𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚊 𝙿𝙴𝙰𝙲𝙷

[wildscoped]

a selective, private, and mutuals only roleplay blog for CHOI JIYONG ; an original character set in the world of NETFLIX'S K-POP DEMON HUNTERS. please read carrd and rules prior to interacting !!

note: this blog is a sideblog and follows back from @sunscoped

graphics made by: agmaknae

links. headcanons / playlist / musings / prompts / visage / wire / carrd

[wildscoped]

is he cheol-min's type ? what a dumb fucking question.

[lawscopedarchived]

 𝐓𝐇𝐄  𝐀𝐑𝐌  𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑  𝐇𝐈𝐒  𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐑  𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐀𝐗𝐄𝐒  𝐇𝐈𝐌  ;  visibly  so  as  he  leans  his  weight  against  Jiyong  and  wraps  his  own  arms  around  him  and  buries  his  face  into  his  chest.  Min's  always  worn  his  heart  on  his  sleeve  ;  he's  always  been  emotional.  This  was  no  different.

"  I  missed  you.  "

[wildscoped]

he holds cheol-min just that little bit closer, ever so subtle in the way that he himself seems to relax after having the other so close once again. it had been this way since their pre-debut days ; cheol-min had always put his heart and mind at ease, just by being close by.

a kiss, pressed to the top of his husband's head, fingers tracing small circles across the other's back as they just stand there together, basking in each other's presence.

" ah ? you literally saw me this morning before you went to work. " he teases softly, " but ... mm, i missed you too. house is always so empty when you and the kids are gone. "

[wildscoped]

its stupid. this is stupid. all of this is stupid. and yet he's doing waht he can to keep whatever small bond they had rekindled, alive. Yi-joon is terrible when it comes to these things, so like he did the first time, he leaves a painting on the counter when he leaves, wrapped. the painting isn't of them this time ; isn't of brothers ; but he figured he would like something of him and Cheol-min, and that's exactly what was under the wrapping paper.

if he flips the canvas, on the back in small writing, it says "Happy Birthday .... pabo."

( from @heirscoped )

and it's not as though he expects anything from his brother, not really. he knew, perhaps all too well, what might have been going through yi-joon's mind when he spots the gift on his kitchen counter, not unlike his last birthday. he knows all too well, because his feelings were much the same.

birthdays, in the choi household at least, were never a celebration ━━━ not really. to save face, for publicity, of course. both brothers had been celebrated ; galas, private parties upon rooftop bars that both were far too young to attend and far too young to enjoy properly. their parents had always presented them as trophies ( yi-joon moreso, he thinks, because his parents had tossed jiyong far off to the side long before he'd run away from home ) but behind closed doors it had always been a different story.

the gifts were for show, so that their parents could be showered in praise for just how well they looked after their children. any affection shown was little more than a token gesture, a photo opportunity for the two entrepreneurs they called mother and father. anything to look good in front of their friends, anything to look better for the press. but when the music had died down, when guests had left and all else had been forgotten, a birthday was little more than a reminder of all they'd yet to accomplish by a certain age.

when i was your age, i'd already made my first million.

i was younger when i made my first sale, what have you done with your life ?

at this rate, jiyong, we'd be better off sending you away and telling everyone you'd died. at least then we wouldn't have to live with the shame and disappoint that comes with having brought you into this world.

birthdays since then, of course, held little value. for most of them since, yi-joon hadn't even been in his life ( aside from the few times where jiyong had called him while drunk, desperate for approval from the only one in his family that he had ever cared about ) but times had changed, hadn't they ? yi-joon, though still rough around the edges, though he was fucking annoying at times, had a good heart. he cared, probably more than he'd ever want to admit and this painting ; delicate strokes that blended together to create the perfect portrait of jiyong and cheol-min, was proof of that.

words did not come easy to either brother, kind words ━━━ appreciative words even less so. because how could you talk to someone in a way that you had never experienced first hand ? how could you articulate just how much you appreciated the time and effort someone had put into something, the thought behind it, the fact that they were even in your life in the first place, when such a concept was so foreign to you ?

cheol-min had spoken to him about being more open and honest with his brother ; but such a task was easier said than done. sometimes, he worries that it's all a sick joke, that the moment he lets his walls down, he'll find out that yi-joon didn't want him in his life. he worries that vulnerability, building a proper relationship with his brother would only end in ruin ━━━ so why bother getting too close ? but with age, with time, jiyong had seen the subtle changes in his brother ━━━ the young man he'd grown into, flourishing finally, now that he was free from their parents.

jiyong would always harbor guilt for leaving his brother behind, he'd carry it until the day he died. but there were ways, he thinks, that he can try and make up for it now. it would never be enough in his eyes, but even if it's something small, he wants to do it. he wants to be a brother that yi-joon can be proud of and, more importantly, trust.

so, as he stares down at the painting, a soft smile on his face, he calls his brother ━━━ knowing full well why he'd left it there without hanging around but hey, if yi-joon thought he was giving a gift like this without a thank you, he was dead wrong. " hey ... yeah i just got home. you paint this ? no, no i love it. it's really good. got a special place for it in mind already ━━━ min's gonna lose his mind when he sees this ... huh ? check the back ? what for ━━━ ? "

" pabo ? pabo ? really ? real fucking mature ━━━ you little shit. no, turn your fucking car around and get over here. i just want to talk ━━━ fuck you ! "

@heirscoped

[egosthrall]

how much damage is a pretty boy like him really gonna do? but sure, he can talk as big as he wants. whatever he throws at him, seonghwa can take it. just try not to break a wrist while he's swinging.

