ˡⁱᵛᵉ ᶠʳᵉᵉ, 𝙧𝙪𝙣 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙙

even though months have passed, ara still remembers the hopeless crush she had on him — how it kept her restless at night before filming schedules, even though she knew she needed sleep to perform her best. her gaze drifted to him too often when she shouldn’t, and a gentle, caring touch on her waist was enough to spin her mind into a million different directions. she constantly wondered whether the flimsy possibility existed — that he liked her, just as she was fond of him. not as a costar, not as a friend, but as ara. for that exact reason, she finds herself tongue-tied at the sound of his confession — a confession she convinced herself would never come, a crush she thought was better left buried for good. at least they could still be friends, at least she didn’t have to live with the embarrassment of a failed confession, at least he would remember his time with her with fondness.

for a moment, suhyun can only stare at her. not because he doesn't know what to say, but because every fear he'd carried into this conversation begins unraveling the second he hears her words. the surprise in her voice isn't rejection. the uncertainty in her eyes mirrors his own. a quiet laugh escapes him, breathless with relief. "ara..." he murmurs, tightening his fingers around hers just slightly. "you have no idea how many times i asked myself those same questions." his gaze drops briefly to their joined hands before returning to her face, as if reassuring himself that she's really here and this conversation is actually happening. "i thought i was imagining things too. every time you smiled at me, every time you looked away when our eyes met..." he shakes his head with a soft smile. "i kept telling myself not to read into it. that i was just being hopeful." the confession feels easier now, the hardest part already behind him. "but it wasn't all in your head." his thumb brushes gently across her knuckles. the smile on his face softens into something more tender, more sincere. when she asks if he's sure, the answer comes without hesitation. "completely sure." he takes a small step closer. "if anything, the thing i regret is waiting this long." his eyes search hers carefully, warmly.

best  friends.

you  said  you'd  always  be  there.  i'm  holding  you  to  that.

i'm  not  leaving  you  alone  with  your  thoughts!

nobody  gets  to  call  you  that  but  me.

do  i  need  to  fight  someone  for  you?

we're  not  just  friends.  you're  my  family.

i'm  already  on  my  way.

if  i  die,  promise  you'll  erase  my  search  history.

we  should  not  be  allowed  unsupervised  in  public.

combined,  we're  one  whole  functioning  adult!

i've  helped  you  lie  to  your  parents,  friends,  &  your  boss...  what's  one  more?

ex-friends.

i  wanted  to  call  you.  every  time  something  happened.

how  did  you  just  stop  caring?

you  can't  pretend  we  weren't  close.

i  miss  you.  i'm  not  sorry.

i  don't  think  i  can  forgive  you.

i  miss  hating  the  same  people  together.

do  your  new  friends  know  the  version  of  you  i  knew?

you  ghosted  me.  but  sure!  let's  pretend  it  was  mutual!

i  still  know  your  favorite  song.

i  didn't  just  lose  my  friend,  i  lost  an  entire  chapter  of  my  life.

rivals.

this  isn't  personal.  you're  just  in  my  way.

why  are  you  so  obsessed  with  beating  me?

you  think  you're  better  than  me?  prove  it.

you  talk  a  lot  for  someone  who's  always  second  place.

did  you  rehearse  that  comeback  in  the  mirror?

do  you  ever  stop  talking?

one  day,  i'm  going  to  beat  you.

i  don't  like  you.  that  doesn't  mean  i  don't  respect  you.

i  didn't  come  to  play  fair,  i  came  to  win.

you  think  i'm  threatened  by  you?  no,  you  just  motivate  me  to  be  better.

roommates.

i  swear  i  didn't  eat  your  leftovers!  well,  not  ALL  of  them.

i  heard  everything.  these  walls  are  thin.

can  you  PLEASE  clean  up  after  yourself?

wanna  watch  a  movie?  i'm  making  popcorn!

you  know  we're  not  friends,  right?  we  just  live  together.

