#ncitynetwork

“Not yet,” Hades answers flatly. “I brought you here because I wanted to know exactly what kind of trouble you got yourself into.”

“Well...I was on a mission,” you start, averting your eyes, “and, uh, there was a slight tussle with a Minotaur. And he may or may not have crushed me under his foot.” 

You and a small team of your siblings had been assigned to a classified mission that was investigating the mysterious augmentation of the monsters in Camp Half-Blood Forest and the concerning weakening of the Golden Fleece — a magical artifact that is integral to maintaining the protective border around the camp. However, your crew did not get very far because you received a distress signal from the heads of the camp, Mr. D and Chiron, informing you that many campers had been attacked by an enhanced Minotaur (along with other monsters) during a Capture the Flag game. Subsequently, you were immediately ordered to return to the camp. 

Unfortunately, that same Minotaur was waiting for you when you got back. 

Exhausted from shadow traveling (all Hades children are able to use shadows as a way of transportation) and caught off guard by the monster’s heightened abilities, you and your siblings struggled against it more so than you would like to admit. Before you even realized it, you had been knocked to the ground by a haphazard swing of the Minotaur’s axe and the last thing you remember seeing is the sole of its mangled foot descending upon you. 

You’d normally be embarrassed about it if you weren’t so concerned about your siblings along with the state of the camp as a whole. 

“Dionysus and Chiron are still sending my children out on these dangerous missions?” Hades demands. 

Why do you care, you want to ask. It probably just hurt his pride that his blood is doing the dirty work. 

You could count on one hand the amount of times you’ve interacted with your father, much less spoken to him face-to-face. It’s a running joke between you and your siblings that Hades neglects his children just as Olympus neglects him. 

“We’re the best suited for it,” you say nonchalantly, shrugging.

He gives you a pointed look, and you realize how ironic your words sound while you’re literally at death’s door. 

“You shouldn’t be here, Y/N,” Hades sighs, rubbing his temples. You wonder if gods get headaches too. 

“Well, it’s not like I want to be here,” you defend before quickly adding, “No offense.” 

“Your father is just concerned about you,” Persephone chimes in gently. 

You fight the urge to roll your eyes. It’s not that you dislike Persephone in any way; in fact, she’s actually quite sweet. Much more so than her husband. However, her words hold absolutely zero weight to you since she has no involvement in your relationship with Hades.

You open your mouth to politely brush her off but get distracted when you realize that your incorporeal form is flickering. You look down at your hands, which are growing more and more transparent. When you reach up to touch your face, your hand simply passes through you as if you’re made of thin air. It takes you a beat to finally register that you’re disappearing. Just as you go to question whether or not you’re actually dying this time, Hades speaks:

“You’re waking up.” He nods approvingly. 

A part of you feels somewhat disappointed that you are leaving so soon. Like you had more to say to Hades. As if you wanted to stay and keep talking. What were you going to say anyway? Tell him about your day? What Camp Half-Blood is like? Your interests and hobbies? 

It’s almost laughable.

“Y/N, I—” Hades starts, but his voice sounds so far away. 

You don’t get to hear the rest of what he says because you feel your conscious fading, and your eyelids begin to droop. Eventually, everything grows dark and quiet. 

You’re not sure what you thought was going to happen, but there’s only nothingness after that. It’s what you imagine being sucked into a black hole in outer space feels like—a darkness so black that you can’t even feel your own existence anymore. At first, you think you’ve died for real this time, and now you’re stuck in a strange limbo between the real world and the Underworld since you were in the middle of waking up.

Much to your surprise, you don’t feel scared at all. In fact, there’s a serenity in death that you don’t quite expect. Feeling exhausted, you want nothing more than for the darkness to swallow you. You think about your siblings and wonder if they’ll be angry with you for leaving like this. You wonder if your mom will be alright on her own. You wonder if Hades will be happy to see you again. A small, small part of you wonders if he’ll let you stay in the palace with him. An even smaller part of you wonders if he’ll be proud of you and what you’ve achieved.

Just as you feel yourself begin to fall asleep, there’s suddenly a beam of bright light that hurts your eyes. You can’t tell if it’s because the light is truly that bright or if it’s because everything around you is so dark. Either way, it jars you out of your drowsiness. You’re slightly annoyed, wanting to shield your face but unable to since you’re too weak to move. 

Someone is shouting, but their words are muddled—like you’re underwater. You want to retreat back into the darkness, but the light grows brighter and the voice gets louder.

“—Y/N!”

Someone's calling your name.

It’s not a voice you recognize, yet there’s something about it that immediately draws you to it. Despite not having enough energy to even shield your eyes, you slowly lift your arm and reach towards both the light and the voice. And as if the light and voice reached out as well and pulled you out of whatever void you were in, your eyes are suddenly wide open and staring up at a white ceiling.

There are more voices now, and they’re all shouting. 

However, you’re only focused on one voice. It’s still calling your name, The figures in front of you are hazy, but one is crystal clear. A boy, with light brown hair and kind eyes that are still kind even when his handsome features are twisted with panic. His hand is above you, an amber glow emitting from his fingertips and palms. You immediately identify it as the light you saw before. It is a warm, loving light. It embraces you rather than swallowing you whole.

“Y/N! Y/N, can you hear me?” The boy’s lips are moving, but your ears feel like they’ve been stuffed with cotton balls. 

You open your mouth to tell him, but nothing comes out. 

“Y/N?” 

Slowly, you lift your hand again and lace your fingers through his. His warmth envelops you like a spring breeze, and you smile weakly. 

“Yes,” is all you can whisper. 

You drift off again, lulled to sleep as if you were basking under the gentle rays of the sun. 

You wake up to a white ceiling again. 

Unlike last time, it’s deathly (pun intended) quiet. 

And it’s not nearly as cozy and fuzzy. 

Rather, it’s the total opposite. You feel like you’ve broken every bone in your body, which might actually be possible, considering how you were literally crushed. You open your mouth to call out for someone but can only muster a wheeze. Luckily, someone notices because you hear footsteps headed your way. The curtain that surrounds your cot is pushed aside, and you recognize him instantly. 

There's a boy with light brown hair and a big smile standing there. You’re not sure why you’re so certain, but you know that he’s the one who revived you. He’s so pretty that he feels more like an illusion than an actual person, but the comfort of his palm against your forehead when he walks over and checks your temperature solidifies his authenticity. 

“Good,” he mumbles to himself, taking a seat on the stool next to your bed. “your fever’s gone down.” 

You try to speak again, but your throat feels like sandpaper and you burst into a coughing fit. 

“Here, drink some water,” he encourages gently, reaching over and handing you a water bottle. 

“What happened?” you groan after taking a couple of sips. You try to sit up but a sharp pain in your side makes you falter. 

“Well...you died,” he states matter-of-factly, helping you lean back against the wall. “But I brought you back.” 

“Yeah, no shit. Thank you, Captain...Sparkle Fingers?” You end it as if you’re asking a question, cringing at the terrible insult. You were going to say Captain Obvious, but you vividly remember his fingertips glowing while you were in and out of consciousness and the nickname just popped into your brain. 

It probably should have stayed there. 

He looks concerned, leaning forward. “Um, let me check your head again.”

You swat his hands away. “I’m fine. It’s just a shitty nickname, Sparky.” 

He chuckles. “I’m Jaemin.” 

Ah, Na Jaemin. 

Since you and your siblings are normally always on missions to keep Camp Half-Blood safe, you ironically don’t spend a lot of time at the camp itself, so you don’t know most of the campers here. However, Jaemin’s reputation precedes him. The favored son of Apollo, he runs the infirmary and is basically the reason why campers are able to be as reckless as they are during spars and even missions. 

Not to brag, but you and your siblings have never gotten any severe injuries that a little nectar and ambrosia couldn’t fix, so you haven’t been here much. 

Well, until now. 

Wait—siblings.

Frantically looking around, you realize that the infirmary is completely empty other than the two of you. Turning back, you grab Jaemin by the shirt in a half-threatening, half-desperate manner. 

“Where are my siblings?” you demand. 

Jaemin barely flinches at your outburst, calmly removing your hands from him. “They’re fine. They weren’t as hurt as you, so they were healed pretty quickly. They’re resting in their cabin. They’ve been visiting you, but it’s really early right now, so they’re not here.” 

He speaks in such a gentle but firm tone that you find yourself immediately believing him. Then again, you have no reason not to. It’s just that you’re not used to being in a setting where the people around you (other than your kin) can be trusted. You feel the panic within slowly dissipate, and the relief hits you like a ton of bricks. 

“Oh,” you whisper, slightly breathless. “I see.” 

“Deep breaths,” he says soothingly. 

You inhale and exhale, waiting for your heart rate to slow. Once you’ve pulled yourself together, you realize you haven’t even told Jaemin your name, since you were too busy grabbing him by the collar and yelling at him. “S-Sorry about that, I’m a little on edge.”

“It’s no problem at all,” he says jovially, having patiently waited for you to calm down.

“By the way, I’m—”

“Y/N. I know who you are,” Jaemin cuts in, smiling. His smile is so bright (those damn Apollo kids) that you’re slightly unsettled by it.

You eye him suspiciously. “It’s not really that weird that you know who I am, but the way you’re saying it is creeping me out.” 

“Oh?” He blinks innocently. “You didn’t seem too bothered by it last time.”

“Wait, what? Now, you’re making it sound like we hooked up or something,” you protest. 

“You don’t remember?” He gasps dramatically. 

“Okay, Sparkles, cut the bull—” 

Jaemin smoothly grabs your hand, nudging it open, before intertwining his fingers with your own. 

You let out a noise that’s a mixture of a gasp and a squeak. 

“Ring any bells?” He raises an eyebrow. 

You barely register his words, too busy gawking at your entangled hands.

You’ve never understood the appeal of handholding because it’s only a matter of time before both your hands become sweaty messes, but you think you get it now. His hand is warm and calloused and absolutely dwarfs yours. You find a solace in it that you’ve never had before. You wouldn’t mind holding it for a long time, even if it gets a little sweaty. 

Oh gods, you think to yourself, am I really this touch-starved?

You suddenly feel hot, and you wonder if that fever is coming back. Ripping your hand away from his, you point an accusatory finger at him. “What the hell was that?” 

“Aw, you really don’t remember? It made my heart flutter, you know,” Jaemin admits sheepishly. 

“You’re saying I did that?” you ask incredulously. 

“You did.” 

“You’re lying,” you snap. You wish you were confident that he was, but there’s a sinking feeling in your gut that you did do that. You’re not sure how and where you got the courage to do so, since you were in the middle of dying. Who knew that teetering between life and death has the same effect as alcohol? It must be some sort of revival high.

“Well, if that’s what you want to believe.” He seems slightly disappointed, but you can’t tell if he’s just messing around again. 

You open your mouth to shamelessly deny it some more, but instead, you wince at a sudden stab of pain. Looking down, you notice a bit of blood seeping through your hospital gown. Jaemin furrows his eyebrows, his fingertips immediately brushing against it. A familiar glow emits from them, and the comforting warmth of his healing numbs the pain. 

“Your stitches must have been pulled,” Jaemin says. “You’ve got a pretty large gash on your side, so don’t move too much.” 

“Eh, it’s just a scratch,” you say nonchalantly, shrugging. “Give me some nectar and ambrosia. I’ll be fine in a couple of days.”

You’ve dealt with your fair share of injuries, sometimes in situations with much less resources than now, and you’ve always come out of it alright — albeit with an occasional nasty scar. A couple of stitches don’t bother you. 

“Y/N, you died,” Jaemin says slowly, “you understand that, right?” 

“Crystal clear,” you reply wryly. You make the executive decision to not tell him about your spiritual trip to the Underworld, lest it freaks him out even more. 

“You nearly broke every bone in your body, not to mention severe surface wounds. This isn’t something that you can just walk off with a little nectar and ambrosia. You’re going to be on bed rest for at least two weeks. And even after that, you’ll still have to take it easy for a little longer before you can even think about holding a weapon again,” he explains. 

Your jaw nearly hits the tile. “You’re not serious.” 

“That should be my line. I can’t believe you think you can heal in a couple days.” Jaemin shakes his head. 

“I don’t even think I’ve ever physically been at this camp for two weeks.” 

You might’ve stayed at Camp Half-Blood for a little while when you first arrived, but you’ve basically always been on the road with your siblings. Since Hades' children are so powerful, they’re essentially the only ones that can successfully complete missions without grave injuries (with the exception of this time). You’ve always felt that you were more suited for protecting the campers rather than, say, canoe racing with the other campers. 

“Well, now’s your chance!” Jaemin claps his hands together cheerfully. 

“I have a mission to finish. Ask Mr. D and Chiron!” you protest vehemently. 

“Mr. D and Chiron are the ones who ordered you to bed rest,” he replies firmly, crossing his arms. “After consulting my professional medical opinion, of course.” 

You roll your eyes. “You’re just some dude with sparkly magic.” 

Jaemin looks extremely offended. 

“Anyways,” you ignore him, “where are they? I’m going to talk to them right now. There’s no way I’m staying here.”

“They’re not here,” Jaemin starts carefully, “They’re out on...business.” 

You don’t like how he hesitates. Mr. D and Chiron would never leave the camp unattended unless it was something dire. “What happened while I was out?” 

Jaemin pauses, his expression clearly indicating that he’s weighing the pros and cons of telling you. 

“You can tell me now, or I’ll just find out myself,” you say matter-of-factly. 

He sighs, and you know you’ve won. 

“The Golden Fleece is gone,” he relents. 

It takes you a minute to process the bomb that he dropped on you. 

“Like...gone as in gone for spring cleaning or something? Because it does look filthy—”

“Gone as in stolen, Y/N. Also, it’s summer.” Jaemin raises an eyebrow. 

You and your siblings had been suspecting that someone was poisoning the Golden Fleece, which is why it was weakening, and now it all makes sense—whoever it is was preparing to take it.

“How are you so calm about this? Shouldn’t we be in bunkers right now? Without it, we’re basically just a bunch of sitting ducks for monsters!” you nearly yell. 

“It’ll be fine. The Hecate kids casted a protective spell over the camp, and it should hold for now. At least until we figure out what’s happening,” Jaemin explains. 

“Does anyone else know about this?” you ask. 

“Just Mr. D and Chiron, me, you, and the Hecate kids,” Jaemin says, “Mr. D and Chiron don’t want to send the camp into a frenzy. They want to keep as much normalcy as possible.” 

If the perpetrator was able to steal the Golden Fleece, then you have no doubt that they’ll be able to break the Hecate kids’ spell. You don’t doubt the Hecate kids’ abilities, but it’s just as Jaemin says: this is only a temporary solution. 

“Even so, we have to go find it,” you persist. 

“You are not going to do anything, except rest,” Jaemin corrects, “Don’t worry. Chiron and Mr. D are going to sort it all out.” 

“You can’t make me stay here,” you argue petulantly. 

He raises an amused eyebrow. “You wanna bet on that?” 

The two of you have an intense staredown. Well, intense on your end. It’s more...smiley on his part.

Even injured, you’re certain that you’re a better fighter than he is, but there’s something ominous about how calm and relaxed his aura is. Even though his posture seems laidback, you can tell by a glance that he’s stronger than he looks. You hate types like him—unassuming. It’s as if he’s inviting you to make a run for it, like a lion waiting to pounce on the unsuspecting gazelle. 

The stubborn, more competitive side of you believes that you’re good enough to get past him. However, the rational, more logical side of you understands that you’ll only be a liability to everyone else in your current state. You tend to routinely ignore the latter side of you, but now it's being backed up by the steel wall of defense that is Na Jaemin. 

“Fine, I’ll stay,” you grumble so quietly that it’s difficult to tell whether you were speaking or making a noise. 

But Jaemin still hears you, beaming. “Great!” 

What a great word to describe him, you think to yourself, this man is the literal definition of beaming. 

“What the hell am I supposed to do now?” you ask, crossing your arms. 

He looks at you as if the answer is obvious. 

“Sleep, of course. And get used to it too, because you’re going to be doing a lot of it.” 

You’re not sure if that’s supposed to be a threat or not. 

You’re not sure how long you’ve slept when you’re awoken by some rustling and the sound of a stool being pulled forward. Groggily blinking, you look up and see the faces of your siblings. Cat, your sister, is staring at you with wide eyes. She’s got a couple of cuts and bruises on her but appears to be fine other than that. Fine enough to crop her orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt and tie it in the front and pair it with some high-waisted jeans. Her dark hair is also meticulously styled and parted to one side, straightened to perfection. She has always been the more fashionable sister. 

Your brother, Sicheng, seems to have been injured the least. He has one scrape on his cheek, and that’s about it. However, he doesn't look as stylish. His hair is sticking up, his t-shirt is crumpled, and he’s wearing sweatpants. It’s obvious he rolled right out of bed (or was dragged by Cat). But he is just as surprised to see you looking back at them two of them. 

“Y/N?” Sicheng calls out tentatively. 

You don’t know how relieved you are to see them safe and sound until you realize there are tears forming in your eyes. Hades is well-known for not having many children, and it’s only ever been the three of you together. And it’s not like you have many friends at Camp Half-Blood, so they’re basically all you have. 

But you definitely will not be caught crying by them because you will never live that down. 

“Whoever moved your chair and made that awful noise,” you mumble, drying your tears out of sheer willpower, “your mom’s a hoe.” 

Sicheng doesn’t even try to hide his guilt. 

“Thank the gods you’re awake. You’ve been out for almost a week, and we thought you were in a coma,” Cat says, “Are you feeling okay?” 

“Yeah, I’m a little battered, but nothing I’m not used to,” you grunt, sitting up. “I actually woke up earlier...wait, what time is it?” 

“5 p.m.” 

You try to calculate how long you’ve been asleep, but then you realize you didn’t know what time you woke up last time either. In fact, you don’t even know what day it is. The concept of time means nothing to you right now. 

Gods, I need to get out of this bed.

“I brought you cereal,” Cat says, pulling out a box of Lucky Charms from a bag. “Sicheng, get the milk and bowl.” 

Food has been the last thing on your mind, but the moment you see that creepy ginger leprechaun, your stomach lets out a growl that rivals one of a dinosaur. 

“This is why you’re my favorite, Cat,” you say happily. 

Sicheng furrows his eyebrows, but nonetheless reaches down and pulls out a styrofoam bowl and a pint of milk before pouring it into the bowl. 

You and Cat watch on in horror, as he pours the milk before the cereal. 

“What, on Demeter’s green Earth, are you doing?” Cat asks slowly. 

“Huh?” Sicheng shoots her a quizzical look before handing the bowl to her. 

You and Cat recoil from it like he just handed over poison. He looks at you and then Cat, clearly lost and waiting for someone to fill him in. 

“What is wrong with you?” you gasp, mortified.

“What?” Sicheng demands. 

“You just...poured the milk before the cereal,” Cat whispers. 

Now, he looks even more confused. “So what?” 

You and Cat exchange solemn glances. 

“He’s a serial killer,” Cat states, “you know I love a good pun, but pun not intended. This is serious.” 

“We must remove him from the family registry at once,” you say swiftly, “no one must know that we have someone who pours milk before cereal in our bloodline. It would bring dishonor.” 

“You guys are so annoying. Do you want the milk or not?” Sicheng snaps. 

“No need to get your panties in a twist,” you reply, gesturing for it. “Hand it over.” 

He rolls his eyes but obeys, and Cat also gives you the cereal. You have to carefully shake the cereal into the bowl so that the milk doesn’t splash all over the place. Despite your best efforts, a couple of drops still end up getting on your hospital gown.

“Great. Like I’m not dirty enough already,” you groan. You feel like an absolute swamp monster, sitting in almost a week’s worth of filth, and you make a mental note to take a shower as soon as possible. 

“I’m going to have to use some sort of Pavlovian technique and condition him into pouring the cereal first,” Cat ponders. 

Sicheng lets out a defeated sigh, but he doesn’t say anything else. After all, he’s used to life with two sisters. 

A comfortable silence falls between the three of you as you devour your cereal. You have so much you want to tell them, but you’re not even sure where to start. You want to tell them everything that happened with Jaemin (well, mostly Cat because Sicheng wouldn’t care). You debate on mentioning the Golden Fleece being stolen, but you opt not to since you want to respect Mr. D and Chiron’s wishes. 

You also try to figure out a way to bring up your encounter with Hades. 

But luckily (or not), you don’t have to because Cat does, piping up, “Jaemin says you died for a moment.” 

The underlying question is loud and clear. 

Did you see our dad? 

“Yeah, I did,” you say, both confirming her statement and also answering the question. 

Understanding the double meaning, Cat pauses for a moment before asking, “What...What did he say?

Sicheng tries to keep a straight face, to act like he doesn’t care, but you can tell by the way he’s clenching his fist that he’s hanging onto your every word. 

“He didn’t say much. I just told him what happened,” you say quickly, “and then I woke up.”

Neither of them know how to respond, and everyone grows quiet again. This time, it’s a little more awkward. Cat, again, breaks the silence. 

“Sicheng likes someone.” 

Now, that instantly shatters the awkward atmosphere. 

You perk up so quickly that you almost pull another stitch, eyes sparkling. Sicheng is looking at Cat like she just revealed the country’s nuclear codes to an enemy of the state. He’s also blushing all the way to the tips of his ears. 

“Who is it? When did all of this happen?” you ask, impatient for the juicy details. 

“No, wait—” Sicheng begins frantically.

“Her name is Moon,” Cat ignores him completely, not hesitating to delve into the story. “she’s a Poseidon kid. They met a couple days ago, while he was here with you, and she came to the infirmary to get some Tylenol because she had a headache. He thought she was cute, so he started talking to her—”

“Sicheng talked to a girl first?” you ask incredulously. 

“I know right? Anyways, they started talking, and she ended up lending him some manga to read since she likes anime and manga,” Cat gushes, “and he’s reading it! He doesn’t know a single thing about that stuff, but he’s doing it for her!” 

“Stop, oh my gods, that is so cute.” You cover your mouth. 

Sicheng has his head in his hands. 

“So, this is what you’ve been up to while I was dying, you little rascal?” You glance at him, wiggling your eyebrows. 

“How did you even find out?” Sicheng lifts his head up, ignoring your provocation and turning to Cat. 

“Did you really think you could just walk in and start reading One Piece and I wouldn’t question it?” Cat teases. “I asked my Aphrodite friend to snoop around, and she told me everything.” 

“You’re evil,” Sicheng hisses. 

“Well, when do we get to meet her?” you ask expectantly. 

“Never, if I have anything to do about it,” he mumbles.

“You don’t, so when do we get to meet her?” Cat replies, not missing a beat.

“—While I hate to interrupt this extremely riveting conversation that I was most definitely not eavesdropping on,” a different voice begins, “visiting hours are now over.” 

Sicheng turns toward Jaemin, staring up at him as if he just saved his life. 

Which might be a little true. 

You’ve been so invested in Sicheng’s love life that you didn’t even notice that the sun is setting. It’s only until you’ve all stopped talking that you realize how quiet the infirmary is, since everyone has left. 

“Alright, time to go. See you later, Y/N!” Sicheng stands up, giving you a half-assed side hug, before speedwalking away. 

“Don’t worry,” Cat reassures you calmly, “I’ll get it out of him one way or another.”

“I’m counting on you,” you nod. 

She waves you and Jaemin goodbye before leaving as well. 

“That was certainly...interesting,” Jaemin remarks after Cat is out of earshot. 

“I bet it was, you eavesdropper,” you smirk. 

He chuckles. “Can you blame me?” 

No, you can’t. 

“Anyways, here you go.” Jaemin gives you a bag containing toiletries, a change of clothes, and a towel. “I’ll show you where the restroom is.” 

You’re grateful that you’re finally going to be able to shower, but you’re also slightly humiliated that he noticed you needed one before you said anything. You wonder if you really smell that bad, trying to inconspicuously sniff yourself to see. Obviously, you don’t smell amazing, but it’s not as if you reeked either. 

Jaemin offers you his hand.

“I can walk by myself,” you retort stubbornly. A small part of you wants to take it because you remember how nice it was when you held his hand last time, but you’re much too prideful for it. 

He fights off a smile and retracts his hand. “Be my guest.” 

Annoyed at his smug expression, you kick off your blanket and get up. Well, “get up” is putting it nicely. The moment your feet hit the floor and you put your weight on them, your legs begin wobbling as if you’re a newborn giraffe. Pain shoots through your whole body, like mini daggers traveling through your bloodstream. Even though your broken bones were mended by the ambrosia, nectar, and Jaemin’s healing, they still feel broken. 

Because you refuse to admit Jaemin was right, you prepare to take a step forward. Luckily, Jaemin grabs your hand and places it on his arm for support before you can fall flat on your face. You don’t reject him this time, allowing him to help you hobble to the restroom. 

“Asshole,” you mutter, “you knew that was going to happen.” 

“You seem like the kind of person that always does things the hard way,” Jaemin hums, “so I didn’t really see the point in arguing.” 

Damn, he’s right again. 

“But I like that about you,” he notes, saying it so casually that it feels like he’s talking to himself.

You can’t tell if he’s being semi-flirtatious on purpose or if he genuinely doesn’t realize it. Either way, you’re still falling for it—hook, line, and sinker. Your cheeks are practically two round radiators, and your heart is pounding so hard that it’s painful. 

“Here we are,” Jaemin says, leading you into the restroom. He points to a small, step stool that’s in the shower. “You can sit on that while you shower.” 

You feel somewhat like an old grandma that is too old to stand in the shower, but you know you have no choice if you don’t want to collapse. 

“If you need help, I can get one of my sisters—”

“I’ll be fine,” you cut in, holding up a hand to stop him. 

Jaemin nods before leaving. Once he’s gone, you immediately make a beeline for the mirror. You can’t help but let out a gasp when you see your reflection. Your hair is absolutely disgusting, and your skin is so dry that it’s flaking off. The fact that Jaemin saw you like this makes you want to die from embarrassment. 

Not that you should be caring about what he thinks.

Shifting your attention, you fish out your toothbrush and toothpaste and furiously brush your teeth until your wrist is sore. Careful not to pull your stitches, you hop into the shower, reveling in the feeling of being able to wash away all the grime. 

When you emerge from your shower, Jaemin has turned off most of the lights in the infirmary. There’s a small lamp on the front desk, where he’s sitting, and there’s another lamp on the nightstand next to your cot. He’s so immersed in his work that he doesn’t notice you. A small smile makes its way to your face as you watch him. The dim lighting makes his skin glow; there’s a certain vibrance that all Apollo kids have, and Jaemin looks absolutely ethereal. His tousled hair falls into his eyes, but he’s too busy to brush it aside. He’s chewing on his lip as he furiously scribbles on a clipboard. He’s rather endearing like this, not so...composed. 

You begin to feel creepy for staring, so you clear your throat. Jaemin shoots his head up, giving you a tired smile. 

“Why’d you turn all the lights off?” you ask, padding over to your cot. 

“The infirmary closes at 8,” Jaemin says. “I’m finishing some paperwork and then heading off to my cabin.” 

“Wait, you’re just gonna leave me here?” you gawk. 

“The Apollo Cabin is nearby if there’s a medical emergency—” 

“I’m not talking about that. I mean what am I gonna do here alone? I’ll be bored out of my mind!” you complain. 

“Sleep?” 

“I already slept all day. Plus, my shower woke me up.” You shake your head. 

“Then, would you like for me to stay with you?” Jaemin grins mischievously. 

You shoot him a pointed look, even though your heart skips a beat. You loathe the fact that such a corny, cheesy line worked on you. 

“By the way, aren’t you scared that I’ll run off when you’re gone?” you ask, refusing to acknowledge his last remark.

He doesn’t respond, simply smiling. Even though he isn’t saying anything, it’s perfectly understood that he has already taken precautions for that. This man is always two steps ahead of you. 

“Fine, but at least bring me some books or something. You can’t expect me to go to bed at 8 every day,” you sigh. 

“Alright, I’ll stop by the library tomorrow,” he agrees, walking over to you and setting down a small plate of nectar and ambrosia. “and here, just in case.” 

“Thanks.”

Jaemin pauses, gaze trained on something. You’re not sure what he’s looking at until he reaches over and gently grasps a lock of your hair between his thumb and pointer finger, catching a droplet of water that was about to drip onto your collarbone. 

You inhale sharply, holding your breath. It’s so quiet that you’re afraid he’ll hear the thumping of your heart. 

“I should get you a hair dryer too,” he says quietly. Again, he uses such a nonchalant tone that it’s as if he’s just musing to himself. He’s so calm, yet you feel like you’re about to pass out. 

This is so pathetic, you think to yourself, I seriously need to get out more.

At this rate, you’ll be wrapped around his finger in no time. 

“Make sure to dry your hair properly. The AC is super cold in here, so don’t get sick,” Jaemin warns. You’re so frazzled that you don’t notice how he shakily flexes his hand when he pulls it back. 

A common cold is the least of your worries right now. 

“Well, good night, Y/N,” Jaemin says softly. 

“Night, Sparkles,” you say numbly, the nickname just naturally slipping out again. Even after he leaves, you continue to sit there in a daze. 

Without realizing, your hand slowly reaches up and brushes through the ends of your hair. 

Jaemin keeps his promise, bringing back both a hairdryer and some books from the library. Curiously, Fifty Shades of Grey is among his selections for you. 

“Huh. I didn’t know we had this,” you had said, holding up the book. 

“Apparently, the head counselor of the Athena Cabin ordered it,” Jaemin had replied, shrugging. 

“Interesting.” 

However, after a couple of days, you were bored again. After all, you can only read so much of terribly-written BDSM smut before it’s not funny anymore. Cat and Sicheng still visit, but it’s mainly to bring you junk food. There also haven’t been any updates on Sicheng’s relationship with Moon either, much to yours and Cat’s disappointment. 

You come in and out of sleep, but you never stay asleep for long. On the bright side, you’re able to stand up and walk around without assistance now, but you still can’t strain your body. Every time you think about the fact that you have a week or two more of this, you want to scream out of frustration. You’ve never realized how restless you were until now. 

You’re lying on your cot, trying to figure out if the ceiling paint is a cream beige or more of a neutral beige, when you notice Jaemin walking towards you in your peripheral vision. 

You haven’t spoken to him much since he’s been pretty busy the past couple of days, not only running the infirmary but also taking care of the duties of Mr. D and Chiron since they left him in charge of the camp while they were gone. You never realized just how many people come up to him on the daily and expect him to solve their problems—and how he actually does. It seems like a pretty heavy burden to place on one person, but Jaemin has handled it pretty well. Not only that, he still makes sure to keep a watchful eye on you and always leaves some ambrosia and nectar by your bedside even if you don’t see him do it. 

Sitting up, you notice that he’s carrying some sort of instrument in his arms. It’s one you’ve never seen before—golden and U-shaped, it’s similar to a harp but much smaller. 

“Oh, good. You’re awake,” Jaemin says, carefully setting down the instrument and another book titled Lyre for Beginners. 

“What is that?” you ask.

“A lyre!” he replies cheerfully. “My father is famous for playing it.” 

“Don’t you think your plate is a little too full right now to be taking on a new hobby?” You raise an eyebrow.

“I do, which is why I’m not going to be the one playing it.” Jaemin smiles. 

You blink, finally understanding. “No.” 

“Yes!” 

“But I don’t want to learn the lyre,” you groan. 

“Do you have anything better to do?” he counters. 

“No, but—”

“It won’t be so bad. I’ll teach you,” Jaemin insists, flipping open the music book to a song entitled Hot Cross Buns. 

“You say it like it’s so easy, like you’re not some sort of virtuoso,” you say wryly. But he’s right, you have nothing better to do, so you begrudgingly indulge him. 

Jaemin sets the lyre on his lap, carefully positioning his fingers over the strings. He’s concentrating so hard that he could probably burn a hole through the sheet music. When he begins playing, you can’t help but furrow your brows at how…off it sounds. You’re no lyre expert, but even you can tell that it’s not good. The notes are out of tune, and the way he’s plucking the strings is clumsy and awkward. His eyes are darting back and forth from the music to his hands, and you finally notice the band-aids all over his fingers. 

He finishes the song with one last painful pluck, and he looks so relieved that you actually feel a little bad. 

“Well, how was it?” he asks, out of breath for some reason. 

You feel bad, but you’ve never been one to lie. “That was…terrible.” 

Jaemin doesn’t seem surprised by your answer, sighing. “Yeah. I’m not very musically gifted.” 

“Wait, aren’t all Apollo kids supposed to be musically gifted?” you ask. 

“My strong suit has always been healing, and I really focused on that,” Jaemin explains, “which caused me to neglect my archery and music abilities, so they’re not stellar. I don’t mind archery, but I actually really dislike playing instruments.” 

“Then why are you teaching me how to play the lyre?” You laugh. 

“Every time I looked over at you, you looked really bored, so I thought maybe this would be fun,” he admits, actually looking a little shy, “I got my sister to teach me some basics, but it didn’t really turn out well, as you’ve noticed.” 

“Is that why your fingers are covered in band-aids?”

“Yeah.” He chuckles to himself. “They actually hurt pretty bad.” 

You can’t help but smile. The fact that he went through all of that trouble just for you makes you indescribably happy. Your heart feels so full, pounding hard against your ribcage, but it’s not racing in that giddy, schoolgirl way like it was before. It’s beating in a way that makes you feel like Jaemin could be more than just a silly little crush—

You catch yourself. 

What was that? 

There’s nothing wrong with getting flustered by a cute boy from time to time, but you’ve never felt that emotion in your life, and you don’t know how to handle it. 

So, you do what you do best—deny and bury it. 

Get it together. He’s just being nice, you tell yourself. 

“Well, so much for being Apollo’s golden child,” you tease weakly, after realizing that you should probably respond before Jaemin notices something is wrong. 

Jaemin looks genuinely embarrassed by the title. “I hate it when people call me that.” 

“Why?” You suppose now is not a good time to inform him that everyone calls him that. 

“Because it makes me feel like I have to live up to a certain expectation and that people will be disappointed when they realize I don’t,” Jaemin confesses. His figure is slumped, and he suddenly looks so small and vulnerable. That bright, almost unnatural smile is nowhere to be found. Now, he seems a lot more like a man who’s carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. 

Jaemin is much more human like this. Less god. 

“Pretty lame, huh?” He laughs harshly. 

“Maybe a little,” you admit, “but I like that about you.” 

You echo his words so instinctively. Though you’re not sure if he was being serious when he said them to you, you genuinely mean it. You like this side of him much more than the perfect golden child that smiles no matter what happens image that he tries so hard to project. You wish he showed this side more often. 

I like...

“I see,” Jaemin says softly, unable to look you in the eye. His entire face is a glowing pink, even reaching all the way to the back of his neck. You’ve never seen him this flustered before, and you can’t help but giggle. It seems he can dish it, but he can’t take it. 

When he realizes you’re laughing at him, he blushes harder. Grinning smugly, you take the lyre from his hands.

“Now then. Let’s play some lyre, shall we?” 

All he can do is nod. 

The two of you spend the next hour plucking aimlessly at the strings, both clueless on what to do. You manage to get through Hot Cross Buns, but neither of you know if it was correct or not. You’ve just started Twinkle Twinkle Little Star when Cat comes running into the infirmary. 

“Moon is talking to another man!”

You nearly snap a string, mid-strum. Jaemin also whirls around excitedly, a lot more invested than you thought. 

Cat nearly crashes into your bed, unable to stop her momentum. She is able to catch herself just in time, pausing to take in one big breath before spilling everything.

 “It’s Lucas, a Hebe kid! They’re eating together at the Dining Pavilion, and Sicheng is trying to spy on them,” Cat is speaking so quickly that you can barely keep up, “Either way, you have to come see this, Y/N!” 

You’re already halfway out of your cot, slipping on your shoes. 

“Not so fast,” Jaemin interrupts, “Y/N, you’re supposed to be on bed rest, remember?” 

“Come on, Sparky, it’s not like I’ll be doing anything that’s straining my body,” you plead, “I’ll come right back—actually, you can come with me! That way, you can make sure I’m not doing anything I shouldn’t. You want to know what’s happening too, right?” 

Jaemin hesitates, actually considering it. 

“Yeah, Sparky,” Cat joins in, adapting the nickname. “This is an emergency! If we wait any longer, they might not be there anymore.” 

“Okay, fine,” he gives in pretty easily, “but only for a little bit.” 

You and Cat exchange grins. 

The three of you make a mad dash (well, more of a swift powerwalk because Jaemin won’t allow you to run) to the Dining Pavilion. You all duck under an empty table, scanning for Sicheng. 

Fortunately, you notice Sicheng sitting all by himself at a table far off in the corner, very obviously spying on two people right across from him. You assume that the pair, a guy and a girl, is Lucas and Moon. Lucas has floppy brown hair and a face that reminds you of a Golden Retriever. Appropriately, he is goofing off. Moon is laughing at something he’s saying, and when you see her, you know why Sicheng and Lucas are fighting over her. She’s wearing thin, round glasses and has black shoulder-length hair. She’s so pretty, and her smile is absolutely adorable. Lucas seems to think so too because he stops what he’s doing to watch her laugh, a small smile on his face. 

Your heart hurts for Sicheng, who’s staring at her with so much longing that you think he’s going to start crying right then and there. 

“I hate to be the bearer of bad news,” Jaemin whispers, “but they’re really cute together.”

That gets him a double elbow to the ribs. 

“Who’s side are you on?” you whisper back furiously. 

“Sicheng can come back from this,” Cat says determinedly. 

Her words linger in the air as the three of you keep watching, growing more and more discouraged. 

“Sicheng!” Cat whisper-yells, finally having had enough and trying to catch his attention. When he turns and sees all of you, he grows paler than a ghost. His expression is a mix of dread, fear, frustration, and exhaustion. 

“What are you doing here?” Sicheng asks through gritted teeth. 

“Are you just gonna sit there and watch some doofus steal your girl?” Cat demands. 

“Want us to go over there and teach him a lesson?” you offer. 

“You can’t give up now!” Jaemin chimes in. 

Now, Sicheng just looks mad. Getting up from his seat, he marches right over to you three. For some reason, you suddenly feel like a child that was caught stealing candy as he looms over you. 

“We need to talk,” he states, crossing his arms.

The three of you obediently crawl out from under the table and follow him back to the infirmary, walking in a single file line behind him like a bunch of ducklings. Once he arrives at your cot, he points at it. 

“Sit,” he orders, looking at you and Cat. 

The two of you carefully sit, hands folded dolicely in your laps. 

“And you too. Don’t think you’re getting out of this,” Sicheng snaps, turning towards Jaemin, who was trying to make a smooth escape. 

Jaemin, mid-tiptoeing away, laughs nervously before sitting down next to you. Cat stifles a snicker at him being caught, while you mutter “traitor” underneath your breath. After you’ve all situated, Sicheng takes a deep breath. 

“What the actual hell is wrong with you?” he asks, trying to keep his voice down but only somewhat successful at it. “There’s a difference between meddling and just straight up stalking!” 

“Don’t be dramatic,” Cat grumbles, “we weren’t stalking you.”

“Yeah, we were just observing,” you retort. 

“Do I look like I’m in the mood to be playing this game right now?” 

You two fall quiet. 

“And you!” Sicheng glares at Jaemin. “Aren’t you supposed to be the responsible one? I thought you were supposed to make sure Y/N stays on bed rest?”

“Yeah, it’s all Sparky’s fault,” Cat says quickly. 

Jaemin gawks at her. 

“We wouldn’t have gone if it weren’t for Pikachu over here!” You immediately take advantage of the diversion, dropping a new nickname on the fly. 

He looks betrayed for about three seconds before furrowing his brows. “First of all, I feel like this nickname thing has completely derailed from its original meaning. Calling me Pikachu implies that I can generate electricity, when in reality—” 

“Enough!” Sicheng yells.

The three of you shut up. 

“You two always do this,” Sicheng sighs, “You distract from the conversation so much that no one remembers what we were supposed to be talking about.”

You and Cat exchange guilty looks. 

“Listen, Moon is—I’m serious about her, okay? So, please. I don’t need any more stress,” Sicheng says quietly. 

“Okay, we understand. We took it too far, and I’m sorry,” you apologize genuinely. 

Cat scoots to the side before patting the empty spot beside her. Sicheng reluctantly sits between the two of you. 

“We were too much. Sorry,” Cat says as well, “we were just worried about you.” 

“Were you really worried or just wanting to be entertained?” He raises an eyebrow. 

“Both,” she replies, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. “But we really are sorry.” 

You do the same, nudging him gently. 

“I know,” he says. 

“I’m sorry too,” Jaemin chimes in, reaching over and giving him a pat on the back. 

“Thanks,” Sicheng responds. 

There’s a brief pause before you all burst into laughter. 

“No, but seriously, how am I supposed to get Lucas away from her?” Sicheng finally asks after a while. 

You and Cat immediately jump into action.

“Okay, so here’s what you need to do…” 

“Here you go.”

Jaemin places a plate of ambrosia and nectar on your nightstand yet again. 

“Don’t you think I’m pretty much healed at this point?” you ask. All of your surface wounds are practically gone, and the phantom pain you’ve been experiencing has subsided too. 

“You might feel like it, but you never know what can happen in the middle of recovery,” Jaemin says warily, “and besides, you had an eventful day today.” 

You snort. “That’s an understatement. Sorry that you got roped into it. And that Cat and I tried to sell you out.” 

“I didn’t mind. I had fun today,” he says, something resembling a smile on his lips. However, it’s not like his usual ones. He looks incredibly sad, and even though you’re right in front of him, he seems so alone. “You have a wonderful family.” 

“Well, they’re kind of stuck with me,” you joke, trying to cheer him up. “It’s not like I have any friends.” 

“Same,” he replies, laughing. It doesn’t really sound like a laugh though. 

“Come on, you’re, like, the most popular person at this camp,” you insist, “everyone wants to be your friend.” 

“There’s a difference between being popular and having friends. No one here wants to be friends with me. They want to be friends with a version of me they’ve created. The golden child.” His tone is so cold that you almost flinch. 

“I’m your friend, aren’t I?” you ask quietly. 

“You don’t know anything about me,” he says dryly. 

“Sure I do. I know that you don’t mind archery, but you hate playing instruments. I know that you suck at playing the lyre, but you learned it anyway for me because you’re kind. You’re kind, but you also have a mischievous side. You enjoy eavesdropping on your patients’ conversations. You get invested in petty drama. You like to flirt, but you can’t handle being flirted back with. You can be a little scary sometimes. You’re a hard worker as well. You carry this infirmary on your back and still manage to take care of Mr. D and Chiron’s affairs. And you do it all without a single complaint. You say that you can’t live up to people’s expectations, but I think you’re doing a pretty damn good job.” 

The words flow out of you like a waterfall. You surprise yourself at how much you know about him. 

Jaemin is so quiet that you start to get a little embarrassed for monologuing like that.

“You think I can be scary?” he finally asks. 

“I just poured my heart out for you, and that’s all you can say?” you snap. 

He chuckles, and it’s a real laugh this time. “Sorry, no one’s ever called me that before.” 

“You don’t think you’re scary? Whenever I threatened to leave, you smiled all creepy and acted like you were going to take me down if I even tried!” you exclaim. 

“Oh, that. I was just bluffing,” he says casually. 

You blink.

“I’ve dealt with many of your kind before. If you think I have the upper hand, then you won’t do anything,” he explains. “It’s a mind game I like to play.” 

“You know what, I’m glad you brought the ambrosia and nectar,” you start, “because you’re going to need it.” 

For the first time since you’ve met him, Jaemin smiles. It’s not a smile that he plasters on for common decency. It’s not a smile he plasters on because he’s trying to hide another emotion. It’s not a smile he plasters on just because he doesn’t have another expression to put on. 

He’s smiling because he’s happy. Because he wants to smile. Because you make him happy and want to smile. 

Apollo children’s smiles are always bright, Jaemin being no exception. However, this smile is more of a soft glow rather than a beaming light, much like the glow that emits from his fingertips when he’s healing someone. This smile suits him much more than the gleaming, overwhelming smile that he usually has. 

What a dangerous weapon you’ve just discovered. 

One that you wish you could keep for yourself. 

“Thank you for pouring your heart out for me, Y/N,” Jaemin says softly. “You think too highly of me. Much more than I deserve, but I’ll try my best to meet your expectations.” 

You reach up and grab his face, squishing his cheeks together way too hard. 

“Stop! I don’t want you to live up to my expectations. Or anyone’s! Live up to your own expectations, dummy,” you scold him, “No matter what, I’ll always be there for you. Unless you become a racist or something. You get the gist.” 

His eyes are wide as he stares down at you. 

“Got it, Sparkle Fingers?” You bring his face closer. 

Now that your face is only a couple of inches away from his, you hone in on the small details. He has golden flecks in his light brown eyes, and you wonder if that’s an Apollo kid thing. His lashes are feathery and thick, much longer than yours, which slightly annoys you. And against your better judgement, your eyes travel down to his lips. They’re pink and plush, but not too thick, and slightly chapped—not that it makes you any less willing to kiss him. 

Shit, you curse to yourself, quickly trying to retract your hands. 

It seems that you need at least a three feet distance between the two of you for your brain to function properly. 

He gently grasps your wrists before moving up to cover your hands with his own, holding them on his cheeks. “I’m going to hold you to that promise.” 

Your head is swimming, and you’ve lost your ability to speak, only able to muster a nod. 

Jaemin appears to be in a daze too, firmly (but still gently) holding onto you as if his life depended on it. The two of you can only helplessly stare at each other before he blinks a couple of times and realizes what he’s doing. He lets you go so abruptly that your arms can only fall limply to your sides. 

“A-And same with me! I’ll always be here for you too,” he stammers. Even in the dim lighting, you can see how red he is. “Anyways, get some sleep. It’s late. Good night.” 

He goes to leave, and before you can stop yourself, you grab the edge of his shirt. He nearly jumps out of his own skin, stiffly turning his head. 

“Y-Yeah? Is there something else you need?”

You don’t want him to go, but you can’t tell him that. But now you have to say something. Racking your brain for an excuse, you blurt out the first thing that pops into your mind.

“When I died, I met my dad in the Underworld.” 

You’re not sure why that was the first thing that you thought of, and you’re even more unsure of why you were dumb enough to actually say it. You and Jaemin just had a touching moment, and now you were about to ruin it with your daddy issues. 

Jaemin, to his credit, doesn’t stare at you like you’re insane. He just stares at you. In a neutral way, like he’s processing. 

“Wh-What? You spilled your secrets to me, so I’m just returning the favor,” you flounder. 

“Fair,” he admits, smiling, much to your relief. He takes a seat on the edge of your bed. “So, what happened?” 

You can’t believe you’re about to talk about Hades to Jaemin, of all people. You don’t even talk about your father to your own siblings. It’s a subject you’ve never really known how to address, and you suppose doing it with someone who has no ties to Hades could be good for you. 

“Well, nothing really. I just died, went to the Underworld, he asked me why I was there, and I told him,” you say bluntly. “By the time I finished talking, I woke up.” 

Jaemin doesn’t respond right away, gauging your reaction, before asking, “What did you want to happen?”

“I don’t know,” you confess, “I guess maybe I’d thought he’d be happier to see me.” 

“You think he would be happy that his daughter is dead?” Jaemin doesn’t say it in a condescending way, more like a genuine question.

“No, but...I thought he’d want to talk to me. To ask me how I’m doing. Instead, all he cared about the fact was that Chiron and Mr. D was making his kids do the dirty work,” you sigh. 

“Did Hades say that?” 