[wildscoped]

he's glad to hear that, actually. a nice little smile on his face, though it lacks any real warmth. hope you like the taste of concrete, seonghwa. because jiyong's drawing his fist back and giving you a fucking one way ticket to the GROUND.

[egosthrall]

he's not worried. because OBVIOUSLY his wonderful, amazing, beautiful boyfriend won't let his GIRAFFE of a bestie beat his ass. he's vibing.

[wildscoped]

cheol-min isn't going to save you, bitch boy. and even if he tried, it's not like he could do anything.

[unanuvola]

CHANGBIN × HYUNJIN // STRAY KIDS • "STAY IN OUR LITTLE HOUSE" 6TH FANMEETING DAY #4

[lawscopedarchived]

@wildscoped

[wildscoped]

on his way to beat @egosthrall ‘s ass.

[wildscoped]

Birthdays were always something that Cheol-min had celebrated ; his family never let a birthday be forgotten, and as always, they were obnoxiously loud about it. Even through all of the stress regarding the supernatural, even through the emotional rollercoaster Cheol-min was constantly on as of late, he still managed to celebrate Jiyong’s birthday despite all of his protests. And thought years had passed — and now they were older with two children ( not to mention, dae-ho was safe and had a family of his own ), he supposed that somethings never changed.

This was one of them.

“Ah, come on — there we go !” He laughs as he hoists their son ( named after min’s little brother ) into his seat, and then their daughter, Ae-cha, into another. There’s a few balloons becuase the kid wanted to decorate, and some other decorations here and there, but it was tame for Cheol-min — but he knew how his husband felt, so he tried not to go too over the top. The cake sat upon the island ; soft colours of strawberries and peaches upon whipped cream and vanilla sponge — simple, but made with love.

His gaze shifts to Jiyong when he sees him, grinning as he leans up, arms wrapping around his husbands neck and pulling him down so he can kiss his cheek, shoving a small, but long box into Jiyong’s hands ; inside it a silver chain with a long, silver pendant on it, a combination of a sun and a moon etched into it, matching the bracelets they had worn for years.

“Happy birthday, Yeobo. Hurry up and let’s get into the cake before the kids do —“

he'd never enjoyed his birthday ━━ to some extent he still doesn't. every year that passed was nothing more than a reminder that, despite it all, he was still alive ; stubborn as he was. the decorations around their home are minimal ( and he's sure that cheol-min had exercised all of his self-restraint to manage that ) though, really, it's still too much in jiyong's eyes. he'd never seen himself as someone important, he'd never seen himself as someone worthy of celebration. but cheol-min had always celebrated him ━━ every chance that he got, any excuse to make a big deal about jiyong was taken full advantage of.

it's a trait, he'd found over the years, that their children seemed to have picked up on too. jiyong was his own worst critic with a lot of things ; and his approach to his own parenting was no different. he worried that he was never enough, that he'd fuck up his kids, that they'd hate him. he worried that he'd be too much like his own kids without ever meaning to. it's easy to get lost in his thoughts with things like that, but when he sees the looks plastered on his children's face as they see him ; the excitement, the love, the eagerness to eat the cake that they'd made for him, jiyong realizes something.

he was nothing like his own parents ━━ and more importantly than that, his children would never know, would never experience the same things that he had growing up, because they had two parents that loved them more than anything else in the world, and that was more than what jiyong had ever had.

he catches his husband's eye, gaze darting down to the other's hand when he notices a long box, the younger of the two already having an idea of what his husband may have gotten him. cheol-min had developed a habit over the years of buying jiyong jewelry for every special occasion, and it was a habit that he'd grown to love dearly, always making sure to wear something that his husband had bought him over the many years that they'd been together.

" you didn't have to get me anything, min. " he murmurs softly, arm wrapping around the other to bring him closer, laughing softly when he hears their son complain about how gross the two were being as jiyong goes in for a kiss. " it does look nice though, help me put it on after cake ? " he asks, looking over the other's shoulder towards the sweet treat that was practically calling his name.

happiness, was not something that he'd thought he'd ever get the chance to experience. an angry child, an angry teenager, a lost and misguided young adult. hopeless, he'd been called, useless, a waste of time. too many people had put jiyong in the too hard basket, too many hadn't wanted even to try when it came to him ; so complex was he. but cheol-min had only ever approached him with kindness and understanding. never expecting anything in return other than knowing that jiyong would be okay.

cheol-min had gotten him many a gift over the years, each one adored and appreciated in ways that the younger couldn't possibly begin to articulate. but his favourite gift, the one that jiyong cherished more than anything in this world wasn't a necklace, or some ring, or even a cake ━━ it was a family, his family. a place to belong, a place to call home.

the greatest gift that cheol-min had ever given him ━━ was happiness.

