what do we think about taesan with a praise kink begging reader to call him a good boy... đ€đ€
content ââââ sub taesan, praise kink, cunnilingus, marking, grinding, mini, oh I think a lot anon..
Dongmin knows heâs been good all day.
He helped you lace your long heels up, took you on a nice date, and even now heâs eating you out.
Not once did he hear your usual pet name for him; âGood boyâ.
Not even when he pulled out an orgasm out of you within minutes. He starts to wonder if youâre teasing him, staying tight lipped because you know how much he likes to be praised.
When Dongminâs head starts to cloud up, he pulls away from your heat, resting his chin on your v line. You gasp at the loss of contact, and pick your head up to see the problem.
âWhatâs the matter, babe?â You barely breathe out, the oxygen previously in your lungs being sucked out by your boyfriend.
âPlease..â
Dongmin doesnât finish the sentence, he debates if you didnât like the date or are mad at him. He looks into your eyes, trying to tell what youâre thinking.
âPlease what?â
You tilt your head, a coy smile forming on your lips. He instantly glances away, a faint red dusting his cheeks.
âPleaseâ I donât know what I did wrong, tell me Iâm doing good.. please.â
You raise your eyebrows in surprise, you start to wonder what you couldâve done to get him this worked up. You donât waste your time dwelling on it, though, you have an idea.
âLay down.â
Dongmin obeys almost immediately, crawling onto the bed next to you. You kick a leg over his waist and straddle him, a soft gasp coming from each of you from the sudden contact.
He watches your bare pussy start to move on the seam of his jeans, hands shooting out to your hips on instinct, guiding you.
âFuck.. thatâs good baby, just like that.â
A whimper falls pathetically out of his mouth, the praise and the pleasure mixing in his mind. Any thought that Dongmin previously had vanishes, the only thing that matters now is how soaked youâre making him.
You lean down, teeth grazing his neck in a way that has him squirming. You suck hickeys down to his chest, soothing them as you go with your tongue.
âSuch a good boyâ My good boy.â
Dongmin throws his head back, his hips bucking up into your cunt for more friction.
âTreated me so well today too, took me on a date, tied my shoes and even treated me in bed. You deserve a reward.â
You know well he canât respond to you, not when youâre buttering him up, lips grazing his ear as you too.
He presses you down further on his cock, drinking in the gasp that spills from you.
âShit! Keep doing that⊠Good boy.â
He swears he saw stars, as soon as you finish your sentence he cums with a loud moan, glossy eyes watching your juices spill on his designer jeans.
Your hands come up to his torso, caressing up and down while your lips pepper kisses down his neck.
âNow how about that reward?â
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what do we think about taesan with a praise kink begging reader to call him a good boy... đ€đ€
content ââââ sub taesan, praise kink, cunnilingus, marking, grinding, mini, oh I think a lot anon..
Dongmin knows heâs been good all day.
He helped you lace your long heels up, took you on a nice date, and even now heâs eating you out.
Not once did he hear your usual pet name for him; âGood boyâ.
Not even when he pulled out an orgasm out of you within minutes. He starts to wonder if youâre teasing him, staying tight lipped because you know how much he likes to be praised.
When Dongminâs head starts to cloud up, he pulls away from your heat, resting his chin on your v line. You gasp at the loss of contact, and pick your head up to see the problem.
âWhatâs the matter, babe?â You barely breathe out, the oxygen previously in your lungs being sucked out by your boyfriend.
âPlease..â
Dongmin doesnât finish the sentence, he debates if you didnât like the date or are mad at him. He looks into your eyes, trying to tell what youâre thinking.
âPlease what?â
You tilt your head, a coy smile forming on your lips. He instantly glances away, a faint red dusting his cheeks.
âPleaseâ I donât know what I did wrong, tell me Iâm doing good.. please.â
You raise your eyebrows in surprise, you start to wonder what you couldâve done to get him this worked up. You donât waste your time dwelling on it, though, you have an idea.
âLay down.â
Dongmin obeys almost immediately, crawling onto the bed next to you. You kick a leg over his waist and straddle him, a soft gasp coming from each of you from the sudden contact.
He watches your bare pussy start to move on the seam of his jeans, hands shooting out to your hips on instinct, guiding you.
âFuck.. thatâs good baby, just like that.â
A whimper falls pathetically out of his mouth, the praise and the pleasure mixing in his mind. Any thought that Dongmin previously had vanishes, the only thing that matters now is how soaked youâre making him.
You lean down, teeth grazing his neck in a way that has him squirming. You suck hickeys down to his chest, soothing them as you go with your tongue.
âSuch a good boyâ My good boy.â
Dongmin throws his head back, his hips bucking up into your cunt for more friction.
âTreated me so well today too, took me on a date, tied my shoes and even treated me in bed. You deserve a reward.â
You know well he canât respond to you, not when youâre buttering him up, lips grazing his ear as you too.
He presses you down further on his cock, drinking in the gasp that spills from you.
âShit! Keep doing that⊠Good boy.â
He swears he saw stars, as soon as you finish your sentence he cums with a loud moan, glossy eyes watching your juices spill on his designer jeans.
Your hands come up to his torso, caressing up and down while your lips pepper kisses down his neck.
âNow how about that reward?â
a / n : sub taesan propaganda will live on join us!! THANK YOU FOR REQUESTING ANON đ€
êš.. â â hyung line x gn! reader. bunker / apocolypse au.
#ì±íž SUNGHO
the bunker has a specific rhythm to it, and sungho made sure it was kept in time.
breakfast at eight (even if breakfast was just stale crackers and a tin of something mushy and questionable), water filtration check at four in the evening, lights out (or rather, dimmed out, because riwoo gets squirmy if its complete darkness) at ten. the routine settles around you like a blanket - and you reach for it, its warmth, comforting, it helps you pass the time while the world continues to crumble to dust above you.
heâs the oldest of the bunker, the only one who had some remembrance of the world before it all went to crap, before all of you had to bundle into someoneâs underground sanctuary. he came from a cushy background - knew all sorts of things: how to play piano, speak second languages, old world history. he taught everyone all sorts of things, how heâd speak about the old world that you didnât remember - because why would you? the old world was already gone by the time you were born.
heâd sit by your beds, voice low as he shuts his eyes and begin reciting pieces from memory: about the plate tectonics and the french revolution and old architecture. things that are completely useless but you grasp onto them like dandelions in the wind.
thatâs the version of sungho people usually see. the one who meditates arguments between taesan and leehan with the patience of a saint and who helps jaehyun with his maps. then thereâs the version that you canât help but notice.
youâre out with sungho during a surface run. itâs nothing too out of the ordinary - a quick run because the pantry is growing worryingly empty and riwooâs on the edge again and leehan has been gone for a few hours already. you had cornered a wild boar into a dilapidated tunnel - but it had lunged at you with a ferocity that comes with owning the city. you froze - something you werenât exactly proud of.
but sungho didnât.
he moved with such composure and assuredness you didnât truly process it until it was over. sungho had click back his rifle and wiped his hands clean on his jacket, looking at you with the simplicity that came with something like filling up a glass of water rather than shooting a bullet in between the eyes of a boar.
âare you okay?â he asked softly.
âfine,â you stuttered.
sungho acted akin to a domesticated cat, but he had that instinct underneath anyways - that human desire to stay alive, no matter what it took. he didnât even flinch at the creatures with human faces either - the ones that had the wrong shape and limped at you. sungho puts them down clean and doesnât lose sleep over it. theyâre gone anyways, he said, wiping down his rifle with a rag, weâre doing them a kindness.
you toss and turn at night, trying your best not to rouse the other members curled up in their kots.
âcanât sleep?â he towers over your makeshift bed like a statue, the faint glow of the light casting his shadow over you as his hair falls into his face. he casts a look at woonhak, who is curled up next to your head, inches from falling off the edge of his mattress.
âiâm too old for bedtime stories,â you whisper, scooting up until youâre sitting up against the wall. he sits down anyways, and you curl into him, his arm coming up to wrap around you.
he tells you them anyways, his voice quiet so he doesnât wake up woonhak who is snoring away beside the two of you.
âsungho.â
âmm?â
âweâre not going to sleep, are we?â
he looks down at you.
âdo you want to?â
you look him in the eyes.
âno, not really.â
then you kiss him, unhurried like you have all the time in the world.
his hand moves to your jaw, and the bunker around you disappears completely.
when you break for air, he nudges his forehead against yourâs, mumbling against your lips.
âsince you donât intend on sleeping, why donât we do something fun? youâll have to be quiet, though.â
#ëŠŹì° RIWOO
the thing about riwoo is that heâs actually funny.
itâs like his brain never switches off - he jumps at any opportunity to crack jokes and entertain you. if this was before, heâd probably have an audience of thousands - but heâs stuck doing stand-up for seven people in a reinforced basement and they love him for it possibly more than any crowd ever could.
for a brief moment, when he comments on woonhakâs stumbling of words or make noises nobody expects, it feels normal - your concrete home turns momentarily human with riwoo in the center.
chef riwoo claims the makeshift kitchen as his own. its a poor excuse of one - a few stacked cardboard boxes and rusted tins. riwoo makes do with what you have, which isnât a lot to begin with. heâll spend an hour on a can of beans, coaxing them into something that tastes like deliberation. heâll somehow scrounge up a bundle of sad, dried herbs from behind a shelf and savour them like how a sommelier might with wine. a sprinkle of rosemary, he says, deadly serious, even though it smells like nothing to you. heâll serve you it on a platter, paired with our evening crackers. youâve realised he likes to watch while you eat, a set line in his forehead until you take that first bite of food and smile.
the other thing about riwoo is that he doesnât like it here.
you realised when, two months in, he cheerfully gestured to the bare walls and laughed. itâs like summer camp! he says lightly, and weâre all dorms mates. isnât this basically just a very underground camp? leehan played along, laughing, and riwooâs face had a flash of something that looked like relief.
he doesnât talk about outside, even though heâs probably old enough to remember something like sungho. he reroutes any conversation that edges in that direction with a precison of a surgeon with a scalpel. he hums loudly when jaehyun tries to walk through logistics, and when sungho starts talking about skyscrapers he pointedly gets up and walks away, or produces a story wholly unrelated, usually involving himself in some comedic situation, and usually very successful in changing the subject.
you catch him one day, standing in front of his corner, not moving - his face doing something it rarely does - stock still and serious.
he clocked you in about two seconds and the smile came back up like a blind snapping shut.
âoh, good. itâs just you,â he says, âweâre⊠running low on some stuff.â
you cast a look at the empty shelf, pitiful with just a few cans of who-knows-what.
âhey,â you say, stepping closer and taking his hand.
he looks at it, and then drops his forehead onto your shoulder, like how a tree branch might fall under itâs own weight. your arms naturally come back up, encircling around him.
âi donât know what to do,â his voice is muffled against your skin.
âitâs okay.â
âitâs not -â
âitâs fine.â
heâs quiet for a long time, simply breathing in your space. when you pull back he flinches, but he doesnât run. the edges of his eyes are rimmed red, but when you lean back in he doesnât turn away.
you give him a chaste kiss on the lips, his eyes fluttering shut at the sensation.
when they open back up, he has a smile on his face again - not the one from earlier, but something more gentle and tender.
âchef riwoo -â he says, pulling back, â- is going to need a minute.â
âtake all the time you need.â
#ëȘ ìŹí MYUNG JAEHYUN
jaehyunâs natural inclination to leadership is both a blessing and a curse, and jaehyun carries it with grace - and thatâs the most terrifying part. he doesnât look tired, he doesnât crack under the pressure, he holds it together with an air of practice that scares you.
heâs good at it, being a leader. heâs so good at it he might be the best in the world - and since the world is so small right now, that phrase might actually be true.
jaehyun authority is embodied in his maps - the ones spread across the rickety table in one corner of the room. itâs littered with his handwriting, covered in symbols and dots only he can decipher and you try to understand. you sit with him while he thumbs at the edge, constantly reworking, rewriting, redrawing - trying to make sense of a world that is constantly shifting and is far too threatening.
he used to bury his head in his arms and sleep directly over the maps, almost like if he could splay out on the map he could control the world that lays under his fingertips. then youâd come over, place a hand on his back as he shuts his eyes, then, fifteen minutes later, heâd pull himself back together and sit up again.
âiâm glad youâre here,â he whispers one night, when everyone is asleep and your shadow casts your figure across his maps, âyouâre the only one who understands me.â
you find his hands under the table and he brings them to his lips, kissing them like how a knight would to his grace. then he intertwines your fingers and turns back to his map, picking up his pen. romance blossoms under the dim light of a lamp thatâs running out of time.
âyouâre rerouting,â you point out quietly.
âi need you to be safe,â he squeezes your palm, âi - iâŠâ
âi know,â you say softly, âitâs okay.â
he doesnât look at you, his eyes still downcast as he draws an assertive line across the green.
âyou need to drink,â you push the cup towards him.
âlater.â
ânow.â
he frowns at you but acquiesces, pulling the cup towards him. eventually it becomes half empty, and eventually jaehyun picks up his pen again.
you cup his cheeks and turn him towards you.
âtell me.â
âthe east route -â he falters, âitâs⊠worst than i thought.â
âhow bad?â
jaehyun stops, âi donât know.â
you can tell by the scrunch in his nose that he hates himself for saying it. heâs supposed to be the one who always knows, the one who understands, the one who has a plan.
he not supposed to not know. he canât afford to.
you run your thumb across his cheek and he leans into it, his eyes fluttering shut in the warmth.
âweâll figure it out.â
âyou donât know that.â
âno,â you press your forehead against his, âbut i know you will.â
jaehyunâs eyes blink open, and he shifts, ever so slightly, so his lips graze against the palm of your hand. he stays there for an exhale, then two, and three, and then he finds it in himself to pick up the pen again.
maknae line later
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How DANGEROUS is He? - Boys next door's tracklist | 볎ìŽë„ì€ëìŽ L.SH (RW)
Boys next door's tracklist (series)
Track 3: DANGEROUS â Riwoo x reader
In Summary
Riwoo, the definition: The perfect boy. The ultimate ideal son-in-law every parent and relative dreams of. Polite, well-mannered, friendly, and perfectly level-headed.
â Is also the exact same guy currently standing there in an unhinged, disheveled mess. Sporting a bruised lip, a busted eyebrow, and bloody knuckles. Spitting blood onto the ground, violently running a hand through his already wrecked hair, and barking a string of colorful profanities into his phone out of pure irritation.â Yeah, the plot officially twisted the second your eyes locked with his that night.
Genre: Action-Comedy / Romance-AU / Slow Burn / Mutual Pining / Neighbor AU / Bad boy disguised as Good boy!
Warnings: Strong language (from both Riwoo & Reader), detailed descriptions of violence and blood, street fighting, gang references, extreme secondhand embarrassment (because Jaehyun is always involved), reader being incredibly dense about her own feelings, public serenade attempt (gone wrong), terribly executed flirting.
Bad-tempered Law Student!Reader x Double-faced Gang Leader!Riwoo.
WC. 6.3K
Because irritation and a short temper are basically woven into your DNAâif Riley from Inside Out had Joy at the control panel, your brain was undoubtedly run by five bright red Angers fighting for the steering wheel.
Stressing over a brick-sized law textbook (the Civil Code, to be exact) was already driving you insane... and now, at 3:30 AM, the clueless guy from Unit 102 was out here belting a serenade to hit on some girl, completely shattering your focus.
You grabbed your heavy textbook (which was supposedly the summarized version of an even thicker one), slipped on your trusty Crocs, and marched right past Jaehyun, who was still standing there grinning and singing with zero situational awareness. You shot a death glare at the root of your migraine, but of course, he didn't even flinch. (You swore to God, the second you survived this law school hellhole, you were going to use this exact textbook to smash his head instead of a flower vase.)
But who would have thought... that the place you chose to escape his off-key acoustic guitar would lead you to something entirely more 'dangerous' than a failing grade in Civil Law?
The villaâs communal garden at 4 AM was as dead silent as you expected. The dim lights from the pavilion were still on. Reading in the dark was bad for your eyes, sure, but trying to read with no focusâor giving up entirelyâwas bad for your grades.
You slumped down under the eaves, letting your legs dangle. It was a blind spot, perfectly hidden by the bushes next to it. Honestly, it was a bit sketchy, but come on... itâs 4 AM. 4 Fucking A.M. Who in their right mind would be taking a moody midnight stroll in this tiny garden?
You kept your head down, muttering formulas and trying to shove as much knowledge into your brain as possible.
"...Criminal Law... Section 257. Whoever physically assaults another person, causing bodily harm, shall be punished with imprisonment for not more than seven years... or a fine of not more than ten million won... Ugh, Iâve recited this a hundred times..."
While you were grumbling to yourself, you suddenly picked up on a murmuring voice not too far away. A voice infinitely less boring than your law textbook.
You tried to ignore itâ
"What the fuck is his problem? Hasn't he swallowed enough of my boots to learn his lesson?"
You froze. Not because you wanted to eavesdrop, but because the silence made it too clear.
Whatever, just keep ignoring it...
"I already lured him out. If he doesn't drop this bullshit, I'm taking down his whole crew. I'll make sure they never show their pathetic faces around us again."
The voice dropped an octave. You bit your lip.
Uh... this definitely wasn't an acoustic solo by Jaehyun.
You... tried...
"Drag him out this Friday. Tell him if he doesn't stop fucking around, Iâm actually going to try this time."
âŠYou tried to peek over the bushes to see who was spewing such barbaric, vulgar words and ruining your study session.
A dark silhouette shifted behind the leavesâa tall, lean figure, shoulder tilted slightly like he was holding a phone to his ear.
"Yeah, I'm fine. A loser's weak punch can only give me a busted lip. Heâs the one whoâs probably on his way to the ER right now."
The figure stepped out slightly from the tree line. The slanted light from the pavilion hit him, revealingâ
Fingertips stained with blood.
âŠThen bruised, busted knuckles.
âŠThen a tightly clenched jaw.
You swallowed hard.
And when he tilted his head up slightly, the light caught his split lipâthe dark crimson blood hadn't even dried yet.
The thoroughly pissed-off guy stood there in absolute shambles, spitting blood onto the ground, aggressively running a hand through his messy hair, and barking a string of profanities into his phone out of pure irritation. He was standing right there, just on the other side of the bush.
You should have kept your head down.
