Warnings: Heavy sexual tension, Intense kissing, Grinding, Dominance, Restraint
Seunghan
The kitchen is quiet except for the faint hum of the fridge. You’re leaning against the counter, half-focused on whatever snack you were putting together, when you hear his slow, heavy footsteps.
“Up late again?” Seunghan’s voice is low, rough from sleep — or maybe from irritation.
You glance over your shoulder, smirking. “So you could come in here all grumpy?”
He closes the distance between you, his shadow stretching across the counter. “Grumpy, huh?” His tone is sharp, but there’s a flicker of amusement in his eyes. He reaches past you for a glass, the side of his body brushing yours deliberately. “Maybe I just wanted to see what you were up to.”
You tilt your head toward him. “And now that you’ve seen?”
His gaze drops to your mouth for a beat too long. “Now…” He sets the glass down, one hand braced on the counter beside you, the other sliding over your waist. “I’m not going anywhere.”
The kiss starts slow — his lips soft, testing — before deepening in seconds, heat curling in your stomach. His hand finds the small of your back, tugging you forward until your hips meet, and the counter presses against you from behind.
You feel the shift when he loses patience. His mouth moves with more intent, his fingers curling into the fabric at your side before slipping under your shirt. The touch is warm, calloused, sending a shiver through you as his other hand cups your jaw, keeping you where he wants you.
Your hands find his shoulders, then the back of his neck, pulling him even closer. His breathing is heavier now, lips trailing briefly from your mouth to your cheek before returning in a deeper, hungrier kiss.
Without breaking away for more than a second, he catches the hem of your shirt and pulls it over your head, dropping it carelessly to the floor. His gaze sweeps over you, jaw tight, but instead of speaking, he runs both hands slowly over your bare skin, heat radiating from his palms. The look in his eyes tells you he’s not done — not even close — but for now, he keeps you right there, caught between him and the counter, his touch the only thing you can focus on.
Yul
You’re barely inside before Yul closes the door behind you, the quiet click of the lock sounding louder than it should. His eyes flick down to your mouth, and before you can even say anything, he’s cupping your cheek, pulling you in for a kiss that starts off slow—warm, lingering, as if he’s savoring the taste of you after hours apart.
His hands are gentle at first, settling on your waist, but the longer you stay pressed to him, the more his grip tightens. You can feel him pulling you closer until your chest is flush against his, his breath deepening as his lips part against yours. Each kiss grows needier, his thumb brushing over your jaw, tilting your face up to take him in deeper.
You don’t remember moving, but now your back is against the wall, his body angled into yours, crowding you in the best way. One of his hands slides to the small of your back, urging you even closer, and you swear you can feel the heat radiating from him through every layer of clothing.
“Missed you,” he breathes, his voice low, almost hoarse. His forehead rests against yours, but his hips press forward just enough that you know exactly what he means.
The next kiss is different—hungrier, like he’s losing that careful control he always tries to keep. His hands roam, skimming your sides, fingers flexing as if he wants to go further but is forcing himself not to. You can feel the tension in his shoulders, in the way his breathing turns uneven, in how long his mouth lingers against yours before he pulls back just barely.
“I want to…” he starts, his voice catching. His eyes are dark now, searching yours for a second too long before he takes a sharp breath and steps back a fraction. “We have to stop here.”
The space he leaves feels cold instantly, but his gaze doesn’t soften. If anything, it’s heavier—promise and restraint tangled together.
“Later,” he says quietly, and even though he’s pulled back, the heat between you still lingers like he’s never really let go.
Kyo
You don’t even get a chance to settle into the backseat before Kyo leans in, his arm draping along the top of the seat behind you. The black-tinted windows make the car feel smaller, quieter, like every inch of space between you is charged.
He doesn’t touch you right away. His gaze lingers—on your lips, your thighs, back to your eyes. “Come here,” he says, voice low enough to sink right into your skin.
You shift toward him, and his hand immediately finds your waist, firm but unhurried. His fingers trace the curve of your hip before sliding down, catching on the edge of your skirt. The slightest tug, and the hem lifts a little, exposing more of your thigh to the cool air.
His other hand cups the back of your neck, pulling you fully into his lap. You can feel the solid press of him beneath you, and it makes your breath hitch. He doesn’t give you time to overthink—his lips brush yours in the kind of kiss that starts soft but deepens fast, his tongue teasing at yours until you’re clinging to his shirt.
The skirt rides higher as his grip tightens on your thigh, and then he rocks his hips up into you—slow, deliberate, the friction making your stomach twist. You can’t help the quiet sound that escapes you, which only earns you a smirk against your mouth.
“Feel that?” he murmurs, lips grazing your ear now. The grind comes again, firmer this time, your skirt bunched in his fist. You’re barely thinking anymore, just chasing that rhythm until he stops suddenly, his breath warm against your cheek.
The pause is deliberate, almost cruel. He keeps you there, pressed against him, his hands still holding you exactly where he wants you, his eyes glinting with satisfaction at how easily he’s unraveled you without even going further.
