MINDSTORM

     looking off to the side, momentarily, nodding a couple of times.  “ supposedly, yes... but, he did date you first. ”  gaze falls back onto her, knowing he had moved schools to here, so the bad standing happened eventually. callum had made a move on reina, before, the knowledge of the twos' background was revealed to him. and now, he enjoyed seeing her amongst the crowd of people, cheering for him, and not for her ex. fingers snuck along her waist before settling at the lower part of her back, fingers clasping together in a lock.  “ i really did beat him up pretty good, didn't i  ?  ”  a look of mischief now painted across his face, nothing more needed to assure him that things were completely off between the two, tip of digits digging lightly into her back to bring her closer  ;  face leaning into the palm of her hand naturally, finding comfort in her gentler touch.  “ so, seeing as we're all good... ”  starting, face then turning in her grasp, lips brushing inner side of her palm, peppering gentle and tender kisses down to her wrist, murmuring in between every press of brims.  “ would you mind aiding the pain away from here  ?  ”  a minor smile tuck at his lips, one hand lifting between them to point at his lip, knowing it's ridiculously cheesy but, callum had always been rather direct with what he wanted. reina was who he wanted, not just physically, but emotionally too, as they started to spend more and more time together.

"And that was before you came in the picture." She states matter - of -factly, eyes staying on him. She did tell him pretty early in their blossoming relationship who her ex was, but at the same time mentioned it shouldn't be a big deal -- they weren't friends, so no "bro - code" was broken in her opinion. "Why does it sound like you're a little bit proud of yourself?" There's a hint of amusement in her tone, and her gaze continues to look at his facial features, at the small bruises that are on his face. The glimpse she got of her ex, he looked worse than Callum. He got the first punch, but the man who is standing in front of her, holding her, got the last one. "You should have become a boxer instead of a rugby player." The femme states, and her voice has become quieter. Her dark hues drop to look at his lips when he plants kisses on her palm, and her body slightly presses closer against his, a chuckle escaping from her mouth. "You should get your head checked after that." She teases before leaning closer, lips almost touching his, but she teases a little, lips ghosting over his for a second or two before she presses her lips against his.

     the sudden pause mid-sentence from yoomi causes the corners of his mouth to lift, amusement glinting in both eyes as they're fixating on the box of tteokbokki  ;  common knowledge that a swear word would easily slip past the tongue during games, even when talking about it.  “ always funnier when you're able to shut them up at the end of a game, it's the same with me in league or valo... getting a better k/d/a than the one talking shit, feels ten times more rewarding. ”  gaze lifts to meet hers, showing that he didn't mind if such words were to leave. in fact, to seojun that portrayed a comfortability between the two of them, one he felt they had created due to the shared passion of beating a poor claw machine at it's own game.  “ yep, more than fine. ”  the red color shading his ears telling a different story but, admitting to his embarrassment would only double it as well, so that was a no in seojun's book. natural instinct tells him to lean backward but, the lack of a back rest reminds him to quickly sit upright again, nodding a few times at the mentioned fps games.  “ i actually never tried overwatch... ”  murmuring out silently, having jumped on the riot train since early age. league becoming his comfort game, whereas valorant was the one game he took more seriously and the cause of his stream reaching high popularity as well.  “ should we try it out at some point ? you and i ?  ”  asking, figuring it might be fun to also try out together, now that he had already showcased his competitiveness over an arcade game, and his clumsiness of almost falling off a chair  —-  basically having nothing else to loose of his pride.

The female feels somewhat relieved to hear him swear in front of her, and she makes sure not to show it in her body language. They're comfortable around each other. It might not have been obvious to her earlier, but it is now. It's rare for Yoomi to be comfortable with someone so fast. It can take days for her. She's awkward around people when she sees them face to face, and sometimes she doesn't understand social cues. Public speaking? She's fine with it, but actually connecting with someone? God help her. Her eyes widen when he reveals he has never played Overwatch. She's flabbergasted. "How have you never played it?!" Her voice has even risen a little, and she looks around, seeing people close to them glance in their direction before they continue with whatever they were doing. "I don't know if you're lucky or what. That game used to be torture." It's been years since the last time she played it, and she doesn't have fond memories of it. Sure, she had good days, but before she left it behind her, she had more bad games than good ones. "But we can try it together!" She's quick to say, and even nods, when he suggests playing it together. It's been ages; she has no idea what's new and what's old, so it might be fun to play the game with someone who has no idea what to expect.

            jiwon can practically feel the excitement radiating off eunha, something he finds a little more endearing than he would ever openly admit. this had become their usual pattern whenever they hung out, she would choose the activity and he would pretend to complain about it just enough to get a reaction out of her, despite being perfectly content doing whatever she wanted in the first place. zoning out while the staff member behind the desk explains how everything works, he still offers a polite thanks before following her into the room where they can grab the protective gear. " so, why the sudden invite here ? are you still stressed with all the friendship drama going on, noona ? " he asks while sorting through the hazmat suits and helmets to find the right size, glancing over his shoulder to catch her reaction.

