star

you know you sound crazy, but it’s not like it was completely one-sided. eunseok hates not being the smartest in the room.

he worked his ass off to learn english, leave korea, and get a scholarship at your university. there’s no way he was going to settle for mediocrity.

and of course he noticed how intensely you glared at him when he answered a question you were dying to answer.

just like you noticed how annoyed he was when you would mention getting a slightly higher grade than him on a paper.

you were both in the same major which meant you had a lot of overlapping courses, and unfortunately for your professors and classmates, you almost always ended up in the same class.

for the most part you tried to ignore eunseok outside of class. sure he was the bane of your existence for the hour and a half lecture on roman architecture, but outside that he was none of your concern.

eunseok on the other hand found himself thinking of you quite often. it’s not like he always disliked you. in fact, he found your passion for history admirable, and he thought your dedication to your coursework was cute.

but when you began treating him coldly and sending him glares from across the room, he was quick to react in the same way.

eunseok isn’t stupid, he knows why you dislike him, and that if he was less of an overachiever, you’d maybe warm up to him. but he’s not going to jeopardize his grades and hard work to please some girl… no matter how much he’d like to get to know said girl.

you’d be lying if you said you didn’t find him attractive, but there isn’t a soul on this earth that could waterboard that information out of you.

to put it simply, you can’t stand each other.

but right now that doesn’t matter. nothing matters. because you’re going on a trip set up by the history department to riize castle in england.

it might just be another old site to everyone else, but it's your absolute favorite castle. you know the entire history of the building, you've studied the floor plans an embarrassing amount of times, and have spent most of your childhood yearning to go there, and that dream is finally coming true.

and not even eunseok could ruin it for you... or so you thought.

your flight was set for 3 am, and while the other students were groggily arriving at the airport one by one, annoyed at both the timing and the expenses they'd have to cover for the trip, you were elated.

that is until you received your boarding passes and found out you would be spending the entirety of the 10-hour flight from california to england seated next to the one person you abhor.

maybe he's less insufferable outside of class, you thought to yourself.

after your group boarded you sat down next to him and the two of you continued to sit in awkward silence until takeoff. but once the plane began moving, you noticed eunseok starting to shuffle around and breathe heavier.

"are you alright?" you asked, glancing at his trembling hands gripping onto the armrest. "yes." he responded immediately.

"don't you go back to korea every school break, how are you scared of flying-" before you could finish your sentence, eunseok grabbed your hand, squeezing it tightly.

you were about to interject but you realized the plane was beginning to ascend so he must've been frightened.

his hand was warm and soft, despite his trembling, the foreign feeling of his hand on yours was comfortable.

as soon as the plane was fully in the air, he let go of your hand as if nothing happened and picked out a book from his carry-on.

"um.. are you okay?" you questioned, confused at his sudden behavior change. "i get a bit nervous during takeoff and landings, i'm usually fine during the rest of the flight so you don't have to worry about me holding your hand for the next ten hours." he deadpanned.

"a bit? you were shaking like a leaf." you chortled. he rolled his eyes in response, going back to his book.

it was then that you realized you stupidly hadn't brought any entertainment with you for the trip, and your flight didn't have wi-fi either.

you decided the only thing you could do to remain sane in this situation is fall asleep, it was 3 in the morning after all.

leaning your head as far back as the stiff seats would allow, you closed your eyes and drifted off.

approximately five hours later, you woke up with a crick in your neck and an odd numbness on the side of your mouth. opening your eyes slowly, you were greeted with the site of eunseok's shirt directly beneath you with a large wet spot.

holy shit.

you fell asleep on eunseok's shoulder and drooled all over his shirt. if he didn't say anything this far he's probably going to the next 5 hours you're on this flight.

you haven't moved your head yet, scared that if you indicate you're awake, he's going to hold this against you until the end of time.

panicking, you accidentally jolted your stiff neck up, causing your chin to collide directly with eunseok's.

fuck. well there goes my cover.

"ow!" you both exclaimed in unison. "was drooling over me not enough? you had to break my jaw too?" he grumbled, rubbing his chin.

"you could've moved my head!" you defended, flustered. straightening yourself up, you wiped the side of your mouth awkwardly.

instead of responding, he grabbed a napkin from his bag and handed it to you.

"thank you." you said, taken aback.

why is he being so nice?

"i'm... sorry for ruining your shirt," you mumbled. "it's no big deal." he shrugged.

was this the same eunseok that commented "worst thing I've ever read." on your peer-graded essay?

maybe you could mend things with him during this trip. after all, he did seem pretty excited when the announcement was made.

"so... have you ever been to england before?" you began, initiating small-talk.

"can we just sit in silence?" he replied coldly.

nevermind, he's still just as much of an asshole as ever.

shit. why did I say that? eunseok thought to himself.

the truth is, you made him nervous. whether it was your icy stare or your intimidatingly vast knowledge on history, he could never let his guard down around you.

the rest of the flight was spent with the two of you refusing to so much as face each other until landing.

as the plane was about to descend, you noticed eunseok starting to take deep breaths. part of you wanted to extend a hand, but the other part of you wanted to throw him off the plane.

deciding to be the bigger person, you asked "are you alright?"

"I'm not a child." he croaked.

"I didn't say you were." you sassed.

"then stop talking to me like I am one." he began, growing more irritated.

the two of you began to go back and forth, and before you knew it you had landed. eunseok managed to forgot all about his fear because of how unbelievably petty the two of you were.

"will you guys shut up!?" a passenger behind you shouted, causing the both of you to stop arguing.

annoyed, you got out of your seat as quickly as you could and made a beeline for the baggage claim, waiting for your bags.

how do you keep getting forced into these kinds of situations with him? were you some kind of monster in your past life? was he your karma?

once you and the rest of your group received your luggage, you headed to the hotel. due to the time zone difference, it was already 9 pm in london so your group supervisors told everyone to get some sleep so you could head to the castle in the morning.

whether it was because of the nap you took on the plane, or simply how excited you were, you couldn't sleep at all.

staring at the clock reading 1 a.m. in your hotel room, you decided to try catching a glimpse of the castle before everyone else woke up at 7. it wasn't your brightest idea, but it's not like you had anything else to do.

you managed to get past your sleeping roommates, throwing on a jacket and slipping out the door. coincidentally, eunseok couldn't sleep either, and he decided to go for a walk around the hotel at the same moment you decided to leave.

spotting your figure leaving the hotel and heading off towards the street, he couldn't help but follow you.

was this extremely stalker-ish? yes. but what if she got hurt or kidnapped? we're in a different country after all. not like I care if she gets hurt or kidnapped... but if she did it would ruin our trip! so I have no choice but to follow her eunseok reasoned.

it didn't take long for him to figure out where you were going. the hotel is extremely close to the castle, after all. once you reached, you stared at the castle from afar, marveling at it.

you waited for this moment your whole life, and it was even more beautiful in person. there's no way you could turn back now. you have to see it closer.

carefully maneuvering past the gates, you managed to miraculously sneak in, and there didn't seem to be any security guards present.

what the hell is she doing? this is illegal!

what the hell am I doing? this is illegal!

you thought about turning back, but your curiosity was eating you up inside. you had to go see what the interior of the castle looked like.

thanks to your insanely intensive study of the building, you managed to find a secret opening that not many people knew of and you quickly slipped inside, hoping nobody would notice.

however, someone--that someone being eunseok--definitely did notice. and he mentally cursed himself for following you this far, wondering why he couldn't bring himself to turn back.

slipping through the opening, he entered a completely dark hallway, unsure of where you were.

you had dreamed of walking these corridors your whole life, and even without any light you were able to manuever around the halls.

unfortunately, eunseok couldn't say the same, and when he started walking, it didn't take long for him to bump into a stand of knight armor.

the loud crashing was enough to trigger an alarm system and turn on emergency lights, which exposed both eunseok and you to one another.

"what the hell are you doing here?" you shrieked "what the hell are YOU doing here?" he retorted.

you knew it wasn't long until authorities would arrive, so you grabbed eunseok and began running further into the castle.

"what are you doing? we need to leave!" he yelled.

"if we leave, they'll just catch us on our way out. we need to hide somewhere they won't look."

dragging him by the arm, you rushed into the old servant chambers, diving into the closet. well... what you thought was the closet.

what it actually was was a secret set of stairs that the two of you fell down, leading to a small room that you've never seen before.

impossible. i've watched every virtual tour, studied every reconstruction plan, read every primary source document... and i've never heard of this room.

"great. now we're stuck in a dark, cramped, dusty room in the middle of a castle that's going to be searched any second now and it's all your fault-" eunseok ranted, stopping midway when he saw you staring bewildered at the room.

"what's wrong with you?" he poked your shoulder.

"i... didn't know this room existed." you whispered.

"it's an old castle, I'm sure there's plenty of secret rooms everywhere... you think this is where the servants used to smash?"

"shhh" you urged him, hearing distant footsteps.

"what are we gonna do?" he sighed.

"let's just lay low until they leave. I doubt they'll look for us here. and don't touch ANYTHING. this room might be undiscovered and contain hundreds of year's worth of preserved artifacts-"

you were interrupted by eunseok toppling over a candle.

"EUNSEOK!" you whisper-shouted. "I'm trying to get some light in here." he defended.

fishing in his pocket, he pulled out a lighter before picking the candle off the floor and lighting it. once the room was illuminated, you could see your surroundings much better.

the room was stacked with cabinets and shelves containing miscellaneous items, it must've been used for storage. it seemed to have some personal items that belonged to servants.

you heard the footsteps start to get closer, and a voice appeared right outside the closet doors. looking to eunseok, you began panicking.

"blow the candle out! now!" you whispered.

eunseok blew out the candle and right as he did, the door creaked open.

shit.

shit.

"I know my rights!" eunseok yelled at the foreign figure coming closer.

"what are you talking about?" a woman's voice echoed throughout the room.

a middle-aged woman appeared with a candle in hand, dressed in a long cloth dress, similar to the ones maids would wear centuries ago.

"are you some kind of role-play tour guide? I didn't even know they did those tours this late into the night." he asked, confused.

"what? why is he speaking like that? and why are you two alone in here? and what happened to your clothes?" the woman interrogated.

the both of you had messed up your clothes running through the castle and falling down the stairs. your shirt was ripped up and dusty and his jacket was covered in cobwebs.

"oh, I see. the two of you are following eleanor and harold's example and fooling around in here! how many times must I tell you kids not to fornicate in the storage closet! go back upstairs and fulfill your duties." she reprimanded the two of you.

"told you they fucked in here." eunseok whispered to you.

you shoved him in the arm before responding "ma'am I appreciate your dedication to your job, but can you just tell us if you're going to turn us into the cops or not?"

"what are the... cops?" she exaggerated. you fought the urge to roll your eyes. you might be obsessed with history, but at least you can accept the fact that you live in the present.

"let's just leave." you turned to eunseok. "and get arrested? absolutely not." he crossed his arms.

"who is getting arrested?" the woman gasped. "you know damn well who, lady." he scoffed.

"lady?! I'm simply a chambermaid! have you hit your head?" she exclaimed.

"you know what, you're right. I'd rather get arrested than deal with this crap any longer." he sighed as the two of you began making your way up the stairs.

when you reached the top, you noticed the decor had changed drastically and the windows were letting in sunlight. wasn't it just 1 in the morning?

men and women dressed in modest, cloth clothing were running in and out of the halls and rooms.

"y/n... what's going on?" eunseok tugged at your dirty shirt. "it must be some kind of role-play experience? I'm not sure... how long were we in there?"

"you two must change out of your soiled garments!" the elder woman said, handing you a long dress and eunseok a matching set.

"wait! what's your name, and what's going on?" you sputtered, just as the woman was about to walk away.

"now I'm sure you've hit your heads. I'm agatha, head chambermaid and in one week from now is the duel of knights. we are hosting for the first spell in a decade and tis in a week. now get up and get to work!" agatha demanded.

dumbfounded, you and eunseok simply stared at the clothes she handed you. "let's just go along with it. maybe we can pretend we're a part of whatever this is and avoid getting in trouble." you urged.

"what about the rest? won't they notice we're gone?" he worried. "let's just focus on getting out of here."

he nodded in response and the two of you rushed to find a place to change into your clothes. once you were changed, you walked out and led eunseok back to the secret entrance.

to your surprise, the parking lot that was once set up in front of the castle had been replaced with a moat. a large moat at that. with a ginormous drawbridge leading to a dirt path. the city looked different as well, with the cars being replaced with horse carriages and once large, gray buildings now appearing much smaller and made of stone and wood.

"is there some city-wide renaissance fair happening? are we getting pranked? where's the cameras?" eunseok whipped his head around, waiting to see john quinones pop up at any second.

"is this a dream? did i go unconscious during the fall down the stairs? quick, y/n! pinch me."

you did so eagerly.

"ow! what the hell? I didn't mean literally." he complained, rubbing his arm.

"will you shut up? i need to find out what's going on." you huffed. pulling out your phone, you saw that there was no signal or wi-fi network available nearby. "that's weird, I swore the website said the castle had guest wi-fi." you muttered.

"i have an international data plan, let me try," eunseok whipped out his phone, only to find there was no signal on his device either.

"do you think... maybe, we're actually back in the medieval times?" you shuddered.

eunseok never laughed louder in his life.

"yes, y/n. we time traveled like we're in back to the future! should I call you marty? or do you want to be the old scientist?" he cackled.

"his name is doc brown. and I'm being serious," you began, "how else would all these buildings change overnight, and why else would all these people be wearing clothes from a different time period. look around: there's not a phone, car, or even pavement road in sight. there's no way we were in the castle long enough for them to make all those changes either."

"let's just talk to an actual sane person here and I'm sure they'll explain everything." he assured.

just then, a young woman wearing a silk blue gown walked past, surrounded by two men in armor.

"excuse me, miss. sorry to interrupt your little role-play party but my friend and i were wondering if we could use your phone to make a quick call." eunseok asked.

one of the men rushed forward, "halt! how dare thee speak so freely to her highness, the crown princess."

eunseok rolled his eyes, "i'm not hitting on your chick, dude, i just want to use a phone."

the armor-clad man suddenly put his sword up to eunseok's neck. "what the hell?" eunseok exclaimed.

"release him! who are you sir and why doth thee use such... peculiar language?" the princess implored.

"you people are psychos. no way you're taking this shit so seriously." eunseok grumbled, rubbing his neck after the guard let him go.

"answer her highness!" the other guard insisted.

"we are travelers, here to observe the duel of knights! I must apologize for my companion, he is delirious from traveling all day." you interjected, grabbing eunseok and beginning to walk away.

"wait! your companion is… quite handsome. and his odd way of speaking is rather charming. i wish for him to compete for my hand during the duel!" the princess chirped.

"yeah right, you're crazy if you think I'm gonna-" eunseok was interrupted by your hand slapping over his mouth.

"whatever you wish, your highness." you responded, bowing curtly.

"wondrous! I would also like to invite thee to stay at my manor. surely a handsome man like you is a person of importance." she batted her lashes at him.

"no thanks weirdo-"

"we would love to! we thank you kindly for the offer your highness!" you interrupted eunseok again.

"oh I must have misspoke. I did not invite your mistress, only you." she spoke, shooting daggers at you.

"mistress?!" you gasped which made eunseok send you a shit-eating grin.

"actually, I would prefer my mistress stays with me, if that's alright 'your highness'" eunseok mocked.

the princess rolled her eyes and agreed reluctantly. once the princess and her guards were out of sight, you turned to eunseok. "see how those men didn't hesitate to hurt you? we're clearly in a different place!"

"yeah, a place where people have lost their minds." he scoffed.

"and her dress! it was real silk and embroidered with gold! I doubt a cosplayer has enough money to pull that off, especially in this economy." you tried convincing him.

"fine. lets say we really time-traveled to the 14th century and the princess wants me to join a little duel for her hand. does that mean...

... that i'm hot by both modern and medieval standards?"

you may not like eunseok, but he is quite attractive. it's no wonder his looks attracted the affections of a princess.

"eunseok! will you take this seriously? she wants you to participate in the duel of knights for her, do you understand how dangerous that is?" you practically screamed at him.

"yeah yeah the duel of knights is a fight to the death between the most skilled swordsmen of a kingdom for the right to court noblewomen and the princess. i know it may be hard for you to believe but i passed our medieval history class y/n." he quipped.

"and you realize you will be fighting those men to the death, right?" you asked.

"sure, i'll fight a bunch of history nerds in party city costumes." he chuckled.

you grabbed him by the arm and began pulling him in the direction of the city center… or what used to be the city center and now looked like a town square.

"we really need to talk- about boundaries because you-hey! can't keep dragging me around like a ragdoll-" he struggled as you continued tugging him into the busy streets.

"i'll stop when you quit being so stubborn. i'm gonna show you just how real this is." you stormed.

by the time you reached the city you were greeted with a sign that read 'SM's southern district' in big letters and below it in a smaller font was inscribed 'taverns, traders, and shops'.

perfect.

the two of you went inside a tailor's shop since you deduced that if you were going to pretend to be people important to stay at the castle, you should dress the part.

as soon as you stepped inside, the tailor called out "good morrow strangers, thou must be travelers from far hence."

"why yes, and we were-" you started before the tailor cut you off, "is there anything I may help you with, good sir?" he ignored you for eunseok.

you forgot that as fun as the medieval period was to learn about, it was hell to live through as a woman.

trying to bite your tongue, you waited for eunseok to respond.

"yeah, can we get some fancy clothes?" he asked nonchalantly.

you sent him a glare as the shopkeeper stared at him puzzled, "I'm afraid I do not understand your way of speaking."

"what he means to ask is if we may purchase some refined garments?" you asked, clearing your throat, only for the tailor to continue to ignore you.

sighing, eunseok repeated, "may we purchase some refined garments?" the tailor's head snapped up and he grinned, "of course, good sir! for the lady as well?"

"yes." you stated through gritted teeth. no response. "yes." eunseok repeated once again, to which the tailor nodded.

as the tailor went off to find some clothing for the two of you, you turned to eunseok, "I thought you were a history buff, how do you not know how to speak to these people?" you interrogated.

"first of all, i specialize in east asian history. second, I didn't think I'd ever actually have to rely on my shakespeare lessons from high school."

the tailor came back rather quickly with suits for eunseok and a few uncomfortable-looking but beautiful dresses for you. at least they didn't wear many corsets in medieval england.

"I shall fit them to the both of your measurements and you will be able to pick them up in a few days time. services included, the charge will be 30 pounds, good sir." the man said, awaiting eagerly for eunseok to pay.

"right... one second, good sir?" eunseok hesitated awkwardly, turning to you "you don't have any money, do you?"

"my wallet should be in my pocket... shit I left it when we changed our clothes in the castle. ask him if we can pay him when we come back to grab our clothes." you urged eunseok.

"how the hell do I say that?" he panicked. "just try your best!" you whisper-shouted.

turning back to the tailor, eunseok sputtered out "may we pay... in a few day's time... perchance?"

the shopkeeper looked confused before laughing, "doth thee wish to pay at which hour you come to pick up the garments?"

eunseok nodded vigorously which was enough to communicate the message across to the tailor.

once you left the shop, eunseok breathed a sigh of relief "okay, I believe you. we time-traveled, nothing makes sense, and I'll do anything to get back to the 2020s."

"let's head back to castle, grab my wallet, and we'll figure out what to do from there. we already have a place to stay anyway." you declared.

"if you weren't... yourself, I'd find it hot how calm and collected you are about this," he admitted. you shot him an annoyed look.

"sorry I don't know how to regulate my emotions... or my thoughts... or words. we traveled back in time. we're marty and the doctor guy." eunseok began rambling.

"it's doc brown. and calm down." you grasped his shoulders. "we're going to get out of here, because i need electric plumbing and I refuse to die of syphilis. but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy our time here. you and I both love history right? well now we get to experience it ourselves!" you exclaimed.

there's that look in her eye, the one she always gets when she's talking about history. I could stare at her forever... what the hell am I thinking? it's been a long day and I should get some rest.

you noticed eunseok spacing out while looking at you so you shook his shoulders a bit which jolted him awake, "so what do you say?"

"fine. let's experience your nerdy little medieval fantasy. but, we find out how to get out of here as soon as possible in the meantime." he agreed.

as you guys made your way back to castle, you were stopped by guards in front of the moat. "who art thee and what business doth thy have at riize castle?" a guard barked.

"we were personally invited by her majesty the princess to stay at the castle until the duel of knights." you reported. you saw the guard contemplating a bit before giving the other guards the signal to let you in.

breathing a sigh of relief, you headed towards the castle doors. after a few steps you realized eunseok hadn't moved from his spot.

"what are you doing? let's go back inside!" you scolded him. he looked completely pale and visibly shaken as he started towards you, "y/n. if we're really in medieval times... does that mean I have to fight during the duel of knights?" he fretted.

"i can't die yet. i haven't gotten cross-faded yet! do they even have weed here? I told myself once I leave korea I'd try it but what if I don't even get to experience that-" he began rambling once again.

you grabbed onto his hand, similar to how you did in the plane before trying to calm him down, "you won't die, because you won't fight anybody. we'll find a way to get back to our time before then, it's in a week so we have plenty of time. and you can always just try getting out of it by asking the princess!" you assured.

"you're right!" he exclaimed, squeezing your hand and pulling you into a hug. by the time you processed what was happening, you felt butterflies in your stomach.

that can't be right. butterflies... over eunseok? maybe I'm just touch-starved.

he pulled away rather quickly though, awkwardly trying to move past you to rush into the castle gates as if it would somehow undo his action.

fuck. did I make things awkward? did I kind of like the hug? wait-why do I care? we're just classmates who time-traveled together, nothing more and nothing less.

you followed after him until you reach the room you stumbled out of a few hours prior. digging through the pile of your old clothes, you were able to find your wallet.

fortunately, you exchanged some of your dollars for pounds at the airport. unfortunately, modern-day pounds look nothing like the ones they used in the 14th century.

"I don't think he'll even take these." you sighed, waving around the colorful bills with queen elizabeth's face stamped on them.

"we'll just say it's currency from... wherever we're from." he shrugged.

"and where's that?"

"uhhhh... america?"

"europeans haven't even heard of america yet." you rolled your eyes.

"which is why it'll work perfectly, they'll think it's some secluded, far away town." eunseok reasoned.

you don't know if it was eunseok's annoying presence or the lack of sleep you've had in the last 24 hours, but you felt a migraine coming on. massaging your temples, you decided you should take a nap before you try to find a way back to the future.

"let's get some rest, we can worry about everything else later." you yawned.

"where are we gonna sleep? the princess didn't even tell us which room we'd be staying in." he remarked.

"maybe we could ask agatha." you figured, walking towards the center hall.

"stop wandering off! we could get lost, this place is huge." eunseok argued.

"we won't. I know this place like the back of my hand." you assured.

"nerd." he commented, under his breath. for the sake of your sanity, you pretended you didn't hear anything.

with all the people rushing around the castle corridors it was nearly impossible to pinpoint agatha, and you ended up walking headfirst into the chest of a tall, handsome man wearing a padded shirt, usually worn by knights underneath their armor.

the man was slightly sweaty and holding a leather-wrapped sword in his hand, he must've been a knight coming back from training.

"art thou alright, madam?" the man asked. i am now.

eunseok let out a loud cough behind you, "she's fine. let's go, y/n."

"doth thou not recognize me? perhaps the two of you are not from here." the man reasoned.

"we're travelers, from... america." you hesitated.

"america? where is that?" the man questioned.

"tis a small town up north." you stated, trying to sound as sure of yourself as possible.

"makes sense." the man nodded "what business do you have in my castle. i've never seen you around, and I reckon I would remember a face as enchanting as yours."

am i getting hit on by a hot knight? maybe staying here isn't such a bad idea after all.

"your castle?" eunseok replied.

"yes. i am the crown prince, anton. now remind me again what you're doing in my castle?" anton asked.

"the crown princess invited us, my... brother here is to compete in the duel of knights." you quickly added.

"brother? I thought you were supposed to be my mistress-" eunseok started before you cut him off.

"do you know where the princess may be? she hasn't yet told us in which room we shall be staying." you asked the prince.

"ah, forgive my sister for she is very easily overexcited. I doubt she put much thought into housing you two as guests. I'd usually turn two strangers away, but you're an exception," he stared at you intently, "i'll arrange a room for the two of you shortly. in the meantime, would you care to join my family and I for dinner? it's the least we can do as hosts for you as you've traveled so far."

"we'd love to!" you exclaimed. "wondrous! I shall see you in two hours for dinner. the maids will help you to get ready." he smiled, kissing your hand before he walked away. you felt your cheeks heating up as you waved him goodbye.

"I thought you were tired. now you wanna have dinner with the royal family?" eunseok grumbled.

