It's Raining.

It's raining.

Summary: San wants Wooyoung’s attention and you make sure that he gets it, and then you decide to watch. 

Word count: 2.2k+

Genre: Smut

Pairing: OT8 x neutral!reader, Wooyoung x San (poly relationship)

Warnings: sub!san, dom!woo, shower sex, unprotected sex, use of kitten and master, slight degradation and humiliation, M x M, male penetration, anal sex, masturbation, voyeurism, cum, cumming untouched (let me know if I missed something) be careful while reading.

Notes: uhmmm yeah ive noticed that I don’t have any WooSan comtent on here so I decided to change that. Have fun reading haha

Taglist: under the cut (let me know if you wanna be added) 

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“Y/n!” You heard your name called right as you finished cleaning the kitchen. It was San’s voice, and it was his pouty one. You smiled softly as an image of pouty San appeared in your head. And unsurprisingly, when you found him in the living room, he looked just like you had imagined.

His arms were crossed and his legs were spread apart while he barely sat on the couch anymore. He had slid so deep that his chin was laying on his chest, which perfectly underlined his pouty lips. He was adorable. 

“What’s wrong little one?” You asked as you sat down next to him. Before answering, he turned towards you and pulled himself back up.

“Y/n…” He whined. “Wooyoung hasn’t given me any attention today.” 

You couldn’t help but chuckle a bit. He was getting so worked up just because he didn’t receive enough love, for his standards, from a single person. But Wooyoung and San’s relationship has always been special and you knew that. 

“Baby.. if he doesn’t give you enough attention, you need to tell him! He can’t read your mind.” You tried to comfort him a bit by gently patting his head. Without any hesitation San pressed his head into your hand and let out a satisfied sigh. Like a kitten. 

“Okay Sannie, get up. We’re gonna find Wooyoung and tell him to give you attention alright?” You said while standing up, not really accepting no as an answer. San nodded slowly and sloppily removed himself from the couch. You chuckled again. 

You held out your hand, which he immediately took, and walked him to Wooyoung’s room. But to his disappointment, Wooyoung wasn’t there. Only Yeosang looked up from his laptop, confused.

“Can I help you?” He asked, a loving smile on his face. The picture of you and San holding hands made his heart grow warm. 

“Where is Wooyoung?” You responded, sending him a small kiss. Yeosang received it with a dramatic gesture, holding his chest as if he was shot before he answered.

“Oh Wooyoungie is in the bathroom, I think he wanted to take a shower.” You quickly thanked him before leading San to the bathroom. You had an amazing idea. Right before the bathroom door, you stopped.

“Knock on the door honey.” You told San and his cheeks immediately turned red. 

“But- but what if he’s naked?” San asked, his mind obviously going places. You laughed a bit. As if San had ever cared about nakedness. “You’ll have to find out.” You giggled and knocked for him.

“Come in, the door is open!” Wooyoung’s voice sounded out of the room in response. You opened the door and gently pushed San forward. 

You entered a steamy room. Wooyoung always liked his showers hot. And before you could say anything, Wooyoung had pushed open one of the shower doors and popped his head out. As he realized it was you and San, he was confused.

“What’s wrong?” Wooyoung asked, sounding a bit worried. San just blushed and watched his feet. You gave him a little nudge. “Wasn’t there something you wanted to tell him, Sannie?”

Curiosity lit up in Wooyoung’s eyes and San was stepping from one foot to the other. 

“Uhm I- I want-“ San stuttered “I need your attention.” He was nearly whispering as he finished his sentence, but Wooyoung heard him loud and clear. His eyes darkened immediately and he shot you a small glance to make sure you were okay with what was about to happen. Oh and you definitely were. You nodded.

“You need my attention Sannie? Then get rid of those clothes and get it.” Wooyoung smirked as San flinched at his tone but instantly started undressing. You smiled. This is gonna be a nice show you thought while closing the toilet lit and settling down on it. Your premium seat gave you a clear view of the shower and even through the foggy glass you could perfectly see the outlines of Wooyoung’s naked body.

You had purposely left the door open to make sure everyone knew what was going on.

You watched San as he got rid of his last piece of clothing and stepped towards the shower. As cute as he liked to act there was no denial of how hot he was and he knew that very well. There was nothing that Yunho loved more than wrapping his big hands around San’s small waist while.. you know during what. Every member had their favourite part about San and if you had to choose it would be his broad shoulders.

His muscles were moving under his skin while he opened the shower door to get in. You were mesmerised by his movements. San was about to close the door behind him but Wooyoung interrupted him.

“Leave it open. I’m sure Y/n wants to watch.” 

Wooyoung had moved to the back part of the shower, leaving enough room so San could get himself wet. Having a big shower definitely had its advantages. 

But right when it looked like just a normal shower, Wooyoung took the body wash and squeezed a good amount into his hands before starting to gently massage San’s back. You watched as San flinched under the sudden touch but soon relaxed into Wooyoung’s hands.

A familiar tingle appeared in your belly as you followed Wooyoung’s hands with your eyes. He had started at San’s back before moving on to his shoulders and arms making sure every centimeter of his skin was covered in a thin layer of gel. Then he let his hands glide down San’s sides and stepped a bit closer to caress his chest and stomach. Their body’s were close, so close it looked like Wooyoung was pressed against San’s back while his hands were slowly wandering lower and lower. 

You smirked as you heard a well known little moan. 

Wooyoung had reached San’s crotch and began to stroke his dick gently. San had been hard from the moment he stepped into that shower. They had shut off the water before using body wash so you could clearly hear every little sound.

“Is this what you wanted, kitten?” Wooyoung asked, chuckling as San just nodded furiously. He loved that nickname. But that’s what he was to all of you, a little kitten.

San’s pathetic little moans from being jerked off echoed through the bathroom. Fuck this is too hot you thought as you felt arousment building up in your stomach. And you weren’t talking about the temperature in the room, which was also quite high.

Wooyoung was completely pressed against San by now, obviously rock hard as well. San could feel his boyfriend’s length press against his back and it made him go crazy. Wooyoung’s touch made him shiver, again and again, as he felt pre-cum dripping out of his own dick. 

“Do you want me to fuck you kitten? Is this the attention you need? If that’s the case, just say so~” Wooyoung teased San, letting one of his hands move to San’s butt while the other still gently jerked him off. 

You were in awe. You loved watching your boyfriend’s fuck each other. They were so ethereal and yet so pathetic, doing everything for the pleasure that they were getting. San send you an unsure gaze. 

“Can he?” San was breathing heavily. You smiled. He was such a good boy. Even asking for permission in this situation. You nodded.

“If that’s what you want, then feel free.” You answered calmly, even though you were burning inside. You wanted someone to stuff you with a dick or have someone sit in front of you eagerly waiting to satisfy you. Anything was fine. And you could’ve just asked one of them to come and help you out. But you decided to wait. Something about watching them without getting off yourself made you incredibly horny. 

Wooyoung didn’t hesitate a single second after he got your permission to fuck San. He had taken some of the lube that was standing in the shower for obvious reasons and started to carefully prep San. 

And San was shaking under his touch. He let out a deep groan as Wooyoung pushed a second finger into his entrance, slowly stretching him. 

“Enough…” San moaned. “Fuck me already.”

Wooyoung smirked. “Oh eager, are we?” But he didn’t need to ask twice. Wooyoung pulled his fingers out, making San complain about the emptiness, and turned on the water slightly to wash off the remaining body wash. After washing his hands under the light stream he lubricated his dick and positioned it at San’s entrance. 

San immediately reacted by bending over slightly and holding on to anything he could find. You couldn’t help but let out a big breath at the overwhelmingly exciting position they were in.

Wooyoung then let one of his hands wander around San’s waist to his front, gently grabbing his dick, and the other sank into San’s hair before he slowly pushed his hip forward. As his dick disappeared in San’s clenching hole, he let out a relieved sigh. Not only San had been waiting for this all day.

You sharply inhaled as your hand moved towards your crotch, eager to touch yourself, knowing that it would make them go even crazy. But you stopped yourself.

Seeing you glance at them with burning passion in your eyes, barely able to control yourself, made San even hornier. His dick was already dripping when Wooyoung finally started to move. 

“You’re such a dirty little kitten for me Sannie. All worked up just for my dick.” Wooyoung growled while picking up the pace. San was clenching around him, making it hard not to cum right then and there. Wooyoung was glad they had a non-slip mat in their shower because otherwise he wouldn’t be able to pound his pulsing cock into San’s little hole this steady. 

“I am..” San answered, his eyes rolled back, nearly drooling. “I am just a little attention whore.” He moaned loudly. He was deep deep in subspace. You had to suppress a chuckle. You knew he would regret this later. He always felt like nobody would take him seriously after stuff like that, but in the end he couldn’t help it. And he would get back at the others when he was in dom mode anyway. 

Wooyoung’s moans got louder as he felt himself getting closer to his high. He started jerking San off in the same rhythm as he was thrusting into him to make sure he wouldn’t be the first one to cum. 

And it worked. San was a panting mess. The double stimulation had overtaken all of his senses and all he managed to do was whine and moan Wooyoung’s name. 

“Please make me cum.. please master..” As soon as that little word slipped out of San’s mouth it was over for him. Wooyoung groaned deeply as he got faster and faster. At that point he was just mindlessly fucking San, chasing after his own orgasm. 

“Can I.. ca-“ San interrupted himself as he turned his head to you. Something inside of you changed as you memorized every single feature of his fucked out face. 

“Can I c-cum?” He then managed to say, begging you with his eyes to say yes. You immediately felt pressured building up in your stomach and electricity running through your veins. Fuck why is he so good.

"Yes, of course. Both of you can.” You responded, holding down the lewd sounds that wanted to come out of your mouth. 

After getting your consent, San’s eyes rolled back and his back arched as white liquid shot out of his tip. His whole body was twitching as he painted the shower wall white. The pleasure that was washing over him was immense and he immediately started clenching around the throbbing dick in his ass. 

Wooyoung began letting out high pitched moans, replacing his relatively calm self from before. He let go of San’s dick and hair and held him by his waist, making it easier to reach the places he wanted to reach. San was shaking under him because of the overstimulation but Wooyoung didn’t care. He needed to cum.

Your body was moving on its own, grinding on your seat, trying to get every bit of pleasure possibly. And then something happened to you. Your body started shaking, tensing up while this familiar feeling was washing over you. You held onto the counter on your right as your high finally wore off. You had cum, untouched. 

Wooyoung glanced over to you for one second and it was over for him. The way you were sitting on the toilet, legs pressed together, completely fucked without even having been touched sent an impulse through his body. He pushed himself into San one last time before filling him up to the brim. His cum was leaking out of San’s hole before he gently pulled out. 

San immediately collapsed under him. “Are you happy now?” Wooyoung asked, still panting. San nodded weakly. After collecting yourself from what just happened you immediately got up to help them get cleaned up. 

After making sure they were all clean, you lovingly pet their heads. “You put on an amazing show for me, such good boys.” You smiled, giving them each a kiss on the forehead.

Just as you were wrapping them up in big towels, Yeosang walked into the bathroom.

“Need any help?” He giggled as he recognised the state Wooyoung and San were in. “I’ll make sure they get enough rest.”

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Tags: @jonghoisbabie @multidreams-and-desires @little-precious-baby @yunhofingers-writes @serialee @crimsonbubble @cometoceantrenches @em--ilysm @deja-vux @kawaiiloli00 @ddeonghwva @aaaaajonghooooo @sansbun @cookies-n-joong @plonys @hijirikaww @nari-nim @yunkiwii @mingi-ivity @racheloveyunho @seongsangsgf @jhmylove @lizsvcks @yunhobabygurl @leoninadecorazones @kerra-that-one-random-fangirl @star1117-archives

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idiot in love. k.yeosang x f.reader 5.7k words (fluff + humour)

“I have an idea!”

“No.”

Yunho, who had just burst into the room with a bright smile on his lips, now stood by the doorway with a pout. His phone is held tightly in his hand and playing a video from what looks like tiktok. A chorus of cheers and gasps comes from the gadget’s speakers and you can’t help but to be intrigued.

“Don’t be rude, Yeosang.” San tosses a candy wrapper at the other’s face, telling him off for crushing the light behind Yunho’s eyes. 

You sit on the pink reclining chair in the middle of the room and look up at your tall friend who had just arrived. Currently, you were waiting for the rest of your friends to get to your guys’ usual hang out spot. A comfy little pool house in the back of Seonghwa’s normal-sized and humble house, or that’s what he likes to call it (you’d rather skip the pleasantries and call it a mansion). It’s a decent sized pool house, as decently-sized as a mansion’s pool house can be, and it’s well decorated.

That’s a lie. 

You know how there’s this big thing with the generation now with aesthetics and styles? Yeah, so if you’d gather all those and smush it into a snowball pile and then throw it against a wall, you’d get the pool house decor. It wasn’t bad! Mingi once said that this is what cluttercore is. And you don’t think that it’s ugly, it’s not the best interior design you’ve done but if you look at it at a certain angle and then tilt your head to the left, then sure, it looks pleasing to the eye!

Actually scratch that. This was all Jongho’s fault! Yeah for sure. He calls himself an interior design major yet he can barely even get this place in check. Yeah, that’s right. How about you shift majors, Jongho?

No… that’s a lie too. Because you know god damn well that Jongho’s no joke when it comes to designing. This mess of a house was collectively everyone’s fault. Why? Because everything in this god forsaken pool house was brought by none other than your group of hooligans. 

Hongjoong had speakers stacked up in one corner along with a keyboard and a 2015 dubstep pad which you highly doubt still works. Beside his mess is another mess, this one is of dumbbells and resistance bands with a pull up bar station and foldable bench (which never gets folded) in between it all. This one was courtesy of your gym rat friends, i.e: San, Mingi, Yeosang and Jongho.

Jongho’s solo corner is most definitely the only aesthetically pleasing and neat area of the whole place. He had set up a little bean bag seat by the door so he could bask in the afternoon sunlight. And beside that was his little guitar stand and trusty acoustic guitar. You remember gifting it to him when he graduated high school; oh the memories of huddling together to gather all your saved up cash from your part time jobs.

Your corner? Well you didn’t exactly have one, per se. You had a habit of hovering around everyone else’s little respective corners and sticking your nose into their business, so you never really saw the need to have your own space. But you had a little pink reclining chair you thrifted in the middle of the room. It was beaten up and the leather was peeling in some spots  but if you covered it with a blanket, then it’s out of sight and out of mind.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. 