You knew you should haveâ
âŠBut it was too late.
Your heart dropped to your stomach. You didn't know if it was because of the situation... or the person standing in front of you.
And when he finally looked up, his eyes locking directly with yours as you sat frozen in the dark cornerâ
The curse word about to leave his mouth was swallowed whole. The feral, murderous glare from a second ago melted into an eerie, deadpan calm. He hastily wiped the blood off his lip with the back of his hand before a soft, dreamy voiceâthe exact one he used with the neighborhood auntiesâbroke the silence.
"Y/N-ssi?"
For a bit of context, let me introduce you to Lee Sanghyuk, better known as âRiwoo.â
The youngest son from Unit 303, legendary for his 'ideal husband' visuals. He was 100% polite, well-mannered, and had this sweet disposition that made every elder in the vicinity adore him. He had an easygoing humor that clicked with the older folks, earning him the title of the 'Dream Son-in-Law' among every mom, dad, aunt, and relative in the villa. (Basically the same vibe as Jaehyun, but Riwoo actually seemed to have a functioning brain and was way more reliable. Or so you assumed.)
Every afternoon or evening, youâd see this Dream Son-in-Law walking his two fluffy white Pomeranians, showing off their cuteness with that gentle, affectionate smile of his.
As for his relationship with you? â Nonexistent.
Except for the fact that your housemate was the daughter of Riwoo's mom's best friend. Or the occasional head-nod when you were forced to walk your shared houseâs corgi-mix, âNyang-Nyangâ (a name that constantly made you question the landlord's sanity). Other than that... literally nothing.
"Y/N-ssi?"
Huh?
Wait... how did he even know your name?
Why?
"Y/N-ssi?"
"Oh... yes?"
Fuck.
You immediately realized how incredibly stupid you sounded, but your brain had completely flatlined the second you made eye contact with him.
If it weren't for the blood and the bruises, the impulsive, unhinged part of your brain might have thought, âOh, Iâm in love.â â But obviously, your heart was hammering against your ribs right now not because he looked dangerously hot, but because you were terrified those bloody knuckles were going to be planted on your face next.
You didn't even process what he said next. After nodding along mindlessly (maybe the 'Confusion' debuff from the law book lasted this long?), he stepped a little further away, dropping his voice several octaves, but continued his phone call.
Uh... he was probably apologizing for being loud and telling the person on the phone he'd keep it down, right? Or maybe he was growling at his underlings to use your law textbook to smash the caller's head instead of Jaehyun's?
You should go back to reading. (Duh.)
You should go back to memorizing Section 257. You should act like nothing happened.
But you couldn't. Because even though he walked further away, his voice lingered.
"...I told him, I'm not letting it slide this time."
Quieterâbut not far enough to fade.
You stared at the neat rows of text in your book. They were perfectly legible, but you couldn't comprehend a single word.
"...Yeah, I know."
The sound of his black shoes crunching against the gravel was slow, unhurriedâcompletely unlike a guy who looked ready to commit murder just three minutes ago.
You swallowed hard again.
Okay...
That's enough.
You should get up and go back to your room. Honestly, you shouldn't have sat in this blind spot in the first place! If Riwoo or his gang decided to silence you right here, they'd never find your body!
You placed your hands on the pavement, bracing yourself to standâ
"Not asleep yet?"
Huh...
The voice was closer than it had any right to be. You froze for a split second before snapping your head up.
He was standing less than two steps away. Way closer than where he was just a minute ago. The phone was still pressed to his ear, but his eyes weren't focused on the conversation anymore.
...They were glued to you.
"...I'm studying."
What a stupid answer.
You knew it. He definitely knew it.
Riwoo just gave a slight nod, a small smile revealing his little fangs right next to his busted lipâthe contrast was jarring as hell.
"It's 4 AM."
"I... know."
Silence.
The rustling of the leaves above suddenly sounded obnoxiously loud because everything else was far too quiet.
You tried your best not to look at him directly, but avoiding his gaze felt impossible.
Too close.
Close enough that you could see fresh blood slightly welling up from the split in his lip.
"Does it hurt?"
The words slipped out before you could stop them. The second you realized what you said, you wanted to bash your head against the concrete. Why the hell are you being nosy, you loudmouth?!
He raised an eyebrow.
"...What?"
"The cut..."
Stupid x2.
You really should have shut up after the first syllable!
He went quiet, not answering immediately. His eyes slowly scanned your faceâlike he was calculating something. (Probably calculating how dumb your question was, honestly.)
"Not really."
He replied in a flat, nonchalant tone, acting like it was no big deal despite looking like he just walked out of Fight Club.
You bit your lip.
Okayâstop meddling, you idiot. You can barely survive your own life and tomorrow's exam. Why do you care about a wound he doesn't even feel?!
You bent down, grabbing your book, fully committed to leaving this time.
"But you might get hurt more."
huh?
Your hands halted mid-air. Was that my inner voice? No, it wasn't?
"...Excuse me?"
"If you keep sitting here."
He said it like it was the most casual thing in the world... but his eyes told a completely different story.
He took a half-step closer. So close that his shadow completely eclipsed the light from the pavilion, enveloping you. The faint scent of sweat mixed with the metallic tang of blood hit your nose.
"Blind spots like this..." He tilted his head slightly, and that fanged smile suddenly looked ten times more lethal. "...are dangerous, you know."
You didn't know what to say. Because the person telling you it was dangerous, towering over you right now, was undeniably the most dangerous thing in a ten-mile radius!
He stared at you for another long second before breaking eye contact and bringing the phone back to his mouth.
"Yeah, I'll call you back..."
And then he actually turned and walked away. (Hopefully.)
His footsteps gradually faded, along with his voice returning to that harsh, icy tone.
"...Don't make me repeat myself."
Meanwhile, you were still sitting there, hand frozen on your textbook.
Your brain should be returning to Section 257 regarding physical assault, but the only thought spiraling in your head wasâ
Exactly how long did he know I was sitting there?
Whatever. You shot up, hugged the thick textbook to your chest a little tighter than usual, and speed-walked back to your house without ever looking back.
The exam went surprisingly well. (Or at least you thought so, for now.)
The bags under your eyes were so dark that even your housemate pointed them out when you bumped into each other that evening. Obviouslyâbesides pulling an all-nighter, the main reason you looked like a corpse was the lingering paranoia that Riwoo might show up to silence you or chuck a Molotov cocktail at your share-house.
"Y/N-ahâtake out the trash for me, will you?"
The landlord's daughter called out from the kitchen, accompanied by the clatter of pots and pans. You groaned in response, dragging your feet to grab the garbage bags she left by the door.
"Woonhak is coming over for dinner tonight. Want anything special? Since you're done with exams and all."
"Nope. Make whatever you want, Unnie. That kid's going to eat us out of house and home anyway."
The house angel laughed, diving back into the fridge. As someone who couldn't tell salt from sugar, you gladly banished yourself to garbage duty outside.
Usually, taking out the trash at this hour meant exchanging pleasantries with Mrs. Kim from across the street while she watered her plants.
You fully expected to see the sweet, gray-haired lady giving you a warm smile. But the first thing your eyes landed on was... Riwoo.
Riwoo... dressed in crisp, casual clothes, chatting brightly with Mrs. Kim in the most wholesome atmosphere imaginable. He had the leashes of his two Pomeranians in hand.
And on the corner of his mouth was a ridiculously cute, brown teddy bear band-aid. A stark, hilarious contrast to his 4 AM aesthetic!
"Oh, Y/N dear!" Mrs. Kimâs kind voice called out, making the younger man turn around. His eyes locked with yours.
He flashed that signature, Dream Son-in-Law smile and greeted you with the most normal, pleasant tone ever. "Hello, Y/N-ssi. You were up late studying last night, weren't you? Take care of your health."
Mrs. Kim beamed at him. Meanwhile, you just gripped the garbage bags tighter, immensely irritated by his Oscar-worthy acting skillsâand equally irritated at yourself for the slight shiver that went down your spine at his smile.
As soon as Mrs. Kim turned her back and walked into her house, looking utterly charmed by the Perfect Boy, the warm aura surrounding Riwoo vanished into thin air like it was never there.
The leashes in his hand pulled taut as the two fluffballs started sniffing around your Crocs. Riwoo didnât even look down at them. He just stood there, arms crossed, head tilted slightly, staring at you with those same deadpan eyes from last night.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" His voice was still soft... but the affectionate warmth he used with the elders was completely stripped away. "Or is the band-aid not cute enough?"
You raised an eyebrow, thoroughly annoyed that this guy was acting like nothing happened. That cut on his lip... it was blatantly a result of a Section 257 violation.
"No. I just think it suits you," you replied flatly, trying not to show your wariness. "How exactly did you hit the edge of the cabinet to get a gash that wide?"
You threw his own stupid excuse back at himâthe one he just fed Mrs. Kim about being 'clumsy.' (And you were the only one who knew exactly where it came from.)
Riwoo let out a small scoff, smirking on the un-bandaged side of his mouth. He took a step closer, causing the two tiny dogs to let out soft whines at your feet.
"Well... the same way you saw at 4 AM," he murmured, his voice dropping low enough for only you to hear. "What do you think? Did the penalty for that Criminal Law section scare me enough to not hit the cabinet a second time?"
His deadpan threat made your heart skip a beat. But your inherent irritability and short temper outweighed the fear. You crossed your arms and glared right back at him, refusing to back down.
"If a ten million won fine isn't scary enough, maybe next time, instead of hitting a cabinet, you can try walking into a courtroom? I'd be happy to be your pro bono defense attorney!"
Riwoo froze for a split second. A flicker of genuine surprise flashed in his dark eyes... before he let out a low, breathy chuckle. It was the same rough laugh from last night, completely devoid of his 'Perfect Son-in-Law' persona.
"Hah... Youâve got quite the mouth on you, Law Student." Riwoo glanced down at the dogs and pulled the leash, stepping back slightly. "Let's make a deal. My little 'cabinet' secret... in exchange for me not interrupting your 4 AM study sessions anymore. Deal?"
"I didn't ask for that. And honestly, neither of those things should be happening anyway!" You fired back instantly, spinning on your heel to march back into your yard.
"Oh, Y/N-ssi." Riwoo's voice trailed behind you, forcing you to stop.
"What now?"
"Even if you aren't scared of anything, the pavilion behind the neighborhood at 4 AM..." He raised a hand, slowly tapping the teddy bear band-aid on his lip. He looked completely relaxed, but his eyes were dangerously sharp. "...You should still be careful. Next time you decide to sit there... You need to put an earphone. Shut out everything around you."
He took a half-step closer, a faint, fanged smile returning.
"...Otherwise, if you accidentally hear something you shouldn't again... you might just be the one wearing these bandages next."
You took a deep breath, fully prepared to rip into his audacity, but before you could even move, the sound of lazy, dragging footsteps echoed from behind you. Someone stopped right next to you.
"Why are you blocking the gate?"
A flat, apathetic voice laced with pure RBF energyâit was your black-cat housemate. The same one who pointed out your dark circles. She blinked, looking between you and Riwoo with utter confusion.
And that was the exact second you witnessed Riwooâs Full HD Oscar-winning performance again. The dangerous aura evaporated instantly. He switched back to 'Sweet Older Brother' mode in a millisecond.
"Oh, you just got back?" Riwoo greeted her warmly. Right... your deadpan housemate happened to be his momâs best friendâs daughter. Of course he had to keep up the charade.
She didnât smile back. She just stared at him, her blank eyes landing on the corner of his mouth. "Cute band-aid... Did you walk into a cabinet again?"
You almost facepalmed at the sheer density hidden behind her intimidating face. She actually bought his cabinet excuse hook, line, and sinker! (And honestly... you genuinely wondered how she managed to survive living next to a guy like Jaehyun while being this clueless!)
"Yeah. I haven't been sleeping much lately, so I was a bit out of it," Riwoo laughed softly, flashing a gentle smile that made you roll your eyes.
Your housemate gave a slow, wooden nod. "Are you not coming inside? Or were you guys talking?"
"Nope. Nothing to talk about!" You replied quickly, snatching the opportunity to bolt. You grabbed your housemate's arm and dragged her inside. But right before slamming the gate, you couldn't help but shoot one last glare at the tall guy standing outside.
Riwoo was standing with his hands in his pockets. He was still giving your housemate a soft smile, but the gaze he shifted over to lock with yours... carried the exact same underlying threat as his 'You need to put an earphone' comment.
You ripped your eyes away and slammed the gate shut.
This guy... is an actual menace! Why does my share-house have to be surrounded by these weirdos?! You fumed internally, stomping back into the house with your perpetually unbothered housemate trailing beside you.
Youâd think criminal law couldn't make your life any more miserable. But alasâCivil Law, the bane of your existence, was scheduled right in between waiting for your Criminal Law results. And heaven apparently despised law students like you.
The scene waiting for you at the bottom of the stairs, heavy textbook in hand, made you want to pull a 180 and march right back to bed.
"Oh, hey Y/N!"
A cheerful voice rang out from the living room sofa. It was none other than Myung Jaehyun, grinning like an idiot and shamelessly squishing himself right next to your black-cat housemate.
"Didn't realize I had a new roommate," you snapped sarcastically.
"Well, if you ever have an opening, the room next your door seems like a great place to live."
"Huh?"
Your housemate, who had been zoning out the entire time, suddenly snapped her head toward him, finally registering that she was part of the conversation.
"In your dreams! One dog in this house is more than enough!" You bared your teeth at Jaehyun.
"Woof!"
Jaehyun tilted his head at Nyang-Nyang, who barked in absolute agreement, as if the dog actually understood human sarcasm. He then flashed you an unbothered, cheeky grin that made you want to pinch him until he bruised.
Whatever.
For the sake of your sanity and emotional regulation, you packed up your iPad, your books, and your fried brain, and evacuated to your usual sanctuary: the cafe at the front of the neighborhood.
The rich aroma of roasted coffee beans and the blast of cold AC should have been healing... if not for the massive Civil Law textbook splayed open on your table, alongside the chaotic lecture notes from your balding, perpetually menopausal professor.
You sighed for the millionth time, massaging your throbbing temples. Your eyes darted between the iPad and the dense legal jargon. Your sleep-deprived brain was violently trying to shove contracts and juristic acts into your head. Just thinking about the professor's face made your urge to drop out skyrocket!
Ding-a-ling...
The cafe bell chimed, signaling a new customer. You didnât even bother looking up; you had zero interest in the outside world. That is, until the scraping of a wooden chair echoed from the table diagonally across from you.
Annoyed by the distraction, you glanced up to shoot a glare at whoever chose the most obnoxious seat possible... only for your brain to instantly short-circuit.
Lee Sanghyuk... or 'Riwoo.'
Dressed in a crisp white button-down with the sleeves casually rolled up, looking like he just stepped out of a fabric softener commercial. He was sitting there, legs crossed. That ridiculously noticeable teddy bear band-aid was still on his lip (though he swapped it for a bear with an even dumber expression). He held an iced Americano in one hand.
He didn't greet you. Didn't even utter a single word as he casually scrolled through his phone. He looked like the picture-perfect, wholesome guy-next-door that anyone would swoon over.
But it would have been a lot more 'normal'... if those deadpan eyes didn't flick up to lock directly onto yours every single time you looked up from your book!
It wasn't a dreamy, romantic gaze. It was a cold, calculating 'Iâm watching you' stare. A silent psychological warfare that was rapidly shredding your remaining focus (at least in your thoughts)
You ducked your head, mentally reciting the codes, but the little red Anger in your brain was growing ten times its size. Civil Law was already a nightmare, and now you had to deal with this band-aid-wearing thug playing a silent staring contest with you?! Every fucking time you shifted in your seat or flipped a page, heâd subtly adjust his cup or shift his postureâa quiet reminder through those dark eyes: 'I've got my eyes on you.'
Half an hour later, your naturally thin patience snapped. Excuse me, was it my fault I saw you brawling at 4 AM?!
SLAM!
You slammed the heavy Civil Law textbook shut so hard the barista jumped. You shot out of your chair, grabbed your iPad, and marched straight over to his table, slamming your hand down on the wood.
You lowered your voice, glaring daggers at him. "What do you want?"
Riwoo didn't even flinch. He slowly lowered his phone. A flicker of amusement danced in his eyes before melting into a faint, fanged smirk that was equally soft and infuriatingly smug. He took a slow sip of his iced Americano, tilted his head, and replied in a voice so smooth it made your hands itch to slap him.
"Just drinking coffee... Or what did you think I was doing?"
The sheer audacity of his deadpan, upper-hand response made the vein in your temple throb faster than when you were cramming civil codes!
"If you're just drinking coffee, then why do you keep staring at me? Are you a stalker?!"
Because you were 100% sure you weren't famous enough to have a sasaeng fan. Ergo, this guy was just a psycho.
Riwoo let out a low, breathy laugh. A real laughâcompletely devoid of his 'Perfect Boy' act.
"I guess I just can't control my eyes... What can I say? I think I like you... so I keep accidentally staring."
He gave you that fanged smile he usually reserved for everyone else... but the words tumbling out of his mouth made your heart skip a treacherous beat. And it wasn't just you who heard it! You caught the muffled squeals of high school girls at the next table, and suddenly, you could feel the judging eyes of the barista and half the cafe. (Okay, maybe partly because you yelled first, but still!)
"You're turning red..." The band-aid guy teased smoothly, tilting his head with a smirk.
"You're so annoying!"
You hissed, aggressively snatching up all your belongings and storming out of the cafeâabsolutely refusing to look back at whatever smug expression he was wearing!
And of course, things somehow got worse. Your Criminal Law grades were out.
The bags under your eyes were so dark that your neighbor pointed them out again. Aside from cramming for the next exam, the other main reason was your crippling paranoia that a gang of thugs would ambush you in the alleys. (Okay, maybe you had an overactive imagination, but who wouldn't be paranoid?!)
"Y/N... Are you seriously not going with us?"
You ignored the whining voice in the background and refreshed the university portal for the thousandth time today.
Today was another chaotic day in the neighborhood. Woonhak and his giant man-child babysittersâTaesan, Leehan, and your arch-nemesis, Jaehyunâwere doing some loud activity at Woonhak's house (right next door) and had inevitably spilled over to annoy your share-house.
"Come onnn, Riwoo takes his dogs for a walk at the park around this time too, you know."
