KatWrites

24 Just starting on writing again <3

[binniebinniebop]

The Creation of Dwaekki

[theauthorofsmut]

Thinking of starting a Fic

I have been so into hybrid and ABO fanfics lately, and I think this would be super fun to write about!

What are your guys' favourite out of the 2 to read?

Which would you rather read?

Stray kids x reader ABO/Omegaverse fanfic

Hybrids!Stray Kids x reader

Voting ended onFeb 27

[ihaveamassivegun]

DEAR Y/N: SORRY WE TRIED TO KILL YOU

pairing: serial killers!ot8!skz x fem!reader

genre: crackfic, dark comedy, dark romance, thriller

summary: hyunjin invites you over to hang out with him and his friends. they try to kill you. you survive! aaaand now they’re obsessed with you.

warnings: attempted murder of protagonist(reader), violence, blood, stalking, obsessive behavior, mentions of death/murder/dismemberment/(implied)rape(it’s just in a conversation, it didn’t happen to anyone in the fic!!), cursing, homicidal behavior/psychopathy, dumb han and felix, people die, the love interests(skz) are the problem, nobody here is okay, english is obvi not my first language

word count: 13k

you almost got murdered.

by eight gorgeous men.

yea, y/n. you got yourself into that situation. but how?

you were walking home once, minding your own business, chewing on some thought. could have been anything. from dinner to what you need to do tomorrow, let’s not act like it matters. none of these little details matter, what does, is that a man was walking towards you. (an: guys i’ll clarify it now that it’s hyunjin. i just hate when fanfics try to describe looks when we don’t know names yet)

the man passed you. smelled great. nothing more.

“is this yours?”

that was him. his voice. he talked to you.

you stopped then and turned around. he was also standing still, looking at you. holding a single airpod.

no. it was not yours. at all. not your airpod.

“shit. yes, it is.” you smiled. a hundred percent aware that the single airpod was not yours.

hyunjin smiled, relieved in a way that suggested he had not planned beyond step one: talk to pretty girl. he asked your name. you asked his. he pretended he wasn’t internally rehearsing how to introduce you to the worst decision of your life.

and that’s exactly how you got yourself into the situation before your getting murdered one, where you kept seeing hyunjin, never really revealing that the airpod was not yours. you didn’t want to, he was just so cute.

and also a serial killer, not like you knew that though.

hyunjin was always the best with the women. or with the people in general. the other seven guys were… doing alright with them, sure, some better and some worse, but hyunjin always got what he wanted. he was the one collecting the people, another person to kill.

which did not happen to you, duh it’s in the first line, but how? how, when the eight of them, eight little nobodies who only got through school and universities because of each other, are so good at killing? how, when it’s the main thing that bonds them together and gives them their sick little dosage of joy? how, when that’s the thing they can do best? how, when they’re fit? lucky? hot?

yea i’ll just stop with all the questions. i’m boutta explain, obvi.

so. you two started meeting up. you not telling him that the airpod wasn’t yours, him not telling you he was planning on sliming you out.

once, he invited you out. you two have been out hundreds and thousands of times(like five times), so it didn’t seem like anything out of the ordinary to you. not a date, he said hang out. his place. “a few friends might be there” he added. you went. fucking idiot.

the place was so fucking cool. big. looked good. kinda place where you immediately lost cell service and your sense of direction.

“that’s just the guys.” hyunjin had also said when you two got there, gesturing inside.

you met them all in under three minutes, which was about two minutes too many. chan was a gentleman. he smiled. he shook your hand. he had huge arms and was gorgeous.

minho and seungmin both looked like they hated you. looked you up and down. acted like bitches. acted like they didn’t understand what you wanted when you said hi and introduced yourself. acted like you were beneath them. hm.

changbin saved the moment by immediately knocking over a chair and laughing at himself. he was sweet. he asked you if you wanted a drink. that was nice, because he meant that. he wanted to get you something to drink, even if he wanted to kill you after. wanting to absolutely murder you wasn’t personal, so he wasn’t going to make it personal.

felix and unfortunately han, two sunshine or whatever you heard the guys say about them(why were there two?) were sweet, but dumb. han tried to shake your hand and missed. felix complimented your shoes and then apologized to the floor.

jeongin bowed. he asked if you were real. he told chan you were out of his league. chan was about to smash his head into a wall. he seemed intelligent though, a little playful, a little flirty. sweet guy. (also a fucking psychopath y/n run run RUN)

through all of it, hyunjin, the liar, the asshole, stayed near you. calm. watching. soooo fucking hot, man. everyone else was loud or mean or deeply stupid, but hyunjin looked at you like he didn’t quite know what to do with you.

which was funny, because the rest of them clearly knew exactly what they wanted to do with you.

they were bad at hiding it. terrible, actually. chan kept whispering. minho and seungmin stared too long. felix dropped something sharp and went “oops”. jeongin asked, loudly, if you were good at running, then immediately said he meant marathons.

you thought they were weird. intense. hot, unfortunately. you had no idea you were being sized up.

so. like two hours into the hang out. you didn’t have your phone with you, it was in the living room somewhere. you were in the kitchen with hyunjin, leaning against a counter, listening to him explain, calmly, something about the cabinets.

“uhuh.” you said, opening three drawers and finding nothing but knives. so many knives. “oouukay.”

from the living room, something heavy scraped across the floor.

“alright.” chan’s voice came. “enough foreplay.”

you frowned, no idea what he was referring to. yet. “that’s a weird thing to say out loud.”

hyunjin hummed. then seungmin appeared in the doorway, posture lazy, swaying a lil, with a fire poker in his hand. i repeat, fire poker.

you had just enough time to think oh that’s new, before he swung. clean. aimed at your head.

you ducked on instinct. the poker smashed into the cabinet behind you, splintering wood, sending a drawer of knives exploding onto the floor.

everyone froze for half a second.

“jesus.” changbin said from somewhere nearby. “we just fixed that.”

you stared at seungmin. he stared back. you two stared at each other for a while.

“…huh.” you said. “okay.”

then you ran.

the boys just… got into it immediately. switched. getting up. listening to your footsteps. laughing. jeongin whooped. they all obviously had done this before. they were so boyish, all of them. and so fucking evil.

you ran down a hallway, heart slamming in your ribs. a door on your left? locked. on your right, open.

you ran into a study and immediately regretted it. felix was there, sitting on a desk, holding a crossbow. WHERE. DID. HE. GET. THAT. FROM.

“oh!” he said, genuinely delighted. “hey.”

“move.” you snapped.

he winced sympathetically. “can’t.”

the shit that he shot out of the bow that i don’t know the name of thunked into the wall beside your head. close enough that you felt the vibration.

“fuck you.” you said, accepting it surprisingly quick that you were getting hunted down.

you burst back into the hall and nearly collided with changbin. he caught you by the shoulders automatically, steadying you.

“okay.” he said, quick and quiet. “left stair’s blocked. right one buys you maybe twenty seconds.”

“why are you telling me?” you panted.

he shrugged. “i like you.”

then he leaned down, pressed a quick kiss into your hair, warm, apologetic, and shoved you forward by the middle of your back.

“go.” he said. “before i change my mind.”

you went.

behind you, he called out cheerfully: “she went right!”

“YOU FUCKING LIAR.” minho yelled immediately.

you ran up the stairs two at a time. at the top when you turned, han was waiting, holding a bat.

“oh shit.” he said. “hi.”

you grabbed the bat mid-swing, yanked it free, and cracked him across the shin. you fucking rock y/n.

he screamed, fell over, and immediately yelled: “timeout! timeout!”

you ditched the bat(DUMB bitch) and ran into what looked like a… whatever room. it was big, too big, too open, too much of a bad choice.

chan stepped into your path. was this bitch there the whole time? no, he couldn’t be. could he?

“easy.” he said, hands up. calm. annoyingly handsome. “you’re safe for—”

you threw a chair at his head.

he caught it.

you spun, only to find minho closing in. you kicked him in the knee. hard. he lunged. you ducked, grabbed a chair again and swung blindly. the thing is, you were extremely weak tho. the chair could have been a fucking pillow at this point, because he just stepped away from it. and you… kinda went with the chair. but you stood up! luckily.

they loved this. they loved the way you fought. the way you adapted. the way you didn’t scream, just swore and moved and made it harder than it was supposed to be. it made them better. sharper. meaner. more playful.

you ran out the door you came in thru and shut it behind you, jamming a heavy table against it. the boys could have prevented that, they just didn’t. you were way too fun, and they knew that you were getting tired. they knew they were going to win this. again.

you waited a bit.

the door shuddered. once. twice.

then stopped.

silence.

your stomach dropped. that was never good.

“okay.” hyunjin’s calm voice came, suddenly close, from behind you. “i’m gonna need you to turn around.”

you spun.

for a moment, you just stared at each other.

“yeah.” you said breathlessly. “so. the airpod?”

he winced. “yeah.”

“figures. sorry for lying about it.”

“it’s fine. i lied too.” he stepped aside, gesturing toward a side door. gentlemanly. insane. “run.” he said. “i’ll count to five.”

“why?”

he smiled, small. “because it’s more fun when you almost make it.”

you didn’t wait for five. you ran again, heart in your throat.

“YOU’RE DOING GREAT!” felix shouted when he saw you run past him. “I MEAN—STOP!”

yeah. pfftt.

the house stopped making sense after a while. corridors doubled back on themselves, which was fucking brutal. there were rooms you swore you’d already crossed. you ducked into a side room and slammed the door, immediately realizing, too late, that it didn’t lock.

“fuck.” you whispered, hands on your knees, trying to quiet your breathing. and you listened. footsteps walked past. someone laughed, a really… loud laugh. jeongin’s voice echoed from somewhere far off. you could hear how unserious his voice was, talking bout sum “she’s still upright, folks, which is honestly impressive” genuinely just making fun of the situation.

“keys.” you muttered. “i need keys.” because you clearly remembered hyunjin closing the front door after you.

from behind the curtain came a soft, confused, very close: “…huh.”

you froze.

the curtain moved. it was han, holding a knife and a flashlight upside down, blinking at you.

“oh” he said. “hi.”

third hi he said tonight. hi to you too, han.

you stared at each other.

“uh.” he said.

“yeah.” you replied.

a beat passed.

another.

he frowned at the flashlight, turned it the right way up, immediately blinded himself, and yelped.

“sorry.” he said, rubbing his eyes. “didn’t mean to corner you.” serial killer btw.

“you did.” you said. “that’s literally what you did.”

“right.” he nodded. “yeah. so. i’m supposed to, uh—” he made a weak stabbing motion with his hand that held the knife. missed entirely. “—do the thing.”

you glanced at the knife in his hand. them at him. then back at the knife. “you don’t look super confident about that.” you said.

he shrugged. “i get nervous.” he hesitated. then leaned in and whispered: “hyunjin gave his keys to chan, i saw it.”

your eyes widened. “…thanks.”

he smiled, shy. “okay.” he said, stepping aside. “i’m gonna count to… uh… what’s fair?”

“ten.” you said immediately.

he nodded seriously. “ten.”

you bolted.

“ONE—” he shouted, already losing count. “THREE—WAIT—”

you ran out. didn’t get far though, you heard too many noises, so you did what made sense at the moment. hide again. and you did hide again, at least tried, you were soon interrupted by seeing felix, who was crouched behind a couch, chewing on a cereal bar.

he looked up mid-bite. “oh. hello again.”

“move. again.” you said.

he scooted instantly. “yep.”

you walked past. paused. looked back. “why are you hiding?”

he swallowed. “i forgot what the plan was.”

“oh. i’m sorry.”

“it’s alright.”

from the hallway, heavy footsteps approached. chan, probably. he walks confident. you can just… hear his walk. felix heard it too. he grimaced.

“he’s gonna be mad.” felix whispered. “he hates when i lose track.”

you looked at felix. then at the hallway. then back at felix. “you’re fine. it’s not your fault. i think so, at least.” you looked around. “he just feels like the fucking star of the show, having the keys and all that”

felix’s eyes lit up. “oh! yeah, he’s got those.”

boom. that was your plan. sneak the keys into the conversation. get to know about it. you’ll be out of there in no time, y/n.

you looked back at him. “can you distract him?”

felix thought for a second, then shook his pretty head enthusiastically. “absolutely not.”

“…fair.”

he stood anyway, squared his shoulders, and marched into the hallway yelling “HEY BRO I THINK SHE WENT—”

you didn’t hear the rest. you ran. you climbed stairs, ducked under a railing, slipped through a door that led into a laundry room, and locked it. the blessed, beautiful click of a lock nearly made you cry. then you crouched between machines, shaking, trying not to laugh or scream or do both.

minutes passed. nothing. then, a knock. polite. gentle.

you stared at the door.

hyunjin’s voice followed, calm as ever. “i’m not coming in.”

“yeah?” you called. “promise?”

“cross my heart.”

“don’t have one.” jeongin added from somewhere farther back.

hyunjin sighed.

the fact that jeongin heard you talk and didn’t go to the laundry room says a lot about them though. tells you that they’re doing this for fun. that they’re not in a hurry at all.

you edged closer to the door, careful. “i need the keys.”

“i know.”

“give them to me.”

a pause. you imagined him leaning against the wall, hands in pockets, watching the floor. “you almost deserve them.” he said. “that’s the problem.” from down the hall came a crash, followed by changbin yelling. hyunjin continued anyway, softer now. “if you get them, though… you’re really leaving.”

“yes.”

“shame.”

fucking manipulator. that’s what he is. “you’re really leaving” oh boo fucking hoo. sappy asshole.

the doorknob jiggled once.

“five minutes.” he said. “that’s what I can give you.”

then footsteps retreated. you sagged against the dryer, adrenaline buzzing. five minutes. okay. you had to get out for sure, otherwise you would be so dead. so, next, run. you were going to run. open the door and… go… some… way. anyways, that’s what you did after about one minute of sitting on the floor and thinking about how will you do that. you got out, and didn’t stop running so much as you failed forward into the next hallway.

somewhere behind you, han shouted your name wrong, twice, then tripped over absolutely nothing and went down with a sound like a dropped bookshelf.

“FUCK.” he yelled. “i’m okay! I’M OKAY.”

you risked a glance back just in time to see him scramble up, only to immediately collide with minho, who had come around the corner too fast. they hit the wall together, tangled, swearing.

you burst through a door and nearly slammed straight into seungmin. both of you froze. like actually froze. inches apart. his breath was loud. yours was worse. he stared at you. you stared at him. his grip tightened on whatever sharp thing he had in his hand.

“…hi.” you said.

“sup.” he said. “you’re shorter up close.”

“fuck you.”

“later.” he agreed easily.

you looked at him, furrowing your pretty brows.

he glanced down at the knife in his hand, then back up at you. “this is awkward.”

“yeah.”

he tilted his head. “you okay?”

“no.” you said.

“hm.”

there was a beat where neither of you moved. somewhere far away, something crashed, probably han.

seungmin tilted his head. “you gonna run, or are we doing this weird staring thing?”

you lunged left.

he lunged right.

you both smacked into the same doorframe and recoiled in pain.

“fuck.” you mumbled, rubbing your pretty head.

“shit, okay, that one’s on me.” he admitted, rubbing his shoulder. his pretty shoulder. that sweater looked good on him, by the way. yeah. hm. really good. but that didn’t fucking matter when he lunged again.

you screamed, slipped on a rug, and went down hard, only for minho to come in from the side and tackle seungmin directly into a glass table. the table shattered.

you stared.

they stared back.

“…go.” seungmin shook his head, waving you off.

you did not need to be told twice. behind you, minho yelled smth like “WHY ARE YOU LETTING HER GO?”

a crash. a thud.

then seungmin, very calmly: “because you’re pissing me off.”

you ran straight into han and felix arguing at the end of the hall.

“i said left.” han insisted, holding a crowbar upside down.

