occasionally subtle
Love Begins
taylor price
Not today Justin
EXPECTATIONS
Cosimo Galluzzi
RMH
noise dept.
roma★
pixel skylines
Game Changer & Make Some Noise
oozey mess
KIROKAZE
Keni
YOU ARE THE REASON
No title available
No title available
#extradirty
Monterey Bay Aquarium
shark vs the universe
seen from Belize
seen from Australia
seen from Ecuador
seen from Czechia
seen from United Kingdom
seen from Türkiye
seen from United States
seen from Nepal
seen from United States
seen from Indonesia
seen from Italy
seen from Indonesia
seen from Brazil
seen from Vietnam
seen from Germany
seen from United Kingdom
seen from Brazil
seen from Brazil
seen from United States
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@tkoatlaz
hello hello! sorry to spam the dash last night, i was catching up after vacation - but hello to all new muns! my name’s em and i play kim hyun (ATLAZ), ACT.6′s leader and main rapper! if y’all wanna plot, just hit me up! i’ll probably post a new starter soon.
he was just so cool, blue-tinted and calm, centered by some invisible anchor that steadied rather than sunk him. even in the midst of the new bacchanalian he seemed unaffected by the madness, the scotch glasses proof that he had inhaled euphoria and kept himself on his feet. it made her want to reach over and touch him, turning his face toward her, ruffling her hair. she wanted his attention in a way temporarily reminiscent of a school girl, willing to poke and prod to illicit a reaction. ( if she was someone else, hyori may have called it a crush. but she wasn’t, so it wasn’t). what she wanted after his attention was decidedly more womanly, but even crimes of passion have to be taken one step at a time.
she winked jovially at the men they left behind when hyun stood and followed her, taking his wrist (finding the hand too intimate) in her fingers and leading him to the far edge of the floor, where even MONARCH’s view of them would be obstructed. drunk or sober, dancing was as natural - more desired - than any other kind of movement for hyori, who turned and churned her body until hyun leaned in. “oh yeah?” she challenged, mouth left open in a teasing smile, her lips shaped like a hooked finger curling from him towards her. “what could you teach me?” her body seemed to take pride that he had brought them closer, igniting in the places he touched her with muggy, white-hot heat that licked up her spine. a girl on fire, taking light-knot fistfuls of his shirt and slipping a thigh tactfully between his legs as she settled against him, grinning as she rolled their hips together lightly enough to call it kindling. “no – music taught me how to move.”
she was temptation, the taste of whiskey settling warm and heavy in his stomach, the whisper hot on his ear, the glimpse of lace underneath a tight skirt. he remembered watching her newer MVs for the first time, wondering if the dark smoke of a woman in the video was the very same who winked at him in the halls of the TKO building. such a disconnect was common with idols’ MV personas and their personalities, but with hyori both images seemed the very same. at once familiar and succulent and coy and beckoning. He was at a loss. to fuck was one thing, to fuck over and over would be called ‘something’, and he’d already ended a relationship because that ‘something’ was disallowed,
but a dance was innocent, as was flirtation, and even hyun couldn’t deny himself either. she moved with far more finesse than he, and he had had too many drinks to strive for subtle. his eyes raked over every part of her that undulated and writhed in the violet lights, teeth catching under his teeth, before meeting her gaze. “what would you like to learn?” he leaned in closer with a hitched breath when she brought her thigh in between his, fingers tangling loosely in her hair before tightening in a grip that was neither firm nor sloppy - it was a taste. a glimpse of something beyond the flirty banter and the feather-light touches that accompanied it. “i could teach you how to scream with my fingers in your mouth,’ he murmured in her ear with a tight roll of his hips, and, god, how much had he had to drink again? “and how did music teach you how to move?”