“He implied it.”

“How do you know?”

“I...don’t. But he’s never shown any interest in his children, so why would he be saying it out of concern?” you ask. 

“Maybe he never showed any interest in his kids because they would have to come to the Underworld, which means they would have to die,” Jaemin ponders. 

“We can visit him while we’re alive,” you counter. 

“But you would be surrounded by death. Maybe he doesn’t want the scent of death following his children,” he muses. 

You don’t say anything, considering his words. 

“Godly parents are...something. No parent is perfect, but godly parents are especially flawed. My dad is quite the character. He’s self-centered, frivolous, and behaves more like a child than his actual children. But I know he loves us in his own messy, unconventional way.” Jaemin laughs. He speaks about Apollo in a way that you’ve never felt about Hades. “Of course, I’m not telling you to forgive Hades or let go of your dislike towards him. No child should have to beg their parent for love. But I do think that he’s trying, in his own way. He’s just not doing a very good job of communicating it.”

“You think so?” you whisper it, like a hopeful child. 

“I do.” He nods. 

“I thought about him,” you continue, “I wondered if he would’ve let me stay with him if I had really died. I wondered if he would’ve been proud of me. I want him to be proud of me.” 

“I think he would’ve been very happy to hear that.” Jaemin smiles. “And Y/N?”

You look up at him.

“There’s no way that he isn’t proud of you, and I bet he would have told you if you had stayed there a little longer.” He speaks with such conviction in his eyes that you believe him. 

You feel heat rise to your cheeks, embarrassed by how earnest he’s being. “Well, thanks to a certain someone, I never got to find out.”

Jaemin chuckles. “True. But you know what?”

“What?”

“I’m damn glad I brought you back.” 

Your face grows hotter, and you hope that Jaemin can’t feel the warmth radiating off of it. You break eye contact first, trying to tame the butterflies in your stomach. 

“Alright, but now I really need to go. And you need to rest,” Jaemin says, standing up. But not before he shoots you another mischievous grin. “Unless you want me to stay.” 

Your embarrassment is curbed by your annoyance. Now that he’s got you flustered, he’s grown arrogant again. 

A part of you wants to tell him to stay, but then that would be too real. 

You actually get a decent amount of sleep, despite everything that happened last night. To your surprise, you don’t go in and out of consciousness like you normally do. In fact, you actually have to be shaken awake. 

“Y/N, wake up,” someone whispers. 

At first, you want to just turn the other way and ignore them. Unfortunately, they keep persisting, and your groggy brain finally registers the voice as Cat’s. You force your eyes open, but you’re slightly disoriented. It’s still dark outside, and you register that it’s extremely early. 

“I’m up,” you mumble, “what’s wrong?” 

“The Golden Fleece has been stolen.”

That wakes you up instantly. You’re not sure how Cat figured it out, but you don’t know how to tell her you’ve known for a while now. However, you don’t have time to figure it out because she keeps going. 

“Chiron and Mr. D are back, and we’ve been dispatched,” Cat explains. “We’re leaving soon.” 

Even though your body protests, you push yourself up. “Wait, I haven’t even packed yet. What time is it?” 

She bites her lip, looking hesitant. “No, Y/N. We as in Sicheng and I. He’s still getting ready in the cabin, so that’s why he’s not here.”

The gears in your brain malfunction. “What do you mean?”

“You’re in no condition to go. Chiron and Mr. D are going to split the missions up. Sicheng and I are one team, and they’ve found another team to replace you.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. I’m fine,” you insist, “who are they sending?”

“I’m not sure. An Ares kid and a Nike kid, I think. I didn’t really catch their names,” Cat says. 

“Why would they send two people and risk two lives when I can handle it?” you protest. 

“Of course, you can’t. You’re hurt, Y/N. Jaemin didn’t even want me to tell you, but I didn’t want to leave without saying bye,” she sighs. 

“I have to go,” you assert. “I’m going to talk to Mr. D and Chiron right now.” 

“You can’t. You’re on bed rest,” Jaemin cuts in, appearing from behind Cat. 

“I think I could go the rest of my life without hearing those words ever again,” you mutter. 

He turns toward Cat. “Go finish getting ready. I’ll handle this.” 

Cat nods, giving you one last hug. “We’ll be back before you know it.” 

“You can’t stop me now,” you say to Jaemin after she leaves. “You’ve already told me you’re bluffing.” 

“Please don’t make me do this,” Jaemin whispers, sounding genuinely pained. 

“I’m stronger than you,” you point out, going to push past him. 

He holds out his arm, blocking your path. You can tell by how tense his body is that he’s preparing to use his powers and/or physical force to stop you. If you wanted to, you could take his outstretched arm and put him out of commission right now. But you can’t bring yourself to do it.

“Why are you doing this?” you sigh. “Why do you insist on getting involved like this?” 

He doesn’t answer. 

“Is it because you’ve finally gotten me under your perfect golden boy spell, and it damages your pride now that I’m trying to leave?” 

You know it’s not true. You know you’re being cruel.  You just want to provoke him, to make him angry because you’re willing to lash out at anyone right now. 

He reacts only slightly, clenching his jaw. 

“What, did that hurt?” you ask. 

“Yes,” he answers hoarsely, a muscle in his jaw pulsating. 

“Good. I wanted it to,” you say childishly. 

Jaemin squeezes his eyes shut, like he’s trying to restrain himself. However, it only lasts for a brief second before he opens his eyes again, and he decides to say something. 

“You think I want to keep getting involved with you?”

You blink.

“I want more than anything to uninvolve myself with you, Y/N. Ever since you got wheeled into this damn infirmary, I keep finding myself doing stupid things just to keep talking to you. To keep finding an excuse to stay close to you. I never get involved with my patients, but I’ve been doing nothing but that when it comes to you. To the point that I’ve told you my deepest insecurities, only for you to weaponize it against me. But I know you don’t mean it. I know it’s because you’re worried about Cat and Sicheng, that you feel guilty about leaving them to do the mission on their own. Still, that doesn’t mean I can’t be angry. Angry at your self-destructive and self-sacrificing mentality that’s going to end up getting you killed for real this time. And the thought of seeing you like that again—”

He stops, shakily breathing in. You’ve never seen him this upset before. 

“I love you too much to let you do that to yourself. But it doesn’t matter how much I love you because you’ve never been the type to listen. You have to do things the hard way. No matter what,” he continues, “So, go. Go, and when you come back, I’ll pick up the pieces like always. Like the golden child I am.” 

It’s too late to regret what you said, yet you still do. 

You thought you were willing to follow your siblings to the ends of the Earth, and you still would, but Jaemin makes you hesitate. Jaemin makes Camp Half-Blood, a place that’s never once felt like home, feel like home. He makes you want to stay. 

But you don’t deserve to stay. You don’t deserve anything from him—and certainly not something as precious as his love. 

So, you leave. 

Your initial goal was to find Mr. D and Chiron, but you somehow end up on the Training Grounds with a sword in your hand. You’ve been whacking at the straw dummy for so long that you’ve almost created a hole in the cast iron armor it’s wearing. You’re covered in sweat, and your whole body hurts. If you had any stitches left to pull, then you’d have pulled them already. 

Much to your dismay, the sun is starting to set, which means you are that much closer to having to confront your problems. But first, you opt to take a shower first and continue to ignore them for a little longer. Wiping sweat from your brow, you return your sword back to the Armory before heading to the Hades Cabin. 

There is no way in Tartarus that you’re going back to the infirmary tonight. 

“Hey, new girl!” You hear someone shout. 

At first, you don’t turn around, but the voice calls out again. A girl with long black hair tied up into a ponytail and rosy cheeks is running towards you. She has long, slender legs that resemble an Amazon, and you can’t help but admire what a perfect specimen she is. You’re so busy ogling that you forget to correct her and tell her that you’ve been here for years already. Just not physically. 

“Here. Care package from anonymous.” She tosses a small drawstring pouch at you, and you clumsily catch it. The girl doesn’t even wait for your response before walking off. 

“Sooyoung, come on!” Another girl calls, gesturing for the girl you’re assuming is Sooyoung. 

“Coming, Sana!” 

You watch the two girls leave, arms wrapped around each other. You wondered if the gods were rubbing it in your face too. Sighing, you open the mysterious pouch and find a couple pieces of ambrosia in it. You blink a few times, trying to make sure that you’re seeing it correctly. 

Because there’s only one person who would’ve given this to you. 

You feel tears prick at your eyes. 

If Jaemin is mad at you, then he should act like it. He shouldn’t be kind. He shouldn’t make you falter. He shouldn’t make you question everything. 

He shouldn’t make you more in love than you already are. 

You take a piece of ambrosia and bite into it, hoping that it’ll make this pain in your heart go away.

After returning back to your cabin, you take a piping hot shower—where you realize that you are way too inept at emotions to be able to solve this yourself. You need an outside opinion, someone who can tell you straight. 

You need a friend. 

Cat and Sicheng are busy, which cross out your only options. 

Therefore, you take some desperate measures. 

Marching right up to the Poseidon Cabin, you knock. You begin to count to three in your head, deciding to bail right away if no one answers the door after three seconds. Unfortunately, someone does—and it’s not who you hope it is. 

It’s a boy you don’t know. He has wavy, light brown hair and has big doe eyes. His lips are naturally pouty and heart-shaped. He has an angelic face, but you can tell he’s also a troublemaker. He gives you a confused smile. 

“Hi, can I help you?” 

“Hi. I’m looking for Moon,” you say, twiddling your thumbs. 

“What’s your name?” he asks, raising an eyebrow. 

“I’m her, uh, friend,” you answer vaguely. 

He looks doubtful but opens the door wider for you to enter. You awkwardly step in. The Poseidon Cabin is absolutely stunning. The walls and floor all resemble the ocean, with seashells and coral adorning them. You’d take time to admire it more if you weren’t so desperate. 

“Moon, someone’s here for you!” The boy calls out. 

There’s a couple seconds of silence before you hear someone’s footsteps coming toward you. Moon emerges in her pajamas despite the fact that it’s only the evening with a One Piece manga in her hand. 

“Hyuck, this better not be some sort of stupid prank again. My favorite character is about to die, and I’ve been gearing up all day for a good cry—”

She stops, staring at you. 

“Hey.” You give her a small wave. 

She furrows her eyebrows. “Who—” 

“Listen, I know you have no idea who I am, but I really need to confide in someone right now and you seem to know a lot more about love than me,” you blurt out quickly. 

Both Moon and Hyuck look bewildered. 

“Um, okay,” Moon says slowly. “We can go to my room then.” 

You let out a sigh of relief and follow her. Without even introducing yourself, you take a deep breath and tell her everything that’s happened with Jaemin the moment she closes the door. Moon, shockingly, listens carefully instead of getting a restraining order. After you’ve finished explaining everything, her response is simple. 

“You fucked up. Bad.” 

“I know,” you groan, “what do I do?” 

“What else can you do except apologize and tell him how you feel?” Moon shrugs. “It’s up to him whether he wants to accept them or not.” 

“What if he hates me?” you ask. 

“He sent you ambrosia even after you said those terrible things to him,” she points out, “he doesn’t hate you. He will never hate you, but he also might not forgive you.” 

You nod. You’re not sure you deserve to be forgiven anyway. It’s selfish of you, but you just don’t want him to hate you. 

“Then again, he’s got it pretty bad. The man even learned the lyre for you,” Moon snorts. 

The lyre. 

You want to envelop Moon in a giant hug, but you don’t want to weird her out even more than you already have. 

“I have to go now,” you suddenly say. “Sorry for just barging in like that, and thank you so much for listening to me. I hope we can be friends after I resolve this.” 

You’re already halfway out of the door when Moon says, “Wait! What’s your name?” 

“I’m Y/N. Oh, and by the way, I wanted to let you know that Sicheng is definitely the better choice.” 

It’s just shy of 7:45 p.m. when you make your way into the infirmary. 

As you expected, Jaemin is sitting at the front desk, doing paperwork. Even though you only last saw him this morning, his face is much more haggard than you remember. He looks absolutely drained, like he’s barely able to hold up the pen in his hand. Not noticing you yet, he sets the pen down to pinch the bridge of his nose, sighing. 

Luckily, you’re able to retrieve the lyre from your cot without him seeing. Inhaling deeply, you walk over to him, clearing your throat. His head jolts up, clearly not realizing someone was there. When he sees you, his gaze instantly softens before hardening again when he remembers he’s mad at you. 

“Y/N—” 

“No, wait,” you say quickly, “give me one minute.” 

Jaemin looks like he wants to say more but eventually closes his mouth, waiting. 

You carefully position your fingers over the strings before beginning to play Hot Cross Buns. Unfortunately, it’s not as grand of an apology as you had hoped because you forgot to grab the music book. Therefore, you were simply plucking Hot Cross Buns by memory, and you definitely did not have it memorized. It’s a painful minute, as you try to remember the chords but ultimately just playing whatever. 

When you finish, Jaemin just looks at you. Panicked, you open your mouth to beg for his forgiveness for both the song and everything else. 

“Jaemin—”

“I think you’re worse than I am,” he says quietly. 

Your jaw slightly hangs ajar, confused by his reaction. “Wha...What?” 

“I said, that was awful,” he repeats. 

“Oh. I’m...sorry?” You don’t know what else to say. 

“For the song?” He raises an eyebrow. 

“For every—”

“Don’t,” Jaemin says firmly. “I don’t want you to be sorry. Because that means you’re sorry about us. I don’t want you to regret anything about us. I really don’t think I could handle that right now.”

“But I am sorry,” you insist, “But not about us. I am regretting. But not about us. I’m sorry for using something you confided in me with against you. I regret saying it. No matter what I do, I will never be able to take that back in this lifetime. You loved me, and I hurt you. It’s so selfish of me, but I still love you back. I’m not asking for anything in return, I just wanted to tell you. After this, I’ll go—” 

“Say it again.” Jaemin is up from his seat, walking towards you. 

“Oh, um, which part?” you ask, taken aback. 

“You love me?” he whispers. He’s close enough to reach out and touch you now, but he doesn’t. 

“Yes,” you confess, “I think I have for a while now, but I’ve been fighting it. I just...I was scared I was misunderstanding. And because I’ve never felt like this before. Something this strong.” 

Jaemin finally lifts his hand and brushes your cheek. His touch is feather-light, like he still isn’t sure if you’re real or not. 

“I love you, Na Jaemin,” you whisper, making sure he knows you’re real. 

Not Sparkle Fingers, not Sparkles or Sparky, not Apollo’s golden child.

Just Jaemin. 

Your Jaemin. 

“That’s all I want,” he says softly, leaning down and pressing his lips against yours. 

Jaemin’s kisses are so distinctively him. They’re warm and loving, embracing and coaxing you rather than forcing you. His hands cradle your face as if it’s made of glass as he pulls you closer to him. You stand on your tiptoes, wrapping your arms around his neck. Eventually, his arms find themselves wound around your waist, picking you up off the floor just a little. 

You’ve never noticed how nice he smells until now. You’re not sure how it’s possible, but he literally smells like sunshine. He smells like the warm ray of light that shines down on you when you’re lying on a hammock. He smells like the spring breeze that blows past you in a field of flowers. He smells like the spot of sunlight that kittens bask in during their naps. It’s a scent that you could inhale more than oxygen.  

He only pulls away when he senses that you’re running out of air. 

“I’m still a little mad at you though,” he says, slightly breathless himself. 

“Okay.” You nod, dizzy from both the kiss and his scent. 

“But...one more kiss.” 

LATER. 

“Okay, so here’s the game plan, Sicheng. Moon’s favorite character in One Piece is about to die, and I’ve been distracting her from that volume until you came back, so that you can be the one comforting her when she’s crying.” 

“Wait, Y/N!” Cat cries out, adjusting her binoculars (that she also stole from her Aphrodite friend). “Isn’t that Moon crying in Lucas’s arms right now?” 

You snatch the binoculars from her and hone in on the Dining Pavilion. 

“That son of a—”

“Should we ask Dad to send a zombie to harass him?” Sicheng asks. 

“Y/N, you do it. You’re his favorite,” Cat says. 

“Do you really think he’ll agree to that?” you hiss. 

“Uh-oh,” Jaemin says frantically, having taken over the binoculars. “Code Red! Code Red! He’s leaning in for the kiss.” 

“Shut up!” You giggle, kicking him under the table. He yelps in pain, and your laughter only grows, getting louder the more you try to stop it. Within seconds, the library assistant, a tall, balding man in his 40s, swoops down on you two, fixing you in place and silencing you with a glare.

“Am I going to have to ask you to leave?” He all but snarls, leaning down to put one hand on the table, blessing your and Johnny’s noses with the scent of stale coffee on his breath. You wince involuntarily, and as he turns his piercing gaze on you specifically, you’re saved by the actual library director, a sweet, elderly woman with white hair who’s come to be quite fond of you after she caught you organizing the books of your own free will (you were really just very bored, but she still thinks you’re a doll).

“It’s okay, they won’t be causing any more trouble—isn’t that right, dear?” She says, shooting you a teasing grin. You nod emphatically, putting on your best angelic expression and batting your lashes up at her. “Exactly what I thought. Carry on, you two.” They walk off, the male still eying you suspiciously as they leave.

“I still don’t get how you have that sweet old lady convinced you’re an angel. Clearly, she’s incapable of seeing the demon underneath your “adorable” persona.” Johnny shakes his head at you in disbelief, picking up a nearby book, opening it, and holding it up to his face, peering over the top at you. “Share your secret.”

“My secret,” You whisper conspiratorially and lean closer—he leans closer as well, playing along with feigned interest on his face, “Is that I’m just a delightful individual. Also, your book is upside down, genius.” You laugh, leaning back in your seat. “Can we get back to me and my dilemma now?”

“All ears, angel,” He agrees, leaving the book face down on the table and folding his hands behind his head, waiting patiently.

“I’ve been waiting for this book for two and a half months, Johnny—that’s ten weeks. The rule is two weeks, which means this incompetent dingbat has renewed this book five times. Five!” You whisper-shriek, fingers clenching on your laptop.

“Maybe they need it for a class,” He offers, and you shake your head.

“I already looked up the book in the college store—it’s not on any course reserve list.”

“Well, aren’t you just a little Nancy Drew?”

“Fuck off, Johnny. I just need to find this book. I’ve wanted to read Antigonick for ages now, and this dunce has been hogging it for over a month now.”

“Remind me what exactly the book is, again?”

You sigh, blowing a strand of hair out of your face and sit up, pushing your laptop to the side. “Antigonick is a series of hybrid poetry works—false translations, namely—by the absolutely brilliant Anne Carson, and I have been trying to get ahold of it for ages. The bookstore nearby doesn’t sell it, the college store doesn’t sell it, and this library is the only establishment within 50 miles where I can get it.”

“Maybe they’re having a hard time understanding it. It sounds kinda complicated, after all.” Johnny’s always been great at diffusing a situation, but right now, you kind of need someone who’ll get riled up with you—specifically, Doyoung.

“Anne Carson’s work deserves better than to be in the hands of some imbecile who can’t even understand it,” You mutter bitterly, and turn your head at approaching footsteps. You and Johnny crane your heads to the visitor and find Yuta and Doyoung, who walk up to your table and sit down, Yuta next to you, and Doyoung next to Johnny. “Thank God, I was just thinking about you.” You tell Doyoung, who raises a wary brow.

“Thanks, bud. Missed you too,” Yuta scoffs, and you smile, nudging him with your elbow.

“I needed emotional support in a very specific way only Doyoung could provide right now.” You explain, waving Yuta off dismissively. Johnny scoffs, and you glare at him. “You’re too positive, Johnny. No offense.”

“Does this have anything to do with the imbecile you were just talking about?” Doyoung asks with a budding smile on his face, already eager to indulge in your gossip.

“Yes!” You whisper excitedly, and the two of you lean forward in your seats, murmuring hurriedly about the book hogger. “…and he’s had it for two and a half months now, which—”

“Means he’s renewed it five times! Who takes two and a half months to read a book?” Doyoung finishes for you, eyebrows furrowed in frustration. Your eyes light up, and you smack the table triumphantly.

“Exactly!”

“You’re right, that’s ridiculous.” Doyoung huffs, leaning back and frowning at you. “Your feelings are…”

“Don’t say it,” Yuta and Johnny groan in unison, rolling their eyes, but Doyoung persists, the corner of his mouth quirking upwards mischievously.

“More than valid, and you should do something about it.” He finishes, nodding.

“I know, so here’s my plan.” You say, bouncing in your seat excitedly.

“Okay, I love you both dearly, but can the two of you shut up? The library used to be a place where you could do work, you know.” Yuta groans, and you and Doyoung roll your eyes in unison.

“We’ll be quiet,” You say, patting Yuta on the shoulder. He shoots you a dazzling, albeit clearly tense smile as he pulls out a thick packet of what you assume to be worksheets. “Remind me why you’re a biochem major again?”

“I’m a dumbass who loves animals, and I have to do veterinarian studies through the pre-med track,” Yuta sighs, and you leave it at that, clearly seeing how stressed out he is. You reach instead for your phone, looking pointedly at Doyoung, who gets the hint and picks up his own phone, leaning back and putting his feet up on the table. You reach over and push his legs off, glaring at him sternly before directing your attention back to your phone.

[You have added ‘johnny johnny bo bonny’ to the group chat.]

[You have added ‘pillsbury do-bunny’ to the group chat.]

[You have named the conversation “mission take down the book hogger.”]

johnny johnny bo bonny [1:32pm] ^ ur literally so dramatic i hate u

you [1:32pm] shut up i’m after /justice/

pillsbury do-bunny [1:33pm] i support you fully. what’s your plan?

you [1:35pm] so i’ve been thinking about how to find out who has the book…and i thought i should attack from the inside, you feel?

johnny johnny bo bonny [1:36pm] [attachment: 1 image] “aTtAcK fRoM tHe InSiDe” ur the absolute Worst™

johnny johnny bo bonny [1:36pm] what does that even mean

pillsbury do-bunny [1:38pm] don’t send that spongebob meme anymore. you know his face creeps me out.

you [1:39pm] nerd

johnny johnny bo bonny [1:39pm] nerd

[‘pillsbury do-bunny’ disliked “nerd”]

[‘pillsbury do-bunny’ disliked “nerd”]

you [1:41pm] coward

[‘pillsbury do-bunny’ disliked “coward”]

[‘johnny johnny bo bonny’ laughed at “coward”]

you [1:44pm] anYway: so you know how the head librarian here is like obsessed w me or something?

johnny johnny bo bonny [1:46pm] still baffles me but yeah

[‘pillsbury do-bunny’ emphasized “still baffles me but yeah”]

you [1:49pm] so i was thinking: i finesse my way onto a shift here at the library and go through the administrative records of the library catalogue, find the book, find out who has it and voila!! i’ve got myself a culprit

pillsbury do-bunny [1:52pm] i heard the library slots are all full though…how are you gonna get one?

you [1:56pm] um. i didn’t get that far yet.

pillsbury do-bunny [1:57pm] isn’t that like step one of the plan?

you [2:05pm] new phone who dis

Doyoung scowls up at you as you giggle at your own joke, eyes scanning the library until they meet a pair of brown eyes staring directly back at you. You do a quick double-take, and you see a—very cute—guy staring at you; however, he would be a lot cuter if he wasn’t staring at you with poorly masked annoyance on his face. He mouths something at you, but you can’t quite make it out. You cock your head in confusion, and he huffs, walking over to your table.

He’s even cuter up close, and he smells really good—like cinnamon and soap.

“Could you guys please keep it down? You’ve been kind of disruptive for the past hour or so, and a lot of people here are trying to do work.” He asks, and you can’t help but feel a little bit bad. You stare at him intently, taking in each of his features and mulling each one over in your head—he looks super familiar, but you can’t quite place where you know him from.

Doyoung and Johnny apologize, while Yuta only mutters an “Amen.” You hear a thud and a grunt from your side of the table and assume Doyoung’s kicked Yuta, but the noises are muted as you continue to stare at the new addition to your table.

“Sorry,” You reply slowly, still transfixed on placing his face. “Where do I know—” You start, but he’s already turned around and rushing back to his table.

“Who is he, and why do I know him from somewhere?” You mumble, still staring after him.

“You look like a stalker right now; you know that, right?” Johnny jokes, and you glare at him. “Stop kicking me!”

“I’m sorry dear, but we’re booked full right now,” The head librarian responds with a sympathetic look up at you. As if to prove her point, three library volunteers shuffle out of the back area, each carrying a stack of books.

“I told you,” Doyoung mumbles, and you smile sweetly, letting one hand drop from the counter to pinch his thigh. He winces, but recovers impressively quickly to smile at the librarian as well.

“That’s okay! I just figured I’d ask,” You smile, waving at her as she turns away and points the volunteers in their respective directions. In their haste to relieve their burdens, one of the workers drops her volunteer ID card as she hustles off. You go to call after her, but you end up stooping to pick it up, staring at it in fascination. You turn to look at Doyoung with a sinister, growing smile, and his eyes widen.

“No. No, no, absolutely not.” He says, as sternly as he can muster.

“Yes. Yes, yes, this is happening whether you like it or not, so you might as well be on board with it.”

“This feels illegal.” He hisses, and you shush him, swatting his arm.

“Shut up, because I’m going to need your help with this.”

“No. That is a firm, unyielding no. I’m not getting in trouble and accessing private school information just so you can read some poetry book.”

“Come on, Doyoung. Be the Tom to my Jerry, the Bonnie to my Clyde, the Frog to my Toad!”

“Tom and Jerry fought all the time.”

“Are we not fighting right now?”

“Bonnie and Clyde died tragically.” Doyoung points out.

“After leading lives of crime, not after peeking online at a certain book’s checkout history.”

“Frog and Toad were lovers, I’m pretty sure.”

“You’re actually the worst. Forget it, I’m asking Yuta.” You grouch, tucking the ID in your back pocket and turning on your heel to leave the library. You pull out your phone instead, typing out a text message as quickly as you can.

“I’m surprised you’re not asking Johnny.” Doyoung says, jogging to keep up with you. You may be shorter than him, but you’re a girl on a mission and you’re virtually unstoppable at this point.

“What, and have him fuck up the diversion? I’m not going down with that beanstalk and you know it.”

“You act as if you’re going to assassinate a king, you absolute drama queen.”

“You love my theatrics, and you know it,” You cry loudly with a flourish, eyes still glued on your phone. Everything next happens very, very quickly. The last you remember, you were walking and chattering. The next, you’re flat on your back, unhurt but definitely startled. “Oh.”

“Shit, I’m sorry,” A voice overhead gasps and you’re suddenly very aware of the warm hand holding yours as you’re tugged to your feet. It’s the same guy from the library from earlier, you note, dusting yourself off. “Are you hurt?”

“I don’t think so! Don’t worry about it, also—now we’re kind of even for earlier in the library,” You say, patting him on the shoulder, making what you hope is a friendly, comforting expression.

“Oh—Don’t worry about that, I’ve just been really stressed out, and I just needed to focus.” He mumbles, cheeks dusted with a faint pink as he rubs the back of his neck nervously.

“It’s okay, we’re pretty rambunctious. Hey, before I forget—am I crazy, or do I know you from somewhere?” You say, cocking your head, and his eyes widen almost unnoticeably before he opens his mouth to answer.

“We’re in Advanced Poetry together, right? Our teacher scares the crap out of me, honestly.”

You do your best to bite back a smirk. “She’s my advisor.”

Doe eyes wide and mouth open in the shape of a Cheerio—adorable, you think—replace his usual features, and you bite back a laugh as he shakes his head almost frantically, stumbling over his next words.

“I didn’t mean—she’s nice, she’s just scary, and—Jesus, this isn’t going well.”

“I thought you were doing pretty well,” You point out, a smile on your face, and he blushes furiously, looking at you bashfully.

“Thanks,” He chuckles, taking a step closer to you. “I don’t think I ever got your name, by the way.” You grin and introduce yourself, and he beams at you, opening his mouth to tell you his name, but—

“Dude, are you coming or what?” At the sound coming from behind you, you turn around and find two guys standing by the entrance to the library with semi-impatient expressions on their faces.

“Uh. Yeah, I-I’m coming.” He calls out to them before looking at you apologetically. “I’ll see you around, right?”

“Yes, you will,” You nod, waving goodbye to him. He smiles shyly and walks past you and Doyoung (who you’ve practically forgotten was there) to go back into the library. The door shuts behind him, and you sigh in frustration, running a hand through your hair as you keep walking. “Why is the universe determined not to tell me his name?”

“He’s kind of like your Cinderella. Gender-bent fairytales are cute and progressive, don’t you think?” Doyoung jokes, and you growl, knocking into him and ignoring his laughter. “Did Yuta text you back yet? While I don’t endorse crime, I am deeply intrigued to see how this works out.”

“Oh shit, I never actually sent the text.” You yelp, fishing your phone back out and sending the text.

you [3:57pm] yutaaa do you wanna do a top-secret search and rescue mission with me?

thousand-watt smile [3:58pm] no.

you [4:00pm] 1, stop changing your name in my phone. 2, please???? i’ll pay you in love and affection.

thousand-watt smile [4:03pm] 1, i don’t like that my name in your phone used to be ‘biochem nerd.’ 2, fine.

thousand-watt smile [4:03pm] you’re lucky you’re cute.

[you loved ‘you’re lucky you’re cute.’]

you [4:06pm] yay yay yay i love you! i’ll even keep your name as this in my phone. ^.^

thousand-watt smile [4:08pm] you were going to do that anyway…right?

you [4:10pm] yes darling can you come meet me and doyoung in the café? johnny said he’d come too

thousand-watt smile [4:15pm] yes yes after my class. i’m bringing taeyong he says he misses you

you [4:18pm] are you in class??? stop texting me i’ll see you when you get out

thousand-watt smile [4:22pm] lmaO okay i get out at 5

“Okay, can we hurry to the café? We need a big booth and you know those go quickly.” You pout, already picking up the pace as you walk as briskly to the café as you can.

“Can we go over the plan one more time?” Yuta asks through a mouthful of his cheeseburger. “I just want to make sure I don’t miss anything.”

“Dedication—I appreciate that. Okay: phase one—” You start.

“Drama queen,” Johnny mutters, and you throw a fry at him.

“You’re just jealous I didn’t let you in on the plan.” You scoff, rolling your eyes. “Phase one: you and I show up at the library after the official staff leave, which, I’m pretty sure, is around 6:30pm. Yuta, you stand lookout near the front desk while I go to the main checkout computer and check the book’s history. If anyone asks, I’ll be wearing this,” You smile wickedly, brandishing the volunteer ID, “and I’ll just say I work there.”

“I think this is—” Taeyong starts, and you all shout out different answers.

“Brilliant?”

“Stupid?”

“Really dramatic?”

“Going to be hilarious if it fails?”

“—a really bad idea.” He finishes, a furrow between his brows. You pout and look up at him.

“Don’t worry,” You drag out, beaming up at him as you pop a gummy bear in your mouth. “Things almost always work out for me.”

“Almost,” Doyoung points out with a self-satisfied grin, and you sneer at him, kicking him under the table. “Ow,” He whines, bending down and grabbing his ankle. He seems to notice something behind him as he’s bent over and sits up abruptly. “Wait a minute, isn’t that your Cinderella over there?” He asks, pointing over his shoulder at the entrance.

You, Yuta, and Taeyong, on the same side, immediately look to the front door to see the same guy from the library standing by the utensils, looking adorably lost.

“Isn’t he just the cutest thing you’ve ever seen?” You pout, smiling as you rest your chin in your palm.

“No,” They chorus in unison, and you glare at them.

“I hate you all. Plus, Doyoung, when I find out his name, then he won’t be my Cinderella anymore.” You grumble, taking a sip of your lemonade through the straw. You look towards him again, only to see that he’s already looking at you. At the sudden eye contact, his eyes widen and he looks away quickly, a blush visible on his cheeks even from where you’re sitting. “Okay, he’s actually too cute. Taeyong, can you scoot? I’m gonna go say hi.” You mutter, waiting for Taeyong to stand up before wiggling out the booth and grabbing your gummy bears, heading towards him.

“Hey!” He greets you, already smiling widely. You find yourself immediately matching his expression, a smile tugging at the edges of your lips until you’re sure you can’t smile any harder.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were following me,” You tease, nudging him with your shoulder.

“Okay, I’m going to say something weird.”

“I’m weird. Go for it.”

“I wasn’t following you, but I was hoping I’d see you again today. Now that I’m not stressed and I can actually try and carry on a conversation.” He admits, and your heart feels like it’s swollen at least two times its size.

“That wasn’t weird at all,” You say, smiling. “Very cute, but not weird.”

He smiles widely at you, seeming less nervous than before.

“Did you come alone?” You ask, and he pouts for the first time since you’ve met him.

“Technically, yes. I was supposed to meet my friend Lucas here, but he’s actually rushing a frat and I think he got called in on pledge duty, so I think I’m just gonna get something to go.”

“If you want company, I’m free,” You offer, and he raises a curious eyebrow at you, gesturing over your shoulder. You turn to look where he’s pointing and see all four of your friends watching you intently, turning around and “acting natural” immediately once they realize they’ve been spotted. You chuckle and turn back to face him, smiling widely. “Like I said, I’m free.”

“Cool. Awesome. Great. Um, do you wanna eat here? I’m not really super hungry, and you must have already eaten, so whatever makes you happy.” He stammers, and he reminds you, vaguely, of an overexcited puppy. You initially open your mouth to answer his question, but apparently, your brain had other plans.

“What’s your name? I just realized I don’t know it.” You blurt out, shooting him a sheepish grin. His face lights up, and he starts to laugh, the sound sounding like an adorable hiccup fit, and you can’t help but laugh as well. “Don’t laugh at me!” You giggle, swatting his arm, and his laugh only escalates until he’s managed to quiet his laugh to a series of giggles in the café, leaning against the wall for support.

“I’m not laughing at you, I just think it’s really funny and kind of cute that you never knew my name, but I’ve known yours for like, months now. My name is Mark, by the way. Mark Lee.” Mark finally manages to get out, and you try to frown at him, but your smile stays steady.

“Wait. You asked me for my name today,” You say, confused, and you can hear him softly curse under his breath, only heightening your confusion. “Mark?”

“Okay, so I asked you for your name earlier kind of as a cover, because I’ve always known we were in Advanced Poetry together, but you always hung out with Taeyong, so you never really noticed me. I sit, like, two desks away from you.” He stammers out, not even noticing the smile growing on your face.

“I honestly didn’t think you could get any cuter,” You chuckle, shaking your head in disbelief. His eyes widen and a sort of shocked laugh escapes him. “It’s okay. I’m sorry I didn’t notice you earlier; I’m just really into poetry. It’s my major concentration, so I just kind of zone in on the class.”

“That totally makes sense—I’ve always thought you were the best in the class. Your analysis papers always get read out loud—”

“Don’t start, she knows how embarrassing that is for me, but she does it anyway!” You groan, and Mark laughs again, that cute laugh that bubbles from his stomach out his mouth. You watch him laugh for a second, your gaze falling to his lips and studying them—their pink color, how soft they look, how warm they’d probably feel, and—

“Do you guys want to move up or what?” The guy behind you says pointedly, and you both jump slightly, your gazes flickering from the guy to the line ahead of you, which is now several feet away from you. As you look back at each other, you notice Mark’s gaze linger on your lips for just a second, enough to make your heart flutter.

“Sorry! You can go ahead of us,” You say, and he does with a heavy sigh, causing you two to wince and look at each other. “If you’re not hungry hungry, there’s a really good rolled ice cream shop nearby if you want to try it out?” You offer, and he smiles at you, nodding excitedly.

“YES—I mean, yes, yeah, that sounds cool.” He says, doing a pretty bad job of hiding his smile.

“Okay, cool, um, I’m gonna grab my stuff really quickly,” You say, pointing over your shoulder.

“Cool, I’ll meet you outside?” Mark replies, and you nod, smiling at him before turning and heading back to your table, where literally all of your friends are staring at you—Johnny and Yuta have matching smirks, Doyoung’s got a big expectant grin with an eyebrow raised, and Taeyong just looks proud.

“I’m getting ice cream.” You announce proudly.

“With?” Doyoung asks, and they all lean in. You put your hands down on the table and lean down.

“With…Mark.” They burst into cheers, and you shush them, trying to glare but giggling instead. “Yuta, I’ll be at the library at, like, 6:45?”

“Sounds good—have fun,” He sing-songs as he passes you your bag, and you stick your tongue out at him. “Save that for Mark,” He teases.

You gasp, and Yuta suddenly yelps in pain, a hand reaching under the table to rub what you think might be his foot. Taeyong smiles up at you, and you throw finger hearts at the group of them before turning and leaving the café.

“Lead the way,” Mark gestures ahead of him, and you do, the two of you walking off.

“Gummy bear?” You offer, holding the bag out, and he nods, taking one and popping it in his mouth. “So how’d you get into the Advanced Poetry class?” You ask, taking a gummy bear for yourself.

“I actually just begged and groveled in her office. I told her I’d work really hard to do well in the class, but she really just doesn’t seem to like what I write.” Mark says, and you could swear you heard a pout in his voice.

“Don’t take it personally; she’s really picky about what she likes and poetry is so subjective.” You reply, turning to look at him. You note with an especially hard beat of your heart that he is pouting and he looks so cute that you just want to lean over and kiss it off his face.

“I could really use help in the class but her office hours are always taken by—”

“Me.” You cut him off with a sheepish smile, and he laughs shyly, his ears turning a light shade of red. “I’ll be sure to hang out with her on my own time, don’t worry.” You offer, nudging him with your shoulder.

“No!” He blurts and, at your raised eyebrows, quickly backtracks. “I don’t mind.” He mumbles, and you could swear you’re turning red now. “Oh, look, we’re here!” He all but yelps, grabbing your hand and pulling you into the shop. The store is cute and small, crisp white walls and soft R&B playing from overhead speakers and you feel, instantly, quite cozy. You move to gesture at the counter with your free hand and realize that his fingers are still locked with yours. He looks down at your hands, up at you with wide eyes, and at the floor as he lets go of your hand quickly, shoving it in his pocket and clearing his throat. “Sorry,” He mumbles.

“I didn’t mind,” You answer with a smile, and dodge his look of incredulity as you saunter up to the counter. “Could I get, um, the Cookie Dough Catastrophe?” You order and turn to Mark, who’s walked up to you and is staring at the menu with his eyebrows furrowed. “You…okay?”

“There are so many options,” He exhales softly, eyes darting from item to item. You watch him observe each item on the list, barely even noticing the smile creeping onto your face. “Um, could I get the Matcha Monster?” He finally decides, looking over to you. He smiles brightly, relieved, and your heart clenches not uncomfortably.

“Congratulations,” You say, grinning, before turning back to watch the worker make your ice cream. “Isn’t that just the most mesmerizing thing you’ve ever seen?” You mumble in awe, eyes fixed on the man’s hands. Mark doesn’t answer, and you look at him from the corner of your eye to see his eyes studying your face and eventually resting on your lips. “Mark?”

His eyes snap up to yours suddenly, a blush rising to his cheeks as he opens and closes his mouth several times, trying and failing to speak. “Sorry. Um, yeah, it’s pretty cool.”

You can’t help but feel flustered in front of him, his eyes studying you like you’re leaving for a year-long trip and he wants to remember every detail of your face. “Maybe you should watch them, then.” You say, a teasing lilt to your voice as you turn back to the front, telling the man which toppings you’d like.

Shortly after, Mark’s ice cream is done, and you both walk to the register, your hand already in your pocket to grab your student ID. “Together or separate?” The cashier asks, and you both answer him.

“Separate,” You say.

“Together,” Mark answers, and you glance at him, confused. Mark’s faster than you, pulling his ID out and handing it to the cashier.

“You didn’t have to do that!” You say, unable to hide your smile.

“You just ate, so, you know, I didn’t want you to have to pay again for me,” Mark mumbles, and your smile widens even as you protest.

“I didn’t even pay for that meal! One of my friends, Jungwoo, works at the café, so he just rang it up for free. Let me pay you back,” You offer, pulling out your phone and opening Venmo.

“No, it’s okay! I have way too much Community Cash—my friends always eat in the cafeteria instead of the little shops around, so I have about as much as we started with the first semester.” He answers, stumbling slightly on his words.

“I have a shit ton, too!” You protest, but he’s shaking his head vehemently, even going so far as to put his hand over yours and covering your phone.

“This—I—You can just buy me ice cream next time.” He mumbles, ears reddening. It hits you approximately two beats later that Mark just attempted to pay for your ice cream as a date and you’ve been completely oblivious, as usual.

“Oh. Oh. Oh.” You stammer, and find that the smile on your face seems to be stuck and also hurting your cheeks. “Okay. Next time,” You say, locking your phone and putting it back in your pocket before looking back up at him and glancing pointedly at his hand which is still on yours.

He pulls his hand back for the second time and laughs nervously, quickly directing his attention to his ice cream, which he takes a spoonful of and looks up at you shyly through his lashes.

“Okay. Um… Cool.” He blinks once, twice, before flashing his staggeringly cute smile and gesturing to an empty table in the seating area. “Do you wanna sit down and hang for a while, or walk around?”

“I have to be at the library at, like, 6:30, so do you wanna walk that way with me? It’s already,” You say, moving to check your phone, and noticing with a wince, “6:15.”

“Sure,” He agrees, already standing to head out. You see a slight pout on his face though and make a note not to call him on it.

“So, if you ever need help with poetry-related things, I’d be more than happy to help you out,” You tell him as you two exit the shop.

“I’d really like that. Our research paper is coming up, and my book is impossible.”

“I’m sure I can help you out,” You say, your heart sinking as the library comes into view. “What book did you choose?”

“Oh, I chose—” He starts, but your phone starts ringing, cutting him off.

“Sorry, one sec,” You mutter as you pull your phone out of your pocket. “It’s just Yuta. Hello?” You answer the phone, holding up one finger to Mark. He nods in understanding and waits with his hands in his pockets.

“Hey—the lady just left, so if you wanna do this, it should be now.”

“Okay, I’m coming.” You sigh. “See you in a few.” You hang up the phone, looking at Mark sadly. “I, uh. Gotta go. I need to do something in the library.”

“Oh. Oh. Okay, cool,” He says, and your heart falls at the disappointed look on his face.

“I’m sorry—I’ll make it up to you!”

“How?” He asks curiously, and you think.

“I’ll sit next to you in Advanced Poetry,” You say, and his resulting smile is so bright, it could almost blind you. “And, if you want, I’ll help you with the term paper.”

“Okay! We’ll meet in the library. Can I, um, have your number? So we can figure out a time?” He asks shyly, and you smile, handing him your phone. He plugs his number in and hands it back to you with a bashful smile. You quickly text him your name and a little heart emoji so he can save your contact, and he does. “Okay, great. This was fun.” He says sweetly, and your heart swells.

“See you in Advanced Poetry. Or in the library—which ever’s first.” You chirp, and he nods.

“It’s a date,” He says, before his eyes go wide and he immediately drops his gaze to his feet, blushing furiously. “I, uh, I meant—I didn’t mean—I mean, unless you want—you know what, never m—”

“It’s a date,” You confirm with an amused smile, and he looks up at you with a dazzling shy smile. “Bye, Mark.” You say, wiggling your fingers and dashing off to the library.

You’re sitting at the computer, typing in the name of the book while Yuta stands guard at the door.

“This is a bad idea,” Doyoung says over FaceTime, his face taking up the whole screen.

“Oh, you hush, coward.” You scoff, slipping your phone into your back pocket.

“Take me out! I can’t see anything,” Doyoung complains, and you snort, ignoring him as you scroll through the checkout history.

“What did you do to him?” Yuta asks curiously, and you look up from the screen.

“Put him in my back pocket,” You answer simply, and Yuta snorts.

“Probably the closest he’s gotten to a girl’s ass in ages.”

“I can hear you, you know,” Doyoung says bitterly, and you shush him as you find the most recent checkout information.

“It doesn’t say a name, it just has the student ID on it,” You say disappointedly.

“Well, write it down and we’ll figure something else out,” Yuta urges. “Someone’s heading this way.”

You pull out a pen from the cup on the desk and scrawl the digits onto your hand quickly before exiting the page and standing up. You take Doyoung out of your pocket, effectively ceasing his complaining.

“Welcome to the world,” You joke, and Doyoung scowls at you.

“It felt like I was back in the womb,” He shudders, and you have to stifle your laughter into your fist. Yuta isn’t so lucky, and outright snickers, alerting Doyoung’s attention. “It’s not funny!”

“Sure, it’s not. Okay, love you, bye.” You chirp, ending the call amidst Doyoung’s protests. You walk up to Yuta and show him the numbers on your wrist—08027823.

“Do those numbers look familiar to you?” You ask hopefully, and he frowns, shaking his head. “Damn.”

“Sorry, dude. We’ll ask the rest of the guys, see if they know.” He suggests, and you nod.

Your phone suddenly pings with a text notification, and you pull it out to check, smiling when you see Mark’s name on the screen.

mark :) [6:37pm] how’d your library thing go?

you [6:37pm] i didn’t get the results i wanted, but i got kinda close :)

mark :) [6:38pm] oh i’m sorry but that’s good, right? you’re one step closer!

you [6:39pm] yeah :) did you want to talk about something?

mark :) [6:40pm] just wanted to schedule our library thing haha

mark :) [6:40pm] and also talk to you more

mark :) [6:40pm] sorry was that weird

mark :) [6:40pm] sorry it was probably weird and i’m probably talking too much i’ll shut up

you [6:41pm] no you’re okay!!! you’re so cute omg

you [6:41pm] so when are you free? i was thinking thursday so i can read over what you have for your first draft and give you feedback so you can fix it over the weekend?

you [6:45pm] mark?

you [6:47pm] ?

mark :) [6:49pm] sorry you called me cute and i freaked out and dropped my phone on my face

mark :) [6:49pm] currently in the fetal position cradling my possibly broken nose

you [6:50pm] that’s actually adorable i’m very sorry i indirectly may have broken your nose

mark :) [6:50pm] haha no worries

you [6:51pm] want me to kiss it better?

you [6:57pm] ??

mark :) [7:00pm] i’m gonna need you to stop flirting with me

mark :) [7:00pm] if it wasn’t broken before, it’s definitely broken now

[you laughed at ‘if it wasn’t broken before, it’s definitely broken now’]

you [7:00pm] again, my apologies 🥺

mark :) [7:00pm] you’re lucky you’re cute or i’d sue for assault and battery

mark :) [7:00pm] oh my god

mark :) [7:00pm] please ignore that i can’t believe i said that

you [7:05pm] sorry had a giggle fit bc of that message

you [7:05pm] i’m definitely not ignoring that

mark :) [7:06pm] great. wonderful. i’m an idiot

you [7:06pm] you’re a d o r a b l e.

you [7:07pm] mark if you tell me you dropped your phone on your face again i think i might die laughing

mark :) [7:08pm] i DIDN’T i caught it in time :D

you [7:08pm] you know what that is? growth.

you [7:08pm] proud of you, mark

mark :) [7:08pm] :D why thank you i really tried

you [7:09pm] and it shows. now what about thursday?

mark :) [7:10pm] oh yeah! thursday works for me :)

you [7:10pm] awesome! see you then, cutie

mark :) [7:12pm] okay i absolutely did not catch it that time. i think i need a hospital

you [7:13pm] HAHAHA I’M SORRY I COULDN’T RESIST

mark :) [7:13pm] it is BRUISING

mark :) [7:15pm] okay i’m going to bed and i’m going to try not to think about my most likely shattered nose

you [7:15pm] hahah okay. good niiight sweet dreams, mark

mark :) [7:15pm] good night :) you too get home safe

You lock your phone and realize Yuta’s walked you all the way back to your dorm in silence, regarding you with an inquisitive raised brow.

