no one. Since Mark was known for running late, you didn’t even attempt writing him a message, asking where he was.
When the clock hit 6, you looked up from scrolling your phone just in time to catch Ten’s slightly panting self by the door, his lips breaking into a smile when his eyes landed on you. You reciprocated his smile, only to have a shiver run down your spine, unable to believe that you just smiled genuinely at the boy who had said that you have the perfect butt for twerking.
“I’ve thought I would be the last one to arrive,” Ten admitted with a joyous giggle as he took the seat opposite of you. His smile was just as radiant as always, but at least he was wearing something decent now, a beige turtleneck hiding under his black leather jacket, the warm clothing due to the chilly and unpredictable February weather.
“It seems to me that you aren’t the last one,” you pointed out with a small smile. Gosh, why were you smiling at him again? He wasn’t even working his smouldering techniques on you, he was just… being himself.
The boy went on about asking how your day was and so you told him about your classes and a few bits and bobs, him enthusiastically asking questions about your uni major and little nothings, and it was so weird actually talking to him - you hadn’t even realized before just how odd it was because you had never actually needed to hold a proper conversation with him. It had always been about seeing each other at the dance academy or at competitions or scarcely with Mark and Johnny, you hadn’t even talked to him while you had been in the same year at school. It was unfamiliar, yet it felt like talking to an old friend - the way it went so smoothly and casually.
Then, you asked him about his day and he started talking about the most random things and actually unbelievable things that had happened to him, it was just crazy what could happen to a person under just one day. You were listening to him attentively, finding yourself smiling and laughing at what he was saying because he was just too genuine and too enthusiastic to listen to with a stoic expression.
When he got to the end of his stories, there was an awkward silence that fell upon the two of you, and you were now ready to message your little brother about his whereabouts, but Ten spoke up before you could reach for your phone.
“Look, I’m sorry if my remark from the past has affected you in a bad way. Mark has told me that it’s because of my twerking comment that you don’t necessarily feel comfortable around me, and I just want you to know that while what I said was my opinion and I still think that it’s true, I didn’t mean to hurt you with it or anything like that. I also don’t think that you are just your body, of course not. You are smart, precise, caring and you give your all to whatever you are doing, so really, I hope you don’t think that I’m a pervert,” he confessed without stopping and kept his eyes on you, waiting for your reaction without any hint of a smile.
That’s how you knew that he was being genuine, and what he was saying was definitely the truth in his eyes; he didn’t try to flash a smile or wriggle his eyebrows, he seemed completely and utterly genuine. Which was weird because you had never even seen him like this before, he was more or less carefree during the game as well, thus his confession took you aback to say the least, but in the best possible way.
“Okay, I believe you.” You nodded to his words, trying with a friendly smile that he reciprocated almost immediately, his shoulders slumping. Maybe he was actually afraid of your reaction, you thought as you saw his lips curling upwards and shoulders being less tense. “Just don’t smirk at me like that, and we’ll be okay.”
“Like this?” He couldn’t let this opportunity slip away and directed a wide smirk at you, making you roll your eyes at him, convincing him to stop while he was doing anything but stopping because he knew the effect he had on you.
Maybe this was the motivation behind Johnny and Mark’s absence - knowing that you two could actually get along well if you sat down to talk - and that’s why they hadn’t showed up on purpose, making you talk to each other. You couldn’t mind though by the end of the day because you managed to have a very fun, actually comfortable conversation with Ten, and a lot actually followed this one.
a/n : im so so so sorry idk why i didn’t upload this even though i finished writing this chapter AGES ago neknkenk eNJOY !!
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to infinity and beyond : masterlist
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"Dude, this sucks."
Three boys tripped over fallen chunks of a burning building. The tallest, whining, was falling behind, kicking small pieces from the corner of his foot. One of them seemed to be too busy by the data on his computer to even notice him. The one leading in front seemed to be more concerned and careful than annoyed. He brushed his raven hair out of his eyes as he coughed, flapping his arm to avoid the smoke.