…..…….……………………….…..:><:………………………………………
Taglist: @heli98
An: Sorry this took so long to post☹️ I had two concerts this weekend so I was a bit busy!! But I hope you enjoy it!!!💖💖
💜Christmas has never been something that Chae Yul has ever been much invested in, mainly because he has never gotten along that much with his own family. After all this is meant to be the time to celebrate the end of the year with your loved ones yet he has never had someone he loved and wanted to celebrate with. Then you came into his life and suddenly Chae Yul understands the appeal of a time like Christmas. Only if he gets to spend it all with you though. Especially during special holidays or celebrations is Chae Yul more clingy than ever as he wants to spend such annual events and share the happy moments only with you. Something that Chae Yul loves to gift you during the end of an year is a photo album all listing his favorite memories of the year forever captured in the pictures. He's written the date of the picture as well as the occasion of it in form of little notes all over the pages, hearts and multiple confessions of love all littered across the sides. Another gift that you receive this year is a large, oversized hoodie, probably because a lot of your clothes have gone missing during this year... again. Chae Yul can't wait to "borrow" your hoodie as soon as it is covered in your scent.
warnings: mentions of death, injuries, and hypothermia. made up stuff for the sake of my little soulmate au and a lot of confusing explanations sorry! might be ooc i haven’t watched aos in a while. not fully proofread
synopsis: A careless mishap with a dangerous artifact leads Yul to unknowingly lose half of his soul, and unknowingly attempt to get it back.
author’s note: in my seo yul era again
There is so many sounds around Daeho. People talking, the sound of each syllable that leaves their lips, the sound of each breath they exhale, the sound of laughter echoing around walls and steps all around the city. There is nature, the wind passing through the leaves of each tree, the sound of water droplets falling along a waterfall, birds’ wings moving and stray cats jumping on roofs.
There is so many sounds around Daeho, yet you feel as if you cannot really hear any of them.
There’s a tornado around you— A storm. It is made of every sound and feeling and it swirls around but you cannot feel. It is like watching the world breaking apart but seeing it from another place.
Where are you really?
Your name echoes around you.
The sound of a voice, warm and familiar. Home. Yes, this must be home. The voice that holds you gently, brings you to peace and helps you stay alive.
“Come back.”
Seo Yul.
“You’re finally here!” Choyeon nearly cries, hurrying over to join her friends. Jang Uk, Seo Yul, and Park Danggu. She sighs and frantically looks around, as if checking if anyone could be watching, before leading them inside with a pull to Danggu’s hand.
“What happened? The maid said it was urgent.” Uk says calmly, clearly confused. Choyeon seems restless. Yul doesn’t want to think of the worst, because it could really be something that isn’t at all urgent. But there’s this slight hint of genuine fear in the girl’s eyes that makes him do it, think of the worst, even if for just a second.
“There’s… Something happened, they’re unconscious, and…” her words are clear but too fast to make sense and all that he catches is your name and the word unconscious. “It’s because I’m clumsy and all, but I really didn’t mean for this to happen—”
“Slow down.” Uk laughs in slight shock, “Unconscious?”
“What exactly happened?” Danggu steps in. The girl looks at him with arched eyebrows and upset painted all over her expression before she finally sighs and turns away.
“It’ll be easier if you see.” she says, then walks towards a more secluded part of the gardens near Songrim. It’s near a small lake and close to a large, abandoned study room. There’s bushes and flowers all around and it’s enough to make for a beautiful spot to get alone time. Or hide something.
Choyeon pushes the large doors open. The room really is abandoned. There’s old desks and chairs stacked at the sides and some of the windows have been left ajar. Yul coughs because of the dust the second he steps inside, before waving his hand around in the air and squinting. But then everyone stops in their tracks, so he looks at the center of the room and his eyes widen.
This might really be urgent.
“… What happened?” Yul finally speaks up for the first time since his arrival. He was fine with his friends asking questions because they were the same he had in mind— But the scene in front of him urges him to talk.
You’re standing up straight in the middle of the room, the fabric of your clothing flowing in every direction despite the clear lack of wind inside the room, your eyes are closed and you don’t look anywhere close to awake. The place is at a fairly normal temperature, but it’s like a storm has formed specifically around you, much colder than the rest. A striking red ribbon is held tightly between your fingers.
You seem so… Calm. Yul feels a discomforting chill running down his spine.
Choyeon sighs quietly, biting on her bottom lip while thinking. The silence that follows Yul’s question stretches out for a long while, everyone clearly trying to make sense of the sight in front of them. It seems clear the girl who knows anything about it is hesitant to speak. Yul moves a bit closer to her. “Choyeon. It’s okay.” he says softly. He tries to sound reassuring. She looks up at him and shakes her head. He frowns a little. “Jin Choyeon.”
“We can’t help if we don’t know how they ended up like this. Please get on with it.” Uk complains, though everyone present knows his tone is a bit more worried than it is irritated.
“They held the Soulmates’ Fabric.”
Yul tilts his head a little, puzzled. “Soulmates’…?”
“Fabric.” she repeats, then sighs. “It’s… To summarize it, it’s an artifact from the Jinyowon— The fallen lovers’ spirits possess it. People used this to check if their lover was their soulmate or not before a wedding. Two parties hold it, it’s… It’s a ribbon, and if they’re soulmates it will show the fabric of fate linking their pinkies.”
