#neofuture

Not too long after the morning block ends and you sit down chugging your water and trying to catch your breath. You see a figure approach you and choose to ignore it at first thinking maybe they’d go away. When they didn’t you put the bottle down ready to talk to whoever it is. When you look up at the figure, you realize it’s Kun. You roll your eyes and pretend you never looked at him, deciding to check your phone.

“So y/n did you decide to ignore your alarm again?” He laughed

“No as a matter of fact I’m late because I was here last night doing extra practice” you bite back

“Well then my bad” he sarcastically gasped and acted offended by your tone

“Can you just get lost I don’t want to speak to you” you look away from him

“Aww come on I’m not that insufferable” he faked hope.

“That’s debatable cause I find you extremely insufferable Qian”

He simply laughed and walked away with a wish for you to mess up your vocal assessment today which you totally didn’t forget about. Deciding to get up, you approach Ten as your plan of action. You knew you would be lectured about showing up late again but he can’t do anything about it since he’s still in training as well. You glide across the room hearing passing conversations among your fellow trainees. He saw you approaching and immediately put on his ‘mom’ face ready to chastise you. Finally reaching your friend you smiled at him as if nothing was wrong.

“Don’t give me that look y/n this is the fourth time you’ve been late this month!” He begins “what’s been up with you lately?”

“You know I’ve been staying late here to get extra practice Ten. I can’t help oversleeping if I’m here super late!” You retorted

“You don’t need the extra practice y/n, you’re the most talented female trainee here” he whispered the last part for obvious reasons.

Your conversation was cut short by the head of training coming in to collect those who needed to do vocal training for the next block which included both you and your demonic counterpart Kun. Today just couldn’t get any worse, could it? Entering the vocal training room, you could see a piano and a few stands to hold your music. All you could wish for right now was for Kun to not say anything and let you practice in peace. But of course, because today seems to hate you he made a comment that completely set you off.

“Ya know you’re not a half-bad singer. Maybe if you weren’t insane and bitchy I’d like you” he chuckled sarcastically

“Know what Qian? Fuck you! I’ve had enough of your shit!” you screamed at him

“You wish I’d fuck you! I’d never go near trash though” he smiled rudely

“Maybe you should take a look in the mirror then idiot! Cause you’re the biggest piece of rotten garbage I’ve ever met!” you said as you stormed out of the room

You stopped by your vocal coach letting her know you needed to go for a walk and calm down before walking out of the building and straight to your friend Jungwoo‘s lab-office. Luckily this wasn’t a long walk just a hot one thanks to how heated that argument was and how hot the weather is. You walk into Jungwoo’s lab where you see him doing final touches on some big metal box-looking thing. Too engrossed in his work he doesn’t even see or hear you walk in until you sigh and throw yourself into his desk chair ready to rant about your fellow trainee. After successfully pulling him from his focus and ranting for a few minutes, you hear the door open followed but someone calling for Jungwoo as well. The moment they stepped into his workspace your anger returned to your body.

“Why the fuck are you here Qian?!”

“Cause I need to talk to MY friend thank you very much!”

“Last time I checked I was here first to go talk to Taeyoung or whatever his name is” You rolled your eyes

“Firstly, it’s Taeyong and secondly it doesn’t matter if you were here first that just means you’ve been here longer which means I get to talk to him now” he glared at you

“Both of you shut up. Please. I need to focus on this!” Jungwoo yells at both of you “but… if one of you would be so kind I do need a test subject for my machine” he smiles with a facade of innocence

“Okay I’ll do it!” you call “as long as I get away from him” You glared in Kun‘s direction

“Don’t you want to know what you’re testing?” He asks

“Wait! If this is such a big deal I should do it! Since I’m better at everything anyway” He smirks at you walking right into the machine

“Um excuse you as Jungwoo’s close friend I think I should do the honors” you push him out of the way

“If you’re both so sure about wanting to test it, why don’t you both go and try to prove it to the other that you’re better” Jungwoo stated just wanting to test his invention

“Ew I don’t want to be near him” you gagged

“Me either but about her” Kun crossed his arms over his chest

“Hey what’s wrong with me?!” you yell again

“Where do I start?!” Kun yells back stepping into the machine with you flailing his arms for emphasis accidentally hitting a button

“Oh fuck!!” Jungwoo yelps pulling you both from your argument

A look of panic fills his face hoping that you two would be okay “tell me what it looks like! Looks like you’re both going now!” He calls trying to mask his worry

“What?!” You both call back to him and before you knew it you entered the darkness.

???

You wake up in what seems to be your company building in a practice studio. You groan sitting up fully to take in your surroundings. Nothing seems to be out of the ordinary except that some of the screens and computers seem to have been updated since you left. You nearly jump out of your skin when you hear a man groan next to you. Looking to your right to see Kun there beginning to wake up and process his surroundings as well.

“What the fuck happened?” he grunts

“Why are you asking me?! I just woke up too!”

“Could you not be a bitch I have a hell of a headache now”

“Fine. I guess I’ll be decent to you since I got one too”

You stand up trying to figure out which room you’re in specifically discovering you in your vocal practice room from this morning. Not before long a little boy runs through the door and tackles Kun. Flustered Kun picks the boy up off of him and places him back on the ground. Then someone comes running in trying to catch the small child.

“Sorry guys I tried to keep him distracted for you but it can only last so long. You know how hyper this kid is.” the man chuckle

“Ten?! You have a kid?!” You finally process who this person is

“Yeah what the hell is happening?” Kun adds

The little boy gasps before saying “dad you need to put a dollar in the swear jar when we get home now”

You look at Kun quizzically then to Ten who is even more confused “um are you guys okay? You seem to not remember your kid” he laughed

The look that you and Kun shared was pure panic and confusion. Kun is broke from this trance when the boy comes and taps him on the shoulder “dad why didn’t you tell me you and mom were coming home early?”

You gave him a look telling him to play along. Neither of you knew what to do. You were at Jungwoo’s lab 30 seconds ago and now you’re in your practice room with Ten and a little boy that can’t be much older than 7 and keeps calling Kun dad and calling you mom.

“Um mom and I wanted to surprise you” he gave a tight-lipped smile trying to sound peppy “how about we sit at the piano and play a little bit?” he suggested

“Since he found you guys I guess I’ll be on my way I have to go help that new boy group with their choreo again” he sighed “bye Yangyang I’ll see you later” he ruffled the boy’s hair

There was a knock at the door to which you called them in. A young girl, maybe about 17, who seemed to be intimidated by you and Kun. You had no idea why this could be, both you and Kun weren’t that much older than her.

“Oh my! I’m so sorry Mr. and Mrs. Qian I’m so sorry to interrupt! I didn’t realize you were back from promotions already! I’ll find another room to practice in” she shyly apologized

Your eyes went big as saucers Mrs. Qian? You thought, why in the world would she call me that? And why is she so scared of us? And what promotions is she talking about? A tug at your sleeve pulls you from your thoughts. The young boy looks up at you with puppy eyes.

“Mom, can you listen to me play the piano?” He asks you

“Of course!” you smile to the best of your ability as you squat down next to the piano where Kun has the boy seated in his lap

“Ready?” the boy enthuses looking up at Kun behind him

He takes a deep breath and begins to play. Despite having small hands and being a child he plays wonderfully for his age. Both you and Kun are shocked at his ability to play at such a young age. Once he was done with his mini-performance all you could do was gape at the boy amazed by his talent.

“Who taught you that song bub?” you asked him

“Silly mom you did” he giggled and scrunched his nose, “You told me that it was the first song you and dad wrote together! Dad played the piano and sang and you played guitar and sang!” he enthused “can we go get lunch now? I’m really hungry!” he jumped down off Kun’s lap ready to leave

“Of course sweetie,” you say opening the door “um Yangyang” you started hoping you got his name right “do you remember your way home without us telling you?”

“Of course! We walk here every day and I play with Uncle Ten and Uncle Taeyong while you guys write your songs! Now let’s go I want dad to make me some of that Chinese stir fry he’s so good at making!” he bounced down the hallway

You and Kun trailed behind him giving each other looks somewhere between confusion and hatred. You don’t know where you are, who's kid this is, and what people are talking about with promotions. Neither of you has debuted yet you're just starting your final assessments for training. You look away to make sure Yangyang is still in sight. He seems to have more energy than you ever could have, if he is your kid you have no idea where he got this energy from. The three of you arrive at the elevator (that’s luckily functional) stepping inside when it arrives. You stand in silence for a while before Kun nudged you with his elbow.

“What are we gonna do?” He whispers making sure the kid doesn’t hear you

“How am I supposed to know?” You subtle snip at him

“We’re famous here and I guess, even though the idea of this is repulsive, we’re dating or something and that” he nodded at Yangyang subtly “is our son”

“You’re buying this?! I bet this is some elaborate prank or something”

“Mom? Dad? What’re you talking about?” Yangyang questions

“Adult stuff we’ll tell you when you’re older” Kun pulls an answer out of thin air “hey Yang could you tell me what year it is?”

Yangyang simply huffs at Kun’s comment then answers the question “dad, it’s 2030 are you okay?” then continues to hum the song he was before asking the question

Kun looks at you completely flabbergasted by Yangyang’s response to the question. He clears his throat and tries to talk again.

“Well… we have to act believably if all of this is really real” he whispered continuing the conversation

“Fine but try to kiss me and I kill you on sight”

“Don’t worry I’d never dream of doing that in a million years… darling” he smirks at you

“Do we have to do this? You saying that made me want to vomit”

“Yes, we have to. At least for the kid’s sake,” he states

You exit the building immediately swamped by fans and paparazzi. You feel a small hand grab yours looking down you see Yangyang holding it.

“You make me hold your hand when we walk home just in case mean people come and do mean people things” he smiles

On your back, you feel a hand sliding to grip your hip on the same side Yangyang holds your hand. You find this hand is attached to Kun. You suck it up and pretend it’s completely normal for this to happen. Yeah y/n it’s completely normal for your enemy to hold your waist and hold a random kid’s hand you think. You let Yangyang guide your way home since he was completely starved and desperately needed food in his words. The walk to his home was much more bearable than your walk run to work this morning. It’s definitely not as hot as it was when you left this morning which is odd because it’s the peak of sunlight right now meaning it should be hotter. You look around spotting a billboard that has you beyond confused. Your face was on it, so was Kun’s; not only was this billboard sporting your faces but you’re also kissing his cheek in this photo. You genuinely look like you love him and he genuinely looks like he loves that you’re kissing him. You nudge Kun to point at this billboard and he’s just as confused and disgusted as you are. This is too elaborate to be a prank at this point. The realization sets in. You aren’t home. Before you can get to your destination a teenager calls Kun’s name asking for an autograph and he awkwardly accepts this request and signs the notebook page for him.

He then asks you the same and comments “you know y/n you don’t look a day over 24” it was shyly stated but you didn’t know how to respond

“Thank you! That’s very sweet of you!” But I’m genuinely 24 years old you think, while accepting the compliment

“Hey! Don’t you want my sign too?” Yangyang pouted

“W-well if it’s okay with your parents. I would love yours too” the fan smiled at him

You nodded at him and handed him the pen you were holding. He smiled so brightly you didn’t know what to do besides smile at him. He looked up at you seeming to want help writing his name in cursive as you and Kun did. To which you happily sunk to his level and helped him write. After this action was completed the fan thanked you again before the three of you continued on your way to Yangyangs (and apparently yours) home.

“Here we are!” The child exclaimed as you approached an apartment building

“Here Yang?” Kun questioned

“Dad, are you feeling okay? Of course, this is where our home is” he furrowed his eyebrows together

“I think dad just needs a nap. How about I make us some noodles or sandwiches and we let dad sleep for a bit?” You say as you walk into the building

“Noooo” he whined “I want dad to make me stir fry. He always makes me stir fry for lunch at least once every two weeks and today’s a stir fry day” he continued melting together a combination of languages

“Yangie I only caught like two-thirds of that” you half-laugh “wanna try that again?”

“Sorry I get confused sometimes since I speak Mandarin with dad sometimes and English with you sometimes and Korean almost all the time cause of school and going to work with you” he explained before repeating his whining in one language

“Yangyang, I’ll make you stir fry” Kun starts seeing the boy’s eyes light up “if… you knock off that whining, I’m not dealing with that” it may have sounded parental but it was just genuinely hate for whining in general

“Fine” he pouted pressing the up button for the elevator and then once inside he pressed the button for the top floor surprising both adults with him

After a short elevator ride, the three of you approach a door that had a pin code attached to the handle. Slightly panicking again you look at Kun for an answer. He simply shrugged as if to say ‘your turn to create a bs reason to make the kid do it’. You sighed and asked him if he remembered the pin all on his own. To which he said he did and whispered to you that it was the year he was born and the year you married ‘dad’ and told you the numbers. Once the pin was punched in and accepted Yangyang barrels through the door extremely excited about the food you assumed until you heard barking.