"Run a scan."
The tallest whined again, "Renjun. There was bomb. The building is in literal shreds. It's 4am. There won't be anyone or anything aliv-"
"I picked something up!"
The two other boys scrambled next to the one with the computer. His hazel eyes scanned over the purple and black computer screen. "There's a person. He's...no she's still alive," he snapped his head in front, pointing to a corner of the building, "In there! We should do something."
"Are you crazy!? Have you seen the shape of this thing? Who knows if this thing is still yet to combust? And- rENJUN WHERE ARE YOU GOING?"
"What do you mean?" Renjun snapped his head around, his eyes filled with annoyance, "I'm saving her. She's been in a blast. She's buried under a fallen building I don't know how many stories high. And she's alive. It isn't rocket science, Jisung."
(Han ji btw)
"Do you at least have the mask!?"
"No!" Renjun yelled back, scoffing, the corner of his mouth twisting with amusement, "I don't!"
"I hate being in charge! If you die, Jihyo is going to kill me!"
"Not my problem!"
And with that, Renjun ran inside, covering his mouth with his arm.
He reached the area with no problem. Oh...great. Here is where the training came in handy. He pushed a large piece off smaller pieces that held it above like a platform. He pushed the small rocks apart. The smoke started to fog his eyes, causing his throat to dry and choke. He coughed, but it didn't distract him. Hurry up, Renjun. If you don't hurry, she could die. He saw her face, finally. He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her further away and sat down, her head on his lap. He checked her pulse. It was faint, she was barely breathing. Had it not been for the smaller rocks holding up the larger one, leaving up space for air and her, she would have been crushed. Around her face, there were cuts and scratches of blood. Her lip was cut, her nose had a large slash across it, her cheeks were dusted with the blush of her own blood and black smog. Without the blood and her horrible state, he had to admit, she would have been slightly attractive. Only slightly. He chucked, glancing around.
He picked her up, bridal style, in his arms and ran out. Outside, Jisung was throwing a tantrum. He sat far away in a corner, leaving her to Jisung to fix her condition.
"We have to take her back to HQ. If we leave her here, she'll die," The boy with the computer sat down, snapping his tech goggles off. "She's hardly breathing."
Jisung gasped dramatically. "What about the secret package!?"
The younger boy raised an eyebrow, gesturing towards the computer. "I have it..."
"Awe," Jisung looked at Renjun, "This is why I like Heuningkai better than you."
"I hate you too, you shrimp."
-----
"Move over! Move!"
Renjun and Heuningkai watched Jisung carry the girl into the emergency room from a distance. Renjun sighed, leaning against the wall peacefully, closing his eyes Heuningkai sipping his bitter coffee as normally the three would on any normal 5AM mission conquest. The other agents walked around in the halls, some back from other missions, other having leisure time. Some teachers moved about here and there, chasing some students about how they should never forget their lab equipment, especially after dealing with chemicals. He heard Heuningkai take in a deep breath.
"Hey, Renjun? That was brave."
He opened his eyes, watching the younger male's eyes twinkle, "Huh?"
"You were so great. The way you ran in without hesitation. I'm impressed."
He chuckled, ruffling his hair, "Not so bad yourself, Hyuka. Detected her like that? You're getting better at that tech stuff. I could never."
Heuningkai punched Renjun in the arm. "Shut it, Huang."
There was silence, and then Heuningkai continued, "How old do you think she is? She doesn't look like a normal citizen to me."
Renjun furrowed his eyebrows in thought. "I don't know...19? 20?"
"Oh, she's young."
"Seems to be in her early 20s."
"And did you see that pocket knife casually hanging from her belt?"
"Something tells me," Renjun thrust his tongue in his cheek, "that she isn't just a mere citizen."
The boy beside him scoffed. "Well, no shit, Sherlock. She had one of those cool GPS tracker things too. They're hella expensive."