You were sitting on your chair with your legs dangling off the arm rest and scrolling through twitter when your friend unceremoniously slams open the sliding glass door and holler about his brilliant idea. San was lying on the rug watching ants march by a cookie crumb and Yeosang was messing around with Hongjoong’s keyboard. Seonghwa was back inside looking for some snacks to share and everyone else was on their way to the pool house.

“What is it, Yun?” You turn to the man and place your phone down onto your chest.

“At least someone cares.” The tall blonde trudges to your side and plops down on the ground beside you. You watch as he shuffles around to get his bum comfortable on the concrete before he shows you his phone screen. Once he’s comfy enough, he leans his chin onto your tummy and starts talking about this one tiktok he saw. 

“So I was scrolling through tiktok and there’s this one that has like thirty million views.” 

San crawls up from his previous spot before kneeling beside your pink chair. His eyes are trained onto the people on the screen as he scurrys closer and leans his chin onto your shoulder. The newest addition to the scene connects eyes for a split second with the man on your stomach before he hums when the video replays again and it vibrates on your shoulder. But you’re not concerned, because your attention was on something else. Rather, someone else.

Yeosang stayed where he was, fingers mindlessly pressing key after key on Hongjoong’s keyboard while his other hand scrolled through his own tiktok. Is he not interested in what Yunho’s showing? Why isn’t he coming closer, you pout inwardly. 

Listen. If you were in his situation and you heard people gasping, you’d have ran all the way to see what was going on. This is not to say that you want Yeosang to come running towards you at any chance he gets, it’s just… Okay you do want him to run towards you whenever the opportunity’s there.

But can you be blamed for having a simple crush on your friend? He is exceptionally beautiful, of course all your friends are beautiful but you just think he has that edge that puts him above everyone else (but don’t tell Wooyoung or else he’ll flip). His large russet irises that just glitter in the sunlight like cold brew on a sunny afternoon. His high cheekbones and the rich red birthmark that sits at his temple. And his voice! So deep with a timber that makes your heart rattle in your chest. Everything about him just had you captured.

“Keep the pda to a minimum please, we have a minor.”

Hongjoong scolds from the doorway, throwing a glance at the other side of the room where Yeosang sat all alone with his equipment. He stands proud on his feet with pottery clay stained sleeves and mismatched socks. No one really knows what Hongjoong does in his free time, but he always turns up with skin tainted in whatever and oftentimes a new hair colour. Behind him stood your other two friends, one bearing a scowl and the other freely giggling at Hongjoong’s words. 

“I’m literally twenty one.” Jongho grumbles, unbuttoning the first couple of buttons of his tan cafe uniform dress shirt. 

“I’m talking about Mingi.” Hongjoong directs a nod at the taller of the three who then yelps out a ‘hey!’.

You and your friends had this little inside joke that Mingi was actually five years old mentally. Not in the sense that he’s dumb (he’s actually the opposite), but rather because of his cute and clumsy nature. For a man of his height, you wouldn’t expect him to be the type of person who makes hand hearts in every photo and calls the colour pink ‘heart coloured’. 

Moving forward, it’s not like skinship wasn’t a norm with your little gang of misfits, it was. Especially with the more cuddlier guys of the bunch, like Yunho and San. So, seeing them getting all cozied up with anyone isn’t all that surprising. 

“Where’s Wooyoung?” You ask, genuinely curious of where the loud one was.

“He went to bother Seonghwa. Probably making those crappy western sandwiches with ham and potato chips.” Mingi responded, making his way to you and peeking at the screen in Yunho’s hand.

“That looks fun.”

-

“Wait, so how does this go again?” Jongho asks, sitting on the ground beside the tray of snacks Seonghwa had prepared. Wooyoung had sneaked in three of those crappy sandwiches that Mingi mentioned onto the tray, and they were all eaten by him too. The rest of you settled on the bowl of salted pretzels and kettle chips.

Yunho downs his can of beer before tossing it to the side (much to Seonghwa’s dismay) and beginning to explain again. He believes this is his eighty-eighth time explaining to the group because none of them are ever listening at the same time!

“So we all put our phones down in the middle and make sure they’re locked.” Yunho demonstrates by placing his phone on the floor with the screen pitch black and reflecting his face. 

“And then we wait for one of them to light up. The person who owns that phone will then have to call their crush!”

Now everyone’s listening. Especially you, reclined on your chair and suddenly sweating. You can feel your fingers start to tremble and your heart beat quicker. Your eyes flicker to Hongjoong who gives you a wicked smile.

Hongjoong’s the only person who’s known about your… affectionate feelings for Yeosang. It’s rather an embarrassing story to recall. You were scrolling through your guys’ group chat and skimming across the recently sent pictures. You guys had just gone on a little beach trip in the middle of summer, yes how anime plot cliche of you, but who’s to judge? Anyway, you had stopped on a particular picture because it had caught your eye.

The sky was a rich blue and thin clouds had been strung out  across it. The horizon sits beautifully between it and the clear blue sea that calmly breaches onto the hot sand. But who cares for that view when you have the perfect view of Kang Yeosang clad in only his swimming shorts, sitting on a beach towel with his hands planted behind him to lean his head back. His hair was dripping with the salty sea water that trickled down onto his skin and pooling in his deep collarbones. 

You couldn’t stop staring. Not with the way his eyes had been shut and his lips hung open in a deep exhale. You were– as what the young ones say these days, quite gagged. The sight of his smooth skin with a light sheen of the sea and the sand that stuck onto his muscular thighs. Oh the things that ran through your mind… 

You wouldn’t have stopped staring if it wasn’t for Hongjoong walking up from behind you and gawking at the picture opened on your screen. In full brightness. Zoomed in on Yeosang himself. 

What’s worse than that was the way he reacted, but that’s a story for another day.

“I’m in!” San happily announces after Yunho explains, immediately fishing his phone out and placing it beside Yunho’s.

And soon, everyone had their phones out and ready to participate. Even you, although it does feel like you’re shitting your heart out of your ass. But what are the chances right? There are nine of you and there’s absolutely no way that your phone out of the nine lights up first. You had about an eleven point eleven percent possibility, so it couldn’t be you.

Yet, why were you so jittery? You know that your chances are low but why do you still feel like running out and diving to the pool by reason of insanity?  God, what’s up with you right now?

“We have to film this.” Wooyoung interjects before the game starts.

Everyone now had their phones laying in a circle right beside the litre of sprite. And honestly, you were kind of anxious, seeing that your phone was the closest to the bottle and might possibly get wet from the perspiration that’s dripping down the green plastic. You had literally gotten that five months ago, had to bust your ass sitting dogs and begging on your knees in front of your parents…

“Idiot how are we gonna film if all our phones will be in the pile?” San delivers a soft smack to the back of the shorter’s head. And now that you think about it, Choi San has been quite violent today. Throwing stuff at people and smacking heads.

“Seonghwa has two phones.” 

You hear Hongjoong call out from opposite of you. His voice was rather bitter, understandable. He, of course, has to live with his crappy little iPhone 6s plus until next month when he’s eligible for a new one from his plan (don’t ask why he hasn’t upgraded in the last– something, years). And his dear best friend Seonghwa is here with two of the latest iPhones tucked into each of his back pockets. But it all comes from a place of banter, though. You know how Hongjoong and Seonghwa’s dynamic is. 

“I’ll get the tripod!” Jongho immediately jumps onto his feet and runs to Wooyoung’s little nook. The latter then complains at how Jongho teasingly scatters his stuff in search of the tripod that’s ‘literally right there!’

When everything’s all set up, everyone huddled on the floor, Seonghwa’s turquoise iPhone perched by the sliding doors, and phones readily on hand, Yunho begins his countdown.

“Okay guys, so we all know what to do, right?” 

A chorus of ‘yes’ erupts from the team and a quiet ‘get on with it!’ sounds from Yeosang, who Yunho throws a pouty glare at.

“On the count of three, we’re all gonna lock our phones and then put them in the middle.”

One.

You have your phone in your hand and your fingers are trembling. You’re honestly so nervous because, fuck. The chances of you being the one chosen is high. Who in the world thinks that one in nine is a low possibility? Definitely not you! That eleven percent was one above ten percent. And in a situation like this? You think that a ten percent chance is still ten too many! 

Two.

You think about backing out, again. Maybe you should smash your phone on the ground and go oops! No… Maybe you could pretend faint and fall face first into the bowl of pretzels. Yes! That sounds– fucking stupid. Come on brain! You yell inside your mind, Think! Think! Think!

Three!

Too late. Everyone’s now clicking their phones shut and you’re left no choice but to follow from the peer pressure. And soon everyone’s phones are back on the ground again. This time, you’re not that worried about the damn puddle of water on the fucking gray concrete. All your mind is racing about is the fact that your life is on the line (okay dramatic much?). 

Your heart is pounding in your ears, and it’s all you can hear. Granted, everybody in the room had shut up in anticipation, but it just made the beating of your heart even louder. Your palms are growing clammy and you can feel beads of sweat forming on your hairline. It feels like millions of years have passed by now, but anyone can tell you otherwise. In fact, it hasn't even been five seconds since your phones were tossed into the ring.

With everyone’s eyes glued onto their own phones, you all waited. For whichever iPhone lights up first. The screens lined up together to perfectly mirror the way the pool water reflects the sunlight into the room. You try to distract yourself with the refracted light that dances on the ceiling, enjoying how they wiggle and float as a result of the pool right outside. It’s crazy how science works. But that distraction barely even lasts a moment before your eyes flicker onto a pair already staring at you. And as you stare into Hongjoong’s dark irises, you’re reminded of the fact that you’re waiting. For one phone to ping with a notification. Waiting. 

Waiting. 

Waiting.

Ping!

There it is. Finally you’re put out of your misery! Your eyes, along with everybody else's, fall onto the glowing screen. And you see the face of Suna Rintarou, Inarizaki High School’s Volleyball Team’s six foot one middle blocker. The same exact picture you have on your lockscreen. A text notification floats into view and it reads:

“Happy Birthday! This is Doja Cat, meow~. I am sending this message from my private number…”

That’s crazy, you think, who gets scam texts from Doja Cat? Haha… Oh.

Panic surges through your veins as it now registers that it was your phone that pinged. It was you who got the Doja Cat scam text. (It’s not even your birthday! Who sends this kind of stuff and how did they get your number?! What?) … And it’s you who has to call your crush right now.

At this point your heart has probably fallen out of your asshole, maybe even crashed through the crust of the earth. You can’t believe that this is happening to you right now. You had only a little over ten percent of a chance on your side yet the universe still pointed its grubby wrinkled finger at you. You’re convinced that you’re the main character of some stupid early afternoon sitcom titled ‘What are the odds?’ or something… Fuck, with a capital ‘F’!

Right after your phone had pinged on, Hongjoong’s crappy banged up iphone six followed suit with a notification from instagram. But it’s too late. Whoever just liked his post was twenty-three seconds too late. You were the chosen one.

The two of you make eye contact once more and his eyes now glitter with mischief. Not only was he saved by the grace of god, but he gets to watch you crumble into dust and debris like the ruins of Parthenon, again! Oh what a splendid day it was to be Hongjoong. What makes this situation even more satisfying (for Hongjoong and not you, oh dear god, especially not you) is what happened a couple days back. And the male who sits across from you can’t help but smile.

For context, it was a lovely Wednesday afternoon. You were lying on Hongjoong’s kitchen counter whining and moping about being single, as per usual. And your friend sits on the newspaper covered floor, painting his cabinets blue. Not even the usual calming sky blue that shows up naturally, no; he is painting his kitchen cabinets an awful shade of neon blue. One that blinds you and leaves a lasting orange mark behind your eyelids when you close your eyes.

“Is this about Yeosang, again?” He had asked you without even looking away from his brush strokes.

You felt your face heat up at the mention of him. You turned your head to look at the man with a pout, which he doesn’t even notice. Again, all his attention is on keeping paint from his precious bronze hinges.

“Maybe…” You responded after a few moments of silence. “And why aren’t you using a big brush like any normal person?”

Hongjoong murmured something along the lines of ‘mind your business’ and then told you to carry on your rambling. So you do. 

“I don’t know! It’s just that… I’ve been silent about my feelings for so long and this is my first time talking about them to anyone, so I’m dumping out a lot of emotions here.”

“Aren’t you glad I found out, then?”

“Fuck you.” You scowled at Hongjoong’s teasing tone pertaining to how he found out. You hate him.

“Like there’s something about him that’s just so charming!” You continued when he gave you no response. “When I first met him he was shy and quiet and so it was like whiplash because his best friend is apparently Wooyoung? I can’t be the only one who was surprised at that. But then… then he started opening up to us and then my perception of him just tumbled from there…”

Hongjoong placed his paintbrush on the floor, soaking the newspaper in blue paint and his focus had moved onto you. The way you talked so nonchalantly, like your feelings for Yeosang were something so familiar to you. The way you absentmindedly wiggled your fingers every time you giggle at a memory of a certain blonde. It was so obvious that your feelings for the man were much stronger than what Hongjoong first sought it out to be.

“He’s just so funny in his own little way. He doesn’t even have to try! Like that one time he was frying an egg and he tried to flip it but then–” You bursted out laughing at the memory. Hongjoong remembered too, the clueless expression Yeosang had after dropping the sunny side up egg on the ground was just hilarious. 

“I don’t know why I like him so much. We’re not the closest of the group– I don’t think I’ve even spent an hour just him and me alone! So it doesn’t make sense to me how I started liking him. I don’t know anything about him that you don’t, and vice versa. It just happened suddenly and now I have uncontrollable feelings for my friend. It’s like fucking cupid just punched me in the gut and went ‘hehe you have feelings now’!”

By now you had your face down on the countertop, muffling your cries onto the cold surface.

“And it’s so frustrating because he has the qualities to be the perfect crush! He’s handsome, funny and kind, but I know that’s not why I like him. Maybe it adds up to why, but it’s not entirely true. I think it’s because he has this aura around him that just had me hooked. It’s like his own angel halo, he’s just so– so… benign!”

“Benign?” Hongjoong finally spoke, he has never met anyone use the word ‘benign’ to describe anyone. Especially you! He did not expect you to pull out uncommon words for this. No hate, he loves you kiss kiss, but you’re the type of person to slap someone in the face and call it flirting. Describing someone as benign was not up your alley. 

“Why don’t you just ask him out then?” He asked you the most obvious question ever.

“What if he rejects me?” And you responded with the most obvious answer ever. 

“You’ll never know unless you shoot your shot.” Hongjoong picked up his paintbrush and went back to painting his cabinets such an atrocious colour. 

You gave him a cocky laugh in response. Pfft– confess? You? It was like telling an elephant to bungee jump, that’ll never happen! 

