Deep in the heart of the wealthy neighbourhood in Seoul, lies a famous place surrounded by cherry blossom trees, and shrouded in rumours. Named The Sanctuary for Broken Hearts, it is said that anyone who visits with a broken heart will get their heart healed. Skeptical, you decide to pay a visit.
visitor 0709: I'll find you, in the near future
time traveller! nicholas x reader.
summary: present and future coexist at the same time. and that's the only explanation as to why Nicholas is standing in front of you.
visitor 0907: your lover is nearby!
best friend! euijoo x reader.
summary: you're tired of love and need a little pick-me-up. the sorceress however, revealed that your lover is nearby!
visitor 0629: still my love
exes-to-lovers! fuma x reader.
summary: misunderstandings caused you to end things with Fuma in haste. wondering if the relationship is worth fixing, you decide to pay a visit to The Sanctuary for Broken Hearts.
visitor 1021: you're the best remedy
athlete! k x reader.
summary: after an accident, your always-positive best friend falls into a pit of depression. determined to find a remedy, you step into The Sanctuary for Broken Hearts.
visitor 0708: the invisible string
acquaintances! jo x reader.
summary: a dream about your old memory bothers you.
more under the cut!
visitor 0501 : lucky girl syndrome!
friends! harua x reader
summary: you think you're very unlucky in love. wanting to make things work with Harua, you walk into The Sanctuary for Broken Hearts, hoping to get rid of your bad luck.
thank you for having so much interest in reading and interacting with my fics. every like, reblogs, comments, are really making me happy. I appreciate every type of interaction received through my fics <33
unfortunately, I probably will be taking a break for a bit. Maybe I will show up and post the next fic in The Sanctuary for Broken Hearts this week, but maybe not. The update for TSFBH has been regular (almost) hence why I'm posting this (so you guys won't be disappointed when I didn't post anything :(( )
my mental health has been a little bit unstable lately. I have decided to do some big things, which is making steps to resign, and also to find a new job, and since my family suggested me to resume my studies (they asked me to study Masters), everything has been slightly overwhelming for me.
today... I received another big news! I suffered from dysmennorhoa for the longest time, and today the doctor decided to do a scan. which... unfortunately, the doctor's initial diagnosis is that I might have a fibroid in my uterus. so...
I'm taking some time off to process my thoughts, sit down with my feelings and etc.
Hopefully, I'll get things sorted out soon and start writing again!
thank you for reading and sorry for the random notice lol :D
have a good day, night, and afternoon everyone :DD
so Jo's story was going to be the cliche amnesiac reader x painter boyfriend that she forgot and her family forbids him from seeing her yada yada yada... I felt like it was too heavy right now so I switched it into the current one!
Once I feel less heavier / have plenty of time to write longer stories, I'll definitely attempt to write that cliche story because it's just ugghhhhh
Okay that's all. Good night, good morning, and good evening everyone (it's... 3 am rn for me).
summary: a dream about your old memory bothers you.
pairing: asakura jo x reader
genres & tropes: acquaintances jo! (jo is a regular in the cafe you worked in), ??? to lovers, fluff!!!
featuring: wonyoung from ive, minju, moka and yunah from illit, mentions of jungwon from enhypen.
word count: 5,526 words (excluding summary)
author's thoughts: this was based on my dreams! unfortunately I am yet to find the boy... smh...
⤷ back to The Sanctuary for Broken Hearts.
“It’s okay, take my hand! It’s not that scary,”
You were 6 when you reached out your small hand to help a boy who’s having a hard time climbing up using the rope. He’s almost there – a little bit more and he will reach the platform where you currently are. His eyes turn moist as he shakes his head, afraid that if he lets his hand go, he will fall.
“You can do it! Just take my hand! Like this! Hold the rope with one hand and hold my hand with your free one,”
He blinks at you as you approach him – you stretch your hand as far as you can, and you too, hold onto the rope to not make it sway. Because it’s scary when it’s swaying. And you know it well.
He slowly let his hand go, and held onto yours. You quickly pull him up – dragging, to be correct – onto the platform.
“Thank you. That was scary,”
“It is! But then when you keep playing, it will get less scary.”
You smiled widely, trying to assure the boy (you’re actually comforting him because you don’t want him to cry).
“Oh, you got yourself a friend now. Hi there, what’s your name?”
An older woman greets you with a big smile while patting the boy’s head. The boy happily giggles upon receiving the affectionate gesture.
“My name is Y/N L/N! Are you his mom?”
“Yes, I am. That’s such a pretty name, Y/N L/N. Please take good care of my boy, he’s a scaredy cat,”
“Okay! Do you want to play slide next?”
The boy turned to his mom and his mom nodded. He turns his head back to you and eagerly nods.
“Okay! Let’s go!”
You lead him to the slide – unfortunately, there’s a queue, so you pout while waiting for your turn. Then, something crosses your mind, so you turn to your back to look at the boy.
“My name is Y/N L/N. What is your name?”
“My name is… … Can I be your friend, Y/N?”
“Of course! … … That’s such a pretty name!”
“Y/N? Hello, back to earth girl,”
Wonyoung’s voice pulls you out of your train of thought – your brain begins to register again that you’re in a library with your friend, and planning to study together for the upcoming pop quiz.
“Are you okay?”
She asks with concern written all over her face. You press your lips into a thin line before chewing your lower lips as you contemplate whether to tell her or not. Figuring that there’s no harm in telling, you exhaled a small sigh and started talking.
“I…keep having the same dream. It’s a memory from when I was 6. I was playing in the playground with a boy, and I remember everything clearly – except his name. Every single time I dream about it, his name is the only thing missing. And I can’t recall it in real life either,”
“So, that’s why you keep spacing out these days?”
“Yeah. And also because… I keep thinking about that boy. I don’t know why. It’s just… out of the blue… It bothers me a lot because it’s not like we’re close or something. I only saw him that one time – when I go to the playground the next day, he’s not there. And the day after that, so,”
You find yourself wondering about the boy ever since you dreamt of him. You wonder what he’s doing right now, and if he’s studying in the same university as you. You even went back home and asked your mom to help you to find the picture from the playground – to your luck, there’s a picture of you and him smiling widely, posing in the middle of the platform.
“Hmmm… this sounds like a soulmate trope,”
You look at Wonyoung in disbelief, and she rolls her eyes, unable to believe that you don’t believe her.
“Y/N, the only thing that is missing is his name. Isn’t that weird? Maybe he’s trying to give a sign. Find me, or something like that. And why would you be thinking of him? After all these years? If you were still a kid, then it makes sense for you to remember about him. But it’s been like what, 16 years,”
As much as you want to agree with Wonyoung’s words, you feel that your mind plays too many tricks on you. It’s possible the memory is resurfacing only because you’ve been stressed lately.
“Why don’t you try visiting The Sanctuary for Broken Hearts? Maybe the sorceress has an answer,”
Wonyoung suggests – The Sanctuary for Broken Hearts is famous for its ability to find you a partner, and, as per its name, to heal your broken heart. One might get their relationship fixed, one might get a better boyfriend, one might get motivated to live – you heard plenty of stories about the sanctuary.
“I’ll think about it. Let’s study,”
Wonyoung just nods, and silence fills the air as both of you fall into a deep focus, concentrating on understanding the notes. You begin highlighting and writing down important points in your notebook, and were about to ask Wonyoung for an explanation when your phone buzzed.
“A call?”
Wonyoung asks, and you shake your head.
“No, alarm. It’s my time to go. I’ll see you later,”
You said while packing your things up, getting ready to leave for your part time work. You work as a barista at the nearby cafe, and today, your shift is in the evening. Wonyoung pouts as she waves her hands at you, slightly upset that both of you have to part so soon. You wave back, before exiting the library.
You arrived at the cafe you work in – Moonlight Cafe – about 15 minutes later. After a brief greeting with your coworker, you head to the changing room to change into proper clothes. You clock in 5 minutes before your shift starts, and immediately head to the front counter, ready to take over the shift.
It’s always a little bit slow in the evening – people are still in class, or still at work, so there’s barely anyone in the cafe. You decided to use this time to restock the pastries and cups, to help smoothen up things during the late evening crowd rush later.
It’s been an hour into your shift and not one customer has walked in.
“Hm, it’s weird. Your not so secret admirer is not here yet,”
Minju said while cleaning the cup, and lightly nudged you who began to clean the register counter – trying to kill the sleepiness.
“What. Who?”
“That tall basketball boy. You know who, don’t pretend like you don’t. He only comes over during your shift,”
“Could be coincidence,”
Minju’s facial expression shifted into a deadpanned look – you can’t help but giggle when you see it.
“You’re kidding me. That boy is head over heels for you,”
“He’s just a regular,”
“Ohhh lord. You can’t complain about being single and then refuse to entertain advances made toward you! You’re lucky that I’m not in the matcha section today, or else I would’ve hit you the head with that rock-hard matcha bowl,”
Giggles keep falling from your lips, finding Minju’s outburst funny. The sound of a bell chime startled both of you, causing you to instantly throw the used tissue away and get ready to greet the customer.
“Welcome to Moonlight Cafe– oh, Jo,”
You can hear Minju’s suppressed laugh, probably finding it funny that the tall basketball boy is here. This is why you should never be on the same shift as Minju, because that girl will tease the hell out of you.
“Hi, Y/N. How are you today?”
“Great. Just a little bit busy since there’s an upcoming pop quiz. You? And what’s your order for today?”
“I’m, good. One medium Americano please? Hot,”
“Like my friend?”
Minju chirps in – you glare at her, while Jo giggles.
“Ignore her. Dine in or on the go?”
“Don’t ask obvious questions, Y/N. Of course dine in,”
Jo laughed at Minju’s words, while you’re considering strangling her for saying nonsense.
“You’re wrong, Minju. On the go,”
“Oh, that’s surprising,”
“I have a game soon, so,”
“Ahhh. So you’re here to get some encouragement from Y/N huh?”
Minju raised her eyebrows while nudging you again – you immediately pinch her arm, causing her to wince in pain.
“That’s all?”
“Yeah,”
“That would be $3 then. Cash or card?”
“Card,”
“You can tap here,”
You motioned to him to tap at the card reader and once the payment was successful, you handed him his receipt.
“I’ll call your name in a bit,”
“Make sure you call him sweetly cause the boy needs some strength to win the game– AUCH! Y/N!”
You smacked Minju’s back while smiling innocently at Jo. Jo smiles as he nods, and makes his way to the nearby table to take a seat while waiting for the drinks to be done. Once Jo leaves the counter, you turn to Minju and smack her again – venting your pent up frustration from the teasing she did.
Minju giggles while running into the store room – you huff as you can’t chase after her, since it would mean leaving the front of house unattended. You quickly pull a cup for Jo’s drink and begin writing in a rush – afraid that Minju will catch you in the act, before making his Americano.
“Americano for Asakura Jo,”
Jo gets up – at the same time, Minju too, comes out of the store room. She really wouldn’t miss the moments between you and Jo for the world.
“Thanks,”
Jo said as he grabbed the cup – you had covered your writing with the cupsleeve, so Minju definitely won’t notice it.
“Good luck for your game,”
“Thank you, Y/N. See you, bye,”
“Bye, Jo,”
“Hey, no bye for me?”
“Bye, Minju,”
Jo laughs as he waves his hand at Minju who feigns upset as her existence is being ignored.
“Oh, so you know my name! I thought you only knew Y/N’s!”
“Minju!”
Doing the evening shift and the morning shift back to back is… hell. It wasn’t until 11 a.m. that you finally got a breather – you stretch your body to the max, trying your best to freshen up. The morning shift is often slightly hectic than evening since everyone often drops by to get a drink before going to the class or work.
Yunah, your coworker, asked you to take a break first before she took her turn. You instantly agree – you quickly whip up your favourite drinks and grab a pastry, before sitting down in the most secluded corner of the cafe to wind down.
You didn’t notice when Wonyoung walked into the cafe – you only realized that she’s here when she pulled the chair in front of you and sat down.
“Wonyoung,”
“Hi. Yunah said you’re on your break, and you look lonely eating alone so here I am,”
Wonyoung points to the cake she bought, paired with her favourite drink. You just smile, finding your mood slightly lifted up over your friend’s presence.
“Did you dream of the boy again last night?”
Wonyoung asks before she takes a bite of the cake, and hums in happiness as the sweetness hits just right.
“Yeah,”
It’s still the same – only the part where he said his name is missing. You definitely can work something, like a list of possible names by carefully retracing the way his lips move, but that would take ages for you to find his name.
“Do you have his picture? Why don’t you try the face app? Like, aging filters and stuff to find what he looks like right now?”
“I do have his picture, and I did it, but it turned out weird… I did think about posting it on Tiktok or something… but it feels weird posting someone’s photos without consent. And what if he has a girlfriend? Can you imagine the drama…”
You’re already in a living hell with back to back tests, pop quizzes, presentations, and working part time in a cafe to survive through your university. Drama is the one thing that you absolutely do not need and refuse to be involved in for the sake of your mental health.
“Understand,”
The sound of a bell chime makes both of you turn to look at the door, and find that Jo just walked in. Jo seems to be talking to Yunah about something, and Yunah pointed at you while smiling.
You smile and wave at Jo, and Jo too, waves at you. You thought Jo would approach you, but you were wrong – maybe because his drink gets done almost immediately, so the boy didn’t manage to walk to you. He grabs his drink, waves again at you, and leaves. You unconsciously pout, feeling slightly upset since usually Jo would be the one who initiates the small talks with you. You thought he would thank you for yesterday’s encouraging words that you wrote on the cup. Or did he not notice?
“Why are you pouting? Sad that your crush didn’t talk to you?”
“I’m not,”
“If you were Pinocchio, your nose would’ve probably grown as long as the Golden Gate Bridge. You like the attention, don’t you? Just be honest. I, too, would feel the same. A tall, fine boy who plays basketball is talking to me? That would make my day, really,”
You roll your eyes at Wonyoung’s words. Honestly, you yourself aren't sure why you’re feeling slightly upset – maybe because you had an expectation that he would come over. And also because he usually talks to you instead of your coworker.
No, it’s not jealousy.
Or is it?
Okay, you’re not thinking straight after being in hell. Let’s stop thinking.
“What if Jo is that boy? You know,”
Wonyoung’s words make you, who were about to regain a little bit of composure, crumble.
“Huh?”
“He’s always here during your shift, and even ‘befriended’ you. Streets are saying – well, it’s not exactly streets, it’s Jungwon actually, who told me that Jo is extremely introverted. But you told me he’s the one who did the first move, right?”
You remember the first time Jo asks you if you were studying in the same university as him. It was during his early visits to the cafe – he told you that he had seen you around and just wanted to confirm if you are. Both of you indeed study in the same university, only different courses.
And the small talks began. Asking about your day, complimenting the cute hairclip, cheering for you when you told him you have an upcoming exam, etc.
“Yeah,”
You reply after a few moments of silence.
