#cpcthy

Muse Talk; accepting

Originally the Nephilim debated on what to do once he got Briggs back to her apartment she was renting while here for her translator project. He was trying to recall if there was a safe rune to draw to shield her place from danger, but gave up when he remembered she was a Mundane and only happened to see Tophe’s true face by sheer chance. It caught him off guard when she invited him up, but she clarified that it was not for any dirty intentions. 

She offered him something to eat and drink and asked if he would mind staying over. She offered up a couch that converted to a bed, before retiring to her room. He tried to sleep, but since he realized he didn’t have a solve to keep the half demon out, he moved from the sofa bed and dragged a chair into her room. 

“Was the bed too hard?” she asked him when she heard the chair. 

“No I um, got antsy,” he confessed. “Look, I don’t know how to explain that guy, but I swear I wasn’t trying to upset or mess with you. I couldn’t shake this feeling that something wasn’t right about him. I think we’re safe, I mean, he doesn’t know where you live, right?”

“No,” she sighed. She pointed to the closet and mumbled there was a spare futon on the top shelf and a pillow, plus blanket. “If you wanna go that route instead. Look, I know I’m being stupid, but it’s nice to not be here alone. It’s hard to get that image of what I saw out of my face.”

“Ugh no!” 

Drea looked up from wiping down a table and nodded at her co-worker Jae who was coming in to start his shift. The young man had been fixing the knot in his apron when he paused at the entrance to the back room and made a face. 

Jae pointed to the smart device playing the same song he heard on the radio on his commute over. In the past few days, he swore he heard this song twenty times and he was already sick of it. He didn’t know the group who sang it – probably some new K-band that was trying to make it big in the sea of idol groups. 

Drea snorted and she picked up the cleaning rag and solution to work on the next table. She watched as Jae walked to the smart device and leaned down, poised to order a different band or style of music. 

“I wouldn’t do that,” she warned. She pointed to the back room and explained that Hiro was given permission to set the smart device today. “Apparently his boyfriend helped on that song playing now. Don’t worry, it’s a playlist like on Spotify. It will play other songs.”

“Hyung I’m serious!” Hiro added from the back. “I’m trying to help with streaming and thought the mood was perfect for the cafe.”

Drea laughed as Jae opened and closed his mouth, before straightening up and grumbling under his breath. She picked up the cleaning items and carried them to the counter. 

“Hey Puppy’s got a point,” she said. “Mellow music is more welcoming to a cafe environment. Not everyone can stomach a headbanger like you.”

“Ummmm Seb right?”

He turned around to see one of his female classmates lingering a few steps behind him, a light flush of color dusting her cheeks. 

Seb nodded as he turned to face the girl acknowledging her as the girl who did well on their midterm, resulting in it being curved slightly. This comment seemed to perk her up and she nervously moved her hands from behind her back to reveal a small box wrapped with ribbon. 

“I think you seem really cool,” she managed to get out. “So, I was hoping maybe–”

“FOUND HIM!” a loud voice yelled near his ear as someone grabbed him from behind. Seb blinked and struggled against the person who was back-hugging him, trying to see who it was. 

As he tried to get a better look, he spotted Hayley approaching with Carter in tow, the pair shaking their heads. 

“I said find him, not jump scare him, Genius,” Hayley addressed the young man hugging Seb from behind. She shot the young man an apologetic smile and Carter flashed his wide smile.

The classmate stared at Hayley and Carter, then back at Seb. “Oh I’m sorry! Are these guys your friends?”

“Seb’s his boyfriend!” the boy hugging the Brit declared. He pointed to Carter and Seb nodded quietly at his classmate. 

“Um, sorry what were you trying to say before this happened?” Seb asked her. 

She straightened up and reassured him it was nothing big. “Only that you seem like a nice guy and I’d love to study with you for the final, if that’s cool.” She quickly excused herself and shoved her box in her bag as she left. 

“Sorry for the theatrics – Carter and I were in the area and thought we’d stop and say hi,” Hayley explained. “We got stuck with Genius too because he’s been cooped up for too long. Are you late to class? Do you want to do dinner?”

“By dinner, I mean just us,” Carter clarified as he gestured between himself and Seb. “Hayley said she wants one type of food and I want something else.”

Seb checked his watch and saw it was close to dinner. He already used his weekly allowance of campus credit for the meals in the canteen, so this was perfect. 

“I’d like that. Better than Cup of Noodles,” he said. “I used my meal plan up for the week.”

Carter offered his hand shyly and Seb took the hint, intertwining his long fingers with the witch’s.

“That’s a wrap! Thank you so much everyone!” the director called out. The crew applauded and Briggs watched as everyone began congratulating Tophe on completing the last take on the commercial. Once the editors were finished polishing the footage, it would start broadcasting on TV in two days. A press conference for the launch of the translator would be held next week for the official sales and roll-out period to stores and companies. 