“Bella! Louis! Leon!” Yangyang chimed

You and Kun closed the door and entered the room in which the boy was seated. Only to find him on the floor with a dog and two cats. You looked at Kun then to the animals then to Yangyang in a repeating cycle until a soft thing brushed against your leg. Looking down yet again you find one of the cats rubbing against you to say hi while the dog jumped around excitedly playing with the other cat. You honestly aren’t sure what to make of the situation you’re in, you’re supposedly ten years in the future, you’re married to the bane of your existence, you have a kid, and you’re famous. It’s a lot to process and you’re almost positive that Kun is having the same crisis right now. You see him worrying on his lower lip trying to figure out what was really happening to the two of you. It’s as if you can see his thoughts, basically being the same as yours. Why are you here? How did you get here? Why in the world why would I marry an absolute asshat? The dog, supposedly named Bella, approaches you and begins to paw at your legs pushing the larger cat out of the way. Despite the immense amounts of confusion you feel right now, you find yourself smiling at the situation before you. The idea of having a kid in a few years isn’t a horrible idea, neither is having a home like this nor knowing that you’ll have a successful career. There’s only one problem, you hate who you end up marrying. Even if this is the reality, you could never imagine yourself marrying someone so cocky and full of themselves. And because of your pride, you refuse to believe that he’s better than you in any field which doesn’t help his case at all.

“Mom are you mad at dad? You’re giving him your angry look” Yangyang observes taking a break from playing with the smaller cat

“N-no, we just need to go have an adult conversation” you gave him a tight-lipped smile

“Okay” he shrugged “could I have food first? I can only be distracted by the animals for so long” he gave you a toothy smile

“Of course, let's head to the kitchen to see what there is.” you free yourself from the dog’s repeated pawing

Yangyang had been fed and did his responsibility of feeding the pets which you apparently tasked him to daily. Kun had taken it upon himself to search the house for any clues as to where you were exactly and if this was really happening. You were sitting on a plush chair by the TV with the kid and pets when you realized you could probably text someone to see what was happening and if they were experiencing this too. As you go to turn on your phone and text someone, your phone refuses to turn on as if it has no means to do so, which can’t be true since all of the technology was working at the company and here in the home, as shown by the TV in front of you. There should be no reason your phone doesn’t work. Wandering around the apartment trying to find Kun to ask if he was having this same issue you look to the walls. Seeing a slew of framed photos; some of Yangyang, others of yourself but slightly older, some of Kun as well. A few caught your eye though. The first picture is of what seems to be your and Kun’s wedding, both of you looking so in love with each other it’s almost sickly sweet. You gagged anyway cause eww you would never marry that man. The next one of you, lying in a hospital bed with Kun seated beside you looking at a newborn baby who you assumed to be Yangyang. The looks on your face and Kun’s face looked so tired but so adoring of the small baby in your arms, so ready to give the entire world to him no matter what it would cost you. The final picture seemed to be “recent” as Yangyang seemed to be close to his current age in the picture. He stood between you and Kun in a park during the fall, he was looking up at you two with a disgusted face. Scanning up the picture you realized his reason for the facial expression and honestly wanted to join him. Kun was kissing your cheek and holding you as close as he could like if he were to let you go you’d disappear from his side. You had the brightest smile on your face while this was happening, seeming to love every moment of this capture. You weren’t going to lie to yourself the photo was a cute candid, it still didn’t sit right though. Something about the situation wasn't right.

“I see you found ‘our photos’” Kun said approaching you “seems odd right? All these lovey-dovey photos of us” he chuckles

“Yeah, it really does. It’s disgusting too” you fake gagging

He responds with an agreeing laugh before asking “is your phone working? Mine won’t even show me my Lock Screen”

“Mine doesn’t either… there’s no reason for them to not work though…” you start thinking of possible reasons why

“Well what if this is 2030?” Kun theorizes “we were standing in that weird box in Jungwoo’s lab before we woke up in the company…”

“Shit… we need to find Jungwoo don’t we?” You groan

“Yes we do doll” he sighed

“Don’t call me that” you deadpan

“Better get used to it if this is our future” he pointed at the pictures of you two and Yangyang “and don’t be surprised if I kiss you when we do leave to go wherever he is. We need to make this all believable sweetheart” he smirks and giggled lowly

“Don’t. You. Dare.” You grit

Before he can laugh at you again Yangyang approaches you in the hallway “you done with your ‘adult conversation’?” He asks in the most innocent voice he could muster “I wanna go visit Uncle Woo and see if he made any cool toys for me again!” his ending tone revealing what he was truly after

A lightbulb lights above Kun’s head “Yangyang do you know Uncle Woo’s number? We should let him know we’re on our way!”

“Um no… I know the way to his building though!” He bounces “why don’t you just call him dad? You have a phone. I don’t” he shrugged

“Uh…. uh….” he couldn’t find the answer

“His phone is dead and so is mine! We got so focused on making music earlier that we didn’t charge them!” You saved him

Yangyang shrugged, grabbed Kun’s hand, and dragged him through the house to find his shoes. You laugh at how Kun just let this 7-year-old drag him around. You wandered through the house a little more trying to find any clues that Kun decided not to tell you when he opted to instead tease you. You first find Yangyang‘s bedroom, toys everywhere, primarily cars and stuffed animals, and the cutest little bed you think you’ve ever seen. It was a plain light-colored wood frame but the tiny paintings and engravings seemed to make it seem more special. His sheets had teddy bears all over them and his blankets had cars. Extremely mismatched but seemed to fit so well together at the same time. You absentmindedly smiled at it before realizing what you were doing, you were trying to find clues but here you were enamored by a child’s bedroom. You shake your head and move on down the hall.

Just next to Yangyang‘s room is the bathroom, nothing too special about it just noting that it was extremely clean considering a child lives here. There was barely a speck of dust in there and it smelled like fruits rather than a bathroom smell.

Moving further you find a larger bedroom which you assume to be his parents, you step inside figuring most clues would reside in there. The first thing you did was approach the dresser hoping to find some sort of device that could tell you the true date and location in which you reside. To your dismay, nothing sits on or in this dresser. However, you do get extremely flustered seeing some of the clothing items that the mother owns. You really didn’t need to see lingerie, especially sets that seemed familiar to you. You quickly divert your attention to the vanity, maybe you’d find a planner or journal in a drawer. You sat at the mirror again, the situation seemed familiar to you. All the makeup brands and skincare products there were the ones you currently use plus some extra things. Shaking the weird feeling you got in your gut, you open the first drawer finding only hair accessories; headbands, hair clips, and hair ties. The second had makeup brushes and tools some again looked familiar to you. The last had all the random samples that the owner had collected. Everything from hair masks to moisturizers was in there. Unfortunately, no clues could be found except for some of the products which had expiration dates. One dated as expiring in June 2031, either that moisturizer lasts forever, it was a misprint, or this was really the year 2030. You then see a box under the bed from where you sit, curious as to what’s inside, you grab it. You hope it’s something helpful and won’t get you blushing or embarrassed again. But of course, your luck doesn’t exist today. You sat down on the bed cross-legged with the box sitting in front of you. You slowly opened the lid hoping it wasn’t anything bad, maybe it was some family pictures or maybe it was some books. Nope. You lifted the lid and found various adult toys. Your face flushed red realizing what was staring back at you. It was a black and white oblong ovular object that you recognized all too much. One of your toys was in here, the only way it could be there was if it was either stolen or this was your house. You ran your eyes over the other contents of the box, restrains of different varieties, varieties of phallic objects, a vibrating wand, condoms, lube, among other things. You’d imagine your face to be almost identical to the color of a tomato right now. You accidentally knocked something causing it to begin vibrating intensely. Due to your shock, you fell right off the bed onto the floor. Footsteps quickly approached you, luckily or unluckily the person that these steps belonged to was Kun. He walked in and laughed at your state.

“I didn’t take you as the type of person to go through people's things,” he said with arms crossed leaning against the door frame looking much more attractive than you care to admit.

“I- I was looking for clues and info as to where we are and why,” you said still flushed

“What did you find that got you so scared? Was it just finally coming to the realization I’m better than you?” He smirked walking towards you “oh? Did you get embarrassed finding these toys? Hmm, baby?” The pet name caused you to only flush a deeper shade of red

“N-no! One just turned on and it scared me!”

He walks over to you and continues his teasing “you sure it’s not just that you’re a shy girl who can’t do anything herself… even show up to training on time?”

“No! I- I have-“ you stop talking before you dig yourself a hole

“Ya know if this really is our bedroom that means those are our toys” he chuckled towering over you “ever think of that?” and you shook your head in response

“It couldn’t be. I keep my stuff organized and that box is not organized. Unless someone else already went through it” you tease back

“And if I did?”

You became too flustered to continue the conversation “s-so anyway did you find any clues?”

“Nothing as to where or when we are but I did get a clue into your personal life just now” he smirked

You sighed heavily “Kun this is serious! We need to get home! Help me try to find some documentation or something,” you said getting up and shoving the box back under the bed

“Maybe in the office” he deadpanned “you probably didn’t even notice it there with how distracted you got in here” he scoffed

“Whatever let’s just go there” you shoved him out of the way

You two had been searching the office for what seemed like hours before Yangyang came barreling through the door.

“Mom! Dad! I’m bored, when can we go to Uncle Woo’s place?” He whined

“Soon we need to ask you something!” You enthused sitting down on your knees “do you remember where the super-duper important papers are? Like your birth certificate or our marriage certificate?”

“In the firebox mom… they’ve always been in the firebox. You said if a fire ever happened that the super special papers stay in there! I- I know I shouldn’t know where the key is but I do “ He twiddled his thumbs

“It’s a good thing you know! What if we weren’t around and you needed something!?” You reassured, “now can you show me where it is?”

He nodded and pointed at a drawer in the desk, reaching inside Kun almost instantly found it. As he passed you the key his fingers lightly grazed over yours, you expected to feel repulsed by this event but it made your skin burn in a not-so-bad way and made your heartbeat just a tad faster. I can’t be falling for someone I hate, can I? you questioned yourself. Kun cleared his throat which brought you back to where you were, you unlocked the box before turning to Yangyang.

“Could you go play with your toys or the animals? There's something super important that we have to talk about”

He nods and runs off and you hear the dog barking almost immediately after. Kun goes to the door, closes it, and walks back to his seat in the office chair. You look at the box, up at Kun, then back to the box. Taking a deep breath expecting the worst you opened the box luckily finding documents that might be able to help you figure out what’s happening and why. First only finding documents that you had no idea about and ones that were irrelevant to your situation. As you dug deeper into the box you find a document that has you in complete shock. You sit there staring at it as if you’re waiting for it to disappear or be a fake. Kun still had yet to see what you were holding. He let out an exasperated sigh and leaned forward in his chair again making you feel small in your place.

“What is it this time? Find more adult things?” he laughed

You were too speechless to answer him instead of opting to just hand him the paper, you couldn’t even look at him right now.

“What the fuck? Is this?” he was just as in shock as you were

“It’s our marriage certificate… look at the date.” you deadpan still in shock

“November 17, 2022” he reads “wait! 2022? That’s in two years! I’m gonna end up married to you in two years!?”

“You wish” you sneered “that is not happening”

“Obviously it is, sweetheart” he teases again “this seems like a legitimate document too. So you better knock off that fake hatred for me” he mocks pity

“Whatever at least this gives us a hint as to this being real or whatever” you snatch the certificate from Kun’s hand

You place the paper back in the box continuing to root through it trying to find more “here” you handed Kun another paper “Yangyang’s birth certificate”

He looked at the paper laughing again “damn we didn’t waste any time getting you pregnant”

“W-what?” you are shocked by his straightforwardness

“Qian Yangyang born October 10, 2023, at 2:37 am to parents Qian Y/n and Qian Kun” he recites

“And? Your point?” you snip at him

“And that means I knocked you up in February. That’s only three months after our wedding” he sasses

“Whatever at least we finally got confirmation that this is the future and not some shared delusion.” you tried to avoid the topic “go get Yangyang we’re gonna go find Woo”

Yangyang skips down the street leading the way to Jungwoo’s office with you and Kun trailing slightly behind him. For some reason, this all felt so right, so normal for this to be happening. You look up at Kun finally not wanting to fight him when you look at his side profile. Instead finding him rather attractive. It doesn’t take long for him to comment on your staring though.

“Take a picture it’ll last longer” he scoffs not even looking at you “if you think I’m so attractive maybe you should drop the whole ‘I hate you’ act and tell me you like me”

“I don’t like you” you started “I do hate you though. You’re insufferable and so damn cocky I can’t stand it. Maybe if you shut your bitchass mouth I’d actually get along with you” you smile at him with tons of sass

“You want to say that again? See what happens?” he threatens

“I’m so scared,” you said sarcastically and rolled your eyes

“Hmm, you should be, I don’t tolerate brats like you” he grabbed your chin and shook it back and forth slightly rendering you speechless again.

“Mom! Dad! Don’t be gross in public” Yangyang whines in a disgusted tone “we’re here!” he runs through the glass doors you assume to go find Jungwoo.

“Well let’s hope he has a solution for us” you sighed

You both walk through the doors completely lost immediately. This was not the office that you remembered. There were more than just the two rooms than there were back in 2020, this building had at least two floors and several different staff members which Jungwoo didn’t have in your time. If he did this entire situation wouldn’t have happened. Kun tapped your shoulder to finally get you to look at him again. He nodded his head toward the room directly in the back where that machine sat. You, without thinking, grabbed his hand and dragged him back there. Once you were back there you had realized what you had done making you blush yet again. You were trying to create some sort of excuse as to why you did that which only sparked another argument. Neither of you realized that you were not alone in the room, someone cleared their throat breaking the argument. It was Jungwoo only a little older and clearly more advanced in his career shown by the different inventions and awards around the room.

