#christopher reed

Nothing was said for a moment before Jinchul sighed, bringing up a hand and rubbing the back of his neck. “You are very troublesome,” he said. Jinchul then tugged at your hair.

You yelped. “Hey!” you whined. “I’m not sorry.” You crossed your arms, turning away with a huff.

“Can’t leave you alone at all,” Jinchul said. “This is why we all joke that I’m your handler, by the way.” 

You squawked. “Well, I want this to work, so get used to it!” you said, peeking back to look at him before turning away again.

“This probably means I’m moving to America, too,” Jinchul said. He didn’t mind moving. He just wanted to make sure you would be okay. He needed to keep an eye on you as he had done for the last nine years. He’d be damned before Christopher took you away from him. Jinchul held no romantic feelings towards you, but you were his baby sister. He needed to keep an eye on you, especially with how much trouble you got into. 

You paused as his words sank in and whirled around to face him. “Woohoo!” you exclaimed excitedly. You shook him happily for a moment. You didn’t even think of that, but you liked that idea very much. It would be very helpful to have your brother with you to help in America. You'd need to move to America if you and Christopher did work out. You knew America would be extremely unhappy that one of its national hunters would move countries without a fuss. While they wouldn’t be able to stop Christopher from leaving America, it would cause a lot of problems for Korea if that were to happen. You didn’t want an international crisis due to your soulmate situation. Also, you didn’t think Christopher wanted to live in Korea when he already had his home and team back in the States.

Jinchul facepalmed at your reaction once you let go. He groaned, exasperated. “At least I can speak fairly fluent English.”

Christopher’s door suddenly opened. He stepped out. He looked at both of you. He had felt your sudden happiness and wondered what that was about. He eyed Jinchul since he knew your spike of happiness involved him. He scowled for a moment but wiped it off his face before either of you saw. While he knew that you were all family, he would rather your happiness be directed toward him and not at any of them. He was ultimately fine with sharing you with your family. Yet, he was greedy enough to want you focused on only him. Christopher made sure to block a bit of his crazier feelings from you, and it didn’t seem like you noticed, to his relief, or you just thought it was normal considering your family. Your face lit up even more when he stepped out, causing the familiar warmth to spread through him. 

“Chris! You ready?” you asked him as he walked up to the two of you. You beamed up at him. You hummed happily. You decided to truly accept his proposal, so you’d really like to get to know him over the next several weeks and meet his strike team. You were excited to have a life with your soulmate. Ever since you first heard about soulmates years ago, you wanted one for yourself, but they were so rare that you didn’t have much hope. Now, it was tossed right into your lap, and with someone you knew would take care of you. He was strong enough to do so, especially if you boost his stats and heal him. 

Christopher sent you feelings of fond affection, having felt your positive emotions, and was still riding high on you saying yes to him, making you smile wider. “I am now. Do you know what’s for dinner?” Christopher asked. 

You and Jinchul looked at each other before facing Christopher. “We’re not sure,” Jinchul said. “It’s whatever Jaejoong decided he wanted to cook today. We don’t really know. We just show up because we don’t really get a say.”

“None of you get a say?” Christopher raised a brow at that. That was unusual. How much control did your family friend have? Both you and Jinchul shook your heads.

“The only one that gets a say is grandma,” you said to him, shrugging. It never bothered any of you that they chose what to eat for dinner. None of you were picky and ate whatever they made. “We don’t mind. We just make sure to try to attend the family dinner since it’s the one time we do our best to spend time together. Jaejoong does make us breakfast and sometimes lunch. Jinchul and I go on food adventures on our days off for lunch. Everything Jaejoong makes tastes good anyway, so you don’t need to worry about that. It’s like having a personal three-Michelin-star chef.” You tried to appeal to his more luxurious side to get him to be okay with Jaejoong’s way of doing things. He was an excellent chef, and you would miss him when you eventually moved to America. You knew you were eventually going to move to America, but you were worried about leaving your family behind. 

“If you need food recommendations, I can help. I also know her favorite foods, so if you want, I can give you that information,” Jinchul said. He decided that he would be nice after having thought it over when you all arrived home. Should you go to America, it’d be good to make it seem like a good idea to bring him along to step on fewer toes. Jinchul knew Chaewon and Jaejoong would ensure that he would go with you to America, but the more Christopher actually liked him, the easier the transition would be. 

“If you would.” Christopher was starting to understand why you were fine with the unhingeness of everything. You had three crazy people around you that Christopher could see, then your overprotective parents, and your grandfather, who was more like you, where he attracted people who were crazy versus actually being crazy himself. You grew up in an environment that would allow you to thrive with him, too, and he was grateful. Christopher saw why you two were compatible, since from what he understood, you just may be able to handle how unhinged he was because you were surrounded by it and thought it was normal. That made everything easier for him if that was the case. Satisfaction curled deep in his chest at the thought. 

“Let’s go then!” you said, reaching forward and grabbing Christopher’s hand. You led him to the dining area with Jinchul following behind. Christopher gripped your hand back, not wanting to ever let you go. He was happy that you were taking the initiative to show affection.

You were all in the dining area within minutes. It smelled good as always as Jaejoong was finishing up cooking. Your grandmother and mother were already sitting at the table. Your mother’s lips twitched downwards at seeing you holding Christopher’s hand again, but she didn’t say anything. You let go of his hand, having seen her reaction, and went to give your grandmother and mother your customary kiss on the cheek. 

“Good evening, my darling,” your grandmother greeted you. She caressed your face, smiling at you, before you moved on to greet your mother. You didn’t see the cold look she shot Christopher behind your back. He gave a strained smile in return. You looked at him quickly as you hovered over your mother, feeling that he was uncomfortable, but he shook his head as your grandmother’s look grew worse. The feeling disappeared, and you moved to give your mother a kiss on her cheek.

“Hello, lovey,” your mother said, quietly pleased at how Chaewon was ready to intimidate Christopher. She saw the look her mother-in-law sent him. Let the games begin. Haneul gestured towards the seat next to her, and you sat there. Christopher sat on your other side while Jinchul went across from you. Your grandfather sat at the head of the table with your grandmother and Jaejoong on either side of him. Your father was seated between Jaejoong and Jinchul. 

“Are you okay?” you asked Christopher once the two of you were seated. You decided to use your soulmate link to ask. You didn’t want to let your family know that you were asking him what was going on. You held back from looking at him worriedly. 

“I’m fine. Just…not used to having a family dinner,” Christopher replied. “My family died a long time ago, so I’m just not used to eating with family.” Christopher decided to go for a half-truth instead of lying straight out. He didn’t want you to worry about him because your family decided they were going to start their shit where he’d need to begin proving himself to them and you.

“I’m sorry about your family,” you said. You didn’t realize that his family was dead, and so this was going to be a new experience for him in recent years.

“Don’t worry about it. It was a long time ago.”

“They’re going to interrogate you. I’m so sorry.” You felt even worse after hearing about his family because you knew your family wasn’t going to be nice to him. You wanted him to have a good relationship with your family, but right now, that wasn’t going to happen.

“Everything will work out. There’s no true way of getting rid of me, so don’t worry so much.” Christopher didn’t particularly mind since there really was no way for them to completely separate the two of you. He did want to have a good relationship with them insofar as that would make you happy, not because he actually cared about any of them, if he was honest. 

Jinchul, Chaewon, and Haneul stared at both of you, but you two resolutely did not look at them. You knew that they had an inkling that you had just talked to Christopher, but since they had no proof, they didn’t say a word. Your grandmother looked ready to say something when you peeked at her, but she must’ve seen your distress and thought against saying anything for now. You knew that they told you not to have secret conversations with Christopher around them, but you didn’t like how uncomfortable he was feeling—you knew it had to do with them trying to drive him away. You wanted him near you. He gave you such a protective and secure feeling that reminded you a lot of your family, which you craved for after the horror that was the Jeju raids, as you had participated in the third and fourth raids. You wanted a romantic relationship with someone like them, and you felt that Christopher could be that someone easily. He already gave off the same feelings that matched your grandmother, Jaejoong, and Jinchul.

Jaejoong began bringing out food. It was one of your favorite dishes, along with your grandmother’s. It seemed like Jaejoong decided to spoil both of you. Although you wouldn’t put it past Jaejoong to see if Christopher was willing to eat your favorite foods. Jaejoong wanted you to be taken care of, and that meant making sure you would be able to eat your favorite foods without Christopher complaining about it. It didn’t take long after that for your grandfather and father to come downstairs to eat dinner. All of you ate with some small talk. Once everyone was finished eating, the interrogation began as everyone moved into the living room. Chaewon was leading the whole interrogation, and Jaejoong would back her up if need be. You sat next to Christopher with your mother next to you. Then, across from you, the three men in the family surrounded your grandmother.

“So, Christopher, how do you like it here at our estate so far?” Chaewon asked. She smiled at him, and Christopher smiled back—both challenging each other. She was unhappy that you seemed to be following more of Christopher’s direction than theirs.

“It’s been good. She showed me around, and I liked the greenhouse. I raise some plants myself. And the guest room is nice,” Christopher answered.

“What kind of plants do you take care of?” Jaejoong asked, eyes narrowed.

“Mostly a variety of cacti, aloe, succulents, orchids, and some bonsai trees.”

“So, plants that are fairly easy to take care of.”

“Yes, I wanted plants that were hardy since every now and then, I raid, and I wanted to make sure that they’d be fine, especially if I do several raids in a row. The bonsai tree is a little harder for that, but one of my strike team members, who doesn’t raid at the same time, tends to help me care for my plants. One of them rarely goes on raids, focusing on administration work for our team, so it works out.”