The young woman was grateful for the experience, but she was already counting down the days to return home to the States to see her family. It had been almost a year since she departed after graduation, following the company who promised to turn her idea into a reality. Sure she was going to walk out of this with more money than a young twenty something could dream of, but she missed the food from home, she missed her bed, and she wanted to go back to a place where people ignored her and her blue eyes. 

An assistant collected the prototype translator and handed it to her for safekeeping. Briggs thanked the assistant, before placing the translator into a briefcase and locking it. She shook hands with the director and thanked him, then prepared herself to head out for the last time to the company building. 

“Bridgette! Wait, are you leaving already?” Tophe called after her. 

Briggs paused and lingered at the door, jabbing her thumb at it. “I need to run – they want everything returned right away and I need to talk to them about my work visa.”

“You should have plenty of time left on it,” Tophe said as he raised a brow in confusion. “Do you need another extension? I’m sorry, I don’t know how long you worked on this while you were here, but I thought you were new to Korea.”

“I am and I have the time, it’s just...I want to go home,” Briggs sighed. She started to open the door, not looking behind her. “It’s a long story that you don’t need to hear and –”

“OW!”

Briggs jumped and retracted her hand from the door. Through the crack between the closing door and the doorway, Briggs saw someone holding their head in one hand. She slowly opened the door again and looked out, blue eyes going wide when she saw who it was. 

“Oh my god...are you okay? Hang on, I’ll get you some ice,” she babbled. She closed the door and slipped past Tophe, trying to find the craft services table. She spotted a cooler under the table with drinks in it and yanked open the lid. 

                                                                ********************

“How many fingers am I holding up?”

“Two.”

“Okay good!” Briggs sighed as she sat back on her heels. She held a napkin balled up with ice cubes against the Nephlim’s head, scanning his face for any signs that he might need medical help. 

“This time I’m buying you a meal because I’m an idiot and shouldn’t open doors without looking,” she insisted. 

Jonah pried an eye open and he pouted, reaching out to touch the hand holding the ice against his head. “Baby girl, I’m fine really. I can’t have you do that – I should be treating you.”

“Why?”

“Valentine’s Day?”

Briggs snorted as she changed hands holding the ice. “That’s not a good reason to buy me dinner when I injured you. Look, I know you’re being a gentleman, but can’t I do this one time?”

Jonah sighed and relented, saying that he’d let the young woman buy dinner this time. Briggs extended her free hand to help him up and he took it, slowly pushing himself up to stand. Once he was steady, Briggs let go of his hands and tossed the ice into the trash can. 

“One condition,” Jonah prompted as he watched her walk back towards him. 

“Yeah?”

He flashed her a sheepish smile and held out a hand. “Hold my hand the whole time?”

A rare day where he had no classes and no shift scheduled at the cafe. Hiro decided it was high time he catch up on sleep, which was well-earned after working a long shift yesterday for Bo-ram. His boss told him to take it easy and rest, especially with the horde of people requesting the special for Valentine’s Day: buy 1 Strawberry flavored drink and get the 2nd one half off. He lost track of how many foam hearts and romantic designs he put in drinks, but it was a lot. 

He snuggled into his bed, sighing when he knew it was Jin-less, due to his boyfriend living in a dorm with his bandmates after being signed to an agency. In addition, it was rare the pair saw each other, due to the rules and the fact that the group was considered fairly new on the scene. All of this Hiro understood and he reassured Jin that he didn’t mind his boyfriend chasing after his dream, even if it meant sacrificing frequent time in public or really, at all, with him. 

Unfortunately his plans of sleeping past 8 AM were ruined when his phone went off from another room. He huffed and put the pillow over his head, hoping it would stop soon. A minute passed, then his phone started ringing again. 

Hiro frowned as he plodded into the kitchen to see who was calling. He unplugged his phone from his charger and swiped his finger across the screen. 

“Annyeonghaseyo,” he mumbled. 

“Hiro-ssi, you didn’t tell anyone did you?” the band’s manager asked in a hushed voice. 

“No I haven’t!” Hiro said as he stood up a little straighter. “Why is something wrong?”

The manager sighed as he rumpled his hair and glanced in the direction of the stage where the band was currently filming an interview for Weekly Idol. He moved away to the waiting room and sank into the couch, eyes glued to the screen showing the group on stage, speaking to the MCs. 

“Someone claimed on the fancafe that they knew one of the members was secretly dating someone prior to debut and threatened to expose who it was,” the manager explained in a low voice. “The members sensed it was aimed at Jinhyun and the moderators tried to take it down before anyone else saw it. Before the group arrived at Weekly Idol for their appearance, Jin sent out a tweet on the group account that it was true he was dating someone and asked everyone to forgive him. He said he’s been with this person for a long time and cares deeply about them. Your name wasn’t mentioned, but I thought I should warn you–”

“Wait!” Hiro blurted out, before realizing he interrupted the manager. “I’m sorry! You’re saying Jin came out about being in a relationship?!”