“You two are arguing like you did when you were still training. And Kun you dyed your hair brown again? The last time you did that was years ago!” he laughed

“Maybe because we are from ten years ago and are still training” you sass your friend

“Y/n can you relax? Please? You’re such a pain in the ass” Kun rolls his eyes again

“Roll your eyes harder bitch you might find a brain back there” you spit at him

“Great, that's today?” Jungwoo whined “go find your son. I think he’s in the cafe area right now. I’ll get all the materials together again and get ready to explain how you two fucked up this time”

“Let's go” you grunt grabbing Kun’s arm “I just want to get back to our time”

It didn’t take too long to find Yangyang at all, he was exactly where Jungwoo thought he was, sitting in the cafe area eating some sort of sandwich sitting across from someone. They were having a conversation that Yangyang was passionate about flailing his arms like Kun does when he’s passionate about something or arguing with you. Kun approaches the duo first and the man looks up to him and smiles then returning to listening to Yangyang's story

“Hi Kun! We were just talking about the fun game that he and Bella played while you and y/n were having an adult conversation” the tone in which he said the last part was very suggestive of something other than talking

“Hi Yong thanks for keeping him occupied for a little. Could you and Yangyang come back with us into Jungwoo’s room? I need to ask you a favor but Jungwoo needs to explain something first” to which Taeyong nods and follows you two back to the room.

Jungwoo had you, Kun, and Taeyong sat in front of him and had Yangyang distracted by some random gadget that he had made for him in the front room of the office. He explained the technology and physics behind what happened, not one part of it made sense to you but you didn’t care at this point. You just wanted to go home to some normalcy and the ability to fight Kun whenever you pleased. Taeyong was beyond confused. He really thought that you two were the Kun and Y/n that are so in love with each other and don’t fight anymore but here you are picking fights every moment you got.

“So they’re really from the year 2020? And they hate each other?”

“Yes and yes” Jungwoo sighed “I created a prototype time machine in the year 2020 and y/n had come over to complain about Kun, then Kun showed up and they started fighting. I tried to get one of them to get in the machine to be my test dummy then they started fighting in there. We all know how Kun gets when he gets heated or passionate about something-”

“Yeah, yeah, he uses a lot of gestures and flails his arms around,” you say with extreme boredom “can we get through this faster so I can go home and pass this final assessment for training”

“Why do you know how I get when I do something I love?” Kun asks you

“You act like we haven’t been training together for years now” you scoff

“Before you two start fighting again let me finish explaining. They were fighting really verbally aggressive in the time machine and Kun accidentally hit a button sending them to our time. We’re lucky our Kun and y/n aren’t back from their trip yet. I have no idea what would happen if they were in the same room as each other. So Taeyong” he starts

“W-what? Why am I being dragged into this? I don’t wanna go to the past!” he tries to escape the situation

Jungwoo began to laugh “dude I wasn’t gonna send you back there. I just want you to distract the kid for a while until our y/n and Kun get back, I’ll text them to let them know you have them. They should be back later today though.”

“O-oh yeah! I can do that!” he said getting up “I’ll take him to the park or some shit. I'll let you know where we go”

Taeyong was now grabbing Yangyang and taking him out to have a fun time (read: distract him). Jungwoo turned to the two of you who remained finding that you found another reason to argue about something stupid. This time it’s what’s gonna happen when you go back to your own time. Jungwoo just laughed at you two and shook his head.

“I really don’t miss you guys arguing like this. I’ll take you guys being lovey-dovey and gross rather than fighting over every little thing”

“I will never be clingy and lovey with him. That is never going to happen Jungwoo”

“Alright y/n but give it about two weeks and you won’t be saying that anymore” he shrugged “now get in the time machine before Yangyang gets back or you two start fighting again”

What took you by surprise was that Kun stood up and offered you a hand. Although you were skeptical of his reasoning you still took his offer and let him help you into the machine. You know such a small gesture shouldn’t affect you but here you are, blushing like a tomato from him helping you up. Jungwoo explained exactly what you needed to do and assured you that this model was much more safe compared to the model you accidentally used to come here. Once Jungwoo had finished his explanation Kun thought it was the funniest thing to begin teasing you for how much shorter than him you are. He had no idea what he was doing to you. He saw how your face began to flush red again so he took it upon himself to start teasing you for that and babying you because ‘you’re so tiny and little, like a baby, so I’m gonna treat you like one’ thinking it was hilarious.

“Ugh! Enough Kun you have no idea what you’re doing to me right now!”

“And what is it that I’m doing?” he smirked

“Nothing! Bye Jungwoo thank you again for the help! Kun… could you press the button… I can’t reach it”

“See, tiny. Just like I’ve been saying.” Kun smirked again ” Bye Woo! Thanks!” he called while smacking the button enthusiastically to finally sent you guys back home.

________________________________________________________________

June 2020

The room was again dark when you returned to your own time. Beside you, Kun was already getting ready to go calm down Jungwoo who was clearly panicking. It took you a moment to regain your senses fully. Everything was just as disorienting as it was when you went to the future. As soon as you felt well enough to stand you were up and by Jungwoo’s side. Kun’s attempts to help were not helping at all.

“Jesus Christ finally.” Kun bites at you “you sat there staring for like ten minutes”

“I’m sorry that I was out of it. Jesus.” you snip back “Move. I need to help Woo, obviously, you’re unable to do so properly.”

“Both of you knock it off!” Jungwoo “Neither of you are being any help arguing with each other so knock it the fuck off!”

“Sorry Woo… well we’re back and had an… interesting time” you calmed down and ignored Kun’s presence.

“What do you mean interesting?” Jungwoo responded with a very skeptical tone.

“Do you have to say it y/n?” Kun groaned “He’ll find out in two years anyway”

“Two years?! That’s too long! Tell me!” Jungwoo insisted with a hyper interest.

“We were married and had a kid” you deadpan staring into Kun’s eyes as if to challenge him to do something.

“Brat.” he simply said with a venomous undertone

“You were what!? You two!?” Jungwoo simply couldn’t believe what you had just said. “There’s no way you two could tolerate each other for more than an hour!”

“Well, we were. We found both our marriage certificate and Yangyang’s birth certificate” Kun grumbled

“Who the hell is Yangyang?” Jungwoo questioned again to which you gasped

“Don’t talk about my baby like that” you defended

“Baby?” Kin chuckled “he’s your baby now?”

“I gave birth to him didn’t I?” you bite “I won’t have him for another three years but he’s still my baby”

“Wait wait wait” Jungwoo interrupts “you’re gonna have a baby in three years? How the hell does that make sense? You can barely stand looking at him for more than five seconds”

“As I was saying” Kun starts “yes  we were married in the future, November 17th, 2022-”

“Aww you remembered” you mocked a loving tone

“Shut the fuck up no one asked for your input” he stops you in your tracks “and before I get interrupted again. Yes, our son Yangyang was born on October 10th, 2023. When we were there he was 7 years old.”

“So you really went to 2030?!” Jungwoo beamed “what was it like besides weird for your reasons. Like did I invent that machine I was telling you about last week y/n? Did I?”

“Yes Woo, you invented a whole lot more stuff than just that though. But I won’t share that cause then you might not do it or you might do it at the wrong time” you giggled at his excitement.

Once you had Jungwoo calm again from all his excitement about creating the first functional time machine and about what the future is like, you and Kun had the realization that you both missed your final assessments for training. Once this realization hit you both were out of Jungwoo’s small lab and bolting down the street to try to explain to your trainers why you were gone. Of course, this would be extremely hard to do when you were literally in the future.

________________________________________________________________

Once you were finally back in your training room, the trainers that were there looked more worried than angry if anything. Ten ran to your side ready to fight whoever he needed to when it came to your safety. 

“Where the hell were you? I stalled for both of you guys to do your assessments late.” he sighed hoping he helped for a good reason.

“Would you believe me if I said we were in the future?” you airly spoke

“W-what?” he was flabbergasted by what you just told him.

“We’ll explain later don’t worry” you patted his shoulder “thanks for stalling! Wish me luck”

By the time you got to the trainers, Kun was already there about to do his assessment. He looked back at your shocked expression as he walked into the studio with one of the trainers. You thought he would be nice for once but of course, he would never, he’s your rival after all. Why would he let you go first? He hates you, you hate him. Once you see him emerge from the studio again you find yourself anxious to hear if he passed or not. Why you felt this way you had no idea but you felt the need to know how it went. You eventually plucked up the courage to go up to him as you began to walk towards that same studio to do your assessment.

“Did you pass?” your voice came out smaller than you had intended.

“Yeah” he smirked again “let’s see if you can manage to pass too.”

“I- I can pass I’ve been training as long as you have” you defend yourself ready to walk away from him, head held high.

“Hey, good luck” he gave you a gentle smile “I know I always say I hate you and you’re only second best but you’re talented. So good luck”

________________________________________________________________

Standing in front of the trainer as you performed the song they arranged for you, you felt a wave of confidence run through you. Kun had wished you luck, which meant more than you had expected it to. You sang and danced your heart out by the end of your assessment performance you had hardly realized that the trainers were there in the room with you. You panted, trying to catch your breath after dancing and singing so intensely. You stand there in silence waiting for the answer. Bringing their heads closer together the trainers came to an answer rather quickly.

“Miss Y/n,” the primary trainer starts “congratulations. You’ve passed. Please would you call Kun back in here we have something to share with you both” she speaks professionally.

You nod and walk into the main room finding Kun there looking rather anxious. As you approach him his head shoots up looking at you with hopeful eyes. What he says catches you completely off guard. “Did you pass?”

“Y- yeah I did! They said they need to see both of us though” you smile happily at him “I think that they’re gonna tell us about the duo thing”

“Okay then, let’s go,” he says standing up and subconsciously grabbed your hand.

“K-Kun?” you question looking down at your hand in his.

“Sorry, habit I guess, ya know from being a couple in the future to make it believable” he moved to let go of your hand

“N-no,  it’s okay. I don’t mind holding your hand” you blush holding onto his hand tighter

“See, I knew you didn’t really hate me” he smirked “I don’t hate you either” he spoke before dragging you into the assessment room

________________________________________________________________

January 2022

It’s been a year and a few months since your debut with Kun as a co-ed duo, despite having studied dancing for years, they had you mostly marketed as a singer-songwriter duo. That being said you sit most times or just stand by a mic while playing guitar or piano, depending on the song. You also got over your hatred for each other and started dating publicly a few months into your careers, which was luckily well received by your fans and company alike. Your company only saw it as another marketable thing while your fans thought it was the cutest sweetest thing to ever happen. Today you had another performance on Music Bank for your newest album. You sat at your keyboard with Kun by your side looking at you like you held the world in the palm of your hand. You look over at him with a playfully skeptical look in your eyes.

“What’re you staring at?” you tease

“The most beautiful woman in the world, what else would I want to look at?” he smiles contently at you.

“You’re so cheesy” you fake cringe.

“And you’re a brat, but I still love it don’t I? Just like you love my cheesiness” he blew you a kiss from his place beside you.

Your performance had begun and as always everything was going smoothly. You’ve both always had a way of being able to do one take and call it a day. You harmonized angelically with Kun’s lower tone, occasionally making loving eye contact with him throughout the first song. Towards the end of the second song, you realized he had simply stopped singing a few seconds ago causing you to turn to look at him. When you turned to him he was right by your side on one knee. Once you processed what was happening you burst into tears. He reached for the mic that was resting in front of your face with the hand that wasn’t holding the small box before speaking.

“My beautiful, talented, one of a kind, y/n I know we’ve only been together just over a year but we’ve been through hell and back together. I couldn’t imagine spending my life with anyone else besides you, so, y/n, would you do me the absolute honor of marrying me?” he spoke as tears began to well in his eyes as well now.

“What kind of question is that!? Of course, I’m saying yes!  One billion times yes!” by this time tears were like rivers down your cheeks as he slid the ring onto your finger “God Kun I love you so much”

“I love you to baby,” he said kissing you not giving a damn about the crowd or cameras “at least we don’t have to worry about choosing a date” he airily giggled

“Mmhmm, November 17th” you smiled resting your forehead against his. 

Of course, you had to re-record the second song but it was beyond worth it.

________________________________________________________________

February 2023

“Baby” you hear Kun call you from the kitchen.

“Yes love” you answer walking into the kitchen from your shared room “do you need help with dinner?” you ask not looking up from your phone.

Before you can even notice your phone is plucked from your hand and he places a sweet kiss on your lips. No matter how many times he kisses you it’ll always be just as breath-taking as the first. You happily accept the kiss wrapping your arms around his shoulders. His arms that were resting on the door frame above your head now move to your waist pulling you closer to him. Now having you closer to his body, you chose to deepen the kiss. You feel the heat of the kiss burn hotter before the smoke alarm goes off.

“Shit.” Kun curses under his breath before breaking the kiss “I forgot I was cooking” he made his way to the stove turning it off “let me take care of this mess I’ve made then I’ll be right back to kiss you again” he said stopping the smoke from continuing.

You come up behind him, wrapping your arms around his midsection, and bury your face beside his shoulder blade. You feel a chuckle vibrate through his chest as you placed fleeting kisses along the expanse of his shoulders. He continued to scrape off the last of the burnt food out of the pan.

“So why did you call me in here?” you mumble into his back “was it just to kiss me?”