"eunseok, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. eating dinner in a castle with medieval royalty! how many people can say they've done that?" you beamed.

eunseok held back a smile as you gushed about the opportunity. why is she so cute today?

in a matter of minutes, a young woman approached the two of you, ushering you into a room.

"...here is the closet, and finally, the washroom. I shall give the two of you your privacy now." the woman bowed her head before exiting quickly.

"that was a quick tour." eunseok joked. "she must be busy preparing for the duel." you figured.

"ugh, don't remind me of the duel." he dramatically collapsed on the bed. "wait... is there only one bed?"

am I being lazy and using the one bed trope? guilty!

"I'm honestly too tired to care. scooch over." you shoved him to one side of the bed as you made yourself comfortable on the other. you wouldn't usually be so bold, but you were exhausted. after nearly getting arrested and getting stuck in the 14th century, you deserved a nap.

eunseok, on the other hand, was more wide awake than ever. he didn't want to look immature and get up the second you laid down, but he was even more nervous around you right now than usual.

looking over at your figure, he was shocked to see that you had already passed out. he couldn't hold back the small smile on his lips while watching you.

what the hell am I doing? I look like a creep. he thought, snapping himself out of his daze. deciding to wash up, he headed the the bathroom.

great. a large tub, a couple of buckets, and a hole in the ground. not a single source of running water in sight.

venturing out of the room, he tried calling one of the maids rushing past for some water but everyone seemed to be preoccupied.

annoyed, eunseok decided to try finding water himself. just because y/n's annoyingly obsessed with this castle and knows how to talk like these people, doesn't mean I'm completely lost without her.

after a few minutes of wandering around the castle, eunseok was completely lost.

unknowingly, he stumbled into the throne room while the princess was in the middle of receiving a lecture from her advisors.

"you mustn't invite complete strangers into the castle. do you understand how harmful that could be?" one of the advisors warned.

eunseok tried leaving as quietly as possible but it was to no avail as the princess spotted him almost immediately.

"you! traveler! what is your name?" she chirped, jumping up and heading towards him.

fuck.

"eunseok, your highness." he shared through gritted teeth.

"what an odd name! I suppose tis because thou are from a far away land. my brother told me you were from am-amiri? amera? what ever it's called." she rambled.

"i am princess giselle, and between you and i, you're my favorite contender for the duel of knights. oh how I hope you win and earn my hand." she gushed.

"i hope so too." he responded nervously.

"the prince told me the woman you were with is your sister, did you not refer to her as your mistress earlier... sir is your sister your mistress?" the princess gasped.

"umm, no! where I'm from we use the word mistress instead of sister. silly, isn't it?" he hesitated, holding his breath as he waited for giselle's reaction.

the princess burst into laughter, "how amusing! oh please don't die during the duel so you may make me laugh for the rest of my life." she cooed.

the hairs on the back of eunseok's neck stood up. even if he manages to survive the duel, he'll have to spend the rest of his life married to a loud-mouthed princess in a castle with no electricity.

I have to find a way to get out of this time.

"if you would excuse me, I should wake up my, er, sister for dinner!" eunseok mumbled, turning to walk away.

"nonsense! I'll have a servant do so. you may have the privilege of sitting with me until then." she assured.

"well, I was actually thinking of washing up before-"

"why would you need to wash up? you look perfectly clean." the princess interjected.

eunseok was anything but perfectly clean, but then again, that was by 21st century standards. in 14th century england, even royalty only bathed about once a month.

I can't believe it's gotten to this point, but I really wish y/n were here right now.

as princess giselle kept eunseok company, you were lightly shaken awake by a familiar figure: agatha. once you finally sat up, you heard her gasp.

"aren't you the servant from earlier? what are you doing in the guest bed?!" she shrilled.

"well... we're travelers invited by the princess. besides, it was you who assumed we were servants." you tried shifting the blame.

she put a hand above her heart, "goodness! that explains your odd clothing and speech. oh I apologize deeply. how can I make up for my terrible mistake?" she begged.

you felt bad seeing how apologetic agatha looked, but you remembered there was a favor you needed. "very well, then I demand full access to the storage room in the servant chambers." you declared.

agatha sent you a puzzling look, "what's so special about the storage room, my lady?"

well for starters, it's an opportunity for me to study a room never heard of by most historians. and a way for me to figure out how we got here, and hopefully, how to get home.

"i... liked it?" you said lamely. agatha simply nodded, "anything else?" she added.

"a piece of paper and a writing instrument, please."

"for your lord?"

right. most people, especially women, were illiterate during this time.

"um... yes!" you lied, not wanting to make yourself stand out anymore.

"I shall see to it." agatha dismissed herself.

as soon as she left the room, you collapsed back onto the bed. all you needed was some quality alone time-

the door burst open again, with a flock of servants pouring in. "we must prepare you for the dinner!"

for the next thirty minutes, you were stripped, clothed, had your hair done up in an elaborate hairstyle, and exposed to powders and cosmetics you were 99% sure were toxic. you almost didn't recognize yourself in the mirror, but you had to admit the dress was flattering and you might even copy the hairstyle when you get back to your time.

as annoying as it was, it was fascinating to experience everything you've read about in books up until now. the history nerd in you couldn't help but marvel at it all.

by the time you arrived at the dining room, you were greeted with the sight of eunseok sitting next to the princess, looking mildly irritated. you spotted an open seat next to the prince directly across eunseok and decided to sit there.

shooting the boy a small smile, you sat next to anton who immediately began talking to you.

eunseok took in your appearance, staring intensely at you.

she looks stupid... with her big hair, obnoxiously red lips, long gown, perfect smile-snap out of it!

"lord eunseok, why are you staring at your sister like that?" princess giselle asked loudly, catching your attention.

you turned your head quick enough to see eunseok staring at you with a look of... admiration? impossible.

he turned tomato red and cleared his throat, "I was... wondering what we'd be eating for dinner! I'm famished."

"once mother and father arrive, we may begin eating." prince anton assured. he turned to you, "tell me about your family, lady y/n. aside from your brother here, of course."

eunseok rolled his eyes. why's he so concerned with y/n? and why is this princess on my case?

after a few minutes of you and anton conversing and eunseok stealing glances of you while giselle talked his head off, the king and queen arrived.

you immediately got up and curtseyed to them, gesturing for eunseok to bow. "your majesty, tis my pleasure to dine with you." you resounded.

"my children have told me much about you. do tell me about this 'america'" the king mused.

the rest of the dinner consisted of you and eunseok making up ridiculous facts about america and your backgrounds. occasionally, you'd send each other knowing looks and have to stifle your laughs. it was the closest the two of you got to bonding this whole trip.

by the time the dinner came to a close, anton rose up slowly. "I wish to make an announcement." once he had everyone's attention, he continued, "I have completed my knight training this year, and I have father's word that I will be able to compete in the upcoming duel of knights."

"excuse me?" the queen cried out, "it is far too dangerous. and whose hand will you be competing for? your sister's?"

"of course not. I will be competing for lady y/n's hand."

"WHAT?" you and eunseok yelled in unison. "I understand this may come as a surprise to you, my sweet y/n, but I truly feel we have developed a connection."

we met two hours ago!!!

"NO!" you screamed, resulting in horrified looks on everyone else's face, "I mean... no, your highness. I could never expect you to put your life at risk for my hand, PLEASE reconsider." you begged.

"nonsense. the last ten knights left standing win the duel, and I am sure my son is capable of coming in tenth place at the very least." the king argued.

"charles, he is but a boy-" the queen began, angrily.

"he is twenty for christ's sake! I was even younger when I competed. there will no more discussion, anton will be competing for lady y/n's hand and lord eunseok will compete for giselle's." the king settled

fuck.

fuck.

"what the hell are we going to do?" eunseok panicked once the two of you were back in your room. "if we don't leave before next week, I'm going to die fighting for a girl I don't even want and you're going to get married to that guy!"

"you care about whether or not I get married to the prince?" you teased. "what? no, I- shut up." he deflected.

"relax. I got us unlimited access to the storage closet. whatever brought us here is in there, I know it. we'll look through it tomorrow and find out how to go home." you determined.

"and if we don't?" he gulped. "then we'll figure something out." you resolved, holding onto his shoulders. "we'll be alright, we have eachother." you smiled.

you couldn't explain why you were being so nice to the man you swore you hated just yesterday, but something about the vulnerability of your situation made you desperate to hold onto the only ally you have.

eunseok's heart rate increased in response to your words and close proximity, he couldn't help but stare at your lips. "they overdid it with the lipstick." he commented, mindlessly.

"it's a mixture of berries. and I know." you giggled.

before you could say anything else, eunseok began leaning in. his lips were on yours in a matter of seconds, and it felt completely natural.

your friends always joked that the two of you were just covering up sexual tension with the whole rivalry thing, and you're embarrassed to admit you may have fantasized about kissing eunseok before, but you never in a million years thought it would actually happen.

the kiss was slow yet passionate, there was an unprecedented amount of emotion in it, you felt like you were drowning in it.

eunseok was on cloud nine, it was better than any other kiss he's ever had. his hands wandered to hold your waist tightly as yours flew to his hair.

you don't know how long the kiss has lasted so far, but you know that you never want it to end.

except it does. when the prince and princess walk in on the two of you.

as soon as you heard princess giselle scream, the two of you pulled away, but it was too late. they had seen enough.

"you people are sick! I should have known it when you said you call your sisters your mistresses!" the princess cried out.

before she could say another word, you and eunseok dragged the siblings inside and shut the door. "what the hell are we going to do now?" eunseok frantically whispered to you.

"we have to come clean." you said, which eunseok shook his head 'no' to almost immediately.

"anton, giselle, we lied to you." you confessed while eunseok stayed silent.

"I knew it! there is no america. are you thieves? or spies? who sent you?!" giselle accused.

"there is an america, and we did come from there. but we came from a different america than the one that exists today... we're from the future." you shared.

it didn't take long for both siblings to burst into laughter. "the future? do you take us for fools?" anton choked out.

"it's true! eunseok, show them your phone." you insisted. he pulled out his phone and tapped the screen, causing it to illuminate.

"sorcerers!" giselle screeched.

"it's not sorcery, it's technology! it's made from various metals and allows you to communicate with people across large distances." you explained.

"sounds like sorcery to me." anton commented.

"y/n, you've spent years studying this stupid castle, don't you know anything about the residents? there has to be some information you have on the royal family that could convince them." eunseok looked to you.

"well I wasn't able to study much on these two because they both died young..." you said quietly.

"WHAT?" giselle screamed. "how dare you even suggest that?" anton stood up angrily.

"the records I read said you passed away during the duel of knights when you were 20 and that giselle was unable to take over the throne afterwards because she disappeared one night and was presumed dead... but some say she fell in love with a commoner and eloped with him." you shared.

this caused giselle to gasp loudly, "you... i... i believe them."

"how?" anton interjected, "she just said I'll die and you'll elope with a commoner. you show interest in every nobleman you come across and get over them in a matter of days. there's no way you'd fall in love with a common man and elope."

"I've been pretending to be boy-obsessed so nobody finds out that i..." giselle hesitated "i'm in love with mark."

"the stable boy?" anton cried out. "he always mentions the possibility of eloping but I never took it seriously-" she began.

"you two can sort out whatever's going on with mark later, can we go back to y/n and I time-traveling?" eunseok interrupted.

"how did you even end up here?" anton asked.

"in our time, your castle is a historical monument. eunseok and I managed to sneak in, but we were about to get caught so we hid in a storage room. when we emerged, we were transported to your time." you explained.

it took the siblings a while to process your story, but they agreed to help the two of you find a way to get back to your time. once everything was settled, anton asked to speak to you privately--which eunseok did not like.

"I'm sorry for lying, anton, I was just trying to avoid getting in trouble." you apologized, breaking the awkward silence.

"I understand. I've been meaning to ask about you and eunseok. are the two of you...?" he began.

"I don't know what we are. this whole day has been confusing for the both of us." you answered honestly.

"right." he replied, sadly. "well, I wanted to ask you specifically about my death. does the future really say I die in the upcoming duel?"

"i'm sorry anton... i know how excited you are for it."

"excited? i'm dreading it." he chuckled dryly. "i've only ever shown interest in being a knight because of my father. he was a knight back in his day, that's how he courted my mother and became king."

"wait, so you don't want to compete in the duel?" you queried.

"absolutely not! I'm terrified. I've always wanted to be a writer, but my father told me I have no time for silly dreams like that. I'm the heir to the throne, after all."

I feel horrible, most of the documents i read mentioned anton as an eager knight-in-training, but I guess history books aren't always accurate.

you grabbed anton by the hand and began taking him back to where eunseok and giselle were.

"so you really don't think I'm handsome?" you overheard eunseok asking giselle. "you're okay-looking... but I just needed a cover-up for my late-night rendezvous with mark." she shrugged as eunseok's face fell.

"eunseok. giselle. we need to do something before we go back in time." you announced.

"and what's that?" eunseok responded.

"we're getting anton out of the duel of knights." you declared.

"but how? father is adamant on him competing." giselle protested, "and I doubt he'll believe your time-traveling story."

"we'll just have to figure out a way." you said stubbornly.

although eunseok and giselle seemed uneasy, anton sent you a grateful look which was enough.

the next few days were spent with you and eunseok exploring the storage room and you writing down as much as you could about the contents of the room as well as the royal family.

eunseok agreed to help giselle meet with mark in secret and you agreed to help anton with his writing. in return, the siblings helped you look through the castle library on anything related to time-travel.

to avoid the awkwardness of sleeping in the same bed with eunseok after the kiss, anton offered up his room and slept with him instead.

there was now four days left until the duel, and you still had no idea how to get back or take anton out of the competition. anton and eunseok seemed to get a lot closer though, either through sharing a room or the mutual dread of having to fight to the death in a few days time.

"y/n, can I speak with you. it won't take up much time." giselle asked you. "of course, what's up?" you responded.

"what's up?" she repeated, "what is the matter." you corrected yourself. you and eunseok let down your guard when it came to speaking in old english since the siblings already knew your secret anyway.

"you said in the future, I disappear. mark keeps asking to elope, especially with the duel of knights approaching as many men will be aiming for my hand." she worried, "I'm scared, y/n. I don't wish to leave but I don't wish to lose my beloved either. what do I do?"

you honestly had no idea. maybe it was a bad idea telling them their fates, but if i can try helping them avoid it, I should.

"I think you should try telling your parents. how bad could it be?" you said, stupidly.

"are you serious? they would murder him and i for even suggesting it. royals and commoners don't belong together, of course you wouldn't understand." she stormed.

"okay, okay I'm sorry. I really don't understand. I'm used to modern royalty, where the prince of england married an actress and left the royal family, then got to go on oprah." giselle shot you a confused look, "but if you never try, you'll never know."

"i suppose you're right. but I'm far too terrified of my parents." she sighed. before you could respond, eunseok called out to you, ushering you and giselle to join him and anton.

"we found a way to get out of the duel!" he shared excitedly.

"and how is that?" giselle asked, unconvinced.

"knights are covered head-to-toe in armor, right? we'll just pay two knights to replace us! anton said he's got the money covered."

"yes, I have the money covered, as they say in future america." anton added enthusiastically.

"and you've already found these knights?" you asked, "how do you know they won't tell the king?"

"we did, and anton made them swear because they are under an oath to serve him." eunseok shared proudly.

"don't you think that's a bit wrong, abusing your power? and what's gonna happen at the end of the duel when you have to take your helmets off?" you badgered.

"will you stop being such a baby, y/n? we'll tell them to keep their helmets on, and both you and giselle will be there anyways so you can cover for us." he argued.

"well i'm sorry that I want to make sure your little plan is foolproof so you don't, y'know, die." you fumed.

and just like that, the two of you began arguing again. giselle and anton gave each other a worried look before rushing out of the room, leaving the two of you yelling at each other.

"you're getting a bit too comfortable here, don't you think?" you scoffed.

"comfortable?! you think I want to spend the rest of my life in the 14th fucking century?" eunseok retorted.

"well you've barely been any help in looking for a way back. i've been the only one searching that stupid room for any traces of how we got here!"

"maybe because we've been searching that room for four days and haven't found anything. excuse me for trying to make sure I don't die before I find a way to travel back, if there even is a way."

you stepped closer to him, still seething "you piss me off to no end, song eunseok. you're the last person I wish I was trapped with in this stupid century!"

"do you really think you're my perfect idea of a travel buddy? my life is a mess, all thanks to you!" he snapped.

"I didn't ask you to follow me like a crazed stalker, did I? so why did you?"

eunseok finally went quiet. it seems like he didn't really know the answer either.

you were irritated, but you didn't want to keep arguing, so you decided to walk away before he started up again, "I'm going to town to pick up our clothes from the tailor."

up until now you've been wearing the servant clothes agatha brought you to bed and borrowing the royal sibling's clothes during the day. it'll be nice to finally have our own sets of clothing.

you tried to organize your thoughts but you were still thinking of eunseok. it's not like you haven't argued with him before, but they've never been so... personal.

it pained you to say but his words hurt you. you don't know when you started caring about what eunseok has to say but some time along the last four days you've been trapped here, you started to feel more strongly about him.

and you definitely can't forget about the kiss. you can't believe the two of you just acted completely normal after that. you were too scared to bring it up and so was eunseok.

he's so confusing. one day we're making out and the next we're screaming at each other... and it doesn't help that I can't read him at all.

by the time you were done reflecting on your entire relationship with eunseok, you reached the tailor's shop. walking in, you greeted one of the workers there before informing them of your prior visit.

as the worker brought out your clothes, he held his hand out waiting for the payment.

shit. I didn't bring any money. and it's not like the money I had would've done much anyway.

"I-um, I don't think I can give you the payment just yet," you stuttered, nervous.

"why not?" the worker asked, already putting the clothing back.

"because-"

"because i'll be paying." you heard a familiar voice ring from behind you. what is he doing here?

eunseok walked past you and handed over the old-timey pounds to the worker, taking the sets from him in the process.

once the transaction was finished he walked past you and out of the shop, completely ignoring you. confused, you caught up to him.

"did you seriously follow me again? what's your problem?!" you exploded on the street, catching the attention of nearby townsfolk.

"I saw that you left your wallet and didn't even bother asking for money from the prince or princess. you're welcome for saving you the embarrassment and a trip back-and-forth from the castle." he retorted, stopping to turn to you.

"I don't want to argue. not right now, and not in public." he sighed "good. because neither do i." you sassed, walking past him deeper into the district center.

he rolled his eyes and continued after you, "where are you going?"

"does it matter? or were you planning on stalking me again." you retaliated.

i should just leave her alone if she's going to be so difficult... but this place is sketchy and confusing, and it's getting dark.

"I don't think it's safe to walk around alone here, it's almost sunset." he called out.

"I'm a grown woman, I can handle myself." you refused.

"fine." eunseok said, turning to walk back to the castle.

you spent the next two hours making a mental map of the district, excited to write all about it later. you had to admit this was a much more fun way to learn about history than sitting around with a textbook and reading all day.

unfortunately for you, there weren't any clocks around, so it was easier to lose track of time. you figured it must be around 9 p.m. and decided to head back to the castle.

after about 15 minutes of wandering the streets, you realized you were lost.

fuck. I can't believe I'm about to prove eunseok right. whatever, he's probably living it up at the castle, especially since I'm not there.

on the contrary, eunseok was worried sick. "what if she was kidnapped, or fell down a well or something?" he ranted to anton.

"we shall find her, there's no need to worry." anton assured as they headed out the castle gate.

as the two of them began walking, eunseok couldn't help but overthink.

I shouldn't have let her walk away. and I can't believe the last conversation we had was an argument. what if something bad happened to her? how will I forgive myself?

eunseok doesn't know when or how he became so worried about you, but what he did know was his heart was pounding just thinking about you.

"what... relationship do you and y/n share?" anton inquired as they walked. "we're just school peers." eunseok answered coldly.

anton laughed in response, “peers do not thrust their tongues into each other's mouths."

eunseok's ears turned red upon hearing the younger boy's comment.

"they also wouldn't worry as much as you are right now." anton added.

"she's my ticket back to the 21st century, of course I'm on edge. I need her help finding the way home." eunseok shrugged.

"whatever you say." anton smiled.

"are you into her or something?" eunseok asked, trying to sound casual.

"pardon me?"

"do you wish to wed her?" eunseok sighed. I'm definitely not gonna miss these shakespearean conversations.

"well... she is strikingly beautiful... and strong, and intelligent, and-"

"okay I get it." eunseok cut him off, erupting another laugh in anton.

"but she seems to only have eyes for you. besides, I'm a bit more preoccupied with the duel as of now." anton commented carelessly.

she has eyes for me? eunseok thought to himself again and again until they reached a nearby tavern.

it was then that the pair spotted your figure arguing with a clearly drunken man. before he knew it, eunseok rushed to your side to defend you from the man until he heard your conversation.

"you've gone mad if you think euripides is anywhere close to sophocles!" you yelled.

"you're the mad one, sophocles couldn't have written medea but euripides could have easily written oedipus rex in his sleep!" the man yelled back.

of course she's arguing over history. what a nerd.

"pardon us sir." eunseok interjected, dragging you away by the arm.

"hey! I wasn't finished. and stop dragging me." you ripped your arm away. "now you know how I feel." eunseok scoffed.

"y/n! are you alright?" anton asked. "yes, I'm fine. and I was just about to make my way back to the castle." you asserted.

"point in the direction of the castle." eunseok challenged. you pointed in a random direction hoping it would be somewhat close.

"you were going to head north, further into the town when the castle is down south." eunseok smirked.

if he didn't look so good right now I'd smack that smirk right off his face.

the walk back to the castle was dead silent, with poor anton making the occasional comment trying to spur conversation, but you and eunseok weren't having it.

when you finally reached the castle, anton excused himself leaving you and eunseok alone.

sighing, eunseok broke the silence first, "I was worried about you."

you whipped your head up. did i hear that right?

"I don't hate you. I hope you know that." he went on.

"I don't hate you either." you added. for the first time in a long time you looked at him in the eye.

the tension was palpable, but before you could act on any of your emotions, eunseok turned away. "goodnight, y/n." he walked off.

ouch. I know I said I wanted him to leave me alone, but not like this.

time passed by until it was the morning of the duel. you and eunseok had been growing even more desperate to find a way back home, and giselle and anton were getting even more nervous about the duel approaching.

eunseok had remained distant since that night, and although you hadn't argued since then, you also haven't really spoken much.

you missed him, but you had more important things to focus on.

as the knights began suiting up, you and giselle headed to your seats at the top of the arena. the arena was full of thousands of people, ranging from commoners to nobles.

if everything went to plan, the knights pretending to be anton and eunseok would win the duel, one of them would pretend to be injured and the other would carry them off into the stables where they would switch places with the real eunseok and anton.

of course, nothing ever goes according to plan. 'eunseok' was slain within the first ten minutes.

despite you having no connection to them, it hurt you to see young men lose their lives for a tradition meant to please the rich and powerful. and it hurt even more knowing that this tradition would continue for a few more centuries.

however, not everyone else shared your sympathies, as the majority of the crowd cheered excitedly with each kill. that was... until 'anton' was slain an hour in.

the entire arena went silent and the king jumped out of his seat, "stop the tournament! stop it now!"

oh shit.

the king ran down to check on his 'son' only to reveal a complete stranger under the helmet. still teary-eyed, the king roared "what is the meaning of this?"

we're screwed. we're so so screwed.

just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, the real eunseok and anton entered the arena, assuming the silence meant it was over.

"son! what have you done? answer me, boy!" the king seethed. "i... i don't wish to be a knight." anton confessed, eliciting gasps from the crowd.

"what on earth has gotten into you? is it that boy next to you influencing you?"

"no! I never wanted it. you know I've always wanted to pursue writing-"

"nonsense. you are to be a king. and a king is to be able to fight for his people. will words on paper solve wars? no. only a sword will protect your throne."

dejected, anton nodded before eunseok interrupted, "weren't you just crying over your son's death?"

another round of gasps travelled through the arena. "how dare you speak to me that way? I should have your head cut off!"

"all I'm saying is, if anton listened to you and fought, he'd be dead right now. is forcing him into combat worth losing your son?" eunseok reasoned.

the king faltered for a moment before recovering, "he is not enough of a man to look me in the eye and you want me to let him pursue his childish fantasies?"

in that moment, anton snapped, raising his head, "if I am to be heir to the throne than you will treat me as such. my whole life I've done what you wanted me to do, and look how that would have ended," he paused, pointing at the corpse on the floor.

"father, i assure you I am grown enough to discern what I want and don't want. and what I don't want is a life of a knight. I am not an extension of you, I am my own person, and most importantly, I am a writer." anton concluded.

the crowd erupted into cheers at the prince's heroic delivery until giselle ran down, seemingly inspired.

oh no.