“you always say left.” felix argued, holding a taser and clearly forgetting how it worked.

you skidded to a stop.

all three of you froze.

you were panting. “can you both—”

felix lunged. han lunged. they lunged into each other. they crashed, arms everywhere, legs everywhere, clothes everywhere, the smell of men everywhere, tangled up, the taser going off uselessly into the air.

“STOP STABBING MY JACKET.” felix yelled.

“I THOUGHT YOU WERE HER.” han yelled back.

you stepped over them. “thank you.” you said sincerely, and ran.

you rounded a corner and slammed straight into chan, full chest-to-chest. you both stumbled back a step. he held you automatically, hands on your arms. you stared up at him. he stared down at you.

he almost smiled.

then han came sprinting in, tripped over absolutely nothing, and took chan out at the knees.

“OH MY GOD I’M SO SORRY.” han yelled, tangled in chan’s limbs. “I DIDN’T SEE YOU.”

seungmin and minho found you again. jeongin leaned against a wall, wiping dust off his knees. han just got up and felix came in late, and they tripped over each other again. chan just sighed at this point.

you backed toward the door, hands up.

then while getting up, felix slipped. took han down with him. again. they crashed into minho, who slammed into seungmin.

jeongin smiled. “DOMINOES!”

that was your chance to do something. something to even just slow these guys down, anything, bro. so, you did. when chan stood up finally, you lunged for him.

but like… that asshole just laughed in your face and twisted away easily, shoving you past him. “go.” he said. “you’re warmer when you keep moving.”

weirdo. but you ran again anyway, down a side corridor, thru a door and immediately ate shit. your foot caught on absolutely nothing, and you slid, palms burning, your pretty little skin they want to cut so bad just gone like that.

behind you, there was a collective “OOHHHH.”

you rolled your eyes. sighed. thought about just lying there because they would probably still miss even if you were completely still. you decided maybe not. so you scrambled up and ran again, swearing, adrenaline making everything feel fucking crazy. unreal. is this really happening?

you didn’t know how long you ran. time stopped somewhere around the third near death experience.

you went downstairs and upstairs and downstairs again, back and forth, hoping to find something that could save your life. when you were back at the stairs for the seventh time that night, you took the stairs three at a time, only to find han at the top, again, wheezing, holding a knife backwards.

“WAIT.” he said. “hold on—timeout—my lung—”

you ran past him.

he immediately tripped over his own foot and tumbled down the stairs alone, screaming “I’M FINE—I’M NOT FINE—TELL MY MOM—”

you didn’t look back. you burst into a bedroom and slammed the door, locking it just as something heavy hit the other side.

silence.

your chest heaved. sweat slicked your now skinless palms. you pressed your back to the door and slid down until you were sitting on the floor, brain finally catching up enough to think.

okay. door. big house. front door has keys. keys are on someone. they told you it’s at chan but he could have gave it to anyone since that.

that was bad.

you stood, looking through the room. window. too high. bathroom. connected. closet. tiny but usable. fuck yes. you hid in the closet just as the door opened.

footsteps. slow. unhurried. manly.

“you know, i really thought we had something.” jeongin. sweet. acting, obviously.

you clapped a hand over your mouth.

he paced the room, dragging something metal lightly along furniture. an axe, maybe.

“like, don’t get me wrong.” he continued conversationally, “i love the chase. big fan. but the eye contact earlier? intimate.”

you heard him stop in front of the closet.

“…you in there?”

you didn’t move.

he sighed. then, dropped to his knees. you could see him through the slats now, sprawled on the floor.

“y/n.”

you could hear your breathing. you could also hear his. which meant…

“come out.”

…he could hear yours too.

okay. fuck. your only option was to make a run for it. so, after taking a biiiiig big breath, you burst out of the closet and kicked him in the shoulder. was it successful? was it a good kick? who knows. it knocked him down, that’s what matters, but it was a pretty lame kick after all. he only went down because he wanted to, not because you actually kicked him good.

anyways, you ran again. out the room. then immediately skidded to a stop when seungmin opened a door in front of you.

he stepped aside immediately. “after you.” he said, gesturing inside.

you stared at him.

he stared back.

you could hear hyunjin make a noise, talking with changbin.

seungmin raised his brows. “i insist.”

he knew that you needed an escape route and this was your only option. you knew he knew.

you sighed. ran through it, and it slammed shut behind you. you could hear a snicker(his voice), then silence. maybe he left. maybe not.

the room you were in was darker. storage. boxes. is this place even owned by these guys? or do they just come here to… play?

you hid behind a shelf, crouching, heart in your ears.

okay. think.

front door. locked. too obvious. you needed keys. you needed a person.

but they were playing. this wasn’t about killing you quickly. it was about the fun. about testing themselves. about proving, again, that they were smarter, faster, better. the teamwork thrilled them. having prey thrilled them.

footsteps approached. you tensed.

door opened. han stepped into the room, tripped over absolutely nothing, and face-planted into a stack of boxes. why always this guy?

“oh COME ON.” he groaned. “i wasn’t even chasing her!”

neither of you moved.

“…you okay?” you asked.

“yeah.” he said, looking up, nose bleeding. “yeah. you?”

“living the dream.”

he nodded. then, very gently, he pointed back towards the door. “they’re coming.” he whispered.

in the doorway, felix appeared, pointing at han. “dude. again?”

you took the chance and got out of your hiding place, quick, and bolted past them both.

felix gasped. “oh shit—sorry—sorry—”

han tried to follow, slipped again, and yelled: “WAIT FOR ME!”

a crash. a curse. someone else falling over him.

you ran down the hall toward what you hoped was the front of the house. behind you, shouting, laughter, whooping, bodies colliding, someone yelling “WHO LEFT THIS CHAIR HERE?” you rounded a corner and skidded to a stop in front of the front door. you tried the door. locked. you didn’t know where the keys are. your chest tightened. behind you, footsteps slowed. confident. chan, seungmin, minho, jeongin, closing in.

you turned around. the wall met your back hard enough to knock the air out of you.

“okay.” you said, breathless, palms flat against cold wood. “okay. this is—yeah. alright.”

the other four found you too. felix, panting. han, limping. hyunjin and changbin obviously not affected because they didn’t really take part of the chase. blocking off every possible exit.

chan didn’t take his eyes off you. “everyone good?” he asked, calm. so fucking calm. knowing he won.

“peachy.” jeongin said.

“bit winded.” felix added. “but spiritually fulfilled.”

changbin gave you an apologetic little wave. “sorry.”

two seconds later, seungmin lunged.

you fought, harder than they expected, apparently, elbowing, kicking, swearing. but they were coordinated now, hands grabbing wrists, legs hooking yours, pressure applied. you went down. not slammed, though. controlled. that fucking pissed you off more.

seungmin had your arms pinned. minho had a knee near your thigh, firm. chan crouched in front of you, looking down at your pretty face.

the second you were fully restrained, jeongin shrieked. “oh my GOD we got her!”

he leapt into felix’s arms. felix caught him, squealing back.

“we did it!” felix yelled.

they spun once. almost fell. han clapped wildly and then tripped into changbin, taking them both down.

you lay there, chest heaving, heart pounding, not knowing what the fuck was happening. because they didn’t seem dangerous, but you knew they were.

chan tilted his head. “you ran well.”

“thanks.” you said.

jeongin crouched low, level with your face. “so. how you feeling?”

“fuck off.”

hyunjin tilted his pretty head, hands in his pockets. “you did really well.” he told you quietly.

you forced yourself to breathe slower. think. keys. chan’s jacket pocket. right side. you’d seen the outline earlier when he caught one of the boys mid fall.

jeongin tilted his head at you. “are you afraid? like, i’m actually asking, because i need to know what to do differently next time. are you afraid of death? did we make you feel like you’re going to die? how would you rate it out of ten?”

you sighed, looking down at the floor. “getting killed is, like, the last thing on my list right now.”

they paused.

seungmin grimaced. “yeah, no.”

“oh, no.” felix said, shaking his head

“dude.” minho murmured.

“we would never.” changbin whispered.

“ew.” han blurted, horrified.

you narrowed your eyes. “ew?”

“no—no—not ew you.” he babbled. “i mean—fuck—you’re hot—shit—sorry—what I meant was—”

jeongin smacked the back of his head. “stop talking.”

seungmin grimaced. “we’re not… that evil.”

minho crossed his arms. “jesus.”

chen straightened slightly. “that’s not our thing.”

you watched it all carefully. the discomfort. the immediate correction. the way the tone shifted. interesting.

“relax.” you said, rolling your neck as much as the hold allowed. “i know.”

“thank you.” han said, sweating. “sorry. respectfully.”

“you’re fine.” you murmured.

“yeah?”

“yeah.”

but something had shifted. you saw it. that weird line you’d dropped, half joke, half truth because it’s horrible that we have to live in a world like this, hit somewhere they didn’t like. their version of evil had rules. sooo fucking weird ones, but still.

“okay.” you said suddenly. “wait. wait.”

they paused.

“what.”

“i think i’m gonna throw up.”

“fuck—” changbin recoiled.

“not on me.” minho said, backing up.

“turn her head!” felix yelped.

jeongin scrambled backward on his hands and feet.

chan watched seungmin loosen his grip just a fraction, instinct overriding everything. “are you actually nauseous?”

“yeah.” you croaked, gagging for effect. “stress. adrenaline. it hit now that i’m still.”

hyunjin crouched beside you, studying your face. “you might want to give her space.”

“THANK you.” you gasped.

they got off you. you rolled to your side, clutching your stomach dramatically. and in that shuffle, arms moving, balance adjusting, you shoved your hand straight into chan’s jacket pocket. your fingers hit metal.

keys.

you grabbed them and curled them into your palm just as jeongin leaned back in. “you good?”

you gagged louder.

“jesus.” minho said, disgusted.

“okay, okay.” changbin said. “bathroom, bathroom—”

“down the hall.” hyunjin said calmly.

you scrambled to your knees, pushing past them, one hand over your mouth, the other clenched tight around the keys.

“don’t run.” chan warned.

you made eye contact with him.

and ran.

“FUCK.” seungmin yelled.

“GO GO GO.” han screamed, even though he was on the wrong side.

you sprinted down the hallway, heart about to explode, keys biting into your palm. behind you, footsteps. but now… less playful. more oh shit.

han tripped immediately. felix ran into a wall. changbin yelled: “STAIRS—CUT HER OFF—” and jeongin was just shouting around for fun. just hootin n hollerin.

you ran down the hall.

behind you, hyunjin’s calm voice said: “don’t panic.” which was funny. because they finally were.

you ran away from them. deep into the house again. you heard the footsteps disappear from behind you. good. good.

you slowed just enough to think. you couldn’t outrun eight of them forever.

chan and hyunjin were walking together on the halls. hyunjin had a small, neat folding knife now resting loose between his fingers. chan had taken a syringe with him. already prepped. yes, he can do a lot with only one syringe. his other hand kept brushing the empty space where the keys used to be.

he didn’t like that.

“she took them clean.” chan said.

“yeah.” hyunjin replied quietly. “good hands.”

chan glanced at him. “you sound impressed.”

“i am.”

“you like her?”

hyunjin didn’t answer.

“if we lose her, we change locations.” chan said, ignoring that his earlier question didn’t get an answer. he already knew it.

hyunjin nodded. but there was something under it. for the first time, the outcome wasn’t certain. that was unusual for them, because they usually did really, really good at this. once someone was caught by them, there was no escape. you were the first one who lived to a second round. he found that interesting. and yeah, he might have started developing a tiny little crush on you, back when you two were just meeting up normally. so what? he’s allowed to!

jeongin moved alone. still with his axe that he’d twirled into familiarity. he swung it lightly as he walked. he checked corners, smiling. as if he was dancing.

“y/n.” he called, sing-song. “be honest, was it the flirting? too much? i can dial it back. slightly.”

he stepped over a fallen chair.

“i just feel like we had chemistry.”

he grinned to himself. he loved this part, the story, the tension, the almost. he knew you were thinking now. they got a thinker. he loves that. he hates that.

he paused, listening. then grinned. “oh, you sneaky girl.”

seungmin had the fire poker again. reliable. brutal.

he liked the chase because it stripped people down to instinct. no masks. no pretending. no lying. just raw survival. that’s what he respected.

“c’mon.” he murmured. “don’t go quiet on me.”

you were irritating him. he barely got irritated. ever.

changbin and minho moved together. changbin carried an injection case now, plus a heavy flashlight he could swing if needed. minho had a hunting knife.

they turned a corner. empty.

“she’s doing something.” minho realized.

changbin’s smile(that came upon his face while he was thinking about you, hehehe) faded. “oh.”

they heard a noise and both spun, only to slam into each other again.

“FOR FUCK’S SAKE.” minho snapped.

“shit.” changbin said, steadying the other guy by his shoulders. “let’s just go.”

you moved through hallways. your lungs burned, but your head was clear now. you slipped into a side room and crouched low, listening.

footsteps passed. voices echoed elsewhere. they’d spread too wide.

you waited. counted to twenty. then moved.

back at the hyunjin chan duo, hyunjin stopped in the hallway. “she’s heading back.” he said quietly.

chan. followed his gaze toward the front of the house. “you sure?”

“yes.”

“how?”

“it’s what i’d do.”

meanwhile, at the front door han sat on the floor, back against the wall, holding a shovel. felix sat beside him on the other side of the door with a frying pan he absolutely did not need to be trusted with.

“…we guarding?” han asked.

felix looked at the door. looked at the hallway. looked back at the door.

“…yeah.” he decided.

they both nodded, serious.

“you think she thinks i’m cute?” han asked, adjusting his grip on the shovel.

“bro.” felix said immediately. “absolutely.”

“really?”

“yea, mate.”

they dapped each other up.

“if she makes it back here, i call saying something smooth.” felix said thoughtfully.

“what’s smooth?”

“i don’t know yet.”

while they talked, you grabbed a metal… something from a side table. and started walking back toward the front door.

“she definitely liked when i said she was hot.” han said.

“respectfully.” felix said.

“respectfully.” han looked away, then back at felix. “she’s gonna be so impressed when we catch her.”

“dude. literally.”

they fist bumped.

then, a loud sound came from down the hallway, and a metal object rolling fast across the floor toward them.

they screamed, then scrambled to their feet, immediately abandoning the door.

“dude. we’re gonna fucking die.” han cried.

felix grabbed his arm. “if y/n was here right now, she’d hold my hand.”

“yeah.” han said, terrified. “she’d be so brave.”

“should we check?”

“absolutely not.”

“…we should get the others.”

“yes.”

they ran away from the door, deeper back into the house, yelling for backup.

the front door stood unguarded.

you waited three full seconds after their footsteps faded. then you moved. silent. you didn’t run, that was important. you didn’t want to make noise.

behind you, distant voices.

“FRONT DOOR!”

“THEY LEFT IT—”

you walked to the door quickly. put the key in. wrong key. tried another. wrong key. another. unlocked it. opened it.

now, you ran. you ran, and didn’t stop. you didn’t look back. already past the gate. past the trees. gone.

for the first time ever, they’d lost.

the boys regrouped at the front door. empty. door slightly open.

silence.

chan looked at the door. then at hyunjin, who stared at the gap, face blank. he felt respect. and relief.

seungmin looked at the lock. then at chan’s empty pocket. then back at the lock.

for a second, nobody spoke.

“you’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” minho said, sneering.

behind them, han and felix jogged in, out of breath and pale.

“okay.” felix panted. “so—update—there’s a hallway demon—”

they stopped when they saw everyone standing still, all backs turned to them.

felix looked around. “anyone else feel a breeze?”

chan walked to the door in three steps and shoved it open the rest of the way. empty driveway. dark trees. no you.

jeongin blinked. “…no.”

seungmin made a sound like someone had just run over his foot. “noooo.”

minho rubbed both hands down his face. “no no no no—”

jeongin looked at the ceiling. “oh that’s embarrassing. that’s so embarrassing for us.”

han gasped “shit, she did it!”

felix nodded. “i always believed in her.”

they high-fived.

every head turned.