[wildscoped]

he's mailing this card to his company building. happy birthday. 😌

it's going straight in the bin, actually. fucking rude.

[lawscopedarchived]

He's also sad, so where's HIS husband ???

[wildscoped]

don't you worry, his husband is right here ; with an arm over min's shoulder to pull him in close.

[lawscopedarchived]

 @wildscoped  :  ❛  am  i  all  that  you  imagined?  ❜  (  I  KNOW  CHEOL-SOO  IS  THERE  SOMEWHERE  GIB  ME  HIM  )

𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐎𝐋-𝐒𝐎𝐎  𝐖𝐀𝐒  𝐀𝐍  𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐌𝐀  𝐀𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐒𝐓  𝐇𝐈𝐒  𝐏𝐄𝐄𝐑𝐒   ;  mostly  because  he  and  his  family  were  so  invested  in  their  community.  As  a  noble  household,  most  would  never  have  imagined  that  a  family  of  their  title,  of  their  nobility,  would  ever  be  ones  to  mingle,  let  alone  help  the  common  folk.

𝐁𝐔𝐓  𝐓𝐇𝐄  𝐉𝐔𝐍𝐆  𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐘  𝐖𝐀𝐒  𝐅𝐔𝐋𝐋  𝐎𝐅  𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐄𝐒  --  Cheol-soo,  especially.  Always  willing  to  help  travelers  that  made  their  way  to  Daegu,  or  help  around  the  transport  village  as  a  whole.  Well  known  amongst  the  community,  there  wasn't  a  single  person  that  didn't  know  him  or  his  family.  It  was  because  of  his  willingness  to  help,  that  he  met  Jiyong  in  the  first  place.

                                And  now  look  at  how  far  they  came.

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐒  𝐀  𝐇𝐔𝐌  𝐎𝐅  𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓  𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓  𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐒  𝐇𝐈𝐌,  gaze  flickering  upwards  as  fingers,  laced  with  the  half-demon's  squeezes  his  hand  softly.

"  All  that  and  more,  if  I'm  being  honest.  "

𝐇𝐄  𝐃𝐈𝐃𝐍'𝐓  𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐄𝐂𝐓  𝐓𝐎  𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐖  𝐀𝐒  𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐀𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐃  𝐀𝐒  𝐇𝐄  𝐖𝐀𝐒  ;  and  because  he  was  so  spiritually  inclined,  he  could  see  what  Jiyong  really  was  from  day  one.  The  patterns,  the  teeth,  the  eyes  --  and  yet  none  of  that  bothered  him.  Lips  quirk  upwards  into  a  sweet  smile  ;  He  had  seen  many  spirits,  many  demons  before  with  how  spiritually  inclined  he  was,  but  there  was  something  about  Jiyong  that  was  different.  Kind.  He  was  more  then  what  Cheol-soo  could  have  imagined,  and  more  than  he  could  ever  want.

                                                For  Cheol-soo,  Jiyong  was  home.

"  Aaah,  but!  What  about  me,  Jiyong?  Am  I  all  that  you  imagined?  Be  honest,  Jagiya  !  "

[wildscoped]

insecurity gets the better of him more often than he'd care to admit. being who he is, being what he is, doesn't allow for acceptance ; an outcast whether he liked it or not. and maybe he'd told him himself that it was how he preferred for things to be, maybe he'd grown used to the isolation ; shunned by his mother, abandoned by his father, an ridiculed by his brother. family had never done anything for him, acceptance had never been something in his cards and that, over the years, had simply become his reality.

or at least he'd thought so. until cheol-soo had come into his life, sticking his nose in where it didn't belong and god, pestering jiyong to no end, refusing to leave him alone. he'd tried to play it off, pretended like he'd found it annoying but he couldn't lie to himself for long, he'd found it beyond endearing. he hadn't known at the time, that cheol-soo could see him for who he really was. his surprise had been obvious when he'd finally found out because for some reason he just couldn't believe that cheol-soo would see him, see all of him, and still want him.

for the first time in his life, he'd been accepted by someone ━━━ and he couldn't be happier.

" all that and more, huh ? you must . . . hm, you must really like me. " a smile, nervous almost as cheol-soo takes his hand, blackened and sharp are the fingertips that curl as he returns the gentle squeeze, but his love doesn't bat an eye, he doesn't care. he's just . . . always loved jiyong for exactly who he is, and perhaps that's something that the demon never thought he'd have for himself.

something like this ; a quiet moment, a gentle moment, but han jiyong knows better by now, thinking it might stay that way, laughter bubbling up as cheol-soo throws the question straight back at him.