i  think  i  know  your  schedule  better  than  mine  at  this  point.

you  talk  in  your  sleep.

you  can't  just  adopt  a  pet  without  talking  to  me  first!

i'm  going  to  start  charging  your  dates  rent.

if  we  can  survive  living  together,  we  can  survive  anything.

if  your  [  family member  ]  drops  by  unannounced  one  more  time...

academic  partners.

you  forgot  the  project  deadline.  again.

this  was  supposed  to  be  a  group  effort!

i  think  we  would've  crashed  and  burned  without  you.

you  brought  snacks  to  study  group?  okay,  i  think  i  like  you.

we're  not  friends.  stop  telling  me  about  your  personal  life.

you're  actually  kind  of  smart,  you  know?

i'll  be  the  brains,  you  do  the  presentation.

we  agreed  no  emotional  breakdowns  during  mid-terms!

i  cannot  believe  i'm  depending  on  you  to  pass  this  class.

i  need  a  break  so  i  can  scream  into  my  textbook...

do  you  try  to  make  friends  with  EVERY  person  in  group  projects?

siblings.

you're  not  my  [ mom / dad / parent ]!  don't  tell  me  how  to  live.

i'm  allowed  to  make  fun  of  you.  nobody  else  is.

i  know  you  better  than  anyone  else  ever  will.

stop  trying  to  fix  me!

something  bad  happened.  can  i  come  home?

you're  still  the  favorite, even now.

still  trying  to  live  in  my  shadow,  huh?

i'm  not  jealous  of  you!

we  survived  that  house,  that's gotta count  for  something.

it wasn’t always like this — haneul didn’t always have to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders. there was a time his life was much simpler, when all he had to worry about was his future career in soccer and whether he had enough rest to prepare for the next game. but his world turned upside down, and he has come to realise there is so much out of his control. he lost his parents, his future, and the autonomy over his life that he took for granted. now, living life to his utmost potential is no longer the goal. survival is. it feels selfish to keep minwoo in his orbit when he cannot see a truly free future ahead, knowing his continued involvement might only jeopardise him.

minwoo is quiet for a moment after haneul speaks. he can feel the shame in the way he lowers his head, the way he folds into him like he's bracing for a blow that never comes. slowly, minwoo pulls back just enough to look at him. "a burden?" the words come out softer than they should, almost disbelieving. "haneul, do you really think that's what you are to me?" his hand rises to cup the side of haneul's face, thumb brushing away the dampness gathering beneath his eyes. "i know exactly what this life is. i know what they're capable of. i know what it costs to stay involved with them." a bitter laugh escapes him. "they took years from me too, remember? the fights. the jobs. being passed around whenever they needed someone to bleed for them." his jaw tightens briefly. "i got out, but i never got those years back." he shakes his head. "so don't act like i don't understand what i'm choosing." minwoo rests his forehead against haneul's. "you keep talking like you're trapping me here. like i'm some innocent guy who wandered into the wrong story." his voice drops lower. "i'm here because i decided to be." every word is deliberate. "when i left, nobody forced me to look back. nobody forced me to stay. if i wanted a clean break, i could've disappeared." his fingers curl gently into the fabric of haneul's shirt. "but you are still here." a pause. "and i couldn't leave you behind." the confession hangs between them. "you think i'm waiting for you to give me some perfect future?" he gives a small shake of his head. "that's not what i want from you."

dylan  melts  into  the  kiss  without  hesitation,  one  hand  sliding  up  to  cradle  the  back  of  his  neck  while  he  savors  every  second  of  it.  the  distance  had  been  unbearable,  and  having  him  here  again  feels  like  finally  being  able  to  breathe  properly.  when  they  part,  only  slightly,  his  forehead  rests  against  his  boyfriend's  and  a  quiet  laugh  escapes  him.  "iceland,  huh?"  he  murmurs,  brushing  his  thumb  along  his  jaw.  "you  make  it  sound  tempting."  the  truth  is,  he  doesn't  particularly  care  where  they  go.  the  destination  is  secondary;  it's  the  company  that  matters.  a  week  in  some  remote  cabin,  a  bustling  city  halfway  across  the  world,  or  simply  staying  hidden  away  together  would  all  feel  perfect  if  they  were  side  by  side.