“Sorry,” You say sheepishly, slipping your phone in your pocket. “Thank you for walking me.”

“Anytime,” He replies easily, shrugging. “Don’t apologize to me, though—apologize to Mark and his broken nose.”

“You saw that?!” You yelp, and he nods, snickering.

“You’re not very discreet with your texting.” He explains, and you blush slightly.

“Shut up,” You grumble before pulling him in for a hug. “Good night, Yuta.”

“Good night! Sweet dreams,” He teases, and you make to take off your shoe and throw it at him, but he holds his hands up defensively as he backs away with a taunting grin.

Thursday rolls around, and by the time you’re in the library, you’re surprised to note that you’re slightly nervous. The offending hogger’s student ID is written cleanly on your wrist in blue ink, and as you wait for Mark to arrive, you stare at the numbers as if they’d suddenly morph into a name.

“Sorry I’m late,” Mark apologizes, sitting down next to you, clearly having been in a rush. “I got you a coffee! I didn’t know what you liked, so I got you something sweet.”

“Oh, thank you!” You say gratefully, reaching for his outstretched hand and plucking what you think is a caramel macchiato from his fist. “Okay, let’s get started. Show me what you have.”

“Okay,” He agrees, reaching in his backpack and pulling out his laptop, a packet of paper, and a book. Your eyes fall on the cover just as he sits up and looks at your hand quizzically.

“Why do you have my student ID number on your hand?” He asks curiously.

“Why do you have my book?” You confront him, and he blanches, rubbing the back of his neck.

“I’m using it for my term paper.” He says sheepishly, and you groan, dropping your head onto the table with a thud. “I’m sorry, I heard you talking about it with Taeyong one day and you loved it so much and I really wanted to get to know you better, so I figured, ‘Let’s check it out,’ but then I didn’t get it and I still don’t, and when our professor asked me in office hours what my term paper would be on, I panicked and said Antagonick. Please don’t be mad.”

“Oh, Mark,” You grouch, finding it hard to stay mad at the very cute boy sitting next to you, apologies written plainly on his face and regret in his doe eyes. After a long pause, you sigh and lift your head up, looking at him. “I’m not mad at you. I’m annoyed that I won’t get this book until after the term paper is finished, but I can’t be mad at you.”

“Oh, thank God.” He exhales in relief and slumps back into the chair. “Will you still help me with my paper?”

“Of course; I’m not mean.” You say incredulously, picking up the thin packet of paper. “You know this is supposed to be twelve pages, right?”

“I know,” He complains, now his turn to drop his head to the table. “I don’t get it, so I don’t know what to write about.” He looks up at you with doleful eyes and a pouting bottom lip, and you swear you could kiss him right there.

“Okay, we’ll go through the poems one by one, then we’ll decide a common theme. Then we’ll redraft your thesis, because, and I mean this sweetly, this one...is not very good.” You state, turning to look at him. He’s got his head in his hand, looking at you with doe eyes of wonder, and your brows furrow. “What is it?”

“You’re just...incredible.” He says in awe, his voice low and breathless.

The blush on your cheeks is downright embarrassing, so you hide your face in your hands and squeal softly.

“Thank you,” You say calmly when you’ve emerged from your makeshift cocoon, and Mark’s looking at you, eyes twinkling.

“You’re way more confident over the phone,” He notes with interest. “It’s really cute.”

“Stop, I’ll blush again, Mr. Broken Nose.” You groan, and he huffs petulantly, crossing his arms and staring at you.

“I’m wearing makeup to cover it, but it really is bruised.” He admits, and you tsk sympathetically.

“Poor baby.”

“I’m not a baby,” He defends, and you giggle.

“Poor in denial baby.”

“You know, it’s incredibly emasculating to have the girl you like call you a baby,” He snips, before he gasps, hands flying to cover his mouth.

“You—” You start incredulously, and he shakes his head vigorously.

“Okay! I did not say that. Well, I did, but—I mean, like—I didn’t mean it—that’s a lie, I totally meant it, but if it makes you uncomfortable, I understand and I’m sorry, and please still help me with my paper, but if you don’t want to anymore, I underst—” He rambles, and you decide to put the poor boy out of his misery by leaning over and kissing his cheek swiftly. He yelps in surprise and claps a hand to his cheek, wincing when surrounding library-goers shush him in annoyance. “Oh, my God,” He mumbles, a wide smile spreading on his face.

“Better?”

“Better,” He confirms, and you smile, nudging him.

“Now, let’s look at these poems.” You say, reaching your hand out for the book. He hands it to you and you open it to the first page. “Poetry is all about intent. You have to understand why she’s saying what she’s saying so you can understand what she’s saying.” You begin, and Mark leans closer to you, paying rapt attention to every word leaving your lips.

By the time the library’s closing, you and Mark have made it through more than half of the book, Mark taking diligent notes in his cute but messy handwriting. You’ve also redrafted his thesis, which now makes much more sense.

“You’re actually my angel,” He says gratefully as you two exit the library. “I don’t know what I would do without you.”

“Probably get a D,” You answer honestly, and he snickers.

“I didn’t think my thesis was that bad,” He pouts, and you find yourself pouting back.

“It just didn’t encompass her intent and you didn’t state how you were going to prove yourself. It was lacking, Mark,” You reply, and he winces. “But—we fixed it and you’re on track to at least a B+. That’s an A-grade thesis, but your analysis has to match it.”

“Oh, God,” He whines, and you pat his shoulder.

“I’m here to help! Just text me if you have any questions.” You assure him, and he smiles, comforted.

“I already have a question,” He mumbles, and you look at him expectantly. “Would you want to go on a date with me?” He blurts out, and you break into a smile.

“I’d love to. After you get an A on your term paper.” You say, and he groans, smiling nonetheless.

“Okay, it’s a deal. Can we meet tomorrow to finish the rest of the poems? I wanna get my first draft to you by Monday.”

“Sure! You wanna meet earlier so we hopefully don’t get kicked out of the library when it closes?”

“Yeah—we can...get breakfast if you want?” He asks shyly, and you smile.

“I’d like that. Well, this is me,” You say, gesturing to your dorm building. “I had fun, Mark. You’re fun to be around.”

“Ah, thanks,” He replies with a grin, rubbing the back of his neck. Everything happens at once. You notice his intense stare and turn to look at him curiously at the same time he leans in, presumably to kiss your cheek.

He misses your cheek. What he doesn’t miss, however, are your lips, kissing you full on the mouth for approximately three seconds. He pulls back, blushing bright red when you gasp softly, and shakes his head vigorously.

“Oh, my God, I didn’t mean to do that. I’m so sorry.” He stammers, and you start shaking your head to comfort him.

“Mark, it’s okay—”

“I didn’t mean to do that—”

“Mark, it’s fine, I promise—”

“You probably hate me—”

“Mark,” You say sternly, but nothing seems to get to him. So instead of talking, you cup his cheeks and kiss him right back, his stance finally relaxing as he squeaks softly in surprise. “I didn’t mind. I liked it. Relax.”

“Oh,” He mumbles, refusing to look at you. “Sorry.”

“Stop apologizing,” You say comfortingly, and he nods.

“Sorry—I mean—sorry—wait! Okay.” He bites his lip worriedly, still not looking at you. “You make me really nervous.”

“Why?” You ask softly, careful not to scare the poor, timid deer of a boy off.

“You’re so pretty and smart and cool, and, God, I like you so much it’s crazy.” He stumbles over his words, all of them seeming to come out at once, and you chuckle fondly.

“Mark?”

“Hm?”

“I like you, too.”

“Holy shit,” He breathes, and you burst into laughter.

“Why do you think I kissed you?”

“I don’t know,” He whines. “Out of pity?”

“I wouldn’t do that,” You assure him, and he smiles, still avoiding your gaze. “Mark?”

“Yeah?”

“Can you look at me? Please?” He obliged, dragging his eyes over to you and focusing on your intent gaze. “I changed my mind.”

“About liking me?” He says incredulously, and you shake your head immediately.

“God, no. About the date. We can go on one tomorrow. After the library. We can go see a movie or something, okay?”

“Oh,” He sighs in relief, nodding. “Okay. That sounds dope. I’ll, uh, see you tomorrow before I make an even bigger fool of myself.”

“Okay. Bye, Mark. Get home safe.”

“Thanks. Bye,” He says with a smile, waving as he turns to walk away. You enter your dorm building, only to hear a loud “Whoop! Hell yeah!”

“Oh, Mark.” You chuckle to yourself before heading upstairs to your dorm.

Today was much more productive, with Mark starting to catch on to what exactly Anne Carson was trying to do. The two of you breeze through the rest of the book, decoding each poem, and he even writes some pretty stellar analyses of two poems, with help from you. When the library closes, you two head out before you stop him right outside the building.

“Do you want to watch the movie in my dorm? I don’t feel like paying for tickets or popcorn or anything, and I have snacks.” You offer, and he nods. “Cool. Let’s go.”

When you get to your dorm, unlocking the door and stepping inside, Mark looks around at all your decorations, eyes landing and fixating on the photos of you with your friends.

“You have a lot of friends,” He remarks quietly, seemingly intimidated by the sheer volume of photos.

“I do? I hadn’t really noticed.” You hum as you clear off your bed. He tears his eyes away from your wall and turns to look at you, who is sitting comfortably on your bed, laptop pulled out and open to Netflix.

“Yeah,” He replies slowly, shuffling from foot to foot.

“Pretty sure you can’t see the screen from over there, so do you want to come sit next to me?” You pat the spot next to you invitingly and you can see him gulp before nodding, kicking off his shoes and joining you on the bed at a laughable distance, his leg practically hanging off of the bed. “You can come closer, you know. I won’t bite.” He shuffles closer and you lean in to whisper, “I mean unless you’re into that sort of thing.”

The noise that erupts from his mouth has you dissolving into a fit of laughter, the sound something like a strangled yelp and what sounded dangerously like a moan.

“I’m sorry, I am—you’re just really cute.” You giggle, and he blushes, pouting at you.

“Let’s start the movie before I manage to mess things up.”

After a while of scrolling, you two decide on the classic Lilo & Stitch, both of you settling into your spots as the movie starts.

Halfway through the movie, you notice that Mark keeps looking over at you, a nervous expression on his face.

“I have a question.” He whispers, and you look around in mock furtiveness before leaning in.

“I don’t think you have to whisper. It’s just us here.” You tease, and he swallows hard. “What’s wrong?”

“I really want to kiss you,” He blurts out. “Can I?” His tone is almost pleading, and you find your heart aching for him.

“You don’t have to ask,” You say sweetly, and he leans in slowly, brushing his lips against yours. He pulls back, exhaling softly against your mouth and looking at you for confirmation. You nod, eyes heavy-lidded, and he smiles, leaning back in. He presses his lips to yours with more intent, slotting his upper lip between your two and sucking gently on your bottom lip. You reach up and cup his cheek, and he whines, gliding his tongue along your lips.

“Mark,” You sigh blissfully, and he squeaks, scooting back and blushing.

“Sorry! Sorry, I got carried away.” He apologizes, and you roll your eyes, shutting the laptop and moving it to your desk before looking him dead in the eyes. He averts his gaze, and you turn his chin so he’s looking at you.

“Mark.”

“Yes?” He asks worriedly.

“If you don’t kiss me again,” You say slowly, hoping he’ll understand, “I am going to kick you out of my room.”

“Oh. Oh. Okay,” He mutters mostly to himself before leaning in again, kissing you eagerly. He sucks softly on your lower lip, nipping at it lightly, and you sigh happily.

“Have you done this before?” You ask, and he nods, eyes still mostly closed. “Then why are you so nervous?”

“I told you,” He whines, burying his face in the spot between your neck and shoulder. “I like you so much.” He whispers.

“And I like you, too,” You assure him. “You don’t have to be so nervous.”

“Okay,” He mumbles into your skin. He nuzzles his nose into you, tracing it up the column of your neck before placing a light kiss on your jaw. You crane your neck to give him better access and he starts tentatively kissing your neck, gradually building confidence with each hum of satisfaction from you. Eventually, he’s mouthing at your neck with open-mouthed kisses, his tongue swiping over the skin as his hand finds your knee. “Is this okay?”

“Yes,” You breathe, and he slides his hand up your leg slightly, clutching at your thigh. He carefully traces his finger up your leg to the button of your jeans, pulling back and looking at you. With your rushed nod of approval, he slips his hand inside your pants and under your underwear, fingers quickly finding your slit and trailing up your folds.

“You’re wet,” He whimpers in surprise, “I—oh, God, that’s so hot. You’re so hot,” He groans, suddenly pulling you into his lap. You land on his thigh and whine at the sudden contact, pushing him back down when he sits up in alarm. “Do you think you could get off like this?” He asks carefully, flexing his thigh under you.

“Oh, yeah.” You moan, already starting to rock your hips against the tight muscle.

“Fuck, that’s hot,” He grunts. “You’re so perfect.”

You roll your hips against him, core grinding into his thigh sinfully as he grips your hips, guiding your motions gently. You shift your leg so it brushes against his concealed length, and he gasps, his grip on your hips tightening briefly before he relaxes.

“Do you think you can come like this?” You ask him, and he nods in a rush, pulling you down for a kiss. Your lips meet and it’s a bit sloppy, what with the repeated movements of your hips, but it’s very eager and very, very hot.

“You’re so good, Mark,” You praise him, and he whimpers.

“Say that again,” He rasps out, his voice dropping several tones.

“You’re so good, Mark,” You oblige, hips stuttering briefly when his leg flexes and your clit gets extra stimulation. “So good,” You echo as a familiar feeling in your stomach starts to build. “I’m close,” You gasp out, dragging your hips against him wantonly.

“What can I do?” He asks, his head lolling back as your knee presses against his cock insistently.

“Touch me,” You moan, and his hands fly to your chest, slipping under your shirt and cupping your breasts, kneading the flesh and swiping his thumb over the nipples. “Just like that,” You breathe softly, and he lifts your shirt up, pushing your bra down and massaging the bare flesh.

“You’re perfect,” He repeats in awe, pulling you lower so he can wrap his lips around your nipple. “Absolutely perfect.” His voice is muffled from the flesh of your breasts, but his message is conveyed nonetheless.

“I’m gonna come,” He warns you, his teeth grazing your nipple. You shudder in ecstasy at the contact, and he does it again, eyes trained on your face for your reaction.

“Then come,” You reply sweetly, grinding against him again. He climaxes with a soft string of curses, mouth diligently wrapped around the stiffened bud of your nipple.

Not long after, with Mark’s mouth sucking greedily at your breasts and his thigh providing delicious release, you come apart, moaning his name and gasping in little stutters.

“You’re incredible,” He says breathlessly, hands finding your hips once more.

“Will you loosen up around me now?” You ask jokingly, and he nods.

“Yes,” He promises you, and you smile, leaning down to kiss him.

“Good. Wanna finish the movie?” You ask, and he nods.

“We didn’t get to the part that makes me cry.”

“Adorable.” You coo, and he groans, laughing as he shoves you lightly.

“Shut up.”

You’re talking to Johnny by the water fountain when you hear loud, hurried footsteps, and repeated cries of your name. You turn, recognizing the voice, to see an absolutely ecstatic Mark brandishing his phone at you.

“I got an A on my term paper!” He yells, and you and Johnny cheer for him as you wrap him in a tight hug. He wraps his arms around your waist, pulling you close, and you smell his familiar scent of cinnamon and soap.

“Congratulations, Mark!” You exclaim happily, and Johnny claps him on the back.

“Also—I went and got this for you.” He says excitedly, releasing you and rummaging through his backpack. When he pulls out a messily wrapped present, your eyebrows raise in intrigue.

“What is it?” You ask curiously, and he shrugs with a playful smile.

“Looks like you gotta unwrap it and see.” He says with a smile, and you narrow your eyes at him playfully before taking the package from him and unwrapping it.

“Aw, Mark!” You coo upon revealing the cover of Antagonick. “That’s so sweet.”

“I got it as a thank you and just because I felt bad for holding onto the copy for so long.” He says, now slightly bashful, and you squeal, wrapping him up in another hug. When you part, he taps his cheek expectantly with a smile, but you cup his face and bring him in for a sweet kiss. (Johnny whoops, but you ignore it.)

“I love it. Thank you,” You gush, and he nods, smiling from ear to ear.

“I also, uh, have a question for you.” He says, nervous all of a sudden as he shifts his weight between his feet.

“Shoot.” You reply, and he swallows hard before opening his mouth.

“Would you maybe want to be my girlfriend?” He asks, and you pretend to think about it, stopping immediately when his face falls in disappointment.

“I was teasing! I would love to be your girlfriend, Mark.” You say sincerely, and he beams at you, fiddling with his hands.

“Cool. Awesome. Amazing,” He stammers mostly to himself, unable to contain his smile. “Okay, so—I have to go to class, but I’ll see you in Advanced Poetry?”

“Of course you will,” You assure him, and he punches the air in celebration before seeming to collect himself and nodding calmly, turning on his heel to walk away.

“So, you have a boyfriend now,” Johnny teases, and you narrow your eyes, punching him in the arm. “Ow! What was that for?”

“Don’t be a dick.” You warn him, and he winces, rubbing his arm.

“I was going to congratulate you, but now I have to go ice my arm.” He complains in faux bitterness, narrowing his eyes at you before leaving.

(When Mark gets to Advanced Poetry, you move your bag from the seat next to you and wait for him to notice you. When he does, his face lights up and he moves through the aisles of desks quickly to get to you, plopping down in his seat.

He doesn’t squeal when you lean over and kiss his cheek in greeting, but he does squeal when you reach under the table and hold his hand. He doesn’t let go for the entirety of the class, both of you politely ignoring the sweat coming from his palms.)

(“I-wha-huh?! Since when were they a real thing?” Doyoung asks incredulously as you two emerge from class hand in hand and walking up to your friend group.

“Since earlier this afternoon,” Johnny replies, and Doyoung whines.

“No one tells me anything.” He complains just in time for you two to approach them and for you to hear what was said.

“You’ll live, Doyoung.” You assure him sarcastically, and he glares at you.

“Will I?” He asks dramatically, and you scoff.

“Not with that attitude, you won’t.” You retort.

“She doesn’t have time to be nice to us anymore,” Johnny explains, side-eying you playfully. “She’s all tied up with lover boy Mark, here.”

“One second, Mark,” You say sweetly, slipping your hand from his.

“Ow!” Johnny complains as you punch him in the other arm.

“Lunch?” You ask nonchalantly, taking Mark’s hand in yours—it’s dry now, and you suspect he’s wiped it on his jeans. Everyone agrees amidst a complaining Johnny and you all walk off toward the food court.

“She gets a boyfriend and thinks she can just bully me—ouch!” Johnny complains to Taeyong, who promptly flicks him in the forehead. “I don’t deserve this!”

“Yes, you do.” Everyone calls, and Johnny rolls his eyes.

“Whatever.”)

It's been almost two hours since you got to the camp and already you were shown the cabin you would be in. Now, you were seated next to Chunghua and Elena in the mess hall with the other camp counsellors. 

"Okay! Here are your schedules, this year we have a total of 50 kids for the summer training camp. Which was a little more than last year."  Atsumu said as he adjusted his glasses.  "But we have a lot of counsellors this year so that should make things easier." 

You glanced around the mess hall - it was a wide room which could probably seat about 100 people comfortably along with a kitchen section closer to the back of the room. The walls were painted in a pretty tan colour and the ceilings were high and spacious.  

In the room currently, where the camp counsellors for this year's summer camp. It was, in fact, your first time here and you came because Elena and Mark begged you to. Plus, you thought it would look good on your resume to show that you had some leadership experience and responsibility.  

You snapped back to reality when Chunghua nudged you.

"Mhm?"  you glanced at her.  

"Do you think the head counsellor is hot?"  Chunghua asked in a soft voice.  You gazed at him, he was tall with dyed blonde hair and an undercut. He had pretty brown eyes yet his smile came across more as a knowing grin. The smug look actually working for him.

"Yeah,"  you said as you leaned forward, arms resting on the table in front of you. 

"Okay now let's introduce our new counsellors for this summer."  Atsumu said as he placed his clipboard down, "Y/n and Chunghua. Nice to have you both and we hope you enjoy the time here." 

You smiled shyly as the other counsellors glanced to you and Chunghua. 

"Alright, I'm Miya Atsumu but you can call me Atsumu. I’m the head counsellor here at the camp so if there are any problems just come to me.." He said before leaning against a table. "These guys to my left are Johnny, Yuta and Kun - they usually work with the 13 to 17-year-old boys."  He paused.

You glanced at them and smiled. Each had their charm, from the height of one to the other's smile and the last's kind eyes.  They seemed like decent people.  

"Next, we have Mirai, Irene and Ella who will work with the girls in that age group,"  Atsumu added as he glanced at his clipboard.  

"Lastly, we have Mark, Billie and - " Atsumu paused before looking around the room.  He paused and took off his glasses. There was a moment of silence before he looked back at the clipboard. "Where the fuck is Jaemin?" He asked. 

"Who?" you whispered to Elena. 

"Oh no -"  She answered. You saw her hung her head and cover her face. 

"Wait he signed up again?"  Mirai asked. 

"I didn't think he would - but I guess so,"  Yuta said as he leaned closer to Mirai.  

"I swear if Na Jaemin doesn't get here in two minutes I will - " Atsumu paused mid-sentence.

"Hi everyone!" The door swung open on the other end of the mess hall and a young man walked in holding two boxes.  "Sorry, I'm late."  

"Jaemin!" Atsumu almost yelled, "Why are you late? I told you ten times that the meeting starts at 4 pm while the other campers are getting settled in." 

"I know - but I met this pretty girl at the café and she told me that her shift was ending in ten minutes." Jaemin kept talking as he manoeuvred his way past the tables to the end of the mess hall where you and the rest of the counsellors were. "and if I waited for her she would give me a free doughnut."  

"So?"  Yuta asked. 

"So I waited and then I got her to give me two boxes filled with them instead,"  Jaemin said as he dropped the boxes on the table right next to you.  He opened the one on top and leaned down to pick one up. 

The scent of his cologne was faint but you still got a whiff of it.  He smelled so nice.  

"Hi," Jaemin said, "Want a doughnut?"  

You felt the heat rise to your cheek but nodded before taking one. "Thanks." 

"Anything for a girl this pretty,"  Jaemin said with a charming smile. 

"Nice try lover boy," Johnny said as he walked over to Jaemin and grabbed him by the back of his shirt tugging him away from you.  "Y/n is off-limits."  

"I was just trying to make friends,"  Jaemin said with a frown as he looked up at Johnny. 

Johnny lightly flicked his forehead before leaning against a table.  

"So you mean to tell me you, came to camp two hours late because you, were tricking a girl into giving you, free doughnuts?" Atsumu asked his fingers massaging his temples. 

"Not tricking - we made out and she offered them to me if I gave her my number,"  Jaemin said as he fixed his t-shirt. "By the way, Mirai - if a girl calls you - just tell her you're my girlfriend right."  

"One day your flirty behaviour is going to get your ass beat," Mirai said as she rolled her eyes. 

"Okay - so back to the actual session - Mark, Billie and Loverboy over here will be with the male kids between the ages of 8 to 12."  Atsumu began to speak, "Elena, Chunghua and Y/n will be with the girls between the same age group."  

You nodded.  This was going to be a challenge but at the same time, you were hoping it would be fun. For the rest of the meeting, Atsumu explained exactly what each counsellor was supposed to do, that is, their roles and duties.  He gave each person a schedule including all the activities and meal times along with other important details and a map of the camp.  Thankfully, you had Elena to help along with Chunghua so it wasn't too bad. 

After the meeting, you stepped out of the mess hall with your friends - each holding at least two doughnuts. 

"New girl wait!" You heard a voice yelling from behind.  You and Chunghua stopped walking and both turned around to see Jaemin running towards you with Mark slowly trailing behind him. 

"Not this again."  Elena sighed before biting into her doughnut. 

"I do have a name you know." You said as you crossed your arms. Jaemin finally caught up to you and he was already looking like a panting mess. 

"Y/n," Jaemin said in between breaths, "I remembered."  

You raised an eyebrow at him. He wore a bright blue coloured t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants, pairing it with a pink fanny pack around his waist.  When did he get that fanny pack?

"Anyway, it's your first day right?" Jaemin asked, "Well, how about I show you around?"   

You shook your head at his cute attempts to get your attention.  

"It's okay, I have these two to help me out." You said as you gestured to Chunghua and Elena. 

"You heard her Nana, Let's leave the pretty girls alone," Mark said as he pulled Jaemin back from you. 

"Wait wait."  Jaemin said, "How about I give you bug repellant or maybe -"

"Na Jaemin! You Fuckboy!" The five of you all glanced around to where a girl's voice rang out. "You never called me back!" You saw a pretty girl, dressed in typical hiking attire marching straight towards your little group.  

"Okay, I think now is a good time for me to leave,"  Jaemin said as he pushed Mark's hand off him.  He glanced back at you, "If you change your mind call me." He said as he made a phone sign with his fingers and placed it by his ear before running off. 

"Jaemin!" The girl screamed as she picked up speed and ran past you just to get to Jaemin - who was already on the other side of the track running as fast as he could. 

"You really want a piece of that ass?"  Mark asked as he looked at Jaemin running away for dear life. 

"I'm having second thoughts."  You said.  

"Oh Mark, are the counsellors still doing that thing tonight?"  Elena asked.  

"What thing?" You perked up. "Is it something fun?"

"I guess, depending on what you would describe as fun,"  Mark replied.  He checked his watch before nodding, "And yeah, they are so when you girls get your kids to sleep meet at Audit 2."

"Audit 2?"  You muttered as you flipped your schedule to look at the map of the campsite.  It took a couple of seconds but you found the Auditorium like building.  It was pretty close to the cabins so that was a good thing. 

"Yeah, s-"  Mark began to speak but stopped as he heard a scream. 

Your heart skipped a beat as you glanced in the direction of the scream - only to see that the girl had pushed Jaemin off the Boardwalk causing him to fall in the water with a loud splash! 

"Yikes."  You said as you saw the girl walk away. 

"I'm sure he deserved it,"  Chunghua said. 

"True - but what type of friend would I be if I didn't help,"  Mark responded with a sigh. "See you later."  Mark waved before running towards Jaemin - who was now floating in the water. He had his arms and legs outstretched like a starfish as he gazed up at the sky. 

"There ya are!" Mirai called out as she approached.  "Come on, time to meet the kids you'll be campin’ with."

"Are they all here?"  Elena asked.

"Yah and each of ya have to room with four kids, so come on," Mirai said. You nodded and followed behind her. 

You arrived at Chunghua's cabin first.  You all entered the small cabin and Mirai introduced you three to the four girls in Chunghua's cabin; Yeri, Emma, Candace and Chaeyoung. 

Next was Elena's cabin which had four other girls around the same age; Yeojin, Vivian, Iris and Hayley.

The third cabin in the row was yours.  You entered it and saw four cute girls each either unpacking their bags or simply talking with the other. 

"Hi," Mirai said with a smile.  The younger girls turned to her as she spoke, "So this summer, your camp counsellor will be Y/n."  She gestured to you.  You smiled and waved at the girls. 

"That's a pretty name."  One said as she peaked out from the top bunk bed. 

"Thanks, I look forward to spending this time with you all."  You responded. 

"She's new so go easy on her yeah?"  Mirai said. You saw the girls nod. "Okay, so the two girls on the top bunks are Ari and Jesse and the ones on the bottom bunks are Lisa and Hani." 

You glanced at each girl trying to commit their names to memory. 

"Okay, so you have the evening free until dinner - everyone has to meet in the mess hall at 6:30 pm. Then you will all shower and can do whatever you want until 9 pm which is when everyone should be in their cabins."  Mirai explained as she flipped through the pages in her clipboard. 

"Yes!" A chorus of replies rang out from the girls. 

"Nice, well right across these cabins are the ones where Irene, Elle and I will be in.  So if there are any problems just call."  Mirai said. 

You nodded and thanked her before she left. 

"Y/n," a voice called out.  You glanced at Jesse on the top bunk. "Do you have a boyfriend?" 

"Jess! You can't ask that - what if she likes girls?" Lisa replied as she grabbed a pillow and whacked her friend with it. 

"Or no one," Ari replied. 

"Actually I don’t have a boyfriend yet."  You said. 

"Yet! That means you can meet your summer love here at camp!" Hani interjected with dreamy eyes. 

"The boys here?"  Lisa paused, "Wack!" She said before hitting Hani with the pillow this time. 

The other girls laughed before they all looked over at you.  You weren't positive that this summer camp would be good for you but so far - you had to admit, it was pretty nice. 

"There are some cute boys here," You said with a mischievous smile. 

"Yes! Like counsellor Johnny!"  Hani said. 

"Noo! Counsellor Yuta is way cuter."  Jess stated. 

"Gross, no! It's Atsumu! Counsellor Atsumu is the most dreamy of them all." 

Ari added.  You chuckled at their little debate.  But you couldn't deny that they were all right.  This year the counsellors were all a special type of attractive. 

"Okay okay, let’s finish unpacking first." You said as you walked towards your bed.  You chose a bottom bunk since it would be easy to come out in case of any emergencies. 

"Can we go to court after?  I want to practice playing some volleyball before dinner."  Lisa asked as she stood next to you hugging her pillow in her arms. 

"I guess we can," You answered as you looked at the map of the camp once more. there were two auditoriums each had one court which was set up for volleyball practice.   

The first auditorium was for the older kids while the second was for the age group you and your friends were looking after.   

It took about an hour and a half until everyone in the cabin was set to go out to the auditorium.  You grabbed your phone and clipboard before walking out with the other girls.  

They all chatted as they happily made their way to the auditorium.  You trailed behind taking in the view and the fresh air. 

Finally, you arrived at the auditorium and instructed them to change into their volleyball shoes before entering.  

Once everyone had their shoes switched you gripped the door and slid it open.

"Out!" A younger boy scream just before a volleyball came flying towards you and the other little girls. A chorus of screams echoed in the auditorium as the ball rolled out into the grass. 

"Watch where you're throwing your balls!" You said as you glanced back at the girls ensuring they were okay.  

"Ugh, boys,"  Lisa said as she was ready to turn back and leave the auditorium. 

"Hold on."  Jess grabbed her pulling her back. 

Your eyes scanned the room and you saw the leader of this reckless group of boys. There perched on the bench was Jaemin who was laughing loudly with Mark and Billie. 

"What are you girls doing here?" One of the younger boys asked.

"We came to play Volleyball,"  Jess interjected as she stood in front of you defensively. 

"But if you all are busy we can use it another ti-" You paused as a voice interrupted you.

"Wait!" Jaemin shouted as he scrambled across the court - ducking under the net - which he almost got hooked in.  "It would be a shame to have you leave just as you came."  He paused, "Especially without having your little girl group here play a game." 

"What are you getting at?"  You asked as you crossed your arms over your chest. 

"How about a match?" Jaemin asked, "The first one to 10 points gets to use the audit for the rest of the evening."  

"And the loser?"  You asked as you saw Mark running towards you both. 

"The loser has to give the winners all their dessert for tonight and tomorrow,"  Jaemin said. 

You thought about it for a few seconds before glancing over at your little cabin members.  They all seemed to want to dive straight into this.  

"Fine."  You said. "But we're two members short so -"

"No, you are not!" Chunghua said as she slid the door open. You turned around and saw Elena and Chunghua with their kids as well. 

"Let's play lover boy," Elena said as she pushed past Jaemin and Mark. A chorus of cheers erupted from the little girls as they ran past you and filled into the auditorium.   You watched as they went to one side of the court and immediately started to stretch. 

However, you also noticed that the younger boys were more or less drooling over the girls.  

"Get ready to lose,"  Jaemin said. "I can already taste the dessert." He hummed to himself.

"In your dreams." You replied then jogged over to the side of the court where the girls were. 

In total there were 12 girls between the ages of 8 -12 years old all in their makeshift volleyball outfits.   

"Excuse me Y/n."  You felt someone tug at the end of your shirt. "Who are the teams?" 

"Oh." You glanced at Elena who was helping one of her cabin girls to stretch. "Elle, how do we pick the members of the team?" 

"I want to be the libero!" a girl shouted out.

"Oh, I want to be setter!" Another called out. 

"Awww I wanted to be the setter."  

"Okay okay, wait," Chunghua said as she drew all the girl's attention to her. 

"Here is how it's going to happen - if you want to play as a setter stand next to Y/n." She paused, "If you want to be the Middle Blocker or a Pinch Sever stand with Elena and if you're up to be a Wing Spiker or Libero stay with me."

It took almost a couple seconds before everyone was standing with their respective counsellor. 

"That was smart."  You complimented. "Okay so we will have two groups, the first will go and play until we score 5 points then we will switch with the other group." 

"Yes!" their voices were laced with excitement. 

At the end of the warm-up session you were left with two groups;

group Ponyo; group Hamtaro; 

"Oi!" Jaemin's voice called out. "Are you girls ready to play? Or are you gonna remain standing there looking pretty?" 

You narrowed your eyes at him. 

"I'm not complaining though," He held eye contact with you before sending a wink. 

You turned back to the little group huddle you had with the girls.

"Kick their ass."  You said between gritted teeth. 

"Yeah!" The screamed before dispersing and getting into their position. Oh shit, you weren’t supposed to curse in front of the kids. Oh well....

The boys had the first serve.  

You sat at the side on the bench next to Chunghua, while Billie and Elena were the referees of the match.  

"Nice serve Kaito!" Jaemin cheered.  Your eyes trailed across the court to where the girls were standing. 

Each focused on the ball. 

Kaito smirked before doing a powerful jump serve.  He hit the ball so hard that it flew over the next and zoomed past the girls. 

"Out!" Jess yelled as she stepped to the side.  You watched as the ball hit the floor right outside the boundaries. 

The little girls turned to you.

“Out.” You said. They all cheered before getting back into position.

The rest of the game continued without a hitch.  It was a back and forth match which was unexpected.  You didn’t think these young kids were so good at volleyball.  

But then again, they looked like they were having fun so maybe that’s what made them so good at the sport.  Your role was simple – just saying whether the ball landed in the court or out.   

Time flew by and before you knew it the score was down to the winning point. This was nerve-racking, to say the least. 

Your eyes flickered to Billie who was eyeing the ball as it bounced off the floor.

"Out!" A child yelled. 

You let out a sigh of relief as you heard a chorus of cheers ringing through the audit.

"We won!" Jess yelled as she jumped on Lisa knocking her down to the floor. The girls screamed as they high fived each other.  

Elena ran towards you and wrapped her arms around your body.  Soon enough other hands were hugging you.  You glanced behind and saw that you were now part of a big group hug.  

"Hope you guys are ready to hand over your desserts!" Chunghua said as she taunted the dejected group of boys.  

You eyed them.  Most of the guys were on the floor, breathing heavily while some were bickering about the missed opportunities.  However, what caught your eyes were the small group of Jaemin, Mark and Billie who were standing together speaking with each other.  They looked very serious.  

Just then Jaemin glanced at you.  His eyes narrowed as he smirked.  

This couldn't be good. 

"Oi!" You turned around to see Johnny and Atsumu standing by the audit doors. "Go take a shower then head to the mess hall for dinner,"  Atsumu said.  

You heard a chorus of replies as the girls ran out of the audit leaving the boys to do the punishment of cleaning up.  

About an hour later you were sitting with Elena and Chunghua at a table. Elena to your left and Chungua sitting directly opposite you on the other side.  

"Honestly, I didn't think the girls were going to win,"  Chunghua said as she scooped up some rice in her spoon. 

"Same,  The boys all looked like strong players."  You added. 

"You'd think so - but the boys only come here to this summer camp because they get to train together with the girls,"  Elena explained. 

"Is that appropriate?"  You asked. 

"Atsumu thinks so - he says something about it being able to teach them not to underestimate their opponents and strengths them."  Elena picked up the pack of juice and took a sip. "But I mean it-"

"Using your femininity like that really leaves the boys at a disadvantage yah know."  Jaemin's voice interrupted Elena's words.  

You glanced to your side and saw Jaemin. He sat down at the table and reached for his dessert. You noticed Billie and Mark also coming to sit at the table. 

"What are you guys doing here?"  You asked as you raised an eyebrow. 

"I came to give you my dessert,"  Jaemin said with a cheeky smile.  You watched as he picked up the jello cup he had.  

"T..thanks?"  You said in confusion as you took the jello cup.  He smirked.

"Oh I forgot your spoon,"  Jaemin added as he took out the spoon from his shirt pocket. You eyed him as he licked the spoon - then completely pushing it in his mouth before sticking it in your plate of food. 

"Jaemin you jerk!" You almost screamed as you were about to slap him. However, he grabbed your hand just in time. You noticed that most of the girls around you were now looking carefully at the situation. 

"Jerk?"  Jaemin mused as he rubbed his fingers against your wrist. "Don't you think that's too harsh?" He added before quickly twisting your arm and spinning your body around so that he was now behind you. 

You let out a groan of pain at the sudden movement.

"Anyway, enjoy your dinner."  Jaemin leaned his body closer to yours, his lips brushing lightly against the shell of your ear.  

You narrowed your eyes and raised your foot before stepping down on Jaemin's left foot. 

"Ow." He dramatically pulled away from you and leaned against the wall nearby. This resulted in laughs from your friends (and maybe even from Mark and Billie). 

"What's going on?" Atsumu’s voice made you both lookup.  

"Nothing."  both you and Jaemin said at the same time. 

The taller man crossed his arms his gaze flickered from you to Jaemin.  

"I choose to believe you."  Atsumu admitted, "But only because Y/n  didn't object."  

You glanced at Jaemin who grinned.  

"Now stop causing chaos before I make you both do the dishes,"  Atsumu added before walking away. 

Jaemin looked back at you, he winked before Mark grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him away from your table. 

"He's so gross."  You huffed as you sat down and looked at the spoon in the middle of your plate.  You were starting to wonder what you did in the past to deserve this type of behaviour. 

Dinner was over before you knew it and after the cleanup session, everyone was back in their cabins. The girls all did their own thing, some were reading, others playing games on their phones while one was even bouncing a volleyball up with their forearms. 

Knock! Knock!

You got up from the bed and walked over to the door.  Opening it to see Elena standing there.

“Hey, so like put the girls to sleep at 9 pm and then meet me at the front of my cabin around 9:30,”  Elena said with a wink.  

“Wait is this about the thing in the Audit?”  You asked.  

“Yes.” Elena replied, “Now don’t tell any of the girls if they wake up just tell them you are going to the bathroom.”  

“Sure sure.”  You answered. 

Elena nodded before leaving.   Now, this was going to be fun.  

When it was 9 pm you followed Elena’s orders and by 9:30 pm the little girls were all knocked out in their beds. Now it was time for your escape. 

 You tried your best to remain on your toes as you walked across the small cabin and headed to the door.  You finally made it to the door, the wooden floor creaking slightly under your weight. 

You paused before closing your eyes, unconsciously you held your breath hoping no one would wake up.  

No one did. 

A sigh of relief left your lips as you took another step and unlocked the door. 

It creaked as you pulled it open just wide enough for you to slip your body through. 

Finally, you were out.  You skipped down the small steps and headed towards Elena's cabin. 

The night was cold and dark. There were a couple of lamps sparely located in key points around the camp. It just added to the creepy vibe of the place. The leaves rustled as the cold air blew, causing chills to run down your spine.

Your steps quickened as you neared her cabin.  You turned to the side and smiled as you saw Elena and Chunghua standing there with their cellphones.  

"Y/n!" Elena said with a smile. 

"Hi." You replied. "So where are we going?"

"Well - to the Audit." Elena paused, "on the first night of every summer camp they have an opening party."

"Oh, and what's that like?" You questioned as you and Chunghua followed Elena. 

"Well, it's like that one Rihanna music video,"  Elena replied. 

"Bitch better have my money?" Chunghua asked as he eyes lit up. 

"What? No!" Elena stopped suddenly causing you to bump into her and as a result, Chunghua stumbled into you. 

"Ow." You exclaimed as you stepped away from them. 

"Work, Chunghua it was like work,"  Elena said as she approached a cabin.  You heard the faint sound of music emanating from the enclosed area.  

"Sounds interesting,"  You added as you walked up the small stairs to reach the door.  Elena knocked three times before the door was opened.  When you entered the room you didn't know what to expect. However, what you saw was completely different from anything you thought off. 

The room had all the counsellors, some were either dancing or just drinking and talking. But the music, oh it wasn't like what you were used to.  Elena was right when she said it was like Rihanna's video. 

"Could you believe this is what the counsellors do at night?"  Chunghua asked.

You gazed around the room. 

"No way, is this even allowed?"  You asked. 

"Well I don't see any alcohol so I guess it is," Chunghua said.

"Isn't the music too loud?"  You spoke up once more, "I mean what if something happens to the kids  -"

"Aww is someone worried about the children?"  A voice asked from behind you.  You glanced behind only to come face to face with Na Jaemin. "I think that's a very attractive trait in a woman,"  Jaemin added and he leaned against the wall.  

You rolled your eyes as you looked away from him - how much confidence does he have to be mindlessly flirting with so many girls? 

"Don't you have a girlfriend you should be hiding from?" Chunghua asked. 

"Ou sassy." Jaemin said with a grin, "But I promised to stay away from you." He added before turning to face you once more. 

You saw the look of disbelief of Chunghua's face as she nudged Jaemin.

"What? Why is that?" Chunghua asked. 

"It’s a secret,"  Jaemin replied as he brushed her off.  "Do you want to dance?"  he asked you. 

"Dance?"  You repeated as the music got cut and another song started to play, one that you weren't familiar with but from the cheers of the other counsellors, you could tell that they loved it.  Your attention turned back to the centre of the room where there was a space of dancing. 

You saw Atsumu walkout dragging Mirai behind him. 

"Atsumuu -" Mirai called out as she tried to pull her hands from his grip. 

"One dance," Atsumu begged as he pulled her closer to him. "Please, please."  You saw her give in as the music started to play.  

(You can listen to City Lock by Keznamdi ft Tory Lanez for this part)

Now, this was unexpected.  

You watched as she moved, her hands resting on Atsumu’s chest as she swayed her hips to the beat. Atsumu looked up and smirked before resting his hands down on her hips bringing them closer to his thighs.  

Her body smoothly moving closer to his as her hands went to grip his shoulders. 

She rolled her body, the top of her covered tits brushing against his chest as he tried to move with her. Her hands slid down his shirt before effortlessly bending her upper body backwards.

She looked so graceful with her dirty movements. 

Mirai straightened up, her dark mess of hair falling over her pretty face.  Atsumu ran his hands up her sides as he moved his hips in sync with hers. Mirai smiled at the taller boy before spinning her body so her back was pressed against Atsumu’s chest.  She looked so intoxicated by the music that her body was starting to move on its own.  

She bent down as Atsumu gripped her hips, his sinful smirk adding to make the simple activity look like something with an R rating.  Her hips moving with the beat, grinding against the taller man.  Slowly she brought her body up again and Atsumu’s hands moved from her tits down the curve of her waist and rested by the waistband of her shorts. 

Your eyes widened at the dirty dancing you were witnessing.  However, everyone else seemed to be enjoying it.  In fact, others had joined in - but you were too focused on the older girl and the head counsellor. 

Mirai gracefully turned in Atsumu’s arms, now she was facing him once more. She whined her hips slowly and with each movement, she lowered her body down. Now her face was inches away from Atsumu’s crotch, she gazed up at him as he rolled his body gently.  Her hands moving up his thighs before he reached down and pulled her to stand again. 

His thigh wedging in between her legs, as she grinded against him as the music played. 

Your eyes widened. 

"Is...Is this allowed?"  You whispered. 

"This is the reason they have these parties when the kids are asleep." 

Jaemin teased. "So you wanna join in?"  

"Weren't you the same one who sucked a spoon like a dick and then put it in my plate?"  You asked, "Why would I say yes?" 

"Good point."  Jaemin said as he leaned closer to you, "I think you don't know how to dance.."  he paused, "Or maybe a cute angel-like yourself can't handle this type of dirty dancing."

You felt a rush of heat on your cheeks as you tried to say no.

" I can more than handle this."  You responded. 

"Then let's dance," Jaemin stated. 

However, before you could respond he grabbed your hand pulling you out on the dance floor area with the rest of people.  

"Show me just how wrong I am about you," Jaemin said flashing you a cheeky grin.  He took your arms and placed them on his shoulders before sliding his hands down to your hips. "Just relax."  He teased. 

You looked at him, your eyes trailing down to where his hands were. placed on your hips. 

He gently started to guide your movements.  At first, it was slow as you tried to match the beat. However, at one point Jaemin pulled you closer to him.  

Your hips hit against his as he moved.  

“See, you can do it.”  Jaemin teased. His grip on your skin tightening as you felt the heat on the dance area.  More of the counsellors started to dance.  

“Well .. you’re not to bad.” You half-heartedly admitted.  He smiled at the comment and ran his hands up your side. He was being rather bold for a person who knew nothing about you. 

“How about we try a different position.” Jaemin teased.  

“Hu-“

You were suddenly jerked around so that your back was pressed against the front of his body.  His hips swayed to the music, moving so smoothly as if this song was made for him to dance to.  

Soon enough you actually started to get into the music.  And you were having fun dancing with Jaemin.  Who knew he was such a good dancer?  That was until he slipped away – You shrugged it off and went to talk to Elena.  

“Do you like it so far?”  Elena asked. “Wait – don’t answer, lemme guess.”  

You tilted your head to the side and waited for her words. 

“From the way, you were grinding on Jaemin – I would think you were loving it.”  She teased. 

“It is just a dance.”  You said. 

You glanced to the side and that’s when you saw it.  Jaemin was getting rather comfy with the same girl from earlier today (yes the one that pushed him in the lake). You kept looking as saw her push herself closer to him. 

And then they kissed. You knew he was a flirt – yet seeing this somehow crushed any tiny bit of hope you had that he might be genuinely into you.  

“You know what, I think I’ve had enough of tonight.”  You admitted. 

“Y/n?” 

Elena asked. 

“Goodnight Elle, I’ll see you tomorrow.”  You simply said. You stormed off that night and went straight to your cabin.  

Na Jaemin had no shame.

Day 2; Monday schedule 8am; breakfast (have all your cabin mates in the mess hall) 9:30am; volleyball practice (Audit 1 - serves and team work) 12:00pm; lunch 1:30pm; volleyball practice (Audit 1 - spiking and matches) 5:30pm; end official practice  (if any of the kids in your care wants to practice longer it is fine) 7pm; dinner  (we're having curry! girls 13- 17 will assist with clean up while the guys will do the dishes) 8:30 pm; games! (twister is forbidden - don't listen to Jaemin if he asks you to play)

if you have any questions about the schedule, just come see me. also along with you and the counsellors for the kids between 8 -10, Kun and Mirai will be joining you. Also, the older kids have a different schedule - a different eating time etc.   - Atsumu.

Your eyes were locked on the schedule as you tried to memorize the times.  You had just finished your breakfast and it was around 9:15 am.  According to your daily schedule, your cabin had to be in Audit 1 in a couple of minutes to start volleyball practice. You didn't have a lot of experience with volleyball but you were familiar with some of the basic concepts. Plus for today you had Mirai and Kun with you and the kids.