“I can’t say I like hunters who are in it for fame and money. Why should we leave our granddaughter to you?” Gunhee asked. He needed to know what was going on with that. Gunhee was concerned that Christopher would prioritize other things over you.

“It’s true that I have a lot of money and even more fame because I’m a national hunter. I’ll admit that we barely managed to beat Kamish. Ever since then, I’ve been restless in finding another strong opponent. But since I found out that I have a soulmate, my priorities shifted to her.” He glanced at you. “I’m not sure what raid it was, but I felt her being utterly helpless and frightened, and I never want her to experience that again. As one of the strongest in the world, I can protect her, especially when accompanied by my strike team. In fact, she knows two of them.”

Everyone’s attention snapped to you at that. You smiled nervously and said, “Mom, Dad, do you remember Sean and Julia? I know it’s been a long time, but they were my high school best friends.”

“The two that hovered over you?” Haneul asked. She vaguely remembered your teenage friends. The boy clung to you like a second shadow, while the girl seemed to encourage it all the time. She thought that the boy had a crush on you, but he got together with the girl instead. Haneul didn’t mind them. They were good to you and helped you a lot, especially at school. 

“I remember them!” Jungkook said. “They kept watch over you to a degree that reminded me of mom and Jaejoong over dad! It was weird but rather entertaining.”

“Stop finding unhinged people, please,” Gunhee said to you. You shrugged. It wasn’t like you were looking for them. They came to you. You knew that your grandfather knew about Jinchul’s tendencies, especially after Jaejoong took him under his wing. But you knew your grandfather was secretly pleased knowing that someone would take care of you when they were all gone. But now that a soulmate was thrown in there, everything was thrown off course, and everyone needed to figure out what was going to happen long term.

Chaewon and Jaejoong looked at each other and nodded. “I suppose we can work with that,” Chaewon said. “We’d like to meet them before you go back to America.”

Christopher barely held back a grimace. You looked at him curiously at his apprehensiveness and exasperation. “I’ll arrange it. Is there a limit as to how long I’m allowed to stay here?”

Chaewon smiled mockingly, her lips curling as if she wanted to sneer. “You may stay for a few weeks. Perhaps longer if circumstances allow it. However, do arrange a meeting between your strike team and us. We need to meet them if my granddaughter is to see them often, should you prove yourself to us.” 

“I understand.” Christopher nodded, barely pulling back his own sneer. He knew he wouldn’t enjoy being thoroughly interrogated by them, especially with their personalities. 

“Also, be prepared to house Jinchul here if my granddaughter is leaving for America. He’ll be accompanying my granddaughter wherever she may go, including living in your home with the two of you.” Chaewon’s smile got wider at the ugly, disgruntled look that flashed across Christopher’s face for a second. “Did you think that I would allow my granddaughter to be by herself in another country without one of us there?” She thought you would be okay in the end, but Chaewon was still worried and wanted your soulmate to prove himself to everyone. Although she thought his attitude and priorities could do a bit of work—at least you’re at the forefront of it all. She also didn’t particularly like hunters who were in it for the money and fame, and it seemed like your soulmate was in it for both. Chaewon couldn’t believe how much the two of you were opposites in everything, yet the two of you wanted to make it work. She was worried that he was going to be too much for you without the family there to help you. It was why she knew Jinchul needed to go with you, to make sure you were being taken care of properly. 

Jungkook was smiling smugly that his mother was finally having a real go at your soulmate, and even Haneul looked satisfied when Christopher couldn’t hide his expression. You, Jinchul, Gunhee, and Jaejoong were quietly watching. 

“She’s safe with me,” Christopher said through gritted teeth. Neither he nor Chaewon was bothering to mask at all anymore. You were worried since you could feel the turmoil in Christopher. You honestly didn’t mind how he was acting, as your family had a tendency to act similarly, but you were scared, as your grandmother seemed to be getting more aggressive. Normally, she wouldn’t bother getting this riled up, but you knew that because you were involved, she was ramping things up as a way to protect you. 

Chaewon sneered at him, not even bothering to smile or seem pleasant. She didn’t care if he thought you’d be safe with him: it was what they wanted, so you and they felt safe with you in America. “Jinchul will go with her. Or else she’s not going at all.” Chaewon wasn’t going to allow him to do whatever he wanted—you were his soulmate, but you were her granddaughter. You were hers first, having stolen her heart before you were even born. That insolent brat would learn, or by God she would force him to if he wanted you. 

You clutched at your chest as rage coiled in you from Christopher. Haneul reached over and grabbed that hand since your other was being held in Christopher’s hand as a way to keep him calmer. She interlaced your fingers with hers, trying to stabilize you. You gripped Christopher’s hand tighter as the rage continued. “Please don’t. I would like my brother to be there with me,” you whispered to him in your mind. Christopher took a deep breath, and the rage turned into a shimmer rather than a blaze of rage. Your grandmother’s eyes narrowed.

“Darling, speak up,” Chaewon ordered you. She knew you were mind speaking, and she told you around them, you must not do so. She knew you were worried about Christopher, but he needed to be strong and not have you coddle him against the family in order for them to be more comfortable with him. 

You sweated a bit before nodding rapidly. “Sorry, Grandma.” Chaewon nodded and sent you a softer smile, making you feel a little better. At least they weren’t that upset with you.

“She was only trying to comfort me. She doesn’t need to apologize for not speaking aloud.” Christopher scowled at them. He didn’t care that your grandmother tried to soften for you; you had the right to talk to him in your mind, no matter how they felt about it. He didn’t like how they wanted to interject in his relationship with you. That was his and your thing, not you, him, and your family. He wanted to keep it only between you two. Fuck your family for trying to make him go away—he would chase you singlemindedly. He’d chase you to the ends of the earth. Good luck getting rid of him because that wouldn’t happen ever. He wouldn’t allow your family to chase him away.

Chaewon matched his scowl with her own. “She knows better. I will not have her coddle you against us. You either can deal with us or get out now,” Chaewon said in return. She didn’t like how you were going against them when they had already talked to you about it. You didn’t do that before your soulmate situation. None of them liked how much he had influenced you so far. Certain things, like you becoming more assertive, were good; you not listening to them was not.

Christopher’s eyes narrowed. He could feel the raging heat surging in him, wanting to burst out of him. If not for your hand still grounding him, he would have lost his shit by now. “I’m not leaving without my wife,” he said through gritted teeth once more. He squeezed your hand tightly, making sure that you wouldn’t be able to get out of his hold. He locked it as if he were a shackle keeping you attached to him. You looked at him wide-eyed, at him calling you his wife in front of everyone. You didn’t think he’d be that bold. The rest of your family was furious, much to his satisfaction.

“Your wife!? She may be your soulmate, but she isn’t your wife!” Jungkook exclaimed. He wasn’t happy with Christopher’s declaration. None of them were.

“She’ll become my wife as soon as possible,” Christopher snapped back. “Not maybe, but when. She accepted me.” There was a sense of glee that enveloped him at the sight before him. Your family was stunned that you would accept his proposal. 

“What did you do?” Jaejoong’s voice was soft, but it hit you like a truck. You heard the viciousness lying in wait. There was also something else lurking there that you did not want to know. You knew the question was directed at you, not Christopher. 

Everyone turned to you expectantly and in disbelief. “I want to be with him!” you said. “I want to get to know him. He’s my soulmate. You know how I’ve always felt about wanting one. And I want you all to get along.” You weren’t happy with either side at the moment. You knew that you were babied by everyone, and they didn’t like you growing a spine thanks to Christopher’s influence. But he also needed to truly understand that your family was important to you. You coughed, uncomfortable at everyone’s stares. “And, I did say yes. We don’t have to rush the wedding or anything, but I’m going to be with him. We’re connected for life. That’s not going to change.” Your family needed to accept that you and Christopher weren't going to stop doing what you two wanted together—you weren’t going to block him out, no matter what they wanted. “But I do want Jinchul with me in America. I’m sure he’ll fit right in with your strike team, too,” you said to Christopher in front of them all, reiterating what you told him earlier. 

Christopher backed down at that, even if he was unhappy that someone else would be in his space besides you. He could feel your sincere desire to have your brother with you. He knew you’d feel better about it all, so that you could better acclimate in America. Having Jinchul there would help in watching you and making sure you’d be okay, even though he’d be with you most of the time, he admitted to himself begrudgingly. “Fine! We’ll see how he fares when my team comes.” He was willing to compromise for you even if he didn’t want to.

Neither side was particularly happy with the other. Everyone was upset with you to a certain extent, making you want to shrink into yourself. You felt like you disappointed everyone in some way, but you wanted what you wanted. Everyone would just have to deal with it. You knew it was hard for your family, especially since you rarely went against what they wanted, but, again, you wanted what you wanted. And you wanted your soulmate. Romantically. You spent so much time since the appearance of soulmates came out wanting one for yourself, and now that it has happened, you want to go for broke. 

“Alright, I think that’s enough for tonight! We have a few more weeks of getting to know Reed here!” Gunhee said and stood up. He knew you were distressed, and everyone was contributing to it. He wasn’t happy with you accepting Christopher’s proposal, but he didn’t want to chase you away right into the national hunter’s arms while feeling estranged from the family. They all had enough time to keep interrogating Christopher in the upcoming weeks and then even more whenever his strike team would arrive in Korea. Gunhee was sure that they’d be able to find a better compromise beyond Jinchul heading to America with you. “Your strike team could stay here, but we only have one more guest room. If they’re willing to stay knowing that, they’re welcome. Otherwise, they should stay at a hotel,” Gunhee said. He flinched at the look on Chaewon’s and Jaejoong’s faces, but he was going to put his foot down for now. He’d explain to them his reasoning. Hopefully, he wouldn’t be in the doghouse so to speak after. “Actually, why don’t the two of you get to know each other more while we have a family meeting while the two of you are doing that?”