“thanks,” jaewon says flatly, “although if it was my spouse i would’ve whooped their ass.” as he watches hyun simply just hold his cup, he snorts at his words. “that is the worst logic i’ve ever heard,” he deadpans, “couldn’t you have gone and maybe play some video games and, i don’t know, something, to relieve stress instead of getting shit-faced drunk?” there’s no malice behind the words but only plain concern, frown on jaewon’s face as he reaches up to run his fingers through hyun’s hair with a sigh, and he leans back onto the couch.
it seems like a staring contest when hyun just looks at him, and jaewon meets his gaze with an unfaltering stare. “something’s going on,” he replies, scrunching his nose. “what is it?” he asks with a softer tone this time, gentle and soothing. “you know you can always tell me. you wouldn’t go and drink for nothing.”
“marry me,” hyun slurred. “someone has to.” he didn’t feel quite so hopeless when he finally settled into the soft plush of the couch - until he reminded himself that this wasn’t his couch, that he’d drunkenly gone to someone’s flat at 1AM, that this was evidently his life now. “i don’t have any video games,” he murmured, furrowing his eyebrows. “never played them. i felt weird asking my grandma for shit like that when she wasn’t rich.” he paused, open-mouthed, when jaewon ran his fingers through his hair, and shut his eyes - the touch alone was enough to sedate him, and he leaned into it.
maybe it was jaewon’s soothing lilt that makes it easier to drop his already veil-thin guard, but hyun let out a loud exhale. “maybe it’s just the stress, i don’t know. i’m closest to my bandmates, but a good leader has to be levelheaded, has to be decisive - i can’t let them see how tired i am, i can’t let anyone in the building see or else they’ll latch onto it. think i’m weak. you’ve seen how sunni is. she’d say something like, ‘getting a little too queasy, oppa? maybe you should see if they’ll let you take a job more up to your speed - a custodian, perhaps’. i see that girl more often than i see my own grandma.” he hiccuped and pushed his head into jaewon’s hand as if to demand more ministrations. “ isn’t that weird? i see a girl who hates me and would love nothing more than my group to disband more than i see my family. shit, i’m rambling. what the hell, jaewon - how do you manage to get me to do this, every time? you a damn wizard, or something?”
sunnie was never a person that shied away from any sort of confrontation. had she went to school like any normal child, she probably would have been the first to fight back to a playground bully (if she wasn’t said playground bully herself), but instead she had a strict stage mom to pick up her mannerisms from, creating a far worse beast than expected. whatever sunnie wanted or thought she deserved, she got one way or another, and one of those things was her proper credits. hearing ‘brother group’ used in the same sentence as l:oveless left a bad taste in her mouth, and she refused to just let it slide and be accepted so easily.
unfortunately, the ceo had picked up earbuds and stopped listening to her screaming after the first three days, so all that aggression had to go somewhere.
“you call it faith, i call it fact… challenge me more and i’ll find a way to ruin all of june for you while i’m at it. i’m supposed to go on vocal rest soon so it’ll be a fun challenge for the both of us.” her voice was completely void of emotion as she spoke, almost as if she was reading out the faded pages of a school textbook. she refused to give him any more of a reaction, even if his words kind of made her want to bring back up the coffee and cantaloupe she’d finished earlier. “how sweet of you, oppa. whenever i decide to hit rock bottom and lower my standards into the shitter, you’ll be the first person i call, promise.”
“you seem to think your harping is capable of doing anything but offering a slight annoyance,” hyun snorted. “how sweet.” turning his head back to his phone. as if to prove his point (or prove it moot), he raised its volume, the beeps and boops of his game stark in the empty room, save for the two of them and their stylists.
he was no stranger to hostility, not from anti-fans, not from rival rappers who had spat on the “cushion” of his idol career, and not from sunnie. where he’d initially ground his teeth as hard as he could to keep himself from hurling something she could use against him, it was now slightly easier for him to let it go in one ear and not the other. time and patience had done wonders for his temper - granted, as long as he had his coffee.
“what a shame. i think the media would adore the leaders of TKO’s brother and sister group coupling, wouldn’t you? picture-perfect. zunnie, they’d probably call us.” hyun was being entirely facetious, and the very thought unsettled him to the point of discomfort. but if he knew one thing about sunnie, if the fantasy unnerved him, it would outright enrage her.