"Hm... I'll discuss it with Jihyo. She'll know."
"Speaking of her...are the girls back yet? It's been around 36 hours."
"Not that I heard of it."
Jisung exited the emergency room, sighing and wiping his forehead with a tissue. He walked over to the two with a glass of water and leaned next to them. "Damn. Is it me or is she kinda hot?"
Heuningkai rolled his eyes. "Are you going to try and hit on her too?"
"Hey, give me a break, wise guy. Last time you had a girlfriend was junior year of high school."
"And last time you had one, it was the second year of middle school."
"Hey! Stop yelling that out loud!"
"Stop thinking about her, Jisung," Renjun's sudden outburst made not Heuningkai and Jisung look towards him with raised eyebrows. "W-what I meant was, she probably has a boyfriend anyway."
"Yes, exactly," Heuningkai continued, "Now, you owe me a jelly donut."
Jisung whined as Heuningkai dragged him along to the cafeteria, "Whyyyy~ I payed for your food last time, too! What bet did I lose this time!?"
LMAO I LOVE JISUNG'S VIBE HHHHH
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Renjun walked inside the room quietly. The girl quietly lay on the bed, tucked into the crisp, white, cold sheets. Her hair were let open loose, and seemed to be combed and swept on one side. The blood and smog on her was completely vanished, and her heartbeat displayed on the monitor beside her. Her eyes were shut softly, and her mouth was open the slightest bit as she breathed from it. She's been out cold for a while now.
Her skin seemed to be pale and lost its color. The veins on her hands seemed to pop out more, her collarbones prominent. Her face was similar to an angel's, sleeping soundly. If she has a pair of white wings, he'd think he's either dead and in heaven, or he's dreaming. Yet, she looked so weak and fragile. He clicked his tongue.
She frowned in her sleep, and her eyelids began to flutter open slowly. She flinched at the bright lights in the room, and her shaking, brown eyes, that reminded him of hot cocoa, slowly adjusted and focused on him. She tried to sit up, and her arms failed her, and she fell back into bed with a soft poof, her melted sugar colored hair bounced a little bit. She opened her mouth and spoke, her voice hoarse and sounded like it hurt to just speak, "Who are you?"
He pulled a chair and sat next to her. "Do you remember anything?"
"Me?"
He nodded, trying hard not to smile from her curious tone.
She closed her eyes, and then opened them. "I was going..." She paused, and looked at him, finally noticing his get up. He had taken off his bulletproof vests and only wore his jacket and utility belt. Her eyes trailed down to his thigh, where his gun was strapped on. He looked down, and back at her, fanning his hands, "Don't worry, don't worry. I won't harm you."
He noticed she didn't look alarmed.
"Oh, I know," her voice was too calm, "I was...going to deliver something."
"Where were you when the blast happened?"
"I was inside."
There was silence.
He looked at her. "Inside?"
"Mhm," she said with a shrug, her eyes turning glassy, "Locked in. Left to rot."
"Are...are you alright?"
"Yes," she sighed, her breath shaking, "I'm better than alright."
He stood up, taking her pocket knife out his pocket. They collected her weapons before they put her in the emergency room. He flicked it in his hand. "I believe this is yours?"
She gave him a glare. "How do you have that?"
He gestured towards her hips, scoffing, "Where's your belt?"
She glanced down, feeling her empty hips. "Ugh. Alright, Einstein, may I have it back?" She asked, extending her hand out.
He smiled, flinging it in the air and catching it. "Hm...it's better than the one I have."
"My mom gave it to me."
"Oh?" He looked at her, she was raising her eyebrow, "Your mom?"
"No," she smiled, batting her eyelashes. Oh, this girl. "The squirrel I met on the way to hell did."
"That's cool!" He said, keeping it back in his pocket. "And now it's mine."
