#ughreads

Since the summer before you went into high school, you and Sunoo have been friends. It started when you went to his friend Jake's house for an end-of-middle-school pool party, and you both bonded over judging the annoying tweens around you.

As fate would have it, you ended up having many of the same class periods all throughout high school and grew even closer over several study sessions. Both went solo together to dances but acted like one asked the other when anyone asked to avoid looking pathetic.

That is until the senior year Sadie Hawkins dance. A new student had joined the roster and immediately became the focal point of school for you. His name was Sunghoon, and he was the right amount of reserved and sarcastic to give you heart eyes.

Despite your nerves and insecurities, you worked up the courage to ask Hoon (a nickname he recently accepted after many hangouts together) to the dance. To your surprise, he rapidly accepted your invitation!

Proud of yourself and overwhelmed with excitement, you call Sunoo after school to tell him of this accomplishment and see if he wanted to go shopping with you this weekend.

After a quick snack, you call your best friend, "Hey, Sun-sun, are you busy?" "Nope, Y/N, just avoiding homework, haha. What's up?" "Ohhhhh well, nothing much except I asked Hoon to the dance, and he said yes! Can you believe that???".

Deafening silence extinguishes your enthusiasm as quickly as it sparked, "Um, Sunoo...you there?"

A couple more seconds pass, and he says, "The call is still going, isn't it?" With a scoff, you retort, "Oh, excuse me, sassy king, it was hard to tell when you made no indication that you heard me."

He has the nerve to get offended and goes, "Sorry if I didn't clap for joy at the fact that for the first time since we came to this shithole, I'll have to stay home for a dance. I mean, whoopee for you, but you gave me no warning that you'd abandon me like this."

You are speechless. It's the last reaction you expected, and now you feel bad for not at least letting him know. "I... I'm not sorry I asked him, but I apologize for not setting you up or warning you first. I can try to hook you up with my friend if you want!" "No, it’s fine. Have fun. I have to get started on homework. Talk to you later. Unless you forget all about me...”

With that, he hangs up and leaves you stunned, sitting on your bed slack-jawed. You honestly thought he would be happy for you. Feeling lost, you call your friend Ara, "I have no idea why he would react that way. Can you believe that?!"

She gives a disappointed sigh, then says, "I actually can. Imagine if he gave you no heads up and sprung on you having a date to the dance. And don't even pretend like that'd be okay with you, girl.”

Dejectedly, you admit that she’s right and just can’t get over the intensity of his reaction, to which Ara says, “Oh come on, you can’t be this clueless... he has had a crush on you forever.” “WHAT? Noooo, don’t give me false hope like that.”

She snorts. “Heh, you finally admit it. You have a thing for him! Well, it looks like you have to choose. Pretty new boy or tried and true rock?”

Pondering her words, you make a plan of action, “Hmmm, well, I may never get lucky enough for a guy like Hoon not to reject me, so I’ll stick with that, and then next week, I’ll tell Sunoo how I feel.”

Giving a hum of approval for your plan, Ara warns you not to play with either boy’s emotions or neglect your own. “Do what makes you happy, Y/N; whoever you don’t choose will just have to deal.”

Meanwhile, Sunoo avoids you like the plague for the next week, even going so far as to switch lab partners.

All of that is almost forgotten once the day of the dance finally arrives. You feel like the prettiest vampire queen in a floor-length ruby-toned number that lays perfectly off your shoulders and hugs all the right places.

After Hoon's mom drops you off, the night is a blur. A magical blur where he indeed must be a prince in another life with how well he is treating you. After a couple of slow songs with y'all almost kissing, you excuse yourself to the restroom to try to settle your nerves and try to summon some courage.

You exit, and upon reaching the hallway, you see Sunoo. He looks awestruck, and you blush. "Hey, Y/N, I'm really sorry. I overreacted, and well, I miss my friend. Will she accept me back?"

Pretending to think, you finally smirk and say, "I suppose I will accept your apology. I missed you too!" After tightly embracing each other, he steps back and says, "Well, my beautiful bestie, you wanna head back in and ditch Mr. Stuck Up? The chaperones are dissociating, so I'll be able to sneak in no problem."

You back away, upset, "First off, flattery won't get me to allow you to talk badly of him or convince me to sneak you in. Secondly, he is not stuck up; he is just still fairly new and reserved. Once you give him a chance, you'll see he is really cool!"

Rolling his eyes, he walks away, waving you off, "Have fun with my replacement. I'll see you around, maybe.."

In shock, you are frozen in the shadows when Hoon comes to find you. "There you are. You were gone so long that I got worried about you and had to come look for you. Everything okay?"

Smiling away the tears threatening to ruin your makeup, you nod and head back inside. You try to enjoy the rest of the dance, but the look in Sunoo's eyes haunts your memory.

It was like when he got picked last for dodgeball and by the opposite team, not even by you, but more intense and frightening if you're honest.

After graduation, you hear he got accepted to the security guard training program at the local jail while you were still waiting to hear back from your photography internship. It was annoying, but you try to hope it'll still happen.

The park was quiet for once, so you head over to take some more nature shots in your free time. Panning over to the left of you, a figure comes into focus, coming towards you. Shockingly, you see Sunoo smiling in your direction, and anxiety freezes you in place.

"Hello, stranger," he quips as he sits beside you on the bench. You scoot away from him, annoyed that he was so lighthearted when he was the one who parted ways.

"Can I help you, Mr. Kim?" "Why so formal? It's just me, Y/N." Crossing your arms, you look the other way and say, "Well, I don't tend to act friendly to people who walk out of my life for stupid reasons."

Pouting, he gets up suddenly, leaving you even more confused than before, then reappears about 5 minutes later with two cups in his possession. "All right, peace treaty apple juice. Let’s forget about all the high school silliness and share this with me before I go off to training.”

Almost denying his request, you realize how dehydrated you are and say fuck it downing the whole thing.

Not even 5 minutes pass, and you start to feel weird. You are barely able to convey this to Sunoo before you pass out. Unable to tell how long you were out, you awaken to being handcuffed and shoved in a police car.

Through half-open eyes, you scan around for Sunoo or anyone you know, but all you meet are the blinding sirens, which only make the pounding in your head worse.

The entire ride to the processing center, your mind is racing, trying to figure out how you got in this predicament, and freaking out because your independent life has only just begun and you had so many plans!

They bring you in and take your mugshot. Nobody is telling you what is happening, assuming you are only playing naïve to pull one over on them.

Going down the hall of multiple holding cells, the current inmates look just as confused as you feel, wondering what such a young girl is doing in this wretched place.

Distracted with your thoughts, you practically are thrown into a tiny room with just a bed, sink, and a hole to use the bathroom with no windows.

About to ask why you were not given the option for a call or are being separated from the rest of the people (not that you were upset, but it was worrying you how dangerously you were being treated), the female guard shoves you into the room and slams the door in your face with a "Shut the fuck up you waste of space."

Seems like around 3 days have passed. The only way you can tell is because you have been given 6 meal trays and heard from your trek to your room on the first day, inmates being upset they only get 2 meals daily.

While you are still confused about why the hell you are in this place, your strategy at this point is just to do as you are told and try to stay low until you can speak to someone with legitimate authority.

With this new mindset, the rest of your body is returning to normal, which is mostly a good thing...

The exception is your libido. It has returned with a vengeance, and once the lights go out on the 4th day, you decide to risk it not having spotted a camera yet.

Between your regular sex drive and all of the unfairness and frustrations with your situation, you cannot hold back any longer.

Right before you are about to hit your climax, you hear the keys in your door and freeze.

Pretending to sleep, you roll over onto your side and stick your fingers in your mouth to hide the smell of your sex, hoping they will buy that you still soothe yourself this way as an almost adult.

The door swings open, and you hear the footsteps approach you. You try to keep breathing normally even though you are terrified. The figure above you chuckles, and your heart plummets.

You try to convince yourself you are going insane, but there is no denying it once you hear the voice say, "Now, when did you start sucking your fingers when you sleep? In all of our sleepovers, I have never seen you do that."

You shoot up and start bawling, finally letting your body release all of the emotions that have been pent up since this whole ordeal began. Wrapping your arms around his neck, you pull him down into a tight embrace. Big mistake.

As he stands back up, he notices the sweat along your hairline from your previous activity and widens his eyes in concern, "Oh no, Y/N, do you feel okay? Are you getting a fever? You felt warm just now."

Blushing quicker than ever, you fervently shake your head in denial, "No, Sun-sun, I feel fine; was just a little warm, I promi-“

He cuts off your sentence by grabbing ahold of your chin and tilting your head up as he moves even closer to your ear whispering “Don’t lie to me when I saw everything you needy slut.”

Your eyes widen in horror, and confusion clouds your brain again as you look at him through your peripheral vision, "Wait, what do you mean? How? Why am I in here?"

Sinisterly chuckling, he gives you his cheeky smile. "Patience, I'll answer your questions and then help you with your little dilemma. Terribly sorry to interrupt, by the way, but you looked so sinful that I was hoping to catch you in the act." "Um, and what makes you think I would've let you? Or even needed your help?"

Sitting on the bed with you, he quirks up an eyebrow, "Slow down, I still haven't answered the first round of questions."

Pouting, you sit back against the wall and hold your knees to your chin, a medley of unpleasant feelings swirling in your gut.

Tucking a loose piece of hair behind your ear, he begins addressing your queries. "Okay so I may have commandeered the feed from your camera into a personal monitor so I can keep an eye on you. No biggie between friends, right?"

Your face turns red at him, using that title from when he went to M.I.A. for weeks after graduation. "How dare you..." you scowl at him. "Oh, now calm down, drama queen, so I can continue with my answers."

Begrudgingly, you do so but not without a lethal side eye aimed at the wall, slightly scared to direct it his way.

You never thought your friend would spy on you or call you a slut and aren’t keen to find out what other secrets are lying in wait.

Continuing his replies, “I know you would’ve let me because even if you try to deny it, we both have had feelings for each other since week one. As to you needing my help, I know you had everything perfectly under control but I feel like you crave more than your fingers kitten.”

Not daring to speak when he clocked your shit so accurately and your face looks like a tomato, you just hide your face. "Knew it." He states smugly. "Alright, on to the next matter: why are you here? It's all thanks to me, of course."

Slowly, you raise your head in horror as your entire body shakes. Scooting back as much as possible, you ask, "Wait, you are playing a trick on me, right? There is no reason for you to do that. Nice try, dude.."

He stands up and starts pacing around the room, "Oh, I had my reasons. First, things were getting too serious with that Hoon guy, and I didn't like it. And you might have found out you got accepted to a photography internship, which would take you away from me, and that can't happen...not yet. So, I would check your mail before you and only take out mail from the places you applied."

You stand up now with fists balled up at your sides. "What are you going on about? Not yet? Why don't you want me to be happy?" you scream at him with tears running down your face for the second time tonight.

As he approaches you, he wipes a tear from your cheek and kisses your forehead, "Oh darling, you still don't get it. I want nothing more than for you to be happy. Just not without me and not before I unlock the key to your tight pussy that I've dreamt about for years."

You freeze, staring at the wall, "What did you do? You still haven't answered why I got thrown in here and treated like a villain. Tell. Me. Now."

He sits you down on the bed again, looking down as if you were a rat caught in his trap. Which you were, by the way.

He squats down, staring into your soul as he reveals the remaining puzzle pieces. "Well, I got accepted into this place as a star trainee with excellent scores. They basically told me to use my best judgment and make them proud. My parents were not thrilled that I hadn't pursued a more upstanding career choice, so I wanted to prove to them that I could thrive here. You just happened to be the perfect muse to show them all my skills."

Taking a deep breath and looking too excited to finish relaying this info to you, he continues, "Well, when I spotted you in the park looking dejected but having that trying-to-distract-yourself look in your eyes, I knew it was my time to strike. I expertly mixed apple-flavored alcohol in the juice and then 'spilled' some on myself. I called a couple of buddies in the force to come over and help execute my plan."