❝ senpai notice me! | kh&syh
☽*˚⊹. | At this point the only thing Yoonho can feel is the sweat dripping down his temple and neck, as well as his lungs threatening to give out at any second. He’s aware that everyone else in the class is in the exact same state, but that doesn’t stop the boy from using his hour break early and gathering his things. Trainees were allowed to leave classes at any time seeing as they were only hurting themselves if they did, but they were allowed to return as well. So, the boy decides he’s in need of a desperate break and hightails it out of there. The second Yoonho enters the hallway, it’s like he’s an entirely new man. The dance studios always stank of sweat during class and the temperature rose by at least a few degrees. Now the boy could finally breathe and he had never felt more refreshed.
That is, until he notes the tall and muscular figure beside him. Someone who was apparently peeking in on the class. Yoonho doesn’t immediately recognize him as the other had yet to look his way, but when he does, the boy’s jaw hits the floor. “A–Atlaz sunbaenim!” He squeaks, eyes as wide as saucers. His body immediately bows at a ninety degree angle, eager to show his respect for the older boy. Once the bow is finished, Yoonho returns to standing, still shocked at the sight of the idol. And to think he was planning on leaving the class. “I–uh–what are you doing here, sunbaenim?” He’s stuttering. Badly. Not to mention his breaths are still coming out in pants from the class. “Is sunbae–uh…looking for someone?”
it hadn’t been so long since hyun was a trainee - amidst all the fanmeets and concerts and photographers, he still reminded himself of this - it wasn’t so long ago that he’d been no one. peeking in on trainee practice brought back a rush of nostalgia, of harder times and easier times, in some ways, and it was also a nice break from the grind. with the benefit of hindsight, experience and distance, it was easy to see who was ahead technically, and hyun secretly reveled in this exclusivity.
a presence nearby jars him out of his trance, and hyun startles slightly when the boy addresses him by name and bows deeply (an occurrence he still hasn’t gotten used to). “ah - yoonho, right?” he grins sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. “no, nobody in particular - i just like to watch sometimes, and remind myself how much more talented all you trainees are than i ever was when i was in those damned classes.” he tilts his head. “you included.”
zhao rustled around in his gym bag for his trusty stick of deodorant. “i was, but i’ve been dancing all day, and it’s super hot out. i probably smell, like, changkyun hyung-level bad right now.” he rolled it on (sort of reaching under his shirt and squirming while the elder’s hands drifted way too close to his super ticklish neck and fixed his shirt collar, no small feat) and lifted his arm to smell. “i can’t tell. smell me, hyung.” every movement he made was probably a bit too fast, a bit too eager, but zhao had no room to be embarrassed. he’d have to have more dignity than he did to feel embarrassment at this point. “not like, out out. i’ve been, like trashy out. bars and karaoke and a weird club once.” the latter memory made him wince. he tucked his shirt in and did a vague ta-da? gesture with his hands, unsure if it made him look dignified and classy or like he was back in his middle school uniform.
“it’s not as bad as you think, but i appreciate you taking precautions when you’re going out with me,” hyun laughed, knocking his knuckles lightly on zhao’s shoulder. hyun was often stricter with the younger idol than most of the other members, and zhao could be a handful, on occasion, but hyun knew it wasn’t out of malice or true belligerence. the guy worked hard, and he deserved a few drinks on hyun after putting up with him for so long.
hyun ducked to smell zhao without hesitation (years spent in close quarters will take away any sense of shyness or shame) and he patted his chest with a grin. “fresh as a daisy.” zhao’s high energy was a godsend on the worst days when he could cheer up anyone, and hyun could certainly appreciate it now - he usually went out with old friends from when he’d been more prevalent in underground rap, but this would be a refreshing and interesting change, to say the least. “weird clubs, yeah? this might be a little tame compared to what you’re used to, then - just some drinks, good music, maybe a dance or two - and that’s if you ask me nicely.” he grinned wryly before nodding towards the tucked shirt. “looks sharp - you look like you could be the rich villain on a drama - and that’s a compliment. now come on, taxi’s already waiting!”