She glared at him as if she'd been flirted with by someone who frequently uses overused pick up lines, "No it's not? Give it back?"
"No? Finders keepers. Losers weepers."
"You're so lucky I can't stand."
"Am I? Well, it's been great talking to you," he said, digging his hands into his pockets as he casually strolled to the door, "but I think I gotta go. Duty calls. The doctor will be here, though!"
The door slammed, and it was Y/n's turn to let out a curse.
Warnings : mmm potential death, uh..blood (?), Minor injury, mentions of ynnie getting into a fight with a kid, yee
A/n : hello hello hello !! It's me again, and back with chapter 2. I like this one ngl. hehe. :>
Watch the edit that inspired this chapter and mainly a sign for this series here, for more of an auditory and visual experience. Again, I am NOT trying to plagiarize the creator's work, and the idea for this series and chapter mainly belongs to them !! I only wrote a fic based on it hebdb
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to infinity and beyond | masterlist
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Y/n walked inside an isolated room. The auto generated computer in the room detected her footprints. The moment she entered, the computer greeted her.
"Welcome, Agent Yoo."
She sighed, sitting down in the 360° chair. There was a series of clicks and creaks. The room was surrounded by neon glowing tables and tech equipment. The Mission Room. Well, the recruits called it that. The projecter displayed a screen infront of her.
"Agent Yoo. You are assigned your last mission. Proceed or decline?"
She sighed. The screen infront displayed the words. She knew she had no choice. She pressed "Proceed."
Immediately, the door behind her locked.
"Agent Yoo, here is your final mission from the director. Deliver the special package by midnight to JYP Entertainment. Once completed, all your remaining debt will be forgiven, and you will be granted full pardon from the group. Do you accept these terms?"
The words "Yes" and "No" displayed on the screen infront. Her fingers itched. She extended her hand. Her long and slender fingers stopped infront of the word "Yes". She heard the voice in her mind scream "NO!", and she moved her finger down, but she couldn't bring herself to press it, could she? She sighed.
"No response detected. The mission request will expire in ten seconds."
A count down started, and the computer talked over itself, "Once again, do you expect these terms?"
"Eight."
"Seven."
"Six.”
She sighed. There was nothing she could do, could she? Did she have any other choice? She would live in regret if she said no...but she really didn't want this either.
"Three."
"Tw- Very well. The package has been added to your inventory. You have one hour left to complete the mission. Good luck, and Godspeed."
---
She walked out into the garage, heading towards the shed. She looked down, the chain bracelets on her wrists clinging as she walked. She saw the french fries and popcorn charms that hung from one of them, and she chuckled. Jeno's little present. The leather jacket she wore felt dangerously tight against her chest. Her boots clunked against the floor, her footsteps echoing in the empty area.
She saw Hoseok, the agent who specialized in vehicles. He mostly offered to help with the garage when he wasn't on a mission. The moment he saw her, he flashed his signature smile.
"Y/n! How's it going, pal?"
"Oh, you know me, Hobi," she sighed, "On another mission."
"Sweet." He looked around, confusion embedded onto his face. "Where's Jeno and Seungmin?"
Her throat felt suffocating all of a sudden. "Oh, they're not coming."
"Why?" He giggled nervously, realizing, "Is it you're last..."
He didn't finish the sentence.
Y/n looked down. He smiled. "Hey! Well, it was great working with you, bud!"
She smiled as he handed her the keys to her bike. "Back at you, Hobi."
Hoseok had opened the exit from the basement. The ramp lifted, opening the exit that lead her out into the wild forest. She zipped past the trees marked with the symbol of SM. It was a road guide towards the building in the forest. She heard the owls that hooted in the night, and the crickets that chirped. The plants crushed under the hot tires of her bike. The scent of rain and dew, soaked into the trunks of the trees, smelled fresher than it did before. She exited the forest and was onto the speeding road before she knew it.