All of your tears have dried up as you are burning up, wondering who the person is in front of you. "Don't worry, it gets better," he says as he pats your knee.

Cracking his neck, he nears the end of his story. "So basically, you are in here because I made you look like an underaged alcoholic by having the empty bottle right next to you, then lying to the officers and saying you were pressuring me to drink with you. Oh, also, you were trying to sell shots to our classmates and even the middle schoolers. They are so worried about this getting out with the mayoral election coming up and your parents being his friends that they aren’t allowing any visitors or calls from or for you until the sentencing.”

You stand up, knocking him on his ass in fury, "How could you?! If you had just told me how you felt ages ago, you could have gotten what you wanted instead of keeping it in and becoming this creepy psychopath! I demand a lawyer!”

He cackles while fully lying down on the floor, "You have no pull, sweetheart, but nice try, hah! Even your parents aren’t asking about you, hoping this all blows over and they can maintain their perfect image."

With his eyes closed, still laughing, you cage him beneath you and start to choke him. This time, he freezes and smirks up at you, "Oh, this is how you wanna play it, huh? Pretending you are furious instead of insanely turned on and hoping this ends with you knowing how I feel inside of you. Cute, really."

You scowl down at him and are about to get off of him when he roughly grabs your hips and pulls you back down onto him. "Oh no, there's no getting out of this. How does it feel finally being able to feel how excited you make me? Honestly, it feels like you are excited, too, with the wet spot you left on me."

Face flushing in embarrassment, you glance at the floor to escape his intense gaze, but all masking ability flies out of the window as soon as he bucks his hips against you, eliciting a breathy whimper from your throat.

The moment it exits your mouth, you bite your lip and try to escape his hold. Or at least you meant to...

Instead, you end up grinding against his hardening cock through both of your pants. Feeling his deep chuckle against your clit, you spasm, and he just grins as he pulls you down to attack your lips with a furiously passionate set of long-awaited kisses, entwining your tongues and both assaulting the other's lips with teasing sucks and bites.

When you finally can pull away and catch your breath, he sits up as you wobbly stand and immediately backs you into the bed with his arms on either side of your head, licking from your collarbone up to your ear lobe, enjoying you moaning his name.

That was the final straw of resolve. It snapped like the tiniest twig in your core, and an animalistic need overwhelmed you as you dug your claws into his back underneath the plain white under-uniform tee that clung to his muscles just right.

Gasping for air, you beg, “Sunoo. Please...I need you.." while trying to undress him.

He smirks while he cocks his head to the side, "You're lucky hearing you beg was my last thread of teasing you leaving. Strip for me, needy whore."

With that, you spring onto your feet like a lithe cat and strip with lightning speed, laying back on the bed with everything exposed down to your arousal-soaked lips.

You usually were shyer, but you couldn't help it after the earlier interruption, plus finding out he felt the same way. You would deal with the red flags after you came.

Staying in his simple yet sexy white tee and dark grey workout pants, he descends like a hawk. He licks a broad stripe from your pussy to your sensitive bundle of nerves, making you cry out and grip his hair to keep your soul from flying out of your body too rapidly.

Immediately, you trap his neck between your thighs, not letting him weasel his way away and tease you for a second more.

He picks up on your neediness, and tongue fucks your velvety cunt whilst moaning into you, letting any insecurity of smelling or tasting weird disappear without a trace.

Rising up on his elbows, he makes a show of licking his lips, leaving his chin shiny with your pleasure, and makes his way up your body so you can taste yourself off of him as he makes circles with his thumb on your growingly sensitive clit.

Feeling your high about to crash upon you, you exhale, "Sunoo, I'm about to." Yet, before you can finish your sentence, he shoves you off of the edge by taking your plump breast into his mouth and matching the pace of his fingers with his tongue around your nipple.

As you cum, he disappears between your thighs again, not wanting to waste a single drop (or leave any evidence) while continuing to squeeze and slap your tits. When he can feel you are getting close again, he quickly makes space between your bodies, causing you to sit up and dig your nails into his thighs, making him moan loudly.

Then he adds salt to the wound by lightly slapping your pussy, making you squirt for the first time all over the bottom of his shirt and dick print.

Straddling him now that he is fully erect is torturous; while you nibble along his neck and behind his ear, you ask, “C’mon Sunoo, I need to feel you in me...please.”

Throwing his head back to allow you to kiss more of his neck, he just smirks and says, “Well, someone is needy tonight...well, you have been such a good little thing for me, I will grant your wish, pretty. First, you have to get up so I can get out of these damp clothes”.

Feeling bold, you raise up just enough to pull down his pants along with his boxers and then straddle him again while he sits up and removes his shirt while kissing and playing with your perfect tits.

After you give him your adorable yet seductive pleading eyes, he stops wasting time. He flips you onto your back again and, with utmost sincerity and care in his eyes, says, “You ready? Stop me if it hurts, okay? I really do care about you.”

Tears welling in your eyes, you nod and subtly pull his hips closer to you. You have liked him for a long time, and despite all of the nasty lust that has occurred tonight, it was weirdly healing at the same time.

He slowly slides the tip in, and after a few seconds, you surprisingly quickly can let him quicken his thrusts and go even deeper, both uttering sensual guttural noises in unison as soon as he bottoms out.

You notice him blush and quirk your eyebrow this time asking what is going on. He looks to the side then admits,” Well, this feels amazing, like even better than I’ve imagined, and I know that sounds cliché, but trust me...that’s a big deal. And well, I don’t think I’ll last much longer, sadly; I want to, but...yeah, sorry..”

Latching your ankles around his hips, you just bite your lips and eyefuck him as a green light, to which he gives you a deep, caring kiss as he slowly hits that sweet spot inside you, resulting in a simultaneous orgasm with the both of you collapsing in sweet bliss.

He cannot stay around too long, or the guard headquarters will get suspicious, but he lingers as long as he can while he tries to rinse out your delicious scent from his clothing.

You have the best sleep that night and are oddly comforted by someone caring that much. You are at peace knowing there are mutual feelings and hoping y'all can date normally once you are released.

Despite you doing your best to smile enough to not worry him, he can tell that the smile far from reaches your eyes. His tone changes to stern as his eyes bore into your soul; thank goodness there's a screen separating y'all! "Tell me." He demands; you try to laugh it off. "Tell you what? That I love you; you know I do, Min!". He isn't laughing, "Don't play this game with me, angel, I can tell something is wrong. Please, I'm here for you, always.".

At his sincere words and concern for your well-being, the dam is broken, and you start bawling, unable to communicate for about 3 minutes. He understands and doesn't bother you; he just looks at you pitifully, upset that he knows there is nothing he can do to help right now. Once your breathing has regulated, you say, "Okay, well, buckle up, my love, because today was a doozy…" he nods to show that he is ready and you are free to start whenever.

After a sip of water, you begin, "First off, my dad, who I haven't talked to in about 7 years, texted me out of the blue asking what I've been up to, and he misses me (bullshit, you mutter under your breath). So this fucker asks if we can meet up for lunch or something soon. I told him that I was not in the States anymore. He said that my mom was bragging about me and accidentally let it slip that I live in Korea now, so that's no issue since he has wanted to take a trip anyway. “

“I told him to stay out of my goddamn life since that is what he is best at, and he lost his chances to reconcile with me a decade ago. Then he dared to get angry with me and say he deserves to see me because ' he's my father.' I told him he was just a sperm donor and he had no right to me, especially since I changed my last name once I moved out. He didn't like that and said that I was just like my mom, a bitch, and that was it. Now most times, I don't like being compared to my mom, but in cases like these, it's a badge of honor, lol.”.

As you take a breath, Minho stares off from his phone for a moment to process all of that. Now, that situation would be intense to hear about for anyone. Still, it's an entirely different playing field for your fiercely protective boyfriend who knows about your trauma. "I'm gonna kill him." He states, still looking off into the distance.

You damn near spit out your water at the suddenness of this statement, then reply with, "I mean, go for it, have fun even, but make sure I'm there. I want to see his pathetic life leave his blank stare as I deal the final blow." His eyes widen, knowing that your talk of wanting to kill your dad was serious all these years; his only response is to nod, "Anything you want, Princess.".

Blushing at the pet name and feeling a bit better, having vented some of the day away, you say, "You are already fuming; I can just finish up the story later. It's okay. I will see you, la-" "You'll see me as soon as you are done telling me what happened today. Yes, I am pissed at your dad on multiple levels. Still, I care about you even more. So what else happened, honey?". You close your eyes, and with your voice slightly cracking, you say, "My mom. She happened. So she Facetimed me earlier, like 10 minutes after the ordeal with 'dad'.

  She just wanted to check up on me, but I was snippier than usual because I don't like surprises like that and wouldn't have agreed to call just then. I told her that she needs to not just randomly Facetime me because next time, depending on what kind of day I'm having, I may not be in the mood to pick up. She didn't like that at all and tried to play the guilt card of not seeing me in forever despite her knowing I’ve been super busy lately. I told her that wasn’t fair, and we texted enough for her to know that my life has been hectic, so she needs to not try to make me feel guilty for my success."

“So then,” you continue, “she happens to spot that the sink has dishes, trash needs to be taken out, etc., etc., and huffs. I ask what's wrong, and she proceeds to say that, well, despite success looks like you can't handle it all if you can't maintain a clean living space and that after this long, she thought that I would’ve figured out a routine that works for me by now.

  She even had the audacity to say, 'Ah yes, your work is soooo taxing being around gorgeous people all day, you poor thing.' That set me off; I told her that my job is taxing because I want to ensure I am doing my best, so they do not have to worry as much. I have had no energy to do anything when I come home lately besides shower, eat, and talk to Min for a little while before I pass out. The final straw was when she said, ', Oh, so you have time for your boyfriend but not for your mom; I see how it is.' And just ended the call."

  He stares into space again and says, "Wait…what the actual fuck??!! She knows you have abandonment issues and how your energy levels can be, and she dares to pull that…. I'm so sorry, love, for everything." You sniffle, trying to ward off more tears and answer, "It isn't your fault, though; none of this is, which is why I wasn't going to bother you with it or bring down your day. Especially after a live because I know you get a mixed bag of comments with those; I feel extra bad now. I'm sorry; I'm selfish and shouldn't have word-vomited on you. Oh fuck, am I like my dad? I'm really gonna run into traffic now," you half-joke.

"AISH. Y/N-AAAA!! I've told you that you never need to hide anything from me, okay? I am here for you. I would’ve hated it if you kept all of this to yourself until you deemed that I was ready to hear it. Lovingly shut the hell up about that 'like your dad/being selfish' shit. I could tell you weren't okay and asked you to share why. Yanno, I love you and know you have struggled mainly alone for too long."

" Your dad would've just started unloading about his day without even thinking to ask how I was before, so stop. No running into traffic jokes either, alright? You really wanna do that to me and the kids?". The corner of your mouth twitches into a slight smile as you say, ", Okay, you maybe have good points; I'm sorry. And I wouldn't do that to you and those fuzzy little cuties in a million years!"

He smirks, "Good, and stop saying sorry. You did nothing wrong, okay?"; you nod in response, granting you a flying kiss through the screen. "Do you have any plans today y/n?" "Nope MinMin, I'm free the rest of the day; why?" "You'll see, just be ready in 15 minutes, dress comfy. I'll see you soon; gonna hang up now, saranghae jagiya!" "Saranghae jagi, I'll see you soon!". The call ends, and you put on your favorite pair of leggings and an oversized hoodie you had stolen from him on your third date paired with your trusty boots, and you are ready to go!

15 minutes later, your boyfriend is pulled into your driveway and leans against the car waiting for you, not wanting to rush you but letting you know he is there. The second you step past your door, he runs up to you and captures you in the most comforting hug that might've ever existed.