it had been six years since miyeon signed her first contract. six years of sleepless nights, dancing until her limbs ached and singing until her voice cracked, and most importantly, six years since she’d been able to so freely do what she wanted. on one hand, she had done quite a bit of growing up since then, but she still carried that same love for fruity mixed drinks and waking up with someone in her bed, and going out with hyun would be enough to satisfy that nostalgia. there was a tiny part of her brain warning her that going to drink with someone she’d once been involved with could only lead to trouble, but she didn’t care. trouble was her second name, and after the past month and a half, there were only two things that mattered to her– catching up on sleep, and getting shitfaced to celebrate making it through.
“just what i’m saying. but i think what i have to say is a little more important than what just anyone has to say.” or so she’d hoped. their dynamic hadn’t seemed to change in their time apart, but she could never know what was going through his head and whether she still held that same level of importance as he did to her. “no, i don’t. figured that’s how you still like it, anyway.” she chuckled softly, head cocked to the side as she looked him up and down. “i’ll try to keep my hands to myself, but i can’t make any promises when you look that good.”
there were a lot of reasons hyun liked to drink and forget himself for the night, and most people could guess them right off the bat just from seeing his tired, guarded eyes during the week when the camera was off, the grimace lurking beneath his smile when it was on. it was exhausting, even more so when he didn’t let it show, just kept running and running until something forced him to stop. when he drank, it was like he got a second wind. forgot how tired he was. forgot how far act.6 had to go until they were at the point with which hyun would be satisfied -that is, the very top.
“you’re not wrong, hyun chuckled, pushing up his sleeves so his forearms were exposed. “i’d still have you dress me over the stylists - but please don’t tell them that, i would hate to be stuck with a schoolboy aesthetic for the rest of my career.”he meant it as much too. some of the more ignorant netizens took her for ditzy, but hyun knew better. he still valued her opinion over most. “again, not wrong,” hyun teased with a wry smirk. “please - i literally just told you to come out with me five seconds ago and you still look better than i do.” at the sight of the taxi pulling up outside past the entrance doors, hyun grinned and held out his arm. “would the lady like some help to her carriage?”
crowds were the bane of being an idol. sunbin didn’t mind them when they were behind barriers or past large security men. but in the airport, more than once his shoulder brushed against a camera and he found himself lowering his head, faltering a step back and trying to find another way through them. the cameras that shuttered, surrounding him in a cocoon of constant noise. his teeth gritted behind the black face mask, head ducked forward more as he tried once more to get past them. once more he was brought eye to eye with a lens, stuttering to a stop and clenching his hand around the strap of his bag.
he was two seconds away from venting his frustration out on them when a hand was on his waist and sunbin’s body went rigid at the touch. eyes widened in a panic that someone was taking hold of him, wild flutter of his lashes as he took in the sight of his leader. hyun. the recognition sunk his muscles into a more relaxed state, leaning in closer to the older male out of habit and trying to hide behind the others efforts. it was hyun’s voice that dared sunbins gaze to venture ahead of them, keeping his feet in pace with the older.
once they’d gotten a few steps past the crowd, sunbins fingers blindly curled to grip onto the edge of hyun’s shirt so he wouldn’t lose him. “i fucking hate airports,” he muttered under his breath, clearly still agitated as he nestled closer to hyun. he had very little intention to part from him until they were in the safety of the plane now.
hyun couldn’t help the warmth that settled in the pit of his stomach when sunbin settled closer as they drew farther and farther from the photographers - his bandmate wasn’t as warm as the others, and some of his mannerisms were often perceived as cold, disinterested. hyun found inexplicable pride in being able to reach him more often than not, at least when it mattered, and now was no exception.