“are you two serious right now?” seungmin snapped.

han immediately jumped into felix arms.

chan stepped back inside slowly and shut the door, quiet. too quiet. “no one moves.” he said.

seungmin was already halfway to the threshold, fire poker still in hand. “we can still see the road—”

chan grabbed his arm. hard. “i said no.”

seungmin yanked free. “she’s on foot.”

“she has a head start.”

jeongin crossed his arms, shifting his weight. “so we just—what—clap?”

“use your brain for once.” chan, voice low. “you’ll make mistakes.”

“oh, i’m sorry.” seungmin snapped. “did your pocket make a mistake?”

OHHHHH.

minho swore and kicked a chair across the room. it smashed into the wall. “THIS is why we don’t get cute.” he said. “this is why we don’t play with our food.”

chanbin winced. “okay, that phrase—”

“not the time.” seungmin cut in.

hyunjin leaned against a table, arms crossed, watching the boys.

seungmin looked at him, suspicious. the level of angry where he gets suspicious at anything. “you’re quiet.”

“thinking.”

“about?”

hyunjin didn’t answer.

“you liked her.” minho accused.

hyunjin’s eyes flicked to him, calm and flat. “irrelevant.”

“bullshit.”

chan stepped between them before it turned physical. “enough.”

“no, not enough.” jeongin shot back. “she got past eight of us. eight.”

“seven.” seungmin muttered. “i was close.”

“YOU HIT A CABINET.” changbin screeched.

felix, still holding han bridal style, raised a hand. “i think we should acknowledge that she was very good.”

everyone stared at him.

han nodded seriously. “and brave.”

minho looked like he might actually kill them. “put him down.”

felix gently set han on his feet.

han immediately pointed at minho. “your energy is aggressive.”

minho grabbed a glass off a table and hurled it into the fireplace. it shattered. “THIS is aggressive.”

“billy badass over there.” changbin murmured, crossing his huge arms.

minho didn’t hesitate to turn towards changbin and shove him. changbin shoved back automatically.

“don’t start.” chan warned.

too late. seungmin grabbed minho’s shoulder and pulled him back. minho shook him off. jeongin stepped between them, not to help, just to watch. “god, you’re all so emotional.” he muttered.

seungmin started toward the door again, fury radiating off him. “i’m going after her.”

now, chan didn’t just stop him but actually pushed him away by the chest. a confident, violent push. manly. frustrated. “no.”

seungmin rounded on him. “she’s RIGHT THERE.”

han raised his hand again. “i still think she likes me.”

everyone yelled at once: “SHUT UP.” “READ THE ROOM.” “YOU WERE AFRAID OF THE DARK.” “SHE HIT YOU WITH A BAT.” “YOU LEFT THE DOOR.”

“we were investigating a threat!” felix said defensively to the last one.

“you are the threat, you idiot!” seungmin barked, then grabbed the front of his own shirt and screamed into it.

minho kicked the wall.

chan exhaled through his nose, centering himself. “no chasing into the dark.” he said. “not like this.”

“she’s getting farther.” jeongin argued.

seungmin made a noise like something dying. chan folded his arms. thinking. hyunjin stared into the night air like he could still see the path you took.

behind them, han whispered to felix: “when we catch her, i’m gonna ask if she thinks my eyes are pretty.”

felix nodded seriously. “they are.”

eight dangerous men. outplayed. and every single one of them wanted you back.

so yeah. that’s what happened, like… two weeks ago now? yeah. about two weeks. now you’re living your life. you hadn’t told anyone. what would you even say? you decided to just leave it. process it. give yourself time to get over it.

now you are standing in line for coffee. life’s been fine since that after all, you deserve it. you slept. eventually. not well, but enough. you changed routines. new routes, new locks, pepper spray, therapy waitlist, the works. you tell yourself you’re fine.

your name gets called.

“hey.”

your stomach drops before your brain catches up. you don’t turn around. because you know that voice. so you grab your coffee and walk. behind you, footsteps.

“okay, so don’t freak out.” jeongin says.

you keep walking.

“that’s actually a terrible opener, sorry, ignore that.”

you cross the street. he crosses too. you don’t look at him. you don’t run. at least you try.

“you look good.” he adds.

“go away.” you say calmly.

“working on it.” he says, which is not how that phrase works.

you turn a corner toward a busier street. people. noise. couples. kids.

“no.” you say.

“i just want to talk.”

“no.”

“did you get a haircut?” he tries.

you stop dead and turn. “how long have you been following me?”

“today? or—”

“jeongin.”

he winces. “okay. today today? like twenty minutes. but not in a creepy way. i was building courage.”

you resume walking faster.

he matches it, breath puffing a little. “listen, i know we didn’t end on a great note.”

“you chased me with an axe.” you cross the street without looking. a car honks. jeongin grabs your sleeve and yanks you back just enough to keep you from getting hit.

you stare at him.

“i didn’t come to hurt you.” he says. “if that helps.”

you keep walking. he groans softly and follows. people passing by just see two hot twenty somethings having what looks like a mildly tense situationship talk. it’s kinda crazy that they have no idea what happened two weeks ago.

you walk faster. he matches it.

“you dropped something.” he blurts. when you give no reaction, he tugs at your sleeve. “really.” he says, pointing behind you.

“that only worked once.” you say, yanking your hand out his grip.

“yeah.” he sighs. “worth a shot.”

a florist stand is set up on the corner. without stopping, jeongin leans sideways, grabs a small bouquet, tosses a crumpled bill onto the table, and keeps moving. he shoves the flowers toward you.

you stare at them. then at him. you don’t take them. but you stop walking and finally look at him.

he looks… normal. hoodie. messy hair. no axe. no grin that clearly tells he’s in animal mode. just this pretty guy.

people move around you, annoyed at the sidewalk blockage.

“you have five seconds.” you say.

he nods, serious now. “okay. we’re not going to hurt you.”

you stare. you start walking again.

he follows. “the boys haven’t shut up about you.”

“that’s not flattering.”

“it kind of is.”

“i don’t know what you want. i’m not coming back.” you say.

“i know.”

“you can’t follow me.”

“already am.”

you reached your apartment building. this is bad. this is very bad. you stop again, turning to face him fully now. his eyes shine.

“we don’t want to kill you.” he says quietly.

you search for anything that could say he’s lying. you can’t find it.

“that doesn’t make you better.” you say.

“i know.”

“you’re still—”

“yeah.”

“…if you come near my place again, i call the cops.”

he nods immediately.

“if i see any of you, i run.”

“mhm.” he holds the flowers out again, then seems to think better of it and just sets them on the sidewalk between you. “i just needed you to see that i’m not… only that.”

“…you are that.” you say. you’re not even being mean, just honest. brutally honest.

“yeah.” he says.

you go inside without looking back. not caring about where will he go, when will he go, why will he go.

the next day, you change your route. different coffee shop. different street. hoodie up, headphones on, just really fucking trying to stay away from them in general. you’re in that coffee shop now. then you step out of the café with your drink, and nearly walk straight into a guy. you flinch back hard.

“whoa—sorry—sorry.” a voice says quickly.

you look up. it takes your brain a second. glasses. plain black frames. simple gray t-shirt that does absolutely nothing to hide the fact that this man is fucking fit.

changbin.

he gives you a small, awkward wave like you ran into each other and not like he… he found you. “hi.”

you just stare.

“i come in peace.” he adds, lifting both hands.

you close your eyes. “you’ve got to be kidding me.”

“okay. before you walk away—i deserve that—but just—hi.”

you glance around. public. morning rush. safe enough. “why are you here.”

he adjusts his glasses. “i just wanted to talk. like, normal talk. not chase talk.”

you sigh, and start walking. “you have two minutes before i start screaming.” that’s more time you’ve given jeongin, though.

he falls into step beside you immediately. “you could’ve called the cops.” he says after a moment. genuinely confused. “you still could.”

you look at him. “you don’t think i’ve thought about that?”

“i figured. but you didn’t.”

you sip your coffee, buying time. “you’d disappear before anyone got there.”

“…yeah.” he admits.

“and then what? i spend the rest of my life wondering if you’re gonna show up mad?”

he nods slowly. he can’t argue that.

“also, i don’t want to tell that story out loud. figured it would be the best for me if i just lived through it and got over it. eventually.” you add, quieter.

changbin nods “okay. yeah. that makes sense.”

you study him. he looks the same as in the house, almost friendly. that makes a question pop up in your head. “have you done that before?” you ask. “like. killing people.”

“yeah.”

“how many?”

he blows out a breath through his teeth. “i don’t keep a number.”

“and why?”

he takes a breath, thinking. actually thinking. “it’s not the killing part.” he says slowly. “not for me. that’s just… the end of it. it’s the before. i dunno. i like the teamwork. but that’s just me, ask the others if you want their version.”

you’re confused. “…did something happen in your past?”

he shrugs. “no. grew up rich. had friends. i have a great job. my mom calls me on sundays.”

you stare at him.

“i’m serious.” he says. “i’m just… like this.”

you hate how calmly he says it. “when did you start?”

“early twenties.”

“why didn’t you stop?”

he gives you a small, almost embarrassed smile. “i’m good at it.”

you don’t answer. a car horn blares down the street. someone laughs nearby. the world keeps going, oblivious. “you scared me.” you say.

“i know.”

“you still are.”

“i know.”

you swallow. you check the time on your phone. “i told jeongin i’d scream if any of you came close to me ever again.”

“i heard.”

“you got lucky.”

“i’m glad.”

a bit of silence.

you meet his eyes. “i don’t trust you.”

“you shouldn’t.”

“but you still came now. why? why can’t you leave me alone?”

he shrugs, small and helpless. “i liked talking to you in the kitchen. before we… started.”

ow. sounds bad. so bad that you take a step back. away from him. you’re scared.

“i don’t feel things the way other people do.” he says finally. he wanted to spit that out for a while now, he just couldn’t scrape the courage together. “it’s like everything’s gray unless it’s intense.”

you sigh. “…at least you’re honest.”

he nods. “i just… i wanted one interaction with you that wasn’t you running.”

you watch him. he’s still scary. “you got it.” you say. “now what.”

he shrugs. “now i go away.”

you study him. glasses slightly crooked. trying very hard not to look threatening. failing, because he looks like he could lift a car.

you almost smile. almost. “don’t follow me.” you say.

“i won’t.”

“tell the others.”

“i will.”

you start to walk off.

“hey.” he calls.

you turn, tired.

“you were really impressive.” he says. sincere. really.

you hold his gaze. “i know.”

then you leave him standing on the sidewalk, alone. alone with his horrible, evil soul. alone with this weird dumb crush he recently developed on you. alone with his biceps, flexing because he feels a lot and it just… happens when he feels a lot.

it’s the next day. normal day. sun’s out. people walking dogs. a delivery truck is parked. blablabla anything that says world goes on. you were paranoid this day, sure, but you survived so far. you’re currently locking your apartment building door after yourself so you could go grocery shopping when a voice behind you says:

“okay, don’t be mad.”

you close your eyes. slow inhale. you turn.

it’s felix. and this guy literally tried to shoot you once, you remember clearly, but he looks… perfect. perfect hair. expensive jacket. shoes that cost more than your phone. holding… a container?

you stare.

he smiles, so sweet. “i made you muffins.”

“…you what.”

“blueberry.” he says proudly.

you look at the container, suspicious. “i’m not eating that.”

he frowns a little. “that hurt my feelings.”

“you tried to kill me.”

“sorry.”

you rub your face. “why are you here.”

he shifts his weight. he’s nervous. it’s cute tho. “we voted.” he says.

“you VOTED.”

“yeah.”

“ON WHAT.”

“on not killing you.”

you just stare at him.

he brightens. “it was almost unanimous.”

“WHO voted no?”

“…minho.”

yoy try to step around him toward the street. he mirrors you accidentally.

“felix.”

he freezes. “yeah?”

“move.”

“oh. right. sorry.” he sidesteps so fast he almost falls off the curb.

“you cannot come here.” you say. calm. really hoping he’ll understand. “you cannot follow me. you cannot bake for me. do you understand how insane this is?”

he nods immediately. “yes.”

“then why are you here.”

he looks at the muffins. then at you. “okay. so. we— i— baked.” yes baby, we know. you told us already.

“i see that.”

“for you.”

“i gathered.”

he nods, satisfied that the point has been made.

you start walking. he starts walking. directly into a street sign. it’s loud.

he recoils. “ow.”

you pinch the bridge of your nose.

“is it bleeding?” he asks, pointing at his face, but he immediately goes cross eyed as you push his face away instead. his skin is warm. feels nice tbh. he blinks at you, unbothered. “you have strong hands.”

“go away.”

“okay.” he says.

he does not go away.

you reach the crosswalk and the light changes. felix steps forward without looking. a car honks.

you grab his hand and yank him back.

he stumbles into you.

“jesus.” you mutter, still holding his hand as you cross. “you’d be roadkill in five minutes.”

he looks down at your joined hands, his big eyes shining, absolutely taken aback by the fact that you would do this for him. well, all that until you drop his hand on the other side of the street.

“thanks.” he says cheerfully.

a man wearing a watch worth a month’s rent, carrying something he made for you that you won’t eat, who could absolutely overpower you, and instead just almost died to a car.

“don’t follow me.” you say.

“okay.” he says, still following.

you glance at him. “you’re unbelievably stupid.”

“thank you.” he says.

“that wasn’t—”

“i’ve been working on self-acceptance.”

pffft.

you stop. “felix, listen. i don’t want you guys here.”

he looks at you, tilting his pretty head in confusion.

“you scare me.” you clarify.

“oh.” he says quietly. that, he understood.

you point at the muffins. “those could be drugged.”

“they’re not!”

“i don’t know that.”

silence hangs between you. street noise fills it. someone laughs across the road. life just keeps going.

“i liked talking to you.” he says finally.

“you didn’t talk to me.” you reply. “you hunted me.”

“yeah. i’m sorry.”

you watch him. disappointed that something this beautiful can be this cruel. “you need to leave.”

he nods. but he doesn’t move yet. “do you…” he starts, then stops. tries again. “do you hate us?”

you don’t hesitate. “yes?” of fucking course bro???

his little brain absorbs that. shoulders drop a little. “okay.”

he holds out the muffins one last time, hopeful in the dumbest way possible.

you just look at him.

he lowers them.

“just go, felix. bye.”

“yeah. bye.”

he turns the wrong direction.

you grab his hood and spin him around. “that way.”

“right.” he says, walking off.

he makes it three steps. turns back. holds up the muffin container. “do you want—”

“no.”

“okay.”

he walks into a bike rack.

you watch him go. he looks beautiful.

you hate him.

you check to make sure he crosses the next street safely before you turn away.

that passed too. a few days later you are leaving a pharmacy in the afternoon, receipt crumpled in your fist, focusing on your surroundings now.

and across the street, leaning against a lamppost, is chan. he raised a hand, giving you a little wave, mouthing: you good?

you mouth back go away.

he nods once, then pushes off the pole and walks in the opposite direction. not chasing now. actually walking away.

then you’re in a grocery store, looking at pastas, deciding which one you want to eat tonight. a hand reaches past you and places the more expensive one in your cart.

you turn. it’s seungmin. black hoodie. baseball cap.

you immediately pull it back out. “no.”

he takes it. puts it back into the cart.

“no.”

back in.

“stop.”

it went on for a good five minutes.

at checkout, you unload your stuff, and when you’re about to pay, seungmin comes up behind you and wordlessly uses his card. do you process that in the head? no, only when he is already at the exit, hands in his pockets, not looking back.

he walks straight into the automatic door before it finishes opening. you hear the thud.

you rub your temples.

then you’re walking through the park because that’s the shorter way home. peaceful. sunlight. children playing. then the bush next to the sidewalk starts shaking.

you stop. you kick the bush. han tumbles out directly at your feet. face in dirt.