“But! If I don’t shoot, then I’ll never miss.”

Were your infamous last words, Hongjoong remembers so well. So maybe that’s what makes this entire thing so interesting.

Hongjoong watches you with hawk-like eyes, reading your heart off from your sleeves. Your eyes meet for a quick second before your eyes flit back onto the phone in front of you. The room erupts in hollers and hoots and Hongjoong can’t help but let his eyes drift off to the male who sat two persons to his left. 

Yeosang’s face was undecipherable, that’s all one could say. His eyebrows were raised in the slightest bit as a sign of intrigue. The corners of his lips were neither turned up nor down; they were just neutral. The only telltale sign of interest he’s showing is the upturn of his head as he tries to get a better look at your glowing phone screen. But other than that, you might say he looks indifferent.

But that’s not what Hongjoong sees. Oh no, the older male has his eyes on Yeosang’s closed fists. Watching as they ever so slightly clench when you shakily reach for the gadget. And Hongjoong’s mind is set. He knows now. 

“This is rigged!” You cry with your phone heavy in your hands.

“How?!” Wooyoung screeches from beside you. 

“You rigged it!” You point an accusatory finger at Yunho who flinches and gives you his sweetest most clueless puppy dog eyes. That devil.

“You came here with this idea! This was planned from the start! I am a victim!” You cry, voice getting more deranged as each word flies past your lips. 

And it’s funny, yes, everyone’s glad it’s getting captured by Seonghwa’s phone. But what will be even more fun is when you actually get to the fucking plot of this and call your crush!

“Just call whoever you have to call, y/n!” Jongho says firmly after his own laughing fit. Scary how strict the younger generation is nowadays.

“Do I have to?” You resort to pleading. “Can’t we just go again?” 

They all give you one final stern glare before you finally give up and unlock your phone. With each tap you do, your breathing gets even more shallow. Oh it’s bad for you.

Everyone has their eyes on you, some curious, some teasing, and you just want to die. Dig a hole and die. Eat concrete and die. Roll in barbed wire and die. Anything! Literally anything would be better than you embarrassing yourself. 

So you find the contact and press call. A ring comes from your speakers and it goes silent for a moment. Everybody is on their toes, giggling to themselves and feeling giddy over something that doesn’t even involve them. But can you blame them? They’re all so nosy and always want to be in each others’ business.

The next ring that blares into the room comes from the circle of phones on the floor. A light blue iphone vibrates and flashes, catching everyone’s attention. You’ve pressed your face into your palms, refusing to look at anyone as embarrassment spreads like wildfire on your skin. Just like before, the room has fallen silent again, minus the constant ringing of the still unanswered call. 

Yeosang stares, mouth agape and eyes wide. That’s his phone. There’s no mistaking it. And only he has his notifications set to LED flash which he first did because it annoys Wooyoung. He doesn’t exactly need it, per se, but at this point he’s had his phone set to LED flash for years now that he’d feel empty without it. Back to the scene at hand, Yeosang’s still staring at the call screen.

Everyone was at a loss for words. For multiple reasons, the first one being you having a crush on Yeosang. Wooyoung, at first was about to wail about you not choosing him instead, because obviously he is the better choice (his words). But that soon went over his shoulder when he glanced at the phone on the floor. The second, and more appalling reason to everyone’s disbelief, is that the object of your desires does not even have your number saved. 

“You don’t even have her number saved?!” Wooyoung suddenly breaks the silence and it makes you snap your head up. 

What…? You’re taking blow after blow today, a match with Manny Pacquiao would have had less punches to the gut. Triple Whammy! Or whatever you call it.

“Wow… You’re really…” San speaks up from beside you. “Really, you’re something else.”

The phones finally stop ringing and you hear an automated voice come from your end of the call. You could hardly look in Yeosang’s direction right now, because, face it, him not saving your number? That’s a large blaring neon sign of unrequited affection. And you’re too wrapped up in your own emotions, still frozen in shock, that you don’t notice Yeosang frantically shaking his head and hurriedly blurting out about how it’s a misunderstanding.

“It’s not just, y/n! I don’t have anyone’s numbers saved…” And his voice trails off when realizes that he just made things worse. That does not sound reassuring at all.

“Bro?!” Wooyoung snatches Yeosang’s phone from the floor and holds it up briefly to his best friend’s face to unlock it. The dark haired male finds his contacts list and it’s true. So far all he can see saved are his family’s numbers. Heartbreaking really, because after all they’ve been through?

“Eight years! We’ve known each other for eight years, Yeosang. And you don’t have my number saved?!” Wooyoung’s hysterical, which is somewhat funny. He’s an inch away from mauling his best friend like a bear and Yunho’s tasked with holding him back by the collar considering he’s sat beside the feral man. 

But there’s nothing for you to smile about, it seems like the group had momentarily forgotten about what happened a mere minute earlier. Which, thank god, you don’t want to dwell on that forever. But you are craving a little bit of attention right now, preferably from someone who’ll comfort you or some shit. You don’t know! It’s confusing.

Seonghwa notices the way your fingers pick and pull at the strings of your distressed jeans and he decides he should at least get you out of the room. He spots the empty bowl of pretzels and uses this as an excuse.

“I’m gonna go get more pretzels. Wanna come, y/n?”

You jolt at the mention of your name and you look up to see Seonghwa holding a hand out to you. Which, after you catch on to what his intentions are, you gratefully accept. Now on your feet, you grab the empty bowl and throw a quick smile at the squabbling group of idiots before making your way out. Missing the way a pair of panicked eyes trail after your figure. 

Once in the kitchen, you sigh and plant your hands on the pristine countertops. Actually, last time you were here, Seonghwa’s countertops were steel gray granite. How come the slab in front of you was now a snowy marble. When did his mom even renovate the kitchen?

“Hey, Hwa.” You start when you hear footsteps join you in the kitchen. “When did you get your countertops changed…”

Yeosang is who greeted you when you turned your head. Not Seonghwa.

And then everything’s quiet. Where was Seonghwa? You have no idea. Was he the one who set this up? You’re not sure, but you think so. Will you absolutely abolish him when you get him? Absolutely. 

You don’t know how long you both stand there stupidly staring at each other, but you assume it’s a really long time. You counted about seven bird chirps from outside and approximately three cars had honked as they passed by the road. You think you can see the sunlight moving, or maybe you’ve absolutely lost it. Matter of fact! Maybe that’s not even Yeosang in front of you. Maybe that’s just another one of your crazy hallucinations, that sounds about right. Real. 

Yes, there is no Yeosang in the room.

“So…” 

It talks?! 

The man in front of you starts and you’re startled out of your thoughts. Oh sweet cheese… That’s the real thing. That’s the real human Yeosang… oh great heavens…

“Uhm…” He scratches the back of his neck and sucks a breath through his teeth.

That is a telltale sign of discomfort, you conclude, the psychology major part in your brain puts on her lab coat and pushes up her jacket. Hand on the back of the neck? Head tilted? Avoiding eye contact? Yep, he absolutely despises you. He wants to grab you by the ankles and throw you onto Seonghwa’s incredibly large front lawn like a shot put. Miss Trunchbull style.

Only, you’re studying architecture. 

“This is awkward.” Yeosang speaks again.

“I’ll get the pretzels.” You turn your back and try to find a bag of pretzels, when you know that they’re in the pantry. And the pantry is right behind Yeosang so that means that to get to the pantry you’d have to walk past Yeosang. And you’d rather not get within shot put throwing distance of Yeosang right now! Maybe, you can take an alternate route over the kitchen island and then take the stairs up to the balcony and then jump off into the pool and then walk back in to grab the pretzels. 

Yes. Wonderful.

But, right when you’re about to jump over the marble, Yeosang’s voice pierces through the room.

“We should go get coffee sometime.”

And now you’re rooted in your spot. Because did Yeosang just ask you out or did you just bang your head on the counter in an attempt to run away? 

“I mean like… If you want to!” Panic rises in Yeosang’s eyes because, from his perspective, you’ve been silent this whole time. You even tried to avoid the topic entirely. But, I guess he wouldn’t blame you after the whole thing in the pool house. 

He’s been freaking out since the phone call. First of all, he fully expected San’s or Yunho’s phones to ring because you’re always cuddling with them. Maybe even Hongjoong, you go over to his place often and have a lot of inside jokes and secrets with each other. Who’s to say that you two weren’t secretly harbouring feelings for each other. But, that’s not to say he’s unhappy that you called him. He was just pleasantly surprised. 

He’s not complaining, he thinks you’re cute and he loves your personality. If anything, he’d love to get to know you more, maybe spend some time away from the hooligans you call friends. They always did hog you whenever you hung out. Never gave him the chance to talk with you one on one. Maybe this is his chance?

So, when Seonghwa offered to pull you out of the scene, he decided to take his place. A quick ‘I’ll go’ whispered as he passed by the older male. His palms were leaking by the time he got in the kitchen, standing nervously and bashfully scratching his neck. He genuinely didn’t know what to say. Where should he even start? 

So when he blurts out an invitation to go out, he feels his heart fall into the depths of the abyss. He didn’t mean to say that! He should have de-escalated the situation first, fuck! Now you’re standing there in the kitchen looking at him like he was stupid. He is.

“If you don’t want to then it’s okay.” 

And you just stand there staring, for another good three minutes. 

“Sure.” You finally whisper, eyes wide and dumbfounded, but Yeosang heard it. And it made his heart swell. Sure.

If idiot in love was the phrase, you were the picture.

note: not proofread and it's kinda rushed. ive had this prompt im my drafts for about a year now and i just wanted to let it out.

Loved.

Summary: They don’t love me as much as I love them was what you thought while leaving for the better. And it was too late when they realized how important you are to them.

Word count: 1.5k+

Genre: Angst

Pairing: poly!ateez x neutral!reader

Warnings: neglect (be careful while reading) let me know if i missed something.

Notes: this is an anon request, thanks for requesting. It reminded me of the reaction i did to you distancing yourself hehe i rarely write angst and im not sure how happy i am with it but I hope it’s to your liking! 

Part 2 is up!

Taglist: after the cut (let me know if you wanna be added)

—————————————

Where did it go wrong? You thought while frantically packing your things. You had spent hours and hours to find what you did to deserve this but you couldn’t find anything. Nothing pointed towards you doing something wrong but nonetheless you were here, aggressively stuffing your things into a bag while tears were streaming down your face. 

It had started about a month ago. You should’ve been suspicious when they started coming home even later than usual, some of them not at all. Always telling you that there was a meeting at work and that they had already eaten, leaving you to sit at the dining table alone. In the beginning you had still waited for them, hoping every day that at least one of them would be there and have dinner with you but it was always the same.

“Sorry.” “The boss invited us for dinner.” “I’m so tired I need to go to sleep.” “We had take out at work.” 

It left you confused. There was a time where they fought about who can sit next to you during the meals but now it seemed like they didn’t care anymore. You had only realised what exactly was happening when you saw a picture on Wooyoung phone. A picture of them with one of their colleagues. A beautiful woman with a bright smile, surrounded by your boyfriends. 

Jealousy had immediately risen inside of you but you didn’t say anything. It was not like they weren’t allowed to spend time with other people. Instead, you let your doubts eat you from the inside. Did they eat with her every day? Was she the reason they stayed at work longer than they would normally? Was she better than you? 

The worst part was that they didn’t notice. They didn’t notice how you felt and that you were distancing yourself. You would’ve thought that at least one of them cares. But all they cared about was being with that woman. 

What hurt you the most was that they didn’t tell you about her. If they had been honest with you, you wouldn’t have created all these scenarios in your head. But they lied to you. 

“Yeosang?” You tried to get his attention by tapping his shoulder. It was rare that all eight of them were at home. You wanted to talk about it. Voice your anxious thoughts. Letting them go. “Who is that woman you all have been hanging around?” You asked him because you knew he would be honest with you. The room instantly became silent.

“Oh? Do you mean Haeun? She works with us.” Yeosang answered, not giving you a lot of information. “Why do you ask?” 

You didn’t know what to say. “I-.. I’m just curious.” You stuttered, looking down at your feet. 

“She is really fun to be around! Recently she even invited us for dinner and paid.” San said excitedly. His words stabbed right into your heart. This was worse than you expected.

They weren’t cheating on you. You somehow could feel that. It was worse. They hadn’t been doing anything with a bad intention. They simply enjoyed spending time with her. 

They took you for granted. 

From that conversation on you decided not to chase after them anymore. You didn’t wait until they came home to eat dinner. You didn’t ask them how their day was. The few messages that you got during the day, you ignored. If they wanted to tell you something they could tell you in person. 

Your boyfriends on the other side didn’t realize how much time they were spending with Haeun. And how less they were spending time with you. 

The first one to notice that something was weird about you was Mingi. He had always left you a message during the day. Sometimes about work, what they ate for lunch or when they would be coming home. And normally you would respond relatively quickly. But you didn’t answer at all.

He sat in his practice room, eyes glued on his phone. Read two hours ago. It said on his screen. Mingi had voiced his concerns to the others but they disagreed saying that you didn’t behave differently. But he missed you. He wanted to eat dinner with you. Yes, Haeun was fun and when she first got introduced to the team, it was exciting to meet someone new. But he missed the familiarity. It had always been important to Mingi that he was not taken for granted and now he was afraid that they had done exactly that to you. 

But he didn’t act on his feelings. He didn’t want to cause drama where there was none.

The second one to miss you was Jongho. “Y/n what do you…” He wanted to ask you for your opinion on his singing when he turned around and faced an empty room. Right, Y/n isn’t here. He reminded himself, immediately feeling a sting in his heart. Every Tuesday you would follow him to practice and listen to him sing. But as soon as he thought about it he realized that you hadn’t been there in multiple weeks. Jongho instantly remembered Mingi’s concerns and decided to go look for him.

When they finally opened up about their feelings and what they had been observing, Mingi and Jongho went to tell the others. 

Before they could even finish what they were trying to say, Seonghwa tried to call you. He was blaming himself for not giving you the attention you deserved. He wanted to beat himself up. It was so clear now that Mingi and Jongho had mentioned it.

How could they neglect you like this and not even notice? 

And that was the same question you asked yourself as you zipped up your bag. Just as you wanted to put your phone into your pocket, it started ringing. It was Seonghwa. You took a deep breath as you declined the call and left the apartment.

You didn’t know for how long or how far but you needed to get away. Right after getting into the taxi you had ordered, you turned off your phone indefinitely.

“Y/n isn’t answering.” Seonghwa announced, his voice shaking. 