Let's be clearâyou weren't close to Jaehyun this much at all. But watching him whine and cling to your perpetually annoyed, housemate (who looked like she was carrying the weight of the world) made you want to punt him into the sun.
"And why would I go? What does that guy have to do with me?"
"Well, Riwoo hyung is hitting on you..."
Leehan, who had been completely silent until now, chimed in. Honestly, if thatâs what you were going to say, you shouldâve stayed quiet.
"Let's just go, hyungs. Y/N noona needs to check her grades..."
Thank God Woonhak had some sense. He physically shoved his older brothers toward the door, dragging Nyang-Nyang the pom out with them. Finally, peace and quiet.
The cursor on the screen kept spinning until you were ready to write a furious email to IT. But before you could, the page loaded, and your grade popped up...
B+
âŠ
B+??
Your fingers aggressively typed out an email to your advisor. You frowned... it wasn't terrible, but it definitely wasn't what you aimed for, and it certainly wasn't worth the sleep deprivation.
An email notification chimed shortly after. You zeroed in on the professor's comments: 'Analyzed Section 257 far deeper than the prompt required. It seemed as though you were applying an external, real-life scenario to the case, leading to a loss of focus on the core issue.'
You flashed back to the exam. The essay question was a hypothetical case study on 'Physical Assault and Self-Defense.' And instead of answering strictly based on legal theory, your oxygen-deprived brain had superimposed the image of Riwooâs 'split lip' and 'bloody knuckles' right onto the exam paper!
The result? You completely over-analyzed it, dragging in concepts like 'Mutual Combat' and 'Proportionality of Defense' until you missed the main point entirely! â All because of Riwoo! Because of his sheer audacity!
Your rage hit a boiling point. You needed to cool down... right now!
To lower your core temperature from a nuclear meltdown, your body operated on autopilot: slam the laptop shut (Smack), shove your wallet into your pocket, and stomp out of the house straight to the convenience store!
Ice cream! You needed a freezing cold quart of Mint Chocolate Chip to aggressively shove into your mouth immediately!
But God really must hate angry people like you. Because the moment you angrily bit into the ice cream bar you bought as an appetizer, marching past the quiet zone near the communal pavilionâthe exact spot of the 4 AM incidentâyour eyes met an unfamiliar group blocking the path.
Three thuggish-looking guys were glancing around like they were searching for something. The biggest one, a towering brute, stood right in your way. He looked down at you with a hostile expression that told you asking him to move politely would be entirely useless.
The lingering rage from the B+ mixed with your naturally short, sarcastic temper. You didn't even think about turning around. Instead, you marched right up to him. Sure, you were smaller, but when you stood toe-to-toe with the guy, you aggressively tilted your chin up to assert dominance!
"Do we have a problem here?" you snapped, chewing on the popsicle stick while crossing your arms.
The guyâs dark eyes scanned your scowling face. His scarred eyebrow twitched. He looked intimidating, but not nearly as scary as you thought heâd be.
"You look familiar..." His voice was a raspy growl, meant to be threatening.
He took a step closer. His bruised smirk didn't piss you off nearly as much as Riwooâs teddy bear band-aid. The other two lackeys noticed and slowly boxed you in.
"...You're the little princess that puppy keeps protecting, aren't you?"
"What the hell are you talking about?!" you fired back without missing a beat. "Do I even know you? Is blocking people's paths considered good manners where you're from? And whoâs protecting who?! Stop spouting nonsense and move!"
Instead of backing off, the guys let out a collective, creepy laugh. The raspy chuckles and their complete lack of concern made you want to stab them in the eye with your popsicle stick! "What's so funny, huh?!"
"What's funny?" The scarred guy sneered, stepping so close you instinctively took a step back. The cheap stench of his cigarettes made you grimace. "I'm laughing at how painfully clueless you are, sweetheart. Do you have any idea how many times that bastard Sanghyuk has beaten us half to death every time we tried to get to you for revenge?"
You froze. The popsicle stick nearly fell out of your mouth. "...What?"
"Trailing behind you, guarding you like a dog with a bone. That busted lip he got the other day? That was from taking a hit meant for you!" Another lackey chimed in, cracking his knuckles. "We got lucky today that he wasn't glued to your side like usual. We were just gonna use you as bait to lure him out, but look who walked right into our hands!"
Your brain was working on overdrive... That guy? Protecting me? The busted lip that night?
Wait... so when he was staring you down at the cafe a few days ago, he wasn't just trying to annoy you (well, maybe he was), but he was actually... guarding you?!
Before you could even open your mouth to yell or process your own feelings, the scarred guyâs rough hand lunged out to grab your arm. Survival instinct kicked in. You squeezed your eyes shut, bracing to dodge, but thenâ
The sound of something heavy slamming into a body echoed loudly, followed by a groan of pain. The massive scarred guy was sent flying, crashing into his lackeys behind him from a brutal kick straight to his chest!
Your eyes flew open. You whipped your head around.
Lee Sanghyuk... Dressed in a black tee and sweatpants, looking like he just sprinted a 100-meter dash. Those dark eyes that usually looked at you with teasing amusement were now ice-cold, feral, and blazing with a terrifying rage you had never seen before.
There was no teddy bear band-aid. No fluffy Pomeranians. Because the second he got a text from his juniors saying, âThe rival gang is sniffing around the back of the neighborhood,â he shoved the leashes into Jaehyun and Woonhakâs hands and sprinted here like a madman!
"I thought I warned you guys..."
Riwoo's voice was deathly low, sending chills down your spine. He glared daggers at the thugs scrambling to their feet. His hands were casually shoved into his pockets, but the sheer murderous intent radiating off him made even you shudder.
He stepped smoothly in front of you, completely shielding you from view. His broad back looked unshakeableâa complete 180 from the soft Boy-Next-Door aesthetic.
"If you ever crossed the line and touched 'my person'..." Riwoo tilted his head, a chilling smirk spreading across his face. "I won't just stop at busting your lips this time."
The temperature around the pavilion plummeted. The suffocating bloodlust radiating from Riwooâs back made the three thugs gulp nervously. But driven by bruised egos and outnumbering him three to one, the scarred leader spat on the ground and signaled his boys.
"Motherfucker... Talk big all you want! You don't have your little lapdogs with you this time! You think you can take us down alone like last time?! Get him!"
With a roar, one lackey charged forward with a wooden bat. You gasped, about to scream a warning, but everything happened way too fast for your brain to process!
Riwoo didn't even flinch. He waited for the swing, dodged smoothly like he could read the future, and snatched the guy's wrist. With a sharp twist, a sickening CRACK echoed through the air. The guy shrieked, dropping the bat. Without giving him a second to breathe, Riwoo drove his knee brutally into the guy's gut, dropping him to the ground, coughing up air.
BAM! CRASH!
The other two rushed him simultaneously. Riwoo slipped past the scarred leader's first punch, smoothly shifted his stance, and delivered a devastating right hook straight to the other lackey's jaw. The guy's head snapped back, and he hit the pavement, completely knocked out. The raw, calculated brutality of how he dismantled them left you standing frozen like a statue...
This... is Mrs. Kim's Dream Son-in-Law?! This guy is a literal gang boss!
Only the scarred leader was left. Seeing his crew decimated in seconds, and seeing the absolute lack of mercy in Riwooâs eyes as he cracked his bloody knuckles again, completely shattered his nerve. Survival instinct told him that if he stayed, he'd be eating through a straw for the rest of the year!
"Y-You'll regret this, Sanghyuk! Next time, you're dead!"
He yelled shakily before grabbing his two unconscious buddies by the collars, dragging them away into the darkness as fast as his legs could carry him.
"You said that last time too... Weird," Riwoo called out lazily, fake-yawning just to rub salt in the wound.
Dead silence returned to the pavilion. A cool breeze swept through, washing away the boiling tension. Riwoo let out a long sigh, standing up straight and casually adjusting his black shirt. He shook out his bruised hand before slowly turning around to face you.
The grim reaper aura vanished instantly. All that was left were those same deadpan eyes that suddenly sparked with amusement when he saw you... The usually explosive Law Student, now standing completely frozen, eyes wide, blankly chewing on an empty popsicle stick.
You immediately snapped your mouth shut and crossed your arms tight, trying desperately to hide your shaking legs and the heat rushing up to your cheeks.
"What... what the hell were you saying just now?!" You shrieked, voice trembling, desperately trying to use anger to mask your fluster. "Who... who is 'your person'?! And who's a weak spot?! Stop spouting nonsense!"
Riwoo raised an eyebrow. That tiny, fanged smile crept onto his handsome, slightly ruffled face. He took a slow step toward you, bringing back the exact same tension from that 4 AM night.
"Well... if I didn't say that, do you think they would have backed off?" he asked innocently, his maddeningly soft voice returning. "Or... did the Law Student overthink things again?"
"I did not overthink anything!" you snapped back, your face burning red all the way to your ears.
"But I meant it, though..."
You shot him a look, frantically fanning your burning ears with your hand.
"...I do likeâ"
"RIWOO!!!! Y/N!!!!"
Before he could finish that sentence, a chaotic, screeching yell echoed from the park entrance, followed by the frantic slapping of flip-flops. The neighborhood man-children had arrived.
Myung Jaehyun sprinted ahead of everyone. In one hand, he held the tangled leashes of Riwoo's two Pomeranians, who were running in zig-zags. In the other hand, he was wielding Woonhak's bright yellow plastic baseball bat, looking ready for war but looking absolutely ridiculous instead. Taesan, Leehan, and Woonhak trailed closely behind, looking panicked.
"Are you guys okay?! Riwoo! Did we make it in time?! Your dogs almost dragged me face-first into the concrete..." Jaehyun yelled, panting heavily before skidding to a halt. He took in the scene: faint blood on the ground, and Riwoo standing face-to-face with you.
All four of them (plus the two Pomeranians barking happily at their owner) looked back and forth between you two with highly suspicious eyes!
"Wow... Guess we're late. Riwoo hyung looks like he just got out of a dogfight," Taesan muttered, slowly lowering the coconut-leaf broom in his hand (an equally pathetic weapon!).
Leehan squinted at your flushed face before a teasing grin spread across his lips. "See... I told you Riwoo hyung was hitting on Y/N. Look at him, ditching his dogs to run to the rescue. So manly!"
"Leehan! Shut your mouth!" You instantly shrieked, baring your teeth at the impromptu, highly annoying fanclub!
As for Riwoo... he immediately snapped back into his 'Perfect Sweet Brother' persona. He smiled warmly at the boys, gently taking the leashes back from Jaehyun. But the hand hidden behind his back... was still clenched tight, subtly rubbing the fresh bruises.
He looked down at you, still scowling and blushing furiously.
"Let's go home... I'll walk you back," Riwoo said softly. "Consider it compensation for making you lose your temper... smart cookie."
What the hell!
His eyes, these butterfly-inducing words!
And what the hell are these guys staring at us like that for?!!
A/N
Oh! Hiđ ⊠Iâm back! (Ig?)
Iâm just in love with two-faced main character so⊠plz enjoy!!
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
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a/n: took a big break⊠this was inspired by bndâs doorjanchi ep đ„č
contains: anal sex, semi-public sex, top taesan, bottom leehan
âtaesan..â leehan groans, attempting to muffle his sounds of pleasure.
âhm?â taesan drawls out, âfeels good?â he whispers in his ear, gripping the younger boy's hips harder. he delves deeper into him, the tip of his dick abusing leehanâs sensitive prostate.
âuh-huh,â leehan whines, leaning into the desk beneath him. the two of them had originally come here to produce a song for the upcoming album, unexpected tension bringing them to this outcome.
âmhm. taking me so good.â
the statement makes a rush of arousal run through leehan, a whimper escaping his plump, reddened lips. taesan grabs a handful of his soft blonde hair, the fluffy texture slowing his fastened heart rate.
âyou look so pretty with this,â taesan mumbles, cheeks flushed as he gently moves his hips. repeatedly he thrusts into leehan, his stomach pressing against leehans back.
breathy sighs from leehan fill the small producing room. heâs so full of taesan, his mind starting to feel all warm and fuzzy from the sensation. leehan moans out his name, cum beginning to leak from his tip onto the desk he gripped on below him.
âthatâs it, my blondie,â taesan smiles, petting leehans head as he climaxes beneath him. taesan allows himself to finish, seed stuffing the light haired boy.
âoh..â leehan breathes shakily, the warmth of taesan slowly leaving his body. a part of taesan remains, the wet feeling a new experience.
the two stay close together, the proximity feeling necessary after the intimate moment. taesan gives leehan soft kisses along the back of his neck, occasionally sniffing his blonde hair that still holds that strong shampoo scent.
âlook at me,â taesan says suddenly. of course, leehan doesnât think twice, turning to face the dark haired boy. taesan examines his face, eyes sparkling despite the dark of the room.
âgod, i wish you were a natural blonde,â taesan states softly. at his comment, leehan canât help but giggle.
âiâll keep it for you,â he responds with a smile.
âyeah, youâd better.â
and honestly, leehan would do anything for this in return.
genre: established relationship, romance au, fluff with heat
wc: 756
warnings: suggestive content, intense kissing, mild sexual tension
a/n: This one is in honor of Taesan's red hair era.
There are rarely moments where youâre completely stunned into silence, and right now happens to be one of them.
Because your boyfriend is standing in front of you with bright red hair. In theory, it should look strange. It should be one of those changes you need time to adjust to. But it isnât. Not even close. If anything, it makes it worse in the best way possible, because Taesan looks unfairly good like this, and your brain seems to short-circuit on sight.
A warm rush floods through you at the way the colour frames his face, sharpens his features, makes him look even more infuriatingly attractive. You press your legs together without thinking, as if that alone could ground you.
Taesan, on the other hand, looks like heâs bracing for impact. He rubs the back of his neck, gives an awkward little laugh, clearly uncomfortable under your silence. âI lost a bet with the guys,â he admits. âThis was my punishment.â
You donât answer. Not because youâre upset, but because words have officially stopped working for you. Your brain is still buffering.
The lack of response only makes him more uncertain. He waves a hand in front of your face. âWhat? Is it really that bad?â
That snaps something in you. Bad? He thinks this is bad?
If only he knew what it was doing to you.
Your voice finally returns, but it comes out softer than you expect. âTell your friends I said thank you.â
He barely has time to process that before you step forward and kiss him.
It isnât gentle. Itâs immediate, hungry in a way that surprises even you. You nip lightly at his bottom lip, slipping your tongue against his, and for a second he freezesâcaught off guardâbefore he melts into it, matching your intensity with a slow, growing heat.
Any restraint disappears quickly.
You donât care how desperate it feels, or how obvious youâre being. All you can think about is him, the warmth of his mouth, the way he responds when you pull him closer like youâve been waiting for this without realizing it.
When you finally break away just enough to look at him, heâs breathless. His red hair is slightly tousled now, eyes a little glazed, lips parted like heâs still catching up. It only makes everything worse in the best way.
You kiss him again, immediately, like your self-control never stood a chance in the first place.
This time it deepens, faster, more consuming. His hands find your waist, firm and sure now, pulling you in until thereâs barely any space left between you. You let out a quiet sound against his mouth when he shifts you backward without breaking the kiss, guiding you until your back meets the wall of your apartment entryway.
The change in position makes your breath hitch.
Taesan doesnât stop there. One hand stays at your waist, the other slides lower to steady you, holding you there like heâs decided heâs done being startled and fully committed to this moment instead. You cling to him without thinking, fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt, like letting go isnât even an option anymore.
The kiss turns slower, deeperâless rushed, more deliberateâbut no less intense. Itâs the kind that makes time feel slightly irrelevant, like everything else has been pushed out of the frame except the two of you and the way heâs looking at you when he finally pulls back just enough to breathe.
His forehead rests briefly against yours. He laughs softly, breath still uneven. âBabe,â he murmurs, voice low, âI need to breathe.â
That alone almost makes you forget how to function.
He presses a light kiss to your cheek, then your jaw, like heâs trying to steady both of you back into reality without fully letting go. His hands are still at your waist, anchoring you there.
âSoâŠâ he says after a moment, a teasing edge creeping back into his voice, eyes flicking over your face like he already knows the answer, âI take it you like the new hair?â
You let out a shaky breath, still a little dazed, still not fully recovered. Your hands donât move far from him either. âYes,â you admit simply.
His smile widens at thatâsoft, knowing, entirely too satisfied.
He leans in one more time, brushing his lips against yours, gentler this time, almost playful. âGood,â he murmurs.
Then, with a faint laugh, he tilts his head slightly, red hair catching the light again as he adds, âSo the hair stays?â
SCRIPT, Han Taesan, South Korea's newest rising star, gets caught in a scandal involving two older actresses and is instantly labeles as a playboy using connections to climb the ranks. His PR Team needs damage controlâfast. The solution? A sweet, low-profile, long-term girlfriend to fix his image.
đ đ«đłđ€đ±đđ đłđšđ”đ€đ«đž,ă € Fake dating the nation's most talked-about rookie actor in exchange for your tuition should be easy, right? Except Han Taesan is the worst fake boyfriend ever.
STARRING ACTOR!TAESAN â FEM!READER
GENRE fakedating slight enemies2lovers fluff
RUNNING TIME 600 ( teaser )
êŁà§ NOTES !ă € hope you enjoy >< ! kindly send an ask, or comment under this post to be added to the taglist đ
ă € đ original soundtrack !
âAh, you must be Seolheeâs niece.â
You turned to the source of the voice. A woman in a sleek pantsuit and pointed heels smiled at you. She was tall, older, with glossy black hair pulled into a tight ponytail and an air of authority that made you instinctively straighten your back.
âThis way,â she said. âWeâre heading into the lounge for a quick meeting.â
You followed without question.
Inside, the lounge was surprisingly quiet. Soundproof walls, a small round table, bottles of water, and untouched snacks arranged neatly on a tray.
Seolhee was already seated, waving you over to sit beside her with a small, reassuring smile.
Taesan walked in a moment laterânot sparing you a single glance.
âEveryoneâs here?â asked the woman in heelsâwho you now realized must be the head of PR, judging by the folders she was handing out.
âLetâs keep this short,â she said briskly once everyone was settled, holding a thin binder in one hand and a highlighter in the other. âThe official story is simple: Taesan is in a relationship with a long-time family friend. You met through Seolhee, reconnected this year, and decided to keep things private until recently.â
âFamily friend?â you whispered to Seolhee.