"The friendship drama?" She repeats his question, thinking about it for a moment. The last time they met, she mentioned having some drama with her friend, and since then, she's been pretty quiet about it. She had pushed it aside and tried to focus on her studies instead. "I think I have one less friend." She says casually while looking at the protective gear. "But really, I just thought we both need this, and that's it," She can already tell she will look silly when wearing it, and she's proven right when the protective gear is on. At least she feels silly. Her attention turns to the male, and both hands immediately move to cover her mouth, hide the smile that's tugging at her lips when she tries to stifle a laugh. "This is perfect!"

Yes, I Am Nayeon

     a smile, small but still present, appears on roan's features, content to hear that hana was able to join despite her schedules at school.  “ then, perhaps that's what we should aim for, you joining us for europe... ”  hand at the side of her face pushes further, tucking a single strand of hair to rest behind her ear  ;  leaning down to press a tender kiss to femme's forehead.  “ you're absolutely right, if you weren't able to come along, i would've probably needed to cancel tour, huh ? ”  a smirk of mischief stretches onto plumb brims, knowing that wasn't an opportunity in reality.  “ where do you wanna go the most then, if all options were open ? ”  querying, slowly stepping backwards until the back of his thighs meets the edge of the counter, sitting just slightly atop as he guides her closer for an embrace  —-  arms locking around the small of hana's waist.

Her eyes briefly close when his lips brush against her forehead, and when they're open again, she steals a kiss from him. "Yes, yes, you would have. You would have needed to tell your manager the tour isn't happening. You can't stay away from me for weeks." The more they're talking, the more at ease she has become, and the earlier thoughts of their relationship being tested are long gone. They will make it work. There's always a facetime (which is not the same as seeing someone in person ) and late - night phone calls. And when things get tough on days when he's not around, she just has to count the days when she sees him again and distract herself. It's not her first rodeo, but it hasn't gotten any easier. "Paris. Though I heard it smells. I don't know how true that is." A hint of a smile approaches her lips while she follows his steps, and she drapes her arms around his shoulders, fingertips on his nape, while her body leans against his, and she tilts her head back.

he had promised he wouldn’t get involved with her in this life. wouldn’t seek her out. wouldn’t allow himself to fall back into the same endless orbit around her, no matter how badly he wanted to. it had seemed simple enough when she was only a memory—something distant, untouchable. but now she was here. here in front of him, close enough for him to feel the warmth of her against his chest, close enough to hold. and with her in his arms like this, every promise he had made to himself felt weak and meaningless. he couldn’t deny it anymore. his heart still belonged to her. it always would. the realization settled heavily and completely inside him, leaving no room for resistance. now that he had found her again, letting her walk away was impossible. the thought alone tightened something in his chest. his thumb brushed lightly along her cheek before he spoke again, voice quieter this time, almost careful. “i’ll tell you anything you want to know,” he promised. “anything at all.”

"I want to know more about you." The memories have given small glimpses into their lives together, and she has created some sort of personality for him from the memories, but she wants to hear things from him. "What are you like? What are your favorite things? Basic things." The female adds, and her eyes are open again, studying his facial features, a small smile tugging at her lips even. "How old are you?" Now, she has figured he is a hundred years old ( or then she has understood wrong ), but she wants to know the exact age. It will also give her more information about her past.