“Get in the car. I’m driving us home.” Yunho said, leaving the room with big steps. The others following him. Yunho’s mind was racing. He wanted to stay calm. He needed to stay calm. He had to be strong. It didn’t matter how he felt, all he wanted was to see your face and make sure everything is fine. It was all just imagination. You will be waiting at home. He tried to tell himself while he was getting into the car. 

Hongjoong was trying to remember any signs of you changing while he was squeezing himself into the car. He had never been home as much as the others so it wasn’t strange for him to eat alone or to sneak into the bedroom without waking anyone up. But something had been strange. This morning, when he came out of the bathroom, he caught you staring at him. And he could swear you had tears in your eyes. But since you didn’t say anything he had assumed you were fine. This damn assumption.

When they finally arrived at their apartment, San immediately jumped out of the car and ran to the door.

“Y/n? Y/n!” He called you before he even entered the building. Wooyoung and Yeosang were right behind him. After finally opening the door they stormed in searching for you in their home. The rest followed them slowly, scared to not find you. 

It wasn’t until he heard a sob that Wooyoung slowed down. A sob? He made his way over to your room, gently pushing the door open. His eyes widened as he saw San kneeling in front of your bed, a note in his hands and his face buried in your sheets. 

“Sannie?” Wooyoung slowly walked closer to his loved one. “Y/n…” San sobbed, not able to form a sentence. “What is it Sannie?” Wooyoung kneeled down next to him, softly taking the note from his hands. As he started reading, tears formed in his eyes. 

And that was when the others finally found them. They looked at Wooyoung, hope and pain in their eyes at the same time as he slowly shook his head. Yeosang’s legs gave in as he saw the expression on Wooyoung’s face. You were gone. No no no that’s impossible he thought, staring to the ceiling with a blank face. You couldn’t leave them.

Still not wanting to believe what was happening, Yunho harshly snapped the note out of Wooyoung’s hand. 

I am going on a trip. Don’t text or call me, I need time to think. I hope you understand. I loved you so much.

His head went numb.

Loved. 

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Tags: @jonghoisbabie @multidreams-and-desires @little-precious-baby @yunhofingers-writes @serialee @crimsonbubble @cometoceantrenches @em--ilysm @deja-vux @kawaiiloli00 @ddeonghwva @aaaaajonghooooo @sansbun @cookies-n-joong @plonys @hijirikaww @nari-nim @yunkiwii @mingi-ivity @racheloveyunho @seongsangsgf @jhmylove @lizsvcks @yunhobabygurl @leoninadecorazones @kerra-that-one-random-fangirl @star1117-archives

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Fire of My Passion

group : ateez

pairing : poly dragon!ateez × reader, dragon!seonghwa × reader

genre : angst, fantasy, mature

word count : 13.2k

warning : slight gore (murder, abuse), death threat, murder intent, depiction of attacks and casualties, mentions of people getting hurt, psychological anguish

a/n : this is a fic based on @thelargefrye 's dragon!ateez universe !! honestly i really love the fics, i've been recommending it everywhere. if you haven't checked it, please read them first before you read this >:) you can find the dragon!ateez fics here here (m, mdni) here (m, mdni) AND BY THE WAY SMALLS IF YOU'RE READING THIS, I'M SO SORRY IT TOOK SUCH A LONG FUCKING WHILE IDK WHAT I WAS DOING ASOGHOSIGOSIJ I STARTED BULLSHITTING AND I CAN'T STOP

There were things that Seonghwa was used to; calm surroundings, his books in the library, his mates, and his clan. Everything was in order, as it should be since generations before and he loves it. This castle is his home, his sanctuary, where his past happened and where he will establish his future. All were as they are supposed to be.

That was until you came.

"Sunyeol, no!"

Just the sound of your voice was enough to ruin his whole day.

The voices made Seonghwa snap his head to see you running after a hatchling not too far behind him, a little boy named Sunyeol who was holding something in his hand, running past him with glee while you were in tow. Less than three months ago, Seonghwa didn't have to worry about being aware of things around him when he sleeps as the clan was secure in the mountains but now, his mates were sleeping with someone who could potentially kill them without having to lift a finger. How will his ancestors react upon learning that he and his mates, high-ranking members of their clan, were sleeping with the enemy and have mated with the enemy and even brought said enemy to their home, their little safe haven? To be frank, Seonghwa didn't know which part was worse but he resented himself for not preventing you from being admitted into their lives. Because as usual, the witches do whatever they want and everyone was simply supposed to go along with it despite the pain and anguish. So imagine his fury when he saw members of his clan being happy with you. He hated it. He hated YOU so much.

Seonghwa's steps halted when he saw you cornering the boy and alarms started blaring off in his head. The scene was just too reminiscent of the countless murders of both adults and hatchlings in his life. "Alright, Sunyeol, you give me my stone back or else," it was obvious (to you and the hatchling at least) that you were being playful, it was nothing but a ruse to make things fun and the hatchling looked very much happy and engaged, "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way," each step you took made Seonghwa's heart beat louder in his chest, ringing in his arms like drums, "And we both know we don't want me using the hard way," the smirk on your face was menacing to him, it was a sign of threat. At that point, Seonghwa was no longer even looking at Sunyeol, his eyes transfixed on you, on how you were preying on that little hatchling boy.

In a flash, Seonghwa had you pinned onto the wall, his arm pressing onto your chest suffocatingly in a diagonal angle, using his sleeve to separate you from him because he couldn't imagine the disgust, the utter uncleanness, the absolute filth on your skin latching onto him. "Is that your ploy, witch?" Seonghwa's eyes narrowed as he glared at you with seething hatred, the pure anger that his eyes conveyed was enough to have your stomach sink in fear. "You come here, you pretend to be this nice little witch when the truth is you were just waiting for the opportunity to erase our entire existence, right? And this is how you start? From our precious hatchlings?" smoke started coming out of Seonghwa's mouth and fear struck you deeply. You were confused because you were playing with a hatchling, helping Mingi with his duties one second, and the next thing you know, you were about to die in the hands of a high-ranking dragon for being playful. You tried to claw his arm off of you, desperately trying to get oxygen back into your lungs, but it was apparent from his grip that Seonghwa's aim was to kill as he was seconds away from murdering you.

Had it not been for Sunyeol's cries, asking Seonghwa not to hurt you, you would have surely lost your life that moment. Even when the boy was brazenly tugging on Seonghwa's shirt harshly, screaming at the top of his lungs to let you go as tears streamed down his chubby cheeks, Seonghwa still hesitated to let you go. In his head, he was only thinking of the fact that he might not get a chance like this anymore, to get you in such a vulnerable place that he could just take your life so easily. But the sound of the boy's cries seemed to remind him that he couldn't just make a decision about not only his but his other mates' mate single-handedly. Surely the council will disapprove and his mates (the ones that like you at least no matter the small number), will have his head on a stick.

With resolve wavering (as much as he hated to admit it), Seonghwa let you go, pushing you off to the floor where you croak, struggling to breathe despite being able to feel the oxygen fill your lungs again. With a last glare sent your way, Seonghwa turned on his heels to leave but not before reassuringly patting Sunyeol on his head.

Truly, Seonghwa had no idea as to how and why would his kind be so accepting and understanding of your kind. Since they were merely hatchlings, they were already warned about what witches do, what they were capable of. Cautionary tales of how witches put enchantments on dragon folks lure them to their dwellings and make them turn into their dragon form before killing them. Their scales were sold as armour to dragon hunters, their teeth turned into necklaces that serves as wards with runes on them or ornaments like trophies in their homes, their blood drained to be used as an elixir or potion, and the rest of them were either put on display as a reminder of what they managed to kill, unable to get eternal rest or let just thrown away carelessly as if they were nothing. Those who were killed like that died a gruesome death with the lucky ones got to die in their human form. Seonghwa could never forget the time Hongjoong burned down an entire village filled with dragon hunters when he saw his father's dragon bones propped in the square as if he was nothing more than a statue while his mother and brother were killed in front of it. How he took his family who were already gone, into his strong talons and stayed there as everything burned around him. That day Hongjoong unwillingly became the clan's leader, shouldering the burden and the pain that he was yet to be ready for.

You can ask anyone and they'd say that Park Seonghwa is benevolent, he is kind and understanding, and he is compassionate. But he truly drew the line at you and your kind. He would never forgive you for just entering their lives and messing things up. Things might seem okay and good now, but he knew that the likes of you would only bring pain and misery to their lives, he knew it. It's hard being someone who can see things clearly but not wanting to mess things up as too much was on the line.

For now, all he could do was keep an eye on you and prepare for when he needed to defend himself and his mates, his clan. He'd give his life for them but moreover, he'd take your life to salvage them.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Thankfully for Seonghwa, you spent the next several days cowering in the shadows. He walked around in pride whenever he saw you clutching your chest when you saw him before turning around on your heels and running away. Usually, you'd be walking around with Wooyoung or Yeosang, Mingi would only be around you when you were working with him and he convinced himself that it was simply because he saw you as nothing more than a coworker, nothing romantic. But the three seemed to know nothing which means you hadn't told them that Seonghwa almost killed you. To that, Seonghwa gave you trust points for not being a tattle tale.

It felt refreshing not seeing your face so often as before. One might even able to see the little spring in Seonghwa's steps and the slight smile that was returning after months of not seeing it.

But of course, all good things must come to an end.

One fateful day, after the sun has long set and the halls of the castle was illuminated by candle lights, Seonghwa walked out of the library to be met with the sound of hurried steps.

"Hyung, they came! They fucking came!" San cried out, panting when he reached Seonghwa with Yunho next to him, looking equally distraught. Confused, Seonghwa looked at San and Yunho with clear confusion in his face, "Whoah, whoah, whoah, calm down there," despite his calmer tone, Seonghwa felt uneasy from how his two mates were acting. "Dragon hunters attacked the border residence, we have casualties," the words that left Yunho's mouth froze Seonghwa's body.

He didn't remember what he said, he didn't even remember moving because when he came to, he was at the place where the hunters attacked. A good dozen were being treated for trap wounds, cuts and bruises, and not far from where they were, five bodies covered in white cloth laid still. People were crying over their burnt houses and while there were only two burning houses, it was two to many.

"Where are they?" Seonghwa's voice was eerily calm and stern, an absolute darkness filled his aura and both San and Yunho could feel it. "They ran off to the woods, we have three patrols chasing after them," that was all Seonghwa needed from San for him to transform and chase after the hunters himself. It wasn't hard for him at all as his eyes managed to catch their thermal signature and they were mocking the dragons they killed, obnoxiously yelling how the tip was worth the gold they spent and it just angered Seonghwa even more.

Moments passed like a second and the next thing Seonghwa knew, he reemerged from the forest drenched in the blood of the hunters he just... exterminated. His eyes was golden and face hard, wildness and fury apparent and for a moment he seemed soulless, like a simple sentient being whose job was to kill and had no remorse nor any emotions whatsoever. Not even San nor Yunho dared to got close to him as they didn't know how Seonghwa might react. Heck, they didn't even know what was going on in Seonghwa's mind as he walked past them towards the castle. Neither of them would have guessed nor expected for Seonghwa to immediately target one person in particular.

You.

Dripping blood, he was making a trail everywhere but he didn't care. No, he couldn't care less about the mess he made. He was going to do what he should have done from the beginning. He should have protected his kind, he should have protected his mate, he should have made sure that you had no chance to hurt them even for a bit.

Luckily for him (but unluckily for you), he saw you walking from the path in the garden, seemingly coming out from the forrest it led to. And everything clicked in his head. You were the one who tipped the hunters in the first place. You were the cause of the despair that befell them. You were everything Seonghwa thought you were and more.

Just as you stepped back into the castle, Seonghwa ambushed you, pushing you off of the steps and out onto the grass. The impact didn't wound you but it surely knocked the breath out of your lungs, causing you to choke as you tried to retrieve the oxygen that was oh so harshly forced out of your body. "I should have killed you when I had the chance," Seonghwa's voice was cold as ice, void of any emotion and it frightened you. You began scrambling backwards only for Seonghwa to take steps closer to you and it was only when the moonlight hit him that you realized that he was drenched in blood. "How could you?" He caught up easily and grabbed you by the hair, pulling you up as you hiss in pain, "What could you have possibly benefitted from killing innocent people?" When you were at eye-level with him, you were able to take notice of the tears brimming in his eyes, some had dropped onto his cheek and mixed with the blood before pooling on his sharp chin. "We let you stay with us and this is the thanks we get? You tipping those hunters where we live and letting them attack us? Attack the people who are precious to us? The innocent people whom we swore to protect and you made us break our promise for what? What did they promise you?" At this point, the hand that gripped your hair had moved to the side of your head as his other hand gripped the other side with his thumbs on your cheeks, smearing blood that penetrated your nostril harshly but it wasn't as bad as the pressure Seonghwa was putting on your skull. "S-Seonghwa," you whimpered, your hands gripping his in an attempt to pry him off of you. The tears in your eyes did nothing to stop Seonghwa from trying to crush your skull. He was in anguish, he was mourning, he was betrayed and he didn't even have his trust in you in the first place. So how could he have let this happen?

Your fingers had begun scratching his hand as you cried for him to let you go, begging to not kill you while proclaiming that you did nothing, that you didn't know what he was talking about. But he didn't care, he didn't want to care anymore because he was hurt, he was angry, he wanted to punish you for what you did because how dare you deny the truth when it was so glaring?

"P-please Seonghwa, don't k-kill me," you cried, managing to grab his thumb and still trying your best to remove his grip on you. "I didn't do anything." "I should have killed you the second you stepped into this place, I should have killed you like you deserved after exterminating us like vermin." Emotions were running too wildly in Seonghwa, every emotion that he never realized he had were running through his body like crazy, controlling his mind and action to the point that he didn't even realize that he was crying hard at that point. Though tears blurred his vision, he was still able to see the look of absolute fear on your face.

Your brain was swirling with ideas on how to escape the situation because the last thing you wanted was to die in the hands of your mate's mate. And then you got the idea, you found your escape.

"T-think about Y-yeosang a-and Wooyoung! Think of how much," you momentarily paused to adjust to the feeling of Seonghwa's fingers digging into your skull and you were sure that it was permanently dented. At the mention of his mates, Seonghwa seemed to come to momentarily. The grip loosened slightly but his hands were still caging your head so while it gave you a little bit of hope that you'd be able to keep your life. "Think o-of how much they'll resent you if you were the one to make me disappear," it was apparent that your tactic was working, Seonghwa's sharp nails slowly relaxed from your scalp, allowing you feel the sting from the breeze that brushed through your hair. "Let me make myself disappear, that way they'll hate me and not you and it'll be much easier for them to move on.