As she flew by the tall buildings at midnight in Seoul, her mind drifted towards her past. She remembered clearly, as she hesitantly walked into the Mission Room for her first day. Damn, was that nerve-wracking. She wasn't given an official title until she had finished one year at the company, so it was only, "hey look, it's the new recruit!" , until it was official that she could have as many jelly donuts until her next mission.
She remembered the first fight she had gotten into, too. Walking out of the room full of weapons, she bumped into Alex. She never really liked him, and just wanted to walk past his smug looking face, and as she did so, she felt something sharp smack her at the back of her head. There was slight but a piercing pain in the area which was hit, and she felt something trickle at the back of her neck. She looked around, dropping her books and found a silver, rusted, yet dangerously sharpened compass. She heard him snicker and she touched the red liquid at the back of her neck and watched it seep into the prints of her fingers.
"Funny how you didn't see it coming."
She tore a corner of her jeans as she wrapped it around her fingers and pressed it over the area. Her head hurt, and suddenly, despite the wonderful weather out, she felt sick. She tossed him the middle finger as she glared at him.
"Happy now, bud? I'm bleeding. Did you want to see that?"
"Nah, I'm still unsatisfied."
Her eyes felt like they might pop out of their sockets. "Why you pretty little fu-"
She grabbed his hair, much to his surprise. "Let go of me, you twit!" He snarled at her, kicking her in the shins.
"You started it! Why shouldn't I just rip your hair out right now!?"
He kicked her down to the ground. She felt him kick her back hard as all she could do was wrap her body in a ball as the other students stood around and watched.
"Do you want to know how it feels to be kicked again? There's a lot more where that came from."
She swung her leg, and swept him off his feet quite literally. He landed with a slam on his back as she inched away from him as quickly as she possibly could with a twisted ankle and a broken back. The pain at the back of her head felt like it was seeping into her skull. She heard the senior students yell behind her.
"Well, well, if it isn't Alex Hails. Long time, no see."
Alex scoffed uncomfortably as he steadied himself on his feet. "You want to do this again, here? Stop playing wise guy, Seungmin."
She heard "Seungmin" laugh. Alex laughed too. His laugh was different from Alex's. Sarcastic.
"Let the kid live. Screw off."
"That's a bold statement, especially for someone who trembles at the name of the director."
"As if you don't."
"Ah, so you admit it."
"Do we really have to go over this again, Alex?" She heard Seungmin's voice twist with mockery, "I don't want to embarrass you infront of the others."
"This guy," Alex gripped his fallen bag from the floor, "Getting ahead of yourself again, aren't you?"
"You did a long time ago messing with the new students," she felt someone crouch infront of her. A shabby looking boy, Band-Aid on his nose, his hair cut choppy, his skin pale. He looked scrawny, small. She was impressed by how his aura could strike uneasy fear in the hearts of someone like Alex. He wasn't much older than she was, max 2 years. He had a kind of understanding look in his brown eyes, as if to say "hey, I know, he's a jerk. I'll admit it." He signalled towards the torn piece of denim covered in her blood lying next to her, "Don't use that. Jeno'll take you to the nurse."
"Awe," Alex spoke behind them, and Seungmin rolled his eyes, "Being nice to the girl, aren't you a sweetie pie?"
A taller boy, she assumed to be Jeno, lend his hand to her, his other hand holding a box of fries. He smelt something like burnt rubber and rusted metal. Odd for a guy who seemed to be too friendly for a senior. As he led her away from the crowd, he tripped over his own untied shoelaces. He noticed her staring at him judgingly, and he stopped stuffing fries into his mouth, "Want some?"
And the rest about their friendship was history.
The bike's tires screeched to a halt infront of a large building. She pressed the button at the right of her helmet. The glass of her helmet started analyzing data.
Mission : deliver package to JYP Entertainment
Status : incomplete
She checked the GPS. This was the place. Her head tilted to the side. Suspicious. Why didn't they just ask her to deliver at the main building itself? Every agent is aware of these secret bases, anyway. It was useless. Besides, was she really the general public?