↳ Please feel free to tweak them.

Themes: violence, death, blood, murder, depression/negative thoughts

SYMBOLS: ↳ Use “↪”to reverse the characters where applicable!

🦇 - To catch my muse transforming into a bat 🌞 - To warn my muse about/see my muse in the sunlight. 🩸 - To witness my muse drinking blood from a bag. 🐇 - To witness To catch my muse drinking blood from an animal. 🧔🏽 - To witness To catch my muse drinking blood from a human. 🦌 - For our muses hunt together for the first time. 🏃🏿‍♀️ - To see my muse using super speed. 🏋🏼‍♂️ - To see my muse using their super strength. 🧛🏻‍♂️ - To confront my muse about being a vampire. 🌕 - For my muse to lament missing the sun. ⏰ - For my muse to tell yours about a story from their long, immortal life. 🤛🏽 - To offer my muse your wrist to drink from. 👩🏿 - For my muse to reminisce about a long lost love. 👩🏽‍🤝‍👩🏽 - For your muse to look exactly like my muse’s lost love. 👄 - For my muse to bite yours. 👀 - For my muse to glamour/compel yours. 🧄 - To try and sneakily feed my muse garlic to test if they’re a vampire. 🔗 - To try and apprehend my muse with silver chains. 🔪 - To try and attack my muse with a wooden stake. 👤 - To notice that my muse doesn’t have a reflection. 🌹 - For my muse to turn yours into a vampire. 🌚 - For my muse and yours to spend time together during the night. 🧛🏼‍♀️ - For my muse to tell yours about their maker/sire.

SENTENCES:

yeji   watches   him   leave,   lingering   in   the   empty   room   for   a   few   moments   after   the   door   clicks   shut   behind   him.   the   faint   warmth   of   his   embrace   still   clings   to   her   skin,   and   she   presses   her   lips   together,   fighting   back   a   smile   that   threatens   to   surface   at   the   memory   of   his   whispered   words.   ten   minutes.   she   busies   herself   with   gathering   her   things,   forcing   herself   into   the   calm,   practiced   routine   she'd   perfected   over   years   in   the   spotlight.   no   rushing.   no   suspicious   behavior.   just   another   idol   wrapping   up   a   schedule.   when   her   phone   vibrates   with   his   message,   she   waits   another   minute   before   slipping   out   of   the   building   through   a   side   exit.   her   cap   is   pulled   low,   mask   in   place,   eyes   scanning   the   area   as   carefully   as   he   undoubtedly   had.   only   when   she   spots   his   car   does   some   of   the   tension   leave   her   shoulders.

kimiko's  brows  lifted  slightly  at  the  invitation,  surprise  flickering  across  her  features  before  it  softened  into  something  warmer.  for  a  moment,  she  simply  stared  at  him,  caught  off  guard  by  how  openly  he  had  offered.  most  chefs  guarded  new  recipes  like  buried  treasure.  the  fact  that  he  was  willing  to  let  her  peek  behind  the  curtain  felt  unexpectedly  personal.  a  quiet  laugh  escaped  her.  "that  sounds  dangerously  close  to  trusting  me."  her  fingers  drifted  along  the  edge  of  a  nearby  shelf  as  she  considered  him,  amusement  dancing  in  her  dark  eyes.  he  looked  entirely  too  pleased  with  himself,  standing  there  with  that  smug  little  smirk  and  challenge  hidden  beneath  his  words.  the  temptation  was  immediate.  new  dishes.  new  flavors.  the  chance  to  watch  another  chef  work.  it  was  the  sort  of  offer  she  rarely  turned  down.  but  beneath  that  excitement  was  something  else—something  that  made  her  stomach  flutter  in  a  way  she  wasn't  prepared  to  examine  too  closely.