"and I am in love with a stable-boy!" she declared loudly.

just like that, the arena was dead silent again and the king went red with anger.

"this is all your fault!" he pointed at eunseok "you, and that sister-mistress of yours!"

the crowd began murmuring, confused.

"guards, execute them!" he declared.

now you were definitely screwed.

you saw eunseok running out the back as giselle and anton held their father back. panicking, you ran through the back of the arena, meeting up with eunseok.

"what the hell are we going to do?" he panted. you grabbed onto his hand and began running into the castle. you're not sure why, but your gut was telling you to head to the storage room.

once you reached the room, eunseok whispered "won't this be the first place they'll look for us?"

" just hurry up and light the candle, I have to grab my papers." you rushed. he found a set of matches and lit the candle as you frantically searched for all your research.

you heard voices gathering around the outside of the door.

"y/n. if we really do die, I need to tell you something." eunseok began dramatically.

"I love-"

he was interrupted by a banging noise on the door. you quickly blew the candle out, hoping the darkness would somehow make the two of you invisible.

but it was too late, the door flew open, and a man came down the stairs holding a... flashlight?

"stop there! london police, you are under arrest for trespassing."

"what?" you muttered, confused.

"oh my-OH MY GOD. we're back... we're back! what year is it?" eunseok asked the officer desperately.

"are you two on some sort of narcotics?" the officer asked.

the two of you were then escorted to the police station where your group supervisor had to bail you out. you and eunseok were grinning ear-to-ear the entire time.

you were informed that you couldn't go on the tour as a result of your trespassing and you couldn't care less. "I know how much you were looking forward to it, are you sure you'll be okay?" your friend asked, worried.

"I'll be fine! go enjoy it for me." you assured. I'm sick of that damn castle anyway.

after taking a long, warm bath, you settled onto the hotel couch before hearing a knock on your door.

opening it, you were greeted with the sight of an awkward eunseok.

"hey... can I come in?" he asked, nervous. "yeah." you smiled.

"I'm still trying to convince myself that was all real." he chuckled.

"me too." you breathed "but at least it's all behind us."

"yeah, thank goodness." he agreed.

"what was it you were saying before we got arrested?" you asked innocently.

"um- I was saying, i... wonder whatever happened to giselle and anton! surely there's some more information on them now that anton survived the duel." he changed the topic.

"you're right!" you exclaimed, rushing to your computer to google their names.

"it says here that the king passed away from a heart attack due to shock and anton inherited the throne, but he didn't want it so he passed it onto giselle. he went on to become a successful writer and giselle married a common man named mark, they had a son and a daughter named... eunseok and y/n!"

"you think they're sister-mistresses?" eunseok joked.

"gross. anyways, anton's most famous book is called across centuries and it's about a pair of lovers that time traveled." you gasped.

"well that definitely can't be about us, we're far from lovers." he laughed.

"right..." you agreed quietly.

"well, I guess that now that we're out of the medieval period, I can get out of your hair." eunseok began, standing up.

"wait." you spoke up suddenly. if giselle and anton could confess in front of an entire kingdom, than i can confess to a single guy.

"eunseok, i..." you began.

fuck. I can't bring myself to finish my sentence.

"you what?" he asked.

"I'm..."

"are you alright?"

"no! yes-i mean no?" you sputtered.

"i'm gonna go let you rest." he nodded, slowly backing away.

"I love you! I'm in love with you. please-please don't leave yet." you practically begged.

eunseok's jaw fell to the floor.

"I don't know how or when I started feeling this way, and I get it if you don't feel the same way but I had to tell you. I'm-"

you were interrupted by eunseok's lips crashing onto yours, and for once you didn't mind the interruption.

"will you be mine, lady y/n?" he asked dramatically, shortly after you two parted from the kiss.

you initially stood out since you were an idol who didn't dance or put on flashy performances but instead wrote and composed captivating songs with meaningful lyrics. this attracted the attention of a nation, and later on, you developed a global fanbase. a fanbase that is currently fighting for their lives to defend your shitty mini-album.

somewhere along the way, you lost your spark. your lyrics which used to be about raw emotion and life experiences now seemed out of touch and cliche. your instrumentals had so much care poured into them, with most of them containing your own playing of the guitar, piano, drums, and more. now, they were created electronically for the most part by multiple big-shot producers.

you followed the formula for success, so why weren't you reaping the benefits?

your phone screen lit up, notifying you of an email sent by your manager:

RE: Staff Meeting

Y/N,

The numbers aren't looking too good. We need another drop, and soon. We’re having a meeting and you can show us what you came up with so far. We brought in the PR team and they're going to share some ideas with us. The meeting's at 6, don't be late.

you glanced over at the clock. it was 4:44 p.m., which means you still have an hour and 16 minutes to come up with something to show your team.

no matter how hard you tried, you just couldn't come up with anything. it used to come so easy to you. your love songs in particular were always so easy to write, and guaranteed hits at that.

unfortunately for you, being in love is nearly impossible when you're a full-time idol. between hectic schedules and invasive fans, you can't find the time or place to catch feelings for someone.

before you knew it, it was 5:50 and all you had done was mope about how hard it is to make music. packing your belongings, you headed out of the studio and made your way to the SM company building.

once seated at the meeting, you were greeted by your manager and the PR professionals he invited. "so, y/n. we're looking forward to hearing about any progress you might have made for the album." your manager encouraged, smiling at you.

"i... don't have anything," you admitted. the room was dead silent and you were holding yourself back from cringing at your own words. "I was hoping we could maybe just look at a couple of demos?"

"y/n, that's what we did last time, and it clearly isn't appealing to the fans. they want your music. we need the finished album from you by next month." your manager stressed.

"i know, i know. i'm working on it." you muttered. clearing his throat, your manager looked to the PR team, "since there's no new music for us to listen to, i guess you guys can take it from here."

"right, thank you." an unnamed woman in glasses began, "we were thinking of creating a fabricated relationship between miss l/n and another idol here at SM. his group is having a comeback around the same time you are."

you were about to protest before she cut you off, "the relationship doesn't have to go on for long, just until you release new music. it'll generate buzz and people will be more likely to tune in if they think your songs are about him. just consider it." she pleaded.

"who is it?" you questioned, still apprehensive. "shotaro from riize. the group is still recovering after a member of theirs has gone on hiatus following a scandal free seunghan until it's backwards. the two of you are close in age and he's been an idol for a few years now so he's perfect." she persuaded. you saw your manager nod in agreement in the corner of your eye.

"isn't dating as an idol a scandal in itself?" you argued. "yes, but you would generate more good exposure than bad. fans online have been talking about how good of a couple you would make for a while now." your manager butted in.

great. so you're not only going to get death threats from delusional fans but also affirm crazed shippers' beliefs. as badly as you wanted out, you really did need more attention on you as you were preparing to come back. besides, any publicity is good publicity, right?

"fine." you agreed begrudgingly. "wonderful! shotaro has also agreed, we'll have another meeting tomorrow at 10 a.m. with the two of you to go over everything." the lady exclaimed, clasping her hands together excitedly.

smiling politely, you excused yourself and left the room. your manager rushed after you, stopping you from leaving the building. "y/n, listen. I know this is all probably really uncomfortable, but I think it'll be good for you." he insisted.

good for streams, maybe. "i'll be fine. it's only a month, right?" you smiled. "right." he affirmed, patting you on the back before walking in the opposite direction.

once he was out of sight your smile immediately dropped. you made your way out the doors of the building preparing yourself for the lonely commute home.

despite being surrounded by fans and paparazzi constantly, you felt pretty lonely most of your days. you rarely had time to see your friends and family, and you didn't have any group members to share the burden of loneliness with.

making your way to the parking lot, you bumped into an energetic figure, causing your keys to drop. the two of you bent down at the same time and your heads collided. stepping back, you looked up at the stranger that had just made your already shit day even shittier.

he picked up your keys first before standing straight and looking back at you. laughing, he handed them over to you, apologizing for the inconvenience.

to your surprise, it was shotaro. the man you had to act like you were in love starting tomorrow. he had incredibly soft features and the brownest, biggest eyes that you could get lost in forever.

"hey, I recognize you!" he chirped, "I was told you would be at the meeting tomorrow for..." he trailed off, the air between you suddenly awkward.

"yeah." you added dryly. "well it was nice meeting you." you pushed past him. "nice meeting you as well!" he called out, enthusiastically waving.

he's so sweet it's sickening.

maybe you're being a bit of a bitch, but your life feels like it's falling apart. stepping into your car, you took a moment to breathe before starting it and heading home.

the next morning, you wanted nothing more than to rot in bed, but your annoyingly loud alarm reminded you of your impending meeting with shotaro. you didn't see the harm in getting a few more minutes of beauty sleep so you hit the snooze button and drifted back off.

unfortunately, those few minutes turned into an hour, and the next thing you know, you had twenty minutes until your meeting. panicking, you rush to wash your face and get dressed, sprinting down the stairs of your apartment.

once you're seated in the car, you're greeted with a blaring sign: empty tank. just your luck. you have under 10 minutes to get to the SM building and it's a twenty-minute walk from your place.

you checked the bus schedules frantically but none of them seemed to come in time. mentally cursing yourself, you began running in the direction of the company building.

there was no way you were going to make it in time. but this was better than nothing. after about 5 minutes of sprinting like your life depended on it, you saw a familiar face in a car waiting at a stoplight: shotaro.

you don't know how you managed to bump into him yet again but you couldn't really afford to care at this moment. knocking on the window lightly, you saw him look at you shocked.

he rolled down his window, "are you okay?" he asked, slightly freaked out. "i'm so sorry i promise i'll explain but could you please let me in because the light is about to turn green." you begged.

he stared at you shocked for a few seconds before you practically yelled at him to let you in. unlocking the doors, he watched you jump in. he definitely thought you were crazy.

and you couldn't blame him either. looking in the window, you saw your reflection for the first time since you left home: sweat beading on your forehead from running and your hair frizzy and half out of your bun.

while putting together your appearance as best as you could, he coughed loudly, "you said you were going to explain...?" he cautioned.

"right. I slept through my alarm, my car ran out of gas, and I was planning on booking it for the interview since there were no buses available either. oh, and sorry again for scaring you." you rattled on.

you expected him to react like most people if put in this situation: slightly annoyed but accepting of the situation.

he simply laughed. "well then I'm glad you ran into me!" he cheered with a genuine smile on his face. what the hell was his problem?

you knew idols would put on cheery, cute personas for the camera, but you never met someone so honestly enthusiastic. you would be lying if you said it wasn't refreshing, but it felt too good to be true.

you arrived at the building within a matter of minutes. "thank you, once again." you turned to shotaro once the two of you reached the elevator. "no worries." he smiled.

you’d be lying if you said he wasn’t extremely handsome, and his kind demeanor made him even more attractive.

you caught yourself staring at him intensely, suddenly feeling nervous in the cramped elevator alone with him.

he kept trying to make conversation but you were completely zoned out, only being able to focus on how good he looked in his oversized black sweater.

your eyes kept nervously flitting between him and the elevator door, and you were beginning to sweat. has he always been this hot?

after what felt like an eternity, the elevator door opened and you practically sprinted out, making a beeline for the conference room. never have you been more relieved to see a room full of PR professionals.

you and shotaro sat down a safe distance away from each other. you’re not sure what overcame you in the elevator.

you haven’t had any romance in your life for so long that every little thing gets you flustered, including being alone in a small space with a good looking man.

“thank you both for coming today.” the same woman from yesterday greeted. “if you don’t mind, we’d like to walk you through the month-long plan of your ‘relationship’” she shared, using quotation marks.

“firstly, we want the two of you to be spotted out together. going to cafe’s, the movies, even just for a walk. hold hands, hug, kiss if you feel like it.” you couldn’t help but look at shotaro for the last bit and you were shocked to see he was already looking at you.

“we’ll call on paparazzi and companies like dispatch to ‘catch you in the act’ and post your photos online for people to catch on.” she continued, nodding at a man next to her.

“then we’re going to make an official announcement on behalf of the company that you two are officially dating. you know, ‘the pair are getting to know each other and we would appreciate your privacy bla bla bla’” the man said, far less professionally.

“right. you two will continue your outings for another week or so after and then you come back, and we will make a statement on behalf of the company that you have broken up to focus on your schedules. how does that sound?” the lady wrapped up.

“sounds good to me.” shotaro replied coolly. “yeah, um, sounds good.” you sputtered, a bit overwhelmed.

suddenly, you heard a loud ping on the woman’s phone. she looked down and looked up again between you and shotaro, “well, it looks like you two have already set the plan into motion.” she chuckled.

looking closer at her phone, you saw an online article showing pictures from just an hour ago of you in shotaro’s car titled “y/n and shotaro: potential lovebirds?”

what the hell? how did those photos get out so fast… and when were they even taken?

although you were growing increasingly anxious about your lack of privacy, you had to admit the PR team knew what they were talking about, people were going insane over the article.

“since you’ve already been spotted together today, you might as well go on a ‘date’ later in the afternoon to seal the deal.” an older man opposite you added in air quotes.

you and shotaro simply nodded in agreement and before you knew it, the meeting was coming to a close.

grabbing your bag, you prepared to speed-walk out of the room and avoid shotaro until your inevitable ‘date’ but he seemed to have other plans.

“wait up, y/n!” he hollered, catching up to you. “i know we’re kind of being forced to hang out, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy each other’s company!” he began, “what’s your favorite coffee shop? mine’s-”

“look i appreciate you trying to make light of the situation, but this is just a marketing strategy, nothing more and nothing less.” you cut him off, “let’s just go to the bakery across the street, make lovey dovey eyes at each other, and go our separate ways, yeah?”

his smile faded a bit which made you feel guilty, but he recovered quickly and nodded, following you out the company building.

once you arrived at the bakery, you tried to seem as interested as possible in whatever shotaro was talking about, but your brain was still foggy from the hectic morning you had.

“anyways, what about you?” the singer excitedly asked, “…what about me?” you repeated through gritted teeth, forcing a smile in case any cameras were on you.

“i was asking if you started preparing for your new album.” he smiled. “oh. um, yeah.” you shrugged, avoiding eye contact.

“you know i’m a big fan of your music,” shotaro started, “i loved your debut album, i listen to at least one song from it every day.” he shared shyly.

well great. now you felt even more bad for being so unnecessarily rude to him. softening your demeanor, you replied with “thanks… i really liked ‘get a guitar’, too.”

his eyes lit up upon you mentioning his track, which you took as a sign to continue, “but i can never get the dance quite right.” you added, grinning.

“i can always teach you!” he beamed.

“that would be nice-”

“oh my GOD, is that shotaro?” a stranger gasped, causing both your and shotaro’s heads to snap in opposite directions.

even though you were technically trying to get caught, old idol habits die hard. dating scandals are every idol’s biggest fear: an entire dedicated fanbase turning on you just for experiencing romance? true nightmare fuel.

“and i think that’s y/n with him! why are they here together?” another stranger spoke up. you and shotaro swiftly picked up your belongings and left, worried you’d attract more attention.

“i’ll-um-see you, bye.” you mumbled with your head down as shotaro gave you a small thumbs up underneath the table.

the two of you set off in different directions and you began dreading the long walk home. you were wearing a mask and a beanie, which meant your chances of getting recognized were pretty low, but they definitely weren’t zero.

however, you loved walking through seoul, especially this time of year. the weather was nice, and the streets were bustling. you used to love brainstorming song lyrics and melodies during walks.

deciding to take advantage of your situation, you racked your brain for any potential lyrics.

nothing.

how could you have lost all your creativity? did your songwriting talent just disappear? how would you get it back?

doubts filled your mind as you realized you were already halfway home and failed to come up with a single verse.

maybe you were lacking inspiration. your life was filled with romantic endeavors prior to your debut, which filled your mind with several ideas for new songs.

but you seemed to have forgotten all of them, and as cheesy as it sounds, you might have forgotten how it feels to be in love as well.

nearing your apartment, you felt a vibration in your pocket. taking out your phone, you opened up an email from your manager:

Re: Dating News

Hello Y/N,

Seems like your bakery date is already going viral on SNS. A pair of fans spotted you two and uploaded a photo of you sitting at a table together. Keep up the good work.

[1 Attachment]

clicking on the attachment, you saw a screenshot of a tweet exclaiming ‘RIIZE SHOTARO AND Y/N L/N ON A DATE???’ with a picture of the two of you smiling and sitting across from each other at a table.

it freaked you out how happy the two of you looked in the photo, almost like a real couple.

shutting off your phone, you couldn’t help but smile as you entered your apartment, maybe shotaro was starting to grow on you.

in the next few weeks, you and shotaro would go on several public outings, getting spotted almost immediately.

before you knew it the two of you were the hottest topic in k-pop, headlining several media outlet articles and trending on social media.

you would periodically receive correspondence from your manager and PR team praising you for how well you were pulling the stunt off.

although you wouldn’t admit it, you were really starting to enjoy shotaro’s company as well. the two of you began texting until late hours at night and planning ‘dates’ without instruction from your team.

you’d be lying if you said you weren’t starting to feel a bit attached to him but you reminded yourself that this was simply a work thing. besides, it’s not like he’s interested anyway… right?

you couldn’t read shotaro at all. he always had a sweet smile plastered on his face and seemed excited about everything and anything.

weirdly, you felt your writing ability start to come back slowly as well.. but it obviously has nothing to do with shotaro!

it’s just a coincidence that you draw on your memories of him to come up with lyrics; that you describe his mannerisms to a T in your potential choruses and scribble about how he makes you feel in your notebook on your off-days.

yup! definitely just a coincidence.

“y’know i used to love these growing up,” shotaro shared as the two of you stood at a street food stall indulging in dango.

“you must miss japan a lot, huh?” you asked, staring at the side of his face. his expression faltered slightly.

“of course i do, but i’m glad i chased after my dreams. it sounds cliché but it paid off. i get to do what i love, even if i’m hundreds of miles away from home.” he replied softly.

you don’t know what it was, but in that moment you wanted nothing more than to kiss him. you stared at his lips for a few moments before he caught on.

“do i have something on my face..?” he questioned, raising a finger to wipe his mouth.

you leaned in, centimeters away from touching your lips with his when he stepped back.

shit. way to go, y/n.

“sorry, i just- i don’t think we should…” he stammered,

“no, i’m sorry. i don’t know what came over me. we-i should go.” you said awkwardly, biting your lip.

you headed off before he could reply, mentally cursing at the world and wanting to crawl into a hole and die.

how could you let your guard down like that and embarrass yourself?

that night, you didn’t receive a single text from him like you usually do, so you tried reaching out.

no response.

every time you contacted him afterwards or tried to set up another ‘date’ he would flake last minute or respond dryly until he full-on ghosted you.

you stopped heading out together and your manager seemed content with it as you had already generated enough anticipation for your comeback.

the next time you saw him would be at a company meeting, discussing the end of your ‘relationship’.

you zoned out the entire meeting, barely hearing anything coming out of anyone’s mouth. you focused on trying not to look at shotaro and keeping your thoughts preoccupied so you felt less embarrassed just being in his presence.

your manager briefed you on the contents of the meeting afterwards, sharing that all you had to do was release a joint statement that confirmed you were now broken up.

“it’s easy enough, you mostly leave it to the social media managers. just send them your virtual signature and be sure to post it on your instagram as soon as possible. got it?” the man asked.

you nodded wordlessly with your head still in the clouds. for the first time in a long time your mind was filled with new ideas for lyrics, ranging from lovestruck to heartbroken to enraged.

you opted to walk home that day, even taking the longer route, furiously typing in your notes app and recording several voice notes on the way. you must’ve looked insane to everyone else around you but you didn’t care.

if you couldn’t get your mind off shotaro, you’d at least make it work in your favor. that night, you wrote an impressive 10 drafts of different songs, staying up until late and getting up early the next morning to head to the studio.

you drowned yourself in your work, hoping you’d forget about the boy whose presence was still all around you in both your thoughts and lyrics.

eventually, you refined and recorded all 10 songs, ready to release them in your new album.

shortly before your album announcement, you posted your official ‘breakup’ statement, feeling empty as you tapped on your screen.

you never would’ve predicted the somewhat annoying and yet incredibly charming guy that you were forced into a relationship with would haunt you this much.

you even found yourself looking through old posts and articles about the two of you, reminiscing on your time as a fake couple.

it stung knowing it was completely one-sided, and it stung even more knowing you could’ve still had him as a friend if you didn’t stupidly act on impulse.

you saw him here and there entering and leaving the SM building and the two of you would share a polite smile and bow before rushing off.

the response to your breakup announcement was unprecedented, and the amount of people heartbroken for the both of you took you by surprise.

riizeandrealize: ‘love isn’t real after all 💔💔’

y/n4eva: ‘at least we know the new album is gonna hit’

y/ntaro: ‘NOOO MY PARENTS’

tarosho28: ‘awww… so that means shotaro’s single again? 😁’

scrolling through the comments absentmindedly, one in specific caught your attention:

user1129399: ‘she always seemed more into him than he did. he’s probably the one that broke it off’

you felt hot with rage, what does a stupid netizen on the internet know? and why is their comment making you so upset?

maybe because they were partially right. you obviously were more into him or he would’ve been more receptive to your humiliating attempt at a kiss.

your album was set to come out in a week and you had a set track list recorded and ready.

and yet, you felt compelled to add one more song.

you went to work immediately, writing so fast your words were barely legible but you could read it perfectly fine.

you wrote as intensely and specifically as you could about everything—from your first encounter to your last. you tried to keep your other songs vague enough to avoid any suspicion on shotaro’s part about the subject of the lyrics, but you didn’t care anymore.

you were in love with osaki shotaro and you needed to express it in the only way you know how.

“are you insane?” your manager’s voice boomed over the line.

“it’s already recorded, and i have the backing vocals done too. i just need one more day to get the production team together and it’ll be done and ready to add to the album.” you pleaded.

“fine.” he sighed, “this better be worth it.”

“it will be.” at this point you weren’t sure if you were assuring him or yourself.

this was your most personal and emotional piece of work yet, and you were worried shitless about what response it would receive.

luckily for you, it did amazing on the charts and with your fans. in fact, your fanbase almost doubled in size and you were experiencing even more success than you were already.

unluckily for you, you still felt like shit.

your life felt empty without shotaro in it and no amount of fans, cameras, or praise could fill that void.

as you were preparing to go out onto stage for a music show, you ran into a familiar figure heading out of the green room.

of course it was none other than the one person you have been thinking about nonstop for the past month, wrote an entire album about, and the same guy who probably cringes every time he hears it play on the radio.

you gave him a polite smile before rushing towards the hair and makeup room.

“wait. y/n, can we talk real quick?” he began nervously.

fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfu-

“y/n?” he repeated, snapping you back to reality.

“yes. of course.” you responded, trying to sound as collected as possible.

“i-uh listened to your new album. it’s amazing. i loved track 11 the most.” he smiled softly, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

of course you liked that track, it’s obviously about you.

“thanks! is that all?” you rushed, preparing to sprint away at any moment.

“no! honestly, i wanted to apologize for the way things ended.” he confessed,

you knew how this was going to end. he was going to give you some bullshit excuse for ghosting you instead of just telling you he wasn’t interested and waste 5 minutes of your time.

but you don’t have 5 minutes to waste. you need to get up on stage and sing about how bad he hurt you.

pathetic, but at least you’re self aware.

“save it. i know you don’t feel the same way and that’s fine. but you could’ve at least told me. you didn’t have to shut me out, I thought we were friends at the very least.” you exploded, suddenly feeling a burst of adrenaline.

“but y/n-”

“and i’m not in the mood for excuses. you had a month to think of a good excuse but i guess there just isn’t one. you know i just hope you can take this experience and learn to never do this to some other girl because-”

“y/n you’re not listening to me.”

“why should i? you didn’t bother listening to me when i called you all those times. and about track 11, yes it’s about you. the whole fucking album is about you and i bet you already knew that-”

your petty rant was cut short when you felt something press gently against your lips… but he definitely wasn’t kissing you.

oh my god. did he just physically shush me? he carefully removed his finger from it’s place in front of your now-closed lips.

“did you just shush me?! have you lost your damn mind-” you began again,

“y/n!” he practically yelled, now gaining the attention from several staff members.

“i know what i did was shitty and I’m sorry. you’re right, i shouldn’t have ghosted you. but it’s not because i didn’t feel the same way. i’ve loved you for a while now.”

your jaw dropped, along with several eavesdropper’s jaws throughout the now dead-silent hallway.

“i was scared that you didn’t see me in that way but when i found out that you did… i panicked. i was too scared to tell you how i felt and i know i’m an idiot for it.” he looked down. “i’m not going to beg you to take me back or anything, but can we at least go back to the way we were? friends?”

