Librarian (Part 5)
Pairing: Fem!Oc x Choi Su-Bong/Thanos
(though this was written with the intention of people being able to read as a "x reader")
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A/N: I know it's been so long since the last update on this fic, I'm not sure if anyone is actually reading it. Despite that, I have had this draft in my notes for months and want to finally get it out. I don't know how long it will take me but I am determined to release all of this series.
Also warning that this chapter has fat-phobic comments (though come from bad characters and is seen as negative), as well as depictions of being harassed by drunk men.
Credits for borders
“Come on, boy, get a smile on that face.”
Su-bong poked at Nam-gyu’s cheeks as they sat in the club.
Despite it being Nam-gyu’s idea to come to the club, he had spent most of the night sulking around: half ignoring Su-boing but getting upset every time the man tried to leave.
Su-bong was used to Nam-gyu having a weird way of expressing himself (which was usually just shutting down), but this was starting to get next-level. All of Su-bong's usual tricks to get him in a good mood remained ignored.
“Don’t touch me.” Nam-gyu swiped his hand away as Su-bong just laughed. He had clearly smoked more than Nam-gyu, though that wasn't an odd occurrence.
Tonight, though, it seemed to have Nam-gyu in a rage.
“I’m going to the toilet,” Nam-gyu huffed, standing up and leaving Su-bong alone. Su-bong complained, though he made no real effort to stop him from going. He had been hoping for a bit of time for himself.
“Hey, you’re Thanos, right?”
Seems he wasn't so lucky.
Su-bong looked up to see a pair of girls smiling down at him. “I love your music,” The other one said with a giggle, and Su-bong smiled.
“I love to meet fans,” He gestured for the two girls to sit with him, which they quickly did: moving in as close as they could.
“I heard you’ve got a new album coming out.” One of them smiled, and Su-bong nodded. “Yeah, yeah, it’s going to be great, super romantic. Bobby has been-”
Su-bong quickly went quiet, stopping himself from mentioning Bobby's name. He had forgotten that she was his little secret from the rest of the world.
Luckily, the intoxicated girls didn't seem to even notice the slip. “Oh, romantic? Please, you have to give us a demo?”
Su-bong, who at the sound of Bobby’s name seemed a bit distracted, slowly shook his head, “No, no, I’m not allowed to.”
Usually, he had no issue with breaking the rules of his contract. He often found himself telling girls a few lines from a song, especially when it would get him laid.
But unfortunately, he was hit with a sudden wave of thoughts of a certain redheaded English woman.
All he could think about the club was the fact that Bobby wouldn't like it there because it was too loud.
All he could think about his music was that Bobby helped write it.
All he could think about the girls next to him was that they weren't Bobby.
“Ugh, I have.. I have-” Su-bong started to think up an excuse, as the two girls looked at him expectantly, as he tried to find the words. Clearly, they were hoping for some form of flirtation. “I need to stop my friend from leaving.”
Su-bong stood up quickly, both using that as an excuse to get away from the ladies, but genuinely catching sight of Nam-gyu leaving the club.
Leaving the pouting girls, Su-bong cut through the crowd, swerving through people to get to his friend.
“Yo, NAM-GYU," he yelled out as he reached the street just in time to see Nam-gyu storming through the streets. “Wait up, man,” Su-bong put a hand on Nam-gyu’s shoulder, but got quickly brushed off.
“Why are you acting so weird tonight?” Su-bong finally asked, clearly frustrated with whatever mood Nam-gyu was in. "What's wrong with you?"
“What’s wrong with me?” Nam-gyu questioned, turning around in a rage. “What’s wrong with you?” He spat back, and Su-bong tilted his head. “Well, a lot of things, but-”
“This isn't a joke, Su-bong,” Nam-gyu yelled, “This isn't a fucking joke like everything else in your life.”
“I take things seriously,” Su-bong fought back, his voice filled with more seriousness than it had been before. Nam-gyu was coming in strong with his insults.
Nam-gyu just scoffed. “No, you fucking don't. Look at our lives,” he gestured to the dirty street around them, and their cheap knock-off ‘designer wear’. “I wake up every day, and the first thing I think about is if I can afford to live. I know for a fact you are in the same place as me, yet I’m the only one who takes any of this seriously.”
“I take my career seriously, it’s my art, it's my life,” Su-bong combatted.
“Yeah, well, art isn't enough to get us out of the dirt. We need something that sells” Nam-gyu spat. It was clear that though his words were meant to upset Su-bong, they hurt Nam-gyu just as much. It was the unfortunate truth that had been weighing on his shoulders.
Back in the day, Nam-gyu used to make fun of sellouts and men who sold their souls for a bit of money. Now Nam-gyu would jump at the chance to sell his soul if it meant living without fear of eviction.