“…hi.” he says into the grass.

you look down at him. “were you hiding?”

he looks up at you, leaves in his hair, expression hopeful. “no.”

you start walking again. he scrambles up and follows, then trips on the sidewalk edge.

you catch his sleeve before he eats pavement. “use your brain.”

he nods seriously. “i keep meaning to.”

next time about days later, you see felix before he sees you. he’s staring into a store window, clearly confused by mannequins.

you walk past.

noticing that, he turns and his pretty little face lights up. “hi!”

“hi. don’t.”

“okay.”

he walks into a mailbox.

you only see hyunjin once, at a distance. not close enough to speak. just standing outside a train station, hands in his coat pockets, watching the crowd, not just you.

when your eyes meet, he doesn’t smile, just gives a small nod. then he leaves.

days after that it’s seungmin again. at night. parking lot. you only came with car because it was too far. you’re unlocking your car and a shadow leans against the hood.

“you’ve been avoiding me.” seungmin says, casual as hell, like he didn’t once swing a fire poker at your skull. “man.” he continues “small world, right?”

you turn, pepper spray in hand, and spray it directly into his eyes.

he screams, drops to his knees, clawing at his face. “OH MY GOD IT’S LIKE SATAN PISSED IN MY EYES—”

“stop finding me!” you yell.

he’s laughing through the pain. laughing. “you look good today.”

you drive off while he’s still swearing.

the next time minho follows you through a bookstore. keeps pretending to browse. picks up a book upside down. so you turn a corner and wait. he walks right into it. he also gets a taste of your pepper spray.

“SON OF A BITCH.” he chokes, doubling over between romance and self help. “you fucking—”

“YOU’RE STALKING ME.”

they find you in different places. weeks apart. or days apart. but they always come back.

something is clearly wrong with them. like, all eight are sick in the head. but it doesn’t seem like they’re following you around to kill you. they talk too long. they get distracted. they bring you things. they absolutely eat shit every time you fight back. and you do fight back. diva.

minho and seungmin have been pepper sprayed so many times they flinch when you reach into your bag. jeongin tries every possible pickup line on you. han once tried to sneak up on you and got hit in the face with your tote bag and apologized.

it’s ike they’re still in hunting mode. after you. into you. but now they’re… unsure. they don’t seem to want you dead anymore. they just… want you around now. or to just be around you, at least.

it’s the middle of the night right now. you’re in old sweatpants, hair a mess, waiting for the food you ordered. and soon enough, the doorbell rings. you shuffle over and look through the peephole for a second. delivery uniform. cap. bag. seems normal. so you open the door.

it’s felix. smiling ear to ear, holding your takeout, wearing the uniform jacket and cap. “hi!”

“absolutely not.” you say, already closing the door.

he sticks his foot in. “wait, wait—don’t slam it, the soup’ll spill—”

that’s when you see it, behind him, in the hallway. a man on the floor. the delivery uniform pants still on him, only his jacket gone, the one on felix right now. there’s blood under the man.

your stomach drops. your organs drop. after staring for about a minute, you slowly look back at felix. “…is that—”

“okay.” he says quickly. “before you freak out—”

“BEFORE I FREAK OUT?? YOU KILLED THE DELIVERY GUY?!”

jeongin leans into view, coming next to felix, hands in pockets. “it wasn’t him who killed the guy.”

you point wildly, not even concerned about the fact that there’s two of them now. “THAT IS A PERSON ON THE FLOOR.”

“yeah but like…” minho says, stepping into the doorframe, arm around felix’s shoulders now. “he’s not using the uniform anymore.”

your mouth opens. nothing comes out.

and then, without a word, chan walks past you. into your home. into your fucking home. felix shrugs and follows him. the other six too, actually taking their shoes off.

YOU ARE STILL HOLDING THE DOOR. THEY JUST WALK AROUND YOU.

“what—no—no—no—” you manage, backing up as they enter.

han closes the door gently behind them. “heat’s nice in here.” he says.

hyunjin looks at you and mutters a quiet but confident “hi” before going further into your living room.

changbin walks past you and spins slowly, taking in the room. “oh this is cute. this is very you.”

“YOU BROUGHT A CORPSE TO MY DOOR.” you choke.

felix is still holding the food bag. “your noodles are getting cold.” he says softly.

you make a noise that doesn’t exist in human language. (imagine something close to a windows crash sound)

seungmin tosses his jacket over a chair. there’s a smear of blood on his sleeve.

you gag.

he notices. “oh, relax. it’s mostly the delivery guy’s.”

“OH MY GOD.”

“hey, where’s the hand soap?” han asks, already at your kitchen sink, washing blood off his fingers.

you stare at the red swirling down your drain.

jeongin flops onto your couch. “i like what you did with the lighting in here. mood.”

“GET OUT.” you say, voice coming back in bursts. “GET—OUT—OF—MY—APARTMENT.”

they all look at you. it’s obvious that they don’t really understand what’s your problem.

chan gestures toward the takeout bag. “eat first.”

“I DON’T WANT THE FOOD.”

felix looks devastated. “you picked the combo meal…”

changbin is by your bookshelf now. “you alphabetized? that’s hot.”

“a— i— eugh— what is HAPPENING.”

minho leans against the wall. “okay, in our defense—”

“there is NO DEFENSE.”

“—we didn’t come to kill you.”

“YOU’RE TRACKING BLOOD ON MY FLOOR.”

they all look down.

han lifts his foot. “…shit.”

jeongin points at him. “mop boy.”

han salutes and grabs paper towels.

“listen.” chan says, turning to be in front of you. “we just wanted to see you.”

you stare at him. then at the door. “…you couldn’t text?” you ask hoarsely.

eight grown ass serial killer men exchange glances.

jeongin shrugs. “didn’t have your number.” that’s alright sweetie, not like you can’t find a phone number when you can find an address perfectly. not like you can’t ask for it from HYUNJIN.

you make another sound.

changbin steps closer, hands up, gentle. “okay, hey. we know this looks bad.”

“LOOKS—”

“bad phrasing.” he admits.

seungmin rubs the back of his neck. “we didn’t plan the delivery guy part.”

“that’s WORSE.” you sag against the wall. “you have got to be shitting me.” you whisper to yourself. then you look at them. all of them. in your apartment. on your couch. at your sink. in your life. “out.”

they don’t move.

jeongin tilts his head. “we just got here—”

“OUT.”

changbin actually flinches.

seungmin raises his hands. “okay, volume—”

“you killed someone. again, i assume. and brought it to my DOOR. do you understand how fucking insane that is?”

silence.

“i can’t sleep normally. i check reflections everywhere. i don’t walk with headphones anymore. do you get that? do you get what you did to my brain? i couldn’t function for weeks. every sound was footsteps. every guy walking behind me was one of you. i have three different hiding spots in my own apartment.”

han raises a hand slightly. “this one’s not great.”

“NO IT IS NOT GREAT.”

felix looks genuinely confused. “we didn’t think about… after.”

“YEAH. THAT’S THE PROBLEM. you don’t think about after. you don’t think about people being PEOPLE. you think about adrenaline and teamwork and your little murder club hangouts.”

changbin crosses his arms. “okay when you say it like that—”

“how else is there to say it??” you gesture wildly at the room.

they don’t look guilty. they look… attentive. they’re paying attention. trying to understand you.

you swallow. “no, seriously. i want to know. when you followed me for weeks? when you showed up at my job? when i thought every man walking behind me was about to grab me? that was fun for you?”

seungmin shrugs. “engaging.”

you grab the nearest thing, a throw pillow, and launch it at his face. then relax your shoulders and sigh. “i am a person. with a nervous system. i had a normal life before you guys.”

there’s a long pause.

felix raises a hand slightly. “your food is still warm.”

“READ THE ROOM.”

he lowers it.

han whispers to him: “she’s upset-upset.”

“no shit.” you snap.

chan has his hands on his hips. “you’re saying we made you paranoid and ruined your life.”

you stare. “…are you fucking for real right now.”

“trying to understand the damage.”

“DAMAGE???”

jeongin leans forward on the couch, elbows on knees. “we don’t feel fear like that, or guilt the way you do.”

“yeah, i noticed.”

“but we’re not dumb.” hyunjin says quietly.

your eyes flick to him.

he meets them. calm. honest in a deeply unsettling way. “we know we changed your life. we can see the behavioral shifts. we know what we did. we just don’t care.“

you blink. does this fucking asshole hear himself.

he continues. “and what you’re saying is that our continued presence equals harm.”

you blink “yes.”

“even without immediate violence.”

“YES.”

he nods once. processing. filing it somewhere in his terrifyingly organized brain.

chan takes over. “we’re saying, we understand the outcome. even if we don’t experience the emotion attached.”

changbin rubs his neck. “we didn’t think about the after. usually there isn’t one.”

you let that sit. “yeah.” you say. “because people die.”

quiet.

han finally says, softly: “you didn’t.”

you look at him. “no. i didn’t. and now i have to live with what you did.”

there’s a long silence.

then jeongin claps his hands once. “so. solution. anyone? ideas?”

you point at him without looking. “you are on thin fucking ice.”

he mimes zipping his mouth.

seungmin rubs his face. “okay, but question.”

you glare.

“when we stopped trying to actually kill you… that didn’t help?”

you just stare at him. “…you hear yourself, right?”

he thinks about it. “…yeah.”

felix looks like he’s actually using his brain for once. “we thought… not finishing the job was growth.”

“that is the lowest bar i have ever heard in my LIFE.”

but you see, the thing is, this is a system error for them. you’re not prey right now. you’re not running. you’re furious, first of all. human. loud. hurt. they don’t know this game. they only know the killing and manipulating one, but they want to have you. they just… don’t know how to get you.

chan clears his throat. “so the correct action would be… removal of our presence.”

“yes.”

“immediately.”

“so fucking immediately.”

“we don’t want to kill you.” minho cuts in, hoping that this saves their situation a bit.

“yeah, you told me a hundred times already. your point?” you ask

“we like you.”

you make a face like you bit into soap. “that is not how liking works.”

“for you.” he agrees.

chan exhales. decisive. “we adjust behavior.”

you cross your arms. “into WHAT?”

silence.

felix brightens. “dinner?”

you stare at him.

han nods eagerly.

you look around the room at eight serial killers in your living space, one of them holding a roll of paper towels covered in someone else’s blood. “…dinner.”

changbin shrugs. “low pressure environment. public. you feel safer. we practice acting normal.”

minho adds: “exposure therapy. for all parties.”

“i just gave a speech about how you ruined my sense of safety.” you whisper, voice defeated.

hyunjin nods. “we heard you.”

“and you want to take me to DINNER.”

“yes.”

“why.”

he doesn’t hesitate. “because harming you is now counterproductive to the thing we want.”

you are actually taken aback by the words this guy uses. “…which is?”

he holds your gaze.

“you.”

the room goes quiet.

then han whispers to felix, way too loud: “is this flirting?”

“yeah.” felix whispers back. “i think this is the good kind.”

you drag a hand down your face. “…get the fuck out of my apartment.”

they stand, immediately obedient. getting their shoes on and whatnot.

changbin gives you a small wave. “we’ll text?”

“you do not have my number.”

jeongin points at hyunjin. “he’ll give it to us.”

“I WILL CALL THE POLICE.”

they walk out.

han pauses at the door. “sorry about the sink.”

door closes. silence. your apartment is a disaster. your life is worse.

but… they looked weirdly sincere, actually. and they were.

soon, they stopped showing up unannounced. mostly. they also stopped bringing weapons into your line of sight. mostly. and they stopped treating you like prey. completely.

how were they about you, comes the question.

obsessed.

and they did not process attachment normally. if they processed it. they did not understand love. but they understood preference, and if you told them enough times, then eventually they understood your emotions too. well, not understood, but they processed the fact that you feel the way you feel and they can do something about it if they actually try.

han once fell down an entire staircase because someone said your name and he turned too fast. chan pretended he wasn’t competitive about board games and then absolutely lost his mind over monopoly. hyunjin brought you flowers all the time. you learned that seungmin always had to sleep on his stomach.

you started to understand the function of them. not excuse, no. absolutely not. just understand and process the fact that they’re how they are. and you couldn’t do shit about it, and you couldn’t get rid of them now. so you lived with it.

they still killed, of course. that was one of the few things that brought them happiness in life, so you couldn’t expect them to stop doing it. they didn’t kill around you, though.

but you knew they still did it. and you could feel when the tension built when they haven’t hurt anybody in a long time.

it also… what’s the right word, scared? impressed? took you aback? could be either, what matters is that when you saw that all of them had it in them, even han and felix who behaved like total angels throughout the day, it… upset you. or just moved something in you, seeing that each of them has that empty place where fear or guilt or empathy should go.

they didn’t kill out of anger. it was release. their brains were wired wrong. thrill, control, mastery, stimulation, those hit the reward centers. violence scratched an itch they couldn’t reach any other way.

and after, they were calmer. lighter, like they’d gone for a run. when they were satisfied with themselves, they tried to tell you about it. you always stopped them, because you did NOT need to hear the horrible things they did. no matter how much they wanted to brag about it, how much they wanted to make you proud.

you weren’t safe in the world, but you were weirdly safe with them. and they would have died for you.

but you had to set rules. actual rules. “do not follow me into bathrooms.” “do not threaten my coworkers.” “do not kill anyone within a five-mile emotional radius of me.” the basics. and they tried. god, they tried. but they didn’t really… do well.

once you opened your door to seungmin at one in the morning, and he stood there, breathing a little heavy, COVERED in blood.

you just stared.

he stared back.

“…you good?” he asked.

“are you good??”

“oh. yeah. not mine.”

you almost slammed the door. he stopped it with a hand, but gently. always that now.

“didn’t come here for that.” he said.

“for what, seungmin, WHAT possible reason makes this a normal social call.”

he shrugged. “adrenaline crash. didn’t wanna be alone.”

that did something weird to your chest. not forgiving, just… information. because you realized that now they wanted you. your company, your voice, your hands. and it felt good.

anyways, you told him to take a shower, then you let him hang out with you.

they also fought each other more than they ever fought you.

once minho and jeongin, two extremely capable men mind you, actually went for each other’s throats in your kitchen while hyunjin and chan tried to separate them.

you yelled at them then. they paused and looked at you.

jeongin, bleeding from the lip, grinned. but like in that hot way. “sorry.”

“take it outside if you’re gonna be like this.” you told them.

“fair.” chan said, dragging minho back by the collar.

you weren’t scared of them like prey anymore. you were scared of the capacity. the strength. the speed. the way the air changed when something in them flipped.

you’d seen what they could do, you just weren’t the target now.

they were on your dick constantly, though. emotionally. socially. existentially. texting wasn’t their thing, but presence was. which meant they showed up unannounced a lot. but the reason for that was that they didn’t want to lose access to you, to be honest. didn’t like the thought of that.

one night you opened the door to changbin. he told you he was going to come over later. well, it was late. around midnight.

when he saw you, his eyes lit up, and wrapped you in the warmest, most affectionate, full-body hug of your life.

you froze.

because he was sticky.

wet sleeve. iron smell. your cheek against his skin. your hands touching the back of his shirt.

he squeezed tighter, cheek against your hair. “missed you.”

you pulled back.

looked down.

this boy was covered in blood.

he smiled, soft, relieved. “hi.”

you shoved back, stumbling, hand over your mouth, already shaking your head like that would stop it. you barely made it to the sink before you threw up in it.

behind you, changbin stood there, horrified. “oh. oh no. right. right. that’s— that’s on me.”

from the hallway, jeongin yelled: “did you forget again??”