“Maybe he remembers you and is trying to make you remember him. Or maybe he’s not the boy. Maybe he just has a crush on you. But, what if? We’ll never know, unless…”
“I go to the sanctuary,”
“Correct. Plus, won’t things get cleared up? If you’re set on finding the boy from your dreams and he’s not Jo, you can… softly reject him?”
You press your lips into a thin line – Wonyoung’s words make sense. If you don’t clear things up, you will be giving mixed signals to the poor guy, if he really has a crush on you. Because imagine hearing your crush saying that they’re trying to find someone that they had a dream about… that must sting a bit, even if your crush doesn’t harbor feelings for that person.
“It only opens at night, right? The sanctuary?”
“I think? So, you’re going?”
“Yeah. I want to stop being bothered by the dreams too,”
“Okay. Don’t forget to let me know about it!”
“Hi there. Welcome to The Sanctuary for Broken Hearts. I’m Yoon Jihyun, how can I assist you today?”
You are greeted with a woman in her 20s as soon as the consultation room door gets pushed open. Her tone is cheerful, and there’s a smile plastered on her face – a warm, welcoming smile.
“Hi, my name is Y/N L/N,”
You respond while making yourself comfortable on the chair in front of her table.
“And uh… I feel bothered by my dreams,”
You then begin telling Jihyun about the dream – the same dream you keep having for over a week now. You’re tired of dreaming the same dream, and it kinda stresses you as there’s no improvement in regards to the missing piece – the boy’s name.
“So, you want to know his name?”
Jihyun asks once your story is over, and you nod as an answer to her question.
“And, I want to know why I keep dreaming about it too. I shrugged it off as my brain playing tricks on me, since it’s stressful period now, but,”
You add – you feel like you can no longer lie to yourself. There must be something that triggers the memory to resurface, and keep tormenting you by making you dream about it again and again.
"Maybe fate simply decides it’s time for you to find him. You might ask, ‘Why not otherwise?’ It’s because women tend to be more sensitive to these kinds of things than men. Intuition, premonition dreams, you name it – it often affects women more.”
You nod, understanding Jihyun’s words.
“And for his name,”
Blue sparkles appear out of thin air, and encircle you – your eyes grow as wide as saucers, as you watch the sparkles float around you. Your hair flutters as the blue sparkles drift upwards, before gathering on Jihyun’s palms. They keep piling up, filling every inch of Jihyun’s palm until it’s completely hidden. When the last sparkle falls into her hand, a small, soft blue gleam appears for a moment before vanishing – a blue wrapped candy then appears on her palm.
“Eat this before you sleep. It’s lemon flavoured,”
“Oh… wow,”
You carefully reach for it – you’re still in awe over seeing the magic being performed in front of you. And Jihyun didn’t pull out any wand or recite a spell either – the sparkles just appear and poof, a candy pops up out of nowhere.
“So… just eat this?”
You ask, hoping for any clarification – you truly don’t want to mess anything up that will cause the magic to be ineffective.
“Yes. You can chew, bite, swallow, anything. As long as you consume it,”
“Okay,”
“Are there any more questions?”
“I… don’t think so…”
“You’re free to leave then. I hope you won’t be bothered with any of these anymore after tonight,”
“I hope so too. Thank you, Jihyun ssi. Oh, what about the payment? Do you charge per hour, or…?”
“I take anything, Y/N ssi. A pair of earrings, a pen, a dollar, a dime…”
Your eyebrows almost knitted together when you hear her words – you understand that her being a sorceress might forbid her from charging her clients like the doctors usually do. But for her to afford to rent this pricey shoplot…
“Don’t feel troubled. Just give me anything, really. As long as it’s physical,”
That would mean paying for your session by card won’t be possible. You look into your bag, trying to find your wallet – only to find there’s no cash. You rummaged through your bag, to find something decent to give to her.
“Would this keychain be fine…?”
You have a keychain on your bag – you bought it last week at the stationery shop near your campus. You can always buy it again, so you didn’t mind giving it away to Jihyun.
“Absolutely. Thank you, Y/N ssi,”
“Thank you, Jihyun ssi. I’ll take my leave now,”
“Have a safe trip home and don’t forget to eat the candy!”
“Okay! Do you want to play slide next?”
The boy turned to his mom and his mom nodded. He turns his head back to you and eagerly nods.
“Okay! Let’s go!”
You lead him to the slide – unfortunately, there’s a queue, so you pout while waiting for your turn. Then, something crosses your mind, so you turn to your back to look at the boy.
“My name is Y/N L/N. What is your name?”
“My name is Asakura Jo. Can I be your friend, Y/N?”
“Of course! Asakura Jo, that’s such a pretty name!”
Your eyes flutter open.
You exhale a deep breath as you stare at your bedroom’s ceiling, trying to process your dream – that repetitive dream of yours finally gains its missing piece. You finally get the boy’s name.
Asakura Jo.
A mix of feeling relieved, peace and glad washes over you – relieved, because you remember his name now. Peace, because you think that you will no longer be tormented by the same dream again. Glad, because you don’t have to push yourself to find him – he has been there, all along.
Does he know about this? Is that why he befriends you?
But the way Jihyun talked about it yesterday somehow implied that he had no idea about it. You heave a deep sigh, and decide to assume that Jo didn’t know about it – it’s better that way, so you don’t have high hopes and feel disappointed later.
Your alarm rings and you immediately reach out to take your phone – after turning it off, you stay on the bed in silence a little longer, racking ideas on how to tell Jo about this. Your second alarm goes off while you’re still trying to find ways to break the news, so you have to ponder about it while showering.
You keep thinking the same thing while getting ready to go to work (you’re on morning shift again today), and while walking there. Countless thoughts keep running through your head even when you are taking orders, handling registers, making drinks and serving them. Somehow it worsened when Jo didn’t come – what if he also had the same dreams as yours and finally got your name too and…
“Hi Y/N!”
Wonyoung’s cheerful voice successfully interrupts your train of thoughts. You chuckle as the girl looks extremely excited – she would definitely be over the moon if she knew whatever she said before was correct.
“How was it? I was waiting for your call, you know?”
“I’m sorry, I was too… occupied. Drinks?”
“One iced americano, and one strawberry danish, please.”
“Got it. That would be $6.5.”
After Wonyoung paid for her drinks, you informed your coworker, Moka, that you’ll be taking a short break. She nods, and you exit the counter before guiding Wonyoung to yesterday’s spot.
“So, what is his name?”
You heaved a deep sigh – you were about to say his name when Moka called Wonyoung’s name, as her drink and food was ready.
“I’m back. And? His name…?”
“Asakura Jo.”
“...Asakura Jo. Wait–”
Wonyoung repeats after you before she gasps out loud as the name finally sinks in. Asakura Jo, the basketball boy! The boy that– Wonyoung’s eyes grows as big as saucers and her hand finds yours, holding it tightly.
“Congratulations on having a handsome soulmate! Oh my god! I was correct! I was– Oh my god, you don’t have to find him! He was there all along! The invisible string theory!”
Wonyoung’s reaction makes you smile as you find her being excited is cute. It takes a moment for Wonyoung to recompose herself – she smiled widely at you, ready to listen to what happened next.
“And?”
She asks as you didn’t say anything. You just press your lips into a thin line and give her a bitter smile.
“There’s no way Jo rejects you,”
“That’s– he’s not here yet, Wonyoung. And I didn’t know how to tell him, actually.”
“Oh, thank God. I was about to dial up Jungwon to knock some sense into him or something. Wait, I’ll ask Jungwon why the boy is not here yet,”
Wonyoung rapidly types on her phone, acquiring the reason for Jo's absence. She nods to herself as she reads texts from Jungwon, before looking at you – the way she puts her phone away and shifts her sitting pose, makes her look like she’s been hired to be Jo’s lawyer, ready to defend him.
“Basketball practice runs late. Jungwon said it’ll probably end in another 20 minutes,”
“Since this morning? It’s almost 11 already,”
“Someone pissed the coach off.”
Your shoulder drops as you feel pity towards Jo. Being on the basketball team while balancing his studies must be tough…
“Awh, pity your soulmate, right? Pouty pouty Y/N~”
“I’m–”
“Don’t deny it. Let’s move to the second problem. Did you bring the photo? Just show it to him. Simple is the best,”
“Won’t I come off as creepy or something…?”
“For searching for the boy that has been in your dreams? Just tell him from A to Z, Y/N.”
“What if it comes off as weird?”
You ask – some people don’t believe in magic and premonition dreams. Let alone believing that fate will stir up something like this (tormenting you with the piece of memory that you had forgotten by replaying it in your dreams over and over again).
“Y/N, trust me when I say that the boy would definitely believe you if you told him that you plucked the stars from the sky and put them in his drinks,”
You wanted to question Wonyoung’s confidence, but knowing that she always has confidence in everything she does, you didn’t.
“...Okay,”
“Okay? You’ll talk to him? I’ll stay here to give you support, okay? Oh, can I see the photo?”
You pried your phone out of your pocket and opened the gallery, before showing her the photo that you found back then.
“So cute! Oh my god, I already have wedding ideas in my mind,”
“Wonyoung,”
“I’m so happy for you! Really! Oh–”
Chimes from the bell on the entrance door make Wonyoung’s words die instantly – you turn around and find Jo walking in. You turn back to Wonyoung, trying to communicate with her using your facial features and gestures – she said earlier that he would be here in another 20 minutes, not now.
“I don’t know! Your boy must have done something for him to get dismissed early,”
Wonyoung half whispers. Her eyes instantly shift back to Jo who’s order is being taken by Moka, before she lightly slaps you on your arm.
“Do it!”
“Now?!”
“Y/N, you definitely are not going to wait until he gets married to someone else, don’t you?”
“Not that long! But–”
“Now! Hi there! Jo, right? I’m going to leave, you can sit down here with Y/N, she has something to say,”
Wonyoung’s sudden action makes you frown while shutting your eyes tightly. You can’t believe she just created a situation that is almost impossible for you to leave without telling the truth to Jo or making it awkward.
“Oh. Okay,”
You heave a deep sigh as the clueless boy just agrees. You open your eyes and give Wonyoung a glare, and the girl just winked at you while getting her things – you wonder where she’s going with the untouched americano and strawberry danish. Your eyes follow her closely before Jo enters your visual field, holding his hot americano and a plate of sandwiches.
You wonder why he didn’t grab heavy food. He just had an intense practice and yet having sandwiches that probably barely satiate his hunger.
You sigh.
“Hi Y/N,”
Jo greets you while filling up the seat in front of you.
“Hi, Jo. I’m… uhh…”
You begin to abuse your lower lips as you don’t know how to begin your story. A few moments passed in silence as you try to construct a proper sentence – nothing comes up in your mind, making you frown and decided to fuck it.
“I– I had the same dream for over a week now. It’s– I– It’s a dream, but it’s a piece of my memory that I had forgotten about… Do you get me? And, um, well, in the dream, there’s a boy. I helped the boy and we played together, but I didn’t remember his name. Until… I went to The Sanctuary for Broken Hearts yesterday,”
You quickly unlock your phone to show the photo – after tapping on it, you gently slide your phone to Jo. It’s the same photo you showed to Wonyoung earlier, and the only photo you have of both of you back then – you and Jo smiling widely, posing in the middle of the platform.
“That’s… you, right? Asakura Jo. I’m… I’m sorry that I didn’t remember you,”
Jo’s eyes widens as he looks at the photo – he then shifts his eyes on you, surprised is written all over his face.
“I– Wow, you were– we were 6, right?”
“Yeah,”
“You were–”
Jo laughs instead of finishing his words, making you wonder what’s so amusing about the photo. Did something funny happen back then that you didn’t remember about?
“I… Wow. You were my crush back then…This is funny…”
Your eyes widen – you were his crush back then? Shocked is an understatement – well, being kids means you get a crush on someone faster than the light speed, but still. Why did he find it funny?
“What’s funny?”
You ask. Jo keeps on giggling, and you notice that his neck and ears slowly turn red, before his lips quiver for a few moments. He then pressed his lips into a thin line before scrunching his face – the cute aggression you had shocked you because you felt like cupping his face and biting his cheek out of nowhere.
“Funny because, I have a crush on you now. And back then. It’s… funny… how fate works…”
Your eyes grow as wide as they can at his words – your lips parting, stunned by his confession. As he sheepishly smiles at you, warmth begins to spread through your body, and your cheeks feel as if they’re being set on fire.
“I… what…”
That was the only response you were able to come up with. Because, okay, imagine knowing a handsome boy who plays basketball confessing that he has a crush on you. Of course you’re being caught off guard – you’re just an ordinary girl who’s struggling to balance her university life while working at a cafe.
“I don’t drink coffee, Y/N. But, I was trying to get close to you, so I… start to drink it,”
“Why?”
“Why? I… I just like you. I just… find you cute when you smile… and… yeah,”
Jo’s face is as red as tomato right now, and you are pretty sure that your face is as red as his.
“So…”
“So… if… you like… we can… get to know each other more?”
Despite his reddened face, ears and neck, he’s able to come up with a proper sentence, unlike you who only managed to blurt out one word at time – three max.
“Okay.”
Jo’s face brightens (and reddens more) at your response, and an extremely wide smile etched on his lips.
“Okay. Hi, Y/N. My long lost crush, and my future lover, if you’re willing to fall in love with me,”
Your lips tremble before you hang your head low, feeling extremely shy and happy at once. After gaining your composure, you look at Jo, who’s still smiling at you.
“Hi, Asakura Jo.”
Epilogue
2 years later…
“We’re definitely going to get stuck in the tunnel, right?”
You ask Jo, and he instantly nods – there’s no other way to get onto the slide other than crawling through the tunnel. 6 year old you definitely went through it like a breeze. Current you, on the other hand…
“Let’s just ride the swing then,”
You pout while pulling Jo by his hand, to the swing nearby. Kids are yet to be here, so you’re having the playground and the swing by yourself.
“I’ll push you,”
“Okay,”
You sit down on the swing and Jo gently pushes you from the back. Your eyes scan around the playground that looks pretty similar to 18 years ago. Who knows that you would be meeting your soulmate a.k.a the love of your life in this playground?
“You know, love,”
Jo’s words make you shift your attention from the playground to him. You forcefully stop the swing to be able to listen, and look at him better.
“I was sad back then. Mama promised me that we will come here again the next day, but we had to cut the trip short because Papa had something urgent at work. I was looking forward to see you again,”
“You did?”
“Mhm. I… truthfully, I don’t remember about it anymore. But when I saw the photo, all the memories came flooding back. I loved you knowingly, and unknowingly,”
I loved you knowingly, and unknowingly…
Your favourite Taylor Swift song begins to play in your head – ‘invisible string’ has been your most loved song ever since that day. The day when Jo and you finally discovered that you had met each other at this very playground, 18 years ago.