“y/n, you need to get to hair and makeup NOW! you’re running out of time before your performance!” a staff member called out before you could respond, dragging you away.

well great. now you have to pretend everything’s alright and sing a little song on stage when your whole world has been flipped upside down.

as you sat in the makeup chair, you pondered over what would happen if you did agree to start over with shotaro, would you be happy?

before you knew it, you were on stage facing a crowd full of people staring right at you. you usually wouldn’t mind, you’re an idol after all. but the whole situation was just overstimulating you.

luckily the backtrack began playing before you could overthink and you were able to escape from reality for a few minutes to sing and perform.

you missed this feeling. you missed staying up writing, listening proudly to your new music you poured your heart into, and giving your all on stage every performance.

at the end of your song, the crowd erupted into cheers. you looked onto all the banners with your name and face plastered onto them gratefully.

whether you liked it or not, shotaro brought your spark back. yes it caused you immense pain and suffering, but it also gave you moments of joy, including the one you were experiencing right now.

once you wrapped up, you headed backstage, surprised to see shotaro standing by the monitor. was he watching your performance?

“i made up my mind.” you announced, walking up to him.

“are you sure you don’t need more time?” he asked, nervous.

“you’re a dumbass for what you did,” you started, noting how his face fell, “but i’d be an even bigger dumbass to pretend i don’t want to be with you.”

the contagious smile you’re used to seeing slowly reappeared on his face, causing you to slowly smile as well before you quickly corrected yourself.

“but… i want a proper apology. maybe you could give me one at the bakery tomorrow morning?” you mused.

at least that's what you thought before you sat down to breakfast. "good morning, y/n" your mother greeted. "good morning mother, father." you acknowledged the man sitting across the table from you, occupied with a small journal in his hands.

as you were about to take a sip of your morning tea, you heard your father sigh, exasperated. "what seems to be the matter, father?" your elder sister asked, eyeing the journal.

"i'm simply going over finances. there's no need to panic as it is a matter of little emergency. we will need to find a new source of income by next sunday, and since your lazy and careless brothers cannot be bothered to fulfill their duties as men, it is up to you girls to marry men who can." he asserted.

unaffected, you continued to pick at your breakfast. you have two older sisters who are perfectly fit to wed, why should you worry?

"we have already begun looking for matches for catherine and y/n." your mother noted. your head shot up upon hearing your name, "pardon me?" you exclaimed, "what about arabella? she's the eldest of all of us."

"we have been looking for a suitor for arabella for a twelvemonth now. she is clearly unfit to be a bride, just look at her!" your mother began, prompting your oldest sibling to roll her eyes.

arabella has always been... unladylike to say the least. she sported breeches while horse riding and insisted on discussing politics and sports instead of more suitable feminine topics. it's no surprise most of the men in this age couldn't stand her.

you personally never minded. she did a better job educating you than your own governess, reading controversial female literature to you and encouraging you to avoid marriage for as long as you can, which you gladly did.

unfortunately, you weren't as forward as arabella. you wouldn't dare disagree with your parents like her, recalling how she boldly rejected a marriage proposal from a wealthy lord, angering your father.

you bit your tongue to prevent a protest from leaving your lips. what are the odds you'll actually find someone? all you have to do is push away all the suitors long enough for catherine to find someone. after all, she was a model young lady: quiet, pretty enough, and obedient.

you, on the other hand, could only be described as spoiled and insolent. perhaps not as impertinent as arabella, but you were definitely sassy in your own right. most men found your attitude off-putting and made empty threats to "whip you into shape".

"enough of this discussion. we will be attending a ball tonight in an attempt to mingle with some members of high society. I expect you girls to be on your best behavior. and be sure to invite any potential bachelors to our estate for tea!" your mother rambled.

you were undoubtedly annoyed at the circumstances, but oh how you loved getting ready for functions like these. wearing your nicest gowns, displaying your expensive jewelry and unique hair styles. then, actually arriving at the formal and being able to listen to delightful pianoforte and dance with strangers.

the ball was being held by the park estate, renowned throughout the province for being incredibly wealthy. the parks had four sons, two of whom were already married. which left sunghoon and jay as the biggest targets of every unmarried girl within a ten kilometer radius.

they were quite handsome, but you weren't interested in either. perhaps they'd make good matches for catherine, supplying your family with an alarming amount of wealth and allowing you to remain a happy spinster for the rest of your days.

before you knew it, it was time to ready yourself for the ball. excitedly, you threw on your finest corset and carefully selected your prettiest lavender gown, pairing it with a dainty pearl set.

as you situated yourself in the carriage with your sisters and mother, you couldn't help but zone out as they excitedly discussed meeting the park brothers. "i hope jay asks me for a dance!" catherine giggled, prompting arabella to shift uncomfortably.

she always seemed to react a bit oddly to any mentions of jay. you honestly didn't mind him, he's generous and far more liberal than most men. maybe not liberal enough for arabella, but you suppose nobody is.

by the time you reached the park estate, you excitedly jumped out of the carriage first, rushing into the doors of the large manor. you're not one to be impressed by ostentatious displays of wealth, but by God was this place striking.

marble and gold mosaic lined the interior walls with chandeliers latched onto the high ceilings, illuminating the magnificent paintings along the walls. a group of musicians was situated in the corner of the large room, playing loudly as dozens of ladies and lords conversed, dressed to the nines.

you looked to your left and noticed arabella fiddling with her dress. grasping her hand, you smiled before sighing, "isn't it beautiful?"

she playfully rolled her eyes, "it is, but not beautiful enough to marry into this mad family. don't fall for whatever trap mother and father are attempting to catch you in." she warned.

"yes, yes, I know. can't you just enjoy the ball?" you pleaded. she simply shook her head and announced that she would be heading to the garden for some solitude. as odd as she is, your sister is dear to you and you'd like to see her happily settled down with a good man one day.

turning, you were greeted with the sight of park sunghoon. great. you could see your mother eyeing you in your peripheral vision so now you had to acknowledge him.

"hello, sunghoon." you half-smiled and curtsied. he bowed in response, "good evening, y/n. would you care to join me for a dance?" he asked, extending his arm to you. i'd rather eat dirt. "I would love to." you took his arm.

it's not like you dislike sunghoon. he's a proper gentleman. he enjoys hunting and composing music, he's tall, handsome, and not to mention extremely well-off. but he bored you to no end, and he was very old-fashioned.

you vividly remember overhearing a conversation between him and your brothers, where he proudly claimed he would spank arabella until she behaved if he was her husband. you also remember jay getting quite upset at him afterward.

"i heard your parents were looking to give your hand" he started, interrupting your thoughts. "yes, it appears so." you responded, absentmindedly. "have you met anyone suitable yet?" he carefully continued.

you weren't an idiot. it's apparent sunghoon has had a sort of infatuation with you for a while now. "no, not yet." you sighed. you didn't miss how his eyebrow raised. uncomfortable, you decided to excuse yourself, "I need to freshen up. would you mind pointing me in the direction of the bath?"

"certainly." he responded, sounding rather annoyed. after showing you the way, you practically sprinted out the door in your heels, desperate to get away from the smell of his headache-inducing fragrance.

you spotted a greenhouse and deduced it must be close to the garden, where arabella should be. making your way there, you stopped in your tracks when you heard a clanging noise followed by muffled shushes.

deciding to investigate, you inched closer to the source of the sound and nearly yelped at the sight.

you saw arabella and jay embracing one another. but not just embracing. they were fondling, kissing, grasping at one another. it was quite possibly the most lewd thing you've ever seen.

you didn't know what to say or how to react. so you turned and ran in the opposite direction, praying neither of them saw you. unfortunately for you, you're completely unfamiliar with the grounds and ended up running headfirst into a door.

you fell on the ground with a pounding pain in your temple. sitting up, you looked around for a clue as to where you were but to no avail. you were too dumbfounded at the sight you just witnessed to process anything else.

thankfully, you heard footsteps rushing to where you were and a strong pair of arms lifting you up. "are you alright, ma'am?" the stranger's voice fretted.

"yes, yes I--arabella. OH MY GOODNESS ARABELLA. you have to help me sir." you grasped at the thin, cloth shirt the boy opposite you was wearing.

"who's arabella? what's wrong?" the man asked. you noticed he had a very peculiar accent, one that sounded more akin to commoners. his clothing was quite dirty as well. he must've been a new servant, probably a stablehand.

"my sister. she was--he--jay was... doing something to her." you rasped. it wasn't long before the man began chuckling. "oh yes, they do that quite often."

he slowly released his grip on you and stepped back. "you need not worry about her. would you like assistance heading back to the ball, ma'am?"

he turned around before you even responded, heading towards the manor before you grabbed his arm. "wait. i would actually prefer to stay out here."

you must sound like an idiot. and the puzzled look on the boy's face only affirms that. the truth is you just don't want to have to deal with your mother pressuring you and sunghoon's advances.

"what's your name?" you asked the servant, changing the topic. "jake, ma'am." he responded swiftly. "you need not call me ma'am. y/n will do just fine." you shot jake a smile.

you're not sure why you enjoy this boy's presence so much. perhaps it's his puppy-like eyes or his soft voice. "well, y/n," jake prompted.

just hearing him say your name sent shivers down your spine. what has gotten into you? he's a stablehand. a servant.

"i suggest we go inside as it is exceedingly cold out. we wouldn't want you to develop an illness" he sympathized. he led you into the dimly lit stables, where you could get a better look at him.

he had thick pink lips and long black hair that nearly covered his eyes. his nose was long and tall and he had highly defined cheekbones coupled with a sharp jawline. he was dangerously handsome.

you caught yourself staring at him and got a bit embarrassed before you noticed that his eyes kept darting down at you and away, nervously. you looked down to see your corset was disheveled after your fall, revealing a bit of your cleavage.

screaming, you threw your purse at him while attempting to cover yourself. was this stableboy about to do to you whatever jay was doing with your sister?

he put his hands up above his head as if to surrender and apologized profusely. "i'm so, so sorry ma'am! I meant to mention it earlier but I was a bit apprehensive as I didn't want to offend you-"

you steadied yourself a bit seeing how anxious jake looked. attempting to console him, you held his shaking hands. poor thing probably thought you were going to get him whipped, or worse.

"it's fine. I'm just a bit on edge after... never mind that. could you please explain to me what I saw jay doing with my sister? it is still heavy on my mind." you hesitated.

jake began looking bashful again. "when two people are overcome by lust, they tend to... fornicate." he explained awkwardly. you gasped. you weren't familiar with what fornication actually looked like, but you knew it was a great shame.

"please, please don't tell anyone." you begged him, still gripping onto his hands. "of course, not, ma'am--y/n. it's not my business to tell." he assured.

smiling, you let go of his hands. the two of you stood in comfortable silence for a while, looking out the doors to the stable at the starry sky and beautiful garden underneath it.

jake broke the silence first, "i believe it's time for you to return to the ball. your family must be getting worried."

your mood immediately soured. you wanted nothing less than to return to the ball you were once so excited to attend, especially because it was now a matchmaking event for your parents.

"right." you straightened down your gown. "do you think you could... help me adjust my corset before I go?" you cautioned. the truth is you could've easily fixed it yourself, you just wanted another excuse to be close to jake again.

he shuffled behind you before fastening one of the buttons on your top that had come undone. his hands were shaky yet his grip was firm. your breath hitched as he gently moved your hair to the side.

the tension was palpable, and before you knew it, you had turned around and were face to face with jake. your noses were nearly touching and you felt an electric shock travel from your stomach to your head.

feeling lightheaded, you moved a bit closer. you could hear his breathing speed up.

the next thing you know your lips were touching his. you knew this wasn't right, that this was not only a shameful thing to do as an unmarried woman, but with a stablehand of all people?

but in that moment, you couldn't care less. you attempted to deepen the kiss awkwardly but it was apparent you had no idea what you were doing. he didn't seem to mind though, reciprocating your efforts.

you were interrupted by the sound of footsteps approaching. panicking, you pulled away. you didn't miss how jake seemed to lean in again subconsciously, which almost prompted you to jump back into his arms.

but you were way too terrified of getting caught. without thinking, you ducked behind a bale of hay. holding back a laugh, jake turned to face the front of the stables where arabella and jay walked in. arabella was wearing trousers and a linen shirt that she must've had on under her gown.

"jake, ready two horses at once." jay ordered, sternly. "of course, master jay." jake obediently answered.

"are you sure about this, jay?" arabella whispered, tugging on the boy's sleeve. "we have no other choice, you know my parents won't approve of you." he insisted sympathetically, grasping onto her hands.

were they about to elope?

jake handed jay the reigns to two separate horses. jay simply smiled and thanked him before handing one of the horses over to arabella. "I wish I could've at least told my baby sister." she sighed.

rage built up inside of you. how could she keep this from you? she definitely doesn't have to tell you now because you're going to make it known that you're well aware.

you jumped up from behind the hay like a madwoman, your corset still slightly a mess with straw in your hair. "arabella! how could you?" you yelled accusingly.

yelping, your sister quickly covered her mouth. "y/n, what on earth are you doing in here?" she retorted, still slightly shocked. "never mind that. were you about to elope... with him?" you motioned over to jay.

"y/n, I'm not sure what you think of me at this moment but I assure you it was for the best-" he started. "I don't care. unhand my sister at once." you seethed. "y/n! do not speak to him that way!" arabella defended.

you were furious. arabella, your tomboy and supposed spinster of a sister was secretly fornicating with jay park and now she was planning on eloping with him.

jake looked awkwardly between you and your sister as jay held his head down. you and arabella on the other hand were having a heated stare-down.

"if you stay, i won't tell a soul about this. if you leave, I will tell the entire county and a search party will be sent for the two of you within an hour. it's your decision." you growled.

sighing, arabella shot jay a knowing look to which he nodded in agreement. "we will stay. but if you know what's best for you, you'll be quiet." she warned. you wanted to scoff at her threat, but you knew it would just fan the flames all over again.

jay suggested heading back to the ball as the three of you had been out long enough. after jake led you through the servant's staircase, the three of you joined the party once again, luckily right before it was about to end.

sunghoon caught your eye right as you were leaving, and of course, your mother happened to be right in front of you when he approached you. "y/n! i've been looking for you the whole night. I was hoping to get a second dance," he slurred, it was evident he had one too many glasses of port wine.

"perhaps next time, sunghoon." you grumbled. your mother sent him an apologetic look before waving goodbye.

fortunately, there were two carriages sent to retrieve you and your family after your mother complained that the one was too cramped. unfortunately, mother and catherine jumped into the first one, leaving you and arabella alone in the second.

you honestly couldn't bare looking at her, let alone speaking to her on the way home, so you opted for staring out at the countryside through the small window.

"why were you in the stables?" arabella began. you shot her an annoyed look. "i know you're upset with me, y/n, but you wouldn't understand what it's like to be in love with someone you can't be with. it's unbearable."

"no. maybe I don't. but I do know that it's wrong to leave behind your loved ones. besides, you and jay nearly had an arrangement! was there really a need to go and do all this? mother practically begged you to be with him-"

"and his parents couldn't stand me. they told him he could never marry such an uncouth woman." she sputtered, tears forming at her eyes.

your heart hurt for your sister, but you were still far too upset to embrace her. "the stablehand, jake." you blurted.

she looked up at you, confused. "i saw you and jay..." you explained, prompting arabella to look away once again in shame. "...and I ended up hitting my head on the stable doors somehow. jake came out to help me and we somehow ended up kissing." you admitted, slightly embarrassed.

arabella's mouth opened slightly, before it closed and formed a smile. "do you like him?" she chided like a small child.

that was one of the things you loved so much about your sister. she was never judgemental, always open to hearing whatever you had to say.

"I believe I do." you smiled sadly, "but it would never work. he's a servant for crying out loud."

"do you want to see him again?" she asked, unexpectedly. you nodded before seeing a mischievous glint in her eye. she smiled widely and made a proclamation, "how's this? I help you hide your meetings with jake and you help me with jay. it may not be a long term solution but it would help, wouldn't it?"

"what about mother's obsession with marrying me off?" you huffed. "she's not obsessed with just you marrying. besides, sunghoon alone is wealthy enough to fix our financial woes. let's set him up with catherine, convincing her to set her sights on him." she stated.

springing up from your seat, you held your sister while cheering, "genius! you're a genius!" causing her to laugh and cheer as well.

that night you couldn't sleep. your mind kept replaying the kiss between you and jake. you could still feel the ghost of his soft lips on yours. giggling to yourself, you realized you probably look like a madwoman. yet, you didn't really mind. all you cared about was seeing jake again.

the next morning you mentally prepared yourself as you made your way down to breakfast. all you have to do is fib a bit to your family, it can’t possibly be that hard.

making eye contact with arabella as you waltzed down the stairs, you held back a smile before greeting your parents.

“mother, you’ll be delighted to know that i believe i’ve found my match.” you announced, rather dramatically. your mother nearly dropped her spoon upon hearing the good news, and your father simply smiled and asked, “who is it, my dear?”

“jay park.” you grinned, watching as arabella shot you a mischievous wink from across the dining table. “i was thinking we could perhaps have a luncheon at the park residence today. sunghoon also made it very apparent to me that he has been showing an interest in one of my sisters,”

this caught the attention of catherine.

“which one of us?” catherine yelped. “clearly not arabella,” your younger brother snickered, earning a light smack to the back of the head from your sister.

“he… erm, didn’t say. which is why we must find out today at the luncheon!” you stammered. as unconvincing as you sounded, your parents and siblings seemed to fully believe you, which meant your plan was now in motion.

from that day on, you and arabella were able to make your way to the park’s estate nearly daily by lying.

part of you felt guilty, but that guilt was alleviated as soon as you felt jake’s warm embrace. the two of you would lay in the garden some days, and sneak around the manor on other days, using the servant passageways.

you would constantly cover up for arabella as she would for you. and to your surprise, you witnessed a romance slowly blooming between catherine and sunghoon.

“what are your plans for the future? would you like to start a family, settle down in the countryside? or would you like to move into the city, somewhere in london perhaps?” you asked jake. you were sitting in the shade of a large oak tree behind the park manor with his head in your lap as you ran your fingers aimlessly through his soft hair.

he laughed lightly, “i always assumed I’d be stuck here forever, picking up horse dung.”

you felt a pang of hurt in your chest, being reminded of the harsh reality of being a servant. “surely that can’t be. don’t you have a home? where is your family residing?” you asked.

“of course i have a home,” jake started as he slowly got up from your lap. you immediately felt the cool breeze hit your lap in the absence of his warmth. “it’s in the southern part of town, my parents and brother own a bakery near there, on 5th street.” he smiled to himself.

“why didn’t you work in the bakery?” you prodded. you felt a bit nosy, but you were genuinely curious. “we were hardly making anything, it seems like nobody has enough to even spend on bread anymore. I had to find a job elsewhere and this seemed to be the only option.”

you felt a sense of guilt wash over you. you were so used to your own servants hanging on your every whim yet you never wondered about their livelihood. with income running low, father cut their salaries which you’re sure was already low.

“enough of that.” jake coughed, visibly uncomfortable, “will you read to me?”

you smiled, grabbing the long-forgotten novel in the grass behind you.

everything was running smoothly until the parks decided to come over for tea one eventful afternoon. you happily greeted lord and lady park along with their two youngest sons as they sat down in the drawing room.

you were only excited to see jay so you could cryptically ask about any developments concerning jake. unfortunately, you wouldn’t have any time to as your parents did most of the talking.

“so, i hear that jay and y/n are getting on quite well,” lady park beamed. your mother nodded vigorously in approval while you and jay feigned bashfulness.

“i also heard good news about sunghoon and my dear catherine.” your father added, to which lord park raised his cup to.

it was a typical, and rather boring, conversation until sunghoon decided to pipe in, “i always presumed i would end up with y/n,” he said casually, chuckling to himself.

catherine suddenly looked to mother, shocked. “i thought you were interested in catherine, mr. park.” your mother quipped.

“oh, of course. but that is a much more recent development. i’ve been pandering after y/n since we were kids for christ sake.”

your mother glared at you, clearly upset with your lying but at least you could cover it up by claiming you were too occupied with jay to notice sunghoon’s advances.

coughing awkwardly, your father suddenly stood up, brushing himself off. “lady l/n and i have long thought about this decision, and wanted to ask you personally instead of relying on correspondence.” once he had everyone in the room’s attention, he continued,

“we believe y/n and jay should be wed by tomorrow.”

you froze. you watched as jay and sunghoon’s jaws dropped and the elder parks began to protest. tomorrow?

“as happy as we all are that our children are getting on, don’t you think tomorrow is making haste?” lady park commented, but your father insisted, “we don’t need to plan the grand ceremony just yet, but an intimate procession in which legal and religious matters are sorted would be nice to get out of the way, wouldn’t it?”

you knew exactly why your father was so desperate to get you married by tomorrow as it would be saturday, meaning you had only tomorrow to correct the family finances.

“with all due respect, i feel like this is a bit rushed. jay and i haven’t fully gotten to know each other yet. don’t you think sunghoon and catherine would make a better match?” you suggested, your voice shaky.

“nonsense. you’ve gone over to the park’s nearly every day this week, spending hours there each visit. surely you’ve gotten to know him enough.” your mother insisted.

“then it is set. the two are to be wed tomorrow, let us discuss the details!” lady park shared gleefully.

you couldn’t bare listening any longer. wordlessly, you stood up, heading to your room, passing by arabella who was eavesdropping by the steps.

“she must be nervous.” your father announced after your departure.

once you found your way to your bed you collapsed. what were you going to do? how were you going to tell jake? you felt hopeless.

you heard a knock on your door. then another one, this time more impatient. “come in.” you groaned, ready to unleash your wrath on whoever walked in.

“are you alright, miss l/n? i heard a large slam coming from this direction.” an elderly maid asked innocently.

seeing her familiar face calmed your nerves. she had been working around the house for as long as you can remember, but she looked much more tired now. you thought back to your conversation with jake and realized how little you seemed to notice her condition weaken over time.

christ, you didn’t even know her name.

“i’m fine,” you smiled. “um, could you please set up a carriage for me? if you’d like, i’d prefer it if you joined me.” you suggested.

she looked taken aback but quickly composed herself, “yes of course, miss l/n.”

it wasn’t long before the carriage was drawn and you and your maid stepped inside. “where to, miss l/n?” she asked, “the bakery on 5th street, i believe it is located south of here.”

“pardon me miss l/n, but isn’t fetching bread a servant’s job?” she hesitated. “please just call me y/n, and i plan on doing more than simply ‘fetching bread’” you responded reassuringly.

she nodded and the two of you set course for the bakery. along the way, you decided to learn more about the maid. you found out that her name is agatha, she was aged three and forty, had three kids of her own, and had been working for your family since you were born.

once you arrived, you and agatha stepped into the nearly empty building. the only person you saw was a young man behind the counter who you assumed was jake’s brother.

“good afternoon, ma’am. how can i be of assistance?” the boy greeted, dusting off his flour-covered hands on the counter.

“i’d like to purchase ten loaves of bread.” you beamed. agatha glanced over at you, confused. “that would be ten shillings, ma’am” he smiled. he looked strikingly similar to jake when he did so.

“who on earth could be buying that much bread-” you heard a familiar voice emerge from behind the counter. you were surprised to see jake wearing much more casual clothing than you’re used to seeing him in, holding a loaf of steaming bread.

he stopped upon seeing you, quickly pulling himself together. “my apologies… ma’am.” he nearly whispered before disappearing back into the kitchen. for the rest of the time he popped in and out the two of you did your best to ignore one another.

after nearly half an hour of waiting, your order was finished. as you loaded the loaves into the carriage with the help of jake and his brother, you felt the sudden urge to tell jake about your impending marriage.

unfortunately, you couldn’t find a way to without raising the suspicions of either agatha or his brother, so you thanked the both of them and went on your way. hopefully it would all be sorted out and he’d never have to know.

once alone with agatha, you handed the loaves to her. “please distribute these among the servant’s families, and keep one for your own. I’d like to make a quick stop before i return.” you shared. “of course, where to?” she asked.

“your home.” you answered casually. “miss l/n-”

“y/n.” you corrected. “y/n, is something the matter? i apologize if i’m speaking too freely but you have been behaving a bit oddly today.” agatha nervously shared.

“yes actually, there is a cause for great concern. i am to be wed tomorrow to a man i have no affection for meanwhile i am hopelessly in love with a stableboy.” you stated carelessly.

you yourself are unsure of why you decided to confide in agatha but you felt like a weight had been lifted off your shoulders once you did.