She hopped on one foot. What is she going to do? She has the package, but...who is going to collect it? There's no one nearby. The city is asleep. She looked around. Should she enter the building? She took off her helmet and hung it on the bike. She walked inside.
The building seemed awfully familiar to a hospital. But it was clearly not. The lights were pure white, so we're the tiles of marble. She stopped in her tracks. Y/n's pretty face furrowed as she stared at the clock, too bright of a color to be any ordinary clock. It didn't tick in the normal way. It ticked unusually. She heard a series of clicks and creaks again. Morse code.
There was a beep. Her data was synced with something. Y/n's fingers slowly slid around the pistol snapped on her belt under her jacket. She walked backwards slowly. Whoever or whatever was in here already had the package. Now all she had to do was get out of this situation. Preferably, alive.
The computer sounded in the empty building, "Agent Yoo, on behalf of the entire agency, we would like to express our utmost gratitude for your loyalty to our company and its vision."
She glanced around, her mind surging with panic, her pistol out, her breath shaking. The lights in the halls started blinking violently, the heat in the room seemed to increase. She didn't want this. Is this the final goodbye note? How considerate of them.
"However, the director has made the unfortunate conclusion that your debt to us goes beyond what money and time could ever repay."
She cursed. Of course. There's a catch. There always is. Classic SM.
"The information you now possess is much too valuable for you to simply walk out....alive."
Run.
She turned, banging her shoulders on the doors. She tried kicking. She cursed again. Locked. She couldn't even hear what the computer had to say to her anymore. All that was surging through her head was pounding panic. Her eyes fogged, her breathing ragged, her vision blocked. She looked around, the closest window was too far for her to easily reach and escape, if it was not locked. She threw her gun down in frustration, and the metal popped off. Great. That's probably useless now.
"Again, Agent Yoo, it has truly been an honor working with you these past six years."
The smiling faces of Seungmin and Jeno flashed infront of her eyes, and she cried out, using her entire body weight on the door. Her back slowly slid on the door, and she fell down, clutching her arm. The last thing she heard before her entire senses were burned as she died in agony was the scrambled noise of the computer bidding her goodbye.
Warnings : murder, guns, weapons, death, slight dark humor, foreshadowing, blah, blah, basic spy au shit.
a/n : helloooooOOooOO did u miss me? so, I've been working on this series and I'm not so sure how it’ll go, but I hope it works out well!! Enjoy !! And tell me what you think, it’s kind of tragic and long so :]
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to infinity and beyond | masterlist
-----------------------------
"Ah, shut up."
Through the broken window, the specs of dust danced in the rising sun. Broken chairs lay over the sand covered floor. The scent of gunpowder seeped in the air. Glass and a torn mattress lay in the corner, and a pistol lay on the almost shattered glass table. The bullet shot door creaked open slightly by the wind, and Y/n held her gun by the shoulder. She crouched lower behind the ripped couch, which wasn't exactly humanly possible, but she managed. Her finger lay threateningly close to the trigger.
The sound of glass and sand crunching under boots spread through the studio apartment, coming closer and closer. Whoever was there seemed to know where she was, because without hesitation, they walked faster behind the couch, and eyed her with the gun. With shock filling her eyes, she screamed, pulling the trigger. In time, she seemed to realize the familiar face, and managed to move the gun up towards the ceiling.
"Jeno! What the hell?" She called out.
Jeno seemed to be to shocked by the sudden attack to even care. He had clasped his empty hand over his ear, the other one holding his gun helplessly. He slowly came to the realization that death nor danger was anywhere near, and he seemed to let the surprise subside. He scoffed uncomfortably. "You're..." He pointed at her, trying to put his smug face on, well aware that he's still in shock, "You're a funny one."
The door flew open, and Seungmin charged in. "Fools! They're on the roof!"