Nam-gyu huffed as he planted himself onto the pavement, his anger melting into his constant feeling of defeat. No cars were driving by in this district, which was blocked off so clubs were in easier access, but it didn’t stop the odd looks from passersby.
Su-bong had never been one to care for odd looks as he sat happily next to his friend. Nam-gyu let out a long sigh, his tired eyes now looking at Su-bong without anger, but with fear. “You’re going to replace me, aren't you?”
Su-bong looked shocked by the mere suggestion. “Seriously, man. How many times do I have to tell you that we’re in this together?"
“You only say that cause up until this point, that was an empty promise,” Nam-gyu spoke. “I mean, admit it, dude, neither of us actually thought we’d ever get to this point.”
Su-bong frowned. Yeah, he knew it was an unrealistic goal, but he had always had full confidence that he would make something of himself. That he would have an actual music career.
He had always thought Nam-gyu had thought the same.
“I mean, we only just got the deal, and you already have another writer working on songs with you. Who's to say in a month you won't completely ditch me?” Nam-gyu's voice was quiet, as he avoided looking directly at Su-bong.
Su-bong nudged his friend, trying to get him to look him in the eyes. "Nam-gyu, I understand why you might be wary, but you're my boy. You should know that I would never do anything like that to you,” Nam-gyu still didn't look up, causing Su-bong to groan and drag his hands over his face. “Seriously, what can I do to make you believe me?”
“I want it in writing,” Nam-gyu stated firmly, though his gaze remained on the ground. “I want my connection to Thanos to be legally binding ok?”
“Of course, man.”
Nam-gyu's face instantly perked up, as he looked to Su-bong in utter surprise.
“If I had know you wanted it in writing, I would have done that ages ago. We’ll talk to Gyeong-su about it on Monday.” Su-bong spoke as if it were the easiest decision in the world, like it was a casual solution.
Nam-gyu looked at Su-bong and, for the first time that night, a smile formed on his face. “Are you serious?”
“Yes, of course.” Su-bong patted him on the back. “I told you, we’re in this together. You don't need to worry about being left behind.”
Nam-gyu nodded slowly, like he was still trying to convince himself it was real. “Thanks, man.”
Su-bong smiled even wider, an expression that would make any outsider doubt the fight between the pair ever even happened.
“Now, can we enjoy this night properly?” Su-bong asked, popping open his cross and holding it out for Nam-gyu. He was going to let Nam-gyu hit first, something he never usually did.
Nam-gyu grinned, nodding as he popped on of the pills into his mouth.
---
What was meant to be a fun night out had turned into a 24-hour bender for Su-bong and Nam-gyu.
Su-bong couldn't remember half of the things they had done: just snippets of dumb decisions he had poorly made. At some point, he and Nam-gyu had acquired a group of equally intoxicated men, all which seemed really interested in the fact that Su-bong was a ‘future star’.
Still, no matter how many people they met or got drinks from, Su-bong’s mind kept coming back to Bobby.
“Why the fuck are we at a library?”
Looking up, Su-bong realized his feet must have been thinking about Bobby too, as he had led the group of men to the library.
“They’re open really late,” Su-bong answered in a daze, both from the intoxication, but also from his surprise that he had managed to make it there.
Nam-gue let out a loud laugh. "Why the fuck would you know that? I didn't think you could read."
"O-of course I do," Su-bong spoke lightly, his dazed attention more on the library than the argument at hand.
“Yeah, well, this one's closed.” One of the random guys in the group spoke as he tugged on the door.
“And even if it wasn’t, why would we want to go to a library?” Another man added on, as Nam-gyu snorted and wrapped an arm around Su-bong. “You must be really out of it, my friend.”
Before Su-bong could get a word out about the "importance of libraries" and "their influence on education", the door of the library opened.
The drunk man leaning on the door quickly stepped back in surprise, as a new face joined the group of 'partiers'.
Bobby stepped outside, jumping suddenly at the fact that she was greeted by a group of clearly drunk men. In that moment. Both her and Su-bong's hearts dropped.
Bobby's eyes quickly darted around, clearly looking for the best way out of this situation. The darting stopped as her gaze landed on Su-bong.
Maybe he was imagining things, but Su-bong swore he saw her demeanor calm in his presence. Even the possibility of that made his heart sore.
“Oh…hello,” Bobby spoke in the kindest voice she could muster, bowing to each of the men. She didn't want to say much more, still unsure what kind of situation she was in.
Seems the men of the group had no issues speaking for her.
“Look at what we’ve got here.” One of the guys licked his lips, and Su-bong quickly whipped his head around to send him a dirty look. He expected the other guys to join in scolding the man, but the others just laughed - even Nam-gyu.