This causes you to cry more, and his only response is to softly rub your back, occasionally pecking your temple and forehead with kisses and soothingly whispering, "There there, y/n, I'm here. It's going to be okay, that's it. Let it out.". After about 9 minutes, he wipes away the tears for you, kisses their faint trails, and leads you hand in hand to his car. As he starts driving, you have no idea what he has planned, and frankly, it couldn't matter less; you are feeling better just being in his company.

Putting the car in park, he turns to you and asks, "You ready?" "for what?" you reply. He emerges from the vehicle and opens your door for you, holding your hand as you walk into the building, saying, "Just trust me.". As soon as you walk in, you are taken aback at how nice this place looks but are too entranced in the calming scents of rain and vanilla to put too much thought into it. He notices you just taking everything in and places a gentle hand on the small of your back to catch your attention, "Let's get this started, shall we? Don't worry, I pulled a few strings, and we have the place to ourselves.".

Returning to reality, you look at him with wide eyes, "Wait….did you rent out a whole ass spa just because my parents were jerks??? This is too much; I'll be okay, I swear!". He calmly places a finger over your lips, looking into your eyes. "Nothing is too much for my baby girl, you need to wind down anyway, and I just had an excuse to pull something like this off. Now… go enjoy my love."

You blush at the effort and care he put into this, all for you, and nod, walking to the back. First, you get the best massage of your life, not counting the ones that Min has given you; of course, once it is done, the masseuse leaves so that you can retie your robe and move on to the next room. Nearly falling asleep from how jelly-like your muscles feel, you don't notice that you aren't alone until you feel a hand gripping your ass cheek.

You bolt up and whip your head around only to find your cheeky partner showcasing the cat smirk that you so adore until he moves closer to you and bends down, placing soft kisses on your shoulders, neck, and all over your face until you are both giggling. "Now, on to the next room." He commands while taking hold of your neck with his strong, veiny hands that impress you more and more every day.

Helping you into the next room as you are still a bit wobbly, Min starts feeling like this was definitely a good idea since it has been ages since he has seen your features this relaxed. Once you sit in the massage chair, he plants a kiss on the top of your hand and then leaves you to enjoy phase 2. Phase 2 includes a full mani-pedi as well as a customized facial treatment due to him knowing that you have sensitive skin. He even asked the staff to provide extra cucumber slices to snack on if smelling them on your face kickstarted your craving.

Throughout the mani-pedi, you receive heavenly hand and foot massages, and you start to wonder if this is all a dream due to how perfect everything has been. As you wait a few moments for them to ensure the next room is ready, your sneaky boyfriend whispers into your ear, "Enjoying yourself pretty?" as your eyes are closed, leaning back in relaxation.

  Your eyes fly open, mainly from the realization that those 3 words created body-wide goosebumps. Hovering over you, he shakes his head and gently lowers your lids, "Keep relaxing, pet. Let master take care of you, yeah?". Biting your lip, you nod slightly while fighting a moan; at this green light, he starts a trail of kisses from your collarbone down to your sternum.

Your breathing becomes more uneven by the second as he takes one tit into his mouth, swirling and flicking his tongue around your hardened bud and occasionally sucking on it as if his life depended on it. He can tell that you are needy from his actions and stops right before the staff returns to lead you into the next room. Not before he leaves little love bites all over your cleavage, though.

Phase 3 is a special treatment that he personally requested. Now, the spa staff is well aware of your heat sensitivity, and you were fine temperature-wise until Min's little sneaky stunts left you panting with flushed cheeks. Well, it seems he anticipated this because he arranged a cooling stone treatment for you in the next room. They spend about a half hour moving stones of all sizes all along your body and double as many times over your pressure points to ensure you don't get overheated.

In the end, you are instructed to lie face down once again as they leave an even pattern of chilling stones all down your back as well as on the nape of your neck. In the midst of cooling bliss, you feel a familiar set of lips kissing up your calves all the way to the back of your thighs. Goosebumps appear again, and you can feel the desire pooling in your stomach along with the increasing wetness between the lips of your pussy.

He barely has to apply pressure to your inner thighs for you to spread your legs for him even wider. Leaning over your back, he nibbles your earlobe and coyly says, "Damn baby, you really are my subby little kitten, aren't you? All it takes is a few kisses and teasing touches, and you are dripping onto this table for me. I'm not complaining; I've just come to taste my handiwork.".

  Before you can object for fear that you'll be walked in on, his tongue is deep in your throbbing cunt, licking broad stripes along your lips. Feeling you adjust slightly in an attempt to grind against his face, he firmly holds down your legs, saying, "C'mon, my needy little babydoll, you gotta stay still so daddy can take care of you. Unless you want them to see that their handiwork has shifted and be privy to your true nature." You groan as if to say, "That's not fair," but you aren't complaining after all…

You finish for the third time, not 5 minutes before the staff walks in with a robe, ready to remove the stones from your back, ignoring the smell of sex as they were paid to do. Sitting on the end of the table, waiting to see what will happen next, Minho saunters in and extends his hand towards you while slightly bowing. Furrowing your brows, you ask, "Um, my dear boyfriend, it's a little difficult for me to walk. Could you tell me where we are going?".

Ignoring your question, he states, "You feel a little chilly."; you huff and reply, "Well, thank you, great compass, that helped a ton. For your information, I am, actually. The stones set me back to neutral, but then, all of that release burned a lot of calories, and now I'm resetting." "I thought as much. Well, welcome to the last stage of Min's 'If I can't kill those who hurt you, I'm gonna try my hardest to kill your unhappiness and soothe your soul for eternity' tour!".

Trying to disguise the tears in your eyes from being seen, you tease, "Damn, that's a mouthful, love…" He just grins and cocks an eyebrow replying, "Yeah, well, so are you, and I'm not complaining."; this makes you blush and scan the area, hoping nobody heard him.

He leads you into a private hot tub/sauna room with the temperature of everything set just warm enough to help you feel normal but cool enough that you won't pass out. You don't waste any time changing into a bathing suit and letting your body succumb to the sensation of the jets and the melting effect that the water is having over every inch of you. Eyes closed and head back, you still have trouble believing all this is real. Ten minutes later, you feel the water rise higher on your body, and it isn't long before you know the culprit is your Min joining you.

Looking to the right of you, where he is sitting, you pull yourself over his lap and start kissing along his neck, all the way behind his ear, and finally over to his lips for a steamy makeout sesh that leaves you both breathless and has him asking, "Well Princess what was that for? I am certainly not mad about it, but I figured you'd be too relaxed to be this bold right now."

It's your turn to smirk as you rub your clothed core against his growing bulge, then whisper against his ear, "See, the thing is…I was relaxed, then you made me all needy, so you have to fix it now, mister." "Oh, do I?" he teases as he slips two fingers inside of your soaked cunt easily, which elicits a very loud “fuck Minho” from your lips. He curls his fingers inside of you, occasionally toying with your sensitive bud while kissing you passionately until you have cum all over his hand 5 times.

He lets you stay collapsed against him for a solid 10 minutes before saying, "Let's go, my adorable little raisin.". Pouting, you lift your head up, meeting his eyes and saying, "But baaabe, I feel too weak to dry off, get dressed, and go all the way to the car…” He chuckles, tucking your hair behind your ear and placing a soft kiss to the tip of your cute nose before explaining, “I planned for this situation as well my love, just trust me yeah?” he says touching his forehead to yours as you nod.

He gets out first, quickly drying off, pulling on a pair of boxers, and heading back to you. He lifts you bridal style with ease out of the hot tub and places you on possibly the best bed you have ever laid on. As he joins you underneath the covers, you curl up against him with your nose on his neck and his chin on top of your head; "Jagi, did you invent a cooling cloud for me to sleep on?" you ask, half out of consciousness.

He gives a deep chuckle in amusement at how tiny you are right now, places a kiss on top of your head, and traces his fingers up and down your spine as he answers, "I'm not thaaat powerful jagiya, but that was precious."

Pressing yourself closer to his chest in embarrassment while giggling, you retort playfully whiny, "Don't make fun of meee. Just tell me what magic is underneath us right now, and can we take it home?". He smiles ear to ear, just as smitten with you as the day he met you, and replies, "Well, I thought you might get overheated, so I asked if they could set up the extra room as a nap area with silk sheets for cooling reasons. Sadly, they didn't have any, but thankfully, they did have this other fabric called habotai. It is much like silk but a bit cheaper and slightly more cooling. If you like it this much,  we can send a set home with us."

Barely raising your head, just enough for him to see your eyes, you ask, "Wait, really??" with the wonderment of a child who just got told they can take home the toy they've been eyeing in the store for the past 20 minutes. Kissing your forehead, he nods and can feel fatigue overtake his body; right before he drifts into dreamland, though, your sweet voice permeates the air.

Pressing a palm against his firm chest to let him know you're awake, barely above a whisper, you say, "Um…I don't want to be greedy, but I have a question….if that's alright. I know you've done so much already." He glances down at you and cups your cheek with his palm, "What is it, my star?" you feel your cheeks flush as you ask, "Well, see, the thing is, I was thinking, or rather wondering if you could just…be inside of me? If that's silly, I get it, just, I dunno, I want to feel as close as I can to you. You're so healing you have no idea…".

Before you finish your sentence, he is gently filling you up with his cock and softly presses his lips against yours right as you finish speaking. "I doubt you could ever make a silly request or be greedy where I am concerned, sweetheart. You could want to hula hoop with Saturn's rings, and I'd find a way to grant your wish, my love." Giving a contented sigh, you nod, and you both drift off to the most peaceful sleep either of you have experienced in a long while.

  Even though you felt like absolute trash earlier today, here you are, feeling like the most valuable piece of treasure. All thanks to your fantastic boyfriend who sees you as a goddess and would move mountains if it meant you were at peace. The reason is, to him, you are the rarest gem that he had the fortune of stumbling across in life, and he spends every day trying to think of ways to show you just how special you are to him and in general.

After that day, you both vow to always let each other know what is going on so that neither of you faces hardships alone; from now to eternity, you will be each other’s soul soothers, and you couldn't feel more thankful to have this man by your side now and forever.

“Annyeong jagiya, you passed out not even 5 minutes into me driving, so I brought everyone else back, and then I dropped you off. I knew you wouldn’t want to dirty your sheets, which is why you are on top of your bedding. I hope you get some rest and I’ll see you tomorrow

Saranghae, Your TaeTae”

You grin at how thoughtful this man is, and your heart swells with affection for him, warming you from head to toe. While snuggling into bed is tempting, you know that today, of all days, it would be a sin not to shower first.

You decide to pamper yourself and take your time shaving, moisturizing, and doing your full skincare routine before shuffling to bed and sighing contentedly into your cool sheets.

There is just one problem: you aren’t tired the least bit. You toss, turn, and try all your usual tricks to fall asleep, but nothing works.

Feeling sentimental, you pull on a hoodie over your pajamas and head over to the communal house one last time.

Typically, you never are this emotional, but the fact that you thought you would be apart from your Tae for this song brings tears to your eyes in gratefulness for the manager’s last-minute plan. Returning from poolside reminiscing, you hear a clattering, and your anxiety skyrockets!

Did someone break in while you were outside? Was there a rat? You pull a chair from outside in and raise it, ready to deal critical damage, when you see the origin of the sounds: your boyfriend.

After heavily exhaling in relief, you lightly punch him on the shoulder, “Aish pabo, what are you doing here?!” He just cocks an eyebrow, “I could ask you the same thing, which makes you a pabo, too, yeah?”.

You roll your eyes and defend yourself, “ I just couldn’t sleep and wanted to see this place one more time. What’s your excuse?”