This couldn't be bad.

The door for the mess hall swung open causing you to look up just to see Jaemin entering the room.   You narrowed your eyes.   He seemed like such a complex person to figure out.  He's flirty and a smooth talker with almost every girl. However, he likes to tease and can be a sore loser.  Your mind flashed back to when he dropped his saliva stained spoon in your food.

Disgusting.

"y/n?" Elena's voice caused you to look at her.  "Are you okay? You look like you saw something gross."

"You have no idea." You mumbled as you placed your schedule down and picked up your plate to carry it back to the kitchen staff.  Elena did the same.

"Are you still thinking about loverboy over there?"  Elena asked as she gestured subtlety in Jaemin's direction. You glanced at him. He was talking to one of the older girls in Irene's class.   He had that stupid charming smile on his face as he caressed her hair.  

"Unfortunately." You admitted.

There was a moment of silence between you both as you stopped midway to just look at his flirty actions.  It was just like that guy in that anime Elena watches - ah was it …  Magic Kaito? Either way, he looked shameless.

"You know what's worse?"  You asked Elena, with your plate still in your hands.

"What?"  She replied.

"He's actually cute and good at stealing hearts."

"Does that mean he stole yours?"  Elena asked as she pushed you forward gently so she could hand in her dirty dishes.

"It was one night and so far he has one point for stealing my heart but also two points for absolutely repulsing me."  you placed the dirty plate down on the counter before thanking the kitchen staff politely.

"No shit, I saw how he was dancing with you last night."  Elena teased, "But hey, why not just have fun with the flirt?"

"What do you mean?"  You asked as you walked back to the table. By now Jaemin was out of sight.  

"As Marina said, rule number one, you gotta have fun, but when  you're done - gotta be the first to run." She quoted. "That is, endure his flirty behaviour and have fun with it - enjoy the attention but just always be ready to ditch his Romeo looking ass."

You chuckled at her response.   She truly had a point. Maybe you could give this a try - Afterall there was no rules about you not fucking around with another counsellor.

"Okay I'll consider it, now let's get the girls and go to the audit to start warm-ups." You said. Elena nodded.

By 9:32 am, Elena, Chunghua, Billie, Mark, Jaemin and you were all in the Audit along with your respective cabin members.   Along with Mirai and Kun.

"Okay, so guys on that side, girls on the other.  Start stretching and warming up for a while then we will start with a couple of rounds of serves." Kun said as he eyed his schedule.

There was a chorus of responses before everyone separated and began following orders.

You were busy helping Lisa stretch when you heard a voice.  You turned around and saw Jaemin waving at you.

"Aww look how cute you all are."  Jaemin cooed.

"Yeah, these cute girls beat your ass at volleyball yesterday."  Chunghua butt in. You couldn't help but laugh.

"Call that luck,"  Jaemin added. "Plus the guys were going easy on you all."  

"Is that so?" You asked.

"Yes, in a rematch - the boys would, no doubt beat your sorry asses," Jaemin stated.

"Did you just say Ass?" Kun's voice caught Jaemin off guard. "You know you're not supposed to curse around the kids."  His eyes widened.

"It was to make a point,"  Jaemin said as he looked at Kun.  Part of him was grateful it was Kun who overheard him and not Kuroo or Johnny.

"Still, no cursing," Kun said before tossing a volleyball at Jaemin. "Now get back here so we can start doing serves." He fumbled forward but ended up catching the ball.

"Sure." He called out before glancing back at you. "Hope we can play together soon."  He winked. Maybe you were imagining it but you swore he meant 'play' in a much different way.  He was so blunt with the flirting.

"In your dreams."  You replied.

Jaemin smiled before running over to the other side of the court.  You turned your attention back to the girls who were all getting ready to be divided into teams and practice serves.  From all 12 girls, you were able to more or less get two teams.

team one; girls division; apple team / ponyo team Setter / Outside Hitter; Ari and Emma Middle Blocker;  Hayley and Chaeyoung Right-side Hitter; Jesse Libero; Lisa

team two; girls division; cherry team / sailor moon team Setter; Hani and Candice Middle Blockers; Vivian and Iris Right-side Hitter; Yeojin Libero;  Yeri

"Alright, so Ponyo team, you girls are up." Mirai said as she looked at her clipboard, "Remember,   everyone has to do about 20 serves and then we will switch so the other team can do it." Mirai paused, "by the time the team that isn't practising serves can do diving drills."  

A chorus of whines resounded.

"That makes my baby boobs hurt,"  Iris said as she covered her chest with her hands.  

You glanced over at the boy's side of the court,  they seemed rather happy and carefree with Kun as their leader.  Your gaze dropped to Jaemin who was sitting on the floor tying the laces of one of the much younger kids.  When he was done the kid smiled brightly.  Jaemin extended his arms and the little boy dived into his arms, knocking him down on the floor in the process.

A small smile tugged at your lips as you saw the soft moment.

"Y/n!" Elena nudged you.  You blinked and glanced in the direction of the girls.

"Huh?"  you asked.

"Would you take Lisa to the cabin? She forgot her kneepads." Elena said.

"Sure." You smiled and gestured for Lisa to follow behind you.

"Do you like Jaemin?" Lisa asked as she walked beside you.

"What?" You asked, "Why.. Why would you ask that?"

"You look at him a lot,"  Lisa said.

"Well he.. just happens to be in my line of sight." You said. However, it sounded like you were trying to convince yourself more than the little girl who was quizzing you.

"Oh!" Lisa ran up to the cabin door and pulled it open. "Boys are a waste of time."  Lisa added, "Jaemin is a waste of time."

"Why would you say that?"  You asked with a little chuckle as you stood next to the door.

"Because every year Jaemin always goes after a particular girl at the summer camp." Lisa shuffled through her bag pulling out her clothes until she found her kneepads.

"What do you mean 'goes after'." You asked.

"I mean, he picks a pretty girl and flirts with them - and sometimes he pranks everyone but them - well sometimes he pranks them too," Lisa stood up and ran towards you. "I got it! let's go!"

"Oh okay, wait, prank?" You closed the cabin door and walked with her back to the Audit.

"Yeah,  it's funny. Last year he got whipped cream and snuck into the girl's cabin and pasted whipped cream on every girls' face."   Lisa gripped the kneepads tighter. "But this year the girls are going to get revenge on him and whoever he decides to be his lucky summer camp volleyball princess."  

"His Lucky-summer-camp-volleyball-princess?" You asked. "Revenge? What are you going to do?"

"Can't tell you! I think Jaemin has his eyes on you and if we tell you he might flirt and trick you into telling him our prank plans."  Lisa said.

You blushed at the thought of a boy like Jaemin having his eyes on you.  Even if he was a playboy you were sure you could handle two weeks with him.

"You seem to have everything figure out."  You teased.

"I have to!" Lisa paused as she stood by the door of the Audit, "Jaemin is like Kaito Kid. A sneaky thief who steals girls' hearts."

"Kaito?"  You asked.

Lisa nodded before pushing the door open and running inside to put on her kneepads. You followed her in and saw that the girls were already serving on one side while the guys were nowhere to be seen.

"Where are the boy teams?"  You asked Elena.

"Oh they went to do some cardio outside,  they are going to run until both of the girl teams are done serving," Elena responded. You nodded and then took a seat as you watched the girls practice for the rest of the time. However, your mind was drifting back to what Lisa was saying. You barely had enough proof of Jaemin's infatuation towards you.   And since you knew he was a flirt you hadn't taken most of his advances seriously.  

"Y/n!" A girl screamed.  At the same time, a ball flew across the court and almost hit you in the face. Your eyes widened as you glanced behind you. You slowly picked up the ball and as soon as you turned around a little girl came running towards you, "I'm so sorry." She said. She could have been only about 9 years old.

"Aww," You cooed not being able to scold her. "It's fine," You smiled and handed her the ball.

"Thank you." She smiled before running off.

After practice.

"Ewww, I feel so sticky." Elena frowned as she sat by the lunch table.

"At least the food is always good here," Chunghua said as she stuffed a spoon filled with rice in her mouth.

"True," You smiled. "Practice was actually kind of nice today."  

"Yeah, it was but it will get tougher as time passes,"  Elena stated. You nodded and glanced around the Mess Hall. All the children (including the older ones) were sitting down and enjoying their meal. Laughter echoed in the room mixed in with chatter. Inside the building was cool, thanks to the multiple fans and windows. However, outside was quite sunny.

Your eyes flickered to the door as it swung open and a some of the boys walked in. You were about to turn away when you caught a glimpse of Jaemin who was laughing at something Billie and Mark were talking about.

You turned back to your food.

"Elle,  Lisa was telling me that every year Loverboy over there, goes after one girl and he pranks everyone except them ?" You spoke without even looking at her.

"Ah, I almost forgot about that,"  Elena said.

"So it's true?" You asked.

"Yes, it is." Elena said, "It’s a Jaemin thing, well more like a 'boy counsellor thing'.  It happened a couple of years ago when he started to attend the camp as a kid."

"And everyone just lets it happen?"  You questioned.

"Well, yeah. It's a summer training camp, and it's not like any of the pranks were dangerous."  Elena responded, "However, a while after he started pranking the girls, the girls fought back."

"Now that's what I wanted to hear!" Chunghua said as she slammed her fist on the table. "So what I'm getting from this conversation is that there is gonna be some summer camp prank war?"

Elena chuckled. "You can say that."

"So the girls have pranks prepared?" You asked, "Because Lisa told me -"

"Shhhh."  Elena quickly slapped her hand over your mouth and pulled you closer to her, "You can't talk about pranks right now because the guys are all over and if they get even the tiniest hint of our pranks then it will be over for us."

Your eyes widened as you nodded.

Looks like this camp was going to be a lot more interesting than you expected.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Jaemin's amplified voice broke the conversation. Everyone turned to face the young man who was currently standing on a table with a blow horn. "And my non-binary folks."  He added with a wink. "Tonight we just want to congratulate the girls for beating us at a volleyball practice match yesterday."

"Shit,"   Elena said as she looked around the room.  You followed her eyes and noticed that the boys in the 8 -12 age group were passing out jello cups to all the girls seated in the Mess Hall.

"As promised, we are giving you our desserts for two nights."  Jaemin said, "Please enjoy this …"  he paused as he searched for the right words, "Taste of our congratulations."

You watched as all the girls reluctantly looked at the jello cups.  They didn't seem too enthusiastic about the situation and there was a simple reason why.  

"Go on, its just jello right?"  Jaemin asked as he looked directly at you.  You swallowed hard as you looked down at the light red jello cup in front of you.

"It's sealed so they couldn't have done anything to it,"  Lisa shouted from her seat.

"Now there's a smart girl," Jaemin said as he winked to her.  You looked at Mark and Billie - both were at each of the exits on a lookout for the older counsellors - who according to what Mirai had told you  - have a different lunchtime.

You looked up at Jaemin who was now making his way towards you.  He stopped right in front of your table.

"Why don't you try some first?"  Jaemin asked.  You narrowed your eyes and picked up the jello cup - bravely opening it and picking up a spoon.  "I'm sure it's just as sweet as you are,"  Jaemin added.

"It might be."  You paused and glanced at Lisa who was behind Jaemin.  She gestured for you to feed the jello to Jaemin.  You looked back at the cocky boy and smiled sweetly. "Why don't you have a taste?"

"Sharing are we?"  Jaemin asked.

"Mhm."  you scoped up some jello in the spoon before putting it by his pink lips. "Open up."

Jaemin shot you a lop-sided grin before slowly parting his lips. His hand went up to grab yours (that was holding the spoon)  and controlled the pace at which the spoon entered his mouth.  All this time he held his gaze on you.  You felt a twisting feeling in your stomach as he hallowed his cheeks out and slurped the jello.

You heard a couple of coos before Jaemin pulled away and licked his lips.

"See, nothing wrong."  He teased.

You felt a blush of heat rush to your face. Why is he this way? Your attention went to the rest of girls in the Mess Hall who were opening up their jello cups and starting to taste it.  

However, it only took about four seconds before you started to hear more commotion.

"Yuck!" "Gross!" "What the fuck is this?" "Ewwwwwww." "My t..tongue."  

The comments echoed in the room as you saw the girl immediately spit out the jello and glare at the boys.  

"Well, that signals the beginning of the war,"  Mark said from one of the doors.  You noticed that all the guys were running out of the Mess Hall in a hasty - yet orderly fashion.

"What's going on?"  You asked Jaemin.

"Prank wars milady."  He said before jumping off the chair and running towards the nearest window. "Don't worry, I'll go easy on you since it's your first time."   He winked and then jumped out through the window.

You glanced around the room and to add to the dilemma, the doors were locked from the outside. The room was filled with pissed girls who wanted to pull their taste buds out.  

"That jerk!" Chunghua yelled.

"They put Vinegar in all the jello cups,"  Elena said as she sniffed the cup.

"What are we going to do?"  You asked as you sniffed your cup.  

You watched as Elena climbed on the table.

"Oi!" She shouted as loud as she could.  The girls paused and glanced back at her. "The boys put Vinegar in our jello cups."  She paused, "And they locked us in the Mess Hall. But they also announced that the war has started."  She smirked, "So what are we going to do?"

"Get Revenge!" Lisa shouted from her table.

"Exactly. Time to show these boys what us girls are really made off." Elena said. "Plus we have the advantage,"  Elena said. "We know the girl that Jaemin is after this time - and thankfully she will not fall for his tricks."

Your eyes widened as you saw Elena point to you.

"Y/n is the key to winning this year,"  Elena said.

"Yay!" You heard the girls cheer.  It was unbelievably easy to hype of kids.

"Wait!" Everyone turned to the little girl holding her jello cup, "What are we going to do about this then?"  

You thought about it for a moment before a smile formed on your face,

"I…I have an idea."  You said. "Come on."  You gestured for all the kids to come closer to you.   Maybe this could be a little fun.

It was around 5:20 pm when you called a couple of the little girls over to assist with your plan.  It was quite a simple plan that didn't take up much time but you were sure that the boys would hate it so much.  

"Alright, shhhh,"  You pressed your fingers to your lips as you took the bag which was filled with the disgusting-tasting jello. You borrowed some disposable gloves from the kitchen staff and together with four girls you were going to fill the guy's shoes with the dessert.  Giving them their just desserts hehe.

You stood by the shelf where all the shoes were placed and quickly scooped up the jello and placed some in each of the shoes.  

With the help of four extras girls, it was easy and quick to complete this prank. Beforehand, you had Elena and Chunghua ensure Jaemin, Billie and Mark were occupied inside while the other girls made sure that no other boy left the Audit during the setup time.  

It was a flawless plan.

Once everything was complete you disposed of the gloves and allowed the girls to go in pairs as to not make it suspicious. This plan would only work if the timing was right.  It had to be done right before the practice was over so that all the guys would put their shoes on at the same time.

"Alright practice is over, go and wash up or whatever you have to do until 7," Kun said as he walked over to his bag.

All the boys cheered as they gathered their stuff and went out to get their shoes. While the girls were packing away all the volleyballs and cleaning the court. "Five! Four!" "Threee.." "Two?" "Now."   "What the fuck!"  

You heard the curse words and smiled with a satisfied grin. All the girls glanced at the doorway before bursting out in giggles.  Just then the doors flew open and you saw Jaemin, Mark and Billie.  

"Nice." Jaemin said, "Using our own prank against us, but I hope you pretty girls are ready for what comes."

"Bring it on!" A girl shouted. Jaemin smirked and glanced at Billie.

"Looks like we have interesting competitors this year."

"And we will kick your ass,"  Chunghua shouted.

"Why not kiss it instead?"  Billie asked.

You saw Chunghua's eyes narrow as she was about to charge forward. You reached out and grabbed her arm holding her back.

"You're going down this year,"  Elena said.

"Yay!" The little girls cheered.

"Oh, we'll see about that," Mark added.  With that, he slammed the door shut.

All the girls looked at one another. What was the next move?

Tuesday; Day 3 Schedule   8am; breakfast (have all your cabin mates in the mess hall) 9:30am; volleyball practice (Audit 1 - official matches) 12:00pm; lunch 1:30pm; volleyball practice (Audit 1 - serves and spiking) 5:30pm; pool time for the girls while the guys go hiking. 7pm; dinner (we're having hotdogs! girls 8- 12 will assist with clean up while the guys will do the dishes ) 8:30pm; games! (again - twister is forbidden - don't listen to Jaemin if he asks you to play)

if you have any questions about the schedule, just hit me up. also, before going into the pool ensure that all the boys really went up with Atsumu, johnny and kun to hike. that includes jaemin, mark and billie. - mirai :)

Day three was not bad.  The entire morning went by without a single prank occurring which felt good - but it also brought on a sense of paranoia.   Currently, it was 5:20 pm and you were keeping score of the matches between the girls and the guys.  Just one more point for the boys and they would win.  While the girls were two points behind.  

"Come on!" You cheered, "You can do it!" You smiled at Jesse as she picked up the ball and was prepared to serve.  

Your eyes went back to the boy's team where Jaemin was busy taking notes.  Something about him just … it just pushed your buttons.

You heard the shrill sound of the whistle echoed in the room. Your eyes going back to Jesse as she tossed the ball in the air and gave a jump float serve.   She had been practising them since last year and was getting better at it.  And all that practice made it permanent.  Meaning she landed a point for the girls.

You cheered along with the team before the whistle blew once more.

At the end of the practice session, the boy's team was leading since they won 4 sets while the girls won 3 sets and almost tied it up - unfortunately, they were one point short of winning.

"That's okay."  You said as you handed them their water bottles and tried to cheer them up.  

"We could have won - if only I hadn't missed the receive," Yeri said.  

"It's alright."  You said as you gently patted her head. "We always have games after lunch."  

"I guess you're right."  Yeri huffed.

"Of course! And if that doesn't make you feel better then we can also plan our next prank."  Chunghua butt in and leaned against your shoulder.

"You have an idea for the next prank already?"  Elena asked.

"Of course.  I came up with it last night whe-"

"We came up with it!" A girl from Chunghua's cabin added as she joined in the little circle.  

"Yes, we."  Chunghua chuckled, "But I'll tell you all later when they aren't around."

You looked over to the other side of the court where the boys were stretching - however, you noticed something a bit different.

"Um.. Half of the guys are missing." You said.  

"Shit." Elena's dark eyes scanned the room, "Jaemin and Mark… They're both gone."  

"Does that mean?"  Your eyes widened.

"Yes."  Elena turned around, "Girls!" She called out, "Everyone come here now."

Half of the kids were packing away the volleyballs while the other half was doing some cool-down stretches.  But the urgency in her voice captured their attention.

"What's wrong?" One girl asked.

"I think we …  might be walking into a prank sometime today so be very careful."  Elena said.  

The girls agreed and then finished up clearing up the Audit before heading out to the pool. Thankfully the guys were heading up to the hiking trail with the older guys so that meant that only the girls would be down in the campsite for a while.  Consequently, it meant that you all didn't have to worry about any pranks.  

You took a deep breath as you gazed around the campsite.  The pool was surrounded by non-skid tiles and then the outer layer had soft green grass while the sun shimmered down on the light blue water. It was so pretty out that you wanted to stay a bit longer and take in the moment just to -

"Last one in has to give up dessert!" A kid screamed as she dashed past you and jumped into the pool.  You winced as the cool water splashed up against your skin.

"Oi! Wait for me why doncha!" Mirai's voice followed as you saw her running out in a red swimwear. It was the first time you took notice of her body and to your surprise, she had a couple of tattoos.

More laughter and chatter followed as the other girls arrived at the pool area. Best of all not a single boy was in sight.  

"Y/n!" Elena called out as she jogged up towards you. "You can relax now, I just saw Johnny, Kun and Atsumu leave with all the other boys."

"That means we don't have to worry right?" You asked.

"Mhm, Mirai even came and checked the water before so we're all good - just enjoy yourself."  Elena added.

You nodded. You guard was down as you took part in the summertime fun.  Soft music playing from Irene's speakers while some girls were playing volleyball in the grass. How on earth could they practice all day and then play the same game during their free time?  It was so odd.  

The sun was still up and bright yet the temperature was bearable. It was almost like you were in some magical realm where you could just have fun and not worry about anything else.

Soon enough, it was time to head back inside and get dressed. Everyone left the pool together,  the older girls using the showers in their cabins while the younger girls had a different shower.  

You walked in the bathroom with your towel loosely around your hips while you spoke to Chunghua.  However, your conversations were interrupted by a shrill scream.  You exchanged looks with your best friend before quickly making your way to the shower stall.

"What's wrong?" You paused mid-sentence as you looked around the shower and saw all the little girls staring at each other.  Some of them were covered in pink, blue or even purple colours.

"It’s the water," Lisa said as she pointed to the shower. "We're colourful now!" She groaned.  

You had to hold yourself back from laughing at their predicament. It was quite cute and funny seeing them all multi-colored. However, you knew exactly who did this.

"How did they do this?" Another girl asked as she looked in one of the mirrors, her braids were ruined and all she wanted to do was cry.  

You saw Elena walk into one of the showers and look up at the showerhead.  She reached forward and unscrewed it only to find traces of solidified colouring crystals. She brought them to her nose and sniffed it before tossing it in the ground.

"I doubt it's toxic but for the time I  think we should shower with the older girls,"  Elena said calmly.

"I'll go across and tell Mirai."  You said.

"Yeah," Elena sighed before looking back at the little girls, "Everyone get your clothes and wait by the door until Y/n comes back okay?"

"Okay!" The girls answered.  

You quickly ran out of the bathroom and down the hallway towards the entrance of the cabin you all stayed in. As you stepped outside you heard his voice.

"You look cute in a bathsuit," Jaemin said.

Your eyes narrowed as you kept walking - trying to avoid the conversation. Unfortunately, you can't brush him off that easily.

"Where are you going in such a hurry?"  Jaemin asked, "Aren't you going to take a shower?"

You ignored him and sped up as you headed towards the cabin of the older girls.

"Ignoring me are we?"  He chuckled as he walked beside you - unfortunately, he was matching your pace. "That's okay, I don't mind doing all the talking."  

You rolled your eyes and kept moving.

"So I heard you called me Romeo. Do you really think I'm that charming?" Jaemin said.  You stopped in your tracks.

"No I don't - I think you're a pain in the ass though."  You said.  

"Oh Juliet, why hath thou wounded my heart?"  Jaemin asked as he stepped in front of you. He placed his hand over his heart and fiend an aching pain.

"Heart? I think that one was aimed more for your big ego." You replied, your arms crossing over your chest.

"Touché." He commented, "How about we ditch the lame-ass game night? You can meet me in my cabin room and we can play some of our own games."  He wiggled his eyebrows at you.

You let out a sigh.

"Not a chance." You stated.

"Why not?"  Jaemin tilted his head to the side.  Pure curiosity filling his eyes as you denied his request.

"Because, I'm not stupid." You said, "I know you're only flirting with me to gain leverage and win the prank war thing. And I for one am not going to fall for your -"

You gasped as you felt a cold breeze hit your bare thighs.  You look down to realise that Jaemin had snatched your towel and was now running away with it.  

"Jaemin you Jerk!" You screamed as you ran behind him.  You were still slightly wet from the pool so the exposure to the evening air sent chills down your spine.

"Come on Juliet!" Jaemin called out as he glanced back at you. "Move those pretty legs."

"Dumbass!" You yelled as you quicken your pace.   Jaemin glanced behind him once more, a cheeky laugh leaving his lips before he bumped into someone.

"Oh shit."  Jaemin said as he looked up to see Johnny.

"Hey buddy."  Johnny said as he crouched down to come eye-level with Jaemin who was on the ground. "Causing trouble are we?"

"I … was just helping Y/n dry her towel,"  Jaemin said as he stood up. He quickly folded the towel and then turned to you. "Here you are."  

You took the towel from Jaemin and glanced back at Johnny.

"Nice try Loverboy." Johnny said as he grabbed Jaemin by his ear and tugged him away. "Sorry," Johnny apologized to you before running away.

You huffed as you wrapped the towel around your waist once more and glanced back at Jaemin and Johnny as they walked away.  He was really something.  You shook it off and then headed over to the older girl's cabin for help.

Thankfully, they agreed and by dinner time everyone was clean and not as colourful as before. However, that little prank just gave the girls an idea for an even better prank for the guys.  This prank will only take place at night though so the timing has to be perfect.  

You had your dinner with everyone else and then enjoyed a peaceful (somewhat)  game night with the older campers.  Then finally it was time to go to bed.  You got ready, and ensured your little campers were all safe inside before locking the door and setting your alarm for 3 am.

However, you awoke to the sound of a soft voice.

"Y/n, Elena is calling us."  

Your eyes flickered open as you looked up at the darkness.  Seems like it was about time for the real plan to begin. You yawned as you sat up and grabbed your little make up bag from nearby.  After the game night you had - you were lucky to catch some Z's before the prank.  

Carefully you pulled on a sweater and followed the younger girl out of the cabin and towards Elena's cabin.  You were greeted by a couple of girls, each with their own make up bags and some with bottles of nail polish.

"We need to be as quiet and quick as possible."  Chunghua said.

"If any of the guys wake up and catch us its all over." Elena added.

"But what if they do?"  A girl questioned, she nervously played with the zip of her make up bag.  

"If they wake up - " Elena paused, "Put them in a sleeper hold."

"What?"  You asked, "Can we really do that?"

"Yeah just by using the pressure points - however, the persons reading this fanfic shouldn't be going around making people pass out."  Elena added.

"But you don't have to worry about them waking up too much because I'm pretty sure they are very tired."  Chunghua said. "Now each of us will go into a cabin and meet back here in five minutes."

The girls nodded in an agreement and then scattered.  You were paired with two girls from your cabin. It was quite easy sneaking into the cabin of the boys - unfortunately, you were assigned Jaemin's cabin. Why? Because if he happened to wake up then chances are he would let you off since he has chosen to favour you for the summer.

Your footsteps were light as you entered the darkroom.  Soft snores echoed as stray strands of moonlight seeped through the windows. The light was enough for you to be able to see who was in the cabin and it was enough so you could apply a bit of make on a face (not neatly but the messier the better in this case).

Like a secret agent on a mission you used your stealth to attempt to get the prank done. The boy you went straight for was none other than Na Jaemin.  He had such a pretty face, what a shame you were going to have to ruin it.  You reached in and got the eyeshadow first.  A knowing smirk on your face as you coloured his face. 

After about five minutes of your messy art time, you packed everything up and gestured for the girls to leave.  They nodded followed your orders.  

Before you knew it - you were all back at Elena's cabin.

"Success?"  Elena asked.

"You bet." You said with a smirk.

"Perfect, see ya'll tomorrow." Chunghua added before everyone separated and went to their cabins.  As a precaution, every girl closed their windows and locked their doors - just in case the guys got any ideas later on.

Wednesday; day 4 schedule 8am; breakfast (have all your cabin mates in the mess hall) 9:30am; volleyball practice (Audit 1 - recieves and official matches) 12:00pm; lunch 1:30pm; volleyball practice (Audit 1 - serving and matches ) 5:30pm; archery training while the boys have pool time! 7pm; dinner (we're having burgers- boys 12- 17 will assist with clean up while the girls will do the dishes!) 8:30pm; games! (twister is STILL forbidden - don't listen to jaemin if he asks you to play)

if you have any questions about the schedule, talk to Atsumu because this year I am not going to be punishing the culprits again. ·        kun

The sound of a scream was your alarm clock on this lovely Wednesday morning.  And this time it wasn't from a girl. A smile spread on your face as you slowly sat up and stretched.  You glanced around the cabin and saw the other kids were awake and hurrying to put on their shoes to see what happened.

You followed. Grabbing your outside shoes before pushing open the door and running outside towards the boys' cabin.  You stopped as you saw Chunghua and Elena were already there laughing as Billie and Mark were scolding them.  

"Make-up?" Mark yelled, "Are you serious?"  

"And nail polish?  This isn't even my colour."  Billie stressed, "I told you Elena Knightly, I only use dark blue colours for my fucking nails."  

"Awww don't be sad, you both look so cute."  Elena said, "And I'm sure you're little boys inside the cabins look equally adorable."

"I'm sure they are pretty  just like their dumbass leader."  Chunghua said.  

"Where is he?"  You asked as you stood next to your friends. "Where's Jaemin? Too shy to come outside?"  You yelled the statement a bit louder hoping he would hear it if he was nearby.

"Besides, it's just make up - it will all wash off." Chunghua teased as she pinched Mark's cheek.  

"Don't see why they would want to wash it off though,  they look much better with it on." You added as you crossed your arms over your chest. This felt good.  Getting them back for yesterday. I mean you can't go and stain girls in the shower and not expect similar consequences.  

Now if only you could see Jaemin - that would top it off.

"What's all the yelling about?" A sleepy voice responded. You glanced at one of the cabin and saw Jaemin looking from behind the door.  His eyes still barely open as he had a blanket wrapped around his body.

"Hey pretty boy," You teased as you saw the ridiculous make up look on his face.  "Did someone try to use his mommy's make up last night?"

"What?"  Jaemin asked - clearly confused.  He glanced at Mark and Billie who were looking like sad clowns. "You didn't.." He said as his eyes widened.  

"I think we should run." Elena muttered.  

"I think so too."  You agreed.

You saw Jaemin reach up and touch his face, his hand passing across his puffy lips only to see a bright pink colour smeared on his hand.  

"Run!" Chunghua screamed as she grabbed your arm and ran.

"Y/n!" Jaemin shouted as he dropped the blanket and chased after you. Mark and Billie followed behind as you and your two best friends ran straight to the Mess Hall where you knew there were the older camp counsellors and their campers.

You laughed as you ran with your friends.  The sunlight still soft and gentle and the soft singing of the birds added to create a scene like something from a studio Ghibli movie.   You glanced back and saw the three boys right on your trail.  

"Quick." Elena called out as she pulled open the door to the Mess Hall. You ran in and flopped down on a seat right next to Mirai and Irene.  Chunghua followed and Elena was the last to sit as soon as she closed the door.

You were out of breath as you glanced at your friends.  

"You good?"  Mirai asked, but before you could reply the door swung open and you saw Jaemin, Mark and Billie.

"I didn't know we were having a performance by these clowns."  Irene joked.  You laughed at her comment.  

"Laugh all you want - we will get you girls back."  Jaemin stated.

"Shit, Jaemin you look like you kissed a clown."  Johnny remarked as he passed by.  Luckily the other, older campers weren't paying attention to the conversation.

"At least I get action."  Jaemin snapped before turning around. Johnny chuckled and looked at you.

"Who's idea was it?"  He asked.

"A group effort?"  You said softly.  

"Was anyone hurt?"  Irene asked. You shook your head. The only thing that got hurt was probably their pride.  But since no other guys came out except the camp counsellors you assumed everything was fine.

"I guess it’s fine then."  Johnny sighed, "Besides we all heard what the boys did yesterday."

"Disgusting." You spat before standing up.

"Come on, let's go get ready for breakfast."  Elena said.  You agreed and then left the Mess Hall.

That prank was actually funnier than you expected it to be.  Not only did you get to see Jaemin's face but most of the other campers did as well.  However, now you were more focused on what the retaliation prank would be.  Today - according to the schedule Kun created seemed to be a normal day. Alternatively, today the boys would be using the pool while the girls practised archery.  

You went through the morning period without a hitch.  The volleyball practice was smooth and easy and during lunch time some of the girls actually felt sorry for the boys and helped them clean off the nail polish.  But you assumed that was only because Mirai had given them some nail polish remover.

Either way, now it was archery time.

You stepped out on the field and looked around. You hadn't seen Jaemin around much today.  He wasn't all up in your face or shouting from across the court.  And for lunchtime he was sitting on the other end of the Mess Hall.  Maybe your little make up prank was enough to push him off.  A satisfied smile formed on your lips as you sat on one of the benches.  

The girls were again, put into groups and took turns shooting arrows.  

You watched over them, ensuring they were all wearing the proper gear and had stretched properly before firing the arrows.  It was a simple job and you had a lot of fun.  Surprisingly the girls were very easy to work with today - maybe it was because they were happy about having the upper hand in a prank war.  

The evening went by quickly and by 7:15pm everyone was sitting and having dinner together.  The Mess Hall was filled with chatter and laughing.  You, however, seemed to be having a bit of a bug problem.  You frowned as you saw the cricket on your chair.

"Elena - get it off."  You whinned.

"You're a baby."  Elena laughed as she carefully approached the bug.  You cringed as she used her hands to cup the bug and quickly ran to the window. She disposed of it and then went to wash her hands.  

"I hate bugs too."  Chunghua sighed, "Just last night I saw a frog right outside the cabin door way and I almost screamed."  

"You should have given it a kiss." You teased as you puckered your lips and leaned forward making kissing noises as you attempted to kiss Chunghua.  

"Oh gosh no."  Chunghua cried as she grabbed your arm and kept you at a distance. "The frog prince was the worse - I could never kiss a frog."  

You laughed at her before sitting in your seat.

"Never kiss a frog?"  Jaemin's voice once again cut into your conversation.  You looked up and saw him standing on the other side of the table. "Why not?  You might find your prince charming that way."

"Hi, you know - reflecting on this morning's incidents,  I think you looked a lot better with the make-up."  You said. "It really brought out your clown culture."

Chunghua chuckled at the comment.  

"Laugh all you want."  Jaemin said, "What I really came here for was to invite you three to a secret game night."  

"Secret?"  You asked. You remember reading all the schedules that the older camp counsellors gave you  - each specifically telling you not to play twister with Jaemin.  

"Yes." Jaemin smiled. "Super-secret, so instead of going to Audit 1 for game night, come over to Audit 2."  

"Wouldn't that be suspicious if all 6 of us are missing?"  You said nonchalantly. How dumb was he?

"Not at all, did you notice that for the past game nights Atsumu and Mirai were missing?"  Jaemin asked.

You tilted your head to the side and thought about it.  How could you not remember that the two counsellors were missing?

"Are they..??"  You asked as you leaned forward.

"Oh no, Mirai passed out in her cabin and Atsumu was reading a Volleyball book." Jaemin said.  Well, that was lame.  "Just be there at 9 pm exact. I'm sure we'll have lots of fun."  Jaemin said with a smirk and a wink.

You felt the heat rush to your cheeks once more.

gross, gross, gross.

You quickly looked away as Elena returned to her seat.  Looks like you were going to do something extra fun tonight.  

The rest of dinner flew by and before you knew it you were sneaking out of Audit 1 and sneaking into Audit 2 with Chunghua.  Elena said she would come eventually so you left her.  You probably should have thought this through but now was a little too late for that as you were currently bent over in a quite suggestive position along with Jaemin, Chunghua and Mark. The twister mat under your feet shifted slightly as Billie called out the next move.

"Fuck."  Mark muttered as he lost balance and his elbow touched the ground.  

"Looks like you're out Mark."  Billie said as he sat up and spun the device once more. "Oh Y/n, right-hand yellow."  

Your eyes widened as you heard the words.  If you were to put your right hand on yellow then your hand would be right between Jaemin's spread legs.   You swallowed hard as you glanced at Jaemin.

"What?" He asked, "You can put your hand there if you want." He winked. "I don't mind."

"Perv."  You snapped back.

"Only for you."  Jaemin teased.   You huffed and moved your arm placing it right between his legs and oh so close to his crotch.

"Chunghua, left foot blue."  Billie said.

"Fuck,  do I look like a gymnast?"  She argued, "I can't fucking bend this way."  She let out a soft groan as she reached her foot backwards.  However, you also saw Jaemin snicker before nudging her gently  causing her to fall to the mat.

She let out a gasp before pushing herself off the floor.

"You asshole!" She narrowed her eyes before walking over to Mark and flopping down on the ground like an angry bunny.

"Hey you fall you lose."  Jaemin teased.

"I hope you lose."  Chunghua replied.  

"Jaemin, right hand yellow."  Billie said.  

"If you say so."  Jaemin smirked.  He manoeuvred his body carefully so that he was now looming over you,  one hand on the circle to your left and another now on your right.  "I could get used to this position."  He said as he glanced down at your frame.

"I can't." You spat.  "Billie hurry it up."  

"Fine, left foot green."  Billie said.  

You tensed up. You slowly moved your left foot to green, however, your knee ended up brushing against something.  When you glanced down you realised it was Jaemin's crotch.  Shit.

"Oh," Jaemin cooed, "At least take me on a date first huh?"

"In your dreams."  You replied.

"Do you really want to know what happens in my dreams to pretty girls like you?"  Jaemin asked. His voice a bit deeper now as he had your body trapped under his.  

"Hey guys."  The door swung open and in walked Elena. "Ugh twister?  Didn't Kuroo say no more twister?" Elena asked. She walked over to Billie, "Why the fuck is Billie calling out the actions?"

"Because he didn't want to play."  Chungha replied.

"He's colourblind," Elena stated as she grabbed the spinner from him and whacked him at the back of the head with it.  

"What?" You asked. As you turned your head to their direction Jaemin kicked your leg gently causing you to fall to the ground.  You laid on your back and looked up at Jaemin who was now pressing his body against yours.

Your heart raced and your body heated up.  You were sure that your face would show your emotions. And you were right. Jaemin flashed you a grin.

"Looks like I win."  He said.

"Ahem."  Billie cleared his throat. "Should we leave so you can fuck or.."

"I mean if you wan-" Jaemin glanced at them.

"No no no."  You cut him off before pushing against his chest. "This game is done."

Jaemin reluctantly moved from on top of you and sat on the floor.

"Maybe giving a colour blind person the job of calling out the actions wasn't the best idea."  Jaemin said.

"Yeah, I stopped trying after the second round and started guessing for the rest of the game."  Billie admitted. You face palmed yourself.

"We're leaving."  You said as you got up and headed for the door.

"No wait, we were gonna play spin the bottle next."  Billie frowned.

"You can play spin the bottle by yourself."  You said.

"We already did that yesterday,   Mark isn't a good kisser."  Jaemin called out.

"Hey, I .. am a good kisser."  Mark interjected.

You glanced at him, he was laying on his stomach on the floor with his feet in the air behind him as he gazed up at you.  

"Just one round?"  Billie asked.

You were torn, your competitive side was just aching to stay and play his games while your better half was very much aware that this could be a prank in the making.  So what should you do?

Your lips parted as you were going to answer only to be cut off by a scream. You glanced at the others who were already getting up to run to the door.  You pushed open the door and rushed outside only to see a child was standing on the grass and right in front of her was a big frog.  

"Oh no." Your face contorting into one of disgust as you paused. You were going to grab the child when Jaemin stopped you.  Instead, he walked up right up next to the child and held out his hand.

"It's okay."  He said.

The child grabbed Jaemin, hiding their body behind Jaemin's as she buried her face in his shirt.  

"It was chasing me."  The child cried.  Just then the frog hopped away to the side leaving Jaemin and the girl alone.  

"Do you want me to walk you to your cabin?"  Jaemin asked.

"Please.."  She begged.

"Game night's cancelled guys,  I have a date with a cute girl."  Jaemin said as he winked at you.  Then he proceeded to walk with the little girl.  

"That's nice of him."  Elena said as she leaned against the door.

"I guess."  You didn't even realise that you were still looking at Jaemin and only barely focusing on the conversation at hand.  He seemed different when he was around little kids. You watched as he pointed to something and then stopped, stooping down to the girl's level and speaking.  Then you heard her laugh and clap.  

She didn't seem scared anymore.  

Thursday; day 5 schedule 8am; breakfast (have all your cabin mates in the mess hall) 9:30am; volleyball practice (Audit 1 - serving and matches) 12:00pm; lunch 1:30pm; volleyball practice (Audit 1 - receives and stamina) 5:30pm;  end official practice (anyone who wishes to continue can) 7pm; dinner (we're having burgers- boys 8- 12 will assist with clean up while the girls will do the dishes!) 8:30pm; games! (Don't fuckin play twister)

if you have any questions about the schedule, too bad.  that's just the way I set the day. ·        johnny

After the great nail polish incident, not much pranks occurred. And after seeing how sweet Jaemin could be with kids you felt a bit torn.  It wasn't that you hated Jaemin, instead - it was more like a strong dislike to his flirty behaviour and teasing.  

Because at the back of your mind, regardless of how much he teased you - you knew to him you're probably just another girl he can get stuff from.  

But why was it that when he smiled you felt like a dizzy school girl?  Maybe it was just your hormones, afterall, your period was supposed to come the following week (or not).  

You were so absorbed in your thoughts that you didn't notice Jaemin and the other boys coming in with trays of drinks.   You glanced at the clock on the wall, it was 5:39pm and it was the girl's turn to clean the Audit.

"We brought drinks for our favourite girls."  Mark said as he walked towards you and offered you a cup from the tray.  You gazed at the pink liquid in the disposable cup and narrowed your eyes.

"I'm not taking any of that." You said before leaning down and picking up a volleyball.

"Why not?"  Mark asked innocently.

"Because I'm not stupid, do you really think I would drink that after you all slipped vinegar in our jello cups?"  You asked.  A smirk formed on Mark's face.

"You learn fast, can't say that about the rest of them."  

You followed Mark's gaze to the kids who were taking the cups of lemonade. Unfortunately, they all didn't like it one bit.   You saw their cute faces scrunch up as they tasted the liquid.

"What did you put in it?" You asked Mark.

"Relax, we just put salt instead of sugar."  Mark leaned closer to you, "It was an honest mix-up and Billie got a message to give the lemonade to the girls."  

"A message?"  You asked. That was weird. "From who?"

"I don't know, he didn't tell me, he just said he got the idea  from a text message."  Mark shrugged.

"Are all boys idiots or is it just you three?"  You asked as you still kept the volleyball in your hand.  

"Mean Y/n, and to think I was just starting to like you."  Mark replied as he turned away. You rolled your eyes and continued your cleaning.  At least the pink lemonade prank wasn't too successful.  

Later on, the evening while you were with some of the kids playing a board game Mark hurried towards you.

"Have you seen Billie's phone?"  He asked.

"What does it look like?"  You asked nonchalantly.

"Its an old model Samsung phone,"  Mark added.

"Nope, why don't you asked Jaemin?"  You suggested as you picked up the dice.

"Because he was probably the one who hid it, plus I can't find him right now." Mark sighed. "Thanks tho." He waved before leaving you to continue your game.  That interaction was rather odd. You shrugged it off and turned your focus back to the kids.

Friday; day 6 schedule 8am; breakfast (have all your cabin mates in the mess hall) 9:30am; volleyball practice (Audit 1 - official matches) 12:00pm; lunch 1:30pm; volleyball practice (Audit 1 - serves and team bonding) 4:30pm;  pool time / yoga / crafts / archery for everyone. 7pm; dinner (we're having bbq- camp counsellors Atsumu, mirai and irene will assist with clean up and dishes!) 8:30pm; campfire! and scary stories (if someone doesn’t want to hear the scary stories then they can go to the audit to watch a Hercules)

if you have any questions about the schedule, just contact me or mirai or Atsumu. also enjoy your friday! ·        irene

"Y/n, can ya help me with somethin?" Mirai asked.  You glanced up at her and nodded, "Thanks. Sorry for cuttin' in ya pool time."

"That's alright."  You said as you stood midway to the pool and headed in the direction with Mirai. "What do you need help with?"

"Atsumu told me they're shiftin' the rooms for yoga and crafts, I just need ya to help me move the yoga mats to the next room."  Mirai said.  

"Oh, and what are you doing for the free time?"  You asked as you followed her in the room.  

"I'm teaching yoga." Mirai said with a smile.

"That's cool."  You hummed as she handed you the yoga mats.  You carefully took them and waited until Mirai had picked up some before walking out.  

"It is, until ya realised Atsumu and the other guys only come to see the girls in the yoga poses."  Mirai sighed. You chuckled at her words.  She pushed the door to the next room open and allowed you to enter before following.  "Just put'em ova there."  

"Okay." You leaned down and placed the mats to the side.  

"Right, thank you for the help, you're free to go now."  Mirai said.

"Sure, bye."  You waved at Mirai before running off to the pool area.  A couple activities were going on during this time and you were still unsure about which ones you were going to try out, which is why you were going to find CHunghua and Elena to see what they wanted to do.

"Y/n!" Elena shouted - looks like they found you instead.  

"Hi."  You said as you ran up to Elena and Chunghua.

"Where did you go?"  Chunghua asked.

"I was helping Mirai."  You replied, "Have you decided what you're going to do for the free time?"

"I wanted to go to the pool," Chunghua said.

"But I wanted to do Yoga …" Elena added.  "What about you."

"I was actually going to do whatever you all wanted."  You frowned. There was silence for a few seconds before Elena smiled.

"Why don't we go for an hour and do yoga then sneak out and join everyone else in the pool?"  

That sounded like a good idea.  That way you get a taste of both options. So you agreed and headed off to the yoga room (which was actually Audit 2).

Once you arrived you saw Mirai was stretching at the front while Atsumu was sitting on a yoga mat next to her trying to strike up a conversation. There were a couple other people in there - mainly the older campers who you didn't have many interactions with.  

You looked around and found a space closer to the back,  there were two free mats in the last row and one free one in the row right in front. Elena took the one in the row in front while you and Chunghua settled on the two behind her.  

The session started with basic stretching and breathing exercises which were surprisingly easy on your body.  The few minutes you spent there were heavenly.  It felt like for a little while you had no tension which was just lovely.

Before you knew it, almost an hour had passed.  You were getting ready to leave when the door swung open and someone started to spray all the girls in the Audit with a col liquid.  You heard the squeals or surprise as the girls scattered from the area.  

Once you had a clear view of the culprits your blood started to boil.

Na Jaemin.

He held a big ass nurf water gun (along with other guys)  and were soaking the girls with what you hoped was water.  

"Get out!" Mirai yelled as she rolled her mat up and threw it at Jaemin.

Jaemin dodged it and laughed before aiming the gun at her and soaking her with water.  If you weren't so pissed at him you would have found that scene very funny.

That was until he caught a glimpse of you.

"Oh Y/n!" He called out in a sing-song voice.  

"Shit." You muttered as you turned around and dashed off.  Jaemin ran behind you and in a frenzy you circled the Audit before heading for the door.  You panicked and ran straight to the lake, which probably wasn't the brightest idea you had for the day.

Jaemin was hot on your heels as you ran on the wooden boardwalk which lead to the middle of the lake.

"No where to go now Y/n."  Jaemin said as he walked closer to you.  You glanced behind and saw that you were one foot away from the edge of the wooden plank like structure.  

"You wouldn't.." You narrowed your eyes. Your gaze never leaving him. He flashed you a cheeky grin before raising the water gun to his chest.

"I would."  He said before pulling the trigger.  Water shot out of the gun and you stepped back, the piece of board that your foot landed on creaked as if it were loose.  You glanced down as the wooden plank shifted right under your feet causing you to lose your balance.

"Y/n!" Jaemin called out as he reached forward to grab your hand.  You glanced at him, your arm jolting up to grab his. Unfortunately, it was too late, you wobbled before falling into the lake with a splash.  

"Y/n!"  Jaemin shouted as he pulled off his shirt and quickly dove in after you. You glanced around in a panic as you landed in the cold water.  Your body sinking down further into the lake before you felt a hand grab you.

Your eyes were shut as the person pulled you up so your head was above the water. As soon as you were able to breathe in the fresh air you spit out the water in your mouth.  

"I … I'm sorry."  Jaemin immediately apologized. "I.. I didn't know you would fall."  