     an ear is openly listening to her, though the disturbances of noodles being slurped would frequently mix in between, trying to choose deliberately when to do so to make sure he heard every word. the mentioning of a killer being out and about, causes him to chuckle and lightly cough at the warm food and he needed a short moment to comprehend himself, sentence starting out with him clearing his throat.  “ ahem—- i don't think we should be scared of that, miyoungie, it should be pretty safe here. ”  a smile traces his lips, natural canines on display as he looks toward her. after all, the ones around him consisted of families with a few children  ;  jisung having chosen a really popular and highly-rated camping site, to ensure that the femme would get a good first experience with it. the smile seems to stay on his features as their conversations escalates, her hinting at him making him chortle audibly.  “ i happen to do but, i don't think it'd help soothe your anxiety with the stories told on that one. ”  elbow mirroring and nudging right back at her, before he took a swig of his beer, expressing contentment in an exhaled sigh.  “ what normally distracts you, if you ever end up scared ? ”  inquiring more than being playful this time, showcasing that e genuinely wished for her to find comfort in them sleeping, outside, in a tent  —-  for her to get the best experience out of this camping trip that he had extraordinarily convinced her to join.

Hearing him chuckle and cough, she's ready to pat his back gently ( as if that would help ), but she keeps her hands to herself, and only huffs dramatically at him. "Don't sound so sure about that. You never know what kind of creeps people actually are." Still, joking. Miyoung actually trusts people and doesn't get weird vibes off of them unless they look suspicious. So far, she has seen people who look just like them. Then again, even the scary ones can look like anyone else. The female lightly shakes her head at her thoughts, and a smile plays on her lips while she briefly focuses on eating the noodles. She raises her brow, dark hues turning to look at Jisung when his elbow nudges her. "Don't tell me you're one of those who can fall asleep while listening to stories about killers and whatnot?" She questions, and she takes a sip from her drink. "Music. Facing whatever is scaring me." On nights when she's heading home after partying with her friends and she feels like someone is following her, she simply focuses on getting home and takes different routes -- even sometimes calls a friend to have some sort of company. And if she has watched a scary movie ( which happens once a year, not even that ), she watches them with the lights on and watches something else before going to sleep. "Talk sweet nothings to me before we fall asleep, and I will be fine." She's joking, and it becomes obvious when she chuckles.

ruby waited. listened. it was a long silence for ruby. there was a space between them filled with memories. ones of happy moments, but also of fights and problems. "sorry for what?" it's drawn out. because she wanted to know why. if this was where they were starting, then so be it. ruby would lean into it. but only if lydia was actually trying to solve things. hell, it's been long enough.

Lydia knew this wasn't going to be easy. She knew the moment she decided to step into the lounge that the conversation would not be easy. But it's not the first time she has had conversations that have been hard. She has had practice -- which still doesn't feel enough. "For ghosting." Because that's what she did. She left without a word. Just one day stopped from replying, and didn't act like an adult. "I needed a break from things." It's true and the only reason." || @divinetenebris

outside,  the  air  feels  different.  open  in  a  way  that  makes  everything  easier  to  breathe  through,  and  he  finds  that  he  likes  the  unspoken  choice  of  walking.  the  slow  unfolding  of  distance  gives  space  for  conversation  to  settle  into  something  unforced,  something  that  does  not  need  to  rush  to  fill  every  silence.  his  steps  match  hers  without  thought  as  they  move  along  the  path.  “ did  you  get  here  this  morning ?”  he  asks,  glancing  at  her  briefly  before  letting  his  gaze  drift  ahead  again,  his  tone  light  but  attentive,  the  kind  that  listens  as  much  as  it  speaks.  and  after  a  small  pause,  as  if  testing  the  ease  of  it,  “ are  you  thinking  about  going  to  the  welcome  party  tonight? ”  there  is  a  quiet  curiosity  in  the  question,  not  pressing,  not  assuming,  just  opening  a  door  the  same  way  he  had  once  believed  all  their  tomorrows  would.  something  simple,  offered  without  knowing  yet  what  shape  it  might  take.

Her gaze turns to briefly look at the man when she hears his question, and she nods. "I did. I would have come last night but... They didn't let me." And by they, she means the resident directors who wanted the rooms to be ready before new students arrived. "How about you?" She inquires. If she recalls right, his door wasn't open, and she didn't see any boxes. Miyoung quickly glances at her phone again, and without really thinking about it, tugs the sleeve of his shirt to guide him to the right direction. "Aaaahh... I don't know." She sucks air between her teeth, pausing to take a second to look at their surroundings again. "I first thought I would, but then I started to think I don't want to go alone, so..." She lets the words hang in the air, hoping he has, over the years, learned how to read her mind. She doesn't usually say no to parties; they're great places to get to know people, but she thought with all the unpacking and stuff, she would be too exhausted to go. But if he goes, she might go as well.