And isn't it just so pretty to think
All along there was some
Invisible string
Tying you to me?
additional notes: thank you for reading this fic until the end! apologies for any inconsistencies or missing plot holes because... it's 3 am when I'm proofreading and posting this lel...
summary: being the descendants of shaman, you're able to see ghosts. you grow used to it, but one terrifying encounter makes you call your personal omamori – your husband.
pairing: murata fuma x reader
genres & tropes: comfort with a sprinkle of horror, fluff, established relationship (husband fuma at your service), mentions of reader having kanji name, reader is described as shorter than fuma – tw: mentions of blood.
word count: 2,020 (excluding summary)
author's thoughts: I know summer is alrd over which mean no more ghost stories... but hey, spooky season is almost here (is it... really?) anyway, I can't shake off that one particular dream on my mind and also husband fuma is somewhat drilled into my brain and I have to find a way to get it out so here it is!
t/n: omamori is an amulet / charm in japan!
Growing up, you have always been able to see and listen to ghosts.
It’s not surprising news to your family, given that you’re a direct descendant of a famous shaman whose stories are still the talk of your hometown. Your mom somewhat expected that this would happen to you, as she too, able to see, hear, and even become a medium for ghosts (which means she used to get possessed by the ghosts). When she saw you talking to a ghost puppy that had been lurking around ever since she was in high school, she knew she needed to prepare you to live as a normal person.
By that, it means teaching you to pretend to not see ghosts, differentiating between the living and the dead, and carrying omamori around to chase the ghosts away. Because once the ghosts know that you’re able to see them, they’ll stick with you, and will suck your energy – the worst scenario is that they would want to possess you, so they can do whatever they weren’t able to do while being invisible. And your mom doesn’t want you to go through that.
You nailed it perfectly – of course there were a few instances you were tricked by the ghosts, because they too, are devilishly clever, cunning and sly. But other than that, you live like you’re a normal person, fitting into the society well, as if you didn’t have that kind of ability.
Being able to see almost every type of ghost, from the cute animals to the most horrorful, terrible looking, foul stenching ghost, means you grow used to the fear.
You’re pretty sure that you won't feel that scared anymore if you encounter another sinister looking ghost.
Or so you thought.
“Hi, I’m sorry to disturb you, but can you please walk me home?”
You plant your eyes to the ground first upon hearing the question being thrown to you, looking for the most obvious hint that a ghost wouldn’t have – a shadow. You sighed in relief when you saw there’s a shadow on the ground, so you looked up and found a girl who is a high schooler, looking very shaken.
“Yes, of course. Someone’s following you?”
“Yes,”
You didn’t search for it, because you know that if that person who’s following her noticed that she’s talking to a stranger, there would be a higher chance that they will follow both of you around.
“Okay, let’s go. Where’s your house?”
“Behind the convenience store, up the hill,”
That’s quite a walk from here, you think, maybe she’s too scared to get off at that stop, so she gets off earlier.
You walked with her, and asked a few questions – since when they were following her, where she’s studying and sorts. Just in case something happened, you would be able to answer the police’s question or lodge a police report.
“What’s your name?”
She asked.
“Y/N,”
“That’s a pretty name. What kind of Kanji is used for your name?”
Your eyes slightly widen as you feel a familiar chill run throughout your whole body. The street lights near you blinks, before it fully explodes, turning the alley that you’re about to walk to into a pitch black.
Sure, sharing your Kanji name is normal. To a human. But to a ghost, that would be a different story. Sharing your name would lead them trying to steal your identity, and worse, they would be able to take over your body and live as you, in the real world, while your soul is trapped in your own body.
“You tricked me.”
“I did.”
Shivers run down your spine as the girl smiles widely, full of sinister, while her facial features slowly change in front of you, almost resembling a Pennywise. Her eyes then bleed out while she gets taller, and taller, and taller – her neck elongates as her face stays at the same level as yours, bending almost like a roller coaster track. The street lights that you passed earlier exploded one by one as the ghost finally showed their true nature, turning the whole street black. An eerie, high pitched laughter echoes around as if you are in a chamber – sending goosebumps throughout your body.
Fuck.
A foul stenching smell sharply pierces your nose, making you hold your breath while shutting your eyes. You try your best to regulate your fear, as they feed on it – the more you fear them, the stronger and bigger they will be. Your hand slipped into your pocket to pry your phone out, and you instantly turned around, no longer facing the girl-now-a-ghost, and immediately dialled your husband, Fuma.
Then you begin to run. Hard.
“Pick up, Fuma! Pick up!”
You half shouts as you run away from the dark street, while desperately looking around to find any source of lights. The street lights in front of you, too, begin to blink before it dies, making you gritted your teeth.
“Love?”
A familiar voice greets you on the phone, making you feel slightly relieved.
“Fuma. Ghost,”
“Where are you? Wait, I can see your location. Take your usual route and we’ll meet halfway. Don’t look back,”
“Okay,”
“I won’t end this call. Don’t end this call until I can see you,”
“Okay,”
You poured every bit of your energy into running away from the ghost and also the darkness – the ghost feeds on the darkness too, hence why you’re urgently finding any source of lights. You finally arrived at the main street after what it felt like forever, greeted by the earlier convenience store that was a landmark said by the ghost. Sources of lights now are abundant, and none of them are blinking for now, thankfully.
But you didn’t stop running.
You’re still in their territory. Ghosts, other than being powerful due to the darkness and fear, they too, are powerful in their territory. You have to get out of it, for them to stop following you closely, or altogether. For them to not be able to be in their own skin, and have to mimic other human beings to trick another person into believing that they’re not a ghost.
“Love! Y/N!”
Your fear immediately flies away as you spot Fuma who’s running straight to you. You run harder and crash into his embrace, landing your face right onto his chest. Fuma hugs you tightly, wrapping his arm around your waist as he buries his face into your hair.
“Are you okay?”
You nod while tightening your grip around his waist, feeling extremely grateful that your husband is able to find you instantly. You didn’t realize that your hands were trembling due to fear until you tried to hold onto him, and also didn’t notice how cold you felt despite the unbearable heat of summer night.
Fuma holds you silently while his warmth helps you to slowly recover. A few moments pass and your heartbeat goes back into its regular rhythm, your hands stop trembling, and your body finally feels warm again.
“Do you want to turn around and check?”
Fuma breaks the silence after he feels you shift in his arm, and you nod. You turn around and find the earlier ghost turned back into a girl, and is staring at you from the front of the convenience store.
They then mouthed something, repeatedly – Unfair. Omamori. Unfair. Omamori.
“Love?”
Fuma calls with concern noticeable in his voice, worrying if you’re entranced by the ghost (it wouldn’t be the first time).
“I’m okay. They were saying something. Unfair. Omamori,”
“Well, sucks to be them because you definitely got yourself a reliable omamori over here,”
Fuma said while cupping your face, gently forcing you to shift your eyes to look at him, so you would stop looking at the ghost.
“Right. My personal, reliable, protective and handsome omamori,”
You said while smiling, and somehow your words made Fuma feel slightly shy – his ears turned to red.
“Let’s go home,”
“Let’s,”
You were about to walk when you felt something gravelly on your feet, making you jump in surprise. Fuma immediately looked at you with eyes as big as saucers, full with worries, before he giggled as soon as his eyes fell at your feet. You too, giggled – your shoes split perfectly in half, and your feet now touching the pavement as it slips through the tear.
“You surely ran hard, love. Come,”
Fuma crouched in front of you, and you excitedly got on his back – it’s been a while since he last piggybacked you (he prefers carrying you bridal / princess style because he’s able to see your face, and he loves seeing your reaction).
“Time for new shoes! Let’s go shopping tomorrow!”
“Let’s go shopping tomorrow. You need a new set of outfit too,”
Fuma said, referring to your current outfit that needs to be discarded as soon as you get home – one of the things that you needed to do whenever you encountered and interacted with a ghost is to throw away your outfit, so they wouldn’t be able to find you by their own smell that latched on your clothes.
“Be prepared to see tomorrow’s receipt,”
“I’m always prepared,”
“Are you, really?”
“Really. I would buy anything and everything for my wife. My wife needs to live lavishly. It doesn’t matter if I live like a beggar, but my wife? Nope,”
You laughed at Fuma’s words, finding it funny over how he’s talking in a very dramatic take. Soon, you arrive at your house – while you take a hot shower, Fuma throws away the outfit that you had worn and picked a matching pajama for both of you to change into.
“Warm tea for you,”
Fuma puts down the mug on your vanity table as you’re doing your skincare, making you immediately look at him.
“Thank you,”
“You’re welcome,”
He kisses you on your temple, before he lies down on the bed, watching you sips on the tea that he had made before you continue doing your skincare routine.
“I can’t believe I got tricked,”
You were sure that it was a girl – shadows, non translucent, feet touching the ground – hell, she even wears the latest high school uniform. Ghosts usually wear worn down clothes, rarely new ones, hence why you’re able to differentiate it well.
“They’re becoming more clever, aren’t they?”
Fuma replies, making you pout as you nod.
“I have to talk to mom about this. And the shaman,”
“Let me know when you want to go see them. I’ll take a day off,”
“We can go on weekend,”
“Are you sure?”
Fuma asks, as you usually are the type to find the answers as soon as you can. You nod, before you turn off the vanity light and make your way to bed. It’s almost the weekend, and you can wait, you think.
“Goodnight, Fuma. Thank you, and I love you,”
You said while snuggling into his embrace. You feel extremely safe whenever you’re in his arms – it’s like magic, his presence – it would calm you down instantly, and make you feel secure.
Omamori.
Your personal omamori.
Your grandmother had taken Fuma into favour when you first introduced him to your family, and urged you to marry him as soon as possible. You weren’t sure why at first, but then you slowly noticed – the ghosts would disappear when he’s around, even the strongest one.
You tried to find the answer to why he’s unknowingly able to chase it away, (he can’t see nor hear them), but you weren’t able to find any. Perhaps the heavens were pitying you for the curse-like ability that you possessed, so they gifted him to you, to be your omamori.
“I love you too, my wife, Y/N. Sleep well, I’ll keep the ghosts away for you,”
Fuma kisses your forehead, causing your body to become warmer and your lips curl into a soft smile. You kissed his cheek, then his lips, before finally burying your face on his chest and closing your eyes.
And you sleep really, really well, in your husband’s embrace that you deems as the safest place in the world.
additional notes: kanji or Chinese spelling of someone's name is one of the elements that often used in black magic! and it's also deeply related to superstitions!
summary: after an accident, your always-positive best friend falls into a pit of depression. determined to find a remedy, you step into The Sanctuary for Broken Hearts.
pairing: koga yudai x reader
genres & tropes: athlete! kei, best friends to lovers, fluff with a pinch of angst.
word count: 7,896 (excluding summary)
author's thoughts: I tried my best to describe ACL injury accurately, but I still might be wrong so please take this fic with a grain of salt! have fun reading!
⤷ back to The Sanctuary for Broken Hearts.
You stare at the potion in the star‑shaped glass bottle, inspecting the liquid closely. The potion shimmers in a blue‑black color, with hints of silver and white swirling around – resembling stars twinkling in the night sky.
You paid a visit to The Sanctuary of Broken Hearts earlier, determined to find a remedy to heal your best friend’s broken heart. Though the rumours surrounding the sanctuary are mostly about romance or relationships, and your best friend’s situation isn’t exactly the case, you decided to try anyway.
Because, it is said that anyone who visits with a broken heart will get their heart healed.
And your best friend’s heart is… shattered to dust.
Kei has always been a positive person. And also a slightly dramatic one. The one who will gasp whenever he listens to hot tea, and will offer himself to beat up the people who hurt you or give you a rough time. And ends the heart pouring session with warm words, assuring you that he believes you will be able to get through it, or that you will be able to do it. Showering you with compliments is his full time job, and you find it sweet that he will find ways to cheer you up.
He’s also the one who seems always getting his life together. Maybe because he’s an optimist, so he doesn’t really find things stressful when it doesn’t go his way. ‘If this doesn’t work out,’ he says, ‘then that will work out.’ He too, didn’t have any problems doing new things. You’ll sometimes find him helping the elderly florist down the street, lifting heavy items for her. One time, you randomly saw him in a newly opened café – he was helping his friend by working as a barista for the day.
But two weeks ago, his persona flipped.
You vividly remember where you were and what you were doing when you picked up the call from his brother. “Yudai is in the hospital,” his voice wavers, sending you into a panic spiral. “He’s conscious. But… the doctor said he… he might have torn his ACL on his right knee.”
You immediately leave in the middle of the small gathering with your friends, and run desperately to catch a taxi to the hospital. At the hospital, you learned what happened from Jaehyun – his friend who brought him there. They had been playing soccer when Kei suddenly fell, and he just couldn’t bring himself to get up again. At first, they thought Kei was joking around, but when they saw his panicked face, they instantly called for an ambulance.
At first, you’re trying to be positive. Maybe it’s just muscle inflammation. Maybe something is wrong with his knee, but not that bad. Just that he needs some rest. But when the doctor comes in with a sullen face, and confirms that Kei had indeed torn the ACL on his right knee completely into two, you can feel your heart drop to the ground.
“No,” Kei said, “this can’t be happening. I have a marathon next month. I, I’m supposed to win the marathon, qualify for the world championship and officially retire. I’m going to be a coach. I–” Kei pauses, and looks at the doctor once again. “I’m so sorry, Koga san. ACL tears usually take about a year for full recovery. Might be more,”
That was the first time you had seen Kei looking so helpless and lost. It was also the beginning of Kei’s fierce, short‑tempered, nasty, and dismissive attitude toward everyone – including you.
He refuses to eat, or move. His brother would try to bring him out of his room, only to get scratched by Kei, or pushed. His mom would try to talk to him, and he would just stay silent, like a stone.
You know that Kei is falling into depression because he has been a marathoner his whole life. So you scramble to find information about ACL injuries on the internet and study it. You also search for ways to help him psychologically, even picking up a few books to understand his feelings and find a better way to approach him. But nothing works. He refuses to see you altogether, and even if you manage to get into his room, he will begin throwing things – soft things – in your direction, to chase you away.
Hence why you walked into The Sanctuary for Broken Hearts as soon as the sky turns dark.
“Oh, in that case, I do have something to help him with his injury,”
Jihyun, the therapist (or counsellor – to be precise, a sorceress), said just before an intense blue light appeared without warning, almost blinding you. You instantly shut your eyes tightly – a reflex reaction from the blaring light – and when you open them again, you find a star‑shaped glass bottle floating in the air.
“Take it. It’s a potion. This will help heal his knee. But you have to be extremely careful with the dose. 1 drop per meal would suffice, maximum 5 drops per day. Any more than that, the science people going to come up to my door and do experiments on me or something,”
You carefully reach out to take the potion. The star-shaped glass bottle is small and lightweight – it fits snugly in your palm.
“Thank you. I will keep that in mind. What about his heart?”
Jihyun looks at you and smiles.
“You’re the remedy. The best remedy, even.”
Your eyelids flutter rapidly as you try to understand what Jihyun means by that. Jihyun chuckles, and her lips curl into a wider smile, revealing the dimples that had been hidden.
“Time will tell. But in the meantime, you have to be very strong-minded. And strong-willed. And…extremely stubborn. He will push you away, again, again, and again. And you have to find him, every single time, without fail. No matter how hurt you are. And… it will get better after that.”
“Aren’t you going to Koga’s?”