You and Christopher looked at each other and nodded. The rest of the family looked ready to commit mutiny. The fury that you could see taking over your grandmother had you hurrying to get out. “We’ll see you all tomorrow, then, since my vacation starts. Come on, Chris. We can hang out in your room.” You tugged at Christopher’s hand, and he followed, feeling your urgency to get out.

“Absolutely—” Haneul started, her hand tightening to hold you back, but Gunhee interrupted. 

“Go on, you two.” Gunhee knew he was going to get it with the glowers Chaewon and Jaejoong were sending him in particular. But he would help you out a bit since you did say yes. Maybe he could find a compromise somewhere. He knew he could. It was a matter of the family accepting it or not.

“Thanks, Grandpa. Goodnight, everyone. Love you.” You stood up after your mother let you go. You went around kissing your mother and grandmother goodnight, even if they looked ready to grab you and keep you with them.

You were waiting anxiously for Christopher’s arrival. You were excited to finally meet your soulmate. Jinchul left around an hour ago to pick Christopher up, who had just gotten his luggage from baggage claim. “Look for a man with blond hair slicked back in a suit. Grandpa and Dad wanted me to stay back at the Hunter’s Association,” you said to Christopher, who hummed in acknowledgement. “He’s very professional looking,” you added as an afterthought. Jinchul liked being formal when working, which was why you left all the administrative and press-related duties to him. You’d rather work at the Hunter Association’s infirmary or go on raids, or even help at several top hospitals in the Seoul area.

Christopher radiated amusement at that. “I’d say that wasn’t helpful, but it actually is. I’m pretty sure I see him,” Christopher said. He, himself, was also radiating excitement as he got closer to meeting you face to face. He couldn’t help but be smug at how easy it was to get to you. At least there were perks to being a national hunter that way. He hadn’t been right since the Kamish raid, but his connection with you was grounding him in a way that he hadn’t felt since before the raid happened eight years ago. His strike team had tried to help him, but it hadn’t been working all these years. While he wouldn’t admit it, he was thankful that his strike team awakened after that beyond fucked up dungeon break. He was traumatized forever. Yet, your warmth seeped into him, and he greedily wanted more of it as it helped ground him. He needed to make sure you were protected at all costs. He was afraid to lose you. 

“Oh! Jinchul texted me and said he sees you!” you said, just as excited as him. “He speaks fluent English, so don’t worry about the language barrier. My whole family speaks both Korean and English, actually.”

Christopher raised a brow at that. You did not tell him that, but he brushed it off. Your family probably told you to keep speaking Korean, so he would understand less. “That’s fine. Good to know. I’ll see you so—” Christopher was cut off as he was suddenly swarmed by random people, including reporters. One of them shoved a recorder in front of his face, but before he could snap at all of them, Jinchul and the Hunter Association members who went with him stepped in. Christopher could typically handle the media attention, revel in it when he actually wanted to, which hadn’t been something he felt in years, but he definitely didn’t want to deal with it at the moment. He just wanted to get to you. Christopher watched as reporters looked angry when Jinchul said something, but they scattered at Jinchul’s sharp tone. Christopher continued watching as your best friend, and Christopher still didn’t know how to feel about that, even if you kept reassuring him that the two of you were siblings in all but blood, finally turned his attention to him.

“My name is Jinchul. I’ll be taking you to the Hunter’s Association,” he said to your soulmate in English. Jinchul was in disbelief that your soulmate really was the special authority national hunter Christopher Reed. You weren’t just going to give him a heart attack; the rest of the family was going to have one, too. He barely held back a wince at the thought. 

“Christopher Reed,” Christopher introduced himself, not that he needed to. But he figured he’d play nice. It should win him more points with your family if he could control himself and be open and cordial with them. Christopher didn’t know what Jinchul looked like, but your description helped. He’s also only seen photos of you from internet searches. There wasn’t much information he could find on you. There weren’t many S-rank healers—most hunters were attack-based and not support-based—so at least there was a little information on you. When it came to information on the Korean Hunter’s Association, the only English articles on it were highlighting your grandfather and father. He was curious as to how you looked in real life versus through a picture. “We’re heading to the Hunter’s Association now,” he said to you. He felt your spike of excitement again, causing a smile to appear on his lips.

“Could you tell him that I’m taking my break when you arrive, please?” you asked Christopher, who dutifully told Jinchul what you wanted to tell him. 

Christopher saw Jinchul’s eye twitch for a moment in the corner of his eyes, but Jinchul said nothing. “Not supposed to take a break?” Christopher asked you.

“Nope, but that’s okay! I wanna be with you and get to know you more, so everyone will just deal with it. Just, uh…if my family comes from home to visit, they’re scary, and I warned you. They’re going to want to interrogate you, and I’d like it if you got through that to reassure my family. Mom and Jaejoong aren’t too happy about everything. And God knows what my grandma is thinking,” you said. You had a feeling your mother, grandmother, and Jaejoong would show up soon after Christopher’s arrival. You didn’t want him to have to face things alone because you knew that was what your family was hoping for. You were going to take your break, so they wouldn’t be able to interrogate him without you there. You felt his skepticism and confusion again and shook your head. “Well, I’ll see you soon!” you said cheerfully as you bounced back quickly. 

“I’ll try my best. I’ll be there soon, little one,” Christopher teased you. He did mean your nickname, though. Christopher was in his thirties. You were younger than him by more than a few years. It was something he worried about, but you kept reassuring him that it was fine. You were an adult and way past the age of consent—you also didn’t necessarily mind the age gap either. He was your soulmate, so you didn’t let it phase you. Age gaps still weren't socially accepted, and often for good reasons. That was one of the issues your family was having, and Christopher knew that he needed to assuage their fears, too. He sensed no lie in your words about you not minding how much older he was than you, but he was still worried nonetheless. He was your soulmate. Christopher refused to share your warmth with anyone outside the family. He wanted to be with you. They finally arrived at the Hunter’s Association, anticipation building in him. Christopher saw that there were already reporters loitering in areas where they could without trespassing. 

“We’ll be going through the back entrance to avoid the crowd,” Jinchul said. Both of them got out of the car and headed to Gunhee’s office. There were some reporters who tried to sneak after the two, but other Association employees intercepted them. 

“We’ve arrived and headed to your grandfather’s office now,” Christopher said to you. He felt your anxiety and excitement and tried to comfort you. He felt your appreciation of how he was constantly trying to comfort you. Christopher had felt your stress and anxiety, among other emotions, for months now. Now that he could help you, he would. It only strengthened his resolve to help and protect you.

You were waiting in your grandfather’s office with your grandfather and your father. You were watching as your father paced back and forth. You shared rice crackers with your grandfather; both of you were also anxious, but not like your father. The two of you looked at each other for a moment before turning your attention back to your father. Your grandfather patted you on your head, and you suspected that was more for his own comfort than yours. You let it go.

“Dad, maybe you should sit down,” you suggested. Your anxiety was spiking while watching him pace back and forth. You bit your lip, feeling worried. You knew your family wasn’t taking it well, but this seemed to be worse than you thought it was going to be. 

“He lives in a different country. You don’t know him. He’s far too old for you,” your father was muttering, ignoring you. He kept going on, so you tried to tune it out. You knew that certain things made the whole situation challenging and complex. Still, you were hoping it’d work itself out without either side having a breakdown. Your mother nearly had one this morning, and you were really worried about your family. They were not taking it well. 

A knock at the door had your father halt his pacing. Jungkook moved away from the door to stand next to you and stared. He still wanted to deny that you had a soulmate, especially one like Christopher Reed. The man’s arrogant nature was well-known worldwide. Christopher also lived in America, and he didn’t want you that far away from the family. 

“Come in,” your grandfather called out. Gunhee was just as apprehensive as the rest of the family, but he was trying not to freak out himself. The family couldn’t help but spoil you throughout the years since you were the baby of the family. Thankfully, you didn’t let it get to your head and kept a level head about it since they also made sure that you understood the privilege you had compared to others. The Go family was socially elevated thanks to him, his wife, and their best friend, working hard to make something of themselves after the Korean War. They worked hard since they were children and never stopped. All three were proud of the family and life they built together—everything else was a bonus.

You watched as the door opened. Jinchul and Christopher walked through the door. Your eyes immediately met Christopher’s, and a tingle ran up and down your spine. You shivered despite the sudden heat spreading through you. His lips quirked up for a moment at seeing your reaction. 

“Hello, darling,” Christopher crooned into your mind. He didn’t even bother hiding his pleasure at finally meeting you.

You blushed at his tone. That was a new one. Even when he flirted with you in the last two days, he didn’t take such a saucy tone. You knew what Christopher looked and sounded like, but it was different with him physically in front of you. “Hi,” you squeaked out. You weren’t ready for this. Your blush got worse as you took him in more. How in the hell did you get someone this good-looking and strong as your soulmate? You would thank them for it.

“Christopher Reed. It’s nice to finally meet all of you,” Christopher said to all three of you in response. Christopher took you in and was pleased at the sight of you. If he had a type, you were definitely it. His mind whirled on how to make you his in all ways he possibly could. Dozens of plans formed in his mind—the easiest being on getting you to fall for him, just like he already was with you. Now that he knew what you looked like, putting a face to the voice, it solidified his possessiveness that he needed to have you. There was no way he wouldn’t try to make you his romantically. You were going to be his wife, or he’d die trying to make it so. He would need to be dead for you to get away from him. Congratulations, you got his attention, and it will never waver. Possessiveness met obsession, which was directed entirely at you. 