She didnât miss a beat. âItâs a safer narrative. Minimal suspicion.â
âOne blurry Dispatch photo will go up next week,â the PR head continued. âYouâll be seen together often. Weâll start with one candid, one staged, and a joint event appearance.â
Your eyes flickered to Taesan on instinct. His expression didnât change. Not a single glance was sent your way.
âNo public fights. No contradictory statements. If asked in interviews, youâre allowed to say, âWe prefer to keep things private,â or, âWeâre getting to know each other.â Keep timelines vague.â
She flipped through the binder quickly, eyes scanning. âThatâs about it,â she said after a pause. âYouâll hold hands, post stories, and look like youâre in love. Bare minimum.â
You exhaled through your nose. âMaybe we should start with eye contact first,â you muttered, teeth gritted.
That got his attention because he finally looked at youâeyebrow raised, corner of his mouth twitching. âIâm not a good actor off set,â he said, turning back to Seolhee like you hadnât spoken.
âYou will have to be,â your aunt snapped. âOr you can say goodbye to the two brand endorsements we just signed last week. And the drama offers.â
That shut him up.
The PR woman slid two printed sheets across the tableâfake dating contracts. You scanned the paper, unsure whether to laugh or cry. This was real. You were about to lie to the entire nation. For tuition money.
Across from you, Taesan signed the paper without a word.
You hesitated, then signed yours.
The meeting adjourned, and one by one, everyone filed outâleaving only you, Seolhee, and Taesan behind.
He stood up, brushing past you like you were invisible, and nodded politely at your aunt. âIâll see you at the next briefing.â The door clicked shut behind him.
You turned to Seolhee immediately, watching as she tucked the signed contracts into a file.
âWhat a moron,â you muttered. âIs he always that incapable of basic human decency?â
She gave you a tight smile. âHeâs just under a lot of stress.â
You scoffed, grabbing a water bottle off the table. âRight.â
You didnât complain further, but in your head, one thing was already very clear:
If this was how Han Taesan treated the person saving his public image, he wasnât just stressed. He was a camera-ready, grade-A jerk.
đđđđđđă € Han Taesan, South Korea's newest rising star, gets caught in a scandal involving two older actresses and is instantly labeles as a playboy using connections to climb the ranks. His PR Team needs damage controlâfast. The solution? A sweet, low-profile, long-term girlfriend to fix his image.
đ đ«đłđ€đ±đđ đłđšđ”đ€đ«đž,ă € Fake dating the nation's most talked-about rookie actor in exchange for your tuition should be easy, right? Except Han Taesan is the worst fake boyfriend ever.
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Author's note: Writing these 12 chapters felt strange since it's my first time writing fantasy, but I enjoyed it. I hope you liked the first season. I'll be writing more. The second season is coming soon.
Part 9-12 Season 1 finale
The city did not react with noise.
Only glances.
They werenât alarmed, but they werenât indifferent either. It was something harder to define, as if your presence didnât quite fit into any category they understood.
The people of Aetheris had something difficult to explain.
Soft luminous skin, eyes that reflected the surrounding light as if it lived within them, calm movements, almost floating. Not exactly human.
Closer to something ancient.
Something your mind couldnât fully define.
âDo they always look like this?â you murmured without realizing it.
Leehan heard you.
âLike what?â
ââŠLike angels.â
You didnât say it with certainty. More like an impression you couldnât fully explain.
Leehan let out a small laugh.
âThatâs what humans say when they see them for the first time.â
Woonhak immediately looked up.
âHumans have seen them before?â
Sungho didnât answer.
But his attention was already fixed more on the surroundings.
Not the city itself.
But on how it reacted to you.
Because now it was impossible to ignore.
They werenât just looking at you.
They were perceiving you.
Some stopped slightly for no clear reason.
Others frowned as if trying to understand something that didnât quite fit.
And others simply kept their gaze on you longer than normal.
Leehan stopped smiling.
Jaehyun reduced the wind around him without noticing.
Taesan tensed slightly.
Sungho glanced at you, more serious than before.
Woonhak opened his notebook.
âTheyâre reacting to her magical signature.â
âSignature?â you repeated quietly.
âImpossible in humans,â he replied immediately.
Riwoo looked at him.
âItâs not impossible.â
And he didnât add anything else.
The group continued moving forward.
The city opened up ahead, leaving the main areas behind and becoming quieter, greener, where the sound of water returned through small canals and more open structures.
The medicinal garden appeared without announcement.
It wasnât just a garden.
It was a large space within the city, almost like a temple integrated with nature. Soft pale stone structures blended with luminous plants, as if the place hadnât been built but grown around something alive.
The air there was lighter.
The plants grew in patterns that didnât fully follow natural rules, some glowing softly, others leaning slightly toward you for no clear reason.
Riwoo stepped forward and then stopped.
âHere.â
There was no discussion.
Sungho studied the place for a few seconds before looking away.
Leehan stayed near the edge of the garden, watching the environment settle.
Taesan silently evaluated the space.
Jaehyun let the wind completely calm around him.
Woonhak was already writing something else.
Riwoo moved again first.
He guided you toward one of the structures inside the garden.
The interior was even quieter.
Stone pathways connected rooms that opened toward the garden, where light entered easily and the plants could be seen from almost every angle.
You stopped when you reached one of them.
A room had been prepared.
Simple, bright.
With a direct view of the medicinal garden.
Riwoo spoke calmly.
âYouâll stay here for now.â
It didnât sound like an order.
It sounded like something already decided.
And no one contradicted it.
For the first time since you arrived in AetherisâŠ
you werenât moving forward.
You were just there.
In a place that seemed to observe you in silence.
The garden slowly faded without ever becoming fully dark.
The sky of Aetheris never fell into night like in your world. Instead, it shifted tones, as if someone were layering deeper colors over the same canvas. Soft pinks, denser violets, blues that seemed to move gently into one another.
The light was still there.
Just calmer.
You fell asleep without realizing it.
It wasnât sudden. It was more like your body finally gave up resisting the exhaustion that had built up since your arrival, as if it had finally decided to stop fighting.
While you slept, somewhere else in the temple-garden, the guardians were gathered.
It wasnât a formal meeting.
There was no table or defined structure. Just the group in one of the open spaces, where the air was more stable and the sound of the garden came in softly.
Sungho spoke first.
âItâs not just that Astra Veil let her in.â
Leehan was leaning near the inner water channels, watching the small currents move without him touching them.
âWe already know that,â he replied.
Taesan wasnât fully sitting. He was simply observing the ground, as if listening to something the others couldnât hear.
âThe forest reacted the same way as the lake,â he said quietly.
Jaehyun crossed his arms.
âAnd the wind doesnât push her. It circles around her.â
Woonhak looked up from his notebook, more serious than usual.
âThat shouldnât exist in any record.â
A brief silence followed.
Then Riwoo spoke.
âHer body is adapting too quickly for a human.â
Sungho looked at him.
âOr too well.â
No one responded immediately.
Because that was the part none of them wanted to say out loud.
Aetheris wasnât just tolerating you.
It was recognizing you.
The night passed without incident.
At least, it seemed that way.
The next morning, soft light entered the room from the garden.
But you didnât wake right away.
Something was around you.
Soft.
Warm.
As if the air itself had taken form while you slept.
When you slowly opened your eyes, you realized you were inside a giant flower.
But not a normal one.
Its petals were translucent, like a bubble made of light and soft texture. They surrounded you without pressing against you, as if they had been protecting you all night.
The inside was silent.
Too calm.
You blinked, confused.
And then you heard voices outside.
Footsteps approaching.
The floral structure reacted slightly, as if it could âfeelâ their presence.
Riwooâs voice came first.
âSheâs here.â
The flower opened a little wider.
And then you saw them.
Riwoo.
Leehan behind him.
Sungho watching in silence.
Jaehyun unusually still.
Woonhak holding something that was probably food⊠and staring at you like he had forgotten how to blink.
âWe brought clothes and food,â Riwoo said calmly.
But he didnât finish the sentence.
Because everyone was looking at the same thing.
The giant flower you had slept in.
Leehan frowned slightly.
âThat wasnât here yesterday.â
Sungho stepped forward.
The flower didnât react aggressively.
It just⊠lingered for a second.
As if waiting.
And then it dissolved.
Not withering.
Not breaking.
Just fading into soft particles of light that blended into the garden air.
Silence.
You were still sitting on the bed, half confused.
And then you noticed it.
On your ankles.
Small marks.
Pink.
Like freckles, but forming tiny stars.
Also on your wrists.
And a few softer ones near your collarbones.
You stared at them without understanding.
The garden air didnât change.
But the boys did.
Woonhak was the first to speak.
ââŠThat wasnât in any record.â
Leehan said nothing.
Sungho neither.
But his gaze sharpened.
More serious.
Taesan stepped slightly forward.
And RiwooâŠ
Riwoo didnât come closer.
He just watched in silence.
As if for the first time since meeting youâŠ
he wasnât looking at a human.
But at something Aetheris had already started marking as its own.
The silence lasted a few seconds longer than usual.
Then everything started moving again.
They gave you clothes, light and adapted to Aetherisâs climate.
And food tooâdifferent from human food, but not strange; more like something alive in a way that was hard to explain.
They left it in the garden room without pushing you.
But the problem appeared quickly.
When you tried to change.
No one had mentioned privacy.
Literally no one.
Leehan was leaning against the door.
Jaehyun was looking in through an open window.
Woonhak already had his notebook in hand again.
Taesan stayed silent in a corner of the hallway, as if the concept of personal space was still being processed.
You stood still for a moment.
Looked at them.
Then pointed at the door.
Softly.
âOut.â
It wasnât aggressive.
Just clear.
Silence.
Leehan blinked.
ââŠOut?â
âYes.â
Jaehyun tilted his head.
âWhy?â
ââŠBecause Iâm changing.â
Woonhak immediately wrote something down.
âInteresting human social behaviorââ
âOut.â
Stronger this time.
Leehan let out a short laugh.
âOk, ok.â
They left.
Without much resistance.
Just curious.
Before closing the door, Leehan spoke.
âCan we come in later?â
ââŠknock first.â
Sungho nodded.
âUnderstood.â
The door closed.
From that moment on, things didnât change all at once.
They just adjusted.
They started observing you more often.
Not in an invasive way, but constantly.
Riwoo was the most attentive, always noticing if your breathing or condition changed with the environment.
Sungho asked direct questions that rarely sounded like questions.
Leehan spent time near the water whenever you were close.
Taesan stayed quiet, but the environment still reacted to you even inside the garden.
Jaehyun unintentionally shifted the wind depending on his mood.
Woonhak wrote everything down.
And you started noticing a pattern.
Every night, small changes happened.
Marks appearing or becoming more visible.
The giant flower returning without explanation.
Creatures lingering near your room, watching quietly without trying to scare you.
With time, you stopped reacting to it as much.
You also started dreaming.
About your world.
Your room.
Your bed.
One day you woke up there.
Suddenly.
The air felt different. Heavier.
Your room was the same.
You sat still for a moment.
Until you felt it.
The drawer.
Your fatherâs room drawer.
You opened it.
There were things you didnât remember seeing before.
Old scrolls.
Folded letters.
Papers written in a language you didnât understand.
But when you touched them, something inside you recognized them.
You took them.
Without thinking too much.
That night you fell asleep holding them.
And returned to Aetheris.
When you opened your eyes, the flower no longer surprised you.
Leehan was already there before you spoke.
âOk,â he said. âthatâs getting weird even for you.â
You sat up and took out the scrolls.
Silence immediately fell.
Woonhak stepped closer first.
ââŠthatâs not human.â
Sungho studied them without speaking at first.
Taesan leaned in slightly.
Leehan stopped joking.
Riwoo approached more slowly.
When Sungho took one of the papers, the atmosphere shifted.
âItâs written in ancient Aetheris language.â
Silence.
Woonhak opened his notebook.
âThat language doesnât exist in human records.â
Leehan read another scroll quietly.
ââŠthese look like letters.â
They looked at each other.
Then at you.
No need to say it out loud.
They were love letters.
Sungho said it quietly.
ââŠElyria.â
The name lingered in the air.
Riwoo looked up.
âThe ancient entity?â
Sungho nodded.
Leehan set the scroll down.
âThat would explain too much.â
Taesan didnât speak.
But he didnât look away.
Woonhak was already writing.
âIf this is realâŠâ
Jaehyun interrupted without thinking.
ââŠthen sheâs connected to you.â
Silence again.
Heavier this time.
Because no one had an answer.
But they were all thinking the same thing.
Aetheris wasnât just accepting you.
It was recognizing you.
It wasnât pain. It was a sensation, like something inside you was fitting into place for the first time. The letters were no longer completely unfamiliar, not entirely, but enough for you to understand them, and then you heard itânot as an external voice, but as a thought that wasnât yours.
âIf you are reading this⊠it means the world has not forgotten me completely.â
You froze. Sungho noticed your expression.
ââŠWhat did you see?â
You didnât answer.
Another line appeared.
âYou are the continuation of what could not remain.â
The air in the garden stopped.
And then it changed.
The light around the parchments began to flow toward youâfirst softly, then more intensely, as if the paper wasnât showing text anymore but releasing it. The glow spread through the garden in shades of pink and purple, filling the space without breaking it.
The flowers leaned at the same time. The water stopped moving. Even the wind went still.
Leehan took a step back.
ââŠokay, that wasnât happening before.â
The letters began to rise from the paper. They were no longer inside it; they floated in the air, as if ink had learned to exist outside the page. And every sentence was not only readâit was heard.
âElyria did not disappear from the world.â
The voice was not one. It was the entire garden repeating it.
âShe was divided so that balance would not die with her.â
Butterflies appeared after that. They didnât fly in. They were simply there, as if they had always existed, slowly circling around you, brushing near your hands, your shoulders, the air you were breathing.
Sungho frowned.
ââŠthis isnât just reading.â
Riwoo didnât take his eyes off you.
âItâs not the parchment⊠itâs you.â
Another line appeared, stronger, as if the world itself was speaking through it.
âOne part remained in the world. One part in magic. And one part⊠in humanity.â
Your breathing stopped for a second.
The glow intensified, and the ground reacted as if it couldnât support what was happening.
Jaehyun stepped back.
ââŠthe wind isnât following anything.â
Taesan didnât speak, but the forest behind him stopped moving completely.
Woonhak closed his notebook.
ââŠthis isnât in any known system.â
The last line didnât appear like the others.
It broke into the air instead.
âWhen the system breaks, the last part will choose where it belongs.â
The light expanded all at once.
It wasnât violent, but it was too much.
Your legs gave out and you fell to the ground. Not in painâjust exhaustionâwhile the glow stayed around you, as if the system had already finished speaking.
You were still conscious.
Just breathing.
Leehan stepped toward you.
âAre youââ
âSheâs fine,â Riwoo said before he could finish.
Sungho didnât look away from the garden.
Because something was still changing.
The light began to riseânot toward you, but toward the sky.
And then it happened.
The sky of Aetheris flickered.
A crack appeared between the colors.
Not destruction.
Just separation.
As if something that had always been connected had remembered it could split apart.
You have lost enough to this Kaiju War. The last thing you need is getting attached to somebody who willingly risks his life on the regular. Han Dongmin doesnât get the memo.
MAINS. ranger!Taesan & nurse!female reader
TROPES. pacific rim au, comedy supplied by taesan embarrassing himself, a bit of hurt/comfort
WARNINGS. birth names used, canon-typical mentions of violence, loss and death, minor injuries, probably inaccurate medical practices, taesan copes by thinking heâs some kind of hotshot, skinship
WORDS. 8.2k
NOTES. a bit late but happy 3rd anniversary to bonedo ⥠this is a spin-off to leehanâs war of hearts so this contains spoilers to that but can be read separately
Han Dongmin has always been a force of nature â headstrong, determined, relentless â and in a Jaeger heâs truly unstoppable. At least thatâs what he likes to think.
In reality, whenever Siren Fury is dispatched, thereâs a chance he wonât make it back. Or at least, not as the same person he used to be.
Jaegers are built to be as indestructible as possible since they are humanityâs only hope against the Kaijus that emerge from the Pacific oceans. They are practically humanoid metal robots as tall as buildings to be able to fight back the dinosaur-size extraterrestrial monsters. Nothing of this size and delicacy can move on its own effectively like a toy car. So after trial and error all working models of Jaegers are built like humans: with a neural network running through their limbs and a control panel acting as their brain. The Conn-Pod needs at least two pilots to work because only one person cannot possibly handle all that without lasting brain damage. When attached to the Jaeger with their Drivesuitâs spinal clamp digging into their back, the pilotsâ minds basically become one. Thatâs the only way proper coordination can work. Like the right and left halves of the brain working together.
Or at least thatâs what Dongmin was taught at his Academy classes by J-technicians who never actually drifted with another person or saw what the world looked like through the eyes of a Jaeger. Dongmin is a soldier though, he doesnât actually care how it works as long as it gets the work done. As long as humanity is winning against these monsters.
So itâs not often that heâs sentimental enough to contemplate the fragility of human life, but now heâs in the middle of the ocean waiting for the pick up team in the damaged Conn-Pod of Siren Fury with his unconscious co-pilot in his arms. The Jaegerâs half arm is in pieces scattered in the water with the remains of a Category IV Kaiju after they blew it off. Later, the Marshal tells him that it will take weeks to fix it up and it makes him feel useless because that means weeks of forced standby.
A Ranger is nothing without their co-pilot or their Jaeger after all.
Dongmin used to hate this fact, this dependance. All his life, there was nothing he couldnât do alone. He learned early on that in his familyâs dictionary there was no such thing as âcanâtâ. Not having the ability to do something was a weakness he couldnât afford. Not if he wanted to make his father proud.
Three generations of navy soldiers, that was the dream they cradled since he was young. Then the Kaijus came and turned the world as they knew it upside down. So he was one of the first ones to sign up for the newly established Jaeger program in Busan, one of the youngest ones too. Itâs been six years since, two since he finally found a drift compatible partner and now, the girl who was in his head half the time went quiet.
Nevermind. A few hours later sheâs up like she merely took an afternoon nap.
Dongmin crosses his arms in front of his chest at the leg of her hospital bed.
âHe bought you flowers?â He asks with a grimace as heâs having a staredown with the bowl of water and flora that certainly wasnât there when they were both brought in for post-mission check ups.