"How could you not know?"  You asked as you splashed water in his face.   You were just happy he came in to save you right after.  He helped you up on the boardwalk once more and you both sat on the edge completely soaked.  Jaemin's shirt was out in the lake floating away and you were in your yoga outfit. Probably not the best fashion for the situation.  

You glanced behind you and saw the wooden board.

"The board was loose."  You said.

"That's what caused you to fall."  Jaemin added as he reached over and gazed at the missing plank in the boardwalk. "I.. I'm still sorry for shooting you the water."  

You let out a sigh.

"You ruined my hair."  You spoke up. "But…  I'll forgive you since it was only 50% your fault."  

"You're so kind your majesty,"  Jaemin said in a fake accent. You shook your head and glanced over at him. His body was not what you expected.  In fact, he was toned under his oversized clothes.  His skin looked so soft and smooth and .. no you were staring.

"Like what you see huh?" Jaemin asked as he flexed a little.

You felt a rush of heat surfacing on your cheeks.

"Fuck no."  You said before standing up and attempting to walk away.

"Wait!" Jaemin quickly got up behind you. "Let me walk with you - in case you were to fall again. I'll be there to save you."  

"My hero." You said sarcastically.  "Don't forget you're the one who got us both in this mess."

"As they say in Japanese Volleyball 'Don't Mind'." Jaemin added as he held his hand out for you to take. "Besides, we need to tell Atsumu about this."

"True, this is a horrible accident waiting to happen."  You added.  

And so you both went straight to Atsumu to explain the situation.  Of course Jaemin got a good scolding and he promised not to do it again. The boardwalk to the lake was closed off and the boating activities for the rest of the week was cancelled.  

However, while Atsumu was blocking the area he noticed that, that was the only piece of wood that was faulty which could mean that this was set up by someone else..

Or maybe you were just thinking way too much into this.

Yeah maybe that was it.

Saturday; day 7 schedule 9am; breakfast (have all your cabin mates in the mess hall) 10:30am; volleyball practice (Audit 1 - official matches) 12:00pm; lunch 1:30pm; volleyball practice (Audit 1 - serves and receives) 4:30pm;  team bonding exercise with randomly assigned cabins. 7pm; dinner (we're having pepper fries and wings/ tofu - camp counselors; johnny, kun and ella will assist with clean up and dishes!) 8:30pm; movie night (Audit 1 is showing Howl's Moving Castle while Audit 2 is showing Friday 13th.)

if you have any questions about the schedule, tell me! have a nice weekend.   ·        ella

Today was not a bad day.  Everything went according to the schedule, well at least the first half of the day was fine.  The real conflict occurred at 4:32pm when everyone was assembled in the Audit.  The older campers were doing some matches in the other Audit while you were here with the younger kids. Everyone was seated on the clean floor as Atsumu stood in front of you with Irene.

"Okay, so we are going to have some team bonding stuff."  Atsumu said as he adjusted his glasses. "And we are doing this by selecting two random cabins to be paired up."

"The reason for this is because with any sport - you don't always get to choose your teammates, because of that you need to be able to function properly with people you aren't friends with."  Irene said with a smile. "Does everyone understand?"  

The kids nodded, some replying with an excited 'yes'.

"Nice we will be playing capture the flag, with 12 people on each team.  So I want everyone to come one by one and pick a coloured paper form this bag."  Irene said as she held out a cloth bag.

"Counselors choose last." Atsumu added.  

You huffed and sat on the floor as the children went and chose a small slip of paper. They were Red and the other was Green. By the time the last person had chosen their slip, the kids were divided in two teams. Atsumu stood next to the kids with the Red slip while Irene was with the persons who chose Green.

"Now for the counsellors."  Atsumu said, "There are 3 red slips and 3 green slips in this bag so take one."  He said as he passed it out.  You were the last one to take a slip and when you pulled it out you saw Red.

You glanced at Chunghua who also had a red slip along with Billie.  You let out a sigh of relief as you walked over to Atsumu's side.  You glanced at Irene who was Jaemin, Elena and Mark.  

"Nice, well let's get ready to play. I'll show the Red team where their flag is and Irene will help out the Green team."  Atsumu said.  

The kids cheered and followed him out of the room.

"Aren't you glad that dumbass isn't on our team."  Chunghua said. "I much prefer Billie."  

"Me too."  Billie said as he walked next to you. "But are you forgetting I'm colour blind?'

"Oh shit right, wait so what colours do you not see?"  Chunghua asked.

"Well I get confused with red and green a lot."  Billie explained. "They both look kind of muddy brown I guess."  

"So we shouldn't have you guarding the flag then."  You thought for a second. "Maybe you should go with one of the kids to be on the lookout for the enemies."  

"I think I could handle that."  Billie said with a smile.  

He was such a nice person.  

"Okay here we are." Atsumu said. You stopped walking and glanced at the flag that was in the middle of the field. "Now Irene would be telling the other team the same thing I'm telling you right now so listen."  He paused and waited until he had everyone's attention.  

"This area is your area, aka the Red area. The flag is right over there and you must protect it. The Audit we were just in was the middle of the boundary."

Atsumu paused and glanced at everyone. "To win this game we have to capture the Green Team's flag and bring it back here without being tagged by the other team."  Atsumu walked towards the flag. "If anyone from the other teams tags you then you will have to go to the holding zone on the Green side. If you tag a player from the Green team then you bring them over there - that's our holding zone."

Atsumu let out a sigh.

"Does everyone understand?" Atsumu asked.

You saw some kids nod their heads but you weren't too set on believing that they understood.

"Basically don't get tagged by the Green Team."  Billie said, "We have to take their flag and not get caught."

"Ohhhhhh." You heard a chorus of voices reply as they started to get excited.

With Atsumu's help you were able to divide up the kids and give everyone a role. Chunghua, along with some kids would go straight to capture the Green team's flag while Billie would be the look out and you would guard the flag.  

The game started and you were pacing around the flag. Your eyes focused on the item you were guarding. Thankfully it was quiet.  There was no one around so you assumed that they haven't found you yet.  

This was an easy job.  

Chances are the time would run out before they found yo-

"Well well well."  Jaemin spoke up as he came out from the tree behind you.  "Leaving you to guard the flag?"

"Yes and I will keep it safe." You said as you stood in front of the flag. It was odd that Billie didn't text you or anything about Jaemin.  

"Really?"  Jaemin asked, "You and your team actually plan on winning?"  

"Yes, so it would be best if you just hurried off before someone gets here and tags you."  You said.

"Confident are we?"  Jaemin teased as he stepped closer to you.

"Very much so."  You snapped back.

"Too bad you're gonna lose."  Jaemin added as he bolted from his position and ran straight towards the flag.  You gasped and turned around to grab it just in time.  You pulled the flag pole from the ground and stepped back.

"Not a chance."  You said.

"You're faster than I thought."  Jaemin replied.

"You literally have no positive outcomes in this scenario."  You mused, "If you step to close, to grab the flag I will tag you and you'll be out." You paused, "If you leave now chances are you would meet a kid coming to check on me and be tagged out."

"I see you've thought about it."  Jaemin said as he stalked towards you.  "But I am not here to steal the flag."

"You're not?" Your eyes widened as you saw him running directly towards you.

"Now!" He shouted as he grabbed your shoulders and pinned you down to the floor.  You fell with a thud and the flagpole bounced out of your hand and rolled on the ground.

"Jaemin you jerk!" You shouted as you tried to push him off your body. Instead he grabbed your arms and hugged you tightly.  

"Aww you're so soft."  He teased as he pressed his face against your chest.

You struggled under his grip, finally able to slip your hand out - you pushed against his face and kicked your legs.  The flag pole right in your view.  If you could just reach it.

You stretched out your hand and tried to drag your body closer to the pole only to feel Jaemin grip you tighter and pull you down  under him.   You both wrestled on the floor until you heard footsteps.

"Yes!" You muttered that had to be one of your teammates coming to check on you.  You glanced up to see a kid from the Green team.

"Grab it and run Kaito!" Jaemin shouted.  The 10 year old nodded and grabbed the flag pole before running off.

"No!" You shouted as you kicked Jaemin off you.  This time he released your waist and fell on the ground next to you.

You were furious.  You wanted to scream.  You wanted to hit him with the flagpole - unfortunately it was gone.  You stood up and was about to run after the kid when you felt Jaemin grab you again,  knocking you down on the floor.  

"Are you a fly?"  You pushed him off.

"No, why?"  He asked with a chuckle as he seemed to be enjoying this little fight.

"Because you're annoying as hell."  You spat.

"Me?"  Jaemin asked, "Never."  He reached for your hands and pinned them down on the ground under him.  You looked up at him as he was focused on how far the kid was running.  You awkwardly tilted your head back and saw that the kid was no longer in eyesight.

Then you looked up at Jaemin.  He smiled before glancing down at you.

"Can't let you win this game."  He sighed, "If we were on the same team however, I would have no problem in letting you win."

You narrowed your eyes and raised your knee, kicking him right on his lower abdomen. He let out a cry of pain before tumbling off you and falling on the ground.  You sat up and realised that by now it was too late.  You only hoped that someone else was there and tagged the kid before they reached the Audit.

When you turned back around Jaemin was gone.

perfect.

The game of capture the flag ended with the Green team winning but you were pretty sure it was because Billie gave up half way and couldn't tell who was on which team and allowed kids to infiltrate. Following up that game, Atsumu also made the kids play a scavenger hunt and some trust exercise.  

After that everyone showered and headed in the Mess Hall for dinner.  That lead to the situation you were in now. A sigh left your lips as you flopped down on the floor of the Audit.  You had eaten quite a lot of the food for some odd reason and was planning on ditching everyone and just going to your cabin, however, Chunghua begged you to come and just watch the beginning of the movie with her.  

So you agreed.  

The room was filled with mainly girls who were giggling and talking none stop. Irene was at the front fixing the projector and Billie was helping with adjusting the white sheet on the wall.  

"I heard what Jaemin did."  Chunghua said as she leaned closer to you.

"Oh you mean tackling me to the floor and keeping me there for a while?" You said. "He caused me to graze my arm."  You glanced at your right arm which was slightly grazed.  

"Yikes, are you sure nowhere else is hurt?"  Chunghua asked.

"No, I'm fine, I actually kicked him in the stomach so I guess we're even now."  You admitted before looking at the white sheet.

"At least, we didn't get pranked today right?"  Chunghua perked up as she leaned her head against your shoulder and yawned.

"So far."  You muttered as Irene dimmed the lights.

"Okay enjoy your movie, if anything happens I'll be in the other Audit."  Irene smiled before waving and leaving with Billie.  

The room was dark.  The screen still blank as all the chatter died down.  This lasted more than four seconds and just as you were about to get up and check on the projector - something started to show on the makeshift screen.  It was a dark room with nothing but a rocking chair.  It was very realistic and there wasn’t the usual Ghibli opening.  

You raised an eyebrow as you leaned forward.  A soft sound echoed from the speakers and gradually got louder.

However it wasn't a pleasant sound. It sounded more like a horror movie soundtrack.  

"I don't think this is the movie we're supposed to be watching."  You said as you glanced at Chunghua.  

Before she could reply a ghost popped up on the screen making all the kids in the room scream at the top of their lungs. You gasped at the sudden loud noise and quickly ran to the project to cover it.  Once you did the door swung open and there was smoke flooding the room.  

But it didn't smell like smoke at all.  You glanced back at the door and saw someone standing there with a clown mask and a baseball bat with ..

was that blood?

Your eyes widened as you stepped back.  The kids screamed even louder as they started to panic.  Only to have the person walk in and pull of the mask.

"Gottcha!" Jaemin chuckled.

"Asshole!" You called out as you pushed him back. "You scared all these children!"

"Ah look at the time," Jaemin said as he stepped back. "Looks like I need to go now."  

"Go?"  You asked, "Come back here."  You yelled as you grabbed the bat he dropped and chased him out of the Audit. You ran out onto the grass and looked around the darkness.

"Come on Jaemin, you like scaring little girls?"  You called out to him.  You glanced behind you and saw him running down to the Mess Hall.

You sped up and chased after him.  Finally making it to the Mess Hall.  You pushed open the door and found him sitting on one of the table.  

"Come on Y/n, it was just a prank."  Jaemin said. "Besides all those girls saw that video already."

"Why did you have to show them it again then?" You asked as you gripped the bat tighter.

"Like I said, just a prank,  besides I wasn't the one who switched the video."  Jaemin added, "Wasn't me, I was just told to play the prank by someone, I know nothing about the video."

"By who?"  You pointed the bat at him, "Tell me who."

"I don't know."  Jaemin glanced at the bat and used his finger to push it away. "I just got the text from Billie and found the clothes by my bed so I did what it said."

"Really?"  You asked.

Jaemin nodded.  

Then who was the one in charge of scaring all the kids like that with the video? Because you knew Billie's phone was still missing.  You looked at Jaemin - even though he was an idiot, he didn't seem to be lying right now.

"Don't scare the kids again."  You said as you tossed the baseball bat at him before leaving the room.

You ran back to the Audit to check on the kids and thankfully everything was alright. Irene was there and the movie was actually age-appropriate. Which leads to the really situation at hand….  

Who told Jaemin to do something like this?

And Why?

Sunday! Relaxed Schedule have fun :) 

-mirai

The next day, you woke up to the sound of a scream.

Your heart skipped a beat as you sat up quickly, knocking your forehead against the top bunk bed. You let out a soft groan as you rubbed the bruised spot.  

"Y/n!" A little girl's voice called out.  You stumbled out of the bed and ran towards Lisa's bed.  "Get it off! Get it off!" Lisa screamed.

You stopped and stared at her wide eyed as you saw a frog on Lisa's blanket.

"Oh my gosh!" You exclaimed.  Your outburst causing the cabin door to fly open.

"What happened?"  Mirai asked. "Is everything al- Ahh." She screamed as she saw the big frog on Lisa.  

"Get it off." Lisa cried as she stayed still.  

"Okay," Mirai slowly stepped closer to Lisa. You could tell she was not taking nicely to the creature.  You felt someone grab you from behind - as you turned you saw Hani holding on to you as she remained behind your taller frame.

The cabin was silent as Mirai reached forward carefully to grab the creature. No one dared to breathe  as he fingers were about to make contact.

"Goooood Morning!" Jaemin's voice rang out from a blow-horn as he stood by the doorway to the cabin.  The sudden noise caused the frog to jump from the bed.  That in turn caused every girl in the cabin - including Jaemin - to let out an ear piercing scream.  

The creature hopped from the bed and landed on the small table.  

"Okay stay calm - It's just one frog we c-"

"There's another one!" Hani screamed.  You gasped as you turned around and saw two more frogs.   It didn't take much longer before everyone ran out of the cabin screaming - and still in their pajamas.  

As your bare feet touched the soft grass you looked around ensuring that all the girls were there.  That's when you heard another set of screams.  You glanced at Elena's cabin and saw her, followed by the little girls marching out all covered in something white.  

What was that?  Shaving cream?  Whipped cream?  Actual cream?

"Who the hell did this shi-" Elena was cut off.

"Ahhhh!" Another scream caused you to look at Chunghua's cabin. The door swung open and she ran outside followed by two squirrels and a trail of little girls who were also screaming.  

Your eyes widened as you realise the mess that had just happened.  Now all the girls were outside in nothing but their pjs.

"Everyone calm down." Mirai tried her best to quiet everyone down but it was to no avail.

"Hey!" You yelled.

A chorus of laughter is what really caused the girls to stop for a moment.  You turned to the source and saw The boys and their counselors were all laughing at the predicament.   Of course  you noticed that Jaemin was standing in front, right next to Billie and Mark.

There was no doubt that they were behind all these unfortunate events.  

"Awwww, look how cute you all look in your pjs!" Jaemin said.  His voice even louder (and more obnoxious)  echoing from the blow horn.

You heard the other boys coo and imitates kissing noises. Now you were pissed, yet you couldn't go over there and give them a piece of your mind because the little girls were holding on to you.  

They were kids and you could tell they were feeling a mix of fear, panic and embarrassment.  You gently patted Lisa's hair as she clung to you, hiding her body behind yours.

"Jaemin! Mark! Billie!" Mirai yelled. She waltzed up to them and snatched the blowhorn from Jaemin before whacking him at the back of the head. "Mess hall now!"

You watched as Jaemin waved to you before snickering.

"I hate boys!" Lisa said as she gripped your sleeping t-shirt.  You let out a sigh before looking down at her doe eyes.

"Me to."

"W..what happened?"  You looked up and saw Kun and Johnny running towards the group of girls.

"There are frogs and squirrels in our cabins and whipped cream and boys." Lisa said as she glanced at the taller males from behind you.

"Did the guys do this?"  Johnny asked you.  

"Yeah," You said.

"Alright, show us where the animals are."  Johnny said as he headed towards your cabin. "Kun, help the other girls."

"Sure, Atsumu and Yuta'll be here to help too."  Kun said as he headed towards Chunghua's cabin.

"Johnny," You said as you followed behind him.

"Mh?" he hummed before opening the door slowly. The rest of the girls chose to stay behind until they were sure the cabins were free from the crazy animals.  

"Who exactly is this Jaemin guy?"  You asked.  Johnny paused and looked at you.

"Jaemin?"  He let out a huff, "You know how each class has a clown?  Every court has a jester? Every Shakespeare play has a fool?"  

You nodded.

"Well imagine this, there's this fool but he's basically Romeo."  Johnny said.

"Romeo?"  You asked.

"Yeah, Romeo the clown." Johnny replied, "Anyway, if you're curious you can just go ask Mark or talk to him yourself."

You scowled.

"I'm guessing you're not falling for him?"  Johnny teased. "Because he does have a way with girls."

Your face heated up a bit.

"Really? Does that include making a girl's life a living hell?"  You crossed your arms.

"Actually, he never did anything like this to the other girls or counselors before." Johnny mused.

"Maybe he hates me."  You said.

"Why would you think that?"  Johnny asked.

"Because it all started yesterday after the girls team beat the boys in a volleyball match."  You explained. You saw Johnny grin before walking into the cabin.

"Wait outside until I call you all."  He said, "Oh and for the week, try not to kill Jaemin."  

"Wha-?" The door was closed before you could even respond.

Meanwhile

"The hell were ya thinking?"  Mirai asked.  Her natural accent coming out full when she was angry.

Jaemin sat on the table, Mark leaned against the wall and Billie was seated on a chair between them both.  

"I protect yah, all duh time and den you do dis shit?" Mirai asked.  She sat down at the table and placed her head down for a few seconds. "You."  

"Miya, calm down."  Jaemin said as he came closer to her and gently touched her hair. "No one was hurt."  

"Yah made little girls cry Jae."  Mirai said as she looked up at him, "Doncha feel anything at all?"  

"I… I didn't know they would cry."  Jaemin explained.

Mirai tilted her head to the side.  She reached forward and placed her hand to the side of Jaemin's neck pulling him closer to her until she was looking into his eyes.  He dared not breathe.

"You didn't know?"  She asked.

"I thought they would find it funny."  Jaemin said as he looked into her eyes.  

His iris didn't shift. His breathing was constant. His pulse was fine. He was telling the truth.

Mirai took a deep breath before pulling away.

"I believe you but you are still not getting off that easy."  She said.

"You're not going to make me.." Jaemin paused.

"Just cuz we're close doesn't mean you get away with this."  Mirai sighed. "You're gonna hafta clean the spare cabin furthr' up 'til Atsumu decides what to do with y'all."

"I hate that cabin."  Jaemin slumpped in his seat before looking at the clock.

"You'll have lots of time to think 'about whacha did."  Mirai said.  

"And what about everyone else?"  Jaemin asked.

"Mark and Billie'll join ya."  Mirai looked out the window, "The kids are going to do diving drills and whateva else Atsumu tells 'em to."

Jaemin muttered something under his breath before standing up.

"Can't be helped I guess. Let's go clean the old cabin." Jaemin grinned as he pulled Mark and Billie behind him.  Yet deep down he was starting to have a weird feeling.  He couldn't shake off the constant feeling that he was being watched.  

-timeskip; 5;24pm -

Johnny had asked you to go and check on  Jaemin and the others.  It wasn't a task you wanted to do since you were still pissed at him but Johnny promised you an extra half an hour in the pool tomorrow for you and all the girls in the cabin so you agreed.  When You went to check on him - you realised that Jaemin was gone.  The room was empty except for a note on the chair.  

You gazed around the cabin,  didn't look as if they did much cleaning but then again you weren't expecting much from them either way.  

"Mark?  Billie?" You called out. Where on earth were the other counsellors?  You found it odd so you walked into the room and looked around.  Still on guard - incase someone were to attack you with a watergun.

You stopped by the chair with the note and picked it up.  Starting to read the words printed on it.

'Art thou missing Romeo? Well, I've him right where he needs to be.  If you want to find him then I suggest you follow my orders - if you're too late he might share the same fate as Romeo in Shakespeare's play.

My tears ran out when he broke my heart, to think I saw him as a work of art. Now they flow down to the sea, The sorrows that once intoxicated me. Find the place, the graveyard of my love, Find this place, before I send his soul up above. ·        Juliet.

Your eyes widened in fear as you re read the letter over and over again. The atmosphere suddenly changed.  You felt uncomfortable as if you were being watched.  You turned it around and saw a poloriod picture stuck to the back of it. The picture was one of Jaemin with his mouth gagged and his eyes closed.  He looked as if he was unconscious.  Your heart skipped a beat as you looked around the room.  

This couldn't be a prank.  He wouldn't do something this rash.  What kind of sick person was behind this?  

You had to tell someone.  There wasn't enough time to do so.  You glanced at the timer on the table next to where you found the letter. It only had 3 hours left, and you were out in the countryside where the closest source of help was almost 2 hours away.   Maybe you should tell a Counselor.  Yeah they would know what to do right?

You quickly turned on your heels and ran to the door, only to crash into someone.

"Mark!" You almost screamed as you stepped back slightly. "I'm sorry."

"Are you okay?" Mark asked, he noticed the way your body was shaking.

"Jaemin - he's been taken."  You blurted out.

"What?"  Mark chuckled awkwardly, "That's impossible, he was right here when I went to throw away the old pieces of wood."  

You raised your hand which held the letter to his face.  

"Look at this,"

"Maybe it’s a Prank?"  Mark asked as he took hold of the letter.

"This is one fucked up prank then."  You replied, "And we only have a limited time to find him."

"Let's just call the police an-"

"The police?  The letter said not to get anyone involved except  2 counsellors."  You said.

Mark's face fell as he read the letter.  The writing style feeling so familiar to him yet he couldn't quite place it.

"Let's call him."  Mark said.

"You can get cell signal from here?"  You questioned.

"Only with a certain telephone company." Mark muttered as he took out his phone and dialled Jaemin's number.

The phone rang.  

Once. Twice.  Thrice.

Until finally someone answered.  Mark put the call on speaker mode and you listened carefully to the voice.

"Jaemin?" Mark asked.

"Ah looks like someone found the letter." A grainy voice answered. "Looks like Mr Romeo isn't going to die without anyone knowing."

"Who is this?  Where is Jaemin?"  Mark rattled out questions as quickly as his lips could move.

"You'll find out soon enough."  The person replied, "My question for you is will you figure out the clues and find him in time?"

"We will."  You said.

You heard a muffled cry in the background.

"Well, well, well..  a girl's voice huh?" The person said, "Sounds like you mean something to Romeo because he couldn't quite contain himself when he heard your pretty voice."

"Listen here -" Mark spoke only to be interrupted.

"No you listen,  I gave you the first clue. Now its time to work hard and find him."  You heard a chuckle from the other line. "If you call the police or if I sense the slightest hint of anything suspicious I will allow for him to meet his end the same way Romeo did in the lovely play. Or I might do something to the cute kids you all are taking care of…  Wouldn't want that now would we?"

"Don't you dare hurt him!" You said as you grabbed the phone from Mark.

"Too late." The voice replied, "It's just an eye for an eye. Besides his life means nothing.  He's always flirting with girls and treating them like shit. But no person would ever come to save someone like him.  No one would risk their life for a slut like him huh? Anyway- Good luck.."

With that the call ended.  You looked at Mark who was stunned.

"We need to tell…. Atsumu or one of the other counsellors."  He said as he grabbed your arm and tugged you with him back down to the Mess Hall.  You followed his instructions. Your legs moving as fast as they could in order to reach the other adults in time.  

"Atsumu!" Mark called out as he swung open the door to his cabin.

"What's wrong?"  Atsumu asked as he adjusted his glasses and looked up at you both.  Mirai, Johnny and Irene were also in the room.

"Jaemin's gone."  You blurted out, "Someone took him and left this."  You handed the letter over to the counsellors. They gathered together around the small bed which Asumu was sitting on.

"And this isn't just another prank?"  Johnny asked - a bit skeptical.

"No - we called him and someone else answered."  Mark said.

"If it were a prank - even Jaemin knows that this is going way to far." Mirai commented as she took the photo and looked at it. "Can we call the police?"  

"No!" You interjected, "We can't.  The person said that we can't let anyone else know or they would hurt Jaemin and the kids at the camp but..  but we had to tell an adult."

Johnny nodded as he read the riddle.

"Okay, Mirai and Johnny you two go with Mark and Y/n."  Atsumu said, "Find Jaemin the rest of us will ensure all the other kids are here and keep the camp safe."  

"Why us?"  Johnny asked.

"Because you're big and can probably fight and Mirai is one of the smartest ones here." Irene said. "Now get going before it gets any darker. Atsumu and I are going to get the kids in the Mess Hall."

With that the other counsellors left the cabin and ran out to find all the children. You were surprised with how well they were handling the situation.  But maybe they were still hoping at the back of their mind that this was all just a prank.  You sat on the bed next to Mirai.

"Lemme see the letter please."  Mirai asked. You handed it over to her and peered over her shoulder as she read.  

My tears ran out when he broke my heart, to think I saw him as a work of art. Now they flow down to the sea, The sorrows that once intoxicated me. Find the place, the graveyard of my love, Find this place, before I send his soul up above.

"By the looks of it, the culprit can most likely be a girl that Jaemin was involved with and he probably broke her heart." Mirai said.

"That narrows it down."  Johnny said sarcastically.  Mirai rolled her eyes and looked at the words.

"Flow down to the sea."  Mirai paused, "A river. The next clue should be by a river."  

You nodded - that would make sense.  All rivers lead to the ocean right?  "Mark, was there any river nearby that Jaemin liked to go by ?"

Mark thought about it for a second.

"He always talked about the Heji River but I'm not sure where that is." Mark sighed.

"Do you have a map of the camp grounds?"  You asked.  Johnny nodded and walked towards the small table at the side of Atsumu bed.  He shuffled through some books before pulling out a map.  Johnny laid it on the floor and you all gathered around it to find the river.  

"There." You pointed to a blue line on the map.  

"It would take us at least 20 minutes to get there."  Johnny said.

"We have to go still, We have to save Jaemin."  You stated.

"Then let's go."  Mirai said. She got up and rolled up the map. "Wait by the hiking trail - I'll see ya there in a minute."  

You nodded and followed the two boys to the trail.  Once there you looked around the forested area.  Somehow it went from feeling lively and magical to dark and ominous.

"Let's go!" Mirai said as she came jogging towards you.  She had a bag with her and she handed you a water bottle.

With the help of the map it took less than 20 minutes to arrive at the river.  The cool water rushing down the stream,  the soft gushing noise was almost calming if you weren't in a state of panic.  

"Now what?"  You asked as you looked around.

"We need to find the next clue."  Mirai said as she looked back at the river. "I think it has something to do with 'graveyard of my love'."  

You looked at the letter once more,  that phrase was underlined for some reason - maybe that was the next hint.

"How the hell are we supposed to find the next clue?  What is the hint?  What if we were wrong and this is not the plac- Ahh!" Mark yelled as he stopped in his tracks.

You whipped your head around and saw him gripping on to a tree branch and looking down an incline.

"What happened?"  You asked.

"Yo there's a fucking tombstone here."  Mark yelled as he straightened his posture.

"Graveyard of my love." Mirai said as she hurried down the incline and walked to the stone that was near the river bank.  There was a letter in a clear plastic covering tapped onto the stone. You followed her, carefully stepping down the incline and looked at the letter.

he told me I was a mystery, a code to unlock. but he liked the thrill so he gave a fuck. he touched my heart and other places, but they all turned to corrupted cases. now you have to decipher a code to find the playboy. better make it in time before I make him my play toy. - juliet

You looked down at the code. It was just a bunch of numbers.

19 05 18 01  - 03 01 02 09 14

"Is it a telephone number?"  Mark asked. Mirai shook her head.

"It's a code, that means it should mean something right? Like maybe the numbers represent something?"  You asked. It was the only logical conclusion given the hint in the poem the person wrote.

"I think so too." Mirai sighed before handing over the letter to you. She opened her bag and took out a small book and pen.

"You brought all that?" Johnny asked as he stooped down next to you both.

"You wer' given codes to crack in the forest -gotta be prepared."  Mirai said as she started to write number down.

"True." Johnny sighed, "Should we call Jaemin's phone again?"  

"Yeah, we might get a hint if we call."  Mark said.

"The numbers r' in pairs which mean the largest number is a two digit one."   Mirai tapped her pen.

You gazed at the letter. What could it possibly mean?  The largest number in the page was 19, and the smallest was 01.   Could it be morse code?  You could barely remember what morse code was.  

"Jaemin?"  Mark's voice caused you to turn around.  You saw him turn the phone to speaker mode before moving a bit closer to you.

"Calling again?"  The voice asked.

"Is Jaemin okay?"  You spoke up.

There was silence on the line.  It lasted a few seconds before you heard a 'thud' on the other line.  

"Jaemin, baby,  it this the voice of your new slut?"  The person asked.  There was another loud thud, followed by Jaemin's groan.

"Jaemin!" Mark called out.  

"Do..Don't come here." Jaemin's weak voice was barely audible.

"Please don't hurt him." You said.

"Why not?" The person asked, "He hurt me. Besides I am giving you a chance to save him - if you make it in time."  

"How much .." Mirai asked as she came closer to the phone, "How much puzzles do we have to solve before reaching him?"

"Oh… I know that voice." The person said.  "You really did come Miya, well I guess I should tell you."  There was a moment of silence before they spoke, "In total, there are 4 puzzles - one for each year Loverboy Jaemin stole from me."

"Stole?"  You muttered. What was going on?  Who was Na Jaemin? What did he do to this person?

"I assume, you are on the first or second puzzle?"  The voice asked.

"Second," Johnny said.

"So you found the river then. Good luck with the rest."  The person said. "Don't worry - it's as easy as A B C."

"What does-"  

The call ended.  

"A B C."  Mirai muttered.

A B C … A B C…  The code is split in two parts - The numbers are in pairs which mean that the highest number the code could go up to is a 2 digit number.  There are 26 letters in the english alphabet.

A B C.

That's when it hit you, you looked at Mirai whose eyes were widened at the same time.

"The alphabet!" You both said at the same time.

"What?" Mark asked.

You cracked a smile as you realised what Mirai was thinking.

"The numbers on the paper are linked to the alphabet." Mirai said.

"That means 01 means A."  You stated. You watched as Johnny and Mark were finally coming to the realization.

"Exactly, Y/n com'ere and help me."  Mirai said as she gestured for you to come over. You nodded and  helped her with the cypher.   After a few moments of counting the alphabet, you were able to get the phrase.

'Sera Cabin.'

"What does this mean?"  You asked.

"Sera… " Mark thought about it for a second.

"Was there a cabin nearby?  Or does that name ring any bells?"  You asked as you reached for the map and unfolded it.  maybe that was the name of a place there or something of that sort. Your eyes scanned the map. Time was slipping from you and you really needed to find Jaemin.  You heard the phone call.  The screams from his lips, the noises of him being kicked.  It was frustrating.  

"Sera - the spelling."  Johnny paused, "I feel like I've seen it somewhere."  

"Wasn't that the name of one of the cabins?"  Mirai asked.

"Shit, yeah - before they relocated to the current campsite." Johnny said.

"I don't remember that."  Mark said.

"Oh it was before you started.  Mirai and I were the last group of campers to stay at the old cabin site before the relocation."  Johnny said.

"Why did they relocate?"  You asked. Johnny looked at Mirai who was already looking at him.

"There was an accident at the campsite and one of the cabins were burnt down."  Mirai said as she sat down on a rock near the river.

"That's it?"  Mark asked.

"I wish."  Mirai huffed, "Sera was one of the camp counsellors and she … she risked her life to save a kid in the fire."  

"Does that mean..  she .." Your voice trailed off unable to say the words.  

Johnny nodded. "She died and because of that all the cabins were torn down and the site was moved. All except one cabin which remains there as a memory of her."  

"Where is the cabin?"  You asked - your eyes scanning the map that was still clutched in your hand.

"Right there."  Johnny said as he leaned over your shoulder and pointed to the patch of trees. There was no land mark to say a camp was located there however, you trusted him.

"Let's go,  we don't have time to waste."  Mirai said as she stood up and looked around, "It's getting darker and as much as I love mystery and horror - I want to save Jaemin as quickly as we can."  

You nodded and gave the map to Johnny who led the way.  You walked right behind him as Mirai and Mark followed behind.   The walk through the trees could have been peaceful if Jaemin wasn't missing. The walk took almost 13 minutes which was much shorter than what you expected.  

You were almost there - you could already see a vague shape of a cabin in the distance. You perked up hoping that this was the place.  You picked up speed only to have Johnny's arm grab onto you.

"Wait."  Johnny said. This was too easy.

"Are you thinking that this person has another trick up their sleeves?" Mark asked.   Johnny nodded. "Maybe one of us should go first then?"

"I think you should." Johnny said as he pointed to Mirai.  

"Why?" You and Mirai asked at the same time.  You glanced at her and smiled at her reaction.  

"Because you're smart."  Mark stated.

"But Johnny's smart and strong, why can-"  Mirai paused as she glanced at you. "Come with me?"  She asked you.

You were anxious.  But you agreed.  That was how you ended up close behind her, hand gripping on to the end of her t-shirt as she walked towards the window.  You stopped and peered inside the cabin.  It was dark and seemed empty.  

"Let's go inside."  Mirai said softly.  You nodded and kept close.  She reached for the doorknob and slowly turned it. It opened with ease and you were hit with the smell of incense.   "turn on the flashlight in your phone."  

You pushed your hand in your back pocket and took out your phone - turning the flashlight on before quickly flashing it across the room.

"Wait."  You said as you paused, "That's a picture."  You flashed the light down on the floor to ensure it was safe to walk on and then headed over to the picture stuck to the wall of the cabin.

Your eyes widened as you saw it was a polaroid picture of Jaemin smiling. However, this was taken at the camp's pool area.  You stepped back and noticed something was dripping down from the walls.  Mirai had taken out the flashlight from her bag and turned it on.  Light flooding your vision as you covered your mouth.

Blood.

You gasped as you stepped back and realised there were more pictures of Jaemin in the room and they were covered with blood.

"Blood!" You both screamed.

The door swung open and you whipped around to see Johnny and Mark out of breath and holding a stick each.  

"What. The. Fuck."  Mark said as he glanced at the yandere type décor.

"What did Jaemin do to this person?" You muttered.  What happened that could possibly make someone act this way.

"Okay -" Mirai closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I don't think it's blood - it doesn't have the scent.  So let's try to find the next puzzle."

You nodded and looked around the room The pictures of Jaemin tapped on the wall were all taken from the previous week at the camp. Which meant that the person responsible for this was with them the entire time?  You reached forward and pulled a picture down.  You turned it around to see a letter written on the back of the picture.  

"Hey, take the pictures down."  You turned around to face the other persons. "There are letters at the back of them. "

They agreed and quickly grabbed the photos. Once all were collected you placed them all on the ground.  

"I'm pretty sure once we put them in order we'll get the next clue but…" Johnny looked down at the pictures as he knelt on the floor, "what is the order?"

"Maybe it's in sequence to the date it was taken?" You suggested.  

That was the most logical path to take and so you all quickly arranged the pictures based on the date it was taken.  However, the letter combination ended up looking like;

'STCENNOCDNALEHTEREHWEMTEEM'

"Wait."  Mirai said, "the phrase is backwards."   You watched as her hand moved and rearranged the letters until it was finally making sense.

'MEETMEWHERETHELANDCONNECTS'

"Meet me where the land connects?"  You asked.  What could that possibly mean?  Where the land connects what?   You sighed as you rubbed your temples.  This was a mix of difficulties and ease.  

"Connect."  Johnny picked up the map and unfolded it.  "Where land connects?" 

You look at the map once more.  What connects things?  A line? A rope?  A bridge?  Wait.

"Bridge."  Mirai said almost as if she had read your mind.  "Remember that bridge that Kuroo told us we ain't supposed to go by?"

"Yeah, the one where Irene and Kun almost Fuc-"

"Johnny." Mirai cut him off.

"Where is this bridge?"  You asked.

"You're not gonna want to know."  Johnny replied as his fingers dragged across the map's surface. "If we walk - it would take almost half an hour."  

"Shit."  You muttered to yourself as you looked at the time on your phone. "Would we make it in time?"  

"I hope so - it said to meet the person there so hopefully once we get there everything would be okay."   Mark said.

You nodded and glanced around the cabin once more.  It felt odd - almost as if the four people in it - weren't the only persons there.   Your eyes landed on a door on the further end.  Something in you was telling you to open the door.  

You quietly stood up while Johnny and Mark were packing away the pictures and headed over. Your steps were careful and soft as you approached the door.  

Thud.

You paused.  There was certainly a noise coming from behind the door.  Your fingers shook as you reached for the doorknob.  It was ice cold. You turned it.

Locked.

You didn't even know you were holding your breath as you let the door knob go.  The room was locked.  Yet you felt as if something was off.  

"Y/n."  Mark called out, "Come on. Let's go to the bridge before it gets pitch black outside."  

You nodded and followed behind Mark.  Taking one last look at Sera's Cabin before closing the door.

"The door was locked, yeah?"  Mirai asked as she walked next to you.  

"Yeah."  You sighed, "I just had a weird feeling that something was behind it."  

"I did to."  Mirai said, "By the way, you're lots smarter than Jaemin said."  

You felt a blush rise to your cheeks. Quickly you looked away.

"He said I was smart?"  You asked.

"Mhm, said ya were smart and a worthy opponent."  Mirai chuckled, "truth is I think he had a crush on ya."

"Please - Jaemin has a crush on anything that wears a skirt."  You said.

"Is that why you came with us to find him?" Mirai asked as she nudged you.

"I..I just." You stuttered, "I think he's interesting and I also think a life is precious and shouldn't be taken."

"Ya, I agree." Mirai paused. Her dark eyes looking up to the trees for a brief moment. "Jaemin's not a bad person. He's just ..  a hopeless romantic."  

"He acts like a hoe."  You muttered.

Mirai laughed, "Got that right. But believe me, it's all just a front. He's actually a very nice person."  

"Mirai."  You said. "What's your relationship with him?"

"He's my cousin."  She sighed. "Not related by blood just by marriage sort of."  

That made sense as to why he would always run to her when something happened - and also why she was able to pinch him so often.  

"So that means you know a lot about him?" Your voice a bit shy as you walked down the pathway.  

"More or less,  is there something ya wanted to know?"  Mirai asked.

"Just.. he really likes kids and helping?" You asked.

"Yuh."  Mirai smiled, "Ever since we were both little we did volunteer work together sometimes it was at school  or at the orphanage. Actually, it was there that he met - "  

"Met who?" You asked.

"Sojin."  Mirai's eyes widened. "Sojin was Sera's little sister at the orphanage."  

"Wait - did something happen between them?"  You asked.  

"I ..I don't know, I can't remember … I.." Mirai winced.

"Sojin - isn't that the girl that visited the first day of camp?"  Mark asked. "The one who chased Jaemin to the lake and pushed him off?"

Your eyes widened.  You remembered the scene all too well.  The girl's face, her voice everything. She was the same girl who was kissing Jaemin at the dance party too. Could she be the one that is behind everything that is going on?  If so then why would she do this?

"She was here?"  Mirai asked. "We need to hurry up."  She took off running in the direction of the bridge.  

"Wait Miya!" Johnny called out as he ran behind her.  Mark grabbed your hand and pulled you as he followed.  

You were tired, your body all sweaty and aching from the actions.  All you wanted to do was go back to the camp and sleep - but you had to keep going. Half way during the so called hike you all had to use the flashlight (from your phone as well as the actual two that Mirai had brought).

"How much further?"  You asked as you held Mark's hand. He stepped to the side and allowed you to walk down the slippery incline. It seemed as if this trail wasn't used in quite some time.

"We're almost there." Johnny said as he stopped to check the map once more.

"Where did you go for the hike last week?" You asked. "Was it close to this trail?"

"Nope, we actually went the other direction." Mark said, "But half-way through, Kuroo took a detour and we ended up going to another river nearby."

You shook your head, to think the guys actually went to a river instead of doing the actual nature hike.  

"It was partially Jaemin's idea." Johnny stated. "he just liked to have fun I guess."  

"And to think out of all of us he was the one who was taken,"  Mirai let out a sigh as she looked around the darkened forest. "At night, this place seems so eerie."  

"Yeah,  let's keep moving."  Johnny said as he took a step further.  "According to the map we should be at the bridge in five minutes if we go straight ahead."

You nodded and followed once again,  silently hoping that you all still had time to save the flirt.  It was about then when you started to hear the buzzing sounds of mosquitos mixed in with other night creatures.  The faint smell of the mud and grass added to the rustic appeal. Now you were wishing you had brought along a jacket with you - unfortunately you didn't have the foresight that you'd be here this late at night.  

You let out a soft shiver as you glanced back to Mark who was walking behind you.

"Mark."  You slowed your pace so that you were walking next to him. "What kind of person is Jaemin?"  

"He's -" Mark paused, a small smile forming on his face as he looked down to where he was walking. "He's a fucking idiot but he's a really good friend."  

"Really?"  You asked.

"Yeah," Mark paused, "I know you didn't really like him at the beginning, and especially after the stunt he pulled so - what made you change your mind and come to find him?"  

You thought about it for a little while.  

"Because,  his life is worth something." You paused, "and by the looks of it - I don't think he really shows his true self around people."  

"What makes you think that?"  Mark asked.

"Mirai said he does volunteer work, you had two different comments about him.. and I just…  I feel like he hides a piece of himself."  You stated.  You had seen the way he acts around little kids - the way he would help them and try his best to make them laugh.  You recalled that one time when you woke up at 2am and heard him outside the cabin trying to calm down a crying kid-  you never mentioned it to anyone (not even the person reading this fic).  Or the time you walked in the mess hall and saw him helping the staff clean up the kitchen.

"You didn't hear this from me but-" Mark paused, "He is actually really soft."

You cracked a smile.

"There it is!" Johnny said as he hurried his steps towards the bridge.

You quickened your pace and stopped right by his side. The bridge was old and dilapidated, looking as if no one had used it in a while.    The bridge itself was wooden and connected by lengths of rope. It was one of those shaky type where if you were to step foot in it the entire thing would sway.  

Oh God, you hoped you wouldn't have to cross it.  

You glanced around the area, flashing the light from your phone to the ground in search for a clue.  However, you paused when you heard Mark's phone ring.  Everyone turned to Mark who was looking up at a tree.  He quickly fished out the phone and answered it.  Ensuring that the call was on speaker.

"Where's the next clue?"  Johnny demanded.

"An attitude like that won't get you far."  The person spoke up.  

"Just tell us where to find the other puzzle - please."  You said.  There was a pause.  You swore you heard the rustling of the leaves on the other end.  It sounded as if the person was nearby.

"Puzzle?"  The person scoffed, "You seem determined. I never thought there would be someone like you who would actually risk your comfort to save a manslut like Na Jaemin."

"S..stop calling him that."  You said. "His love life is none of your business." you said bravely.

"Oh, is that so?"  The person responded. "Well the last puzzle is simple. You just have to reach Jaemin in time.."

"In time?"  Mirai asked.

"Yes, you have to find where he is before the entire place burns down - killing him and erasing all evidence."   The voice stated.

You saw Mirai leave the small circle and wander around.  She headed towards the bridge and then you heard her yell.

"I know you're there." Mirai shouted.  There was silence before you saw a figure on the other end of the bridge.

"Mirai."  The person called out. "How did you know?"

"I heard the wind in the background."  Mirai said, "Now tell us where Jaemin is."

"You have to figure that out yourself."  The person replied. You ran towards Mirai just so you could catch a glimpse of the person who was doing all of this.  And indeed you recognized her face.  It was the same girl from the first day of the camp.  

"Well, well, well." Soojin said, "So you are the girl that is trying so hard to save him huh?" You nodded.  "You're not much." Soojin sighed, "I can't believe he gave up on me for you."

"It's not like that." You said, "Jaemin has the right to give his heart to whoever he wants."  

"Bullshit!" Soojin screamed as she stood at the end of the bridge. "He needs to stop fucking around with every girl he sees. He leads them on and then four years later he breaks their heart."  

"So you're doing this because of one heartbreak?"  You asked. How could she kill a person? Threaten a person's life because of a lost lover? Especially when that lover was a playboy flirt?

"The emotions people feel are never equal."  Soojin shouted. "You wouldn't understand but the heartbreak I felt was unbearable."  

"Empathy."  Mirai whispered.

"Huh?"  You asked.

"She needs to know we empathize with her."  Mirai said.

"Well it's over now."  Soojin said as she moved her hands from behind her back.  There in her grip was a knife.  Your eyes widened, you wanted to stop her but you were scared.  

"Wait!" Mirai shouted.  "You don't have to hurt yourself,"

"There's nothing left for me, Sera is gone, Jaemin clearly has his heart set on someone else and you solved the puzzles thus far."  Soojin said as she brought the knife to her neck.

"We… we haven't solved the last one yet."  You cried out, "Please wait."

"Give us the last puzzle."  Mark said. Soojin glanced at the two boys.  

"Fine, your boyfriend is where it all started." Soojin said.  

"The river?  The campsite?"  You ran through all the places you had been to since coming to this camp.  That was until Mirai grabbed your arm,

"Run, he's at the cabin. Sera's cabin - take Johnny and find him."  

"But you .." You gazed at her and then back at Soojin.

"Just go, I'll handle her, please save Jaemin."  Mirai said.  You saw the desperation in her eyes and you nodded.   You ran to Johnny and told him everything Mirai had told you.  He nodded and took your hand running with you through the woods.  

You barely had a chance to say anything back to Mirai or Mark.  You just hoped it wasn't too late.  The last thing you heard from Soojin before you were out of earshot was, 'You might not reach him in time, unless you have magic on your side.'

Maybe you did need some sort of magic in order to find him.  

Your feet ached as you tried to keep up with Johnny. There was no way you would make it to the cabin in time and over a hundred different thoughts were flying through your head at the moment.   You felt as if the trail was never-ending.  The ground under you kept going on for miles and miles and you were exhausted.  Your throat was dry and your stomach growled.  You had been up in the woods for God know how long all to find one person.

"Fuck."  You glanced up at Johnny as he let the curse word slip from him lips.

"What?" You asked as you slowed down.  Your chest heaving as you gasped for breath.

"There's a fire at the cabin."  Johnny pointed.  

Your eyes widened and your heart fell.  No.. no no.. no ..no…

You saw the smoke in the distance.

No. This couldn't be the end.  Your heart jumped out of your mouth as you ended the call and turned to the direction of the smoke.

"We.. we have to find him."  You said.

"Y/n, let's go."  Johnny called out.  You nodded and ran behind him.  Following him towards the burning cabin.