Gunhee coughed to get yours and Christopher’s attention. “Welcome to Korea. I’m Go Gunhee. I’m her grandfather. This is my son and her father, Go Jungkook.” Gunhee introduced them. He held out a hand, and Christopher shook it.

Jungkook looked at Christopher suspiciously. He wrapped his arms around you with a sour look. He didn’t want to give you up. He didn’t care how old you were; you’d always be his little girl. You hadn’t really dated anyone because of your family, so suddenly having a soulmate that was a romantic prospect was hard on them. “Hi,” Jungkook finally greeted your soulmate begrudgingly.

You turned your attention to your father and patted him on his arms. He hugged you tighter. You figured he wasn’t feeling too well about the situation. Your mother almost having a meltdown earlier did not help matters. “Dad, he’s my soulmate. Be nice,” you said. You held back a sigh as your father clutched onto you and buried his head into your neck with a childish hmph. “Sorry about my dad,” you said to Christopher, who you knew wasn’t enthused at your father’s reaction.

Before he could respond, Jungkook whined, “I don’t want to be nice. He wants to take you away from us.” Gunhee and Jinchul facepalmed. You heaved another sigh and then patted your father’s head. 

“Dad—we literally just met each other,” you said. You felt Christopher’s sourness, and you sent him a questioning nudge. It disappeared a second later. “Are you okay? I really am sorry my dad is acting like this,” you said to Christopher aloud, taking a shot at your dramatic father.

“You just wait until your mother, mine, and Jaejoong get here!” Jungkook whined again. You and Gunhee flinched. 

Jinchul wisely stepped to the side to try to hide as much as he could from the threat, but he couldn’t help but comment. “How do you Americans have it? Cruel and unusual punishment?” Jinchul mused on the thought of your mother and Jaejoong rampaging. He didn’t even want to think of your grandmother, of all people, rampaging. She made Jaejoong obey in a way that not even Gunhee could. But Jaejoong was still naturally the scariest person in the room, and no one understood how he got to be the way he was. And so none of you could fathom how your grandmother could get Jaejoong to listen so well besides being just as crazy—so none of you pissed grandma off. Maybe she was actually the scariest of them all. “The only way this goes well is if you impress Grandma or Jaejoong,” Jinchul said to Christopher. Even if your mother disagreed, your grandmother’s word was law in the Go household. She was the matriarch, and she wouldn’t take shit from anyone. Chaewon put a lot of stock in Jaejoong’s opinion as he was able to sniff out just about anything that would be a threat to the family, so everyone trusted his instincts, too. The rest of you just stayed out of their way when the two started plotting. You nodded in support of his statement. “Otherwise, it’s just cruel and unusual.”

“You two keep saying that.” Christopher’s eyebrows were raised. He was bemused at the way your family was acting when those three were brought up.

“For good reason,” Gunhee muttered. That was his wife and best friend, but Gunhee wouldn’t dare go against the two of them. The two dedicated themselves to the family while Gunhee focused on his business, and then later the Hunter’s Association with Jungkook. He left the family matters to them, and then he did his best to stay out of the way so he wouldn’t become a target of their madness. He loved them and the rest of the family, but it was well-known in the family how eccentric and protective the two were of the whole family. It sometimes reached unhinged status. Gunhee flinched as some of the memories of them losing it flashed across his mind. He broke out into a cold sweat. No, thank you. “Well, take a seat.” Gunhee gestured towards the empty seats, trying to stop the flashbacks. “Jungkook,” he said warningly after your father refused to let go of you. Your father grumbled under his breath but took a seat in the free chair next to Jinchul. You sat next to him. Christopher sat next to you. Jinchul was doing his best to stay out of the way.

“So…what exactly are you seeking out of this soulmate relationship?” Gunhee asked after a brief pause.

“Shouldn’t we be the ones discussing this?” Christopher asked, gesturing to you and him. The three men gave him judging looks. You reached over and patted his hand with a helpless look on your face. “Are they serious?” he asked you in your mind.

“Yes, and it’s only going to get worse. I warned you about my family,” you said reproachfully. “If they think you’re more of a threat to me than not, they’ll never approve. They want to make sure about you as a person since we’re soulmates. And I want their approval. They don’t know you—I barely know you!” You were radiating distress. You didn’t want to have to choose between your family and Christopher. You had just met him and had only been talking to him for a few days, but you wanted things to work. You wanted reassurance, too, that this wasn’t doomed from the start. 

“I’m not a threat to you.” Christopher radiated displeasure at that. You, yourself, were still radiating distress, so he caught your hand that you left near his and held it, fingers interlacing. He felt your distress tone down a bit. He wanted you to feel better. He didn’t like that he was part of the reason why you weren’t feeling. He was self-aware that he wanted you as a romantic partner, and no one was going to get in between you and him. He wouldn’t let them.

“I believe you. Now, please answer?” you asked him. “I also want to know your thoughts on it.” You gently squeezed his hand. The two of you hadn’t discussed much on what you two planned on doing—having spent the last few days mostly learning about each other. This soulmate business was out of the blue for your family, and everyone was blindsided. No one expected your soulmate to actually be special authority national hunter Christopher Reed. Your family was worried since Christopher was such a prominent hunter who lived half a world away and didn’t have the best reputation. Your family didn’t particularly like hunters who only hunted for wealth and fame, especially arrogant ones. You could feel how much his dislike of the situation ran. Distress flared once more. Why did he and your family have to make things even more complicated than they had to be? You felt caught between a rock and a hard place.

Christopher didn’t like being interrogated, even though you warned him it was going to happen. Christopher knew the two of you hadn’t known each other for very long, but he didn’t feel the need for others to be involved. Clearly, you thought otherwise. If he wanted to be with you, that meant making you and your family feel secure that he could take care of you. He could get behind that at least. “I want her to become my wife as soon as possible,” Christopher answered. All four of you choked at his response. Your hand reflexively tightened, and he gently squeezed back, all the while looking wholly unrepentant. Your head whipped to the side to stare at him in disbelief. He blinked back at you like he didn’t just drop such a shocking announcement on all of you. “What?” 

“What do you mean what?” you finally croaked out. You felt like screaming in shock as you’d seen in cartoons. He just proposed to you! Your grandfather, father, and brother looked just as bewildered and in shock. None of you knew what to say to that. You didn’t think he’d just come out and say it. It’s not like the two of you discussed it deeply. A comment here, a comment there, but not straight up that he wanted you to become his wife as soon as possible. Your family was just shocked in general. 

“Most soulmates end up becoming romantic. I’m not part of the exception,” Christopher said. He didn’t understand everyone’s shock. 

“Well, mom, Jaejoong, and my Haneul are going to blow a gasket,” Jungkook said. You and Gunhee flinched again. “This is going to be good. They’re already on their way.” He was eyeing Christopher even more distrustfully. If Christopher wanted you, then he'd better get through the scarier members of the family. Jungkook wouldn’t accept any less. Jinchul was simply nodding along. Your father said it all. 

“Dad!” you exclaimed, mortified. The fear that shot through you had Christopher brushing up against your mind, trying to calm you down and comfort you. You settled down some, but you were worried about how the rest of the family would take him being that direct about what he wanted out of the soulmate bond. You reckoned that they were hoping that it’d be the rare platonic ones. While that wasn’t the way you’d have liked to be proposed to, as that was essentially what Christopher just did to you, it did reassure you that he wanted to be with you both mentally and physically. 

Gunhee massaged the bridge of his nose. He was already exhausted. “It would be you that it’s centered around,” he said to you. You made a whining noise at his words and went to protest, but Gunhee held a hand up. “Don’t. We all know how much trouble you can get in. Why do you think Jinchul is your handler, like Jaejoong is mine?” Jinchul and Jungkook snorted. Jaejoong helped take care of Gunhee, so Chaewon wouldn’t worry so much, and the fact that she knew that Gunhee did need someone to watch over his health, and it couldn’t be her anymore, since your grandmother’s health at her age wasn’t the best either. Jaejoong silently watched over both, but Chaewon insisted he focus on Gunhee when he could. Jaejoong also primarily took Jinchul under his wing to teach him how to help you to the best of his ability. Everyone trusted that Haneul could wrangle Jungkook into shape. You ended up in more troublesome situations than your grandfather, which exasperated your whole family. It was a running joke at this point on how much trouble you and your grandfather found yourselves in.

“Mean,” you grumbled, slouching. You had yet to let go of Christopher’s hand, much to his pleasure as he held your hand firmly. You didn’t even try to tug it away. He rubbed his thumb on your hand. He smiled smugly, feeling how flustered you were after that action. He would rather have you on his lap, but he could be patient now that a plan was put into place for winning you over (and he now knew he really needed to win your family’s favor too). Despite your shock at his unorthodox proposal, you seemed receptive. He’d do a better proposal later. Christopher just apparently needed to survive your family, and it’d be one large step closer to being with you. 

“Thanks for doing all this,” you said to Christopher in your mind. You were happy that he was willing to put himself through your family’s interrogation. You knew you were asking for a lot, but the sooner he met your family and hopefully assuaged their worry, the easier it’d be to progress in your relationship with him. It did make you more comfortable that he thought going through it all was worth it. 