this is certainly not what kenji expected from a long-awaited meeting with his lover after a week spent drowning in a sea of file after file and dreadful paperwork. to hear jinwoo come clean about everything — his wife, his job, his concealed background — is more than he anticipated. yet here he is, unable to walk away despite the dire circumstances. typically rational, meticulous in his risk-cost analysis, he can’t bring himself to leave; his attachment to jinwoo is too strong, preventing him from abandoning a man ensnared in a life that barely feels lived.

this scenario is something he’s navigated a thousand times: persuading individuals involved in criminal activities to cooperate and help gather evidence for stronger cases. yet, this feels vastly different. when it’s no longer a cold case in black-and-white but involves someone he deeply cares for, the stakes become personal. it feels like a cruel joke by fate that he’s fallen for someone he should detest — if not for the crimes committed, then for the betrayal jinwoo has inflicted upon him.

jinwoo listens carefully as kenji speaks, committing every word to memory. staying close to his father-in-law—acting as his trusted right-hand man—gave him the perfect opportunity to uncover the information kenji needed. over the years, jinwoo had learned far too much about the man’s dealings, secrets buried so deeply they were never meant to see the light of day, let alone fall into the hands of the police. some of the things he’d witnessed still sat heavy in the back of his mind, impossible to forget no matter how hard he tried. “i have access to his office,” jinwoo says quietly after a moment, his voice low enough that it almost blends into the silence around them. “he keeps everything locked away in a safe there. documents, ledgers, records… anything important never leaves that room.” his jaw tightens slightly. “i doubt there’s any surveillance footage left behind, though. he’s obsessive about collecting every trace and destroying it himself. he never leaves loose ends.”

his eyes drift downward briefly before he continues. “but from now on, i’ll try to make copies before anything disappears. even if it’s small, it’s better than letting everything vanish.” the idea alone makes tension settle heavily in his chest. sneaking around a man who always seemed to have eyes everywhere—a man who had spent years mastering manipulation, intimidation, and covering his tracks—was dangerous in ways jinwoo understood all too well. his father-in-law trusted no one completely, not even the people closest to him. one wrong move, one moment of hesitation, and jinwoo knew everything could come crashing down around them. but despite that fear, he’s willing to try. maybe it’s because for the first time in a long while, he doesn’t feel alone carrying all of this. with kenji beside him, the burden feels lighter, even if only a little. the quiet understanding in kenji’s presence steadies something restless inside him, gives him the courage to keep talking when every instinct tells him to stay silent.

The dreams about him, about their past lives, made her step into water she hasn't dared before. Before, she touched magic that could help her with mundane things, but then the dreams ( sometimes nightmares ) came. Lydia started to read different books. Books about different spells, the meaning of different dreams, and creatures. And through those books, she learned more about herself. About him. Not directly about him, but his kind.

So, she believes him when he tells her about her magic. If she has been capable of reincarnating herself ( as absurd as it sounds ) centuries ago, and made sure they would meet every decade, she must be a strong witch. But she also realizes how painful it must be for him. To find her, not her remembering him, and needing to reintroduce themselves whenever their paths cross. It pains her. Which is why she drops her head low for a moment and takes a deep breath to calm herself, and she shakes her head lightly.

when her head dipped and gave that small, unsteady shake, his own tilted instinctively, trying to catch a glimpse of her expression beneath the curtain of her hair. he searched her face carefully, wanting to read every flicker of emotion there—even though he could already feel it well enough without seeing it. guilt. heavy and aching and misplaced. his brows drew together at once. there was nothing she needed to feel guilty for. “i know,” he murmured softly. “you’re not immortal, darling.” the gentle tease in his voice was accompanied by a quiet chuckle, warm and low in his throat. his fingertips slipped through her hair with practiced tenderness, smoothing the strands back before tucking them carefully behind her ear. the touch lingered for a moment longer than necessary, his hand resting briefly against the side of her face. “it isn’t your fault,” he said again, more firmly this time, giving a small shake of his head. “and you don’t need to apologize to me.” seeing her like this tugged painfully at something deep inside him, something he had spent far too long trying to bury. because he had sworn to himself he would not do this again.