A slight blush crosses his features, and he tries to claim the same reason, but you see right through it; “Kim Taehyung, do not lie to me. If that were true, you wouldn’t be clattering around the kitchen. The truth, now, please.”

Rubbing the back of his neck in the embarrassment of being caught, he admits, “Okay, Nari-ah, you caught me. I was hungry and had a craving for black bean noodles, so I came here, but it looks like they packed it all up already. The clattering you heard was me rummaging through everything to see if they had misplaced it or something. Happy now?”.

You cannot help but cackle, which only causes your hungry boy to pout. “They didn’t misplace it, jagi; you ate them all.” His eyes widened in shock and horror, “b...but when we got here, there were like 12 packs. There’s no way.”

You simply nod and smile warmly at him. “We all partook, but there were a few nights you were extra hungry or tipsy and wanted noodles with your tequila.”

He slumps down onto one of the chairs by the kitchen island, looking defeated, “Oh, I am the true pabo then. I just couldn’t sleep and thought that would help, but oh well.”

You sit on his right thigh and cup his face kissing him sweetly, “Well, for what it’s worth, you’re my true pabo, and I love you as you are.”

Grinning as he kisses you back, hand guiding the back of your head closer, he abruptly pulls away. Lifting you as he gets up and places you on the seat instead, he heads toward the door.

“Um, what are you doing, Tae?”. “Well, I figured since we are both night owls, we might as well have a snack, yeah? Stay here, and I’m going to grab snacks from the closest store.”

You find it odd because why not just take you with him and go back to the hotel, but you decide just to nod your head knowing that determined look on his face.

It takes about a half hour for him to return, but he does so with more energy than you’ve seen in over a week. Wordlessly, he picks you up and places you in the car; as he buckles your seatbelt for you, you place a hand over his. “Jagi, where are the snacks? Why am I in the car?”

He kisses your nose and says, “Don’t worry, babe, I got you. Just trust me.”

Ignoring the fact that neither of your questions got answered upon feeling the butterflies in your stomach flutter over him being this close to you and how secure you are with him, you grin and giggle, giving him a wink.

As you head down the road, you notice it looks a lot like the route to the restaurant. There’s a reason for that: it is.

Tae parks the car, sees your confused expression, places a finger to his lips, and goes around the car to take your hand and lead you with his other hand covering your eyes.

You smell vanilla and start to open your mouth to question what on earth he has done when he whispers into your ear, “Please just wait, jagiya, it’s a surprise.”

Once he has led you up the stairs, he instructs you to keep your eyes closed until he says otherwise, which you comply with.

After the longest 10 seconds of your life, you are allowed to open your eyes, and what a sight! Candles on every flat surface and there’s the softest array of thick comforters, blankets, and pillows where the chairs were just a few hours ago. All of that is second best to the view in front of you.

Your boyfriend is on one knee with the ring he knows you have been drooling over since he has known you and bought it even before being yours officially.

He isn’t sure whether it was his way of trying to manifest or just being sure that you got what you wanted, whether that was ever him or not.

Tears start to well up in your eyes again as you fully take in the scene and start to open your mouth to say, “I do,” but not before Tae puts up a hand to halt your action. He clears his throat, takes a deep breath, then says

“Nari, my life has been permanently altered for the better since you came into my life. The day we fell in the field, I knew you were special. I instantly fell for you but doubted you felt the same way, so I didn’t say anything until I almost lost you. I realized that day that strictly friendship was not an option. The idea of anyone else claiming they know you as well as I do got my mind blurry with rage. I bought this the first week I knew you once I saw how your eyes shone more dazzling than this jewel upon seeing it. I know it may be too soon, but I will wait my entire life for you jagiya. Nobody else will ever be able to compare to my brightest star. So, I humbly ask you, will you spend the rest of your life with me? Will you marry me, Nari-ah?”

Falling to your knees with tears streaming down your face as you wrap your arms around his neck, you look into his eyes with your forehead on his and mutter out, “Of course, I will, my prince!” in between ecstatic sobs.

You sit back on your knees as he points out every detail and, finally, the inscription saying, “My Star.” He then affixes the ring to your finger, and you admire it for a moment, then hug him with such force that he falls onto his back, holding you tightly with him.

You are both giggling with relief and how surreal this has all been for what feels like an hour, but it was only about 10 minutes. Once you have both caught your breath, you prop yourself up on his chest with the flames of the candles shimmering in the gem on your finger and ask, “How did you do all of this so quickly? What made you do this now? What if I hadn’t been at the house too?”

He explains that he had packed all of this stuff so you wouldn’t find it while he was gone because he wanted to propose once he got home, but once you showed up, his plan was seemingly at risk.

Upon seeing you at the house, the secondary plan was formulated in his mind. If you hadn’t been there, he would’ve brought everything back home and continued with his original plan.

For the next two hours, you both reminisce on all the last few months' memories and reflect on fate's craftiness. If either of you had been in another place that day in the field, he might have never met the love of his life, and you never landed your dream job.

After resting in his protective embrace, staring up at the stars through the glass ceiling, you finally feel at complete peace and are about to doze off. He notices this and points up, “Jagiya, what do you think of the view?”

You slightly shake yourself more conscious and answer, “I adore it! We can never see the stars this clearly at home.” Your brat mode kicks in, and you question him, “Do you see the stars now, or are you still blind?” (referencing his line in Airplane pt. 2).

He just smirks and shakes his head, “Aish, just wait until we are home. I’ll give you the attitude adjustment of your life. Especially now that you are officially mine forever, expect the events of the other day in the kitchen times 10, my good girl.”

Successfully rendering you speechless, he answers your query, “As for the stars, I barely notice them. You are the brightest star in my life and outshine the entire galaxy one-hundred-fold, my Nari Starry.”

You nuzzle into his chest, and he feels you smile against him, wishing he could freeze this moment forever. But not completely, as he cannot wait to see what the rest of his life with you will entail.

He can’t wait to tell the rest of the crew since they’ve known about his plan for weeks and have had to play it cool but have been rooting for you since you met them a month or so ago.

Feeling you drift off, he slightly nudges you awake and picks you up to place you in the car while he resets the dining room and packs the car with the enchanted scene.

He returns to your hotel room and decides he will get your car tomorrow. For now, he craves nothing more than to be snuggled up to his new fiancé.

As he settles in next to you, he kisses your temple tenderly and wraps his arm around your waist, placing his hand over yours. A few seconds pass, and he swears he just heard you giggle. Leaning in closer, he whispers, “Jagiya, are you dreaming?”

You squeak in surprise, thinking he was fast asleep, and try to ignore him and act asleep, but he knows you too well. He leans over your face and sees the huge smile on your face, poking your cheek and making you break character.

You roll onto your back, cackling, and this poor sleep-deprived boy is so confused, wondering if she should be worried about you or not.

You see his expression, assure him that you are fine, and settle yourself down, “I just have one question, jagi.” “Yes? What is it, my love?” “Since I am your fiancé now, does that mean I am promoted?” you burst into a giggle fit again, causing him to cock an eyebrow amusedly while nodding. “I guess you can say that my silly goose, but in Jinny’s Kitchen, you are still the greenest intern.”

Deeply chuckling, you shut him up, peppering his face with kisses until he grabs your chin and kisses you until you both nod off and pay no mind to the alarms that will be going off in about 3 hours.

After a long while of brainstorming, Master Choi Minho has an idea, “Why don’t we collect more taxes from the people and place military personnel around our headquarters?”.

There is a wave of silent, approving nods until Chaewon says, “That isn’t much of a plan. What about protection for our people? If their livelihoods are getting strained, they deserve to reap some of the benefits as well!”.

Resounding chuckles fill the air as her cheeks turn pink and her eyes start to well up with tears, feeling embarrassed. However, before she can speak up, Master Chungha smirks. “Oh, you know what, that would be a lovely alteration to the plan! If we were still younglings. Grow up, Chaewon; that isn’t how the world works. We maintain order, and our subjects will be at peace if we are safe. Imagine we are in danger, then they panic; how dangerous that could rapidly become!”.

Most of the Council is clapping for the Master's use of logic when the youngest female Jedi to ever be on the Council, Rei, speaks up, "Yeah, even I know better, and you surpass me by 3 years. You’ll never make it onto the Council if you stay so naïve”.

At this point, Chaewon’s knuckles are white, and she is about to burst with fury at the disrespect.

Luckily, Master Jaeyun diffuses the impending explosion just in time. "All right then, this has been a great start in figuring out how to counteract the Sith issue, but we should dismiss for the day. When we gather next time, let's be more respectful and open-minded. Until next time, stay safe, everyone. Meeting adjourned.”.

Waiting until everyone else leaves to discuss the new developments with Somin and Jihyo, Chaewon remains seated while the rest of the Council files out of the room. Adding insult to injury, Chungha and Rei pat her head as if she were a child as they leave.

As soon as the door shuts, the floods can no longer be contained in her eyes, and Chaewon breaks down. Thankfully, she isn’t alone for long as her allies rush to her side quickly.

Somin reassures her gently while gently rubbing her back, "Let it out, dear; I am so proud of you for standing up for the people and keeping your emotions in check with everything else that happened. While you do need to fine-tune the execution, it was better than staying silent."

Meanwhile, Jihyo kneeled in front of Chaewon with a fierce look in her eyes, “Say the word, and I’ll use my strength training on that prick Minho and his ‘secret’ lover. I’ve been dying to slap them both for so long!” Somin scolds, "Now, why are you listening to those rumors? Whether true or false, it doesn’t concern us or our cause. We need to stay focused, Hyo."

Amongst sniffles, Chaewon chuckles, "I appreciate the offer, but it's okay; we need to make them think we are still aligned with them for the time being.”

At this, Somin looks down at Chaewon with a motherly, proud smile as she kisses the top of her head, and they all head out before curfew is enacted.

Back at Y/N's home shop, she is just finishing her morning routine, getting dressed, and trying to make a game plan for the current list of orders when she hears the bell ring that someone has entered.

Huffing in annoyance, she heads to the front. "I thought I told Huyang to leave the sign off today. Oh well, maybe someone is just lost, and I can get them out quickly,” she mutters.

When she sees who entered the shop, she turns on her heel to walk away, saying, "Look, I have had enough run-ins with you and your gang for a lifetime, so please let me work in peace. Between your elevator ambush, your slightly creepy leader randomly dropping in to apologize for the prior event and slightly offering to work together, then that Winter chick tracking me down, burning my shop, and trying to kill me, I’m all Sithed out, sorry.”

His eyes widen as he pieces together what he has just been told with the argument he heard before leaving. Immediately, he is filled with rage and is concerned for you more than he should be.

Sadly, he doesn’t have time to waste with silly ponderings right now. “Look, I can only speak on my actions, and I apologize if I annoyed you; I was just trying to have a little fun,” he says as his signature shit-eating grin spreads across his face.

He switches modes when he realizes the extent to which you are in no mood for his usual antics. "Okay, look, seriously, I need your help."

You cackle for 2 minutes straight, "Wait, so your crew pesters and threatens me for the last 24 hours, including your insults yesterday, and you think I’ll help you? Get lost.”

Your foot is almost across the threshold of the next room when he says, “You’re right. You can refuse service to anyone. I would, too, if I were you, but I have an offer. I need you to check out and possibly replace my kyber crystal. In exchange, I will pay double your normal service charge to help show you that I am serious about my apology and for information about what happened last night. Do we have a deal?”.

Shocked doesn’t cover how you feel now, “Hold on a minute. Why do you want information about your buddy’s attack? Wouldn’t you just ask them?”

Woo sighs, “ I would, but she is quite emotional right now, and I want the truth. She acted outside of Honjoong’s permission and wounded the integrity of our organization, which, as you know, is already being threatened. She will not know that I know anything or that I got the details from you. The intel will go straight from you to me, then to Hongjoong, who can concoct a story of how he learned about the specifics.”