“I’m sorry to hear that. i hope for the best for you always, you know you’ve always been my favorite of your siblings.” she half-joked, lightening the mood.

you couldn’t help but laugh, and before you knew it, the two of you were joking with each other like old friends.

once you arrived at agatha’s house you handed her two shillings. “this is double your salary for the day. take off early, i insist. neither mother or father will hear a word of this, i swear.” you said, clasping her hand in your own.

her expression turned to one of immense gratitude and she rushed to hug you. before you could react, she pulled away, apologizing repeatedly.

you simply pulled her back in, embracing her even tighter. she bid you farewell as she stepped out of the carriage and you began to make your way back as the sun set.

arriving home, you were greeted with the sight of your parents standing behind the front gates, visibly furious.

“where were you all this time? it is nearly dark and you did not notify anyone of your departure. my goodness, and you set off alone!” your mother gasped.

“is this how a lady is to act before she is about to be married? you better correct yourself before jay catches onto this scandalous behavior.” father boomed.

you grumbled a “yes, father” before hurrying inside, back to your chambers. you were surprised to see arabella waiting anxiously on your bed.

“where were you?” she jumped up. “nowhere important.” you shrugged. “christ, i thought you had eloped!” your sister exclaimed. to be frank, you were beginning to consider it as an option.

“nonsense. i won’t be eloping just like i won’t be marrying jay.”

you saw her face drop at the mention of her lover. “sister,” you sat beside her, “i promise you we will fix this mess together.”

“but how?” arabella sighed. “i say we convince sunghoon and catherine to marry instead of jay and i.” you shared.

your sister raised an eyebrow at your proposal, “how on earth will we do that?”

“we have to tell them the truth about you and jay.” you declared. you could see a glimpse of fear in arabella’s eyes, and you would be lying if you said you weren’t a bit afraid yourself. “fine.” she agreed. you held her hand tightly as she confided in you the rest of the night.

the following morning, the park’s estate was bustling, the servants all gossiping about jay’s new match. jake was never one to listen to rumors going around but he was particularly interested in this one, wondering if arabella had finally gotten through to lord and lady park.

“i hear the bride is the youngest daughter, y/n.” one of the cooks shared excitedly. jake froze. “where did you hear that?” he suddenly asked. “from the tailor that was fitting her dress. apparently they’re going to have a small, intimate ceremony at the church today-”

before she could finish her sentence, jake sprinted to the stables and began saddling the nearest horse.

he didn’t know what he was going to do once he arrived at the church, or even what would happen to him afterwards, but he didn’t care. he refused to stand by as you married someone else.

while at the church, you fiddled with your veil anxiously. arabella assured you that she would speak with sunghoon and catherine without mentioning anything about jake.

it was nearly time for the ceremony to begin and you were starting to worry that something had gone wrong.

suddenly, the door to the room you were in burst open, revealing catherine and arabella. “quick! give me your veil and remove your dress!” catherine ordered.

while rapidly exchanging clothes with your sister, arabella filled you in, “the couple agreed to our plan upon hearing about mine and jay’s story. sunghoon made a rather dramatic declaration of love to catherine before jay could even stand at the alter and luckily, our parents decided that these two were more deserving to be wed.”

you let out a huge sigh of relief. you were able to evade marriage with jay, but how much longer could you keep this lie up?

arabella led you down to the area where the ceremony would be held and within a few minutes, catherine made her way to the alter.

the two shared last-minute vows and right as the officiant asked if there were any objections the door to the church flew open.

“stop! stop the ceremony!” a disheveled jake panted. everyone in the room’s jaws flew open except your own. you didn’t know whether to be flattered or embarrassed at his commitment to you in this very moment.

“what is the meaning of this, boy?” lord park boomed. “i’m in love with her, sir.” jake confessed, pointing at your veiled sister. you wanted to dig a hole in the ground and lay there.

jay coughed, nodding his head in your direction, prompting jake to make eye contact with you. as soon as he saw you, his mouth made an o-shape.

you couldn’t take it anymore, standing up dramatically and declaring “he meant me. he’s in love with me and I’m in love with him.”

just when you thought the situation couldn’t possibly worsen, your mother fainted.

at this point the church was a noisy, swarming mess. lady park and arabella attempted to calm your mother after she regained consciousness and became hysterical while your father had to be held back by his sons and lord park from attacking jake. catherine was sobbing in the corner and the officiant simply stared awestryck at the scene unfolding in front of him.

while everyone was distracted, you grabbed jake’s hand and ran out the church doors. the two of you mounted the horse he rode over and ran off in a random direction.

you looked back once to see everyone emerging from the church, frantically looking for you and jake.

“where are we going?” jake asked, clearly on edge. “keep going until we’re too far for them to catch us.” you ordered.

you ended up stopping nearby a small field. dismounting the horse, you noticed a large tear in his shirt. “how did that happen?” you asked, worried.

“your father ripped it open at the church.”

for some indescribable reason, that sentence alone made you both burst into laughter. perhaps it was the ridiculousness of the whole situation.

as jake laughed, you noticed how his nose slightly crinkled, how all his teeth showed, how his eyes closed and his head was thrown back childishly.

you realized just how much you had fallen for him, and how little you could care about your family’s blessings.

“i love you.” you blurted. you quickly placed your hands over your lips as if it would take back what you said. sure it had been implied before, but you had never said those three words to his face. to anyone’s face, really.

“i love you, too.” he whispered, now moving closer to you. the two of you shared a short kiss, breaking apart before leaning back in again.

this time the kiss was deeper, more passionate. his hands travelled to your lower back as yours cupped his jaw.

you felt yourself desperately moving more and more forward, still not feeling close enough to him. he pulled away first, leaving you gasping for air.

“what are we going to do?” he asked, out of breath. “we’re going to get married.” you responded firmly.

grabbing his hand, you hoisted yourself up on the horse once again, patting the seat behind you. “are you sure about this?” he asked, hesitant.

you nodded wordlessly as he seated himself beside you. you charged back in the direction you had just come from.

you, the girl who never cared for marriage, were now determined to fight for your right to marry the man of your dreams.

you made it back to the church within minutes, spotting your both enraged and confused family standing outside.

arabella saw you first, rushing over. “you should have left, y/n. father is going to murder the both of you.” she warned.

you ignored her, walking up to lord and lady park. before you could open your mouth, you felt a harsh grip on your arm, yanking you back, “not only have you sent your mother into a frenzy, you have bought immense shame upon our family with this illicit affair. i am disgusted to call you my daughter.” your father spat.

“don’t speak to her like that.” jake threatened, moving closer to your father.

“enough of this, lord l/n. i have an enormous headache from today. it is safe to say no arrangements will be made between our children. boys, let us leave at once.” lord park commanded.

neither jay nor sunghoon moved, prompting lord park to repeat himself. again, no reaction.

“oh for christ’s sake. i understand sunghoon being a bit hesitant but this girl is clearly not right for you jay-”

“i wish to marry arabella.” jay announced, “and i don’t care if she doesn’t meet your standards. i refuse to leave the church grounds until she is made my wife.”

“neither shall i until catherine and i are wed.” sunghoon chimed in.

“and neither will i until you give my hand to jake and only jake.” you challenged, looking your father in the eye.

“this is nonsense. what has gotten into you kids?” lady park objected. your mother fainted once again, but this time nobody seemed to pay her any mind.

the officiant peeked his head out from the door, “if you’d like, i can officiate the three weddings for the price of just two.”

you saw your father become visibly more upset at the mention of pricing and were reminded of the reason your parents were so adamant on getting you married in the first place.

“father, if arabella marries jay and catherine marries sunghoon, our income nearly doubles. we won’t have to worry about our finances any longer. what is stopping you then from allowing me to marry jake?” you plead, desperate.

“he is a servant. a stablehand, y/n. below a commoner. it was a grave error on your end to even look his way.” he scoffed.

“he’s no longer a servant of mine,” lord park added, rubbing his temples, “not after this mess.”

“then he is now a baker.” you quipped. “pardon me?” your father asked, irritated. “his family owns a bakery so therefore he is a baker. not a servant. i don’t see any reason as to why i cannot marry him now?”

“just let them bloody marry.” lady park cursed just as your mother came back to her senses, causing her to fall unconscious yet again.

“fine.” your father sighed, “but you will not be living on any of my estates.”

“i will give them one of mine.” jay interjected, patting jake on the shoulder.

after that, the ceremony continued. this time with three brides, two disgruntled father-in-laws, and a single annoyed lady (as the other is still passed out).

fast forward to a few months later, you and your parents have reconciled although your father is still weary of jake.

the two of you have settled into your new estate, courtesy of jay. jake is back to working at his family bakery, which has seen a large increase in profit. you also decided to appoint agatha as the head housekeeper in your new home.

jay and arabella are happily married, as are catherine and sunghoon. your family’s finances have improved greatly and you couldn’t be happier for your parents.

you reflected on how drastically your life has changed within the span of a year as you readied yourself for morning tea at arabella’s house.

you put on a simple purple dress and in the corner of your eye, saw the pearl set you wore the night you met jake. grabbing the earrings, you placed them carefully in your ears, reminiscing to yourself in the mirror.

suddenly your husband made his way into the bedroom, placing a firm kiss on your cheek before announcing his departure for work, a tradition the two of you now have.

it was a searing, sunny day in the middle of july. you had just finished training with your half-siblings and decided to take a shortcut to the cabins from the training grounds by passing the amphitheater.

you never really had an ear for music, as long as a song was catchy you'd listen to it. you couldn't grasp the idea of a couple instruments moving someone to the point of tears. at least you didn't think you could until you heard the most beautiful piano piece being played in the center stage of the amphitheater.

you recalled hearing about a talent show of some sort being organized by the end of the month but you didn't really pay it much mind. inching closer towards the curtains set up behind the stage.

it seemed like a practice of some sort, with a group of kids sitting around watching the boy play. then he began singing what sounded like a modern rendition of an older song you vaguely remember (just think of fairy of shampoo haha).

his voice combined with the delicate notes he was playing on the piano mesmerized you. it all came so naturally to him, almost as if he was born with music running through his veins.

he played for another minute or so until he switched to another song equally enchanting as the last. you must have stood there for half an hour listening to this mystery man serenade an audience of about ten campers before you snapped back to reality as he began packing up.

straightening yourself up, you shoved your head back behind the curtain, taking a moment to compose yourself for the walk back to the cabins. once you finally started to walk away you heard an extremely familiar voice call out, "excuse me!"

shit. he probably saw me staring and thinks i'm a complete psycho.

bracing yourself, you turned around with a tight-lipped smile on your face. "yes?" you responded. "i noticed you halfway through my practice and was wondering if you had any feedback for me? the talent show's in a couple weeks and i'm starting to get really nervous." the stranger confessed.

"oh, um, honestly no. I'm not exactly a music expert but you were great." you hesitated. the boy smiled widely, extending a hand to you, "i'm kai. and you are?"

"y/n." you smiled in return.

kai stayed beside you for the remainder of your brief walk to the cabins, cracking small jokes and complimenting you along the way. you didn't know why but you felt oddly drawn to him. he was so kind, gentle, and patient.

"so which cabin are you headed to?" he asked once the two of you neared the field. right as you were about to answer, someone interjected calling out kai's name.

you recognize the interferer as a resident of the athena cabin: kang taehyun. he seemed to be close to kai, casually wrapping his arm around the shoulders of the taller boy and carrying him off. kai made sure to shoot an apologetic look coupled with a wave over his shoulder which you happily returned.

you couldn't stop smiling by the time you got back to your bed. kai. you knew nothing else about him, not his last name, not his godly parent, nothing. and yet you were giggling to yourself at the thought of seeing him again.

so much so that your half-sister ryujin had to make sure you hadn't gone insane. "what's gotten into you?" she questioned, plopping onto the corner of your twin bed. "I met a guy" you confessed like a giddy schoolgirl. sure it was a bit embarrassing to admit, but you can't help how you feel.

ryujin simply laughed, shoving you over to make more room for herself on the bed, "what's his name and cabin?"

sheepishly, you turned to face her before confessing that you only knew his first name. you could tell from the change in her expression she was judging you, heavily.

throwing a pillow at her to avoid the shame you felt, you swiftly added, "it's not like I'm in love with him. he's just... cute."

"sure, y/n. because you smile to yourself thinking about every 'cute' guy at camp" she mocked. you were debating whether or not to throw another pillow at her before she started again, "you know, i've been told that I'm a pretty good wingwoman."

if 'pretty good' meant 'terrifyingly bad', ryujin would be absolutely correct. despite her fascination with matchmaking, she had the opposite of the midas touch when it came to relationships. almost every couple she's ever set up has ended in a messy breakup.

you knew this, but you also knew you're fairly awkward and new to romance. maybe ryujin could help as long as she didn't interfere too much. perhaps the ryujin curse was simply a reoccurring coincidence. "okay fine." you mumbled, unsure.

you saw a glint in her eyes and knew you were probably going to deeply regret this.

the next day, ryujin woke you up extra early to get breakfast. her reasoning? you needed to be properly fueled for a day full of 'man-hunting'. as you made your way to find a table to sit at, you noticed kai and taehyun sitting with another person in the corner of your eye. taehyun seemed to be too busy bickering with the third person not so subtle ref to the taehyun fic while kai was more engrossed with writing something in a journal.

before you could react, ryujin was shoving you in their direction, convincing you to sit with them. you tried refusing but she was extremely stubborn, a trait she seems to have inherited from your father.

by the time you arrived at the table, taehyun and his acquaintance looked up at the two of you puzzled. meanwhile, kai greeted you with another one of his signature bright smiles.

"kai! what a coincidence! y/n has been talking about you all morning. mind if we sit? i'm ryujin, by the way." the short-haired girl chirps, blissfully unaware of how embarrassed you are beside her.

kai doesn't seem to mind, though. simply smiling harder and motioning to the spot next to him, which you gladly take. the rest of the breakfast went by awkwardly considering the only two people who really cared to converse with one another were you and kai, but neither of you minded.

once everyone finished eating, he lightly tapped your shoulder to get your attention. "have you ever played the piano?" he inquired. you simply shook your head in response.

he looked around the table before coughing and standing up, "y/n promised me she would help me prepare for the talent show, so I think we should head out," he announced before shooting you a look.

eager, you stood up and nodded in agreement before running off with him away from the others.

once the two of you were finally out of sight, ryujin turned to taehyun. "so... tell me every and anything you know about this kai guy." she declared. rolling his eyes, the boy simply shrugged and retorted, "what do you want to know?"

"just give me the basics. is he a big 3 kid? does he have, like, superpowers? is he a player? or a virgin? and don't lie." ryujin rambled.

taehyun sighed before answering "he's a good guy. a real loverboy, and his only 'superpower' is being crazy good at composing music, which if you ask me is pretty lame. and he's not a big 3 kid, his dad is apollo."

ryujin froze. she must've misheard him. apollo? it can't be. she just set up her half-sibling with a child of APOLLO. if any of their siblings found out they'd both be dead.

"taehyun... does kai know who y/n's godly parent is?" she stammered, to which the other demigod shook his head in response. "well, it's ares." she croaked dramatically.

"so?" he responded. both ryujin and the long-forgotten camper beside him gasped. "so? the ares and apollo cabins can never mix." the stranger declared. ryujin nodded vigorously, which led to taehyun sighing once again.

"cabin feuds are immature, and i never thought you of all people would engage in them." he said, eyeing the demigod next to him, "besides, if y/n's godly parent is ares then that means so is ryujin's, so how are you 'mixing' with her right now?"

immediately, the camper shot ryujin a disgusted look and got up. "i'll see you later, taehyun." they added bitterly before speedwalking away. rolling her eyes, ryujin got up as well, leaving a baffled taehyun alone at the table. as she left the dining hall, ryujin began a desperate search for you to break the bad news.

in the meanwhile, kai had brought you back to the amphitheater, inviting you to learn how to play piano. you were pretty clumsy at first, but he walked you through it patiently.

once you were finally getting the hang of the basics, he decided he wanted to teach you one of his songs. "do you mind?" the brunette prompted as he reached for your hands.

"not at all." you breathed. he kept his fingers over yours as he guided your hands along the keys of the piano. the action felt so intimate and yet so innocent.

you couldn't help but blush at the contact, wondering if he was just as affected by it as you were. looking up, you saw that he was no longer staring at the keys but at you.

he stopped playing but his hands remained on top of yours as he inched closer. you could practically feel his breath on your face. your heart rate began to accelerate as you closed the distance between the two of you, your lips slightly grazing his.

the moment was ruined however by a crazed ryujin bursting from behind the curtains of the amphitheater, shocking the both of you and causing you to hit a loud, sour note on the piano.

"y/n. we need to talk." your half-sister squeaked, avoiding meeting kai's gaze. "can't it wait?" you huffed, visibly annoyed. "no." she deadpanned.

excusing yourself, you ripped your hands away from kai's and stood up, immediately feeling cold and desperate to run back into his embrace.

pulling ryujin aside, you stared at her unimpressed until she began talking. "y/n I don't know how to tell you this, but... he's-that guy--kai is... he's one of apollo's." she stammered, clearly exasperated.

usually, you'd be a bit taken back, but you honestly couldn't bring yourself to care. why should a petty cabin war keep you from someone you like? "this changes nothing, ryu. you're being dramatic." you grumbled.

her expression went from sympathetic to irritated within milliseconds, "y/n! what are you gonna do if the rest of the camp finds out? we don't associate with them." she sneered.

"you sound insane. he's a sweet guy and it's not like we chose our parents." you retorted. "fine. go and tell him and see how he reacts." she challenged.

you simply scoffed before turning and walking back to kai. he wouldn't care... right? you considered telling him, but with seeing how happy he looked, you couldn't bring yourself to do it.

"i, um... have to go!" you muttered, collecting your gatherings quickly, leaving behind a confused kai. as you passed ryujin on your way out she followed you, scolding "see? you couldn't even bring yourself to tell him because you know how he'll react-"

you stopped in your tracks and whipped your head around, "ryujin. you will not tell anyone about this. understand?" you warned. it's unlike you to threaten anyone, especially your own siblings but you were exceptionally angry in this situation: a petty cabin war getting in the way of your first potential romance.

ryujin simply nodded, "but you know you'll have to tell him eventually." she added, solemnly. you nodded wordlessly, accepting your fate. he'd either flip out on you or be totally cool with it but then all his siblings would flip out on him. it was a lose-lose situation and you felt hopeless.

for the next two weeks, you made a conscious effort to hide your growing relationship with kai. from constantly insisting that the two of you hung out somewhere hidden like the strawberry fields to making up excuse after excuse as to why he couldn't walk you to your cabin.

you kept your secret for nearly half a month until the day he asked you to officially be his girlfriend. you tried to enjoy the moment but your head was filled with doubt. would he still want to date you if he knew who your father was?

not only that, but you felt guilt piling up inside of you for hiding something so seemingly important from him. before you knew it, you were tearing up.

worried, he immediately rushed to console you. "if you're not ready that's perfectly fine-" he sputtered, panicking. "it's not that," you began as tears dropped onto your cheeks, "i've been keeping something from you, kai, and I'm so sorry,"

"whatever it is, I'm sure it's fine." he replied comfortingly. you shook your head, "the reason i never let you walk me to my cabin is because... because it's-"

"the ares cabin?" he guessed coolly. your jaw dropped, how did he know? he simply laughed, "I thought so after the fourth time you made me duck when another ares camper was walking by. y/n, I honestly don't care, I like you, and I want to be with you. so... will you be my girlfriend?"

overwhelmed, you practically jumped on him, the tear stains on your face now dry. "of course." you sighed, "but... won't we have to keep it a secret?" you added, worried.

"i hope not, because i was planning on dedicating my songs to you tomorrow at the talent show," he admitted sheepishly. you nearly pounced onto him again until you remembered that nearly the entire camp would be there, including your half-siblings.

"as sweet as that sounds kai... I don't think that's a good idea. how will people react?" you hated how much you sounded like ryujin at that moment, but you couldn't help but worry.

"if you don't want me to, I won't, otherwise i really don't care." he shrugged. it pained you to do so but you asked him not to, as you were still nervous about the reaction from the campers.

you knew you would have to reveal your relationship eventually as you didn't want to keep kai in hiding, but you just didn't know when the right timing would be.

but who needs timing when they have a nosy half-sister who's hiding behind a statue listening to your whole conversation?

ryujin wanted what was best for you, and she knew that this relationship would only hurt you. so she decided to hatch a plan that would prevent it from going any further.

while you were out with kai she assembled all the other ares cabin residents to discuss how to break the two of you up. your hidden relationship came as a shock to all your siblings, with most of them spewing profanities at apollo and his son upon finding out.

they ultimately decided that they would just have to sabotage his performance and find a way to put it on you. kai adores music, so why not target the thing he loves the most? the plan was cruel, but they firmly believed it was what you needed to see the reality of your situation.

when you finally found yourself back at the cabin, you could tell your siblings were acting off. however, you couldn't care less after the day you had with kai. blissfully unaware, you collapsed onto your bed, excited for the upcoming talent show and seeing your boyfriend perform.

if only you knew.

you woke up the next morning to a completely empty cabin. despite being confused initially, you brushed it off and got ready to find a seat at the talent show.

finally seated, you spotted kai standing off to the side of the stage, sending him a small wave. unbeknownst to you, your half-brother saw, scoffing and praying for the plan to work.

after an hour of the program running smoothly, you saw a large piano being rolled to the center of the stage, with kai following. excitedly, you waited to hear his set as he sat down to his instrument and adjusted his microphone.

however, once he began playing the piano the once beautiful notes came out odd-sounding and unprepared. it was evident that the piano had been tampered with, and even more evident that kai was completely shocked.

a silence loomed over the crowd until a certain section began bursting into laughter, that section being cabin #5, aka ares cabin.

you felt betrayed as you looked at your siblings giggling at kai's embarrassment, and even more so when ryujin simply smiled at you, whispering, "it's for the best."

disgusted, you looked to kai. who looked absolutely furious and wouldn't meet your eye. flickering your eyes over to the apollo cabin section, you felt their gazes hitting you and your siblings like daggers.

kai stormed off towards camp and you quickly got up and ran after him. finally catching up to him, you panted "kai wait! I had no idea, I'm so sorry."

he didn't even bother turning around before responding, "maybe they're right. it would never work out between us." he explained coldly. you felt your heart shatter as you watched him walk away.

that night, you refused to speak to any of your siblings, especially ryujin. they initially confronted you, then apologized, then begged for you to at least look their way.

you didn't care if you were being unreasonable, you were enraged. how could ryujin betray you like that? how could they all disregard your feelings? you felt hurt more than anything else.

you could barely sleep that night, only thinking of how upset kai must be. he trusted you, and all you did was prove that the ares cabin really is his biggest enemy. he'd never take you back.

you didn't have it in you to get up the next day. alternating between pretending to sleep and ignoring your siblings, you stayed in bed until 3 pm. you felt like shit and you couldn't be bothered to face anyone in the camp. that was until you heard a commotion outside the cabin door.

peeking through the blinds for your first glimpse of daylight, you saw one of your half-brothers and another camper getting into a heated argument, watching as your other siblings got into confrontations of their own with people you've never seen before.

that's when you realized that the people they were arguing with were the children of apollo.

you ran outside, not caring that you were in your pajamas with horrible morning breath and bed hair. all you cared about was where kai was in all this mess.

you spotted him trying to break up a fight between ryujin and the camper you saw before sitting with taehyun and kai.

"kai! what's going on?" you yelled over all the noise. you watched his face soften for a moment when he saw you just to turn into a scowl, "i'm not sure." he responded distantly.

you attempted to calm down ryujin as kai did the same with his sibling until you heard a loud smack.

it was complete silence as the campers tried to comprehend what just happened. after about thirty seconds of stillness, the campers began going back to fighting, except this time with much more violence. it didn't take long before mr. d and chiron showed up frantically trying to break up the students.

once the dust had settled, the two adults sat the restless demigods down and scolded them for what felt like an eternity. "what started this all? I know you've had some... issues for a while now but why today?" the centaur finally asked.

kai quickly glanced at you, which you only noticed because you had been staring at him for the entirety of the time you were getting reprimanded.

to everyone's surprise, ryujin spoke up first, "i found out that one of my siblings and someone from the apollo cabin were... seeing each other."

gasps erupted among the apollo kids as kai hung his head low. "i told my siblings and we decided to ruin the talent show for them. it was purely out of pettiness and hatred for people i've never even spoken to. i now realize how immature it was and I'm deeply sorry." she looked at you during the last portion of her speech.

you wanted to forgive her, after all she's your sister. but she's also the reason kai still won't acknowledge you.

the next thing you know, campers one by one admitted the ways they had wronged the other side and apologized, sincerely. like that one scene from mean girls.

you felt like you had something to get off your chest as well, and you couldn't keep it in anymore, "i was the one 'seeing' someone from the apollo cabin," you started.

another round of gasps.