" be honest ? are you sure that's what you want ? " a teasing tone, as he leans down to press a kiss against the other's lips, laughter that dies down soon enough as he presses their foreheads together. " you're everything i never wanted to admit that i needed. i think . . . i know, i'd be lost without you, jagiya. "

@seouldayz

[lawscopedarchived]

Put this on the dash bc I forgot I got it commed

Ft @wildscoped

[lawscopedarchived]

𝐈𝐓'𝐒  𝐀  𝐌𝐈𝐗𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄  𝐎𝐅  𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒  𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓  𝐇𝐄  𝐅𝐄𝐄𝐋𝐒  𝐈𝐍  𝐓𝐇𝐄  𝐌𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓  :  betrayal,  distrust,  anger,  disappointment.  His  gaze  remained  fixed  on  Jiyong,  doing  what  he  could  to  reason,  not  based  on  his  emotions.  There  was  nothing  wrong  with  that,  of  course  —  but  he  was  always  a  more  …  rational  thinker  than  most.   Even  so,  how  could  Jiyong  do  this  to  him?  How  could  he  go  behind  his  back  and  give  up  his  soul?  The  sound  of  Jiyong’s  screams  through  the  speaker  made  him  wince,  himself  —  Cheol-min  turning  it  off  as  soon  as  he  sit  was  asked  of  him.  And  then,  it  hit  him.

“  So  you  were  just  going  to  keep  this  hidden  from  me?  You  were  going  to  lie  to  me?  ”  His  voice  was  quiet,  almost  hushed,  like  a  whisper  as  his  gaze  flickered  down  to  his  feet  and  finger  tips  of  one  hand  fiddled  with  the  edge  of  his  pocket.  The  last  thing  he  had  ever  expected  was  for  Jiyong  to  do  something  like  this  —  to  sell  his  soul  to  a  devil  and  become  something  that  he  knew  both  of  them  despised.  It  didn’t  help  that  the  other  said  that  he  would  keep  it  hidden  from  him,  either.  What  happened  to  trust?  Jiyong  was  one  of  the  most  important  people  to  him,  so  much  so  that  he  was  up  there  with  Cheol-min's  little  brother.  how  could  they  come  back  from  this?  How  could  he  ever  consider  being  able  to  trust  his  lover  again  after  being  lied  to  like  this,  after  having  to  find  out  that  the  other  had  become  a  demon  for  a  reason  unknown  to  him?  The  thoughts  in  his  mind  push  and  pull  and  tug  at  each  other,  rational  and  irrational  both  decide  to  fight  as  if  one  was  trying  to  claim  dominance  over  the  other.  He  wanted  to  scream  —  he  wanted  to  yell  —  he  wanted  to  say  things  that  he  knew  he  wouldn’t  mean,  but  in  that  moment,  he  wanted  to  rip  him  a  new  one.  He  already  had  enough  to  deal  with.  He  already  had  to  try  and  save  his  brother  from  a  demon  —  to  try  and  save  his  little  brother  from  losing  his  life,  and  now  his  own  boyfriend  had  decided  to  pull  some  sort  of  stunt  that  would  just  make  things  worse.

𝐀𝐋𝐋  𝐇𝐄  𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃  𝐓𝐎  𝐃𝐎  𝐖𝐀𝐒  𝐘𝐄𝐋𝐋  𝐀𝐓  𝐇𝐈𝐌,  but  he  couldn’t.  Part  of  him  understood  where  the  other  was  coming  from,  part  of  him  knew  what  it  was  like  to  risk  everything  that  you  had  for  someone  that  you  cared  so  deeply  for.  He  gave  up  his  career  in  order  to  save  Jiyong's  life,  or  when  it  came  to  Dae-ho  —  where  he  gave  up  a  lot  to  take  care  of  his  baby  brother  when  they  were  growing  up;  this,  in  a  way,  was  no  different.  If  it  were  him,  he  may  have  done  the  same.  it  made  Cheol-min  have  sympathy  for  Jiyong,  sympathy  that  he  had  for  his  situation  —  for  the  reason  behind  it  ;  for  what  was  love  if  not  giving  sacrifice?

“ You  should  have  told  me,  Ji.  This  is  causing  me  more  stress  than  if  you  were  just  up  front  with  me. ”

𝐀  𝐃𝐄𝐄𝐏  𝐒𝐈𝐆𝐇  𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐒  𝐇𝐈𝐌  ;  he  can  see  how  the  other  fails  to  look  at  him,  how  he  tries  to  reach  for  some  comfort  and  pulls  his  hand  back  as  fingers  were  replaced  with  blackened  claws  —  similar  to  the  beast  that  they  all  knew  a  little  too  well  nowadays.  A  man  who  thrived  off  the  blood  and  the  carnage  and  the  despair  of  other  people,  the  hands  of  a  man  who  was  not  human,  at  least  not  anymore.  He  knew  what  Jiyong’s  self-worth  was,  and  he  knew  that  this  could  not  improve  it;  if  anything,  it  would  make  it  worse.  Slowly,  he  reaches  for  his  hand,  fingers  curling  around  the  claws  of  the  other  —  gentle,  soft  as  if  nothing  had  changed  between  them  at  all.  He  had  always  said  that  he  would  be  there  no  matter  what,  through  thick  and  through  thin,  so  he  wasn’t  about  to  abandon  him  now,  even  if  he  made  a  piss  poor  decision.  The  claws  don’t  scare  him.  In  fact,  he  holds  them  tighter,  a  sigh  leaving  him  as  his  gaze  moves  to  look  up  at  the  taller.