For once, you can see genuine sincerity in his eyes and give a nod of approval, showing that you understand everything and agree to his terms.

Moving into the connected workshop structure, he sits and watches as you run diagnostic tests on his saber.

After about 15 minutes of this, you start dismantling it in silence so you can replace the crystal that looks like it got jostled by falling off his bedside table or something.

Suddenly, you break the silence. “Wanna know why what you said in the elevator hit such a nerve? Well, even if you don’t too bad. If you can just speak your mind whenever so can I."

Looking taken aback yet endeared at your spunk, he extends his hand in a go-ahead motion.

You continue explaining, "I built this business with my mentor's help after not being taken seriously for 5 years. Just having moved into the city, having no official training, and being a human woman made for an extremely steep uphill climb to where I am now. It was nothing new after a lifetime of having no parents and fending for myself, but there is only so much a person can take. One day, Huyang found me in an alley, about to inject myself with an instant death serum I bought from this shady tent because there was no more hope in my soul. He didn’t realize what it was until he fed me, and I broke down and told him my whole life story.”

Finishing up the saber, you drank some water and proceeded, “I won’t bore you with that, don’t worry. The main point is that after being abandoned and abused multiple times by so-called friends and family alike, I learned I can only depend on myself and, eventually, Huyang. I then put these silver streaks in my hair to remind myself that there is always light in the darkness; the same is true with most people, even those on the Sith side. The way I look at it, they are just misunderstood, and if their methods changed, they would be more respected and less feared.”

Laughing, you realize, “As far as core values go, the Sith is less corrupt than the Council at this point. Your leaders apologize and are protective; you all seem roughly the same rank. On the other hand, the Council likes to pretend to be more open-minded because it has a diverse membership and cares about the people. Yeah right. They overtax and overwork their citizens, who are practically slaves just so they can live posh, secure lives while the rest of us are dying from a myriad of terrible factors. A few secret friends and I in the Council are trying to gather support to overthrow those who have let greed poison them, but who knows if success will happen in my lifetime...”

Realizing you have been rambling for a while now, you feel self-conscious and hurriedly recount the run-in with Winter and tell him which shop was damaged. Thanking him for his time, you rush him out as questions bombard you.

Why did you open up so much to him? That isn’t like you... must still be off from yesterday. That must be it. Yeah. By busying yourself with other orders, you try to forget about your lapse in fortress status.

As Wooyoung stands outside your shop with a newly repaired saber and the old crystal in his pouch, which is special as it was his first, he has much to think about on the way home, more like the burned shop.

Too much is on his mind, and he can use the longer time away as evidence that he didn’t go to your shop so Winter doesn’t get suspicious when Joong has more details about the event later.

Woo is confused on several fronts as he talks to himself throughout his trek, “Why would anyone hurt her? Wait, why do I care? Why would she tell me about her past? It must be a trick to try to protect herself. Is she that type, though? Whatever, I don’t care.”

The last point is immediately disproven upon seeing the damage that Winter caused to the shop. Instinctively, he starts cleaning up the area and making mental notes of supplies to bring next time to fix up the place.

After about 2 hours, he starts heading back, and his inner turmoil has only heightened. He shouldn’t care, so why does he? I mean, you made some excellent points. But he is also under orders to kill you...decisions must be made.

Once dusk hits, you start tidying up the shop, content with the work you got done today (and yes, still repressing the swirl of thoughts from earlier).

Huyang enters with fresh meals he bought from the market nearby. You can both rest and enjoy easy food after the stressful last couple of days.

During the meal, you confide in Huyang about what happened earlier, and he is eerily silent. Not able to take it, after about 5 minutes, you shout, "What?! Just talk, damn... it’s weird when you’re quiet.”

 Clearing his throat, he says, “Apologies, ma’am, I just don’t think you want to hear my notes on this situation as they are similar to the last run-in you had with this Wooyoung. It is admirable that he repented and was able to be sincere with you. As for you, you already know the truth deep down and don’t want to admit it. That is all I shall say”.

Rolling your eyes, you just get up and go to your bedroom as Huyang chuckles to himself.

Unable to sleep due to the mixed emotions, countless questions, and thoughts, you decide to check out your shop at dawn to assess the damage.

 It is evident that someone else has been there as soon as you arrive. All of the lesser damaged items are in one corner, and it looks.... swept. You shrug and are happy that good people exist; they could have easily robbed you, but everything is accounted for despite its state.

Wooyoung, on the other hand, had a restful night’s sleep. Being physically exhausted and pleased that Winter got scolded more due to the intel he gave Hongjoong made him pass out as soon as he lay down.

Unfortunately, he was awoken in the middle of the night. Winter was knelt by his bed, blocking his saber, shaking him awake, “Woo, I cannot sleep. Can I sleep with you instead?.”

Smiling, he rolls onto his side, facing her, and says, “Sure, c’mon in, babe.”

As soon as she is settled in, he opens his eyes and pushes her onto the floor. Yelping with tears in her eyes, she says, “Why did you say sure and call me babe just to do that?!”

Startled fully awake by her screams, Wooyoung realizes what he has done.

In truth, he was dreaming about you too domestically, and in dreamland, her request was presented as yours.

So, when he was met with Winter in reality, he was appalled not only by her presence so close to him but also anxious about the contents of the dream.

He cannot tell her that, though, so he crafts a half lie; “Oh, um, sorry, I was having a dream about this babe I met at the cantina today while I was getting my saber fixed. Go back to your own room, petulant child.”

Whimpering, she refuses, “NO! I am not a child, and I will not be treated like one anymore, not by you especially. Can’t you see how perfect we would be together? Much better than Joong and Y/N; it is so pathetic.”

At the mention of you, Woo bolts upright, “What do you mean?” Winter is confused by his sudden interest. Nevertheless, she explains, “Well, Joong went to Y/N yesterday and plans to go alone tomorrow, too. It seems like he likes her, but, knowing him, he is probably just toying with her.”

Pondering her words, Wooyoung says, “That is his business, and we should not pay any attention to anything he does not discuss with us. Now go to your own room and sleep or not, I do not care, but goodbye.”

As he turns towards the wall, he cannot help but feel a stab of jealousy at this latest information.

Winter goes to her room, kicking herself for being vulnerable yet again, but damnit, she needed a win. Multiple scoldings by Hongjoong lately, along with neither of her crushes giving her the time of day, has her dejected.

She decides to go into an intense isolation period, claiming it is “that time of the month” to ward off Joong and Woo and to get out of doing fieldwork.

The following day, Wooyoung broaches what Winter told him with his leader. "Sir, I have a question: is what she said true? I told her to keep her nose out of your business, but as your second in command, I feel I should know what is going on to aid however I can if needed.”

Shocked at the initiative, Hongjoong smiles, “Thank you for putting her in her place, and I agree. For Bibi's will to be done, there must be nothing but honesty between us. While I admire Miss Y/N’s tenacity, and she is fairly easy on the eyes, I would not be so foolish as to let animal instinct take over. She is merely a pawn in this game, nothing else. Both you and Winter tend to lack professionalism, so I meet up alone to speed up the process.”

Satisfied with his answer, Hongjoong excuses himself from the table and prepares to meet up with Y/N.

Wooyoung waits until Hongjoong is gone to leave for the burned shop and continue making repairs, feeling thankful yet insulted.

Huyang let you sleep in as you caught up on most of the orders yesterday. You awoke with lunch by your bed with a note that he would hang flyers and for you to take it easy today.

Naturally, you ate and paid no mind to the resting part as you wanted to fix your shop more.

About 2 miles from your shop, you see a familiar figure approaching you, but it can't be... it is Wooyoung!

Sadly, there is nowhere to hide from him, so you continue strutting in his direction, acting like his presence is unnoticed.

The moment he gets close to you, anxiety radiates off of him as he tries to make small talk and turns around to walk with you. “What are you doing in the middle of nowhere alone? That is dangerous.” He says.

You scoff, “Since when does the Sith care about the life of a lowly sabersmith? And I can handle myself, thank you very much. The better question is, what are you doing out here? Miss me already?.”

Silence and a heated smirk are all you are met with until you trip him and hold your lilac-hued saber to his throat, “Did you fuck with my shop more? I swear I will slit your throat right now, and you will not like it..”

Attempting to scooch away on his back, he pleads with you, “NO, no, I swear, I did not mess up your shop. I was just.. uh... scouting the area to make sure no defectors from the Sith were in hiding.”

Mainly convinced by his story, you sheath your saber and help him to his feet. He nods and says he has to be on his way but decides not to tell you that Hongjoong is on his way to meet up with you.

It is childish, he admits, but something in him likes that he got to see you today, and Joong did not.

You feel played as soon as you step into your shop; he most definitely fucked with your shop but in a positive way.

It is even cleaner than last time, and repairs are obviously underway. You pin that for the next time you see him and try to focus on the work ahead.

Wooyoung returns to headquarters to hear the sound of things being thrown and screaming; he rushes inside, worried they are under attack, only to find Hongjoong as the source of the cacophony.

Hearing the door close, Joong pauses and half turns around with a crazed look while grinning like a rabid dog. Seeing it is Wooyoung, he starts venting, "Can you believe it? She has the nerve to not respond to my attempts at communication and then stand me up at her own shop?! Does she not realize how much I could fuck up or enhance her life depending on how she plays my game? How could she not want to see me? I am charming, handsome, mysterious; everything a spunky bitch like her would want. That is fine. I will show her what happens when you reject the mighty Hongjoong!”

Before Woo can react, Joong storms into his chambers to plot against Y/N. Just a pawn...sure, Wooyoung thinks to himself.

Wanting to test his newly fixed saber, he heads to the practice room to self-spar. Engrossed in the improvements you made and the scenarios played by the holograms for practice, he only notices Winter watching from the doorway when he trips over his foot and falls.

For once, she is calm as he asks, “H-how long have you been standing there?!” “Oh, only a few minutes, but that’s all I needed to bring you down,” she replies.

Confusion colors his features, “What in the galaxy are you talking about now? How and why would you want to bring me down?”.

She saunters over and stands over him, displaying a newfound dominant aura. “Oh, now you are the naïve one, it seems. Firstly, a girl can only take so much rejection before she snaps and turns on those she once wanted most. Secondly, there is only one smith around here whose trademark is white kyber crystals. You are as good as dead once Joong finds out you lied to him about where you got it fixed.”

Panic evident in his eyes, Woo quickly defends, "Okay, true, that trademark is well known amongst the customers of Y/N, but that does not mean she has a monopoly on them; plenty of other shops have them in stock from time to time. Also, how are you still so childish? Oh noooo, I don’t return your crush, so you are going to vaguely threaten me? Geez, go to counseling or get laid, shit.”

Winter is semi-convinced, so she stays to practice for a bit. Meanwhile, Wooyoung exits to wash off the near-death experience and plans a trip to warn you about a potential second attack from Winter.

After Wooyoung bathes, he heads to your shop, praying Joong does not cross his path. He arrives about the same time as you, and being too tired to argue, you let him in while you hydrate and catch your breath from all the manual labor you just did.

As you rest, he warns you, “Look, Winter saw me sparring with my saber. Great work, by the way! Anyway, now it is seen as betraying the Sith by going to you. You could be in a lot of danger, and while I can’t directly protect you, I can give you a heads up at least."

Furrowing your brows, your only response is, “Why would you, though?” He deeply exhales, “ I don't even know, okay, but there is your warning. Have a good day.”

Confused and amused by his awkwardness, you say, “I will, actually. It has been productive so far, plus my efforts have finally shut down a gambling center where the money goes to the Council, so I am happy! Plus, I have even more followers of my cause!”

Turning away, he grins, happy to see you reach your goals, but that smile fades rapidly as you say, “By the way, I know you were the one who has been helping with my damaged shop. Thanks.”