Your mom’s question snaps you out of your thoughts, and you instantly hide the potion in your fist. You planned to go to Kei’s house as soon as you leave the sanctuary, but Jihyun’s words earlier made you return home to take a few things with you. You packed a hoodie, a neck pillow, and a blanket – you’re thinking of sleeping in front of Kei’s door if he decides to be stubborn and skip dinner again.
“Yeah, I’m leaving. Bye mom,”
“Bye. Hopefully he’s getting a bit better,”
You can feel your mom’s sincerity in her words – well, given that you and Kei have been best friends for a while now, she must be worried for him too.
“I hope so too,”
It takes you about 15 minutes to arrive at Kei’s house. You press the doorbell, waiting for someone to open it, even though his brother has already told you the password so you can come in anytime. You feel like invading their privacy if you show up out of nowhere.
“Hey, Y/N. Come in.”
Kei’s brother gives you a small smile and makes some space for you to walk in. The troubled look on his face means that something had happened, and that something must be… Kei skipping his dinner again.
“He’s not eating?”
“And not budging. The tabloid caught the news, and… he must have seen it. They keep saying that he will be forced to retire early….”
You exhaled a deep sigh. Tabloid loves exaggerating and they are definitely making things worse right now. As much as you want to find the culprit who leaked the news and beat them up to death, your priority right now is making sure your best friend eats. And, you have to sneakily drop the potion into his food.
“I’ll give it to him. Is it already cold?”
“It’s still warm. Mom is upstairs, trying to talk to him. She’s holding the tray,”
“Okay,”
You make your way to the second floor, and find Kei’s mom sighing while holding a tray full of food. You press your lips together and reach your hand to carefully hold the tray, wanting to take it from her hands. His mom looks surprised, before her expression shifts to looking relieved.
“I will do it.”
“Thank you, Y/N. Hopefully he listens to you,”
“Hopefully,”
You put the tray on the ground and then knock on Kei’s door.
“Kei, it's me–”
“I DON’T WANT TO EAT! I DON’T WANT TO BE DISTURBED! LEAVE ME ALONE!”
You flinch – you weren’t expecting to be yelled at this soon. The tabloid must have made him become extra sensitive.
“I don’t care what you want. I need you to eat. So you can recover soon,”
“JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!”
“If you eat,”
Silence greets you. You waited for a few moments, hoping to listen to the sound of his footsteps, or the sound of his crutches. But there was nothing. So you decided to put the potion in his food – three drops in the soup. Just in case there's any aftertaste, you can make excuses for it.
“If you’re not eating, then I’m not leaving. I will stay here until you open the door. I’m not going anywhere, and I will sleep here even,”
You said before sitting down in front of his door, showing your determination to make him eat. You scrolled through your phone and found the news on your social media page – you rolled your eyes, and pressed the report button. Every single one that shows up on your page gets reported instantly.
“What are you doing?”
Kei’s brother asks as he sees the frown is visible on your forehead.
“Reporting,”
You showed him the report page, and he nodded before handing you lids to cover the food.
“Are you sure you’re going to stay here?”
“Yeah. 100% sure. I’m going to stay here until he comes out. And I’m going to force him to eat,”
“Okay. I really hope you’ll succeed,”
“I really hope so too,”
Kei’s brother then leaves, and you pull out your neck pillow to make yourself comfortable as you continue to scroll on your phone. Hours passed, and there’s still no sign of Kei going to open the door. You sigh, and pull the blanket and hoodie out of your bag, before making yourself as comfortable as you can while lying on the floor. After a few consecutive yawns, you decide to close your eyes, letting sleep take over you.
Your consciousness returns when you hear thumping sounds. Your eyelids slowly flutter open, and you yawn as you glue your eyes at the door – a few moments later, it slowly creaks open, revealing a very messy, out-of-breath-looking Kei.
“Let’s eat.”
Your words surprise Kei – he slightly jumps, before he recomposes himself.
“You…”
“I told you I’m not going anywhere. And I’m not. Let’s eat.”
You yawn again as you get up to get the tray. You then stand in front of Kei, who still has hints of surprise on his face. He wasn’t expecting you to stick to your words, you think, because you had always given him space.
Now, you’re being stubborn. You’re taking Jihyun’s advice to heart, literally.
“Eat.”
“...Okay.”
Your eyes slightly widen in happiness when Kei responds – him finally complying after flat-out refusing you, his family, and his other friends makes you feel relieved, glad, and joyful at the same time.
Kei slowly makes his way back to the bed, and you follow him closely. You want to offer to help him, but afraid that it will make him chase you out and refuse to eat, so you stay silent. You placed the tray on the overbed table, before adjusting it to a proper height so he can eat comfortably.
Kei just watches you as you open the lids one by one and hand him a pair of chopsticks to use. His eyes stay on you for a bit before he finally takes a small scoop of rice, and you watch as he brings it close to his lips. Your shoulder loosens up when he swallows the food – relieved that he’s eating.
“It’s cold, right? I would’ve warm it up if I knew you’re going to come out at this hour,”
You said as you looked at the clock – 3.44 a.m. He must have thought you had already left, and decided to come out, since no one would be awake at this time.
He didn’t reply – only silently eating. You continue to watch him eat, while silently praying that he will eat the soup. Another wave of relieved feelings washes over you when he gulps down the soup in one go, emptying the bowl instantly.
“Thank you for eating, Kei.”
Your words make Kei pause – he turns his head slowly and looks at you with eyes filled with undecipherable emotions. Instead of asking, you just smile. Kei then shifted his attention back to the food, and he emptied basically everything.
“Should I bring a bowl here for you to brush your teeth, or do you want to go to the bathroom by yourself?”
You gently ask – Kei has always been a hygienic person. He smelled so nice, and had plenty of perfume. But depression means he hasn’t been taking good care of himself. You can see stubbles begin to grow on his chin and jawline. His hair too, looked like it’s going to start matting anytime soon.
“I’m useless.”
You press your lips into a thin line at his words. You rack your brain for an appropriate response – silence surrounds both of you for a few moments before you break it.
“What makes you feel so?”
Instead of denying it like you always do, you decide to ask, so you can understand where it stems from. And tackle it from there. Reassurance without proper approach means nothing, so you have to dive deep into his feelings and carefully weave his heart back together.
‘You’re the remedy. The best remedy, even.’
Jihyun’s words ring in your head and make you feel even more determined to become the remedy for his broken heart.
“Can’t you see? I can’t walk, Y/N. I can’t do anything without help. I have to give up the marathon! I feel so helpless. I feel so stupid. I– I was able to do everything by myself and now… I can’t move without feeling like dying. I’m troubling people. I’m burdening them. I–”
You gently place your hand on his shoulder as Kei begins to sob like a baby. He had plans. He was going to win the upcoming marathon, officially qualify to the World Athletics Championship, then retire. He already imagined the future of him winning, going to the World Athletics Championship, and becoming a coach after retiring. He wants to coach kids. He wants to tell them about his experience and motivate them to be like him.
“Kei, you’re not burdening anyone. You’re not troubling anyone. We are willing to help you. I am willing to help you, because isn’t that what friends do? Helping when one is in distress?”
You rub his back, hoping that it will help to calm him down.
“And Kei, you will walk again. This is temporary. You are going to walk again. You are going to join the marathon again. You are going to win it again. You’re going to achieve every plan of yours, but it’s just getting a bit longer than it should, because you’re hurt. Because you’re sick. And that’s okay. Because getting hurt, and being sick is not within your control,”
“I believe that you’re going to be okay. And that you’re going to get back on track. And that you’re going to fulfil every dream of yours. If you don’t believe in yourself, just believe in me. Have faith in my words, until you can believe in yourself again.”
Kei’s tears slowly subside and you stay by his side, rubbing and patting his back until he calms down.
“I– I want to go to the bathroom.”
He said, replying to your earlier question.
“Okay. Take your time. I’m going to downstairs to put this in the kitchen,”
You leave first, carrying the tray downstairs and washing the dishes. You then bring a bottle of water and a few snacks upstairs, just in case he suddenly has the urge to snack. While waiting for him to return, you cleaned his room a bit – throwing his dirty clothes on the floor into the laundry basket, rearranging things on his bedside table and cleaning up the overbed table. You did think about changing his bed sheets, and vacuuming his room – you decided on vacuuming, because changing his bed sheets is a very obvious change, that might make him feel even more helpless.
The clock hits 4.57 a.m when he finally returns to his room.
You were in the middle of dozing off when you heard the familiar thumping sound produced by his crutches hitting the ground. You shake your head to gain control of your consciousness, and find Kei slowly walking into the room.
You just watch him as he makes his way to the bed. After he makes himself comfortable, you decide to leave – you’re thinking of sleeping on the couch because going home at this hour sounds impossible for you.
“Y/N,”
You were about to close the door when he called your name.
“Yeah?”
“Don’t sleep in front of the door. Sleep somewhere else.”
Your lips formed a smile as you heard his words. Kei back then would’ve nagged at you non stop for doing it – right now, he’s still concerned, but he just doesn’t have energy and capability to nag at you. Because he’s not being himself right now.
“Then you have to eat. Or I’ll be staying in front of your door all day long. Good night, Kei,”
He pulls the blanket instead of replying to you. You press your lips together and slowly close the door while praying earnestly to heaven that he will be a bit better, tomorrow.
Heaven listens to you the next day. And the day after. And the following days. It wasn’t a big change – just Kei not putting up a fight when it’s time to eat, with you around. He still refuses to eat if his mom or his brother is trying to ask him to, but he will eat when you watch over him.
You felt happy about his improvement and believed his positive changes would last – that he would slowly get better and better. But one day, you were proven wrong when Kei suddenly began throwing the soft toys at you again, out of the blue.
“Wha– Kei?”
“Get out,”
“You–”
“Get out! Get out! Get the hell out of here! I don’t want to see anyone!”
You sigh and obliged. You drag yourself downstairs and find Kei’s brother to ask if anything happened today that might have triggered Kei.
“The doctor explained to him that there’s possibilities for him to undergo two surgeries, if he finds discomfort with the screws and everything. If he needed the second surgery, his recovery time will be longer than it should,”
“So he’s pissed?”
“Yeah. He’s already troubled enough – well, it’s the doctor’s job to explain everything before they do the surgery,”
“Has it been booked? The surgery?”
“A month from now. And… the doctor also said that him refusing to do rehab might extend the recovery process. I don’t know…”
You heave a deep sigh – you learned through the articles that you read online, that pre surgery rehab is important to minimize the swelling. You then bite your lower lips as you rack your brain, trying to come up with an idea to make him comply with everything – you don’t care if he’s going to turn into a monster, or hate you for forcing it on him, because you know that you’re doing this for his own good.
“When’s the next date for rehab?”
“Next week.”
“Okay. I’ll make sure he goes. I’ll do whatever I can,”
“Thank you, Y/N. You seem to know very well that Kei has a soft spot for you, and are using it well, huh?”
Your eyelids flutter rapidly for a few moments while frown becomes visible on your forehead – soft spot? Me?
Kei’s brother just chuckled and patted your shoulder, before leaving you alone with your thoughts.
You quickly shake your head, your priority right now is making your best friend eat his dinner. So you sit down on the couch, thinking whether to crash into his room and just force him eat, or recycle your old tactics.
“Y/N, come join us for dinner. I’ll put Yudai’s food on the tray for you to bring up later,”
Kei’s mom's words give you an idea – how about you threaten to not eat if he’s not going to eat? This is a guilt trip, you scrunched your face since you don’t like guilt tripping people, but this is necessary, right?
“Mama… can I have my own tray too? I will eat with Kei,”
Kei’s mom’s eyes light up with surprise – instead of asking, she nods while smiling, understanding that you’re going to try to make Kei eat his dinner. You then bring Kei’s tray upstairs, while his mom brings yours – both of you carefully place it on the floor, and you exhale a deep sigh, trying to gain courage to face Kei.
“Thank you for doing this, Y/N,”
You just smile at Kei’s mom, who then pats your back before she makes her way downstairs. You stare at the door for a moment before gently knocking on the door a few times.
“Kei, it’s me. Let’s have dinner together,”
Thump!
You flinch – Kei must have thrown something at the door and caused that sound.
“Kei?”
“WHICH PART OF IT THAT YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND? I DON’T WANT TO SEE ANYONE!!!!”
He screamed – multiple thumping sounds then could be heard on the door. Your eyes slightly widen before you sigh again, trying to regulate your own emotions.
“Okay. You don’t want to see anyone. I’ll leave. But can you please, eat?”
“NO!”
You bite your lower lips, contemplating on continuing with your earlier plan or discard it completely as Kei is behaving extremely fiercely.
A thought then crossed your mind – fight fire with a fire.
Fine.
“If you’re not eating, then I’m not going to eat either,”
You said. Silence greets you right after, and you assume that Kei didn’t hear you. But you’re going to make yourself heard this time, so you knocked on his door multiple times.
“Are you listening, Kei?! If you’re not eating, then I’m not going to eat either!”
Rapid thumping sounds can be heard, making your eyes grow as big as the saucers. You instinctively move back – you know that Kei will never try anything to hurt you, but he’s unstable right now, so.
The door swung open, revealing a red eyed Kei with hair almost resembling a bird's nest – messy, and slightly matted.
“WHY ARE YOU SO… why are you so stubborn,”
You slightly flinch as Kei yelled at you first, before he toned down his volume.
“Because you are. If you aren’t stubborn, I won’t be one. And I’m being stubborn for your own good, Kei,”
Kei hung his face – silence surrounded both of you for a moment, before you could hear a light sob.
“Kei? Hey,”
You gently cradle his face while wiping his tears away – the rough stubble beneath your touch tugs at your heart strings as it serves as a reminder that Kei is in a wreck right now.
“I can’t walk… I can’t run… I’m not myself…”
“Kei…”
“Why are you still here? Why don’t you leave me alone? Why are you doing all of this…”
“I told you, didn’t I? It’s my duty to help a friend in distress,”
Kei’s cries become louder, and you gently hug him – hushing, whispering comforts while patting and rubbing his back. It takes a while for Kei to calm down, and when he does, you break the hug to wipe his tears away.
“This is temporary, Kei. You can walk. You’re going to walk again. You’re going to run again. And you’re going to find yourself again, but in a better version. You’re going to do everything again. Doesn’t it sound grand? Koga Yudai, the marathoner, returns after injury and snags the champion title,”
“You’re… believing in me too much,”
“No, I’m not. I believe in you because I know, and I have faith that you’re going to be just fine. It’s okay if you don’t believe in me right now – just don’t come back to me in the future and say, ‘Oh Y/N! What you said was correct!’ without giving me 100 dollars or something for being proven right.”
You lightly toss a joke, hoping that it will lift up his mood. You definitely weren’t expecting him to chuckle – your eyes widens and smile instantly carved on your lips as you succeed in making him laugh.
“Why don’t we make a bet? Whoever gets proven right, will get… 200 dollars. 100 dollars might not worth that much in the future,”
“Okay,”
“Okay? Deal? Don’t pretend to forget this,”
“I won’t.”