âAquatic ones! These wonât just die,â his co-pilot glances at the gift dreamily and Dongmin sighs. If he thought it was annoying when she and that Kaiju researcher guy were both pining he might have had to re-evaluate. This could be so much worse now that they finally confessed their undying love for each other or whatever.
âSuch a nerd,â he mutters under his breath, unimpressed.
âItâs romantic!â Even bedridden his military partner has energy to argue with him.
Dongmin rolls his eyes and sneakily picks up the honey butter peanut box from her bedside table to pop some into his mouth.
âWhatever. Just try not to think about kissing him when weâre drifting,â he says dryly and dramatically shudders at the thought just for the effect.
âYouâre just jealous,â his co-pilot jabs back at him and snatches the snack back from his hand.
âOf you kissing Kim?â Dongmin makes a face and that earns him the pillow thrown at his head.
He knows it wasnât what she meant but between rigorous training and fighting alien monsters, annoying her is the closest thing he has to normalcy in his life.
Itâs a soft sound, somebody clearing their throat, thatâs saving her from getting the pillow thrown back at her, hospitalized or not, because when Dongmin sees the presence of a nurse their age, he haphazardly hides the soft material behind his back as if to hide evidence of the childish fight.
âSorry, I need to check on her vitals,â you say, pulling a clipboard close to your chest and raising your gaze. Soon enough, soft eyes meet his.
Now, this is the part when you should look away shyly, like a blushing, giggling mess. Heâs used to that. Girls reacting to his presence like that. And he gets it, Rangers are idolized by the media like stars, they are heroes after all. He has given out autographs and taken selfies with fans who came to congratulate on their victories, so with the way you canât take your eyes off of him, he thinks that maybe you will ask for one, too.
âCan youââ Ah there it is, just another fan request. He should have brought a pen. ââmove aside?â
Wait, what?
âYouâre in the way, idiot,â his co-pilot chides and he makes sure to scowl at her before stepping aside, so you can check on the monitor and how much liquid is still in the IV bag.
Embarrassment burns in the pit of his stomach but he doesnât let it show. He leans against an empty bed, hopefully looking as nonchalant as humanly possible, even as his gaze follows your figure until it disappears down the corridor.
âIs she new?â He blurts out against better judgement but lucky for him his partner is too preoccupied with a text she got most likely from loverboy to notice the weird tone of his voice.
âWho? The nurse? I think so, why?â
Dongmin shrugs like he doesnât care. Because he doesnât. It just irks him that you didnât even spare him a second glance before leaving. Heâs not used to being disregarded.
With nothing better to do Dongmin throws himself into Kwoon combat practice. It isnât like fighting with his co-pilot (not just with words) but she has been advised to not strain herself for at least a while, so he has to suffice with cadets. Not to brag but he can easily take two at a time, three on a good day or if they are really bad. Kwoon is about balance, about connection, itâs more of a dialogue than an actual fight to win but there is no balance if Dongmin is freaking bored with these kids. So he pushes himself more: morning Kwoon sessions, afternoon drift simulations with his co-pilot (if she doesnât stop thinking about Kim Donghyunâs smile, he will put bleach into her shampoo), strategy discussions with the Marshal and late night gym visits. He watches the numbers climb on the war clock and the J-Techs slowly re-build Siren Furyâs arm while restlessness brews in his stomach.
Then Park Sunghoon visits from the Gangneung Shatterdome and beats his ass on the mat without breaking a sweat. Dongmin grits his teeth as he gets up, leaning more of his weight on the fighting stick.
âWhatâs with your left side? You rely too much on your right,â the senior Ranger points out calmly while putting the wooden prop away. Dongmin considers lying, saying he just prefers this way, but in the end just sighs.
âJust a bit of a strain, nothing serious,â he shrugs, slowly rolling his left shoulder back, grimacing at the ache seeping into his bones.
âHave it looked at in the infirmary just to be sure,â Sunghoon suggests and grabs his stuff from the floor. Before he leaves, he turns back once with a hint of a smile in the corner of his mouth. âThen find me for a re-match.â
And Dongmin is nothing if not disciplined. It has been drilled into him through military training since childhood, so there he is, at the infirmary. He hasnât been back since his co-pilot has been discharged but itâs surprisingly empty. Still, it surprises him that the only person at the nursesâ counter is you.
âOh, are you alone?â He blurts out and it makes him sound stupid when you glance up from the book youâre reading and pointedly look around.
âDo you see anybody else here?â
âIâm just asking. I didnât know they allow new nurses to be on duty on their own,â he explains his surprise quite poorly if your unimpressed look is anything to go buy. So professional. You really donât want his signature, huh?
âWe donât really have the luxury to have proper rotations. I guess you know how that is,â you shrug and turn the book upside down, leaving it open on the desk before standing up. He tries to catch what itâs about but the angle is off to read the title properly. You round the counter and point at the examiner table. He takes a seat with a straight back but his eyes are following you.Â
You tie your hair back and pull a folder out of a drawer. His check up data most likely. He wonders what they say about him. If that folder catalogues all the injuries he has suffered ever since he joined the Jaeger Academy, if it even contains the result of his psychological evaluation that cleared him stable enough to pilot, if it made him seem like a soldier through and through or just somebody who bled through their teenage years to be here.
You move around with a confidence that newbies donât have. It makes him want to ask where you came from but you beat him to it.
âSo whatâs wrong?â You step in front of him after leaving his files on the desk and look up. A hint of jasmine hits him and it has him inhale sharply. With him sitting, youâre pretty much eye level and suddenly he canât make himself look away. You missed a strand of hair when tying your hair up but youâre too focused to care about it. His fingers itch to brush it back, so he curls them into a fist.
âMy left shoulder feels off for a few days now,â he ends up saying. Itâs the oversimplified version of the truth but admitting that he overestimated his limits and overworked himself to the point to strain a muscle sounds pathetic. He should have known better.
You donât say anything, just hum quietly and round the table. When you touch him, thumb pressing lightly into his upper trapezius while the rest of your fingers rest on his shoulder, he tenses up for no reason at all.
âDoes this hurt?â You ask, voice coming from much closer.
âNo,â Dongmin lies because this much is nothing. He has once showed up to his Academy evaluation with a broken rib and nobody noticed. You hum again, contemplating, then press into the skin near his shoulder blade harder and he nearly blacks out from the sharp pain. âAh, fuck.â
âYeah, thought so.â Thatâs your only comment to his outburst before your hands leave him to rummage through a cabinet. âTake off your top.â
You say it like itâs nothing with your back to him, so you miss how fast his ears redden.
âWhat?â Dongminâs voice jumps half an octave, dumbfounded, nearly getting a whiplash from how fast he turns to you, not making any moves to follow instructions. An exasperated sigh escapes you and turning back to look at him, you put a hand on your hip.
âDo you always ask so many questions? Be glad I didnât ask you to pull down your pants,â you raise an eyebrow almost challengingly which has him gaping like a fish. He had no idea being a nurse at the Shatterdome includes such duty.
âYou do that too?âÂ
You cross your arms in front of you and deadpan:
âYes, if some idiot needs a rabies vaccine.â
âWhich idiot?â Dongmin is quick to inquire but you just give him a look, so he shuts up. But he would bet that it was Myung Jaehyun. That J-technician is a self-hazard.
âCome on. Shirt off. I need to apply ointment on your back,â you explain and he clears his throat to collect himself.
Right. Get it together, Han Dongmin, donât act like you havenât been in the infirmary before.
Dongmin would like to think heâs unaffected. Like totally. Why wouldnât he be? But the fact that you were unaffected the entire time you had him half-naked on that uncomfortable examination table, fingers gently rubbing something that smelled strongly of peppermint into his skin bothers him more than it should have. Half the girls in the Shatterdome would have liked to be in your place just to ogle, so why do you act like it was nothing?
And yes, he knows that it doesnât make sense. Heâs usually annoyed by the amount of unwanted attention heâs getting. Heâs usually busy making sure to keep people at an armâs length. But now heâs staring up at the grey ceiling from his bunk bed, turning the dog tag of Siren Fury that hangs in his neck between his fingers and canât sleep. He thinks of your eyes, neutral and never lingering longer than they should, and he couldnât help but wonder: are you like that, professional and distant, with everybody or do you have something against him personally?
Dongmin kicks the blanket off himself and hauls himself out of bed. He grabs a jacket and his shoes and slips out of the room without waking his roommate. PPDCâs favourite or not, he doesnât get the luxury of having his own room. Instead heâs roomed with a politicianâs son. The Marshal said itâs because theyâre the same age and moved to the Shatterdome around the same time but Dongmin has a feeling that it has something to do with how they both have powerful fathers. Commander Han and National Assembly member Lee might not be friends but they are both avid campaigners for the Jaeger Program funding over those useless Anti-Kaiju walls. Chanyoung is a good enough roommate though, heâs quiet but friendly, he knows when not to bother Dongmin.
On nights when Chanyoung canât sleep, he goes for a swim. On nights when Dongmin canât, his feet take him to the Kwoon combat room. However, this time around itâs not empty despite the late hour. The boy on the mat is tall and lanky, hasnât built much muscle yet. Heâs practicing hits with the wooden stick but he puts more effort into channeling strength than precision. He doesnât even notice Dongmin watching from the open door, not until he pushes himself away from the frame and approaches the mat. The younger boy clearly startles and bows with widened eyes, his swift apology cut off by the Ranger:
âStraighten up properly. You put too much of your upper body into the swings. Like this you will tire yourself out before getting any hits,â Dongmin says matter-of-factly as he kicks off his boots and grabs a stick for himself.
When he turns around, the cadet still stands in that awkward position of just having stood up straight after a polite bow like he canât quite believe heâs seeing an actual Ranger from up close. Dongmin gets it, he used to be starstruck too when he first met senior Rangers but he sure as hell did a much better job at hiding his fascination. This kid is practically vibrating out of his skin and effectively ignoring his previous advice.
Dongmin sighs and lands a soft hit on the boyâs lower back that effectively has him fix his spine.
âI said, straighten up,â he repeats like heâs bored already and nods towards the stick hanging uselessly from the cadetâs hand. âTry to get a point.â
The boy does not manage to get any hits.
Dongmin didnât actually expect him to. If he managed anyways that would have meant that Dongmin was in a much worse form than he would have liked to admit it despite his healing injury. So the real achievement he wanted to see wasnât any points but the cadet improving his stance and attacks. And to his credit, the boy tried his best and he has potential. Heâs determined and doesnât give up, not even after the dozenth hit Dongmin gets in lazily without actually straining himself to attack.
âWhatâs your name, cadet?â He asks when the boy is sprayed out on the floor with sweat dripping down his forehead and neck soaking the collar of his uniform. Dongmin offers him a hand.
âKim Woonhak, sir,â the cadet rushes to answer while still trying to catch his breath once upright. Dongminâs mouth pulls into a grimace at the formality that makes him feel much older than he actually is.Â
âJust hyung is enough,â he corrects and he swears he sees Woonhakâs eyes sparkle.
âYes, sirâ Hyung!â
Dongmin cracks a smile and adjusts his grip on the stick.
âAgain.â
When the next Kaiju emerges from the ocean near Brisbane, two Australian Jaegers are dispatched since they are the closest but it doesnât change the fact that Dongmin feels useless watching the fight through the monitors hung up in the Shatterdomeâs halls. What ifs plague his mind about the defenseless Southern coastline of the country and even though he knows that Kimâs idea saved them from being dragged into the water and being torn apart, rebuilding Siren Fury takes more time than he expected. Jaehyun also told him they might not be able to build a plasma charger in the new arm because funding is low and the component parts are crazy expensive. Most of the money goes into the new Mark-6 Jaeger they are building, hopefully launching next year with brand new pilots. At times like this the PPDCâs priorities boil the Rangerâs blood. Is it really better to have two half-built Jaegers than one proper one?
Later that night, after Jake and Leo defeats the Category III Kaiju, he visits the hangar bay smelling of grease and metal to check on Siren Fury. She stands tall and proud, all sleek steel and battleworn scars. Her left arm is open, wires and rods peeking out showing its half-finished state. Dongmin walks over the elevated walkway to get a closer look but halts as soon as he notices a figure already there. At first he thinks it might be his co-pilot driven by the same restlessness he feels but when he gets closer he recognizes you.
For once you donât wear your usual nurse uniform and donât have your hair tightly tied back either. Instead you have sweats and an SNU Med t-shirt on, hair falling into your face. Itâs the first time he has seen you look so⊠casual.
Dongmin has half a mind to slip away like he hasnât even been there but then his shoes made a squealing sound against the grated metal flooring and you look up straight at him. Whatever excuse he was about to say then freezes on the tip of his tongue when he sees your red-rimmed eyes in the hangarâs dim night light. Oh.
You look away quickly, sniffling as you wipe your face clear of evidence and Dongmin just stands there awkwardly, not knowing what to do with the situation. Should he leave you alone and pretend he saw nothing or offer some kind of comfort even though heâs shit at it? One would think having a girl co-pilot helps navigating situations like this but the Ranger girl has always had Kim Donghyun by her side and Dongmin never had to be the shoulder to cry on. Not to mention, you and him arenât even close, so it probably would be weird if he suddenly initiated anything⊠right?
âHow is it?â You speak up quietly before he could make up his mind. You donât look at him, just keep staring ahead but it feels like a permission to stay. Like maybe you would actually appreciate some company.
âWhat?â Dongmin asks as he lowers himself into a sitting position against the railing in a decent armâs length distance from you.
âGoing out there and fighting in this,â you point at his Jaeger and while your words are emotionless, thereâs a strain in your voice that most likely has something to do with why todayâs Kaiju attack triggered something in you.
So Dongmin takes your question seriously, gives it a moment to think it over properly, instead of just blurting out the first thing that comes to his mind. Everybody has seen Jaegers on TV, some has seen them in real life but only a handful have ever been in a dispatched one. Dongmin is one of the few but he isnât sure how to describe the feeling to somebody who has never ever sat in a simulator.
âLike youâre on the top of the world,â he says as he stares at the helmet of the blue-washed Siren Fury, at the Korean flag proudly painted on its side. His voice is tethering on the edge of sounding awed. âPiloting a Jaeger isnât like piloting a plane. Itâs not a separate entity. Once youâre attached, it becomes the extension of your own body. Practically, you, your co-pilot and the Jaeger become one after the drift. Itâs hard to explain but suddenly you are more.â
Dongminâs gaze drops to the robotâs legs. Somewhere on its mechanical ankles there are marks of two scratchy names. Him and his co-pilot carved their names into the steel with a knife after their first successful mission. The J-Tech must have noticed but nobody has ever said a thing.
âIsnât it scary?â You ask quietly and he isnât sure what you mean. The drift, the control over something so big or the fight against Kaijus? His answer is the same nevertheless:
âOnly if you let it,â he says because he has long gotten used to all that. He has come to terms with the fact that he will probably die young in a Jaeger. He just wants to take as many Kaijus with him as he can. He canât afford to let fear dictate his life. Nobody should, so he tries to crack a joke: âOtherwise itâs just a hyper realistic video game.â
When a hint of a smile graces your features, he considers it a win even if you donât say anything.
For the first time, silence settles comfortably between the two of you. You donât cry anymore and he lets the railing dig into his back more as he relaxes his shoulders. Siren Fury glows under the moonlight shining through the glass dome.
âI think being stuck on land having nothing to do is scarier,â Dongmin admits, quieter than before, his fingers mindlessly following the engraving in the dog tag that hangs from his neck between his pulled up legs.
Who is he if he is not out there fighting? Itâs a question he has been turning in his head all day but he would like to think there was nothing in his voice that warranted you to look at him with all doe eyes. He clears his throat as he looks away.
âWhy leave Seoul? Itâs relatively safe there,â he stumbles to fill the void. Itâs only fair if itâs his turn to ask, he justifies, and it seems like a neutral enough question. The assumption is also mostly a guess based on your shirt, but you donât correct him.
âMy younger brother joined the Busan Academy as a cadet. Heâs all I have,â you answer simply, like it explains everything and maybe it does. The you followed him here part goes unsaid but itâs clear enough. Dongmin wonders what else you left behind in Seoul other than university.
He also wants to ask what happened with the rest of your family but the intensity youâre staring at the Jaegers towering over you is an answer too, he supposes. Wrong time, wrong place and a Kaiju. Everybody seems to have a story like this these days.
âAre you not⊠proud of him?â He asks instead. Tentatively because it sounds like you donât approve of your brotherâs decision to join the military, to work for keeping the country safe while youâre also on the frontline even if in a different role. Shatterdomes are built right by the water which makes them the closest targets when a Kaiju attack comes. Everybody risks their life by being there, not just the cadets who might pilot a Jaeger one day.
âI am,â youâre quick to protest but your voice breaks when you continue. âBut I donât want to lose him. Why does it have to be him who plays the hero?â
Dongmin clenches his jaw at the clear concern in your voice and stares out at the sea through the giant windows.
He grew up in a household built on discipline, diligence and loyalty. It has never been a question to him if he will put his life on the line for his country, it was a given. He still remembers the warmth of his fatherâs palm squeezing his shoulder when he officially became a Ranger and the smile on his motherâs face as she told her friends that her son had defeated Kaijus. He cannot disappoint them.
âSomebody has to do it,â he says.
He has gotten used to it: people expecting him to be that somebody. He was the best of best, they said, if somebody could do it, it would be him. It has always filled him with pride, the trust they put into his abilities and the way they justified the hard work he has put into getting there. But listening to you talking about your brother with such unabashed care, he canât help but want that. Somebody to care enough to worry about him too. Itâs stupid because heâs better off without it and yet, now it keeps plaguing his thoughts.
Thoughts you break easily when you shift until you face him, you knee almost bumping into his side.
âYouâre his role model, you know? Thatâs why he applied here,â you tell him and while it doesnât sound like youâre blaming him, he feels a pang of guilt anyways. He doesnât let it hurt though.
âWant an autograph?â He raises his eyebrows and flashes a charming smile at you. At the girl who has every reason to hate him because her brother might die one day because of his influence.
You snort at his silly question regardless and he finds that he doesnât even mind it, at least youâre smiling. Thatâs good enough.