“you have, but i wouldn’t mind hearing it again.” anna smiles, her heart swelling at the remembered warmth in his gaze. while texts may satiate the itch to some extent, nothing compares to the in-person connection, where she can see the fondness shining brightly in his eyes. a soft chuckle escapes her in response to the telling growl of his stomach, and she asks curiously, “when’s the last time you ate?” she knows idol schedules can be grueling, where a proper meal often feels like a luxury. more often than not, it's a hastily consumed sandwich or kimbap crammed down their throats between practices or during commutes to the next appointment.

minjun chuckled softly, leaning in to press a quick, affectionate kiss against her cheek. “i love you,” he said again, like it was something he could say endlessly without ever running out of meaning. and honestly, he probably could—he’d say it a thousand times over if she asked him to. “um…” her question made him pause mid-thought, his brows knitting together as he tried to dig through his memory. lately, everything had started to blur together—hours folding into days, days slipping into nights—especially with how little sleep he’d been getting.

“i ate breakfast,” he said finally, a grin slowly spreading across his face as the memory clicked into place. his expression brightened a little more as he reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone. he scrolled for a moment, thumb moving lazily through photos before stopping. with a small, satisfied nod, he turned the screen toward her. there it was—his breakfast. a single-serving milk carton, the kind you grab without thinking… except this one had her face printed on it. he looked far too pleased with himself, like he’d discovered something incredibly important. “see?” he said, as if that explained everything.

ara is handling this fake pr relationship better than she thought she would — it’s not so hard to put on those endeared smiles for the cameras to capture and for journalists to write stories about, especially when the co-star is a kindred spirit she finds pleasant enough to be around. despite her friendliness, she hasn’t formed many deep bonds in the industry, preferring to keep a comfortable distance between herself and others, especially after her crush on suhyun tangled her emotions so terribly. but this friendship — or whatever bond it might be in suhyun’s eyes — doesn’t seem as well perceived by her former co-star for reasons she cannot yet fully grasp.

she blinks when he admits to trying to get in touch with her, not expecting to hear those words from him — definitely not when she’s brainwashed herself into believing there’s not a chance on earth he could have liked her back. after all, if the spark was there for him — the way it was for her — shouldn’t they have already become a thing? instead, promotions ended with production, and they’ve both moved on to their new schedules, separated just as their lives are planned to be. her lips furrow slightly as she listens, wanting to grasp the disconcerting situation more deeply before her mind short-circuits from what he confesses next. “... oh?” is all she manages to muster after a long pause, disbelief flickering in her big brown eyes.

his gaze lingers on her face, searching every small expression for something familiar—something that tells him the feelings between them still remain. he hopes time and distance hadn’t washed them away completely. the possibility that he had realized everything too late settles heavily in his chest, sharp enough to make it hard to breathe.

the instant his words truly reach her, he watches the realization bloom slowly in her eyes, and with it comes the same softness he remembers so clearly. suddenly, she isn’t the composed woman who kept him at arm’s length these past months. she’s the shy girl he first fell for again—avoiding his gaze for a second too long, stumbling over her words, cheeks warming with that familiar blush she could never hide from him.

and somehow, that alone fills him with hope.

suhyun steps closer before he can second-guess himself. his hand reaches for hers carefully, almost hesitant at first, as if he’s afraid she might pull away. but when their fingers intertwine and she doesn’t let go, relief spreads quietly through him.

“i’m sorry it took me this long to understand my own feelings,” he says softly, his thumb brushing against her knuckles. “but i know now. i know that every time you smiled at someone else, i hated it. every time we were apart, something felt missing.”

his gaze softens as he looks at her.