“Good. Let’s eat. I’m starving,”
You grab his tray first and jog to place it on the overbed table, before sprinting to get your tray and place it on the same table. Kei just watches you as you busied yourself, while he’s slowly making his way to his bed.
You didn’t forget about the potion – you managed to sneak a few drops in while pretending to arrange his utensils. You’ve been consistently giving it to him, hoping that it will work.
“Let’s eat!”
You cheerfully said after Kei made himself comfortable on the bed, and ready to eat his dinner. Kei didn’t say anything – he just looked at you with a small smile on his lips before eating his food. You too, begin eating your food – silence found both of you, and you didn’t bother to break it.
After emptying your bowl and watching Kei emptying his too, you begin stacking the bowls and trays, then cleans his table.
“I’m going downstairs. And then I’m gonna head home. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”
Kei’s lips quiver, as if he’s trying to say something – you patiently wait for him to speak. Kei then pressed his lips into a thin line and nod – his response made you feel slightly upset since you were waiting for him to say something. Only slightly, because him laughing earlier is enough to make you feel happy for a week straight.
“Good night, Kei,”
And finally, after multiple good night wishes without a reply, you receive a response from him.
“Good night, Y/N,”
“Good morning, Kei! Oh–”
Surprised is an understatement when you found Kei already eating his breakfast, on his bed. You weren’t informed of this miracle – you should’ve known that something already happened when you can’t find his mom in the kitchen, waiting for you, nor his brother on the couch, looking troubled.
“Good morning, Y/N,”
“What are you having? Mind if I pull the curtain? The weather is beautiful outside. It’s a bit of a waste if you don’t see it,”
Kei just motioned to you to go ahead, and you slowly pulled the curtain, revealing the blue sky – a few tall cherry blossom trees too, comes into the landscape, adding pink colours to the view.
“So pretty… Do you want to go outside? I have to buy some groceries, mama already nagged at me for skipping buying groceries for a few times now because I spent a lot of my time with you,”
You turn to Kei after pulling the curtain fully, and open up the window to give way for fresh air to come in.
“I can’t,”
“Why?”
“I can’t… go out looking like this,”
You stare at him – well, your best friend who usually looks dashing, always getting compliments left and right from the elderly, and never fails to get someone’s number whenever he goes to a cafe is looking… unkempt.
“That’s not a problem. I can solve it,”
“...you can?”
“Yes! Do you believe in me?”
You smiled brightly at him while your mind was cooking up some mischief. Kei blinked rapidly before shaking his head.
“Too bad. It’s not like you have any choice. Welcome to Y/N’s salon!”
“No, Y/N,”
“Um, I don’t accept no!”
You called Kei’s brother for help and wheeled Kei into the bathroom – while you worked on detangling his hair, his brother shaved his beard. Kei wants to complain but he can’t, afraid of getting cut on his face as his brother is looking extremely focused and determined in shaving off his beard.
After an hour or so (you let Kei take a shower after you thoroughly worked on his hair, and his brother too, gave him a clean shave), Kei finally comes out of the bathroom looking like himself again.
“Let’s go out!”
You excitedly said, and Kei just nodded as a response. It wasn’t until you wheeled him out of his house when Kei just remembered something.
“Hey… Y/N?”
“Yeah?”
“How are you going to push me and the grocery store’s cart…?”
“Good question. The answer is, you are my cart. Make sure you hold onto my things properly!”
Kei chuckled. He can’t believe your ideas – well, you have been doing things that he didn’t expect nowadays. Like being extremely stubborn, just to make sure that he will have a meal.
Silence surrounds you both as you push him down the alley, heading toward the nearby grocery store you often frequent. The cool spring breeze kisses his cheeks and flutters his hair, while the sunlight bathes him in its warmth – the cherry blossoms’ scent too, gently floats in the air that he inhales, making Kei feel human again.
Your pace slows when you get into the grocery store as you’re busy looking around, finding things that need to be bought.
“Hey, Y/N?”
Kei softly calls as you stare at the cereal boxes in your hands – it feels greedy to take two, but it feels like it’s not enough if you just take one.
“Yeah?”
You responded and decided to just buy one first, and placed the box on Kei’s lap. Kei pressed his lips into a thin line, before deciding to say things that he didn’t say yesterday.
“Thank you.”
You smile, before reaching your hand out to pinch his cheeks.
“You’re welcome,”
After shopping, you brought Kei to the nearby park. You stopped at the kiosk that sells drinks and bought some for both of you before finally settling on a bench near the lake. Both of you bask in silence for a few moments – you then break the silence by exhaling a deep sigh.
“Can’t believe spring is almost over,”
You pout – soon, you have to say goodbye to the cool breeze and pretty cherry blossom flowers and be forced to welcome the scorching weather.
“Time flies fast,”
Kei said, and you turned to look at him.
“Yeah. Time flies, and one day you’ll be running around again. Don’t forget about the 200 dollars,”
Kei chuckled as you reminded him about yesterday’s deal. A part of him is glad that you believe in him so much that you are willing to strike a deal – 200 dollars isn’t a small amount for you.
“I– oh, Y/N, I’ve been wanting to ask this. Where’s your earrings?”
Kei was about to say something else when you tuck your hair behind your ears, and he noticed the lack of accessories on your ears. You had given the earrings away as a payment for the sanctuary – Jihyun asks for something that belongs to you, and that you’re willing to give. You ask if she’s going to be fine if you give her your earrings because you didn’t bring anything else with you, other than your wallet and your phone. And Jihyun gladly accepts it.
“Uh… I took it off before my shower, then one of the earrings just went missing…”
You make up a lie on the spot and pray that Kei buys it.
“Must have fallen. You didn’t check?”
“Too lazy to push the big ass wardrobe away just for tiny earrings. I’ll just buy new ones later,”
“Okay,”
A relieved feeling washes over you as he believes in your lie – you promise you will come clean later, once everything is okay again. Once he gets to run again. And win the marathon again.
“What were you trying to say earlier? You were about to say something before you ask about my earrings,”
You ask, trying to change the topic – because if Kei asks about it again, you wouldn’t have an answer and would be caught in your lie.
“Oh, I… I think I will go to rehab. I’m– I’m gonna try my best to do rehab. And go through the surgery. And go through the second surgery if needed. And be okay again,”
Your lips form a wide smile as you hear Kei’s words – you’re almost brought to tears, if you’re being honest. You feel it was worth being yelled at, screamed at, and shouted at – enduring the nasty, dismissive attitude from your best friend for 2 weeks – almost 3 now – finally paid off, because he has found the strength to face and accept his fate. And has gained the courage to keep moving on.
“That’s great. That’s… really good, Kei. I will be here to support you. And to catch you if you fall into despair again,”
“Promise?”
“I promise. I will be even more stubborn than now if I need to,”
Kei giggling makes you giggle too. Kei then motioned for you to get closer to him before opening his arms, wanting a hug. You gladly obliged, hugging him tightly despite the awkward position.
“Thank you, Y/N. For being stubborn,”
His words make Jihyun’s voice ring once again in your mind, causing your lips to curl into an even wider smile.
“You’re the remedy. The best remedy, even.”
You guess you are.
Sounds of enthusiastic cheers filled the air, and both you and Jaehyun looked at each other before counting down to sync your cheers together.
“Kei!! Fighting!!”
Both of you shout as hard and loud as you can, cheering for Kei, who is about to begin his marathon run. Kei turns his head to your direction and waves his hand, before patting his chest, trying to ease his nerves.
Today marks Kei’s return to the marathon scene after a year of hiatus due to his injury. At first, the doctor was reluctant to let Kei join the marathon – despite Kei making a miracle to fully heal at 6 months, he’s still worried that the 42 kilometers of distance might stress the ligament and increase the chance for it to tear again. But after Kei’s ligaments showed no signs of inflammation or risk of tearing during multiple practice runs, the doctor gave his approval.
“You can do this!”
You shout, hoping it will help dissipate the nervousness your best friend is currently feeling. Kei exhaled a deep sigh, and maneuvered through the crowd to approach you and Jaehyun.
“If I win,”
Kei said while placing his hand on your arm – that’s when you realize that your best friend is really nervous, because his palm is sweaty.
“You’re going to win!”
You instantly cheer, not wanting him to lose his confidence. It’s been a while since Kei has run a marathon, and this is a big event, so you understand if his confidence wavers.
“No, listen to me, Y/N,”
You can see he’s having a hard time swallowing his saliva. Thousands of thoughts cross your mind – is he thinking about the injury again?
“I have something to tell you, so make sure you watch the interview. Don’t miss the interview.”
While you are slightly puzzled, Jaehyun instantly understands what Kei means and is having a hard time controlling his facial expression.
“Okay. I won’t.”
“Okay. I’ll be going. Bye, Y/N. Bye, Jaehyun. See you later,”
“See you later, Kei,”
The air horn blow right when the clock hits 9:10 a.m – the crowd cheers for the runners, and both you and Jaehyun shout at the top of your lungs to cheer for Kei. After Kei’s figure can no longer be seen, you tugs on Jaehyun’s sleeve, signalling that both of you should get out of here.
Both of you had planned from the day before to show up at every checkpoint. Kei knows nothing about this, and you can’t wait to see his reaction – he’s definitely going to be happy to see both of you everywhere. And you hope that you and Jaehyun’s presence are going to fuel him to keep moving.
You and Jaehyun quickly grab the bicycles and speeds to the first checkpoint – you sighed in relief since Kei is yet to arrive.
“He’s running his marathon, and we’re… ha… we’re doing cardio alongside him,”
Jaehyun said while panting – he had thought about bringing his motorbike, but since there’s plenty of road being blocked to give way for the marathon, bicycle is the best choice.
“We’re going to be as tired as him by the end of the day. Oh, he’s here. Quick, Jae!”
Jaehyun inhales a deep breath before he shouts at your signal – syncing up his cheers with yours. Kei’s eyes instantly widen and his lips immediately curl into a wide smile, happy that both of you are showing up out of nowhere.
“Whattttt,”
He said while smiling, and waved at both of you as he passed by – you and Jaehyun cheered even louder before falling into a coughing fit from shouting too hard. After the cough dies down, both of you pick up your bicycle again – you were about to take off when Jaehyun stopped you.
“I don’t think it’s possible for us to go to every checkpoint. Let’s alternate and meet each other at the finish line,”
You nod, agreeing with Jaehyun, and end up taking the third, fifth, and seventh checkpoint while Jaehyun takes the rest.
The plan works well – Kei manages to smile whenever he sees you, despite the exhaustion apparent on his face the more he runs.
“It feels like magic! You and Jaehyun showing up everywhere,”
Kei says as he sees you again at the seventh checkpoint, which meant he had run for about 33 kilometres now. You read that this is where runners start to feel bumped, so you put extra effort in cheering for him.
“Separately for now to be more efficient! We’ll see you together at the finish line! Keep going, Kei!!”
Kei responds with a thumbs up, and after Kei disappears from your vision, you cycle to the finish line as planned with Jaehyun earlier. Jaehyun showed up a few moments later, which means Kei passed the 8th checkpoint and is about to arrive anytime soon.
“Hey, Y/N. I have a question,”
You spare a glance at Jaehyun.
“What is it?”
You respond as you shift your attention to the road, and begin to feel extremely nervous – you really hope Kei can win this.
“You love him more than a best friend, don’t you? All these efforts… it’s because you love him deeply, right?”
You just smiled as a response – Jaehyun was about to throw a fit as he needed clear answers when Kei’s figure could be spotted.
“Go, Kei! Go! You’re going to win this!”
“Let’s go Kei!”
Cheers erupts in the air as one of the athletes crosses the finish line, coming in first place. You and Jaehyun finally cheered when Kei crossed the line, coming in third, breaking his own personal record.
“You did it Kei!”
“I know you can do it! Oh my god, I feel like crying,”
You said, feeling an emotional surge as your best friend finally wins the marathon, after all the hardship he went through. And he did it with a prominent injury too. Jaehyun panics – he instantly pulls you out of the crowd and brings you to the designated meeting area. He checks on you multiple times, and even hands you a small pack of tissues, in case you really end up crying.
You meet with Kei’s family who are waiting at the area too – his mom was already crying her heart out, and you can feel a lump begin to form in your throat. You try your best to not cry, but you failed – you can’t help but feel extremely emotional, because just about a year ago, Kei can’t walk. And he was mentally, physically, and emotionally wrecked by it.
But now, he’s running again. And even comes in third place.
“It’s okay, just cry,”
Jaehyun pats your back – he too, is having a hard time holding back the urge to cry. But he doesn’t want to make the already emotional atmosphere heavier, so he keeps sighing away, trying to regulate his emotions.
“The interview is starting!”
Kei’s brother’s words make Jaehyun pries his phone out to find the livestream, before holding it out for you to watch with him.
“How does it feel coming in third place after suffering from the ACL tear?”
“I feel incredible right now. It’s hard to put into words, but I’m just so glad I was able to finish the marathon safely, and to win it as well. It feels like a dream comes true,”
“Do you have anything to say to your fans and families?”
“Thank you for the support you’ve shown to me, and for cheering me during my hard time. I appreciate it, really. Your encouragement is what keeps me going,”
Kei pauses for a moment, before he continues.
“To my family, thank you for being patient with me. I know I was a handful to be taken care of, since I was emotionally and physically unstable. But none of you complained about it. So thank you, so much. This medal, is for you too. Because I won’t be able to win this without your support and love,”
Kei’s mom sniffled while nodding – love oozes out of her eyes as she watches her youngest son finally succeed in achieving his dream.
“And to my best friend, thank you for going through troubles for me, when you didn’t have to. Thank you for taking care of me, tolerating all my attitude,”
Kei chuckles.
“Thank you for believing in me, even when I didn’t believe in myself. I love you. And I guess, I owe you 200 dollars and a ring,”
Your eyes widens while your jaw drops – did he just?
You look at Jaehyun, trying to confirm what you just heard. Did your best friend just confess to you, in an interview? It feels surreal, and you think that your brain just played a trick with you.
“Yes, Y/N. He’s in love with you,”
The confirmation makes your heart begin to beat faster, and your cheeks grow warmer.
“And has been so for a while. That’s why he was deeply distraught by his injury. The marathon is one thing, and you is the other – he never thought he will be that weak in front of you,”
It starts to make sense now. Why he refused to see you altogether, why his brother said you’re his soft spot, why he was so nervous earlier. And Jihyun’s words…
“Time will tell…”
She already knew. Her smile back then – she knows that Kei is in love with you. That’s why she said that you’re the best remedy. Being nursed by someone you love definitely will heal your heart.
How come you didn’t notice? Were you so absorbed in your own feelings, that you didn’t notice that Kei is in love with you? Or did he hide it too well?
“But you’re not hearing this from me,”
Jaehyun said before he winked – signalling to you to keep it a secret that he outed Kei’s true feelings. You can only bury your face in your palms, feeling extremely shy, considering that Kei just told everyone that he’s in love with you. Including his own family.
“Bro, your sister in law is shy! Do something,”
“There’s no need! Her lover will arrive soon. We should go somewhere and leave the couple alone, right, mama?”