He leaves since he does not know how to respond or why his motivation has been pro-you and anti-mission lately, but not without quipping, “I mean, why would I help you? But if you want to reward me for this supposed aid, you can give my biological saber lip service next time, doll.”

As he leaves with a wink, you are annoyed, not by him for once, but with yourself. That kind of remark usually elicits nausea and a desire to kill every man.

This time, you just giggle once he leaves and feel your entire body heat up at the thought. Yep, you are screwed.

The next day, after you both have very intense sexual dreams about each other, you decide to go to Tatooine. His reason is simply to attempt to distract his brain, while yours is to check on your small shop.

It is a request-only shop as it is the least trafficked area for you, but with recent events, you might as well check in while you collect more kyber crystals.

As you are about to leave, you get a surprise visit from Hongjoong; shocked and perturbed, you politely excuse yourself; "Terribly sorry, but I was just on my way out; you can come back tomorrow, though, if you'd like.” He does not like that at all and backs you into your workbench.

Displaying a devilish, darkened gaze of determination, he states, “Oh, you foolish girl. I do not want to make the trip tomorrow. I am here now, and I want you. Do you know how much business I could get you? I would even share what I collect from the Sith citizens from ‘taxes,’ aka my fun fund. Stop fighting this attraction. It’s just me, not like I am the big bad wolf darling, though I would love to eat you,” he states, smirking a couple of inches from your lips.

With his eyes closed, you take the opportunity to hit him in the head with one of your tools and run out, hopping on your speeder and quickly zooming away with tears in your eyes.

You are reeling from the encounter and frustrated that your heart wants to flee to Woo for comfort.

With Hongjoong yelling at you that nobody is ever going to love you if you do not let them in or just be grateful that a god like him designed to give you his attention, you decide against walking into the lion’s den; you stay the course to Tatooine ignoring your yearning for comfort.

After a while, you head to the local cantina to grab something refreshing to drink since you have been in the sun crystal mining for 3 hours now.

En route, you notice people fighting and pay no mind, believing it to just be a couple of drunkards squabbling over the bill. Until you get closer, that is, and find that the fighters are Wooyoung and Hongjoong!

Staying a safe distance away yet being able to hear every word of their conversation makes you worried. Yet, you know it would be foolish to get in the middle, so you stand there paralyzed.

It seems that your rejection led Joong to the desert looking for a hook-up at the bar, where he ran into Woo and immediately went on the offensive.

Hongjoong is slurring at Woo, “Why did you go to that bitch for your saber? You know she is mine! Now, you ruin my attempts to get rid of the blue balls she gave me earlier? You are dead, apprentice.”

Wooyoung retorts between defending Joong’s strikes. “First off, she is not a bitch, and she was the closest sabersmith. Secondly, blue balls are not a thing, and you would not be looking for a drunken desperate cunt to sink into if she had initiated it, so stop lying to yourself and to me.”

Hongjoong looks victorious, “HA, so you admit going to her! For once, Winter was the good pupil. Maybe I will send the signal for her to attack Y/N while you are busy here..since you cannot even kill her like you were ordered."

Too worried about you, Woo freezes for a split second, which is enough for Joong to pull out his dagger and slice Wooyoung’s right cheek and left shoulder.

Right after, Joong hears a speeder and does not want witnesses, so he runs away; thank goodness your idea worked.

Helping Wooyoung onto your speeder, you head to your shop. It is not an ideal reason to head over there, but you were already planning on checking on it, so oh well.

Upon arrival, you help support him off the bike as he got beat up quite a beat; laying him on the bed in the back of the shop, you start taking off his robe to assess the wound.

Always a smartass, he smirks, and then he is screeching for dear life. He stares at your attempt at stifling a laugh, "Hey, don’t look so pleased.” You snort, “Sorry, just nice to see you are human sometimes.”

He pouts and turns away, forgetting his cheek is sliced too, so he turns back, defeated, towards you while you tend to his wounds and wrap up his shoulder.

You hate to admit it, but damn, his body looks even better than you thought; no, you scold yourself, not the place or time.

You change the subject, "So why can't you kill me? Or was he drunk?". Still on edge, he barks, "I don't even know, okay?! I warn you; I fix your shop secretly; I duel my master to defend your honor. It is all worth it, but-“

You interrupt. “You don't need to get hurt for me, though, idiot.” He grins. “I know I don’t have to, but I do, and I’m not sure why, but I want to help your cause and think it’s a great thing you’re doing and-“

This time, you interrupt him with a kiss that immediately gets returned. Pulling away, you apologize, “Sorry, but I had to stop your nonsense. I think I know why you do the things you do. It’s the same reason I helped you today, and don’t mind your drop-ins as much as I let on.”

He raises an eyebrow, asking why, to which you lean in close to him again and whisper in his ear, “Because we want each other badly but are scared of being that close and getting hurt.”

Sitting up, you blush. “I mean, maybe it’s just me, but it feels like we are very similar and fated in a way; just tell me if I –“

He stops you with a hungry kiss, supporting himself with his good arm, cradling the back of your head with his left hand as his tongue explores your mouth.

Your boldness peeks through as you lightly suck his tongue and let your hands gently trail down his abs and palm his covered, very strained bulge.

He groans into your mouth as he snakes his hand under your tunic and palms your voluptuous breasts in response, rolling your hardening nipples between his fingers.

This does not last long before his skilled tongue is swirling the buds and sucking on your tits, bringing you to ecstasy quicker than expected.

Sitting up as much as he can, you remove the rest of both of your clothes and straddle him, both of your sweat mixing in an intoxicating concoction of desire and safety in each other as your hands roam all over each other, passionately making out and making up for lost time.

You feel him grow beneath you, and with remarkable quickness, you shimmy down and lick the slit of his leaking tip for a moment or two before engulfing his thickness down your throat with ease earning you a nonverbal good job on the cheek with his veiny hands.

As he approaches his climax, he pulls you up by your hair, your lips releasing him with a pop and gestures for you to kiss him.

He gazes hungrily into your eyes, “I need to be inside of you, Y/N god, like right now.” You look sideways and reveal, “I want that too, but I, um, well... you would be my first. Can we go slow?"

His energy softens as he caresses your face, tucking your hair behind your ear. “Of course, baby, I simply want to be closer to you.”

Nodding, you line yourself up and sink onto him slowly. It hurts a bit at first, but you quickly adjust to the sting, and it feels sinfully good to have your aching cunt being filled by him finally.

The shop is consumed with the sound of your delicious moans and skin coming together more and more rapidly until you are about to reach your high.

Wooyoung can tell you are close to your release and reaches down to play with your clit, “C'mon love, make a mess on me, princess” At his words, your body reacts by cumming so many times you lose count.

With his help, you ride out your high for about 10 minutes as you feel his heat fill you up three times before you both slump over in exhaustive bliss.

Over the next few days, you stay in that shop talking about everything, and he officially decides to join your cause and recant his Sith ways.

You reveal that you chose his kyber crystal on purpose because you saw the light in him. He tears up and hugs you tightly, "I know it's soon, but I love you, my moth."

You kiss him, saying you love him as well, and have for a while through light sobs.

You both return to Coruscant after going to a nearby hair studio for a change of pace.

He adds blonde streaks to his black hair to remind himself of the light inside and has his old crystal fashioned into a necklace to remind him of where he has been and that he has changed.

 You, however, exchange your silver-streaked hair for more of a rust color to match the sentiment of his crystal, promising to keep each other in check and make sure no corruption enters your hearts.

Back at the Council, you, along with Somin, Jihyo, Chaewon, and Wooyoung, expose the corrupt members despite Masters Moonbyul and Jongseob trying to rationalize their actions but failing as they all get carted away to the highest security prison.

Later that day, the secretly good trio became the new faces of the Council and immediately threw a celebration for the city's people, returning all the money that had been wrongly collected.

You and Wooyoung, of course, attend in support. As you are about to steal a kiss, you notice a familiar pair of beady eyes peek behind a pillar.

But now, they are filled with pride and wonder instead of obsession. “What did you see?” Wooyoung asks; you smile and say, “Oh, an old friend, they are shy now but are doing better, I can tell, and I’m happy for them.”

Their carriers, Winter, Wooyoung, and Hongjoong, were representatives from the Sith headquarters on behalf of Darth Bibi.

They had arrived in Coruscant for questioning as the Council had requested. The reason is that they were recently made aware of some odd happenings across the galaxy that fit their brand of chaos a little too well.

Looking visibly annoyed at the interruption and their cocky demeanor, you glare at the smug side profile of Wooyoung as his distinguished partner in training, Hongjoong, defends the accusations being hurled at the trio from each member of the Council.

Wooyoung moves a bit behind Hongjoong, and as he adjusts his footing, he catches Y/N’s disdainful expression. Looking aghast at her audacity, he mouths, "What is your problem?" Y/N responds with a shoulder shrug and feigns dissociation out the window.

The questioning wraps up, and Kai thanks them for their time and cooperation while permitting them to exit the Council hall. Yeosang picks up where Minghao left off and swiftly concludes Y/N's weekly session as the sun sets. With the recent uptick in random violent acts, a curfew was put in place, which meant everyone needed to get home quickly.

Exiting the hall, you speak into your communicator necklace and let Huyang know you are heading home. As you enter the elevator, you spot the Sith trio huddled in a corner, seemingly in a heated discussion.

Ignoring them, you enter the elevator and breathe a sigh of relief that you will be home soon. However, your peace doesn't last long as you hear a thud above you. Stealthily, you draw your pair of mini batons, staying alert in case of trouble.

Trouble ends up dropping into the elevator with you by the name of Wooyoung. Shoving the end of your baton into his razor-sharp jawline, you question, “What is with you? Couldn’t wait for the next car?”.

Simply chuckling and leaning aloofly on the wall, his reply shocks you. “Oh, it isn’t that; I wanted to make sure you weren’t going to make any trouble for me and my friends since I saw that you noticed our little pow-wow.”

Scoffing, she retorts, “I couldn’t care less about you and your hooligan friends. That’s between the Empress and the Council.”  “Hooligans? What are you, my great-grandmother?” he chortles.

 Rolling your eyes, you decide to ignore him as you are almost on the first floor. He hates that he didn’t get a reaction out of you, so he speaks his mind even more, "Well, we don't give a fuck about you either. In fact, it boggles my mind how the Council even stands by your lowly presence. You are nothing special, just a simple-minded saber smith who can’t even use a saber. So pathetic.”

Too taken aback by this stranger’s blatant insults to defend yourself, you stand there, fists balled up at your sides and full of rage, wanting to give him a taste of what you can do with your batons and staff.

Sadly, before you get the chance, the elevator dings, and he saunters out with that same annoying smug look, mockingly bidding you adieu as he rushes to catch up to his group.

You are confused about why his words affected you the entire way home. You spent years building up your reputation, never dreaming the path would lead to garnering the attention and trust of the Council, but here you are.

You went from just operating out of a measly tent to having several shops across the galaxy with the help of your droid mentor turned friend and co-manager, Huyang; you have made a respectable name for yourself. “To hell with that asshole! He doesn’t know me.” You think to yourself as you cross the threshold of your home shop.

Looking up from the dinner he was preparing, Huyang greets you with a fond "Hello there, Y/N! How’d  it go with the Council?” Scrunching up your face, you give a not-convincing “Fine, I guess,” as your pet mouse droid does laps around your ankles.

Not believing you but not daring to pry further before you have eaten, Huyang gives a half-hearted “Well, that’s good.” After dinner, you tell Huyang everything about the meeting, Sith intrusion, and your ambush elevator visit. He starts to giggle and has no intention of stopping even as you glare at him for seemingly not taking you seriously; “What is so goddamn funny, Yang?!”.

Composing himself, he answers, still fighting the urge to laugh, “Well, you see, young master, I have lived a long time and have seen this same song and dance many a time, which ends in the same manner.” Raising an eyebrow, it is apparent that you are thoroughly confused, “What in any of the galaxies are you insinuating?”