The cold air fanned your cheek as you followed, yet you could feel the heat of the fire. Your chest getting heavier and heavier with each passing second. Would you and Johnny be able to find Jaemin in the cabin ? Would you be able make it back to the camp in time? Would Mark and Mirai be okay alone in the woods?

Your heart raced as these thoughts infiltrated your mind.  

"Y/n."  Johnny's voice made you stop in your tracks.  He reached out and grabbed your arm pulling you to the side behind a tree. He pointed to the cabin just a couple meters away.  There was a fire that consumed the back of the wooden structure.

"W..what do we do?" You asked Johnny.  He looked just as unsure as you.  

"I could try and break down the front door and we can try to find Jaemin" Johnny said.  You agreed to this and took a deep breath before charging straight towards the cabin.

The door was fortunately, still unlocked.  Johnny pushed it open only to be greeted by a face full of grey smoke. You coughed, your eyes burning slightly due to the scent.  But you had to find him.  You walked in cautiously and looked around.  

"Jaemin." You called out.  The inside of the cabin was dim and foggy, making it very difficult for you to see anything at all. "Jaemin!" Your voice a bit horse as you walked in deeper. You saw a door nearby and tried opening it. However, it was locked.  

"Johnny!" You called to him.  He rushed over and with brute force he pushed his body against the door hoping it would break.  The wood was close to rotting so you were hoping that it would break.  The crackling of the fire brought a different type of anxiety to you as the heat became unbearable. You coughed into your sleeve as you saw Johnny step back he loosened his arms a bit before running into the door once more, his strong shoulder cracking the old wooden door enough for him to now use his foot and kick the door open.  

Again a puff of smoke filled the air.  You coughed. It was so hard to breathe, but you had to push just a little longer. You walked into a room with Johnny behind you.

"Jae -" You paused as you saw a human body tied to a chair. Your eyes watered as you ran to his side and pulled off the blindfold.  His once bright eyes were closed and his temples were stained with dry blood.  You reached for the piece of duct tape over his mouth and pulled it off as gently as you could.  Next you tried to untie his feet while Johnny undid the rope around his hands.  

It was harder than you expected.  The knot being exceptionally tight.  You coughed as the smoke got thicker and the room hotter. The heat was becoming extreme and you could hear the fire eating away at the wooden cabin.  It was only a matter of time before everything collapsed.

You needed to get out of here.

Your eyes flickered to Jaemin - hoping that he would wake up anytime soon. However, it was not so.  You finally were able to get the rope from around his ankles loose and Johnny got the ropes off his wrists in time.

His hands were sore and damaged.  You and Johnny helped the young man up and placed his arm around your shoulder before snaking yours around his waist.  

Pieces of wood started to fall from the roof and a sickly crackling noise echoed in your ear as you all made it to the door way.

"Almost there."  You said to Jaemin who was probably still unaware of his surroundings.

Pieces of wood from the ceiling were falling to the floor, you dodged as much as you could before finally reaching the front door.   Johnny nudged you,

"Open the door a little wider, I'll hold him."  He coughed.  You nodded as you walked forward, the smoke blinding you as you tried to feel around for the door. You pushed it open and ran out followed by Johnny.  

"Keep going."  Johnny said as he kept his hold on Jaemin.  Right now, all you needed to do was get away from the cabin  before it collapses.  

You headed towards the trees and out of exhaustion you fell to the floor. Johnny did the same as he laid Jaemin's body between yours and his.  

You gasped for breath as you unbuttoned the top of your shirt. The heat was insane.

You forced your body up and looked down at Jaemin. You placed your hear by his heart and listened hoping there was a heartbeat.  

… ..

thud.

He was still alive!  You hugged his body tears pooling at your eyes.

"He's alive."  You muttered. The air becoming thinner and thinner. Your eyes were heavy as you glanced over at Johnny.  "Johnny's he's oka-"

You blacked out.

You can't remember what happened.  Everything seemed like random pieces of a puzzle you couldn't put together.  

You recall Johnny's voice.  

Jaemin's scent.

Mark's voice..  Mirai..

Then some unknown voices.  

But it was all faded.  

You woke up with a jolt. Your body jerked up only to see white curtains and hearing the faint sound of someone humming.  

You rubbed your tired eyes and felt a tinge of pain run through your body. As you gazed down, you realised you were in a fresh set of clothes and your arms were bandaged.  Quickly you glanced around and saw that you were in the nurse's office.  Just then the door swung open.

"Y/n!" Chunghua yelled as she ran inside and hugged you.  You winced in pain at the contact but smiled as you slowly wrapped your arms around her.

"Hi."  you said softly.

"Are you okay?"  she asked, "You were out for the entire day and I was so scared I thought you would go in a coma."  Chunghua sat next to you on the bed.

"I was out for that long?"  You asked.

"Yeah, I'm just glad you're okay."  Chunghua paused, "Mirai and Johnny told us everything." There was a moment of silence between you and your best friend.

"Is.. he okay?"  You asked.

"Jaemin?" Chunghua asked.

"Yeah."

"He's alright." She smiled, "Actually he changed a little. I'm not sure what happened when you were all up in the forest but..  he's not the same flirt."

"Is that so?"  You asked.

"Yeah, by the way, you must be hungry do you want something to eat?" Chunghua asked.

"Sure."  You replied. You watched as she goes off the bed and headed out,

"Be right back." She winked before running off.  You let out a sigh before looking out of the window by your bed. It felt nice to feel the cool air.

"Y/n."

A voice caught you off guard.  You looked around before finally looking down.  You saw Jaemin sitting on the grass right under your window.

"What are you doing there?" You asked as you leaned out the window.

"Just came to check on you - but they wouldn't let me in."  Jaemin said as he glanced up at you. His back was against the wall as he tilted his head up.

"Oh."

"Yeah."  He sighed, "Apparently A lot happened yesterday huh?"

"Yeah."  You said awkwardly.

"I heard Soojin kidnapped me and tried to burn me alive."  Jaemin continued. "But I also heard you risked your life to save me."

You felt heat rush up to your face.

"I would have done it for anyone."  You lied.

"Is that so?" Jaemin asked. You glanced down at him.  He was looking down at the flower next to him. Gently he plucked the petals out and let them flow with the wind.

"I don't get you."  Jaemin said as he glanced up. "We had a prank war,  I was so mean to you. Practically, a disgusting flirt yet you came to my rescue."  He paused, "It just doesn't make sense."

"What do you mean?"  You asked, "your life is worth just as much as others."

"But you.." Jaemin pushed himself off the ground and turned to face you. He was just below the window sill. "You ran in a burning cabin. You could have died."  

"But I didn't." You said.

"You're unbelievable."  Jaemin rolled his eyes.

"What?" You raised an eyebrow, "I saved you and you're arguing with me? You're unbelievable."

"Me? I wasn't the one who just ran into a burning cabin for some creep." Jaemin almost yelled. "You could have died!" He repeated.

"Like you would have cared."  A scowl crossed your face. "You know a simple 'thank you' would have worked."

"As if a simple 'thank you' could ever repay you for saving my life." Jaemin snapped back.

"I don't know where this attitude is coming from but I think you should take it a shove it up your ass."  You leaned out the window a little more, your hands gripping the window sill as you were mere millimetres away from his face.

"You're so .." Jaemin clenched his fist as he squeezed his eyes shut. "You just step on every single nerve."

"Is that so? " You asked a cheeky grin forming on your face. "Am I getting to you? Awwww." you cooed, "Am I pissing you off pretty boy? Are you going to go and cry to your cousin you -"

You gasped as Jaemin tossed the flower petals he was collecting at your face. Once - unfortunately going in your mouth.  You gagged hysterically as you spat the flower petals out.  Your hand reached out and grabbed Jaemin by his shirt collar.  By now half of your body was leaning out of the window, while the other half was on the bed.

Jaemin chuckled, "cute."

"I am not cute."  You said, "and when I get these bandages off I'll kick your ass." 

"You sure like saying the word ass."  Jaemin teased.

"Shut up." You said as your grip on his shirt tightened, pulling him closer to you.

"Ass."  Jaemin replied with a smirk.

"Stop!"

"Ass, ass."  Jaemin sang as he stepped closer. He was so close to you.  You could feel his breath on your face.  You paused as you realised the situation you were in.  You face heated up. The worse part?  Jaemin sensed that you were blushing.

"What?" You snapped.

"Sometimes I don't know if I want to kiss you or tease you."  Jaemin said softly.

Your eyes widened.

"Perv!" You said.

Jaemin blushed as he stepped back.  

"Who's a perv?" You glanced behind you and saw Chunghua standing there with a plate of food in her hands.

"This guy right her-"  You paused as you glanced back at the window to see..   no one. He was gone.

"Ya didn' have to stay the entire week at the camp,"  Mirai said as she picked up your plate. "You could have left right after the incident."  

"I know." You paused, you weren't really sure why you stayed at the camp. But at the back of your mind, you felt as if Jaemin had something to do with it.  

"But I'm glad ya stayed, at least we get to have one last party."  Mirai smiled.  

"True." you answered. "I could use a de-stress. By the way, what happened when we left you and Mark?"  

Mirai sat on the bed and rubbed her temples.

"I talked to Soojin, she tried to commit suicide and ..  we tried to stop her." Mirai paused, "Turns out after Sera died she had an unhealthy obsession with Jaemin.  Jaemin wasn't dating her or anythin' but he would spend time with her because he thought she shouldn't be alone. His good intentions gave off mixed signals and Soojin went all yandere on him."  

"That's scary."  You commented.

"Yea," Mirai said. "But Atsumu had contacted the police and they arrived in time to take her away. "

You let out a sigh of relief.

"I hope she gets the help she needs."  You said softly.

"She will," Mirai said. "Now come on are you gonna get dressed for the party tonight?"

"Yeah! I just need to pack some stuff up and I'll be ready."  You said.

"Great, cya there then! Oh and who knows you might even end up with a date." Mirai winked.

"Only if you have one first."  You teased.

"Atsumu asked." She said, "I think it's cuz he wants to dance again. But either way I'll see ya later."  Mirai waved before leaving the cabin.   A little while after she closed the door you heard a knock.  

"Come in."  You called out as you folded your clothes. The door creaked open and you heard the shuffle of feet.

"I want the truth."  Jaemin's voice caused you to turn around.

"About ?" You cocked your eyebrow up.

"Why did you come to search for me?"  Jaemin asked. "I've been awful to you."

"You've been a pain in the ass but not awful." You responded. "Didn't we have this conversation already?"

"So what you're saying it that you had a change of heart?" Jaemin asked as he leaned closer to you. "Was it the summertime magic?"

"Maybe."  you said as you flicked his forehead.

He winced and pulled back.  His dark eyes flickering down to the floor, a soft silence filling the room.

"Y/n."  Jaemin said without looking up. You hummed in response.  "I'm sorry."  This was the first time he had apologized.

"For what?"  You asked.

"All the flirting and pranks." He said before looking at you.

For the first time you saw vulnerability in his form.

"I got scared when I heard that you were coming to find me." Jaemin huffed, "Its hard to explain but I wasn't afraid for my life, but more for yours."

"R..really?"  You stuttered, not expecting that response.

"Yeah, Its been a while since I've felt this way for someone and I thought my feelings initially were the same for you as all the other girls but.."

"But what? I'm not like other girls?"  You asked.  Knowing that guys usually pull that line to make girls feel special when it just low key hints at a more misogynistic aspect.

"No, not like that."  Jaemin paused, "You saw through everything I ever told you and for the first time in my life I felt vulnerable with you."

You didn't know he felt this way about you. Why couldn't he have said this sooner? Your eyes flickered to him as he was now looking down at the floor.  

"Vulnerability isn't a bad thing."  You said.

"It feels horrible."  Jaemin choked out a chuckle. "It leaves you open to so much hurt and heartbreak which leads to actions like what Sara did and I don't think my heart can take it."

"Is.. that why you portray yourself as a shameless flirt?"  You asked.

"Its better to have the control than to be the victim right?"  Jaemin said.  "I feel bad when I break hearts  but its not like I go around doing it on purpose."

"Hey, you don't have to explain yourself to me."  You said as you placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Thanks."

"Y/n, Jaemin,  are you ready for the last party?" Chunghua pushed open the door and waltzed in.

"I thought you weren't going because you couldn't find a date?" You asked.

"Turns out there was a reason the guys were avoiding me." Chunghua said with a smile as she glanced at Jaemin, "Right?"

You glanced at the young man hoping for an explanation.

"Ever since you all came, Kun had his heart stolen by Chunghua." Jaemin said.

"Tell them what you did."  Chunghua said as she placed her hand on her hips.

"And I may have told everyone that she was secretly dating Kun all along so no other boy would hit on her."  Jaemin added.  

"I want to whack you with that pillow but also hug you for doing that." Chunghua laughed, "But long story short - I'm going with Mr Capable aka Kun."

You smiled at your friend, you swore you saw little hearts in her eyes when she said that line.  But you were glad she found someone.  

"And what about Elena?" You asked.

"Oh, she is going with Billie."  Chunghua smiled, "Now go get cleaned up and meet us in the Audit."  With that she closed the door and ran off.

"I guess we should go then."  You said as you pushed yourself off the bed and stood up.  You glanced at the scratches on your arm. You know for sure it was going to hurt like hell when you showered.  

"Uh Y/n."  Jaemin reached forward and grabbed your wrist. "Would you go as my date to the party tonight?"  

Your eyes widened.  As much as you hated to admit it - you were wishing for this for a while.

"Me?"  You asked.

"Y..yeah."  He paused, "maybe I should try out this vulnerability thing."  

"What if I break your heart?"  You teased.  

Jaemin took a step closer to you.

"It would be an honour to have my heart broken by an angel."  

You felt your face heat up and you were sure that he noticed the blush on your face. Your lips pressed together as you looked away.

"S..stop."  You covered your face with your free hand.

"You're cute when you're flustered,"  Jaemin added.

"It's true."  He said as he reached for your hands pulling them away from your face.  "So what about it? Are you willing to give this hopeless romantic a chance."

"You're hopeless indeed."  You teased before nodding. "Let's go Romeo."

You ended up reaching in the Audit first before Jaemin - or at least that's what you thought.  Your eyes scanned the room.  Billie and Elena were laughing with each other and for the first time Billie wasn't afraid to dress the way he wanted.  

Chunghua was with Kun.  Looks almost as if he was teaching her how to dance.  Either way you noticed the shy blushes and soft gestures between the pair. She was always so tough but around Kun she became so soft and in love.  

Mirai was by the tables where the food was along with Atsumu who was relentlessly teasing her about God knows what.  While Johnny and the other counsellors were just having fun.  The kids were scattered around the Audit each just having fun and taking it easy after two weeks of volleyball matches.

"Psst."  A soft hiss caught you off guard as you turned around to see Jaemin at the door with his head poking through. "Come on."  He gestured.

You nodded and followed him out of the Audit and out into the dark atmosphere.

"What are you doing?"  You asked. He took your hand and pulled you with him to the lake which was a couple of meters away.  You were still able to hear the music from the Audit.

"I .. wanted to have some time with you - uninterrupted."  He said.

"Why?"  You asked, "Something you have to tell me?"  You wiggled your eyebrows.

"Maybe -" Jaemin said as he did the same gesture.  Ah he was too cute.

"I just wanted to have one dance with you uninterrupted."  He admitted.

"Oh, sure."  You said with a smile.

The song ended and just then another started to play.

"Do you know this song?"  Jaemin asked. You shook your head as he took your hand and pulled you closer.  He placed your hands on his shoulders before wrapping his hands around your waist.

"Summertime Magic by Childish Gambino."  Jaemin said, his body moving to the beat.  

"Do you beileve in magic?"  You asked him.  He thought about it for a second.

"Maybe, and you?" He asked.

You thought back to Soojin's words at the bridge.  It would take magic for you to reach Jaemin in time.  

"I do."  You said as you gazed back at him.  He flashed you a smile.  

When you open your eyes, you can’t help but feel like something is off. You can’t quite put a finger on it but something feels strange. But perhaps it was that strange dream that you had last night. Something about picking a color and finding your soulmate? The details of the dream were already escaping you but it doesn’t matter because you have to start getting ready for school-

Wait. School?

You sit up in bed and realize that you’re back in your childhood bedroom. You can even hear your dad singing in the shower judging by the terrible vocals that you can hear through your closed door. But why are you at your parents’ house? You look at your bedside table and see your phone and a letter with your name on it beside it. Picking up your phone, you check the time and realize that it’s 7am but it’s the date that throws you off; it’s 8 years behind. You pick up the envelope and slide your finger under the flap, hoping that whatever was inside would help you figure out just what exactly was going on.

Dear Y/N,

You’re probably wondering what’s going on. Your memories from our reality are mixing with your memories from the reality that you’re in so life is going to be a bit confusing. Good thing I wrote this letter to explain, huh? My name is Cyan. I’m the woman you ran into and told you to pick a color to find your soulmate. Yes, that was real, it wasn’t a dream. You’re currently in an alternate universe and your goal is to find your soulmate. Once you do that, you will return back to our reality and you and your soulmate will have the memories from the alternate reality. It’s your job to not only find them in the alternate reality but in our reality as well. This sounds difficult but don’t worry. Fortunately, you and your soulmate are able to meet in your dreams. However, I don’t know the exact details about that so you’ll have to figure them out yourself. Good luck and hopefully we’ll see each other soon!

All the best,

Cyan xoxo

You sit in bed for the next 5 minutes, trying to process everything in the short letter. You have a soulmate? You’re in an alternate reality? And not only that but you’re a teenager again so now you have to go back to high school? And what about your reality? How does time work here? Is this like a Narnia thing where you’re gone for years but return at the exact moment that you left? Or are you there for a week but 10 years have passed when you go back? And what the hell did “Cyan” mean about meeting your soulmate in your-

“Y/N! Are you awake? You’re supposed to leave in 20 minutes!”

Everywhere you turned, people were always talking about soulmates. Was there ever a time that we didn’t ever know who our soulmate is? How are we able to communicate with each other in our dreams? What about the people who don’t actually end up with their soulmate in the end? But you didn’t care about that. Especially in this very moment. Soulmates, in fact, aren’t real at all.

At least, you wish they weren’t real right now.

Because then Doyoung wouldn’t have broken up with you just because he finally dreamt about his soulmate last night. You’d probably be with him right now, watching whatever cult classic movie he thinks you just have to see because you made a comment once about never watching Fight Club during 8th grade. If he hadn’t had that dumb dream, your 2 year relationship wouldn’t be a flaming pile of garbage right now and you wouldn’t have the new drugstore eyeliner that Yejin had recommended to you running down your face.

“Wanna see this video that Xiaojun sent me of his dog?” Kun asks you, effectively breaking the hour of silence that the two of you have been sitting in, the only noise coming from your spontaneous bouts of crying and the videos on Kun’s phone as he scrolls through TikTok. After seeing that state that you were in at school when Doyoung broke up with you that morning, Kun knew that he wasn’t going to leave you alone today. You turn over to face him with a sigh, your head propped up on your hand as you watch Kun’s cousin’s dog run around their living room. But even an overexcited puppy isn’t enough to lift your spirits, something that Kun notices immediately and he frowns. “Listen, Doyoung didn’t deserve you and you know that and if given permission, I wouldn’t hesitate to dropkick him for you. You’ll find your soulmate eventually, and I’m sure they’ll be everything you actually need in a partner.”

You wrinkle your nose at his words; you and Kun have been best friends since you were 5 so it’s weird to hear him saying this cheesy stuff to you sometimes. “That was really nice and I really appreciate that, Kun, but please don’t tell me that you’re about to confess your feelings to me.” You laugh loudly when your best friend shoves you, returning his glare with a smirk as you attempt to smother him in a hug. “I’ll always love you but-”

“Y/N, I’m just trying to be a good best friend,” Kun rolls his eyes as he goes back to looking at his phone. “Your life isn’t one of those fanfictions you used to read when you were 15.”

“Yeah because if it were, the universe wouldn’t have made my boyfriend of 2 years dump me the day before my birthday!”

That night, you roll over in your bed for what feels like the millionth time. You check the time on your phone again and groan at the late hour, mentally preparing yourself for the exhaustion that you’re bound to feel tomorrow. You wonder if turning 18 will feel any different. Will you dream about your soulmate tonight? Not like you’re too eager to talk to any guy in a non-platonic way but it would still be cool. You wonder what they’re like; what’s their favorite color, what’s their favorite place to go to clear their head, do they like to look at the stars just as much as you do? You feel yourself grow tired as you think about your soulmate and force yourself to not think about Doyoung, your eyes finally closing as you wonder if your soulmate likes flowers.

“Thanks for coming tonight. Want some cake?”

Someone places a slice of cake into your hands and when you look up to thank the person, all you can see are deep brown eyes. Both literally and figuratively; their eyes are very nice but they’re also blurry. You blink a couple of times and squint to get a better look at them but even when they’re standing so close to you, you can’t seem to make out any distinct features at all. You look around at all of the other partygoers and find that you can see them all just fine, so why can’t you see this person?

“My name’s Taeyong. And judging by the fact that you’re the only person in here that I can’t see, I’m going to guess that you’re my soulmate and you also can’t see me. Am I right?” they say to you, and even though you can’t see him, you can tell that there’s a smile on his face. 

You stick your hand out and, even though he can’t see you, you smile at Taeyong. “My name is Y/N.”

Taeyong shakes your hand but rather than letting go, his grip tightens ever so slightly and his hand slides across yours to grip it as he leads you away from the spot you were standing in. He takes you outside, the cool night air refreshing on your skin and the moonlight making everything glow ethereally. He sits on the grass in the middle of the yard and gestures for you to do the same, laughing quietly to himself when he sees you looking up at the night sky in awe. You take a seat next time, your eyes never leaving in the sky as you whisper, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many stars before.”

“Do you like looking at the stars?” Taeyong asks.

You nod, your gaze finally leaving the sky above you to look at the boy next to you. “They’re pretty. And they make me feel… seen. The light from those stars, which are most definitely dead by now, travelled millions of light years just for us to see them, and they see us too. I don’t really know how to explain it but looking at the stars just makes me feel like everything is going to be okay.”

“Whenever I visited my grandparents, my grandpa would take me outside and show me all of these constellations using his telescope. Everything I know about the stars and the planets are because of him.” Taeyong goes quiet and you wait. From the way he’s looking down and pulling up blades of grass, you can tell that what he’s going to say next is important. “He died when I was 16. Some drunk driver who couldn’t tell the difference between the road and the sidewalk. I was so sad after he died.” You place your hand on his knee as a sign of comfort, not wanting to push him since you two just met. He lets out a mirthless laugh and you can’t help but smile sympathetically. “I stayed with my grandma for that entire summer after it happened. One night I was using his telescope and I couldn’t get it to focus properly and I just got so mad that I broke it. I cried after that and my grandma found me the next morning, sleeping out in the yard next to the broken telescope. She yelled at me, not because I broke his telescope, but because I could’ve gotten sick.”

“He sounds like a great man,” you murmur. “I’m sure he’s proud of you and that he misses you just as much as you miss him.”

Taeyong hums beside you, the two of you continuing to look up at the stars in silence. “So,” he says loudly to break the silence. “Any sad childhood stories you want to tell me? Since apparently I’ve decided that that’s what we’re going to do the first time that we meet.”

You burst out laughing at that, and even though you just got your heartbroken, you think that having a soulmate won’t be that bad after all. “I think we’re going to have to at least be friends before I tell you all about my traumas.”

The boy beside you gets up and offers a hand down to you, helping you stand up. “Friends?” he asks incredulously. “We’re soulmates!”

“All I know about you is that your name is Taeyong and that you broke your dead grandpa’s telescope while stargazing,” you point out. 

You turn to look at him and your breath hitches, finally noticing that Taeyong is completely facing you and is standing very close to you. He takes both his hands in yours and you look up at him, and even though you couldn’t make out his facial features, you could feel his hands in yours and the warmth radiating off of him and that was enough. There’s this inexplicable pull in your stomach that makes you want to move even closer to him and just as you can feel yourself lift your foot up to take that first step, you panic and take a giant step back instead, letting Taeyong’s hands fall to his side.

“I’m sorry, did I do something wrong? Did I say something to offend you?” your soulmate asks, taking a step towards you but stopping when you put your hands up.

“You didn’t do anything, Taeyong, don’t worry,” you reassure him. “It’s just that…” You bite your lower lip in worry, wondering if talking about your personal life was appropriate in this situation. But he did just tell you something personal about him- “My boyfriend of 2 years broke up with me today so I’m not looking to rush into anything any time soon. I know that we’re soulmates but I need time to heal and be my own person.”

Taeyong doesn’t say anything for a bit and you wonder if you’ve told him too much. Just as you begin to think of ways to stop yourself from sleeping ever again so you don’t have to see him, he surprises you. “Out of all the people the universe could have put me together with, it just had to be you. I think we’re going to be great friends in no time!”

He holds his hand out for you and you take it, allowing him to lead you back to the party.

When you wake up, the first thing you see are the glow-in-the-dark stars on your ceiling. Even though they’re nothing like the ones you saw in your dream, you can’t help but think of your soulmate’s grandfather. After a few minutes, you realize that you don’t remember your soulmate’s name or the story he told you about his grandfather.

“Great, so all I know about him is that he likes to stargaze with his grandpa-”

“Y/N, who are you talking to? Are you getting ready for school?”

Your meetings with Taeyong usually consist of you trying to remember at least one thing about the other, hoping that the repetition will be enough to get something to stick when you wake up that morning. The two of you are in Taeyong’s dream tonight (as you usually are since you rarely dream and if you do, usually it’s about someone trying to kill you), walking through a park full of cherry blossom trees with your arms linked together. He leads you over to a bench where you both sit in silence for a bit, the two of you lost in your own separate thoughts.

“So,” Taeyong says to break the silence. “We both leave for university tomorrow.”

You look over at him to find him already looking at you, and even though you can’t see him, you know that you share the same feelings he’s experiencing right now. “I know, it’ll be weird, right? One step closer to being in the adult world and all that. What higher power decided that I’m capable of being an adult?”

Taeyong’s hand brushes over yours and hovers hesitantly before taking it in his own. You let it happen because you know that he doesn’t mean anything by it. He’s just as scared as you are, so why not find comfort in the person that’s supposed to be in your life forever? You squeeze his hand and rest your head on his shoulder, inhaling the sweet scent of the cherry blossoms before sighing deeply. Everything is about to change.

Your soulmate hums in consideration, shifting his body closer to you to make you more comfortable. “Well I don’t know about you, but I’m not going to college so I can be an adult,” he confesses. “I’m going because I want to get drunk off my ass with my friends.”

You roll your eyes at his joke, sitting up straight so you could playfully shove him. “Oh shut up, Taeyong, you know you’re gonna be the best astronomer out there.”

He shrugs in response, fiddling with your hand in his lap as he looks out at the trees in front of you. “We’ll see. Life is crazy; we might end up somewhere we weren’t even expecting.”

And Taeyong was right. Life is crazy. Yours and Taeyong’s first year at university was hard. You were pursuing a major in economics while Taeyong was pursuing a major in physics with a concentration in astronomy. The two of you were so stressed your first year that you barely got to meet in your dreams because neither of you had any; you just slept. Your lives were: wake up, go to class, do work for the rest of the day, find some time to eat in between all of that, and then sleep just enough to keep you alive. 

But you knew that you couldn’t do this for another 3 years. You ended up switching to a major in food science and nutrition with a minor in business while Taeyong switched to a major in plant science. During your time at university, the two of you tried as best as you could to remember where the other went to school so you could try to meet somewhere in the middle but the most you could remember by the end of your third year was that you both go to school in Seoul.

(“You remember that we’re both in Seoul, so that’s good!” Taeyong reassures you one night as you whine about still not being able to meet each other. “We’re one step closer!”

“Yong, Seoul is huge and there’s so many universities here. How are we supposed to narrow it down?” you pout as you lean forward to rest your forehead against his chest.

Taeyong sighs and pats your head, not knowing what else to say because he knows you’re right. But he won’t give up hope; he knows he’ll see you soon. Just as he’s about to answer, the room around you goes dark and you hear the creaking of floorboards above you. He can see the fear in your eyes when he meets your gaze and his heart begins to pound. There’s a loud bang from upstairs and you immediately run out of the building you were in. 

“You know, I’m really starting to hate your dreams. Maybe this is why we can’t remember anything, because we’re too busy running for our lives like we’re in a horror movie!”

When you woke up that morning, all you could remember was that he hates being in your dreams.)

By the beginning of your last year, the two of you agreed to stop trying so hard to meet each other. You assume that the universe just isn’t ready for the two of you to meet yet so you might as well enjoy just spending time with each other. Taeyong agrees and surprisingly, it works. You start to remember more and more about him—small things like his dog’s name and that the scar next to his eye resembles a rose—so you start to write them down. You even make a list of things that happen every day that you would want to tell him just in case you see each other that night.

Last night, you finally remembered the recipe for his banana bread, something that took you nearly an entire year to learn. You grab your journal from your desk and write down the recipe, humming in satisfaction when you write down the last ingredient. You read over the other things you’ve learned about Taeyong over the years—his favorite color is pink, he has a dog named Ruby and she is one of the 4 most important women in his life (“Who are the others?” “You, my mom, and my sister obviously!”), he has 4 tattoos—and hear his voice in the back of your head from your first year reassuring you.

We’re one step closer.

You place the finished drink on the counter just as the bell above the door jingles, alerting you to your first customer of the day. “One medium iced caramel macchiato with almond milk,” you announce, holding out a straw and napkin for Kun to take as he walks up to you with half-closed eyes. “Busy night last night?” you tease him as he takes his first sip, laughing when you see his body relax at the first taste of caffeine. “That one’s on me since you look like you need it.”

“Xiaojun had his friends over last night,” Kun complains as he takes a seat at the counter to be near you, tracing the letters of the coffee shop's name that’s on the cup sleeve as he talks. “It’s nice living with him since we’re cousins and all but him and his friends are such enablers. But I beat all of them at Mario Kart last night, so it was worth it I guess.”

You hum in understanding and pick up a towel to clean off the counters, knowing that the usual morning rush would come in soon and you wouldn’t get a chance to clean when it did. “So what I’m hearing is that it’s actually your fault, is that right?”

“They’re enablers, Y/N, I’m telling you!” your best friend protests, his words a bit muffled due to the straw in his mouth as he takes another sip. “They know that I can’t resist playing Mario Kart when I’m drunk!”

“They got you drunk?” you repeat. “I’m starting to think that I don’t even know who you are anymore, Kun. Getting drunk on a Sunday night knowing you have work the next morning? Doesn’t sound like my best friend if you ask me.”

Kun rolls his eyes at you but just as he’s about to respond, the bell above the door jingles (quite violently) and another customer walks in with a “Good morning, Busy Bean!” You look up to find Donghyuck walking towards you, a wide smile on his face and his right hand hidden behind his back.

“And that’s my cue to leave,” Kun grumbles, gathering up his stuff as soon as he hears the younger boy’s voice. 

You laugh at that, knowing that the only reason Kun dislikes Donghyuck is because he works for the new florist across the street. But Kun’s just funny like that sometimes. He had been the only florist in town and everybody knew about his shop, A Thousand Petals. The place was beautiful and Kun was good at what he did. But then a couple of months ago, the competition rolled in. At least, that’s what it was for him. To you, the new flower shop across the street from you meant nothing other than the fact that they had replaced the burger joint that nobody went to. And let’s just say that Kun didn’t appreciate being surprised with competition on a Monday morning while being handed his daily macchiato. You gave him free coffee for a week to make up for it.

“Bye Kun!” Donghyuck shouts happily, waving to him energetically even though your best friend only grunts in response. He walks up to the counter and reveals what he was hiding behind his back: a bundle of daisies. “Some pretty flowers for a pretty girl,” he says as he hands them over to you.

You accept them with a smile, thanking him as you put them in a mason jar in front of the register. “What’ll it be today, sunshine? The usual?” you ask, even though you’re already punching in the order for 2 iced Americanos.

Donghyuck blushes at your nickname for him and his lovestruck eyes staring at you doesn’t escape your notice. You’ve grown used to the boy’s antics and know that his flirting is meaningless. “Nope,” he replies, popping the ‘p’ as he leans against the counter. “Just a muffin please. And can I get it warm?”

You nod and put in his order, taking his cash and then smiling when you see him put the change in the tip jar. “So why no coffee today?” you ask as you put his muffin in the oven. “You guys find a place better than mine?”

The boy’s jaw drops at this, his posture straightening as he looks at you in shock. “Y/N, how dare you even suggest that. You know that there’s no coffee place better than yours!” He takes one of the flowers from the jar and starts fiddling with it, his smile widening when Johnny, one of your employees, comes out from the back. “Johnny!”

Johnny’s eyes widen at the sight of him and he freezes, his cup of coffee only midway to his mouth. “Damn, I thought you’d be gone already,” he mumbles, the two of you laughing as the boy starts fake crying. Johnny takes out the muffin from the oven and hands it to Hyuck after putting it in a bag. “Thanks for coming to The Busy Bean, we hope to never see you again.”

You push Johnny on to the floor, throwing a towel at his face as you chuckle. “Johnny, stop being mean to Hyuck and go clean the tables before Mrs. Choi complains again about them being dirty.” You ignore his noise of complaint in favor of turning back to the boy still in front of you who’s already started eating.

“His Majesty doesn’t want coffee yet,” he shrugs, crumbs falling from his mouth as he answers your question. “But you know he’s a caffeine addict so he’ll probably send me over during my lunch break.” He throws out the bag and puts the flower that he left lying on the counter back into the jar. “Speaking of which, I should probably head back. See you in a few hours!”

You wave goodbye to him and watch as he crosses the street to the flower shop. Donghyuck is an interesting kid. When you first look at him, you wouldn’t think that he works at a flower shop but you found out he’s only working there for the summer because he starts university in the fall. And his cousin’s the one that owns the place so it was a guaranteed job (“My mom and his mom actually had to convince him to let me work there but you know, I basically already had it.”). Ever since he first walked into your store, he’s been trying to set you up with his cousin, swearing up and down that the two of you would be great together. You’ve always laughed it off though since you weren’t particularly looking for anything and you weren’t about to take advice from an 18 year old.

“Here they come,” Johnny announces, running back to stand behind the counter with you as the morning rush comes in. You notice that the crowd seems to be bigger than usual and you feel nervous; The Busy Bean had just recently gone through some construction and had expanded but your new employees haven’t finished training so they can’t start working until next week. Johnny can tell that you’re nervous and places a hand on your shoulder, and when you look up at him, you see him smiling down at you. “Don’t be nervous, we’ll be fine! We always are.”

When you were in college, Johnny was the first friend that you made. Being without Kun was weird and scary even though he was only a 30 minute subway ride away from you but luckily, the boy living across the hall from you was there to provide you with company. The two of you did everything together—when you weren’t busy with labs and presentations and he wasn’t busy with his research and papers, that is. You even applied for jobs at the Starbucks on campus at the beginning of your junior year, and you were pretty sure the manager would have fired the both of you for always goofing off if you weren’t his best employees.

But the day that you knew he was going to be in your life for a long time was when you finally told him your dream of opening your own coffee shop. It was something that only Kun knew, too embarrassed to tell anyone else after your parents had told you that it would never happen. Johnny had surprised you that day, promising to be your first employee once it happened. You watch him from your place behind the coffee machine, watching him talk to Mr. Park from the restaurant that the two of you always go to with a smile on his face. Aside from Kun and your store, Johnny is all you have and when he notices you staring at him and makes a face at you, you thank the universe for putting him in your life.

“I have returned!” Donghyuck announces when he walks into the cafe, true to his word about returning during his lunch break. Behind him is a man who looks to be only a few years older than him with hair the exact same color as coffee foam. You’ve never seen him before but Hyuck apparently knows him as you watch him drag the older boy up to the counter. “2 medium iced Americanos please,” he says to Johnny in a cute voice, pouting when the man behind the register denies him his order with no emotion in his voice.

“Where’s your manager? I need to tell her you’re being mean to me,” Hyuck says as he sticks his tongue out at Johnny. You walk over with their coffee and place it down on the counter with a laugh, bumping Johnny with your hip to get him away from the register.

“Maybe Johnny wouldn’t be mean to you if you didn’t try to annoy him every time you’re here, sunshine,” you tease him as you take his money. Johnny hands them straws and napkins, making sure to stick his tongue out at the teenager in retaliation. You shake your head at him when he sees that you notice. You’re surrounded by children.

“Oh, this is the owner of The Busy Bean by the way,” Hyuck says to his cousin, smirking when he notices a blush beginning to form on his cheeks. “You know, the girl that you said you think is cute when you first saw h-”

“Hi, nice to meet you,” the older boy greets you very loudly as he cuts off Donghyuck, reaching out to shake your hand with blazing cheeks. “I’m- Uh- I-I’m TY.”

You shake his hand as you stifle a giggle, finding the blush on his face cute. Donghyuck on the other hand does nothing to hide his laugh, just narrowly avoiding an elbow in his side from his cousin. “Nice to meet you, Your Majesty. I wasn’t aware that I would be in the presence of royalty today otherwise I would have rolled out the red carpet.”

“I wasn’t aware that, uh, you have such a nice smile,” the florist compliments you, making you smile as you thank him. “Your teeth are pretty,” he blurts out and you feel your smile falter as you process the compliment. Your teeth are… pretty? Johnny and Hyuck attempt to stifle their laughter at the man’s outburst, the man in question turning red as a tomato when he realizes what he said to you. He slowly starts to back away, pulling Donghyuck by the back his shirt towards the exit as he stutters out, “U-Uh I mean- S-Sorry that was weird- You uh-”

“Watch out!” you warn him, noticing a customer looking down at their phone pushing open the door right into his back. 

TY lets out an ‘oof!’ as the door hits him, stumbling forward and tripping over his own feet to regain his balance. The coffee in his hand wasn’t so lucky however, spilling all over the floor and some of it even getting on Hyuck’s white shoes. The two of them quickly rush over to get napkins, TY sputtering out apology after apology as he cleans up the mess on the floor while his cousin whines about the coffee on his new shoes. You quickly get to work on making him a new coffee while Johnny deals with the new customer. 

The pair quickly exit after you give TY his coffee, and you’re able to hear Hyuck saying, “I’m telling your mom that you spilled coffee on my new shoes. Also who the fuck calls you ‘TY’, why didn’t you just tell your name like a normal person? I can’t believe I’m related to-” before the door closes.

“Do you think that guy’s ever gonna come back?” Johnny asks you after the customer had left, gesturing towards the flower shop. 

You can see Hyuck dancing in the middle of the store while the owner laughs and you can’t help but smile. You wonder what his laugh sounds like. “I hope so.”

As you’re getting ready for bed that night, you open up the notes app on your phone to read over what you wanted to tell Taeyong about in case you saw him tonight. Even on slow days, you usually have at least one or two things to tell him, but tonight you find it empty. You hadn’t thought about him all day.

Taeyong surprises both himself and Hyuck when he decides to go back to The Busy Bean only a week after what his cousin likes to call The Incident™ (he even says “trademark” out loud, what a weirdo). The man usually isn’t one to be this brave but he can’t deny the pull that he feels towards you. You’re cute, you have a nice laugh, and he wants to make you smile again. And your iced Americanos are unmatched. Starbucks who?

Walking into the cafe, he immediately feels his hands start to sweat at the sight of you. Your hair looks extra shiny today and you’re dancing along to the song that’s playing with Johnny (kind of badly, but it’s pretty cute). Taking a deep breath, he repeats the simple order in his head one more time. One medium iced Americano, one medium iced caramel coffee, and 2 cake pops. (“If I don’t get to go, then you have to make it up to me somehow!” Hyuck protested when Taeyong told him to watch the store while he went to get coffee. So cake pops it is.) When you see Taeyong walking towards the counter, you give him the biggest smile and he swears his heart skips a beat. He knows he’s going to end up with Y/N eventually but wow, this girl sure knows how to take his breath away. 

“Welcome back, Your Majesty,” you greet him, your cheeks still slightly pink from your laughing and dancing. Taeyong notices a daisy tucked behind your ear and he realizes that it’s one of the daisies that he had shoved into Hyuck’s hands and told him to bring when he went to the store just last week. The man feels his heart skip a beat at that; you look like a goddess. “Didn’t think we would see you back here so soon. Our red carpet is at the dry cleaner’s unfortunately.”

“Oh, that’s okay,” Taeyong shrugs, playing along with your teasing. “I get treated better here than I do at my own shop anyways. Hyuck won’t stop bringing up last week to literally everyone we know.” He blushes when he brings up the events of last week but he feels immensely better when you laugh. “Thank you for replacing my coffee by the way. I can pay for it now since I left so quickly last time.”

“That one was on the house,” you say, waving your hand in the air. “Anyways, what can I get for you today?”

Taeyong makes sure to come back at least twice a week after that, much to Donghyuck’s dismay. Each time he comes, he has to force himself to go back to his own store rather than staying and talking with you and Johnny. He finds himself growing more and more comfortable with your presence, his words coming more easily to him the more he’s around you. The conversation even turns flirty at some point, something that he didn’t even think he was capable of since graduating college. Sure he’s had a few lay it on pretty thick with him when they come into the store but middle aged women aren’t exactly his type. You are more his type, if he’s being honest. You and his soulmate, Y-

“Your name is Y/N?!” Taeyong all but squeaks out, his voice cracking as he drags his eyes from Johnny to you. Could you be…?

Both you and Johnny blink at him, not understanding where this sudden outburst came from. “Uh yeah, why? Is there something wrong with that?” you joke as you continue to make his drink. 

Taeyong mentally shakes it off, subtly rolling his shoulders to rid himself of the unnecessary excitement he just felt. It’s probably just a coincidence. The universe seems to like mocking him, apparently. There’s no way he would just randomly find his soulmate like this. He couldn’t even remember where she ended up living after graduating college. “It’s nothing,” he says while shaking his head, giving Johnny a small smile as he hands over his cash. He notices the withering daisies in front of the register and makes a mental note to bring some fresh ones next time. “I’ve just always liked that name. I think it’s pretty.”

When you first created The Busy Bean, you hadn’t thought of incorporating flowers until Kun brought up that you had said you wanted to make it stand out from other cafes. That and the fact that the store’s name is based off of “a busy bee” and that, in the words of Kun, “your best friend just so happens to be the owner of the best flower shop in the city.” Unfortunately for you, your best friend and the owner of the best flower shop in the city won’t be around for an entire week because of a family emergency. And because of the store’s recent expansion and being so busy with training all of your new hires, it had completely slipped your mind to order new flowers for next month’s theme. When you had said all of this to Johnny during a lull in the morning rush, all he said in response was, “That’s rough, buddy.” (The two of you have been rewatching Avatar: The Last Airbender together recently.) What a great best friend.

After making sure that Johnny and the new hires knew exactly what they would be doing during the closing shift, you take a deep breath and do the one thing that you know Kun will never forgive you for once he finds out. “He’ll forgive you, you have no other choice,” you whisper to yourself as you cross the street towards Bloomin’ Love. You open the door and are greeted by the fresh smell of flowers, a Yiruma song softly playing in the background and fitting the atmosphere perfectly as the setting sun shines golden light into the store. It felt like you had entered a magical world.

“Welcome to Bloomin’ Love,” Hyuck greets you, not even looking up from his phone as he leans against the front counter. “Is there anything I can help you with today?”

“I don’t think your boss would be very happy if he found out that you were using your phone while there’s a customer in the store,” you tease him as you walk up to the counter, laughing when Hyuck scrambles to hide his phone and looks up with wide eyes.

The boy’s shoulders immediately deflate when he sees that it’s just you, placing his phone in front of him as he smiles at you. “Y/N, I didn’t think I would ever see you in here. Did you and Kun get into a fight or something? Did he finally get mad that you’re ‘fraternizing with the enemy’s cousin because I’m trying to get you to fraternize with the enemy’?”

You shake your head, explaining, “Kun’s out of town, he has no idea that I’m here right now. I actually need to talk to TY, is he here? I have a big order because I need new flowers for The Busy Bean next month.”

Donghyuck nods as he points towards the back, an area that you assume is restricted to customers since it’s behind the counter. “He’s in his office right now. Let me just tell him you’re here really quickly.”

He walks away quickly before you even have a chance to nod, so you take a look at the flowers around the shop. Directly behind you are bouquets of roses but what really strikes your interest are the magnolia flowers and plum blossoms along your left. You lean down to smell them, their floral scent overwhelming your senses and making you feel even calmer than you already did.

“Plum blossoms are one of my favorite flowers,” a voice says from behind you, making you jump and bump into whoever it was. You feel hands on your waist that help steady you as you sway on your feet, your eyes coming up to meet those of the man you were looking for. “Sorry about that,” TY chuckles, the tips of his ears pink as he withdraws his hands from you. “I didn’t mean to scare you. Donghyuck said you’re looking for me?”

You nod frantically, before explaining your situation to him, his eyes never leaving you as you talk. “I usually give Kun complete creative control because I don’t know much about flowers and which ones bloom during which season.”

TY nods understandingly, humming as he thinks and scans over the various plants in the store. “Flowers that only bloom during spring…” He begins to walk around, with you following a few steps behind him, his hands hovering over the flowers and his fingers occasionally brushing over their petals as he looks at each one carefully. TY suddenly stops in his tracks, one hand resting on a peony before he suddenly turns to you with a wide grin on his face. “I think I have some ideas.”

The florist brings you back to his office, and you think you see Hyuck wink at the both of you as you follow his cousin to the back but when you get a closer look, the boy’s already assumed his previous position of scrolling on his phone. As of recently, the teenager has been teasing you more and more for what he assumes are the beginnings of feelings for his cousin. And even though you swear up and down that the two of you are just friends, you can’t help but think about the possibilities some nights. Which makes you feel guilty because what about Taeyong? Your dreams with him have felt different lately, both of you distracted at one point or another, the conversation becoming awkward at some points because the both of you know that something has changed. Is this the universe testing you? Putting a man that you feel yourself growing more and more fond of with every passing day just to see if you’ll reject him in favor of the partner that it has chosen for you?

“Y/N?” the florist calls out, his hand waving in front of your face to get your attention. You jump slightly in your seat, eyes meeting his after you’re pulled out of your thoughts. “You still with me? I asked if you could give me a floor plan or something of where you put all of your flowers.”

“Oh sorry,” you apologize, heart pounding in your chest at getting caught zoning out. You pull the floor plan that you and Kun had first made 2 years ago and hand it over to TY, your eyes tracing the veins in his hands as he smooths out the paper on his desk. His hands look like they would be really nice to hold. Wait what? No, stop, think about Taeyong.

TY shares his general thought process with you, lightly drawing circles and arrows on the paper to show you where he pictures bunches of hyacinth and jasmine would be. Names like Barberton daisy, dogwood, azalea, and peony are mentioned while you nod along enthusiastically, not really knowing what any of them look like but trusting the vision in the man’s head completely. As he’s talking, you can’t help but get lost in the sound of his voice, the passion and flow of his words making your heart swell. As guilty as it makes you feel, you couldn’t help the feelings that you could feel blooming in your heart for the florist. 

The two of you stand once TY is done sharing his ideas and you’ve run out of questions to ask. You force yourself to leave rather than think up an excuse to spend more time with him, his laughter paired with the way he looks at you dangerous for your pounding heart and overly imaginative brain. He says goodbye to you with a wave but not before handing you a business card with the store’s number should you have any more questions. As you’re walking out, you can hear Hyuck teasing his cousin, and when you turn around to spare TY one last glance, you can see a blush on his cheeks as he quickly looks away, as if he was caught staring.