Your words struck Seonghwa rather deeply as he considered your words, thinking that you had a point and he'd get an easy out with his mates. As someone who was always level-headed, Seonghwa was rather surprised at himself for being taken over almost completely by his emotions and even more so that he was even considering listening to you. It was truly a cursed day and the quicker you were gone, the quicker he can move on and forget about how shitty it is.

When Seonghwa's hand let your head go, you finally realized how warm his touch was because as soon as he let go of you, the breeze blew rather harshly and goosebumps rose on your skin. Or maybe it was the realization of what just happened, you were going to have to leave your boys without saying goodbye. Technically speaking, it was just Yeosang and Wooyoung and probably Mingi, but you think it was better for your sanity to believe that the only reason Mingi would miss you was that now he didn't have anyone to help him with the hatchlings. And God, leaving the hatchlings that you had grown so close with. Just as a couple of them proclaimed their love for you because they thought you were so cool and kind and loving and they wanted to see more of your grimoire, Weiss. How were you going to move past this life? The life that you never expected but found to love despite the obstacles in every way. How were you going to survive waking up all alone when you've been so accustomed to waking up with Wooyoung and/or Yeosang in bed with you. Their dragon warmth that could not be replicated no matter how much you asked Weiss (because he didn't want you to accidentally burn him) helped you through rainy days and anxiety-filled nights. It was one of your favourite things about them and they'd be more than happy to provide it to you. But over anything else, you can't believe you were leaving them just because your life was on the line.

Just as you were about to say your goodbyes to Seonghwa (not that he was going to care, but it was just polite that way), when he suddenly grabbed you by the neckline of your top, pulling you close to his face so he could speak lowly with his teeth bared and body vibrating. "I'm letting you off for now but make sure I can't find you, you hear me? I'm letting you off because I don't want Yeosang and Wooyoung to hate me for killing you no matter how fun it would be. Because believe me when I say that I have made a list of how to kill you in an excruciatingly painful and slow way that you would actually much rather kill yourself than have me spend my precious time and energy on you," each word was like a stab to your gut but the pain it inflicted was nothing compared to the fact that you actually believed him. Genuinely, you know for sure that he wouldn't hesitate if you gave him the chance.

Seonghwa then pushed you by your chest, not so hard that you fell but just enough to send you reeling slightly, stumbling before running off into the darkness in the woods. The last thing you remembered was Seonghwa's golden eyes turning back to their normal dark brown colour shining in the darkness as he returned to the castle. It was all you could think of as you travelled through the safety of the shadows that the trees cast, thinking that even if Seonghwa were to send his dragon guards at you, you'd still be able to feel the safety of the idea of being hidden so organically.

You must've run beyond your strength because the next thing you know, you stumbled down a hill and you fell rolling down. The impact all over your body seemed to bring your realization back a little because when you finally landed limply on the clearing of the meadow at the bottom of the hill, everything came crashing down to you. How you were so close to losing your life in the hands of your mate's mate, how you were accused of doing something you didn't even understand or know and weren't given a chance to defend yourself or even to provide your point of view, how you selfishly traded your love for your own life like a coward, and how you might not be able to see your mates again anymore. It was only then and there that you cried, your throat turned raw when you screamed out of agony. The pain of falling down and your ankle twisting was nothing compared to the pain of being separated from your mates and you couldn't even imagine what Yeosang and Wooyoung would wake up to, how they would react. For now, you for sure know that they'd have nothing but hatred towards you and you were willing to burden it all if it meant that they would be kept safe. Maybe Seonghwa was right, maybe whatever happened was your fault somehow, maybe you brought them bad luck or maybe there was a reason that you couldn't even think of at that moment. But you stood firm on your resolve that you were doing this for your boys, for them all.

As painful as it was for you, you wiped the tears off your cheeks and stood up straight, letting the pain all over your body drive you by reminding you of what was important. You could still see the castle where you had resided for more or less three months, the towers were slightly covered by trees but you could never mistake it, and you could never forget what it look like. But you couldn't focus on reminiscing now, not when you can't shake Seonghwa's accusation that you were the cause of their despair. So with a shaky breath, you cleared your mind and summoned Weiss who opened itself up for you with no question as your hands raised.

"Let's get to work."

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

The past three weeks had been hell for everyone in the castle, especially for the residence. It was nothing like Seonghwa expected whatsoever. He had thought that by eliminating you, their lives would be much different and for the best. Never could he have imagined that the situation was much more complicated and dire.

"How is he?" Hongjoong asked, looking tired and stressed.

The head healer sighed and shook her head much to his and Seonghwa's disappointment. "Well, what do you know?" Although Hongjoong tried to sound confident, it was obvious that he was beyond worried, there was a slight quiver that indicated fear and while other people couldn't have noticed it, Seonghwa knew Hongjoong well enough that he was truly fearing for their newest addition. "Well... He's... Mourning, sir, the simplest explanation is that he was separated from his mate for too long that his mental state just... Broke," she explained timidly in a slightly bowed stance as to avoid Hongjoong and Seonghwa's gaze. At the mention of Wooyoung's mate, Seonghwa's body froze slightly, it was as if his body was involuntarily reacting to the trigger word or words in this case, immediately reminded of the scene where he drove you away by threatening to kill you. As far as Seonghwa knows, nobody else knew about that incident, no one knew he had almost destroyed you that night and that he didn't even see where you had gone to. He was just glad that you were gone. This, however, the news that Wooyoung suffered a mental break and Yeosang became so weak that he injured himself in a patrol was something Seonghwa didn't expect. In all honesty, he felt bad, he felt as if he was responsible, but he didn't want to believe that it was his fault so he put those thoughts on the back burner, trying to focus on how to better the situation instead.

The explanation didn't make Hongjoong feel better though as he couldn't really comprehend what is it that made Wooyoung experience such a devastating break. He tried looking at the two assistant healers but they too were avoiding his gaze as best as they could. "That's stupid," Hongjoong groaned in frustration, hands rubbing at his face harshly, "The oracle said he's our mate and if you haven't figured it out yet he's with his mates right now so you must be wrong!" he growled, terrifying the healers but didn't let them respond as he turned and walked away, yelling to them one last time, "You better come up with a better explanation and treatment plan for him!"

With a last glance spared to Wooyoung's bedroom as the healers reentered, letting the sound of Wooyoung moaning and crying in pain escape, Seonghwa followed behind Hongjoong. Maybe it was best for him to tell Hongjoong what he did, what he had done to Wooyoung's... mate. No matter how much they denied that a dragon could mate with a witch, they have to consider that fact now, especially with Yeosang's incessant and teary attempt of convincing them. The mood in the castle had gone down considerably and at a pretty drastic speed. One could argue that it was the stress of handling the dragon hunter issue and rebuilding the ruined houses and also calming the people down, ensuring their safety with double the patrols which obviously took time to assemble and set their working schedule. It was a miracle that all of them were still functional even though barely. Though, Hongjoong's dedication of time and effort to accommodate the situation was proven fruitful as they have yet to see nor sense another attack from dragon hunters. The patrolmen hadn't even sensed witches or their runes or potions around, meaning that it was more likely than not safe for them. Hongjoong and the others took this as a win as one issue is at least resolved. For now.

Other than Wooyoung and Yeosang, Mingi seemed to receive the third biggest hit. It had been a while since Seonghwa saw him practice his sword skills, abusing the life out of the dummy they usually use for practice and even managing to break three with a wooden sword for practice. As a carer of the hatchlings, Mingi was never expected to be the best in fighting as his main priority was protection over the little ones. While basic fighting skills were needed in order to protect the hatchlings if needed, none of them had ever seen Mingi letting out so much frustration and emotion which made him look terrifying. Thankfully, the children would provide him with some comfort, allowing him to still feel some semblance of warmth as he took care of them but once his duty ended, he would... clam up and go back to his sword practice. Yunho, San, and Jongho on the other hand looked detached even during their duties. While their quality of work wasn't affected, their mood does and it made them even more unapproachable, especially with the glare that Jongho and San would give to the other patrolmen. Yunho would more often than not venture off by himself, excusing it as him wanting to check something out by himself before involving the others.

"I went to the Oracle again," Hongjoong sighed as he and Seonghwa reached a secluded part of the castle, "I... Asked them about this whole thing," with his back against the cold stone wall, Hongjoong was able to lean his head back and just closed his eyes. Seonghwa sidled close next to him, his hand circled and rested on Hongjoong's hips to pull him close, the sudden act made Hongjoong open his eyes to look at his mate before accepting and just letting him get as close as he want. "What whole thing?" Seonghwa asked, his thumb began rubbing on Hongjoong's hips gently in an attempt to comfort the man. "Apparently... It was true," Hongjoong's head dropped to rest on Seonghwa's shoulder, feeling the absolute weight of responsibility burdening him so heavily that it was as if he could crumble then and there, "(y/n)... She's our last mate," an incredulous scoff escaped Hongjoong's mouth as if the words left a bitter taste in his mouth. Almost immediately, Seonghwa's body tensed up and froze, not believing his ears. "Yeah, I was surprised too," Hongjoong nuzzled his head deeper into the crook of Seonghwa's neck with his eyes closing once again, "What are we supposed to do? That little witch ran away and now once again we're left with cleaning her mess. How are we supposed to make sure that Yeosang and Wooyoung will be okay? They have truly mated with her so they're suffering greatly," Seonghwa felt Hongjoong lifting his head up slightly and when he looked down, he saw his strong leader's eyes brimming with tears, a rare occurrence that truly broke his heart, "How are we going to help them, Seonghwa? Why can I protect everyone else but them?" Seonghwa was quick to envelop the man in a tight hug despite he himself slowly becoming affected by his mate's words, he knew he had to be strong so Hongjoong could momentarily falter.

"Don't you even worry," Seonghwa said firmly, unknowingly using his own words to convince himself as well, "We're gonna get through this. We're going to be okay."

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to anyone else, Yunho had taken it upon himself to venture off again. He had been feeling something... odd in certain areas, as if something was calling for him, wanting to be found and rescued by him.

It was odd.

Every day, Yunho woke up to the feeling of wanting to venture a little bit further out than his usual patrol would take. There was something about the hills that called to him but every single time he got closer, he found himself walking back to the clan. And each time he returned to his people, there was a sense of longing and sorrow. Today, however, he woke up and sense that he felt different than the previous days. He couldn't quite explain it, but he sensed that whoever or whatever it was that was calling him is reachable now. So he rushed to the path that called onto him, fully hoping to see something new, some kind of explanation.

What Yunho didn't expect, however, was the sound of a mountain troll roaring followed by the sound of branches crunching but louder. Immediately, Yunho got into his battle stance, thinking that the troll sensed his presence and wanted him gone from the area. His ear and thermal sensors were able to pick up where the beast was coming from and where it was headed easily. However, what intrigued him was another signature that was much smaller and seemed familiar. It was only when he saw you being thrown to the ground by the mountain troll as if you were nothing but a book.

"Fuck," You groaned, trying to get up and running away but the monster grabbed you by the leg and dragged you closer to it. You were already so weak from trying to run away from the brute, and it was getting so frustrating and hopeless as you were a lot smaller and weaker than the thing. To be frank, you could've taken Weiss out and performed magic to daze the monster so you could make your escape but that would be counterproductive as it would leave a signature and you were trying to not get caught or found by anyone. So equipped with only your with and your desperation to survive, you tried your best to pry the hand of the monster off of you by throwing whatever your hands could grab from the ground at it. But it was no use, it had no effect whatsoever and it even looked unbothered. A loud cry was ripped out of your throat when you felt its claws sink into your skin, to ensure that you wouldn't go anywhere and it was then that you realized that you were facing the last moments of your life without having your task completed.

Thankfully, Yunho stepped in just as the troll was about to drag you by your injured leg to its dwelling, possibly to be torn apart and eaten by its group. With unmatched strength and clean movements, Yunho easily sliced the monster's arm off of you and sent it running to the other side, growling, howling, and injured. Yunho could've run after it to finish the job like how he was trained to do, but he was more worried about you. When he turned his back to offer you some help, you weren't where you initially were and it made Yunho panic slightly as he hadn't even gotten the chance to talk to you. His eyes darted around to see you limping away in the direction from which you were running away from. "Hey!" Yunho called out, jogging to catch up with you easily as you were injured and he was not human.

To be quite honest, Yunho actually felt glad that he saw you again after a long while. There was a sense of relief that came with seeing and confirming that it was indeed you; his chest felt lighter as if a weight has been lifted off and he actually felt... happy. Said happiness was ripped away from him however when he first noticed that you weren't where you were on the ground. "What are you doing?" his hands shot out as you stumbled slightly, situating them near your body so if you were to fall, he could catch you, "We should be getting you back to the castle! You're injured!" he exclaimed, cringing when he saw your bloodied leg that you still forcibly use to stand. It felt odd for him to be so nice to you especially since your nice gestures had been reciprocated with nothing but disdain and rejection from him for months.

Much to his surprise, you barely spared him a glance as you shook your head whilst simultaneously producing Weiss into the open air. Oh, how the tables have turned. "Go away, Yunho, I have important work to do," ouch. "Like hell you do, you need to be taken care of right now," your stubbornness was almost endearing to Yunho at that moment as it reminded him of his mates, specifically Hongjoong. It was no secret that the leader has his priorities set on his pride and his pride only so more often than not, they were forced to use force on their leader to make sure that he gets his rest. So out of instinct, Yunho held your elbows so he could usher you to the castle to get some help and hopefully some answers. But his heart stopped in his chest when he felt you slap his hands away as you turned to look at him. Yunho's eyes widened at the impact, completely stunned and surprised. You were glaring at him but he could see that it wasn't hatred, not from how your bottom lip was trembling and tears were brimming in your eyes. "Don't make this harder than it has to Yunho, go away," you said before turning around and going back to "work" just a little bit further away from Yunho.

Yunho followed suit and he was about to scold you for not wanting his help when he watched what you were doing. Your hands moved in almost a graceful manner, going into your pocket and producing a white powder to spread on the grassy ground as you recite a spell. Slowly, a translucent film-like barrier appeared from the place where the powder was spread and up to the sky. He didn't know how tall it was, but he had a good idea of what it exactly was. "You put up a barrier to keep us inside," Yunho muttered as his eyes slowly trailed from the barrier down to you who had moved further away to continue the process. "Were you trying to imprison us?" the question had no malice in them but the way he immediately thought the worse of you made you flinch slightly, "Of course not, if I wanted to do that, Wooyoung wouldn't have been able to visit my cottage," you sighed before continuing your work. Immediately, Yunho's eyes widened at your revelation, "How did you know that? Have you been spying on us?" again, he didn't mean any harm, it was just that he was in such a state of shock that it caused him to have a poor choice of language. Still, you didn't know that and it still hurt. "No, I was never spying on you all. I was making sure that you all were safe from hunters," you planned on concluding your explanation there, clapping your hands to get the remnants of powder off before limping away.

