Kriii ༊*·˚

The first time you noticed him, it wasn't because he was handsome.

Well, maybe just a little bit.

But the main point was that he was predictable.

The last bus always arrived around 10:50 p.m. It would smell faintly of gasoline and the convenience store coffee everyone carried but never seemed to finish.

Every night without fail, he climbed aboard first.

Same oversized hoodie.

Same headphones hanging around his neck.

Same seat, third row from the back, window side.

You started taking the last bus because your shifts at the bookstore kept ending late at night.

At first he was just another familiar face.

And then familiar became expected.

You never learned his name and simply knew him as the guy with the Snoopy keychain which you secretly wanted to steal.

It hung from the zipper of his backpack. A tiny Snoopy looking up along with a heart. The paint chipped around the ears from years of being bumped against various places.

It bounced whenever the bus lurched with a slight jingle sound.

You found yourself watching it more than him. No matter how handsome someone's face may be, they are no match for Snoopy.

Sometimes you'd wonder where he'd gotten it and why does he carry it around so religiously. You'd imagine he'd won it from an arcade or that someone had given it to him.

Eventually your routine settled into something oddly comfortable where he'd board first and you'd board second.

He'd glance up just long enough to acknowledge your existence without a sound. His face would just show it in a silent way like he was saying 'Oh. You're here again.'

You'd take the seat beside him if it was empty but if someone else had claimed it, you'd sit across the aisle.

The city looked different after midnight.

Traffic lights changed for nobody as only a few vehicles were on the road.

Laundry swayed from apartment balconies and convenience stores glowed like tiny aquariums.

The bus windows reflected your faces and you'd end up staring at yourself, thinking about the things that happened throughout the day.

Sometimes the driver left the radio on low which played old songs through the speakers and occasionally interrupted by static.

Neither of you spoke as there wasn't any pressure to do so.

The silence which surrounded was shared with mutual understanding.

One rainy Thursday, the bus hit a pothole and your tote bag tipped over causing the pens and books to scatter across the floor. One of the notebooks slid near his shoes.

Before you could apologise, he bent down and helped you pick everything up.

The first time you heard his voice was when he handed you the notebook back.

"Here."

It was quieter than you expected.

"Thanks."

That was all but somehow it felt like progress.

The next night, you noticed something new. The Snoopy keychain had been joined by a tiny yellow bird.

Woodstock.

You couldn't stop yourself and ended up speaking whatever was in your head.

"He got a friend."

His eyes went from a confused stare towards you, then down to the zipper of the bag, and then back at you.

"Huh?"

"Snoopy."

He looked at the keychain again.

"Oh."

He didn't take his eyes off of it.

"My sister mailed me Woodstock."

You smiled thinking how cute it was. His sister must truly care for him. And you couldn’t help but think how sweet and quiet his voice sounds.

"I was wondering where he came from." You admitted without realising what you just said.

He stared at you for a few seconds and then, a small smile.

"You've been thinking about my keychain?"

Your face was starting to feel warm.

"Maybe."

"That's kind of funny."

Ever since that day, conversations happened accidentally between the two of you. Not every night but just enough.

"The vending machine at the station finally works."

"It wasn't working before?"

"For like, three weeks I guess."

"Oh."

──── ୨୧ ────

"That bakery closed."

"Really?"

"You look disappointed."

"I liked their melon bread."

──── ୨୧ ────

"You missed your stop?"

"I was reading."

"You've done it twice now."

"Don't tell anyone."

"I'll keep your secret."

──── ୨୧ ────

Eventually you learned his name because the driver called him out.

"Keonho! You forgot your umbrella!"

He turned around halfway down the steps.

"Thanks!"

When he climbed back aboard to grab it, you looked up from your book.

"Keonho."

A small pause between the two of you.

"Yeah?"

"I finally know your name."

"Guess you do."

"You were just 'Snoopy guy' before."

He laughed and this time it was an actual laugh.

"Honestly, sounds better than my own name."

The next night, something landed on your lap while you were in middle of reading your book.

A tiny acrylic charm of Woodstock, matching his.

He was sitting in his usual window seat and you were beside him as you looked at him.

"What's this?"

"So Snoopy isn't lonely."

"But didn’t your sister gift you this?"

"Don't worry. I already told her I'd be giving it to someone. If anything, she seemed happy because of that."

"How come you don't just carry Woodstock with you all the time too?"

"I didn't want too many charms on my bag, otherwise creeps like you would keep staring at it."

"Why are you throwing shade at me so casually?" You laughed.

"Just accept it already."

"Still, you definitely didn't have to."

"I know."

"..."

"..."

"Thanks."