“I GOT EXCITED.”

hyunjin was the only one who followed you then, already grabbing a towel, turning on the sink. he didn’t look at changbin, and he didn’t look at the blood. he looked at you. “i’ve got you. you’re okay. breathe.”

they kept forgetting what you were. alive. normal. human. that for you it was a body, a person, a life.

it wasn’t the only time, of fucking course. they’d be loose, relaxed, calm. you’d be staring at hands that had done something irreversible two hours ago. there were a few nights like that, a sleeve not changed, a stain not noticed, you throwing up in your own kitchen while eight men who could disassemble a human being panicked because they’d upset you.

not because they felt guilt like you did. because they’d hurt something important in the environment. you. you, who sometimes made it to the sink, sometimes didn’t.

they did learn, though. slowly. painfully. they didn’t feel what you felt, but they learned it mattered. which, for them, was the closest thing to empathy available in the system.

you fell asleep on the couch once while they were over. you didn’t mean to. how could you mean to, when you knew what they were capable of?

and you woke up pinned. well, luckily not trapped, just surrounded. han was hugging your ankle. felix was using your shoulder as a pillow. changbin had an arm across your middle. jeongin was half off the couch but anyways. seungmin pretended he wasn’t involved but his foot was hooked under your leg.

they didn’t experience comfort like most people did. but proximity? pressure? familiar scent? that, they liked.

they were really, really glad that you survived them. and because of that, somewhere in their broken little predator brains, you became home. and what do predators do? bring things home.

once han showed up beaming, holding something behind his back.

“i got you flowers.” he said.

you blinked. that was… new.

he revealed it.

you stared.

it was technically arranged like a bouquet. the only problem was that… they were human lower arms. a lot of them. like flowers. just… arms.

you made a noise. you looked away, then back at it, then had to look away again.

“i thought it was romantic.” he said, crushed.

“honey, i appreciate that, but—“ you gagged. held the doorframe. teared up.

he watched you throw up then. patted your back after.

felix once brought you a wallet because “you’re always losing yours.”

you opened it. immediately closed it. “felix.”

“yeah?”

“return that.”

chan was… fucking brutal. he didn’t bring objects. he brought information.

“found a guy who’d been stalking women in your area.” he said once.

you went cold. “…what did you do.”

he met your eyes calmly. “took care of him, of course.”

you didn’t know whether to scream or say thank you. this one wasn’t bad, actually. you just had to sit down for a minute.

they were not house trained though, not even a little. one time you caught seungmin about to piss in your giant houseplant.

“seungmin.” you sighed.

he froze mid-zip. “…yeah?”

“if you water that plant with your BODY i will end you.”

“okay, okay.” he said, offended. “god. boundaries.”

felix once wiped his hands on your curtains. han sat on your coffee table. minho had to be told three separate times that knives did not belong “wherever feels right.” changbin once tried to “air out” your apartment by opening every window during winter.

and jeongin was just really spontaneous in general. if a guy talked to you, he would insert himself into the conversation, no matter what. “bro.” he’d say, arm slung over the stranger’s shoulders. “i love your confidence. truly. quick question, how attached are you to having kneecaps?”

you hit him. he’d grin. the stranger would evaporate.

hyunjin was the only one who got you normal gifts. they were… brutally expensive, yeah, and you had no idea where he had that kind of money from, but you appreciated every gift from him.

and oh my fucking god, the mailman. felix hated the mailman. for no reason. the man was fifty something and friendly. still, every time the mail arrived, felix would appear at your window, talking bout sum “he’s back.” ???

“felix, that’s his job.”

“yeah but why is he always here?”

“because i live here. that’s how mail works.”

the suspicion remained.

but beneath all the insanity, the red flags, the daily reminder that they could bring a corpse to your doorstep any day, they were sincere. they never played with your feelings. never lied about what they were. never pretended.

they just… adjusted their behavior around one central rule, which was not to lose you. to keep you safe, even if they didn’t understand why they wanted to keep you so safe. or why did you find so many things they did wrong.

you had, at one point, physically grabbed felix by the hair and yanked him backward because he was halfway out your front door, whispering “i just wanna talk to him.” about the mailman.

“NO.” you barked, fist in his hair.

“he’s BEEN HERE THREE TIMES THIS WEEK.” felix insisted.

“THAT IS HOW MAIL WORKS.”

he did not agree with you.

changbin loved cheek kisses. loved them. unfortunately, changbin also had a chronic issue where he just… forgot he was holding things. knife. wrench. crowbar. gun.

you’d feel a gentle kiss on your cheek and open your eyes to see cold steel six inches from your face.

“baby.” you’d say.

“oh, shit.” weapon would go on the table like car keys. “sorry.” he’d say, and kiss your other cheek, now technically unarmed.

then once you mentioned to hyunjin that you were cold and he wordlessly took off his jacket. it had a suspicious stain. he saw you notice.

“…i’ll get another one.” he said immediately.

because he really didn’t want you to be cold. not like he understood what your problem was with a little blood, but alright. anything for you.

now that i’m getting carried away with the stories, i’ll tell you that han did not understand personal space.

for an example, if you scolded him? immediate cling. you’d finish saying “you cannot threaten the barista for writing my name wrong” and suddenly he’d be attached to your side, rubbing his face into you, arms around your shoulders, chin on your head.

“okay, but we’re good though, right?”

“sweetie, i’m trying to pay.”

he’d nod against your hair, not moving. that went on for twelve minutes until a woman asked if he was concussed.

they clung like that a lot, they didn’t understand a lot, they acted up a lot, they hated a lot, but they loved one thing.

you.

they didn’t understand jealousy as an emotion. they understood it as something wrong with their insticts, and you in danger. how did that make sense? it didn’t. it just sounded horrible. because it was. but it was also the most sincere attachment they were capable of.

you were still scared sometimes. still human. still deeply aware of what they were, and reminded of it a lot of times, of course.

but they’d learned one thing with absolute certainty:

you were not prey.

you were home.

and they were trying, badly, incorrectly, concerningly, to deserve to be there.

[whatdoyouwanttocallmefor]

THIS IS CHAOTICALLY GOOD

[theauthorofsmut]

Damn good read! I would be so down bad!

[flow33didontsmoke]

when y/n does something so bad/embarrassing you have to facepalm and close your eyes for a minute

[yoongihan]

Tantalize - HHJ - Chapter One

photo from here

pairing: half-fae hyunjin x human reader

genre: fantasy, urban fantasy, romance, strangers to lovers,

rated: T (M later so minors do not interact)

word count: ~2k

warnings: not much here, implied sexual interest, off-putting environment, a bar but no one is drinking. more warnings as this story continues.

a/n: an old story of mine i'm reworking because i love the idea of fae stories and lore.

dividers from @saradika-graphics

series mlist

Chapter One

“Just don’t drink or eat anything, okay?”

You tilt your head to the side as Seungmin looks behind him. Again.

“I can handle my liquor, Minnie.”

Your friend (were you? especially with the recent reveal?) meets your gaze head on a few dark strands of hair falling across his forehead. “Don’t you read anything? You never drink or eat around us. Unless you want to be stuck in between.” He turns and starts down the stairs.

You are in a part of the city you’ve never been to. You’re not sure anyone has ever been here. It’s near downtown, but Seungmin directed you to take a quick right on a street your maps app didn’t register. The air doesn’t smell like city here, either. It smells like…

Well, you just don’t know. You’re not sure you want to. 

You slide your hand into your purse, just to touch your taser and make sure it’s there. He turns, eyes bright in the shadows. 

Too bright.

“I wouldn’t use it.” 

“I would.” 

He sighs and it’s so like how he usually is with you that you smile, almost forgetting what you know now. What you’re about to see. 

“Also,” he stops short and you run into him. Your glare doesn’t intimidate him, his golden eyes looking at you oh so seriously. “No extended eye contact. They’ll figure out you’re a tourist and well…” 

“What? Will they eat me?” 

He presses his lips together. “We’re not vampires.”

And with that, he spins on his heel and continues along to the door. You follow, tugging on your short skirt and though it isn’t really cold, you feel shivery and are glad for your tights. A slot opens at the top of the door (like the movies, really?) and Seungmin says something, which isn’t English. Or French, which is what you attempted to learn in school. 

You’re pretty sure it’s something not written down anywhere.

The door opens and Seungmin grabs your hand, tight enough to bruise if he’s not careful and pulls you in behind him. 

The smell. Whatever the air outside was smelling like, it’s stronger in here. That’s what you notice first. It’s sweet and cold, and…something. 

What is it? 

It looks like a regular club. Colored lights moving this way and that. Bodies crowded around each other, writhing.

It takes you a moment to see.

If you didn’t know what you now know, you could have passed it off as the lighting.

But you know.

They’re beautiful, but it’s a strange beauty. Too beautiful, too elegant, too big eyes. 

They aren’t human. 

It staggers you, the reminder that your world just broadened violently. You weren’t much of an investigative journalist if you kept your mind closed to all possibilities.

But the idea of the fae actually being real and in your city…how did that even make sense?

As Seungmin leads you through the bodies, they brush you and you feel something. It shocks you, like static electricity, but pleasant. Almost…

Almost arousing. 

Oh fuck, that’s not good.

A few look at you, but you keep your eyes on the back of Seungmin’s head. Your mouth waters the more you breathe in.

God, you need a drink.

You both sift thought the dancing crowd only to arrive at the bar. Seungmin still doesn’t let go of you as he gets the attention of the bartender.

You shiver, feeling eyes watching you. Not just a few sets, but one very unique set of eyes. You feel the itch between your shoulder blades and the hair on the back of your neck stands up. 

You don't turn. You aren’t stupid and Seungmin had looked pretty dead serious to you. 

That doesn’t stop you from feeling the power of those eyes, the curiosity and interest. It’s hot, searing in a way that makes you both want to back away but draw nearer. 

“This way,” Seungmin says softly in your ear and you jump. “We’ll get our answers from someone in the back.”

You nod and continue to follow him. You feel a bit like a puppy dog, but honestly, Seungmin has been by your side for a long time. Not to trust him would be fatal. 

Oh great, now you’re being melodramatic. 

He leads you both to a set of carpeted stairs, complete with velvet rope to block any unwanted visitors. There’s no one guarding.

“We could just slip under.”

“If you value your lives, you won’t.” 

The voice is smoky. Heated and dark and you know without any question that the voice belongs to the eyes you’d felt so keenly. 

“We need to see Dalnim.” 

You dare to look at the person Seungmin is addressing. You start at the bottom. Converse all-stars on his feet, but it’s too dark to decipher the color. The trousers are black, at odds with the converse but you note that he wears both really well. The shirt fits enough to give you a hint of the body underneath

He’s not a muscley man, none of them seem to be. Long and lanky, but fit.

Your eyes trace the curve of biceps and shoulders until you come to the neck. He seems pale in the club light, but you suspect his skin is tawny. His eyes are dark, but you can’t tell what hue.

“You brought in a tourist,” the man says casually, but there’s a warning. He turns to look at Seungmin. His ears are a touch pointed. 

As if the rest of him isn’t enough of a giveaway. 

“She can keep secrets.” 

You find those fathomless dark eyes back on you and he tilts his head to the side, as though taking measure of you. 

“Can she?” He moves close, a gait that is all sinews and nearly feline. “She’s a reporter, just like you…not known for the secret-keeping.” He emphasizes his consonants in the last words, his tongue coming to touch the back of his teeth. 

You force yourself to stare to the side of his face, which makes your stomach twist. Your want to look at him. You crave to stare and take in all that he is. 

You don’t even know his name. 

“My word should be enough, Hyunjin.” 

Hyunjin. 

“Can the 문외한 not speak for herself? I do so hope to see those lips in motion.” 

If your mouth watered before, it’s dry as dust now. The titillation you felt while surrounded by them have nothing on the pull in your gut right now. 

“I won’t tell anyone,” you manage to get out. Your voice is a shadow of what it is normally. It’s strained and soft. 

You can see that Seungmin is surprised as well. Your verbal skills are without equal when you’re seeking answers. 

“I do wish I could just take your word on it, 문외한, but your kind is known for their lies.” 

“My kind?” 

“Human.” You watch his lips form the word and how could it be so incredibly attractive for him to say that. 

“If Seungmin told me truthfully, you all are part human, so it’s in you as well.” You have found your words again. 

He smiles, the kind that is slow to creep along his lips. It causes the tug in your belly to warm and you swallow. 

“Hyunjin…” 

“I’ll see to your guest,” he tells your friend. “Dalnim is expecting you.”

“She’s to come with me.” 

Hyunjin makes a ‘tsk’ sound at him. “Our good lady will never lower herself to let a human in her presence. You know that.” 

“But…” 

“I’ll see no harm comes to her,” Hyunjin says. “My word.” 

Seungmin looks at you. “I’ll be just a minute.”

You squeeze his hand (you’re still holding hands and it’s like kindergarten). “I’m a big girl.”

“Isn’t she though?”

You shoot an unimpressed look at your host and his grin widens, showing white teeth. 

“I’m holding you to your word,” Seungmin says ominously and then dips under the velvet rope and behind curtains. You watch him go before glancing back at your guard dog. 

“I know enough not to tell you my name.” 

“Pretty and smart. Though to use you I would need your full name. As you’d need mine.” He does that stupid thing with his tongue and teeth again and you tense.

“Thank you for the information.” You slide yout hands into the back pockets of your jeans, at a loss of what to do now. “So…”

He chuckles, looking all of a sudden less otherworldly and more normal, more…human. He opens his arm, gesturing toward some couches to his right, your left.

“We can at least make you comfortable, 문외한.” He watches you. “I won’t glamour you if you want to set those beautiful eyes on mine.” 

You do, as though coerced. “Would you admit it if you did?” You still wonder what color his eyes actually are.

“I prefer a level playing field.”

“Are we playing?” 

The curve of his lips is sinful and you move quickly over to the couches if only to move away from the tension, which is thick and hazy, but that could be the club and all the bodies in it. 

You sit down on the edge of the green crescent-shaped sofa. He doesn’t sit next to you like you expect. He sits across from you.

“How long have you known Seungmin?” he asks, dismissing the quiet redhead who comes up with a pad of paper. “I assume you won’t partake in what we have to offer.” 

“I was warned.”

“Seungmin cares for you enough for that.” He tilts his head again. “How long?”

“A few years. You?” 

“A lifetime.” He leans back against the back of the couch, relaxed with his arm resting as though inviting you to curl up next to him. 

“What…” you take a breath, looking past him into the crowd. “What do you do?” 

“Occupation you mean?” 

You nod, still not looking at him until he moves, sliding to the edge of the cushion so close you could touch. 

“I work for the lady.”

You meet his eyes then and suppress a shudder. “What does that entail?”

He heaves a sigh. “Pretty 문외한, I have no desire to make small talk with you.”

“What are you calling me?”

“Outsider.”

“What do you suggest we do if not small talk?”

He leans forward, reaching out to touch the back of your hand. You should pull away and your brain seems to scream at you to do so, but you can’t. 

You can smell him. He smells like heady incense, sandalwood and amber. 

“I can think of all ways I’d rather pass the time,” he croons. HIs voice paints pictures in your mind, images of desire, dark and intoxicating.

You sway toward him, as though pulled by the mere presence of him. You stand up, a jerky reaction to the moment. 

“I think I should stand by the stairs for him.” You go to head that way, but he’s up, his hand encircling your wrist. “I know you’re strong, but I can still make you hurt.” 

He doesn’t answer so you look up at him. His expression is less arrogant, more curious.

“I’ve no doubt.” His voice is lower. You feel yourself closing the distance. His other hand finds your hip and the tingles are electric. “You are such a pretty one. I can’t see how he keeps his distance from you.” 

“We work together.”

“Ah, it’s more than that.” He hasn’t let go. The jolts you got from the crowd have nothing on the charged heat his touch supplies. “He worries for you.” 

“I can take care of myself.” 

“Yes,” he whispers, moving close, but keeping enough distance to make you want to close the inches in between. 

You are yanked away without warning. 

“You said—“ Seungmin begins, tucking you behind him. 

“I said no harm would come to her. And none did.” He locks eyes with you over Seungmin’s shoulder. “You should go. If she stays any longer, more will take notice.” He drops his head, a bow to you both and walks off, presumably behind the curtain. 

“Seung---“

“Not now,” he hisses at you, grabbing your hand and starting back toward the door. You realize that although his hand grips yours, he doesn’t hurry. His walk does not belay his urgency. 

You look back when you’re near the door. Just once. You see a silhouette at the curtain and know.