Dongmin hisses when the wound stings under running water. The bleeding has stopped already and now he just feels stupid trying to clean up broken glass with his hands. He brings his hurting hand up to his face to inspect the injury. Luckily itâs nothing serious, barely more than a paper cut. He normally ignores such things, because while sure, theyâre mildly annoying for a few days when in contact with something, soon enough theyâre gone without a trace. But now for some reason his feet take him to the infirmaryâs floor, his brain already racking up explanations like how even such a small wound could get infected or affect his job if not taken care of professionally. You donât ask for any of his excuses when you see him, just have him sit down and treat his cut with careful hands. It takes less than five minutes and heâs out of the infirmary with a plaster on his finger.
The thing is, normally Dongmin doesnât get injured or sick often. At least not seriously enough to ask for help. No wonder even his co-pilot looks at him weird when after a Kwoon combat session, heâs off to the nurse station to have a freshly reddened bruise looked at. He leaves with a cooling cream in hand. You didnât even ask him to take his shirt off!
One time he goes as far as pretending to have fever after his skin heats up from blow drying his hair but you just put a cool hand against his forehead and brush his fringe out of his face before dropping a sour candy wrapper into his hands. Heâs not sure whether this is more humiliating or when only Mrs Hwang is in and he bolts after she tells him that itâs your day off.
So now heâs at the hangar bay, sitting on a stool too small for his long legs, while Jaehyun is working on his Jaegerâs hand. Dongmin is there to supposedly help, wearing a motion capture glove and bending his fingers every once in a while when the J-Tech guy tells him to, but he mostly just complains about the dissatisfactory health care service he has received lately as in not being able to talk with you properly because you always send him away once heâs treated.
âDude, if you want her attention so badly, maybe talk to her instead of giving her more work,â Jaehyun advises while checking on the hand sensor settings on his tablet and making some modifications to the sensitivity levels.
âI donât wantââ Dongmin is quick to argue but he bites his tongue when his friend sends him a knowing look. He sighs begrudgingly. âIâm not that desperate.â
He has a reputation to uphold after all. Heâs the Jaeger Academyâs best for a reason. The Pan Pacific Defence Corpsâs favourite role model to parade for young cadets. Commander Hanâs eldest son. Heâs not some lovesick male lead from a tv drama.
And yet, somehow, half an hour later heâs back in the infirmary wing because he touched something on the workstation he shouldnât have and now he has a fresh burn mark on his palm. For once, he feels more embarrassed than sneaky when he walks through the double doors and you look up from your desk. You donât even seem surprised anymore to see him there.
âYou know, for a Ranger, youâre kind of careless,â is the first thing you tell him after he shows you his newest injury.
âExcuse me?â The snarky reaction escapes Dongmin as defensiveness takes over. The callout feels unfair, because no matter what anybody says, he is one hell of a Ranger. He has medals the president awarded him for godâs sake.
You look him in the eye, unwavering, and press a pad of disinfectant against his wound as if to prove a point. Dongmin hisses and deflates like a balloon.
âOh, that. Right,â he mumbles, casting his eyes down like a child that knows they were in the wrong.
You hold his hand gently while applying the disinfectant properly and spread a thin layer of cream over the burn. He already misses the subtle touch when you let go to get the gauze and wrap it around his palm. When your fingers linger a bit more than necessary after securing the bandage with a plaster, he might have just imagined that.
âYou should be more careful,â you tell him belatedly, half scolding, half worried, while sitting down in front of the age-old computer to log his newest visit into his files. Dongmin has to turn his head away to hide his smile.
After that things slowly start to change.
You donât ignore him anymore when he looks your way in the canteen. The first time he sits down at your table, the girls nearby stare and whisper and giggle not-so-subtly. But at least he gets to talk to you about how his burn is healing and that he managed to beat Park Sunghoon at Kwoon combat the last time they sparred. When you notice he doesnât eat the eggplant on his plate, you steal it from his tray and give him a piece of chicken instead. He canât stop smiling behind his can of soda.
During one of his now semi-regular practices with Woonhak, who is slowly growing on him despite his best efforts, you show up and he gets distracted enough for the cadet to easily land a hit straight on his chest. Only when Woonhak waves to you with wide smiles does he understand why you donât seem surprised at all to see the two of them there. When you and Woonhak get ready to leave, he kind of expects you to tell him to go easy on your brother next time now that youâve seen him get in several hits but instead, you mouth a thank you towards him. Dongmin watches you ruffle Woonhakâs hair dotingly which makes the younger boy whine with something squishingly soft forming in his chest.
One time he catches you in the gym on the treadmills and challenges you to a race. Unexpectedly you agree and get him the vending machine soda he asks for when he wins without complaining about his unfair advantage. Both of you are sweaty while youâre sitting there with your legs aching, slurping on your drinks, but when Dongmin is glancing your way, youâre smiling.
And then there are the late night meetings in the Jaeger hangar. Sometimes youâre just lying on your back on the catwalk and searching for stars on the pitch black sky through the glass dome. Sometimes you talk about everything and nothing. He gets to know you there slowly.
You like the hangar because your father was a mechanic and the district smell of oil, burning metal and fresh paint reminds you of his garage. Your voice breaks when you tell him that your father was working on the Anti-Kaiju wall that was destroyed by the Category III bringing catastrophe to the Southern shore years ago. He asks about your university days and tells you about the Jaeger Academy and how it wasnât that different from growing up in a military family. Youâre the first one to ask him about what he would do if one day the monsters stopped coming. He doesnât have an answer, not then, but later, lying in his bed alone, staring at the starless ceiling, he hopes youâre there in a future like that.
"Category IV Kaiju alert! J-Tech, prepare Siren Fury for dispatch! Rangers report to Conn-Pod immediately! I repeat: Category IV Kaijuââ
The sirens are blaring throughout the Shatterdome, waking everybody up at 4AM. Dongmin laces up his boots haphazardly and swings the door open. Down the corridor he sees his co-pilot leave Kim Donghyunâs room.
âAre you ready?â She asks while sheâs zipping up her jacket.
âSo ready. Letâs kick some Kaiju ass,â Dongmin grins. Finally the restlessness he has felt in the last few weeks has a space to go as they are making their way to the Conn-Pod.
Chanyoung is already at LOCCENT, tracking the Kaijuâs movements on one monitor and checking the Jaegerâs energy levels on the other with other comm officers. When Dongmin puts on the Drivesuit, he hears him in his in-ear.
âI hope you slept well, itâs a really ugly beast.â
âDonât worry, we will send it right back where it came from,â he says, ever so confident, wincing quietly when the spinal cord is attached. Some say itâs bad luck to celebrate early but Dongmin thinks it boosts morale. Not to mention no Kaiju could take them down before, isnât that proof enough that itâs warranted? His roommate just wishes him luck, then starts the countdown.
âInitiating drift in 3, 2, 1âŠâ
Dongmin closes his eyes and lets memories flood him. Itâs a mix of old and new, his and his co-pilotâs. A Kaiju that has left him shaking, a beach town in ruins, late night practices until his body was sore and useless and still not good enough, Kim Donghyun smiling under the sunset, ice cream smeared on his lips, and your voice echoing in his ears, the sour candy he got from you tasting sweet on his tongue.
âDrift successful, connection stable. Rangers, confirm!â Somebody yells just and he opens his eyes, feeling the familiar presence of a companion in the back of his mind. He turns his head towards his partner who smiles and he already knows what she wants to say even before she opens her mouth.
âThat was so cheesy.â
âYouâre one to talk,â he rolls his eyes but with no malice and they move their hands at the same time, the Jaegerâs mechanic limb following their movements swiftly.
âSiren Fury is ready for deployment,â he confirms and when the Jumphawks hatch onto the mechâs shoulders to airlift them, he imagines you watching it happen through the big monitor in the hallways. It gives him one more reason to win.
Itâs not an easy victory but it feels good. Every landed punch and every plasma hit right on target. After weeks of restlessness, Dongmin finally feels like heâs doing something useful. By the time the Kaijuâs lifeless body collapses into the Japan Sea, heâs sweating, his muscles ache and thereâs a beginning of a throbbing headache in his temple. Yet, he feels delirious, the good kind, like he can take on the whole world.
Itâs always a bit disorientating when they are back in the Shatterdome and the Conn-Pod is detached from the Jaeger. Suddenly itâs a lot quieter in his mind even though his co-pilotâs thoughts linger for a while like ghost touches.
âLet me guess, you will go for a check-up right away,â she wiggles her brows as sheâs getting out of her Drivesuit.
âShut up and go make out with your boyfriend or something,â Dongmin rolls his eyes instead of reminding her that medical check-ups after an actual drift were important. It would be hypothetical because he used to not care much despite the protocol. It would also be useless because he can already see Donghyun waiting like a puppy behind the Conn-Pod stationâs glass doors.
He gives the Kaiju nerd a nod when he walks by him into the LOCCENT and accepts the pats on the back and congratulations from the officers with his usual nonchalance. He doesnât intend to stay long but before he could escape, the Marshal finds him and tells him about an event they should attend to secure more funding for the Jaeger program. He agrees like a good soldier would because he doesnât really have a choice anyways, then asks for permission to leave. When granted, he slips away through hidden corridors before anybody else could stop him.
Usually he loves the part when every resident of the Shatterdome gathers to celebrate the new win of humanity. These are the only few times when they get to relax before the next Kaiju appearance. They are allowed to have fun, to drink, to forget that the attacks are getting more and more frequent and the world might be doomed. Dongmin also likes the post-Kaiju fight high, the adrenaline pumping in his veins and the feeling of being invincible. He knows he will crash soon, either with the headache worsening or exhaustion taking over, but for now he feels like he could do anything.
When he opens the door to the infirmary, he catches you pacing from one end to another.
ââwould be such a bad idea toââ
You stop when you notice him and another girl jumps off the counter. Itâs Minju, Dongmin recognizes her from Donghyunâs lab.
âUhm, I will go get coffee,â she exclaims abruptly even though thereâs clearly a mug half-full of dark liquid on the counter where she just sat. When she passes by Dongminâs side she shows him thumbs up and offers a âGood job today!â cheerily.
âThanks,â Dongmin says and waits for you to agree, to comment on his performance, to say anything but when the door is closed behind your friend, you turn your back on him and shuffle back to the computer to pull up his charts. The examination table makes a creaking sound in the silence when Dongmin sits down without having been told. He knows the drill by now.
âHow are you feeling?â
When you speak up, itâs in your usual work tone, all professional. Heâs a bit disappointed but he refuses to wilt like a flower.
âGood. Just a little headache,â he says and watches you get up to grab a few things.
He knows what comes, he has been in the same situation multiple times just with different nurses. Mrs Hwang who works the alternate shifts is such a mother hen, treating all of them like children. The previous nurse who left before you came was so chatty, always had a new gossip whenever he sat there. He never really craved either of their acknowledgement, but with you he almost feels desperate for it.
âDid you watch us?â He asks when you fasten the blood pressure monitorâs cuff around his arm but you just shush him. He casts his eyes down, sulky, like a scolded child all the while the cuff tightens then loosens and the machine beeps. You jot down his results before stepping closer again. Your fingers are soft on his skin while you slip the medical device off his arm.
You donât look him in the eye when you eventually answer. âNo.â
It has Dongmin reeling. All this time he has thought that everybody was busy following the broadcasts of the Kaiju fights, he thought that you saw him defeat this newest alien monster, that somehow this could maybe appeal to you, but now heâs just confused.
âWhy?â
You ignore his question and pick up the penlight instead.
âFollow the light with your eyes,â you tell him and he begrudgingly follows the instructions like a champ. However, when you drop your hand and turn away, he grabs onto your wrist to pull you back. Youâre clearly startled as you stumble and have to catch yourself with a hand against his chest to not fall completely onto him.
âWhy?â He asks again and thereâs something defiant in your eyes when you finally make eye contact with him, your arm flexing under his hold, your fingers curling into his uniform shirt. He has half a mind to let go of you but heâs also relishing in the fact that you havenât even tried to pull away, that youâre staying close on purpose. Heâs basking in your subtle jasmine scent and the warmth of your shaky exhales.
âI donât like seeing you hurt,â you whisper into the barely there space between the two of you and it ceases the ugly disappointment burning in the pit of Dongminâs belly.
âIâm fine though,â he insists and swipes his thumb over the inner side of your wrist. Itâs supposed to be soothing but when your breath hitches, he canât help a grin at the reaction he finally got out of you.
âRanger Hanââ You raise your voice and it sounds like heâs in for a reprimand or a warning. He decidedly ignores it.
âDongmin,â he corrects with a smirk as he tilts his head and continues the caresses on your skin.
For a long moment you just stare at each other as if to see who can take it longer. He can feel his cheeks heat up despite the confident act he puts up and when your gaze drops to his lips, his pulse jumps. Thereâs a tremble in his fingers when you lean closer and thenâŠ
âNoona! Have you seenââ Somebody barrels through the infirmaryâs double doors and Dongmin has to hold himself back from dramatically sighing when you step back until your back hits the nurse desk. âOh, hi, hyung! Oh my god, you were so cool out there!âÂ
Woonhak is all smiles and pure enthusiasm. Heâs also totally oblivious to what he has interrupted. Still, heâs your brother, so Dongmin puts on a smile and answers all the questions Woonhak has about this new Kaiju and their strategy against it. He also promises to give him a tour around Siren Furyâs Conn-Pod one day. You drop a piece of sour candy into his hands before he has to leave.
The next time he ends up in the infirmary, itâs not on purpose and totally not his fault.
He was looking for his co-pilot so they could run a drift simulation but she was hanging out with her boyfriend in the labs. Apparently the K-scientists found something breakthrough regarding the anatomy of the Kaijus but Dongmin was busy checking on the different shades of blue vials labelled synthetic Kaiju blood to really pay attention. Nobody around him wore masks or gloves, so he assumed it was safe enough. That little piece of shiny rock on the petri dish wasnât even blue, so the last thing he expected when he poked it was for his skin to stain a fluorescent color.
Apparently it was a sample from a beach that got exposed to Kaiju Blue, the deadly toxic agent in the aliensâ blood, and since the team was currently working on how to reverse its destructing effect on nature, they already had an antidote on hands for small exposures. Donghyun quickly had him drink something awfully bitter that stopped the pins and needles feeling slowly spreading in his arm.
Still, it caused quite a bit of fright for everybody present, so his co-pilot dragged him to the infirmary just to be sure he would be okay. You keep it professional while sheâs in there explaining what happened but as soon as she leaves, you start scolding him.
âYou know very well that Kaiju blood contains toxins. What were you thinking?â You tsk, flashing him a severely disappointed look before getting something from the cabinet. Then suddenly turn back to him and point an accusing finger at him. âYouâre officially banned from the labs, got it?â
You donât even wait for an answer, just keep mumbling something about him being so eager to put his life on the line under your breath while pulling out an IV bag. When you turn back to him, you have a cannula in your hands.
âThereâs really no needââ He tries to protest but you cut him off with the authority of someone who has bossed men around all her life.
âSit back down,â you tell him and Dongminâs bottom hits the mattress even before his mind can process the words.
He has faced a dozen Kaijus. He has faced death. But apparently nothing scares him as much as you do when youâre mad at him. He has never seen you so agitated, frantic and frustrated. So he bears it without complaint as you put him on IV drip even though when you stab the needle into his arm, heâs pretty sure you do it with more force than necessary.
Even after you make sure the fluid is flowing into his bloodstream properly and that the last remnants of blue discoloring disappeared from his fingers, youâre still hovering over him. It makes him feel bad.
âIâm fine. You donât need to worry about me,â he says, trying to coax you into a more relaxed state.
âThen stop getting hurt!â You shove at his chest but itâs weak because you clearly donât want to cause him more pain.
Dongmin has the audacity to smile when he catches your hand and pulls you down to sit on the bed. You let him more easily than he expected. You also make no moves to pull your hand away.
âI will try, I promise,â he tries, gentler, rubbing gently your palm.
âYou better,â you huff with downturned lips and avoiding his eyes like a sulky cat and Dongmin is awfully endeared. Who knew that he just needed to get exposed to almost deadly chemicals to see this side of you? It makes him want to push his luck.
âWhat about a get well soon kiss?â He asks playfully and you scowl at him, unimpressed.
âYou donât deserve it.â
He pouts, playing his disappointment up, and you roll your eyes at him. Your hand remains in his though and you donât move from his infirmary bed, so heâs not complaining.
He canât tell whether itâs from the IV bagâs contents or the antidote from earlier, but soon his eyelids start getting heavy. Just before he tips over the edge and slips into a dreamless sleep, he feels soft lips against his forehead. He falls asleep with a stupid smile on his face.
Before meeting you, Dongmin used to think that nothing can compare to the feeling of being invincible in a Jaeger. Now, heâs not so sure anymore. You make him feel on top of the world too.
END NOTES. title from the keshi song. header pic from the BEAT High magazine behind cut.
Author's note: I'm really trying to make this make sense đ„Č, I hope you like it, it's the first time I've written something so long
Part 5-8
âWell.â
Leehan clapped his hands together once.
âNow that Jaehyun has stopped creating mini hurricanes for five secondsâŠâ
âIt wasnât on purpose.â
Jaehyun muttered, still embarrassed.
ââŠwe have a more important problem.â
You raised a brow.
âWhat problem?â
Everyone went silent for a second.
And you didnât like that.
Woonhak was the first to speak.
âWe have no idea what to do with you.â
âWow. That helps a lot.â
âIâm trying to be honest today.â
Sungho sighed quietly.
âThis has never happened before.â
he explained while looking toward the distant lake.
âA human canât simply cross Astra Veil.â
âWhat if it was an accident?â
you asked.
Sungho slowly shook his head.
âThe lake decides who enters.â
Your stomach tightened slightly.
Because every time they talked about that place, it sounded less like a lake and more like something alive.
Something aware.
Leehan noticed your expression and stepped a little closer.
âDonât look so scared.â
he said calmly.
âAstra Veil doesnât let dangerous things pass through.â
Pause.
âUsually.â
âLEEHAN.â
âWhat? Iâm trying to comfort her.â
That definitely was not helping.
Riwoo looked at you again.
âFor now, the important thing is that you rest.â
âWhere exactly?â
you asked.
Silence again.
Jaehyun immediately raised his hand.
âShe can stay with me!â
The wind lifted several leaves around him the second he finished speaking.
Sungho answered without even looking at him.
âNo.â
âWhy?!â
âBecause you destroyed three windows last week.â
âTHAT WAS A STORM!â
âOne you caused.â
âDetails.â
Leehan started laughing again.