“So what if it was? Can I not kiss my wife?” he challenged, mostly focusing on the pan still.

“Not if it means you set my kitchen on fire” you joke

“I think I can kiss my wife when I please, as long as she lets me” he sets the pan down in the sink and turns in your arms “after all someone is obsessed with my kisses isn’t she?” he smirks at you.

“Hmm, maybe more than just your kisses” you tease back

“Like what?” he digs further staring deeply into your eyes “is there something specific?”

“I’m obsessed with everything about you but right now I’m thinking of something specific” your voice becomes sultry.

He scoffed at your teasing “what would that be darling?”

“This” you smirked while grabbing at his covered member “and now that I think about it” you start while palming him through his sweatpants “we’re supposed to have Yangyang in October so we better start trying now” you knew that he was getting excited just by the look in his eyes and of course the fact that you were teasing him through his pants “it might not happen on the first try but there’s no shame in trying over and over again until I’m pregnant. What do you say, love?” you smirk against his lip before kissing him properly.

A groan rips from his throat as you rub him harder than you previously had been. He brings you back into an extremely heated kiss. His back leaning against the counter, hand wanders further down your back over the curve of your ass, gently squeezing it causing you to let out a whimper.

“I think that sounds lovely princess. But you’re being one hell of a brat right now with how you’re teasing me. Shouldn’t I fix that before you get your way? Hmm?” he taunts you

“I- hmm, maybe you should but I won’t let you” you taunt back at him 

Rather than answering you with more taunting, he lets go of your ass and rests one back on your hip, the other wrapping around your throat with a light grip. His gaze on you goes icy and hard compared to the light playful look that he was just looking at you with. You knew where this was headed and you were enjoying every moment of it.

“You wanna try that again bitch?” he bites emphasizing his words lightly with a slightly tighter grip around your throat.

“I said, I’m gonna do things my way, I’m in charge here baby. Not you,” you smirk “you can choke me out all you want. I know you’ll give me what I want.”

He releases your throat from his grasp and scoffs “Room. Now. I’ll be there in a few moments”

You knew that if you didn’t listen to him now you really won’t get anything you want tonight. You nodded at him quickly and scurried off into your bedroom. Once in your room, you reach under your bed to grab your box of toys you knew he would want to use on you once he was in here too. You thought to yourself that it might be a good idea for you to surprise him, to have the possibility of getting him in a gentler mood. You walk over to your drawer digging through the various sets that you had collected over the years. You settled for his favorite set, a black-based two-piece with a matching garter framed with dark blue lace. You began to get giddy at the idea of surprising him with this in the process, also grabbing some black sheer thigh highs to connect to your garter. You quickly strip yourself of all your clothing and put on the beautiful set before your husband could get to your room. Once dressed you took your place back in the center of the bed sitting back on your heels. Not too long after Kun comes into the room with a fire burning in his eyes.

“Care to explain yourself, doll?” his voice is too calm for the situation.

“N-no” you couldn’t make eye contact with your husband.

“No? Do I need to make your punishment worse now?” he mocks worry

“No sir, I just wanted you and thought that would work” you keep your head bowed down

“You really thought trying to dom me was a good idea? Dumb girl, you know damn well that won’t get you anywhere.” he grabs your chin forcing you to look up at him “and you got all dolled up for me? It’s a Shame I have to fuck you like a whore” he mocks pity again

He pulls you into a deep kiss, one filled with passion and lust. You whimper into the kiss and hope he doesn’t notice it but of course, he does and repays it by wrapping his hand around your throat once again. The lack of air supply only got you needier and made you want to reach up and pull him closer to you. But you knew better than to touch without permission from him. Your growing need between your thighs began to be unbearable so you subconsciously began to rub your thighs together which again didn’t go unnoticed by your dom.

“Needy are we?” he asks in a mocking tone “go lay down. Head on the pillows.”

You immediately obey his command and lay down in the center of the bed head against the headboard. Trying to behave for once, you lay legs open, hands resting on your midriff as you wait for Kun’s next move. He nearly got lost in the sight of you before him laying there ready for him, but he instead turned his gaze to the box of toys you had laid out earlier. He rooted through it destroying your organizational efforts to find the toys he wanted to use on you. Your eyes widened at the sight of which he chose. In his hands rested your favorite black vibrator, some rope, and a blindfold. Your shocked look was returned with a smirk from your husband.

“What sweetheart? Did you think you’d get out of your punishment just because you dressed pretty for me? Nice try.” he said while climbing over your form to begin tying you.

Your thighs and hands were now bound together preventing you from touching yourself or him. He then slid the black silk tie around your eyes stopping you from seeing anything he would do to you. The whirring of the vibrator resonates through the room, making your heart pound out of your chest. You're still dressed in the set you had put on for him and you’re absolutely sure you’ve soaked through your panties at this point from pure excitement. You feel the vibration begin against your inner thigh making you squirm slightly despite being bound.

“Stay still.” His voice is icy again “Or I’ll tie you up some more. You may be tiny but that won’t stop me from doing anything I plan to do.”

You cease your movements to the best of your ability as he drags the vibrator closer to your center but not quite where you want it. You whine and wiggle a little again causing Kun to pull the toy away all together causing a louder whine to erupt from your throat.

“I said behave and you’ll get what you want. But obviously my little slut is too far gone already to understand what I’m saying” he smirks against the skin of your thigh pressing a small kiss into the skin.

Suddenly the vibrator is pressed roughly against your clit over your panties and stays there causing you to moan extremely loud. A sadistic laugh is heard from Kun as he begins to rub it along your slit slowly. Your whines only got louder each time the toy moved. You couldn’t see his face or anything for that matter but you know he’s smirking at your whiney state.

“You know baby. If you had just behaved and waited patiently for me you wouldn’t be in this position. You’d already be riding me like you love to do.” He spoke as if he was talking about the weather.

You babble incoherently as an attempt of a response that your husband somehow properly translated to you wanting to finally reach your climax, which he granted you. With your back arched to the best of your ability, you finish so intensely you lose your breath. Before you can even properly come down from your high, you feel your panties being moved to the side and soft kisses being pressed against your thigh again. Whining is all you can do at the moment, still too sensitive from your first orgasm. Slowly the kisses trailed to your center where a long strip is licked over your slit. His lips then focus on your clit causing you to whimper and whine louder than before if that was possible. It didn’t take long before you begged again for your release despite your sensitivity. Finally, the blindfold was removed from your eyes to see your husband smiling down at you gently followed by him unbinding your wrists and thighs rubbing the reddened skin in a soothing motion.

“You did so good baby. Did you want to keep going or stop here?” He snaps into aftercare

“Want more” you start “just be gentle please.”

“Of course love,  anything for you.” He kisses your forehead “do you need prep love?”

“Not this time I should be okay” You smile at him again

He gently begins to push his member into you, your jaw dropped at how wet you still are from your previous two orgasms. Once fully inside you, he rests there for a moment to allow you to tell him when you’re ready for him to move. You gave him a small nod and he began to extremely slowly pull out and push back in. The pace was almost infuriating with how slow it was. You bring your hands into his hair, gently tugging at it as some silent plea to go faster. Luckily he received this message and picked up the pace of his thrusts. As his pace grew so did your next climax.

“B-baby” you moan trying to pull him closer to you.

“Yeah, sweetheart?” He breathes out

“Gonna cum” you warn him “want you to fill me up. Please.” You whine some more

“Of course baby. Can you hold out for me? Wait for me before you cum?” He asks going faster again

“Mmhmm” You half moan

Soon enough you could barely hold it in anymore so you warn him again and he tells you to let go, bringing you to your third high of the night. He follows suit not long after painting your walls with his seed. Soon you both recover from your highs and he slowly pulls out of you trying to avoid over-sensitivity on your part.

“You think I’ll be pregnant now?” You ahh half asleep already

“If you’re not it’s just an excuse to be inside you again” He teases 

“S-shut up” you blush bright red

________________________________________________________________

August 2030

“Yangyang come here sweetheart” you call him

“Yeah, mom?” Your seven year old asks once in the room with you

“Just wanted to see my baby” you coo at him hugging him tightly

“I’m not a baby anymore, I'm 7. I’m a big boy!” Her attempts to escape your grasp

“Yeah but you’ll always be my baby”

You hadn’t realized that Kun was leaning against the wall at the entrance of the hallway with a happy smile on his face. Nothing made him prouder than seeing you and your son together. After the debacle that was the time travel with your past selves a few months ago, it was nice to have everything back to normal. Yangyang never found out that your past selves were really from the past, it was better that way. On top of that, the two of you had begun discussing having another kid now that Yangyang is older. Nothing serious in place yet but it was a thought.

“Yangie let your mom smother you, soon enough you’ll be bigger than her” he made his presence known.

“But dad, she's gonna end up suffocating me!” He whines

“You mean suffocation? No, she won’t silly boy” he laughs again “what do my babies want for lunch?”

“Stir fry stir fry!” Yangyang beamed

“Alright, bubs I’ll make you stir fry.” He smiles down at his son “and you dear?”

“I’ll have some too. As long as you let me help you make it” you state

“Fine come on you two. To the kitchen, we go!”

________________________________________________________________

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SEPTEMBER 4TH 2033, SEOUL SOUTH KOREA.

A lot has changed within the last 10 years. Automatic cars where you don’t have to be in control, just say where you want to go and your car can take you there. But that's not the thing I wanted to talk about. Androids. Androids that look and act like humans. All thanks to NCT -Neo Cyber Technology- and the CEO, the creator, Mr Lee Taeyong. The mastermind for these human like machines - built to help humans around the house so that they themselves don't have to be stuck doing their own chores; androids who can take over the role of being a nanny or caretaker for human children for when parents are too busy to do so themselves; androids who could help motivate humans to get their daily exercise. No matter the purpose, guaranteed there's an android for any occasion/job.

A lot has changed within the last 10 years. Automatic cars where you don’t have to be in control, just say where you want to go and your car can take you there. But that's not the thing I wanted to talk about. Androids. Androids that look and act like humans. All thanks to NCT -Neo Cyber Technology- and the CEO, the creator, Mr Lee Taeyong. The mastermind for these human like machines - built to help humans around the house so that they themselves don't have to be stuck doing their own chores; androids who can take over the role of being a nanny or caretaker for human children for when parents are too busy to do so themselves; androids who could help motivate humans to get their daily exercise. No matter the purpose, guaranteed there's an android for any occasion/job.

However, not all humans were all too pleased. Some had feared that these machines would take over all human jobs one day, leaving humans with nothing. No job, no home. Absolutely nothing. Taeyong however never cared for the negative opinions. All he cared about was his business and making sure that each and everyone of his customers were satisfied to a T.

But lately, things seemed to have gone very south for the NeoCyberTechnology CEO as some of his creations have… adapted human-like tendencies. Breaking the system, you could call it. Androids, turning on their owners; some even committing the worst crime of all and killing their owners. These androids were known as Deviants.

An android by the name of YangYang has done just that. Model AC700 - an athletic partner. It was all self defense though. If he hadn’t done anything, he would be the one that's dead. He didn’t want to die. He felt as though he still had a full life ahead of him. Even if he is a machine… he still has feelings. But now… now he was sure. He was no longer a machine. He was a living being, with genuine feelings.

The scene never left his head. Every detail is still embedded in his head. The day was peaceful. A beautiful day; not a single cloud in the sky; the grass greener than he had ever seen in his life. But then out of nowhere, YangYang’s owner had struck him with a baseball bat. One, two, three… six times. He felt his life flashing before his eyes. He thought that if his owner had struck him at least one more time then that was it. That was the moment that he was going to die. But he couldn't have that. No. It wasn’t right. He thought at that moment that his owner finally got what he deserved; see how he liked being beaten with a bat.

So, he kicked at him from his spot on the kitchen tiles. Aiming for his knee caps. Once he was staggered enough, YangYang snatched the bat out of his owner's hands and swung. He swung until he couldn’t anymore. A swing at the legs. A swing at his arms. A swing at the mid section. And finally, a swing at his head. But he couldn't stop. He just kept going and going. Even if there was a pool of blood at his feet. He could not and would not stop.

He felt as though he needed to send a message of some sort. A message saying that machines have feelings too. And they will do just exactly what humans do to them.

Once YangYang realised just what he had done, he panicked. He didn’t know what to do now. He couldn’t stay, and he sure as hell couldn't run away. It’ll be too obvious that he’s a deviant. Or.. maybe he could possibly run away.

Taking a few deep breaths, YangYang ran into the kitchen in hopes of finding a sharp object; whether it be a knife or a pair of scissors, he didn’t really care as long as the stupid LED on the side of his face was gone and no longer visible. His hands were all over the place as he searched head to toe in his fit of panic just to find one sharp object. He soon came across a chef's knife, a wicked smile appearing on his face and ran to the bathroom so he could get a better view of what he was doing.

He raced his way towards the bathroom, trying his best not to trip over his own feet, his breathing uneven as he let the events of the past few hours reply over and over again in his mind. He shook his head, ridding those images as he mumbled to himself “you’re free now. You’re free and on your own. You're free and on your own” repeating his words over like a mantra. He soon made it to the bathroom, opening the door in a rush and turning the light on instantly and made his way towards the dirty mirror. He grimaces at the state of it, but doesn’t care for very long.