Yul glances at your hand and figures that’s the red ribbon in your hand. Such a small thing— It looks as if he could wrap it around his wrist maybe twice, like a bracelet. Cursed artifacts really are just anything.
Uk chimes in. “And if they’re not?”
“Nothing. The spirits just laugh in their faces.”
“And if only one person holds it?” Yul asks. Choyeon looks at him and gulps, before glancing away.
“Their soul is trapped in there.”
“And why… Did you even have this? Simple curiosity.” Danggu asks. Choyeon shrugs a bit dramatically and turns away. The man blinks a few times before his eyes widen in realization. He points his finger towards his own chest, “Us?!”
“Well, yes.”
Yul feels his patience wearing thin and closes his eyes to calm it. He looks at Choyeon, “How did they end up holding it?”
“It flew away from my grasp, they just tried grabbing it for me..” she says, holding up her hands— Covered by silk gloves, protecting her in a way you visibly weren’t blessed with. “The doors to this place were wide open so we ended up here.”
Yul glances at you and sighs. Something tells him solving this won’t be easy.
“How do we get their soul back in here?” Uk asks, pointing towards your body with his thumb.
Choyeon sighs, again. It’s clear she’d hoped to avoid this since her friends arrived, despite knowing she would have to say it if this was to be solved.
“Their soulmate needs to hold the other end of the fabric.”
“You’re kidding…”
“This could take ages.”
“I know!”
Yul can practically see how cold the storm around you is. He can practically feel the threat of death attached to your body, missing its soul. A vessel without a soul is bad news. Without its soul, the body does not take long to… Heavens, no. He takes a step closer to you and lets his friends’ arguing become background noise for a moment. You’re eerily still.
“Is it safe to move them?” he asks.
“I think, but the problem is more so actually managing to do it.” Choyeon replies, “The storm is stronger than you might think.”
Yul tries, anyway. He takes a step forward and moves his hands to hold you. His skin feels like it’s freezing the moment they enter the storm surrounding your figure, and it gets about ten times worse when he manages to grab ahold of your arms. The very fact that you’re enduring this makes him feel like he might lose his mind if they don’t find a way to stop it. He grinds his teeth and tries to pull, ignoring his friends telling him to quit it as well as the burning that the cold cuts him with, and keeps at it for at least thirty more seconds before he’s forced to stumble back.
This is bad, he thinks. He’d hoped your body wouldn’t be too affected by the cold because of its unnatural nature, but upon closer look, a lot of signs indicate you’re more than affected. Freezing much faster than a person ever should have been. Truly just a body with no soul.
Uk looks at him, hand firmly holding his shoulder after shoving him away from you. “You won’t have a hand to hold the fabric with, if you keep this up.” he says sternly. Yul glares a little and moves away from his hand.
“That would be a futile effort. I figure I’d only be trapping my soul, too.”
“I mean, would you?” Danggu asks, brows furrowing. The question is directed at Choyeon, now, who should clearly have more extensive knowledge on the whole thing, “Did the people who use this have to hold it at the exact same time or else one of them got trapped? That seems… Inconvenient.”
Choyeon shakes her head lightly and walks over to a table in the room. There, a large and old book about artifacts and customs sits on the surface. “There’s something they would recite. Like a… A spell. Or a poem, I think? I was too panicked to read all this, but… I think that’s what protected their souls from being taken if they weren’t linked to each other.” she explains, frantically going through the book. “But Yul is right. Since their soul is already trapped, him holding the fabric would only work if they’re sure to be soulmates.”
“Well, might as well try.” Uk scoffs, “Besides, who could it be if not Yul?”
The latter looks down and scoffs. His friends’ teasing on his very obvious fondness for you would usually not have much effect on him besides giving him mild embarrassment, but today it feels a bit different. The words sound sour to him in these circumstances.
“This might be life or death.” he says quietly, and repeats it louder when Danggu asks what he said. He looks up, “At this rate, their temperature will only continue to drop. They’ll be dead and frozen in less than a few hours.”
Choyeon makes a sound of discontentment and concern before speaking, “Isn’t that too precise?”
“Master Heo taught me enough to know this much. We all know this.”
An overbearing silence follows that statement. It’s hard to claim the teachings of Daeho’s best physician are wrong, and Yul is right, and it makes it all the more difficult to process. You are hanging in the air in the middle of a freezing storm and their chances of saving you are incredibly slim. Their hope is quick to slip away.
There has to be a way. Your soulmate could be worlds away, for all they know. Yul would be willing to set out on a quest to find whoever it could be and drag them back here if it came down to it, however he doesn’t have the privilege of having so much time. So, “Is there another solution?” he asks, gaze focused on Choyeon.
He must look somewhat different because the girl’s eyes widen for a moment and she looks towards Uk. “Well,” she looks back at him, “Breaking almost any artifact would render it incapable of executing their usual magic, which means this one too… Probably.”
“We can’t base ourselves off a ‘probably’.”