Woonhak raised his hand next.
âThe library has empty rooms.â
Sungho looked at him.
âYouâre going to academically harass her.â
âItâs not harassment if she learns things too.â
âYes, it is.â
Taesan remained quiet near the edge of the forest.
The massive red-antlered creature was now lying behind him, calmly watching you.
You were still trying not to look at its horns too much.
Riwoo seemed to think for a moment before speaking.
âShe could stay near the medicinal garden.â
That finally made Sungho look up.
âBecause sheâs human?â
Riwoo nodded.
âThe magic there is gentler. Itâll help her adapt faster.â
That seemed to convince him a little.
Though he still looked deep in thought.
Then you realized something.
âWaitâŠâ
Everyone looked at you.
âYou all live together?â
Leehan smiled slightly.
âMore or less.â
Jaehyun gestured around them.
âThe guardians have different territories, but this place belongs to all of us.â
âLike a base?â
Silence.
Woonhak wrote something in his notebook.
âI donât know what that means.â
âIâll explain later.â
âPerfect.â
He wrote that down too.
Sungho finally spoke again.
âYouâll stay here for now.â
ââFor nowâ means what exactly?â
âUntil we understand why Astra Veil allowed you inside.â
he answered calmly.
And even though his voice remained steadyâŠ
there was something in his gaze that made it hard to ignore how much that actually worried him.
The wind started moving around Jaehyun again.
âI think we should show her Aetheris.â
Everyone turned toward him.
Jaehyun shrugged.
âWhat? If sheâs staying here, we canât just leave her confused all the time.â
âThat makes sense.â
Riwoo admitted.
Leehan smiled.
âBesides, I want to see her face when she sees the floating city.â
Your eyes widened.
âThe what?â
Woonhak immediately lifted his notebook again.
âI KNEW that reaction was going to happen!â
Sungho closed his eyes for a second.
Like he was accepting that everything had already spiraled completely out of control.
And honestlyâŠ
you were starting to feel that too.
Leehan didnât say anything.
But he didnât stop looking at you.
The lake creatures were still floating between you, now closer to you than to him. Some of them slowly circled your hands, as if they recognized something you couldnât see.
He crouched slightly toward the water.
Like he needed to confirm it again.
But he still didnât speak.
Sungho noticed it.
So did Taesan.
Jaehyun kept walking a little ahead, letting the wind gently push the leaves on the path without realizing it. Woonhak followed behind, constantly writing while trying not to trip.
âAlright⊠letâs move.â
Sungho finally said it.
His voice cut through the moment without completely breaking it.
And they started guiding you away from the shore.
The path they took was different.
Deeper.
The lake slowly faded behind as the landscape shifted.
The air turned cooler.
The sound of water blended with something else.
Life.
The forest appeared without a clear transition.
First, the trees.
Tall.
Too tall.
Then roots covered in flowers.
And after that, the creatures.
Small shadows between branches.
Bright eyes watching you without fear.
Taesan was walking in front of you now.
He didnât talk much.
He simply set the pace while the massive being following him moved silently between the trees.
At first, everything seemed normal.
Until the forest didnât react the way it should.
The branches didnât close in.
The creatures didnât hide.
And the wind between the trees didnât shift into something strange.
It stayed⊠neutral.
Like it didnât know what to do with you.
Taesan noticed it first.
He stopped slightly.
Turning his head just enough toward you.
âItâs not rejecting you,â he murmured.
Sungho lifted his gaze.
âThat doesnât make sense.â
Taesan didnât answer right away.
His eyes stayed on the ground for a second, watching a small forest creature approach your feet without hesitation.
Normally, they didnât do that with strangers.
But with you, there was no distance.
No defense.
Only curiosity.
Leehan, a little further back, saw it too.
And this time, his expression turned more serious.
âThe lake and the forest donât react the same way to anyone,â he said quietly.
âThereâs always a limit.â
Woonhak looked up from his notebook.
âThatâs scientifically impossible within magical records.â
âThis isnât in the records,â Sungho replied.
The path continued.
But the atmosphere wasnât simple anymore.
Because now it wasnât just the lake.
Or just the water creatures.
The forest was accepting you too easily.
Taesan slowed down slightly until he was walking beside you.
He didnât look at you directly at first.
He only spoke after a few seconds.
âItâs not normal,â he said.
No softening. No question in it.
His eyes finally turned to you.
âNone of this is normal about you.â
The forest behind you moved gently.
Not dangerous.
But like it was listening.
Leehan, from behind, didnât say anything.
He just kept watching the lake creatures that had followed you a little from the shore.
Like they didnât want to leave you completely.
And for the first time since you started walking through AetherisâŠ
they all stopped treating it like curiosity.
And started treating it like something they needed to understand.
Before the world did it for them.
The silence that followed wasnât uncomfortable.
It was heavier than that.
Like the forest itself was waiting for someone to define what you were, but no one wanted to be the first to say it out loud.
They kept walking.
But it wasnât the same anymore.
You could feel it even when no one was looking directly at you. Not in a human way, but in the way the world itself seemed to shift slightly around your presence. Branches moved a fraction slower near you, like the environment was paying attention without deciding what to do yet.
Jaehyun broke the silence without meaning to.
âThe wind isnât acting normal.â
Everyone glanced at him for a moment.
âWhat do you mean, ânot normalâ?â Leehan murmured.
âIt means itâs not reacting to me the way it should.â
Jaehyun frowned, like that bothered him more than he wanted to admit. The air around him shifted slightly, but not in its usual chaotic way. It was⊠steadier. Like something else was subtly balancing it without permission.
Sungho noticed it too.
His gaze sharpened for a moment.
âThatâs not normal either.â
Taesan didnât speak, but his eyes moved briefly toward you again.
It wasnât accusation.
It was calculation.
Like everything happening was starting to connect in his mind, but still didnât have a shape yet.
Leehan, meanwhile, stepped closer to the edge of the path where water still ran through the forest.
The glowing creatures that usually followed him werenât as active as before. Some floated more slowly, like even they were uncertain.
âThis is weird,â he said quietly.
âNot âhuman in Aetherisâ weird,â he added after a pause. âMore like⊠the world isnât reacting properly.â
Woonhak looked up sharply.
âThatâs not documented.â
âBecause it never happened,â Leehan replied without looking at him.
Woonhak went quiet for once.
That already said a lot.
The path began to open up ahead.
Between the trees, something different appeared.
It wasnât the enclosed forest anymore.
It was wider. More structured.
And in the distance, white buildings started to appear among the vegetation, connected by bridges and elevated paths that seemed to float between water and branches.
The city.
Aetheris wasnât just forest or lake.
It was life built on top of something alive.
But even before reaching it, something shifted again.
The air grew lighter.
And for the first time since you arrived, you felt the environment⊠hesitate.
Not rejection.
Not acceptance.
Hesitation.
Sungho stopped abruptly.
âWait.â
Everyone stopped with him.
His gaze was fixed ahead, but not on the city itself.
Something else.
The space in front of them looked slightly distorted. Like the air was denser in a specific point along the path.
Taesan stepped forward.
âThereâs a barrier.â
Leehan tilted his head.
âThere shouldnât be one here.â
Jaehyun lowered his voice for the first time.
âThe wind doesnât pass through properly either.â
Woonhak slowly closed his notebook.
âThatâs⊠not a normal structure in Aetheris.â
No one looked directly at you.
But somehow, you still felt like the center of everything remained you.
Sungho exhaled slowly.
âIt looks like the world is trying to decide something.â
Silence.
And then the air in front of you moved.
Not like an attack.
Not like defense.
Like something on the other side was⊠responding.
Leehan stepped slightly closer to you without thinking.
âIf this is what I think it isâŠâ
He didnât finish the sentence.
Because the barrier reacted.
And for a brief moment, the air shimmered.
Like Aetheris had recognized you again.
The barrier didnât open abruptly.
It didnât disappear either.
It simply⊠yielded.
As if something on the other side had made a decision without saying it out loud.
The air in front of you lightened for a second, and then the space distorted just enough to allow passage.
Sungho moved first, watching every detail like he expected it to change its mind at any moment.
Taesan crossed after him without hesitation.
Leehan followed naturally, as if he had seen something like this before.
Jaehyun passed through with a soft shift of wind reacting at the threshold, and Woonhak almost tripped as he crossed, too busy writing even then.
And then it was your turn.
The moment you crossed the barrier, something in your body changed.
Not immediate pain.
More like a loss of balance, as if the air inside you no longer matched the air of this place. Your breathing became heavier without warning, and the ground felt slightly farther away than it should have been.
You stopped for a second without meaning to.
Leehan noticed it first.
âHeyâŠâ
Sungho turned immediately.
âSheâs reacting.â
Woonhak looked up sharply.
âThe human body shouldnâtââ
âWoonhak, later,â Leehan cut in, more serious.
But you were already feeling the exhaustion hit you all at once, as if crossing had confirmed your body simply didnât belong here.
Aetheris was too âfull.â
Too alive.
Your vision slowed slightly.
And then someone appeared beside you.
Riwoo.
You didnât see him approach clearly, only felt his presence close, more stable than everything else around you.
âDonât push your body,â he said softly.
Before you could respond, he gently took your arm and guided you closer to himânot fully holding you, but giving you something steady to anchor yourself to.
His warmth was immediate.
And with that contact, something shifted.
A soft sensation spread through your body, as if the air around you became less hostile.
Your breathing stabilized slightly.
The weight didnât disappear, but it stopped feeling like you were about to collapse.
Riwoo didnât say anything else at first. He just kept the contact steady, as if he already understood your bodyâs reactions before you did.
âThe magic here is too concentrated for you,â he murmured. âYou need gradual adjustment.â
Woonhak raised a brow.
âThat shouldnât be possible without prior trainingââ
âI know,â Riwoo replied without looking at him.
Sungho watched in silence.
Leehan, meanwhile, looked at you with something more focused than before. Less curiosity. More attention.
Taesan didnât speak, but his eyes stayed on your condition.
Jaehyun lowered his voice slightly.
âHey⊠the air around her is stabilizing.â
As if even the world had noticed the change.
When the discomfort eased enough, Riwoo loosened his hold slightly, but didnât let go completely.
âBetter,â he said.
And then you continued walking.
Aetherisâs city unfolded fully in front of you.
White and gold structures stretched across glowing waterways and floating bridges. Nature wasnât separated from architectureâit was fused with it, as if everything had grown together from the beginning.
Small creatures flew between buildings.
The sky above was still that impossible gradient of pinks, violets, and golds, but here the light felt more structured, as if the city filtered it.
And yetâŠ
something still felt off.
Not rejection.
Not acceptance.
Just⊠observation.
As if Aetheris still hadnât decided what to do with you.
Leehan noticed it as they walked.
âThe city is quieter than usual.â
Sungho nodded slightly.
âItâs aware.â
Woonhak looked around, completely absorbed.
âThis isnât documented in any transition recordâŠâ
âNone of this is,â Taesan replied quietly.
You kept walking, still slightly leaning on Riwoo.
And for the first time since arriving in this worldâŠ
Author's note: This was written unconsciously by me, based on a dream I had. If it doesn't make sense sometimes, I'm very sorry. English isn't my native language. This will be long, I'm so sorry!! If you like it, I'll make season 2
Warnings/themes: Fantasy world setting, mild tension, unknown magic effects, emotional overwhelm, body weakness/dizziness, existential/mystery themes, slow-burn relationships, no explicit romance (season 1), cliffhanger ending
Summary: You wake up in Aetheris, a world where nature, magic, and ancient beings coexist. The lake that connects worlds should not allow humans to cross but it lets you through. As the guardians begin to watch you closely, strange reactions from the land itself suggest something deeper: Aetheris is recognizing you. And when forgotten letters from Elyria begin to awaken, the truth about your existence starts to unravel.
Introduction :
Aetheris: A world between skies, water, and ancient magic. A place separated from the human world for centuries. Nature and magic live together there: luminous rivers, giant trees, cities built around water, magical creatures, pink, purple, and golden skies. And at the center of it allâŠ
Astra Veil: The sacred lake. The place that connects worlds. They say the lake is alive. And that it decides who can cross. No one has seen a human enter in centuries. Until you.
THE GUARDIANS:
Sungho: Guardian of the lake. Elegant, calm, distrustful of you at first. He feels like youâre hiding something, even though you donât even understand what youâre doing there. The aquatic creatures obey him. And the flowers freeze the moment he gets worried đ
Jaehyun: Absolute chaos. Manipulates air currents. Asks way too many questions about the human world. Probably thinks microwaves are dark magic.
Woonhak: Archivist/mage apprentice. OBSESSED with you. Wants to know EVERYTHING about humans. Literally follows you around writing things down in a notebook đ
Leehan: Half water creature. Literally the first one who helped you out of the water. He likes the lakeâs creatures, and they follow him everywhere. Heâs the one who tries the most to make you feel comfortable.
Taesan: Protector of the forest. Very strong. Very quiet. The giant forest creatures obey him. But heâs secretly very gentle with you đ
Riwoo : Healer. The kindest from the very beginning. He helps you when the shift between worlds starts making you sick. Because humans canât breathe pure magic properly at first.
Part 1-4
The night before had been normal.
Too normal.
You remembered checking your phone a few minutes before falling asleep, getting comfortable under the blankets, and closing your eyes while thinking about unimportant things.
Nothing strange.
Nothing different.
Which was why the first thing you felt when you woke up was confusion.
Water moved slowly around your body.
You blinked several times.
Blue light filtered through the water above you, illuminating everything in an unreal way.
And the skyâŠ
the sky made no sense.
Purple.
Pink.
Orange.
The colors blended softly overhead like living paint.
Your heartbeat started speeding up.
This had to be a dream.
You tried to move and only then realized you were completely submerged.
Panic hit immediately.
You pushed yourself desperately toward the surface.
Air rushed into your lungs the second you broke through the water.
You coughed several times while trying to stay afloat.
The lake was enormous.
Far too big.
The water shimmered beneath the strange sky as if it carried its own light.
And around youâŠ
everything looked impossible.
Huge cream-colored arches rose between flower-covered trees.
White bridges stretched across crystal-clear streams.
Brightly colored birds flew over the lake while tiny glowing lights drifted through the plants.
Everything felt too real to be a dream.
Even the water, the air.
Even the fear tightening inside your chest.
ââŠHuman?â
You lifted your head quickly.
Not far away, someone was standing in the water.
A boy.
Dark wet hair stuck to his forehead.
Wide eyes staring at you in genuine surprise.
And in his hands, he held a tiny glowing creature that looked like a mix between a fish and a butterfly.
He blinked several times.
âOh,â
he murmured, confused.
âYouâre actually human.â
You stared at him without understanding anything.
âWhat place is thisâŠ?â
you asked quietly.
The boy tilted his head slightly.
As if the question itself was strange.
âAetheris.â
The name moved through your body strangely.
Familiar.
Like you had heard it somewhere before.
Before you could respond, several birds began descending near you.
Too many.
Glowing butterflies appeared among the flowers near the shore too.
And all of them seemed to be watching you.
Not aggressively.
More like they wanted to show you something.
The boy frowned slightly.
âThat never happensâŠâ
he murmured.
You barely heard him.
Because the birds slowly started moving along the edge of the lake.
Guiding you.
Without understanding why, you started following them.
The grass beneath your bare feet felt soft and cold.
Flowers brushed against your legs as you walked beside the water.
And even though you kept trying to convince yourself you were still dreamingâŠ
everything felt too real.
You could hear the wind.
Feel the damp earth beneath your feet.
Even the scent of the flowers was unlike anything you had ever smelled before.
You glanced behind you for a second.
The boy was no longer where you had seen him.
But tiny glowing creatures still appeared beneath the water near the shore.
As if somethingâor someoneâwas still following you from inside the lake.
The birds continued leading you between enormous trees and ancient structures covered in flowers.
The entire place felt alive.
As if nature itself was breathing alongside you.
Then the air changed.
The wind became colder.
You slowly stopped walking.
And that was when you saw him.
A boy stood near one of the cream-colored bridges.
Tall.
Dark hair moving slightly with the wind.
And eyes fixed entirely on you.
Your breath caught for a second.
Because something about him felt⊠different.
Heavier.
Older.
The flowers near his feet slowly began covering in a thin layer of frost.
Nothing dangerous.
But impossible to ignore.
Even the water near the bridge looked calmer somehow.
He didnât speak at first.
He only watched you.
Like he was trying to understand what you were doing there.
The birds that had guided you began moving nervously around him.
And for some reasonâŠ
that made you even more nervous.
You took a step back without thinking.
The frost over the flowers spread slightly further.
Then he finally spoke.
ââŠA human.â
His voice was calm.
Soft.
But it still made your skin prickle.
You opened your mouth, but no words came out.
Because honestlyâŠ
what were you even supposed to say?
The boy slowly stepped down from the bridge without taking his eyes off you.
Calm movements.
Elegant.
And the closer he got, the more you noticed tiny crystals of ice forming over the nearby plants.
As if the cold followed him naturally.
He finally stopped in front of you.
His gaze moved quickly over: your soaked clothes, your bare feet, and then your face.
Something in his expression shifted slightly.
Confusion.
Suspicion.
And something else you couldnât understand.
âAstra Veil does not allow humans inside.â
he murmured, more to himself than to you.
Astra Veil.
The lake.
So that was its name.
You swallowed nervously.
âI donât know how I got here.â
His eyes immediately lifted to yours.
Like he was trying to figure out if you were lying.
But before he could respond, another voice appeared behind you.
âBecause she probably doesnât understand it yet either.â
You turned quickly.
The boy from the lake was sitting casually on a rock near the water as if he had been there the entire time.
The glowing creatures still floated around him.
And when he smiled slightly, you noticed the amusement in his expression.
âYouâre scaring her, Sungho.â
Sungho didnât answer immediately.
He kept watching you.
And the longer he did, the more aware you became of how strange everyone there was.
Not frightening.
JustâŠ
too beautiful.
Like they didnât belong to the same world as you.
The lake boy âLeehanâ still had droplets of water slowly sliding down his neck while tiny glowing creatures floated around him like they adored him.
And SunghoâŠ
Sungho looked like he had stepped out of an ancient painting.
The pink light from the sky barely filtered through his dark hair while thin layers of frost continued forming over the flowers near his feet.