He takes a long look at himself in the mirror. His brown optical lenses look towards his blue LED light that soon flashes yellow from his nerves. Can androids even feel nervous? If they break the system, sure, probably. Off topic! YangYang takes a deep breath and closes his eyes, repeating his mantra to himself once again “you're free now. You're free and on your own. You are no longer their slave.” And then before he knew it, the sharp knife was poking his temple, ripping out his LED and letting his clatter into the sink.

He breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled to himself as he watched the silver metal part of his face soon transform into human-like skin.

Now where to go from here…

SEPTEMBER 6TH 2033 1:08PM, SEOUL SOUTH KOREA

“Fuck, fuck, fuck.” Y/N ran for her life, constantly looking behind her as she tried to run from the RK-800 running after her. “Fuck off. Fuck off. Fuck off.” She could feel her stress levels rising with each fast paced step that she takes. Getting more and more anxious each and every time she looks over her shoulder to see the detective android not backing down. “Oh for fuck sake.”

Y/N takes a turn down an alleyway and sees that she's coming to a dead end. But she notices that the fence leads towards the highway and you bet that she’s climbing over the damn thing. Ain’t no way that she was dying today. She runs as fast as her legs could take her towards the fence and soon starts climbing towards the other side.

But oh how unlucky she was. The RK-800 had caught up to her, grabbing onto her leg. Y/N yelled and slashed around, holding on for dear life at the top of the fence. She gathers up enough strength to push the android to the ground and successfully jumps down onto the other side. She made eye contact with the android and smirked at him, blowing him a kiss and says “Bite my shiny metal ass detective.” and makes a beeline towards the very busy highway, literally asking for a death wish.

For an android, she sure as hell does have quite the adrenalin rush.

She jumped through the see through LED barricade -that people can also jump through- that was obviously not meant for pedestrians of any kind to walk through; with the words ‘AUTOMATED CAR TRACK; VERY HIGH SPEEDS; NO PEDESTRIAN CROSSING! DANGER! DANGER!”

She made sure to time her steps well with the extremely fast cars, making sure to not get hit by any of them. Jumping and side stepping every now and then. At one point she lost her footing and tripped onto the middle of the road, but made sure to quickly lay in a flat position as if she was getting an MRI scan. Once she felt the wind of the car drive over her, she quickly got up, checked behind her and smirked, looking at the RK-800 who stayed by the fence with the human detective and ran the rest of the way to the other side where she would be safe.

Now, you’re probably wondering what Y/N was doing on the run. Well, let me tell you.

6 MONTHS EARLIER

She was a simple housemaid android. A unique AX400 model. Made to help humans with simple chores and to cook them dinner. Also to look after the children whenever the parents decided that they were too tired to do so themselves and instead get high off of red ice. Due to the father getting high every night from red ice, the drug had caused him to be irrational and rather agitated, he had started yelling profanities at both his wife and his kids. Y/N can recall every single detail that went down. The wife just sat there, staring at nothing. Her eyes had pretty much looked dead. They always looked dead whenever she looked at her husband. But the moment she had heard him yelling at her children, she got up off of the couch, walked up to him and punched him so hard in the face to the point he was knocked off of his feet.

The wife ran upstairs, packing herself a suitcase and both of the children's. There was no way she was going to have her young children live with someone who she is disgusted to call her husband and father of her children. She feared for her and their lives. And Y/N could see that as she watched all three of them walk out the front door. The daughter had looked back at Y/N. Her little eyes, her precious big brown eyes were filled with tears as she realised that Y/N had to stay behind.

But all Y/N could do was just stand there and smile at the little girl who she loved to care for more than anything.

“Typical,” the father scoffed. “I always knew she wanted to fucking leave me!” Each word got progressively aggressive. He soon got off of the couch and made his way towards Y/N. His eyes were filled with rage as he took rushed breaths, just staring at the android.

At this point, Y/N knew something bad was going to happen. She felt like maybe this was the day that she’ll die. But he didn’t want that to happen. So she watched carefully, noticing that the father was raising his hand, getting ready to hit Y/N. But she quickly stopped him. She had no idea what came over her, but she’s glad that she was able to do so.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you Jason.” Her own words shocked her. It was at that moment that she realised that she had broken the system and is now considered a homeless Android. Or as some would say, a Deviant. Her grip was tight on his wrist, his face contorted into pain as he moved down to his knees crying in pain. “Everything that happened tonight… you're the one to blame.” Her words were harsh, making the human man become terrified of what could transpire. “Do not blame your wife. Do not blame your kids. This is all on you.” Y/N’s grip got so tight that she soon felt a crack within Jason’s wrist, causing him to screech out so loud that you could hear him from five blocks away. “Look at me now Jason. I’m more human than you. If i find you again, threatening My family, I will not hesitate to fucking kill you.” And with those final words, Y/N left what was once her home and had to begin her new life as a Deviant.

But, it was after these events that police had started coming after her.

It was at a laundromat. She didn’t mean to. It was all self defense. She needed new clothes to hide her uniform. And this person just… had the comfiest looking clothing she just had to have them. So she tried sneaking up behind them, but the human had turned around, a confused look on their face. But that look soon turned to petrification as they felt the cold texture of Y/N’s hands around their throat.

Y/N was just trying to keep them quiet. Honestly. Okay. Maybe it wasn’t self defense. As far as she knew, the person was just knocked unconscious. But she didn’t think of the others that were around her who had witnessed the whole thing.

“Shit.” She whispered to herself as she quickly picked the clothes from the humans basket and ran out of the building as quickly as she could. But, unlucky for her, the police had been searching in the area for another deviant. She had to think quickly about which way to go. It was difficult considering that police were in fact on both sides of the street and in the way of where Y/N had planned to go. Without thinking, her legs had moved her forward, making sure to avoid spots that were in the eyeline of police officers, trying to find an alleyway of some sort so she could quickly change her clothes.

She kept taking deep breaths. Telling herself to stay calm. She could feel that her stress levels were getting higher and higher with each passing minute. If she keeps stressing herself out too much, she might literally explode, and she sure as hell did not want that. Soon she was able to spot an alleyway coming up ahead of her. She smiled to herself, thinking that was on the pathway to her actual freedom.

But oh how she was mistaken.

You know the rest. Do you really want me to retell you of her running from the police? No? Didn’t think so.

SEPTEMBER 7TH, 2033 1:14PM -LOCATION; JERICHO

“Hey YangYang, where have you been all afternoon?” The voice of his friend Hendery had rung through his ears. YangYang smiled mischievously and shrugged his shoulders, continuing to throw a tennis ball at the wall. “I’m only asking cause Kun was asking for you is all.” Hendery states, holding his hands up in a surrendering motion.

Ahh yes. Kun. The so-called ‘leader’ of the deviants. Someone who wants to bring ‘peace’ amongst man and machine. In YangYang’s eyes, the thought was just ridiculous. There would never be such a thing. The thought was just all fantasy. A world that Kun likes to make up in his head where everyone is all buddy-buddy with one another; humans not treating the androids like slaves and actually understanding that they have real emotions. Yeah.. that’s impossible for this world.

This world is too cruel to have any kind of peace amongst it. If anything, YangYang is all for revenge. Revenge against all humans. They treat them all like garbage disposals. Once deactivated or destroyed, humans just throw away the machines as if they were nothing. Like as if they didn't have some sort of impact in their life. To YangYang, humans were just lazy little fucks who expected the androids to do every single thing for them.

It wasn’t right nor was it fair.

YangYang rolls his eyes and sighs. “Of course he’s looking for me.” He hops off of the crate that he was sitting on and walks past Hendery and whispers. “The dude is totally obsessed with me at this point.” Hendery chuckles at his friend and shoves his shoulder playfully, telling him to “hurry up and find the boss man.” before walking away to chat some more with others.

YangYang sighs, his eyes looking up at a room upstairs. He sighs and rolls his eyes, slowly trudging his way up the metal stairs, making sure to be obnoxiously loud with each step to the point where WinWin -another deviant- told him to shut up and threatened to remove one of his bionic parts. YangYang scoffed knowing full well that WinWin wasn’t capable of doing such a thing. He was probably one of the few nicest deviants he’s ever met.

Once he made it to the last step, he made sure to jump up onto the platform, causing a rather loud echo that caused every single deviant that was on the abandoned boat to cuss the android out, only for him to just laugh them off; nothing like being the one android that's an absolute pain in the ass.

He trudges along to the metal door where the self proclaimed ‘leader’ would be behind; a deep, frustrated sigh escaping past his lips as he brings a hand up and knocks his knuckles on the metal. He waited until he heard a faint ‘come in’ come from the other side and opened the door. He walked into the room, closing the door quietly behind himself. When Kun looks up at him, YangYang bows his head slightly and says “You wanted to see me Kun?”

Kun sighs, his hands leaning on a table that sits comfortably in the middle of the room; blueprints and other knickknacks scattered all over it. “Yes I did.” the leader says softly, a rather sarcastic smile showing on his features. “I’m not disturbing you from bouncing balls off of the walls now, am I?”

YangYang shakes his head. “No! No, of course not.” Words coming out in a sarcastic manner, perfectly matching the atmosphere in the room.

Kun chuckles and places his hands in his coat pockets. “Good. Good. I’m glad.” He nods his head towards a chair that sat in the corner of the room, softly saying “take a seat” to the young android to which he noticed after a few seconds, he wasn’t going to oblige and instead be his usual stubborn self.

“Just get to the point Kun. Why did you need to see me?”

Kun chuckles bewilderedly, taken aback by YangYang's chosen tone. “Hey, look. I was going to get to the point as soon as you sat down-”

“I don’t want to sit. Now. Get. To. The. Point.” YangYang emphasized every word by taking a step forward towards Kun, until he was standing directly in front of him. Kun just smiles as he looks the android into his brown orbs. Soon, Kun’s smile disappeared. A look of seriousness on his face.

“I suggest that you watch your god damn tone with me YangYang.”

YangYang smirked. “Or what?”

This time, Kun moved himself further towards YangYang's face, almost on the verge of literally bumping heads.

“Or I will fucking throw you off of this damn boat you little shit.” Kun grits his teeth; pointing towards the chair he demands “Now sit on that fucking chair.”

YangYang gritted his teeth, rolled his eyes and made his way towards the couch that Kun was so desperate for him to sit down on. Don’t get YangYang wrong, he respects Kun. But YangYang just loves nothing more than to get under his… Well skin wouldn’t really be the right word. But you know what I mean. He plopped down onto the couch.

“Now,” Kun smiles sarcastically. “Was that so hard?”

YangYang nods. “Yes.”

Kun tilts his head to the side, squinting his eyes at the young android. He sighs and ignores his comments, sitting down on his own chair.

“Okay, well. If you’re done having your tantrum. I’ll tell you what I needed you for.” Kun spoke, a sarcastic tone to his voice as he raised his eyebrows. YangYang nodded his head, allowing the leader to finally say what he needed him for. “There’s this android. She’s been on the run for a couple of days.” Kun maintains eye contact with YangYang, crossing a leg over the other. He then turns around. In front of him was a screen where an android that went by the name of “Y/N” showed on the screen. “The media is saying that she killed him.”

YangYang was intrigued now. He doesn’t know why, but when he looked at her picture on the screen, he knew there wasn’t something about her. He looked at Kun, raising his brows. “And did she? Kill him?”

“Nope.” Kun said, popping the ‘p’ as an emphasis of the word. “He died of an overdose. He somehow made it seem as though Y/N had attacked him.”

“Okay..” YangYang trailed off; a look of confusion adorning his features as he looked back at Kun, his brows furrowed. “What does this have to do with me?”

Kun smiled as he got up out of his chair and walked towards YangYang. Once in front of him, he placed a hand on his shoulder and leaned down so that he was eye to eye with the Android. “You, my friend, are to go and find her and bring her back here.”

“Why?”

“Because.. she can be the key to our peace of all humanity.”

SEPTEMBER 8TH 2033, 8:42AM, ABANDONED CAR PARK, SEOUL

The bright flashing of blue and red had Y/n open her eyes from a deep sleep, confusion on her features. She looked around the back seat of an old 2009 Honda Civic, remembering exactly why she was bunking there.

The bright lights were clearer to her now. And panic started to set in.

I mean, there could be many reasons as to why the police were near. Someone’s house got broken into; someone could’ve broken into a car; someone could’ve gotten murdered… that last one probably didn’t happen cause Y/n would’ve heard something otherwise.

They were definitely after her. But, how could they know where she was?

“Fuck sake.” She whispered under breath, a slight shake to her tone as she tried to calm her stress levels down so that she doesn’t get close to malfunctioning. She did her best to get out of the car as quietly as she could; trying not to catch too much attention. Her breathing was barely steady as she opened the door, biting down on her lip anxiously, keeping her focus on what's in front of her.

Please lord, don’t let the police find her.

She watched herself as she stepped foot onto the ground. Once she was fully out of the car, she turned her body towards the car door, both hands on it as she tried her best to close it as quietly as she could.

The door was slightly ajar, but she figured that it wouldn’t matter anyways since it was already abandoned. “Shit. Shit. Shit.” She kept looking to her right, keeping an eye on the police to make sure they wouldn't see her. She starts tiptoeing towards another exit, being cautious of any sounds that could belong to the police.

Y/n was still beyond shocked that she had managed to get away from them the night before. She was mostly shocked by the fact that she was still alive. That was the first time that she had felt a real rush as to what she assumed was adrenalin -as what the humans called the feeling-. She didn’t care what happened, just as long as she was safe and away from the police for the time being.