--

© yoongihan 2025. please do not steal, translate, repost, or whatever. stray kids belong to themselves and all idols used in this piece are just the inspiration for characters and do not in any way reflect the actual humans. 

[justbelievinginmagic]

ariadne's thread ⎯ pt. 14: within you.

pairing(s): hyunjin x fem!reader series summary: when tempted by an intoxicating offer by hyunjin the goblin king of the underground, you fight against him to find your own sense of self once more while in his labyrinth. glimpse:within the walls of the goblin city, the foreboding castle awaits you. after a long journey, you will see if you have it within you to win. warnings/tags: inspired by the 1986' movie Labyrinth, follows majority of the movie's plot points with lore divergence, 3rd person POV, use of Y/N, mature, suggestive adult content, faerie lore, world-building, explicit language, canon-typical violence, fighting, battle, uneven power dynamics, blood, injuries, toxic relationships, angst, magic, let me know if there is anything else i can tag. word count: 8.4k previous chapter <- -> last chapter series masterlist

It had once been startling to be alone in the Labyrinth, running through its twisting hallways. She had been torn away from Han and Chris too many times to count at this point and each time a flare of unease had bit down her spine when she was by herself. Not now. This time she wasn’t frightened. Even with the clanking and clashing of armor behind her, chasing her down as they yelled and shouted, she didn’t feel afraid to be alone. She knew that no matter what everything in this place revolved around her. It was her path. She was in control. The knights didn’t care about her friends; they were focused on her.

Stopping her.

Defeating her.

Her.

“Run, Y/N!” She heard her Chris cry out.

“We are right behind you!” Jisung called. “Make it to the castle!”

There were shouts of pain far behind her, curses in tongues she could only just begin to decipher, and screeches of surprise. None of it sounded like her friends, but she couldn’t stop to listen closer. She had to cling to the hope they could fend for themselves if only for a moment.

Have courage in them as they had courage in her.

The tight winding walls weren’t dark or scary. They were lantern-lit, leading towards an even brighter light. Keep going, keep going. She felt like she could hear something whispering in her bones to keep running. It wasn’t like before. It wasn’t fear that trickled through her veins.

The light bloomed into a city as she ran, ran, ran into the town square.

The Goblin City was gleaming with false-light. It felt like the world was casted into a golden glow. Unlike the Gardens, there was no dome overhead with a false sky. There were still the floating candles that flickered everlastingly but with new additions of bubbles. Sparks of sunshine, caught bundles of starlight, flames of flickers, all gleamed in bauble-like large lanterns; some floating in the air like it was nothing but a lost bubble and others tied down with floral-like vines like makeshift lamplights lining the roads. It reminded her of Hyunjin and his magic.

This was the Goblin City – at the base of the Goblin Castle. His home after all. Why wouldn’t his magic trail over its cobblestoned streets more than anywhere?

For the first time in the entire Labyrinth, the world she walked felt lived in. Quaint even. There were no feral hints of abandonment. No cobwebs and dust. Buildings, large and small, were built up around her with strange architecture. Brink clambered high in twisting ways, defying gravity, or reason. Washed clothes of all sizes zig-zagged between the cobblestoned buildings windows. A central fountain for the city sat, babbling. The grotesque faces carved into the rock spat out water into its shallows. Abandoned woven baskets of grass sat with half-washed clothes. Watery footsteps led away from the fountain, reminding her of the banshee in the Inner Gardens. Her words echoed:

The way forwards is sometimes the way back. Quite often, it seems like we aren’t getting anywhere when, in fact, we are.

There was the smell of food cooking; chimneys billowed with smoke that smelt of spiced stew and warm bread. Shop stalls stood in front of rickety homes, their wooden facades full of bits and bobs. A basket of eggs sat beside a too-calm rooster that stared at her with dull eyes. Large chunks of cured meats hung beneath canopies, lighting-flies nibbling at them greedily. Stray cats roamed, hissing in displeasure. A rat scurried past.

Y/N slowed just a smidge, heaving heavily. She continued to glance around. As if to find a new threat looming around the corner. Her hair stuck to her sweatied face as she tried to find her next path in the seemingly abandoned city. Slowly but surely, she could see figures peering out of windows, holding curtains close to their faces. Humanoid like Jisung but some furried. A skeletal hand curled around a door, a skinny face glanced around the corner curiously.  A tail wiggled down an ally in view before being scooped up by a clawed hand. Even fungi that lived in the bricks of the buildings peered at her from between caulking, tiny eyes of mushrooms and whatnot tracking her before hiding away into the walls.

Goblins and fae hid from her.

She heard a whimper from a nearby shut door.

“It’s her! It’s the Runner!”

Her head turned to see a wide-eyed goblin. No taller than a toddler with fear in its animal-like eyes. His head full of hair, fur-like and porcupine all at once stood on edge before he was tugged into a nearby basement entry. Like she was some sort of natural disaster coming for their town.

There was a hiss of quiet as the basement entry locked with a clank. A strange eeriness that came over the city as she slowed to walk. She was unfitting to the surroundings. She was too big and yet too short for everything. Otherworldly to the otherworldly. The city held its breath as she caught hers.

Glancing back, she could see the figures of the Knights - or her friends - creep forward in shadowy forms down the city wall’s entrance. She quickly rounded a corner, passing the makeshift shops and startling a cat that yowled into the strange before-the-storm silence. She could hear squeaks and whimpers as she passed dwellings. Shuffling behind shut doors.

“Runner!” She heard a snarled shout.

Fast, she hid behind another wall, back pressing into brick as she held her breath. Footsteps and jingling metal spurs rushed past. She caught a flash of gold and a gleam of a cutlass. Y/N didn’t dare to let her breath out. The fungi beside her did though in a startling loud squeak. The footsteps stopped.  

She glanced aside at the mushroom with fluffy like hair on its spore-mushroom head; a glare in her gaze as it squeaked again and hid further into the cracks. When she glanced back at the alley’s opening, she was startled by the Captain. Hongjoong with his intimidating aura. Blood dripped down his temple, a snarl was on his pretty mouth.

“There you are,” he growled out with a wicked grin that looked not a smidge happy.

And with two strong strides forward, he grasped her wrists to yank her from her hiding spot, pulling her into the square. With the whirlwind energy of a tornado, he had lost his composure; he looked flustered, red faced and hair blustered. “Your coup is over! You cannot win!”

She struggled against his grasp, tugging and pushing at his hold. “Let—go; unhand me!” It was a grunted command, one that he half-listened to, letting go of one wrist with a gasp. His gaze rose and glared at her with an accusation in his gleaming eyes.

“How-“

He didn’t get to finish his words as Changbin full-body slammed the smaller Knight aside with a thunk.

“Go, my Lady!”

A scream broke through with that, more like a horse’s neigh than a human’s. A crash was heard in the distance. She scrambled away, climbing up a nearby flight of stairs. Taking two steps at a time, she crept up onto a plateau, filled with more houses layered upon one another. It was no longer calm though like the lower levels. There were fleeing goblins here, running this way and that.

“Watch out! Watch out!” There were layered shouts and cries as a crowd of townsfolk, large and small, rounded a corner.

Only for their eyes to bug at the sight of her.

“Run away!” they cried out. “It’s the Runner! She’s here! She’s here!”

They scattered around her, parting around her like she was a rock in a sea of fur and fangs. Trying to see what was ahead from amidst the stampede, her own eyes widen at the sight of knight upon knight. Some were tall and spindly, and others were itty bitty and covered in tufts of fuzz like rats, but they all were running full speed, waving their swords this way and that. Irresponsible and bloodthirsty. On backs of odder-looking creatures. Heading towards her in a stampede.  

“Shit,” she muttered as she turned on her heel to run back down the stairs, weaving through the townsfolk. Barely rounding the corner of the stairwell, she heard Jisung cry out from somewhere.

“Y/N! Duck!”

She listened, dropping down as a canon-ball hurtled towards her and crashed into a home. Screams burst forth from inside the dwelling. Her head snapped in the opposite direction. A smoking canon stood with tiny furred creatures in knight leathers manning it. A manic cackle left one of the goblins sitting atop the weapon before it let out a screech.

Another fireball whistled through the air and hit a building nearby. The destruction ricocheted. Rubble fell onto the streets. Innocent goblins cried out and scurried out of their homes like bees escaping a disrupted beehive. They flooded into the knights, facing violence from the blood-thirsty warriors who seemed to not care if they were her or her friends at all. They just wanted chaos!

Y/N had never seen such destruction so fast. The calm before the storm had barely lasted a minute. The entire town was in anarchy. They were destroying their own city in the efforts to stop her- or try to! Her brows crinkled in confusion. She heard creatures whimpering inside their homes, whispering words she could only begin to make out. Prayers to a Mother, prayers to the King. Mercy! Mercy! Mercy! They cried out.

She ran around another alley way, trying to find the path away from the destruction. She wanted it all to stop. They were being hurt for no reason!

A tolling bell rang out hauntingly like a clock’s chime; once, twice, thrice. Her eyes flashed to the highest towers of the nearby castle. It lurked over closer than ever with its tall spindle-like towers. She could see him watching, in his dark leathers and dark hair. Like some sort of raven of misfortune, he wiggled his fingers at her. A smirk curled on his lips, never meeting his eyes.

“An hour left.” It was a taunt on the wind; his mouth didn’t even murmur it and yet she could hear it loud and clear in her ear.

Glaring, she tilted her head.

“Stop destroying your own City.” She said aloud, as if he’d hear her from so far away. Because he could. This was his playground, his kingdom. “They’re innocent.”

Hyunjin raised his brows in a disregarding manner, flicking dust aside from the cool stone of the windowsill.

“Goblins are like rabbits – or roaches. There will always be more. Perhaps you’ll be one soon.”

It infuriated her. He infuriated her. He had just berated her for destroying his kingdom and yet he did the same thing. He didn’t make sense. Like a child he destroyed his kingdom of toy blocks on purpose. A tantrum.

“You are-“

A hand wrapped around her wrist again, and she yelped, being pulled from her strange haze. (In that moment, it felt like it was just him and her. Hyunjin and the Runner, frozen in time and talking as if he was just a short distance away. Glancing back at the distance, she realized how far he was actually. How could she see him so clearly before? It was scary.) Looking towards her friend, her eyes must’ve shown it because Chris reassured her.

“It’s me! It’s me!” Chris exclaimed. His caring eyes gleamed in concern. His chest bore a scratch; it painted a deep purple blood stain over his skin.

“C’mon,” he insisted. “We’ve got to find cover.”

Jisung joined her on her other side, hair a mess. A cut in the shape of an X decorated his cheek. Quick, he blocked her from a shrapnel thrown her way, his bicep taking the brunt of the attack.

“Ji-!” she barely could get out her words as Chris shielded her from another goblin with twisting twig-like limbs. His roar was like the moaning of a falling tree.

Jisung held her closely to his chest, looking this way and that for the remaining member of their party. His dagger was brandished out protectively in front of them. It had blood on it.

Blood. It only made her realize how deadly this was – for them, not her. After all, she couldn’t be harmed fatally here – not until the hour was up. Until her fate was written in stone. But they could.

“Where’s Sir Changbin?” Y/N asked worriedly.

“We lost him around the corner,” Chris told her. “He will find us.”

As if on cue, there was a loud ‘yah’ nearby.

“Stay back, villains! Hah! Take that!” There was the clash of swords, multiple by the sound of it. Like one by one, he swiped at them with vigor.

Clash, clang, clank.

A splash was heard.

Jisung’s wide jeweled eyes latched down a path; she could see his mouth mumbling something as he thought.

“Changbin!” she called.

“Busy, your Ladyship,” she could hear him faintly.

But Jisung knew this land better than the Labyrinth. It was his home for so long. He knew where to go even if it twisted like the maze beyond the city.

“This way.” Jisung instructed.

He grabbed her arm and tugged her along.

They wriggled through the skinny alleyway, past itty-bitty windows into small abodes for creatures and whatnot, before they tumbled out into a new portion of the square. They grunted as the brick spat them out. Jisung pushed them back behind some barrels of pickled who-knows-what.

Hidden away, they peered around the corner at the chaos.

Goblins laid in the street, injured or worse. Knights were cackling riding around on the backs of chickens and tormenting the stray cats. It seemed like more and more knights were flooding into the city – even into the townsfolks’ homes.  She had to find a way out of here. Whether through the castle’s walls or out of the city. If only to lead the terror elsewhere.

A wail caught her attention. There were goblin-folk, younger and older caught in the mess in the streets as the Knights pulled out another canon. How do they have so many portable canons!? The smoking thing was already aimed at the crowd. A countdown begun. A warning that seemed almost merciful if it wasn’t going to be followed by an attack nonetheless. Fair-folk scrambled away, emptying the street. Except for a  goblin, tiny and crying, caught with a large rock, a fragment of debris, on their tinier foot.

Y/N watched in horror as they were left behind by the flock of fleeing goblins, shrieking, and howling every man for themselves.

“Watch out!” she called, stumbling out of her hiding spot.

Quickly, she went over to the small trapped goblin, skidding to her knees to shove at the rock. It was big enough she needed both hands but not heavy enough she couldn’t move it (even if Chris was quick to jump in to help, all the while cursing her recklessness.) Freeing the goblin with a huff, they all fell down under Chri’s protective arms, shielding her and the goblin as a canon whittled through the air above them.

Jisung was quick to thwart the Goblin Knights with ease. Lean muscles rippling as he simply pushed the goblins aside, dodging spears poking towards him. With one shove, he pushed the canon into the nearby moat with a grunt.

Turning back, he was surprised to see Y/N and the goblin they saved hugging.

“You saved me!” The tiny thing cried out. “You—the Runner!!”

It was said in surprise, shock, awe. All things positive and pure.  The goblin-child’s eyes gleamed with gratitude. Y/N smiled softly before she heard another clash of swords nearby.

“Hurry, hide,” she encouraged the innocent goblin despite their fear. “Go.”

It screeched as Y/N moved to nudge it towards a nearby home; the door opened a smidge as if to invite in any survivors.

“Runner!” A voice cried out again. “You deceitful girl!”

Y/N turned; Chris and Jisung were already there at her defense, shielding her physically from the Knights of Ateez’ comeback. They prowled towards her in the streets. It was two of the prettiest Knights with their ethereally sharp features. One with the musket aimed and the other with the split-dyed hair. He was no longer smiling.

“Hurry, go, little one,” Y/N pushed the creature aside, behind them as she, Chris, and Jisung prepared for an attack. Chris’s arm outstretched in protection over Y/N.  The small goblin watched as their shadows covered them as they faced the Knight of Ateez.

Protecting them. Putting their safety ahead of their own to face the fearsome Ateez. A flash of confusion flickered over the little goblin’s face before they stumbled over their webbed furry feet, limping away. They didn’t understand why the Runner pushed them to safety? No one had defended them before…

“Lead them away,” Y/N urged to her friends. Jisung glanced away from the Knights of Ateez to his friend. “Away from the town.”

“Away?”

“Towards the castle!” Chris suggested. “Its close; we can lose them there. You’ll be there too!”

As quick as the Runner was there, she and her comrades were gone, running away – like the Legends foretold. There was an air of awe in the goblin-child before it scurried away.

The due of the Ateez Knights followed with vigor, chasing them down as they rounded a corner, over another bridge until they were in a new town’s square. The towers of the castle taunted her with their nearness. The castle’s drawbridge laid out like a maw, its tongue the wooden planked bridge. It was unguarded, oddly. All the Knights were out in the city.

Magic zapped in front of her like a lightning strike. She stumbled back with a shout. Chris’ arm went around her, tossing her behind him with a growl. His eyes zeroed in on the Knights of Ateez about.

“Be careful” Chris huffed out at her, less threatening and more simply in touch with his troll-side as they backed up against a nearby wall. He felt like it was safer to have her cornered, away from danger. “You keep jumping into danger!”

“I had to help!” she cried out.

“Where’s Bin?” Jisung repeated, scanning the foreground.  He swore he had heard him over this way.