Jeno yanked Y/n off the floor, running behind Seungmin. The three ran down the hallways and up the stairs. The building was still, surprisingly, in one piece. No one expected anyone to be living this far out in the open, the only idle building standing in this abandoned ghost town. The ceiling was coming apart, chunks of it were fallen, some corners even broken, holes in the walls, and some areas, there weren't even any walls. Just the open scenery of the dusty, abandoned, smelly town. The walkie talkie strapped on Seungmin's bulletproof vest mumbled something in a scrambled voice, and he cursed.
"What were you two even doing?" He asked, leading them both up the broken stairs.
"Hey, this adorable little bear almost shot me in the head," Jeno sounded concerningly disappointed, "Give me a second."
"Hey, you should have called my name or something?"
"How would I know? I could have potentially gotten myself killed if it wasn't you. Now that I think about it, it doesn't really make a difference. I could have died either way."
"You little sh-"
"Guys! Shut up! We're here."
Seungmin stood beside the closed door, his back was practically glued to the wall only a few inches long. Jeno stood on the opposite side. Both the young men exchanged looks and nodded. Y/n raised an eyebrow, crouching behind the pile of boxes.
"On three. One..."
"Two..."
"Three!"
Seungmin kicked the door open, alarming the men on the other side. One of them shouted orders in an unidentified language, and the men seemed to scatter and take cover. She heard Jeno scoff.
"This'll be too easy."
---
"Clear!"
Seungmin walked back in, and Y/n's shoulders relaxed. She walked out along with Jeno. The roof was covered with the bodies of the men. Three tanks were on fire in the distance, and a two crashed helicopters as a small accessory crashed into another building. Jeno nudged a dead man with the corner of his foot. "Real sunshine, this one."
"Agent Kim called," Seungmin checked the empty sky, covered with gliding eagles, "He said that they sent a ride. They'll be here any minute."
"Pft," Jeno laughed, his voice echoing, "Just call him Namjoon, Seungmin. What's with the professionalism?"
Seungmin's cheeks flushed. "Zip it."
"Alright," Jeno chuckled, holding his hands in the air, "You're the boss."
"You guys," Y/n shook her head, "They have better guns than us."
"Yeah," Seungmin growled, "Because SM can't provide us proper equipment."
I'm sorry but basically the entertainments here are the names of the spy agencies I was feeling uncreative
"Their aim was terrible. Don't they practice?"
"Pft. I don't think they know how to utilize themselves."
"Basically, we won with worse guns."
"Hah. Guns go pew pew."
The wind suddenly blew with a great force onto their faces, sending their hair into a frenzy. All three looked up, and Jeno yelled out of joy. "Hey, look! If it ain't our newest recruit. Sunny, right?"
A boy leaned from the helicopter. He was tall. And by tall, he was tall. "...It's Johnny."
"I knew that."
---
The three of them jumped out the aircraft. On the roof, the sky seemed to be right over their heads. They walked into the elevator, and it dinged, pulling them downwards towards the main meeting room. The elevator opened, and Jeno ran towards the bathroom door. "Bye guys!!"
Seungmin gagged, "Why is he so cheerful all the time?"
Y/n gave him a raised eyebrow as they walked into the room where Namjoon was supposedly. "You're a real ray of sunshine, aren't you?"
He rolled his eyes, strapping off his jacket. "As a matter of fact, I am."
"Mm. Great source of vitamin D."
"I might just burn your mouth off if you keep that up."
"Definitely a real ray."
Namjoon walked right into the room at that moment. "You guys!!" He yelled, drowning Seungmin and Y/n in his arms.
Seungmin choked, "This guy just destroyed the competition for the sun itself."
"I thought you were going to die!"
Jeno walked into the room, pulling his gloves off, "I almost died..."
"No one cares about you, Jeno," Seungmin mumbled.
"Yeah, look away, Satan," Y/n added in.
"Love the support in this line of work," he mumbled.