"and that's not what I want to apologize for. i handled it horribly. trying to keep it a secret from everyone, including my own siblings and closest friends. I shouldn't have hid it. I'm truly so, so sorry." you professed.

you saw the corner of kai's lips slightly go up, and that's all you needed to feel content. mr. d wrapped the mini-therapy session up and the demigods on both sides swore to end this feud once and for all.

you decided to forgive ryujin and your siblings but you would be lying if you said you were over it all, especially because you couldn't even bring yourself to initiate a conversation with kai.

luckily for you, he approached you first. "i accept your apology... and i'm sorry for being so rude earlier," he faltered.

you were about to respond when he began speaking again, "I'm not sure how we got into this mess but, i want a do-over. do you think we could do that?" he asked with his signature smile. how could you say no?

"yes." you beamed, extending a hand. "i'm y/n, daughter of ares. and you are?"

"kai." he replied, "son of apollo."

"okay, kai, son of apollo. will you go out with me?" you asked, half-jokingly.

unfortunately, right before he could even attempt to make a move, he met your newfound older half-brother and camp counselor, choi yeonjun, who scared the absolute shit out of him. luckily for soobin, he was able to form a close friendship with the older boy, but that doesn't mean he scared him any less.

it's always been difficult for soobin to express himself romantically, especially around you. terrified of rejection, he could never bring himself to tell you how he feels. you, however, have no problem making romantic advances towards others. notorious for being a camp heartbreaker, you often share tales of your many flings with soobin, unbeknownst to the fact that he absolutely despises hearing about them.

the only thing that keeps soobin from sobbing in his pillow every night is knowing that you're never serious about any of your prospects. sure you have a tendency to go on and on about them, but in a matter of days, you'll simply move on to the next.

although it frustrates him to no end, he'd rather have it this way than have to see you actually in love with someone else. soobin wouldn't know what to do with himself if you actually fell for someone that isn't him, which is why he was a complete and total mess when you finally did.

it started off just like any other short-lived crush of yours: giggling over the new addition to camp half-blood: lee jeno, son of aphrodite. he might be painfully good-looking, but soobin was sure you'd be over him within less than a week.

"you don't get it. his nose is, like, perfect." you raved as soobin felt the biggest eye roll of his life coming on. "uh-huh" the boy absentmindedly responded.

once you had officially been fangirling over this jeno character for two weeks, soobin started to get worried.

"why don't you approach him, then?" soobin asked, irritated. you've been talking about jeno nonstop for an hour and it was seriously starting to piss him off.

not only that, but you told yeonjun of all people. you've never told yeonjun about any of your small crushes before, so why are you starting now? soobin was beginning to panic, was he really about to lose the love of his life to some guy she just met?

"because... I guess I'm nervous. i don't know?" you responded awkwardly. "you? nervous?" he teased, "it's weird, I don't think I've every felt this way about someone."

uh oh.

that was all he needed to hear to confirm his worst fear. you were actually starting to like this guy, and soobin had yet to tell you how much he liked you first.

"i've gotta go." he said abruptly, leaving you mid-conversation. what the hell is his problem? you thought to yourself.

soobin didn't know what to do or how to feel. whenever he has a problem he usually goes to either you or yeonjun, and he definitely can't go to you for this one.

after pacing around camp for nearly 10 minutes, he wound up at the dionysius cabin door. with a shaking fist, he knocked gently on the wooden door. per usual, yeonjun opened the door with a wide smile on his face, and all soobin could think of is how that smile would disappear after the conversation he was about to initiate.

"could I talk to you in private maybe?" the younger boy proposed, hands still shaking. "of course. is everything alright?" yeonjun responded, ushering soobin inside.

"you know how to get girls right?" soobin asked awkwardly once the pair had made their way to yeonjun's desk. chuckling, yeonjun simply nodded his head.

"look, i need you to promise me you won't get mad." he pleaded. "of course I won't, soobin." yeonjun promised. "i'mkindainlovewithyoursisterandnowshelikesanotherguyandidontknowhowtowinherover." soobin stammered.

yeonjun's pursed lips quickly transitioned into a cheshire smile. "soobin. everyone knows you like y/n, why would I get mad?"

"EVERYONE?"

"well, I guess not y/n herself, but pretty much everyone else."

was it really that obvious? soobin thought he was pretty slick, but people definitely began to connect the dots after he rejected yet another admirer to follow you around all day.

"then what should I do?" soobin retorted. "have you tried telling her how you feel?" yeonjun shrugged, leaning against his bedframe.

soobin felt himself turning red, far too embarrassed to answer. "of course you haven't" the other demigod replied. "isn't there another way?" soobin pleaded, ignoring yeonjun's facepalm.

"this guy belongs to the aphrodite cabin, right?" yeonjun began, causing soobin to nod his head vigorously. "well good luck with that, it's impossible not to fall in love with one of aphrodite's kids. they're walking love potions."

"love potions? those are real?" soobin prompted. yeonjun's face immediately stiffened, "are you seriously about to use a love potion on my half-sister."

"nope. I'm going to use it on jeno and make him fall in love with someone else." soobin declared excitedly. "that doesn't sound like a good idea bro-"

"don't worry about it! I won't!" soobin hurriedly shouted before his friend could protest. "shit, what did I just do?" yeonjun mumbled to himself as soobin made his way out the door.

perhaps soobin was acting irrationally out of desperation, but he couldn't care less. in moments like these, he really resembled his father: going on a fiery rampage over something seemingly insignificant. he was in way too deep to turn back now, and as he marched to find a way to access a love potion, he found his golden ticket: choi beomgyu.

beomgyu is a mutual friend between soobin and yeonjun, but more importantly, another son of aphrodite. if anyone could get him a love potion, it was the youngest choi of the trio.

"beomgyu! what's up buddy," soobin mused. turning around, the slightly shorter boy cheerfully responded, "long time no see, soobin. what's up?"

"you wouldn't know how to get a love potion, would you?" soobin feigned a nonchalant attitude, getting straight to the point. "a love potion is pretty easy to make, but what would you use it for?" beomgyu questioned. "umm I'm just curious! I think I read about it in a book somewhere." soobin lied. although he felt guilty, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

as soon as beomgyu listed the ingredients, soobin ran off in the opposite direction, shouting a quick "thanks!" before heading out

that night, soobin ran all around the camp and forest to find everything he needed to create his very own love potion. finally finishing around 2 a.m., he crashed in hopes of succeeding in his plans.

the next morning, as he confidently made his way to the mess hall, he saw jeno and you sitting side by side eating breakfast. the sight made his stomach turn and him even more eager to hatch his plan so he could finally win you over.

all he had to do was create a distraction so he could slip the love potion into jeno's orange juice, so he shot a lightning bolt directly at the window to shatter it. maybe that wasn't the smartest idea, but soobin was running out of patience. as the campers ran to investigate the window, he rapidly poured his homemade love potion into jeno's drink before taking the seat opposite him.

as you and jeno made your way back you noticed soobin was sitting at the same table that you were previously at. "soobin!" you waved. the boy turned and shot you a smile before dapping up jeno beside you.

"what are you doing here?" you asked, ignorant to the situation. "oh, I got a bit hungry and saw that this table was empty. what a coincidence!" he shared awkwardly.

jeno simply laughed and reached for his juice to take a sip before soobin realized just how stupid this whole plan was. he didn't even know how a love potion works... who's he going to fall in love with? how fast would the results appear? is it even ethical to use a love potion? IS IT EVEN LEGAL?

before jeno's lips could touch the cup, soobin reached over and slapped the drink out of his hand. the silence that followed was deafening. you and jeno looked up at him in shock, along with the rest of the campers at the mess hall.

humiliated, soobin ran out. he wasn't sure where he was going or how he was going to face you. he just knew he couldn't handle all the attention he was getting back there.

"soobin, what the hell was that?" you yelled running behind him. turning around, he struggled to find the words as you looked at him equally disappointed and angry.

"woah woah what's going on?" yeonjun butted in after hearing you yell across the patio, with beomgyu trailing behind him. "what was that for?" jeno confronted angrily, emerging from behind y/n.

the next thing soobin knows, he's cornered by four people he lied to and he can't think of another lie to get himself out of this situation.

"I was planning on using a love potion to get jeno to fall in love with someone else and not y/n." he admitted with his head down.

yeonjun simply sighed while beomgyu gasped. you were still processing why your best friend would sabotage your first potential relationship until jeno opened his mouth.

"fall in love? I was just looking for a hookup. she isn't really all that anyway," jeno quipped.

you immediately whipped your head in his direction, dumbstruck. "excuse me?" yeonjun quickly retorted, fists balling up. meanwhile all beomgyu could do is gasp again.

for once in soobin's life, he didn't feel nervous or hesitant. he felt angry, furious even. without thinking, he pushed jeno to the ground, hovering over him.

"soobin, calm down." yeonjun interjected. confused, you decided to take matters into your own hands.

"first of all, you're an asshole jeno," you began, "and you." pointing at soobin, "are an even bigger one."

you stormed off but you could hear soobin trailing behind you. "leave me alone." you sputtered. "please just hear me out, y/n," he begged.

"how could you possibly justify that? how could you defend anything you did?" your voice broke towards the end of the sentence, breaking soobin's heart. it felt like he was being hit by a million lightning bolts.

"I can't. I acted immaturely and carelessly. the truth is I've liked—loved you for a long time now, but I didn't know how to tell you, and i felt threatened by how much you liked jeno so I made an idiotic decision. i know it’s not enough but im sorry.”

as mad as you were, you couldn’t help but feel bad. were you really that oblivious?

“you’re right about it being an idiotic decision…” soobin’s gaze was stuck to the ground in shame at this point. “but i’d be lying if i said I didn’t have feelings for you. I guess that’s why i never really settled for one guy, because none of them were you. and jeno… was clearly a mistake.”

soobin finally looked up hopefully, “does this mean…” he started, “not until you make it up to me.” you shut him down.

“oh.” he replied awkwardly, scratching his neck. “…by taking me out tomorrow.” you added, grinning.

aside from the occasional glares and scoffs, not much was heard from either of you. until one of you sent a more threatening look the other’s way which led to whoever was on the receiving end to yell about how immature and annoying the other was.

naturally, this led to a whisper-yell fight between the two of you. obviously not wanting to get kicked out of the library, but still yearning to give the other an earful.

it was safe to say that the majority of the camp was fed up with your antics, and made it a routine to tease the both of you whenever things got heated, claiming the both of you liked each other and would make a “cute couple”.

which, in turn, disgusted the both of you. neither of you could ever look at each other in a way that was even somewhat positive, let alone romantic.

nobody knows when your rivalry started, not even either of you, but everyone else knows for a fact that they want it to end. one person in particular being kai, taehyun’s best friend and your half-sibling.

“why don’t you just try being nice for once,” kai suggested, to which taehyun replied, “being nice is a concept that idiots made up to compensate for the fact that they’re braindead and will never get anywhere in life without kissing ass,” he paused for a moment, before continuing, “and i am not an ass-kisser.”

sighing, kai decided to drop it, knowing that there was no way he’d be able to get his point across to his obtuse and stubborn friend.

similarly, your friends were just as irritated, constantly begging you to stop cursing taehyun out every time you see him and embarrassing them in the process.

contrary to how the both of you acted towards each other, you weren’t really that bad. taehyun was always on the more empathetic side and loved helping people out, and you were surprisingly very nice, constantly making others feel welcomed and cherished.

it’s just that neither of you seemed to care about each other’s good qualities, only focusing on the bad. which was easy, considering you were both flaming narcissists. you couldn’t admit to your own faults if someone payed you, and neither could taehyun.

you once even reached a small breakthrough in recognizing how huge your egos are, just for it to end up in another argument; “you just don’t want to admit that you’re just as shitty as me.” taehyun scoffed. “ME? oh please, i know i’m not a saint but you’re the damn devil.” you argued. still keeping his composure, taehyun retorted, “oh really? you could never accept even the mere thought of someone disliking you.”

“isn’t that exactly your problem as well?” you spat. “um, no. i am perfectly situated with the fact that some people may not like me.” he replied with an irritating amount of calmness. “do you know why they don’t like you?” you interrogated, and it’s like he knew the exact words to piss you off, “duh. i’m better than them at practically everything, and they can’t stand it.” he chided.

“you’re just as bad as me!” you snapped, “no. i’m not. because when someone shows disinterest in me, i simply walk away and mind my business. but when it’s you, you stick to them like a goddamn parasite, and don’t leave them alone until they fake liking you enough to the point you’re satisfied.” he hissed.

you felt your face turn red with anger and shame, you knew he was right, but you’d rather off yourself than admit it. walking away, you weren’t about to give him the satisfaction of seeing you give him an emotional reaction.

and that was just one of the many intense arguments the two of you had shared throughout your never-ending rivalry.

the camp was doing a sort of partner program, in which you were assigned someone of a different cabin, and had to spend time with one another, teaching the other camper about your godly parent and how they’ve impacted your life.

you didn’t have a single reason to worry that you would get taehyun, as pretty much all the staff and even the gods themselves knew how horribly reckless the two of you were. the last time you were even somewhat forced to work together, during a game of capture the flag, the two of you argued and even got into a physical fight over who would be better at keeping your team’s flag safe.

the answer was neither of you, as you argued so much you missed a camper on the opposite team run right past you and snatch your flag.

but since this is a cliche fan-fiction written by an unoriginal teenager, the two of you get paired up. taehyun hates it, you hate it, and the rest of the camp absolutely dreads it. there’s no way to tell how this will end, but it definitely can’t be good.

chiron, the co-director of the camp, thoroughly believed that the two of you could manage to make amends and get over this foolish rivalry. and as much as you both hated to admit it, it was time you did anyways. you had both turned 18 in the past year, meaning you were officially legal adults.

squabbling like children over meaningless issues wasn’t exactly fit for your age. but neither of you could help it, it was like a drug. the rush that came from arguing and competing with one another was too much to give up.

----

the day the program began, taehyun and you had the biggest scowls on your faces. it was ironic, really, how similar the two of you were. all the campers were meeting near the front entrance of the camp, partnering up there. what was supposed to be a friendly and exciting exchange, was hell for the both of you.

if just the sight of him wasn’t enough to make you want to leave, the whispers and teasing that came from the other campers once you and taehyun sat besides each other was. no matter how used to it you were, you’d never be able to shake the feeling of disbelief and disgust that washed over you when the campers and mr. d (the literal greek god dionysus, and camp director) started chanting that irritable children’s song:

“taehyun and y/n sitting in a tree. k-i-s-s-i-n-g, first comes-”

“that’s enough.” chiron demanded. sneering, taehyun couldn’t help but laugh at the similarities between mr. d and his son yeonjun, both always taking any and every opportunity they can to tease others.

“alright, by the end of this week, i expect all of you to have gained a good grasp on your partner’s godly parent, as well as some knowledge on their every-day life. you don’t have to become best friends, but at least try to tolerate each other,” chiron pleaded, looking directly at you and taehyun during the last bit.

once you were dismissed, you realized you had to spend the rest of today, as well as the next 6 days, with taehyun. not that you didn’t already see him everyday, but it was more by chance than it was intentional.

and for the very first time, it was awkward between the two of you. neither of you knew what to say. thankfully, kai made his way over to your miserable duo. kai was a mutual friend, just much closer to taehyun, which didn’t bother you much as it usually would since he was an absolute angel. you honestly felt bad at times he had to pacify the both of you before one of your many small disputes turned into a flat out argument.

“wow, didn’t expect you guys to get paired up,” the younger boy awkwardly chuckled. sending an annoyed expression his way, taehyun responded, “yeah well it’s not exactly like we wanted to be.”

here he goes again. you sighed, knowing this was gonna be the longest week of your life. “well... i hope you guys resolve some stuff through this, i’ll see you later taehyun, bye y/n!” he smiled, waving.

you waved back with a polite smile, before turning to taehyun, “alright listen fuckhead, we both need to butter up chiron as much as possible to convince him we’re cool with each other and he never has to make us partners again.”

he seemed lost in thought for a second, before getting back to you, “you know for once, i think your pea-sized brain managed to come up with a good idea for once. it could also help with the teasing,”

you nodded, deciding to ignore his subtle insult for the sake of your sanity. “all we have to do is teach each other a little bit about each other’s godly parents. i mean we already know a good amount about each other’s day-to-day lives.” you announced.

the truth was you didn’t. you only knew what went on at the library, which, to be fair was where you guys spent most of your time anyway. the library, dubbed the “library of love” by those at aphrodite cabin, was said to be the place where most campers, specifically those of athena cabin, found love. of course this name was continuously pushed onto your and taehyun’s relationship, speculated to be the next victims of the library. 

“look, no offense- actually i don’t really care if this offends you, but we know literally nothing about each other.” the boy confessed. “what are you talking about? of course we do! let’s see... your favorite color! it’s... it’s... um,” you stopped to think, “okay fine. maybe we don’t know much about each other, but we’ve spent like everyday together for years! so how?” you wondered.

“well, i know your stance on oxford commas, your extremely opinionated views on hawaiian pizza, and the fact that you prefer cookie dough over actual cookies, which is still really weird by the way.” he joked. you couldn’t help but laugh, the majority of your conversations were really just disagreements on trivial matters.

“fine. let’s start off with telling each other some basic information,” you began, “like?” he interrupted, “like, i usually get up around 8 am, and i spent pretty much the whole morning at the library, afterwards, i get something to eat, and in my free-time that follows, i write poetry, listen to music, paint or read.” you shared.

“alright then, i also get up around 8 am, and stay at the library, and then get breakfast... but afterwards, i like to spend time with kai or yeonjun, sometimes beomgyu and rarely soobin, try out new equipment, train, and maybe partake in some experiments, then knock out.” he revealed.

“damn. i guess we’re not all that different,” you suggested. the both of you burst into laughter, the statement alone seemed so ridiculous. yes you both had similar daily routines, somewhat similar personalities, and even similar friend groups, but when it came down to your opinions on anything and everything, you were like day and night. which is ironic considering you were more of a night owl while he was a fan of mornings.

“well, i guess we can skip the godly parent lectures, i mean, we both have pretty popular parents, and i know all there is to know about athena,” you bragged, showing off your extensive knowledge on the history of greek mythology.

“yeah, um, look y/n, i swear to god if you make fun of me for this, i’ll kill you. but, i don’t really know much about apollo, or even athena. honestly i don’t know anything about greek mythology aside from the fact that it’s real.” he stammered. your jaw dropped, how could the son of athena not know anything about greek mythology. 

“what? i mean- we can work on that.” you claimed. “we’ve already got the daily life thing out of the way, so we can just spend the time we have together teaching you about the gods.” you added.

something about teaching taehyun something for once (instead of him having to explain basic math concepts to you at 6 in the morning at the library) gave you a ginormous ego boost. you felt superior, more intelligent, like you were in the position of authority for once, it was a total power trip.

taehyun, on the other hand, dreaded it. he was a much better teacher than you, and he wasn’t just saying that because he absolutely hated the thought of being inferior. you were impatient and bossy, there was no way anyone other than him would be able to withstand a single lesson from you, but even then, he was terrified.

the two of you decided that in order to preserve your new image, you wouldn’t talk to each other at the library in the mornings. you’d just sit beside each other in silence.

once you leaved, you’d eat together, and make sure to be extra kind to one another when chiron or mr. d passed by. afterwards, you’d make your way back to the library, give him a quick lesson on both your godly parents, and finally part ways sweetly at exactly 9:45, 9 and three quarters when chiron would be making his way back from the fields. you decided since your plan was so genius and foolproof, you could skip out on day one and enjoy yourselves. it was perfect.

----

day two (7:58 am)

it was horrible.

you had just arrived at the library and sat next to taehyun, and you already couldn’t bare the quiet. you were extra irritable in the mornings, mainly because you hated them so much, and you could barely read from your book without finding a problem with the boy sitting next to you, either he was breathing too loud or not breathing at all.

the rest of the library, even the staff, were beyond confused. not only at the fact that you were both quiet for once, but that you sat next to each other... willingly.

it wasn’t easy. if anything, it was hell on earth. three hours of you constantly hitting your elbows against each other, sending each other dirty looks, repressing the urge to curse one another out, and kicking each other under the table.

you had barely made any progress in your novel and taehyun hadn’t gotten any work done. surprisingly, the both of you seemed to be more productive when you were having screaming matches. once the clock struck 11, you were quick to pack up your stuff, and exit the library as fast as possible, not even checking to see if taehyun was behind you.

the rest of the campers in the library were left perplexed, no big scene? no crazy argument about who’s more politically correct? maybe their suspicions of the library of love working its charms on you were coming true.

once you reached the exit of the library, you felt free, liberated from the chains of having to tolerate your worst enemy. you took a deep breath before looking behind you. unfortunately, taehyun was right behind you, so close that his nose had collided with yours making it looked like the both of you had just shared a kiss. taking a step back, you gasped, before turning right back around and being greeted with the sight of at least a dozen campers with their eyes wide open.

expecting taehyun to come up with some snarky insult to get them off your backs, you waited just to see he was still shocked, starting to blush at the unexpected contact and attention he was receiving. you wanted to quip at everyone there, but alas, you were just as flustered.

the silence only lasted a couple of seconds, but it felt like an eternity before the mob started closing in on you, cackling and shouting phrases like “i knew it!” and “you guys are so cute together!”

you wanted to throw up, the thought of being seen by so many people “kissing” kang taehyun clouding your mind. thankfully, he was quick to snap out of it, and grabbed your hand while making a run for his cabin. which of course, only led to more teasing, but at least you were away from the other campers.

shutting the door behind you while panting, taehyun looked at you, disturbance still evident on his face. you looked down at your hands, still intertwined, to which he reacted by quickly pulling his own away and meekly apologizing. you dismissed his apology before sighing, “we can’t leave while it’s still light out.” you groaned. nodding, he sat down at a desk, patting the chair next to him, signaling you to join him.

you were both well aware that rumors travelled fast around here, and by tomorrow morning, practically the whole camp will have heard of your “kiss” and the fact that you held hands. so much for getting the jokes to stop.

“i’ll look for some books on mythology that my siblings may have. i know it’s not as ideal as the library, but you’re gonna have to teach me here, or else both of our reputations will be demolished.” he insisted.

you mumbled in agreement, before pulling out a notebook for the both of you to begin your lesson with.

surprisingly, it went quite well. taehyun was a very quick learner and you were pretty good at explaining things. he could tell you were very passionate about it considering you got excited every time he asked a question or made a new revelation. you managed to avoid arguing the entire session and even joked around with each other a bit. you almost felt like... friends. a part of you didn’t want to leave his cabin, knowing you’d go back to enemies in a flash.

but by sunset, you both decided it was time to go. you were satisfied with how much you taught him, choosing to focus on athena for this lesson. he seemed genuinely interested, and made a lot of effort to take in the information, deciding to set aside your differences to learn more about his mother.

it was admirable, cute almost... almost.

you headed out pretty late hoping your half-siblings wouldn’t notice but also hoping that the rest of the week with taehyun would be just as nice as today.

----

day three (8:03 am)

it was still horrible.

once you reached the library in the morning, you pitifully sat next to taehyun, all eyes in the library on you and him. as you expected, the rumors spread at the speed of light and now the entire library assumed you two had a thing going on. like yesterday, it was suffocating staying still and quiet, but for a completely different reason.

you both stayed completely rigid the entire time, knowing that if you moved a muscle, whether it was towards or away from the other, you’d be getting stares again. like usual, you spent around 3 hours there before craning your neck and getting up. he followed behind quickly but made sure to keep his distance this time.

once you had made it out of the library, you realized the two of you had to go eat together now as well. but thankfully the angel that is kai, approached you two. “hey, wanna get breakfast together?” he asked kindly, “yes!” you and taehyun chirped, taking the younger boy aback. “ooookay...” kai replied nervously.

once you had sat down at a nearby bench, kai started talking again, he was always known for being very hyper, he was hermes’ son after all. “so i heard the two of you kissed,” he smirked mischievously. choking on your water, you couldn’t help but stare at him wide-eyed. taehyun seemed to be just as appalled. “relax, knowing you two, there’s no way you actually did it.” he laughed lightly.

the rest of your break was spent talking to and laughing with taehyun and kai. the blond boy seemed to much happier and less temperamental when he was with his best friend, it was pretty cute. goddamn it y/n stop calling taehyun cute.

eventually, kai received a call from his partner and had to go. waving you both off, he left you and taehyun alone. “so... i’m not going back to that library.” you half-joked. he smiled, “don’t worry, i’ll go back and get some books i think would be helpful. do you think we could study at your cabin today?” he inquired. “sure.” you responded. 

you were sure none of your half-siblings would be back anytime soon, so you made your way to your cabin while taehyun made a beeline for the library.

it didn’t take long for him to get the books and find your cabin, and once he did, you immediately settled down and got to work. a good 30 minutes passed until he had knocked over the glass of water on the table, the liquid spilling all over his shirt. cursing, he apologized, to which you quickly dismissed and ran to get a towel.

upon giving him the towel, he got a bit flustered, asking if you could look away as he needed to take off his shirt. nodding, you turned around immediately.

you heard some rustling behind you but that sound was quickly replaced by footsteps right outside your cabin door. panicking, you turned around, eyes shut per taehyun’s wishes.

you moved past him, opening up a closet, grabbing him from behind you and shoving him into it. you threw in his shirt along with a quick apology before slamming the door shut and sitting on your bed acting like nothing had happened. 

your half-sibling nadia had arrived, looking upset. “what’s wrong?” you beckoned, secretly hoping she was so upset she’d want to be alone and go straight to the other side of the cabin. “just boy stuff” she muttered, sitting next to you.

shit.