“I want you, so I’ll do it,” Christopher answered simply. That was what it boiled down to. He wanted you and your warmth so badly that he’d do whatever it took to bind you to him as much as he possibly could. You loving him was what he wanted. The goal was clear, but Christopher knew he had to put in the work now so he would be accepted by your family as someone that they could leave their precious one to him. He wanted them not to be constantly trying to get in the way of being in a relationship with you. He knew they would be worried about you—they’d be a terrible family if they didn’t in his opinion—but there was nothing to be worried about since he and his strike team could protect you. He was comforting you a lot, but that only caused him to double down on you needing to be protected. He’d also treat you well; he’d treat you better than he had ever treated anyone. The obsession with you was growing quickly. Rage built for a moment that he did his best to hide from you at the thought of you with someone else if he wasn’t found worthy. He’d find a way to kill them before losing you to them. Christopher didn’t know whether it was because of the soulmate bond, but this was the first time he had ever felt the commitment to be with someone for the rest of his life. He had been happy to spend the rest of his life alone with only his strike team as occasional company. They even irritated him most of the time, so he spent a copious amount of time alone. He would rather be in his mansion away from the thought of people dying due to a dungeon break while surrounded in luxury. Now he had a chance to do that with you. That sounded great to him. 

You beamed at him and went to say something, but a knock on the door caused everyone’s attention to turn towards the door. Before Gunhee could tell them to come in, the doorknob turned, and in walked Chaewon, Jaejoong, and Haneul. Your mother’s eyes immediately sought yours, and her lips twisted into a grimace at seeing Christopher holding your hand. Jaejoong was already smiling, and Chaewon was also smiling. You held back a wince. This was not going to go well. “I’m really sorry,” you said to Christopher, nudging at him with a sense of growing hysteria. You hated it when your grandmother and Jaejoong smiled like that, and you knew it was about to get worse. You also didn’t like seeing your mother so unhappy. “This is all that's left of my family.” 

Christopher merely held your hand tighter. He did make a mental note that your family was small in number, and that by “that’s left of my family,” it indicated that you had lost family members, perhaps due to the gates. Many people have lost at least one person or were a degree or two off who knew or had lost someone. It would explain why you were close to your family, but he knew there was something else that was causing your extreme amount of codependency with them. 

“My love, Jaejoong, Haneul,” Gunhee welcomed them, a strained smile on his face. He wasn’t too happy with Christopher, but he didn’t particularly feel like siccing his wife and best friend on him. He could tell Christopher was making you happy as far as you knew him for a few days, but Gunhee was worried that your soulmate could potentially be taking advantage of your trusting nature. Gunhee supposed that his wife and best friend would get to the bottom of everything. He hoped everything went well, or there would be a lot of hurt feelings involved. 

Jungkook had no reservations before launching himself at his wife. Everyone knew that you were more your father’s daughter than your mother’s. Both of you could be relatively childish when you wanted to be. Haneul sometimes lamented it, having wanted you to be more like her, but she had to admit, you and your father were so cute that she also didn’t want you two to change. But you inherited your grandfather’s tendency to attract people who were more than a little unhinged. “Haneul! He wants to take her as his wife—as soon as possible!” Jungkook said, clutching onto his wife like she was his lifeline. 

The three who walked in paused. Haneul’s expression went mulish. Jaejoong and Chaewon were suddenly smiling wider. Gunhee started sweating a bit more. You nearly screamed, hand reflexively trying to fly to your chest, but Christopher didn’t let you go. You ended up gripping his hand even tighter, nails digging in, as he rubbed his thumb over yours in hopes of calming you down. Jinchul quickly stood up and went to the corner of the room with his back pressed up against the wall. None of you liked it when Chaewon and Jaejoong decided that unmasking was the way to go. Well, unless it was being unleashed on someone not family that they didn’t like. You liked Christopher and would prefer for them not to do anything that would chase him off. Christopher was bewildered at everyone’s behavior, especially yours, as he knew you wanted to scream.

“I have to greet them,” you said to Christopher, who then reluctantly let go of your hand. “No matter what, please don’t take offense. This is the entirety of my family.” Christopher sent you a feeling of unhappiness, but your anxiety caused him to back down. You took a breath before standing up. You went up to your grandmother first, and in a flash, you were suddenly in her arms, being squeezed tightly. “Hi, Grandma,” you wheezed. She loosened her grip, but did not release you from her embrace. You reached out and held and squeezed your mother’s hand quickly before you released it and wrapped your arm securely around your grandmother again.

“So this is your soulmate.” Chaewon ignored your greeting to eye Christopher. She did move back a step, and you had no choice but to follow along. Jaejoong slightly moved in front of the two of you. Haneul moved to be beside the two of you while Jungkook went back to his seat. Your eye twitched at your father’s satisfied grin. For all his tendencies to give in to the scarier family members, your father had a predilection for instigating them onto unsuspecting victims—just like what happened with Jaejoong and Thomas Andre.

You felt an uncomfortable feeling arising in your chest again, and your gaze flashed to Christopher. Christopher did his best to rein in his negative emotions. Anger flared hot in his chest at seeing how your grandmother and family friend got between you and him. Christopher didn’t appreciate them trying to keep you from him. But he threw on a fake smile anyway and also stood up to greet them. “Christopher Reed. It’s nice to meet all of you.” Jaejoong stared at him, smiling, but his eyes were cold. If Christopher hadn’t been himself and so used to one of his strike team being exactly like that—although he had to admit, Jaejoong was a lot more intimidating than Sean Freeman—he would’ve turned tail and run. He suddenly understood your warnings and why Andre had a problem with them. National hunter he was, but Christopher knew an apex predator when he saw one. And it was a scary old man—of course. He had barely held back a flinch. He recognized similarities between him and your family friend, and even your grandmother, too. So that was what you meant by how scary they were. Yet, his gaze drifted to you; you were far too precious and valuable to him for him to back down. You were irreplaceable. If he didn’t fight for you now, there was no way you or your family would accept him in the end. He could hear you freaking out in the back of his mind due to how strongly your anxiety was that you couldn’t keep it quiet from him. 

Chaewon easily took over the conversation. “It’s nice to meet you, too. My name is Chaewon. This is Haneul, who is my daughter-in-law, and my best friend Jaejoong. So I hear you plan on marrying my granddaughter?” 

“Yes, ma’am. I’m here with the intent of getting to know my soulmate and to hopefully make her my wife as soon as possible,” Christopher said bluntly. He might as well be completely transparent. He figured that it’d be the best approach as he evaluated the entirety of your family. You were right. Your grandmother and family friend were definitely going to make things hard for him, and he didn’t like the look in their eyes. What the fuck was wrong with your family? He saw you shoot him a worried look, and so he sent another reassuring nudge at you. 

“You certainly are as arrogant as they say,” Chaewon continued, still smiling. Her smile was pleasant, but her tone of voice and words were anything but. “Handsome boy, but you need to mask better. If Jaejoong and I weren’t like you, I’d be sending you straight back to America without my granddaughter. But we can perhaps work with you on how to take care of her the way that she should be taken care of. We will have you learn because if you don’t, don’t expect to marry my granddaughter.” 

Gunhee leaned away from his wife—he hoped that ominous warning wouldn’t cause an international crisis if his beloved wife messed up one of America’s national hunters. Jaejoong had already messed with the other one, and Andre ended up cowering from how mercilessly Jaejoong went at him. 

Jungkook let out a wail, knowing that Christopher somehow captured his mother’s interest, and that now Christopher had a chance with you. 

Jinchul looked stunned. 

You were staring at your grandmother with wide eyes, mouth slightly ajar. That was easier than you thought it was going to be. You continued gawking at her. She let you go, and you returned to Christopher’s side.

Jaejoong was still staring at Christopher and not backing down. He was still saying nothing. But then his gaze suddenly shifted to your grandmother for a moment, who nodded. Jaejoong grimaced, but nodded back. Christopher, so far, wasn’t a threat to you or the family. 

“Mother, are you sure she’d be fine? As you said, he’s arrogant, and she’s, well, her!” Haneul cut in and gestured to you. You took no offense. Haneul wanted to have another breakdown. She also didn’t like that your grandmother essentially gave Christopher a chance to prove to them that he was good for you. Haneul had been hoping that they wouldn’t approve of your soulmate and just send him on his merry way back to America without a chance to be with you. She traded helpless looks with her husband. 

Christopher blinked, smile strained. He wasn’t expecting to be called out on any of that. While he was glad that he was being given a chance to prove himself, he knew it was going to be a challenge. Well, he did enjoy a good challenge. With you on the line, it was victory at all costs. He wasn’t going to lose you. “I’m serious about your granddaughter, so I’ll prove myself to all of you that I’ll take care of her and love her.” 

It was your time to blink at him before blushing. The rest of your family was skeptical, but since Chaewon was willing to give him a chance, everyone else would follow. 

Chaewon clapped her hands. “We have a room at the estate that you can stay in. Don’t make me and my family regret giving you a chance.” The rest of your family grumbled under their breath, but no one was willing to go against your grandmother. 

Christopher hesitated before he gave a short bow. “Thank you for the chance.”

“If you show that you’re unable to take care of our little one, we’ll send you straight back to America without her,” Jaejoong finally spoke—his tone acerbic. “Don’t even think of kidnapping her.” Christopher Reed wasn’t currently a threat, but Jaejoong would be watching him closely from this moment on.

“What do you mean kidnap her?” Jungkook, Haneul, Gunhee, and Jinchul shouted in unison. They were outraged at the thought. All four of them glared at Christopher with even more suspicion.

“You’d kidnap me?” you asked Christopher in your mind. You squinted at him in a bit of disbelief. If Jaejoong had said that, then it meant that he did believe that Christopher thought of it as an option, especially since your grandmother said that Christopher was like her and Jaejoong. That was rather scary, but your mind rationalized that you’d be protected and loved if Christopher took the soulmate business very seriously.

Christopher did his best not to let on that; indeed, he did think of that option. He didn’t want you scared of him. “It doesn’t matter. I’m going to prove myself to you and your family,” he replied, dodging the question. He reached down and held your hand again in front of your family. 