You feel like burying yourself right then and there due to the embarrassment – Jaehyun’s and Kei’s brother's teasing are making it worse for you. Luckily, they were forced to drop the teasing by Kei’s mom. A few moments later, you finally regain your composure – Kei too, can be spotted, jogging lightly towards all of you.
He hugs his mom first, tightly – thanking her for everything, before hugging his dad, then his brother. He was about to hug you when Jaehyun pulled him into a hug first, causing his eyes to widen.
“Sorry to cut the queue, but I need to speed things up so both of you can have some time together. You can hug her then,”
“Ah. Oh, okay,”
After a few more congratulations, and plenty of family photos taken by Jaehyun, Kei’s brother shooed everyone away (including him) – leaving both you and Kei alone.
“Congratulations on winning, Kei,”
“Thank you. If it wasn’t for you, I won’t be making it this far too,”
“I didn’t do anything,”
“You believed in me. When I didn’t believe in myself. And stop downplaying your contribution, you did a lot for me,”
You just smile as a response, and notice that Kei begins to look nervous again.
“You… watched the interview, right?”
“Yeah,”
“So… I definitely owe you 200 dollars, but on the ring part…”
“What about it?”
Even though you yourself are feeling a mixture of emotions – giddy, shy, and happy – and even begin to blush as Kei brings up the topic, you can’t help but tease your nervous looking best friend.
“You’ll only get it… if you become my girlfriend… so… wanna be my girlfriend?”
You giggles as he drops the question, feeling immensely happy.
“Why are you laughing? This is a serious question. I’m about to die from nervousness here. Hey, you, give me an answer. My nervousness is worse than before, you know? You make me more nervous than the fact that I need to win a marathon–”
You press your lips against Kei’s, muffling his remaining words. He freezes for a moment, before relaxing into the kiss and wraps his arm around your waist, pulling you closer to him. Kei was about to deepen the kiss when you break it, making him scrunch his face in disappointment before he rests his forehead against yours.
“I love you,”
He whispers while caressing your deep scarlet cheeks.
“I love you more,”
You confess, and small giggles escape from both your lips and Kei’s.
“This– this is the best day ever for me. Won a marathon, and got myself a girlfriend. Living my best dream, really,”
Kei tightly hugs you, burying his face in the crown of your hair while you bury your face on his chest. This is the best day for you too, you think – watching your best friend achieve his biggest dream and realizing that your love wasn’t one sided afterall.
Love is, indeed, the best remedy.
additional notes: thank you for reading until the end <3 can't wait for blue lock to come out!! give me more athlete! k pls!!
summary: after an accident, your always-positive best friend falls into a pit of depression. determined to find a remedy, you step into The Sanctuary for Broken Hearts.
pairing: koga yudai x reader
genres & tropes: athlete! kei, best friends to lovers, fluff with a pinch of angst.
word count: 7,896 (excluding summary)
author's thoughts: I tried my best to describe ACL injury accurately, but I still might be wrong so please take this fic with a grain of salt! have fun reading!
⤷ back to The Sanctuary for Broken Hearts.
You stare at the potion in the star‑shaped glass bottle, inspecting the liquid closely. The potion shimmers in a blue‑black color, with hints of silver and white swirling around – resembling stars twinkling in the night sky.
You paid a visit to The Sanctuary of Broken Hearts earlier, determined to find a remedy to heal your best friend’s broken heart. Though the rumours surrounding the sanctuary are mostly about romance or relationships, and your best friend’s situation isn’t exactly the case, you decided to try anyway.
Because, it is said that anyone who visits with a broken heart will get their heart healed.
And your best friend’s heart is… shattered to dust.
Kei has always been a positive person. And also a slightly dramatic one. The one who will gasp whenever he listens to hot tea, and will offer himself to beat up the people who hurt you or give you a rough time. And ends the heart pouring session with warm words, assuring you that he believes you will be able to get through it, or that you will be able to do it. Showering you with compliments is his full time job, and you find it sweet that he will find ways to cheer you up.
He’s also the one who seems always getting his life together. Maybe because he’s an optimist, so he doesn’t really find things stressful when it doesn’t go his way. ‘If this doesn’t work out,’ he says, ‘then that will work out.’ He too, didn’t have any problems doing new things. You’ll sometimes find him helping the elderly florist down the street, lifting heavy items for her. One time, you randomly saw him in a newly opened café – he was helping his friend by working as a barista for the day.
But two weeks ago, his persona flipped.
You vividly remember where you were and what you were doing when you picked up the call from his brother. “Yudai is in the hospital,” his voice wavers, sending you into a panic spiral. “He’s conscious. But… the doctor said he… he might have torn his ACL on his right knee.”
You immediately leave in the middle of the small gathering with your friends, and run desperately to catch a taxi to the hospital. At the hospital, you learned what happened from Jaehyun – his friend who brought him there. They had been playing soccer when Kei suddenly fell, and he just couldn’t bring himself to get up again. At first, they thought Kei was joking around, but when they saw his panicked face, they instantly called for an ambulance.
At first, you’re trying to be positive. Maybe it’s just muscle inflammation. Maybe something is wrong with his knee, but not that bad. Just that he needs some rest. But when the doctor comes in with a sullen face, and confirms that Kei had indeed torn the ACL on his right knee completely into two, you can feel your heart drop to the ground.
“No,” Kei said, “this can’t be happening. I have a marathon next month. I, I’m supposed to win the marathon, qualify for the world championship and officially retire. I’m going to be a coach. I–” Kei pauses, and looks at the doctor once again. “I’m so sorry, Koga san. ACL tears usually take about a year for full recovery. Might be more,”
That was the first time you had seen Kei looking so helpless and lost. It was also the beginning of Kei’s fierce, short‑tempered, nasty, and dismissive attitude toward everyone – including you.
He refuses to eat, or move. His brother would try to bring him out of his room, only to get scratched by Kei, or pushed. His mom would try to talk to him, and he would just stay silent, like a stone.
You know that Kei is falling into depression because he has been a marathoner his whole life. So you scramble to find information about ACL injuries on the internet and study it. You also search for ways to help him psychologically, even picking up a few books to understand his feelings and find a better way to approach him. But nothing works. He refuses to see you altogether, and even if you manage to get into his room, he will begin throwing things – soft things – in your direction, to chase you away.
Hence why you walked into The Sanctuary for Broken Hearts as soon as the sky turns dark.
“Oh, in that case, I do have something to help him with his injury,”
Jihyun, the therapist (or counsellor – to be precise, a sorceress), said just before an intense blue light appeared without warning, almost blinding you. You instantly shut your eyes tightly – a reflex reaction from the blaring light – and when you open them again, you find a star‑shaped glass bottle floating in the air.
“Take it. It’s a potion. This will help heal his knee. But you have to be extremely careful with the dose. 1 drop per meal would suffice, maximum 5 drops per day. Any more than that, the science people going to come up to my door and do experiments on me or something,”
You carefully reach out to take the potion. The star-shaped glass bottle is small and lightweight – it fits snugly in your palm.
“Thank you. I will keep that in mind. What about his heart?”
Jihyun looks at you and smiles.
“You’re the remedy. The best remedy, even.”
Your eyelids flutter rapidly as you try to understand what Jihyun means by that. Jihyun chuckles, and her lips curl into a wider smile, revealing the dimples that had been hidden.
“Time will tell. But in the meantime, you have to be very strong-minded. And strong-willed. And…extremely stubborn. He will push you away, again, again, and again. And you have to find him, every single time, without fail. No matter how hurt you are. And… it will get better after that.”
“Aren’t you going to Koga’s?”
Your mom’s question snaps you out of your thoughts, and you instantly hide the potion in your fist. You planned to go to Kei’s house as soon as you leave the sanctuary, but Jihyun’s words earlier made you return home to take a few things with you. You packed a hoodie, a neck pillow, and a blanket – you’re thinking of sleeping in front of Kei’s door if he decides to be stubborn and skip dinner again.
“Yeah, I’m leaving. Bye mom,”
“Bye. Hopefully he’s getting a bit better,”
You can feel your mom’s sincerity in her words – well, given that you and Kei have been best friends for a while now, she must be worried for him too.
“I hope so too,”
It takes you about 15 minutes to arrive at Kei’s house. You press the doorbell, waiting for someone to open it, even though his brother has already told you the password so you can come in anytime. You feel like invading their privacy if you show up out of nowhere.
“Hey, Y/N. Come in.”
Kei’s brother gives you a small smile and makes some space for you to walk in. The troubled look on his face means that something had happened, and that something must be… Kei skipping his dinner again.
“He’s not eating?”
“And not budging. The tabloid caught the news, and… he must have seen it. They keep saying that he will be forced to retire early….”
You exhaled a deep sigh. Tabloid loves exaggerating and they are definitely making things worse right now. As much as you want to find the culprit who leaked the news and beat them up to death, your priority right now is making sure your best friend eats. And, you have to sneakily drop the potion into his food.
“I’ll give it to him. Is it already cold?”
“It’s still warm. Mom is upstairs, trying to talk to him. She’s holding the tray,”
“Okay,”
You make your way to the second floor, and find Kei’s mom sighing while holding a tray full of food. You press your lips together and reach your hand to carefully hold the tray, wanting to take it from her hands. His mom looks surprised, before her expression shifts to looking relieved.
“I will do it.”
“Thank you, Y/N. Hopefully he listens to you,”
“Hopefully,”
You put the tray on the ground and then knock on Kei’s door.
“Kei, it's me–”
“I DON’T WANT TO EAT! I DON’T WANT TO BE DISTURBED! LEAVE ME ALONE!”
You flinch – you weren’t expecting to be yelled at this soon. The tabloid must have made him become extra sensitive.
“I don’t care what you want. I need you to eat. So you can recover soon,”
“JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!”
“If you eat,”
Silence greets you. You waited for a few moments, hoping to listen to the sound of his footsteps, or the sound of his crutches. But there was nothing. So you decided to put the potion in his food – three drops in the soup. Just in case there's any aftertaste, you can make excuses for it.
“If you’re not eating, then I’m not leaving. I will stay here until you open the door. I’m not going anywhere, and I will sleep here even,”
You said before sitting down in front of his door, showing your determination to make him eat. You scrolled through your phone and found the news on your social media page – you rolled your eyes, and pressed the report button. Every single one that shows up on your page gets reported instantly.
“What are you doing?”
Kei’s brother asks as he sees the frown is visible on your forehead.
“Reporting,”
You showed him the report page, and he nodded before handing you lids to cover the food.
“Are you sure you’re going to stay here?”
“Yeah. 100% sure. I’m going to stay here until he comes out. And I’m going to force him to eat,”
“Okay. I really hope you’ll succeed,”
“I really hope so too,”
Kei’s brother then leaves, and you pull out your neck pillow to make yourself comfortable as you continue to scroll on your phone. Hours passed, and there’s still no sign of Kei going to open the door. You sigh, and pull the blanket and hoodie out of your bag, before making yourself as comfortable as you can while lying on the floor. After a few consecutive yawns, you decide to close your eyes, letting sleep take over you.
Your consciousness returns when you hear thumping sounds. Your eyelids slowly flutter open, and you yawn as you glue your eyes at the door – a few moments later, it slowly creaks open, revealing a very messy, out-of-breath-looking Kei.
“Let’s eat.”
Your words surprise Kei – he slightly jumps, before he recomposes himself.
“You…”
“I told you I’m not going anywhere. And I’m not. Let’s eat.”
You yawn again as you get up to get the tray. You then stand in front of Kei, who still has hints of surprise on his face. He wasn’t expecting you to stick to your words, you think, because you had always given him space.
Now, you’re being stubborn. You’re taking Jihyun’s advice to heart, literally.
“Eat.”
“...Okay.”
Your eyes slightly widen in happiness when Kei responds – him finally complying after flat-out refusing you, his family, and his other friends makes you feel relieved, glad, and joyful at the same time.
Kei slowly makes his way back to the bed, and you follow him closely. You want to offer to help him, but afraid that it will make him chase you out and refuse to eat, so you stay silent. You placed the tray on the overbed table, before adjusting it to a proper height so he can eat comfortably.
Kei just watches you as you open the lids one by one and hand him a pair of chopsticks to use. His eyes stay on you for a bit before he finally takes a small scoop of rice, and you watch as he brings it close to his lips. Your shoulder loosens up when he swallows the food – relieved that he’s eating.
“It’s cold, right? I would’ve warm it up if I knew you’re going to come out at this hour,”
You said as you looked at the clock – 3.44 a.m. He must have thought you had already left, and decided to come out, since no one would be awake at this time.
He didn’t reply – only silently eating. You continue to watch him eat, while silently praying that he will eat the soup. Another wave of relieved feelings washes over you when he gulps down the soup in one go, emptying the bowl instantly.
“Thank you for eating, Kei.”
Your words make Kei pause – he turns his head slowly and looks at you with eyes filled with undecipherable emotions. Instead of asking, you just smile. Kei then shifted his attention back to the food, and he emptied basically everything.
“Should I bring a bowl here for you to brush your teeth, or do you want to go to the bathroom by yourself?”
You gently ask – Kei has always been a hygienic person. He smelled so nice, and had plenty of perfume. But depression means he hasn’t been taking good care of himself. You can see stubbles begin to grow on his chin and jawline. His hair too, looked like it’s going to start matting anytime soon.
“I’m useless.”
You press your lips into a thin line at his words. You rack your brain for an appropriate response – silence surrounds both of you for a few moments before you break it.
“What makes you feel so?”
Instead of denying it like you always do, you decide to ask, so you can understand where it stems from. And tackle it from there. Reassurance without proper approach means nothing, so you have to dive deep into his feelings and carefully weave his heart back together.
‘You’re the remedy. The best remedy, even.’
Jihyun’s words ring in your head and make you feel even more determined to become the remedy for his broken heart.
“Can’t you see? I can’t walk, Y/N. I can’t do anything without help. I have to give up the marathon! I feel so helpless. I feel so stupid. I– I was able to do everything by myself and now… I can’t move without feeling like dying. I’m troubling people. I’m burdening them. I–”
You gently place your hand on his shoulder as Kei begins to sob like a baby. He had plans. He was going to win the upcoming marathon, officially qualify to the World Athletics Championship, then retire. He already imagined the future of him winning, going to the World Athletics Championship, and becoming a coach after retiring. He wants to coach kids. He wants to tell them about his experience and motivate them to be like him.
“Kei, you’re not burdening anyone. You’re not troubling anyone. We are willing to help you. I am willing to help you, because isn’t that what friends do? Helping when one is in distress?”
You rub his back, hoping that it will help to calm him down.
“And Kei, you will walk again. This is temporary. You are going to walk again. You are going to join the marathon again. You are going to win it again. You’re going to achieve every plan of yours, but it’s just getting a bit longer than it should, because you’re hurt. Because you’re sick. And that’s okay. Because getting hurt, and being sick is not within your control,”
“I believe that you’re going to be okay. And that you’re going to get back on track. And that you’re going to fulfil every dream of yours. If you don’t believe in yourself, just believe in me. Have faith in my words, until you can believe in yourself again.”