Of course, your exit was not made easy. Yunho grabbed your arm and turned you to him, this time looking at you with genuine worry in his eyes. "(y/n) please, come back with me to the castle, you need help from the healers!"

You had been hoping for months that one of them other than Wooyoung, Yeosang, and Mingi would reach out to you and asked you to stay just as Yunho was doing. But you couldn't shake off the fear Seonghwa had struck you. You couldn't even go back to living in your cottage as you were afraid that he might find you just to make sure that you were really gone or that Wooyoung or Yeosang might find you and brought you back or even just told him that they saw you back in your cottage. You couldn't risk it and you couldn't risk going to your mother's place as they could sense the dragon off of you and they might enchant you to tell them where they were. So you hid in plain sight, you set up camp in the meadows, right where you fell off after your encounter with Seonghwa and stayed there even after your barrier was set up and it was a good thing that you did because, during the past three weeks, several hunters got close to the area and you had to drive them away with enchantments and monsters ran rampage that almost broke the ward in the barrier. You had pride in your work, everyone inside was not able to look past it and those outside can't peek in except for you. If they even thought of venturing past, the barrier would incept their minds and lead them to go back to the clan instead. Of course, they were able to go out past the barrier, but not from the front entrance that you set which was the area of your camp, they were very much welcome to use the path past the river. You mostly patrol the front entrance and every once in a while, you were able to see some of them with other patrolmen. Mostly Yunho and Jongho, but you remembered seeing Yeosang and how weak he looked just three days after you left. You really wanted to hold him, hug him, tell him that you were sorry for leaving without saying anything but it was for his own good. And then you saw Wooyoung in your cottage. You didn't mean to follow him per se, you were just making sure that in his frantic state, the hunters wouldn't find him or he wouldn't do anything stupid. You even had to enchant him to go back and that was the last time you saw him.

It took everything in you to not give up and tell Yunho everything; what had happened and most importantly, how much you wanted to go back home to them, be with them. But you couldn't. You don't belong there with them.

"I'm sorry Yunho," you whispered. Before he could ask what you meant, you had placed your fingers on his temple, the touch allowed your powers to permeate Yunho's mind and sent him into a frozen state. You could feel his consciousness lowering ever so slightly as you recite the spell that would make him think that this was a dream and send him home. Yunho could feel it, your magic coursing through him and it felt warm, it felt nothing like what his elders told him a witch's magic was like. As you and him connected on that deep of a level, unbeknownst to you, Yunho was able to feel your pain, fear, longing, and love that wasn't just for Wooyoung and Yeosang, but for every single one of them including his clan. It was his first taste of pure and genuine love and devotion and he felt safe in it. Just before Yunho lost consciousness completely, he said something that surprised you as it was the first time someone had managed to peek out from your mind spell. "W-What about Yeosang? What about Wooyoung? They- we, we need you." A soft, sad smile appeared on your face and you shook your head at him, deciding to say something that you had no idea he would take to heart completely.

"He'll be fine. They both will, take care of them for me please."

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

The guilt was eating Seonghwa inside and out.

It had been a week since Hongjoong's revelation that you were supposedly their mate too and he felt like he was going insane. Days spent putting out one fire after the other with Hongjoong but thankfully it wasn't literal fire like the ones before. The things he had to handle were mostly over his mates being so unfocused they made mistakes in their jobs. San accidentally hurt himself during patrol, gashing his own leg by mistake when he tripped and fell down the stairs so harsh he had to be put to rest for two days. Jongho looked so worn out that he actually broke down crying one night to Seonghwa, saying that he didn't feel quite right and it was exhausting knowing something's wrong but not knowing where to start fixing it. Yeosang and Wooyoung were still in the same state; Yeosang's weak with cheeks hollowed, lifeless as he remained catatonic in his bed while Wooyoung reached a new level of despair; only saying "(y/n) please come back, i need you," as he made numerous attempts to travel out of the castle to find you only to pass out not even three steps from the garden. Frankly the only functional ones were Mingi and Yunho, keeping up with their duties while filling in wherever they were needed. Yunho was especially surprising because he suddenly spend his nights in Wooyoung's room, accompanying and making sure that he was okay before leaving to rest himself.

But everyone had their limits and this was it for Seonghwa.

He couldn't admit this before but he felt that his chest was hollow, his heart beating without his heart being there and his passion diminishing. Even Hongjoong took notice of this when he noticed Seonghwa slowly skipping his meals and remained to himself for the majority of the time, not saying anything when it wasn't truly dire. This, of course, led to fights between the two eldest as Hongjoong was afraid that he would be the last one standing, holding onto every last bit of remaining sanity in the group desperately while his partner was reduced to something similar to Yeosang. Seonghwa kept trying to convince Hongjoong (and himself) by repeating over and over again that he wouldn't, that he had a better grip on his sanity and control over his urges than Yeosang because he had never done the mating ritual with you. But of course, what he neglected to tell Hongjoong was the fact that he was so guilt-ridden that he has been functioning on anxiety for a couple of days and he had been travelling outside for a bit every day in hopes to see you. For the first time ever, Seonghwa was actually disappointed that he didn't see you anywhere near the castle and not even your cottage every time he checked there.

You truly did believe that he would end you and somehow he disliked that. The idea sent a bitter taste to his mouth like poison or rancid meat.

Now, however, he had to put his feelings and stress aside because he had to deal with Wooyoung who had once again left his bedroom without anyone noticing to venture out of the castle in search of you. With frantic steps, Seonghwa looked for Wooyoung, hoping that he'd be in the garden where you and he once spent hours cultivating and replanting herbs to be used or studied, or in the library where you spent the whole night reading dragon folklore to Wooyoung while stroking his hair, or even in the kitchen where you two stole cookies in broad daylight as a challenge to see if either of you were as subtle as you claimed. It surprised Seonghwa how he know so much about your behaviour yet claimed that he had no care for you whatsoever. Maybe he had been too stubborn to admit the fact that despite your identity, the connection was truly there and it was strong. His stubbornness also exists within the actions that he made namely not telling anyone else that Wooyoung had once again made a crazy escape in a very unwell state because he thought that as the oldest and the second in command, the last thing he needed to do was to involve people who were resting and made it seem like he couldn't handle certain issues by himself. God forbid that.

Suddenly Seonghwa remembered where you would sometimes take Wooyoung when you couldn't find the herbs you needed to make your (demonic mind control) potion. "Shit, he better not be there," despite his complaining, Seonghwa transformed as he jumped up to fly to where he thought Wooyoung might be. It was at the bottom of the hill where there were tons of stumps where mushrooms could grow freely and due to the type of wood growing in the area, there was one type of mushroom, a special and rare one, that could either heal someone's ailments and clean the body or kill them when consumed incorrectly. He remembered you talking about that because you had once prepared the drink for Seonghwa after he spent two weeks dealing with an issue with the neighbouring clan and was so close to passing out. Of course, back then he accused you of trying to murder him and slapped the glass off your hands harshly so that there was a large red mark on your skin for the next couple of days. Ironically, when he did pass out, he was brought back to good health by your mushroom incense which made him throw up all the toxins and fatigue that accumulated in his body from his neglecting it so bad which to stay true to his hatred towards you, he claimed that his body was rejecting whatever it was you used to incapacitate him and decided to just be better so he could fight you off.

From the sky, Seonghwa could barely see anything through the thick trees but he tried his best to sense Wooyoung. After all, he was weak and slow, it shouldn't be too hard to locate him. It wasn't until he heard sobs and a voice calling out for your name so brokenheartedly that Seonghwa dove down and transformed as he reached to ground to see Wooyoung lying on the dirty ground limply as his hands tried to pull the grass so he could crawl to his destination. Seeing him like this made Seonghwa's eyes water and his heart clench so painfully harshly that he thought it might stop beating. This was all his doing, it was all his fault for making a single-handed decision out of his sheer stubbornness and trauma, incapable of considering the fact that his mates might have been right about you because he thought he knew best.

"Wooyoung," he called out, wiping the tears that were cascading down his cheeks as he crouched down near the man who looked so broken and lost and abandoned. Wooyoung didn't even acknowledge Seonghwa's presence, he kept trying his best to pull himself forward more but the lack of strength in his body did nothing but gave him frustration. "Wooyoung," Seonghwa tried calling him again, his voice cracking slightly as he grabbed the younger dragon by the shoulders to stop him from moving more and potentially hurting him. The sight of his dirty, tattered shirt was something Seonghwa didn't look forward to finding out. To his surprise, Wooyoung was able to shrug his grasp off of him, making his escape by using whatever was left in him to stand up. "I need to see (y/n)," he croaked, lifeless eyes staring forward at seemingly nothing, "She needs me, she's calling for me," though he said with little to no facial muscle movement, the tears that sprung from his eyes indicated just how desperate he was.

The thought of scooping Wooyoung and simply taking him away flashed in Seonghwa's head. It would be so easy to just grab him and take him away, God knows it would be best for the both of them. But Seonghwa felt in his gut that he wouldn't be able to cope with the knowledge that he has once again done something that was against what his mate wanted. Another thought flashed in Seonghwa's head, was he about to let his mate do something that could potentially end his life? Not on his watch. So how was he going to convince Wooyoung to return home?

Seonghwa's deep thoughts were cut short when he heard rustles coming from the darkness in front of them and soon cloaked figures emerged from the shadows. The second they stepped close enough, Seonghwa could smell the stench on them, the stench of dead dragons. "Dragon hunters," he muttered to himself, highly alert and swiftly pulling Wooyoung back against him. It didn't even matter to him that Wooyoung was thrashing like crazy, sounds and words from Wooyoung's mouth muddled together, making him incoherent. While this just made Seonghwa panic more, as his brain immediately thought of ways how he could get both himself and the inconsolable younger dragon out of there safely, the hunters seemed to find Seonghwa's state of panic highly amusing.

One of the hunters took his hood down to reveal his face which was half hidden by a headpiece made from intricately placed dragon scales with sections that go down his jaw to his chin decorated with dragon teeth. It was highly disrespectful to wear the carcass of such majestic creatures like that but of course, those hunters don't care, the more ridiculous they looked the higher regard they got from their fellow hunters.

"Looks like we have our work half done for us, boys. We can get the crazy one to the Head of the Coven and have her turn him into a puppet for children's show or for the circus," he laughed with boisterous laughter following after him. "The taller one we can use for accessories. Did you see the colour of his scales? We'll make bank with a lot left for ourselves," the hunter's eyes zeroed in on Seonghwa as if Seonghwa was a treasure that he had been looking for.

Horror struck Seonghwa and dread washes over his body at the mention of his dragon form. It was his fault that the hunters found them, he led them here because he couldn't be bothered to take the hard way and be discreet as he looked for Wooyoung. Not to mention his stubbornness and need to prove himself that led to him not alerting the others that Wooyoung was gone and that he needed help was going to be the reason his other mates will blame themselves if anything were to happen to them both.

"Get them, but make sure you don't nick their skins, I want to make sure we can get the best price," the same man said simply, cockily looking down at Seonghwa and Wooyoung as if he was sure that he was going to get the both of them. His confidence effectively struck his companions positively as they soon took menacing steps forward, seemingly to corner Seonghwa. Between making sure he had a secure grip on Wooyoung and trying to find a way to escape, Seonghwa couldn't even estimate the number of hunters around them. Were there more? Are they surrounded? What weapons do they have? Which clan did they come from? What do they want? There were thousands of questions running through Seonghwa's head which didn't help with him concocting a way to escape.

For some reason, Seonghwa was calling to you in his head. It was odd, he didn't know what it was exactly that you could've done and to be quite frank, he had always mocked you for it, calling you useless and unnecessary because he couldn't be bothered to learn about your power. Despite that, he was calling for you in his head because he had a feeling that you would know what to do to deal with the hunters and even how to deal with Wooyoung and perhaps even calm him down a little. The grip Seonghwa had on Wooyoung was trembling slightly, he was slowly consumed with uncertainty and anxiety and he feared that the hunters must have had something on them that made Seonghwa feel like so. According to their words, they must have had witches living among them and they have been helping these hunters capture dragons. He could only assume that those witches are powerful too because Seonghwa felt his legs trembling and his chest tightening, he was slowly being overcome with anxiety and while he was still able to function, Wooyoung was wailing. With each step the hunters took closer to them, the more sure Seonghwa was that it would be the end of him and Wooyoung. His grip slipped ever so slowly but he still tried to hold on to the younger dragon, he wanted to hold on. Because however, the situation will end, he wanted to be selfless and be there for the mate that needed him.

When a sound popped out from the left side of the hunters, Seonghwa was damn near using the last of his sanity to turn into his dragon form and breathed fire at whoever made that sound. But it was a good thing he didn't because he immediately recognized you standing there, looking seemingly harmless but he noticed the determination in your eyes and it was enchanting.

"And what the fuck are you supposed to be?" One of the hunters scoffed at you, thinking that you must be a joke.

With a raised eyebrow, you whipped Weiss out and shoved both hands into your skirt pockets. "The last thing you'll ever see, unfortunately," in a split second, your gaze shifted to Seonghwa and though you spoke in a low, almost whisper-like tone that seemed to sound louder than it actually is and echoed in his ears, "Duck"

As soon as Seonghwa's front side made contact with the ground with Wooyoung in his death grip, he heard something sizzling that was followed by the smell of something burning and men screaming around him. Seonghwa couldn't look around as the sound of men screaming into the night was deafening and it caused his body to freeze in utter shock. The only thing he could see was you standing a little far away from him and Wooyoung, face emotionless with hands covered in a thin layer of white powder and your chest slightly heaving. Seonghwa didn't know what was happening and frankly, he was rather hesitant to find out because whatever it was you did wasn't good.

Your eyes met Seonghwa soon and his stomach dropped, he had never seen you like that before and he suddenly felt the urge to say a lot of things to you. He wasn't sure what those things were, but he knew there was too much to say. He was about to get up and run to you when you lifted a hand to him and shook your head, "Run," you said simply, taking small steps to inconspicuously return to the safety of the shadows. Though he wouldn't admit it out loud, Seonghwa felt his heart clench when you told him to run, to go AWAY from you instead of TO you. He could only assume that you would be happy that he finally wanted to be close to you but instead you were acting so cold and dismissive towards him. The screams of men in pain snapped Seonghwa back to reality, however, realizing that all of the hunters were in fact distracted enough that they wouldn't even attempt to follow him if he were to safely return home. You had provided him with an escape.