“I— Just look in the stupid grimoire, then!”
So he does. He walks over to the book and lets Choyeon move aside before pressing his hands down over the edges of the pages. Soulmates’ Fabric, cursed souls, history, spell recital, remedies… There are only two pages on this artifact, which means all their solutions had to be hidden somewhere there.
Or that there is not a solution.
“Why did our elders have to be so damn dramatic?” Uk sighs in annoyance, and conversation ensues behind Yul. He doesn’t bother keeping up with anything that’s said.
“Trust was especially important at the time.”
“Yeah? For their image and reputation?”
“Can’t be all too different from right now, then.”
The story of the Soulmates’ Fabric claims two souls reside in that ribbon, lovers who were doomed to never be together yet perished at each other’s side. Impossible to get this ribbon off their wrists, even in death— They cursed it, whether they meant to or not, and the piece of fabric could only be taken once their bodies had entirely vanished.
It then became a custom to see if the spirits approved, or rather, if they could confirm if lovers were meant to be before they could marry. One of the spirits known to be kind, and gentle with their approach— The other much angrier, still understandably bitter over their fate. It’s said if two are soulmates, the kinder one will tie the ribbon around their fingers. If not, the cruel one will mock them. However, the method growing to be seen as too much of a risk, the ribbon was sealed in the Jinyowon for years to follow.
Yul’s gaze moves around the page, looking over words about the way the custom used to go, the way people saved themselves, but he struggles to even find a single sentence about a situation similar to yours. He focuses on a specific part, which sounds a lot like a poem, though it isn’t the one he saw earlier to recite before the ritual.
If one foolish enough to be trapped all on their own,
Mind numbed by the illusions of the Eye of the Storm,
Only their lover may find a way to wake their heart,
Or curse themselves with our wrath dare they injure us a cut.
To the abyss and away from their love they will depart,
With us shall never part.
“Curse themself if they dare injure them with a cut?…” he mumbles to himself, eyebrows creasing in confusion. He takes a deep breath and rereads it ten times, then looks back at the story of the souls. It is said they couldn’t remove the ribbon from the lovers’ tied wrists even after their death. Lovers fated to be apart, tying themselves to die together if they can’t live together. Then…? His eyes widen in realization.
“I’ll hold it.” he says suddenly, turning around. The group startles and looks at him. “I’ll hold the fabric right now, but I need you to do something in case it goes awry.”
Danggu nods hurriedly. “Good, anything, because they’re freezing over here.” the blonde says, moving his hand away from your arm and clutching it with his other. It’s red from the cold.
Yul swallows thickly then takes a short breath. “If it goes wrong, I need one of you guys to cut the fabric with my swords.”
“What?”
He continues, “I think if someone cuts the fabric they’ll be cursed by the spirits, but it will free the one that’s trapped.” he explains calmly, and sees Uk scoffing in disbelief as he listens. “So if it comes down to it, cut it. With my swords. Make it known I’m the one willing to be cursed.”
“What happened to ‘we can’t go off a probably’?” Uk mimics, air-quoting him, “You only said you think. Not that you’re sure. And what if it curses us anyways?”
“You’re right. Making the situation worse isn’t something I’m willing to risk.” Yul says dismissively, unsheathing the swords at his sides. “I can cut it myself right now.”
A hurried chorus of ‘no!’s follows that statement and Danggu jogs up to his side.
“Okay, let’s just… talk first.” he says, and glances at you for a second before adding, “Fast.”
“What is there to talk about?” Yul asks.
“Well, what— What’s the deal with the curse? What does it entail? Why would it happen?” Choyeon questions, “I mean, it makes sense a spirit would want to curse the one who breaks their artifact, but what’s their reasoning?”
“It’s the only thing that kept them together. In death, when they couldn’t be together in life.” Yul says, “It’s nothing short of cruel to cut it. But it… is a way to solve this.”
“And what if you’re soulmates?” Uk asks, crossing his arms, “What if it could be solved much more easily?”
“And if we’re not?” Yul counters, expression hardening, “I don’t want to risk it.”
“We would be risking much, much more if we lose both of you to a ribbon.” Danggu argues.
“I’m sorry,” Yul starts, fingers tightening around one of his swords, “But you are not changing my mind on this. Try as you might.”
“Yul…”
The second sword drops to the floor as he lets it go and he uses the distraction of the sound to take the few steps needed to get to you again. Otherwise he knows Uk will stop him.
He steels himself for the incoming pain and grabs the fabric in your hand before he can overthink it more. He holds it tightly and hisses at the cold, but tries to pull to bring your arm higher. You’re like a statue. It’s almost impossible to get you to move at all. Frozen. The storm is beginning to surround him, a slow but sure sign of his soul being pulled somewhere away from his body— Though he has no way to know if it’s to the abyss of the fabric’s realm or simply to meet yours. He cannot afford to wait and see.
The cold rushes through his own blood the longer he remains there, and he’s sure that the cursed souls are too close to him to risk staying still any longer.
He had planned to immediately strike his sword against the artifact the moment he would get a tight enough hold of it, but now that he’s there, it proves to be much more difficult than he’d anticipated. His body feels heavy and his heartbeat is so loud in his ears that he cannot hear his friends’ yelling.