Just before you get into bed that night, you take one last look at the business card that you had been given just hours ago. When you read the name on the card, you feel as if time itself has come to a stop. Your breathing turns shallow as you bring the card closer to you, squeezing your eyes shut and then opening them just in case it was some weird trick of the light. But it wasn’t. Right there on the card is the one name that you weren’t expecting at all.

Lee Taeyong.

It’s just a dream, it’s just a dream, it’s just a-

You feel yourself being pulled down into the water, a hand wrapped around your ankle dragging you down to the bottom of the pool. You kick with all of your strength at the invisible attacker, your lungs screaming for air as you thrash in the water. A pair of arms wrap around your waist and pull you out of the water, the person screaming at you to stand as they tug on your arm. Coughing your lungs out, you can just barely make out Taeyong’s blurry form as he runs out onto the empty street with your hand in his.

Suddenly, an SUV with its lights on appears behind you, the driver revving the engine and accelerating very quickly towards the two of you. You just barely dodge it, the vehicle only inches away from Taeyong’s body as you pull him towards a dark house. You climb over fences and run through yards, neither of you daring to say a word in fear of whoever is after you being near. Your hand stays in his the entire time, too scared of getting separated to let go. 

You see a light approaching you and duck behind some garbage cans, willing your breathing and heart rate to slow so that you could listen for any footsteps. Taeyong quivers beside you in fear, his hand squeezing yours and when you look over at him, you can only imagine how scared he must look right now. Looking at him, you realize that there was something you wanted to talk about tonight but with every single nerve being on edge since you’re, you know, running for your life, you can’t remember what it is for the life of you. Lights from the SUV pass by, gravel crunching underneath the tires as the car goes by you very slowly. You pray to every higher power out there that they don’t catch you and you release a quiet sigh of relief when you see the car turn and drive farther away from you.

“Have I ever told you how much I hate being in your dreams?” Taeyong murmurs, his grip on your hand loosening but still not letting go. “Because I really hate being here right now.”

You huff out a laugh before slowly standing up to brush the dirt off of you. Just as you’re about to respond, you feel a hand clap over your mouth, Taeyong’s eyes widening as he screams and reaches out for you. Something sharp presses against your back just as you hear a gunshot, blood quickly soaking into Taeyong’s pants from getting shot in the thigh, before everything goes black.

You have to stop yourself from looking over your shoulder every 5 minutes because of the intense nightmare that you had yesterday. The feeling of being watched lingered with you all morning, something that Johnny noticed and was concerned about at first until you told him the reason you were acting so paranoid and jumpy. Then he just ended up teasing you and even scared you in front of a customer, falling on the floor laughing when it happened. But you couldn’t help it, the dream just felt so real and it didn’t help that Taeyong, an actual person, was there with you to make it seem all the more real. You wonder how he must be handling it, you know he’s not the biggest fan of horror movies or scary things in general.

You decide to visit Bloomin’ Love during your lunch break, the questions that you wanted to ask Taeyong still unanswered. But if you’re right and Taeyong actually is TY, then you would get your answer in a few minutes. Except it turns out that you won’t be getting your answers today.

“What do you mean he’s not here?” you ask Hyuck in disbelief, even looking towards the back to check if the office light is on in case he’s just playing a joke. “He’s your boss and one of the two people that work here, why are you here and he isn’t?”

The boy shrugs before hopping up to sit on the counter, long legs swinging as he bops along to the music that’s playing from what you assume is his own playlist. “He was here when I got here this morning but then he left after an hour and told me he’s taking the rest of the day off because he’s been feeling anxious all morning. Something about having a nightmare last night? It must have been really bad for him to take a day off because you and I both know that this store is basically his baby.”

He had a nightmare?

The bell above the door jingles as a customer comes in and immediately approaches the two of you to ask for help. You back away to let Hyuck do his job, bidding him goodbye before heading back to The Busy Bean. Hyuck’s words swirl around your head, the conversation replaying over and over as you take out the business card that you put in your pocket this morning to look at the name printed on it. 

Taeyong. Lee Taeyong, the owner of Bloomin’ Love. Lee Taeyong, who introduced himself to you as TY. Lee Taeyong, your soulmate.

After that, you become distracted during work, your eyes constantly looking at the clock to see how much longer until your shift is over. Of course the one day that you find out who your soulmate is, the one day that it would be super convenient to be able to leave work early, is the day one of your new workers can’t come in because they got food poisoning the night before. You don’t even know what you’re going to do once your shift is over though. The number on the card is the store number and you already know that Taeyong isn’t there. Maybe you could just ask Hyuck to give you his number? But then what? What would you even say? “Hey TY, it’s Y/N. Hyuck told me that you had a nightmare last night so I think you might be my soulmate”?

The universe, however, seems to have your back. At the end of your shift, just as you’re saying goodbye to Johnny and Jaemin, one of your new hires, you hear a very familiar voice call out your name. And when you turn around, there stands the exact man that you’ve been hoping but not expecting to see all day. You can’t help but smile widely when you see him and nod when he asks if you want to sit.

“These are for you, by the way,” he says as he gives you a small bouquet of pink forget-me-nots. “Pink is my favorite color but they reminded me of you when I saw them in the store just now.”

You thank them as you take the flowers from his hands, inhaling deeply before placing them down on the table. “You were in the store? Hyuck told me you took the day off.”

“I stopped by just to make sure he didn’t burn the place down,” TY chuckles and he sounds… nervous? Looking at him, you notice that he’s barely making eye contact with you, taking more interest in tracing the tattoo of a lavender plant that’s on his inner forearm. You wonder if he knows what you know, or at least what you think you know. You wonder if maybe he’s even known this entire time. 

“Do you have a soulmate, TY?” you blurt out, too impatient to indulge him with more small talk. 

He looks up at you with wide eyes at your question and you watch as the tips of his ears turn red. “I-I do,” he responds while nodding simultaneously.

“What are they like?” you ask him, telling yourself to calm down and to make sure that you’re right. It would be really embarrassing if you aren’t.

“She’s the girl of my dreams,” he jokes, laughing loudly when you groan and roll your eyes at his dumb joke. “She really is though. She’s really smart and knows exactly what she wants from life. She’s extremely hard-working but she also knows when she needs to stop and relax. She really likes strawberry cake and also likes stargazing. I actually tried making a move on her when we first met because I was young and dumb but then she told me that her boyfriend of 2 years had just broken up with her, so I felt extremely stupid that night.”

You feel like your heart is about to burst out of your chest at his words and you know that you must have a funny look on your face because TY- no, Taeyong is looking at you strangely. “What about you?” he asks, his wide eyes and head that’s tilted slightly to the side reminding you of a puppy. “What’s your soulmate like?”

You laugh and take a deep breath, mustering all of the courage to pour all of the love you’ve been wanting to show Taeyong all these years into your words. “He’s the best, honestly, I’m really lucky that he’s my soulmate,” you say softly, your eyes not once leaving Taeyong’s as you speak. “He’s really goofy and not at all afraid to be who he is. He’s very supportive too; Johnny and Kun were always there for me when college got hard, especially when I switched my major, but it was his words that always kept me going. His favorite color is pink and he absolutely adores his mom, he swears up and down that her kimchi jjigae is the best in the entire world. When we first met, he-”

You stop to look at Taeyong and you see tears in his eyes, a soft smile on his face as he listens to you talk. You take a shuddering breath and lift your hand to gently take his hand in yours; he knows. “When we first met, he told me about his grandpa and how his love for the stars came from him.” You see a single tear cascade down Taeyong’s cheek and you reach out to wipe it away. With a watery laugh, you say, “He also told me that he ended up breaking his grandpa’s telescope after he died.”

Taeyong rests his forehead against your joined hands as he laughs, his eyelashes wet with tears and his eyes shining when he looks back up at you. “I finally found you,” he whispers in awe. “After all of these years, the universe finally put you right in front of me and I didn’t even know.”

“That day, when you said that you think my name is pretty,” you say, his words playing in your mind as you remember the day you’re talking about, “did you know?”

“I was suspicious but I thought it was too good to be true,” Taeyong says as he shakes his head in disbelief. “I thought that there was no way that the girl I’ve been dreaming about for 6 years just so happens to own the coffee shop across the street.” He raises your hands to his lip to kiss the back of yours and you feel so happy that it feels like you’re practically vibrating in your seat. 

You’re about to respond when you hear Johnny call out, “Hey lovebirds, keep it PG! There are kids in here!” The two of you turn your heads towards the direction of his voice to find not only Johnny behind the counter but also Kun and Hyuck standing there. 

“Did you forget about our plans, Y/N?” Kun calls out teasingly, a smirk on his face as his eyes flicker from your hand in Taeyong’s to your face.

“Oh fuck,” you whisper, head turning to look at Taeyong with wide eyes.

He smiles at you reassuringly, kissing the back of your hand once more before letting go. “I’ll call you later?”

You nod enthusiastically, the two of you exchanging numbers before you stand up. You look up at Taeyong, not yet wanting to leave his presence. You can feel the warmth radiating off of his body and there’s a familiar pull in your stomach and this time, you allow yourself to indulge in it. He leans down just as you lean up, and as cliche as it is, it really does feel like you’re the only two there when you kiss. Taeyong tugs one of the flowers from your grasp and breaks off part of the stem, tucking the forget-me-not behind your ear and rubbing your cheek with his thumb before pressing one more kiss to your forehead and murmuring a “see you tomorrow” against your skin.

Waking up the next morning, you let yourself indulge in thoughts of yesterday, the events leading up to the kiss replaying in your head and making butterflies erupt in your stomach all over again. You and Taeyong had agreed to go on your first date today after work and you wish that someone could invent a time machine so you could just skip the work day and go on your date already. 

You sit up in bed and feel every ounce of happiness drain out of you, your surroundings unfamiliar to you. The walls are still the same color but the books on your shelf are different, your floor is carpeted, and who the heck are those people you’re with in the pictures on your wall? You even look out the window to find a completely different view. Where the hell are you?

It suddenly hits you that you’re back in the real world—or your reality at least. The past 8 years have basically just been one long dream. You jump out of bed and rush to the bathroom to check to see if there were any visible signs of aging. You let out a sigh of relief when you realize that you still look the exact same and go back to your room to check the date on your phone just to confirm. There’s an envelope with your name on it beside your phone and you feel a sense of déjà vu as you rip it open.

Dear Y/N,

Welcome back! Hopefully you’re not too disoriented after returning to our reality but I wrote this letter just in case. It’s only been a day since we first met so don’t worry, everything in your old life is still the same as it was. It’ll take a few days for memories from your life here to resurface so just take it easy for now. You should still have your memories from your alternate universe and your soulmate should have them too, so all you have to do is find them! I know this sounds hard but don’t worry; as I’m sure you already know, the universe works in mysterious ways~

See you soon, Cyan xoxo

You let yourself plop back down onto your bed, giving yourself a few minutes to process everything before taking a deep breath. Taeyong. You have to find Taeyong. Getting out of bed, you decide you get dressed and get ready for the day, a memory of your friend Yuna telling you about the new cafe across town resurfacing, so you decide to go there. You feel too cooped up in your apartment, you need to do something. 

Passing by the window of the cafe, you can’t believe your eyes when you see Cyan sitting at one of the tables. She smiles at you through the window while lifting a mug in greeting and you rush to enter the coffee shop, your hands shaking at your side as you approach her. “Good to see you, Y/N,” she greets you, standing up just as you sit opposite her. You’re about to stand as well before she gently pushes you back down with a hand on your shoulder. “These are for you,” she says as she hands you a small bouquet of pink forget-me-nots. You look down at the flowers, memories of the past 8 years (yesterday?) overwhelming you but you shake it off and look up, only to find Cyan gone. You look around frantically but it’s like she disappeared, completely vanished in thin air as you look around the coffee shop and even out the window. With a huff, you put the flowers on the table and settle your chin on your hand as you wonder what to do next.

“Are you finished with this?” an employee asks you as they point at Cyan’s empty coffee mug.

You look up, about to answer, when your breath catches in your throat, your eyes meeting very familiar brown ones that widen at the same exact time as yours. Before you stands Taeyong, a brown apron with the words “Wake Up Cafe” embroidered on it in gold tied around his waist. Standing up, you reach out to grab one of the flowers and break off part of the stem before slowly reaching out and tucking it behind his ear. His hair is different, a little longer and a dark grey color with bits of silver rather than the light brown that you’re used to, but you see the rose-shaped scar beside his shining eyes and you feel like you could cry. Taeyong’s hands cup your face and his thumbs come up to brush away tears that you didn’t even notice, the distance between your lips and his slowly decreasing.

His lips brush over yours and his eyes flicker back and forth between your eyes and your lips. “Found you.”

disclaimer: this writing is purely fictional, in no way should the idol be viewed this way as it is only a character. please know my intention is not to offend anyone and please keep an open mind. In no way are the main characters (mark, yukhei, and the reader) underage, they just live with their parents whilst attending university.

a/n: this got flagged yesterday so let’s hope it doesn’t flop this time because I’ll be extremely disappointed and sad :) | EDITED 021023

“Stop!” High pitched screams coming from your younger sister. Throwing your legs some kicks whilst you stuck your tongue out at her. Raiding her purse for gum and lip gloss whilst the other hand kept pushing her back by the forehead.

It was one thing that this stupid summer heat was directly hitting you, allowing the sun to burn you with all its power. Letting its anger out on you. It was another thing that your parents didn’t give you time to grab a bottle of cherry cola due to the rushed schedule you were all in, only to be sat in front of this comfortable suburban home for a good amount of time. The time you could’ve taken to drink the cherry coke and ate a gansito.

Either way they’d say it was too early for sweets and carbonated drinks, at least in the presence of Mark. Stupid good boy Mark that voluntarily went to church and served at the community events, stupid good boy Mark that you all were waiting for in front of his cute suburban home just so he could accompany your family to church given his were not going to be home for a month, granting themselves a well deserved 25th anniversary vacation. It was the typical cruise ship vacation all high middle class parents gave themselves when they came to something like that. Stupid Mark, even his front lawn was well cut, green, and organized.

His own sibling could easily give him a ride to Church but they dared not be near one. They, like you, loathed being dragged to Church when younger and that frustration clouded both your judgment of such installments. Unfortunately for you, you were still being dragged to it.

Them— they stopped being dragged when they began to leave home early before anyone would wake up to drag them to Church, thus why— Mark’s sibling is useless in this scenario.

Nonetheless your anger and annoyance didn’t die down seeing how this boy was taking his sweet time to get out of his damn house. You didn’t wake up two hours early for this kid to not come out when he said he was ready. You figured his sibling was being a brat like yours (or you to be more accurate), but still— you weren’t going to let that justify why everyone was patiently waiting for him whilst you burned under the sun’s rays without your father’s sympathy and his decision to not turn on the car’s AC. Nor give you something to cover up your bare arms. In their view it was punishment for such revealing attire when you were going to God’s home: inappropriate.

“Can’t we just leave? He’s taking forever, you said he was ready!” You’d whine snatching another piece of gum your sister held while she continued to count her green rhinestones (her least favorite, or so she says). “Give it back!” Seeing you shove it in your mouth caused her to push you, pinching your arm at the action. Your parents didn’t care for the physical harm the younger one caused. Your disrespectful actions made their judgment clear to where their only response was a sigh of frustration with you.

The bickering began again, resulting in your father shaking his head with a packet of cigarettes at hand, lighter in the other. Your mother turned to both of you ready to eat you both alive if possible. Her eyes popped out with harsh glares that in that instance could’ve ended you both. Through gritted teeth the words: “Settle the fuck down.” Slipped through the cracks of her perfectly lined teeth. Both of you groaning in frustration, turning to your own sides. Your sister to her right and you to your left in defeat with only your grape gum to look forward to, at this point letting the sun abuse you all it wanted.

To be honest your mother would’ve allowed the bickering to continue were it not for the lean figure that finally came out of the house, through the red door his own sibling kicked him out of. His hand had shot in the air waving out of politeness when seeing your family car, causing your mother to smile while reciprocating the action. Your father gained a slap to the thigh forcing him to put off his barely lit cigarette. Startled, he groaned, pulling out his ashtray with three cigarette butts all deformed by the harsh way of putting them off. Prepared enough, your mother pulled out an odor spray to try and hide the stench of cigarettes but by the look both you and your sister gave each other— your mother was wasting her time.

As Mark looked at the grass making sure his dog hadn’t defecated and nowhere near stepping on it in case it did; your mother spoke facing the front, making sure Mark wouldn’t be able to read her lips if he was able nor hear her. Menacing were her threats of punishment if you missbehaved in the presence of this cordial boy who was causing you more anger than peace by how slow he was walking and how shy he was upon arriving at the car.

Your father had gone out of his way, getting out of the car to greet the son of his good friend who as well was also his boss. Honestly if you didn’t know better, your parents were just sucking up to this jag off and it was your father who instantly offered to give Mark a ride to Church knowing well the situation with their other child and how much sweet baby boy Mark wouldn’t dare miss a day of Mass. It’s not like Mark himself didn’t notice the performance your parents were giving by simply the way they smiled at him once he waved to them.

“You’re both going to shut up, get out the car, and be nice to the boy. And I swear to God, if you bicker again in the car when he’s in here, I will take away that stupid console. ” You were about to protest but as your mother threw a glance at you making it clear that especially you were to behave and how serious she was about her threat, your feet had no other choice but to drag themselves out the fruit punch stained vehicle to give Mark a forced smile whilst he tried to even say hello. Stuttering at his o’s and shaking your hand mediocrely with his own clammy one. For an outgoing boy who treated everyone with confidence at church events, he was surely a wimp with you.

God, were you ready to choke.

Being outside barely made any difference to being inside the car. The sun kept beating you down and the only good thing was the fresh air that made the stuffy car feel like hell soon when you would all go back in.

In the meantime your parents tried to chat up Mark who shyly spoke to both, even timidly handing them a Tupperware full of those sugar cookies his mother made best and sadly the only treat you couldn’t resist upon taking a whiff of them. With no shame you recollect on all those Christmas events where members would sell their own dishes. She would always sell these cookies and to retract, the lack of shame you felt when spending your allowance money on buying a tray of them after you had stolen your sister’s not long before making your way to Mrs. Lee’s booth to do so wasn’t there even when you had a stomach ache for finishing them all in one sitting. Fifteen was such an age.

Oh? They were fresh. The lid was fogged up and when he opened the container, the cookies slightly molded with each other. Allowing for one to see he had just gotten them out of the oven and they were extremely delicate in shape. This explained well why you had to wait for at least twenty minutes in the car, making his delay all the way worth it. Even now, your burnt arm didn’t matter if it meant you could have a bite of those cookies on the spot, savoring their soft sugar pieces and the velvety cookie itself. Later you would find out that his sibling angrily kicked him out that morning for taking all the cookies and not daring to leave even a crumb behind.

“I hope you didn’t mind the wait. I didn’t want to leave without a gratitude gift for taking me this Sunday and those to continue. So I baked some cookies today for that fresh taste.”

Oh fuck this kid. Even his speech is eloquent and smooth making even your sister believe he could be a prince in those dumb books the church would give her. You tried hard not to gag at his words, eyeing the beautifully golden brown cookies in front of you with the sugar topping staying perfectly put without moving the slightest.

In great motherly fashion, she spilled a few ‘thank you’s’ as she placed the lid on once again whilst praising his baking skills. Giving the same old ‘For a boy you’re great with baking’ bullshit he often heard from his own family (it didn’t help that a random mom had to say it to him too).

You wanted to groan at how fast she closed that lid. How well she knew she was neglecting you of a treat once again that morning and she couldn’t care less. Mark could see it in your body language. The way you stood in defeat watching her hold the flower print container. Though he felt bad for you, he couldn’t help finding your pout endearing, his eyes sparkled at the scene.

So as your father made small talk with the boy who was clearly not interested in his baseball talk, you stared at him, seeing how at times he tried to avoid your gaze knowing you were looking at him. As if he was scared of breaking character by just looking at your eyes, tempting as he would like to describe— nefarious to be exact. That was only your take and to be honest it was both frustrating and enjoyable. For a person who claimed to be annoyed by him, you really wanted his attention.

“Y/n sit in the middle.” Your father interrupted his rambling on how dumb the game last night was. Annoyed and caught off guard by his statement you crossed your arms turning to him in distaste. “I don’t want to sit in the middle, she fits there better.” Pointing to your sister who had immediately buckled up at your statement; turned to see if Mark was looking at her, sticking her tongue out at you when she was confident he wasn’t. Contrary to her, he was looking at you, making you hold back on your own reaction.

That was strike one in your parents own game. Not five minutes had passed by since this boy had arrived and you went back to your daily activities of frustrating them. Maybe if your mother hadn’t taken away the possibility of eating a cookie, your mood would’ve been uplifted. But now the wait that was worth it earlier, was a waste of time once again.

Mark saw the pout and furrowed eyebrows on your face. Though his expression was blank, he wanted nothing more than to smirk at the happenings. What a brat. “I can sit in the middle, it’s fine.” Mark would reassure your parents and you. Despite their protests telling him it was fine and that you often sat there, he shook them off with a smile, sliding inside to the middle seat that was highly uncomfortable due to how high it was compared to the two on both of his sides.

He immediately regretted his decision but seeing your grin as you slid beside him caused all of it to disappear. He cursed himself for being taller but your grin was enough. To figure, you grinned only because he was going to hit his head multiple times against the roof and your parents knew so. So seeing their defeat and your grin only caused them to get angrier at you.

It wasn’t any better for you to be honest. Even if Mark tried his best to seem as small as he could; on his right your sister kept hogging all the space. Laying down the contents of her purse and counting that nothing was missing. Not even her 25 cents in pennies. This caused him to be pressed against you, his thigh often rubbing against yours by accident and even though he apologized in silence, you ignored his words by blowing gum bubbles and popping them when looking at him. It wasn’t long until your mother figured out what you were doing and threw glares at you through the rearview mirror, granting her a bubblegum pop herself.

Your sister herself was ready to take the gum out of your mouth if you kept popping it once again. Quite honestly if it wasn’t for the sole reason that they were taking you to church another Sunday morning, you doubt this would be your character (that’s a lie, it would only be less bratty).

Your mother’s glare hadn’t left you, she opened her mouth to say something to Mark given that he began to notice they weren’t taking the usual road to the Church, so to avoid confusion her lips parted, turning her short-haired head to look at you before him.

“We have to get some things for the after Mass breakfast, it’ll be quick.” It was never quick. They always ended up doing their grocery shopping.

Mark nodded dumbfounded at her words, received with a kind smile from your mother who glared at you once again before turning to face forward. What else was he supposed to say? ‘No? I don’t want to go?’ It was their damn car at the end of the day.

Rolling your eyes at the interaction you shifted to get some more space, resulting in your thigh pressing against his even more. Such action causes your dress to ride up a few centimeters, making the warmth of your flesh present against his clothed one.

The silence became overwhelming after a while, the only noise was the one of the tires against the road. Speaking of such, your father had gone through a horrid road that was being reconstructed causing the car to jump in a way. With such movements Mark feared he was going to hit his head soon and when he turned to look at the action his thigh was doing against yours, he peered at your exposed thighs, seeing how his own made your dress keep riding up with every bumpy move the car made.

Distracted by such, your father had found a worse part, making distracted boy Mark bounce in his seat and hit his head on the roof. “Ahh, f—ouch.” He whined, holding his head and rubbing at where he had hit himself. Stifling your laugh, you turned to the window trying not to laugh at his little cry. Your mother immediately turned to look at him, apologizing for the happenings whilst your dad, like you, tried to not laugh at this delicate boy. “It’s fine, the road isn’t the best. Don’t worry Mrs. y/l/n.” Your father tried speaking up to try and apologize but it would be a mistake given that he still tried to control himself.

Naturally to try and hide your expression from your mother, you slouched down, turning to the window where your body slightly shook with your silent laughter. It wasn’t that funny, it never was but you just needed some entertainment and he gave it to you. This shift didn’t help Mark either, he felt when you moved your legs and he felt when your dress rode up. His prying eyes tried not to gaze at your sun lit thighs. He imagined how soft they were, he wanted to touch them, feel for himself. Staring would have to do at the moment.

The closed window did no justice to Mark, his reflection on it allowed for you to see the way he stared at your thighs. How concentrated he was and though he tried to not seem obvious, it wasn’t helping.

Deciding to tease him a little bit, you crossed your right leg over the other, making your bare thigh highly visible to him. You two weren’t touching anymore, but he got to enjoy the view through a silent car ride whilst you playfully stretched the flesh of your thigh with your middle finger and thumb whilst your index fingernail of the other hand scratched hearts on the flesh.

Fairly small hearts that weren’t visible enough. It wasn’t until he saw your fingernail scratching at the flesh vigorously what looked to be an M. You didn’t stray away from irritating your skin making sure that beautifully red M showed even if it burned after a while. It didn’t matter to you since not long after you began scratching an A all the way until his name was perfectly visibly red against your skin. The finishing touch being a cute heart.

Upon seeing your little action, Mark’s eyes widened, turning his head to look at what your little sister was doing, not questioning her even when she placed a rock in his hand without asking if he wanted to hold it.

Was it not for your sister’s voice that began explaining where she got that pet rock, your mother wouldn’t have turned around to see you slouched down grinning as you traced over the red marks on your thigh. Appalled by the way you were sitting, her motherly instincts turned to see if Mark was looking at you; glad he was petting your sister’s rock and immersed in her story. Nonetheless it didn’t mean she wouldn’t act upon her rage. Her arm stretches to you, slapping quite loudly just a little above your knee, making the entire backseat become startled— even you.

“Sit like a lady.” It was harsh and deeper than when she spoke to Mark. Glaring at her, placing your hand on his thigh, Mark became tense seeing you sit up and pull down at your dress, saluting goodbye to his view. Realizing he was staring at you again, your fingers worked on to squeeze his thigh when you were well situated. Grinning his way when he became even more tense.

It wasn’t long after your family arrived at the grocery store, your sister joyfully got out of the car when your mother opened the door. Everyone was ready to leave but upon seeing you lock your door, Mark felt compelled to keep you company. “Mark, do you want to go?” Your mother asked, he would spare you a glance but he feared that would spur suspicion as to why he was going to decline such an offer. Shaking his head, his silent uhh’s spewed.

“I prefer not to, if that’s fine.” She trusted him too much. With a smile she nodded his way whilst your father handed him the car keys, if he felt hot to just turn on the AC. You wanted to turn to them and ask why they didn’t turn it on earlier when you were dying of heat and the sun’s abuse, but given you were already on thin ice, you kept shut.

Neither of you spoke momentarily. As Mark watched you, you watched your family calmly walk through the automatic doors of the store. Knowing they were quite far away, you turned to him. It was rather a rushed occurrence; seeing the keys in his hands, you took them from him, moving to where your upper half was in the front, hands placing the key in to turn the car on.

If he wasn’t such a hormonal boy and kept staring at your exposed ass, admiring the cute white panties, he would see that you turned the AC full blast along the radio turning the knob until you found the classical music station smiling at the piece that would later be announced.

With a cheeky giggle, you kept moving forward the second your view fell upon the flowery container the boy behind you had given your mother earlier. Reaching for the container of cookies your mother had placed on the feet of her seat. At such an action of trying to reach it, you almost fell, making a prying Mark take a hold of your waist out of reflex whilst you took the container.

He didn’t move his hands from you until your face was visible to him, your smirk making him pull away ashamed as he sat closer to the door he was going to exit from earlier.

You weren’t going to let him off the hook so easily. Especially not when you could act upon your entertainment now that your family wasn’t there to censor your openness. Throwing a smirk at him as you opened the lid of the container, you felt at glory realizing they were still warm. And knowing they were all yours, made your decisions more bizarre.

Whilst Mark tried to avoid looking at you, you didn’t shy away from staring at him all you wanted, adoring his features with every bite you took of the cookies he gave you (even if they were for your family, you would prefer to think he made them for you).

“They’re exactly like your mom’s, just sweeter. Do you have a sweet tooth Mark? I do.” You’d finally spoken up, making him turn to look at you. Even if he was looking at you, you couldn’t see his eyes. You only imagined how cute and round his soft eyes were, how innocently shy and scared he might be as of now. How erotic.

He nodded your way making you giggle at his actions. Out of impulse you finished your cookie and placed the container on the ground, making sure the lid was securely on. If he was already cornered, you made it a mission to corner him more.

Earlier you were a good seat away from him, but now you found yourself wrapping your arm around his shoulders whilst your other hand teased the gauntlet buttons of his shirt. Your legs rose to the entire seat, displaying your thighs for him once again. The position itself was causing Mark to feel some type of way, his dick was making his decisions now and he knew that wasn’t a good thing. Upon seeing how his gaze immediately turned to your thighs you giggled seeing his reaction, but still… you were dissatisfied not seeing his eyes.

“You’re a little perv for a church boy, but I guess it is true that they’re the raunchiest.” Tense in his position, he began fumbling with his fingers, not daring to speak but nonetheless wanted to continue this conversation.

“Why do you think so?” How adorable! His voice was so soft and high in shyness, how would you love to eat him up.

“I’m not stupid, Markie. I just saw you jizz your panties when your thigh kept making my dress go up. If you wanted to see my panties you could’ve just asked.” Your hand left his clothing, traveling to the bottom of your dress, pulling it up rather slowly. Mark had already seen your panties when you were reaching for the cookies and turning everything on, but to know you would just to show him, made him get slightly harder. Anticipating your actions, he felt disappointed when you laughed in his face, shaking your head. “Sorry…” He apologized, making you scowl at how he just ate that up.

Annoyed, you stopped laughing, taking a hold of his jaw, making his head turn to you. You couldn’t await seeing his eyes anymore. It was glorious, the expected soft shy innocent eyes were never there, instead Mark granted you with sharp glares. His eyes dark in lust ready to pounce on you any second. It was beautiful, better than expected. You didn’t lose eye contact with him and you swore they only got darker the longer he stared at you, causing a loud moan to leave your lips at such a beautiful sight. Throwing yourself back to where your back leaned against the left side door, your feet inching closer to lay on his thighs and soon on top of his cock.

Grabbing the container again, you watched Mark’s reactions to the friction of your feet against him. Glad you wore those stupid pink flats, you had easily taken off leaving you with the below ankle socks you often hated. Taking a cookie to your mouth, your grin grew seeing Mark’s leg twitch slightly, your foot applying more pressure at the action of moving itself back and forth on his crotch.

Quite honestly Mark seemed to be enjoying himself, if you kept going he would actually jizz his panties in a matter of minutes. Had he not turned to see your sadistic grin, enjoying his sweet cookies, his rage would have not formed. Mark knew you had no problem embarrassing him to where he would cum in his trousers and have a stain on the spot. So in action, he pushed away your feet sitting up menacingly, causing your own grin to drop in fear that he maybe didn’t want this and wouldn’t hesitate to scream at you.

Oh he wanted to moan, he wanted to moan so badly seeing your tempting eyes turn soft and scared. They grew in fear making you seem rather innocent, the innocent girl you actually were but only influenced when things hadn’t gone your way earlier. Beautiful— you became small, overpowered by him now.

Just as you were about to spew your apologies, his hand reached under your dress, his warm hands caressing the thighs that not so long ago were tempting him and causing ill thoughts to grow in his mind. “Do you really think I’ll let you act this way? You can be a brat with your parents all you want but not with me, little girl.” His fingers found your panties, hooking themselves on the band beginning to pull them down.

Ecstatic by how completely wrong you were in your judgment, you took his tie between your own fingers pulling him closer to you, letting your lips and his connect. Mark didn’t take long in making sure his tongue was down your throat given how after the initiating kiss, his tongue ran across your lower lip, allowing you to open your mouth more for him to begin so. Whilst he slightly hovered over you, with one hand pulling down your white panties, you took his other hand, shoving it over the dress part that covered your breast, allowing him to fondle them whilst the both of you kissed.

If anything you were very happy things didn’t have to take much longer. You actually believed if things went as slow as they did minutes ago, then it would take you a while to get in his pants— but if anything he was the one to take charge in when he would get in your panties and he planned on that to happen today.

“If I wanted to see your panties, I should ask… Baby, you were showing them to me regardless.” His lips found themselves on your neck, nipping at the skin not caring if he was to leave it irritated, irritated like your thigh when you scratched his name on it. “Little whore, damaging yourself for me, trying to get my attention… tease me. If anyone is in charge here, it’s me.” His teeth took a thin amount of skin between them, your moans of both pain and pleasure making him grin at how you didn’t mind his treatment.

In a sense, he seemed mocking. Rephrasing your earlier thoughts whilst he kept degrading you for being a bratty girl who easily followed what he instructed. If anything at this point, you couldn’t make any complaints. His hand snaked between your thighs, pushing them apart to immediately feel the warmth within them. His middle finger dipped between your legs first, feeling the over lubrication of your arousal.

With the slightest grace of his finger tip, the euphoric tingle of being touched there made you moan. Head lowering, kissing down to your chest; Mark pulled on the sleeve of your summer dress— the elastic making no effort to keep it down. So in a fit of desperation he made you pull out your arms from them so he could properly ravish your breasts, wrapping his lips around your perked nipples.

The hand you had first placed on your chest, was now making its way to your neck, delicately holding it whilst his fingers worked on there now, taking small strands of your hair between them. Paying more attention to his mouth, Mark’s tongue flicked at your sensitive nub, later to have it circle around it. Leaving the wetness of his saliva there to rest for a while until he blew cold air against it. To his advantage, the cold AC made goosebumps pop on your skin with the aid of his tempting touches.

You dared not speak nor make a noise fearing he’d stop his actions. Eyes closed, you allowed your touch sense to enjoy itself in the presence of Mark. Himself sensing your quiet state after you laughed in his face multiple times just minutes ago.

Mark looked upwards, seeing your bottom lip between your teeth in an attempt to not moan at his actions. Lips wrapping around your nipple again, the boy began to suck at it in an attempt to make you break. He wanted to hear you moan, hear that he is starting to break you little by little.

Sure whimpers of satisfaction abandoned your throat, but both of you knew this type of titty job wasn’t going to cut it if he wanted to hear you cry for him. His right hand hadn’t done much in the minutes he attempted to make you moan with his mouth; feeling your growing arousal touching his finger tips, moving slightly upwards to where your lips comfortably could touch again, Mark parted his lips to where his tongue poked out slightly.

Following his actions, his velvety tongue fell upon yours. Mixes of each other’s saliva allow the kiss to smoothly keep going. Wonderful how this sweet shy boy now had you under his spell, having your lips against his to where your lip gloss kept staining his mouth. Though they were soft kisses, they were heated and the cause of longing when he would pull apart to appreciate your swollen lips.

With such distraction, Mark moved your leg over his so he had easy access in between them. Feeling the cool air of the AC was no match to the warmth you exuded; his middle finger delicately moved back and forth between your region lips, stopping at the clit where he began rubbing soft circles.

“Mark…” you moan, feeling his actions. It was alway you who’d do this to yourself. You who would pleasure yourself when home alone to video cassettes you’d find hidden under the broken floor tile in the living room, covered by a furniture cabinet where all your home vhs were. In such films the toughness of some men caused your lubrication, if totally honestly two men always came into your mind when you found yourself masturbating to such things.

In one instance, a tall slender, Wong Yukhei clouded your mind for his strong personality. The overconfidence that always drew the girls to him, but that was it when it came to Yukhei. His role was always the one where strangers came into the woman’s home who only craved one thing and left when they got it— don’t get it wrong, invited strangers like the milkman (a typical tale) or a salesman that caught their attention, yet once again that was it.

The second role was an important one. The one that you often thought about and cherished more than the one timer salesman. This was a role for men that’d shy away from a girl they’d find attractive, only to prove that it was only build up. The guys that despite their good boy appearance, were nothing but brutally sinful. The ones to wreck you for weeks and you’d only crave more when you felt empty… that was Mark to you.

Sweet shy boy Mark who always did volunteer work from the kindness of his heart and would always be seen as kind good boy Mark, despite you knowing well he was nothing but a sinner, the embodiment of lust and sin of men. The hypocrisy in the kindness of people, people who’d smile at the word but deep inside wished for you to perish and never bother him ever again, deeming you incompetent, if you truly were. Cruel sin is what Mark Lee was— and for such reasons you wished to be ruined by him, adoring the way things are happening as of now.

Sick are your parents for having such films, aren’t they?

“Like that? Of course you do, that’s what whores like.” his words were filthy, grotesque at that but the way he said them made things feel as if he was only praising you. His middle finger kept rubbing at your clit, causing your legs to twitch a bit when he only used his ring finger to tease your opening. If anything your wetness grew, making his smirk and chuckle against your lips, taking your lower lip between his teeth to taunt you furthermore.

Eyes both dark and big, demonstrating his full potential in being submerged by his true deep thoughts; they stared at you with no remorse of your silent whimpers whilst he kept applying pressure to your clit, fingers moving clockwise, setting a rapid pace to slow one just to push you further. At such tactics your body moved down, much to his distaste.

“Want them inside you, baby? Do you think you deserve them?” His evident teasing was pushed away given your focus was on his pout. He spoke so childishly, almost mocking your earlier tantrums and bratty attitude when you told your parents you didn’t want to sit between Mark and your younger sister.

Nonetheless you kept playing his game, nodding as a response and meekly speaking. “Please, please touch me more…” Even though he could barely hear you, it was clear what you meant and he gladly granted you a little gift for your patience. “Okay.” Simply spoken.

In no need for more lubricant as the one you produced was enough, Mark slid in his middle slowly inside you. The stretch wasn’t anything impressive but it was something and it allowed you to understand that there was something inside of you.

“Another one.” Speaking to himself, Mark had slowly slid in his ring finger at the realization that he hadn’t hurt you. With every single movement he made, the feeling of being filled caused you to moan, awaiting for the moment Mark would grant you the action of moving his fingers inside of you.

It was clear how desperate you were to have him finger you. With a smile on his face, Mark kissed you once again, allowing his fingers to begin moving rather slowly, continuing to test the waters and make sure he didn’t hurt you but due to how wet and well lubricated you were, the smoothness of his fingers inside of you, caused no preoccupation within him anymore.

Upon trying to drown out the noises his fingers inside of you made, your attention went to the classical music the radio played, finding out the same song that was playing minutes ago was playing again. It was easy to identify that the song was playing in its last few seconds so as you kept feeling the pleasure of Mark’s fingers inside of you, thrusting rather rapidly now to where an achingly pleasurable pit was felt in between your legs— the song began playing again, creating the same old loop.

“Such a little slut, getting wet by the mere idea of what I could’ve done to you.” His lips kissed your neck again, fingers moving rapidly now that his thumb took the role of rubbing your clit like his middle finger had done earlier. “There’s two reasons I could think of for you to be this wet, but out of decency I’ll let myself believe you were fantasizing of how to be taken. Is that so? Am I right?” Slightly.

You moaned, feeling his thumb applying pressure at your clit. Your legs twitching again at how fast he was rubbing your clit. “Fucking answer me.” He demanded looking dead at your eyes, his dark ones seemed to get darker and despite earlier believing he was at his limit— he only kept proving you wrong.

“No.” You spoke up shamelessly. You were slightly intimidated but that would only fuel his ego and you wanted nothing more than cum already— you were already at the brink of it, so why not now?

“No? No. Is that so?” The hand that found itself earlier on your neck, took a hold of your hair quite harshly, pushing your face closer to his. His breath fanned against your lips, making you crave his kiss once more. Smirking to himself as he kept his fingers moving inside of you. Mark softly chuckled, the tip of his tongue licked the middle of your upper lip before properly kissing you once again. “You’re such a pretty girl. My pretty girl. Right, y/n? Pretty girls deserve to cum right?” His gaze wasn’t on you anymore, he shifted it multiple times upwards for you to not see clearly, causing frustration within you. Especially when you were so close to cumming all over his fingers.

“Yes, please let me cum.” You whined taking his face between your hands to kiss him for longer this time. It was horrendous how intoxicated you became by him so quickly. With sweet playground kisses and pecks, Mark giggles pulling away from your last kiss leaving you to chew on your bottom lip just to collect the taste of him again. “You’re a pretty girl but you’re also a dirty whore and dirty whores don’t get to cum… at least not now.” His words were nothing but sharp, but such degradation made the ache between yours legs grow even more when he pulled his fingers out of you.

Taunting you, he held your chin. Making you watch as he sucked on his fingers to rid them of you, adoring your taste. “Fuck, you taste so good.” His eyes were closed, opening when he turned to look at you with mischief. “Do you want to taste yourself?” He questioned, removing his gaze from you, turning the radio and AC off, removing the keys and pocketing them in his suit jacket after making sure all doors were locked. His gaze turned to the rear view mirror, shifting to you only seconds after.

You had waited for him to look at you as you nodded softly saying: “please.” How erotic for him to see he had you falling to his feet. You who not long ago was mocking him and if given the chance maybe even emasculated him (but that’s only speculation). y/n y/l/n, barely liked by the community at church; was it not for your respectful mannerism to everyone else, your constant judgment and scowls would’ve gotten you to be the most hated at church. To know he has tamed you, Mark grins holding your jaw, squeezing your cheeks to push them up.

“Open up.” He commands, knowing well his intentions you stick your tongue out to him, immediately received by the spit he accumulated. It was warm against your tongue, allowing his spit to slide down your tongue until you swallowed like he would’ve liked. Pleased by you, Mark kissed you once more— this time rapidly whilst he helped you put your dress on properly, moving your hair to cover the marks he made on your neck.

Worried as to why he was rushing, you looked through the rear view mirror he had kept looking through these whole minutes. Upon seeing your jumpy sister not so far away with a plush pet rabbit, you pulled down your dress making sure you looked decent enough, fixing your hair after the tug he gave you. The container of cookies was pushed further under your dad’s seat, hiding the evidence of your tampering. You did have to thank the freezing AC for not displaying your smell, letting it die off and only Mark to know. Either way you took the bottle of odor spray and sprayed around the car.

With a sigh, Mark looked at his lap, giving you one last glance. Your eyes had met in the process and his once dark dominant eyes were gone, demonstrating the eyes you first longed to see. His sweet shy innocent round eyes, the ones to lure you further into him.

Your family wasn’t far anymore. Your sister rushing to tap at his window made their presence noticeable (even if she scared the shit out of you both at first). Your father had motioned for Mark to open the trunk so they could put the groceries away, given such an opportunity, you spoke up.

“You’re such a little pussy, Mark. If you couldn’t make me cum with your fingers, there’s no way you could make me cum with your cock.” Your meek voice didn’t stop him from continuing his actions of opening the doors for you mother and sister so they could get inside, when he turned to look at you, his glaring was nothing but danger. Danger you gladly would partake in.

At his attempt to sit comfortably in his seat, Mark placed his hand on your thigh— mocking your squeezing from earlier. This was him warning you to not try your little games again. It was more pleasurable than painful given he had put much more force than you did. Sure your leg jerked up at the touch, but it was you still aroused by his fingers inside of you not so long ago.

His hand was off your thigh the moment you both heard your mother take the handle into her hand, opening the door and letting the smell of outside inside the car. Upon not seeing the cookie container placed at the floor of her seat, your mother turned to you both. Mark raised his head up meeting your mother with his big round eyes, smiling when she smiled at him, automatically believing he was innocent and had nothing to do with you having the cookie container under your father’s seat.

“Give me the cookies.” She spoke through gritted teeth, making you roll your eyes at her words. Stretching your hand to get the container, you took a hold of Mark’s thigh in an attempt to say it was for support. The action hadn’t gone unnoticed and when Mark tensed up and turned to smile at your sister who was getting inside the car showing him the bunny— your mother went to push your hand away from his thigh, making you go abruptly forward but not to where you’d fall.

You glared at her for doing so, handing her the container with only a few sugar cookies as of now. Annoyed with you by just this small incident, she turned to Mark again, smiling at him. “Did we take long? Not many registers were open.” Once again he went back to his meek shy self, only nodding and shaking his head when asked simple questions. God you hated him so much. He was acting all this time and there was no way to prove that good boy Mark was nothing but a filthy sinner.

Your father himself was annoyed upon entering the vehicle, feeling the lingering coolness from the AC earlier. “y/n I hope you have gas money since you want to go turn the AC on when we said only if it got very hot.” Looking at you through the rear view mirror, you shrugged at your father’s comment, it wasn’t him who scared you but rather your mother. You couldn’t care less if the man got angry at you in this instance to be honest.

Seeing how unbothered you were with that, Mark spoke up slightly stuttering. His soft eyes easing your father’s anger seeing his faux guilt. “I turned it on, sorry. I couldn’t really work the knobs so I think I just had it at full blast. I’m really sorry, Mr. y/l/n— I can give you the money right now if you want.” Mark was about to take his wallet out when your mother shook her head. “No, it’s fine.” She didn’t speak further nor allowed him to keep insisting.

A bubbling rage had begun to stir inside of you when he took the blame for your actions. Though your parents knew well, he was lying to get your ass out of trouble, they still went with his story, making you grow angry. It was only fueled even more when Mark threw a sly grin your way after seeing how they just ate up his story.

That— that is what caused anger in you. Not your mother’s scolding, not your father’s pointless statement, but Mark’s mocking smile knowing that his hypocrisy is what makes your blood boil. He knew your ticks well and he was going to abuse them until he got bored.

The car ride to Church was fairly short and quiet, in an attempt to have noise other than tire against road, your father went to turn the radio on, greeted with the classical music you both were listening to in your lustful state. It kept going on a loop, repeating itself even when finished. Though it wasn’t noticed by your parents, it did allow them to clarify that Mark’s statement was bullshit and he had lied to cover your ass— something very clear to them now.

Parking spaces were all taken, making your father drive in circles hoping someone had to abruptly leave or to at least find a decent spot. The ones in the pavement were taken at this point. Giving up he went to the grass where more cars were parked. It was kind of gross how full the church was when the majority were in the cafeteria eating and about to leave when Mass began. You didn’t blame them— it was an hour and a half of readings they repeated every other year and even so, none of it stuck to you.

Getting out of the car in a rush, you felt the cool wind air between your legs, gracing your still wet area. In surprise you turned to your seat, seeing the wet stain and Mark tauntingly showing you your panties, perfectly tucked in his pocket. He was so nonchalant about it, the way he pulled them out smoothly before shoving them in perfectly to not make an imprint show in his pocket. He didn’t smile or smirk but instead blew a kiss your way just as the cherry on top.

You stared at him, watching him not spare a glance at you whilst he helped your parents with grocery bags. Insisting he should help since he was going to speak with Father Carlo before Mass began, something about the weekend retreat for the children who were about to do their confirmation. Your parents thanked him, smiling as he took the majority of the bags. Your sister was just as pleased with him as your parents, skipping besides him whilst she spoke of a boy she just started having a crush on, clearly it was him.

Mark though slightly uncomfortable only giggled allowing her to continue her story. It was completely innocent, nothing more than childish puppy love that would leave the moment Mark was to be dropped off back at his home or out of her sight.

Once inside, on the side before the open door frame, your parents turned to both your sister and you. Mark leaves you all to go deliver the groceries at the cafeteria then off to Father Carlo’s office. It wasn’t much that he wanted to speak about the retreats he always dreaded going to those, especially when the kids interrupted his speaking sessions. Nonetheless they looked beautiful in his resume. Going back to the original statement, Mark only needed such boring talk to distract him from his raging boner. He was in pain quite honestly, he only offered to help so the plastic grocery bags could cover his hard on.