“The company is going to have my hide and maybe Jin’s too,” the manager replied as he messed up his hair. “They already knew about you, but I think they never anticipated that someone making an empty threat on the fancafe would push him to say something.”

“Manager-nim, who are you talking to?” a familiar deep voice asked in the background. 

Hiro changed the phone to his other ear and heard the pair speaking in rapidfire Korean, with some interjections from the rest of the band. Then he heard the manager address him again, saying that Jin wanted to speak to him. 

“Puppy I’m sorry,” Jin apologized as he took the phone. “I didn’t come out because of the fancafe post – I did it because I’m tired of lying to the fans. I told everyone that I’ve known you before I became famous and you’ve been my rock. They don’t know your name yet, but I thought it was time to tell the truth.”

Hiro swallowed hard and he pressed the phone to his ear. “Bbb-but JinJin, this could be bad publicity for you, for the band! You know people are going to be upset!”

“I talked to everyone in the group and they said they understood why I did it. They know how much I care about you and they know that I want to be with you until the end,” Jin insisted.

One of the other bandmates chimed in, “Yeah, I mean, I told our fans that before debut, you were like the band mom, cooking us food, bringing drinks. You are as much as a part of this band as we are.”

Hiro sniffled, trying to hold back his tears. It was overwhelming – secretly he wished he could share that he loved this boy before he ever became famous, but he also wanted Jin to go far and prove his mother wrong. He had been prepared to be in the background, even if Jin had to fake date another idol for a stunt. But this...

“If you made Mom cry, you owe him dinner!” another bandmate yelled. 

“Shut up! Puppy it’s going to be okay, I promise. Make sure to eat, get enough sleep, and take it slow. I’ll keep you updated.”

The pair both touched the check after it was placed on the table, fingers a few centimeters away from one another. Jonah swallowed his nerves and allowed a light smile to cross his lips as he tried to nudge the check closer in his direction. 

“Deal’s a deal, babygirl,” he reminded the young woman seated across from him. He scanned her face for her reaction and watched as her hand slowly moved off the check tray. Apparently the accidental nickname he gave her a few run-ins ago had a bit of an effect on the American and it worked in times like this. 

Briggs sighed as she settled back against the worn leather of the booth they were sitting in. She crossed her arms over her chest and thanked him with a tired smile. She turned her head to yawn, an apology accompanying it shortly. 

Jonah placed some Won notes on top of the receipt and pushed the tray to the edge of their table. When the waiter came by, he asked if they needed change, to which the Nephilim shook his head no. The former bowed and thanked them before leaving to enter the total into the register. Once the waiter was gone, Jonah straightened up in his seat and focused on Briggs.

“Listen, it’s not just a coincidence that we keep running into each other,” he began. “I mean, the first two times were, but the rest I might have purposely planned? Well, I don’t think planned is the best word for this, but it will do for now. Um...how well do you know that guy who’s acting in your campaign?”

The sudden mention of Tophe made Briggs sit up straighter and face her companion straight on. The conversation had taken a turn and she thought the mysterious guy in bad boy attire was finally going to confess that he was hanging out with her for a stupid dare or something. But the shift in topic?

Oh it’s probably the jealousy thing again, she thought. She shrugged carelessly and murmured that her company that she was contracted with hired the model in conjunction with his modeling agency. 

“I guess he looked like a good fit for the posters and the TV commercial we’re shooting?” Briggs offered. “I thought I heard they were considering a female model at first, but she got double booked and canceled on us last minute.” She shook her head and continued, saying that she figured that he was probably picked for his unique appearance, charm, the deep voice, and sophisticated aura. “I don’t honestly know him that well. He wants to talk to me, but often we’re busy with our jobs or stuff that he gets called away and I’m told to bring the prototype and guard it. Why?”

Jonah licked his lips and flattened his palms on the table slowly. How was he gonna tell her this? If she wasn’t a Mundane, this would make everything leaps and bounds easier. But if he didn’t word it correctly, she could think he was crazy or possibly start digging into his world too. 

“I uh, well, I don’t have a very good feeling that he’s a good guy,” Jonah offered. 

Briggs raised a brow and offered suggestions as to what he was saying, “Are you saying he’s a player? You saw him spit on someone? He’s probably killed someone and dumped their–”

“Whoa, whoa there!” Jonah gasped. “No, no, no! Wait, where’d that one come from?”