“y’know y/n, i’m proud of you for sticking to your studies. don’t waste your time on romance, you’re better than that,” she yawned. you laughed awkwardly, nodding your head.

“y/n? is something wrong?” her forehead creased.

it was as if the gods had it out for you, because in that exact moment, taehyun came tumbling out of the closet, still not wearing a shirt. “what the fu-”

“whoops! this isn't athena cabin,” taehyun chuckled nervously, running out of your cabin, still shirtless.

internally face-palming, and also deciding you didn’t want to stick around to explain whatever had just happened to your half-sibling, you clumsily dashed out the door as well.

just your luck, multiple other campers were there to witness the spectacle that was a shirtless taehyun racing out of your cabin, and you following behind.

----

day four (7:59 am)

it just keeps getting worse.

like yesterday morning, you dreaded going to the library. not only did you “kiss” and hold hands with taehyun, he had ran from your cabin without a shirt on. you were embarrassed to say the least.

you opted for sitting down in the seat opposite of his instead of next to him today. he looked up at you quickly before looking back down just as you were about to look up. the rest of your time at the library consisted of stolen glances and awkward silence. as much as getting along with taehyun was starting to grow on you, you missed your mornings full of bickering.

as usual, the two of you left the library at 11, and met up with kai once again for breakfast. except this time, there was a lingering tension between the both of you, which even the oblivious kai could notice. he asked about yesterday’s events which taehyun cleared up quickly with an awkward cough.

it was obvious this plan was getting to the both of you, all you wanted was to convince others you were getting along, not dating.

you decided enough was enough, and you weren’t going to miss out on the library today. practically dragging him, you entered the library which thankfully didn’t seem to be too busy. sitting him down, you told him to wait as you looked through the vast amount of mythology books.

finally, you found one that seemed suitable for your lesson today, and surprisingly, it went quite well. there were some stares at first, but you went about the lesson normally, helping him out here and there, and before you knew it, it was 9:40.

as you walked side by side out of the library, fake smiles plastered on your face, you were delighted to see chiron about to walk past the two of you. simply smiling while walking with each other wasn’t going to be enough to make up for the past 3 days.

you abruptly stopped just as chiron was about to wave, awkwardly opening your arms. “what are you-” you hushed taehyun, “shut up and go with it.” you whispered.

you shared quite possibly the most uncomfortable, weird-looking, and socially incompetent excuse for a hug. but nonetheless, it was a hug, and that meant progress.

as you pulled away, you noticed chiron was watching your embarrassment of a hug. in that moment you couldn’t exactly tell if you wanted him to see or not, but he did, and that’s all that matters now.

“wow,” taehyun started, “that sucked.”

“shut the fuck up, it’s not my fault you don’t know where to put your damn hands when you hug someone-”

“MY hands? i’m not the one that went for a side-hug at first and then randomly decided to go full on bear hug.”

“you WISH i ‘bear-hugged’ you. you should be thanking the gods you got a partner as smart as me, or else chiron would think we still hate each other,”

“oh yeah because the most unnatural hug known to man is just sooo convincing we’re best friends.”

“you little shit-”

and just like that, your streak of a little over 4 days without arguing was over. unsurprisingly, you spent the next half hour mindlessly yelling at each other before storming off.

----

day five (8:15 am)

it felt just like old times... which still sucked.

you didn’t even bother going to the library this morning, not ready to face taehyun or the invasive campers gawking at your every move. you texted taehyun you were sick and would have to miss out on today. apologizing, you sent him a list of books in the library with a good amount of information on apollo as today was the day you were supposed to discuss your godly parent.

you couldn’t help but feel bad, but at the same time you could care less. last night was the first argument you had with taehyun in so long, and despite all the effort and time it took to push your rivalry aside, it all came crashing down within a matter of minutes.

putting down your phone, you decided to take a nap, hoping taehyun wasn’t too upset.

once taehyun received the string of texts apologizing and begging him not to question you further, he knew something was up. it’s not like you’ve never had a sick day before, and even then, you’d force yourself to get through the day boasting about how much better you are than him at everything even when you have a high fever.

he didn’t bother to respond, knowing you wouldn’t care for what he has to say anyway. the library seemed shockingly empty without you. despite the piles of students pouring in through the doors and seating themselves at the tables around him, he felt like he was all alone.

for someone he hated so much, he definitely depended on you a lot more than one would think. sighing, irritated at his inability to do literally anything without thinking of you, he left early, and headed straight for your cabin.

in order to avoid another nadia situation, he peered through the windows to make sure you were alone before straightening his back and realizing he probably looks like a total pervert.

he knocked on the door. no response. he knocked once again. no response.

eventually, he got tired of waiting and tried opening the door, which to his amusement, was unlocked. once he got in, he quietly called your name. he made his way around the cabin until he saw you, fast asleep in your bed.

they’re actually pretty cute when they’re asleep. wait. no. get it together taehyun.

shaking his head, he gently placed his palm on your forehead, feeling for a temperature. but you were actually fine, maybe it was just a headache or something.

he sat next to you, one of the books you recommended from the library in hand and read from it for about an hour until you started stirring awake. as you opened your eyes, you heard a familiar voice, “oh you’re finally awake,”

screaming, you kicked the stranger off the chair next to you, now fully awake. taking a closer look at the boy writhing in pain on the floor, you realized you had just kicked kang taehyun in the ribs. you didn’t know how to feel, on one hand you felt horrible, on the other, you’ve been wanting to do this since you first met.

helping him up, you assisted him to your bed. “i’m kind of proud of you y’know, at least you can handle yourself if there’s ever a break-in,” he joked, laughing a little before gasping in pain.

genuinely worried, you helped him sit up before apologizing over and over again. “i’m fine, y/n, trust me. you’re not that strong,” he chuckled. great. it’s nice to know he’s still an asshole even when he’s in pain.

ignoring his jokes, you looked at his hand gripping his side, “do you want to go to the infirmary?” you asked. “nah, i’ll be fine, i just need to sit down.” he replied cooly, which was immediately contradicted by the sharp inhale that left his lips afterwards.

“i think i have a healing pendant somewhere around here, i’ll be right back.” you assured. he simply nodded and smiled, holding back another whimper.

you were only gone for 3 minutes when your cabin door opened. please don’t let it be nadia, anyone but nadia. taehyun silently prayed. it’s not like the odds were ever in his favor so he didn’t depend too much on his prayers to work.

but thankfully... they did!

oh, wait, nevermind. they didn’t, it was nadia.

the second she made eye contact with the boy on your bed she screamed, and unfortunately for him, he was too hurt to run away again. “you!” she fumed. he shot her an awkward smile before confessing, “look it’s not what it looks like,”

you entered just as she was about to approach the bed, “oh! hey... nadia haha what are you doing here?” you uttered sheepishly. “look y/n, i know you’re a legal adult now and all, but i don’t think this is the right way to go about things...” she began.

“what?” you and taehyun practically screamed. “what? are you not having s-”

“oh my fucking god, gross! no!” you whined, shooing her. “we don’t even like each other!” taehyun commented. “oh,” she laughed, “well then... i guess i’ll leave you two alone.” she chuckled.

“but, um, stay safe, y’know... use protection,” she added awkwardly.

“please for the love of god get out.” you cried out.

once she was gone, you handed taehyun the pendant, which was surprisingly pretty fast at healing. you both agreed to never speak of anything that had just happened again and he left your cabin.

——

day six (8:01 am)

surprise! it’s still horrible.

at this point, you were positive the entire camp, and now your closest half-sibling were convinced you and taehyun were dating. it disgusted you to no end. in all honesty, you wouldn’t mind dating someone like taehyun... just not taehyun himself.

it felt illegal almost, and after being placed in multiple situations where you had to either convince others or accidentally convinced them that you were in any way romantically involved, the thought of it disturbed you greatly.

you assumed taehyun felt the same... except he didn’t. his brain was in overdrive, he’s never felt this many conflicting emotions at once before. your taunts, your laughter, the way you looked at him (whether it was a look of disgust or admiration), even your teaching methods. everything about you put him under a trance that he just couldn’t escape.

and even then, he still managed to harbor a huge dislike for you. how can one person make him feel butterflies in his stomach one second, and give him the biggest headache on earth in the next. he couldn’t decide if he wanted to be with you, or be as far away from you as possible.

taehyun was a man of logic. he needed facts, data, and calculations, but he couldn’t figure out a way to analyze his feelings for you. all he knew for sure was he enjoyed being in your presence, whether you were cursing at him like a sailor, or praising him for his newfound knowledge on your godly parents.

today was the last day you would be spending an entire day with each other, and unbeknownst to the other, both of you would miss each other dearly. however neither of you would ever admit it. thankfully, beomgyu, a close friend of both taehyun and your half-sister nadia, knew exactly what to do.

he was the son of aphrodite, so naturally, playing cupid would come easy to him... right? he decided he would find a way to trick both of you into meeting up at the library at nighttime. despite the both of you being total nerds, it would be hard to get you to break into the library outside of office hours, but he had just the plan to convince you to do it.

“what? a date? with who?” you questioned the older girl in front of you, “beomgyu told me not to tell anyone,” she shrugged. you had just gotten back from your last breakfast with taehyun and kai, and nadia greeted you with the unexpected news of taehyun supposedly going on a date.

“but... i did hear that it was at the library at exactly 12 am.” she admitted. so many questions were going through your head: how did taehyun even land a date? who was he going out with? why the library? and why at 12? isn’t that when it’s closed?

you would be lying if you said you didn’t feel a pang of jealousy, and taehyun seemed to be in a coincidentally similar state.

“why the library?” he asked, “y’know... those library of love rumors and all,” beomgyu stated. “who’s the guy?” the younger boy inquired. “why do you wanna know?” beomgyu smirked. quickly gaining his composure, taehyun replied, “i don’t. i was just curious.” smiling, beomgyu knew his plan would work.

it was now 11:49, and curiosity was getting the best of you. there’s no way i’m sneaking out and breaking the rules for taehyun of all people. you pondered the pros and cons of leaving and ultimately decided it would do you more harm than good to go,

so you went.

it took taehyun a little more self-convincing. finally, after a long process of opening the door just to run back inside and cower behind the door, he made up his mind and quietly headed to the library.

——

day seven (12:00 am)

it was still pretty bad.

you arrived first for once. noticing the lights were off, you carefully opened a window and snuck in, crashing down making a loud noise, which taehyun heard from outside.

thanking the gods no one was there to witness that humiliating fall, you got up speedily, and started to venture the dark library, praying you didn’t get caught. 

upon hearing the noise, taehyun was convinced you really were in there with someone else. he knew what he was doing was wrong, but he couldn’t help it. tip-toeing to the window you previously fell from, he climbed into the building, making sure to be extra quiet.

he made his way past the tables, holding his breath, eventually moving backwards to make sure you weren’t behind him. as much as you both liked to deny how similar you were, you both happened to be doing the exact same thing, just in opposite directions.

neither of you bothering to look back once, you bumped into each other, panicking and falling to the ground.

“what are you doing here?” you accused, “what are you doing here?” he repeated. “i, well, um...” you stammered, “don’t you have a date or something?” he cut you off. “what?” you cried, puzzled, “i’m not the one on a date, you are.”

“but beomgyu said-” he started. “oh shit.” he sighed. you were both fairly smart people, and it surprised both of you that it took this long to finally understand you were set up. but that wasn’t your biggest concern at the moment.

“wait... why would you come here if i was on a date?” he interrogated. “i could say the same for you.” you retorted. “look. i don’t know what it is exactly, but i like you. i mean i still hate you but i like you.” he confessed, unsure.

“as dumb as that sounds, i have to agree.” you sighed. “cool... wanna kiss?” he suggested.

hitting his shoulder, you groaned, “are you kidding me taehyun?”

“what? it was a genuine question. not like we have anything better to do.” he rolled his eyes.

“fine.” you muttered.

you’d think the both of you were being forced with your attitudes.

but shockingly, your kiss wasn’t too bad. it was a bit awkward at first, but as you eased into it and situated your hands, it was actually quite nice.

pulling away, you stood up. “we should probably go... and also never speak of this again.” you half-joked. “that’s fair.” he grinned, following you out of the window.

once you made it outside, you were greeted with beomgyu and nadia smiling from ear to ear. you’d think they had just won the lottery.

“we heard everything.” nadia boasted. “gross.” taehyun groaned. laughing, beomgyu commented, “i guess the library of love does work after all.”

“yeah, no. no one said we’re in love.” you deadpanned. “didn’t you guys kiss?” nadia asked, exasperated. “yeah, but it was just a kiss.” taehyun responded.

leaving the older campers behind, you both silently walked back to your cabins, but not before saying one final goodbye.

“i know we technically don’t have to see each other anymore but... do you mind getting breakfast with me tomorrow? and i mean like, just me.” taehyun bashfully looked at the ground.

that alone encouraged yeonjun, and has been his main source of motivation for the past 10 years. of course along the way, he’s realized it may be much harder to get closer to you than he originally thought; you were introverted, hated parties, didn’t drink, and had pretty much no friends besides your brother nico.

yeonjun knew that you were probably lonely, i mean who wouldn’t be if they had virtually no friends? and so he never stopped, took breaks? sure. but he’d always come back. however this time it was different. it was about to be december, and so the 10 year anniversary of him first pestering you to be his friend was coming up.

that's right, it’s been 10 years. the two of you met at a new years party held by the camp, it’s not very often the camp holds events outside of summer but they do so occasionally. he still remembers his small, chubby fingers handing you a juice-box which 9 year old you dismissed immediately. frowning, he tried to offer you a cookie this time, to which you replied, “my daddy said if strangers give you food, they’re trying to poison you.” cracking a smile, stubborn little yeonjun persisted, insisting he wasn’t trying to poison you and was just trying to be friends. your relationship has been pretty much the exact same ever since then.

yeonjun has never had to chase someone this long, usually they were in the palm of his hand after 7 days, but you were just as rigid as him. he couldn't understand why you wouldn’t just open up to him, do you enjoy this little charade? do you genuinely not like him? why?

well it doesn't matter. yeonjun will get you to acknowledge your friendship one way or another by new years. and he was prepared to spend all month doing it.

——

“hello there, gorgeous,” you heard a familiar voice coo, oh god, not him. “what do you want, yeonjun?” you muttered, resisting the urge to roll your eyes. “i’m having a party tomorrow night.” he stated.

“congrats.” you deadpanned, turning around to walk the other way. you felt a strong grip on your forearm, turning you back around, “you’re not coming?” he pouted, feigning sorrow. actually rolling your eyes this time, you let out a quick and harsh, “no.”

“i’ll do your homework.” he begged. laughing, you waved him off, “i can do my own.”

“please?” he whined, “just once. you never come to any, besides, nico is coming as well.” letting out a heavy sigh, you looked him in the eyes, “yeonjun, every time you’ve asked i said no, what makes you so sure i’ll say yes this time?” he looked at the ground for a couple of seconds, before looking back up at you with a big smirk. “because...” he started, “how else would you get this back?” he giggled, holding up your small black book. panicking, you felt a sudden surge of anger wash over you, “how the hell did you get that?” you seethed.

“you dropped it on your way out of the forest.” he chuckled. glowering, you decided you’d let him have this one, only because you wouldn’t know what to do with yourself if he was to read what was in the book. it was basically a diary for you, it contained everything about you from your favorite color to your deepest darkest secrets.

“fine. i’ll go to your stupid party. but ONLY to get my book back, and don’t you even think about reading it.” you threatened, pointing your finger at him. he mockingly put both his hands up in the air, one holding your precious book.

“great, i’ll see you then,” he cheered, walking past you to meet up with his good friend from zeus cabin, choi soobin.

“don’t you think blackmailing them is a bit much?” soobin asked, picking at the ambrosia he was eating earlier. “it’s not blackmailing... think of it as ransom.” the pink-haired boy shrugged. “that doesn't sound any better.” soobin laughed.

“y’know jun, i never understood why you cared so much about them, i mean, isn’t it exhausting chasing after one person for years? especially a person you don’t even like romantically?” sighing, yeonjun sat up, “i guess... i don’t know. i feel like they’re the only person i can be myself around...”

soobin raised an eyebrow causing yeonjun to quickly correct himself, “i mean- besides you and the guys.” he said, sheepishly. soobin chuckled, patting yeonjun on the shoulder, “whatever you say, man. just don't overstep any boundaries.”

“yeah, yeah, i know.” yeonjun retorted. the truth is, no matter how carefree yeonjun appears, he actually takes things like these very seriously. from a young age, he’s always had the dying need to be liked by everyone and anyone, which resulted in him often changing around his personality, and even developing personas just to please other people.

surprisingly, yeonjun doesn’t even really like parties. he prefers to spend time in a garden, specifically a grape garden that his father, the camp instructor and greek god, has kept a secret from all the campers besides yeonjun. nothing makes him more relaxed than sitting in the garden and drinking his worries away.

even more surprisingly, the majority of campers are die-hard party-goers, and the ones that aren’t are still somehow roped into going to any and every party held in camp halfblood. if throwing these beloved parties is the only way he’ll get people to like him, even if it’s draining, he’ll do it.

it was one of those days, a tiring day; the day before a party. gods know how badly yeonjun needs to recharge his energy, so as usual, he made his way to the grape garden. wine in one hand, and your book in another, he decided a little peek couldn’t hurt. after simply sitting down, surrounded by nothing but silence and nature, he already felt more energized.

flipping through your book, he saw a certain page that caught his attention, mainly because it had the name “hades” written in all caps and red ink, contrasting with the dull, black writing on all the other pages. it seemed to have clippings of other pages in it, a specific clipping containing a letter:

“often times i curse my brothers for the fact that i’m trapped in charge of the underworld for eternity, but at least i’m trapped with the memory of you and your siblings. i wish it wasn’t under these circumstances, i wish you loved me as much as i love you. i wish you could see how much i love you, my darling y/n. - H”

damn. is all yeonjun could think. do they have a boyfriend or something?

see, as socially intelligent as yeonjun was, he lacked a lot of common sense. but as comfortable yeonjun was in his garden, he couldn't shake the feeling of discomfort knowing there was a possibility that you liked someone... someone that wasn’t him. 

surprising himself, he wondered if maybe he really did like you, well as more than friends (if you were even considered friends). he quickly dismissed the thought as he was sure he’s just jealous someone else managed to befriend you before he did. deciding that he’s spent enough time snooping through your personal life, he closed the book and decided to head back to the camp.

the second he got out of the garden, he was greeted by multiple campers. it was like a mandatory practice, to wave and shout “hi yeonjun!” anytime someone was to see him. of course, as always, yeonjun gave a polite greeting back, and went about his day.

----

your alarm echoed loudly throughout your cabin, thanking the gods nico wasn’t here to scold you, you picked up your phone and pressed the “stop” option. unfortunately, your heavenly midday nap had to be cut short because of a certain someone.

sighing, you got up and decided to freshen up a little before heading out. it’s not like you even wanted to go to this party, so why look good?

after doing the usual quick face-wash and changing your clothes, you left your cabin, checking your phone to see the time: 5:53

you may have not been early but at least you weren't late. by the time you made your way to the dionysus cabin, took a deep breath and braced yourself, knocked on the door, and were forced into a hug with the devil himself, it was around 6 pm.

you assumed since it was early, not much would be going on, but you were very wrong. campers in one corner were drinking like there was no tomorrow, some knocking over anything and everything in an attempt to dance to the loud music blaring from the speakers, and a good amount of campers were practically eating each other’s faces in another corner.

awkwardly, you made your way past the several drunk teenagers, grabbing onto yeonjun’s shirt. “i came. so can i get my book back?” you practically begged. smirking, he replied, “nope. once you get your book back, you’ll leave, and i don’t know if i’ll ever be able to convince you to come to another one of these again,” he paused, taking a swig of the seemingly expensive bottle of alcohol in his hands, “besides, why don't you try having some fun for once?” he teased, swinging his arm around you.

pushing his arm off with a scoff, you glared at him before responding, “drinking and blacking out isn’t exactly my idea of fun.”

“just as i thought,” he started, “you’re way too much of a pussy to drink.” he challenged. pretending to walk away, he gave you one last look and shrugged, “no wonder all the gods say hades is the least fun. guess you took after your old man.”

you were way too smart to fall prey to peer pressure... but your pride was also way too big to deal with yeonjun’s antics. snatching the bottle out of his hands, you drank a good amount, wincing right after. you had never drunk alcohol before, and you never thought you would. if it tastes bad and it’s not good for you, then what’s the point?

“wow.” yeonjun applauded, “look at you, little y/n, all grown up.” he chortled while pinching your cheeks. slapping his hand away, you drank even more. honestly, you didn’t even know what you were trying to prove, but seeing yeonjun look down on you filled you with an unhealthy amount of rage.

“alright, alright, i get it. slow down.” he mumbled, carefully taking the bottle out of your hands and setting it down on a nearby nightstand. it was either extremely obvious this was your first time drinking or the drink was really strong because within a matter of minutes, you couldn't even walk straight.

the rest of the night was pretty much a blur. yeonjun was panicking, following you around like a chaperone trying to keep you from taking off your clothes or making out with the nearest stranger. he didn't expect you to drink that much but damn were you a hassle to deal with when you were drunk.

once the party died down, he knew he couldn’t just let you leave alone. dragging you to his bed while shushing you as you were either singing some 90s hit or yelling about how you didn’t want to go to bed, he was finally able to get you to sleep. sighing to himself as he definitely didn’t think this would be how his night ended, he couldn’t help but admire how peaceful you looked when you were sleeping, and before he knew it, he was knocked out right next to you.

----

as the morning light hit the windows, pouring into the cabin, your eyes fluttered open. you were greeted with the sight of messy pink hair and one arm draped around your waist while another was next to your head. one of your arms were wrapped around the stranger’s neck, while the other was next to his head. your legs were tangled together and you felt the unfamiliar sensation of someone else’s bare skin against your own.

that’s when the realization hit you, you were in yeonjun’s bed, practically cuddling with him, and the both of you were half naked. jumping up suddenly, you woke up the boy laying next to you. “YEONJUN WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?” you screamed, to which he responded by rubbing his eyes and muttering “5 more minutes,”

“NO. NOT FIVE MORE MINUTES, WHAT HAPPENED LAST NIGHT?” you demanded. wincing, he shushed you before saying something along the lines of, “will you please calm down? i’ll explain, just give me a minute.”

frowning, you pinched his side causing his eyes to widen and a yelp to leave his lips. “okay, okay!” he whimpered, rubbing the spot you pinched. “you got crazy drunk last night so i had to drag you to bed.” he yawned.

“but why are we both practically naked?” you questioned. suddenly, a thought crossed your mind, “oh my god.” you gasped, “oh my god!” you repeated, “did we? did we- did we do it?” you screamed. amused, yeonjun couldn’t help but let out a laugh.

smacking his chest, you gave him an irritated look to which he replied, “of course we didn’t. you were trying to take off your own clothes almost the entire night,” you winced, unable to imagine yourself like that. “and i personally, have a hard time sleeping clothed.” he continued. still glaring, he quickly followed up with “but i swear we weren't touching each other when i got into bed!”

heat rushed to your cheeks, feeling a strange mixture of embarrassment and exhilaration. you felt brand new. not only did you go to a party, you drank, and slept in the same bed as a half-naked boy all in one night. and as much as you hated to admit it, yeonjun wasn't all that bad-looking. wait.. what? no no no, get it together y/n. this is choi yeonjun. you don’t like him... right?

snapping you out of your thoughts, you hear a quiet “oh shit.” leave yeonjun’s lips, you look up to see he’s already out of bed and shuffling around the room. “what’s wrong?” you ask, still sitting on the corner of his bed. “y/n, have i ever told you how nice you look when you’re not mad?” he said sweetly. “yeonjun. what did you do?” you replied, already getting angry, “relax, i’m sure it’s around here somewhere...” he muttered.