“yeah, the smell used to make me nauseous. now the sound of the cameras just makes me angry,” hyun chuckled, hand squeezing reassuringly on sunbin’s waist. there were several more photographers off to the side, their cameras poised, and his grin widened as an idea made its way into his head. “any time you think you’re about to go off one of these assholes, come find me. i think they’ll be perfectly sated leaving with a little fanservice.,” he murmured and, with a grin, lowered his hand from sunbin’s waist to lightly pat him on the ass. the flicker of the camera shutters sounded rapidly. “better than a picture of one of us going after one of them, yeah?”
“Annyeong oppa.” Sona spoke right on time, before he could escape from her. It hasn’t been that long and the soloist remembered quite well that day. If she had walked lightly faster, Sona would miss him but she didn’t, watching Atlas sitting on the floor, his face buried between his hands. He was the leader of a successful group, a rock to others and like everyone else, the time to break had reached him that day. “I’ve saw you crying, not killing someone. No need to run, silly.” She said, teasing him playfully.
Sona wasn’t able to fully mock him, it wasn’t on her nature. However she did find amusing the fact Atlas seemed to have the necessity to act tough all the time and even though she showed truthful concern towards his well being, he still avoided her. “I’m just joking. Anyway, how have you been?” In her full honesty, Sona was more than doing small talk, she wished to genuinely know how he was doing ever since, even though she was positive his answer was going to very short and rushed.
Sona had always seemed to be perceptive, and Hyun was a fool for hoping she would completely miss him passing by. Since that day she found him,he’d been wracking his head relentlessly for anything he could possibly say in the event they ran into each other, always falling short of a response he’d actually use. Nearly no one knew the extent of how the stress affected Hyun, in private, not even some of his own bandmates, and he would have been perfectly content if no one ever did.. He thought he’d been so clever.
“Sona - hello,” he said, smiling wanly as he turned around to look her in the eye - a feat, made more strenuous by his mind than anything else. He couldn’t help the wince at her words - he knew she didn’t mean to salt the wound, and he forced a laugh, forced the grimace into a smile as careless as he could manage. “Very funny. I wasn’t running, I just - ah,” he slapped his hand on the surface of the lobby front desk. “Seeing if I had any mail. Anyway.” He cleared his throat. “I’m well, perfectly well. It’s been a bit hectic, but when is it ever not?” Hyun cocked his head, eager to change the subject. “And you? How have you been?”
he said i can show you much more than that, and suddenly she was a penny swaying to the bottom of a fountain, a star stepping down to the earth with a gasp and a faint – a sparkling thing falling somewhere dense and dark. she should’ve hated how he had answered, all surety and no apology, undressing her previous comment to stand suddenly nude and vulnerable next to his open lap of a statement. instead, she stupidly, drunkenly, meaningfully, loved it. white-blue heat open mouth kissed up her spine, and she had nothing to say. her smile hung in the air as answer, feline and entertained.
hyori turned attentively to MONARCH – who in truth she was fond of – and turned her lips into a matching set, grinning with him. “oh,” she pouted and shook her head in exaggerated disappointment. “that’s no fun at all. how’ve you guys been putting up with him?” her eyes lapsed back to hyun in quick succession as the man in question defended himself, but she only raised an eyebrow and exchanged a conspiratorial snicker with MONARCH. she listed to hyun, but her attention was drowned by the slant of manufactured darkness across his face and vibrating beat around her. “staring you in the eye, or something you wanna stare at?” she quipped, verbally pointing a finger at something half-acknowledged between them. removing her arms from the table and straightening up she cast opinion facetiously down to his accompaniments: “should we make him get off his ass?” it wasn’t a real question because there was already an answer. they hollered their compliance anyway. “what do you think - dancing?” again, the question ran to the sides of hyun’s friends rather than his own ears, and they answered in loud positives. an electric charge. like beckoning a finger to get him out of the booth and onto the dance floor, hyori swayed her hips to the music curled around them, picking up the pace for a teasing shake that made the boys laugh and whoop in appreciation.