“Okay.” You gave him a look of doubt but let it go. You squeezed his hand, and you felt his relief shoot through you. If Christopher did think about it, he probably was rethinking that strategy after Jaejoong called him out about it. If your grandmother and Jaejoong were willing to give him a chance despite believing that he’d kidnap you, you didn’t think it was the biggest deal. As Christopher said, it didn’t matter anymore. 

“This was a productive meeting. We’ll see everyone at home. Come, Haneul,” Chaewon said. “It was nice meeting you, Mr. Christopher Reed. We shall see you at home as well.” Chaewon nodded her head as did Jaejoong before the two walked out. Jaejoong held the door open for Chaewon. “Haneul!” Chaewon called out.

Haneul glared at Christopher. “If you hurt my daughter, I’ll find a way to make you regret it.” With a huff, she followed her mother-in-law and Jaejoong out the door.

It was quiet for a moment—a clear pause in the air. You broke the silence. “I’ll just take Chris to my desk and do my work.” You stood up and led Christopher away without further ado, determined to get him away from your family for now. “Let’s go,” you said to him. Christopher gave the rest of your family a nod with a quick goodbye, then followed after you before the three men decided to stop both of you, closing the door behind the two of you. “I’m sorry about my family. They’re very overprotective, especially mom, grandma, and Jaejoong.”

“I can tell,” Christopher said dryly. You giggled a bit. Christopher brushed against your mind’s walls gently. He was rewarded with the warmth he craved so much from you. Christopher noted no one was around, and before you could do anything else, he brought you into the embrace he had been wanting to give you since he first realized what was happening. He pressed his lips against your hairline as you wrapped your arms around him. “I’ll live up to my promises to you,” he murmured.

You smiled against him, melting into him. “I believe you. Everything will be okay.” You pulled back before leaning up to chastely kiss his cheek. “Let’s go to my workstation.” You were smug as you saw the slightest hint of red on Christopher’s cheek. 

He pinched yours lightly, feeling your smugness. You giggled again. “Fine, let’s go.” You led him away, eager to show him more of your life.

———————————————————————————————————

End Note:

Reader grew up surrounded by three platonic yanderes (Jaejoong, Chaewon, and Jinchul) with two enablers (Gunhee and Jungkook). Haneul is normal, but overprotective as she’s been influenced by the Go family to watch over you like a hawk, especially after losing her family to monsters. She’s overprotective of you. Chaewon made sure to influence Haneul to teach her how to raise you according to her standards—Haneul and Chaewon are quite close as Chaewon enjoys having a daughter and granddaughter, so she made sure to be close with both. 

Then it happened. You slowly started to push back at him. You were curious about feelings that were not yours. You certainly didn’t have that big of an ego like whoever you were connected to. It was pure arrogance. It befuddled you that you would be with someone like that, but he must’ve been chosen for you for a reason, you rationalized. You had been shocked that you had a soulmate connection, as you heard most soulmates ended up together, straight or otherwise. So you were curious about your soulmate, especially one who radiated the kind of arrogance he had. He was truly confident in himself with no doubt about it. You knew he was smart and powerful, but that didn’t really help you figure out who it was. You figured he was an S-rank hunter from a different country. He certainly wasn’t from Korea.

Your emotions mixed with your soulmate sometimes. You became more confident, and you felt less fear and were more decisive during raids. It helped you a lot, which helped the hunters you were on a raid with. Your grandfather, Go Gunhee, and best friend and brother figure Woo Jinchul were surprised that you had a soulmate—along with the rest of the family. They were all surprised that it helped you become more assertive. Normally, you would let others do things for you or would focus on your healer career, but you started saying what you wanted and how you wanted things done more frequently. You had figured out that your soulmate was a hunter as you heard snippets of him, but you didn’t know who your soulmate was. There was also a deep sense of trauma emanating from him, but you tried not to focus on that. You figured that since he was a hunter, something must have happened to him that caused such a deep, traumatic feeling. That was normal since the gates opened.

It was after an exhausting A-rank gate in the evening at the park, where you had accompanied Choi Jongin and Cha Haein, that you heard a frantic voice asking if you were alright.

Christopher was distressed as he had felt your mana being depleted to dangerously low levels. He kept asking in his mind if you were alright. He didn’t care if you didn’t hear him. He was too busy worrying. Memories of Kamish kept appearing in his mind’s eyes—he feared that something like that could have happened to you. Remembering that day still made him sick to his stomach—it was the catalyst for him to no longer enjoy going on raids, even though he yearned to fight another strong opponent. He raided to keep his lifestyle at this point. At least he could still feel you, so there was hope that you didn’t die. He kept trying to figure out how he could find you. Christopher hated that he wasn’t there to help you with the raids you go on. Not long ago, he felt utter fear and helplessness from you, and he remembered obsessively thinking that he really needed to find out who you were. He wanted to take you home to him, where you belonged—you belonged to him. He wasn’t going to let you go. If he had to, he would kidnap you. He needed to keep you safe. It wasn’t like anyone could stop him, as he was a special authority national hunter. Andre had done worse, and nothing was done about it. 

“I’m alright,” you replied to the man in your mind trying to soothe him. You were tired. You wanted to go get food, then go home. Yet, finally being able to hear your soulmate’s voice—it was worth it. Jinchul was going to pick you up, and you were waiting for him to come get you. You still smiled and projected warmth to him, briefly closing your eyes. You then moved to a nearby bench after you took a deep breath and opened your eyes. 

“You can hear me?” Christopher stopped his pacing abruptly, catching the football that he had been tossing up and down anxiously. He couldn’t help the thrill that rushed through him now that he could communicate with you, and that you reassured him. He felt warm, and he knew it was you. He projected protectiveness in return. You frightened him during this past raid of yours, well, any raid you went on, he admitted to himself, and so he needed to reassure himself of your safety. He had been paranoid since the horror that was the Kamish dungeon break, and now it was all directed towards you. He was honed in on you. He wouldn’t allow you to die like the many hunters he or others could not save. 

“Yup. I could feel your emotions at first and sometimes hear you, but now I can finally talk to you,” you replied. You were smiling widely. You could finally hear him, and both of you could communicate! You liked the protective feeling. If he were as powerful as you thought he was, he would surely be able to protect you during raids if he were willing. You two were communicating in your minds, and you figured that would be helpful to keep track of one another. You found it weird, but it was working. 

No one understood how the soul bond could bypass languages. The bond didn't teach the soulmates the other’s language. It did allow them to hear the language in their native language, specifically when the soulmate was speaking, but if one soulmate was thinking deeply over what was being said to them in their language, it automatically translated for the other soulmate to understand. 

“Do you have time to talk to me?” Christopher barely managed to remember his manners. He was eager to talk to you. You were a puzzle that he would figure out and keep.

“Uhm…I’m waiting for my best friend to get here, so I have some time. He and I work together, and he stays over all the time. We were planning on getting dinner, then he’d drop me off at home. Or he'd just come home to eat dinner with my family and I like normal,” you said, only to place a hand on your chest. It hurt all of a sudden. “Are you okay? What was that?” You knew that it was coming from him as he reacted to what you said.

Christopher couldn't help the hot white rage that consumed him in that moment. He hated the thought of another man being by your side, especially when it sounded like you were about to go on a date. He should be there for you instead. He had the means to take care of you. Money was not an issue, and he did have a lot of time for you. “You’re dating someone?” he asked, voice flat, mind whirling on how to convince you to leave whoever it was. You could be dating your best friend. That wasn’t unheard of.

You couldn’t help yourself. You laughed loudly. You felt his offense before he said anything. You hurried to answer him, giggles breaking out in between words. “We’re just friends, practically siblings. My grandpa, grandma, and their best friend essentially adopted him years ago, so he’s my brother. I call him my brother for the most part. The rest of my family welcomed him, too. He doesn’t have any close family members here in Seoul, so we took him in. He’s supportive of me dating someone as we’re platonic friends, but I just haven’t found someone that I wanted to date,” you said before continuing, “so don’t worry. Now there’s you.” You were direct in putting your soulmate as an option to date. You tried to channel some cheerfulness to calm him down, which seemed to work. He seemed to like that you were willing to date him. “By the way, who are you?”

Christopher paused for a moment before saying, “Christopher Reed.” You introduced yourself in return with no fanfare, and Christopher didn’t know how to react. Surely, you had heard about him before. He wanted the fanfare. He wanted you to recognize him and realize that, due to his position, he could easily take care of you. So he needed to remedy the fact that you didn’t seem to know who he was. “I’m the special authority national hunter Christopher Reed,” Christopher added. That got a reaction.

You nearly fell off the bench in shock. You could tell he wasn’t lying or believed he wasn’t lying. You were inclined to believe he wasn’t lying, but you’d only know once you met him. You hoped he was willing to come see you. Also, that would actually explain the ego and arrogance, but what the fuck? “Wha—?” You could barely think. Your mind went blank. You deadpanned when you felt his satisfaction that he got a reaction out of you. You gave him a hmph.

Christopher was pleased. You were adorable. But he had a couple of questions now that you two could talk to each other and exchange names. “Where are you and what kind of hunter are you? I’ll come see you.”

“I’m in Korea. My grandfather is Go Gunhee, who is the CEO and chairman of our Hunters’ Association,” you answered. “When do you think you’ll be able to visit?” You didn’t even hesitate to give up answers. You were curious if he really was Christopher Reed. 