"AWEEE GET IN HERE."
"NAMJOON NO-"
-----
Y/n walked outside, the wind blowing dangerously cold against her cheek. Small droplets of rain splashed onto her face. The moon wasn't anywhere in sight, and she heard the dogs down on the ground howl. Unusual. Something felt weird. For the last six years, she's been in the service of the director, despite the fact that she's never seen him. Of what she's heard, he's been the most inconsiderate human to ever work under. She felt loyal to him, remembering how the company promised to forgive her debt if she agreed to work under them. At the time, she had no choice, she would have done anything to get out of the situation. But now, she would beg to differ. Jeno and Seungmin...no. Why would she want to leave them behind?
She coughed, remembering how scared she first looked in front of the other older recruits. She didn't have a place to go. Seungmin seemed to be a tough person at first glance. He didn't hesitate to knock the guy's teeth out who threatened to dump the mop water on her. Jeno was the jokester he still is. His laugh never failed to cheer her up. She couldn't leave them behind.
"Hey, feeling a little blue now, are we?"
She flipped her head around, seeing Jeno and Seungmin enter the roof. Both their lips held a greatful smile.
Seungmin leaned besides her on the railing. "You know," he said, "You've improved much more in the last few months."
"Yeah," Jeno walked up behind her, swinging an arm around her shoulders, "I remember you used to be so damn shy-"
"Shut up, Lee."
"No! I'm serious!"
There was comfortable silence. The wind blew around them, the speed of the cold rain increasing. Seungmin held a sob in his throat. "Is this goodbye?"
Well, straight to the point.
"I guess."
"Y/n, you know you don't have to go..."
"I have no choice, Seungmin."
"Hey," Jeno smiled, "You two are no fun."
"What do you mean?" Y/n glanced over to him, "This was our last mission as us three."
"Yeah, I know that. But it's not like you're going to die?"
She scoffed, snapping her head straight ahead. "I'm supposed to never meet you guys. You know that."
"Yeah. I guess we do."
She sighed. Seungmin swung his arm over the two of them. "You know, we'll miss you."
"Right back at you..."
Jeno clicked his tongue, sighing. "Why are you doing this? The force won't be the same without you."
She looked down. "It's either doing this for life or leaving now. I don't want to serve forever. I'd eventually grow up, maybe want to lead a normal life, you know? Like the citizens we protect? Maybe I want to be one of those."
She smiled, "Lucky, those unaware insects. Maybe I want to breath normally without walking around being a real life threat to others. Maybe one day...I'll want to have a family of my own. I don't want my children on the edge 24/7 knowing that there is a solid 50% chance that I won't come home for family game night."
Seungmin sighed. He sounded shaken up, "Yeah. I get that. Even if you didn't die..."
"Your mind would be completely destroyed at some point," Jeno finished.
She stayed silent. She didn't really know what to say. She wanted to serve, just not forever. They didn't tell 17 year olds the consequences of the entire "joining the force" thing when they signed.
Jeno's breath rattled as the wind blew along them. They didn't really say anything more. Just stayed silent, still, and together. Six years. Six years is a long time. She sniffled. Y/n's eyes continued to fog. She heard Seungmin scoff. "Don't do that now, Y/n. Not now. I don't want to-"
His voice cracked.
Jeno interrupted, giggling, "Why doesn't your voice ever crack during meetings? I would get a great laugh."
"I'll shove you in a sack and throw you down the river."
"Someone's in a good mood today."
The door snapped open behind them. She heard the familiar female voice.
"Agent Yoo. It's time."
She gave both of them their last hugs of the night. Or...should we put it as...their last hugs. But of course, they didn't know that yet...did they?
"I'll see you tomorrow then. Last time," she smiled at them.
"Pinky promise?" Jeno asked, much to Seungmin's disgust.
She chucked, interwining her finger with his, "I promise."
And with that, she followed the woman towards her last death mission.