“c’mon than, hyun - come on and teach me something!”
contrary to what netizen buzz loved to report depending on the day, hyun didn’t accomplish very much when he went out - didn’t take home wide-eyed fangirls, didn’t drunkenly challenge anti-fans nor photographers to fights. most of his late evenings went exactly how this evening had been going before hyori showed up, shadows in the VIP bubble, drinking until his stiff shoulders relaxed and murmuring conspiratorially with old friends. not that he was complaining. hyori was a welcome charge, a jolt that reached his every corner, from the clench of his teeth to the curl of his toes when she smiled. it was all involuntary, and very few things were with hyun, hyun who always had every idea of what he wanted a sandstorm in his head.
“staring you in the eye, or something you wanna stare at?”
both, evidently, but hyun kept that part to himself, only offering a coy, almost shy grin over the rim of his glass. she seemed drunk and warm and vibrant, not a lull in the storm but the very eye of it. his friends whooped at her suggestion, and he made a show of a grimace - all in jest, of course. he wasn’t the strongest or the third strongest dancer in ACT.6, but with his three drinks he could hold his own against a storm of a girl. “teach you something, huh?” he laughed, following her to the floor with a body that swayed on its own. “there’s nothing i could possibly teach you that you wouldn’t already know - when we’re talking about dancing.” hyun grinned something dangerous and knowing, and his hands grazed over her hips, fingers settling, melding into the heat of her skin. they were face to face and it was all too easy to pull her close, to whisper just loud enough for only her to hear above the music.”did they teach you this when you were a trainee?”
jaewon rubs at his eyes, before taking a proper look at hyun and his eyes widen almost immediately. “oh my god, are you drunk?” he asks, voice raspy as he warily looks at hyun wobbling unsteadily. “no, wait-” jaewon tries to interrupt hyun’s little speech, but to no avail, and he helplessly waits for him to finish only for him to take a step back and jaewon lunges forward.
“you’re not going anywhere,” he mutters, throwing his arms around hyun. the smell of alcohol lingers on his clothes, and he scrunches up his nose. “you can’t just turn up at my doorstep at 1am and tell me it’s nothing and leave,” he insists, “and i wouldn’t let you take a cab back yourself. i’d personally drive you back.”
he firmly guides hyun to the sofa, sitting him down while he moves to the kitchen to make some hot tea. “what happened?” he asks over the clatter of the cupboard doors and kettle boiling as he gets the tea in order. “why did you drink so much?” jaewon grabs the warm cup and pushes it into hyun’s hands, sitting beside him and looking at him in concern.
“uh.” jaewon’s tone made hyun winced sheepishly. “maybe?” but it was nothing uncommon, and he had no reason to be sheepish, at least, it made perfect sense for a man in his position to drink as often as he did, and at least he was capable of being perfectly productive even after the most raucous nights - right?.
he groaned when jaewon’s arms caught him. his knees were jelly, there was no use fighting, as much as his pride insisted. the couch was a needed respite and he wordlessly, involuntarily settled, his limbs sinking into the cushions and he watched blearily as jaewon bustled around, having the mind to fetch him tea, “you’d make a good spouse,” hyun sighed with a faint smile, letting the cup warm his hands rather than drink from it.“mhm. just a long day of working. thought i deserved it.”
he stared at jaewon for a second, maybe ten, and grunted. “bunch of small things. not wort mentioning.”
