#honghwaluvr

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14 > 15

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✦Synopsis; In a dimly-lit metropolis, the Hawthorne mansion's ruins hide a 20-year-old arson that framed Jasmine Banks' dad. The bookstore clerk teams with Choi San, a flirty reporter whose winks rile her, chasing coded clues to prove himself and for her to prove her dad's innocence.

✦Pairing(s); Choi San x OC

✦TW; Violence, Psychological Distress, Romantic Content, Implied (or straight up?) Sexual Content, Crime and Corruption, Language

✦Genre(s); Romantic Thriller

✦Notes; I'm really enjoying writing this🤤 I hope you guys enjoy and please like and reblog if you do!! It really helps😁💙

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FOURTEEN

It’s been around three days since Ethan’s been in town and you and San have been lying low.

Like, low low.

You’ve been at a motel together since that night San apologized. It was paid for by Hongjoong and he made sure it was safe. He bid you both goodbye and wished you luck. And maybe, that’s why you guys are so close now.

Close to piecing everything together to create a fool-proof collection of evidence against Ethan.

You’d bagged up all the notes, labeling them and arranging them in order of dates. San took care of taking pictures of the assault you both endured while looking for these pieces of evidence, like your still healing stab wound, the marks around your neck, and San’s bruises from fighting the hitman.

“What if they realized I killed the hitman? Like, if they ask where you got the bruises if the guy was already dead?” You had asked earlier in the day, biting your finger in nervousness. San shook his head, a comforting smile on his face.

“I can just say Ethan did it. The cops clearly aren’t too concerned with full pictures, given that they put your dad behind bars without a proper investigation,” San says simply, shrugging.

“We need to head back to the bookstore,” San hums softly, watching your expression morph from fear to anger and sadness within seconds.

“I can’t believe we haven’t seen any news about him yet,” you grunt, shifting in your seat. “Mr. Chang was so loved. Still is. Do you think Ethan bought a few people off?”

San shrugs, “It's a possibility, for sure. But we still have to go down and get evidence that Chang was murdered.”

And so, that’s what you did.

At the bookstore, everything was the same. It was almost as if Mr. Chang had never been killed. His daughter worked there now and she greeted you and San when you two walked in.

“Hey,” you said softly, placing a comforting hand to her arm. She smiled weakly, nodding at San.

“How’s it been? With Mr. Chang…gone?” You ask, not wanting to use the D-word yet.

Anne, his daughter, broke down into tears, and you pulled her close.

“I’m sorry, it’s just, I can’t believe he ran away—“

You pause, looking at her.

“What?”

She sniffles, looking ashamed, “Uh, I’m sorry. This must be hard for you, too—“

“No, no,” you shake your head. San watched the interaction more closely now, pushing off the reception desk.

“What do you mean he “ran away”? Mr. Chang didn’t run away, so, what are you talking about?” You ask, head tilting. You weren’t accusing her of anything, you were just confused.

Anne wiped her tears, heading to the back. You and San wait patiently for her to return and when she does, she comes with a folded up piece of paper. You look at her, then back at the paper.

“What’s that?” San asks first, holding his hand out to her. She places it in his hand, her own trembling.

“I, uh, my dad left this. Just…read it.”

Even Though i have everything i could ever want, i have to do it. However, im Aware this will hurt, Never think i stopped loving you all.

However, once Again, i Was gonna do it at some point, guess i Truly needed to do it now. Hits me Over in my heart, you know? knowing that i’m leaving you all.

but it’s what’s Right for me. Nothing Else can help, Knowone else can help. I can’t help it. it’s Like…Like it’s Eating me from the inside out, Dragging my soul from my very heart.

i’m running away. i love you all. i love ME.

—anthony chang.

You and San stare at the letter in confusion.

“Yeah, I know. We wanna guess he was going through some kind of psychosis when he wrote it—it doesn’t make any sense whatsoever,” Anne hummed softly.

But you shake your head, “No. No, that makes perfect sense, Anne. Can we, uh, keep this letter for a bit? I promise I’ll return it—“

Anne nods, “I know you miss him too. Keep it.”

“But—“

“You heard the girl, Jazz, we’re keeping it,” San hums, taking your wrist and dragging you out. As soon as you’re outside the shop, San is dragging you around some more.