So Seonghwa did what he thought he should do despite the aching feeling of uncertainty about whether or not he or any one of his mates would see you again, he had to prioritize and at that moment, Wooyoung seemed more important than anything else. He grabbed Wooyoung and moved to pull him up despite him wailing for you, calling out your name and trying to claw his way out of Seonghwa's grip. "Wooyoung, snap out of it!" without hesitance, Seonghwa slapped Wooyoung across his face which seemed to stun him enough to focus on Seonghwa, "We need to get out of here! We don't have time to spare or chances left!" Desperation palpable in his voice and the eyes that conveyed a thousand emotions finally penetrated into Wooyoung's mind and for the first time in weeks, he was able to give a sound response. Slowly, Wooyoung nodded and stood up, wincing as he realized just how sore and weak his body was while Seonghwa followed suit. Hastily, Seonghwa pulled Wooyoung further away from the group of wailing men, "You need to turn and fly away home, okay? Call for help, and I'll distract them as best as I could to make sure they don't follow you," Wooyoung opened his mouth to say something but Seonghwa raised his hand to stop him, "You are in no condition to argue with me, just trust me and do as I said."

Of course, even with Seonghwa's order, Wooyoung's heart still yearns for you, he wanted to be with you after being separated for so long. Hoping that he would be able to make eye contact with you, Wooyoung glanced to where you were standing only to be met with the sight of shadows casting through the woods. "Go!" Seonghwa growled, pushing Wooyoung slightly away when he only stood still. Reluctantly, Wooyoung shifted and flew back as quickly as he could to the castle, roaring in the air in hopes that someone from the clan heard him.

Seonghwa was too preoccupied with making sure that Wooyoung was okay that he neglected to see the leader of the hunter group coming at him with an obsidian blade. He only realized what was happening when he caught his shadow moving from the corner of his eyes and even then, Seonghwa knew that it was too late for him, he was going to be stabbed with a poisonous blade and he could potentially die. Things started to move in slow motion and his eyes closed, defeated, as he waited for the pain to strike him whilst he continuously reassured himself that even though he was going to die, he managed to get Wooyoung to safety first.

The sound of the blade taking flesh in between flesh was gut-wrenching to Seonghwa and he could only imagine how the stone would interact with his dragon blood, turning everything toxic and rotting his flesh from the inside out.

He waited and waited, but the pain never came. When his eyes finally opened, he was beyond shocked to see you in front of him, the blade nesting in your right shoulder as you stared up at the hunter dead in the face. There were a lot of things that Seonghwa didn't expect from you and on the very top of that list were you jumping in front of danger for him, putting your life at risk for him. He expected you to do that for the others, even Hongjoong (since he's the clan leader), but not him. Never him.

"Wrong move," you spat and before either he or Seonghwa could react, you pressed your powder-covered hands to his face. Then Seonghwa saw it, he saw the man's face sizzling under your touch in the areas where his dragon scale helmet was and around its area. As if it wasn't enough, you mumbled spells that soon caused blood to leak from the man's eyes, his pupils constricting to the point that they were mere dots as his throat vibrated with the agonizing cry he let out.

Only when the man dropped to the ground at your feet that you let your arms fall to your sides. Slowly, you turned to Seonghwa and Seonghwa could see the more relaxed expression on your face. Then his gaze dropped to your body, specifically to your blood-drenched hands. He didn't know whether it was the hunter's blood or yours, everything was just too messy for him to see clearly and he didn't even know where to start looking. "(y/n)..." he called out reaching out to take your arm in his grip gently but you scurried away abruptly as if you were scared, you would've continued if it wasn't for the tree that you accidentally hit, making you wince from the pain of the blade. "Please don't kill me," you whimpered slightly, inching to the side of the tree in hopes that you could make a quick exit. The words somehow struck Seonghwa deeply, he was well aware that he was the one who threatened to kill you in the first place but he never realized that you would be so affected by it. The fear in your eyes when you looked at Seonghwa without the safety of hunters to excuse your presence somehow bothered him. Just a couple of weeks ago Seonghwa would've taken great pride in instilling such crippling fear into you, but now he just hated how you wanted to get away from them now. From him.

"You're hurt..." Though his voice was wavering slightly, Seonghwa tried his best to keep a strong front, wanting to show that he wasn't letting his emotions get the best of him. And it worked, you only took further steps away from him because you felt that he was being so stoic and perhaps he was giving you a false sense of security just to trap you and kill you. So you quickly shook your head at him, not wanting his words to influence your decision to go back into hiding and plan a better strategy to protect them.

With every faltering step back you took, Senoghwa seemed to want to follow and it scared you. He wasn't taking more steps than you but his strides were longer. Right then and there, you could feel a pull to him, a pull that you've experienced with Wooyoung and again with Yeosang when he finally opened his heart to accept you romantically. The feeling was warm and comforting, reassuring of your safety and life despite the poison that was entering your bloodstream. You had been so focused on Seonghwa that you didn't even notice the little trick the leader hunter pulled to ensure incapacity towards any of his enemies, dragons or not. The poison he used was deadly to dragons, capable of paralyzing them in 30 seconds and completely killing them in 20 minutes. While it wasn't as deadly to humans, you didn't have much time until you grow weak in your tent and die slowly for days whilst locked in your own body, able to feel everything but unable to do anything.

Thinking that the chicken dance you and Seonghwa were doing could last a while, you decided that you should just make your escape so you could treat your wound as soon as possible. With a smile thrown at Seonghwa, your feet took their position to run, "I'm glad you both are safe." Seonghwa's body went into an immediate state of panic as he heard you say that, alarm bells started going off in his brain knowing that that was your way of saying goodbye. He had been so determined to find you and bring you home, how could he just let you go? It wasn't like he was trying to force you to come with him or even kidnap you, but he wanted to bring you back home where you belong. The home that Seonghwa had so selfishly taken away from you and for what, pride? In the name of trauma? Nothing could excuse his behaviour and that was why he wanted to make sure that he could make up for it. And he couldn't do it when the person he wanted to make up to isn't there.

As you turned around to flee, you felt something shoot up your spine and your vision turned black. The pain made you want to scream and you could've sworn you were screaming in pain. But in reality, your face was lax and your body swayed to the side, gravity doing its job pulling you to the ground when all strength left your body. The last thing you hear was the sound of someone calling your name, then a couple more that was followed by flaps of wings and rushed steps. You must've imagined things. Out of all, however, Seonghwa's voice was more prominent and you could've sworn the palm that supported your head as you fell belonged to him. Well, you must've been beyond delusional which means the poison was doing such a marvellous job. This was maybe the sound that was sending you off to the afterlife and to be honest, you could be hearing worse.

Now all you had to do was welcome what comes next.

Whatever it was.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

"Hyung?"

Seonghwa's head snapped up to the door when he heard someone calling for him. The door to your room was shut with a heavy thud and Mingi came walking in with some things in his hands. "I thought you were told to rest," the younger sighed, displeased that his older mate was disregarding the words of healers who had instructed Seonghwa to take it easy on himself. Seonghwa shook his head as his gaze dropped back to the woman sleeping on the bed, looking like a corpse with how she was unmoving and unresponsive but still alive as indicated by the flush on her cheeks and lips. Since when do Seonghwa think of you like that?

Though Mingi was worried for him, Seonghwa only waved a hand dismissively at him, "No, I... I put her in this situation, I should take care of her."

When Seonghwa brought you back to the castle, not only were his mates up and about due to Wooyoung's warning (and being absolutely surprised that Wooyoung was functioning normally), but they were preparing to save you and Seonghwa. So when they saw Seonghwa in your arms, they thought that you had died. Chaos ensued when Seonghwa reassured everyone that you weren't dead but were definitely dying if you weren't treated immediately. Coming to his senses first, Yunho scooped you from Seonghwa's arms and carried you to the house of the head healer just outside the castle area followed by Yeosang who regained some strength at the mention of you and also Wooyoung. As soon as you were out of sight, Seonghwa dropped to his knees, legs lost all strength as tears poured out of his eyes, coating the skin of his cheeks in a glittery sheen. That was when he grabbed Hongjoong's hands and confessed to what he did, how he threatened to end you because he thought you helped orchestrated an attack. He confessed how he almost did kill you that night, how he single-handedly exiled you because he thought he was doing what was best for everyone. He confessed how it was his fault Yeosang and Wooyoung almost lost their minds and how the others were suffering, not realizing that it was because their mate was told to stay away from them.

That night Seonghwa received nothing but confused, cold glances from his mates even as he was being patched up. It wasn't that they hated him for what he did nor were they mad, it was just the fact that Seonghwa kept such a big secret from them. Moreover, after Wooyoung recounted how you had saved him and Seonghwa from out of nowhere which prompted them to ask Seonghwa how you got stabbed by an obsidian blade. Of course, Seonghwa told them everything, he told them about how you jumped in front of him with no hesitance which saved him completely from danger. Then there was a conversation of dragon's honour, how they should never bite the hand that fed them (literally or not). Mingi was the first to innocently bring up the fact that you had been but nice and generous to Seonghwa but he had only returned your kind gestures in utter disdain. Hongjoong defended Seonghwa by saying that despite his actions, he did not break a dragon's honour as you had never saved his life before. Then surprisingly, Jongho backed Mingi up by saying that the dragon's honour doesn't only apply to live-saving situations, it also applies to general, mundane situations which prompted Hongjoong to snap at the youngest, saying something along the lines of "If I remembered correctly, you wanted to stake and burn her to see if, and I quote, 'she smells like rotting eel like the rest of her coven' when she first came to us" which was not received well by Jongho.

Now, five days later, you were still not up but the tension amongst his mates had died down and things had started to turn for the better. The warriors were less antsy and got even more confident with the additional good news that Yeosang was finally cleared to come back on duty 3 days ago. Wooyoung was once again able to function normally, returning to his studies with the healers whilst sharing the recipes he learnt from you during the time you lived together. Hongjoong was finally able to calm the council and was able to address the questions regarding the citizen's safety with more assurance. Mingi brought the good news that you were back to the hatchlings and they were more than elated, immediately asking Mingi when they could see you again which made him so happy. And Seonghwa felt much more at ease with knowing that you were there with him, knowing that they were once again whole despite your comatose state. One thing for sure though, you were never left alone without anyone's watch. Wooyoung, Yeosang, and Mingi had taken it upon themselves to sleep in your room with you with Mingi dragging a (not so) begrudging Yunho with him. Jongho would only stand guard outside your door in the afternoons when everyone else was too busy with their own duties while San would stand guard inside your room but away from you, both were still feeling awkward because they had been so bad towards you and they didn't feel their fussing over you would be justified. Hongjoong would keep watch from afar and through his staff, asking questions directly to the healers or (not so) casually asking the members on watch about your condition during their supper. Seongwha remained a constant by your side though, adamant about being there when you woke up. He would do his duties from his seat and only leave when absolutely necessary and even then, he would rush and make sure someone was in the room with you.

Whilst keeping watch on you, Seonghwa made the realization that you were the difference that they needed. It could be because of the fact that you were destined to be mated with all eight of them, but it was also possible that it was because you were... you. Never had he experienced such a drastic difference that happened with a person's absence and presence. It was as if you forged their life force, your mere presence elevated their energy in more ways than one. He had been a fool to let his ego cloud his judgement.

Mingi walked towards you with a gentle smile on his face, his hand gently placing a flower crown on top of your head, "Hi there, I... made this when I took the hatchlings outside to learn about nature. They missed you so much," he wanted to say how he missed you too, but the presence of Seonghwa only made him swallow his own words. Mingi then turned to the older male, sighing when he saw his eyes busily darting through scrolls for different businesses that Seonghwa needed to tend. "I'm worried for you, hyung," Mingi confessed, eyebrows scrunched in slight frustration at the older's stubbornness. "I said I'm fine," Seonghwa sighed, putting his scrolls down on the desk next to him to look at Mingi with a small smile, "Don't worry about me, okay? I know my limits and I just want to make sure (y/n) comes out of this okay," he reassured him. It seemed like Mingi wanted to say something, but the stare Seonghwa gave him made him shut his mouth as if telling him it was pointless to argue with him, he wasn't going to budge. So Mingi simply nodded and left the room after giving your hand a gentle squeeze to return to his evening duties.

Once he was back alone with you, Seonghwa thought that it was best for him to focus back on completing his task, he was quite behind already and he didn't like leaving his duties like that. But as he was about to delve back into his scrolls, he couldn't help but look at your sleeping figure and his legs automatically took steps closer to you. Every time he looked at your face, he couldn't help but remember the frightened look on your face the day he almost killed you. While he used to find pride in it, now he couldn't help but be embarrassed of himself, embarrassed of how he threatened someone who bore no arms as it wasn't a noble thing of him to do no matter the person. Above that, he was embarrassed of himself for treating his mates' mate like that. The regret played over and over in his head as if to mock his lack of judgement and he knew he deserved it, he was willing to bear the shame brought by his own stupidity and more if it could bring you back. The healers kept reassuring him that you would be up but they couldn't really know when and that scared him, the uncertainty and vagueness only made him stress more.

With the gentlest of touch, he traced your hand that was resting on your stomach, flipping them over to graze over the burnt skin as he winced, imagining the pain you must've felt. Turns out, when you burnt that hunter's face with the powder you had, the direct contact made your own skin burn and while it will heal, the pain you must've endured was more than you should have felt. "I'm sorry..." tears built in Seonghwa's eyes as his eyebrows furrowed tightly, creating a crease in the space between, "When you get out of this, I'll make sure to pay you back a thousandfold, you hear me?"

The lack of answer made Seonghwa fall to his knees by your bed with your hands still in his grip. His face rested by your hip as he cried hard, body shaking and hands trembling with overwhelming emotions. Seonghwa didn't even know why he was crying, it wasn't like you were dead despite him seeing your unresponsive body. He was glad that you were back with him despite not knowing how you would react when you finally came to and realized that you were back in the dwelling of the person who claimed wanted you dead if you ever showed your face again. But he knew a lot of them wanted you there with them and he knew you knew that fact too whilst also knowing that before this, the majority of them disprove your existence amongst them and had even pulled petty pranks as hiding Weiss in the dungeons for three days which caused you to panic and even stated their disdain towards you and your kind right to your face. So really, what was Seonghwa crying about?