“  …  Fine.  You  don't  have  to  tell  me.  But  I'm  here  for  you,  regardless.  I'll  get  it  over  it.  ...  I’m  sure  there's  a  way  to  get  you  back  to  normal,  right?  We’ll  figure  it  out.  We  always  do.”

[wildscoped]

he has no answer to cheol-min's questions ; other than the truth. he was never supposed to find out about this, he was never supposed to know. jiyong becoming a demon was not only an ace up their sleeve, but the result of a deal made to keep his lover safe. he had almost lost cheol-min once before ; a freak accident that had almost killed him, but instead, had almost killed cheol-min during his stupid fucking attempt at keeping jiyong safe. and he gets it now, he thinks. in some fucked up way he gets it ; because what was sacrifice, if not the grandest declaration of love ?

yes, he had gone behind cheol-min's back. yes he had lied, and yes he had planned to make sure that the knowledge of what he had down would never reach cheol-min ━━ but it hadn't worked out that way, had it ? however the other had managed to get the audio, he had it now. there was no changing that. and while jiyong feels horrible for trying to keep this from him he knows, without a doubt, that he'd do it all over again ━━ because this was a way of keeping everyone safe. none of the others were fucking doing anything ( woo, perhaps, was doing the most of them all ; but it still wasn't enough ) so damn it, if jiyong had to take the initiative here, then so fucking be it.

" i wasn't lying i was just ━━ fuck, min. i knew how you'd react if i told you, because you're doing it right fucking now. if i'd told you what i was planning then you would have stopped me ; or worse ! you would have gone and done this shit yourself, given yourself to that fucking psycho just to keep your brother safe. i know you'd do anything for dae, okay ? i fucking know that ; but did you ever stop to think about how losing you would fuck with me ? how it'd fuck with dae-ho ? someone had to keep you safe and ━━ " he stops, worked up and damn near shaking at this point. it is not, by any means, that choi jiyong knows how to regulate his emotions. it's that he shuts himself down, keeps himself quiet. better to suffer in silence and let it fester rather than air out his dirty laundry for all to judge.

" i never wanted to cause you any more stress than what you already fucking have ━━ but i couldn't just sit around and wait for something bad to fucking happen. " he takes a moment, a deep breath to try and calm himself down. it's harder than it looks ; but cheol-min had been nothing but patient with him all these years, taught him that it's okay to take a breath, to think about what you say before you say it. that doesn't mean it's easy, not by any means. but for cheol-min, he tries. because his boyfriend deserves that fucking much at least.

in the silence that follows, he half expects cheol-min to leave ; why stay and try to talk sense into the monster than stood before you ? perhaps jiyong doesn't think himself worthy of anything good, perhaps that's why he did this. he knew just how much cheol-min hated demons, he knew that doing something so drastic would do more harm than good. maybe he was trying to give the other an excuse to leave ; jiyong the fuck up, bound to ruin everything good in his life, one way or another. self-inflicted punishment was what this was. jiyong knew he wasn't worthy of someone like cheol-min, he's just trying to prove the point to not only himself, but his boyfriend as well.

but a hand takes his own, still in plain view, still blackened at the fingertips, still disgustingly and painfully not human. and yet, cheol-min holds his hand like he always had, soft and comforting, as if telling jiyong without words, that he'd always be there. his gaze stays locked on their hands for a moment, as if in awe, as if he can't understand why time and time again, after everyone had told the other that jiyong was nothing but trouble, he still chose to stay. what was it he saw, jiyong wonders, that made him think that i'm anything other than a fucking waste of space ?

" i . . . " words fail him, voice quiet and uncharacteristically weak in the moment. he lets out a shaky breath as he squeezes cheol-min's hand just that little bit tighter. he still can't look at him, part of him thinks that he doesn't deserve to ━━ but the comfort that such a gesture provides is . . . more than what jiyong had ever deserved. " yeah. okay. your brother . . . he takes priority though, don't worry about me. i'm . . . i'm fine. "

[lawscopedarchived]

𝐇𝐄’𝐒  𝐈𝐍  𝐓𝐇𝐄  𝐂𝐀𝐑  𝐖𝐀𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆  …  normally  that  would  be  good  to  hear,  but  he  knew  that  keeping  his  brother  unsupervised  was  the  stupidest  idea  he  could  make.  Dae-ho  was  a  lot  of  things  —  but  not  a  lot  of  people  knew  that  he  could  be  very  smart  when  he  felt  like  he  had  to  be,  especially  when  it  came  to  getting  away  from  something  if  he  was  angry  or  upset.  How  many  times  did  he  have  to  go  and  find  him  when  they  were  kids  because  he  snuck  out  after  arguing  with  him  or  their  parents  or  their  sisters?  Enough  that  he  knew  what  he  was  capable  of.