“what? hyung, no way.” zhao couldn’t contain his grin. he was legal (in korea, at least) and the members would drink together and go out or whatever, but this was different. going out with hyun hyung meant the kind of class and refinement and drinking of whiskey without grimacing at the burn that zhao straight up didn’t have. hyun asking him to go meant… something, definitely. it felt like some sort of rite of passage, like jia zhaohui is becoming a man tonight. he squirmed in the swivel chair by the desk and shot up abruptly. “hell yeah. just give me like… three minutes. i gotta put on deodorant.”
hyun couldn’t help the grin that pulled at his lips at his zhao’s eagerness - he’d always been reluctant to take the group’s maknae out, at least when the group had faced early turmoil and controversy in the months following their inception. the group’s leader corrupting his precious, innocent maknae wouldn’t fare well in the eyes of the public, but enough time has passed - and he figured he could finally buy zhao a drink for all his hard work. “deodorant?” hyun chuckled throatily, rolling his sleeves above his elbow. “and you don’t wanna explain to me why you weren’t wearing any before?” he reached over to smooth zhao’s collar, humming before saying,”do you go out often, zhao?”
song minho for elle korea
what a terrible, terrible thing to be looking at a beautiful boy in a dark room with liquor in your system. there were two others around him but she couldn’t seem to remember to look at them. “oppa can show me,” she reached over and tugged at his shirt twice in quick succession, her voice deliberately high and mocking, the sound of lolita lollipops clacking against teeth and thigh high socks being stretched over the knee. her grin was too full of adulthood to make the statement serious, innuendo caught between her molars and bicuspids.
hyori’s forearms dropped to the table with the rest of her game, dissipating as throaty laughter poured out her throat. still leaning against the table with her elbows, she crossed her arms and brought the scratch and woman back to her voice, casting her eyes across the trio. “how’s you boys’s night going so far?”
he heard rather than saw his friends shift to look at him as she drew closer - and with good reason. hyori was a mirage of a girl, almost perfectly stepping into the short, bouncy skirt and thigh-highs - he could practically smell the cherry lollipop on her breath when she reached over. “i can show you much more than that,” and that was as much as he offered this version of her. the shadows couldn’t hide the woman behind the girl, and when she dropped the act a moment later, hyun lifted his glass to his lips. he was parched.
“hyun’s not being any fun,” his friend on his left, MONARCH, an older rapper with plenty of gold on his fingers and ink on his wrists groused with a grin. “three drinks and nothing to show for it.”
“i’ve told you, i could walk an old lady across the street and some anti-fan would find a way to spin it so hard just so the shit he’d fling would hit something,” hyun chuckled, his tongue looser from the drink. MONARCH shot hyori a knowing smirk. “but... i can’t very well be a hermit slowly drinking myself to death in the corner of a club when i’ve got fine company staring me in the eye, can i?”
despite being warned many, many times, from her manager to mina to even the ceo when she was found screaming her head off about it, sunnie had yet to get a grasp on the whole not being a terrorizing asshole thing. primarily because she didn’t want to– it was just about as natural as breathing, something even her group mates had to deal with before debut (current, and the potential ones that eventually left), so as far as she was concerned she was just breaking the group in and giving them a proper welcome. it was overbrewed tough love, something that was much, much easier to dish out to their leader rather than hunt around six different people.
she was a busy person, after all. with her writing, variety and filming her drama, it was getting harder and harder for her to find the time to piss people off like she used to.
the smile that was on sunnie’s face quickly faltered and she let out a huff, using her weight to shift the chair away from hyun’s direction in response. “that sounds like an invitation for me to ruin your day. is that what you’re asking for?” she responded, her face lighting up with childish excitement at the thought. a few hours of buffer time and several cups of coffee would be needed to truly wake her up, but sometimes a good bitchfest worked as a replacement. “because we both know i can get that done before she even gets a comb to your head. might as well get it over with now, right? what’s that saying, rip the bandaid off?”
over the years, hyun became accustomed to the pointed resentment following ACT.6′s heels, it had become easier and easier to tune it out rather than snap right back as was his instinct. at least, when it was pointed at him - and what that said about him he wasn’t sure he wanted to know, but as long it was him absorbing the poison and not his bandmates, he would gladly swallow the toxin.