No, this isn’t my heartbeat, he realizes, mine is hurting my chest from how fast it’s going.
It’s yours. You’re still alive.
He feels as if his fingers may be turning numb, and worse, his mind as well. If this keeps up, his stupid plan will have been for nothing and Danggu will be right. Losing both you and him. He doesn’t care about anyone losing him, but it cannot be for nothing. So he focuses, and he finds any bit of strength left in him. With a yell, he swings down his sword just as the words “I’m sorry” attempt to leave his lips. Pointless apologies to souls long gone.
It cuts right through the red piece of silk.
Clang. His hand goes limp and his sword falls.
He sees you fall to the ground before he feels his own body do the same. His head hits the wooden floor, hard, and he feels like he’s lost his breath for a few long seconds. He’s spent— He swears he doesn’t have any strength left in him at all, otherwise, he would have crawled to you to make sure you’re not frozen and dead. His arm is extended on the floor, his end of the ribbon in his hand, and the other in yours still. His sword is somewhere else in the room but he doesn’t know where.
He blinks slowly, trying his very best to stay awake, but it becomes incredibly difficult. The pain and exhaustion are begging him to succumb to sleep but he cannot allow it yet. He can vaguely make out words of worries from his friends, but everything sounds far away. He tries to move, but all he can do is tighten his fingers around the small piece of ribbon. A thought crosses his mind as he looks at it, something that makes him feel even more confused than the fall already did.
Other than the cold in his veins, that is slowly fading away, Yul cannot feel anything close to a curse on him.
Is it not immediate? Why has he not heard the resentful screams of anger of separated lovers? Why is he merely battling his way to staying awake and not out of a fate worse than death? Was the curse a mere myth, or the true struggle a test of strength and will?
Through a half-open and hazy gaze, Yul swears he sees something odd happening. The red silk ribbon, cut cleanly in the middle, beginning to reconstruct all on its own. Fabric made out of air, slowly growing longer from both ends of the torn bits until they inevitably meet again in the middle.
And a translucent red ribbon, like a vision of sorts, tying around both yours and his pinky fingers.
The individuals will, if truly soulmates, see the ribbon tying around their pinkies. The book must’ve been right, but severely missing information. It really is doing just that, but there was nothing written about it fixing itself after getting cut. Then again, there wasn’t a tale of anyone ever trying before.
Yul breathes out something close to a laugh just before he loses grip of his consciousness and passes out, unsure of where he will be when he wakes up— If he ever does. Whatever happens, as long as you’re alive, it will have been worth it.
When he opens his eyes, at first, he’s in a dark space and laying down. He hears whispers and feels energies threatening enough to make him reach for his swords— But he finds he cannot move.
“Was there ever a curse to begin with? Tales this old are riddled with truths and details lost to time.” a voice says, and it seems to echo— Like two people are speaking, “What do you believe?”
— I don’t know.
“You were merely getting the missing half of your soul back. Who would curse you for such a thing?” the voice (voices?) laugh, “It seems clear they would’ve done the same, too.”
When he opens his eyes, the second time, it’s for real and he’s gasping for air. I was spared, he thinks. He sits up hurriedly and looks around, his head spinning so much at the sudden movement that he threatens to fall from the table he’s on.
Table?
“Please do not move so quickly!”
He breathes heavily and looks around through half-lidded eyes. He’s at Sejukwon. He looks to the side and sees you on the second table in the room. You’re sitting already as a nurse fixes up an incense of sorts, and your eyes are trained on him— Wide and surprised. “Yul!” you exclaim, “What in the world?”
He just stares at you for a bit, lips parted without a single word coming out. “Are you okay?” he asks. There’s clear signs all around him that he really woke up, this time around, and that this is reality. But part of him wants to hear you to be sure.
“You…” you sigh, closing your eyes for a moment. Then you give him a look of disbelief that makes it clear the others have told you about what he did to get you back— and that this really is for real. He feels his mouth tugging into a smile and his body relaxes again.
“One could argue you’re worse than I am, you fool.” you scoff, “I’m… Well, I almost died of hypothermia, alright. That’s a feat. But I survived.” you deadpan, eyebrows furrowed, “However you have a concussion.”
He wouldn’t have it any other way. “Good.” he says.
“Not good, are you insane?”
He finds himself laughing at that and slowly lays back down, because he seriously thinks he might fall over if he doesn’t. He doesn’t mind the worried look the nurse gives him as she leaves when he continues to laugh, either. He’ll say it’s because of the concussion. He’s just relieved.
“Oh, so you really are insane.” you scoff.
A silence follows. He looks at you. You’re staring at him with a look of relief, which makes him wonder how much you worried while he was out. It’s past sunset already, so the room is slowly losing its light. Things are quiet around Sejukwon— They always are so the patients aren’t disturbed, but even more so when it’s later in the day. There’s no more worries.
Only thoughts about what happened means for you.
He calls your name and you hum. “Did they tell you?” he asks quietly, almost whispering, “The others.”