“  we  have  to  hurry,  he  shouldn’t  be  alone  for  too  long  —  !  “

𝐓𝐇𝐄  𝐒𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆  𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐍  𝐂𝐀𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓  𝐔𝐏  𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇  𝐇𝐈𝐌  𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍  and  shot  up  his  spine  once  more,  his  grip  on  his  boyfriend  tightening  as  he  hissed  sharply  from  the  pain,  his  free  hand  shuffling  in  his  pockets.  Pain  killers  —  he’d  dry  swallow  them  if  he  had  to  —  he  didn’t  care.  He  needed  to  get  to  his  brother  before  he  left  that  fucking  car,  or  all  of  this  would  be  for  absolutely  nothing.   But  his  head  was  spinning  at  this  point  ...  the  pain  was  building  as  he  used  Jiyong  as  a  crutch.  He  could  get  to  the  car  on  his  own,  slowly  ...  His  brother  was  more  important.

"  I'll  be  fine  —  I'll  be  right  behind  you,  but  you  have  to  go  back.  Make  sure  he's  still  there,  okay?  Please.  "

[wildscoped]

stubbornness, jiyong had learned over the years, was a fucking annoying trait that seemingly every member of the jung family seemed have in abundance. his boyfriend, however, seemed to have the most of it, pushing through just about anything despite how much of a fucking bad idea it was, all in the name of keeping his brother safe. there had been plenty of times over the years that the two of them had gotten into arguments with each other ━━ two stubborn men that refused to admit the other was right. but during all the years that they'd known each other, jiyong had learned to . . . back down, so to speak. pick your battles wisely, or however the fucking saying goes.

some things weren't worth the fucking hassle, but this ? hell no, he was arguing this. he keeps his hold tight on cheol-min, debates for a second whether carrying the other might be a better idea. but jiyong knows his own strength ━━ he's only human. he might be able to carry the other for a short distance, but not all the way to the car.

" you just got pushed down the fucking stairs by some psycho ━━ like hell i'm letting you walk back on your own. just pick up the pace, or i'll fucking carry you ! i don't care at this point. if dae-ho knows what's fucking good for him, he'll be in the fucking car waiting, just like i told him too. now come on ━━ i'm not fucking leaving you here. "

[lawscopedarchived]

𝐇𝐄  𝐖𝐀𝐈𝐓𝐒  𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇  𝐁𝐀𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐃  𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇  ;  listening  to  the  line  crack,  worry  now  appearing  upon  furrowed  brow.  Lips  parted  to  speak  again,  only  to  cut  off  when  he  heard  Dae-ho  finally  speak,  his  body  visibly  tensing  and  his  eyes  widening  at  the  tone  he  used.  He  was  afraid  of  something  –  of  someone.  Cheol-min  knew  –  he  knew  from  the  beginning  that  something  like  this  was  going  to  happen  ;  that  Soo-jin  was  a  monster  and  that  he  was  going  to  kill  his  brother,  just  like  he  had  killed  the  others.  Disregarding  the  pain  that  he  was  in,  Cheol-min  sprang  to  his  feet,  allowing  Jiyong  to  grab  his  arm  and  guide  him,  the  sobs  from  his  baby  brother  causing  cracks  to  form  in  his  heart.

"We'll  be  right  there,  Dae  just  –  "  He  keeps  his  pace  with  Jiyong  as  he's  taken  to  the  car,  letting  the  other  talk  first  before  continuing  after  him.  "No,  it's  okay  –  You'll  be  okay,  Dae-ho,  I  promise.  I  PROMISE,  okay?  Don't  hang  up  on  us  –"

𝐇𝐈𝐒  𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐓  𝐅𝐄𝐋𝐓  𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄  𝐀  𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐃  𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐌𝐀𝐋  trying  to  burst  from  its  cage.  His  stomach  was  twisting  into  several  knots,  and  he  swore  that  he  felt  as  if  he  was  going  to  vomit.  No,  no,  no,  no.  This  couldn't  be  happening.   Even  though  Cheol-min  had  been  right  this  whole  time,  he  couldn't  believe  it.  He  couldn't  let  this  happen.  He  promised  to  protect  him  –

     𝐇𝐄  𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐄𝐃  𝐓𝐎  𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐂𝐓  𝐇𝐈𝐌.