Kei’s tears slowly subside and you stay by his side, rubbing and patting his back until he calms down.
“I– I want to go to the bathroom.”
He said, replying to your earlier question.
“Okay. Take your time. I’m going to downstairs to put this in the kitchen,”
You leave first, carrying the tray downstairs and washing the dishes. You then bring a bottle of water and a few snacks upstairs, just in case he suddenly has the urge to snack. While waiting for him to return, you cleaned his room a bit – throwing his dirty clothes on the floor into the laundry basket, rearranging things on his bedside table and cleaning up the overbed table. You did think about changing his bed sheets, and vacuuming his room – you decided on vacuuming, because changing his bed sheets is a very obvious change, that might make him feel even more helpless.
The clock hits 4.57 a.m when he finally returns to his room.
You were in the middle of dozing off when you heard the familiar thumping sound produced by his crutches hitting the ground. You shake your head to gain control of your consciousness, and find Kei slowly walking into the room.
You just watch him as he makes his way to the bed. After he makes himself comfortable, you decide to leave – you’re thinking of sleeping on the couch because going home at this hour sounds impossible for you.
“Y/N,”
You were about to close the door when he called your name.
“Yeah?”
“Don’t sleep in front of the door. Sleep somewhere else.”
Your lips formed a smile as you heard his words. Kei back then would’ve nagged at you non stop for doing it – right now, he’s still concerned, but he just doesn’t have energy and capability to nag at you. Because he’s not being himself right now.
“Then you have to eat. Or I’ll be staying in front of your door all day long. Good night, Kei,”
He pulls the blanket instead of replying to you. You press your lips together and slowly close the door while praying earnestly to heaven that he will be a bit better, tomorrow.
Heaven listens to you the next day. And the day after. And the following days. It wasn’t a big change – just Kei not putting up a fight when it’s time to eat, with you around. He still refuses to eat if his mom or his brother is trying to ask him to, but he will eat when you watch over him.
You felt happy about his improvement and believed his positive changes would last – that he would slowly get better and better. But one day, you were proven wrong when Kei suddenly began throwing the soft toys at you again, out of the blue.
“Wha– Kei?”
“Get out,”
“You–”
“Get out! Get out! Get the hell out of here! I don’t want to see anyone!”
You sigh and obliged. You drag yourself downstairs and find Kei’s brother to ask if anything happened today that might have triggered Kei.
“The doctor explained to him that there’s possibilities for him to undergo two surgeries, if he finds discomfort with the screws and everything. If he needed the second surgery, his recovery time will be longer than it should,”
“So he’s pissed?”
“Yeah. He’s already troubled enough – well, it’s the doctor’s job to explain everything before they do the surgery,”
“Has it been booked? The surgery?”
“A month from now. And… the doctor also said that him refusing to do rehab might extend the recovery process. I don’t know…”
You heave a deep sigh – you learned through the articles that you read online, that pre surgery rehab is important to minimize the swelling. You then bite your lower lips as you rack your brain, trying to come up with an idea to make him comply with everything – you don’t care if he’s going to turn into a monster, or hate you for forcing it on him, because you know that you’re doing this for his own good.
“When’s the next date for rehab?”
“Next week.”
“Okay. I’ll make sure he goes. I’ll do whatever I can,”
“Thank you, Y/N. You seem to know very well that Kei has a soft spot for you, and are using it well, huh?”
Your eyelids flutter rapidly for a few moments while frown becomes visible on your forehead – soft spot? Me?
Kei’s brother just chuckled and patted your shoulder, before leaving you alone with your thoughts.
You quickly shake your head, your priority right now is making your best friend eat his dinner. So you sit down on the couch, thinking whether to crash into his room and just force him eat, or recycle your old tactics.
“Y/N, come join us for dinner. I’ll put Yudai’s food on the tray for you to bring up later,”
Kei’s mom's words give you an idea – how about you threaten to not eat if he’s not going to eat? This is a guilt trip, you scrunched your face since you don’t like guilt tripping people, but this is necessary, right?
“Mama… can I have my own tray too? I will eat with Kei,”
Kei’s mom’s eyes light up with surprise – instead of asking, she nods while smiling, understanding that you’re going to try to make Kei eat his dinner. You then bring Kei’s tray upstairs, while his mom brings yours – both of you carefully place it on the floor, and you exhale a deep sigh, trying to gain courage to face Kei.
“Thank you for doing this, Y/N,”
You just smile at Kei’s mom, who then pats your back before she makes her way downstairs. You stare at the door for a moment before gently knocking on the door a few times.
“Kei, it’s me. Let’s have dinner together,”
Thump!
You flinch – Kei must have thrown something at the door and caused that sound.
“Kei?”
“WHICH PART OF IT THAT YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND? I DON’T WANT TO SEE ANYONE!!!!”
He screamed – multiple thumping sounds then could be heard on the door. Your eyes slightly widen before you sigh again, trying to regulate your own emotions.
“Okay. You don’t want to see anyone. I’ll leave. But can you please, eat?”
“NO!”
You bite your lower lips, contemplating on continuing with your earlier plan or discard it completely as Kei is behaving extremely fiercely.
A thought then crossed your mind – fight fire with a fire.
Fine.
“If you’re not eating, then I’m not going to eat either,”
You said. Silence greets you right after, and you assume that Kei didn’t hear you. But you’re going to make yourself heard this time, so you knocked on his door multiple times.
“Are you listening, Kei?! If you’re not eating, then I’m not going to eat either!”
Rapid thumping sounds can be heard, making your eyes grow as big as the saucers. You instinctively move back – you know that Kei will never try anything to hurt you, but he’s unstable right now, so.
The door swung open, revealing a red eyed Kei with hair almost resembling a bird's nest – messy, and slightly matted.
“WHY ARE YOU SO… why are you so stubborn,”
You slightly flinch as Kei yelled at you first, before he toned down his volume.
“Because you are. If you aren’t stubborn, I won’t be one. And I’m being stubborn for your own good, Kei,”
Kei hung his face – silence surrounded both of you for a moment, before you could hear a light sob.
“Kei? Hey,”
You gently cradle his face while wiping his tears away – the rough stubble beneath your touch tugs at your heart strings as it serves as a reminder that Kei is in a wreck right now.
“I can’t walk… I can’t run… I’m not myself…”
“Kei…”
“Why are you still here? Why don’t you leave me alone? Why are you doing all of this…”
“I told you, didn’t I? It’s my duty to help a friend in distress,”
Kei’s cries become louder, and you gently hug him – hushing, whispering comforts while patting and rubbing his back. It takes a while for Kei to calm down, and when he does, you break the hug to wipe his tears away.
“This is temporary, Kei. You can walk. You’re going to walk again. You’re going to run again. And you’re going to find yourself again, but in a better version. You’re going to do everything again. Doesn’t it sound grand? Koga Yudai, the marathoner, returns after injury and snags the champion title,”
“You’re… believing in me too much,”
“No, I’m not. I believe in you because I know, and I have faith that you’re going to be just fine. It’s okay if you don’t believe in me right now – just don’t come back to me in the future and say, ‘Oh Y/N! What you said was correct!’ without giving me 100 dollars or something for being proven right.”
You lightly toss a joke, hoping that it will lift up his mood. You definitely weren’t expecting him to chuckle – your eyes widens and smile instantly carved on your lips as you succeed in making him laugh.
“Why don’t we make a bet? Whoever gets proven right, will get… 200 dollars. 100 dollars might not worth that much in the future,”
“Okay,”
“Okay? Deal? Don’t pretend to forget this,”
“I won’t.”
“Good. Let’s eat. I’m starving,”
You grab his tray first and jog to place it on the overbed table, before sprinting to get your tray and place it on the same table. Kei just watches you as you busied yourself, while he’s slowly making his way to his bed.
You didn’t forget about the potion – you managed to sneak a few drops in while pretending to arrange his utensils. You’ve been consistently giving it to him, hoping that it will work.
“Let’s eat!”
You cheerfully said after Kei made himself comfortable on the bed, and ready to eat his dinner. Kei didn’t say anything – he just looked at you with a small smile on his lips before eating his food. You too, begin eating your food – silence found both of you, and you didn’t bother to break it.
After emptying your bowl and watching Kei emptying his too, you begin stacking the bowls and trays, then cleans his table.
“I’m going downstairs. And then I’m gonna head home. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”
Kei’s lips quiver, as if he’s trying to say something – you patiently wait for him to speak. Kei then pressed his lips into a thin line and nod – his response made you feel slightly upset since you were waiting for him to say something. Only slightly, because him laughing earlier is enough to make you feel happy for a week straight.
“Good night, Kei,”
And finally, after multiple good night wishes without a reply, you receive a response from him.
“Good night, Y/N,”
“Good morning, Kei! Oh–”
Surprised is an understatement when you found Kei already eating his breakfast, on his bed. You weren’t informed of this miracle – you should’ve known that something already happened when you can’t find his mom in the kitchen, waiting for you, nor his brother on the couch, looking troubled.
“Good morning, Y/N,”
“What are you having? Mind if I pull the curtain? The weather is beautiful outside. It’s a bit of a waste if you don’t see it,”
Kei just motioned to you to go ahead, and you slowly pulled the curtain, revealing the blue sky – a few tall cherry blossom trees too, comes into the landscape, adding pink colours to the view.
“So pretty… Do you want to go outside? I have to buy some groceries, mama already nagged at me for skipping buying groceries for a few times now because I spent a lot of my time with you,”
You turn to Kei after pulling the curtain fully, and open up the window to give way for fresh air to come in.
“I can’t,”
“Why?”
“I can’t… go out looking like this,”
You stare at him – well, your best friend who usually looks dashing, always getting compliments left and right from the elderly, and never fails to get someone’s number whenever he goes to a cafe is looking… unkempt.
“That’s not a problem. I can solve it,”
“...you can?”
“Yes! Do you believe in me?”
You smiled brightly at him while your mind was cooking up some mischief. Kei blinked rapidly before shaking his head.
“Too bad. It’s not like you have any choice. Welcome to Y/N’s salon!”
“No, Y/N,”
“Um, I don’t accept no!”
You called Kei’s brother for help and wheeled Kei into the bathroom – while you worked on detangling his hair, his brother shaved his beard. Kei wants to complain but he can’t, afraid of getting cut on his face as his brother is looking extremely focused and determined in shaving off his beard.
After an hour or so (you let Kei take a shower after you thoroughly worked on his hair, and his brother too, gave him a clean shave), Kei finally comes out of the bathroom looking like himself again.
“Let’s go out!”
You excitedly said, and Kei just nodded as a response. It wasn’t until you wheeled him out of his house when Kei just remembered something.
“Hey… Y/N?”
“Yeah?”
“How are you going to push me and the grocery store’s cart…?”
“Good question. The answer is, you are my cart. Make sure you hold onto my things properly!”
Kei chuckled. He can’t believe your ideas – well, you have been doing things that he didn’t expect nowadays. Like being extremely stubborn, just to make sure that he will have a meal.
Silence surrounds you both as you push him down the alley, heading toward the nearby grocery store you often frequent. The cool spring breeze kisses his cheeks and flutters his hair, while the sunlight bathes him in its warmth – the cherry blossoms’ scent too, gently floats in the air that he inhales, making Kei feel human again.
Your pace slows when you get into the grocery store as you’re busy looking around, finding things that need to be bought.
“Hey, Y/N?”
Kei softly calls as you stare at the cereal boxes in your hands – it feels greedy to take two, but it feels like it’s not enough if you just take one.
“Yeah?”
You responded and decided to just buy one first, and placed the box on Kei’s lap. Kei pressed his lips into a thin line, before deciding to say things that he didn’t say yesterday.
“Thank you.”
You smile, before reaching your hand out to pinch his cheeks.
“You’re welcome,”
After shopping, you brought Kei to the nearby park. You stopped at the kiosk that sells drinks and bought some for both of you before finally settling on a bench near the lake. Both of you bask in silence for a few moments – you then break the silence by exhaling a deep sigh.
“Can’t believe spring is almost over,”
You pout – soon, you have to say goodbye to the cool breeze and pretty cherry blossom flowers and be forced to welcome the scorching weather.
“Time flies fast,”
Kei said, and you turned to look at him.
“Yeah. Time flies, and one day you’ll be running around again. Don’t forget about the 200 dollars,”
Kei chuckled as you reminded him about yesterday’s deal. A part of him is glad that you believe in him so much that you are willing to strike a deal – 200 dollars isn’t a small amount for you.
“I– oh, Y/N, I’ve been wanting to ask this. Where’s your earrings?”
Kei was about to say something else when you tuck your hair behind your ears, and he noticed the lack of accessories on your ears. You had given the earrings away as a payment for the sanctuary – Jihyun asks for something that belongs to you, and that you’re willing to give. You ask if she’s going to be fine if you give her your earrings because you didn’t bring anything else with you, other than your wallet and your phone. And Jihyun gladly accepts it.
“Uh… I took it off before my shower, then one of the earrings just went missing…”
You make up a lie on the spot and pray that Kei buys it.
“Must have fallen. You didn’t check?”
“Too lazy to push the big ass wardrobe away just for tiny earrings. I’ll just buy new ones later,”
“Okay,”
A relieved feeling washes over you as he believes in your lie – you promise you will come clean later, once everything is okay again. Once he gets to run again. And win the marathon again.
“What were you trying to say earlier? You were about to say something before you ask about my earrings,”
You ask, trying to change the topic – because if Kei asks about it again, you wouldn’t have an answer and would be caught in your lie.
“Oh, I… I think I will go to rehab. I’m– I’m gonna try my best to do rehab. And go through the surgery. And go through the second surgery if needed. And be okay again,”
Your lips form a wide smile as you hear Kei’s words – you’re almost brought to tears, if you’re being honest. You feel it was worth being yelled at, screamed at, and shouted at – enduring the nasty, dismissive attitude from your best friend for 2 weeks – almost 3 now – finally paid off, because he has found the strength to face and accept his fate. And has gained the courage to keep moving on.
“That’s great. That’s… really good, Kei. I will be here to support you. And to catch you if you fall into despair again,”
“Promise?”
“I promise. I will be even more stubborn than now if I need to,”
Kei giggling makes you giggle too. Kei then motioned for you to get closer to him before opening his arms, wanting a hug. You gladly obliged, hugging him tightly despite the awkward position.
“Thank you, Y/N. For being stubborn,”
His words make Jihyun’s voice ring once again in your mind, causing your lips to curl into an even wider smile.
“You’re the remedy. The best remedy, even.”
You guess you are.
Sounds of enthusiastic cheers filled the air, and both you and Jaehyun looked at each other before counting down to sync your cheers together.
“Kei!! Fighting!!”
Both of you shout as hard and loud as you can, cheering for Kei, who is about to begin his marathon run. Kei turns his head to your direction and waves his hand, before patting his chest, trying to ease his nerves.
