GLORIOUS.

@duobyeol· / ellen ft. nari

the om family’s case has become ellen’s new obsession over the last few days. it’s the first case that she’s been assigned by herself, and she’s determined to do anything that she has to to make it a picture-perfect solve. she’s been meeting with other officers who have questioned the om family patriarch, and now it’s time for her to do her own questioning. 

she’s meeting with om nari, the daughter of the family. truth be told, ellen isn’t sure that nari will know much. if the om family is being blackmailed, she’s sure that nari isn’t necessarily the target. but she’s not ready to discount anyone just yet. she wants to get all of the information that she possibly can. and so she knocks on the door of the om household, practically quivering with fear and anxiety. “ you can do this, “ she mutters to herself, hands balled into fists at her sides. she has to do this. this is the beginning of her career. 

as the door opens, a smile spreads across ellen’s lips. “ hi, i’m ellen moon. i’m supposed to be meeting with miss nari today? “

          "i’ll get it!” nari called out to the mostly-empty house, gently waving their housekeeper away as she moved towards the door. her parents were both at work, but she had cleared her schedule as she was supposed to be meeting with someone about the robbery her family had fallen victim to. she gripped the doorknob and twisted it, smoothing down her skirt one last time before pulling the front door open with a friendly and polite smile.

          her eyes widened minutely as she took in the woman standing in front of her, so focused on how pretty her smile was that she almost missed her words. she lurched forward, shyly extending her hand for the other to shake as a wider, more genuine grin tugged at her lips. “hi, yes, i’m nari. i was expecting you. please, come in.” she said, pulling the door open wider and gesturing for her to enter.

@duobyeol / jam ft. hansol. 

jam likes a good party. she’s become a bit of a drinker over the last year, and can definitely hold more liquor than she used to. that doesn’t mean she knows her boundaries, though. she’s a little sloppy, and she’s ordering yet another soju bomb. a few other enthusiastic bar patrons are joining her, and she tips the shot back with an excited hoot. she’s not drunk drunk. just tipsy enough to not give a shit about what she’s doing. 

tipsy enough to hit on the boxer she’s had her eyes on all night. she watched him during the match and she’s been watching him throughout the whole party. she’s not sure she’s been too subtle, however - but maybe he’ll think that a hot drunk girl staring him down is hot. she pushes herself away from the bar after ordering a simple beer - she’s ready to start winding down for the night - and heads off in search of her pretty boxer boy. 

he’s sitting at the bar with what looks like friends of his, the championship belt clutched in his hands. a smile spreads across painted lips, and she approaches him, a little less steadily than she wants. “ hey, cutie, “ she purrs, practically shoving her way between the boxer and his friends. but in the process, she loses her balance on too-high heels, and her beer spills. 

directly on the championship belt. 

“ oh, fuck! shit, dude, i’m so sorry! “ she’s apologizing profusely but she’s still giggling to herself, mostly out of embarrassment than anything. she’s at a stage in her life where she isn’t really embarrassed by her actions anymore. she can laugh it off. especially when she and the boxer are in bed together. her solution is to pick up the belt without allowing the boxer a moment to argue and shake it off. beer splatters on the floor and the men around her. “ crisis averted. good as new! “ 

          “are you fucking kidding me right now?” hansol snapped, raising one wrist to his forehead in order to wipe the splash of beer away with his sleeve, using his other hand to reach out and snatch the belt back from the clearly drunk girl.

          he had been annoyed when the girl first pushed her way practically into his lap, but the spill easily pushed him over the edge of annoyed to pissed off. his energy was always too high after matches, coiling up in his chest and keeping him on edge, ready to snap. he was too aggressive after a fight, too quick to react. it was why he usually avoided people for a good few days afterwards. tonight, however, his manager had talked him into attending the after party, and he had known it was going to be a shit show the second he walked in.           he grabbed a stack of bar napkins, dutifully wiping the belt off before tossing them to the ground and looking up at her with a carefully neutral expression, trying to get a grip on the anger simmering in his chest.

          “can i help you or did you just come over here to ruin my shit?”

the further penny’s pulled along, the more anxious she gets. she really can’t see a single person in the crowd that she knows, and everyone is too high or drunk to really be paying enough attention to report to the authorities of anything suspicious… was she overreacting? maybe. but was it unwarranted when this was a college party and the world was the way it was? absolutely not!

she can’t help but shiver when she steps out of the house, the night rushing in to send goosebumps up her arms. she’s thankful when the guy finally lets go of her, looking in the direction he’s gesturing toward and heaving a sigh of relief when she sees the bins he’d promised. “thank you,” she remembers to say, tossing her bottle into the bin and feeling even more like going home. 

then she looks toward the guy, obviously close to being drunk, and frowns a little. “have you been drinking any water? or eating? do you have someone who can take you home?” 