“About your heroic tales of saving?“ you half-joke, “Yes. They did, before leaving because it got late. Thank you.” this time, your voice loses its sarcasm halfway. Your expression is much too genuine for those thanks to sound anything but, anyways. He laughs.
“I meant the ribbon. What it meant.”
“We’re soulmates.”
Yul has to make an effort to breathe. You say it so easily, like it’s such a natural thing. And it… is. You are literally meant to be, it could not be anything more natural. In a way, it could make sense you would be so casual about it. But he also feels like he might be close to fainting all over again from how much these words make his head spin, so he can’t entirely agree that it does.
“Yes.” he pauses, to breathe, “That.”
“You don’t sound happy.”
“Please don’t tease me.”
You laugh slightly and get up from where you were sitting. You walk over to him and stand at his side. He stares up at you and smiles. “I’m happy.” he says, “I’m happier than I probably should be considering the circumstances.”
“Good. Me too.” you say, then your expression grows more serious. “I’m sorry you had to suffer this much to bring me back.”
“It’s okay.”
“I know it is. That’s your problem, Yul.”
“It is, isn’t it?” he chuckles, “Unfortunate that our souls are linked. I’ll try not to inconvenience you more than necessary, but I can’t do much about that.”
“Your nature of putting your life on the line for someone you care about, you mean?” you scoff, “I’ve been used to it, anyways. But the way you say this makes it all sound very official.”
Here comes his worst fear. An exaggeration? Maybe. Not entirely. He’s spent years at your side, and well over half of them pining after you. And though it was apparently evident to anyone that saw you two that the feelings were reciprocated, saying anything about them was terrifying. But now you’re soulmates. Or rather, you’ve always been. It doesn’t actually change anything.
But it does give him the guts to actually ask. This is as much courage as he’ll ever get, anyways. So he sits up and stays quiet for a moment, then turns to look at you.
The couch has become your favorite spot without even trying—just the two of you under a thick blanket, your body molded against Seunghan’s chest. He plays with the ends of your hair, absentmindedly stroking your back as he talks, voice low and steady. Little things spill out of him: what he saw online, a random childhood memory, how soft your skin feels right now. It’s never about having something important to say—he just loves that you listen. You hum against him, and he smiles against your forehead like it’s the best sound he’s ever heard. “I never run out of things to say with you,” he murmurs, arms tightening around you. “I think even my quiet feels full when you’re here.”
Yul
The floor’s covered in pillows and blankets, leftover snacks pushed off to the side as the TV plays something neither of you are really watching. Yul’s behind you, one arm tucked tight around your waist, the other playing softly with your fingers like he needs to keep touching you somehow. He doesn’t say much, but his warmth does—slow breaths against your neck, the occasional kiss to your shoulder, the way he holds you like the whole world could shrink to this one spot and he’d be just fine. You shift a little and his grip only tightens, his thumb brushing lazy circles into your palm. There’s something about being close to him like this that makes everything quieter, softer. Like even his silence is safe.
Kyo
The bed’s a mess—pillows everywhere, the blankets kicked halfway off from how much Kyohong’s moved around. He’s finally still now, but only because he’s wrapped around you like a human koala, arms tight around your waist, one leg hooked over yours like he’s afraid you’ll vanish if he lets go. “You’re warm,” he says into your shoulder, voice muffled but smug, “but not as warm as me. I win.” You let out a quiet laugh, and he squeezes you tighter like that was the reaction he was waiting for. He shifts just enough to look up at you, all sleepy eyes and teasing grin. “You like when I hold you like this, don’t you?” It’s not even a real question—he knows the answer—but he waits anyway, just to hear you say it. And when you do, he hides his smile in your neck, happy and quiet now, like nothing in the world matters except staying tangled up with you a little longer.
…..…….……………………….…..:><:………………………………………
an: In honor of Hani & Xoul’s debut!!🥳🥳 Also Seunghan will be written for both Riize and Xnghan&Xoul
💜Chae Yul's mentality has usually extreme withdrawal symptoms when you you are gone from his side which is one of the reasons why he normally clings to you tightly as if you are his lifeline. In a very rare case where you do have to leave his side though he has prepared an emergency packet to provide to keep him somewhat sane when you aren't with him. That emergency packet truly is like the accumulation of everything that is wrong with someone as terribly obsessed with you as he is. It includes a bottle of perfume that you like to weat. It includes a few of clothes that you have worn just recently and that he has stolen to keep them as long as your scent is still stuck within the cotton. It includes lots of pictures he has taken of you without your awareness and even USB flash drives with hours worth of footage that only includes you. It may show you whilst you are undressing, whilst you are sleeping or even records of the two of you during sex. That box is stuffed with everything that reminds him of you and is there so that he can indulge in anything reminiscent of you whilst you are gone to keep him from storming out of the house and follow you. It's only a temporary distraction so please hurry back to him soon~
warnings: death, blood, injuries, overthinking, canon-divergence (this takes place in ep1, first battle w naksu)
synopsis: Under a dark sky that means no good, Seo Yul discovers the feeling of loss— Or the fear of it, rather.
author’s note: finished watching pt1 i hate aos all my homies hate aos /j but Seriously can yul just be happy. (i say as i proceed to write angst for him)
Flames were tossed into lanterns around Songrim, slowly lighting up the place as the sun set into the horizon.