You’re confused by his urgency, “Why are you-?”

“Shh. I’ll tell you after.”

You rip your wrist away from him, “Listen, I don’t care what I’ve been through in the past days—we are not friends. You don’t get to just—“

“Jasmine, I’m begging you to walk with me,” San pleads, but you can’t hear through your anger.

“Who do you think you are? You lied to me! And I haven’t—!”

San tosses you over his shoulder and bolts, making you more angry.

“San, what the fuck?! What is your problem?!”

“I kept trying to tell you that the man who wanted us dead was nearby, shut up! But now, he’s fucking chasing after us!” San yells at you, making you look up towards the street where yes, a jeep is speeding beside you.

“Put me down, you’ll run faster that way,” you tell him, a sense of urgency in your voice now. San shakes his head, hair brushing against your thigh.

“I’m not leaving you.”

“San, I have a plan. Put me down,” you groan. San slows down his running, trying to hear your plan first.

“You keep running and I’ll go inside one of these abandoned buildings. Ethan will be more likely to think you have the evidence so let him catch you, okay? It’ll buy me time to get this to the police station,” You say and San sets you down finally.

He places his hands on your shoulders, “Wh-what if—“

“Don’t think. Just go,” you nod, looking up at him. He seems torn between what you told him to do and what he wants to do; stay and protect you.

“San, g—“

He kisses you then, pressing all his force into it. He pulls back, “I trust you.” Then he’s gone, bolting down the street. You run into one of the tall, abandoned buildings, dashing up several flights of stairs.

Finally, on the floor just below the roof, you got to work.

Ethan was running out of time. He chased San with his car, finally stopping him by ramming into a light post, which fell and created cracks in the cement.

San tripped over one of the cracks, falling and breaking his leg. He groaned, his eyes blown wide as he saw the blood and the bone sticking out.

“Man, that’s gross,” he mumbled. Ethan came up, a triumphant smirk on his face. It was dark out, no people around to see.

“Well well well, finally have you in my clutches, hm?” Ethan taunted, pressing a foot to San’s injury. San yells in pain, tears pricking his eyes. But he stays strong, looking up at Hawthorne.

“Finally gonna kill me? Or are you just gonna let me bleed out?”

Ethan laughs, shaking his head. “Bleeding out seems…better. Now, give up the evidence. I don’t have all day.”

But San can only laugh, tears falling from his eyes from the pain and how funny this was. Ethan scoffs, stepping on the protruding bone harder, making San suck a breath in.

“Give it to me, n—“

“What makes you think I have it, Mr. Hawthorne? I have a partner in crime, remember?” San grins, watching as Ethan’s face goes through several different emotions before landing on the most important one of all;

Rage.

“Fuck!” He yells, running off to his car. The building! he thinks to himself, slamming the drivers door shut. “Should’ve killed that bitch myself a long time ago,” he mumbles, speeding off.

You, on the other hand, were done with the evidence. You’ve called the police, news stations, anyone who’d listen.

You stand up quickly, running downstairs. But Ethan, unfortunately, meets you halfway. You stop in your tracks and so does he. Then, he smiles.

“Jasmine Banks. Oh my god,” he laughs, hands on his knees. “Figured it out, hm? With your little reporter boyfriend?”

You stand tall, not giving him any response. You were more focused on his body movements, watching for when he decided to try and kill you.

“No response? You should see him, he’s a little roughed up right now,” Ethan grins sadistically, making your brows furrow. You can’t help the question that leaves your mouth, effectively making Ethan grin harder.

“Did you do something to him? Because I swear to god—“

“What?” Ethan smiles. “You’re gonna…report me? I’ll be out of town then. Under a new alias. And use all my money to make sure I’ll never be caught.”

You shake your head, “I don’t think that plan will work for you.”

He just stares at you before he’s bolting up the stairs. You’re quick to react, turning and running back to the top floor.

You can’t hide anywhere, so you climb onto the roof. You’re looking for something, anything, to help you escape when the unmistakable feeling of your hair being roughly pulled makes you yelp.

And of course, it’s Ethan.

You tumble to the ground, your scalp burning as you scream in pain. But Ethan doesn’t let up, instead pulling up and making you face him.