        SEJONG MOVES FORWARD to toss his own bottle after hers, missing the bin and letting out a small laugh as he leans down to pick it up. he tries again, turning back to face her with a stupid victorious grin after he watches it sink cleanly into the bin. he closes his eyes for a moment, tilting his face up slightly to soak in the crisp breeze that enveloped them as she speaks. it’s, admittedly, a little cold out, but he had been inside the cramped house for a long time on top of already feeling a little hot and flushed from the alcohol he had been consuming.

       THEN HE SHRUGS, cracking his eyes open and gesturing vaguely towards the street in front of them. “don’t need a driver. i only live… over there. on campus,” he explains, slowly processing the rest of her words before looking down at her with wide, innocent eyes. “but no, i haven’t been. did you.. d’you need some water or something?”

JUNSEO HAD FINALLY STARTED feeling settled in his new home. he had started his new job, had unpacked most of his belongings, and finally had a chance to leave his apartment. that’s how he found himself standing in a small grocery store, scanning the aisle in front of him for his favorite drink.

UPON FINDING IT, he turned around and immediately knocked into someone, grimacing as he heard their things clatter to the ground. “oh, shit!” he exclaimed, dropping into a squat to gather them. “i’m so sorry, i didn’t even see you-”

HE CUT HIMSELF off as he rose, eyes widening in surprised recognition as he came face-to-face with his former classmate. he thought he had moved far enough away that the chances of running into people from his school days would be nonexistent. or close to, anyway. he certainly didn’t expect it to happen just two weeks after he moved.

“oh,” he faltered, the apologetic grin slipping slowly off of his face. “it’s um... it’s been a while.”

turtles? penny can’t tell if she’s mildly interested in the fact that there might be some one premises or just incredibly worried about what all these drunk college kids might be doing with them. either way, she doesn’t exactly have the time to respond or decline, so she lets herself get dragged along while trying not to get jostled; hasn’t this just been how she’s been spending the entire night anyway?

she can’t exactly tell where this guy’s taking her, not knowing the layout of the house much other than where the main living space and kitchen are in relation to the door. there’s a back patio with a pool, which she only knows because she caught a glimpse of it through the sliding doors when they walk past it. “where are we going?” she calls over the music, trying not to trip over her own feet or bump into this guy’s back. she doesn’t think she’s ever seen him before. what if he’s under the influence and leading her to her doom? hadn’t thought of that until now, huh, penny? 

at least she had her beer bottle to defend herself if things went awry. 

SEJONG HUMS ABSENTMINDEDLY under his breath to the music as he struggles to remember where exactly he had spotted the bin. he switches directions suddenly, now heading towards the front door with the girl still in tow. the girl who was currently talking to him, it seems, but honestly? he’s had too many drinks to be focusing on this many things at once and understanding them all.

BUT HE DID hear at least half of her question. he turns around to glance back at her and point towards the door they’re steadily reaching. “come on!” he calls back to her as he pulls her out of the house and into the crisp night air. he glances around, lifting a hand to push the hair out of his eyes.

A GRIN PULLS at the corners of his mouth, and he swings his arms out in a wide gesture towards the small, rectangular bin that sat against the garage door. “there you go! recycling!”

open to: f / m / nb. inspiration: this.

penny’s been holding the beer bottle in her hand since the beginning of the evening, when it’d been pushed onto her by someone in the mass of bodies crushed into the beach house. she’s lost track of all her friends, doesn’t even know where the bathroom is, is all-around miserable, and now her brain is feeling a little fuzzy after emptying the bottle upon some guy’s chastising. not the best decision she’s made, but nonetheless, a decision she’s made. she’s still grimacing from the taste of alcohol clinging to the inside of her mouth, unable to trust the bowls of snacks in the kitchen or really anything in the house at all. she isn’t even sure who owns it, just that one of her friends was friends with a friend… she should’ve just stuck to swimming all night.

she’s finally freed of bodies pushing up against her when she finds a wall to hug, clutching her bottle to her chest so she doesn’t drop it and get glass everywhere. that would be a disaster. it’s then that she makes eye contact with another party-goer leaning against the wall, and she raises the bottle before shouting over the music, “hey, do you know where the recycling bins are?!”

           SEJONG LOOKS UP as a girl appears, somewhat suddenly, at the wall beside him. she starts speaking to him as soon as their eyes meet, and he has to lean forward towards her in order to hear her question. once he does, he gives her a polite but apologetic smile. “sorry, i don’t know who that--wait, did you say recycling?”

          HE STRAIGHTENS UP and glances around, his vision finally starting to swim a bit after his fourth last drink. he can’t see a bin anywhere, but he vaguely remembers seeing something that could have been the recycling symbol on a bin near the basement. he flashes the girl a dopey grin, raising his own voice to be heard. “i think i saw one! i have an empty bottle too, and i love those turtles everyone is always talking about, so let’s go find it!”

          WITH THAT, HE wrapped his fingers loosely around her wrist and stumble forward into the crowd, clearing a path through the tightly packed space for her while simultaneously making sure she wasn’t trampled by the rest of the partiers.