Allowing a giggle or two to slip out, he replies, “Oh nothing.... just more couples than I can count have started off ‘hating each other’ or ‘being annoying.’ Anyway, go get some rest while I clean up. We got a lot of orders in while you were gone today, so we have a busy day ahead of us, Y/N!” Looking mortified and too tired to tell him how wrong he is, you shuffle off to bed full and a little offended that Huyang would say such a thing about that scoundrel.

Meanwhile, back at the Sith training center, Bibi is giving Wooyoung a similarly hard time about his little drop-in. The only difference is he has a worse temper and has a bit to drink, so he ends up flipping the table they are dining at while Hongjoong is in his own world, expression unreadable, unlike Winter, whose face has been flushed, and the entire aura is radiating annoyance.

The next day, you are busier than you have been in weeks, thanks to the Council allowing you to finally post flyers about your services around the city. Finally getting a moment to scarf down the lunch Huyang packed you and have a relaxed seat, you hear the bell above the door indicating that you have a customer.

Contemplating ignoring them until they get fed up and leave only lasts a few seconds as your pride gets the best of you. Plus, you want to avoid getting a bad rap or losing a sale. Your breath hitches as soon as you see your patron, none other than the Sith lord in training from yesterday, Hongjoong.

Plastering on your best friendly smile and trying not to show how scared you are that trouble is imminent, you greet him, “Hello, Sir. How can my humble shop be of service to you?” Grinning eerily kindly, he tells you, “Oh, I’m not here on business, Ms. Y/N. Simply stopping by to apologize for the actions of my counterpart in the elevator yesterday. He is still young and foolish and hasn't the faintest idea of properly conducting oneself in a business setting yet. I hope he didn’t give you too much grief. Rest assured that your services are appreciated by both sides; you have immense talent, Y/N.”

Taken aback by his forethought and reassurance, you feel sure that the day's stress must be getting to you. Pinching yourself discreetly, you realize that this is a very real interaction and compose yourself so as not to seem rude. “Apologies, Sir Hongjoong, it has been a busy day, and I wasn’t prepared for such a kind visit. Thank you for stopping by; it’s good to know that someone else realizes what a petulant child that man is; if that is overstepping, I am sorry it just came out.”

Shaking his head, he assures you that no offense was taken and makes known his wish to maintain this business friendship. Halfheartedly agreeing, you see him out and reflect on what just happened. A Sith in training came all the way to your shop to apologize for his colleague's actions that he didn’t even witness. How did he know where to find you? Was Wooyoung talking about you? If he was, why? Was Huyang right? No way...

Being at a stopping point with your projects and feeling dizzy from the wide range of thoughts you were having, you decided to close up the shop for the day. Once you get home, have a quick snack, and shower, you are out like a light.

Over at the Sith camp, Hongjoong relays his visit and smiles differently, more than either of his training mates has seen before, as he stands at the head of the table. Wooyoung takes a break from sulking to whine at his senior, “Hyung, why would you do that? Now she is going to think I was talking about her or something. Plus, we have more pressing matters to tend to here at base camp."

Winter finally decides to join the conversation, "Yeah! Why did only you get to go see her? You should have brought me along at least...you know, for a female advantage."

Hongjoong starts cackling at this point, to the extent that he has to lean on the table for support. He calls out each of his colleagues, “First of all, Wooyoung, you did tell us about your little escapade. Meaning you were talking about her, in fact. I did it because you are too emotional and don’t know the art of strategy. See, if we get on her good side, or at least make her think we are, we can use her for intel or leverage, depending on her attitude.”

“ Now, Ms. Winter. You seem to be hurt that I didn’t require your presence today. I know you are eager to prove yourself to Bibi, and that is admirable, believe me. However, I left you behind because you were of no use. The situation needed a charismatic performance, which you so stunningly lack. I didn't need you weirdly gushing about how she braided her "pretty silver locks" and go and screw everything up with a female target. Again.”

The younger students look appalled, but shockingly, Winter speaks up first, "Well, that just isn't right. I could be an asset if you allowed me to redeem myself after last time. I know I got distracted by the target. But I've grown and won't allow personal feelings or desires to interfere. Isn't the fact that I was chosen for Empress training a plus and a testament to my abilities and potential?”

Lowering back into his plush chair, Hongjoong curtly gives a “No. It does not, and you are naïve if you think you were chosen for any reason other than your late uncle paid Bibi to take you under her wing. He hated going to his grave, not knowing if you would ever make anything of yourself. Now stop whining like a lovesick adolescent and get out of my sight.”

While she can keep the tears at bay behind her lash line, the quiver of her lip gives her away immediately. Wooyoung jumps at the chance to ridicule her. Still, Winter won't stand for any more shit-talking her way.

She shows him such a sentiment by holding her saber right above his wrist, attempting to intimidate him while holding him tightly by the back of his head as she verbally warns him to stop before he regrets it.

Deciding to play dirty, she reminds him, “The only reason that the Empress enlisted you into our troop was that you were on the verge of being publicly executed for your heinous crimes, and she got word of it, was impressed, and sent a team to collect you. At least our offenses are tasteful and have meaning. You really just massacred a hut full of elderly individuals because you were bored? Some child was screaming too much in the market, so you beheaded them? The list goes on and on. At this point, you are simply a hired thug who doesn’t deserve to handle a saber, especially not in our ranks.”

There is a brief flash of slight remorse in his eye from the sting of her words, but this tactic doesn’t work for long. While Wooyoung isn't necessarily proud of his past, he did what he had to do to survive, and bosses paid top dollar for disgusting jobs that nobody else had the stomach to carry out.

He regains his cocky demeanor and chuckles darkly, his obsidian eyes locking into belittling mode,  “It’s cute you think you have any influence over me, really.” He says as he elbows her in the stomach, making her fall on one knee, and holds her chin up to face him.

Leaning down, he whispers into her ear, “Not only do I not think you have it in you to actually hurt me, but I’m also kinkier than you can imagine, so any physical pain or perceived discomfort is only going to end up with me fighting to not get hard instead of fighting you. Nice try, though, sweetheart.”

As he walks to his chambers, she rushes out of the camp. Sadly, they are so used to her antics that they pay no mind. She typically paces in the nearby clearing for about a half hour and then returns.

In the meantime, Hongjoong catches Wooyoung before both retire to their chambers and reminds him, "Wooyoung, don't forget. The Council must be taken care of soon, but we must be methodical. Start taking out the nobody's that frequent the Council."

Gulping nervously, knowing who he was referencing, Wooyoung nods and informs Hongjoong that the Empress has already assigned him his first target: Y/N. Hongjoong looks like he has seen a ghost but clears his throat and disappears into the hall's shadows leading to his room. He shakily mutters about how good it is to know he shares Bibi's vision.

Neither knows that Winter is determined this time to prove that she can be an asset. Hopping in her ship, she heads straight for one of Y/N's smaller shops in Coruscant. While she wants to go for the kill at your leading shop and residence in Tatooine, she worries that she will be overstepping.

Little did she know that you had decided to camp out there for the night as you needed a night in the city soon, and that day was tomorrow once some more work got done.

Winter gets to your shop, and without checking to ensure it is empty, she sets it ablaze from every corner. During a dream where Huyang was baking fresh bread for you, your nose picks up on the prevalent smoke smell and jolts you awake.

Even though the fire has already done some surface damage to your arms, legs, and some of your hair, you manage to get out of there in time and flee from the scene on your Flitknot speeder bike. Winter spots movement out of her periphery, and she doesn’t realize it is you until she gets closer.

She continues the pursuit all the way to the heart of the city by the ’79s, even as it starts to rain. How fitting, she thinks; the sky is overflowing, and so are her emotions.

She wanted to tell Hongjoong he was utterly wrong. Nothing about you intrigued her. Not even your unique hair and magnetic energy. Attachments only led to downfall, and it was bad enough she had to internalize her attraction to Wooyoung; she couldn’t literally fall for the enemy. That was too cliché.

But she didn't stand a chance; she fantasized about you so often it was shameful on every level. She had gone crazy jealous that Wooyoung AND Hongjoong had gotten to have private chats with you, but she didn’t. However, if there was an incident with your shop, she could make a case to ensure that you were unharmed for purely strategic reasons.

Now that she had you in her sights, all of her anger returned, and she was determined to show that she could be fierce and just as murderous as Bibi’s favorite, Wooyoung. Emotions were confusing. Violence was simple. She had made up her mind.

Not knowing you had been followed and grateful to be alive, you entered the 79s for a much-needed drink. The door then aggressively swung open to reveal a soaked-to-the-bone Winter approaching you with a fully lit saber and a psychotic look in her, showcasing how ready she was to use it on you.

Wanting to keep the innocent bystanders safe, you pleaded with her to take this outside. You didn’t want any trouble nor have any motive to be engaged in a disagreement with her, especially not to this extent.

Agreeing, she follows behind you from the coziness of the cantina to the monsoon outside, the only illumination being the neon lights from the rest of the businesses on the street. Trying to get your bearings, you lose sight of her; no way she is that inhumanly fast, you think to yourself.

As if she could read your mind, she whistles, “Hey, Y/N, up here. I guess it’s true; the pretty ones are always dumb. Such a shame I have to rid the world of your pitiful existence, but duty calls.”

Leaping to the top of the building, you strike the first blow of your staff, hitting her on the head. Struggling to her feet, she laughs maniacally, “Ohhhhh, we are off to a great start, aren't we? You'll have to do better than that to discourage me, though.”

Determined to live another day, you separate your staff into mini batons and manage to block all of her attempts to slice you in half. Knocking her off the ledge, she uses her power to boomerang her saber right over your face and back to her. While you managed to dodge it for the most part, your right cheek got slightly burned by the saber's edge.

Managing to land on her feet, she hobbles away to her bike but warns you that this isn’t the last you will see of her. Were those tears on her face or the rain? Was she raspy from trying not to cry or hoarse from all of the hits she took from your staff? It didn't matter. You needed to go home and warn Huyang the whole time, praying you weren't too late...

The following day, you and Winter both woke up sore and confused, but that is where the similar experience ends. You awoke with Huyang bringing you breakfast in bed, and she was busy getting scolded by Hongjoong from the moment he saw her. “HOW IN THE WORLD DID YOU THINK IT WAS SMART GOING ROGUE, ESPECIALLY ALONE? AT NIGHT???? God, you really are too immature to be in Empress training. Explain yourself.”.

Fighting back tears and trying to ignore the dull ache in her sides, she pleaded her case to Hongjoong, “Listen, I know it wasn’t the smartest thing, but I figured too many people would garner more attention than would be wise, plus I wanted to prove myself.”

Hongjoong chuckles mockingly, “Prove yourself?! You proved nothing except that you have the brain of a high-strung adolescent and that scratching a cheek is all you are capable of. Congrats, truly...." he ended sarcastically.

She continues to loudly defend her actions between sobs caused by the physical and emotional pain she is enduring to no avail. Hongjoong laughs at her existence and exits the room, but not without aggressively hurling a few more insults.

Looking annoyed, Wooyoung walks out of his chambers, ignoring the scene; those two are always fighting. As he was about to ask Hongjoong to spar with him, he noticed that his kyber crystal was only half working. Who just happens to be the nearest sabersmith? Y/N.

Already not being a morning person, plus being done with the constant fighting AND finding out he has to interact civilly with the newest annoyance in his life, created a very dejected Wooyoung. Winter notices the door open and starts begging him to wait for her but gets ignored and starts sobbing more as he makes his way to Y/N’s shop.

About halfway to the shop, Wooyoung is contemplating just taking the entire day and going to the next nearest shop, which would extend your trek from about 2 hours to 5 hours. He just can’t reconcile giving you the satisfaction of him coming to you for assistance. He was also exhausted and wanted to be done with his errand and return home for training and a nap as soon as possible. But what can his pride handle?