𝐇𝐄  𝐃𝐈𝐃𝐍'𝐓  𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐄  𝐈𝐅  𝐇𝐄  𝐖𝐀𝐒  𝐏𝐔𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆  𝐇𝐈𝐌𝐒𝐄𝐋𝐅  𝐓𝐎𝐎  𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃.  He,  himself,  didn't  matter.  As  soon  as  they  got  to  the  car,  he  rushed  inside  it  as  soon  as  it  was  unlocked.  "Dae-ho,  please  –  Just  keep  quiet.  We're  on  our  way.  I'll  stay  on  the  phone  with  you  the  entire  time,  okay?  It's  okay,  it'll  be  okay  –  "

𝐓𝐇𝐄  𝐒𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃  𝐎𝐅  𝐅𝐎𝐎𝐓𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐏𝐒  𝐌𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐒  𝐇𝐈𝐒  𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐃  𝐑𝐔𝐍  𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐃.  Cheol-min  glanced  at  Jiyong.  "Step  on  it,  Ji!  I  don't  care  how  many  driving  laws  you  have  to  break,  just  get  to  those  dorms  NOW  !  "  He  knew  the  other  would  forgive  him  for  talking  to  him  this  way  ;  his  stress  and  fear,  and  anxiety  were  all  through  the  roof.  The  whistle  he  could  hear  caused  the  hairs  to  stand  up  on  the  back  of  his  neck.

"  I  love  you  too,  Dae  –  We're  coming!  We're  on  our  way  right  now,  we  –  "

𝐇𝐄  𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃𝐍'𝐓  𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐏  𝐓𝐇𝐄  𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒  𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓  𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐃  𝐓𝐎  𝐅𝐀𝐋𝐋  at  the  sound  of  his  brother's  screams  on  the  other  side  of  the  phone.  Soo-jin's  voice  made  him  stop  breathing  momentarily,  air  caught  within  his  lungs.  "  Get  away  from  him.  "  his  words  were  quiet,  before  they  suddenly  echoed  within  the  vehicle.  "  GET  THE  FUCK  AWAY  FROM  HIM  !  "

𝐈𝐓  𝐖𝐀𝐒  𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐅𝐔𝐋  to  hear  his  brother  still  tell  that  monster  that  he  loved  him,  but  it  wasn't  the  time  to  dwell  on  that.  "  WE'LL  BE  THERE  SOON,  DAE,  WE  –  "

Your  time  has  run  out,  Jungmin. You,  my  descendant  and  your  friends  were  far  too  late. I  told  you  that  I  would  get  what  I  wanted. But  I  will  keep  my  word.  I'll  take  excellent  care  of  him.

–  Was  your  little  deal  worth  it  in  the  end,  Jiyong?  Protecting  your  lover  would  have  meant  making  the  deal  for  his  brother,  eh?  Now  he  has  to  deal  with  such  a  tragic  loss,  and  your  soul  still  belongs  to  me. You're  a  failure  through  and  through,  aren't  you?

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄'𝐒  𝐋𝐀𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐄𝐑  𝐎𝐍  𝐓𝐇𝐄  𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐄  that  chills  the  air  before  the  sound  of  something  being  crushed,  static,  and  the  call  dropping.  An  attempt  to  recall  Dae-ho's  phone  ;  it  goes  right  to  voicemail.  He  felt  sick,  horrified  –  he  was  going  to  lose  his  baby  brother.  His  pride  and  joy.  How  could  he  live  with  himself  after  this?

“  Faster,  Ji  –  DRIVE  FASTER  !  ” 

[wildscoped]

he's sure he's never driven so fast before in his life, weaving through traffic and running just a few too many red lights ━━ it's a wonder, really, that the police haven't noticed them yet, that something hadn't happened to them on the way. he tries to drown out the sound of dae-ho's voice, panicked and terrified as he continues to drive ; getting distracted now is too dangerous, he needs to keep his focus on the road, make sure they get there in time and stop soo-jin before ━━

you're a failure through and through, aren't you ?

words that seem to echo in his mind, getting louder with each passing second. it's nothing that he hasn't heard before ━━ but it doesn't make it easy to hear. a failure to his family, who had wanted the perfect son. a failure to his brother, who hated him for leaving him behind, who despised him for escaping while he was forced to step into the shoes of what jiyong once was. a failure to his group ; who had made excuse after excuse about his behaviour ━━ about the articles when jiyong would make front page, drunk out of his mind as he stumbled out of a nightclub for the third time that week. he was a failure to cheol-min ; who had loved him for so long, someone so broken that he was surely beyond repair. and he was a failure to dae-ho ; because he couldn't keep him safe, because now in the moments where the line goes dead, there's a crippling realization :

they're already too late.

cheol-min was too lost in his desparation to think rationally, to understand just what was going on ; but jiyong knew better. minutes away from dae-ho's dorm and yet jiyong knew what they'd be walking into. a rescue mission ? no, they'd already passed the point of that, hadn't they ? this was nothing more than a recovery now, and the information crushed jiyong, threatened to break down what little resolve he had in that very moment. because they all knew how dangerous soo-jin was ; and yet clearly they hadn't taken him seriously enough. if they had ━━ they wouldn't be here, would they ?

it's the way cheol-min's voice pierces through his thoughts, brings him back to reality and forces him to stay the fuck out of his head for just a few seconds. the urgency is real, the heartbreak and denial clear as day on his boyfriend's face. jiyong had always known how important dae-ho was to the other ; his entire world, min had always said. practically a son, in a weird way. cheol-min had damn near raised his baby brother, not because he had to, but because he wanted to. there would never be anyone in this world that came before his brother, jiyong knew this, and it's why despite the deep seated feeling in his gut that said they were too late begins to fester ━━ he puts his foot down more, his car speeding through the streets of seoul.