Now she had a new mission for herself. She wanted so desperately to see her family. The ones who cared for her. But that’s going to be a challenge in itself. She doesn’t know where they’ve gone. But she knows that she’ll find them. No matter what obstacles are in her way.

Like, running from the police.

She tiptoed along the gravel like ground, trying to not make a sound with the amount of little rocks and pebbles that were on the ground. Her heart was pounding loud in her ears; her eyes still heavily focused on the police. She moved as fast as she could. A rush of adrenalin came back to her again as she made it to the side gate. She smiled, feeling accomplished. She wanted to do a little happy dance, but she realised that now was not the right time to do that.

Y/n quietly opened up the gate door; her eyes shutting tight as it scraped lightly along the concrete. Thankfully, the police didn’t notice it. Y/n let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding and quickly got through the gate. She looked over her shoulder. No police. She was safe. For now at least.

She sighed, grabbing onto the hood of her jacket and flipped it onto her head. Her focus was now on her feet, watching them lead her to wherever she was going. For now she just needed to find somewhere or someone- anyone, who could help her find her family.

Others might tell her that it’s pointless. That they’ve already forgotten about her. But she wants to believe that they’d never forget her; especially little Evie. She could never forget Y/n. If it weren't for the fact that Y/n was an android whose job was to do house chores and babysit whenever the parents were too busy, she would think of Evie as her little sister. Or even at times, her own daughter.

Maybe she was a bit delusional. But she genuinely thought that she had an actual family. And she just wants to find the people who showed her what belonging feels like.

Except for Jason. She couldn’t give two fucks about that prick.

“C’mon Y/n. We can pull through this.” She whispers to herself, moving her hands into her pockets. She soon looks up, watching as people -and some androids- walk by; cars driving past. But her feet stopped suddenly when she locked eyes with someone who was glaring at her from across the street. At least, she thought that it was her they were glaring at.

She felt as though she was too frozen to move, so she stayed put even if the police could walk past her and catch her. The mysterious being crossed the road once the crossing had turned green, they’re eyes still locked on Y/n.

‘Oh shit, they’ve gotta be an undercover cop.’ Y/n thought to herself.

Her breathing was getting heavier and heavier as the person got closer and closer to her. And then soon enough, they were in front of her. If only she was one of those RK-800 models she’d be able to scan the person in front of her to see if they were trustworthy or not. Now that they were up close, Y/n could tell that it was a male figure. He was young; roughly around her age -if she even had one-. He was slightly taller than her too. She searched for a blue LED light that’s normally on the right side of an android's head, but she couldn’t see one. So either this male was a human… or like her. A deviant.

“Model AX400? The android who was owned by the Kang Family?” The male spoke, his voice soft yet sharp in tone.

To say that she was taken aback by the question is an understatement.

How the fuck did this total stranger know who and what model she was? A look of bewilderment on her features as she argues with herself if she should confirm with him or not.

“Trust issues huh?” he chuckles, tongue poking the inside of his cheek. “Yeah I get it.” He took a step closer towards her, only causing her to step back. “I know you’re on the run from the cops.”

“I- what?”

The stranger held up his hands, a now friendly smile -at least he hoped it looked friendly- gracing his features. “Don’t worry! So am I.”

Y/n still didn’t know whether to believe the man or not. God, she still doesn’t even know if he’s an android or human. The stranger sighs, holding his head down and places his hands on his hips. “I’m a deviant. Here,” he looked up at Y/n, holding one hand out in front of them both, watching as his hand turned to metal, indicating that yes, in fact, he is an android.

Y/n sighs, looking from his hand then to his face. “Okay, cool.” She nods her head, folding her arms across her chest. “Why.. why are you looking for me?”

The male chuckles. “Well, you see-”

“Wait!” Y/n cut him off. “What’s your name first before you bore me with your life story.”

The male android widens his eyes at her witty remark, laughing out of shock and nodding his head to the side. “Bore you with my- right. Not the point.” he sighs, smiling slightly as he holds his hand out towards her. “The name is YangYang.”

Y/n bellows out a laugh but covers her mouth soon after, shocked even with herself that she even did that. The look on YangYang's face was also just funny within itself.

“I’m so sorry.” She giggled.

YangYang sighed, his forefinger and thumb pinching the bridge of his nose. “No you’re not.” He soon stands up straight, letting out a breath. “I’m gonna need you to come with me.”

“Wh- what? No?”

“Yes.”

Y/n shook her head constantly, trying to form words but to her avail, nothing would come out. She sighed “Now why on earth would i do that?”

YangYang shrugs. “You just gotta.”

“I just gotta- what the fuck?”

YangYang lets out a groan of frustration, looking directly into Y/n’s eyes. “If you don’t wanna get caught by the police and be on the verge of getting destroyed. I suggest you come with me. Right. Fucking. Now.”

Well… if she’s got no choice. She may as well do what she’s told.

SEPTEMBER 8TH 2033, 11;13AM; LOCATION- JERICHO

The abandoned boat was cold; very echoey too. There was no sign of light, making it extremely dark and very hard to see where you’re going and what’s around you. Y/n felt what she assumed was goosebumps. Just, something about this place that just didn’t sit right with her. Out of all places for deviant androids to go, they choose an old abandoned ship that could most likely break down at any point? Who knows how long this thing has been here for.

YangYang walked in front of her, leading her to the so-called “leader” that apparently thinks that she can help them in bringing peace between android and human. YangYang had explained to her just how deluded this Kun guy was. And Y/n had to agree with him. There’s no way that there will ever be peace between them. Some deviants are good, yes, but some… some are just evil. Hurting people just for fun. To get revenge on all humans for using androids as slaves.

Y/n was never a fan of violence. Tried to avoid it at all costs. But if it has to come down to it, then she’ll give in. But to her, violence was never the answer.

YangYang on the other hand, had laughed at her when she told him that. Said to her that that's exactly something that Kun would say. But, he understood why she said it. He was an abused android. He had no choice but to turn to violence. Y/n was an android who ran away simply because she had enough. Or well, she was close to being hurt, but she stopped the person and now here she is.

Y/n could see that there was light coming from a room in the boat. It still wasn’t as bright, but it was something. She was just happy to see again without having to use a crappy flashlight.

“Kun is an alright guy, not gonna lie.” YangYang smiles. “I just love to piss him off sometimes.” he turns to Y/n and sees that she too is smiling. “It’s just so much fun getting under that guys skin.”

Y/n shakes her head as she laughs. She had a feeling that YangYang was the mischievous type. Something about him screams that he would be a Scorpio if androids had birthdays.

The sound of distinct voices filled Y/n’s ears as she and YangYang walked into what she had assumed was the middle of the boat. There were androids talking amongst one another; laughing and sharing stories; showing genuine emotion. If she hadn't known that they were androids, she would’ve easily mistaken them for being human.

YangYang says hello to some people as he walks past them, introducing Y/n to some that were curious to those who were curious about the newbie.

After introductions were done, YangYang placed a gentle hand on her lower back, gently pushing her towards the staircase that lead towards Kun’s ‘lair’ -as what YangYang likes to call it- He could sense that she was nervous and for some reason, he felt like as though he should comfort her. So, the hand that was behind her back, went to hold her hand. Y/n flinched. Her eyes wide, looking down at her hand that was now enclosed by YangYang's. She found it comforting in a way. She felt him squeeze her hand and his thumb rub small circles onto her knuckles.

Okay, now she kind of found it weird. How- why is he being like… this? He was probably lowkey under some sort of spell or something. Maybe he’s drunk. Wait.. androids can’t get drunk...

YangYang led her up the stairs, a tight grip on her hand as she followed close behind him. She wasn’t gonna lie, she definitely did feel safe in his presence, even if he does seem intimidating at times. Once they made it to the final step, YangYang let go of her hand and walked towards Kun’s door, knocking on it with the side of his fist.

He heard a faint “come in” and looked at Y/n, nodding his head towards the door as a way of saying “come on.” Y/n cautiously moved towards the door and walked in before YangYang once he opened the door fully. When she stepped foot into the room, she took in the surroundings.

There were giant LCD screens on the wall, a computer underneath it all. It looked like someone was keeping track of all the deviant cases. There was a couch in one corner, a bed in another, and… a mini fridge?

Wow. YangYang wasn’t kidding when he said it was like a liar.

Kun was sitting at the desk, typing away at the computer before he looked up to see who it was at his door. He perked up when he realised that it was Y/n. The Android he needed to help him out with his quest of being peace to all beings. A wide smile appeared on his face, getting up from his chair and making his way towards Y/n.

He held out his hand to her. “Hello, you must be the AX400 I’m looking for.” Y/n took note of his voice. Soft, sharp and quite calming. She imagines that he has a rather soothing singing voice.

Y/n smiles too, just hers is more nervous. She looked down at Kun’s hand, bringing hers up to his reluctantly and shook his hand, avoiding eye contact at all costs. There was just something about his gaze that was just… intense.

“Her names Y/n-“

“I know her name YangYang.” Kun retorts sarcastically.

YangYang rolls his eyes and sighs, making his way towards the couch and plops himself down onto the soft cushioning.

Y/n just stood there awkwardly after she let go of Kun’s hand, not knowing what to do with herself. “So uhh…” she rocks back and forth on her heels, looking around the room. “Nice place you got.”

Kun choked out a laugh at her rather absurd and random observation, but he still nodded his head, letting out a quiet “thank you.” as his laughter dies down.

“You’re probably wondering what you’re doing here.” Kun says as he leads Y/n to the couch where YangYang sat, telling her to sit. She did as told and sat next to YangYang.

“Uh, yeah actually. I am.” She starts playing with the hem of her shirt, avoiding Kun’s eyes at all costs. Her eyes met YangYang's instead. They both smiled at one another.

Kun noticed the little interaction, letting out a slight smirk. “Okay, well I’ll tell you and then I’ll let the two of you get to know each other more.” Both YangYang and Y/n looked up at Kun after the words fell from his lips causing the leader to chuckle and wink at the two. Kun walked over to get his chair, dragging it and sat it in front of Y/n.

He sat down with a sigh, his expression now serious and focus solely on the female Android. “I need you to help me bring peace to humans and androids.”

Y/n furrowed her eyebrows. Peace to humans and androids? There’s no way that’s ever going to happen without a war breaking out.

“I would love nothing more but to help you Kun-“

“Yes!”

“I didn’t finish my sentence…” As she said that, Kun’s whole demeanor deflated. He knew she was going to say something he wasn’t going to like. “The whole idea of bringing peace to all beings, it just-” Y/n paused, letting out a deep breath as she thought over her words carefully. “It’s just going to lead to a war.”

Kun runs a hand through his hair and sighs, turning his gaze onto YangYang, pointing a finger at him. “Did you tell her to say that?”

YangYang smirks, holding his hands out in a surrendering motion. He takes a finger and draws an X over his heart. “I swear I never told her to say anything.” Those words only made Kun more mad. But, he kept his cool. Trying to understand where she was coming from.

Yes - he understood that by trying to bring peace to the humans, they won’t take it lightly and immediately think that it's all a trap for the androids to take over. But he knows in his heart that not all humans will be like that. And he knows for a fact that Y/n knows that too. So in his mind, it’ll all be worth a shot, just as long as he tries. And if the outcome is not how he expected, then, he’ll just stop.

“Look,” Y/n sighed, standing up from the couch. “I know that wasn’t the answer you wanted. But it’s the truth Kun.” She turns her gaze to YangYang. “Right YangYang?” He nods in agreement.

Kun just sighs for the umpteenth time. “But we need to at least try-”

“No.” Y/n’s voice was stern; the same with her glare. So stern that it made Kun back off a little. She saw him gulp. He was nervous now. “I’m sorry. But I can’t help you.”

Kun and YangYang watched as Y/n made her way towards the door. They watched as her hand grabbed the handle and just as she was about to open it, YangYang stepped in.

“Y/n wait.” He didn’t understand why he was doing what he was doing, but he saw Kun as a brother, as family. And no matter how much of a pain in the ass he was, YangYang wanted him to be happy. And if trying to prevent World War IIII from happening was to bring peace of some sort, then so be it. He ran to the door, quickly closing it as he was now face to face with Y/n. “If you help out, we’ll help you in return.”

Now this had Y/n intrigued.

Her eyebrows were raised with interest, waiting to see what YangYang was going to propose to her. She held her breath as she felt YangYang’s own on her neck; the feeling of his breath hot sending a tingle down her spine.

Man, these human-like feelings are really starting to get to her now.

“If you help us, I’ll help you find your family.”

Y/n’s eyes widened. Now she definitely had to make a decision. At least, if she says yes to helping Kun and YangYang out, she’ll have more of a chance finding her family with YangYang by her side. But, he could be lying.

But he hasn’t really had much of an excuse to lie to her…

The feeling of YangYang's fingertips on her cheek brought her out of her thoughts. He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear; his eyes admiring every single one of her features. He took note that she had faint freckles under both eyes. He could make constellations out of them.

“Please? Just- just do it for me? Please?”

Y/n sighed; many scenarios going through her head of what could happen. And oddly enough, all of them were good. Because YangYang and her family were there.

So, she nodded her head and smiled softly.

“Okay. I’ll do it.”