Today marks Kei’s return to the marathon scene after a year of hiatus due to his injury. At first, the doctor was reluctant to let Kei join the marathon – despite Kei making a miracle to fully heal at 6 months, he’s still worried that the 42 kilometers of distance might stress the ligament and increase the chance for it to tear again. But after Kei’s ligaments showed no signs of inflammation or risk of tearing during multiple practice runs, the doctor gave his approval.
“You can do this!”
You shout, hoping it will help dissipate the nervousness your best friend is currently feeling. Kei exhaled a deep sigh, and maneuvered through the crowd to approach you and Jaehyun.
“If I win,”
Kei said while placing his hand on your arm – that’s when you realize that your best friend is really nervous, because his palm is sweaty.
“You’re going to win!”
You instantly cheer, not wanting him to lose his confidence. It’s been a while since Kei has run a marathon, and this is a big event, so you understand if his confidence wavers.
“No, listen to me, Y/N,”
You can see he’s having a hard time swallowing his saliva. Thousands of thoughts cross your mind – is he thinking about the injury again?
“I have something to tell you, so make sure you watch the interview. Don’t miss the interview.”
While you are slightly puzzled, Jaehyun instantly understands what Kei means and is having a hard time controlling his facial expression.
“Okay. I won’t.”
“Okay. I’ll be going. Bye, Y/N. Bye, Jaehyun. See you later,”
“See you later, Kei,”
The air horn blow right when the clock hits 9:10 a.m – the crowd cheers for the runners, and both you and Jaehyun shout at the top of your lungs to cheer for Kei. After Kei’s figure can no longer be seen, you tugs on Jaehyun’s sleeve, signalling that both of you should get out of here.
Both of you had planned from the day before to show up at every checkpoint. Kei knows nothing about this, and you can’t wait to see his reaction – he’s definitely going to be happy to see both of you everywhere. And you hope that you and Jaehyun’s presence are going to fuel him to keep moving.
You and Jaehyun quickly grab the bicycles and speeds to the first checkpoint – you sighed in relief since Kei is yet to arrive.
“He’s running his marathon, and we’re… ha… we’re doing cardio alongside him,”
Jaehyun said while panting – he had thought about bringing his motorbike, but since there’s plenty of road being blocked to give way for the marathon, bicycle is the best choice.
“We’re going to be as tired as him by the end of the day. Oh, he’s here. Quick, Jae!”
Jaehyun inhales a deep breath before he shouts at your signal – syncing up his cheers with yours. Kei’s eyes instantly widen and his lips immediately curl into a wide smile, happy that both of you are showing up out of nowhere.
“Whattttt,”
He said while smiling, and waved at both of you as he passed by – you and Jaehyun cheered even louder before falling into a coughing fit from shouting too hard. After the cough dies down, both of you pick up your bicycle again – you were about to take off when Jaehyun stopped you.
“I don’t think it’s possible for us to go to every checkpoint. Let’s alternate and meet each other at the finish line,”
You nod, agreeing with Jaehyun, and end up taking the third, fifth, and seventh checkpoint while Jaehyun takes the rest.
The plan works well – Kei manages to smile whenever he sees you, despite the exhaustion apparent on his face the more he runs.
“It feels like magic! You and Jaehyun showing up everywhere,”
Kei says as he sees you again at the seventh checkpoint, which meant he had run for about 33 kilometres now. You read that this is where runners start to feel bumped, so you put extra effort in cheering for him.
“Separately for now to be more efficient! We’ll see you together at the finish line! Keep going, Kei!!”
Kei responds with a thumbs up, and after Kei disappears from your vision, you cycle to the finish line as planned with Jaehyun earlier. Jaehyun showed up a few moments later, which means Kei passed the 8th checkpoint and is about to arrive anytime soon.
“Hey, Y/N. I have a question,”
You spare a glance at Jaehyun.
“What is it?”
You respond as you shift your attention to the road, and begin to feel extremely nervous – you really hope Kei can win this.
“You love him more than a best friend, don’t you? All these efforts… it’s because you love him deeply, right?”
You just smiled as a response – Jaehyun was about to throw a fit as he needed clear answers when Kei’s figure could be spotted.
“Go, Kei! Go! You’re going to win this!”
“Let’s go Kei!”
Cheers erupts in the air as one of the athletes crosses the finish line, coming in first place. You and Jaehyun finally cheered when Kei crossed the line, coming in third, breaking his own personal record.
“You did it Kei!”
“I know you can do it! Oh my god, I feel like crying,”
You said, feeling an emotional surge as your best friend finally wins the marathon, after all the hardship he went through. And he did it with a prominent injury too. Jaehyun panics – he instantly pulls you out of the crowd and brings you to the designated meeting area. He checks on you multiple times, and even hands you a small pack of tissues, in case you really end up crying.
You meet with Kei’s family who are waiting at the area too – his mom was already crying her heart out, and you can feel a lump begin to form in your throat. You try your best to not cry, but you failed – you can’t help but feel extremely emotional, because just about a year ago, Kei can’t walk. And he was mentally, physically, and emotionally wrecked by it.
But now, he’s running again. And even comes in third place.
“It’s okay, just cry,”
Jaehyun pats your back – he too, is having a hard time holding back the urge to cry. But he doesn’t want to make the already emotional atmosphere heavier, so he keeps sighing away, trying to regulate his emotions.
“The interview is starting!”
Kei’s brother’s words make Jaehyun pries his phone out to find the livestream, before holding it out for you to watch with him.
“How does it feel coming in third place after suffering from the ACL tear?”
“I feel incredible right now. It’s hard to put into words, but I’m just so glad I was able to finish the marathon safely, and to win it as well. It feels like a dream comes true,”
“Do you have anything to say to your fans and families?”
“Thank you for the support you’ve shown to me, and for cheering me during my hard time. I appreciate it, really. Your encouragement is what keeps me going,”
Kei pauses for a moment, before he continues.
“To my family, thank you for being patient with me. I know I was a handful to be taken care of, since I was emotionally and physically unstable. But none of you complained about it. So thank you, so much. This medal, is for you too. Because I won’t be able to win this without your support and love,”
Kei’s mom sniffled while nodding – love oozes out of her eyes as she watches her youngest son finally succeed in achieving his dream.
“And to my best friend, thank you for going through troubles for me, when you didn’t have to. Thank you for taking care of me, tolerating all my attitude,”
Kei chuckles.
“Thank you for believing in me, even when I didn’t believe in myself. I love you. And I guess, I owe you 200 dollars and a ring,”
Your eyes widens while your jaw drops – did he just?
You look at Jaehyun, trying to confirm what you just heard. Did your best friend just confess to you, in an interview? It feels surreal, and you think that your brain just played a trick with you.
“Yes, Y/N. He’s in love with you,”
The confirmation makes your heart begin to beat faster, and your cheeks grow warmer.
“And has been so for a while. That’s why he was deeply distraught by his injury. The marathon is one thing, and you is the other – he never thought he will be that weak in front of you,”
It starts to make sense now. Why he refused to see you altogether, why his brother said you’re his soft spot, why he was so nervous earlier. And Jihyun’s words…
“Time will tell…”
She already knew. Her smile back then – she knows that Kei is in love with you. That’s why she said that you’re the best remedy. Being nursed by someone you love definitely will heal your heart.
How come you didn’t notice? Were you so absorbed in your own feelings, that you didn’t notice that Kei is in love with you? Or did he hide it too well?
“But you’re not hearing this from me,”
Jaehyun said before he winked – signalling to you to keep it a secret that he outed Kei’s true feelings. You can only bury your face in your palms, feeling extremely shy, considering that Kei just told everyone that he’s in love with you. Including his own family.
“Bro, your sister in law is shy! Do something,”
“There’s no need! Her lover will arrive soon. We should go somewhere and leave the couple alone, right, mama?”
You feel like burying yourself right then and there due to the embarrassment – Jaehyun’s and Kei’s brother's teasing are making it worse for you. Luckily, they were forced to drop the teasing by Kei’s mom. A few moments later, you finally regain your composure – Kei too, can be spotted, jogging lightly towards all of you.
He hugs his mom first, tightly – thanking her for everything, before hugging his dad, then his brother. He was about to hug you when Jaehyun pulled him into a hug first, causing his eyes to widen.
“Sorry to cut the queue, but I need to speed things up so both of you can have some time together. You can hug her then,”
“Ah. Oh, okay,”
After a few more congratulations, and plenty of family photos taken by Jaehyun, Kei’s brother shooed everyone away (including him) – leaving both you and Kei alone.
“Congratulations on winning, Kei,”
“Thank you. If it wasn’t for you, I won’t be making it this far too,”
“I didn’t do anything,”
“You believed in me. When I didn’t believe in myself. And stop downplaying your contribution, you did a lot for me,”
You just smile as a response, and notice that Kei begins to look nervous again.
“You… watched the interview, right?”
“Yeah,”
“So… I definitely owe you 200 dollars, but on the ring part…”
“What about it?”
Even though you yourself are feeling a mixture of emotions – giddy, shy, and happy – and even begin to blush as Kei brings up the topic, you can’t help but tease your nervous looking best friend.
“You’ll only get it… if you become my girlfriend… so… wanna be my girlfriend?”
You giggles as he drops the question, feeling immensely happy.
“Why are you laughing? This is a serious question. I’m about to die from nervousness here. Hey, you, give me an answer. My nervousness is worse than before, you know? You make me more nervous than the fact that I need to win a marathon–”
You press your lips against Kei’s, muffling his remaining words. He freezes for a moment, before relaxing into the kiss and wraps his arm around your waist, pulling you closer to him. Kei was about to deepen the kiss when you break it, making him scrunch his face in disappointment before he rests his forehead against yours.
“I love you,”
He whispers while caressing your deep scarlet cheeks.
“I love you more,”
You confess, and small giggles escape from both your lips and Kei’s.
“This– this is the best day ever for me. Won a marathon, and got myself a girlfriend. Living my best dream, really,”
Kei tightly hugs you, burying his face in the crown of your hair while you bury your face on his chest. This is the best day for you too, you think – watching your best friend achieve his biggest dream and realizing that your love wasn’t one sided afterall.
Love is, indeed, the best remedy.
additional notes: thank you for reading until the end <3 can't wait for blue lock to come out!! give me more athlete! k pls!!
summary: you insist to learn your boyfriend's mother tongue, but he... somewhat reluctant to teach you.
pairing: nicholas wang x reader
genres & tropes: fluff, established relationship
word count: 887 words (excluding summary)
author's thoughts: I went to watch The Shadow's Edge and find Jun feverishly hot whenever he speaks mandarin... and I was like hey... you know who else speaks mandarin? yeah... wang yixiang.
“I want to learn Mandarin. Teach me Mandarin,”
You stand firmly in front of Nicholas, who’s scrolling on his phone while resting on the couch. Books clutched to your chest, lips pressed into a thin line and you put on the best serious face you have, to show determination. Nicholas looks up at you and chuckles, while putting his phone away.
“You come into my house, no greetings, and now demand me to teach you Mandarin? What next, you hold me hostage?”
“Nicol~”
You begin whining – you had been asking your boyfriend to teach you Mandarin, but he was somewhat… reluctant. He would let you know some words, which are kinda vague and basic, but it doesn’t satisfy you. You want to learn. You want to fully understand.
“Okay, baby. Why do you want to learn Mandarin?”
“Because I want to understand you,”
You replied while pouting. Nicholas always talks in Mandarin whenever he’s on the phone with his family and Taiwanese friends – sometimes he would laugh to tears while talking, and you feel a bit jealous (or more to fear of missing out, actually) as you can’t understand him. And when he does explain the joke, there’s a language barrier, so you don’t find it as funny as him.
“Wrong. You should never learn something for a man. You should learn because you want to,”
“Babyyyy,”
“Mhm, nope. Go home and fix your intention first,”
You huffed and began glaring at your boyfriend, but he’s unaffected by it – he picked up his phone and began to lean his back onto the stacked pillow, getting really comfortable on the couch.
You gritted your teeth.
Fine.
You put your things on the floor before you launch yourself on top of him, making Nicholas groan. You then hold his face firmly while glaring at him, trying to appear as scary as you can, but only earns a string of giggles from Nicholas as he finds you cute.
“Teach me!”
“Okay, okay. Wo ai ni. That’s your word for today,”
“That’s– That’s basic! I know wo ai ni, hell, everyone in the world knows what it is. I even know the difference between wo ai ni and wo xihuan ni,”
Nicholas’s eyebrows quirked up, finding your words interesting.
“Really? What’s the difference?”
He asks while adjusting both of your positions so you wouldn’t easily fall, and the two of you can fit and be comfortable on the couch.
“Well, wo ai ni means I love you, while wo xihuan ni means I like you. But people don’t really use wo ai ni since it’s more… meaningful? Like Shakespeare's level of confession? So everyone just use wo xihuan ni to express themselves,”
“Then, which one would you use? To me,”
“Wo xihuan ni,”
You proudly say – you went into a reddit rabbithole to study the difference (you were bothered that the main lead in the c-drama you’re watching uses wo xihuan ni instead of wo ai ni). Nicholas’s lips curled into a soft smile while he gently cups your cheeks, and you think, finally, you had impressed your boyfriend and he would be teaching you Mandarin.
“That’s too bad. I would use wo ai ni though,”
Your eyes grow wide and you can feel your heart beat begin to pound against your chest.
“B-But, it’s–”
“I know. I’m a Mandarin native speaker, love,”
Nicholas drops a kiss on your lips, flustering you further – wo ai ni, wo ai ni is used between the married couple, your mind rings. Wo ai ni is used when the love runs deeply.
Nicholas loves you deeply.
“Red looks really good on you, baby,”
Nicholas said while giggling as he pressed his forehead against you, teasing your blushing state. Your lips tremble as you find words to retaliate, but your haywired brain can’t process anything, so you lightly punch him on his shoulder instead. Your actions caused Nicholas to giggle further, before he kissed your forehead.
“I’ll teach you, love. But not now,”
Your body limps in defeat and pout forms on your lips again.
“Why?”
“Just because it’s fun to rile you up like this,”
Nicholas replies while caressing your hair, and you grits your teeth before letting out the loudest ‘humph!’, sulking over your boyfriend.
“I’ll buy you chocolates and flowers,”
“Not gonna work,”
“Really? Then I’ll have to pull out my hidden card then,”
“That’s not going to work too,”
“You sure? My hidden card is that I already bought tickets to the concert you want to go,”
Your eyes widened – how did he get those tickets? It was sold out, and both of you were doing ticketing at the same time.
“You’re lying,”
“No, baby. Fuma got us the tickets. Experienced gamers really have a knack and luck in buying tickets,”
“I love you!”
You said while hugging Nicholas tightly, and Nicholas giggled over how quick you switched sides.
“I love you too,”
He confesses, and drops another kiss on the crown of your head. It’s not like he doesn’t want to teach you, but you tend to be very witty, so if you overheard his conversation, you might able to piece the puzzles together, and he can’t let you do that.
He can’t let you know about his plan to bring you home.
Oh, and his plan on marrying you too.
additional notes: I did go into a rabbit hole on reddit to know the differences between wo ai ni and wo xihuan ni... I might be wrong still so take this fic with a grain of salt! thank you for reading until the end <3