He shrugged like it wasn't a big deal, then looked back out the window before you could see him smiling.

The bus became less about getting home and more about the twenty eight minutes you two shared in either a small talk or in silence.

Sometimes you'd both be scrolling through your phones.

Sometimes you'd read and he'd be watching mukbang videos on youtube.

Sometimes you'd just watch the rain race down the glass and he'd be watching you. Those were the days where he lost his window seat to you, perhaps deliberately.

The silence had changed slightly. It was still there, but much warmer now.

It was the silence of people who knew they'd be there tomorrow.

Keonho looked at your bag as your Woodstock charm swung gently from the zipper.

One night, the bus arrived nearly empty and only the two of you sat near the back. Outside, the city was shining in orange and white.

"Still got him."

You looked down at the little trinket.

"Of course."

He nodded his head and looked to the front.

"Good."

You smiled looking out the window.

"So Snoopy isn't lonely."

For a moment, neither of you looked at each other. You didn't need to.

The reflection in the bus window showed two people sitting shoulder to shoulder beneath the fluorescent lights, watching the city silently. Sometimes you'd find his eyes diverting towards you in the reflection and he'd never realise it. You smiled slightly into your hands everytime you caught him looking.

And somehow the ride home had stopped feeling like the end of the day as it had quietly become something that both of you looked forward to most.

a/n : seeing everyone love the sean fic, you know i just had to do a keonho ver 🙈 i've been thinking of keonho and snoopy for so long and finally i made it🙏 might do juhoon next since he still ain't on my master list yet🫣 i hope this was a fun read for yall😭 it's 1 am and genuinely these are the only times i am free enough to write these days💔 should i lowkey just sneak my tab into class and write from there ? 😂 (most likely not) thinking of making a perm taglist???what are yalls opinion??(idk how to make one tbh)

It was finally the day of the talent show. Cortis and you were backstage doing one final practice of Magnetic before getting on stage. 

“You didn’t really have to send me a candy cane. I was just kidding.” Martin said in between, his ears were slightly turning red. You just assumed it was due to the heat.

“Well, you’ve been so nice to me.” You replied giving a fake smile. 

As the last practice ended, everyone started fixing their hair and makeup. You watched intently as Martin struggled with his hair.

Keonho walks up to you as you are putting on some final touches. 

“It just seems weird to me. I mean no offence-”

‘Something else I’ve learnt in Cortis World, when they start a sentence with no offence, they’re about to offend you.’

“but why would he send you a candy cane? He doesn’t even like you that much.”

‘See what I mean.’

Everyone stood in position behind the curtains on the stage.

Everything was going fine until Martin ruined everyone's peace again.

“Keonho, switch sides.” He said not even acknowledging Keonho.

Martin was at the end of the line and by switching Keonho, you'll end up standing next to him.

“What? But I'm always on your left.” He fought back.

“And right now you're getting on my last nerve. Switch.”

Everyone looked nervous. The whole routine was going to be ruined by this last minute change but no one could oppose Martin either.

When the curtains finally pull up, you stare at everyone in front of you. Something inside you was screaming to get off the stage but it was too late, the music started and everyone danced immediately with muscle memory. You were a beat behind but caught up just in time.

Everything was going fine for a while. Seonghyeon and Keonho were totally in sync, Keonho doing better than Seonghyeon at times though. James locked in like he created the choreography himself. Juhoon and Martin were doing well too. And then there was you that stuck out like a sore thumb.

That's what you thought at least. 

Perhaps the others didn't think so?

But of course, peace was something that never stayed too long with Cortis. After Martin changed the whole line up, Keonho and you have been having troubles trying to adjust to everything. One mistake was all it took to bring the whole group down.

One wrong step.

And everyone was shuffling around trying to fix the mistake.

Seonghyeon ended up accidentally kicking the speaker off the stage.

It was ruined, all of it.

There was no music.

But for some reason everyone continued to dance and you just followed them not knowing what to do.

Until, someone in the crowd started singing. 

Wonhee.

You knew you could always count on her.

Hearing her, the entire audience followed and sang along as you guys continued to dance. 

Instead of an angry Martin, you saw him smile.

You loved it when he smiled.

‘Wait what? You loved it when he smiled? Martin, the school bully?’

No.

No.

No.

You didn't. 

You were in strong denial.

You couldn't face him anymore and looked down at the stage only to find pieces of his hair which were slowly falling off from his head, lying on the ground.

There was a part of him everywhere no matter where you looked.

You weren't sure whether to laugh at what you saw or feel guilty.

After the performance came to an end, everyone got off the stage gleefully. 

“That was the best performance we've ever done so far.”

“Did you see how everyone joined in?”