Yul flipped a page in his book silently, scanning the words with careful concentration. Truth be told, the focus he had on the words he was reading was entirely forced as well as entirely an attempt at easing his worries.
It had been hours since the group of mages planning to fight Naksu had set off. You being part of them. He had full confidence in your abilities, being one of the strongest mages alongside your leader there— But it didn’t make the slow passage of time since your departure any better.
The boy heaved a quiet sigh and closed his book, setting it down on a table before getting up. When he stepped outside of the study room, he realized just how dark the sky had gotten. His brows furrowed at the sight.
Something was deeply wrong.
The clouds swirled in ways they shouldn’t, gray and threatening as they loomed over Daeho. Sure, it was getting late in the evening— But no time or weather could possibly be this dark without any sort of reason behind it. Maybe it was more related to his gut-feeling than logic, unusually so, but Yul was certain something was up.
He huffed and looked down, thinking. It wouldn’t be the right move to head over to where the rest had gone. It wouldn’t be wise to act rashly based on instinct, either.
Just as if the skies had heard him, a solution presented itself before him.
The group of mages sent to fight Naksu were back.
It was obvious from the number of people being sent to Sejukwon and the amount that waved off anyone trying to get them medical aid in favor of trying to run after Naksu.
He stopped one of them. The latter startled before looking up and smiling politely, bowing his head. “Seo Yul!”
“Where is [name]?” he wasted no time in asking. The boy scratched the back of his neck, seemingly a bit clueless as he looked around. He brought his gaze back to him after a bit.
“I don’t know. I didn’t see them with Master Park when we came back. Some people stayed back at the lake, if I recall.”
“What?” Yul muttered, brows furrowing. His gaze wandered anxiously, confused, before slowly looking back up, “Why?”
A boy in Jeongjingak’s uniform rushed over, grabbing the other’s shoulder to tell him something, before freezing at the sight of Yul. He seemingly hadn’t seen him there. The boy straightened up a little, eyes wide, before he redirected his gaze elsewhere.
“Oh, Jeongje, do you know where [name] is? Yul’s wondering, but I haven’t seen them.” the other speaks casually, clearly oblivious to the drastic change in attitude in his friend. Something’s wrong. He didn’t want to see me. No one at Songrim was stranger to yours and Yul’s relationship— No one talked about it in front of either of you, but everyone knew. So if something happened to one, people feared mentioning it to the other.
Which is why Yul felt so uncomfortable with how distant this boy was being the moment he saw him.
He desperately tried to catch the boy’s gaze. The latter accidentally looked up for a glance, but once Yul caught it, he didn’t let it go. He gulped and stammered over his words. “[name].” he hesitated, “The lake… They’re… Me and some other guys were headed to Sejukwon to get them help.”
Yul’s eyes widened at that and his lips parted to speak, before he bit on the inside of his lower one in frustration. So he was right. He wish he hadn’t been. He stepped back, eyes hazy and moving aimlessly. His hands moved to check for his swords at his sides before he nodded to himself. “Get mages from Sejukwon to follow me to the lake.” he spoke with a slight shake in his voice.
“Yul—”
When the two boys didn’t move, he looked up, eyes uncharacteristically and frighteningly cold. “Right now.”
The boy had reached the area mentioned before he’d even noticed. His mind was blank and all he could picture was the possible death of the person closest to him. He stopped once he reached the edge of the frozen lake, and took a breath. He stepped on it and checked how slippery it was. Once certain it was fine, he ran as fast as he possibly could.
On a lake covered in ice, clear under the night sky, red was the most obvious thing in the world. He spotted it from meters away, causing an uncomfortable twist in his stomach.
Blood.
Yul never felt so much fear before. Never has he felt the cold gust of wind that seemingly went through his chest, touching his heart itself and momentarily depriving him of all senses, smothering all of them with pure anxiety. The feeling of the sky falling above him. The world pressing around his limbs. Suffocating him. Forcing his mind into a frozen state of numbness.
He forcedly shook it off.
“[name].” he hurried, dropping to his knees the moment he reached you. You looked near-frozen and he wondered why no one had thought it better to bring you away from the ice to wait. Your eyes were closed, and the main source of blood seemed to be at the back of your head. He figured there must’ve been an injury towards your neck as well and they didn’t wanna risk movement until the right tools arrived.
There was no way you were gone. Despite this thought, Yul knew there wasn’t much to back it up. In the middle of nowhere, freezing on top of a lake of ice, with blood pouring out from a wound on your head. The possibilities of your survival seemed to lean more towards a negative result. He refused it entirely.
He pressed two trembling fingers on the side of your neck and checked for your pulse.
Behind him, a group of mages waited anxiously, not daring come any closer. The silence was suffocating for a few seconds, before Yul looked over his shoulder, gaze clouded and worried. “Bring them to Sejukwon as fast as you can.”