"I'm so sorry," Seonghwa's voice cracked from raw emotion like he never felt before, his cheeks wet with tears that dropped and pooled on your bed. He tried looking up at you again, but he couldn't bear the sight for long before he hunched over with his face on your stomach, crying even harder. His lips kept mumbling apologies like it was a prayer or a mantra, not knowing what else to say to you as he felt his transgressions towards you had really crossed all the lines that exist in the world. But even then, especially then, you showed him nothing but kindness and genuineness. Seonghwa gripped the blanket over your body and the shirt you were wearing tightly in his hands as if to anchor him to reality, whatever it was.

A sudden touch to his head stopped Seonghwa's cries almost immediately because he thought he was imagining things, maybe his mind was starting to play tricks on him. Seonghwa snapped his head to your face only to be greeted with the sight of you smiling gently at him, your eyes lively and smile like a fresh breath of spring that made his chest bloom. Then he felt your fingers carding through his hair slowly and gently as if the action was filled with nothing but affection.

"Purposeless tears can kill your fire, dragon. Why are you wasting them?" though your voice was cracked from the dryness of your throat, it still sounded melodious to Seonghwa.

For the first time ever since you knew all of them, Seonghwa cracked a smile, albeit a teary one. He gently took the hand that was on his head and pressed them to his lips before moving them to his cheek where he kept it to enjoy the warmth of your life with his thumb gently caressing the inside of your palm. The initial fear of you rejecting him died within seconds, now being proven that you only had love and care for him just by how you were gazing at him. Seonghwa didn't even care if it was his imagination or if it was the delusional side of his brain trying to compensate for his guilt because he was seeing actual proof in front of him. Proof that you woke up from him opening his heart to you.

"No one could kill you, my fire, I won't let anything kill you."

And you believed him.

taglist :

@rdiamond2727 @yvnnieurl @kodzukein @phenomenalgirl9 @skzatzloveismonsterous @memorymonster @thesolarplanetarysystem @dreamlesswonder86 @maddiebabyxoxo @imababywolf @do-you-actually-care @marievllr-abg @ilsedingsx @wasteitonserendipity @bbymatz @noonaishere @honeyhwaaa @ateezourstars @yoonjunshi @yoongiigolden @camillelafaye @charreddonuts @jcngh0-hq @kpopnightingale @starryunho @atinct @mirror-juliet @hyuckilstan @jayb17 @kpoplover718 @imswitchbabemox @haatohwa @youngestdelacour @x-bluee @erinaimeexx @blackb3ll @mingiholic @angelicyeo @vampcharxter @meowmeowminnie @marvelous-llama @kawennote09 @hongjoong-lovebot @ming-ki @stopeatread @spooo00oky

@chloepurpy @cutie-wooyo

calling ateez babygirl

pairing: ateez x reader

type: reaction (texts)

warning: none

request: yes

————————

Hongjoong:

Seonghwa:

Yunho:

Yeosang:

San:

Mingi:

Wooyoung:

Jongho:

★% ! Pearl ] 𝟢1. Water Droplets

Synopsis: Like a fish out of water you've found yourself in a new environment. Your hands grasp for something to hold as you wash up at the shore. Trying to breathe with your lungs being filled with sea water. Your shell is opened by the most mysterious of their kind.

Pairings: Pirate!Ateez x Siren!Reader

Genre: Fluff, Angst, Smut (Maybe)

Chapter Warnings: Fear, Displacement, Hint at Violence

Word Count: 2.5k

Trigger Warnings: Contains assault, profanity, trauma, fear, etc.

Author's Note: This is a female reader, I'm really sorry to any of my non-female readers. I will be creating works in the future with male/nonbinary readers.

Masterlist ─ Chapter 2.

The ocean was vast, so much of it yet to be seen. In those spots, you were born. Spending your childhood swimming with fish and admiring the corals. Vibrant and playful, minutes turned to hours as you watched the relationship between fish and plant. Although they're of different worlds they have a connection that benefits both of them. Often this led you to wonder if the same was true for humans and your kind.

Sadly, this would take a lot of healing for your kind. You didn't understand, not when you were that young. The sudden disappearance of town members. Your parents were strict with you, always warning you to stay far from the shore or to quickly get away if you stop a boat. You didn't connect the dots, how could you? But now you understand. It's been years since you placed your feet in your hometown. Leaving was a painful memory.

You rarely dwell on that now though. Currently, you reside in a house in the mountains with a lovely couple and their children. You easily fit in with them. Considering them your parents and siblings. They took you in as one of theirs. They're friends of your parents, but they're not one of you.

Up in the mountains, you have no big bodies of water to swim around in. There was a beautiful view of the ocean though, no longer able to return there created a longing that filled your heart. Things around this town above the water remind you of the time when you were surrounded by sea life.

It was boring being holed up in the house, but you had found ways to entertain yourself. You had become especially skilled in jewelry making, and you also had some former knowledge due to your people being known for talented craftsmanship. In your culture, it was normal to give someone you hold dear to you a piece of jewelry. When you had to go out into town for a trip to the market you would get the necessary items while your sister and brother wander to the shoreline. Once at home, they would display their haul of shells, pearls, beads, sea glass, and much more. Not knowing what to do with these you started making pieces of jewelry with them. More and more people started decorating their plain outfits with necklaces, bracelets, anklets, rings, and headpieces.

This town was now your home, the people of it your family. It was a small community, and you were a crucial member of it. Making sure to help anyone if needed and treat people with respect and kindness.

Soon you had melted the frozen hearts of the elderly citizens. They felt wary of your sudden appearance in their society. But you had proven yourself to be non-lethal and caring on the other hand. Now you're everyone's younger sister.

It was an ordinary day, like all the others. Except for the fact that it had started getting colder. It was always blistering hot, and everyone wore light clothing. It had only stormed when you had just moved. You were constantly overwhelmed with the new language, clothing, people, well everything. Only when you had become comfortable did the harsh weather leave. But now people had stocked up on wood and thick material. You were out getting some bread from the bakery. This bread was delicious, and it always satisfied your family. And you were also close with the owner, an old kind man. In exchange for a little money, you were short on, you made him and his wife matching necklaces. They had significant meaning to each other, and they were the perfect gifts.

Since then, you've been especially close. Him even allowing you inside his kitchen to help you prepare a dessert for your mother. He was like your father, almost everything but his appearance was similar to him.

After leaving the bakery with the bread you have been craving, you reached the treacherous steps to your home. They wound around the hill to get to the doorstep. Luckily the pathway was secluded and had many shrubs and bushes. It was tiring and it drained you to have to go up all those stairs. But you love your home and would do anything for it.

The skies darken, and the clouds rolled overhead. This caused you to rush home. It would start raining soon. Everyone in town wasn't used to storms, they hated them. The thunder scared livestock and animals. The rain washed away valuables. And the temperature always being too cold to go out and sell. But living in the ocean, you had dealt with many storms. The outcome of these resulted in many shipwrecks and mysterious items sinking.

So even though you were rushing home you also stopped to take in the scenery. Waves of nostalgia flow over you as the rain slowly get heavier and heavier. As the droplets graced your face your gills start to appear, as well as your webbed fingers and flared ears. The scales on your body were shimmery. By the time you reached your porch, it was obvious you were otherworldly.

Before your family used to be afraid of this form. But as they slowly saw your walls rust down, you were just a little kid. Your eyes contained the childlike glee in them as you found out what a music box was.

So, when you showed up at your front door, looking very whimsical. No one bat an eye; they had grown to love this side of you. They knew that after you had come to live with them you have no more ties to your culture. There was no one there to help you continue to practice your culture. They tried their best to hold traditions, and holidays that you normally would under the water. It warmed your heart, how dedicated they were to making you feel comfortable and safe with them.

Quickly you placed the bag containing bread on the table. Rushing around the house you put your coat, shoes, bag, sweater, and jewelry down.

Turning the corner, you almost run into your father. He's adorning your hand-crafted delights. He has a smile on his face as your eyes lock onto each other.

Both of you exchange a silent conversation and you part ways. Heading to your room. It's the most isolated one, everyone agreed you deserved it. The door was worn, bearing scratch marks on the inside. Rather than a bed you slept in a hammock. It was just easier to sleep in it than on a firm mattress.

At your desk, there were about eight unfinished pieces, each one uniquely different than the last. You liked to think that each piece had its special personality that suited the person it was with. Although you had yet to meet people in the village that would be a match for your unfinished pieces. They continue to lay in the corner, awaiting their soulmates. As you were, simply waiting for your soulmate as well. These unfinished works and you had quite a lot in common. You are both incomplete, and uncertain of what it is that your heart aches and longs for. Both were made up from the depths of the sea, plucked out by the hands of humans. Although, this created a beautiful situation.

To your people, there is someone out there, destined to find you, love you, and care for you. Due to not traveling a bunch of them had never met their soulmates. The whole idea of this kept your mind spinning at night. The part that intrigued you the most was when you would meet them. Your parents couldn't put the emotions into words. Often saying 'you'll know' frustrated you but, could it truly be like that? How could you know? What if you end up meeting them but don't know it? What if they walk away?

Thoughts plague your mind as the drowsiness of being up all morning washes over you. As you settle in your hammock you look up through the glass ceiling to admire the stars. They comfort you, being there with you through everything. Never judging nor leaving.

Slowly your eyes close and you've drifted away. But on this particular night, it was different, you had no dream. Usually, you would have either a dream or a nightmare. But it was blank, just darkness till you awoke. And that was the start of an abnormal day.

Your eyes open attempting to adjust to the brightness. Getting up and hearing a few pops come from your joints. Drawing closer to the window you can hear the crashing of waves. Looking out you can see a large ship in the distance. It has three letters adorning the sail, "ATZ" racking your brain you come up with nothing. Who could this be? With that, you got dressed for the day. The clouds were dark grey, so there was a large chance of rain. Meaning you had to take a large scarf with you, in case. Although it's not like there were many townsfolk outside right now.

Going out to visit the sea. You had been planning this trip for a while. And this whole situation was the perfect chance to do so. Underneath your large jacket was thin clothing and your pearls, it was easier this way, it'd be too much trouble to have to take off heavy layers.

You took your secret path, it led to a secluded area of the beach. Then you could sit and wallow, only leaving you and the breeze. Taking off your shirt you were left in thin pants, and you folded them up to your knees. You lay on your stomach, pressing your chest down into the sand. You were just watching and reminiscing about what once was. Thinking back to all memories you had in this very ocean. As the waves drew back and returned there was a shimmer that caught your attention. As it got closer it looked as if the sea was gifting you this shell. It landed right in front of you, the cold waves petting your collarbones. Picking it up and inspecting it you were content. Placing this shell in the pocket of your coat. After a few minutes, you get up and stretch out your limbs. As you're doing this you hear a gasp come from behind you. You become frozen, looking down at your front, your chest, and stomach are littered with multi-colored scales. Making sure to only turn your head, you see a man around your age. He's staring at your bare back, eyes burning into your back. He has pink hair, and his lips are a beautiful shade of maroon. As your eyes catch your breath hitches, it feels like you can't pull away, even with your distance you feel like you're right beside him. Before he can get any closer you quickly slip the shirt over you and coat tightly around your shoulders and run away.

Drowning out his shouts you run as fast as you can. Not even turning to see if he's behind you. But you don't hear any footsteps, so you decide that he isn't. After getting in your house, you rush to your room. Fitting your hammock, you lay down and try to calm your racing heart. There were so many questions that you had. But the most important one for you was, "how had this man found out about this area?" You were sure that no one in town knew about this. Although you had never seen this man in your life. And it was a small village.

Inhaling and exhaling slowly helped to calm yourself. Then you remember the shell you had found. Fishing it out of your pocket you held it close to your face.

It looked very delicate but also durable. This was now your inspiration, getting up and sitting at your desk you find one of your unfinished pieces and get to work. This was taking all night, but you had a vision. You gathered the beads and wire, twisting, turning, bending, and burning.

You had carved your initials into the shell before looking at the finished work. This necklace was eye-catching and charming. Now, the only issue was finding out who would be right for this necklace. Everyone in this town already had at least three gifts from you. And it just didn't call out to any of them. Sighing, you get up and feel your back aching from the posture you were in for the past hour. The moon had already come up to greet you. Freeing yourself of your clothing, you settle for more comfortable garments.

Once again laying in your hammock, you are struck with an unknown emotion. Butterflies wander around your stomach and your chest feels tight. But it's nothing bad.

Excited, you feel excited for tomorrow, but you're clueless as to why you feel this way. Or what you feel this way for. Nonetheless, you drift off to sleep. You do have a dream tonight. The pink-haired man makes an appearance.

Both of you meet each other at the beach. But this time he runs towards you and pulls you in for a hug before kissing your cheek. You smile and you two start speaking, almost as if you've known him since the dawn of time. Not feeling out of place, it feels like you're right at home. But after the sun sets, he gets up, he must leave you. A pull in your heart causes your gut to drop. The smile you once had is gone.

Sitting there, you are left alone. What a funny turn of events, this time it's him that running from you. Eyes watching his back, his figure gets smaller and smaller, then you're no longer able to make him out in the night. Just as you get up the dream fades away. When you sit up a warmness fills your cheeks. You had just encountered. this man, yet you had intimate dreams of him.

Placing your hands on your cheeks, you try to cool them.

After docking themselves here the one thing that caught the Captain's eye was the extravagant jewels everyone was wearing. They had stopped to stock up on supplies and rest for a bit. After all, being at sea constantly was tiring. But at the few open shops, none of them were selling jewelry. He had asked a local about it. Getting a mysterious response. He went searching in hopes to find this woman who would assign him a unique work, that she had taken the time to handcraft.

After three days he was getting frustrated. Going off your appearance only was hard. Everyone in this town had looked a little like that. But one day he had seen someone with your description. It was getting late, and only the lanterns at each block were illuminating the streets. She had a basket with her. The contents being unknown to him. So, as he walked up and introduced himself you were quiet. Limiting your sentences, being on guard. He had relayed what the townsfolk had told him about your art pieces and you. He watched as you were hesitant to do something. He saw you dig through the basket and pull out a necklace. It was perfect. Pulling out his satchel of coins he tries to pay you. But you shake your head. Denying his money.

Stepping closer to him you place the necklace over his head. Looking him over once more you are completely sure that this is his. He watches your face, a smile graces your lips, and it reaches your eyes as well. He once again attempts to pay you. But you step back, creating a good distance between you two. You turn away from him and slowly begin to leave. Before you run off to who knows where he sees you stop in your tracks and turn to face him. He swears no one has ever been so beautiful under streetlamps. The light caught your features, it framed your face. It seemed as if your eyes softened.

"I don't do this for money, it belongs to you. It always belonged to you." As your figure slips away into the darkness, his smile widens. He's left there in the streets grinning like a drunken fool.