“Stupid bitch. You just don’t know when to quit, hm? Can’t just let bygones be bygones, right?!” He yanks your head back, making your neck crack uncomfortably.

“You sent my father to jail! You killed your parents! You’re an arsonist!” You yell back, stepping on his foot as hard as you can. He drops you and your forehead hits the concrete, blood spilling out, tainting your vision.

But you stand, stumbling away from him. “You’re a monster, Ethan. And I’ll be damned if I let you win.”

He’s fussing over his toe, grunting in pain. “You’ve already lost! What are you gonna do about it? I have money, I have you hurt and the evidence is on you!

“Neither of you are able to stop me. Not this…” he looks up, realizing the unmistakable sound of a helicopter has been prodding against his ear drums the last 30 seconds.

But it’s not one passing by, oh no, it’s 3. It’s 10 cop cars stationed at the bottom of the building and 2 news vans, cameras out and recording.

He rolls his eyes and you look up at him, smirk ever present.

“Game over, Ethan.”

The police are calling his name through megaphones, the news stations recording it all.

He doesn’t know what he can do, he’s pulling at his hair, you’re in the corner, laughing at him. But he can’t let you win physically, so he charges at you, shoving you off the building.

It’s so sudden you barely feel it. One second you’re smiling, laughing even at his demise. And the next? You’re falling through the sky, blood still dripping into your eyes.

And then, you’re not. Your eyes are shut, but you don’t feel wrong. So you open your eyes to find a firefighter looking down at you.

He looks relieved, and words are spilling from his mouth. You notice it’s dark out and wonder if you’re actually alive or not.

You sit up, “What…time is it?” Paramedics rush to you, hastily pulling you up onto a stretcher.

“Miss, you’ve been out cold for 3 hours. We wanted to bring you to the hospital sooner, but Hawthorne kept trying to get away,” one explains to you.

But your biggest concern is only one thing.

“Where’s San?”

Welcome to the world of Jasmine Banks and Choi San, their world that has been burned up and fallen to Ash.

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN

EIGHT

NINE

TEN

ELEVEN

TWELVE

THIRTEEN

FOURTEEN

mlist atzlist

13 > 14

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✦Synopsis; In a dimly-lit metropolis, the Hawthorne mansion's ruins hide a 20-year-old arson that framed Jasmine Banks' dad. The bookstore clerk teams with Choi San, a flirty reporter whose winks rile her, chasing coded clues to prove himself and for her to prove her dad's innocence.

✦Pairing(s); Choi San x OC

✦TW; Violence, Psychological Distress, Romantic Content, Implied (or straight up?) Sexual Content, Crime and Corruption, Language

✦Genre(s); Romantic Thriller

✦Notes; I'm really enjoying writing this🤤 I hope you guys enjoy and please like and reblog if you do!! It really helps😁💙

─────────ೋღ 💍 ღೋ─────────

THIRTEEN

It took several minutes of breathing exercises and then several more for San to hear the full story.

His clothes were all covered in Mr. Chang’s brain and blood, your clothes following the same pattern but worse, and it smelled of blood everywhere in his apartment.

“So, Chang’s been keeping a watch on us? The whole time?” San asks, to which you nod.

“Hm. And Ethan killed him?” You nod again.

“Hm,” is all San says, because that’s all he can manage. His time spent with you also included Mr. Chang. Now that he was dead, it hurt him a little, too.

You were still in the clothes that were soiled in his mess, now desperately pulling them off your body. San stood quickly, arms out to reach you.

“No, Jazz, you don’t have to do that.”

But you shook your head, tears welling in your eyes once again as you tugged your pants down, already left in nothing but your bra and panties. “I can’t stay in these, I’ll just be a mess if I do.”

San watched as you stood there, scratching at your arms like you had a rash. Then the scratching got aggressive, till San realized you’d peeled back skin. He quickly snatched you up, tossing you over his shoulder as you started to wail, hitting him.

“I have to be clean.”

“Jazz, this isn’t the way,” he mumbled, bringing you to his bathroom and setting you down on the toilet as he turned on the shower.

But you didn’t stop, scratching again. San roughly pulled your hands away from yourself and you screamed.

“I have to be—!”

“Jasmine, stop! You cannot do that this way—you’re hurting yourself! Do you not see?” He yelled in your face, making you look at the blood pooling at your brand-new cuts.