Two people hurried over and carefully lifted you onto a stretcher and Yul’s gaze sharpened at the sight of blood instantly staining the fabric. You were carried away as several people rushed to get you to Sejukwon, all whilst trying to keep a proper balance on the ice. Yul only looked away once they stepped foot on land and their risks of falling lowered.
He brought his gaze back to the ground, fingers dipping onto the pool of blood that seeped through the cracks in the pristine white ice. He allowed a deep sigh to leave his lips as he tried to reassure himself. It was no use.
The warmth of the fire burning next to him inside Sejukwon seemed to do nothing to calm the chill in his veins. He was entirely still, sitting on a bench outside the room you were being treated in, save for the violent trembling of his hand on his knee. He stared at the wall like his soul had left him entirely. He himself wasn’t sure where he was, really, his thoughts void of anything that made sense. Just flashing images of blood and possible death.
Around an hour passed before a familiar voice called out to him, telling him to come in. His limbs felt heavy when he stood up. He didn’t know if Master Heo calling him instead of stepping out to give him a look of pity his mind had imagined in the past hour was a good thing or not. Maybe he would step in and he would do exactly that. Maybe he would step in and Yul would feel like crumbling to the ground instantly.
He entered the room and closed the doors behind him, eyes focused on the bed where you laid. Master Heo glanced over at him and Yul gave him a look of what he figured seemed like desperation.
Master Heo nodded reassuringly and the boy visibly relaxed, back hitting the door behind him softly. Thank Heavens.
“Yul-ah, you know…” the man started, voice uncharacteristically serious, “If you hadn’t brought people from Sejukwon with you when you went to check where [name] was, they might not have made it.”
He swallowed thickly and looked down, nodding a little.
“What— You fool, what have you done to your hand?”
Yul looked up, surprised, before glancing at his hand. “Oh, this is just [name]’s blood.” he muttered, blinking at the dripping crimson on his numb hand, “I’ll just wash it off.”
“Are you so worried over them that you’re blind to the fact that your hand is freezing? Seo Yul, you— Argh.” the man cut himself off with an exasperated huff.
In a few minutes, he’d rinsed and dried his hand, as well as forced him to hold it close to the fire of a torch, before bandaging it. “You fool probably let your hand in the ice too long and then failed to notice it was freezing. How that happened is beyond me, but now it’s fixed, at the very least.” he sighed.
Yul bowed in gratitude, frankly still a bit hazy, and only now realizing he was regaining feeling in his bandaged hand. He closed his fingers and moved them again, before taking a deep breath. It felt as if his senses altogether were coming back to him. He didn’t realize the fear of losing someone could hit him to the point of being this oblivious to everything that wasn’t them.
Master Heo pressed his lips into a thin line and nodded to himself, “Then, I’ll leave you alone. Park Jin told me to come to the secret room… Something about Naksu. You should come over when you can. [name] will wake up soon. Try not to worry.” the man said warmly.
He walked towards the door and stopped at Yul’s side before opening it, setting a hand on his shoulder comfortingly, “There’s wine in that cabinet if you really need it.”
Yul didn’t need to look at him to see the teasing smile he wore as he spoke. A familiar attempt at lightening up the atmosphere, before he left and closed the door behind him.
Once silence settled in the room, Yul slowly walked over to you. He stood at your side, looking down at your face. Your features seemed less sick— The warmth of the fire as well as the treatment you’d received bringing back some life on your face. He softly touched your cheek with the back of his hand and felt a wave of worry leave his system. It was as if now that he could feel you were okay, his mind finally, properly registered it.
He thanked the stool behind him for catching him when the exhaustion got to him enough to make him fall back. He heaved a deep sigh and leaned his forehead on the bed, hands finding yours. He fiddled with your fingers as his consciousness slowly left him, dozing off.
His dreams were empty.
When he awoke, the lights outside Sejukwon were still lit, and the sun barely awake. He blinked tiredly and pushed himself to get back up, when the sound of someone mumbling held him back. He looked to the side, “[name]. You’re awake.” he spoke softly, voice laced with fondness.
“And you should go back to sleep.” you replied, and he chuckled. You looked just as tired as he probably did, eyes barely staying open. You were smiling a bit though. Yul tightened his hold on your hand and sat up.
“How are you feeling?” he asked. You moved your gaze up to the ceiling in thought, before slowly moving each of your limbs.
“I think I’m alright. My head hurts a bit, though.”
Yul smiled and got up, a hand moving to your forehead to move strands of your hair away. His thumb caressed your skin softly before he leaned down, planting a kiss on your forehead.
“I have things to do now that I know you’re okay.” he said quietly.
“Are you sure you weren’t just using me as an excuse to sleep?” you joked, and broke into laughter when Yul shot you a half-hearted warning look. “Naksu was running away, it’s probably about that, right? Go do your job, Mr. Seo.”
He smiled and looked away, hand still at the top of your head. “Okay. Take care.” he said softly, sounding nothing like someone who was leaving, and you smiled, sighing.
“Let go of me.” you raised your eyebrows, nodding your chin towards his arm, “You have to if you want to leave.”
He hesitated, gaze lowering.
After hours of worrying, he could allow himself this.