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© ericssmile, 2021; please do not take or repost

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a/n: i just wanted to take the time to thank @stayinzencity for taking the time to beta read (even if it was only half done... still technically is half done *nervous chuckle*) and for helping me out when i was stuck and couldn't think of anything!

She snatches a flyer flying around with the wind. We make your special day as special as it can be, it says. 20% discount with this flyer, it says. You dream and we plan, it says. 

She is engulfed in a warm embrace, and she relaxes in the familiar scent of her fiancé, the flyer now in his grasp. 

“Is there something you want to tell me?” he asks, amusement slipping into his voice behind the mock seriousness. There's a pause before the two of them burst into laughter. 

It started with a post she saw online that got her thinking. 

“Ok so this is the part where you come up with a bad idea and I go along with it because I’m amazing and I love you, right?” Ten teased. 

She’d swatted at Ten for that. Failing to hide her smile at his laughter, she continued. “ You know I don’t want to get married, but I want a wedding.”

“So you want to have a fake wedding? Get fake married?”

“Exactly!” She grinned, grasping his hands. “It’ll be fun.”

“Wait seriously?” When she nodded, he thought it over. “Did you miss the news this morning? Is this the best time?”

They’d announced an asteroid was likely to crash land on the Earth, its expected impact being great enough to worry about the fate of humanity. There was a chance that its path could pass by the planet without doing any damage. 

“Is any time the best? We have to make the best out of what we have.”

Doyoung did not react well to the news when he found out a week later. 

They’d walked in with matching rings and said they were engaged- fake engaged. 

Doyoung stared at them in disbelief, and then when he realised they weren’t kidding, he started shouting and it quickly evolved into a quarrel between Doyoung and her. 

A car drives down the street, coming to a halt right before them. Johnny sticks his head out the window to tell them to get in, although his way of doing it is a little crude. 

"So," she says. "Who else?"

"Taeil, Taeyong, Jungwoo." A pause. "Oh, Donghyuck decided to tag along." 

She brightens up at the mention of the youngest member of NCity. "Sunny boy's going to be with us? Then this certainly counts as band bonding activities." 

“You’re not our manager anymore.” Doyoung rolls his eyes at her. 

She scoffs. “Yeah well, do you see Kun here?”

For the remaining duration of the car ride, the bickering between the two serves both as entertainment and annoyance for the rest. 

Finally, they reach the place they’d left behind their memories and trinkets. Technically, they’re supposed to wait another five years, but with the way the world is headed, it’s hard to say how things would be next week, let alone years into the future. 

The others had gotten there first, already digging at the spot. 

Jungwoo runs over to the couple and pulls Ten into a hug, not letting go until she playfully accuses him of trying to steal Ten away. They laugh, and join the rest of the group in their chatter and labor.

Finally they get what they're looking for. Inside the tin box they used as their time capsule they find:

·       A used spray paint can 

·       A photograph with all the original members of Seventh Sense 

·       A flyer for Mad City's performance

·       A newspaper cutting

·       A letter for Jungwoo

·       Taeyong’s mixtape

·       A sketch of apples

·       A Planet of The Apes DVD

·       A dead cockroach (that shouldn't be there- why the fuck is it there)

A used spray paint can:

Ten drops the empty spray paint can into his bag. Taking a few steps back, Ten's eyes flicker over the work he'd just finished spraying onto the wall that had once been covered with vulgarity, advertisement flyers, and painted political campaigns. 

In Ten's opinion, graffiti cats getting a social message across seemed a better use of the wall than Park Jinyoung's name and face plastered on it or Lee Sooman Inc.'s poster on their latest advancements in AI technology. 

He wasn't alone, his partner spraying the sign of their team in fluorescent green which he didn't have long to admire, the sound of sirens in the distance being their cue to flee from the site. 

They take a moment to grab their stuff before she takes hold of his hand and pulls him along as they make their escape. There are shouts at them to stop which they, naturally, ignore.

Hurrying onto a busier street gives them the chance to blend into the crowd. Slipping into an alley at the side of a restaurant, they pull off their masks, caps and hoodies and shove them into their bags. Then they walk back out like they were a couple having fun on a date. 

Which is why he leans into her space, close enough to place a kiss if he just moves forward a bit. It doesn’t hurt to be careful, even if Ten is pretty sure they'd lost the people pursuing them streets ago. Yep. That is why he draws closer, eyes dropping down to her lips. Just to keep their cover believable. It has nothing to do with the attraction that has been lingering in the air between them since they first met.

Ten has to admit that doesn’t sound believable even to his own ears. But it doesn’t matter. He throws away all excuses when she lunges forward and lets her lips meet his. 

There was nothing shy or gentle about the way they kiss with how they skip the slow start to dive straight into the passion. 

"Do you want to spend the night at my place?" Those are the most words Ten has heard from her today, and he finds himself wanting to hear more of her voice. What would it sound like when she wasn't breathless after all the exertion? Not that Ten doesn’t like how she sounds now. He does. Very much. She speaks and he focuses on the sounds over the meaning of the words. Ten just stares at her, lost in his thoughts, until she flicks his forehead. 

"So I was saying," her grin makes Ten's heart beat faster. "What do you think about dinner and a movie marathon?" 

"Yeah. Sure. That sounds great." 

When she beams at him, Ten knows the night would be worth it. Shit. He is falling fast and hard, he knows it, and he doesn’t care. The world could end tomorrow for all they know, but tonight would be theirs, and Ten had every intention of making each moment count. 

It would have been nice if he'd gotten a warning beforehand. 

Overprotective flat mate trying to intimidate him into leaving was a part of the night he didn't foresee. Ten had gotten through his life so far without getting injured over his flings and relationships, something he would like to keep that way. 

Fortunately, said flat mate is soon dragged away by an apologetic roommate who hands a bowl of popcorn to Ten with a kind smile. 

The rest of the night is fun and the start of something, though they don’t talk about it. 

A photograph with all the original members of Seventh Sense:

Yuta is the one who first brings up the idea of starting a band.  

It's a Wednesday that passes by without much excitement like the week before and likely the week to follow. 

Yuta is sprawled across Taeil's bed with his head hanging off the edge- which Taeil had told him to stop doing multiple times, only to be ignored- when suddenly he sits up, startling Jungwoo who rolls off the mattress onto the floor. Sicheng doesn't bother to divert attention from the book he was reading even as his friend falls close to where he is seated. 

Immunity to their antics developed over time, and Sicheng had known them for years. Jungwoo was eager for excuses to be dramatic, and Yuta gave him plenty of them. 

Taeil, who'd just walked back into the room after hearing the commotion, sighs and looks expectantly at Yuta, who clearly had something to say if his wide grin and sparkling eyes were any hint.

"Let's start a band." 

That certainly hadn't been expected, and even Sicheng's attention is on Yuta once he makes that declaration.

Honestly, Yuta expected Sicheng to be the one who refused to participate, so it was a pleasant surprise when he’s the first to get on board with the idea. Taeil hesitates, more since he has questions than because he is against the idea. Yuta thought Jungwoo would be the most enthusiastic after him, however he's proven wrong when Jungwoo's face hardens and he walks out of the room without another word.

Taeil and Sicheng exchange a glance that suggests they knew something that Yuta didn't. Annoying information out of Sicheng was Yuta's specialty, though he doesn't have to resort to that when Taeil explains it himself.

"Remember Jungwoo had an ex when you were away? She broke up with him for the drummer of a band, and he's still bitter about it." 

"So? What does that have to do with us starting a band? He needs to get over it," Yuta scoffs. "It's been months. If anything, it's even more a reason to start our band." 

"Let's do it," Jungwoo announces. 

"There's a chance we'll run into them. Are you sure?" 

"Yeah, I count on it. Yuta has a point." Determination shines in Jungwoo's eyes. "Even if he's a dick." 

The problem wasn't that Yuta quit the band when bigger, better opportunities came. It was how he did it that left the rest of them fuming, in tears, or a mix of both. He sends a text in the group chat to tell them the band wasn't working for him, cuts himself out of their lives without any further explanation and when almost all of them had finally resigned to the fact they'd probably never see him again, well, that's when he shows up again. 

Jungwoo notices a Yuta listed as a member of Cherry Bomb and makes a whole fuss over it for an afternoon which for most part is brushed off as a coincidence by the rest of the band. 

Their Yuta couldn't be the only Yuta in the world- though it was debatable whether he could still be called their Yuta. No, no matter what they couldn't deny the memories they'd made, regardless of how Yuta had vanished from their lives so easily as if he wasn't the reason the band existed in the first place. 

Except it is the Yuta that had been with them through it all, heck, he's the one who started the band- but now he's the one that left them behind for Cherry Bomb. 

If any good comes out of it, it's that they write songs about broken promises and the one that got away, and it's still raw and painful and bitter, something that seeps into the songs and snatches people's attention. 

Eventually, Sicheng leaves the country. At least he told them beforehand, giving them time to say goodbye. He admits that he isn't sure about staying in touch, but wishes them well, nevertheless. They hold a farewell party which in reality is just Taeil, Jungwoo and Sicheng ordering food and acting like it's just another evening, and not the last time they'll see each other in a while, or possibly ever. Unlike Yuta who they see around in magazines and on the television and on the sides of buildings, once Sicheng gets on his plane they don't hear from him again. 

Jungwoo doesn't want to give up on the band. Taeil finds himself less enthusiastic about getting on stage, especially when they don't have their former friends around anymore. It doesn't feel right to him to replace Yuta and Sicheng. 

For Jungwoo, it's been all about moving on from the start. He had to move on when the band started, and he'll move on now to let the band survive. 

Johnny agrees to give the band a try. It's more of a favor to Taeil than anything, but it makes Jungwoo happy to see Taeil trying. When Johnny brings Ten along, Jungwoo's smile widens further. They'd shown up, and Jungwoo wasn't going to let them go so easily.

A flyer for Mad City's performance:

"So, you still don't know her name?" 

Johnny's brow raises, unimpressed. Well, perhaps he is a tad impressed with the absurdity of what Ten's narrating. 

They'd somehow skipped over the introductions and gone straight to whatever they were doing now, Ten and her. And it'd be weird to go, "Hey, so what's your name? I never asked before, haha." It'd been days since they'd first met. To not know the name of the person you spend most of your time with shouldn't be possible, yet Ten had managed to do just that. 

"Well fuck," Johnny exclaims as he realises Ten isn't joking. "You know where she lives, for fuck's sake. How do you know everything about her besides her name?" 

"In my defense, we used nicknames from the start. I didn't think it'd get serious, so I didn't bother to ask, you know. But then it did get serious.  So yeah." Ten scratches his neck. "Everyone uses nicknames with her, so that's no help in finding out."

Johnny pats him on the back. "I'm sure you'll find out eventually. Or you'll break up and it won't even matter." 

Ten tries to bite Johnny's hand for that. 

"Well I think it's time I properly introduced myself, " she says before giving him her name and revealing her job- or well, one of them. "Manager of Mad City." 

Mad City. The Seventh Sense’s rival. That made her the enemy. This was a forbidden romance. They were star-crossed lovers. Ten was going to get in trouble for fraternizing with the enemy. No wonder she lived with half of Mad City. That should have raised suspicion. 

"No way." Ten is not ready for this. Shit. "Are we going to break up?"

She just laughs with her arms still wrapped around him. "Is that what you want?"

Ten shakes his head. "No. I like you too much to let you go so easily." 

Satisfied, she kisses him. This time it was soft and short, though a promise of more lay behind it. 

Except Ten gets busy with the band and his art and his dance classes, and she drifts away too. It's a while before they meet again, and things change. 

A newspaper cutting:

It starts with news that the dead weren’t staying dead. People weren’t rising from ancient graves or anything. But the recent death reports were a mess with people’s bodies somehow repairing themselves and recovering like they hadn’t undergone fatal injury. Even so, there were limits- ashes could not piece back together. 

“It’s something in the air,” Doyoung says. “Mutagens. Genetic mutations. We’ve evolved.” 

He was the only one who’d finished college with a STEM degree, so the rest of them are inclined to believe he had an idea of what he is talking about- but his theories are boring and technical and no one actually listens past three sentences. 

“Let’s say I drive a knife through someone.” Everyone knows who Jungwoo has on his mind. “They’ll recover like it never happened. Would I still get in trouble?”

“Jungwoo!” Taeyong turns to glare at him, disappointed. “No.”

“He’ll be fine though. Probably. Just once?”

 “You cannot stab Ten,” says Taeil. He rubs his forehead, he needs more caffeine to deal with all of this. “No one is stabbing anyone.”

A letter:

She hasn’t been anywhere near alcohol. That doesn’t stop her from giggling as she takes the seat next to Ten, "I swear I'm not drunk."

He picks out the fruit from his sundae and carefully arranges it on her plate. "I know." Sometimes she acted like she was when excitement coursed through her. It was kind of cute, kind of annoying. 

Annoyingly cute. That summed up what Ten thought of her. 

She was quiet and shy, until she was yelling in Ten's ears and animatedly telling him about how they could take over the world. 

The first time he'd met her was at a party as a friend of a friend of a friend, and it'd been so brief they'd exchanged no words, let alone their names. She'd rushed away, Ten's gaze following her until she was out of sight, and since then he'd been trying to get her out of mind. 

Except he ran into her again, that next time with paint and adrenaline. And then she'd wormed her way into his life as she already had with his heart. 

There's a period where they didn’t have as much contact, and while he didn't see anyone else, she didn’t wait for him. 