“Sorry, my aunt loves ID Channel – whenever I see her, she probably has some creepy murder program on, showing the psychos of the world doing bad things to other people,” Briggs explained. “Not your normal Scot watching BBC.” She relaxed and looked around the restaurant they were in. “Okay, so you don’t like him and seeing him be anywhere close to me–”

“All I’m suggesting,” Jonah tried again, “is that he might seem charming, but he might have an agenda.”

“Oh like bed the foreign girl with the blue eyes and humble brag about it to his friends? Don’t worry, I don’t do hook-ups,” she replied with a dismissive wave. “You know for a second there, I thought you were gonna say he’s a sparkling vampire like that crappy vampire series and don’t let him bite me.”

If only it was just a fake, sparkling vampire from a book, he thought grimly behind a convincing smile.

“You doing anything tonight?”

Briggs looked up from locking the translator prototype in her briefcase and saw Tophe approaching her. He changed back into his regular clothes after the photoshoot, keeping his hair in the combed over style they presented for the marketing materials. 

“If you’re gonna ask me to drink soju, I’ll pass,” she sighed with a shake of her head. “Tried it and it’s nasty.”

Tophe nodded as he listened and he leaned against the wall, leaving a few inches between them. “Then how about something you like? I’ll buy.”

Briggs picked up the briefcase and flashed the model a polite smile. “No it’s fine, I can cover my own food and drink. I probably should go return this to VKTRS before it gets any later.” Before she could walk away, the model caught up to her and gently took the briefcase from her hand. 

“Please, I insist,” he said with a smile. “I don’t mind joining you – I don’t have any plans and I thought it’s a bit early to be thinking about sleeping now, right?”

“I thought you were on a strict diet to avoid bloating and whatnot,” Briggs admitted as she walked slowly to the entrance of the photo studio. “Although, you’re plenty skinny enough – why do they insist you need to be even thinner?”

Tophe shrugged and tried to look modest as he held the door open for her. “You’re so kind Bridgette,” he replied. “I’ll admit that’s normal anywhere you go to model. They want thin people to fit their clothes and they want to make the least amount of alterations possible. But don’t worry about me – one night of something off diet wouldn’t kill me.”

Briggs opened her mouth to correct him on her name, the sentence becoming muffled as she collided into someone’s chest. She stumbled backwards and felt two hands resting on her shoulders. 

“I’m so sorry Baby Girl,” the familiar voice replied. “Traffic was terrible and I had to work my way around an accident. Please let me make it up to you.”

Briggs blinked as she looked up to see it was the mysterious boy clad in black that she always seemed to run into these days. He had been an early bystander she tried testing the prototype translator on, only to discover he already knew English. She didn’t know much – only that his name was Jonah, he was from around here, and he was pretty scholarly about many subjects, despite the bad boy look he sported. The nickname was an accidental slip one day, but surprisingly, it had quite the effect on her. 

“Actually, I was going to run to the company’s headquarters to drop off the prototype,” Briggs admitted. 

Jonah smiled as he removed his leather jacket from his shoulders and draped it around her smaller frame. He noticed the half-demon trying to keep a neutral expression as Briggs tried to keep the jacket from falling off. 

“My bike’s over there – I’ll take you, then dinner on me, okay?” he said, pointing out the motorcycle parked a few feet away. “Spare helmet’s in the seat compartment.”

Briggs tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she mumbled a thank you, then she nodded at Tophe, bidding him good night. She walked quickly to the bike and set down the briefcase, so she could properly put Jonah’s jacket on. 

“What is up with you?” Tophe asked in a low voice. 

Jonah stepped closer to the half demon and kept his expression devoid of emotion. “I could ask you the same question,” he replied. “I don’t believe every Downworlder is bad, but with some of the strange events happening worldwide to Mundanes, I have to make sure –”

Tophe crossed his arms over his chest and stepped closer to Jonah. “Nephilim, I don’t know what your issue is, but I have no plans to harm a single hair on that girl’s head. Maybe I’d like to offer her my company, after all, it’s a big city and she’s all alone without a friend, but if you think I’m behind any of the drained Mundies turning up, check your facts.”

“I’m...asking you,” Jonah began, “please...leave her alone.” Before the other could reply, he turned and walked quickly to his bike, smiling as Briggs lifted the visor on her helmet.

“Everything okay?”

Briggs nodded as she secured the briefcase in his seat compartment. “You know Tophe?”

“Ah...not really,” Jonah said, deciding it was best to go with the truth. “I mean, I think I’ve seen him in ads around here, but personally no. It’s just...I don’t know...something tells me he’s up to something.”

“Ah jealousy,” Briggs remarked as she playfully hit his arm. “It’s universal wherever you go.”

Jonah pouted as he put his helmet on and straddled the bike. He glanced over his shoulder and tried to protest that it was a gut feeling and not jealousy. He heard the girl snicker behind him and she slowly wrapped her arms around his waist. 

“Sure, I’m convinced.”