You could only muster a sharp breath as he placed you in the shower, warm water running down your body. He didn’t move to take your bra or panties off, knowing that that’d be an invasion of your privacy, and simply because he didn’t need to.

You stood there, letting the water run down your body in thick, controlled droplets. When your hands reached to scratch again, San stepped into the shower, clothes still on, and held your hands in his.

He looked down at you, face wet. “Please, Jazz. Please don’t hurt yourself anymore, hm? Would…would Mr. Chang have wanted that? Your dad?” A beat passed before you simply fell into him, crying silently into his chest.

It was now 8:35 pm, seven hours after Mr. Chang’s murder. It was seen on the news and you couldn’t help but vomit, completely scarred. San was with you the whole way, dressing you in his clothes after your shower.

You’d kept your distance from him afterwards, your brain slowly catching up with your body. San still lied to you, and you weren’t entirely ready to listen to what he had to say.

And San knew that. Kept his distance, silently ordered food without asking, and let you eat in silence while he ate in his room.

He knew he should talk to you, tell you what happened. But that wasn’t for him to decide when you were ready to hear it. It never would be.

You sat on the couch, knees pulled up to your chest. So much has happened to you in the last few weeks that you needed the biggest breath to catch up. So, you sat on San’s balcony.

You observed the world below you—the birds, the dogs, the plants—and smiled to yourself. It's been a while since you had the chance to just admire nature as a whole.

Then, San came up behind you, hands trembling as he placed them on your shoulders, and slowly turned you around.

You didn’t scowl at him, didn’t flinch, didn’t make a passing comment. But your eyes held an emotion that he could only describe as a deep dislike for him.

Not hate, per se, but your eyes showed him that you weren’t in the least pleased to have his hands on you.

“Jasmine, if I could just—“

You peeled one of his hands off your shoulder. Then, came the other. Once rid of his touch, you nodded, letting him continue.

He sighed, “Listen, I know…I know what I did was horrible. I lied to you and kept things from you. If I had told you from the start, though, I wasn’t even sure you’d wanna…work with me. And since I’ve met you, I’ve just been head over heels a-and I didn’t want to lose my chances with you.”

“So you lied?”

San goes quiet. Those were the first words you’d said to him in hours. He doesn’t dwell on it, instead opening his mouth to answer your question.

“I-“

“Rhetorical. I don’t want your answer because it won’t change how you led me to believe you had nothing to do with the reasons my father is rotting in a prison cell as we speak.

“It also won’t change the fact that even though I’m beyond livid with you, I understand your reasons. Even though I don’t want to.”

San stands there, searching your eyes for anything you didn’t tell him. When he finds nothing, his lips curve up slightly. But you shut down whatever he was thinking with quickness, pressing a hand to his chest.

“That doesn’t mean I’m forgiving you. It simply means I’ve acknowledged both sides, and I understand yours a little better now. But that does not, under any circumstance at the moment, mean that we’re anything again. Is that clear to you?”

San nods immediately, backing up to give you space. “That last thing I’d want to do is irritate—“

“I’m angry, not irritated.”

“Right. Last thing I’d want to do is enrage you further, Jasmine.” He says before taking another step back, and then off to his room he went.

He shut his door softly, and broke down immediately after, sliding down his door like a teenager. All because of his selfishness, not telling you about his involvement sooner, you could’ve died today. And he would’ve blamed himself for the rest of his sad, sorry life.

He was getting somewhere with you but, it wasn’t enough. He needed to hold you, brush your hair back as he told you how much you mean to him, how much he loves you. Because that’s the truth; Choi San is so disgustingly in love with you, his feelings deeper than you’d ever really know.

And once again, he reminded himself about how he lost the chance to really show you how much you mean to him because of his incompetence.

But dwelling on it wouldn’t do much for him. He had to make it up to you, and the only way to do that was to get Ethan Hawthorne behind bars forever.

He opened up his door, heading straight to you, before he took a deep breath. “I…I’d like to help you finish the case and expose Ethan Hawthorne. If you’ll have me, that is.”

You stared at him for what felt like forever, until you smiled softly, nodding.

“Sure.”

aw you’re the sweetest ☹️ i usually pair my tumblr theme with my phone theme bc i just love the aesthetics of it!! thank you so much!!!