“Give me a few days. I’ll let you know as soon as I can.” Christopher needed to go on a quick raid later that day, but once he wrapped it up, he would head straight to Korea. Despite not wanting to leave his mansion, if he wanted to keep up with the lifestyle he wanted, he still had to raid. At least his strike team was personally handpicked, despite how irritating they could be—he could trust them with his life. He’d never tell them, though. They were annoying enough as it was. “I have a raid, but I’ll book my flight for Saturday.” It was Thursday. There should be enough time on Saturday to come back and pick up the bags that he could pack now, then head straight to the airport. It shouldn’t take long to do the raid—he figured he could finish it at most within two days, considering the usual strike team he had who would help him fight, and a mining team to mine crystals and a healer in case of emergencies, should things go wrong. He rarely raided, but now and then, he did as America needed more than the Scavenger guild to take on the high-level gates. Christopher hoped it would only take a day to conquer the gate. He could also always change his flight if he finished the raid earlier than expected. “If I can make it earlier, I will,” he said. 

“Okay,” you said simply. You trusted that he would come to see you. “I’ll let my grandpa and Jaejoong know to expect you then. They, my grandma, my parents, and my brother, would like to meet you, too.” Your family was curious as to who your soulmate was. It would also be better for your father and grandfather to know that he was coming after Thomas Andre essentially snuck into the country to talk with your grandfather about Hwang Dongsoo. That was an interesting meeting. You were pretty sure Thomas was scarred for life from meeting Jaejoong, who had been delivering food to you, your grandfather, your father, and Jinchul at the time. He did seem to like you, so you and Jaejoong teamed up on him. Good cop, bad cop—it worked to get him out of your homeland. So, if your soulmate really was Christopher Reed, and he wanted to stay for a bit rather than only a few hours, then showing up in Korea was going to attract attention—one your grandfather and father might not like, but at least they would be prepared to deal with it, unlike with Thomas, since they’d have a heads up.

Christopher raised a brow. “Jaejoong? Jinchul? And do they need to know?” he asked. Were you that close to your family? 

“Mhmm…Jinchul is my best friend, aka brother, who’s coming to get me right now. As I said, he’s part of the family,” you reassured him, feeling that discomfort in your chest again. It was slowly fading until it came roaring back. “Also, Thomas Andre came to Korea not too long ago about his guildmate. He had the misfortune of meeting Jaejoong, who is my family’s caretaker, especially for my grandma, mom, and me.” You snickered despite the sudden rage that sprang up from him again once you mentioned Thomas. “Jaejoong is my grandparents’ best friend and the scariest person alive besides my grandma. Thomas’s attitude did a 180 after Jaejoong stared him down. We handled him.”

Despite his misgivings about Andre, Christopher was skeptical that the other man would be scared of an old man. Andre was brash and way too confident for his own good. He didn’t like the thought that you were even close to the man, even if it had been a while back. You were his soulmate, not that idiot.

You shook your head, pitying him, feeling his skepticism. “You’ll learn,” you said rather ominously. You felt Christopher’s continual skepticism, but you warned him. It wasn’t like you lied to him about how scary Jaejoong was, and so your soulmate would learn, and it wasn’t going to be pretty. You suddenly perked up, seeing Jinchul’s car pull up. “I’ll talk to you later. I’m hungry, and I want dinner. I'll let you know when I can take my time to talk to you again if you’re available. Probably around bedtime for me.” You got up from the bench and headed to the car. You were ready to try to close your side of the bond for a little while, instinctively knowing how to make the bond more muted, not wanting to bother him.

“Leave the bond open,” Christopher quickly said. Like hell would he go without feeling you ever again. It frightened him, and he hated that feeling. It led to helplessness, and that was unacceptable as someone who claimed to be a god of victory.

“I don’t want to bother you,” you said to him, almost to the car. “You have a raid to go to today.”

“You won’t be bothering me,” he said stubbornly. “So keep the bond open.”

“Okay, I’ll keep it open. But if there’s something that someone tells me just meant for me, I’m going to try to close the bond for a little while,” you said. You felt resistance to the idea, but you weren’t going to back down on that, so you shut his opposition down now. You finally felt his acceptance at that. While you personally didn’t mind him being in your mind—he was your soulmate that was going to be with you from now on, you didn’t think everyone would be okay with him listening in. “I’m going to tell Jinchul that we can talk now.”

You finally reached the car, opened the door, and hopped in. “Hi, Jinchul! I’m hungry.” You went straight to the point. You were seriously hungry after the raid. 

“Figured. We’re heading to your tteokbokki place, pick up, then head home to eat with everyone. We're not eating out tonight. Grandma insisted we should get it for dinner as a side,” he said, pulling out of the parking space. “Jaejoong is almost finished with dinner.” Your grandmother scared Jinchul into utilizing familiar language, and that he should be calling them using family terminology. Jinchul didn’t want to go against them, especially with your grandmother and Jaejoong smiling at him, so he started calling them (and you) his family and addressed everyone as such. 

“Mhmm…by the way, Jinchul, I can finally talk to my soulmate,” you said. 

“Who is he?” Jinchul didn’t waste time asking. Everyone had been curious about it once you mentioned it, and Jinchul was extremely interested to know who was tied to his best friend slash sister. He needed to know how he was going to deal with whoever it was. 

“He said he’s Christopher Reed, and he’s coming to Korea at the end of the week. He’s also listening in,” you replied. Your hand shot up to hold the handle above the door when Jinchul suddenly braked hard on the brake pedal, having sent both of you flying forward a bit. Luckily, no one was behind you or trying to get into the parking lot. “Hey!”

“Excuse me?” Jinchul asked, not sure if he heard you right. The two of you were at a complete stop in the middle of the parking lot.

“I said what I said,” you sassed. Jinchul’s hand darted out and pulled at your ear, making you yelp. “I’m sorry,” you immediately apologized, a pout forming on your lips. You knew Christopher didn’t like that, but you pushed against him, showing your displeasure towards him rather than what happened with Jinchul. Christopher backed down.

“Stop sassing me. And ask him what time he’s going to come in, and we’ll send someone to pick him up. It’ll probably be me if he is who he says he is.” Jinchul sighed. He didn’t expect that your soulmate could possibly be a national hunter. That was the last thing he would’ve thought about who your soulmate would be if he were honest. None of the Korean S-rank hunters were on his level except hunter Sung Jinwoo. He hated your tendency to get into troublesome situations, and this was troublesome to him. At least it wasn’t Thomas Andre. He grimaced, remembering the older hunter. Jinchul also knew that Reed, in particular, had mixed responses from people. Reed liked luxury and basked in attention when he was actually outside; otherwise, he’d lock himself away so no one would bother him. He was also incredibly arrogant from the interviews Jinchul watched. Jinchul could feel a headache coming on. He began to drive again.

“You heard that, right?” you asked Christopher.

“I did. I’ll look at flights and tell you while you get dinner.” Christopher settled at his computer and started looking up flights. The sooner he did things, the sooner he’d get to be by your side. He didn’t like that your best friend pinched your ear, but you weren’t distressed—more pouting than anything—so he didn’t say anything after you pushed back against him at his displeasure. He needed to wait and see what your relationships were like with other people, especially with those of your family. If he was immediately controlling—soulmates or not—it could scare you away, and that was the last thing he wanted. Still, kidnapping you was on the table. He knew his strike team would help him do it, too.

You and Jinchul were almost home after picking up tteokbokki. The two of you spent the time in relative silence. Jinchul was musing over what you had told him while you started talking to Christopher as he was telling you his flight details. 

“I’m almost home. You should prepare for your raid later and your bags to come here,” you said to Christopher in your mind. Jinchul just pulled onto your street. Your family, which included your grandparents, parents, Jaejoong, and Jinchul, had dinner every night if possible. Your grandmother and Jaejoong made sure of it. The two of them could terrorize the whole family if they wanted to. You didn’t want to face that tonight, but you had the feeling that you were going to have to suffer through an interrogation from everyone, especially since you knew they’d freak out harder if you didn’t tell them—you already knew your mother was going to freak out. She didn’t take it well that you had a soulmate since your privacy was gone if you didn’t figure out a way to block the other person. Most didn’t even want that privacy, preferring to feel their soulmate at the very least. That definitely did not reassure her. You sighed and saw Jinchul quickly side-eye you. You sighed again. 

“I’ll start getting things ready, but you need to keep the bond open.” Christopher insisted, not liking the sudden sullen feeling. He would keep repeating himself if it would get you to listen to him. “Tell them whatever about our soulmate bond, but keep it open,” he said. He was not going to be without you for a moment—not even during raids. He was confident that he could easily do both simultaneously. He wasn’t worried about that. Christopher had always been laser-focused on keeping tabs on you since he first understood what was happening, especially now that the two of you could communicate, so it wouldn’t be any different. His acceptance of the situation led to him becoming obsessed with you and possessive enough to keep planning on how to make the situation more favorable for him to have you. You wouldn’t know that he was planning on slowly manipulating you if he could help it.

You made an affirmative sound for Christopher as you got out of Jinchul’s car. The two of you entered your home. The Go family had a sprawling estate in Gangnam. Your grandfather and father ran a successful business prior to the gates opening. Your grandfather was an S-rank fighter along with your father. Your mother was a B-rank mage. Your grandmother never awakened. No one knew what type of hunter Jaejoong was—no one bothered asking once Jaejoong started smiling. Although if you had to guess, it’d be a tank with fighting capabilities. Jaejoong had chosen not to be a hunter, so your grandfather kept Jaejoong’s awakening under wraps. Only your grandmother, other than your grandfather, probably knew what kind of hunter Jaejoong was. But if your grandmother knew, she hadn’t said anything. 