“Go look for a pew to sit on. Take good care of your sister and don’t let her leave your sight.” Your mother was more calm but quite honestly it seemed like she was talking to the younger girl beside you, rather than to you. When she was talking to you, her gaze turned cold making you sigh in exhaustion of her repeated words every Sunday. “Watch your face.”

Shooed away from them, both your sister and you awkwardly made your way into the extremely dim lit room. The ceiling lights were a dark yellow which imitated the candle lights on the walls, those far from people in case they'd burn themselves.

Some eyes pried on you both, judging your attire already. If they weren’t judging you by your facial expressions, then your attire would do. Quite honestly they just hated how you passive aggressively called them out on their hypocrisy. It just started when you said the fruit punch one of the party committee leaders made was utter rubbish. In your defense, you were hungover that Sunday morning after a party you had gone with Alina and Hyunjin the night prior. Funny thing is baby boy Mark was there too, but he seemed perfectly fine the next morning.

Weaving through the aisles to find somewhere you could all sit, your sister pointed to a pew by the corner in the back of the church, next to the crying room where children were often thrown in.

There was a family sitting down already, but given how large the pew was, the space wasn’t a problem. Upon realization that it was the Wong family, you bite the inside of your lip, hoping a bored Yukhei would look up at you. He did matter of fact, your sister’s bag was being loud against the varnished wooden pew, causing the family to turn to see who was to sit beside them.

Given them all a small smile, the family returns them with silent greetings. Greetings you had to return as well. Though his parent’s attention and his brother’s was off from both you and your sister, Yukhei’s remained on you, patting the empty space beside him. It was coy and silent, but the boy knew well what he was doing.

“You’re late.” He whispered, turning to look at you. “Yeah, well… my parents decided to go grocery shopping on the way. You look good by the way.” Complimenting him, you turned to your sister asking for the lipgloss you had on earlier. “Of course I do. You look great yourself.” His long fingers graced the showing skin of your thigh, fast enough to not have lingering eyes on you both. “Thanks…” Sparing him a glance, you smiled to yourself, taking in his attractive features. Much to Mark’s distaste.

In the minutes he had walked around the church trying to find the damn Priest, he gave up going to the Mass room, looking for you and your sister. That was only after he saw your parents sipping on cups full of water in the cafeteria. They had told him to go look for you both and to sit patiently until they got to the room themselves. Nodding with a smile on his face, Mark scowled at how they were treating him just after taking a few more steps. He was anything but a little boy and by their patronizing tone, he wasn’t happy about it.

Figuring it’d be sketchy if he sat between you and Yukhei, Mark walked towards the pew, asking your sister to scoot over so he could sit between you and her. With a sheepish small smile, she nodded, granting him a seat between you both. Yukhei found it odd that he’d sit in the back when he usually sat at the first pew in the middle, the one visible to the Priest.

Turning to the boy and his family, Mark greeted them all with handshakes, blessing them with a good morning before turning his attention to you. He wanted to glare at you badly but knew that would give away his anger and he didn’t want anyone to see him in such a state. So turning to stare at you, you turned to face him. Allowing a smirk to grow on your lips when looking at how frustrated he still was for your earlier remark.

Interrupted by your parent’s greetings to Yukhei and his family; Mark turned to them, smiling up to greet them whilst they sat down. It wasn’t long after Mass began and you all were forced to stand up. For once Mark wasn’t paying mind to Mass, his head was clouded by your words and how good you were to feel around him. In a way he felt bad for not listening to the word of the Lord — the only one he tried not to wrong — yet here he was fantasizing of how tight your cunt was, how loud you could moan his name.

It didn’t help that every time you all stood, both Yukhei and you would grin at each other acting as if there was something no one else other than you two knew. Feeling his gaze on you both, Yukhei and you looked at each other, turning to look at Mark, and then again at each other with prominent grins and held back chuckles. In his point of view, it was mockery. Mockery he wasn’t in the mood for right now, even if you two just smiled at each other out of custom.

Nonetheless, Mass went by fairly dreadfully as always. Mark’s thoughts are full of images of you. It didn’t help that whenever you had to kneel in prayer, your hand went to squeeze his thigh if no one was paying attention and their focus was prayer.

He remembers vividly how minutes ago in the last set of prayer, everyone closed their eyes asking for the blessings they’d want. In the meantime as he kept asking for forgiveness so he could shake off the thoughts of having you for him, Mark felt you cling onto his trousers, inching closer to his crotch.

His prayers became silently audible, eyes shut tightly whilst you ported a grin when your hand took hold of his crotch, giving it a gentle squeeze. As much as Mark wanted to hold off his groan, it came out muffled, almost as if he was choking. Startled by the sudden sound he made, your mother opened her eyes to aid him, patting his back softly so he could calm down.

“Alright, now?” She whispered to him, Mark nodded and smiled as a thank you. Some heads had turned to see if he was alright, after all golden boy Mark had to be okay. Turning to your side, Yukhei stared at you. Almost analyzing you, something he hadn’t done upon arrival but seeing how Mark’s presence made your mood shift, some speculations rose seeing how Mark glared at you when you tore your gaze from him.

With a final song of goodbyes, Yukhei took you in for a hug. “See you next Sunday.” He whispered against your ear. Such movement shifted your hair showing off your neck. There his speculations were starting to become answered and as you nodded his way and shook his family’s hand, he shook Mark’s staring at him without saying any words. “Peace be with you.” Mark gracefully spoke, Yukhei nodded before continuing with your family.

Whilst everyone shook hands and Mark deemed himself done with the farewell handshaking, he turned to your parents. “I’ll be going to the confessionary.” Both bland and monotone, you watched Mark leave the pew, walking from the aisle to the first exit closer to the door. Before closing the door behind him, Mark looked at you with the same dark eyes he had shown you back in the car, letting you know it was better if you followed him.

You wanted to wait longer until you began to follow him. You wanted to make him get even more angry with you so he could go at his full potential, but you couldn’t bare not having him inside of you anymore. Contrary to him you didn’t feel guilty for the thoughts you had during Mass. You only kept thinking of how he would take you and hopefully if this is what it seems, then maybe he was going to finally wreck your guts right now.

Unconsciously your fingernails began to claw the inside of your thigh, irritating the flesh like earlier when you wrote his name on your thigh. Full of lust and want, you allowed it to happen. Even if your lip biting and puffed out chest was clear for Yukhei to notice something was up.

Closing your eyes momentarily, head hung low, you nodded to yourself. “Give me money.” You’d whisper to your sister that held your belongings in her purse. Taking a few bills in hand, you stood up to walk past your parents sitting on the pew waiting patiently for Mark.

“Where are you going?” Your dad questioned seeing the money at hand. “Look for a vending machine.” You so nonchalantly answered ready to walk off again until your mother interrupted you.

“There isn’t a vending machine here—“ taking in your appearance, she herself wasn’t dense. Like Yukhei she looked at you, the slight redness on your neck and it quite honestly looked more of a bite mark. Evident disappointment laid on her face, turning her head back to you, she spoke. “You should go confess too.” You didn’t care for her words and instead walked off with a little skip in your step excited with what would soon follow.

Yukhei had been listening all throughout as your sister explained why the green rhinestones were her least favorite only to rephrase it and say they were her favorite. Much to your sister’s help, his parents began a conversation with yours letting the boy stay longer than expected. Sighing in defeat, Yukhei turned to the door, not seeing you anymore.

Mark had been standing by the end of the corridor talking with other guys who would accompany him in the retreat as leaders. Though they were complaining, he kept insisting it wasn’t that bad even though he hated going too. Of course he would try to keep his good boy persona up.

Sighing to yourself, you walked towards his direction. Ignoring his presence when you passed by and dared not to look behind. You could feel his lingering eyes on you, you could feel the way he watched you walk and quite honestly that only made you get more aroused. Fuck, you just wanted him inside of you.

You supposed he wasn’t that far since you could still hear him bid goodbye to the guys that were being taken home by their parents already. You were right around the corner waiting for him to show up and as you wished for, Mark passed by looking at you. His eyes were still the same even if he had found himself talking with his church friends. Shaking it off, he grabbed your wrist, making your fingers intertwine with his. The only noise was coming from the cafeteria but even so it was kind of far away from you both. It was reassuring, the way he held your hand in silence with your shoes taping at the laminated tile.

That of course died down the second he opened a door to a classroom and shoved you inside, locking it behind him. The sweet boy he seemed seconds prior was gone, being replaced with this angry lustful boy that looked at you whilst removing his tie and suit jacket.

Paralyzed awaiting for him to do something, Mark approached you, hand taking a hold of the back of your neck like he did in the car. He gave you a light kiss on the corner of your mouth, continuing to kiss your cheek and the tip of your nose until he pulled away to smile at you, locking his lips with yours.

He tasted the grape flavor in the gum, licking your bottom lip to get a better taste but either way it didn’t beat the taste of you. “Dirty little girl. I saw the way you looked at Yukhei. Do you want him, baby? Do you think his cock will make you cum harder than mine?” There it was again, his voice turned deep and his hot breath fanned over your lips. You craved him, you craved Mark so much and his words were doing nothing but make you feel the beads of lubrication slide down your legs.

You moaned at how cold your skin became after it dried out and in arousal, Mark smirked looking at you in awe. Wrapping his arm around your waist, the hand holding your neck moved to toy with your hair. Your own arms wrapped around his shoulders pulling him closer to you. Though his hand didn’t stay put around your waist, his lips didn't leave yours. Molding against yours when he kept pushing you towards the wall.

His tongue teased at your lower lip making you part your lips slightly. Allowing him to have his tongue inside your mouth, you moved your hand between your bodies, patting his crotch like you had done earlier at the pew. Moaning against your mouth, Mark held your hand. “It’s not right. Your filthy little hands couldn’t help themselves, right?” Nodding at him, you freed your hand, unbuckling his belt and undoing his zipper. Mark allowed you to keep touching him, the feeling of your hand against him causing a euphoric state to grow.

Kissing you one more time, he pushed down his boxers with his trousers. Taking your lower lip between his teeth in a soft lip pull, he placed his hands on your shoulders. Pushing you down on your knees, Mark looked down at you. You hadn’t looked up to glance at him, in fact your focus was on his erect cock right in front of you. Whilst his hands caressed your hair, you moved forward, parting your lips to wrap them around his tip.

Mark felt wonderful with the warmth of your lips around the head of his cock. You hadn’t done much but he had waited long enough and this would do right now. Your left hand took a hold of his thigh, pushing him forward and closer to you. Given the proximity, you open your mouth wider enough to take him deeper in. Finally looking up at him, Mark’s head had been thrown back and his mouth was barely closed by his teeth biting down on his lower lip to contain his moans.

“You’re doing great, baby.” He whispered looking down at you now. His eyes though dark were shining, such shine caused you to go in awe. In order to keep that shine in his eyes, you took a hold of the back of his thighs, hands clinging to his warm flesh just to push him slightly forward. You wanted to please him, to let him know your body was his and even if this whole situation was abrupt, it was him the one you’d crave.

Mark’s dirty words from earlier turned into soft coos of adoration, having him silently praise you whilst you swirl your tongue around his cock to create some lubrication, only stopped by your tongue’s limits. Fluttering your eyelashes, you focused on him inside your mouth. Beginning to bob your head at a safe space, Mark allowed silent moans to leave his lips.

Whilst you continued to give him head, Mark’s fingers tangled themselves in your hair, running them through your messy locks after all the handling he has been doing in these few minutes.

“Pretty girl...” He moaned out, his left hand caressing your cheek and wiping away the drool that escaped your lips whenever you pulled back momentarily.

Your nails clawed at his thighs, your head kept moving back and forth with as much as you could handle. Whenever you felt like Mark was near, you’d stop abruptly making his grip on your hair grow tighter.

Looking up at him, you relaxed your throat, taking his shaft deeper centimeter by centimeter in precaution not trying to gag (that’s the last thing you wanted, honestly). Mark could feel the tightness of your throat making his groans louder. In a fit of pleasure he gently pushed your head forward. There was something about it that made you moan against his cock, the vibration making him jolt his hips forward. You felt something drip down your legs. It felt odd and at such, you removed a hand from his thigh, traveling down to between your legs, pushing away the fabric of your dress.

You were lubricating, just like earlier when he pinned you to the wall, your arousal was intense to where you kept lubricating. Mark couldn’t hold off much longer, his hips would slowly buck forward, making his cock go in deeper down your throat.

“Should I fuck your mouth?” Out of breath, Mark looked down at you waiting for an answer. Seeing your hand between your legs and his dick buried inside your mouth, he bit his lower lip whilst throwing his head back just to look at you again. There’s no other way you could have answered him, so instead the hand that was still holding his thigh moved up to squeeze his ass, pushing forward to give him a clue.

Mark was aroused by that, feeling that your hand had not yet left his ass, he groaned before thrusting forward against your mouth. The head of his cock would hit the back of your throat, it caused great pleasure in you, the kind that made you moan uncontrollably against him. Instead of rubbing your clit, you couldn’t bear the feeling of not being filled by him. Your fingers had traveled to your opening not caring about being careful, you began fingering yourself in an attempt to feel a type of euphoria, to feel as if he was inside of you.

Mark wasn’t so far away from coming, with one final thrust he pulled out of your mouth in order to control himself. He was panting heavily and it didn’t help how fucked out of your mind you looked. The sight of drool still connecting your mouth with his cock caused him to pull away trying to control himself.

Trying to gain some air, it didn’t help how fast you kept fingering yourself. You could taste the precum he had spilled inside of you, making you crave more and the idea of having him buried deep inside of you, spilling himself in made your body fall to the floor with your back feeling the cold tile whilst your fingers were still pumping, in hopes of making yourself cum (even if you knew it wouldn’t suit Mark well).

He watched you whilst he tried to gain his composure. He watched how the sleeves of your dress kept being pulled down when you moved your body, how the skirt of the dress pools around your hips when you propped them up so he could see your dripping cunt. As much as he didnt want to touch himself in fear of cumming without having fucked you first, he took himself in his warm hands, slowly jerking off to the view of you.

“You’re so good, Mark…” Your praise began there. With the hand that wasn't inside of you, you took your left breast onto it, massaging it and imagining it was his hand even if he was right in front of you. “So big, I know you can fill me completely. Please, Mark. Fill me up, I'll be your good girl…” He didn’t speak but his loud grunts spoke for him.

Reaching for the hand that was touching your breast, Mark did his best to help you stand up. Removing your fingers from inside of you, he took that hand to his lips. His tongue wrapped around the two fingers you used, taking them inside his mouth when he felt your panting grow. Like your tongue around his cock, his own swirled around your fingers, softly pushing them out with it. “You are my good girl.” He whispered against your lips, granting you a heated kiss. It was sloppy but at this point it didn't matter, after all you both liked it.

Pulling away from each other, Mark turned you around, walking you to a desk and bending you over. Aroused by the roughness, you moaned taking a hold of the wooden sides. “Ready, baby?” He questioned, cock in hand and taking some of your own lubrication to rub against himself. Seeing you back up trying to grind against him, Mark chuckled before letting his spit fall against your cunt (extra precaution).

It had already passed a large amount of time since you had left to look for a vending machine that didn’t exist. To add, Mark himself was taking longer than usual and for the good boy he was, Yukhei doubted Mark had much to confess for, yet given the way you two kept interacting, there’s a possibility he does. Frustrated by how long his parents kept talking with yours and his brother had gone to talk with a friend of his five pews away, Yukhei softly sighed standing up to go look for you.

“Where are you going?” His mother had abandoned her talk with yours, Yukhei whipping his head to look at them, kept quiet for a second until he finally took in what they were asking. “I’m going to the restroom.” Despite how deep his voice was, he sounded rather soft. With a nod from his own mom, Yukhei went around to leave the pew. Just before he could leave your mother stopped him. “Can you please look for y/n?” Nodding as an answer, the boy left through the heavy wooden doors.

Yukhei knew open doors weren't the source of your location, even if he didn't want to admit it himself, he knew you'd be somewhere behind locked doors with Mark. He couldn't really figure out if it was curiosity or jealousy that filled him when imagining the things you could be doing with him, but nonetheless he was going to go look for you.

As for both you and Mark, the boy found himself toying with your wetness, running the tip of his cock up and down your sleek lips. When you’d whine in frustration he teased your entrance with putting in the tip. “Mark, please!” You loudly spoke up, making him chuckle as he pushed inside of you. This is what you wanted, you felt fluttering in your stomach when he kept pushing in deeper, causing your moans to get louder.

You wouldn't lie saying it didn't hurt despite the amount of lubrication you had, but that ache soon left when he kept stuffing you with himself. It’s not like he minded that you squirmed around momentarily when you were adjusting to his size. He caught you off guard when he thrusted harshly at the beginning.

“Impatient, whore… you couldn't wait anymore, could you?” His hands had taken a hold to your hips, pushing your ankles further apart so you could be lowered down a bit more. Shaking your head, you answered his question: “No! No, I just wanted to feel you deep in me, Mark. Feel you fill me whole with your cum…”

Your words got to him, his thrusts became faster and rougher. From the things you both had been doing not so long ago, it wasn't hard to understand that neither Mark or you could hold off longer. Especially not when time was ticking and it was only minutes until your parents or Yukhei were to find you.

That was an understatement actually. With your loud moans, Yukhei had found you right as he walked past the closed off communion classrooms. It was smart that you’d be there. Given to the lights at the end of the hall that never turned on and the hall itself seemed terrifying; no one went that direction in fear of the supernatural. Oh God.

It startled him at first hearing the gruntled moans, the only times he heard that was whilst watching porn and to know this one didn’t sound fake, he walked closer toward the source, finding himself at earshot in front of the door. He didn’t want to stay long to be honest, he feared that he’d be caught listening but when he heard your voice, something made him stay.

“Who’s?” Mark asked again, his hip bone slapping against your ass. “Yours, Mark! Only your cock!” Hearing your pretty little mouth speak so ill and disgustingly made Mark chuckle at how lewd you became because of him. “And your pretty little cunt is the only one for me.” His voice was deep at the moment; to hear it made the pool between your legs grow even when he was buried deep inside of you on the brink of coming.

Mark’s thrusts sped up, becoming rougher to the point where his hip was aching your ass. Feeling himself being so close to finishing inside of you, one of his hands snaked under you to slowly rub at your clit. It took you by surprise, causing you to yelp and soon moan in arousal. Your moans were going to be the end of him and Yukhei as the tall boy who promised himself to not overstay his visit, had his ear against the door now. Eyes closed whilst he tried so hard not to get a boner.

It was becoming rather difficult, he wished to be Mark for once in his life knowing Mark had gotten you to fall to his feet. Yes, he finally envied Mark for something. Yukhei wanted to be the one to pound deep inside of you. Many restless nights were about doing that to you and to hear you moan for Mark claiming his cock is the only one you wanted and your cunt was only Mark’s— it completely enraged him.

Just as Mark pounded deep in you, rough thrusts that made your insides feel at bliss, you felt the euphoric tears of arousal slip from your eyes. You wanted nothing more than to cum already and Mark himself was on the brink of cumming already. “Please, Mark…” You pleaded, head turning slightly to see him looking with worn out eyes.

Feeling the same euphoria as you, Mark nodded, caressing your cheek to wipe away your tears. “Okay, y/n…cum for me.” His pace against your clit rushed, making your body shake nearing your arousal. His thrusts were sloppily faster as he himself tried to get you off.

A certain heat began to build up at your clit, slowly riding up to your stomach, and next to your chest making your body warm, with his fingers still working at your clit and the tip of his cock hitting a certain spot that was making your body go limp.

The heat that you felt rise up came crashing rapidly down your body making your legs shake, you finally felt the sensation of your orgasm. You moaned uncontrollably, clawing at the wooden desk you were bent over. It didn't help that Mark didn’t stop rubbing your clit, giving more pressure to it. It felt great at first, the sensation of finally coming around his cock whilst he was still deep inside of you, but soon after it became very overwhelming making you whine for him to stop and pushing his hand away.

Panting, Mark got closer to your body to feel the warmth you radiated. He himself wasn't that far off in finishing off and with your meek praising, Mark felt his world soon to crash. “It’s okay, Mark… you can do it, baby. Just cum, I want you to feel good too.” That set him off; Mark kissed your shoulder and as much as your cheek as he could, cuming inside of you.

It was an odd feeling, honestly. Feeling him shoot his cum inside of you to coat your walls was rather strange, but when it accumulated, allowing you to feel how warm it is, a satisfied smile placed itself on your face, shutting your eyes. Mark’s own arms had wrapped themselves around your waist pulling you closer to him. It was loving and calm, his chest was very warm and the feeling of his lips close to your neck was comforting. If it wasn’t for the situation and time, you’d be glad to remain in such a position with him. Your new fantasy was to just cuddle with him.

“Come on, let's go before we get caught.” You whispered, making him grunt whilst he stood up getting off of you. He hadn't pulled out earlier and now the feeling of fulfillment had left you. Allowing the cold air to pass by the warmth between your legs and the one that coated his cock. It made you moan, quite honestly. You weren't connected to Mark anymore and it felt odd, but nonetheless you stood up, sitting on the wooden desk, watching him take your white panties out of his pocket.

His movement was slow but he was looking at you too whilst cleaning you off of him, his eyes held some sort of worry. “Why didn’t you tell me?” Mark spoke up getting closer to you, crouching down to where he was in front of your cunt. His touch was delicate when wiping at your thighs. Sighing, you looked around the classroom. “You knew already.” Making sure he didn’t hurt you furthermore. The small amount of blood on you was now gone.

Mark stood from his position, stuffing the panties back in his pocket knowing it wasn't a good idea to throw them out in a trash bin at church. His eyes had the same softness you had kept thinking off. They weren’t innocent but they displayed the delicate person he was. Perhaps the good boy Mark is wasn’t an act. Your judgment was out of annoyance with him, but he was only human and to feel frustration with people and have lewd thoughts was nothing but normal.

“Call me if you hear anything back or feel anything.” His lips ghosting over yours, he leaned in for a kiss. It wasn't rough nor sloppy like the lust induced ones from earlier. This one displayed his kindness and care and you really hoped this isn't the end to your story with Mark, even if you were going to see him again next Sunday. You were the first one to pull away wanting to gain air. His lips turned into a smile before giving your cheek a kiss.

“Go out first, you have to go get cleaned up even more.” Nodding at his statement, you stood up walking rather slowly. It was so noticeable that you just got your guts rearranged, Mark knew he was going to get eaten alive by your parents.

You two had been speaking rather quietly, so when the door knob to the classroom began to twist, Yukhei felt panic rush through his body. Was it not for the left turn to the end of the corridor that led you to the outside chapel, he could have easily been spotted by you in eavesdropping. Sighing to himself, Yukhei had finally given up hopes in anything else with you, understanding your teasing will always be friendly.

He had waited for Mark to leave, hearing his footsteps across the tile floor until he couldn’t hear them anymore. It felt nice for Yukhei to not be thinking much in his seconds of making his way outside the restroom where he’d wait for you just so your mother wouldn’t say anything upon getting back to the Mass room.

Unlike him you felt ecstatic despite your struggle to walk well. Remembering the happenings with Mark, you smiled and giggled to yourself entering through the doorway of the restroom. To the graces of God your sister was inside washing her hands. When she saw you she smiled as a greeting, though it seemed more mischievous. “You took so long!” She childishly spoke up, closing the tap to get a paper towel. “Don’t go anywhere.” You had told her, ignoring her statement. You knew well she had perfume in that purse and given by the stench of sex, you needed it so badly.

Naturally she listened to you, taking a seat on a couch that was oddly inside even though no one used it nor did it have a purpose. Letting things happen, when entering a stall and locking the door, you bunched up your dress to sit around your waist. Crouching down to the couch but not enough to where you sat on the toilet just so you could pee, even feeling some of the cum that had dripped out of you when walking. Despite how out of control the ordeal was, you felt wonderful.

Flushing the toilet after cleaning yourself off, you unlocked the door to see your sister still sitting on the couch looking off to the sinks as she hadn’t done anything in the meantime. Getting closer to her, you spoke up looking at your dress to make sure it wasn’t stained. “Do you have perfume?” You questioned looking through the mirror, turning the tap to get some water and wash away the traces of tears, drool, and cum on your face. You still felt some stickiness between your legs, rubbing some of the water on them to wipe it off with the paper towels on top of a small shelf.

Your sister in the meantime had taken out the perfume bottle from her purse, walking your way in order to give it to you. “Why do you smell like that?” She asked, scrunching up her nose. Though she didn’t think it was a gross stench, it was rather funky. Naturally you ignored her question, spraying yourself with it, wanting little to no signs of what you just did.

“Do I still stink?” You asked her once again with a small nervous laugh trailing behind, placing the cap on the bottle, and handing it to her who got closer to you. Only to be greeted with the stench of cotton candy. Holding her nose she nodded laughing along. “Yeah, of cotton candy.” Laughing along with her you asked for gum, taking the majority of them whilst walking out the restroom, greeted with Yukhei’s blank stare.

Your sister upon seeing him smiled running to grab his hand and yours. “You found her first!” Childishly she spoke, Yukhei nodded, turning to look at you. “Yeah, in the cafeteria.” He lied, his eyes not leaving yours that pleaded with him to make up a lie. Things seemed slightly tense between both you and Yukhei, he didn’t say much after lying to your sister, but it was evident he’s thinking of something. Overall the only noise that was heard was her small running steps and screams telling Yukhei to see how fast she could run, being the first one to arrive at the doors to the Mass room.

Before either you or Yukhei got near the doors, you stopped him, hand on his shoulder so he could look at you. “Am I walking weird?” You asked, taking some steps, of course you were. Slightly limping after being fucked for the first time was bound to leave you sore. “Yeah, duckling.” He answered, making you turn around to see him smiling at you.

There was no point in holding feelings.

“How about now?” You asked, trying to walk normally only for your sister to say you were walking worse than before. In order to scare her off you ran towards her, followed by Yukhei who got there in time to open the door for you both. You easily spotted your mother which made paranoia rise in you. “Okay, how about now?” You whispered to both Yukhei and your sister who agreed, seeing you walk slowly. Keeping you company to make it seem like it was all good.

The bell rang the moment you stood in front of your parents —Yukhei and your sister beside you— signaling the second Mass was soon to start. “Where were you?” The tone of mistrust and speculation in your mother’s tone was harsh. It was a calm scolding despite her not saying anything else. “In the cafeteria.” You meekly spoke trying to avoid her glares, she turned to Yukhei who nodded in approval. “Did you see Mark on the way?” She asked calmly to which you shook your head. “He might still be confessing…” ‘…who knew he’d be a dirty sinner.’

With caution, Mark raised his head after prayer. He had been patiently waiting for whichever priest to finish with someone inside the confessionary. Despite feeling great through the lustful acts of fornication, there was still a part of him that felt guilty.

He had never found himself being this rough before. It wasn’t the first time he had sex but it was yours— that could be the reason for his guilt. Guilty for taking your virginity in a brutal way and not the delicate way he imagined taking someone’s virginity whenever he did.

His thoughts were interrupted the moment, the door to the confessionary opened, showing a crying woman. She didn’t spare him a glance whilst he looked at her. Her face was red and she prayed rapidly in a language he didn’t quite understand. He had learned to not stare, so in addition to that guilt, Mark stood up shyly weaving through the kneelers and up the steps to the confessionary where he sat, closing the door to his box.

“Tell me your sin’s my son.” It was Father Carlo. Seeing his face, Mark’s guilt grew knowing he’d have to talk to him another day even when he would soon know of his sins. “Bless me father…” sighing to himself, he faced the Priest.

Frantically toying with the buttons on his black silk shirt in the dark, light switch forgotten, your lips are stolen as he pulls your jaw upward. Fingers pressing into the nape of your neck, he leads you into a deep kiss, wet with tongue and firm with urgency. Finally, you release the last button and your hands roam the expanse of damp skin along his front, from his plush chest down to his fuzzy warm tummy. He breaks his lips away from yours to pull down your tight skirt until you shimmy it off, his warm mouth sucking at your inner thigh, his tongue drawing designs across your skin as he fumbles with your boots. You grab him by the collar of his shirt in order to urge him upwards again, only to be met with a devilish little grin from below before he kisses the tiny bow on your lingerie and moves his way upward. Frantically fingering the waistline of his tight black jeans, your hands are tantalizingly close to the hardness beneath the fabric straining at the seams. 

"You looked so, so good on stage tonight." Roaming hands, rough shoves, and hot skin leave sensations in the darkness. "Couldn't take my eyes off you." 

"You think I looked good? Really?" He's breathless, his hands at your waist running up your body to find solace in the roots of your hair, twisting and tangling. "Me?"

A passing car shines headlights through the window of your apartment, briefly revealing the glimmer of his hooded eyes gazing down on you. Your hand at his tummy rubs in circles, his happy trail and smooth skin creating textures beneath your knuckles as other restless fingertips dip into the valleys of his collarbones. When you palm his hardness through the rough fabric, his lips slide off yours, uncentered, dragging saliva across your cheek, a groan rumbling within his bare chest beneath your hand. The tranquility of the still, quiet late night hours allow his gasps and bitten whines to permeate the silence. He's a masterpiece, on-stage a collected performer, off-stage a responsive and eager lover. 

You speak in rushed gasps as his grip on your waist threatens suffocation. "All I've been thinking about all night is wanting you all over me." 

Thoughts of you craving him sends a fog over his vision and a rush in his blood. The percussive tap of your nail against the teeth of his zipper sends electric shocks coursing through him, jolting him into action to unzip himself and peel back his jeans and boxers just enough to release his cock from its confines. He strokes himself, his eyes swimming, distributing precum along his length before sinking his fingertips into your sides and lifting you up the wall, your shocked yelp cut short by his lips on yours. His hand slides along your thigh as your legs wrap around his waist, his hips pressing firmly into yours to pin you to the wall. You gasp aloud around his mouth as he adjusts you higher, angling so that his hardness presses right against the wetness of your lingerie, the friction setting your nerves alight. 

As he ruts roughly against you, he fills the space between you with heated grunts. Wrapping your arms around his shoulders, you grip him for stability, fighting against gravity. Your arms slip on the silk of his shirt, grasping the fabric, and he heaves you up the wall again. His forehead presses to yours, his voice hesitant. "Do you... do you want me?" He gulps and thrusts. "Tell me you want me."

"Yes, yes, I want you, only you." In response his hips falter and his cock twitches against the lace of your lingerie. Again you slip against his silk shirt and hurriedly slide your fingers beneath his collar to run your hands down his back, seeking better traction, the sensation of his damp muscles compounding on the brush of silk across your arms. Between the elusive texture of the fabric around you and his sweat-slicked, tense muscles, you can barely keep a hold of this man who is fluidity personified. The clutching of your fingertips and digging of your nails into the broadness of his shoulders urges him to heave you upward again until finally you are perched atop his hips against the wall, stable and safe, welcoming his warm embrace. 

The improved angle allows for him to reach his hand around your thigh to move your lingerie to the side, sliding his length along your folds, the glide coursing waves of bliss through both of you. The head of his cock repeatedly presses into your clit at an even, steady pace that has you floating and whining. "Hyuck, please, more." He removes himself from the crook of your neck to look you straight in the eyes, sincerity and devotion adorning his features as another car passes, shrouding his glistening features and patchy stage makeup in dim dancing shadows. The intent of his gaze is an inquiry, verifying that you are truly his and that the sight before his eyes of your flushed cheeks, cascading hair, and begging mouth is truly real. 

"Hyuck," at the needy tone of your voice, his cock grinds against your folds again, "Hyuck, I want you," and again, "Please, I've been waiting so long," and again, "Hyu-" and your plea turns into a choked whimper as he pushes his head into your heat, agonizingly slowly. His breathing is labored, his arms flexed, his eyes fierce with determination. Your warmth and wetness surrounding him has him tense and quivering before he relinquishes his own self-control and begins to pump into you with strong, sure strokes. For every movement, he shoves you up and down the wall, your hair mussing and clumping against the surface.

Only he can fuck you this way, the ability of a dancer to hold you steady and upright with his broad shoulders, but also snap his hips into you with isolated precision, his fluid torso flexing rhythmically with unmatched stamina. For every thrust, every slight movement, the silky fabric of his shirt slides down his shoulders in languid fragments, slowly revealing his lean back muscles into which you dig your fingertips. The silky fabric collects at his elbows and around your feet hooked behind his back, swaying through the air with the rhythm he sets. 

Tossing his head back, he lets out a high-pitched whine, his hair bouncing with movement, and you're inspired to grasp the strands of his bangs and pull them back. With furrowed eyebrows and spit-stained lips, he soundlessly mouths out, "Feels so good," and opens his eyes enough to take in your appearance before him, the visual of you open and desperate for him sending him higher. "I- I need you to look all f-fucked-out and pretty for me," He stumbles over his words as he tries to maintain control of the situation, but he's slowly coming undone and his nerves start to sing. "Can you do that for me?" With each motive thrust, your grip in his hair clenches and he releases short open-mouthed gasps. 

Your hand sifts through his locks until you have a firm purchase on the meat of his jaw, turning his head to the side to murmur in his ear, "You already had me wet two hours ago at the venue." Eyes opening in surprise, he attempts to turn back with an inquisitive look, hips stuttering, but you continue to hold his jaw in place. "You looked so fucking good up there." His vulnerable eyes glimmer as he soaks in every word. "So confident, so handsome. God, you're so perfect." You continue to whisper loving encouragement and praise in his ear until he's weak at the knees. The sinful noises he releases are in reaction to your words more than the feel of you surrounding him, the warm moist air between you cut by his high whimpers and whines. Every syllable you speak lifts his ego higher. 

His adrenaline spikes with the motivation of your breathless praise and encouragements, decorated with satisfied moans. If only you knew, he thought, exactly how much you drive him crazy. The lustful, aggressive body language of the motion of his hips is a stark contrast to his heartfelt eyes and adoration; his hips release pent-up kinetic energy while his eyes search for greater relief in your blissful expressions. So very eager for your affection, he is astonished and elated by your desire for him. An oncoming surge of overwhelming emotion overtakes him, plummeting him into a realm of mindlessly seeking his own high, getting off at the sheer thought of being loved. 

Testosterone courses through his system, dissolving him into a grunting and groaning feisty mess. Sweat beads at his hairline as his fingertips grasp at your thighs, but in all of his damp fervor, your legs begin to slide down his skin and give out from their grasp around him. He swiftly clutches the underside of your thigh in order to open you wider against the wall, sourcing unknown strength for a dancer used and spent by the stage. Your shirt snags behind you, revealing a breast into the darkness of the open air, and Hyuck wastes no time in attaching his plump lips to the soft flesh, sucking a trail through the valley of your chest up to your neck. He nips and sucks at your skin with unbridled fervor, and you can't find it within you to hold back your cracked moans. The new angle of your leg pinned up by his strong hands has you climbing toward your peak, but the final blow comes in the form of his gaze meeting yours, his eyes searing with unmatched confidence and power to behold. You come in a flurry of lust, releasing around him as he continues to drive into you with steady strength. 

He's so attractive like this, aggressively desperate, eagerly seeking his peak, instinctively grasping at your skin anywhere and everywhere he can. Your fucked-out expression and gasps for air have him craving release, inspired by the notion of being your pride. As he approaches his climax, his whines and cries become sharper, hoarser, louder. The bridge of his nose crinkles as he breathes through bared teeth, eyebrows furrowing in concentration and eyes shut tight. His body snaps as he drives out the ride of his orgasm, arms shaking with exertion and nose pressing into your cheek. As his cock throbs with each shot of his cum, his whimpers and gasps are muffled into your temple, lips sliding along your ear. 

The hum of the private bus brings peace to you, your head drooping to rest on the window. Johnny, your seat partner, notices your drowsy state and laughs softly to himself. Your Media and Society class is taking a trip to an acclaimed theatre three hours away, and you found yourself in the cozy predicament of sitting near the two heartthrobs of the class, Johnny and Jaehyun. Johnny’s a good seat partner, even letting you have the arm rest and letting you rest your head on his shoulder.

Jaehyun is...a bit of a nuisance. He keeps turning around to talk to Johnny, eyeing you every time he does with this...look in his eyes like he wants to say something to you that he can’t with Johnny around. Not to say his presence isn’t welcome, but he just has this way about him that has you fidgeting in your seat. He seems to know too, a knowing smirk on his lips when he stares at you.

When Jaehyun turns around for the umpteenth time under the transparent guise of talking to Johnny, he notices your sleepiness and frowns deeply when Johnny locks eyes with him and smugly nudges your head onto his shoulder.

Aware of Jaehyun’s eyes canvassing your body, you open your eyes, a surge of energy rushing through you as he locks eyes with you and shoots you a wink.

“Tired?” He asks, and you shrug.

“I guess,” You hum nonchalantly, sitting up, and he nods, pursing his lips.

“Jaehyun, turn back around, I’m trying to spend quality time with my friend, here.” Johnny scolds him, and you laugh as Jaehyun scowls, giving you a lingering once over before turning back around.

“Look at my texts,” Johnny whispers in your ear, showing you his phone screen discreetly.

[from: jae] come on bro

[from: jae] switch with me

[from: jae] I’ll do anything :(

[from: jae] BRO I KNOW YOU’RE READING THESE C O M E /ON/

You stifle a laugh and tilt your head towards Johnny, who leans in to whisper in your ear.

“Should I let him?” His tone is conspiratorial, and you smile to yourself.

“I don’t know...I don’t know what he wants,” You whisper back, and Johnny lets out a low chuckle.

“Oh, I know what he wants,” Johnny coos, and you try to control the shudder that shoots down your spine when he leans in closer.

“What?” You ask, and Johnny pauses.

He waits until Jaehyun’s turned back to face you both, staring you dead in the eyes, to lean in just enough so his lips brush the shell of your ear and whisper, “You.”

You try to conceal the look of shock on your face, but Johnny snickers at the way your eyes go wide.

“Switch with me,” Jaehyun says, and you look between him and Johnny, intrigued by the exchange.

“I don’t know,” Johnny drags it out, grinning at Jaehyun teasingly. “She’s a pretty good seat buddy.”

“Dude, please?” Jaehyun insists, and Johnny looks from you to Jaehyun to back at you before nodding.

“Okay.” Ignoring your bewildered yelp, Johnny shoots you what you’re sure was supposed to be a reassuring wink, but it only fills you with dread and a flutter of excitement as Jaehyun plops into the seat next to you, his arm and thigh brushing against yours and his scent—of sandalwood and cinnamon—rushing to your nose.

“Hi,” Jaehyun says too sweetly, smiling innocently at you.

“Hi,” You reply warily, eyeing him suspiciously. “Why’d you want to sit next to me so badly?”

At that, his smile turns just a bit wicked, an unreadable glint in his eye as his smile widens and he shrugs, busying his hand with the arm rest between you two and not saying anything.

Your puzzled expression morphs into one of surprise as Jaehyun trails his fingers up your arm until they’re playing with your hair. He leans in to whisper in your ear, “I just want to get to know you better.”

You don’t know Jaehyun that well, but you know him well enough to know three things.

One, he is devastatingly handsome.

Two, he is alarmingly charming.

Three, he is most definitely lying right now.

“Oh, yeah? What do you want to know?” You ask innocently, playing into his game.

He shrugs again, that same stupid smile on his face before he leans in further and grazes his lips along your ear and hums, “I don’t know....I wanna know how you react when I do this,” pressing his lips to the spot just behind your ear, his lips lingering against your skin.

You shift in your seat, inhaling sharply, and you can feel how he starts grinning. He starts pressing kisses along your neck lightly but insistently, soft stuttered exhales leaving your lips when he switches to open-mouthed kisses, his tongue swiping along the patches of skin he takes between his lips.

You rub your thighs together as subtly as possible, trying to relieve some tension, only for him to slip his hand between your knees and pull your legs apart.

Upon hearing you gasp, he chuckles and murmurs, “What, are you shy?”

“Mm, no. Shut up.”

Trailing the tip of his nose up from your neck to your ear, he sighs, “It’s cute.”

He moves his hand from the inside of your knee up to your thigh, teeth gently nipping at your neck as he slips his fingers into your underwear. You inhale sharply and move to shut your legs again, but he hooks his leg over your leg closest to his, effectively spreading your legs.

“Shh,” He murmurs with a laugh, sucking on the spot just above your collarbone.

“Mhm,” You whimper, and he starts teasing you, trailing his fingers around your clit but not applying enough pressure to relieve any of the discomfort caused by your arousal.

“Stop teasing,” You whine, dropping your head to his shoulder. He nudges your head up so he can resume kissing your neck, licking a line up from your collarbone to your jaw.

You can hear the smile in his voice when he replies easily, voice thick with arousal, “You love it.”

“If you don’t stop, I’ll get Johnny to finish the job.” You lilt, knowing full well the mentioned male could hear you, and Jaehyun growls under his breath.

He slips two fingers into you amidst your low moan, “Don’t ever say that to me again.” He starts pumping them in and out of you slowly, twisting and twirling his fingers inside of you.

Deciding to poke the bear, you goad him on, murmuring, “Why? Are you worried he’d be better?”

Jaehyun huffs and moves back from your neck to look you dead in the eyes.

“Better? Baby, I’m the best.”

With that said, he speeds up slightly, curling his fingers in you. Your back arches off the chair, and you clutch the armrest until your knuckles pale.

“You look so pretty right now, princess.” He purrs, smiling when you clap a hand over your mouth to conceal the moan that leaves you. “So tight around my fingers, fuck, I bet you’d take my cock so well.”

“I’ve thought about how perfect you’d look falling apart for me, but you’re even more beautiful than I thought you’d be.”

“Do you say that to all the girls?”

“Mm, only the ones I like to finger on our way to a field trip.”

You’re doing your absolute best not to fall apart in public but moans keep falling from your lips, slipping through your fingers, so he turns your head, fingers on your chin, and presses his lips to yours in a blissful sigh.

He swirls his tongue around yours sinfully, sucking lightly on your tongue before he pulls back, looking at you with dark eyes before leaning back in, nipping at your bottom lip and swiping his tongue over your lips.

“What—mm—what about you?” You pant into his mouth, pulling back to look at him. Jaehyun could swear that if you batted your pretty lashes at him like that one more time with those innocent eyes and reddened lips, he’d take you right there in the backseat, audience be damned.

“I mean,” He says, smiling suggestively, “If you wanna...”

“Okay,” You mumble in a daze, trying to shake the fuzz from your senses. His fingers are so good, you just can’t seem to focus on anything. “O...kay.”

“You want to?” He murmurs, pressing little kisses to your lower lip. You nod, and he shakes his head with a teasing grin. “No, princess. I wanna hear you say it.”

You whine in protest, heat rising to your cheeks, and he chuckles fondly, watching you in wonder.

“Come on, cutie. Tell me what you want in that pretty voice of yours.” He coaxes, his free hand playing with the hem of your shirt. “You’re just so cute,” He groans, slipping a hand up your shirt slowly and swiping a thumb over your clothed nipple, humming when you arch your back, pushing your chest into his hand.

“I wanna get you off,” You mumble shyly, and he moans sinfully into your ear, nipping at the lobe.

He undoes his pants and you slip your hand inside, the heat of his cock startling you as you wrap your hand around it. The base of his cock is thick, and you can feel a vein running up the length of it, the sheer size making your mouth water.

“Move,” He grunts, thrusting into your hand, and you stop moving entirely, looking up at him with a mischievous smile of your own.

“Oh, now you don’t like teasing?” You muse, swiping your thumb over his tip and rubbing along the slit slowly, savoring the look of pleasure on his face.

“Move,” He whines, and you oblige, diligently stroking him from base to tip as best as you can. “Just like that,” He groans, kissing you as his fingers pick up speed, curling and twisting inside of you.

“I can’t really...get to you,” You mumble, and Jaehyun’s hand leaves your breast to maneuver his cock into the open, your jaw dropping from the size and just how pretty it is. The tip a blushy pink, you can just barely manage to wrap your fingers around the base, and the clear beads of pre-cum leaking from his slit mesmerize you.

“Better?” He asks, looking at you with an intense gaze.

“Oh, god,” You whine, speeding up the pace of your hand, gliding up and down his length. You swipe your thumb over the tip every time you reach it, his resulting moans intoxicating.

His fingers are so close to sending you into bliss, you can almost taste your impending release. Your hips buck into his hand, rolling under his touch. He rubs slow circles into your clit with the pad of his thumb, and you bite down on your lip to muffle the moan that threatens to leave you.

You’re so close it almost hurts, and Jaehyun looks down at you reverently, tongue swiping along his bottom lip.

“Psst! Johnny!” He whispers, and you gasp, struggling to close your legs. He keeps his leg hooked around yours, so you only succeed in closing your legs around his calf as Johnny turns back.

“What the fuck?!” You hiss in surprise, heat rising to your cheeks as Johnny seems to devour the image of you on the brink of an orgasm.

“Look at me,” Johnny murmurs, tone ever so demanding. You oblige slowly, eyes dragging along the patterned seats before resting on his stare. He looks like he’s one second away from climbing back to your seat and joining in, and the way he’s staring at Jaehyun’s hand moving in your pants has you preening under his gaze.

“Jaehyun,” You moan, pumping his length and twisting your wrist as you approach the head of his cock. “I’m close,” You gasp, hips swiveling under his hand, yearning for more.

“Come for me, baby,” Jaehyun wheedles, nudging your head up so he can mouth at your neck. “Show Johnny how pretty you look coming apart for me.”

You lock eyes with Johnny just as your orgasm hits, a shaky moan leaving your lips, followed by a whispered curse and Jaehyun’s name. Jaehyun slowly stops fingering you, the digits still lingering inside of you as he watches you in awe.

“Fuck, I’m close,” Jaehyun grunts, hips thrusting into your hand. “Johnny, unless you wanna watch me come, I’d turn around.”

Johnny lingers for a second, watching your focused expression as you bring Jaehyun to climax, before turning back around and proceeding to mind his business.

“I can’t come on my clothes,” Jaehyun whispers in your ear, and you look around before bending over, the armrest digging uncomfortably into your stomach, and opening your mouth, sticking your tongue out and looking up at him for approval.

He swears loudly, so loudly that you smack his thigh in surprise, and starts to climax, hot spurts of white cum landing on your tongue and some on your lower lip. You kitten-lick the remnants of his release off of the head of his cock, swallowing his cum, and he muffles a whimper into his fist, his fingers curling inside of you again.

You squirm immediately, pushing at his wrist and he pulls his fingers out, evoking a shudder from you. He studies his wet fingers before locking eyes with you and licking his fingers clean. The blush that rises to your cheeks does not go unnoticed by Jaehyun who, after tucking his cock back into his pants and closing them, drapes an arm around your shoulders.

“I meant what I said earlier, you know,” He says nonchalantly as he looks down at you. You look up at him curiously and he leans down for a kiss, tugging on your bottom lip as you part. “You’re really cute.”

“Shut up,” You mumble shyly.

“You know,” Johnny says casually as he turns around in his seat to face you two. “You said you’d do anything if I switched seats with you.”

“I did...” Jaehyun replies warily.

“I know what I want,” Johnny announces, and from the way he’s eying you, you’re pretty sure you know too.

“What is it?” Jaehyun asks, clearly not catching on.

Johnny doesn’t say anything else, just stares you down and shoots you a wink before turning around.

“Let your new seat buddy tell you.” He teases, and your insides feel like they’re in knots with both anxiety and excitement.