He reassures you that he is fine and that you did nothing, even swearing it on Yeontan! Still, you know him better than he realizes and that doesn’t tame the worry in your heart.

The next week, you finally get the answer you have been asking for: he is leaving in 3 days to film a show in Mexico. How did you get this information from your guarded teddy bear? Tequila.

He had told you he was going to hang out with his friends Jung Yumi, Choi Wooshik, and Park Seo Joon after the gym and to not wait up as it had been a long time since he had seen them.

Well, you obviously didn’t listen and stayed up until he got home to make sure everything was all right and to sneak in a “hey” to his friends as they dropped him off after partaking in too many shots.

The second he plopped onto the couch, the waterworks started. Between sobs, he choked out the news that he feels like his life with you has just started.

He doesn’t want to leave you, but his manager already said that you couldn’t tag along but were more than welcome to visit him the last couple of days.

You sit there in a daze, rubbing his back while he cries into your shoulder and can’t believe that he has kept this from you. While you understand his reasoning, he knows about your separation anxiety.

You prefer to have a hefty heads-up before these types of things so you can slowly adjust. You’ll barely be past the depression about him leaving by the time he leaves.

Despite your annoyance at his strategy of information release, you do your best to postpone the depression and enjoy the next few days, helping him prepare and have as much fun as possible.

You know this is barely easier for him, and he has apologized profusely for not telling you sooner.

The day arrives for his departure, and you bring him to the airport and wish him and his friends safe travels with bleary eyes and continual “I love you’s” being exchanged between you.

You get home and cuddle up with Yeontan on the couch, feeling exhausted. Your emotions finally take over about 15 minutes later, and the waterworks are in full effect.

A while later, Tae shoots you a text that they have a brief layover before the next flight and that he already misses you and will call you as soon as he gets settled.

This only intensifies the tears, and it takes a miracle for you to settle down enough to pick up the phone about 5 minutes later when you see his manager calling your phone.

You answer immediately, asking if everything is okay, and he even further reassures you that they are fine and that he is about to tell you something confidential, not even to tell your boyfriend.

He apologized for saying that you couldn’t tag along before, but the decision wasn’t final yet. Your eyebrows are about to merge into one from being confusingly scrunched so much.

He explains that you will be leaving in 2 days to meet them in Mexico. A couple of episodes will already be shot, but he wants to surprise Tae (and the viewers) by having you join the crew.

He has already made accommodations for your heat sensitivity in advance, and everyone loves your relationship’s chemistry, so it would be an honor for you to guest star.

You think for a moment but decide not to live in fear and what if, and you agree! It is exceedingly difficult not to tell Tae the news when he calls that night, being the most pitiful puppy missing you so much and being homesick, but you can’t wait to see the look on his face when you spawn on set.

You arrive in Mexico a few days later at a nearby hotel so maintain the surprise and are given instructions on where to go, when, and given the Jinny’s Kitchen uniform.

It is tricky to Facetime Tae that night as you must make it look like you aren’t in the same time zone.

Luckily, he is exhausted, doesn’t suspect anything, and doesn’t even make a fuss about you ending the call earlier than usual because “you have an early photoshoot.”  

You drift off to sleep with the biggest grin on your face, knowing you get to be reunited with your boyfriend way ahead of schedule.

Bright and early the next morning, you arrive at the set, and the moment his eyes meet yours, he runs toward you like an excited puppy, lifts you, spins you around, and showers you with kisses until you both need oxygen.

Everyone on set can tell how much his energy shifts now that you are around and are impressed with your acting debut and how professional you are both being.

The viewers already know that you are together, but you both have jobs to do and can’t play around like when you cook at home.

After the first couple of days, he isn’t used to you in a negative way, but his cheeky side is peeking through now that the shock of you being there has lessened.

As the crew is doing the pre-shift interviews as all of you get ready for the day, he says, “Oh well, I am definitely not the intern now that Nari is here. I’ve been running this for 2-3 days before she got here. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure that is cleared up.” He says with a sly grin.

This remark is because the day before, you had gotten playfully sassy when he was trying to show you how to do something. Your reply was, “Um, I’m sorry. I’m the chef at home, so I think I can handle myself just fine, pretty boy; go check on the table 4.” giggling as he walked away.

The workday starts, and Tae calls a team meeting, shocking the older members with his boldness. Once everyone is gathered, he brings up an issue with his boss, Seo Jin. “Hyung, now that Nari is here, I think that we need to reconfigure the hierarchy of this establishment.”

You sit in the corner and roll your eyes only for a moment before they bug out of your head as the older man agrees with Tae. As Wooshik arrived a day before you, that makes you the true intern and the one with the least authority.

The whole time Seo Jin is explaining this amongst the other's discussion, you are glaring at your boyfriend while he has his tongue poking the inside of his cheek the whole time, looking the cockiest he has in a hot minute. Which is highly arousing. You won’t lie, but you are still annoyed.

You head to the back and start to gather the equipment the team will need to prep the snack foods of the day; Tae follows you with the excuse that nobody can make better rice than him so that he will start it.

Despite his attempts to show affection or joke around, you ignore him, fighting a smile because he is just your goofball boy that you are madly in love with and aren’t upset.

Dropping off the tools to Yumi and Seo Joon first, you return to the kitchen for the remaining items needed for the day. Chuckling to yourself about the events of the day so far, you get spun around and pinned to the fridge in a split second.

Tae has both of your hands in one of his above your head, and his other hand caresses your cheek, “Oh jagiya, now it’s official that you must listen to me. But that won’t be a problem; we both know how well you take instruction from me, right?”

With a smirk at your speechlessness, he gives you quick pecks on the forehead, nose, cheeks, and lips and turns to assist the others in prepping the food.

You remain frozen with heat pooling in your stomach for the next several seconds before Yumi comes to gather veggies from the fridge for the rolls.

Noticing your wide eyes, still leaning up against the fridge, she asks, “Nari, are you all right? You hadn’t been seen in a while.” Returning to Earth, you nod, saying, “Sorry, there were a few dishes, then I got overheated, so I just leaned against here a moment.” She nods with a smile, “Glad you are feeling better; we all get hot and bothered in a kitchen, so do what you need to, yeah?”

As she walks away, you grin, knowing the real reason you were back there, and mumble to yourself, “You can say that again.”

You are in the back finishing up dishes when you hear the rest of the members file out to grab staff lunch from a neighboring restaurant. You breathe a sigh of relief as you will get a respite from their lovingly crazy antics.

You go to use the restroom after, but it is locked. It must be a cameraman, you think to yourself and shrug. You will take a load off and sit at a table in the dining area. Feeling goofy, sleep-deprived, and starving, you grab an apron off the wall.

Just letting it rest around your neck, not wanting to be restricted by tying it, you sit back down and pretend like you are a customer and over-enthusiastically say, “Oh goodness, this place is so cute, and I can’t wait to try the food here!”.

As your eyes are closed from laughing so hard, you hear a familiar voice, “If you want to try the food here, then you need a menu, miss.” Your eyes shoot open, and you look up to see your boyfriend grinning at having caught your little act.

“Aish jagi, you scared me! I thought you went with the others?” you exclaim while giving him a light punch on the shoulder.

He just chuckles in response and says, “Who did you think was in the bathroom? Perro? Bwahahahah!”. (Perro is a stray dog that has become the restaurant’s mascot).

You slump down in your chair, crossing your arms and pouting, “Well, it could’ve been a cameraman or other member of staff, y’know...”

A small smile crosses his face, and he pats the top of your head. “True enough, Nari, now don’t pout.” You shrug in agreement as he places a light kiss on your cheek.

Snapping back into actor mode, he approaches the table in Tata mic and places a piece of paper in front of you, resembling the menu but definitely nothing that is on the menu.

Your eyes widen, and you look at him in shock, “Tae, you can’t be serious.” “Oh, but I can jagiya.” He says cocking an eyebrow.

On the paper are 2 options: basically, would you want to be on the menu or have the chef’s choice (give him head)?

Sheepishly, you look up at him and gesture to both options, then ask, “But what if we get caught? We don’t normally know when they are headed back.”

 He just smirks, then drops to his knees, “Guess we better get started then, yeah?” before you can respond, his hands are under your shirt, groping at your sensitive breasts and kissing down to the band of your work pants.

He abruptly stops, then gets his own apron with a cheeky smile, “Wouldn’t want to get dirty now, do we?”.  Lust is already clouding your vision from the risky situation and how horny you have been for the last 5 days; all you can do is shake your head and bite your lip.

Darkly chuckling, he has your pants and underwear around your ankles in no time and is lapping at the arousal already gathered in your delicious cunt like a newborn kitten would to fresh milk.

The whole time he is suckling your sensitive bundle of nerves whilst maintaining nipple stimulation and quickly shoves two of his deft fingers into your sopping pussy.

He elicits a moan at the reminder of how tight you are just for him, and it only takes a few thrusts to have you squirting all over his apron and face.

He never lets a drop go to waste, and he will be damned if he starts today. Removing both of his hands from their original positions, he pushes your knees as far apart as they can be and makes it a mission to catch every drop of your sex on his tongue like a man who has been parched for a decade.

The pace of his tongue plus the sensitivity from your first orgasm, has you spasming in no time and cumming 3 more consecutive times.

You then pull him up from the sinful view as you can’t take anymore, to which he places a gentle kiss on your pussy and goes to grab towels to wipe you down.

Once you are put back together, you shakily get on your knees and start undoing his belt. His veiny hand covers yours, and he looks down at you with a look that you know means you don’t have to do this after what your body just went through.

Your reply is, “Oh, you silly man, you know by now that I get energized after I orgasm. And how much I enjoy sucking you off. So, it is truly my pleasure, and you don’t want to get in the way of that do you?” you say with a coy smile.

He bites his lip, enjoying seeing this new side of you, and removes his hand so as not to hinder you anymore. Before he can prepare himself, your tongue is licking the precum from his slit, making him shudder in ecstasy immediately.

He is gripping the counter behind him fiercely to keep from buckling, but it doesn’t take long for one to be removed and find its home in your hair.

Pulling ever so deliciously, it elicits a groan from your throat that vibrates through his cock, causing the most beautiful of deep moans from his throat this time.

You can sense he is close, so you take him even deeper than before as you caress his balls just the way he likes it, causing something animalistic to awaken in him and throatfuck you aggressively but exactly enough to where his actions make you cum yet again.

He can tell by your facial expressions and how the pitch of your groans heightens that you are enjoying yourself more than he thought, and the realization of just how big of a whore you are just for him makes him release with no warning, coating the inside of your throat.

Never having done that before, he is about to check on you and is worried you are upset by the sudden action. He doesn’t have to, as a second later, you release his cock from your lips with a pop.

Licking your lips, grinning like the fucked-out slut you are, you stick out your tongue, showing him how every drop of his delicacy slid down his throat as his fingers did through your cunt just minutes prior.

You get up shakily, but with success and clean him up now. He meets you in the laundry room to dispose of the soiled aprons along with the towels and grabs your chin, tenderly kissing you. The energy is different; you are two lovebirds high on affection instead of ravenous creatures.

Sadly, the moment is interrupted by the sound of Seo Jin shouting that everyone needs to hurry and eat so prep can commence for the next shift.

Tae advises you to wait in the bathroom for 2 minutes, then come out to meet the rest of the crew so it doesn’t look suspicious.

Everyone can tell something is different by how energized you both are but aren’t brave enough to ask beyond a few questioning looks that you both ignore.

As everyone finishes their meal and arises to resume work, Tae tugs at your ponytail and whispers into your ear, “That was fun, Nari-ah, now just prepare yourself. Because we have a whole day to ourselves tomorrow, and let's say today was just a trailer of how much I missed your touch.”.