Your family was now even wealthier than before, especially as your father and grandfather ran the Hunter’s Association together while both being S-rank hunters. They were Korea’s last defense, which was why they didn’t participate in the Jeju raids. Your father occasionally raided if other S-rank hunters were unavailable, but with Sung Jinwoo having joined the S-ranks, Korea was having an easier time dealing with raids. If the ants had gotten to the mainland, then it was better that your grandfather and father were ready to intercept them before many Koreans began dying. Luckily, the fourth Jeju raid was successful, even if your friend Min died in the process. 

You and Jinchul were beneath your grandfather and father as chief inspectors. The two of you shared the position, as you often had to go into the field as a healer, so Jinchul was made into one to fill in the gap because of your raiding. Both you and Jinchul eventually established a sibling bond fairly early in your partnership, and your family essentially adopted him, as he didn’t have any immediate family in the area, and you wanted to invite him to all the family functions. Jaejoong took Jinchul under his wing, and it was decided that that was how things were going to go. Your mother and grandmother stayed home—your mother helping your grandmother as she was getting older, her health not as good as it once was. Meanwhile, Jaejoong took care of everything else. Your grandmother and Jaejoong also enjoyed gardening together, sometimes even dragging you into learning how to garden, which gave your mother time for herself or so she could spend time with your father.

Everyone’s jobs allowed all of you to live at the Go estate without needing to worry about money. You didn’t need to raid at all, and even any children you had would be able to spend frivolously. They wouldn't run out of money, as the only child of your parents and your paternal grandparents’ only grandchild, you were going to inherit everything. Although you figured Jinchul was set to inherit something as well. You all had more than enough money and contributed enough to easily help pay taxes and utilities, with all of you still having a significant amount of money left over. The estate was already paid off.

“Lovey, Jinchul, welcome home,” your mother Haneul, greeted as soon as the two of you walked into the dining area. The rest of your family greeted you two. You gave your mother a hug and kiss, along with your grandmother, before sitting down between your mother and Jinchul.

“How was the raid?” your father Jungkook asked. He and Haneul were always worried about you. Healers often found themselves traumatized, especially after being unable to help their fellow hunters and the civilian population. Jungkook didn’t want you raiding and wished you would stick to the administrative duties like Jinchul, but he knew you wouldn’t give up being a hunter unless you needed to. You wanted to help people like the men in the family did, and so you kept going on raids even after you suffered mentally, especially after Eunseok and Min Byung-Gyu died.

“It went well! Since both Choi and Cha went on this raid, it was easier to heal others without worrying much about monsters, though I did do my best to still pay attention to where the monsters were. Most importantly, no one died, and there were minimal injuries thanks to my healing.” You did your best to reassure your family. You could see the worry on their faces—it had been an A-rank gate. You also weren’t fully recovered from the fourth Jeju raid. You were forced to raid with only other S-rank hunters in case they needed to help you, as you had frozen a few times during the raid due to some trauma from the Jeju raids. While Korea and Japan celebrated the completion of the raid, the cost of so many S-rank hunters weakened both countries. You paused for a moment before hesitantly saying, “I was able to speak to my soulmate today.” That got everyone’s attention except Jinchul, whom you already told. Everyone turned to you expectantly. 

“So who is he?” your grandmother, Chaewon, asked the question that had haunted your family since you began showing signs of having a soulmate. She, along with everyone else, was worried about you. Having a soulmate for hunters didn't guarantee that things would immediately go well, and they didn’t want you to get hurt. They knew you had romanticized the idea of a soulmate once you began showing signs of it, and that made them all anxious even more at the idea that it wouldn’t go well for you. Chaewon would get Jaejoong to put the fear of God into whoever it was. If he could scare Thomas Andre, she firmly believed her best friend could scare whoever your soulmate was. If not, they could work together to force your soulmate to do what they wanted.

“He says he’s Christopher Reed, and that he will be in Korea by the end of the week on Saturday,” you said quickly, closing your eyes so you didn’t have to see everyone’s reactions. Christopher mentally brushed against you, comforting you. He could feel your anxiety spiking. The silence was deafening. You brushed back, trying to reassure him. It was like being wrapped in a mental hug.

“What do you mean, Christopher Reed?” your mother asked slowly after what seemed like a lifetime of silence. Even Jaejoong had paused bringing out the food as they all stared at you. 

“I mean that my soulmate says he’s the special authority national hunter Christopher Reed, and he’s coming on Saturday or I guess Sunday for us. So we’ll definitely have confirmation then. We all knew my soulmate was a hunter,” you hurriedly explained.

“If he’s your soulmate, you’d have to move to America,” Jungkook said as realization dawned on all of them at that fact. Alarm blared on everyone’s expression. You were the baby of the family—your parents' only child, your paternal grandparents' only granddaughter with Jinchul as their only grandson. Your mother’s side of the family passed years ago, shortly after the gates were opened. None of your family was ready to let you go.

“Absolutely not. She’s not going anywhere she doesn’t want to,” Haneul hissed out. Her baby wasn’t just going to be handed to a hunter and taken to a foreign country, not even when the hunter in question was Christopher Reed.

“Mama, we did live in America for a while, so it’s not like I don’t have any experience living there,” you said. Your maternal grandmother, your aunt, and your cousins had lived in America, and for a while, you and your parents lived there to help take care of your grandmother. You didn’t particularly mind living in America, but you worried about leaving your family behind. You could even try reconnecting with a couple of friends you made a long time ago. You felt trapped between a rock and a hard place with how much you wanted to make it work with Christopher and how much your family didn’t want to make it work, so they wouldn't lose you.

Christopher nudged you at that, having felt your hesitation and worry. Christopher would just help you become alright with the situation. He was Christopher Reed. He would find a way—mark his words. While he couldn’t understand your family himself, you were unconsciously helping to translate most of the words for him as the words churned in your mind. He was only getting your side of the story, which was fine. At least there was that, and you unconsciously translating for him was extremely convenient for him. He didn’t particularly like what he was hearing, but it made sense. He did like that your family was protecting you. It meant that you were safer once you weren't raiding and that you would be amenable to being protected. He could protect you. He would protect you.

“We’re meeting him first, then things will be decided. But it’s irresponsible to live with someone in a foreign country just because they’re your soulmate, especially since you just started talking to him. Take your time to get to know him,” Chaewon said gently. She could see the resistance on your face. It was clear you were uncomfortable with everything and that you didn’t quite know what you wanted—your soulmate or your family. “Darling, we’re just thinking of you and want the best for you. Neither of you is going anywhere, and you’re able to talk to each other long-distance even without a phone or language barrier. So take your time. Please. For us?”

“Okay. I’ll take my time,” you said to your family. You could feel Christopher’s frustration for a brief moment before you felt him settle back down grudgingly once you said to him, “We have a lot of time to figure this out. I’m very close with my family, and I’d like it if you all got along.” With that, your family proceeded to eat dinner as Jaejoong finished bringing out the food. 

“Fine.” Christopher reluctantly agreed. He wanted you in his mansion, where he believed it was safest for you. He didn’t want you to raid, especially now that he was able to talk to you. Now knowing that you were a healer, his paranoia was spiraling. He felt you nudge at him, having felt the spike in paranoia. He forced himself to calm down and sent reassurance through the bond. Christopher needed to be careful about accidentally projecting too much. It wouldn’t do to have you realize how unhinged he actually was. Christopher realized long ago that the Kamish raid caused something in him to twist and break. Now the remnants of it remain—it showed in his constant paranoia.

You were worried about Christopher, but you let it go. You were only able to talk to him today, so there was a lot for you to learn about each other. “It’ll be okay. I want to get to know you for sure. We don’t need to rush,” you said to him. You felt him calm down. “I’m going to eat dinner now. You really should focus on what you need to do for your raid!”

“Alright. I’ll stay in the back of your mind,” Christopher replied. He quieted down and got ready. The sooner he finished his responsibilities, the sooner he could get to you. His mind raced with possibilities on how to do so. He had to be content with that. “Talk with me later after you’re finished with dinner?”

“Be careful! And yes, I’ll talk with you later. Promise!” you said to him, sending a mental beaming smile at him, before going back to eating dinner with your family. Even though he was a national hunter, you still worried anyway. He was your soulmate, and you wanted him to be safe. Christopher sent you more reassurance when he felt your desire for his safety, and you smiled more. You knew he’d find a way to you, and you hoped everything went well once you saw him in person and after. 

———————————————————————————————————

A/N:

I wanted to explore the concept of soulmates without the omegaverse. I wrote about how Christopher and Reader could feel each other’s emotions in You’re Mine, but now I’ve added the ability to telepathically talk to each other no matter the distance. Also, more things came out about Christopher Reed through Solo Leveling: Arise, so I tried to incorporate some of that in this fic. It’s still tied to my You’re Mine series because apparently, I just can’t give it up. So, here’s another AU of it! I’m using some details I got about Christopher, so some things will be different than You’re Mine. I just want more Christopher Reed/Reader or Christopher Reed/OFC, so I keep writing it within my series world. That means you're also going to see familiar original characters, too!

The Reader in this story has a background as part of the Go family, which means she is Korean. You can still imagine her however you want, but there’s some original character vibes to the characters, especially since this is a mini-series and I rather she has some kind of personality if only because of how she was shaped by the yanderes and other family and friends that she’s surrounded by.

The telepathic conversation isn't in italics. I thought about it but decided not to. However, if it is too hard to follow, I'm willing to do the italics. Let me know!

Reader is fine with yanderes because she doesn't know any better. She's surrounded by several (Chaewon, Jaejoong, and Jinchul) while being soulmates with one (Christopher Reed), so it's shaped her viewpoint of the world. They taught her to be trusting so they could easily manipulate her because of their deep desire to protect her.