“Sir Changbin!” Y/N called.

Like a dog, loyal and true, Changbin’s eyes rose from his battle, ear perking up. “Lady Y/N?” He was surrounded by goblin knights, some crawling up his form and whacking them with their weaponry. It did little to stop the Sir.

“Go forth, fairest! I’ve got this under control!”

There was a particular hard whack of a spear’s length to his rear. He yelped.

YN’s eyes bulged at the sight of him being swarmed! How could she leave him?

“We aren’t leaving him,” Jisung read Y/N’s mind and speaking it aloud. 

“No way.” She agreed.

The one called Seonghwa raised his musket and aimed at Jisung, leading her to tug him down to dodge. “Watch out!” she yelped.

Chris called upon the rocks to roll in front of them, the debris from around them tugging up from the ground to act as shields.

“Go,” Chris encouraged Jisung and Y/N.

“Not forth this way!” Changbin exclaimed.

 Jisung threw a dagger towards the Knight that slashed towards Changbin. It sliced his cheek. The Knight of Ateez growled out. 

“Runner!” 

“There you are,” the one called San growled out, pointing with his muscular arm.

“You’re a sneaky one,” another growled out as he tried to swing towards her with his axe. Chris grunted as he blocked it with a thrown piece of Earth. The troll-fae hadnt flexed his powers this much in years.

Another Knight rounded the rocks to chase around them, blocking them with his own broadsword.

“You can’t hurt me! Call off the reinforcements,” she argued back. “The city is innocent.”

“And you’ll surrender?” The pretty-one, Yeosang, scoffed, slinging a flash of magic her way in contempt.

She dodged it and watched as an innocent chicken fluffed up from the impact with a squawk.

“I don’t want anyone to get hurt!” She exclaimed. “They aren’t at fault!”

Hongjoong prowled back and forth in front of his Knights, almost like a wolf. He reminded her of Minho, of Felix, of Seungmin. She could almost see him thinking. The cogs ticked behind his eyes. Her eyes flashed away to look toward Changbin who was still making progress with defeating the tiny goblins about him, knocking away swords and spears with ease.

The Knights watched her as she watched the situation tumble out in front of her.

“She’s got brains,” Seonghwa commented with a scowl. His long hair was huffed out of his sharp face. There was a long talon-like scratch over the bridge of elegant nose.

“She sure does,” the Captain commented from aside.

“I could do with brains like hers,” Mingi commented.

“So could I,” San muttered in front of her, lunging towards her. “To eat!”

Nearby, Changbin grew incensed at their words; trapped by battle, he grew angry. He let out a roar that was more human than animal. The goblin-knights tumbled to the ground. Rushing forward, he slashed at San, blocking him from his crew. How dare they impugn her honor!? How dare they think such disgusting thoughts? He shoved the buff Knight aside after the slash. He turned to the nearby house and grappled with a barrel. Throwing it at them with a shout, it toppled them to the ground like a row of bowling pins.

“Vandals! Rascals! How dare you blaspheme a maiden!” He threw another nearby crate. It crashed down over them, breaking into wooden chunks and chunks of whatever was inside. Groans and moans filled the square as they struggled to remain awake from the concussion the strongest Knight threw at them.

“Changbin!” Y/N cried out in surprise. 

“You foul-hearted knaves!”  He tossed another barrel for good luck before Changbin rushed to his party once more in a flurry of heroics; the Knights groaned in pain as they tried to get up, stunned. “You scorn my Lady’s name? Her wit? HUH!”

There was no time to soothe her angered knight; all she could do was focus on the clear path to the drawbridge with the Knights of Ateez and goblin-knights knocked out.

“Go, go,” she encouraged as she pushed around them, sprinting towards the drawbridge of the Goblin Castle. “We can go now!”

“Not so fast,” Yeosang of the Ateez Knights groaned. With a wave of his hand and the last of his energy, magic burst forth. The drawbridge began to rise.

“No!” She yelped. She ran. Ran as fast as she could. But it still shut, raising too high for a human with human dexterity … until it shut with a clank. At the same moment, Chris managed to whack the last conscious member of the Knights asleep with a well placed rock.

“No…”

Y/N’s eyes grew wide in despair. No, no, no. The drawbridge’s only way of opening was from the heavy chains holding it – which only way to access were from within. The fall to the moat below was far and dangerous. Eerie dark water sludged by with bioluminescent creatures diving in and out of it frightfully. It wasn’t possible. How would she get in now?

She let out a sagging breath, eyes searching over the castle. The very castle she had been trying to reach. Despair begun to claw at her nerves. What now?

The group stumbled back. Their eyes looked this way and that. Jisung had begun to talk, mumbling out about other possible entrances. She barely could hear him over her roaring heart.

“Over here!”

It was quiet. A small voice.

“Milady! Over here!”

She heard it again and looked around. Glancing down, she saw a goblin no taller than a mouse. They gestured towards them urgently. Y/N spared one look to her friends, watching as blood dripped from Chris’ temple before she decided.

She knelt beside the mouse-goblin.

“Yes?” she whispered.

It looked at her with beady eyes, gleaming from the captured light floating around them. The goblin stuttered.

“This way, Runner Milady,” the goblin chimed out. They sounded like windchimes. “We can help!”

A door was opened nearby. Taller than expected, there was a warmth from within and a flickering fireplace gleaming. The mouse-goblin held a hand out to her, a little paw. Looking back at her friends, who were all staring at her wide-eyed, she nodded. She took a step inside the home.

“Y/N!” Jisung scolded, chasing after her. The others followed suit.

“We don’t know them!” he eyed the goblin family that had let the much-larger fae wiggle into their abode. The building seemed to shrink as they continuing into the main living space, becoming some small they had to kneel or squat. Changbin’s shoulder banged into the overhead chandelier of candles, dousing them out on accident. It left only the fireplace spluttering for light.

“We’re helping!” One goblin-member chittered beside the fire. “Lady has been kind! She helped our Bobbins. She saved him!”

Jisung’s eyes flashed to her, worried, Doubtful. And all she did was nod. She felt like this was meant to be. The goblin-child was nearby sitting on a chair with a bounded foot. He smiled at her with fangs. The goblin was pure of heart. Kind. A paw stroked over his head lovingly. Looking at the huddled group of fae helping them, she realized they all were.

“Its okay, Han,” she told him quietly.

Changbin groaned nearby tugging away a stray arrow in his bicep.

“Oh my God, are you alright?” Y/N asked, stepping towards him to access him.

“My Lady, it is my duty!” he declared, looking at her with big confused eyes.

“Duty or not, I don’t like seeing any of you hurt,” she admitted. Her hand went to touch his skin and he winced. “I don’t wish for that.”

As she helped Changbin, there was a sizzling of stones as the room was doused into darkness, along with the firepit.

“This way, this way, we can get you out by getting you in,” the seemingly old goblin croaked out. Their goblin family began to claw at the now empty chimney’s rocks, tugging them out with an otter’s precision.

“You can get us into the castle?” Jisung doubted. His hand hadn’t left his dagger.

“We’ve worked there for centuries. We know,” an old withered goblin whimpered out. “The help can help!”

The goblins that served the royal family seemed to have their own tricks because soon enough there was a dusty pathway from the hearth of their family home.

“It was an old path for when we needed to go home quick… you need to go home too, right?” The littlest goblin squeaked – it was the same one that they helped earlier.

“Yes. I do.” Y/N agreed.

“It’ll take you through the kitchens and then the rest is up to you!” A woman-goblin chirped.

Turning to the goblin family, she smiled. “Thank you! Thank you very much!”

“It is our oath, milady! Life for a life! We are square.” The oldest goblin gobbled out.

Grimly, Jisung nodded beside her.

“Debt repaid. Honor intact,” he echoed, nodding firmly at the other. He knew that it was their life-blood’s rules. Not wanting to overstay their welcome, Jisung grabbed her hand and led the party through the small escape hole. “C’mon.”

The crawl space was dusty, sparkling with the same dust that made up the entirety of the Labyrinth. It was as if this tunnel hadnt been used in decades. There were small shoes, forgotten game pieces, even a rotting chicken bone. There wasn’t time to explore; they continued on until they ended up in a grand kitchen made of fine stone and woods. It smelt of firesmoke, something that made Y/N freeze. Nose twitching, she looked around. Only to spot a nearby oven full of flames as if forgotten. Chan was quick to put it out with the nearby dousing bucket.

The kitchen was left in a state of abandonment, Half chopped vegetables were left on chopping boards. Spilt mead was across the floor. A forgotten apron snagged on the nearby stairs.

“I haven’t been here in years,” Changbin whispered. “It looks the same.”

“I never came down here,” Jisung admitted.

“I know the way,” Changbin said, eyes sparkling with something. Remembrance.

He pushed ahead of them, leading them down curving hallways of wood and rock. Like the kitchen, the castle was left in an abandoned state. There were no knights. No goblins. Nothing.

It didn’t look grandiose. It was rock like much of the Labyrinth. There were less cobwebs but it still twisted around like it was a maze of its own. A path only those familiar with could navigate with ease. They continued their journey inside the mystical castle. Crackling torches guided them forward, lighting with a flicker of magic as they walked further and further. As if sensing them.

“This way,” Changbin was the one to encourage as he guided them through familiar hallways. His hand wasn’t in hers but he kept glancing back at the Runner.

Chan was keeping watch from behind her while Changbin and Jisung remained ahead of her, weapons drawn in defense.

But nothing came.

They were alone. The path narrowed to a single staircase. It spiraled up and downwards into a tower. She could see one doorway at the top and nothing below.

“We’re almost there! Up here,” Jisung encouraged as he began to climb upwards.

It didn’t take long - especially in the eerie silence. Their footsteps echoed on the polished marble.

As they reached the top, they entered a singular room of the highest tower of the castle. It was larger than anticipated but nothing that wowed her. The vacancy was the only shocking thing of the throne room. It was empty. Left abandoned in a hurry, it seemed. Half-eaten bones of meat, puddles of mead, and scatterings of peanut shells laid about, cracking under their feet as they crept forward. A lone vulture laughed from the hanging wooden chandelier, cackling at her as she startled. Its eyes felt endless as it stared and seemed to chortle silently now.

“Spread out,” Chris commanded, quietly but firmly. 

Her friends spread out throughout the chamber, walking carefully around the forgotten bits and bobs. Han glanced out the nearby window, the phantom smell of perfume lingering there. Changbin spotted a desecrated seal of the Goblin King, used as a napkin on a barrel. Chan heard the clanking of chain on a nearby wall post.

YN approached the throne; Hyunjin’s words echoed in her mind.

“If you can defeat my labyrinth and reach my true throne in my castle beyond the goblin city within 13 hours, you’ll receive your wish.”

There was nothing special about his throne. Despite the boney structure and the dark velveteen drapery, it was nothing magical. It was worn with a scuffed up, ox-horn backing. She walked closer, dipping into the circular sunken pit of the room. The tiny steps were meant not for human feet but tiny goblin paws. She carefully made her way in and out of it, eying what was around. A rattle. Crumbs of bread, bones, apple pits.

This wasn’t a wonderous throne room. It felt like a mess. She crept up onto the other side, standing in front of the throne. The vulture laughed behind her. She felt like something tugged at her hair.

Her fingers brushed over the bone making up the back of the throne. It was cool to the touch, sturdy at first. Yet soon enough, pieces of it crumbled along tiny hairline cracks in the bone, leaving bone-dust on her fingertips. She was quick to pull her hand away, wiping it away on her shirt. The cushion was half on the seat; moving it into place, she could feel the cold worn leather beneath her palm.

He wasn’t here.

He hadn’t been here for a while.

He wouldn’t have just left. He was too proud for that. She knew Hyunjin despite their few encounters. She knew he wouldn’t just let her win. This didn’t feel like a victory. It felt stale like the nearby loaf of bread on the edge of the pit.

She turned and sat on the throne, lips pursed against teeth in frustration as she thought.

“This isn’t it.” she said.

“It’s the throne room,” Jisung exclaimed from nearby. He turned and his eyes widened at the sight of her on the throne. His heart nearly stopped.

No one had ever dared to sit there except the Royal Family. He’s only seen Hyunjin and his father lounge there.

“He wouldn’t just leave,” she replied, glancing over at him.

Her forehead crinkled. Her arms crossed. The room was quiet. The vulture shifted on its perched; its wings shuffling. Looking around the room, she couldn’t but take in its normalcy. Its lack of awe. Its lack of magic. Except for the sparkle behind a draped curtain. A small crevasse of light twinkled at her. A barely covered exit, glowing with a ghastly white glow. Almost like Hyunjin’s baubles. (It didn’t make architecture-sense. If this was the highest tower, how was there another passage outside of the structure? She wasn’t sure, but she did feel a pull in her stomach, from the naval of her belly.)

Y/N stood and approached it, brushing the curtain aside to look up at a flight of stairs. The light glowing was fantastical like a sunset glowing within the passage. Pulsing. Tempting. Magical.

Licking her lips, she turned to look at her friends in the tower. Each stood at alert, at different parts of the room. Jisung’s eyes looked like big shiny amethysts.

“Y/N,” he whispered. He knew.

“I—I think he went this way,” she told them. “And… I think I have to face him alone.”

“Alone?” Changbin echoed. His usually booming voice was small.

“What if you get hurt?” Chris asked.

Jisung looked like he had been fatally hit. His mouth was downturn into a pout.

“I – if I am,” she swallowed, glancing back at the staircase. Hauntingly luring. Her stomach tensed. “I don’t think he will hurt me.”

She didn’t know. He has hurt her. But that feeling in her bones. She wasn’t afraid. Not really. Her blood buzzed.

Y/N was ready.

“He won’t.” she told them.

She looked back at her friends. “I need to do this alone.”

Jisung’s lip quivered but he was quick to swallow down his discontent. His worry. His love. And instead, he nodded.

“If you need us, just yell.” He told her.

Y/N wasn’t the same woman he had met at the beginning of the Labyrinth; she was his friend.

He trusted her.

She was ready.

Chris and Changbin echoed their support. Y/N took a moment to look at them. Her friends who had gotten her so far… before turning away and climbing the stairs ahead. Alone.

Her footsteps snapped in the silence. Her sneakers squeaked and echoed. The stairs seemed to go on and on, twisting and turning until she came upon a strange chamber. It was glowing with that heavenly glow, but shadows casted this way and that in a confusing manner. Stairs crawled up and down, this way and that, everywhere. Her path led nowhere and yet everywhere.

It felt like she was inside some sort of abstract painting of a room set in a cloudy heaven. Glowy and never-ending. It was ever changing; a blink and the stairs shifted to be on the ceiling, Another doorway here, another entrance there. Upside down, inside out, right-side up.

It was impossible and marvelous and otherworldly. Altering and changing. She’d never be able to predict it. Does it keep changing when no one is looking? She wondered.

Counting the steps ahead, she shut her eyes and climbed. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 -

“You precious thing,” she heard a voice whisper. It didn’t sound like him.

She opened her eyes. The only thing in front of herself was her. A mirrored version of her.

In the reflection, he was behind her. Turning around quick, she realized he wasn’t there.

Only in the mirror.

Hyunjin with that intense gaze and curled lip. His hand went to adjust her double’s hair. It moved ghostly. She felt it.

“You’ve run so long, so far,” he said. “And you are still here.”

Stuck in a labyrinth.

She glared.

“Your eyes can be so cruel,” he hummed out a laugh. He leaned forward; phantom lips pressed against her hair. “Just as I can be so cruel.”

She tried to push him away, the ghost of him. He laughed and spun about in the mirror before walking off down a corridor. Her eyes followed after him; the real corridor he had passed into was to her right. Taking a few steps in, she peered through it; it was just a path to more stairs, criss-crossing, curling up and down and all around. Further into this Labyrinth.