but, he was not a god. even he couldn’t hide the grin that tugged at his lips when she pulled her chair away, and he shot a space invader on his phone with a musical beep. “it’s endearing how much faith you have in yourself,” he said idly. “why, i’ve even started to think of you as an old friend - sometimes even a lover when your cheeks get a certain shade of red when you scream.” hyun glanced over then to gauge her reaction with the barest hint of a smirk - he was teasing, and perhaps pushing it, but it was the morning and he’d learned of other ways of battling without biting.
the trio looked so natural together, lounging in debauchery like they had been born to it,but didn’t all things come in threes? life, love, death. babe, maiden, crone. father, son, holy spirit. hate, love, fuck. hyori knew the pair decorating hyun’s sides by assocation; she’d seen hyun enough (always in passing, never permanently) to learn his crew, and she grinned at them in greeting as she settled her chin in the heels of her palms, eyes setting on hyun. “have my babies, oppa.” hyori rocked in place, jutting her bottom lip in the deliberate cracked-mirror of the fans that lined whatever sidewalk he took. “you’re my favourite 6er.”
hyori was always a constant sight in the TKO building - fleeting, their encounters always full of wry, coy grins and a back-and-forth that never lasted quite as long as hyun would have liked. he remembered when she released one of her more provocative videos - he hadn’t been able to meet her eyes the day after unless he forced himself - and,for his own... private reasons, not out of anything ridiculous like disgust or shock. there was no trace of that embarrassment now - he was all wolfish grins and double entendres and patient fingers. “missy, do you know how babies are made?” hyun chuckled, then tilted his head “and i know you’re being facetious right now, but i’d be personally offended if it wasn’t true.”
empire, let them sing
@tkoatlaz
the loud bass that blares over them and the red lights that flash in the darkness serves as a reminder that they are living out their youths. one hand holds a glass and the other grips around hyun’s shoulder that doesn’t move away since. they’re well hidden, unknown yet curious looks cast their way. they are not just pretty young boys. they’ve been trained to move under the public scrutiny, showing no obvious discomfort as they’re watched as they drink. they move excitedly, with the pace of the music, eyes cautious yet eager. it’s been a while they’ve been out together.
there are others around the table but the two stay the closest, kyungwoo stays close to hyun to avoid trouble. they’ve made a promise before leaving, to avoid being separated during their night. the trust he has in hyun is evident in the way he presses close, eyes that wander always returning to him in the end.
they’re interrupted by a small group of young women. kyungwoo is the first to be pulled away, thin fingers wrapping around his arms and he’s had too many liqueur to say no. pretty girls for pretty boys. it makes sense. it makes a lot of sense at the time being. he lets them drag him to the dance floor and his mind is restless. there are red flags and he no longer has his hand on hyun’s shoulder.
but coming down to it, he’s smiling nonetheless.
anonymous but wholly visible - this was how hyun liked to operate outside of the TKO space, free of the clamor of photographers and the criticism that latched onto their heels wherever they tread. it’d been long, too long, since he and kyungwoo last went out, but he was still more comfortable beneath a shadow cast by neon lights with kyungwoo’s hand on his shoulder than he had been in a while.
he moves swiftly to the music, swaying, third drink swirling in his hand and he bumps into kyungwoo with every beat. they were close, his fingers curled lightly over kyungwoo’s wrist - before it was gone.
hyun stood up abruptly, unsteadily, eyes still sharp though with a softer luster after several drinks, and he started to weave through the thrumming crowd, catching sight of the girls who took kyungwoo .and his band-mate lingering with one. the girl looked young, hopeful, and before he could call out, someone grabbed his waist.
“hi oppa.” she was coy, hair dyed and lips red, and she circled her hips into his. “you and your friend are cute - how about a dance?”
he didn’t have room to argue - she circled her arms around his neck and moved - he sneaked a glance over to kyungwoo, right where he’d left him. but beyond him, not even ten feet away, there was a man who didn’t belong - a photographer.
“hey!” he barked, detaching himself from the girl with some difficulty. “what the hell? who let you in here?”
the girl murmured something, “why is there a photographer here...?” but hyun was already striding towards kyungwoo.