he barely bothers to park the car, coming to an abrupt stop outside the building before following cheol-min inside. he wants to say something about how it's stupid to push himself like this ; let me go in instead, i'll get dae, everything will be okay. but jiyong knows better than anyone that telling jung cheol-min what to do is a recipe for fucking disaster. " come on ━━ you remember what floor he's on ? "

[lawscopedarchived]

𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌  𝐓𝐇𝐄  𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄,  𝐎𝐍𝐄  𝐖𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃  𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐊  𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘  𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐄  𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄  𝐎𝐈𝐋  𝐀𝐍𝐃  𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑.  Two  completely  different  personalities  that  would  more  likely  clash  than  anything.  But  that  wasn't  the  case  at  all.  Never  once  had  they  ever  clashed  so  badly  that  they  would  not  want  anything  to  do  with  each  other.  Instead,  their  opposite  personalities  seemed  to  have  complemented  each  other,  instead.  Cheol-min  had  always  played  things  safe  ;  rarely  did  he  take  a  leap  of  faith  until  he  met  Jiyong  when  they  were  kids.  But  now?  Seeing  a  bit  of  the  wild  side  helped  Cheol-min  expand  his  horizons  in  a  way,  even  if  he  could  still  be  a  little  cautious.

𝐁𝐔𝐓  𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐋𝐋,  𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐎𝐋-𝐌𝐈𝐍  𝐖𝐀𝐒  𝐀𝐋𝐖𝐀𝐘𝐒  𝐒𝐎  𝐏𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐓.   Maybe  it  had  to  do  with  having  three  other  siblings,  but  he  always  seemed  to  have  the  patience  of  a  saint  (  unless  he  was  hungry,  but  that  was  different  ).   Everyone  deserved  a  chance,  but  no  one  deserved  anything  more  than  Jiyong  did,  in  Cheol-min's  eyes.  Most  people  saw  Jiyong  as  a  brash  troublemaker,  but  Cheol-min?  He  saw  the  hurt,  the  love,  the  vulnerability  ;  everything  that  made  Jiyong  who  he  really  was  ;  past  the  walls,  past  the  anger,  past  the  hardships.  And  despite  that,  he  still  loved  the  ugly  parts  of  the  other  as  much  as  he  loved  the  beautiful  parts.  And  even  then,  he  didn't  think  the  ‘ugly’  parts  were  ugly  at  all.

                                           Because  they  made  Jiyong  who  he  was.

𝐏𝐈𝐍𝐊  𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐒  𝐇𝐈𝐒  𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐄𝐊𝐒.  laughter  escaping  him  in  a  nervous  huff  from  the  tease.  His  thumb  brushes  over  Jiyong's  cheekbone  once  more  as  he  feels  the  weight  of  the  other's  cheek  against  his  hand,  nose  wrinkling  as  his  smile  widens.

"  Of  course  I'm  prepared.  And  so  what  if  I  cry?  Something  tells  me  that  before  I  get  those  words  out,  you'll  be  crying  before  I  do.  "

[wildscoped]

talk of the future that they so desperately wanted to have together makes him more emotional than he care to admit, but is that something that he could really be blamed for ? all he'd ever wanted, for as long as he could remember, was love. and it sounds cliche when he says it ━━ sounds cringe worthy when he says it, but it's the truth. love, in the choi household was not something that was given, nor was it earned ; because for that to be the case, there had to be love to give in the first place. his parent's marriage was loveless ━━ one borne of convenience, for profit and to continue the family line. his parents had been absent, jiyong ( and when yi-joon came around, him too ) were pawned off to staff whose job it was to raise them.

maybe there was some love there, from the staff who had raised them both ━━ but jiyong wasn't so naive as to think that whatever love was held for the two choi children was ever worth more than the money that they were paid to raise them.

it's a sad truth, a sad reality to live in ━━ and that's why jiyong had left in the first place. and despite the regrets he had about it ( one, in particular, being leaving his brother behind ━━ regardless of how much yi-joon hated him ) he would have done it again, a million times over. because look at who had been waiting for him on the other side ; look at what he had now, all because he took a leap of faith and left the shitty life that his parents had built for him. he knows he would have been miserable if he'd stayed, he knows that he was miserable even after he left ━━ the youth in him still wishing, still hoping that his parents would have a change of heart, that losing their son was perhaps enough to make them change their ways when they'd realized what they'd lost.

things hadn't turned out that way, and perhaps there will always be a part of jiyong who yearned for the family he'd never had ━━ but now wasn't the time for looking into the past, not when his future was looking at him with so much love in his eyes that it could power an entire city for the rest of time.

" no way i'll cry before you. " and yet, something tells him that cheol-min might be right, not that he'll admit it. even now, just the thought of standing there, seeing cheol-min walk towards him on their would-be wedding day, makes him choke up ; suppressed, hidden ━━ but still there. " out of the two of us, you've always been the crier ━━ no shame in that, jagiya. "