Everything in Aetheris felt too perfect.
Too alive.
Leehan finally stepped down from the rock and walked closer to you both.
âWell, now that we know she actually is humanâŠâ
He looked at you.
âWhatâs your name?â
You told him your name, still completely confused.
Leehan smiled slightly.
âPretty.â
Sungho immediately glanced at him.
âDonât act like this is normal.â
âI didnât say it was normal.â
Leehan shrugged.
âI just said she doesnât seem dangerous.â
You blinked.
ââSeemâ?!â
âHey, in my defense, humans are basically mythical creatures here.â
he replied calmly.
âIâve never seen one before.â
âLeehan.â
Sunghoâs voice sounded more serious this time.
The other sighed.
âOkay, okayâŠâ
Then he looked back at you.
âAetheris has been separated from the human world for centuries. Nobody crosses Astra Veil.â
Your brows slowly furrowed.
âBut I did.â
âExactly.â
Leehan pointed at you like that was precisely the issue.
âAnd thatâs weird.â
Apparently way too weird.
Because Sungho was still staring at you like he was trying to solve an impossible puzzle.
âThe lake allowed you through.â
he murmured.
âI donât understand why.â
The birds around you started moving again.
Leehan glanced upward toward them.
âOh.â
That didnât sound good.
âWhat?â
you asked.
But before he could answer, several branches shifted violently near the forest.
Heavy footsteps.
Your body immediately tensed.
And seconds later, someone emerged from between the trees.
Tall.
Much taller than the other two.
Dark hair falling over his eyes.
Black clothes lightly covered in dirt and leaves.
And honestlyâŠ
he was intimidating at first.
Not because he looked aggressive.
But because the entire forest seemed to react to him.
Branches moved aside slightly as he walked.
And behind him came a massive creature resembling a deer with antlers covered in crimson flowers.
Your breathing stopped for a second.
The boy noticed you too.
And froze.
His eyes quickly moved over your face before briefly stopping at your bare feet.
Silence.
Leehan lifted a hand casually.
âTaesan, donât kill her. She got here like ten minutes ago.â
âWHAT?!â
Taesan didnât even react.
He kept staring at you.
Then he slowly shifted his gaze toward Sungho.
âHuman?â
His voice was low.
Deeper than the othersâ.
Sungho nodded once.
âAstra Veil allowed her through.â
That seemed to surprise him slightly.
Very slightly.
But enough for you to notice.
The massive creature behind him slowly approached you.
You immediately stepped backward.
Taesan barely lifted a hand.
The creature stopped instantly.
âIt wonât do anything.â
he said calmly.
Though honestly, that didnât help much when the creature was almost the size of a car.
Leehan laughed quietly.
âYou look like youâre about to faint.â
âBecause it has giant horns!â
âIt has a name, you know.â
You stared at him in horror.
âTHAT MAKES IT WORSE!â
Even Sungho seemed to hide a small smile.
Very small.
But it was there.
Taesan lowered his gaze slightly.
And for the first time, you noticed something different about him.
Not intimidation.
Nervousness.
Like he wasnât used to humans staring at him for too long.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Then another voice suddenly echoed from farther away.
âWHERE IS SHE?!â
Everyone turned immediately.
And seconds later someone came running through the trees.
Messy hair.
Leaves stuck to his clothes.
And several papers floating behind him because apparently he couldnât hold anything properly while running.
âIS IT TRUE?! THEREâS A HUMAN?!â
Leehan sighed.
âOh no.â
The boy stopped right in front of you completely out of breath.
His eyes widened dramatically.
âOh my god.â
Silence.
Then he pulled a tiny notebook out from somewhere inside his clothes.
âDo humans actually need eight hours of sleep? Does your favorite food still exist? What is Wi-Fi? Is it true microwaves explode if you put metal insideââ
âWoonhak.â
Sungho interrupted immediately.
Woonhak looked up.
âWhat? This is important!â
âYouâre overwhelming her.â
âOh.â
He finally seemed to realize that you were probably confused, soaked, and mentally close to collapsing.
He slowly lowered the notebook.
ââŠSorry.â
Pause.
âBut technically I still have A LOT of questions.â
And honestlyâŠ
for the first time since waking up there,
you felt like laughing.
_
You probably shouldâve been panicking.
Honestly.
Somehow, you had woken up in another world, surrounded by ridiculously attractive magical guardians, giant creatures, glowing birds, and a lake that apparently decided who was allowed to exist there.
And somehowâŠ
your main thought at the moment was:
Woonhak really needed to stop looking at you like you were a museum exhibit.
âYou blink differently than I imagined.â
he said suddenly.
You stared at him in confusion.
ââŠWhat does that even mean?â
âI donât know yet.â
And he immediately started scribbling something into his notebook again.
Sungho let out a quiet sigh.
âWoonhak.â
âWhat? Iâm researching.â
âYou met her thirty seconds ago.â
âExactly. First impressions matter.â
Leehan laughed softly nearby while crouching beside the water again. Tiny glowing fish immediately gathered around his hands.
You stared at them in disbelief.
One of them jumped directly into his palm.
ââŠI feel like nobody is reacting enough to the floating fish thing.â
Leehan looked up innocently.
âWhat floating fish thing?â
âTHE GLOWING ONE IN YOUR HAND?!â
âOh.â
He looked down at the fish.
âI forgot humans canât do that.â
âThat sentence somehow made everything worse.â
Taesan looked away slightly like he was trying not to laugh.
Which somehow felt even more offensive.
You immediately pointed at him.
âNo, because why are YOU smiling now?â
His expression instantly went blank again.
âI wasnât.â
Liar.
Complete liar.
Before you could keep bothering him, sudden dizziness hit your body.
Hard.
Your vision blurred for a second.
The ground beneath your feet suddenly felt strange.
Leehan stood up immediately.
Sunghoâs expression changed instantly.
And Taesan took a step toward you without thinking.
ââŠHey.â
Leehanâs voice sounded more serious this time.
âYou okay?â
You nodded automatically.
Bad idea.
The movement made your stomach twist painfully.
Woonhakâs notebook snapped shut.
âSheâs reacting to the atmosphere.â
Everyone turned toward him.
Woonhak quickly adjusted the papers in his arms.
âHumans arenât built to handle pure magical exposure for long periods of time.â
You blinked slowly.
âIâm whatâŠ?â
âYour body doesnât understand this place yet.â
he explained while stepping a little closer.
âAetheris contains too much magical energy. For us itâs normal, but for a humanâŠâ
He made a small face.
âItâs kind of like trying to breathe underwater.â
That definitely did NOT help.
âAm I going to die?â
âWHAT?! No.â
Woonhakâs eyes widened dramatically.
âWellâprobably not.â
âWOONHAK!â
âWHAT? Iâm being honest!â
Leehan dragged a hand down his face.
Sungho closed his eyes for a second like he regretted existing.
And TaesanâŠ
Taesan was still staring at you.
His brows slightly furrowed.
Like he was worried.
That was strangely comforting.
Then another voice appeared behind the group.
âMove.â
Everyone turned.
A boy was walking toward you through the tall flowers.
Dark hair falling softly over his eyes.
Light-colored clothes.
And honestlyâŠ
he looked so calm that the air itself seemed to relax slightly when he arrived.
The small flowers near the path slowly bloomed as he passed.
He stopped in front of you.
And the second he looked at you, his expression shifted slightly.
Immediate concern.
âSheâs already feeling the shift.â
he murmured.
Sungho nodded once.
âIt just started.â
The boy stepped closer to you without hesitation.
âMay I?â
he asked softly.
You barely nodded in confusion.
He gently took your wrist.
His fingers were warm.
A soft glow slowly appeared around his hand, blending with tiny sparkling particles floating between you.
But instead of letting goâŠ
Riwoo leaned slightly closer.
And before you could process what he was doing,
his lips pressed softly against your forehead.
The entire group went silent.
Warmth immediately spread through your body.
The dizziness disappeared almost instantly.
Your breathing stopped feeling heavy.
Even the ache in your head faded away.
You blinked in surprise.
Riwoo pulled back slightly after a few seconds, still holding your wrist.
And only then did he seem to notice the strange silence around him.
Leehan was staring at him with raised brows.
Woonhakâs mouth was literally hanging open.
Even Sungho looked confused.
Taesan was straight up staring at him.
Riwoo blinked once.
âWhat?â
Leehan immediately pointed at him.
âYou never do that.â
âYes, I do.â
âNot with us.â
âBecause none of you are human.â
he replied calmly.
Then he looked back at you.
âPhysical contact helps stabilize magic faster in human bodies.â
Pause.
âEspecially near the head.â
Woonhak immediately raised his notebook again.
âThat was NOT in any of the books.â
Riwoo sighed.
âBecause thereâs never been a human here to test it on.â
That honestly did not help you feel calmer.
But it did explain why you no longer felt like you were about to collapse.
Riwoo slowly let go of your wrist.
âBetter?â
You stared at him for a few seconds.
Still slightly surprised.
ââŠYeah.â
Leehan smiled slightly.
âWow.â
Sungho glanced at him.
âWhat?â
âNothing.â
Leehan hid an amused smile.
âI just didnât expect Riwoo to be that direct that quickly.â
âThatâs not what it was.â
Riwoo answered immediately.
But the tips of his ears turned slightly pink.
And honestlyâŠ
that somehow made everything worse.
_
âSo officially, I survived my first⊠thirty minutes here?â
you asked, still trying to process everything.
âTechnically, yes.â
Woonhak replied.
âAlthough thereâs still a possibility thatââ
âWoonhak.â
âOkay, okay. I got it.â
He hugged the notebook against his chest with a dramatic sigh.
Riwoo kept glancing at you from time to time, making sure you werenât about to pass out again.
And honestly⊠that was hard to ignore after he had literally kissed your forehead in front of everyone.
Your brain was still stuck on that.
Leehan seemed to enjoy it way too much.
Because every time he caught you looking at Riwoo, he smiled slightly, like he was waiting for something entertaining to happen.
Sungho, on the other hand, remained quiet.
Though he no longer looked as suspicious as before.
Just thoughtful, like he was still trying to understand why Astra Veil had allowed you inside.
Then suddenly, a strong gust of wind swept through the path.
Your hair flew back.
Several flowers shook violently.
And Woonhakâs papers went flying into the air.
âMY NOTES?!â
Woonhak nearly yelled while desperately chasing after them.
Leehan immediately burst out laughing.
Sungho closed his eyes like someone mentally preparing himself for something.
And seconds later, you heard a voice in the distance.
âIT WASNâT MY FAULT!â
Another gust rushed through the trees.
Stronger this time.
Branches shook violently and leaves started spinning across the path.
Then someone came running out of the forest.
Dark hair completely messed up by the wind.
Clothes moving along with the air currents surrounding him.
And honestly⊠he was ridiculously attractive.
But he also looked like a complete disaster.
âI swear the wind started it first!â
he said the second he reached the group.
Woonhak immediately pointed at him from the ground.
âYOU ALMOST KILLED MY NOTES!â
âThat was accidental!â
âONE OF THEM FELL INTO THE LAKE!â
The boyâs eyes widened in horror.
ââŠOkay, that one was my fault.â
Leehan was fully laughing now.
The newcomer finally seemed to notice you.
And instantly froze.
The wind around all of you stopped too.
Silence.
He blinked once.
Twice.
Then slowly pointed at you.
ââŠHuman?â
âYes.â
Sungho answered, already sounding tired.
âReal. Weâre done being shocked about it.â
The boy kept staring at you in disbelief.
And while he did, a small current of air gently started moving your hair.
Like the wind itself had gotten curious too.
You noticed it.
And apparently, so did he.
Because his eyes widened immediately.
âOh no.â
he murmured.
Too late.
Another gust swept through the area.
This time several flowers went flying across the path.
âJaehyun.â
Sunghoâs voice sounded dangerously calm.
âControl yourself.â
âIâM TRYING!â
he immediately answered.
Which was clearly a lie considering the wind around him was still moving like it had a mind of its own.
You were barely trying not to laugh.
Because honestly⊠he looked more embarrassed than dangerous.
Jaehyun quickly ran a hand through his hair before stepping a little closer to you.
âWait, waitâŠâ
he looked at you with wide eyes.
âYouâre really from the human world?â
ââŠYeah.â
âLike⊠phones? Internet? Movies? Claw machines? Those actually exist?â
Leehan laughed again.
âHe literally asks the same questions as Woonhak.â
âBecause this is important.â
Jaehyun looked back at you with fascination.
And then you noticed something.
The wind calmed down slightly whenever you spoke.
But every time he got excited againâŠ
something went flying.
âSoâŠâ
you said slowly.
âDoes the wind do that whenever you get excited?â
Silence.
Jaehyun blinked.
Woonhak answered before he could.
âYes.â
âWOONHAK!â
âWhat? Itâs true.â
Leehan rested his head against his hand, clearly enjoying the situation.
âIt also happens when heâs nervous.â
âLEEHAN.â
âAnd when he gets embarrassed.â
Even Taesan looked entertained now watching Jaehyun slowly start losing his mind.
The wind picked up around all of you again.
Your hair moved once more.
And several leaves started spinning near the ground.
Jaehyun partially hid his face with one hand.
âPlease ignore that.â
You were already smiling.
âI canât.â
That definitely made things worse.
Because another gust swept across the path immediately afterward.
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camboy!taesan x viewer!femreader
w: smut, masturbation (m, f), switch!taesan, subish!reader, overstimulation, dick slapping, nipple play (m), pet names (princess, angel, baby), taesan calls himself a slut, reader wastes her money on taesan, mention of mcr, dirty talk, multiple orgasms | wc: 984 | might have typos | eng isn't my first language | mdni author's note: wrote this in february đđ
"ahâ fuckâ! just like that..!"
you stare gawk at the screen, face blushing at the image of the man jerking off in your laptop.
he gets a donation, making him lean in to the screen, his hoodie sliding down. "t-thanks for theâ ah, fuckâ the f-five dollars, elytramia.." he thanked the donator with a whimper, hand squeezing his tip, dribbling down some of his precum over his hand.
he relaxes on the gaming chair once again, throwing his head back as he lifted his hoodie up until his chest, revealing his faint abs and firm chest.
you knit your brows together, feeling like a pervert for watching him even though it was literally his job.
"shit..feels s' good, princess.." he moans, half lidded eyes looking straight at the camera. your face blush once again, feeling heat pool down on your abdomen.
his moans and whimpers are so loud you can barely listen to the my chemical romance song playing on the background.
he teases his tip with his thumb as he does the same with his nipple on the other hand. he rolls his eyes back, overstimulated as he was on his third round by now. his cum from the previous rounds slipping from his thighs down to his seat, making you clench your thighs together at the sinful sight.
you reached for your laptop hesitantly, typing on the keyboard quickly "pls take the hoodie off plsss" with a 15 dollar donation.
he chuckles as he reads the donation popping on the screen. "so desperate~" he purrs before taking off the garment, throwing it on the bed behind him.
he is completely naked now that the fabric was gone. he settles back into the chair, spreading his thighs a little wider as one of his legs rests on the arm chair.
he grabs his cock with both hands this time, twisting his wrists up and down as his mouth opens in a O shape, small whines and whimpers slipping out of it.
"fuck, angel, I'm s' closeâ gon' make a mess fo' you, princess." he groans out, voice cracking a little at the end.
he bites his lower lip as he tries his best not to get louder, the chat immediately filling up with comments telling him to be as loud as possible.
he smirks, lip still between his teeth, slowing down the pace on his cock, edging himself. "mm...I dunno...if only someone would donate right now..." he hums low.
you quickly type on your laptop as soon as he stops touching himself, turning around on his chair to grab his hoodie. "pls don't stop, pls make a mess" you donate 150 dollars, the highest he ever received.
his eyes widens at the number, making sure to quickly read your username. he quickly sets the hoodie aside, hand quickly coming to wrap around his throbbing dick.
"fuck, y/n, you must like me a l-lot." he moans out, a smirk tugging on his trembling lips.
you bite your lower lip as he moans your name, quickly hugging your legs to ease some relief.
he gives an experimental slap on his sensitive tip, making him buck up his hips, thrusting into his fist. "ohmygodâ!"
"fuckâ 'm cumming, I'm cummingâ!" he whines out, a strangled sound tearing from his throat as he shoots white stripes of semen onto his chest, some dribbling down to his thighs.
his pupils are blown as he tries to recover his breath, a soft pink crawling his cheeks. he giggles softly as he sees the amount of cum resting all over his torso.
he collects the whiteish goo with three fingers, taking them to show the camera, spreading his fingers a little. he smears it on his red tip, a small squeak escaping his lips at the sudden stimulation.
he glides his cum along the side of his veiny shaft, thighs trembling. "fuuuuck.." he groans as his hand goes back to pump his abused cock.
his pace quickens up as some donations popped on the screen, encouraging him to keep going, some even calling him a slut and he obviously moaned in response.
"s-shitâ yes, fuck, 'm a slut...your slut, f-fuckâ!" he whimpers with absolutely no one in his mind, only his precious viewers <3
your heart hammers as you stare at the screen, a hand going under your pjs shorts, cupping your cunt and feeling the wet patch on your panties.
you pull your panties aside, slowly introducing a finger inside your pussy. fuck, you wished it was him instead.
you match his quick pace, your palm hitting your throbbing clit with each thrust, causing small whines to fall of your lips.
"fuck, baby, are you touching y-yourself?" he groans immediately as if he was watching you through your laptop's lens.
you whine in response. "fuck that pretty pussy for me, can you?" he moans, he free hand going back to tease his tip, the nail of his index finger poking his tiny slit, making him hiss.
"fuckâ I wish you were here...fuck that little pussy open with m-my cock. you'd love that, huh?" he groans, a high-pitched moan coming from his lips after.
"jesus, baby, 'm close..." he moans, feeling the knot on his lower abdomen starts to unknit once again.
you feel your climax starts to build up embarrassingly fast too, the stimulation from your finger and palm being too much.
he squeezes his eyes shut as his mouth falls open, cock shooting more cum on his abs and hand.
you cum at the sight, a small whimper escaping your mouth. "fuck...taesanâ!"
he lets out a small chuckle as he cleans himself with the tissues on his desk. letting out a small hiss as he clean his sensitive shaft.
you lean in again, wiping your finger on your sheets. slowly typing on your keyboard as you recovered yourself.