Stepping back, she stared at the mirror closely. Nowhere else had been here has had this. Her eyes looked older. Tired. Her clothes were raggedy. Battle torn, smoke-kissed. Blood splattered. Vermillion red and royal purple. Taking a step forward, she peered closer still. The smell of honeysuckle kissed her nose.

She reached out with a careful finger.

Ting!

There was a sound strange and ethereal. The reflection rippled, waves distorting her figure as she felt a suction on her finger. Until she was sucked into the mirror.

There was an oddly refreshing feeling that coated her skin. Like entering a freezer, her face chilled as she stepped further into the new world. It was cold here. Her hair felt like it was standing up but when she went to brush at it, it laid flat. Static hummed, buzzing close to her skin.

It felt like a reflection of reality here. A mimicry, a dream of the previous room. A sky full of stars in a dark sky encompassed the world, suffocating it into what felt like a chamber rather than a landscape. There were floating stairs, chunks of rockwork hovering in the sky. There was a ringing in her ear.

Breathing out, she tried to calm her nerves of the unknown. After all, everything here has been unknown and she’s handled it. She could do this.

Y/N crept further inside. Her footsteps echoed on the grassy floor. The smell of river water, fire-smoke, of honey-suckle, and of something far more distant. Like a memory of childhood, nostalgia itched at her nose. The singular path began to taper off into something more abstract. Floating chunks of earth made a stepping stone towards a central platform. Floating in the nothingness. Everything felt like a dream or a nightmare. Unreality mixed with reality.  

One, two, three, she hopped the stepping stones until she landed onto the central platform with a thud.

Mushrooms curled up around the space, around her, around the lone object in front of her. It was a throne made of dark stone, cold as ice. It hovered above the dirt ground with a faint shimmering shield around it. Tendrils of the night sky made solid, like a slab of carved obsidian, was carved into a high-backed throne. Stars reflected in its surface, and magic hummed from deep within occasionally making blooms of red, blues, and greens dancing underneath the polished throne.

Unlike the other throne, this felt like a living thing. The way it bloomed as she looked it over. The way the world quieted between her and it.  

It called to her.

“You’ve traveled and fought valiantly, Runner of the Labyrinth.” She heard it murmur in her ear. Neither female nor male, she felt its voice rather than truly perceived it.

Stepping closer, she peered into the stone, the jeweled surface of the crystalline throne twinkled at her. A faint reflection of her grinned back. Her enthrallment was only stopped by a voice.

“Y/N,” his voice was torn between despair and admiration.

Hyunjin looked nothing like he had before. In feathered downy cloak, his hair a split of blonde and black, he looked unlike himself, fragmented like his own form couldn’t decide if he was something of dreams or nightmares. He didn’t look like the confident man that had crept into her bedroom hours ago. The crestfallen smile that crossed over his face disappeared with a flash of lightning in the room to reveal the glowering that consuming him once more. The feathered cloak shed feathers with every shuddering breath like he was molting.

“You are not meant to be here.” He growled. In a blink, he was near the throne, blocking her view of it. He stood between her and it, the goal of this journey.

His eyes were panicked. Hers weren’t. A rumble growled through the stranger ethereal room; it trembled. He looked around startled, face distraught. Meanwhile, she barely looked startled. Everything she had faced had been like this. Uncertain. Ever-changing. As the world stopped shaking, she took a step towards him. He took a step back for the first time. His hands outstretched as if to stop her physically.  

“Beware.” The word was deep and inhuman from his lips. Like a wolf corner, he bared his teeth in a facsimile of a smile. “I have been generous up ‘til now. I can be cruel,” Hyunjin warned.

Once upon a few hours ago, that threat would’ve been fear-inducing. Now, she simply scoffed.

“Generous?” the Labyrinth-Runner repeated dubiously, almost laughing.

Like a movie reel, moments of her journey flashed through her mind. Being dropped into an endless labyrinth, walking for hours on aching feet, falling, tumbling, bleeding, being chased, being taunted, being trapped, being torn through space and time.

“What have you done that’s generous?” she asked.

“Everything,” the King claimed, taking an insistent, desperate step towards her. His hands outstretched now as if to touch her.

Y/N did not shudder as she once did as he crowded closer. She looked aside of him, not giving him the attention he sought.

“Everything you wanted I have done,” his hands went to cup her cheeks with ferocity. Her eyes met his. Deep and dark, he swore her eyes were almost as dark as the infinite of the magic around them. “You asked to be stolen away; I took you. You cowered before me; I was frightening. I have reordered time. I have turned the world upside down, and I have done it all for you.”

The smell of smoke danced in the air, fire-smoke with a hint of honeysuckle illusion. The world about them shuddered and shifted with his emotions like a glitching television set. An undulating creature, alive. Part of him. Or perhaps he was part of it.

“I am exhausted living up to your expectations,” Hyunjin murmured. His voice was gentle now, lacking the disdain it previously held. His head lulled forward and she was reminded of her peach-induced fantasy. His gentleness mixed with his cruelty. His long hair brushed her cheek with a knife’s gentleness.

“Isn’t that generous?” he breathed out with a soft disbelieving laugh.

“What more can I do?” he whimpered, his fingers tightened on her temples as he threaded through her hair distressed. “Please, Y/N. Tell me.”

It was strange to see him jump from threats to begs. It would’ve confused her before. But here, before him, she felt different. It wasn’t as frightful. He wasn’t all that powerful. Everything he’s thrown at her, she’s been able to face. By herself or with her friends. Her friends who were nearby, always with her even if they were far away.

When she didn’t say anything, Hyunjin sucked in a breath through bared fangs.

“You are cruel, YN,” he hissed. It wasn’t a scold. It was almost pained. He turned away from her, pulling away from her skin. It felt like honey clung to his bare hands. He clenched and unclenched his fingers, circling her nonetheless even as he didn’t gaze upon her. Like a wolf, circling its prey. But she refused to be something so weak.

Her feet began to mimic; her steps echoed his until she was nearly one step ahead of his pace, walking with him in circles.

His gaze flickered to her sneakers… sneakers! It made an unraveling sort of laugh bubble up in his chest. A random human had made it here. No… no… she wasn’t a random human; she was YN, she was--- The King looked mad, unkempt as his mind flashed between one thought to the next.

“We are well matched.” He almost giggled. His hands, bare of any gems or metallic jewelry, tug at his locks, pulling at them as if that’d help him think clearer. He couldn’t think around her anymore, consumed by the anxiety, the whirl, the heart pulsing, head rushing energy that pushed through him like a hurricane.

“You and I… I need your cruelty,” he admitted, glancing her way. His eyes gleamed like golden sunlit seas, shimmering inhumanely. “Just as you need mine.”

“I don’t need you.” She said simply, looking at him solidly.

It wasn’t a lie. They couldn’t lie after all.

Hyunjin’s laughter sounded all around her. Damp and watery like it was echoing in an inlet of an ocean cave.

“You’re acting like… like you’ve won,” he lamented, facing away from her. The room vibrated and undulated like a beating heart. The sky blurred into something fuzzied, less defined like a watercolor.

“I am here,” she simply said.

“You understand nothing,” Hyunjin bit out, turning to look at her. “You have answered none of the Labyrinth’s riddles. You don’t even know what the questions were!”

He sounded like a child now. Her head tilted.

“That wasn’t our bargain, now… was it?” she asked.

Hyunjin hissed out turning away.

She watched his fingers twitch and fiddle with his disheveled white outfit. Angelic feathers fell from his hair and bled to black onto the ground.

Y/N spoke to him: “You’re frightened, Hyunjin.”

“So are you.”

And in a flash of something fae, she watched as he jolted forward to be beside her. His eyes and her eyes locked, watching one another.

She didn’t deny it. But she could do things while afraid.

“I’ve traveled though dangers untold and hardship unnumbered.” She told him. The world trembled again like a roiling earthquake.

“Listen!” She swore she could hear a goblin cry out somewhere in the distance.

“For my will is as strong as yours,” she stated.

There was a crash of lightning and she heard Hyunjin’s voice in her ear like a ghostly whisper. 

“Stop.” It was shaky and trembling.

Phantom hands grasped at her shoulders; his shadows were around her clinging to her skin desperately. Hyunjin stared at her, frantic. Pleading. His eyes were like a weeping angel’s, glossy and soft. His hand outstretched towards her.

“Look what I can offer you.”

Almost in slow motion, something materialized in a sparkle and shimmer. In his hand, there was a bauble, a bubble, reflective and soapy. It glowed but it wasn’t as captivating as she once thought. There was a faint image of something, too distant and fuzzy to be enthralling.

“Your dreams. I can make them a reality,” he whispered.

His fingers trembled; his entire body did. There was a tremor, a pallid sheen to his appearance.

“I’ll ask so little of you,” he promised. “Just believe in me.” He took a step closer, the bauble of magic in his hand caught between them as he crept closer. His head ducked down, closer. His breath was shared with her. The room felt tighter; the shadows around her shoulders curled around him and her, trapping them in the darkness of night. Two stars floating together. The bubble sparkled between them.

"Just believe in me and you can have anything you’ve ever dreamed of.” His whisper was intimate. “What you saw at the ball was only a hint. Imagine… imagine being mine. Just let me rule you.”

It was still fantastical, still painted with watercolor strokes as if he’d be a gentle lover. She’d seen his nature in the Labyrinth. Prone to enjoying a challenge, but often abandoning things. Jealous but envious. Haughty yet… fragile.

He was fragile. She was not. YN tilted her head at him. His eyes were crashing waves, sad and somewhat surging with energy.

“Just fear me and love me,” he told her, almost like a lover. “Do as I say, and I will by your slave.”

He was so close for just a moment, so close she swore their lips would meet. Each word was said so tenderly as if he was professing love rather than commands. Fear him, love him, be his.

She was no one’s.

Throughout this entire journey, she had made her decisions. She had found the paths with her own will power and with the help of people she chose. She wasn’t his. No matter how many obstacles he placed in her way. She overcame. Not because of his will. But her own.

“You have no power over me,” she realized.

The despair that crashed over him sent him backwards in a rush. The entire room seemed to expand then. The darkness fading into a brightness as the crystal bauble of her dreams hovered mid-air. Only to pop. A mist of water atoms and sparkling dust evaporating into the air and, with it, Hyunjin stumbled back.

“I—I believe in you,” he muttered, whimpering. “I believe… in … you. Please believe in me.”

He was a sorry sight, tears trickling down his face as he stumbled into the throne that seemed to sizzle at his touch. He glanced back at it. “I can’t—” His despair was something that consumed him in a flurry of feathers, curling into his cloak as he faded into something less human. Shrinking writhing into an owl as he flew off, away. Into the magic of the room, into nothingness. Her heart jumped at the sight, fearful despite the freeing tolling of a clock. The same clock that she had been racing against.

“YN…. YN…” his voice whimpered in a moan; his voice becoming nothing but a ghostly wail in the true throne room.

The Throne of cut-starlight and night sky glimmered at her, winking at her with a shared secret. Luring her in until she sat down upon it.

[theauthorofsmut]

Omg! So good!

[theauthorofsmut]

Saja Boys Headcannons

These are some thoughts of mine on the way the saja boys would behave, can be thought of as platonic or romantic.

Jinu

He’s dorky with confidence. The type to do something incredibly smooth and then slip or walk into something after.

He knows he’s attractive, and knows the effect his smug smile has on others. Not afraid to use it to get his way or tease.

Insanely protective. With the loss of his family, he would do anything not to feel it a second time

Like to stand close, never quite touching. He can’t let himself be outright with the way he feels, but is content being near you.

His eyes don’t lie. Whenever he feels guilt or shame you can always see how his smile can’t reach his eyes.

That being said the moment he catches feelings you can see it. The way he stares like you can’t be real.

Abby

Tries very hard when you first meet to act like a muscle head, all strength and confidence.

The second you start to know the man underneath the persona; you find a teddy bear who has been forced to use his claws

He never trusts himself completely with you, no matter how close you get. Gwi-ma has forced him to kill against his own desires. How would he know if it was going to happen again?

Touch starved, will be so cuddly before overthinking and withdrawing immediately. He’s a lover, but he’s still a demon who’s been through it.

Wouldn’t hesitate to kill for you. Would rather die then have you like in a grave. Or worse, if a demon was to take your soul causing you to disappear.

Like to get you small gifts, things he sees and thinks of you

Romance

For Romance his persona is his prison. A poet who gave his soul to be finally recognized for the beauty in his words.

He became so good at his flirting that he was never sure if they way people admired him was for him or the talent that he sold himself for. Gwi-ma would nag his mind and remind him the only reason people fawned this way was for his help.

Love became too easy, making him no longer desire another person

When Jinu offered the boy band, he became disgusted with himself as he started his old ways of flirtation. Like an old addiction that makes you sick at the thought, but you can’t help but do it anyways.

When he met you, someone who didn’t give a shit about his sweet pick-up lines and face, his façade began to drop.

He tried harder before realizing you didn’t care. He was shocked, and intrigued.

Eventually he became more of himself as he talked to you. Talking less about you so poetically, more of the world around you. Allowing you to see the man under the mask. “The rain is calming, almost the world’s way of crying. I wonder if she too feels the pain of what we’ve done”

As you get close, the sweet things he says are honest, no longer in that fake-sugary tone he uses on stage. They are spoken in his true voice, no lies, no façade.

He is less likely to touch you first, wanting you to initiate it. He wants to make sure the bond you have isn’t influenced by his charm. He doesn’t want Gwi-ma to have anything to do with you.

Mystery

Mystery is a weapon. He used to be one of Gwi-ma’s favourites alongside Baby. As the years went on both boys were tossed aside, replaced by newer, more hungry demons.

He became feral over the years of isolation, sinking further into the darkness.

Baby made him join the boy band to bring back his old friend from his own shame.

You were in the perfect place to become an opportunity for him to learn how to interact with humans.

Most of your first conversations was you awkwardly asking the silent boy some questions as Jinu gave you a thumbs-up somewhere in the background.

Eventually he found his voice and was able to give you short sentences. But the answers were always so out of pocket.

You once asked him how he liked the dance practise and he answered “The smells haunt me” in the most serious tone. It took you a minute to realise he hated the smell of BO from his fellow demons.

His years of service make him obedient without thought. Sometimes you have to remind yourself to phrase stuff as questions to give the poor boy a choice

Will fight anybody who makes you uncomfortable. Even if it’s himself, especially himself.

Baby

His years of servitude before being tossed aside made him bitter. This man is full of attitude and resentment.

Copes with internalized rage, and uses humour as a shield against everyone, even his friends.

Takes an absurd amount of effort to get past his first wall. And he’s not afraid to test your genuine intentions

His words and body language contradict each other. He can look you dead in the eyes and say “You’re so annoying, I don’t even know why I am here”, while pulling you into a hug, holding on tightly as if he needs it badly. He pretends his eyes are dry while he hides his face in your shoulder.

Doesn’t like his bandmates talking to you, the thought of you liking someone else more crushes him. He knows his words may one day push you away, but he hopes you can feel the way he needs you.

Enjoys touching a part of you casually when you’re near. A simple hold on your back or hand is grounding for him. A reminder you’re still here even though he’s an ass.

He wishes he could tell you the things in his head, and hates how his mouth goes dry at the thought. He internally hits himself for always saying the opposite of what he wants to.

Likes to make up his behavior with treats and trinkets, leaving them for you to find rather than giving them directly to you.

[theauthorofsmut]

Hello!

I am so excited to begin writing! I am going to start with my most current obsessions, KPDH and Stray Kids! Please pretend you don't notice my learning curve as I figure everything out

[pawnshopbleus]

Made by me 😻🧌

[alwaysshallow]

thinking about reader being completely wasted and making fun of simon's accent.

like, can you imagine? everyone being scared of big ass guy™ when they mention his deep british accent and theres 5'5 reader fucking laughing and saying "wot-er". begging him to say some words.

and he does.

soap and gaz making bets when he's gonna snap and simon is just smirking under his mask, teasing reader. and he's on purpose saying luv to make her flustered. and he does perfectly bc her cheeks are even redder and it's NOT from alcohol.