“The only good thing Sean has done so far.”

“We should totally get drunk at Martin's place after this.”

Everyone was busy talking to each other. Meanwhile you still felt like an outsider.

You look around for someone you know and spot Ohyul walking up to you.

“Hey.” He was casual with it as he approached. 

“Hey”

“Hey.” A third evil ‘hey’ popped up from behind you and of course it was Martin. 

“Great job out there.”

“Thanks.” You replied.

You tried enjoying your moment with Ohyul but it was really hard with Martin right behind you with the evil eye.

During English class, you watched Keonho unravel his emotions in front of everyone.

“Why should Caesar get to stomp around like a giant, while the rest of us try not to get smushed under his big feet? What’s so great about Caesar? Hmm? Brutus is just as cute as Caesar. Brutus is just as smart as Caesar. People totally like Brutus just as much as they like Caesar. And when did it become okay for one person to be the boss of everybody, huh? Because that’s not what Rome is about. We should totally just stab Caesar!”

‘Ahn Keonho had cracked.’

Keonho and you were in the nurse’s office after he pretended to have a severe headache.

“I mean, if you even knew how mean he really is. You know I’m not allowed to wear shoelaces as belts anymore right?” His eyes were glistening with tears.

“He told me two years ago that shoelace belts were ‘his thing’ and I wasn’t allowed to wear them anymore. And then my parents got a pair of really expensive blue shoes and I couldn’t use the laces as a belt and ended up actually using it for the shoe.”

‘He was just as dumb as James.’ You thought to yourself. 

“And you know, he still cheats on Ohyul by shit-talking him to other people at the auditorium. He even threatened Moka by saying he’d tell everyone she runs the school gossip page on twitter and get her boyfriend to dump her just cause she called him bald. And I never told anybody this cause am such a good friend!”

Chapter 10, Chapter 12

taglist : @thelovethatilove @decadentcollectionpersona @aphantassia @seonghwaswifeuuuu @meeoowchi @mkissed @secretstuti @joyuuma @angelgivethemhell @rosietyty @tinybitofhope @jjellyouss @kpopsmutty69 @pinkfluffyunicorn08 @sunoosun00

As someone who survived a devastating earthquake in 2016, which left me with severe PTSD at the age of 12, I know a little of what so many people there are experiencing right now. I know what it's like to jump at every vibration, to be terrified of sleeping indoors, to wait for the next aftershock, and to feel like the ground beneath you can never truly be trusted again, and to desperatly wait for your family members to walk through that door alive. What happened in Venezuela isn't "just another earthquake." On June 24, the country was struck by two extremely powerful earthquakes, a magnitude 7.2 followed just seconds later by a magnitude 7.5. That second quake hit before many people had even processed the first, causing catastrophic damage across northern Venezuela, especially in La Guaira and parts of Caracas. Rescue teams are still searching through collapsed buildings, and the number of victims continues to rise as more people are found. My heart especially aches for the children, because disasters don't only destroy buildings, they leave families separated, people displaced, and children at a much greater risk of exploitation and trafficking. In moments like these, fear and desperation become opportunities for predators, which is why protecting vulnerable people must be just as important as rescue efforts. The picture below you is an actual child/people trafficking disguised as online shop, please take a look at it:

To everyone in Venezuela: your grief is seen, and your fear is valid. And to those who are spending another night outside because they're too afraid to go back into their homes, I hope you know that people around the world are thinking of you. If you've never experienced an earthquake before, please don't tell survivors to "just calm down." Trauma doesn't disappear once the shaking stops, sometimes the hardest part begins afterward. Here are some links that I've seen so far to help.

Caritas Venezuela (LINK HERE): Known as the helping hand of the Church that reaches out to the poor, the vulnerable, and the marginalized, regardless of race or religion, to build a world founded on justice and brotherly love.

Diviendo Voluntariado (LINK HERE): A civil association that brings together efforts from the private sector and adds value to corporate social responsibility initiatives, in partnership with social development organizations, authorities, agencies, and communities, with the aim of promoting actions that improve the quality of life for people in Venezuela.

Yummy Rides Donations (LINK HERE): A ride-sharing mobile app that operates primarily in Venezuela, designed to book safe and affordable rides by car or motorcycle that joined the cause.

Help find their mascosts: TWITTER POST HERE

THIS WEBPAGE was created by a Venezuelan with certified channels to help (donating, voluntaring, look for people, food and clothes.)

GOOGLE DOCS with links as well in both languages SPA/ENG

CURRENT TWITTER POSTS THAT UPDATE LINKS TO HELP VENEZUELA (will update this everytime i get):

POST #1

POST #2