“what is- oh my god yeonjun.” you seethed. “i’ll find it! i swear!” he promised, throwing a shirt on before wandering off to the rest of the cabin in hopes of finding your book.

massaging your forehead, your headache started to become more and more apparent. looking to your side, you saw a small bottle of water and two pills on a napkin. assuming yeonjun had left it there knowing you’d probably have a hangover, you couldn’t help but smile.

“alright, so i definitely know where it is...” yeonjun began, appearing out of nowhere. “it’s just... not here.” he said awkwardly, playing with his hands. “then where is it?” you argued. “a secret place.” he announced.

scoffing, you interrogated him once more, “what are you, 5? i’m not gonna fall for your cheap tricks yeonjun. either tell me where this “secret place” is or i’ll find it myself.”

annoyed, yeonjun rolled his eyes before throwing a shirt at you, “get dressed and follow me.”, obliging, you got up and put the shirt on along with your jeans from last night that were thrown on the floor, still in disbelief you would ever take off your jeans in the first place.

as you were about to make your way out of the cabin, you were pulled back by yeonjun, “listen, no other camper has ever seen this place before... and to be honest i don’t really want any other campers seeing it, so please, just grab your book and forget this all happened, alright?” he whispered.

“yeah, yeah, i know. trust me, i’ll be quick, the last thing i want is to spend more time with you.” you mocked. the truth was, he was starting to grow on you, but you wouldn’t admit it if your life depended on it.

still holding onto your arm, he dragged you outside and ran towards the back of the camp, still holding onto you. you were tripping over your own legs and struggling to keep up but that didn’t stop him. he continued running, and you continued struggling, until you reached a locked door. it was a normal-looking wood door, it seemed a bit worn out though, with some scratches, and vines growing on the sides. he pulled a key out of his pocket, and speedily opened it, pulling you inside.

once he let go of your arm you could finally see the garden up close, it wasn’t too big, but it wasn't small either. different shades of green and purple were everywhere, huge leaves and even bigger vines were all along the trees. on each vine stemmed huge bundles of grapes, some a rich, dark violet and others somewhat maroon in color. there was a small bench covered in vines and small leaves in the center and a fountain spewing out a thick, dark red liquid.

yeonjun strolled up to the bench, crouched down, and picked up a small object from the ground. jogging back to you, he handed you your book. “thanks.” you managed, “no problem... now get out.” he quipped with a smile. rolling your eyes, you turned and exited out the door, wondering how important this place is to yeonjun.

he didn’t follow you out, but did yell at you to close the door. as you were about to, you heard a sudden “wait!”, glancing back into the garden, you saw yeonjun tending to one of the many grape vines, “are we friends yet?” he beckoned. sighing, you sent a harsh “no.” his way before shutting the door. you could still hear a faint chuckle behind the door before rushing back to your cabin.

----

that was all a little over a week ago, it was now the last week of december, and almost time for the new years party. in the past week, you’ve found yourself in yeonjun’s company more than you’d like to admit. neither of you can deny that you’ve gotten much closer since the last party, but you were still too stubborn to acknowledge him as a friend.

at first, it was out of genuine dislike, but as yeonjun started to grow on you, so did your liking towards the little game the two of you had going on. however, as much as you wouldn’t mind being yeonjun’s friend, part of you is a bit scared. scared that he’ll leave you, that he’ll finally be satisfied and stop making an effort to talk to you.

but you also had an even bigger concern: that once you did accept defeat, you’d get even closer, and you’d develop feelings for him. at this point, there’s no denying you sort of like yeonjun, but you were determined to get rid of all those feelings before it was too late, and you were left chasing after a guy who wanted nothing to do with you. after all, it was clear that all he wanted was attention.

well... at least that’s how it started.

see, yeonjun was facing a similar dilemma, he was also starting to like you, but was worried it would drive you away. he’s already made so much progress, and he can’t risk everything because of his dumb feelings. as he made his way past the entrance, getting ready to run some errands for his father, he ran into you.

“woah, someone’s in a rush.” he teased, holding you back. not even bothering to look up, you scoffed, recognizing his voice, “haha. now let me through,” you muttered as you attempted to push past him.

“not so fast... what's the magic word?” he questioned, raising an eyebrow at him, you sighed before guessing, “please?”. “nope.” he giggled, “yeonjun i swear to god if you don’t let me through i’ll tell your dad all about your parties-”

“okay! i get it, you can go.” he backed away jokingly. smirking, you strolled past him, hearing him mumble “snitch” under his breath. but before you turned around to confront him, he was already gone. annoyed, you kept moving, but still couldn’t get yeonjun out of your head.

all you could think about was him. his hair, his voice, his lips-

you felt an abrupt pain on the side of your head and a shriek. waking up from your daze, you realized you had just bumped into kang taehyun. he was from the artemis cabin, and was also said to be really intimidating. you never thought much of it, as you always had people say that about you too, solely because your father was hades, but the second you made eye contact with him, you realized that the rumors were actually pretty accurate.

you saw a wave of anger wash over him, followed by a quick change in expression once he got a good look at you, “hey! you’re y/n! from hades cabin right?” he asked, head tilted. “yeah... you’re taehyun, right?” you replied awkwardly. “yeah, yeonjun has told me so much about you.” he laughed. your eyes widened, oh no. whatever yeonjun has to say about you probably isn’t good.

however, it was quite the opposite. taehyun was a friend yeonjun could rely on, he went to him for all his concerns, big or small. despite taehyun being younger, he was definitely much more mature, and always knew what to say to yeonjun. one of their most recent conversations were actually about you, and how yeonjun was torn about his feelings for you. while you opted for writing away your thoughts in your book, yeonjun confided in taehyun. 

“don't worry, it’s all good things,” the younger boy dismissed. you were still pretty skeptical, but nodded and smiled anyways, “that's good to hear... well i’ll be going now,” you said with a wave. he waved back politely and left.

you still couldn't stop thinking about yeonjun, but now you were more curious about what he could've possibly said to his friend about you.

----

it was the night of the new years party, you were honestly pretty anxious. social gatherings were really not your thing... but at least this one had adult supervision and no alcohol. as you were getting ready, your half-brother nico walked in, elated that you were finally going out of your way to attend a party. if only he knew what had happened at the last party you went to.

nico decided it would be best if the two of you went together, agreeing, the both of you had left the cabin together, only for him to get distracted by his friends the second he got there, leaving you alone without anyone to talk to. typical nico. you sighed, shaking your head. 

wondering if yeonjun was here, you decided to look around, noticing the majority of his friend group were: choi beomgyu, who seemed to be getting pretty intimate with some camper from hephaestus cabin, choi soobin, and taehyun. you couldn't find his much younger friend from hermes cabin, but that was the least of your concerns at the moment.

suddenly, a figure closely resembling his made it's way out of the hall, seemingly upset, with taehyun following closely behind. you were worried, but ultimately decided it was none of your business. you sat next to the punch table, fidgeting with your clothes for a good 10 minutes until a desperate taehyun approached you, begging you to help him look for yeonjun.

worried, you asked about what had happened to him, to which the boy responded, “he seemed to be in a bad mood, but he wouldn’t tell me why. he made a big scene and left, but i can't find him.” you could see how frustrated taehyun was, running his hand through his hair and adjusting his clothes every couple of seconds. “i think i know where he is,” you began, to which he nodded in response to, “just give me a minute.” you added. 

leaving the hall through the back, you made sure no one was following you before retracing your steps from the time he took you to retrieve your book. eventually, you found yourself at the door. debating whether or not to knock, you realized the door was open. peeking inside, you saw him sitting at the bench, his head in his hands, and a glass of what you assumed was wine next to him.

“yeonjun?” you called softly, it was quiet, but enough to grab his attention. “y/n? is that you?” he answered. “yeah,” you stated while walking in cautiously. “what are you doing here?” he muttered. “oh, um, taehyun told me you were upset and left and i assumed you would be here.” you confessed. the air was getting thick, and you were starting to think this was all a big mistake until he called your name, patting the spot next to him, signaling you to sit.

quietly closing the door all the way, you made your way past the vines to sit beside him. “i like you.” he stated, still looking at the ground. taken aback, you were left speechless for a good minute, causing an awkward silence. fixing your composure, you responded, “i like you too, yeonjun.”

he finally looked up, and looked straight into your eyes, smiling. moving his hand, he placed it on top of yours, giving your hand a squeeze. this side of yeonjun was very unexpected, he was much more calm, quiet, and sincere. you couldn’t help but smile back at him.

all of a sudden, a large group of voices started chanting “10, 9, 8-″ and your quiet was interrupted. gasping, you realized that it was about to be new years. “have you ever had a new year’s kiss?” yeonjun solicited. “nope.” you replied with a small smile, “well, do you want one?” he asked. “nope.” you repeated, starting to break into a grin. he rolled his eyes as the chant hit 3, and once you heard “2″, you wrapped your arms around his neck, pulling him into a kiss.

not much was known about beomgyu, except the fact that everyone at camp halfblood either wanted to be him, or be with him. while the first option was near impossible, the second was an even harder feat to achieve. he has an ongoing streak of rejecting anyone that confesses to him, and it doesn’t seem like that streak will be broken anytime soon.

you, on the other hand, gave up all hopes of being beomgyu’s muse when you first laid eyes on him. it was apparent the two of you lived in entirely different worlds: when he walked in a room, he’d get stares of envy and adoration, when you did, you’d definitely get stares, but of disgust and ridicule.

when he was alone, people would push and shove just to be able to talk to him, bask in his presence, or simply stare at him in admiration. when you were all to yourself, you stayed that way. nobody approached you, and nobody wanted to.

while neither of your scenarios seemed ideal, you’d trade places in a heartbeat, and beomgyu would too.

he was never one to dwell too much on looks, yes physical attraction is important, but it shouldn’t be the only thing that matters in a relationship. all his life, he’s had people approach him, romantically and platonically, with no other interest in him aside from his looks. yes it sounds like an insignificant complaint, but he’s sick of people not caring for what else he has to offer. he’s a person. with feelings. not arm candy, or an empty-headed doll. if being “unattractive” by societal standards was what it would take for him to finally be left alone, and have the ability to form real, genuine relationships, then so be it.

you definitely don’t have to worry about that though, as you were always the first to approach someone, if they’d even stick around to hear what you have to say. one day. just for one day, you would like to know what it would feel like to feel beautiful.

your story begins at an awkward encounter during a game of capture the flag. you weren’t too big on sports, you preferred to stick to your workshop for obvious reasons, or even a library, where you could read romance novels and imagine yourself in the place of the beautiful, dainty heroine.

beomgyu loved any chance to display his athletic ability, as long as it distracted others from his appearance, but even that didn’t seem to work. sword in hand, he charged towards you. meanwhile, you were abscent-mindedly daydreaming, too busy to notice the boy running towards you head first.

before you could snap out of your trance, he had crashed into you, sending the both of you down. you were already embarrassed by the fact that you probably look like the biggest idiot right now, and that embarrassment doubled when you looked choi beomgyu in the eyes.

the position the two of you were in was also extremely questionable, he had both arms beside your head laying on top of you, in an attempt to keep from hurting you, while your arms were holding onto his waist.

it didn’t help that everyone in the game, intially only stopping to make sure beomgyu was okay, noticed you. then it began, the taunting, the mocking, the insults. before you knew it, tears welled up in your eyes, you were never one to cry in front of others, you pride yourself in your strength. but that doesn’t matter anymore, you embarrassed yourself in front of almost the entire camp. you know, deep down everyone knows, if you were just a little more beautiful, societally anyway, you wouldn’t be getting laughed at. you’d get asked if you were okay, you’d be helped up, you’d get assisted to the infirmary. but no.

apparently people that looked like you couldn’t afford to have those luxuries in life. wiping your tears, you stood up and shamefully walked yourself to infirmary, leaving behind a confused beomgyu and crowd of kids begging to take him there.

after the initial impact, everything was a blur. by the time he was able to see straight, he saw you tearing up underneath him. he felt horrible, wondering if he had hurt you... until he realized what the kids around you were chanting.

another wave of sympathy washed over him, but for an entirely different reason. he felt you push him to the side and stand up, nobody seemed to follow you. were they really about to go to the infirmary alone?

he shoved his way out of the mob, sending a pair of pleading eyes towards chiron, the centaur seeming to understand immediately.

“alright that’s enough, beomgyu and y/n can take themselves to the infirmary. they’re demigods, not toddlers.” he stated.

“why don’t you just heal them?” asked a peculiar boy from the hermes cabin. “i’m only here if a student needs immediate medical attention. a small bump on the head doesn’t seem all that bad.” he chuckled.

beomgyu managed to catch up to you, panting. “are you alright?” he asked, his voice laced with genuine concern. desperately trying to stop the tears, you nodded. “i heard what they were saying back there...” he started. the tears came back, is he really only being somewhat decent to you because of pity? “i hope you know it’s not true.” he quipped. confused, you turned your head to look him in the eyes, “what?” you sniffed.

he felt his heart break, you looked so hurt, and he couldn’t help but feel like it was his fault. “i mean the stuff they said... about your looks” the both of you avoiding eye contact, looked anywhere but at each other, until you finally spoke up.

“it’s alright.” you laughed, “it is true... but it still hurts”. he looked up at you, shock evident on his face. growing up, his mother made sure to instill in him the importance of finding beauty and love in anything and anyone. he still recalls his mother’s voice declaring: “everyone is worthy of love, and everyone is worthy of feeling beautiful.”

so why? why didn’t you feel loved? why didn’t you feel beautiful? beomgyu was never one to base his perception of others on looks, as he understands how that can impact relationships. he looked at you once more, before sighing. “it’s not.” he stated abruptly, stopping you in your tracks.

“excuse me?” you choked. he seemed to be taken aback as well, “i-i meant, none of it was true. you’re not... whatever they said you were.” he awkwardly explained. “right...” you muttered. you had assumed the collision had messed with his head, peering over at him to see him blush bright red.

finally, the two of you had reached the infirmary. sitting down opposite from each other. he seemed to be busy fidgeting with his hands, and you were still up in the clouds, imagining you were a princess, falling in love with a prince you were forbidden to marry.

“so...” he coughed, breaking the silence. “i hope it doesn’t hurt too much.”

“oh. yeah i’m fine, it’s not that bad. how are you holding up?” you inquired, “same i guess.” the boy quipped.

there it was again, that awkward silence.

thankfully, a nurse popped her head out of the door, calling in beomgyu, and promising to fetch you later. finally, you were alone. today had been very strange, and beomgyu’s behavior made it seem even more unnatural. despite never knowing the guy, you always assumed he was a confident and loud character. at least, that’s what you heard he was like around his friends.

beomgyu walked out about 10 minutes later, signaling you to get up. on his way out, he stopped himself, deciding to wait for you. there was something about you... about the way you acted around him. you didn’t treat him like he was some spectacle, or a celebrity, just another teenager. he enjoyed it. even though it was a bit awkward at times, he figured that’s just part of the experience, and the closer the two of you got, the more that awkwardness would fade.

some time later, you were on your way out, humming a soundtrack to one of your favorite romance films. letting out a scream when you heard a deep voice behind you exclaim, “hey i know that movie!”.

“where the hell did you come from?” you gasped, he started laughing. you couldn’t help but crack a smile, he was definitely the most gorgeous when he laughed. calming down, he apologized, “sorry, that was just a bit... unexpected. i wanted to walk you to your cabin, if that’s okay with you.” scratching the back of his neck, he scanned your face for any traces of discomfort.

you were baffled, the choi beomgyu, wanted to walk you to your cabin? clearing your throat, you remembered your life isn’t some romcom, and that he’s probably just doing it out of basic decency.

“y-yeah, um. sure. i don’t mind.” you stammered, mentally cursing at yourself for sounding like a complete fool.

he smiled and grabbed your hand, making his way towards the hephaestus cabin, dragging you with him. “beomgyu?” you mumbled, “yeah?” he replied.

“why are you holding my hand?”

he stopped in his tracks, causing you to bump into him again. shit. he was a very affectionate person, so he tended to forget that other people had stricter boundaries than him. spewing apologies, he removed your hand from his and blushed. giggling, you reached for his hand. he stifled a grin, latching onto your hand once more.

you spent the rest of the walk hand in hand, with beomgyu going on and on about anything and everything that came across his mind, and you simply nodding and laughing along. it felt nice, not having to constantly advance the conversation. beomgyu enjoyed it as well, seeing someone interested in what he has to say, and not just how he looked saying it.

unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and before either of you knew it, you were standing in front of your cabin. your fingers were still intertwined, and beomgyu still babbling on and on about his guitar.

it was getting dark, and the conversation had started to wear out. sighing, you retrieved your hand. wishing beomgyu a goodnight, you rushed inside and collapsed on your bed, feeling heat rush to your cheeks as you replayed the moments you spent with beomgyu inside your head.

marveling in the ecstasy that your first, and probably only, semi-romantic experience with another person was better than you could ever imagine, the realization hit you that it probably meant nothing to him.

he was known for being a likeable person, it’s not your fault you fell for his charms. if only you were just as likeable, if only his heart fluttered at the thought of being able to hold your hand again. but you knew that he was probably on his way back to his cabin now, being pulled over by dozens of campers much better looking than you, and falling for them instead.

if only you knew how wrong you were.

he had never felt like this before. his heart was thumping and his thoughts were racing. he was confused but all he knew was he wanted to be with you again. he wanted to hear your laugh, see your smile, hold your hand. he wanted all of it, and he couldn’t figure out why.

everything about you was intriguing, how intently you listened, your amazing advice, how your eyes went wide when you talked about something you’re passionate about. if only he was just as interesting, if only your heart fluttered at the thought of being able to talk to him again. but he knew that you were probably reading one of your novels, captivated by the male lead’s personality: his bravery, his kindness, his humor, and falling for him instead.

if only he knew how wrong he was.

——

over the next couple of days, you started spending more time with beomgyu. both of your feelings for each other continued to grow.

beomgyu learned you were very insecure about your appearance, and you learned that he was insecure about anything but his appearance.

beomgyu was always afraid he was nothing without his looks. no one ever praised his personality, his talents, his intelligence, his athleticism, nothing. you knew he had a lot to offer, he was everything and anything anyone could ever want. but no one seemed to look beyond the surface.

when it came to you, no one seemed to look past the surface either, but you had no doubt that you had more to offer, and neither did beomgyu. the rare times you received praise, it was for your personality, your talents, your intelligence, but never your looks.

beomgyu definitely made the effort to make you feel less self-conscious, and vice versa. he constantly complimented your character and your appearance, reminding you how pretty you looked or how nice your eyes are.

you made it clear you admired his other traits besides his appearance, giving dramatic yet genuine reactions everytime he played his guitar for you, laughing at his jokes so hard you tear up, and even attempting to learn to skateboard for him.

but even then, the both of you were completely oblivious to the other’s feelings, mainly as a result of your insecurities. beomgyu simply couldn’t believe that you could love him for him, and you couldn’t believe that anyone could love you with how you look.

as much as beomgyu wanted you to see how beautiful you were to him, it was hard to convince you... until one fateful day.

the two of you hanging out wasn’t exactly a secret, but you didn’t do it too often in public. you would occasionally walk each other back to your respective cabins but when it came to spending quality time with each other, you opted for a secluded spot in the forest.

flash forward to another game of capture the flag, except this time, beomgyu and you were on the same team.

as always, you had little to no interest in whatever was going on while beomgyu was fully immersed in the game. your team was doing fairly well until ira, a highly competitive girl from ares’ cabin, decided to target you, knowing you were the weakest player.

charging into you, she sent you flying back, making a run for your team’s flag. while it definitely didn’t hurt as bad as when beomgyu practically head-butted you, it made you a bit dizzy. standing up, you noticed a shadow right behind you, turning around you saw beomgyu.

and his face was way too close to yours.

“are you alright?” he questioned, his brows furrowed. you held back a laugh, remembering those being his first words after crashing into you the last time you played.

“i’m fine, really. you should get back to the game.” you mumbled as you brushed the dust off your vest. “good,” he grinned, “wouldn’t want anything happening to our star player” he jeered. “haha.” you deadpanned. he smiled at you one more time before going back to the game.

the both of you resumed your previous activities, him guarding the flag while you stood there waiting to either get knocked over or have to run away. however the rest of the camp seemed to be confused. since when did you two know each other? and when did you get on such good terms?

nadia, one of apollo’s children, took special notice to this. out of all of beomgyu’s admirers, she was definitely the most persistent, confessing to beomgyu every single summer since 2nd grade. it’s surprising her efforts haven’t proven successful yet considering she was dubbed one of the most beautiful girls at camp.

she had sleek, wavy black hair that extended to her lower back, long, curly eyelashes, bronzed skin, and was equally as kind as she was angelic. she had it all.

just thinking about her and beomgyu’s relationship made you insecure. how could beomgyu possibly want to be with you when she’s right there?

she was alluring... captivating even. and you? you were hephaestus’s child. destined to fall in love with someone as beautiful as aphrodite just to have your heart broken because you weren’t good-looking enough.

mentally cursing your genes, you sighed before making eye contact with nadia, seeing a reflection of the hurt in your eyes in hers. sending an awkward smile her way, which of course she returned, you went on with your day.

after the game, you decided to talk to beomgyu about how you feel. you had hoped that deep down, some part of him felt the same, but really, it was just all the romance books and movies getting to your head. walking down the dirt path to aphrodite’s cabin, you spotted beomgyu... but he seemed to be mid-conversation with none other than nadia.

you figured it was just another confession, and she would get turned down, just like you were about to. except this time he smiled... and then she did. you watched her embrace him, glee evident on both of their faces.

you always knew you would never end up with someone like beomgyu, so why did it hurt so bad to come to terms with it. reality struck you and you finally understood why beomgyu always warned you life isn’t one big romance. turns out it’s a tragedy, at least if you’re unappealing.

running back to your dorms, you faceplanted on your bed. feeling the exact opposite of how you did weeks ago after first meeting beomgyu. who knew one person could make you feel such a range of emotions.

sobbing silently into your pillow, you couldn’t help but laugh at the state you were in. you had let yourself become so vulnerable, so dependent. all over some stupid-

suddenly three knocks were heard outside of your door, along with a soft, breathy voice you’ve grown to love over the past two weeks. “y/n? you in there? i’ve got something i want to tell you.” he shouted.

you already knew very well what it was he wanted to say. grateful that none of your siblings were in the cabin, you stayed under your sheets, deciding to ignore him.

“y/n? y/n... c’mon i know you’re in there. you’re not at our spot or at the workshop.” he persisted, starting to sound irritated.

our spot? might as well rename it as “mine and nadia’s spot”. yes you were acting immature, but you didn’t care. this is how your favorite characters would react to heartbreak, so why not follow their example?

“y/n is everything alright? why aren’t you answering me.” he knocked once again. he then twisted the handle, curiosity getting the best of him, and finally opened the door.

shit. how could you have been so preoccupied that you couldn’t even lock the door?

“y/n... i know you’re not sleeping. what’s wrong?” he questioned softly, settling down besides your ‘sleeping’ frame.

“nothing. i want to be alone.” you managed to choke out. he gave you a look of bewilderment, “are you crying?”

growing more and more agitated by the second, you shot up and blurted, “yes! yes i’m crying beomgyu. i’m crying because i love you. and i know that you don’t feel the same way. i know. so save your rejection for some other random idiot that pours their heart out to you.”

it definitely wasn’t the cheesy, over-the-top confession you were planning on. far from it actually: bedhead, a tear stained face, wrinkled clothes. god you probably looked worse than usual, there was no way beomgyu could take a look at you and find any beauty.

frowning, he reached his hand out to wipe a tear from your cheek. “who said i don’t love you back?” he murmured. “nobody told me. because it’s obvious, i just don’t look like someone you would lo-”

you were interrupted by his lips on yours. it was a surprisingly long, chaste, and yet somehow passionate kiss. one of his hands snaked around your waist, while the other held your cheek, deepening the kiss. your arms were wrapped around his neck, the both of you smiling.

while pulling away, he looked at you, his gaze full of awe and enamor. “you’re the most beautiful person i’ve ever laid eyes on. i never want you to feel like you’re not enough because you are. you’re perfect to me. and that’s all i care about.”

you felt like tearing up once more, but kept it in, nodding with a huge smile on your face. as he was about to lean in for another kiss, you stopped him. “what about nadia?” you asked, “what about her?” he responded confused.

“didn’t she confess to you? well, i mean didn’t it work this time?” you interrogated, your face contorting into a look of pure confusion, mirroring his. suddenly, he broke out into a fit of laughter, “oh that? she was just telling me she decided we’re better off friends... not like we were ever more than that anyway,” he added with a sarcastic eye roll.