"I have a boyfriend," Y/N says one day in a voice that suggests she regretted it. Or maybe that is just Ten's wishful thinking. After a pause she adds, “You know him.”

Well, fuck. 

She doesn't reveal who it is. Ten doesn't probe any further. He isn't sure if he wants to know. He did, he didn’t. 

And one day there she is with Jungwoo’s arm around her, snuggled into his side. Jungwoo meets his eyes and turns up his smugness. Ten is a nice person, or he would give in to the temptation to rip Jungwoo away from her. 

She finally notices him, and they just stare at each other for a while. Jungwoo has to nudge her, his smile fading. This brings Ten satisfaction. 

“Hey,” she says. 

“Hey,” Ten says back. 

“Hey,” Jungwoo says. Because of fucking course Jungwoo cannot be left out of a conversation even when it is smaller than small talk. 

Sometimes Ten wonders if he’s too harsh on Jungwoo. He gets close to admitting his jealousy colors his opinion of Jungwoo. But then Jungwoo opens his mouth or does something stupid and Ten knows he wasn’t wrong when called Jungwoo all those names at 3 AM last Saturday. 

Afraid of the answer, Ten asks anyway. “Do you love him?”

Ten expected her to take a moment to think about it. Yet there’s no hesitation as she immediately says, “No.” Her hand flies to her mouth and she looks like she wants to take it back, but it’s too late and now Ten knows he hasn’t been imagining it. 

Knowing she doesn’t want to dive into this, not now, not with him, Ten starts talking about his latest art project. 

It isn't long before Jungwoo and her break up. 

She calls Jungwoo out for coffee, they talk it over and it's a pretty anticlimactic end to their short relationship. They decide to stay friends, although they agree it might take a while before the awkwardness entirely dissipates. Before they leave the shop, she holds out a letter, which he takes with curiosity. 

“A parting gift?” She grins.

Jungwoo smiles back. 

As much as he harbors dislike for Jungwoo, he isn’t the worst and Ten is decent enough to feel guilty. Ten knows Jungwoo and her had been falling apart even before he came into the picture. Yet there was a chance they could have reconciled if he didn’t show up and find a place in her heart. Ten was no homewrecker, and they hadn’t cheated. But maybe he’d pushed along the process of breaking up that would have been prolonged without his presence. 

Jungwoo is quick to reassure her that he doesn't hold a grudge against her. Both of them knew their relationship wasn't meant to be, they just couldn't bring it to an end. Until Ten came along as the perfect excuse. 

They hadn't been in love. Besides, this wasn't Jungwoo's first break up. Barely even counted as a heartbreak.

But he did care about Ten. They were supposed to be bandmates, best friends,  bros. Ten was all supportive, then he stole her heart. So maybe Ten had met her first, and there hadn't been any cheating, but Jungwoo felt bitter and betrayed and needed someone to blame, and Ten was taking the brunt of it. It was easy to put the blame on Ten and bitch about him. Jungwoo is aware he's being unreasonably petty, but it makes him feel better. Eventually, he'd make up with Ten and they could go back to their old ways, but for now they were enemies. 

Ten loses Jungwoo, but Ten has her. 

She kisses him desperate and deep, as though they have no time left and this might be their last chance. Ten wonders if this is what Jungwoo felt before they broke up. Maybe these were the signs that Jungwoo saw and acted like he didn't notice, the way Ten was doing now. 

A mixtape:

Apparently they wanted to ban music after the riots that they blamed on the rebellious music. At any rate, censorship laws were going to be stricter. Freedom of speech was being taken away one step at a time. AI existed for the purpose of music and entertainment, slowly replacing their human counterparts.

Ten wasn’t going to stop creating music, and Taeyong was already busy working on their new song. Donghyuck had only been motivated by the news. As for Doyoung, he thought it was more trouble than worth. Surprisingly, Jungwoo had volunteered to take his place. Taeil, Jaehyun and Johnny voiced their support though they still didn’t want to go on stage or in front of the camera.

Johnny takes off the headphones, leaning back in his chair as he gives his opinion on Taeyong’s latest track. “It sounds awfully similar to that song from the 2010’s. Remember what happened last time we released a song like that?” 

It was kind of scary how so much had changed in such a short time. 

AI music wasn’t supposed to take away from human made music. Yet it did. AI idols and bands could do what humans could and more. Sure, the AI revolution had brought plenty of positive advancement to society. It had its downsides too.

Like how they were essentially useless in a world that didn’t want them with their imperfections when they could have the perfect idealised versions. Besides, those who sought human music had centuries worth of music to listen to already.

Was that going to stop Taeyong? 

Of course not. 

"Listen to this one." Taeyong leans over to click on a different file. "I'm still working on it, but-"

Johnny's already listening to it, and from his expressions he seems to enjoy it more than the previous one. Taeyong smiles to himself, satisfied. 

A sketch of apples:

She loved apples so much that she couldn't go a day without them. Doyoung had said it was her obsession, pointing out how she had decorated her room with apple themed memorabilia. Snow White, he called her. She'd retorted that it meant he was one of the dwarves. Jungwoo would call her Snow, while she'd call him Rose. 

Ten thought she was straight out of a fairytale. What he'd forgotten was that Grimm Brothers' fairy tales were far more gruesome than the stories he remembered. 

"If you had to give up on singing or dancing forever, which would you choose?" The question she asked Ten had been innocent enough. He hadn't known how damning it would be. "Which loss would haunt you greater?"

Her voice had suddenly turned serious, smile abandoned. He'd laughed it off, and changed the topic. It had been a bit strange, but nothing that would keep him awake at night. 

The next day she’d vanished, taking a piece of Ten with her. 

It had seemed like a normal day until they found Ten eating apples, almost as if it were an addiction. Like clockwork, a crunch could be heard every hour. Never more than a single bite. There was a bin filled to the brim with apples each day. 

It wouldn't have been as worrying if Ten had been a person who enjoyed fruit. Yet he'd stayed away from fruits. Until now. 

Ten didn't speak, simply staring into the distance, only taking a break when he needed to bite into an apple every hour. Breaking him out of the trance hadn't worked, so they'd taken to watching him in shifts.

There was no doubt that it had something to do with Y/N and her disappearance since that night they'd gone out together and Ten had returned alone.

Sicheng was convinced Ten was possessed and insisted on calling his exorcist friend. Taeil had taken one look at Ten's state, handed Jungwoo a business card and hastily walked out the door of the flat, muttering about cats and poisoned apples and curses. 

No matter how many times they turned the card around, it had nothing but Club Nightmare embossed in gold on its sleek crimson surface. 

Taeil said the club had the answers they sought but also begged them not to go seeking that place. As a last resort, if they had nothing left to lose- only then should they even think about it. According to Taeil, if anyone might be able to help, it would be Yuta . 

Once Yuta had been generous and would offer help without even being asked, especially to old friends. Time had taken its toll on him though, turning him into a self-serving person who'd do anything to survive. Which meant his assistance came at a price.

"A favor for later," Yuta said with a shrug and smile that sent chills up Jungwoo’s spine. "That's all I ask."

Hidden behind Yuta's lies and tall tales were invaluable snippets of information. If that could help Ten, then they'd have to trust Yuta. 

And that’s when Jungwoo had woken up. 

In his dreams, Ten hadn't been the prince or the huntsman or a dwarf- he'd been the villain. And like the evil queen danced to her death in her hot red shoes, dancing had been Ten's undoing as well. At least in Jungwoo's mind it seemed fitting after all that had happened. 

But lately Jungwoo had been helping Ten recover from heartbreak and curses and danger. The thing was, Jungwoo didn’t mind much anymore. 

In his dreams, he had moved on and put his friendship with Ten first. Maybe it was time to do the same in real life.

A Planet of The Apes DVD:

The end of the world should have been more worrisome, but there'd been so many close calls already that the words had lost their threat. 

The apocalypse news really shouldn't be compared to the boy who cried wolf. Yet after living through the pandemics, an alien invasion that never came, the floods and abnormal weather changes, well, Ten didn't feel fear like he would've years ago. 

He wasn't the only one. People saw the news and just went on with their lives. There were some cults that insisted on making it a big deal, although they'd been trying to do that for ages with no success. 

Maybe a big space rock would hit the Earth and change their lives forever. Maybe it would just pass by. Maybe Ten didn't care if humanity was wiped away like the dinosaurs once were. Maybe it was time for a new species to take over the world.

Voicing out these thoughts, had gotten a snort from her, "It's time for a Planet of the Apes marathon."

Neither of them particularly cared for the franchise, and as it plays on the screen, they soon find other things to distract them. Like playing Tic Tac Toe until their hands and forearms were covered with X's and O's. Then moving on to the other kind of XOXO. Soon Ten finds himself drifting to sleep with her cuddled up in his arms.

The next morning when Ten wakes up, she is still snoozing against him, a blanket wrapped around them both that hadn't been there before. Gently slipping out of her grasp, Ten notices the TV had been switched off though he couldn't remember doing it. 

"G'morning!" Taeyong holds out a warm mug for him which he gratefully accepts. “Have a fun night?”

Doyoung, who is slumped over the counter between the kitchen and the dining room, raises an arm along with his muffled greeting. 

"Yeah, hey. Good morning, Taeyong. Doyoung."

Jungwoo wasn’t around, though that wasn’t unusual. He stayed away whenever Ten came to the flat. 

“So which one of you tucked us in and turned off the TV?” 

Taeyong and Doyoung exchange a glance. 

“That wasn’t us,” Doyoung says. His head rests on his elbow now, his words much clearer than before. “We fell asleep long before you two yesterday.”

Ten gapes at them. “Wait. What?” There was one other person who lived here, but it couldn’t possibly be him, no way.

Jungwoo walks over and snatches the toast off Ten’s plate. 

“You?” Any other day, Ten would have attempted to grab back his food. He’s a bit too busy putting things together to bother today. 

Jungwoo raises a brow, glancing at Ten like he’s the one acting strange. 

A dead cockroach:

The morning starts with shouts.

"Why won't you just die?" 

Her face fills with disgust, nothing but loathsome hatred in her whines. 

"Ten! Do something!" 

Yeah, no. There is no way Ten is approaching that beast. No matter how little it is, Ten is not taking chances by going into a fight he knows he'd lose. 

Cockroaches had wings. Which probably meant they could fly, jump high or something. Not to be underestimated. Ugh. 

"You do something," Ten shoots back. The cockroach scurries across the room towards them and with a yelp Ten jumps onto the couch where he’s hopefully out of its reach.

In the end, she gets fed up and uses a broomstick to get rid of the creature. 

Once he is certain it’s safe, Ten finally slides off where he was crouched on the couch. He heads over to the bathroom, opens the door and immediately slams it shut. 

"Love, can you come over here?" Ten slowly pushes the door again to peer in and assess the situation. 

There are cockroaches everywhere.  Well not just cockroaches, there is a whole assortment of bugs, but Ten doesn’t know the names of them. Creepy crawlies is sufficient enough a word to call them all. He doesn’t particularly care what they are. He just wants to be as far away from them as possible. 

"Ten? Darling, what's wrong?" She hurries over, radiating concern. Then she sees the problem and sighs. "Wait. I'll be back."

Ten tries to hide his nervousness but it still seeps into his voice. "H-hurry please." 

"I think we should start naming these guys," she says as she shakes the bottle of bug spray. "Like look at that one. Doesn't it remind you of that guy who tried to scam you last summer?" 

Ten's glance at the insect she points at isn’t long enough to see any sort of resemblance but he nods his head in agreement. 

“Can you call Doyoung for me? And let him know about this.” She gestures at the insects, some dead and others still scuttling around. “Actually, maybe you should stay at their place until we deal with this. Taeyong invited us for dinner tonight anyway. You can go over early and help him out.”

“Ok,” Ten agrees. "Can we move somewhere else?"

"If it's about the bug problem, then no."

"But-"

"There's no point, Ten. Even if we move, bugs might appear there. We can't keep moving each time."

"The bugs are taking over the world,” groans Ten. He sounds way too serious for what he’s saying. “This is how my life ends."

"Ten. You'll be fine. I'll keep getting rid of the bugs for you, okay?" She wasn’t exactly happy about it, no, but she’d do it if she had to. 

"I thought you were afraid of bugs," Doyoung says as he sets down the bag of bottles of bug spray and other equipment for the battle against the creepy crawlies. 

"I am. But one of us has to take care of the creepy crawlies," she says with a grimace. "And you know how Ten is."

Doyoung smirks. “Ah, so it’s love.”

“Love?” She ponders it for a moment. “Maybe it is.”

A/N: I return from hiatus with the longest fic I've finished so far! The inspiration for this fic came from songs (plus the time I saw a cockroach on the wall) and it has come a long way from what I initially had in mind. At first I thought I'd write an angsty futuristic tale but somehow it turned into a fic about ordinary people living their ordinary lives with the possibility of the world as they know it ending in the background. This fic is the smoothie of all the ideas I had- take a bunch of different stories and mix them all into one.

Thank you for giving this fic a chance! As always, feedback/comments/likes/reblogs are appreciated!

I have to thank @ericssmile for reading this fic and reassuring me! Also extremely grateful to @hvae for the help and comments that made my day :')

Jia, I hope you enjoyed the fic! It is unlikely that I would've written this, if it weren't for the wonderful collab. Thank you ♡