“What brings you out here tonight?” The guy, whose name Su-bong couldn't even remember, sauntered up next to Bobby. Glancing only once at the man, Bobby looked over to Su-bong for…for something.
All he did was watch with wide eyes as his body swayed.
Taking a deep breath, Bobby looked back at the disgusting man. “I just got off work,” Bobby spoke quietly, as she tightened the grip on her bag.
The man smiled. “Well, that’s perfect. Why don't you come out with us? We can all have a good time.”
“She won’t want to,” Su-bong blurted out, causing some of the guys to chuckle.
Bobby blushed as she leaned back as much as she could to get away from the stench of alcohol and cigarettes.
“Come on, don't just make assumptions,” One of the other guys called out, shoving Su-bong lightly. “Even if she looks frumpy, she might surprise us.”
All the attention returned to Bobby, who swallowed, trying to keep her mouth from going dry. “I- I… no, thank you.”
This was all wrong.
Su-bong had never seen Bobby this nervous before. Every time he saw her, she had confidence and a bit of a bite.
But now, Bobby was practically trembling.
This isn't what he wanted at all.
He wanted to be in the library, just the two of them, as they made jokes about the Beatles and came up with ideas for the next song.
“Of course, girls like her are either sluts or absolute prudes.” The man who had just been trying to charm Bobby huffed, stepping away from her.
Bobby stood still as she stared at the group, clearly afraid.
“Oh my god, you women are so dramatic.” One of the men rolled his eyes as he noticed her frozen state. “We’re leaving you alone. Get over yourself.”
“Yeah, no one wants you, fatty,” Another man yelled out.
Bobby’s gaze turned to Su-bong, as if she was giving him one last chance. One last chance to fix everything he was breaking.
He just stared back at her.
He didn't join in, but he sure as hell didn't defend her.
The whole situation just wasn't what he expected. It wasn't what he wanted. He just couldn't bring his mouth to open as his head spun and his world fell apart.
Shaking her head, Bobby turned around, walking as fast as she could into the night. Luckily, none of the men made a move to follow her, though they did snicker as they watched her figure disappear.
Nam-gyu shook his head as he wrapped an arm around Su-bong. “You know, maybe this was a good idea,” he shuddered as he watched Bobby’s retreating form.
“I really wanted some entertainment.”
---
Su-bong took a deep breath as he walked into the library, a bouquet of flowers neatly in his hand.
As soon as he had woken up after his night out (or more accurately, several nights out), he was full of immense guilt.
He hated that he had gotten to a point where he couldn't defend Bobby. After taking a shower and throwing up multiple times, he went and bought a bouquet of apology flowers.
He basically spent the rest of the day waiting by his door until the clock struck 8 pm. The time Bobby’s shift usually started.
Su-bong was determined to make it up to her.
“Bobby?” He called out to the seemingly empty library as soon as he entered. The lack of life wasn't an unusual sight for the nighttime shift. Still, he didn't receive his usual response from the girl.
“Bobby?” He called out again, his voice echoing off the walls.
He smiled when he heard a shushing noise, shaking his head. Bobby was obviously joking with him, which was a good sign.
“You know you had me there, I really thought you-” Su-bong froze when he turned into the aisle, being met with not the face of Bobby, but a man.
He wore a basic button-up shirt, certainly looking nicer than most people that time of night. What caught his eye the most was the name tag. This man was an employee of the library.
“This is a library, sir, I’m going to have to ask you to lower your voice,” The man scolded, his eyes clearly casting judgment on Su-bong.
“But there’s no one else here, so-” Su-bong shook his head, realizing he was focusing on the wrong thing. “Where’s Bobby?”
“Who?” The man asked, and Su-bong tilted his head. “She works here. Red-haired, English, beautiful eyes.”
The man narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Su-bong. “Do you mean Nam-ra?”
Of course, the other employees knew her by her fake name.
“Yeah, her. Where is she?” Su-bong asked, trying to look over the man's shoulder as if she were hiding behind him.
“I don't know.” The man shrugged, “She’s not working tonight.”
Su-bong narrowed his eyes. She usually worked every night. “Well, when does she work next?”
The man looked su-boing up and down. He was clearly hungover, wore messy clothes, and was trying to give a bouquet of flowers to a female employee who worked alone at night.
“Yeah, there’s no way in hell I’m giving you her schedule.”
Su-bong frantically threw the flowers to the floor, his hands running through his hair.
He had no other way of getting in contact with Bobby.
He didn't have her number or her address. He didn't even know her full name.
Taking a deep breath, Su-bong calmed himself down.
Bobby would have a shift eventually. He would just be there when that day came, ready to redeem himself.
